Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

In the Huagai Hall, after Jiang Xinghuo briefly gained the upper hand on the first question about "time and law", the situation fell into a stalemate on the second question "agriculture and business".

It is related to the transformation and adjustment of Ming Dynasty’s economic policy. There are too many and complicated things involved. If you are not careful, countless people will lose their livelihood. For both sides of the court and the debate, relying on reason alone seems to be a temporary problem. It’s hard to overpower the opponent for a while.

After all, the [Salt and Iron Conference] in the Western Han Dynasty lasted from February to July. Even if the Ming Dynasty was not so exaggerated, the two people here, judging from the length of the [Yanhe Palace Debate] in the Northern Song Dynasty, it would not be completed in a short time. of.

"Your Majesty, as the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, I request to join the court debate."

At this moment, Xia Yuanji suddenly came out.

Court debate has never been a 1V1 one-on-one mode like the classic debate. Since it is related to the Ming Dynasty's economy for who knows how many years in the future, almost all department bosses intend to participate in it to fight for the interests of themselves and their departments.

"Please join me in the court debate."

"The same is true for me!"

After Xia Yuanji took the lead in expressing his position, it immediately triggered a chain reaction, and then several more heavyweights came forward one after another and asked to join the court debate, until all six ministers had arrived.

Jian Yi and Ru Ruan. Although these people rarely talk to each other on weekdays, each of them is a veteran figure in the court and has an outstanding status.

At this time, they represented the highest power of the imperial court and had a decisive say in the temple system of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, they held a large amount of resources and could use all levels of their subordinates to directly influence the fourteenth chief envoys. The company can even indirectly affect the future trend of Ming Dynasty.

In addition, ministers such as Xu Siwen, Qiao Wen, and Song Li also expressed their intention to participate.

Zhu Di politely rejected the proposals of the ministers.

"This matter is of great importance. Except for the participation of the Imperial Advisor, the three princes, the Six Ministers, several Dukes from the Fifth Military Governor's Office, and a few cabinet members responsible for recording, the rest can retire from the court, and the court debate will be transferred to Fengtian Hall. .”

The emperor's words were quickly recognized by the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. They also felt that Zhu Di was right, and he was right in that "the rest of the people can withdraw from the court."

Although some people want to listen, most people know that they are just listening to the excitement and cannot participate or decide anything. The minutes of the subsequent meeting will definitely be published in the "Di Bao", so you can take a look at it when the time comes. alright.

The most urgent thing right now is to go eat.

Following the urging of the supervisory censors, the officials who had been running back and forth for dozens of miles without eating in the bright sun were finally relieved and lined up to leave the Huagai Hall.

In fact, it was also in line with the wishes of the Ming Empire's top officials to hold small-scale, high-level discussions instead of holding the process in public.

After all, the things involved in the court debate are too important to allow other people to interrupt. It is best not to let most people know about the discussion process. As for what to do next, it is left to those who make the decision to worry about it. Well, otherwise if something goes wrong, the loss will be immeasurable.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Xia Yuanji secretly breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, at least the six ministers left behind, the balance of power is not so disparate. If you count several Dukes of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, it can even be said that they support peace. The number of opponents is basically even.

After moving to Fengtian Hall, Zhu Di and several princes were able to take off their imperial robes and put on their regular clothes.

Zhu Di glanced around the crowd and said, "Let's get started."

Just now Jiang Xinghuo finished speaking, and it was Huang Fu's turn. Seeing that Jiang Xinghuo had no intention of continuing to speak, Huang Fu said naturally: "The effect of financial management is also discussed in the Northern Song Dynasty [Yanhe Palace Debate]. Sima Guang once said He said: The people do not add taxes but the state uses the resources. This is what Sang Hongyang said to deceive Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian wrote it to ridicule Emperor Wu for his ignorance. The goods and wealth produced by heaven and earth are limited to this number. If they are not among the people, they are in the public houses. . Sanghongyang can be used by the country, but not from the people. How can we get it? If it is as said, in the last years of Emperor Wu's reign, a group of thieves appeared, and he sent messengers in embroidered clothes to hunt them down? It is not because the people are exhausted that they become thieves. ? How can this statement be taken as true?"

"What the National Master said, the people are rich and the country is strong, is very similar to what Wang Anshi said, 'the people do not add taxes but the country uses money'. But what was the result of Wang Anshi's reform? The country did overdraw its temporary potential in exchange for a rich treasury, but the Northern Song Dynasty died in Wang Anshi, have you ever told lies?"

