Chapter 300 The issue of mining ban

Chapter 300 The issue of mining ban

"Lai'an and other places were proposed by Su Chen, Marquis of Liyang. After consultation with the Household Affairs Bureau, Lai'an and other places have been allocated to the military and civilians for self-sowing and collecting taxes to prepare for national reserves. How can they be allowed to be used as private interests? The Household Affairs Bureau has improperly made the decision. Your Majesty the Emperor The imperial edict was also issued to search for free land in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty's American land. Now with the approval of the cabinet, the emperor granted the special grant of 260 hectares of land in the Temuco Xinlaian land in southern Chile. "

After receiving the order, Liyang Hou Suchen was very shocked. He wondered when the Ming Dynasty had America, and where were Chile, Temuco, and Xinlai'an. However, he had to accept the emperor's order and had to ask The official: "I dare to ask, where is the new Lai'an given by His Majesty? Is it in Fengrun or in Baoding or Hejian?"

The messenger hurriedly said: "Your Majesty knows that the Marquis of Liyang does not know about this newly arrived land, so he specially asked our family to bring you the map. You see, all the lands in the world belong to the Ming Dynasty, and this continent will be is America, and this part of the country is designated by His Majesty as Chile, and this part of Chile is Temuco, Temuco has a piece of coastal land, this is this area. According to the report from the Marquis of Jianchang, there are huge trees that can be harvested in this area, and there are countless rare and exotic animals. It is a treasure land, Marquis Liyang, you are in luck. , most people can’t get such a piece of land.”

Marquis Liyang thought that this was a treasure land. It was just uninhabited forest land. What would be the use of it? Why not give him a piece of forest land in the pass. This forest land was far away on the other side of the ocean. Even if he wanted to log and sell wood, he would not be able to do it. It will cost a lot of money.

"If the Marquis of Liyang wants to develop this place, he can get a loan from the imperial bank. After all, this place is yours now. If you don't go, no one will care about it. Now the Folangji people are developing in this area. If they take over your land, you will be in trouble!”

After the official said this, Marquis Liyang could only smile awkwardly: "Yes, Su understands!"

After the official left, Su Chen, Marquis of Liyang, showed a look of regret. However, as a noble Ming Dynasty official, the emperor was unwilling to give him the land, and he could not do anything to the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao knew that the previous emperors regarded the world as their own private property, and these noble vassals and kings were all his relatives. As an emperor, it seemed to be in line with human ethics to give some of his land to his relatives, and the noble lords The feudal princes would also approach the emperor unceremoniously to ask for a certain piece of land.

Even, the emperor would take the initiative to grant large amounts of land to these noble vassal kings. For example, in history, Wanli gave Prince Fu 20,000 hectares of land, which led to tens of thousands of efforts. The treasury was completely empty. If the land for the fiefdom was not enough, it had to be collected in Huguang, Shandong and other places. .

This undoubtedly aggravated the phenomenon of land annexation in the empire, encouraged the luxury of nobles and princes, and left the poor with no land to rely on.

Nowadays, Zhu Houzhao dare not regard the world as his private property, although in terms of the system and the consciousness of the people in the world, the world is still his private property.

But Zhu Houzhao knew that everyone had the right to have their private property respected and the need to own their own private property. As an emperor, he could exploit the ruled, but he could not deprive them. Deprivation would make everyone in the world rebel against him.

Next, Zhu Houzhao always did this. As long as it was the relatives of the emperor who petitioned for fiefdom, Zhu Houzhao would directly circle some places in South America, Africa, and Australia and give them to them, because there were no Ming people in these places, so he gave them to the emperor's relatives. Relatives of the state will not infringe on the interests of the people.

Of course Zhu Houzhao knew that he was doing this, and these royal relatives would naturally have some complaints, but if there were complaints, there would be complaints. Zhu Houzhao didn't believe what else these royal relatives could do. The aristocrats of this era were not the aristocratic families before the Song Dynasty, and they had no tribes. Without a fiefdom, let alone the emperor himself, sometimes these royal relatives could not even stand up to a civil servant.

