Chapter 519: Leave something for future generations
The capital of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly prosperous.
Since the maritime ban was lifted, businessmen from all over the world gradually got the news and rushed to Ming Dynasty like crazy.
There is no other reason. In today's era, only goods from China are the most valuable.
Some businessmen from small countries brought some of their own specialties and all their belongings to the Ming Dynasty to purchase a batch of tea, porcelain, and silk.
Then transfer it back and sell it. As long as the journey goes smoothly, you will directly become a master in your own country.
This kind of thing is not an exaggeration at all.
After silk, tea, and porcelain came out in the Ming Dynasty, who wouldn't be greedy for the dozens of times the profits? Even if the sales are good, hundreds of times the profits are not impossible.
Among them, silver trading is one thing. Some small countries have no shortage of treasures, so they directly exchange them for treasures, and then resell them to the Ming Dynasty. The value of their wealth skyrockets.
There are no high-priced treasures that cannot be sold in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. There are too many rich people now.
The merchants who came and went most liked to transport things to the capital of the Ming Dynasty for sale.
This also resulted in the streets of the capital being crowded with merchants.
Although there were many in the past, there were not so many. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of merchants stranded in the capital alone.
In view of this situation, Zhu Ying is not constantly making adjustments.
First of all, the customs area must be closely guarded and no smugglers should be let go.
The most favorite thing for merchants to do is to evade taxes. For merchants, as long as they leave the customs and enter the sea, the Ming Dynasty can almost control it.
In the vast sea, there is no possibility of arresting anyone.
The cost of arresting people is too high.
So the key is to escape.
For the Ming Dynasty, evading taxes meant damaging the Ming Dynasty's treasury. These taxes were all the country's money, not even a copper coin would be enough.
To this end, a separate inspection agency for customs has been set up.
The main purpose is to catch corruption among customs officials.
As for road construction, the North-South Avenue that Zhu Yuanzhang had been thinking about was finally completed.
As soon as the cultivation was completed, Zhu Yuanzhang took his eldest grandson out of the palace to see it.
The North-South Avenue is built from outside Zhengyangmen all the way to Beiping.
Such a spacious cement road means that carriages can travel at least several times faster than before.
Especially the passage of trucks will become faster.
Including many aspects such as the marching and scheduling of the army, it can be said to be of great significance.
The grandfather and grandson arrived at the source of the North-South Avenue in civilian clothes. After Zhu Yuanzhang saw it, he frowned and said: "This avenue has just been opened, how come there are so many merchants occupying the main road? It is simply audacious to dare to act so wantonly."
"When we return to the palace later, we will order a thorough investigation to find out who dared to start this."
Zhu Ying touched her nose in embarrassment and said immediately: "Grandpa, I did it."
"What?"
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't react for a while.
Is it Dasun’s fault that you’ve been doing this for a long time?
"Dasun, this is an official way. How can ordinary merchants and civilians be allowed to go here? If there is any war, wouldn't it delay the march?"
"Even in other aspects, it will take a lot of time."
Zhu Yuanzhang, whose good mood was ruined, still thought that he would be investigated strictly when he returned to the palace. Now that it was his eldest grandson who did it, it was not easy to say.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang now delegates more power to his eldest grandson, so the eldest grandson can directly make the decision on such small matters.
Zhu Ying explained: "Grandpa, if fewer people take this road, wouldn't it be a waste?"
"For such a spacious road to be left empty like this, my grandson thought it was too much of a waste. Moreover, he would have to have a lot of people walking on this road to smooth it out."
"Nowadays, there are many merchants, and even more goods are transported. The only way forward is the goods of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce. If this continues for a long time, other chambers of commerce will definitely be dissatisfied and sow the seeds of resentment, which is not conducive to commercial activities."
"Now even some people in the surrounding area can also find the road to come all the way. The performance of the road is that it is more effective in guiding the road."
"Many people who can't find land can just follow this road and come to the capital. This will make it much more convenient. Our taxes here in the capital will also increase a lot."