That is to say, on the same national economic debate, Wang Anshi's point of view is that there is a way to increase the government's fiscal revenue without increasing the burden on the people, thus achieving a win-win effect; while Sima Guang's point of view is to increase the government's fiscal revenue. Fiscal revenue must increase taxes on the people, thereby benefiting the country and harming the people.

From the perspective of later generations, it seems that Wang Anshi is more reasonable, but if we evaluate it fairly from the results, that is, from the financial and social situation of the Northern Song Dynasty after the reform, then Sima Guang is actually right.

Because the essence of Wang Anshi's reform is indeed not to make the cake bigger, but to compete for profits with the people. It is for the court to use the power in its hands to amass wealth. Although Wang Anshi's reform created tens of millions of wealth for the Northern Song Dynasty court, it was better than Jiayou during the Yuanfeng period. During the period, the fiscal revenue of the Northern Song Dynasty court increased by more than 2/3 every year. However, due to the court's intervention in matters such as young crops and equalization of losses, private business shrank, which was a typical case of the government advancing and the people retreating.

Therefore, Wang Anshi still used Sang Hongyang's financial management skills, but the packaging was more attractive.

At present, the key to the second issue "agriculture and business" has turned to Wang Anshi's reform to prove the gains and losses of this economic issue, so Jiang Xinghuo has to discuss the facts.

Jiang Xinghuo must prove that the economic measures in his reform are completely different from Wang Anshi's reform. Otherwise, the example of Wang Anshi's failed reform will not be convincing.

"Wang Anshi's reform is in the right direction, but he is taking the wrong path."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "There are only two types of financial management techniques, one is static and the other is dynamic."

"The so-called static financial management is what Sima Guang said, 'There are only this amount of goods and wealth produced by heaven and earth, and they are not among the people but among the public.' In other words, the total economic volume of the entire world is fixed, and the court can take more. If there are more people, there will be fewer people."

"Dynamic financial management is to expand the total economic volume so that both the court and the people can improve the interests of one party without harming the interests of the other. This is Wang Anshi's idea of ​​'the people do not add taxes but the state uses money'." '."

"The reason why I say Wang Anshi's reform is in the right direction is because Wang Anshi saw dynamic financial management, but he still followed the path of static financial management, so he took the wrong path."

"Just because we are taking the wrong path does not mean that the direction is wrong. The direction that Ming Dynasty wants to take is dynamic financial management, and abandons the static financial management that uses agricultural taxes, especially agricultural taxes on official land, as the pillar of national finance."

At this time, Qiu Fu, the Duke of Qi next to him, asked: "What is static financial management? If it is static financial management, how should this path be taken? Can you explain it in more detail?"

Hearing this, Duke Cheng Zhu Neng, Duke Wei Xu Huizu, and Duke Cao Li Jinglong also looked here.

"Please Xia Shangshu explain." Zhu Di suddenly said.

Xia Yuanji bowed slightly, and then said: "If you want to change the static financial management technique, there are basically two ways to go, which is the so-called 'rectification + expenditure reduction'. The rectification starts with agricultural taxes, or clearing the husband." Acres and household registrations can be checked to make the population and land clear, so as to provide the court with due agricultural taxes, or to adjust the land system and crack down on large and medium-sized landowners; to reduce expenditures is to reduce expenditures, usually by stopping construction projects, eliminating redundant officials, and reducing costs. Salaries, thereby reducing the royal family’s expenditures and officials’ salaries, so that the court needs to spend less.”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "To put it bluntly, it's just a matter of doing things piecemeal and tightening our belts to get by."

"That's pretty much what it means." Xia Yuanji nodded, and there was nothing wrong with saying that.

Seeing several princes laughing, the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi also spoke at this time: "You princes, don't think it's funny. Not everyone is willing to dig food from the soil, but China has been like this since ancient times, and it has been like this for thousands of years. , the so-called wealth is food, if you don’t find it from the soil, where can you find it? If you take a new path rashly, if you fail, you will die by hanging on a cliff, but the country is more important than Mount Tai, but it is worth millions. There is no room for negligence.”

This is true. Just like in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, most workers were not willing to work 996. They all yearned for wealth and freedom. They wanted to have fun during the workday, stay in five-star hotels, and check into Michelin restaurants. If Who is willing to work hard to build bricks when you can make a fortune and make quick money as an entrepreneurial tycoon? But the fact is, let’s not talk about the problem of whether there is a next meal if you don’t move bricks. Even if you have some savings, how many people dare to start a business rashly?

The same principle applies to the country, and it is even more cautious. Therefore, conservatively living within one's means is the most stable. After all, this is related to the life and death of a dynasty and the fate of tens of millions of people. Few people dare to try new things rashly. the way.

