Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1167 Growth
Looking at his prince, Zhu Shenzui was very satisfied, but this was not enough.

"You should go to the Zongli Yamen more often these days." Putting down the teacup in his hand, Zhu Shenzhui said to the prince.

Zhu Minlan was slightly stunned, and quickly responded, and asked at the same time: "Is it about the trading port?"

Zhu Shenzhu nodded with satisfaction. Zhu Minlan was indeed smart. He understood the reason with just one sentence.

"You guessed it right. It's about the treaty ports. Zhang Xijun has reported recently that the preparations for the five treaty ports have been roughly completed, and the customs are about to be set up. The next step is to officially start operation."

"The issue of the treaty ports concerns the future national policy of our Ming Dynasty. When I first set up the Zongli Yamen and planned the issue of the treaty ports, there were some people in the court who opposed it, and the opposition was not small."

Zhu Shenzhui stood up and walked slowly, saying, "Some people think that this move is a waste of money and labor, and there is no need to do it. Some people think that our Ming Dynasty is the Celestial Empire, rich in everything. Why should we trade with the barbarians in this way? Some people think that the country is competing with the people for profit and strongly oppose it. Some people also think that the entry of barbarians into the country will cause chaos and even conflicts in various places, and the habits and customs of the barbarians will also affect the stability of our Ming Dynasty."

At this point, Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhu Minlan: "What do you think of these remarks? What do you think?"

Zhu Minlan immediately understood that this was another test from his father, so he smiled and answered calmly, "I have heard these words before, but I think what they say is nothing more than sensationalism, or even exaggeration and alarmism."

"Oh, tell me in detail." Zhu Shenzui raised his eyebrows and asked with interest.

Zhu Minlan said: "My son, let me first talk about the Celestial Empire, which is rich in the world."

Seeing Zhu Shenzhui nod slightly, Zhu Minlan said: "After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, it was feared by the world and pacified the four directions. It was indeed the Celestial Empire, especially during the Chengzu period to the Renxuan period, when it was at its peak. At that time, the Ming Dynasty not only occupied China, but the eunuch Zheng He led the Ming fleet to the West. Countless vassal states took the initiative to surrender, and all nations paid tribute. It was extremely powerful for a time."

"During the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the Ming Dynasty suffered from the Tumu Incident and was almost destroyed. But after Emperor Xianzong, the Ming Dynasty recovered its national strength and continued to grow stronger. During the reigns of Emperor Xiaozong, Emperor Wuzong, and Emperor Shizong, although the national strength was not as good as before, it was still able to shock the world. After the Wanli New Deal, during the reign of Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty once again reached its peak of national strength. Although the three major expeditions of the Wanli period cost a lot of money, they demonstrated the strength and power of the Ming Dynasty. There is no doubt that it is the Celestial Empire!"

"But in the late Shenzong period, the emperor neglected his duties and did not attend court for decades. With the rise of the Jiannu in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty was severely damaged after the defeat at Sarhu. Coupled with natural disasters and man-made disasters, the national strength continued to decline. Although Xizong was capable, unfortunately, he died young, and the Jiannu became more and more powerful. After Emperor Chongzhen came to power, state affairs were even worse. The so-called Celestial Empire was only a name. If it weren't for you, Dad, who came to Beijing to help with the Jingnan Rebellion and turned the tide..."

Hearing this, Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to say the next words. Zhu Minlan smiled and nodded and changed the topic, "Dad, you know very well what our Ming Dynasty was like before the Yongning Year. In the past few years, the saying that the Celestial Empire was the most powerful country was just self-boasting. As for being rich, it was even more nonsense. Have you ever seen a rich man who could run horses with an empty treasury? At that time, the finances of our Ming Dynasty were facing collapse. If we had money, how could we have allowed the Liaodong Jiannu to live freely for decades? And never destroyed them?"

At this point, Zhu Minlan looked at Zhu Shenzhui, and seeing him nod slightly, he continued, "So I think the so-called Celestial Empire, rich in the world, is not about how you see it, but how others see it. Whether a country is strong or not, it is not up to you to say, it is only truly strong when others think it is strong. Who doesn't brag? Do you think you will take it seriously after bragging? Isn't this just deceiving yourself?"

"What about other things?" Zhu Shenzhui was very satisfied with Zhu Minlan's words and asked with a smile.

Zhu Minlan continued, "When the finances collapsed, it was you, Dad, who took Hengtong as the foundation and pushed forward border trade against all odds, and opened up sea trade to make up for the losses. This shows that border trade and sea trade are extremely profitable. And from the current financial revenue of our Ming Dynasty, the land tax revenue has been greatly reduced compared to the Chongzhen period, and in addition, the tax reductions and exemptions in the northwest and Central Plains in recent years, and the court has also provided many subsidies. The difference, including the remaining taxes, mostly come from commercial taxes and trade profits. This alone proves that the border trade and sea trade policies were correct."

"If that's right, why can't we go one step further on this basis? Now that we have five trading ports set up to promote maritime trade, it will certainly make our Ming Dynasty benefit greatly from it. This is good for the country and the people. With higher commercial taxes and trade income, the court will naturally reduce land taxes and reduce the pressure on the people. In this way, the people of the world can live a better life. Don't they understand such a simple truth? From what I see, these people are not ignorant, but they are doing it on purpose!"

