Listening to the ministers clamoring for a mining franchise, Emperor Hongzhi's face turned gloomy.
Who doesn't know that Prince Zhu Houzhao, the son of Emperor Hongzhi, is the major shareholder of Daming Petroleum Company, the largest oil company in Ming Dynasty. The profits this brings every year are beyond the imagination of outsiders.
Others didn't know it, but Emperor Hongzhi still knew it clearly.
Now they are clamoring for the imperial court to be exclusive. It seems that they are for the sake of the Ming Dynasty court and the country. They are talking nonsense, but Emperor Hongzhi knows it clearly.
These people are set on the huge profits from oil!
Oil prices have always remained high, market demand has become increasingly strong, and growth has been very rapid and stable. It is foreseeable that oil will be an important resource and wealth in the coming decades and hundreds of years.
Nowadays, there are many people who see the way to make money from oil, but most people are naturally desperately looking for oil to make a fortune in various places in the Ming Dynasty, but these people are ingenious and even say that they want to specialize in the imperial court.
The slogans are very good, for the sake of the court, to regulate the market, to protect cultivated land, water sources, etc.
But in reality it is just for your own benefit.
If we really go private, we will enrich officials at all levels, big and small, including those in charge of oil management, etc. The good thing is that none of it will fall into the hands of the common people, and the money that the court can get will be very fast.
It will become less and less, and in the end it may not be as much as the tax money currently received from oil companies.
Of course, these are all on a large level. On a small level, this will greatly damage the interests of his son Zhu Houzhao. If you mine oil by yourself, you can make a lot of money every year. Wouldn't it be nice to put it in your own pocket?
"snort!"
"These people have nothing of their own, but their appetites are huge and their burdens are huge. They can snatch food from a tiger's mouth and are not afraid of death."
Emperor Hongzhi looked at these ministers with cold eyes, one after another, shouting about the benefits of the imperial court's exclusive business.
I am becoming more and more disgusted with these old-school officials.
I didn't feel this way before, but now the more I look at them, the more unpleasant they become.
You can't accomplish anything, you can think of all the bad things, and the struggle for power and profit is the most powerful thing.
"What a bunch of greedy and brainless people. Oil, gold, silver, copper and iron are all going to be taken over by the imperial court?"
"It doesn't matter who holds these resources now. Even if it can pass through the court, when it comes time to implement it, I'm afraid there will be countless resistance."
"Not to mention anything else, just here in Huangjinzhou, those gold mine owners and silver mine owners will definitely not agree. Why should the gold and silver mines that they worked so hard to find and excavate be handed over to the imperial court for exclusive use?
"
"What's more, can this really end up in the hands of the imperial court?"
“In the end, it’s not cheap for you people.”
Han Wen remained silent, thinking rapidly in his mind.
It sounds nice on the surface, but it's not for your own benefit.
It doesn’t matter how many people’s interests this policy will harm.
In the imperial court alone, the expressions of many ministers have turned extremely ugly, especially the military commanders and nobles, their eyes are all red and they look like they are about to kill someone.
Duke Zhang Lun of England, Duke Xu Guangzuo of Ding, Duke Zhu Fu of Cheng, Duke Yang Yun of Australia, and many other civil servants, all of them had a lot of industries in various parts of the Ming Dynasty.
Among them are oil, gold mines, iron mines, copper mines, etc. For people like Liu Jin, Zhang Lun, and Xu Guangzuo, even if there is less oil, it does not matter much. It is just that one person is missing.
As for industry, the impact is not very big.
But for some ministers, their families may be supported by a few oil fields, gold mines, iron mines, copper mines, silver mines, etc., so if you just say that you want to implement the imperial court monopoly, this is not going to offend them.
His lifeblood?
"I, I object!"
"Oil exploration, occupation of fertile land, pollution of water sources, etc. only require strict regulations and penalties to naturally prevent such things from happening. There are problems in all walks of life. Should all industries be brought under the exclusive control of the imperial court?"
"For those things that bully men and women, buy and sell by force, I think this must be the inaction and acquiescence of local officials, or some bullying. For such things, the court should strictly investigate and deal with them, crack down on bullies, and eliminate rapes.
Get rid of violence and eliminate harm for the people."
"Such things happen not only in the oil field, but also in various parts of the Ming Dynasty and in various industries. The key is that officials at all levels in the Ming Dynasty must make a difference and not tolerate adultery or even cover up and condone them."
"The court's monopoly will be the same as the salt industry in the past. The court will not receive much tax money, but the people will eat extremely expensive coarse salt. In the end, it is the salt merchants and officials at all levels in charge of the salt industry who will really benefit.
Officials."
"Later, the imperial court opened up the salt industry. Not only did the imperial court receive considerable tax revenue every year, but the common people also enjoyed good quality and cheap salt."