Therefore, static financial management techniques are nothing more than tightening one's belt and appropriating private wealth.

"That's it."

Jian Yi, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, sighed and said: "Master of the State, it is not that we are pedantic and unwilling to support the reform, but those who seek the country and govern the country should worry about defeat rather than victory. In the past thousands of years, it has been Is it true that no one has tried to enlarge the so-called 'economic aggregate'? Of course not. The Han and Tang Dynasties conquered the Western Regions in order to use the wealth of trade with the West to get rid of the financial situation of land tax. However, in the Han and Tang Dynasties, Has Tang’s martial arts victory been successful again?”

"Today's new law of the Imperial Guard aims to replace the agricultural tax as the sole pillar with domestic commerce and overseas trade. The idea is a good idea, but the veteran feels that it looks good, but it is not easy to implement. The country has been in war, and the treasury Emptyness does not mean years of accumulation, when the ropes of money are rotting and old grains are piled up in old warehouses, there is really no confidence to try!"

Then Zhuo Jing and Xia Yuanji refuted again.

After a round of intense and thorough exchanges, the two sides did not reach any consensus, so the ball returned to the referee's hands.

At present, the emperor's Minister of War, Ru Yu, and Minister of Punishment, Zheng Ci, have not expressed their opinions, and the third prince, Zhu Gaosui, has not spoken either.

As for San Yang, Hu Guang, and Jin Youzi in the cabinet, they only have the power to record meeting minutes and have no power to speak.

Zhu Di thought for a while and asked: "The problem now is nothing more than which path the imperial court will take for the economy in the future. How does the national master judge Wang Anshi's path? If Wang Anshi went wrong, where is the mistake?"

"Let's talk about the direction first. Wang Anshi's reform and the economic part are in the right direction."

Jiang Xinghuo explained: "The reason why dynamic financial management techniques are different from static financial management techniques is, in the final analysis, that they have different directions. That is to say, the first priority of the imperial court's economic policy is to develop production and expand through economic value-added. The total amount of the economy. But Wang Anshi's mistake was that although he chose the right direction, he still followed the old path, which was the "Farmland Water Conservancy Law". If he wanted to increase wealth by producing more food, water conservancy facilities were certainly important. , although it can help stabilize and increase grain production, can it really have a huge changing effect on the overall economic output?"

"Of course not." Zhu Di shook his head.

"So we are on the wrong track." Jiang Xinghuo said solemnly, "What can really increase the economic aggregate is increasing grain production on the one hand, and handicrafts on the other."

"What is economy? What can be exchanged for money is that. Huang Shangshu just said that trade does not produce economy. This is true, but the handicrafts of the Ming Dynasty, such as silk, porcelain, lacquerware, and tea. If they are spread all over the world, it is not a massacre? Since the handicraft industry Goods can generate economy through trade. The more handicrafts our Ming Dynasty produces and sells, the more money we can earn. Isn’t this a way to expand the total economic output?”

Huang Fudao said: "Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, agriculture and industry certainly create the economy, but the handicrafts are exchanged for goods that can neither be eaten nor drunk. Even if they are counted as the total economic volume, they are just numbers on the books. But in the year of great disaster, , can we allocate funds from the treasury to distribute spices, agates, furs and other items to the victims for disaster relief?"

Huang Fu is not arguing for the sake of arguing, but a conceptual issue that goes deep into his bones.

Confucian scholar-bureaucrats essentially felt that the things obtained through trade were useless.

However, Jiang Xinghuo blocked the road directly.

"When the Ming Dynasty carried out overseas trade, it could only use grain as the settlement item. Huang Shangshu must know that the Ming Dynasty's overseas trade must be in surplus."

"surplus?"

"The so-called trade surplus means that within a certain unit of time, such as a year, the two parties to the trade buy and sell various goods to each other and import and export each other. The export amount of Ming Dynasty is greater than the export amount of a certain country, or the import amount of Ming Dynasty is less than The difference in the import amount of a certain country is called a trade surplus for Ming Dynasty, and conversely, for a certain country, it is called a trade deficit."

Zhu Gaosui spoke for the first time: "That is to say, in terms of the interests of both trading parties, the party with a trade surplus is what we commonly call the party that 'takes advantage', while the party with a trade deficit is the party that 'suffers a loss' One side.”

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said: "That's the truth. It can be viewed this way, because the purpose of trade is to make money. The party with a trade surplus has made a net profit; while the party with a trade deficit has made a net payment. money."

After explaining the concept clearly, no one was confused as to why the Ming Dynasty had a surplus.

