The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 594 How the Prosperous Era Was Created
In October in Beijing, the autumn air is getting cooler.

The reconstruction of the imperial palace is in full swing.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei and thousands of craftsmen worked for nearly a month, and they had almost replaced all the doors and windows of the Huangji Hall, and the duty room of the Jinwu Guard had also taken shape.

Wanli and Zhu Changxun would come every afternoon to check on the progress of the renovation. Wanli came to see if there were any problems, while Zhu Changxun came simply to see how novel it was.

At about 4 p.m. that day, with the warm sun shining brightly in the sky, Wanli brought little Zhu Changxun to the corridor in front of the Huangji Palace.

The little guy didn't need him to hold him anymore because there was a row of old carpenters carving various things in the corridor.

If it were an ordinary family, the doors, windows, and even tables, chairs, and benches would be pieced together with wood and then painted, and that would be it.

The doors, windows, tables, chairs, benches, etc. inside the palace are different, they are all carved.

The carvings are not just of flowers, but also of dragons, phoenixes, various auspicious beasts, auspicious clouds, etc. There are simply too many varieties.

Little Zhu Changxun liked to watch the old carpenter carve these things. If he had nothing to do, he could stand there and watch for the whole afternoon.

Wanli was thinking about what to do when the weather turned cold.

After Yongnianbo Wang Wei came over, he couldn't help but ask, "Father-in-law, do they continue to work even after the snow and ice?"

Of course, otherwise how could we finish the project on time?

Yongnianbo Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, they have to rush to work even after the snow and ice have formed."

Wouldn't that be freezing to death?
Wanli looked at the busy craftsmen and pondered, "Father-in-law, the Jinwu Guards' duty rooms must be heated, right?"

Of course they have to pretend. These are the sons of dukes and nobles, how can they be left to suffer the cold?

Yongnianbo Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, we still need to build a boiler room next to the screen wall.

However, the screen wall is still being processed outside, and it will take at least a month before it can be completed and shipped over."

I'm afraid it will snow by then, and the heating may not be installed until the New Year.

Wanli thought about it carefully, and then said decisively: "Father-in-law, start building the boiler room now and prepare to install the heating. The heating must be installed before the snow falls.

Also, the roof of the Jinwu Guard duty room must be sealed before the snow falls, and the doors and windows must also be installed before the snow falls.

By then, they can carve in a heated room. If they continue to carve outside like they do now, their hands will probably freeze."

This is a thoughtful consideration from His Majesty.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei looked around at the busy craftsmen and said carefully, "Your Majesty, if we want to turn the Jinwu Guard's duty station into a warming room before the snow starts, we can only ask the craftsmen doing other work to stop working, or recruit more craftsmen to help."

Other craftsmen don’t need to stop.

Wanli said without hesitation: "Didn't I tell you that we can recruit as many craftsmen as needed? You just need to add more people. You don't need to ask me."

Uh, didn’t you say it would be completed before April next year?
I am recruiting staff based on the construction period.

Upon hearing this, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei estimated, "Your Majesty, if we recruit more craftsmen to help, we'll probably be finished by early March next year."

This is a good thing.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "It would be better if the work is finished sooner. Just recruit the manpower."

Okay then, hiring more people is just a matter of paying more wages.

It seems like you don't care about the salary, so let me hire you.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

They were in the middle of a discussion when Zhu Dingchen, the son of the Duke of Cheng, suddenly came over at a brisk pace, clasped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, the Minister of Revenue, Li Hualong, requests an audience."

Li Hualong?
This is one of our own.

Why are you stopping him?
This is outside, not in the Imperial Study or the Qianqing Palace.

When Wanli heard this, he was stunned.

However, he quickly realized that it was better to stop it than not to stop it.

Now he has Li Xuancheng and Shan Sinan as guards, so he doesn't have to worry about one or two people getting close to him.

From now on, young Zhu Changxun and even his descendants will have to rely on the protection of these Jinwu Guards who are not very skilled, so it is better not to let anyone get close to them easily.

He was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "Xuan."

Soon, Li Hualong came quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli asked directly, "What's the matter, Yu Ye? What's the matter?"

This is a good thing.

Li Hualong explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the tax silver deposited into the Ministry of Revenue last month exceeded 10 million taels.

This month we still have a large amount of tax silver to be deposited into the treasury from the major border towns and Liaodong Regional Military Commission, probably more than 20 million taels.

The problem is that the Ministry of Revenue's treasury is a bit full now. Your Majesty, do you think we should transfer the money to the inner treasury as soon as possible?"

Uh, the Ministry of Revenue has so much money that it can’t even hold it all?!
When Yongnian Earl Wang Wei heard this, he was stunned.

Wanli knew full well that the Ministry of Revenue's treasury was so small that it couldn't hold much gold and silver. He thought about it carefully and then asked, "How much gold and silver can the Ministry of Revenue's treasury hold if it's full?"