"Oh, why do you think so?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back. Zhu Minlan said, "I was the regent some time ago, and I have been helping you handle government affairs these days. I didn't know much about some things before, but I have seen more recently. Let's not talk about the border trade for now. After all, Mongolia is under the control of our Ming Dynasty. Brother..." Zhu Minlan paused and changed his words, "Brother Tengger is one of us. Border trade matters are completely controlled by the court. No one else can interfere."

"But maritime trade is different. Although Shandong was the first to open the sea and the imperial court also profited from it, there are many smuggling activities in coastal areas, especially in the south. This situation has existed for a long time and has been repeatedly banned. Moreover, most of the people who do these things are not just businessmen. There are not only aristocratic families behind them, but also officials."

"For their own selfish interests, they strongly opposed the court's establishment of trading ports. They were simply worried that once the trading ports were established and officially operated, their private smuggling would be difficult to continue. In the future, all goods entering and leaving the country will be transported in and out through the trading ports and customs, and there will also be the Ming Royal Bank as a capital inflow and outflow transaction. So they can only pay taxes according to the court's requirements, so the profit will naturally be much less."

"Before, the commercial tax in our Ming Dynasty was shockingly low. The tax rate of 30% was a drop in the bucket from the commercial profits, but these people were still not satisfied. For example, the commercial tax in Guangzhou during the Chongzhen period was only a little over 100 taels for the whole year. Such a small tax is simply unimaginable. You should know that Guangzhou is originally in the south. Guangzhou is a big city with prosperous business, and it is not far from Macau. Macau is a temporary settlement for Portuguese and other European merchants. Which of these European merchants came to our Ming Dynasty without a ship? They bought goods from our Ming Dynasty and transported them back to their country. The profit from just one ship of materials could make them rich. Under such circumstances, the commercial tax in Guangzhou is so low? Could it be that their goods were sent by God? The reason for this is nothing more than the collusion between local officials and businessmen, rampant smuggling, disregard for national laws, and tax evasion."

"Now the commercial tax rate of our Ming Dynasty is 10%, which is three times higher than the previous 30%. The court has made a profit from it, and merchants have also made a lot of money because of maritime trade. It can be seen that there is no problem with the commercial tax rate. However, some people are greedy by nature and still want to not pay taxes. They even oppose it on the grounds of competing with the people for profits, wasting people's energy, and guarding against foreigners. Their real intention is nothing more than to compete with the court for profits and benefit themselves at the expense of the public."

"As for the idea of ​​barbarians, it's even more nonsense. When I was in school, I read the articles of sages. The sages said, 'If you enter China, you are Chinese; if you enter barbarians, you are barbarians.' I understand this principle. Don't those scholars understand it? How can our Ming Dynasty, a great country, not have this kind of tolerance? Moreover, our Ming Dynasty has now established formal diplomatic relations with European countries. Our people can go to Europe, so why can't Europeans come to our Ming Dynasty? Moreover, our Ming Dynasty is not without barbarians. Don't there even European churches in the capital? There are even Europeans serving as officials in the Imperial Observatory. If our Ming Dynasty did not have this tolerance, how could it become the Celestial Empire? These people use this as an excuse, simply because they are afraid of damaging their interests."

"In my opinion, the more they don't want to do it and the more they oppose it, the more the court should do it, because it is the right thing to do! After all the trading ports are completed and maritime trade flourishes, the Ming Dynasty will no longer have financial troubles. This move benefits the country and the people, and it is good governance!"

After Zhu Minlan finished saying this, a sense of heroism emanated from him, which made Zhu Shenzhui extremely happy and he nodded repeatedly with satisfaction.

Although some of his words were extreme and some of his thoughts were simplistic, the general direction was correct. His prince had indeed grown up and matured, which was a blessing for the country!

"Prince!"

"My son is here!"

Zhu Minlan quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Put aside your duties at the General Senate for the time being and stay in the Zongli Yamen for the next few days to assist Zhang Xijun in handling the affairs of the treaty ports and customs. In addition, you should go out for me and personally take a look at the actual conditions of the five treaty ports."

"Your son obeys your order!" Zhu Minlan was happy and agreed immediately. It was not a simple matter for his father to ask him to go to the Zongli Yamen. Although the Zongli Yamen was a newly established office and did not belong to the six ministries of the court, its rank was the same as the six ministries. Moreover, the Zongli Yamen was very meaningful from the beginning. The various departments inside it even corresponded to most of the ministries of the court. From this point of view, it could be a special "small court". Zhang Xijun, the Prime Minister, also had a lot of power. As long as the trading ports and customs affairs were successfully completed, the Zongli Yamen would surely rise in the future and become an important department in the court.

In other words, the emperor set up this Zongli Yamen to compete with the cabinet for power and to replace the cabinet when necessary. Of course, this is impossible for the time being, and it will take a long time for the follow-up to develop, and it is hard to say what the final result will be.

But even so, the importance of the Zongli Yamen to the crown prince Zhu Minlan was self-evident. Zhu Shenzhu now asked him to go to the Zongli Yamen and be actually responsible for the trading ports and customs affairs, and even inspect the local areas on behalf of the emperor. This was of great significance.

(End of this chapter)