"Change the post station into a postal service and open up the world for the Ming Dynasty!"
In the early morning, when the morning sun had just risen, Zhu Yuanzhang was already sitting at the imperial desk, looking at the piles of memorials.
But I didn't expect that the first book I touched was actually the statement of Wu Wang Zhu Yunxi.
"Open the source for Ming Dynasty?"
Open source is to open up and increase financial sources. Zhu Yuanzhang showed a smile on his face, "You stinky boy, your tone is not small!"
The larger the territory, the more difficult it is to govern. At the same time, the larger the territory, the greater the gap between the rich and the poor. The Ming Dynasty has just been established not long ago, and it has not yet completely emerged from the war in the late Yuan Dynasty. The people are poor, the country is poor, ministers
Everyone is racking their brains on how to resolve financial constraints.
Moreover, troops have been deployed outside the Great Wall of Mobei for consecutive years. Although they are all victorious, the military expenditure is the most troublesome.
Many ministers dare not speak about open source, but you, a brat, dare to speak out!
With a smile, Zhu Yuanzhang opened the memorial and read it slowly.
"There are more than 1,500 post offices in the Ming Dynasty, which are used to deliver official documents and receive passing officials. Each post has a post chief, officials and helpers, dozens of people in small posts, hundreds of people in large posts, as well as horses, weapons, livestock and cooks. For this reason,
Therefore, the country spends millions of money and food every year.”
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly, "You brat is knowledgeable!"
"In the early years of the Republic of China, His Majesty issued a decree that post stations were not allowed to be used for non-military events. Post stations could only be used by the government, but the conditions in different places were different, and so were the inns."
"In the northern border fortress, wars are frequent, and the post station cannot be used by the people. But in the southern station, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and the court spends money and food to support the inn station. Isn't it overkill and underutilized?"
"I believe that nowadays there is a lot of commerce in the world, and in addition to the canal, caravans travel frequently in the southern places. If the post station can be opened for commercial purposes, delivering letters to the people, providing accommodation for business travelers, and providing storage for goods, then the money that the court can collect every year
, more than a million!”
"Yes!" Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang became solemn.
He was not an emperor who grew up under the education of an old master. He did not fully agree with the hierarchy of scholars, peasants, industry and merchants, nor did he look down upon merchants. He knew that a country could not create a glorious and prosperous age by relying solely on people to farm the land.
A prosperous world is only when people live and work in peace and contentment. People can farm, work, and of course do business.
But at the same time, he also has some prejudice against businessmen.
The capital of the Ming Dynasty was in the south of the empire, the most prosperous place in the world. Business was controlled by the rich and dignitaries who had been doing business for generations, and the common people were mostly salesmen walking around the streets.
Those wealthy families who have been doing business for generations often find ways to evade taxes and bring losses to the court.
It has always been a headache for the imperial court to collect commercial taxes.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang put down the memorial and shouted to the door.
"Someone is coming!"
"The slave is here!" Huang Gou'er appeared.
"It is said that Liu Sanwu, the scholar of Shushe, Fu Youwen, the minister of household affairs, and Zhan Hui, the minister of official affairs."
"According to the decree!"
For an emperor who was diligent and conscientious, the ministers had a hard time. Zhu Yuanzhang got up before dawn every day to read the memorials, which meant that the ministers had to get up earlier.
The eunuch went to convey the order. In the office of the former chief minister of the cabinet, several ministers took orders, arranged their clothes and appearance, and came quickly.
In the Fengtian Palace, the emperor's face was hidden behind a tall memorial.
Everyone didn't know what the emperor wanted them to do, and they felt somewhat uneasy.
"I see your Majesty, my emperor..."
"Okay, I can hear cocoons in my ears every day!" After the memorial, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, which meant that he was in a good mood, "We are all human beings, who can live to live forever? Nonsense!"
With that said, Zhu Yuanzhang gave the memorial to the eunuch and motioned to show it to the ministers, "Here is a memorial. Take a look and talk about it!"
The ministers looked at each other, first Liu Sanwu, then Fu Youwen and Zhan Hui. After looking at them, the three of them had strange expressions on their faces.
