It's normal for Lao Liu not to support Lao Liu's 'great plan', because this plan is full of whimsical ideas and is too exaggerated. It even contradicts the foreign policy of 'separating the Chinese from the barbarians' set by him and Boss Zhu.
Came here.
In the understanding of Boss Zhu and other founders of the Ming Dynasty, 'all the foreign barbarian countries outside the country, such as Annan, Champa, Koryo, Siam, Ryukyu, Western, Eastern and Southern Barbarian small countries, are limited to mountains and seas, and are isolated in a corner;
Its land is not enough to provide food, and its people are not enough to command.'
"If he does not think about himself and comes to disturb us, it is unlucky for him. He is not a trouble for China, and it is also unlucky for me to launch an army and attack lightly."
Therefore, Boss Zhu was worried and said: 'I am afraid that future generations will rely on China's wealth and strength, be greedy for temporary military success, and raise armies for no reason, causing harm to human lives. Please remember not to do this.'
Of course, there is the only exception, 'But the Hu Rong are approaching northwest China and they are a border threat. They must select generals to train their troops and be prepared for them at all times.'
In other words, in the understanding of Boss Zhu, Liu Ji, Li Shanchang and others, these "Yi countries" with remote geographical locations and barbaric people cannot bring any real benefits to "China" even if they are captured. So he dares to come and attack you.
Of course we must resolutely fight back, but we should not take the initiative to attack.
This is the summary of the lessons learned from the demise of the Yuan Dynasty by the founders of the Ming Dynasty. They believed that the Mongols' militaristic expansion did not bring much benefit to the country. Instead, it emptied the country's power and caused huge disasters to the people.
Therefore, we should not use force to force the tributary countries to directly belong to the Ming Dynasty. We only need to establish a tribute system for the vassal states outside China and make them submit to the Ming Dynasty.
Under such a national policy, Zhu Zhen's "great plan" to open up new territories and entrust overseas territories was naturally no more than the ravings of a madman. It was difficult for the empire's decision-makers to accept it, let alone complete the difficult national policy change.
Even if what he said was ridiculous, Liu Bowen still believed him. But before seeing real evidence, Lao Liu still couldn't easily make up his mind to help him realize this 'far-fetched' plan.
~~
"If I can earn endless wealth through overseas trade, it will prove that those overseas barbarian countries are all fertile lands flowing with milk and honey, right?" Zhu Zhen stared at Liu Bowen persistently.
"It seems that Your Highness is really serious this time." Liu Bowen nodded and said, "It can be proved."
"Then you can support me?" Zhu Zhen asked.
"Okay." Liu Bowen nodded with a smile and said: "It is really a great thing for the country and the people to be able to successfully entrust your brothers overseas. How could I not support it? As long as Your Highness proves the value of overseas barbarian countries, I will definitely
Support you."
"Okay, it's settled." After high-fiving Lao Liu, Lao Liu said calmly: "I have already persuaded my father to let me reopen the shipping company."
"Oh." Liu Bowen said with a smile: "Shibo Company has not made money for decades. Are you confident that it can be brought back to life?"
"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded and said, "Because I know that maritime merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have made a lot of money from overseas trade."
"I heard that Shen Wansan, Gu Yuanchen, Yin Shaozong and others did become extremely rich by relying on sea trade." Liu Bowen said slowly.
"Then why can't the Shipping Department collect their taxes?" Zhu Zhen asked. Liu Bowen was born a landlord in eastern Zhejiang. Although most maritime merchants came from western Zhejiang, he should have some understanding of their activities.
"The root of the problem probably lies in the Yuan Dynasty." Liu Bowen really knew the truth. "The Yuan Dynasty first inherited the mature shipping system of the Southern Song Dynasty, allowing the Han people to manage the shipping department by themselves, and they only collected taxes on time. So everything was fine.
More than ten years later, in the 22nd year of the Yuan Dynasty, due to tight money in the treasury, the Yuan Dynasty accepted the suggestion of Zhongshu Youcheng Lu Shirong and implemented the official-owned ship system of 'official-based commercial operations'."
"Official ship?" Zhu Zhen repeated softly.
"To put it simply, the imperial court paid for the shipbuilding, returned the capital, and recruited merchants to go to sea to do business. Seventy percent of the trading houses were owned by the state and thirty percent belonged to the merchants." Liu Bowen explained:
"Moreover, in order to monopolize the benefits of maritime trade, the Yuan Dynasty only allowed official ships to go overseas for business, and prohibited private persons from going overseas. Those who violated the rules would have their homes confiscated."
"To put it bluntly, the Mongols were jealous when they saw the astonishing profits made by the Han maritime merchants. They were going to end up living alone." Zhu Zhen understood. "What's the result?"
"The result was just like other things the Mongols interfered with. As expected, they messed up maritime trade. The 'official ship' system had to come to an end after less than ten years." Liu Bowen sighed.
"Why is that?" Lao Liu asked.
"First, their management level is too poor and various expenses have increased sharply; second, they exploit the merchants who board the ship too much; third, they cannot compete with private merchants," Liu Bowen said.
"Private merchants? Are they just smuggling merchants?"
"That's right. Although the Yuan Dynasty has repeatedly issued orders to prohibit private travel to the sea, and there have been several sea bans for this reason. However, with the roughness of their coastal defense and the corruption of their officials, it is completely impossible to prohibit them." Liu Ji said with a bitter smile:
"Moreover, the original maritime merchants discovered that being a private trader did not have to pay taxes, and they were not forced to sell goods at low prices. They could earn much more than before, so they all bypassed the commercial shipping companies and started competing to become private traders. So-called
The 'Maritime Business Group' was gradually formed at this time."
"As the maritime business group grows stronger, its impulse and ability to monopolize maritime trade interests continues to increase, so it uses various means to squeeze official ships out of the overseas market. This is not difficult." Liu Bowen continued:
"Later Yuan Ting discovered that the tax revenue from the city ships had dried up and the official ships had begun to lose money. They finally canceled the official ships and wanted to restore the original system. However, the Maritime Group had already tasted the sweetness of smuggling, and it was impossible to pay taxes anymore.
At that time, the Yuan Dynasty had been established for decades, and the emperor and ministers were all reduced to useless people. How could they have the ability to bring order to the chaos?
"The Yuan Dynasty sent several ministers to rectify the shipping industry, but they were either bribed or assassinated. In short, no one could do anything to the Maritime Group. After that, no one dared to touch this fatal mess again."
"Yeah." Zhu Zhen nodded, which explained the reason why the shipping revenue dried up in the late Yuan Dynasty.
"What about this dynasty?"
"This dynasty, haha. Those maritime merchants were in the wrong team. They all supported Zhang Shicheng, and they lost the bet." Liu Bowen said with a complicated expression:
"After Zhang Shicheng's defeat, some of the merchants and his remnants retreated to the sea and became pirates. Some of them surrendered to the imperial court and were moved to Zhongdu by your father."
"The situation at sea is now complicated. Japanese pirates, pirates, merchants and rebels who have retreated to the sea are occupying coastal islands and plundering ships. Except for their own smuggling ships, none of the ships that normally go to sea can return safely.
." Liu Bowen said: "So the shipping department of this dynasty also has no income."
ps. My stomach hurt all night last night. I didn’t eat much today and I won’t drink anymore...
