Now Wu Shigong has begun to train the prince Xue Chenglin. As long as it is an important state affairs, Wu Shigong always asks Xue Chenglin to watch the politics from the side. Although due to the war, Xue Chenglin's wedding was postponed to the second half of the first year of Qiongyuan. But Wu Shigong has regarded him as a
He took the crown prince to train him carefully and kept him by his side at all times.
But what makes Wu Shigong regretful is that when Xue Chenglin was young, he was never by his side. Until now, Xue Chenglin has been trained by strict aristocratic education and has become a mature person. Although as a prince, it is better to be more mature, but the father and son
There was always a lack of emotional communication between the two of them. Whenever they met, they always talked about state affairs.
When he heard Wu Shigong talk about his evaluation of Zheng Zhilong, Xue Chenglin quickly tried to remember it. But when he heard that Wu Shigong spoke highly of the Zheng family's fleet, Xue Chenglin, who had been educated by Land Quan, couldn't help but raise the question in his heart.
Question: "Father! Mr. Wang once said that China has a vast land and rich resources, and there is no shortage of everything. But opening the sea is a waste of property and a waste of national power for playthings. That's why Taizu of the Ming Dynasty banned the sea, and all the sages of later generations also insisted on the previous Ming Dynasty.
An ancestral system. But my father also said that the Zheng family's fleet is making a fortune every day, so how can that be true? Will the Ping Dynasty still ban the sea?"
Wu Shigong saw that Xue Chenglin not only listened and watched more, but also started to think about problems, so he was very happy. So Wu Shigong began to ask questions: "Actually, the sea ban is very complicated. Before I talk about it, I will test you first.
:What is your opinion on military matters?"
"Military affairs?" Xue Chenglin was stunned by Wu Shigong's leaping question. He thought for a moment and replied, "Military affairs are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival. Therefore, according to the child
From what I can see, we need to be cautious when using our troops.”
Wu Shigong was amused by Xue Chenglin's standard answer quoted from "The Art of War". He smiled and said: "Lin'er, what you said is right. But before a war, the most difficult thing to do is to know yourself and the enemy. If you just want to
You know the commanders and strength of the two armies. You can send spies to find out, but it is difficult for you to judge whether this war will exhaust the national strength. Therefore, the use of troops is not only about the soldiers, but also the money.
.”
"Huh?" Xue Chenglin was immediately attracted by this novel statement. He immediately bowed and saluted: "Please teach me, Father!"
"In fact, when you decide whether to go to war, unless you have to fight when the country's survival is at stake, you usually only need to focus on one point - whether the war will make money." Wu Shigong said.
"Ah?" Xue Chenglin immediately exclaimed.
"Don't be surprised." Wu Shigong smiled and patted his eldest son on the shoulder. Then he said, "In fact, as long as there is a war, the money will be like running water. For example, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conquered Korea three times, exhausting the national power of the Sui Dynasty and turning the world against him.
As a result, he died and his country was destroyed. However, Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty went south to conquer Annan, and lost again because the land tax he received was not as good as the military expenditure. Annan also became worthless. Why is this? It's just a word of money."
"But...but what my father said, it seems..." Xue Chenglin's expression immediately became strange, and he began to hesitate when speaking.
"Are you trying to say that your father is a philistine?" Wu Shigong smiled and added exactly what Xue Chenglin said.
"Hahaha!" The father and son laughed at each other.
"There is no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn Period!" Xue Chenglin sighed, shaking his head with a smile.
"Lin'er!" Wu Shigong continued, "Although the teachings of the saints are good, they also have shortcomings. When it comes to governing the country, military matters, etc., we cannot act in full accordance with what the saints said. Otherwise, why were there hundreds of schools of thought in the Spring and Autumn Period? For the king
To govern a country, there are two important things that must be grasped: one is the way to drive down the country; the other is money."
"In the pre-Ming Dynasty, in addition to land tax, there were three major sources of revenue: one was salt tax; one was sea trade; and the other was weaving. When my father started his career, he seized the salt tax, but the salt tax was gradually divided up by salt merchants.
Taxes are also decreasing day by day, causing the world to flood with private salt, but the people have to eat expensive salt. Not to mention sea trade, which is all occupied by merchants and pirates like Zheng Zhilong, but the imperial court clings to the ban on sea trade.
, they really gave away the royal family’s possessions to maritime merchants for nothing. And weaving is also closely related to maritime trade. Why Songjiang cloth is famous all over the world is because it was sold overseas through maritime trade.”
"So, as long as we seize these three sources of finance, the country will be rich and the people strong. Of course, there is also a commercial tax, which will be a big revenue for the court in the future."
"It can be seen that Zheng Zhilong has maritime trade and maritime troops. If he concentrates on running it, he can support at least a hundred thousand troops. Fortunately, his short-sightedness has caused the Zheng family to retreat if it does not advance. Now, it is far inferior to mine.
The Great Ping Dynasty came to an end."
"That's it!" Xue Chenglin nodded and said, "But I have another question: fighting against the Liaodong captives can be said to be a matter of national survival, but why did my father want to expedition to North Korea? It's not that North Korea is barren and has few people, so Ming Taizu
That’s why you treat North Korea as a country without conquest?”
