Chapter 2694
Prince De's Mansion, where Zhu Zian was located, became depressed because it could not make ends meet. The Ming Dynasty was not an exception during this period. Counting from the end of Tianqi, more than twenty years of continuous internal and external difficulties coupled with poor financial resources, by the 1750s, the annual income of the Ming treasury had rapidly dropped from 20 million taels of silver in the Wanli period to less than 50,000 taels of silver. One million taels, the financial situation can be said to be stretched thin.
Such a small amount of income was needed to maintain the operation of the entire state machine. It was not enough for the imperial court's own use, and it could no longer take care of the vassal princes and clans outside Beijing. Therefore, in the face of Haihan's continuous expansion and erosion in recent years, Ming Dynasty was unable to organize a decent resistance due to a serious lack of military spending, so it could only temporarily protect Zhu's Ming Dynasty's name from being erased by surrendering.
As for the down-and-out vassal kings like Prince De's family, even if they ask the capital for help, they will only be ignored. Then they can only fend for themselves, or find their own way out like Zhu Zian.
Without sufficient financial resources, it is impossible to maintain a strong national power. The Ming Dynasty's situation in recent decades has perfectly explained this. Haihan, on the other hand, relied on its strong financial resources to rise rapidly and become the most powerful country in East Asia in less than thirty years.
Zhu Zian only knew that the scale of Haihan's overseas trade was extremely large, but to what extent, he did not have an exact idea. It was not until I came into contact with these first-hand data in Busan that I was truly shocked.
I think if the Ming Dynasty could open up the maritime ban and guide maritime merchants to engage in transnational trade activities under the supervision of the government, it would not be much worse than Haihan. If the national treasury has more revenue from sea trade, it will not have to worry about insufficient military rations and inadequate soldiers and armor. It will also be much more calm in the face of internal and external troubles. If the Ming Dynasty had controlled the maritime trade of East Asian countries a hundred years in advance, it would not have left any room for Haihan to develop.
Of course, Zhu Zian also knew that these were just useless assumptions in his mind. The reality was that Ming Dynasty chose a wrong development route, while Haihan seized the opportunity and made full use of maritime trade to rapidly expand its strength.
Zhu Zian did not remember that the Ming Dynasty had adopted similar measures to demarcate and establish autonomous zones in other countries' trading ports. It can be seen that the current development of Haihan in maritime trade has reached a level that even the Ming Dynasty cannot catch up with.
After the day's audit work was over, Tao Hongfang convened everyone for a dinner. Although this work only required sitting in the room and reading various documents and did not need to be exposed to the wind and sun outside, it was still a brain-consuming job, and the data required to be collected was very complicated. , you may make mistakes if you are not careful, and you will feel dizzy and tired after a busy day. Having plenty of good wine and food on the table can be regarded as a kind of comfort to his men for their hard work.
Zhu Zian took advantage of the opportunity and asked Tao Hongfang about his doubts during the dinner: "Master Tao, the taxes paid by Haihan merchants in Busan are quite large. Even if we have a way to silence the local officials and compromise, the taxes paid to the national treasury There will eventually be a big hole in the tax bank. Can the King of Korea be willing to lose hundreds of thousands of taels of income every year? ”
Tao Hongfang said: "How can we be willing to do so? What we are doing is actually asking the North Koreans to spit out the meat that they have put into their mouths. Even if the North Korean court reluctantly recognizes the matter through the application of diplomatic pressure, we still have to find other ways to appease them. That’s it. Busan is losing hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year, so they have to give it some thought.”
Zhu Zian said: "Sir, can you elaborate on this?"
Zhu Zian had no relatives in the area, so Tao Hongfang was not worried about him leaking secrets, so he patiently explained to him: "Although the tax cannot be collected, our country promises to increase the scale of trade and investment in Busan. This can also indirectly bring a lot of benefits to Busan, and the taxes we collect in the Busan Zone will basically be used for the daily operation and infrastructure projects of the zone, which means that the money will eventually be spent in Busan, and a lot of it will be spent. Part of it will go to the people of Busan. Although the money does not go into the treasury, it still stays in North Korea. Do you understand this?" Zhu Zian suddenly said: "That's it! I will understand it when you explain it like this!"
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The hundreds of thousands of taxes that Haihan merchants pay to the government in Busan every year are not a large amount for Haihan's country's finances. If this money can be used to further consolidate Haihan's influence in Busan, the executive committee will Will be happy to see the results.
The establishment of the special zone does not mean that this area is isolated from North Korea. On the contrary, it will create more jobs for local North Korean people and provide the Busan area with a model of a port city that can be followed. cost, greatly improving local trade efficiency.
In the future, in addition to Haihan merchants, many North Koreans will also be able to enjoy the relatively complete urban and port facilities in the zone. Therefore, for the local government, this plan is not just a one-sided loss, but actually a loss. There is gain. From a long-term perspective, this may be more conducive to the development of Busan Port.
Tao Hongfang continued: "And from a security perspective, the greater our country's investment in Busan, the safer the trade environment here. For North Korea, without allowing our country to deploy troops, it can get a In a relatively safe environment, this is actually a very good deal. ”
Zhu Zian nodded silently, this was a point of view that he had not realized before.
It is not difficult to understand Tao Hongfang's point of view. Although Busan is a natural port, due to its geographical location, it has been captured by Japanese pirates more than once in history. Every time Japan invades Korea, Busan is the first choice for attack. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the key to the security of the Korean Peninsula. Even though the two countries have gradually restored normal relations more than ten years ago, the history of the fall of Busan is still a lingering shadow in the hearts of North Koreans.
But after Haihan merchants began to settle in Busan, North Korea became much more practical. What they brought to Busan was not only a skyrocketing trade scale, but also a huge protective umbrella over Busan.
If Busan encounters the crisis of foreign invasion again, the interests of Haihan merchants will inevitably be damaged. In this case, Haihan will definitely not sit idly by and will definitely send troops to intervene. Japan has suffered a lot at the hands of Haihan in the early years. Even if it covets the Port of Busan, if the Japanese are to risk another military attack by Haihan to attack the Port of Busan, then they will definitely choose Give up on this unrealistic goal.
Therefore, Haihan’s increased investment in Busan and expansion of its business scale will objectively protect the local area. North Koreans have experienced both disadvantages and benefits, and of course they are not unaware of this. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, they finally agreed to Haihan's request to establish an autonomous region in Busan.
(End of chapter)