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

The reason is actually very simple: Zhu Di made a fortune, but the officials and civil servants didn't even get a sip of soup.

At that time, many powerful and wealthy people owned smuggling ships and made a fortune by trading spices.

As a result, once Zheng He's hundreds of warships set sail, the price of spices plummeted to rock bottom.

If it were just cutting off the source of wealth, that would be one thing, but in the later years of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di did something even more ruthless and outrageous.

When they were fighting wars, writing books, and building Beijing, they ran out of money to pay salaries, so they simply used spices to pay their wages.

You can get a discount on imported goods, but selling them will be a bit more troublesome, and the price will still be based on the highest price.

The salaries of Ming Dynasty officials were already the lowest in history, and now their wages have been reduced by more than half.

It can only be said that Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Di were truly of the same ilk in terms of being ruthless and heartless.

Put yourself in their shoes: if you were a Ming Dynasty official, would you have supported the voyages to the West?

I'm not earning a single penny; in fact, I'm losing money. Isn't that a bit too much?

Upon seeing this, officials from various dynasties were in an uproar.

The actions of the Ming Dynasty emperors were an eye-opener for everyone.

All the money went into the emperor's pocket, and he even had to snatch food from the bowls of the officials.

These emperors of the Zhu family are simply inhuman!

"Good heavens, did the Ming Dynasty emperors have a grudge against their officials to make things so difficult for them?"

Liu Bang picked at his ear, his face full of surprise and disbelief.

The father prints worthless paper to fool people, while the son uses cheap, common spices to make a living.

This stingy behavior truly shows a lack of regard for the officials below them.

There are countless ways for an emperor to make money.

Tax collection, monopolies, or even just finding any excuse to confiscate property—which way can't you make money?

If he were in charge of this, he would definitely get everyone involved and let them go out to sea and make a fortune together!

Liu Bang even considered that if the deal went through, he might even change the military merit system.

In the future, not only beheading people could lead to titles of nobility, but also discovering new lands at sea and opening up new sea routes could lead to titles of nobility and generalships.

Money can never be fully earned, but if people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead a team.

Liu Bang glanced at Xiao He, Cao Can, and the others. These old brothers had followed him through thick and thin, all for the sake of getting rich and powerful titles and privileges.

If I had done things like the Zhu family emperors, all these people would have run away long ago.

"He's heartless and ungrateful; that assessment is quite accurate," Liu Bang concluded.

……

During the Yongle reign, at the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Di stared blankly at the sky, his face displaying a variety of expressions.

He had never understood why the entire court was so opposed to the voyages to the Western Ocean.

After all that, it turns out the root of the problem is money!

He looked at the ministers below the stage, whose expressions were gloomy. The atmosphere was extremely heavy and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Zhu Di felt more confused than ever before, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Minister Xia, is what Tianmu said true?"

Xia Yuanji stepped out of the queue, struggled for a long time, and forced a smile before answering, "Your Majesty, I believe... Tianmu's words are an exaggeration."

"My salary is more than enough to support my family of three, and we have absolutely no fear of begging for food. How could it be too low...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Di abruptly interrupted him.

"It seems like there are more than three people in your family."

Xia Yuanji simply bent his waist even lower and remained silent.

All the civil and military officials remained silent, their expressions as they looked up at the sky were incredibly gloomy.

Being an official in the Ming Dynasty was truly difficult.

According to the calculations of the founding emperor, the salary was indeed more than enough to support a family of three.

The question is, which official family only has three members?

Don't sedan chair bearers, carriage drivers, servants, and maids get paid?

Welcoming guests, sending them off, weddings and funerals, socializing with colleagues—all of these require money.

Even if we only offer this fixed salary, at least pay the full amount of grain!

Old Zhu invented the paper money, which had some value at the beginning, but at the end it could only be used to prop up a table.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang was like this, Zhu Di went even further, using spices and silk instead of salaries.

As a first-rank official, Xia Yuanji's salary was only seven hundred shi (a unit of grain), and even then, it was halved.

After ten years of hard study, he finally passed the imperial examination with flying colors, but in the end, he still had to pay out of his own pocket to work for the Zhu family.

Therefore, Xia Yuanji was already at peace with the fact that someone was embezzling.

What can we do if we don't greed? If we don't greed, our whole family will starve!

Zhu Di's chest heaved violently as he pointed at Xia Yuanji and began to berate him.

"Where is the salary less? It was always this much before. Are you saying we can't survive?"

"Look at yourselves and see why. After all these years, why are you the only ones complaining about being poor? Have you been seriously serving the country?"

"To obstruct national affairs for one's own selfish desires is an unforgivable crime!"

"Everyone here should be dragged out and given a taste of the ruthless methods of our founding emperor!"

Zhu Di had been holding back these words for a long time.

These civil officials are short-sighted, only concerned with the little money in their own pockets; they are simply unreasonable.

Didn't they use all the money they earned from their voyages to the West for national affairs?

Moreover, why didn't Zhu Yuanzhang complain about the low salary when he was in power? It's only now that I've taken the throne that I'm complaining!

Is this an implication that I didn't do well?

Zhu Di stood up, looking down at the prostrate officials. "What? Are you all mute?"

"You were quite adept at gossiping behind my back! Now, say it to my face!"

"..."

Seeing that Zhu Di was furious, naturally no one dared to respond.

Only Zhu Di's heavy breathing could be heard in the main hall, so suffocating that it made one's scalp tingle.

Zhu Di stared at the prostrate officials for a long time, his murderous intent growing stronger.

Why can't officials be honest and upright?

Is it really that difficult to overcome one's own shortcomings and honestly perform official duties?

"Hmph, the more they oppose it, the more it proves I'm right! I must sail this sea!"

Zhu Di turned and left, leaving behind a hall full of ministers who were trembling with fear and secretly lamenting their fate.

-

Besides the opposition from civil and military officials, ordinary people were also not very enthusiastic about going to sea.

As a self-sufficient agricultural civilization, it emphasizes settling down in one's homeland and considering the land as fundamental.

Later, when Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, the Grand Canal was dredged again to ensure the supply of materials.

The rise of the Grand Canal created a large number of stable jobs.

Although being a canal worker is hard work, it is more stable and safer than going to sea.

In addition, Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean were essentially an act to enhance Zhu Di's achievements, driven entirely by the emperor's will.

Once Zhu Di died, and with neither officials nor the people supporting him, the regime naturally couldn't continue.

Tongzhou Wharf during the Jiajing era.

The barren, sun-darkened canal worker, nodded in agreement with Tianmu's remarks.

There were really no benefits to going to sea in the past!

The ocean is boundless. What if you're unlucky and encounter a stormy sea, and can't make it back?

Moreover, taking such a big risk doesn't yield much better returns than being a canal worker.

Therefore, naturally no one is willing to risk going out to sea.

but--

After watching the screen for so many days, those numbers are just too glaring.

A shipload of spices could fetch hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and the Spanish could easily exchange some junk for gold.

Moreover, the imperial court has recently been recruiting a large number of carpenters and sailors, with a guaranteed monthly salary of two taels of silver.

If you dare to go to sea, you can even get dividends!

Although the idea of ​​dividends might sound a bit abstract, the monthly allowance is a real and tangible payment.

What's the point of talking about stability or instability? In this life, being poor is the most unstable thing.

Both are going to die, but they are more afraid of dying in poverty!