It’s hard to say.

Li Hualong estimated: "If it is half gold and half silver, it can hold 80 to 90 million taels. The problem is that there is not much gold among the people, and most of the taxes we collect are in silver.

The gold in the Ministry of Revenue's treasury is only about 10% of the silver by weight. Under these circumstances, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury can only hold 30 million taels of gold and silver at most."

Oh, the deposits you have there are mainly silver.

I have the exact opposite here.

Upon hearing this, Wanli pondered and said, "More than 90% of the current internal inventory is gold, which can be exchanged for the silver deposited in the Ministry of Revenue.

How about this: from now on, if the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have enough silver on hand, you can have it transported to the inner treasury to exchange for gold. If the Ministry of Revenue has more than 80 million taels of gold and silver on hand, you can transfer it to the inner treasury."

what?
If I do this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep.

Li Hualong said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has too much gold and silver in its bank. I am uneasy and always worried that something might happen."

Oh, you're worried about that.

Wanli nodded slightly, and then patiently taught: "Yu Ye, this money is too much and we need to consider how to spend it.

Real money and silver, whether it is lying in the Ministry of Revenue’s treasury or the inner treasury, will not produce anything, and it has little significance to the country and the people.

What I mean is that when you have so much money that it can’t be stored, there is no point in keeping it there. If you are short of money, it is better to save some real cash.

Whether to save or spend depends on the situation. We are not short of money now.

The taxes you collect are getting higher and higher, and the gold we ship from overseas is getting higher and higher. What are we going to do with all this money?

I am considering recruiting more troops, and you should also consider how to spend the money in the treasury."

what?
You made me think about how to spend my money!

Is this something a minister should consider?

Li Hualong thought about it carefully, and then said carefully: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am not very good at spending money."

No, you will.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then reminded: "Have you forgotten that you were very good at spending money when you were developing the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces?

At that time, you asked me for a speedboat. Wouldn't building a ship and dredging the waterway require a lot of money? It's just that the money was with me at that time.

Now that the money is in your hands, you won’t spend it? You can consider developing the entire Ming Dynasty like you developed the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan Regional Administration.

For example, if you want to build bridges and roads, if you have money, you can recruit a large number of laborers, pave asphalt roads throughout the Ming Dynasty, and build bridges on all rivers.

This is the same principle as dredging the waterways in the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces. Once the roads are better, it will be more convenient for ordinary people to travel, and they can also make some money when building bridges and roads.

Next, you should consider developing it like the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan Xingdusi. You should know that the place was developed by cutting down trees, planting mulberry trees, raising silkworms and growing tea.

You can discuss with local officials what other places are suitable for growing or what local specialties there are. If there are really no special products, you can also discuss with Wanshengtang to open a workshop and make money using cheap labor.

When common people have money, they will buy things, and more and more people will make money through business, and the commercial tax revenue will increase accordingly, and the court will become richer and richer.

With more money, the court could continue to build bridges and roads, making them well-connected. It could even lend money to local governments to purchase carriages and speedboats, and even build workshops.

This is how a prosperous era is created. If this cycle continues, the Ming Dynasty will gradually enter an unprecedented prosperous era. Do you understand?"

Oh, it turns out that it is to develop the entire Ming Dynasty just like developing the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan Regional Administration.

I'm good at this.

Li Hualong nodded slowly, then asked carefully, "Your Majesty, what about the food and wages for the millions of troops? I originally thought that the court collected so much tax in order to bear the cost of feeding and paying the millions of troops."

You don't have to worry about this problem.

Wanli patiently explained: "I have not recruited millions of troops to expand our territory in vain. The development of the territory we conquer will bring huge benefits.

For example, the land of Nurgandusi, the fish of Dongyangdusi, the gold mines of North Americanxidusi, etc.

Now, the gold mine income of the North American West Metropolitan Administration alone is enough to support the wages and military rewards of millions of troops. The Ministry of Revenue only needs to provide rations and food for the army."

Oh, it turns out that the income from the Westdusi gold mine in North America is enough to support the salaries and military rewards of millions of troops.

It would be too easy for the Ministry of Revenue to just supply food and wages.

Li Hualong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. I will try my best to collect land taxes and grain nearby to supply rations and wages to the army."

Wanli nodded slowly, then pondered: "We still need to continue to expand our army. With the inner treasury and the profits from the major businesses in Wanshengtang, we will have no problem recruiting millions more troops.

By then, most of the land tax will have to be paid as grain to supply the army's food and wages. You must also consider this. You must build more ports and docks in the grain-producing areas to facilitate the navy's express ships to transport grain."

My God, you want to recruit millions more troops!
How powerful would the Ming Dynasty be?
Now the Ming Dynasty is truly about to enter an unprecedented era of prosperity.

Whenever a dynasty is at its peak of power, it will inevitably enter a prosperous era.

Li Hualong couldn't help but get excited when he heard that.

(End of this chapter)