"If there is an army marching, you should step forward to clear the way. If there are imperial goods traveling, you can also hang a bell to remind them. It will not affect too much."
After hearing these explanations, Zhu Yuanzhang still didn't want to do it after all.
It's just that now that the eldest grandson has already passed the order, if he changes his hands and changes it, wouldn't it be a slap in the eldest grandson's face?
What's the difference between slapping Dasun in the face and slapping yourself in the face?
After thinking about it for a while, I was too lazy to take care of it. After all, it was not a big deal.
This is also because of my grandson.
After feeling relieved, Zhu Yuanzhang set foot on the North-South Avenue in person to experience it.
Sure enough, this cement road is easy to use. Not only is the road surface smooth, horse-drawn carriages can pass faster, and people walking on it don't have to exert too much effort.
On the spacious avenue, you can still see a lot of people going in and out.
The opening of official channels can be said to be a blessing to ordinary people, especially the small traders around the capital, who are extremely happy.
I feel much more energetic carrying the burden.
"From now on, the entire Ming Dynasty's official roads will be repaired with cement. In this way, the national traffic speed will be greatly increased, and our court will be able to manage the local areas more effectively."
"It seems that the inn area will be expanded a lot this year."
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.
Wherever the post station goes, it is the place where the imperial power governs.
Zhu Yuanzhang has always attached great importance to the inn and issued strict systems, including the selection of candidates.
He was very aware of the benefits of the inn. It can be said that where there is an inn, orders can be delivered directly.
The faster the delivery, the more effective the edict is.
"Grandpa, here at the inn, my grandson wants to make his guard station as self-sufficient as possible." Zhu Ying suggested while the old man was happy.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Does the great grandson want the post station to be in charge of the land like the guard army?"
Zhu Ying explained: "It's not the land, but the transportation."
"Nowadays, whether it is common people or businessmen, there is a huge demand for inns. The simplest items, such as letters, are often very expensive."
"The post station itself has the ability to transport, so Sun'er wants to open a separate section during transportation, as a feature of the post station, to make the delivery of letters easier."
"It only needs to be conveyed in a letter according to a specific route, and it can be much simpler with a few pieces of tissue paper. This makes communication more convenient for the people and makes communication smoother."
"In this regard, the post station can also generate income as a subsidy to reduce the burden on the court."
"Not only letters, but also some other goods can also be transported by the post station. Without stopping, more post station personnel can be added."
Zhu Ying wants to develop a private logistics system.
In a situation like today's inn, it can be said that it already has an extremely complete logistics system. As long as some additions are made to it, it can be used directly.
The logistics system is profitable, very profitable.
This is even more of a big deal for the Feeding Station.
If it can mature, the station can not only cover its own expenses, but may also be able to hand over more money to the national treasury.
On this point, Zhu Ying naturally has her own knowledge.
The inn was for civilian use, which made Zhu Yuanzhang start to think deeply.
Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that Da Sun's intention was to divide the inns into two batches, separate for official and civilian use, and establish a complete system based on this.
"Have you ever estimated how much money you can make like this?"
After thinking for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
If the cost of the station itself can be solved, it will be a big burden relieved for the imperial court.
Now Zhu Yuanzhang is also more open-minded. As long as it does not affect the imperial power, it can be used by civilians.
According to the current way, there is no difference between the official and civilian use of this post station. The Chamber of Commerce under the name of Da Sun has almost always used the post station. Zhu Yuanzhang is very clear about this.
It is precisely because of the extensive use of inns and the saving of transportation costs that the prices of the goods sold by the Qunying Chamber of Commerce are more price-advantageous than those of other chambers of commerce, which also benefits the people.
Zhu Yuanzhang had already paid attention to this aspect when he was studying Dasun's chamber of commerce's ability to make money.
I didn’t think about how much money the inn itself could make.
Zhu Ying replied: "My grandson's chamber of commerce has calculated that if all the goods transported every month are used to travel through inns, nearly 20% of the cost can be saved."
