The Ming Dynasty: A Modern Return, Building an Overseas Empire

Chapter 109 Commercial Reform: All That's Needed is the Right Moment - Iwami Silver Mine!

Zhu Gaoxu arrived at the main hall, but at this point he had no interest in the so-called scenery and exquisite details of the palace.

The scene from just now still flashes through his mind, and he can't shake it off.

After a long while, Zhu Gaoxu suppressed his emotions, composed himself, and looked at Zhu Huan.

"Was the title 'Holy King' given to you or someone else who initiated it?"

Zhu Gaoxu was quite surprised by this title.

He truly hadn't expected that the people below would think of him that way.

Today was also the first time he directly experienced how deep his popularity was here.

In fact, almost everything he did was influenced by his experiences, observations, and learnings in modern times. He never really thought about who he was doing all this for.

Everyone thought he was devoted to the people, but he knew he only wanted to develop the area and then increase his strength.

To develop this place, people are needed, and he naturally has to consider these factors.

All those sacrifices, in the final analysis, were simply to make his territory better.

Although the process and results were indeed as the people said, Zhu Gaoxu felt somewhat guilty.

What happened today suddenly had a big impact on him.

Because he's not someone who doesn't want anything; he's not that noble yet.

Zhu Huan bowed respectfully and said solemnly, "Your Highness, this matter was not guided by anyone, not only the common people, but also the officials."

Many people told me that things here are completely different from those in the Ming Dynasty; they saw completely different people and systems.

Some people said they were very interested in seeing how far the prince's systems would ultimately go.

Those below often said in private that the current prince was completely different from before; they had never seen anyone treat the people so genuinely.

In everyone's mind, the prince was sacred, and gradually the title of Holy King came into being.

In fact, Your Highness, I think this is a good thing. It shows that officials and common people alike have Your Highness in their hearts.

Even the army sometimes heard some generals say that the soldiers below did not know how to repay the prince, and all wanted to go to the battlefield to fight for the prince and repay the prince's kindness.

I think so too.

Within the Ming Dynasty, officials praise the Crown Prince's benevolence and virtue, but in my heart, and in the hearts of everyone here, it is Your Highness who is truly benevolent and worthy of the title of Holy King!

"Alright, don't say these things out loud. In the future, stop flattering and do more practical work."

Seeing Zhu Huan patting the horse with a solemn and serious expression, Zhu Gaoxu said he refused, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, which he couldn't suppress.

Sure enough, while everyone knows the importance of flattery, the feeling it evokes is always different for the listener.

Especially when Zhu Huan praises someone without realizing it, it's impossible to refuse.

Gently shake your head to calm yourself down.

"Now that the construction here is almost complete, we need to concentrate our manpower to continue the reclamation and at the same time start building post roads to connect Hanjing with other cities."

Hurry up and prepare for the allocation of land and housing. Make sure to control the details carefully in this final step to avoid any problems.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have already started doing it. A portion has been allocated and I have gained some experience."

"It will definitely be all completed before next spring."

Neither Zhu Gaochi nor Zhu Huan mentioned slaves. Basically, all the welfare benefits were only available to high-ranking slaves; the rest were irrelevant to them.

This is why those slaves risked their lives to make contributions, hoping to get rid of their lowly slave status as soon as possible and become middle-class slaves.

Those few who became middle-class slaves worked even harder to contribute to the fiefdom, hoping to become high-class slaves.

Even slaves could only barely receive a little bit of treatment if they became high-ranking slaves.

This was also one of the temptations Zhu Gaochi offered, causing those slaves to fight tooth and nail to squeeze their way up.

Having a goal, along with opportunities and pathways, is what truly ignites everyone's passion.

Otherwise, how could these people have risked their lives to build up his territory?

After discussing for a long time, Zhu Gaoxu then had Mei Qing summoned.

Even now that he's back, knowing that Wei Wanrong is waiting for him, Zhu Gaoxu has no choice but to deal with other matters first.

Spurred by what happened today, Zhu Gaoxu had only one thing on his mind: to develop the situation as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Zhu Gaoxu gently helped Mei Qing up and slowly spoke.

"You have been in charge of foreign business before, and now I will establish the Commercial and Trade Department, with you as its head."

