When Wen Tiren heard this, he turned to Zhong Jinwei and said with a smile: "Hou Zhongxing, I know that you are the emperor this time and have made a lot of money for the court. But do you know how much the shipbuilding cost is and how many ships need to be built?
What?"
Wen Tiren was worried that Zhong Jinwei was still young and lacked knowledge in some aspects, so he reminded him.
Emperor Chongzhen heard this and looked at Zhong Jinwei, curious about what Master Zhong would answer.
I saw Zhong Jinwei stretched out his hand and shook it, and replied to Wen Tiren: "The money you get from ransacking a house cannot be considered a profit, it is just a sale. The cost of building a ship does not necessarily have to be paid by the court. Of course,
, and there is no need for the feudal king to pay.”
"Master Zhong, it is neither paid by the court nor the vassal king, so who will pay?" Emperor Chongzhen was surprised and interjected.
Zhong Jinwei turned to Emperor Chongzhen and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, naturally let the merchants pay. In other words, there are regional differences between the Ming Dynasty and North America, and of course there will be price gaps for goods. For example, North America is in urgent need of all kinds of goods.
The prices of daily necessities will naturally be more expensive than those in the Ming Dynasty. However, items or raw materials unique to North America can be sold at a good price in the Ming Dynasty. Merchants chasing profits will naturally build their own ships to transport and sell supplies."
Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren both nodded as they heard this. They did not expect this. As an emperor and a chief minister, it is normal for him to ignore businessmen. But Zhong Jinwei comes from a later generation with developed business, so it is easier for him to think of it than them.
Already.
However, Wen Tiren still had a problem. He asked Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, is there enough stuff in North America for merchants to trade?"
Zhong Jinwei was stunned after hearing this, and then replied after thinking for a moment: "There may not be enough to exchange for this at the beginning, but it will definitely be possible in the future. Moreover, we can also use debt to temporarily tide over the initial period of material poverty in North America.
, it should be no problem. As long as there are huge prospects there, businessmen will still go."
When Zhong Jinwei said this, he suddenly remembered a benefit, and immediately continued: "Your Majesty, Mr. Wen, what I just said made me think of the huge benefits brought by a feudal overseas country."
There was a smile on his face. He didn't expect that there would be such a big benefit. He didn't expect it. What a failure! Unfortunately, he was developing financial software in later generations, so he was still insensitive to business operations!
Wen Tiren stared at Zhong Jinwei with bright eyes to see what great benefits he could tell.
After Wen Tiren entered the Wenhua Hall, he remained silent. Wang Chengen, who regarded himself as a transparent person, also had his eyes lit up, watching what strange words the Zhongxing Marquis would utter.
Zhong Jinwei did not show off and said directly: "Your Majesty, Mr. Wen, do you think that this feudal overseas country needs a lot of supplies. Just give an example. The demand for sea ships will be much greater than before. In this way, those
Do the shipwrights who make a living by building ships have enough to eat? They have to do endless work and earn endless money to support a large number of people."
When he saw both listeners nodding, he continued: "Wood is needed to build ships, so do the woodcutters have endless work and endless money?"
When Zhong Jinwei said this, Wen Tiren already understood his thinking, and then he said: "The paint, nails and other materials required for shipbuilding will also increase greatly, correspondingly to feed a lot of people?"
Zhong Jinwei chuckled, raised his thumb and said to Wen Tiren: "As expected of the chief minister, you are absolutely right."
Everyone in the hall laughed at Zhong Jinwei's conspicuous flattery, and the atmosphere suddenly became very relaxed.
It was also because of this that Wang Chengen suddenly discovered that the light had dimmed, and it turned out to be almost dusk.
Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was looking good, he reminded him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, it's time for dinner."
Emperor Chongzhen was reminded by Wang Chengen. He looked up and looked outside the palace. He couldn't help but smile and said: "When I talk about things with Master Zhong, I often lose track of time. Master Zhong and Wen Qing are having dinner with me. The matter just now has not been discussed yet."