"If other chambers of commerce also use the inn, they will naturally say the same thing."
"Based on the current throughput of goods in the capital, the surrounding inns will naturally not have to worry about transporting goods. The more prosperous the place, the more obvious the effect will be."
"For example, for the post stations around the capital, it is not a problem to support ten thousand post soldiers. Maybe there will be a balance left to hand over to the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"In some remote places, the goods may be scarce and require subsidies from the court. However, the money from rich stations can be used to support poor stations. In this way, the entire Ming Station can reach a balanced state."
"And with the development of the economy, the post station will also slowly develop. When the time comes, it can gradually turn losses into profits, and the soldiers of the entire post station are also very good reserve forces for our Ming Dynasty."
"These post soldiers have been running around for a long time and have excellent physical endurance. They have simple drills and only need to undergo specific training before they can join the real army."
"Let's leave something behind for future generations."
None of the previous words moved Zhu Yuanzhang very much, but Zhu Ying's last sentence made Zhu Yuanzhang quite moved.
According to Zhu Ying, the current inn system will be greatly expanded again.
Post soldiers are also soldiers.
If this continues, there will definitely be hundreds of thousands of post soldiers. If there is any war involving the safety of the Ming Dynasty, by then, the post soldiers will play a great role. This is understandable.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang also thought that the Ming Dynasty would last forever, historical facts prove that there has never been a permanent dynasty.
No matter how prosperous a dynasty is, it will always decline due to various reasons.
In this regard, Zhu Ying is the most experienced.
Even in later generations, the arrogant empire on which the sun never sets had continued to decline as a whole before Zhu Ying traveled through.
That's the modern era, and things like this still happen.
What's more, today's Ming Dynasty.
"That's all. It's good to have more soldiers. At least it can kill some unscrupulous descendants and give them a chance to wait for some wise kings."
"As for the inn, Dasun, just go ahead and do it."
After thinking clearly, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke.
He also knew that it was impossible to say that all the descendants in his family were rulers of the world, and that they were inevitably stupid.
Youdao is a bastard, but Tian doesn't feel bad. Now that he and his eldest grandson have worked so hard to build the country, future generations will have no feeling at all when they squander it.
The only thing we can do is to leave a little more and let the Ming Dynasty continue a little longer.
After Zhu Ying received permission, he began to reform the post station.
It can be said that there was no resistance to such reforms during the Hongwu period.
Different from the changes in other periods, during Zhu Yuanzhang's period, there was no resistance at all, and those who were able to resist had already been killed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
In terms of the entire historical dynasty environment, there are few periods that can have such a reform environment.
Basically, it can be said that as long as the charter is negotiated, the ministers in the court can only follow it, and they are unlikely to even raise objections.
Those who have offended His Majesty will not be able to stand in Fengtian Palace for too long after all.
Don't say that this decision is right, even if it is wrong, who can do anything to His Majesty? You may not even be able to say a few words.
Coupled with the Jin Yiwei's control over the officials of the capital, they will kill you if they want to, so there is no need for too many excuses.
The only blue jade that could jump twice has now run to the border.
Even if Lan Yu is here, he won't have any say in internal affairs.
Today's power in the Ming Dynasty is concentrated in the military generals and nobles. As for the military people, if His Majesty and His Highness the Grand Sun want to do something, they can just support it. They don't understand the long-term anyway.
Those who understand do not dare to speak, and those who can speak do not understand. Naturally, the imperial court is the only forum for the grandfather and grandson.
The entire post station system was also very important to the Ming Dynasty. In order to prevent other officials from intervening, Zhu Ying pulled the post station away from the Ministry of War and established a separate post station department, which was the general director of the capital post station.
It is directly subordinate to the emperor and does not accept transfers or arrangements from any officials. All processes are handled directly according to the wishes of the palace.
As for the news about the civilian use of the post station, Zhu Ying also published it in the Capital Newspaper so that the people of the Ming Dynasty could know about it.