Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

Now everyone should understand why Zhu Di sent voyages to the Western Ocean.

It wasn't that he was bored, nor was he looking for Emperor Jianwen; it was simply because he was broke!

When Zhu Di ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty's finances were no longer a minor problem; they were on the verge of collapse.

The Ming Dynasty's paper money had depreciated to its limit, becoming barely worthless, which forced people to spontaneously use silver for transactions.

China lacked silver mines, which caused the value of silver to rise rapidly, prompting landlords and officials to hoard it like crazy.

The more people hoard silver, the less silver is circulating in the market, and the higher the price of silver becomes.

By this time, the Ming government found that it could not collect taxes at all, and the national treasury was extremely poor.

Zhu Di sensed something was wrong and wanted to find someone to manage it, but the problem was that he couldn't find anyone knowledgeable about it.

The Ministry of Revenue was completely ignorant of economic principles and knew nothing about anything, nearly driving Zhu Di to his death with anger.

As Zhu Di listened to Tianmu's explanation, he felt that every word resonated with him.

When he captured Nanjing, he was convinced that he would inherit a prosperous empire.

When they opened the ledgers, good heavens! The national treasury was pitifully poor; even a rat would have to pay two hundred to enter.

The Ministry of Revenue couldn't figure out why either; they were just poor and couldn't collect taxes no matter what.

Seeing all the civil and military officials kneeling on the ground, Zhu Di felt an unprecedented loneliness.

Such a large imperial court couldn't find a single person who understood economics.

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Zhu Gaochi moved his plump body and strode out, respectfully cupping his hands in greeting.

"Father, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on the Ministry of Revenue."

"The Ming Dynasty selected officials based on the eight-legged essay, not on arithmetic or economics, so it's normal that they don't understand it."

Zhu Di glanced at his chubby son. "What do you think?"

Zhu Gaochi scratched his head, a shrewd look in his eyes. "For professional matters, we should find professionals. Emperor Wu of Han used Sang Hongyang, who came from a merchant background, for his reforms. We should do the same."

"Your Majesty, I believe it is permissible to invite merchants from across the land to study the economic problems of the Ming Dynasty."

merchant?

Upon hearing those two words, Zhu Di instinctively felt disgusted.

The Zhu family's ancestral teachings state that being a merchant is a lowly profession; one cannot even wear silk, let alone serve as an official for them.

If a merchant were to become an official, wouldn't that be utterly lawless?

If someone has both money and power, what's the point of having an emperor?

Zhu Di was somewhat displeased, and his tone was cold and hard: "Merchants are driven by profit; to let them interfere in the court's finances is probably..."

"Your subject did not say he would grant him real power."

Zhu Gaochi had anticipated his father's reaction, and calmly continued, "Just give him a nominal title, he won't be ranked, he won't receive a salary, and he won't participate in court affairs."

"A title that allows them to meet the emperor is enough to make them go through fire and water for their father."

"this……"

Zhu Di walked around the palace twice, and the more he thought about it, the more ingenious he felt this method was.

A businessman's keen sense of smell and ability are beyond doubt, but if given real power, it's like raising a tiger to cause trouble.

But if they only give empty titles, the power will always remain in the hands of the imperial court, and the merchants will not be able to cause any trouble.

Zhu Di sat back on the dragon throne, and his expression finally improved.

"I'm entrusting this matter to you. If you handle it well, I will reward you handsomely!"

The current problem in the Ming Dynasty is the over-issuance of currency, which has led to a severe economic crisis. It is necessary to rebalance the value of paper money and silver.

After talking with Semu people and Arab merchants, Zhu Di made the decision to go overseas to earn foreign exchange!

Moreover, Zhu Di was a man who loved grand achievements; if he was going to do something, he would do it on a grand scale!

Not only do we want to do business, but we also want the whole world to see just how powerful the Ming Dynasty is.

The Ming Dynasty, however, was not lacking in shipbuilding technology, having inherited the techniques from the Song and Yuan dynasties, with Chen Youliang playing a crucial role in this achievement.

"You deserve all the credit? I'll f*** you!"

Chen Youliang was so angry that he jumped up and down, pointing at the sky and cursing loudly.

He now understood why Zhu Di was able to build such a large fleet.

So, the talent and blueprints all came from us, right?

Looking at the fleet of ships and oars blocking out the sun on the riverbank, Chen Youliang felt numb.

His most prized naval force in his life ended up working for the Zhu family?