Seeing Xue Chenglin's questions getting deeper and deeper, Wu Shigong's smile became even thicker. Today he was in a lively conversation and was willing to pour out some of his insights: "Lin'er, remember my words: The world is under heaven.
There is no bad place, only people who can't manage it. This is true in Korea, and the same is true in Annan. In the past, all monarchs and ministers only focused on the yield from the fields, but they did not realize that the gold mines were far more than that. Isn't the population valuable?
?Mountains and forests are worthless? Commercial taxes and maritime trade taxes are worthless? Not to mention mining land."
"Then why didn't people in the past think of this?" Xue Chenglin asked again.
"Lin'er's idea is wrong!" Wu Shigong said with a smile, "In fact, there are smart people in every generation. But in the past, when fighting foreign wars, if they won, the monarch would think that everything would be his own. The glory of opening up territory and expanding the territory was the result of the land.
, others, and so on. But in this way, except for the soldiers who went on the expedition to get some rewards and trophies, the officials in the court and the people of the world got nothing. Moreover, other taxes have to be sent to run, how can there be such income from field tax?
It is clear at a glance that as much land as you get, you will be taxed! But in this way, everyone will focus on the land tax and turn a blind eye to other taxes. If you cannot make ends meet, you will lose the desire to expand the territory. "
"Then how should our Daping Dynasty solve this problem?" Xue Chenglin then asked.
"There is no other way but to share the benefits equally." Wu Shigong replied, "Lin'er, do you remember? A few days ago you asked me why the government set up this reclamation trading house? This trading house is not like a trading house, and the yamen is not like the yamen.
It's a bit nondescript. In fact, this is where the reclamation business is used."
"Nowadays, this reclamation business mainly manages the wasteland in various provinces and organizes refugee armies to colonize the wasteland. But in the future, when local governments are established and the government affairs of the DPRK and China are straightened out, the affairs of each province will gradually be managed by the department, and the reclamation will no longer be allowed.
The trading house has no involvement at all. So what should the reclamation trading house do? It is to expand the territory together with the imperial court."
"The Reclamation Trading Company raises money from the private sector, and then recruits guards from the private sector. In addition, people with management experience from the Reclamation Trading Company will work with the government and the army to conquer the country. For example: this expedition to North Korea is the result of the Marine Corps and the Reclamation Company
The merchants set out for the expedition at the same time."
"In this way, the government and the army only have to fight the war, and the land they have conquered will be guarded and managed by the land reclamation companies. This not only saves troops and military expenses, but also uses the power of the people to jointly develop new territories. Once North Korea is captured, land reclamation
As long as the trading companies paid Qing military expenses to the court, they could obtain the development rights of North Korea for a certain period of time. This would put little pressure on North Korea and China's spending, and in the future, the court could also benefit from the share capital distribution of the reclamation trading companies and North Korea's tax revenue.
"
Hearing this, Xue Chenglin had questions: "Father! If the army is defeated and North Korea is not captured, then won't the people who invested money in the reclamation business lose their money? And how do they know how much the reclamation business earns?
?”
"Lin'er! You're great! That's a good question." Wu Shigong smiled and said, "If you want to make money, especially big money, how can you do it without taking risks? But you have to remember: the people who invest in the reclamation business have
Many people will also arrive in North Korea and work together to run North Korea's industries. Even if the land reclamation companies want to play some tricks, they will still be unable to hide under the eyes of many people. And the income of the imperial court actually comes from tens of millions of people.
Supervision does not require us to care."
"Another point is also very important! You always remember: no matter what a person says or does, he cannot actually prove his inner thoughts. But as long as he takes out his own money, he will say it with certainty.
He came up with his idea. No one is willing to waste his family property in vain. Therefore, as long as the stocks developed by the Land Reclamation Company sell well, it proves that this battle has a high chance of winning. If the stocks are unsaleable, then we must be cautious.
Sometimes we prefer not to fight those wars that are optional. This can also prevent those wars that are a big success and drain the treasury from happening. This is also a great reference for the imperial court to declare war."
Xue Chenglin listened with great interest. It was not until Wu Shigong finished speaking that he said with satisfaction: "It turns out that the father has a long-term plan and the child knows it. However, what the father said is different from the methods of governing the country taught by several gentlemen."
Wu Shigong nodded and said: "Actually, there is nothing wrong with what the gentlemen taught you. Apart from the difference between the power tactics of emperors and officials, Lin'er, you also need to remember: internally, you must do what the gentlemen say.
Rule the country with benevolence and love. But when it comes to the outside world, you must be iron-blooded and plunder. There must be a distinction between the inside and outside!"
Then, Wu Shigong turned his head and said to Hanlin who was recording "Notes on Living Life": "Mr. Mu! Please sort out this paragraph later and give it to the prince to study."
"Yes! Your Majesty!" The Hanlin immediately stood up, bowed and agreed.
Then, Wu Shigong said to Xue Chenglin: "If you don't understand anything in the future, you can come and ask me at any time. When one day you have your own opinion, it will be the time for you to ascend the throne. At that time, I and your
Mother, you can rest assured to play. Hahaha——!"
“Yes! Father!”
"Since we are alone overseas, that's why our Daping Dynasty needs a strong fleet!" Wu Shigong immediately replied.
"Hahaha——!" The father and son burst into laughter immediately. (To be continued...)