Chapter 1134 1129 [The economy is indeed increasingly prosperous]
Take a boat trip on Tai Lake.
Zhu Guoxiang was very interested in this and warned the local civil and military forces not to drive away merchant ships and fishing boats.
Of course, although the Emperor said he would not disturb the people, Suzhou officials could not ignore it.
A large number of officials put on civilian clothes and went to merchant ships and fishing boats to watch.
Merchant ships were ordered not to get too close, and they had to hurry up and carry the goods there, so as not to disturb the emperor's interest.
The fishing boats can not only fish normally, but occasionally there will be one or two boats, which are ordered by the official to come closer. It is best if the fisherman can cast the net and sing a fishing song loudly. The emperor will definitely like it when he hears it.
"Hey, what's over there?" Zhu Guoxiang suddenly pointed to the lake ahead and asked.
The magistrate wanted to answer, but he quickly swallowed the words as they reached his lips.
You can’t steal the prefect’s limelight!
The prefect Chen Zaiting said: "Reporting to the emperor, that area is used to cultivate lake pearls."
"So that's it," Zhu Guoxiang was very happy and asked, "Does the local government have management?"
Chen Zaiting explained: "The prefectures and counties around Taihu Lake have each demarcated the lake boundaries. They have also demarcated pearl cultivation areas in their respective lake boundaries. Large-scale pearl cultivation must be purchased. There are also small-scale pearl cultivation, and the government does not
Protect."
That is to say, large companies that cultivate artificial pearls need to contract the lake area from the government and obtain full protection from the government.
The small-scale cultivation of pearls is illegal, but the government is too lazy to take care of it. If something goes wrong, such as pearls being stolen, don't even think about going to the government to file a complaint.
Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Is this also the case in the former Song Dynasty?"
Chen Zaiting said: "In the former Song Dynasty, there were many powerful bullies who carved up Taihu Lake for themselves. Not to mention raising pearls, even fishermen had to pay taxes to the powerful powerful people when fishing."
In fact, in the early years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Taihu Lake was still occupied by those powerful people.
Until the imperial court launched the project to return farmland to the lake, due to the poor initial progress, all the officials in the prefectures and counties around Taihu Lake were dismissed and demoted. The newly arrived prefecture and county officials were cautious and fully cooperated with the lake control officials sent by the Ministry of Industry.
More than 20 households of powerful and evil gentry were confiscated!
The Taihu Lake area suddenly became clear, and the fishermen and residents of Taihu Lake finally lived a normal life.
Chen Zaiting was very discerning. He had already arranged for several big pearl farmers to take a boat on the nearby lake to wait for the summons.
Soon, big pearl farmers were recruited.
All of those guys were rich, but in order to cater to the Emperor, they all wore cotton clothes. They didn't look luxurious or poor, they were just right.
Zhu Guoxiang asked several people for their names and asked about the market situation of artificial pearls.
A big farmer in Lu Yixing said: "Thanks to the two holy emperors, pearl farming has become more and more profitable. In recent years, merchants who have purchased pearls have not only sold lake pearls domestically, but also transported many to ports and sold them to maritime merchants.
.”
Another big businessman named Su Huai said: "The lake pearls sold overseas are different from those at home. Pearls can also be collected in the sea. They are not rare for ordinary pearls. But if they can be cultivated into various shapes, overseas people
But I like them very much. Especially the Buddha statues and pearls are the most popular overseas. There are also many unknown gods. I heard they are Bodhisattvas of the Brahman religion. Some businessmen specially bring the statues of gods to order."
Zhu Guoxiang was very happy to hear this. This method is indeed very profitable.
From India to Southeast Asia, Buddhism and Hinduism are widely believed in. When a pearl grows into the shape of a god or Buddha, believers naturally flock to it. Many Indian princes asked for this thing, so businessmen took the statue to Taihu Lake to customize it.
First carve out the mold, then stuff it into the clam, and after raising it, it becomes a pearl of a god. Merchants will surely sell it at a high price when they transport it to India.
The price was sky-high in the beginning, but in recent years the number of transactions has increased and the price has become slightly lower.
Zhu Guoxiang communicated with the big pearl farmers for a while, and then continued to the northwest by boat. The Changzhou prefect was already waiting there with his officials.
The Supreme Emperor was a little hungry and was invited to have a meal by the prefect of Changzhou.
The landing point was a town. Zhu Guoxiang scanned the houses along the street: "Many of the shops here are newly built?"
Wang Kejia, the prefect of Changzhou, said: "Reporting to the emperor, this town is called Xia Zhu Town. It was just a fishing village more than ten years ago. Now the Ming Dynasty is in its prime, with a prosperous population and prosperous industry and commerce. Xia Zhu Village has also become a city because of the lakeside docks.
town."
City and town were originally different.
From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, you could not just find a place to sell when doing business. The imperial court designated an exclusive area and sent tax collectors. You must go to the designated area to do business legally.
With the development of productivity, the original square market system collapsed in the Northern Song Dynasty, and more grass markets were formed in rural areas.
The above mentioned cities and towns are also changing.
The town originally meant a military town, which was where troops were actually stationed. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the town was transformed into a "quasi-administrative area". Like the field, prison, village, and fort, all officials were stationed.
These towns, farms, prisons, villages, and forts range from the deputy prefecture level to the deputy county level according to their respective importance.