"More than 20 years ago, a pound of salt cost dozens of cents. It was still coarse salt and soaked with sand. However, nowadays, the best snowflake salt only costs a few pennies per pound, and the imperial court's salt
The tax revenue from the industry can always be maintained at several million taels of silver. This is truly for the sake of the people, and both the court and the people have benefited."
"Once the oil monopoly is implemented, not only the production of oil will drop significantly, the price of oil will inevitably remain high, and the money that the court can get will definitely fall in two years."
"In the end, it will only benefit those same borers as the salt merchants!"
A minister stood up and said angrily, looking at the old-school officials as if they were mortal enemies, likening them to the salt merchants of the past.
"Your Majesty, I think what Mr. Li said is reasonable!"
"The court's exclusive operation cannot solve the problem. There are various problems in all walks of life. The key is for the court to issue laws and regulations to regulate it, and officials at all levels must effectively implement the court's policies and regulations."
"In the past, the imperial court specialized in salt and iron. The output of salt and iron was limited and expensive. The imperial court benefited little, but the people suffered terribly. In the end, it only enriched the salt merchants and related officials at all levels."
"It was precisely because we saw the shortcomings of the salt and iron franchise that we relaxed restrictions and gradually allowed private entry. This has led to today's prosperity."
"Today, the output of salt and iron in our Ming Dynasty is ten times or a hundred times that of before. The royal tax and money have been growing steadily, the needs of the people have been met, and the price is cheap, which has greatly promoted the prosperity and abundance of our Ming society."
"On the one hand, the imperial court's monopoly will cause output to decline year after year, unable to meet the needs of the people. Second, it will not benefit the court or the people at all. It will only make some people as rich as the salt merchants."
"The third thing is that our Ming Dynasty's oil, gold, silver, copper and iron and other mineral industries are of great importance. They involve many industries and a large population, and are related to the livelihood of millions of people. How can we mess around!"
Duke Cheng, Zhu Fu, stood up and looked coldly at Yang Ting and these conservative ministers.
Ma Dan wants to take away my oil mines, gold, copper mines, and iron mines. Let’s see if I don’t tear you guys apart.
Zhu Fu has a large number of oil wells, gold mines, railways and copper mines under his command. Not to mention oil, it is a good business to just sit and collect money. Gold and silver are all money after being dug out.
The current prices of copper ore and iron ore are also quite good, especially now that Ming Dynasty has a very strong demand for steel, and iron is needed in all aspects, which also makes the prices of steel and iron ore quite good.
Not to mention the value of copper, especially now that the power industry is developing rapidly, the demand for copper is getting stronger and stronger, and the price of copper has been soaring.
People like you open your mouth and say that you want to take back the imperial court. If you are really doing it for the imperial court, there is nothing you can say. The key is that with the urine of these people, they will definitely find a way to get it into their own pockets in the end.
Do you really think that you can transfer the industry that others have worked so hard to build into your own pocket just by talking?
Don’t even know how you died by then.
There are countless people with gold, silver, iron, copper, and oil mines in the government and the public. Maybe you can still be arrogant here in the Ming Dynasty.
If this were outside the Ming Dynasty, outside the customs and other places, the mining owners in these places could teach you how to be a good person in minutes, and they also wanted to rob everyone of their industry, just dream.
We don’t steal or rob, we pay taxes to the court honestly, and we build the industry on our own. If you try to take action, you will definitely fight to the death with people like you.
Now when it comes to franchises, this threat is not limited to these industries. It will definitely pose a huge threat to other industries as well.
Today we are engaged in oil, gold and silver specialization. Tomorrow our plantations, pastures, etc. will be taken back for exclusive operation. Will our factories and trading houses also be taken back for exclusive operation the day after tomorrow?
Do you really think that you civil servants can really decide everything in the world just by serving as officials in the government and the public?
"Your Majesty, what Duke Cheng Guo said makes sense!"
"Monopoly does not bring any benefit to the court or the people. It will only benefit some Ming worms and turn them into the same Ming worms as salt merchants, and eventually eat away at the Ming Dynasty."
"Your Majesty, what the imperial court has to do is to regulate all walks of life and maintain social order, fairness and justice, not all industries and industries are involved."
"If oil, gold, copper, iron, etc. are acquired by the imperial court today, will factories and trading houses in all walks of life be acquired by the imperial court tomorrow?"
"Does the imperial court have so many officials to run it?"
"Can these officials run these industries well?"
"In the end, it will only harm the interests of the people, and it will be of no use or significance to the court. It will only make those Ming dynasty moths full of fat~"
"..."
One after another, practical ministers, generals and nobles stood up and expressed strong opposition.