And facts have proved that even vassal kings such as King Ning cannot successfully rebel.

Now that the empire has come to this point, Zhu Houzhao seems to have no clear direction for improving the empire. He seems to be doing the same thing every day. Officials at all levels handle every matter in a routine manner, and the emperor himself also approves it procedurally.

But the subtle changes are still very obvious. At present, the empire is sending troops to the north on a large scale, causing a sharp increase in military expenditures. A large amount of the empire's wealth is used for military expenditures.

At the same time, the trade in border towns also suffered great losses, and the tax and commercial income from border trade also dropped significantly. Northern officials could not bear this.

Kang Hai, the chief minister of the cabinet, also discovered this phenomenon: "Your Majesty, the annual revenue from border trade has dropped significantly this year. From Datong to Liaodong, Shanxi merchants who mainly engage in border trade have suffered the heaviest losses. This has also caused a sharp drop in sales of southern silk, cotton, and silk. Military expenditures have increased a lot. In the short term, the current situation in the north is quite unfavorable to our Ming Dynasty!”

"This is not the fault of these Shanxi merchants and Tatars. If these Shanxi merchants did not smuggle Tatars, they contacted the Tatars to plunder the border, intending to disrupt the normal trade at the border, did not pay customs duties, and made huge profits through smuggling. Now I am sending an army to gather , wiped out the Tatars, leaving no trade market in the north, they finally know the pain, right?”

Zhu Houzhao also knew that he stationed hundreds of thousands of troops in the north for a long time, and even continued to increase the number of troops, which almost made it difficult for Mongolian tribes to exist in a large area outside the Great Wall from the south of Lake Baikal to the north of Zhangjiakou today. Some of them were eliminated or driven away and were forcibly immigrated overseas by the Ming Dynasty. Now, there is no trade market in this area.

Shanxi is the closest to this area, and naturally the main commercial activities of Shanxi merchants are also in this area. Therefore, the trade market in this area disappears, and Shanxi merchants naturally suffer the greatest losses.

But as Zhu Houzhao said, this was the fault of the Shanxi merchants themselves. They were unwilling to trade through the court's formal channels and relied on smuggling to avoid taxes. If the court lost its ability to control border trade, it had no choice but to collude with the Tatars to plunder the border.

But what the Shanxi merchants miscalculated was that with the advancement of Ming Dynasty's industrialization, Ming Dynasty's military warfare model had changed, and the Tatar cavalry could no longer pose any threat to the Ming Dynasty, which had advanced muskets and artillery.

Moreover, as the empire's income increased significantly after the Ming Dynasty opened the sea, it was not difficult to eliminate the northern Tatars on a large scale.

It is precisely because of this that now, the interests of Shanxi merchants have been greatly damaged, and they have to start to surrender to the court and beg for mercy, hoping that the court will stop the raids outside the Great Wall and restore peace in this area.

"Your Majesty, the evil Shanxi merchants have been severely punished, but the imperial court cannot ignore the life and death of the entire northern business people, and the northern business travelers must have understood that they colluded with the Tatars to mess up the world. Now this problem still needs to be solved, not to mention , if our Ming Dynasty’s military expenditure continues to increase at this rate, it may not be a long-term solution,” Kang Hai said at this time.

And Zhang Cong couldn't help but stand up: "Your Majesty, as the First Assistant said, although the national treasury reserves are becoming increasingly abundant, they are only used for military expenditures, which is quite suspected of being militaristic and not conducive to the country. As your Majesty said, the national treasury reserves are only used for military expenses. Wealth comes from the people, and it should be used for the people, just like building a bridge Building embankments and establishing religions are all things that benefit the country and the people, but now the wealth of the state treasury is only used for the people, and I am afraid that the people will not need it. Therefore, I also believe that hundreds of thousands more troops will be sent to the north, and every inch of land will be occupied. , is not a long-term solution, and no one’s land will taste like tasteless food after all.”

