I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 402 Funding Issues
"My royal brother, are you really going to leave Beijing so soon?" Zhu Houxuan took the initiative to change the subject.

"Yes, the capital is too boring. I still prefer the border towns. Besides, I feel relieved to have you in the capital. In comparison, the border towns need me more." Zhu Houzhao did not hide his thoughts at all.

"I just feel a little reluctant to leave Zaihao and Zaizhen. They are really good kids." Zhu Houzhao continued.

After hearing this, Zhu Houxuan didn't know how to discuss this topic with Zhu Houzhao.
"Take good care of the two children, and also take good care of the affairs of your TE district in the capital. I'm looking forward to the capital becoming like Qizhou." Zhu Houzhao stood up and ended the conversation.

On March 15th, the 12th year of the Zhengde reign, Zhu Houzhao fasted for a day, and on the next day he offered sacrifices to the heaven, earth, mountains and rivers and his ancestors. On March 18th, he issued an edict to appoint Prince Wenrenjing Zhu Houxun as Prince Regent, in charge of court affairs.

On March 20, Zhu Houzhao led 50,000 guards to Xuanfu.
The politics of the Ming Dynasty returned to the era when Zhu Houxuan was regent.

Nangong.

Zhu Houxuan was presiding over a general meeting of all departments of the Royal Group. The heads of various departments attended the meeting. He systematically introduced the plan of the Beijing Te District to the participants.

"Your Highness, although the idea of ​​the Beijing TE District is good, launching so many projects at once requires so much start-up capital. The Royal Bank really cannot provide so much loan!" Tian Cheng said with a frown.

Everyone present turned their eyes to Tian Cheng.

"Although the Royal Group has achieved full profitability in the past 11th year of Zhengde, with a profit of more than 12 million silver coins, there are many places to spend money. Last year, the salary of the Guards alone was as high as more than 2 million silver coins. In addition to the logistical expenses of the Yingzhou War, the pensions for the dead and disabled soldiers, and the rewards for the Guards' military exploits, the silver spent is more than 7 million silver coins. Last year, the Guards directly wiped out more than half of the Royal Group's annual profit."

"We will train 5 new troops this year, all of them cavalry. Various weapons and armors will cost a lot of money. A warhorse eats more food every day than three people. The annual feeding cost of a warhorse is about silver coins, which is another huge expense. Fortunately, the warhorses themselves don't cost money. They are captured Mongolian horses. Otherwise, let alone whether we can buy so many warhorses, it will cost at least million silver coins just to buy these warhorses. In addition, we have to prepare money and food for the next military operation. Next year, I estimate that the military expenses of the Guards alone will require more than million silver coins." Tian Cheng talked about the accounts one by one.

It has to be said that the army is a money-eating beast. Zhu Houxuan also knew this bill. After he read the bill, he felt more urgent to disband the Beijing Camp.
However, Zhu Houxuan was not worried about the military expenditure, because the bulk of the military expenditure was spent on the Royal Group, and not much was spent outside. In fact, it was circulated within the Royal Group, and the impact on the Royal Group was not very large.
"And His Highness just said that while building the capital's te district, the investment in various industries cannot be reduced. Although the Royal Group's various industries have made a lot of profit, this year's planned investment is far higher than its profit. In addition, we have to spend a lot of money every year to support the people of the Ming Dynasty to immigrate to Liaodong and overseas. The Royal Bank has only so much deposits in total, and it really can't come up with more loans," Tian Cheng continued.

After Tian Cheng finished speaking, everyone turned their eyes to Zhu Houxuan.

Zhu Houxuan looked at everyone and said slowly: "The construction of the Jingcheng District is the focus of the Royal Group's next work, but this work cannot affect the development of the Royal Group. The funding problem is indeed huge, but I have also thought of some ways." "First of all, the Jingcheng District is a national project, and the Royal Group is just your majesty's private industry, so the construction funds cannot only come from the Royal Group, the state should also provide some funds. I will strive for this, I dare not say anything else, at least I can strive for the salt tax."

Zhu Houxun's words made everyone present feel suddenly enlightened and relieved. Many people also showed meaningful smiles. Zhu Houxun's idea of ​​winning over the salt tax was too funny. The salt tax was firmly controlled by the Royal Group. The so-called winning over was just a matter of transferring money from one hand to the other.

As more and more salt fields were built, the salt tax increased. Therefore, it was a good thing to get the salt tax in the name of building a special district in the capital, which was better than keeping it in the national treasury.

"Then we need to introduce private funds into the construction of various industries in the Beijing Te District. Therefore, the Propaganda Department must do a good job in publicity, and the Ministry of Commerce must make good use of its own advantages and do a good job in investment promotion. We can ask the Ministry of Railways for advice," Zhu Houxuan said lightly.

Zhu Houxuan's words sparked another round of discussion. This method was a bit beyond everyone's expectations, but it did solve the funding problem.

In fact, the Royal Group has introduced private capital in many places, the most typical of which is the construction of various railways. Except for the core main line railways, other branch railways are joint ventures with private businessmen.
Zhu Houxuan also wanted to attract a few more open-minded gentry through this investment promotion to see if he could tie them to his chariot with commercial interests.

After all, politics is about making more friends and fewer enemies, so Zhu Houxuan decided to give it a try.

"Yes!" The heads of the Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Commerce both nodded in agreement.

"Finally, I plan to issue a batch of bonds in the name of the Royal Group, using the Royal Group's credit and some high-quality industries as collateral. The interest rate can be set at 25% per year, and this batch will be paid on a three-year basis." Zhu Houxuan continued.

Zhu Houxuan still resorted to issuing bonds. The interest rate seemed too high at first glance, but the financial cost in this era was so high. The interest rate of the Royal Bank's deposits had never been lower than 15%. If the interest rate of the bonds was not higher than the deposits, no one would be willing to buy them.
In fact, Zhu Houxuan originally wanted to issue national debt directly in the name of the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty's credit and reputation in this regard were too bad, and it was estimated that no one would buy it, so he could only settle for the second best and issue bonds in the name of the Royal Group.
Zhu Houxuan's method was also approved by the people present.
With these three methods, the funding for the construction of the Beijing TE District should be alleviated.

After the meeting, Zhu Houxuan left Tian Cheng alone.

"Your Highness, is there anything you want to tell me that you have left me alone?" Tian Cheng asked respectfully.

(End of this chapter)