Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 208 Is this Wang Anshi's Green Sprouts Law?
"A letter?"

Zhang Juzheng paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered the letter that had just arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion during the day.

He said with a frown.

"You mean the Southern Zhili Textile Commission?"

"Governor Yin wrote to me, asking for my advice on practical methods of governing the country. It seems that the gentry and merchants in Southern Zhili are only interested in profit and are about to wreak havoc on the local area."

Zhang Yunxiu stood with his hands behind his back, still looking completely at ease, a stark contrast to the Grand Secretary beside him, whose hair was disheveled and who was barefoot.

He raised an eyebrow and said.

“Since Father still doesn’t believe me, I’ll show him my method of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.”

“You unfilial son! Do you really think the gentry of Jiangnan are so easy to deal with?” Zhang Juzheng said dismissively. “This matter of the Southern Zhili Textile Commissioner is to be dealt with together with the ‘Bow Measurement Case’.”

"That place is not like the capital; the emperor is far away, and you still want to use underhanded methods? You absolutely won't be able to touch them in the slightest."

His first thought was that Zhang Yunxiu had previously used the production of briquettes to defeat the Shanxi merchants, so much so that the Shanxi merchants had disappeared from the capital for the past few months.

Zhang Yunxiu's methods did seem quite ingenious, but Zhang Juzheng later analyzed and concluded that the youngest son had grasped the supply and demand relationship, exploited an information gap, and most importantly, seized the "right time to enter the market."

All these factors combined to contribute to the success.

But this time it's clearly not that simple.

"Moreover," Zhang Juzheng said with a deep look in his eyes, "Southern Zhili has been an important center for silkworm breeding and cotton production since ancient times. Where are you going to find so much silk and cotton? Without the means of production, how can you compete with them?"

"Means of production?"

Zhang Yunxiu's eyes widened, never expecting to hear the words "means of production" from his father one day.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said, "You think I don't understand economics? Your economics is much simpler than the Book of Changes and the Tao Te Ching. Don't get too cocky."

Come to think of it, Zhang Yunxiu has been showing off his talents these days, which has been quite a shock to his father.

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and smiled, "Then, according to Father's opinion, how should we resolve the predicament of Jiangnan?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng paced back and forth in the hall, only to find his feet were cold. He turned to look for his other shoe, but it had vanished without a trace.

He looked somewhat embarrassed, raised his hand to cover his mouth, coughed, and appeared serious.

The saying goes, "Things are expensive when they are scarce and cheap when they are plentiful," and "When demand is high and supply is low, profit is driven by merchants." Unlike those in Beizhili, the wealthy gentry in Jiangnan had a different approach.

The Jiangnan region was prosperous, so famines were less frequent. However, the Jiangnan handicraft industry was thriving, and many ordinary people relied on workshops for their livelihood.

The flood destroyed the mulberry fields, and these people took the opportunity to raise prices.

People lost their livelihoods again, and there were many laborers in the market, so these people took the opportunity to drive down wages.

By simply making these back-and-forth transactions, they can reap huge profits!

Zhang Juzheng also began to use economics to analyze the situation, but the more he analyzed, the angrier he became.

"However, this is not the fundamental problem. The gentry in Jiangnan are arrogant and domineering. They not only ignore the government's orders, but also attempt to gather officials of all ranks in Jiangnan to stand against the government!"

His anger deepened as he recalled the Northern and Southern Examinations during the Hongwu reign. At that time, Southern Zhili had already openly opposed the court, let alone now.

"The powerful gentry of Jiangnan are convinced that the court cannot afford to drag this out and will eventually compromise for the sake of the greater good. If they really give in to their wishes, will Jiangnan still be the Jiangnan of the Ming Dynasty? The 'Bow Measurement Case' will also be left unresolved, and implementing the Single Whip Law will probably be even more difficult!"

These words truly revealed the thoughts of the Jiangnan gentry.

Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but feel a little emotional. His father's words, "When demand is high and supply is low, profit comes from merchants," seemed to come from the "Biographies of Merchants" in the Records of the Grand Historian.

This applies perfectly to economics as well.

It seems that Dad's understanding of supply and demand has become increasingly profound.

He has only been promoting economics for a little over a month, which is enough to show his learning ability.

Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but feel the pressure. If it weren't for his knowledge accumulated over several hundred years, he really wouldn't have been able to compete with the ancients.

With that in mind, he spoke with great confidence.

"In my opinion, the tricks used by the wealthy and powerful in Jiangnan are nothing more than petty tricks. Merchants have enjoyed peace for a long time, and in the past, they only needed to oppress the common people and cultivate relationships with superiors and subordinates to make money."

"I'll show them what real, straightforward business warfare is all about."

Zhang Juzheng frowned: "If the supply and demand relationship isn't working, how can you get things done?"

“It’s not only in the Jiangnan region that cotton and silk are produced,” Zhang Yunxiu said, arms crossed. “There are also mulberry planting and silkworm raising in the Hejian and Zhengding areas. Shandong’s Yanzhou and Dongchangfu cotton and silk are also the best in the world. In addition, the profits from harvesting flowers in Kaifeng and Guidefu in Henan are twice that of growing grain.”

My Great Ming Dynasty possesses the entire world; how can it be confined by a single place?

“But this is just nonsense.” Zhang Juzheng sighed helplessly. “You’re transporting cotton and silk from all over the country to the Jiangnan region, but that won’t solve the problem. On the contrary, it will only make things worse.”

He then launched into another analysis based on economics.