Zhu Houzhao nodded. He admitted that what Zhang Cong and Kang Hai said were right. He could not blindly march northward because of some Shanxi merchants regardless of the interests of the people in the world. Perhaps this was also the helplessness of the Central Plains Dynasty.

Promising kings of all dynasties naturally did not want their empires to be vast, but running an empire, like doing business, does not mean that more land is better. Some worthless land left in the hands is better than wasting money and food to defend it. It is better to abandon it. To save financial resources and increase people's livelihood. "According to your opinion, the Ming Dynasty should abandon all the land outside the Great Wall, from Helin to Daning (equivalent to today's Mongolia and Inner Mongolia), and withdraw its army?"

When Zhu Houzhao asked, the cabinet officials all remained silent. After all, they did not dare to say clearly that all these lands were abandoned.

However, Yang Yiqing came over at this time pushing a wooden wheelchair: "Your Majesty, I don't think so. This vast land was occupied by the entire Guards with countless efforts. It cost countless money and food. Now it would be a pity to throw it away rashly. !

What I also want to ask is that the hundreds of thousands of Guards currently stationed outside the fortress can still play a defensive role, but if they are withdrawn inside the pass, how will the imperial court support them? ”

"Of course it is impossible to withdraw. What I am confused about is, if the Tatars can survive in these places, why can't we Han people? Is it possible that we Han people can't shepherd sheep? Since it is land, there is always something to be gained. I think, The court should still think of How to use this land instead of abandoning it, and if we abandon it, the Tatars who fled north will definitely come back, and the Tatars from the west will also move eastward, and then there will still be border troubles, and all the efforts we have made today will be in vain! ! ”

Xia Yan also took over the words at this time and said.

"The land outside the Great Wall cannot be abandoned! Let me explain this first. In a time of peace, the population will only increase. If the land is abandoned because it is now useless, it will only intensify the struggle between man and land within the empire. Although it is bitterly cold in the north, But it is not completely unsuitable for human life. Xia Qing is right. The value of land is not only whether it can be cultivated. Different lands have different benefits. The court should figure out how to use these lands instead of abandoning them! ”

After Zhu Houzhao said it, Kang Hai, Zhang Cong and others quickly announced the order.

Zhu Houzhao nodded, and began to think carefully with these courtiers how to make use of the newly occupied land in the north.

There is no doubt that most of the land outside the Great Wall, except for those near the Great Wall, can grow winter wheat, is meaningless for agriculture. Moreover, Zhu Houzhao also knows that in fifty years, the Little Glacier climate will become more and more obvious. Places such as northern Saibei will be colder and will not be suitable for the development of agriculture in the long run. Even in later generations, areas such as Liaodong and Nurgandusi will still be the main rice-producing areas.

The only possible way to consider at the moment is industrialization, trying to find the value of these lands in industrial utilization. Of course, traditional industries such as animal husbandry on these lands can still be developed, and the development of the food industry can even be used to promote animal husbandry. After all, if In the future, if everyone in the Ming Dynasty drinks milk every day, there will definitely be a huge demand for dairy cows, and there will undoubtedly be a lot of room for development in the livestock industry on these grasslands outside the Great Wall.

Of course, the problem is that not everyone drinks milk in the Ming Dynasty, and dairy products have only become popular among the aristocracy.

Zhu Houzhao felt that the most immediate reflection of the value of the land outside the Great Wall was the rich mineral resources contained outside the Great Wall. Zhu Houzhao vaguely remembered that in later generations, the area from Helin to Daning was an area rich in mineral resources.

In later generations, Inner Mongolia was the home of "open-pit coal mines" in the world. In later generations, Mongolia was also rich in coal, silver, and copper.

The Ming Dynasty has now implemented the steam mechanization of the textile industry, and the demand for coal is accelerating. Moreover, what Zhu Houzhao can predict is that since the Ming Dynasty has implemented the steam mechanization of the textile industry, mining, transportation, military, navigation, water conservancy and other fields will Steam industrialization will definitely begin quickly, and the demand for coal will definitely be greater by then.

