Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 464 New National Policy, Consumer Revolution and Undercurrents in the Southwest!

However, reality is far from that.

The Ming Dynasty's cotton cloth production was only fifty to sixty million bolts, and this was only after Zhu Yunwen had vigorously promoted cotton planting in the past two years.

Each bolt of cotton cloth consumes approximately three to six kilograms of cotton. On average, each person in the country can only obtain one bolt of cloth per year, barely enough to sew two garments.

Cotton clothing is extremely easy to wear out, and such production capacity obviously cannot meet the daily needs of the people.

Judging from the amount of cotton cloth sold on the market, the actual cotton planting area probably did not even reach one-tenth of the target set by the imperial court.

However, the situation has been quietly changing.

The farmland was converted into company shares and uniformly managed by the imperial land management agency. In this way, the imperial court had almost complete control over what crops to plant on the farmland.

In Gu Qizhang's view, the previous orders from the imperial court had already left local officials with a great deal of room for "deception".

If this policy is fully implemented, the cotton planting area stipulated by the imperial court should be greatly reduced.

"Absolutely not!" Zhu Yunwen categorically rejected Gu Qizhang's suggestion.

"Cotton cultivation must strictly follow the regulations set by the Emperor, not only implementing them without the slightest deviation, but also further expanding the scale!"

"The people are poorly clothed and shiver in the dead of winter. If the court cannot even meet their basic needs for food and clothing, how can it govern the country and bring peace to the people? There is absolutely no room for compromise on this matter!"

If the sole aim is to prevent the people from freezing and starving, Gu Qizhang's proposal is indeed impeccable.

For ordinary people, a single cotton-padded coat is enough to last for several years.

Even in rural farming households, a worn-out cotton-padded coat can be passed down from father to son and then to grandson for several generations.

Even if the hem of the clothes is worn white and patched layer upon layer, as long as it can still cover the body, what does it matter?
Using clothing in this way, the existing cotton planting scale of the Ming Dynasty can almost meet its needs.

Even with further promotion, the increase doesn't need to be too large.

However, Zhu Yunwen's thoughts never stopped there.

What he wanted to awaken was the Ming Dynasty's own consumer tide, a market capable of sweeping across the world!

When the wheels of industrialization roared into action, production was no longer a constraint, and consumption became the key driver of national prosperity.

Looking overseas, those small, weak nations, apart from a few wealthy nobles, have almost no purchasing power among their people.

In the agrarian era, these powerful and influential figures might have been able to maintain a market.

However, for the vast Ming Dynasty, once the tide of industrialization surged forth, the consumption of a mere overseas noble family was nothing more than a drop in the ocean and could hardly serve its purpose.

Only the hundreds of millions of people of the Ming Dynasty can generate truly immense consumer power.

The Ming Dynasty was destined to become the most magnificent commercial stage in the world!
Among the many consumer goods categories, nothing is more likely to win people's hearts than fine clothes and silks.

The replacement of clothing is far more flexible than other needs.

Ultimately, the consumption of food is limited by people's appetite.

Even if all the coarse grains were converted into beef, mutton, and pork, and meat was used to replace coarse grains, grain consumption would only increase by two or three times before reaching its limit.

Moreover, the output of a field has its own ceiling and cannot be expanded indefinitely.

But the consumer market for clothing is completely different.

How many clothes does a person need in a year to be considered enough?

Two items?

Four items?

Ten items?

Or perhaps twenty pieces, or even a hundred?

The answer is that desires have no end, and neither does the quantity of clothing!
As the famous saying goes, "A woman's wardrobe is never complete without one more dress!"

To awaken the consumer boom in the Ming Dynasty, clothing is undoubtedly the primary entry point to stimulate the market.

This is not wishful thinking, but historical evidence.

The rise of the Western Industrial Revolution is evidenced by the "enclosure movement," a land grabbing that was said to be akin to sheep eating people.

The root of that movement was that the clothing market was the first to be impacted by emerging consumption concepts, and people's demand for wool surged, requiring more wool to weave more clothes to meet the demand.

Human nature is the same in this respect, both in the East and the West.

The Ming Dynasty will be no exception.

Therefore, starting with clothing to stimulate market demand and thus promote industrial development is the most practical and feasible approach.

Therefore, cotton cultivation in the Ming Dynasty must be further expanded.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty already has a surplus of grain.

Thanks to abundant arable land per capita, increasingly improved farmland irrigation facilities, and rapid advancements in agricultural technology, grain production will increasingly exceed demand.

Even the cold waves of the Little Ice Age were not enough to shake the foundation of this bountiful harvest.

However, shifting surplus grain to livestock farming and replacing grain with meat is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

The reproductive cycles of pigs, cattle, and sheep are long, and their numbers are unlikely to increase rapidly in a short period of time.

