Chapter 118 Asking for iron ore mining rights!
Zhu Yuanzhang glared angrily.
He is really annoyed by Xia Zhibai, who always likes to challenge his bottom line.
Only this time Zhu Yuanzhang did not have an attack.
He held Jade Ruyi and scratched his back, thinking while scratching.
After pondering for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang had to admit that the omissions mentioned by Xia Zhibai were indeed things that he had not considered when he originally designed the governance system. If it were adopted, it would not have any impact on the existing system of the Ming Dynasty.
Tax and grain will not be used.
Taxation and grain are the key to Zhu Yuanzhang's system.
There are not many, so you are not allowed to move lightly.
In order to ensure the normal operation of his system, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately streamlined the scale of the government to save expenses and costs.
This is a choice he made by learning from the lessons of history.
In the past, the government offices of all dynasties were too large, and huge official salaries were spent every year. This was a huge burden on the people, and his system was already laborious for the people. If he continued to maintain a big government , will directly crush the local people.
The biggest advantage of maintaining a small government is that it does not have to pay huge official salaries.
Moreover, a large part of officials' salaries are paid directly from the land rent collected from official fields, without the need to use taxes and grains at all. As for other government work, they are basically done through corvee service, miscellaneous errands, etc. way to maintain.
When he created this system in the past, he never thought about business at all.
Therefore, business-related matters are not included in the plan, which also means that even if Xia Zhibai's words are followed, it will not have any impact on the existing system of the Ming Dynasty. On the contrary, the court will still receive a lot of money in a few years. In return, it can strengthen local control and supervision.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded secretly.
But it is taboo for the government to do business.
He felt uneasy.
Zhu Yuanzhang put Jade Ruyi on the table, looked at Xia Zhibai with indifferent eyes, and said solemnly: "It is not advisable for the government to do business."
"The demise of the Song and Yuan dynasties has revealed this truth. Government business will only accelerate official corruption and intensify official-business collusion, which will be a great harm to the people and the court. What you said is indeed heart-warming, but we I can’t agree.”
“Our officials in the Ming Dynasty are already greedy, and if we start doing business again, it will only become more rampant.”
“We can’t take this risk.”
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and chose to veto.
He cannot trust the officials below.
At present, collusion between officials and businessmen is prohibited, and there are already so many corrupt officials. If the law of doing business is introduced again, then all officials in the Ming Dynasty will really be corrupt.
Xia Zhibai smiled and said with a relaxed expression: "Your Majesty misunderstood."
"I do intend to open a trade route."
"But I want to open it. The trade routes are different from what Your Majesty thought. "
"In the past, the government management in the world was basically controlled by the government monopoly. It relied on officials and some officials to be responsible, which represented more of the government's deterrence. You can set prices at will and rob the people of their wealth, but the system that I want to implement is hierarchical. ”
"Only those who are really in charge are officials."
"The vast majority of them are just businessmen."
"If you want to jump from 'business' to 'official', you need to go through the imperial court Strict review will be carried out, and any cases of adultery or corruption will be directly convicted of corruption. "
"The court can also directly appoint local officials as 'business officials'."
“Besides.”
"In the eyes of the minister, it is also more important."
"It is that these 'businessmen' have to pay personal taxes. As long as they reach a certain salary, they must pay it in order to clarify the difference between business officials and ordinary officials. Even if you really leave a state-owned enterprise in the future, you will still have to pay taxes.” The things that subordinates are responsible for are all handed over to businessmen, but at the same time, these "businessmen" are given a certain amount of room for improvement, but certain restrictions must be imposed."
"Furthermore."
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“In the past, when government business was conducted, they basically merged with local officials.”
“But so-called state-owned enterprises are independent of local governments and subject to local supervision. They also have the function of supervising local governments.”
“ If there is a state-owned enterprise causing chaos and disrupting people's livelihood, the local government is a different agency, and the money and food do not go through the local government, so there is no need to protect each other as in the past. You can report it to the court, and the court will naturally deal with it. If the local officials break the law, These state-owned enterprises also have the authority to report to the court if they harm the people. "
"This is another kind of eyes and ears of the court."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly.
Xia Zhibai explained clearly.
It is to make certain differentiation so that the so-called 'business officials' are still in a lower position.
Even if you enter the court in the future, you will still be affected by ‘taxation’.
Beyond that.
That is, state-owned enterprises are directly under the Ministry of Household Affairs.
It will not be managed by the local government, so it is equivalent to the imperial court inserting a nail in the local area to supervise each other's local conditions. It plays a great positive role in the imperial court's understanding of the actual situation in the local area. The idea is neither advanced nor advanced. Not long term.
Also very prophetic.
Zhu Yuanzhang touched his chin, his eyes uncertain.
Zhu Biao was also thinking secretly. He thought it was feasible.