They are all the mainstays of the Ming Dynasty, so they can naturally understand what the memorial means. However, there are advantages and disadvantages in it, and there are even many naive delusions.
"I dare to ask Your Majesty, whose memorial this is?" Liu Sanwu said first.
When giving them the coupons, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately tore off the page with Zhu Yunxi's name. At this time, he smiled and said, "Don't worry about whose name it is, just tell me!"
Liu Sanwu pondered for a moment, "I believe that what is said here is a big fallacy. The post station was established by the imperial court and used to convey military and state affairs. How can it be open to the common people! Once it is opened, there will be no distinction between officials and civilians, and it will easily cause trouble!"
This is not without purpose. The post station is used to deliver official documents and receive officials. If it is open to the common people to deliver letters and items, etc., if the official document is mistaken and national events are delayed, the gain will outweigh the loss.
"Hubu, tell me!" Zhu Yuanzhang continued to speak after the memorial.
"I think there are some merits in this memorial!" Fu Youwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, said with a smile.
"Oh? Tell me, where can I get it?" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled again.
Fu Youwen looked at the memorial again and said, "There is a piece of vernacular text in it, which I think is advisable." After saying that, he began to read, "The state supports the carriage and horsemen of the post station, and is also responsible for repairing the houses and providing meals for passing officials. If anyone uses it,
It’s okay. But many inns are empty, wasting the country’s money and food!”
"If it is open to the public, a certain fee can be charged. In this way, the station will not only not have to spend money to subsidize it from the state, but will have a surplus!"
"Are you saying that opening it to the public can bring income to the court?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.
"If it is open, it must be!" Fu Youwen said, "The Ministry of Household Affairs spends a large amount of money every year to provide various post stations. If the post stations can be self-sufficient, the court will save a lot of money. Take last year as an example, the Hongwu 20th
In four years, just for the inns south of the Yangtze River, the amount was as high as 1,680,000 taels of silver, not counting salt, tea and other items..."
"Moreover, local officials are exploiting each and every one of them, so not many of them actually get into the hands of the inn, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said something lightly, and everyone suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
Wherever there are officials, there is corruption, but what this emperor hates most is corruption. Since he came to the throne, many officials have lost their heads because of money confiscation and the destruction of their families.
Some officials were even ordered to light sky lanterns directly by the emperor because of embezzlement of disaster relief money, and then skinned them and made them a grievance to the people.
But even if they kill like this, the local people still continue to be greedy without long-sightedness.
Today, the emperor suddenly said the word "deprivation", but where did the corruption case appear, and the emperor wanted to kill someone again?
Thinking of this, several ministers of the Ming Dynasty broke into cold sweat.
He was really afraid of being killed by this prince, so he used the knife to kill people.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything and continued to ask.
"Libu, what do you think?"
Zhan Hui, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said quickly, "I think there are advantages and disadvantages. Your Majesty's holy heart is arbitrary, and I dare not speak nonsense!"
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately felt tired when he spoke like an old man.
He is such a tired emperor. His ministers don't understand his heart. They are afraid of taking responsibility for everything and want him to make the decision in everything.
Sighing silently, Zhu Yuanzhang did not have an attack.
He said to Huang Gou'er, "Go and tell King Wu to come!"
King Wu?
The following ministers looked at each other, what does this matter have to do with King Wu?
"The zhezi was written by the third child of my family!" Zhu Yuanzhang's words sounded, seeming to be a little proud, "Since it was written by him, let's let him talk about it!"
Written by King Wu?
The ministers were immediately stunned.
Although there are many unrealistic points in this excerpt, the person who can write such a statement must be an official with many years of experience and a person who understands the officialdom and the people's livelihood clearly.
But I didn't expect that it was King Wu.
King Wu?
Zhan Hui, the Minister of Civil Affairs, had his head turned. It turned out that he had been promoted by the prince when he was still alive, and he had always been close to the prince's in-laws.
He raised his head and secretly looked at the imperial case, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Your Majesty, I think there are many practical aspects to this memorial!"