It’s over, I’ll discuss it with you while we eat.”
As soon as Zhong Jinwei heard that he was eating, his stomach growled.
You can't blame him for this. He has been traveling for days and has been physically exhausted. He drank a cup of tea in one afternoon. How can his stomach not protest?
Wen Tiren was beside Zhong Jinwei. When he heard the movement in Zhong Jinwei's stomach, he smiled secretly in his heart, then bowed and accepted the order: "I thank your Majesty for the banquet."
Zhong Jinwei didn't object, since he didn't have to eat for free just once or twice anyway.
According to the previous practice, dinner was served directly in the Wenhua Hall. The monarch and his ministers had their own tables, and they discussed matters while eating, while Wang Chengen was waiting on them.
"Your Majesty, following on from what I just said, after the ship is built, more boatmen will be needed, which will feed some people." Zhong Jinwei ate frantically for a while, and after his stomach stopped protesting, he raised his head and said to Emperor Chongzhen.
Both Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren noticed Zhong Jinwei's ugly eating appearance, but they didn't take it seriously. They had seen it before and knew that Zhong Jinwei was tired and hungry after traveling for days.
Emperor Chongzhen was also a smart man. At this time, he had followed Zhong Jinwei's thinking. He smiled and continued: "The various materials needed in North America have greatly increased, and it has also given a lot of work opportunities to those who make a living in this way. Correspondingly,
It also feeds a lot of people. Master Zhong, is this the truth?"
"Yes, Your Majesty is absolutely right. This feudal overseas affairs can drive all aspects and benefit everyone in the Ming Dynasty." Zhong Jinwei gave Emperor Chongzhen an obvious flattery without any scruples, and then concluded.
Seeing that the atmosphere at the meal was good, Wang Chengen was unwilling to be a transparent person anymore. At this time, when he heard Zhong Jinwei's exaggeration, he couldn't help but interjected: "Zhongxing Hou's words are too exaggerated. Is this feudal overseas matter also good for our family?
"
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he laughed and said to Wang Chengen: "Don't tell me, of course it will be good for the prince."
Emperor Chongzhen heard this strangely. He had the same idea as Wang Chengen, and felt that Master Zhong's words were a bit exaggerated. Unexpectedly, Master Zhong confirmed this again after Wang Chengen said it, and directly used Wang Chengen as an example. He was very curious.
, what benefits will Wang Chengen have?
"Marquis Zhongxing, tell me what are the benefits?" Wen Tiren felt that Zhong Jinwei was exaggerating, so he couldn't help but ask first.
"If you think about it, as I just said, feudal overseas has benefited many people. When these benefited people have money, they will buy things, which will benefit other people again. This is the indirect impact of feudal overseas. The people of Ming Dynasty
If they all benefit, the imperial court will benefit. If the imperial court benefits, that is to say, the emperor will benefit. If the emperor benefits, will he not increase his salary for the prince? No, you, the prince, will also benefit."
If Zhong Jinwei's words were to be spoken to ordinary people, others might not be able to understand them. But neither Emperor Chongzhen, nor Wen Tiren, nor Wang Chengen were ordinary people, and their IQs were higher than normal people. Therefore, they could understand Zhong Jinwei.
if.
Before Wang Chengen expressed his opinion on Zhong Jinwei's words, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and commented: "Master Zhong, you are really good at making connections."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he simply put down his chopsticks and said back to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, this is actually a systematic subject, which is called economics in later generations. It is a course dedicated to analyzing these internal relationships. Although it is boring, for the imperial court,
It is still very necessary to study it.”
Regarding this content, the wise and powerful people in the past dynasties knew a little bit, but they did not summarize or study it systematically.
Now after hearing what Zhong Jinwei said, Emperor Chongzhen came up with this idea.
But before he could speak, Zhong Jinwei said again: "Your Majesty, everything I just said has a premise. Without this premise, everything is empty talk."