Is the world's most powerful country kidding you?

"So if it is narrowed down to one trade, the surplus part can be completely allowed to be used by the other party as payment and settlement items. In this way, Huang Shangshu feels that the total economic volume increased by handicrafts through overseas trade cannot be eaten or drunk. Book figures?”

In this case, the logic becomes:

Agriculture → Obtain food

Handicraft industry → trade surplus → obtaining food

Huang Fu and Jian Yi looked at each other. If Jiang Xinghuo did this, he would indeed have brought the food back. No matter whether it was rice produced in Daming or Japan or Champa, wouldn't they all be eaten the same?

"Food is the foundation of the country. How can we rely on overseas trade? Foreign countries are not of our kind and are not kings. What if we have constant trade deficits and do not export food to the Ming Dynasty in the year of great disaster?"

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said out of the blue: "The Ming Dynasty earns so much surplus, is it all piled up in the treasury? What does the navy of the Ming Dynasty do? Where merchant ships can reach overseas trade, can't warships reach it?"

Huang Fu: "."

Jian Yi: "."

But Shangshu was Shangshu after all, so he quickly reacted.

Jian Yi said: "What if it is a year of great disaster and there is no food in foreign countries? What if we can't get it by intimidation or sending troops to rob it? And the people of the Ming Dynasty in China, like the Song Dynasty, generally went to engage in business, the number of farmers decreased, and the food supply If output decreases, won’t there be a risk of the country collapsing at that time?”

This is leverage for the sake of leverage.

However, since it is a policy deduction, it is natural to take into account all possible future situations, and there is nothing wrong with being a bit biased.

We can't carry grain reserves at this time, because Jiang Xinghuo saw this thing in Changzhou Mansion. Taiping is unreliable after a long time. It's not like Zhu Yuanzhang has never thought of this kind of thing, but hasn't the Changping warehouse been stolen?

And if the food reserves are involved, then we will fall into the problem of "what if the catastrophe lasts for how many years?"

You said that if there are consecutive years of disasters, if we do not engage in overseas trade and no one engages in industry and commerce, the country will not be able to withstand it.

Then he would say, how do you know that if the vast majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, they will not be able to survive?

This involves a problem. In the agricultural era, there was no large-scale popularization of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, harvesters and other products. The output per unit of land is indeed related to the amount of labor input. The more intensive the farming, the higher the yield per mu. Don’t worry about it. If you don’t want to waste manpower, just say that’s what happened, right?

This is a fact and Jiang Xinghuo cannot deny it.

Therefore, from the very beginning, we must avoid the fork in the road of "reserving grain" and find another way.

"I just said that the trade surplus should be settled with grain. It is actually to ensure in the short term that the population relocation due to overseas trade will not affect the total amount of food in the Ming Dynasty. But in fact, the Ming Dynasty does not need to worry about the food problem for three hundred years. And what about three hundred years from now? Emperor Taizu Gao's system has not been in line with the times for more than thirty years, so why should you worry?"

As soon as Jiang Xinghuo said this, it was like a stone thrown into the lake, and an uproar immediately arose in Fengtian Hall.

"No need to worry about food? How is this possible?"

"Above court debates, the Imperial Master must not speak nonsense."

"Could it be that the National Master is talking about chemical fertilizers? But even chemical fertilizers can't do this."

But Zhu Di seemed to have thought of something.

When Zheng He reported to him, he once said that Jiang Xinghuo seemed to have mentioned magical high-yielding crops in a distant continent when talking to him alone.

It was not a lecture, but a private conversation between the two. Therefore, Zheng He was vague about the specific content, and Zhu Di had no way of knowing.

But at the moment, it seems that only the things Scaled Claw mentioned in the past meet the condition of "allowing the Ming Dynasty not to worry about food for the next three hundred years."

"Does the Imperial Master really mean what he said?"

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said: "Of course I take it seriously! Sir, please listen to me and explain in detail."

Jiang Xinghuo talked eloquently, and everyone present listened to his words attentively.

As Jiang Xinghuo pointed to the ancient books on the bookshelves placed on both sides of the hall, he listened to his eloquent speech: "Our Chinese civilization has been born for thousands of years. Although it has gone through more than ten dynasties, it still stands on this land. has never been completely occupied by any barbarians. In addition to the efforts and struggles of our ancestors and their cultural and martial arts, there is also a very important point, that is, the people are hardworking and simple, and are happy to farm. Every common person is the best farmer. Every common person is worthy of respect."