Next, this place will undergo a complete transformation, and business will gradually begin. You need to implement these things as soon as possible.

Before a shop opens, your business administration department must conduct a survey of the shops on the street, after someone enters.

Each shop's business operations, scale, and the invoicing and auditing procedures related to commercial tax payment that I previously taught you must be implemented thoroughly.

After registration is completed, anyone who wants to expand their business scope must re-register with the Department of Commerce and Trade, and the new registration will set a new amount; it will no longer be provided free of charge.

If the goods sold are not within the business scope, the shop will be investigated and its operating rights will be confiscated. The shop owner will also be added to a blacklist.

"How do we get off the blacklist? How can we get the business back on track? After you go down there, draft a detailed plan and submit it to us."

"At the same time, you and Zhu Huan should go down and discuss how to collect commercial taxes here in the future, and come up with a specific implementation plan after the discussion."

I can tell you in advance that from now on, the main source of income for my domain will be commercial taxes.

I will reduce the taxes levied on the common people by a greater amount than you can imagine, so please consider this carefully when making the relevant decisions.

Furthermore, all major ports will be subject to an additional tax from now on: customs duties, on all goods entering or leaving from outside the territory.

I have a preliminary definition of tariffs here. Take it down, review it, and then come up with a specific plan.

To collect tariffs, specific individuals are required to be in charge.

At that time, a Customs Office will be established, and goods entering and leaving the country will be subject to inspection by the Customs Office. The final tariff will also be determined by the Customs Office.

Because this involves a certain level of commercial trade, Mei Qing, you should recommend someone from the Department of Commerce and Trade later.

Zhu Gaoxu kept making arrangements, and commercial economics was something he needed to develop as soon as possible.

If the economy isn't allowed to circulate, even if he has extraordinary abilities, the situation here will only get worse.

Thinking of something, Zhu Gaochi continued, "No tariffs are levied on trade between the Ming Dynasty and other regions."

If the Ming Dynasty, now the largest economy in the world, were to add this, it could easily go awry.

It hurts to give up a piece of meat, but that's all we can do now.

Zhu Huan and Mei Qing stared wide-eyed at Zhu Gaoxu's words, their hearts filled with shock.

Although Zhu Gaochi did something completely different from what the Ming Dynasty did after they arrived here, the situation was still special.

I thought things would gradually become more aligned, but unexpectedly, significant differences have emerged in the business sector.

What shocked the two of them the most was Zhu Gaoxu's statement that the main source of income in the future would be customs duties.

Taxes will be reduced across the board, and the reduction will be greater than they expect.

This was what shocked the two of them the most.

Throughout history, who dared to abolish taxes?

If you dare to cancel it today, your dynasty will collapse tomorrow.

Because there was no income, the business could not continue.

This is such a large source of income; Zhu Gaoxu is clearly preparing to lose it.

Even Zhu Huan was filled with trepidation at this moment.

Is shifting the burden from taxes to commercial taxes a reliable approach? Is it feasible?

After much hesitation, Zhu Huan and Mei Qing ultimately did not object and agreed.

Trusting Zhu Gaoxu, let's give it a try first.

If it doesn't work, we'll revise it again!

Zhu Gaoxu discussed the matter with the two men for a long time before letting them leave.

Since we are going to engage in commerce and develop the commercial economy, the commercial economy will inevitably surpass the agricultural economy.

Throughout history, the burden of responsibility has been placed on the people. Now, he wants to change that and place the burden on commerce.

When the agricultural economy collapses, the dynasty will collapse.

Even if the commercial economy collapses, as long as there is still food and the people are not starving, there is still a chance to turn things around.

As long as the largest group of people, ordinary citizens, remains stable, no matter how big the trouble, it will not be a trouble.

Having made these arrangements, Zhu Gaoxu summoned Niucheng.

"Niu Cheng, you go to Tsushima Island yourself and take three thousand soldiers with you."

Tell Veda to capture Iwami as soon as possible!

"Remember, I only want Iwami! He must be controlled!"

Now that we're going to do business, the Iwami Silver Mine must start mining.

This is the source of his confidence in developing his entire business – the Iwami Silver Mine!

After taking this much time off, we can finally free up our resources to deal with this situation.