The thought of becoming the head of the transport team made Chen Youliang's blood boil, and he had an urge to set it on fire.

That's outrageous!!!

For such a large-scale voyage, Zhu Di needed a trustworthy person to lead it, so it was natural to find Zheng He.

Zheng He followed Zhu Di very early on and participated in the Jingnan Campaign, so his military capabilities are beyond doubt.

At the same time, he was well-informed and knew multiple languages, which facilitated communication with countries overseas.

Most importantly, he was a eunuch.

Eunuchs had no descendants, no family interests involved, and therefore no possibility of them holding military power or establishing separatist regimes overseas.

Unlike that certain sorcerer surnamed Xu, who set sail and then disappeared without a trace.

Zheng He felt somewhat ashamed upon hearing Tianmu's evaluation of him.

He had no idea he had so many good qualities.

Tianmu dared to offer scathing criticisms of even the Qin and Han emperors, so why is he showered with praise when it comes to himself?

Does a eunuch truly deserve such praise?

"Xu Fu?"

Ying Zheng looked at the sky, his face always showing deep indifference.

If Tianmu hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten about Xu Fu asking him for money to go to sea in search of the fairy island.

Once the boat sets sail, they can't find anyone?

They're making a fool of Qin Shi Huang!

"Zhao Gao, take your men and bring Xu Fu back, then castrate him immediately."

Ying Zheng's voice was calm as water, yet it carried a chilling coldness. "I think we don't need to look for elixirs anymore. Just be a eunuch in the palace."

"Yes, sir." Zhao Gao prostrated himself on the ground and answered respectfully.

He glanced at Ying Zheng's cold profile and felt a strange sense of pleasure welling up inside him.

You don't know when you'll have bad luck, but you're genuinely happy to see others about to have a really bad time.

The scale of the Ming Dynasty's treasure ships was unparalleled in the world at that time, and it took China several hundred years to surpass them.

Zheng He stood on the deck with his hands in his pockets, gazing out at the four seas, completely unaware of what an opponent was!

The entire fleet consisted of two to three hundred warships and tens of thousands of regular soldiers. Who would dare to disrespect them?

If anyone lacks dignity, Zheng He will help them maintain their dignity.

Under the intimidating presence of this fleet, trade proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

The fleet traveled to various countries and brought back a vast amount of rare and exotic treasures, including a large quantity of spices.

After Zhu Yuanzhang imposed a maritime ban, the price of spices skyrocketed, and the supply could not meet the demand within the Ming Dynasty.

As we mentioned earlier, the Ming Dynasty now needs a new hard currency to balance the prices of paper money and silver.

Zhu Di looked at the warehouse full of spices and had a brilliant idea: he would use them as currency!

Using spices as currency sounds absurd now, but it was actually very effective at the time.

Spices were both a luxury and a necessity, and their production and transportation were completely monopolized by the government.

Merchants and landlords flocked to purchase spices with silver, significantly increasing the amount of silver circulating in the market and revitalizing the Ming Dynasty's economy.

Wait a minute, why can spices be used as money?

Why didn't the Ming Dynasty paper money work before, but spices did?

What is the reason behind this?

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly, gazing at the sky as he fell into deep thought.

Just as he was deep in thought, he inadvertently saw the Shu brocade beside him.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhuge Liang like lightning, and he suddenly understood.

The reason why the paper money failed was that it was worthless in itself, and its value was entirely based on the credit of the imperial court.

But the spices are different, and so is the Shu brocade!

These things are of extremely high value, and their production is limited!

As long as the imperial court can monopolize the supply of goods and control the quantity circulating in the market, the value can remain stable!

"I see, I see."

Zhuge Liang muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.

Liu Bei watched his strategist stroke the Shu brocade, his face full of doubt: "Strategist, have you come up with a brilliant plan?"

Zhuge Liang chuckled lightly, "I already have a plan. Once we take over Xichuan, we will control Shujin."

"At that time, we will be able to get the wealthy merchants and gentry of Cao Wei and Sun Wu to willingly spend money to help us restore the Han Dynasty."

-

Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean were incredibly profitable, bringing back goods worth tens of millions of taels of silver and greatly enhancing China's influence over neighboring countries.

Doesn't that sound great? So why did it fall apart later?

After all, it's rare to see something this lucrative.

Yes, why is that?

Zhu Di was puzzled. Why couldn't this great thing, which was supposed to bring both fame and fortune, be carried out?