In contrast, the progress in farmland irrigation and agricultural technology has been rapid and remarkable.

Therefore, freeing up more land to grow cotton is not only unimpeded, but also a logical step.

When Gu Qizhang heard that his proposal had been rejected by His Majesty, he was startled and dared not say another word.

He immediately bowed his head, his respect tinged with self-reproach, and said loudly, "Your Majesty cares deeply for the people and is concerned about the country. Your humble servant is shallow and has failed to understand Your Majesty's intentions. I am truly ashamed."

"Your Majesty, I will immediately issue an edict to the Ministry of Revenue, ordering all officials within the Ministry and local government offices to strictly supervise land leasing matters and ensure that the imperial policy of promoting cotton cultivation is carried out to the end, so as not to fail His Majesty's painstaking efforts to seek the well-being of all people!"

This is the majesty of power.

Deep down, Gu Qizhang did not necessarily agree with Zhu Yunwen's decision.

However, faced with the emperor's insistence, he dared not have any further objections and could only bury his thoughts of opposition deep in his heart and carry out the emperor's decree first.

Although it is said that "warriors die in battle and scholars die remonstrating," it seems that the spirit of "dying for remonstrance" flowed in the blood of Ming Dynasty civil officials.

But this does not mean that they would confront the emperor on every single issue.

At least, in the presence of a monarch who wields great power, ministers will, in the vast majority of cases and in 99% of matters, choose to obey the monarch's will.

They would occasionally offer advice, but if the emperor did not heed it, they would stop talking.

Only on very rare occasions, when the very foundation of the state is at stake or when their bottom line is touched, will ministers set aside their concerns and risk their lives to remonstrate, thus fulfilling their belief in "remonstrating to the death."

However, such moments are extremely rare in the imperial court.

Ordinary officials, even those known for their integrity, dared not easily challenge the emperor's authority.

Those reckless men who constantly court death and readily contradict the emperor have no chance of ever reaching a high position in the imperial court.

Even a troublemaker like Hai Rui, who is rare to find in a thousand years, would only submit a memorial entitled "Memorial on Governance" when he could no longer tolerate it, and would bravely face the wrath of the emperor with his own courage.

Unless the emperor's power has been usurped and the court is controlled by powerful ministers or relatives of the empress, once an imperial edict is issued, most officials will obey it in silence.

This is a matter of course and common sense, and to historians it is nothing special. Therefore, it is often downplayed when writing history. History books prefer to record "things" of fierce struggles between officials and the emperor, because these stories better highlight the loyalty and integrity of civil officials.

As a result, these kinds of events, which actually happened very rarely, occupied a large portion of the historical records, leading later readers of history to mistakenly believe that the ministers were always "opposing" the emperor.

Only through in-depth investigation can we understand that the truth is not so.

Zhu Yunwen was also very clear about this.

However, in his view, it was actually irrelevant whether the obedience of his subjects was due to fear of his imperial authority or genuine agreement.

As a ruler who reigns supreme, the most important thing is to ensure that one's will is carried out.

Even if only a portion of people genuinely support it, that's enough.

Not everyone needs to be loyal to the death.

Moreover, loyalty is not the same as agreement.

Loyal people simply carry out the emperor's orders unconditionally.

Even if he doesn't agree with it in his heart.

Submitting to the emperor's orders was the norm in the imperial court.

As long as the ministers still know that they must obey the emperor's orders, that is enough!

"Not only should we significantly expand cotton cultivation within the Ming Dynasty, but we should also purchase large quantities of cotton from overseas countries."

Zhu Yunwen then instructed: "The Ministry of Revenue must work with the Ministry of Rites to draft regulations for the large-scale import of cotton from overseas countries as soon as possible, and have them strictly implemented by the import and export trading companies."

Countries like India have long cultivated large areas of cotton, which is sufficient to serve as a high-quality source for imports.

Even in countries where cotton is not yet widely cultivated, the Ming Dynasty can encourage the promotion of its cultivation.

Moreover, importing grain directly from these countries would likely provoke strong resentment among the local poor and could even incite hatred.

They would think that the Ming Dynasty was "plundering" their food supplies.

However, if the local landlord class is guided to convert their land to cotton cultivation, the situation will be quite different.

Cotton is ultimately not edible, and if there is no need for its own consumption after it is planted, it can only be exported to the Ming Dynasty.

Once the ruling classes of those countries tasted the substantial profits from exchanging cotton for Ming Dynasty banknotes, they would spare no effort to promote its cultivation. Why would they care about the hunger of the common people caused by the reduction of arable land?
Just like in the Western enclosure movement, where "sheep eat people," farmers converted all their original farmland into pastures in pursuit of the wealth brought by wool.