In areas far away from the war fronts, cities and towns in the Northern Song Dynasty gradually assimilated and began to be collectively referred to as "cities and towns." However, they were not completely assimilated because towns still retained their jurisdiction, generally governing a radius of five miles.
The most powerful towns have jurisdiction over a radius of forty to fifty miles, which is almost the same as a county-level administrative district, and there are a large number of town officials. The chief officials of such towns have a higher rank than the county magistrate.
In the past twenty years, the Ming court carried out a series of administrative reforms.
Strongholds and forts were largely eliminated, local garrisons were downsized, and excess troops were relocated to newly recovered territory.
Farms and supervisors were also reduced and merged, and the civil rights of supervisory officials were abolished. This was equivalent to transforming the original "quasi-administrative region" into a state-owned enterprise or tax agency, returning the management rights of local people to states and counties.
However, towns have been strengthened as "quasi-administrative districts" and merged with local grass market attributes. A few economically developed towns have been established as deputy county-level administrative districts, and have occupied the ecological niche of townships - townships do not have officials.
.
In today's sub-county-level towns, the imperial court would station low-level officials. Such towns directly annexed township-level jurisdictions.
An ordinary town does not have administrative jurisdiction. It still belongs to a certain township. The court will send tax collectors, but the tax collectors are not permanently stationed in the town. They only go to collect taxes from shops on fixed market days, and they do not even collect taxes from itinerant vendors.
Don't underestimate this kind of administrative reform. Its direct impact is that the number of cities and towns across the country has increased sharply, and the township economy has achieved unprecedented development!
Of course, the main causes of rural economic development are population growth and agricultural progress.
Human history is an upward spiral, and this upward spiral also includes industry, agriculture, and commerce.
During the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, except for the Yuan Dynasty which was a little weird, the industry, agriculture and commerce of other dynasties followed this pattern. The Qing Dynasty must be stronger than the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty must be stronger than the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty must be stronger than the Tang Dynasty.
Do you mean that business in the Qing Dynasty was not as prosperous as in the Song Dynasty?
That is tantamount to insulting the intelligence of the people in the Ming and Qing dynasties!
The prerequisite for commercial development is technological progress in agriculture and industry. The more food can be produced per unit of land, the more people can be fed. The increase in the urban and rural population will increase the demand for goods and promote the progress of the handicraft industry.
Zhu Guoxiang not only brought corn and sweet potatoes, but also appointed agricultural officers to promote the development of original agriculture.
In the Ming Dynasty, it is common to have three crops every two years in the north and two crops a year in the south.
This so-called number of crops per year does not specifically refer to staple foods, but can also include important economic crops such as rapeseed and soybeans.
If we follow the normal historical development trajectory and want to achieve three crops every two years in the north and two crops a year in the south, we must reach the goal by the middle of the Ming Dynasty. This kind of agricultural progress is also a necessary prerequisite for the rapid development of industry and commerce in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
Wang Kejia, the prefect of Changzhou, said: "From the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the present, the number of large-scale towns in Changzhou has increased by more than 50%. Many farmers no longer go to county towns, but work in their hometown towns. This Xiahu Town
It has developed rapidly, and relying on the Taihu Pearl Culture Industry, the people have become increasingly wealthy."
Chen Zaiting, the prefect of Suzhou, did not want to be left behind: "The number of towns in Suzhou has increased by more than 70%, and the number of factories is particularly large."
"Suzhou is already richer, so why bother comparing with Changzhou?" Wang Kejia complained.
Chen Zaiting asked back: "Why can't we compare? It's because you don't dare to compare."
Wang Kejia said: "If I become the prefect of Suzhou, the place will definitely be more prosperous and prosperous!"
The officials they each brought also joined in the quarrel, comparing the pros and cons of the two governments from different angles.
Zhu Guoxiang did not interrupt and listened to the officials arguing with a smile.
Inside and outside the town, the smell of fish is quite strong, and there are many shops selling salted fish. They not only retail, but also wholesale. When large foreign customers find the shop, they can come in and talk in detail.
There are also engraving and jewelry industries.
This town is actually not famous for its sculptures. In recent years, overseas orders have increased, requiring a large number of tiny statues of gods to be carved to make pearls. As the number of statues ordered by large farmers increased, businessmen and carving craftsmen came to stay here permanently.
Gradually, not only did it carve idol molds for artificial pearls, but its business also expanded to the production of other sculpture handles and ornaments.
Not only are there such carving shops in Xiahu Town, Suzhou and Linhu towns in Huzhou have also developed carvings in many places, forming a jewelry and sculpture craft belt around Taihu Lake.
More than half of their products are exported.
For example, the Japanese royal family spent a lot of money to buy a Bodhisattva Lake bead. The bead was extremely large, flawless, and exquisitely carved. It was considered the best in the Taihu Lake area. The late Emperor Toba bought it by selling iron.
.
Now, Bodhisattva Lake Pearl has become Japan’s national treasure!
This thing was even sold to Europe. Arab merchants who hated the Crusaders very much customized Jesus' crucifix beads for their Crusaders' employers... and then through merchants from Venice and other countries, they sold them to Italy at higher prices, and then resold them to France.
.
A superb crucifix bead is worth a small castle in France (including the land and population near the castle).
Zhu Guoxiang, Zhu Ming and his sons encouraged industry, commerce and maritime trade, and unleashed terrifying industrial and commercial potential over the past two decades.