In the future, the places outside the Great Wall that Ming Dynasty currently occupies will undoubtedly provide Ming Dynasty with rich mineral resources.

Zhu Houzhao therefore held another court meeting.

"It is naturally of little significance to allocate these areas outside the Great Wall to farmers for cultivation. I thought about it. They can be allocated to herdsmen for livestock raising, and they can also be contracted to businessmen for mining. The latter should be the most effective way at the moment. I remember that the Ministry of Industry has just come to power. According to the report, the coal output of the official coal mines in Yan Zhengde's 19th year was four times that of Zhengde's 18th year! This shows that the demand for coal increased sharply after the steam engine began to appear in the Ming Dynasty. ”

Zhu Houzhao said.

Zhang Cong nodded after hearing this. He was in charge of the Ministry of Industry and naturally knew how big the demand for coal was in Ming Dynasty. However, he had to remind him: "Your Majesty, I have been in the border town for a long time and found that the merchants were not willing to Mines were opened in places such as Hetao and Saibei newly occupied by the Ming Dynasty. ”

"That's why, most of the coal mines in places like Hetao and Saibei are open-pit mines, which are easy to mine and have cheaper labor force. Mining in Guan Nei often destroys people's ancestral industry, and we have not yet issued a decree to allow private mining in Guan. It can be said that private mining They are still mining illegally," Zhu Houzhao said.

"Because the mines in Guannei do not collect mineral taxes, and because the imperial court officially prohibits mining, there is no tax supervisor to collect taxes. However, in Hetao and Saibei, the imperial court is a businessman who operates the mines, but it will collect mineral taxes and land taxes, so the merchants They are still more willing to mine within the pass. As for the labor force, the people of the Ming Dynasty have always had high wage requirements. It is not high, and some even require only three meals a day. Moreover, most of the people inside the pass are Han people, and the Han people are tolerant and can be bullied, while most people outside the pass are Mongolian people, and the Mongolian people cannot be bullied. Therefore, the businessmen who open the mines would rather exploit the Han people of the same ethnic group than dare to Exploiting Mongolian people makes it more cost-effective in terms of employment costs.”

Zhang Cong replied.

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help being stunned for a while: "I didn't expect that Han people are easily bullied, and they are even more easily bullied by their compatriots. This has been the case since ancient times;

But at the moment, as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and you as important ministers of the imperial court, my thoughts and considerations must be beneficial to our country, the country of the Ming Dynasty, and to the national interests of the empire. From this point of view, we must start from this point and let the merchants go mining outside the customs. It’s better than letting merchants mine within the pass!

What's more, coal mining in Guan Nei is very difficult and causes a high degree of damage to the land. According to Dongchang's investigation, it is estimated that more than 10,000 people died in mining accidents in the 17th year of Zhengde, and more than 50,000 acres of cultivated land were destroyed. There is no doubt that in Guan Nei Mining is not good for the country! ”

When all the ministers in the cabinet heard what Zhu Houzhao said, they couldn't help but nod in agreement.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but look at Kang Hai and others: "You are all cabinet ministers in charge of internal affairs. Speaking of which, I would like to ask, do you know how many mines there are in the pass when the imperial court prohibits mining? Do you know what the actual coal output of Ming Dynasty is each year, how many people’s farmland is destroyed every year due to mining, how many people die in mining accidents, and how much assets the imperial treasury loses?”

"Well, most of the mine operators are noble gentry. Banning mines is as difficult as banning illegal salt, and I am powerless!" Kang Hai couldn't help but replied truthfully.

"The difficulty of prohibiting it cannot be used as a reason to ignore it. So far, I have not remembered any courtier asking me to ban mining taxes, nor has any courtier asked me to strictly prohibit private mining! No minister has noticed these problems. On the contrary, Dongchang is doing it, what are you civil servants doing? This is a sign of inaction! You always say that you are concerned about the country and the people, but where are you concerned about the country and the people?" Zhu Houzhao asked somewhat seriously.

The ministers in the cabinet couldn't help but blush: "I am ashamed of myself! Please punish me!"

(End of chapter)