The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory, and it was difficult for the court to take care of it. Even for Yingtian Mansion, the court could not cover everything and have an accurate understanding of local conditions, especially at the local level. If it could spread its informants in the local area through state-owned enterprises, it would be of great benefit to the stability of the world. Beneficial.
It is also a great warning to local officials.
Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said: "Father, I think you might as well give it a try."
"Now in Xia Zhibai's hands, at least the salt industry has been proven, and the court has been in it for several years. After that, the expenditure can be recovered and converted into profits. Through this, the court can also crack down on private salt dealers, while reducing the huge profits made by businessmen and reducing the burden on the people. It can be said that it can serve multiple purposes. "
Zhu Yuanzhang saw it. Zhu Biao glanced at Xia Zhibai, feeling a little uneasy.
He said: "Yingtian Mansion is Yingtian Mansion, and other Chief Secretaries are other Chief Secretaries. They cannot be treated equally."
"I don't believe you don't understand this aspect."
Xia Zhibai He nodded and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is wise."
"The operating model of Kyoto Salt Industry is not completely applicable in the world. In addition to supporting salt ponds, the most important thing is coal mines. Therefore, at present, Judging from the situation, it can only be promoted in the north. It is not that easy in the south. "
"And the cost of making salt is relatively high. The biggest expense is transportation. "
"Therefore, I suggest that the post station should be divided into two parts."
"One part should remain as it is, and the other part should be used as a 'post office', specially used to transfer goods."
"Or."
"The imperial court built another state-owned enterprise on the road responsible for the post station to be responsible for transporting goods."
"The imperial court issued a special 'ticket' for this purpose, based on the type, weight, and size of the goods. When certain pricing is determined, of course if there is a military power, priority will be given to the post office unconditionally, but at other times, the 'post office' will be able to use the most convenient and spacious roads."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.
The station is related to the transmission of military and national affairs in the world.
No matter how much he streamlined the government, he never touched the post station.
He understands the importance of information.
Soldiers are valuable and quick.
But the transmission of information is also worth thousands of dollars.
Just as Xia Zhibai said, the inn occupies the best roads in the world, but many places are idle and only used a few times a year.
To some extent, this is a huge waste.
If it can be used reasonably, it can not only bring a lot of revenue and expenditure to the court, but also make statistics on the world's commerce and trade, allowing the court to have a general understanding of local prosperity. It can also crack down on local smuggling and control the spread of news around the world.
But there are advantages and disadvantages.
There are too many things involved in the station.
If civilian goods slow down the delivery of national affairs, the impact on the world will be incalculable, especially since the surrounding areas of the Ming Dynasty are not stable. If the military situation is delayed, it may lead to catastrophe.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not dare to make decisions easily.
Xia Zhibai naturally guessed Zhu Yuanzhang's worries.
He cupped his hands and said: "There is no urgency about the post station. The changes to the post station are mainly in the south. The north is not in a hurry because of its rich coal resources. Therefore, I would like to ask your majesty for approval to build it in the northern prefectures. Salt enterprises, in order to reduce the burden for the people and share the burden for the court.”
Xia Zhibai knows that the road must be walked step by step.
Although he wanted to get through the 'Inn', he also knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would not move easily.
But this is just an attempt.
At present, he will still focus on salt enterprises. Through the existence of salt enterprises, he can reduce the burden on the people, train a large number of workers, develop certain basic industries, and export some of his business ideas to the world.
What he wants is to move the world bit by bit.
He wanted to start with "Shang", which Zhu Yuanzhang paid the least attention to. Only "Shang" has grown in strength, cultivated enough talents, accumulated enough strength, and greatly promoted the progress of the world, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang to see "Shang" ' is important in order to leverage Zhu Yuanzhang's "turtle array"-like stubborn system.
He has enough patience.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes darkened and he said coldly: "Your idea is very good, but we don't have that much money to lend you. Yingtian Mansion alone cost us forty thousand silver. If it spread all over the north, twenty or thirty This is a mansion worth millions of dollars. We really want to agree, but we really can’t.”
Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Xia Zhibai intently. He knew that Xia Zhibai would not give up.
After saying so much, if there is no gain, wouldn’t it be in vain?
He would like to see it.
How did Xia Zhibai make so much money on his own.
It is absolutely impossible for you to use the stolen money recovered from "official corruption".
Xia Zhibai nodded.
He is also aware of this situation.
If Zhu Yuanzhang is asked directly for money, it is impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to agree.
So we can only ask for policies.
Xia Zhibai said: "What I want this time is not money. In addition to incorporating local kitchen households into the salt enterprise and asking for some necessary coal mines, more importantly, I want your Majesty to allow me to participate in iron ore mining. The minister’s request is not much. Since the court cannot provide it, then we can do it ourselves and rely on workers to mine the pig iron for making steam engines. If possible, we may be able to improve the steam engines and use them in mining iron ore.”
"Please give me your Majesty's permission."
There are some things going on today, so I should only update them twice
(End of this chapter)