Zhu Yunwen paused, his gaze sweeping over Gu Qizhang's face, before he said in a deep voice, "Our Great Ming Dynasty possesses exquisite weaving techniques, with its loom technology being unparalleled in the world. Furthermore, it is powered by steam engines, making its weaving efficiency dozens of times greater than that of overseas countries."

"First, cotton is purchased from overseas, woven into fine and supple fabrics, or even cut into exquisite garments, and then exported overseas."

"With just one in and one out, you can make amazing profits!"

Gu Qizhang may not understand the deeper reasons behind industrialization and the stimulation of the consumer market.

But he certainly knew the ways of a merchant.

Zhu Yunwen deliberately analyzed this plan thoroughly in order to inspire Gu Qizhang's enthusiasm for carrying out the imperial decree.

He knew this was useful to the country, and it gave him more motivation to get things done.

As for the previous ban on cloth exports, now that there is a sufficient supply of cotton, it can be lifted accordingly.

After all, by now, the economy of the Ming Dynasty has far surpassed that of foreign countries, and the people have high incomes and purchasing power far exceeding that of foreign nations.

Under market regulation, high-quality fabrics and garments will naturally prioritize meeting the needs of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

After all, the common people of the Ming Dynasty were the wealthiest, able to afford to spend real money.

"Your subject obeys the order and will immediately begin preparations!"

Gu Qizhang's response was not only respectful, but also revealed an undisguised excitement.

His eyes flickered slightly, as if his enthusiasm had been ignited by the grand prospects of trade.

Officials in the Ministry of Revenue, more or less, carried a degree of "occupational disease" of "profit-seeking".

The mere mention of a profitable "business" is like a scholar about to wield his brush smelling the fragrance of ink; his entire being is ignited with enthusiasm.

After dismissing Gu Qizhang, Zhu Yunwen pondered alone, his thoughts drifting to another matter.

When it comes to cotton cultivation, the Western Regions are undoubtedly blessed with unique advantages.

Even in later generations, the long-staple cotton from that region remained renowned worldwide for its unparalleled quality.

Unfortunately, the Western Regions are still under the control of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and have not yet been incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

This was true not only in the Western Regions but also in the Southwest.

Although the chieftains in the southwest had nominally submitted to the Ming Dynasty long ago.

The imperial court further established the Ü-Tsang Commandery and the Do-Kam Commandery in that wild and desolate land to demonstrate its jurisdiction.

However, unlike the officials of the Regional Military Commissions directly appointed by the imperial court in the interior, the leaders of these two Regional Military Commissions were the local chieftains.

Their subordinate officials, such as assistant officials, commanders of thousands, and commanders of hundreds, were also hereditary from the chieftain's family.

The imperial court merely issued imperial edicts and seals in a formality to acknowledge its status.

This kind of indirect rule was more about nominal submission; in reality, the local people continued their old customs, and their laws were completely different from those of the mainland.

In a sense, they are all "independent kingdoms".

Previously, when Zhu Yunwen implemented the New Army Reform and abolished the garrisons, he would not easily touch these border areas.

However, when the Ming Dynasty launched its campaigns to conquer Siam, Pegu and other places, the army needed to pass through the southwest and began to build roads, but was repeatedly hampered by the chieftains, either openly or covertly.

When the new policies were being implemented, Yang Rong had suggested that military action be taken against the southwest, the separatist rule of the Tusi (chieftains) be abolished, and that the court should send officials to govern the region directly.

Zhu Yunwen had no objection to this and thus tacitly approved the plan.

Thus, while implementing new policies, the Ming Dynasty also launched the massive project of "replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials".

However, Zhu Yunwen vaguely remembered seeing a report on the matter in the Daily Briefing, and it seemed that the reform of replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials in the southwest was progressing with difficulties and was far from smooth as expected.

Although the southwest is located on the frontier, it has always been a difficult region to govern.

Historically, the Ming and Qing dynasties spent hundreds of years implementing the policy of replacing native chieftains with appointed officials before achieving success.

Even small places like the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan regions required the Qianlong Emperor to mobilize over 600,000 troops and spend over 70 million taels of silver to pacify them.

The cost of this war far exceeded that of any foreign war during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.

Since the implementation of the new policies, Zhu Yunwen devoted most of his energy to domestic reforms, and the military affairs in the southwest were entirely handled by Yang Rong in coordination with the Military Affairs Office.

Those troops were originally prepared for a land attack on Siam, so their deployment was a logical step.

After that, he did not inquire about the details further.

Thinking about this now, a sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart.

Has something unexpected happened in the southwest?
Upon realizing this, Zhu Yunwen immediately ordered: "Summon Liang Guogong Lan Yu, Minister of Military Affairs, and Yang Rong, Minister of State Affairs, to an audience!"

……

(End of this chapter)