"With increased supply, the prices of cotton and silk on the market will inevitably fall. But after the price drop, the wealthy and powerful will pass on the costs to the workers and further reduce wages. How will you deal with this?" Ultimately, Zhang Juzheng lacked experience. Facing the emerging commodity economy, he was quite unfamiliar with the Ming Dynasty rulers.

There are many people in Jiangnan who are involved in handicrafts. These people all need to make a living. They do not have farmland or mulberry fields, and they rely entirely on the workshops set up by gentry and powerful families to make a living.

In the past, they could live in peace, but after years of disaster, many silkworm farmers in Jiangnan lost their land and needed to find work.

With an increase in the demand for workers in the market, wealthy gentry took the opportunity to drive down prices. In fact, in order to "annoy" Zhang Juzheng, they would rather deliberately suffer losses than let the disaster-stricken people suffer.

The imperial court may be able to provide disaster relief, but if it wants to restore production and protect the people, it must compromise with the local gentry.

You should know that Japanese pirates are still eyeing us covetously overseas!
"Gentlemen? Workshops? What do they have to do with us?" Zhang Yunxiu asked calmly.

Seeing the other person's rambling manner again, Zhang Juzheng lost his patience: "What nonsense are you spouting now?"

Zhang Yunxiu squinted his eyes: "I think it would be better to bypass the middlemen who make a profit and deliver the raw materials directly to the people so that they can weave cloth. That would solve the problem easily."

Zhang Juzheng analyzed very seriously: "Absurd! How can the people consume so much cotton and silk? If you want to influence the market, you need a sufficient scale, which is called the scale effect!"

“Normally, they really can’t digest it,” Zhang Yunxiu said, his eyes gleaming. “But what if I could build a machine that could produce textiles ten times more efficiently than traditional looms?”

"Absolutely not."

Zhang Juzheng instinctively wanted to refute, but his eyes immediately became suspicious as he stared intently at Zhang Yunxiu and spoke.

What have you come up with this time?

Zhang Yunxiu walked to the desk, rummaged through a hidden compartment and pulled out a book. He then took out a blueprint from the book and laid it out in front of his father.

"Father, please look. This is called the Heavenly Craftsmanship Weaving Machine!"

It is called the "Tiangong Textile Machine", but it is actually based on the later Jenny machine, with some mechanization improvements made in later times.

Calling it Jenny directly would be a bit strange, so Zhang Yunxiu simply named it "Tiangong Textile Machine".

To be honest, he had been preparing for this machine for several months, and it finally came in handy recently.

Zhang Juzheng didn't know much about mechanics, but the Ming Dynasty Mechanical Academy had been approved by the cabinet through a vote.

He still had some recollection of the most confidential research among them.

Zhang Juzheng's expression grew increasingly solemn as he looked up and asked.

"What are you going to do?"

“It’s very simple.” Zhang Yunxiu grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. “Aren’t the Jiangnan gentry relying on their textile workshops? They’ve been using their wealth and power to oppress the people, trying to force the court to consider the taxes from Jiangnan and not dare to touch them.”

Then we'll take a different approach. We'll manufacture this 'Heavenly Craftsmanship Weaving Machine' in Xishan, but we won't sell silk or cloth; we'll only sell the machine and technical guidance!

Zhang Juzheng still didn't quite understand: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yunxiu explained in detail: "Simply put, after a flood, countless small craftsmen went bankrupt and could only flock to the city to seek help from large factory owners, that is, gentry and powerful people."

However, the gentry and powerful not only suppressed prices and exploited the people, but also resisted the court by deliberately refusing to accept the unemployed. As a result, the court was caught in a dilemma, and the Jiangnan region became increasingly turbulent.

Although the imperial court has provided disaster relief funds, it is a drop in the ocean; the people cannot even sustain their livelihoods, and they will continue to suffer.

He then changed the subject and offered a plan.

"In my opinion, instead of continuously pouring money into Jiangnan for disaster relief, it would be better to use a portion of it to establish a money exchange! The money exchange could work in conjunction with the 'Tiangong Textile Machine' in Xishan."

The former provides loans to the people to maintain production and daily life, while the latter can greatly improve textile efficiency, producing more cotton and silk!

Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but see through his scheme. His gaze sharpened: "You wouldn't be thinking of making huge profits through the money shop, would you?"

Having been immersed in the imperial court for many years, he was all too familiar with the corrupt practices that officials used to create various pretexts for corruption.

"What kind of person does Father take me for?" Zhang Yunxiu said indignantly. "Do I, Zhang Yunxiu, need money? Do I need to swindle the poor? Is it worth swindling a pittance from them? The capital is full of gold and silver, why should I bother going to Southern Zhili?"

That makes a lot of sense.
This kid has been swindling money from high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

But Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but chuckle, and said rather irritably, "Then what do you mean?"

"Relief through loans!" Zhang Yunxiu said succinctly. "The imperial court will change the relief grain into low-interest or even interest-free loans, directly distributing silver to the people and eliminating middlemen who would profit from the difference!"

He forced a smile.

"If the imperial court distributes grain, rice, and porridge for disaster relief, there will inevitably be people who try to embezzle it. Now, in the commercially prosperous Southern Zhili, distributing silver is much more practical!"

If this were in Beizhili, Zhang Yunxiu would certainly not have dared to do such a thing. But this was in Nanzhili, where the commodity economy had become increasingly prosperous since the Jiajing and Longqing reigns. In comparison, distributing silver would probably be a better option.

Now Zhang Juzheng finally understood. He widened his eyes and said in shock.

"Is this the Green Sprouts Law proposed by Wang Anshi during the Song Dynasty?"

(End of this chapter)