"But." Jiang Xinghuo changed the subject, "Have you ever thought about why there is always an invisible upper limit to China's population? It stands to reason that with the exploration of mountains, rivers and lakes, the area of ​​cultivated land is increasing. big."

"When the population was small, such as the Chu-Han War, the Three Kingdoms, the late Sui Dynasty, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the population was basically around 14 million; when the population was large, such as Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the population was as high as 6,000 Ten thousand."

Zhu Gaochi frowned and said, "But in the Northern Song Dynasty, the population clearly exceeded 100 million."

"Yes, the Southern Song Dynasty is not a national political power. Let's talk about the Northern Song Dynasty. Why did the Northern Song Dynasty alone have a population of more than 100 million?" Jiang Xinghuo asked again.

The princes here had never thought about this question, but it was not difficult for them, and they quickly found the answer.

"——Champa Rice!"

"Yes, it's Champa Rice."

Jiang Xinghuo Tuqian saw: "What overseas trade can bring back is not only the so-called spices, furs, carpets, etc., but also high-yielding crops that are two levels higher than Champa rice!"

Jiang Xinghuo said to Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, please bring out the globe."

Different from the version shown to Zheng He in prison, this large globe was specially made by Jiang Xinghuo for Zhu Di after he was released from prison, in order to open his eyes and stop thinking about beating up the Mongols on the grassland every day. This world It's very big. It doesn't mean that if you eliminate the Mongols, you will dominate the world.

"Get on the globe." Zhu Di waved his hand.

Zhu Gaosui went to personally invite the baby out.

As mentioned before, the ministers read history, and the fact that "the world is a sphere" was clearly remembered in the "History of the Yuan Dynasty", so when they saw this round ball covered with black cloth, although some people were surprised, but No one directly came to the flat earth and said.

But when the black cloth was unveiled, when the true and complete picture of the world's land and ocean appeared in front of the ministers' eyes, a deep shock still rose in their hearts.

What I want to say here is that in view of Jiang Xinghuo's extraordinary abilities, although the ministers saw the globe for the first time, they instinctively chose to believe rather than question. Perhaps this is also some recognition of Jiang Xinghuo. Although the temple concept It may be different, but they in the palace still have no doubts about Jiang Xinghuo's character, ability, and knowledge.

"How...how could this happen?!" Zheng Ci, the Minister of Punishment, couldn't help but lost his voice.

"Bang."

The elephant tablet (hu four sounds) in the hand of Ru Yu, the loyal uncle and the Minister of War, fell to the ground.

Others all turned their attention to Ru Ru, and the latter looked slightly sluggish, obviously not having recovered from the shock just now.

"Could it be that the world is really a sphere? It looks like this?"

"It's not strange that the sky is round and the earth is round. The earth is like a chicken, but these countries and landforms on other continents are strange."

Yes, the landscape.

In order to make it easier to understand, Jiang Xinghuo also specially asked skilled craftsmen from the Military and Weapons Bureau to make mountain peaks out of clay, fix them with fine sand, and create a desert. The ocean was painted with blue paint, and the plains were painted with green paint. It can be said to be very intuitive.

The Ming Dynasty is located in the eastern part of the mainland. This can be determined at a glance, and the subsequent simple judgment by reading the map is actually not difficult. After all, the people present are all important people and are well-informed.

"These countries can correspond to what is recorded in the notes left by Mongolia's Western Expedition."

Soon, countries and regions within the Eurasian continent were basically confirmed and accepted by ministers.

The Mongols left quite sufficient notes and data on their Western Expeditions. The map may be abstract after all, but there are still detailed information on how many miles away from a certain place, what the place is called, and what the terrain features are. Perhaps each minister has different information. , but put together, they are enough to confirm each other.

Jian Yi asked: "What exactly is the high-yielding crop that the Imperial Master said is two levels higher than Champa rice? And where is it?"

"Named potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes."

Yes, the time traveler three-piece suit has finally officially appeared.

Compared with other time-travelers, Jiang Xinghuo can neither carry modern varieties with him nor purchase them from foreign merchants. He is still in the PPT stage, which is a shame for time-travelers.

But with PPT, as long as you have credibility and others believe in you, then everyone can naturally suffocate for their dreams.

The effect of the three-piece set of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes on population growth in the agricultural era. It is useless to talk about other messy things. Let’s just talk about a set of figures. When the "I Qing Dynasty" completed the complete unification, the total population had dropped to 40 million. people, and what will be the total population in just one hundred years? Three hundred million!

In one hundred years, the total population has almost doubled every thirty years. This is the power of the three-piece set of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes.

Don't worry about whether Jiang Xinghuo's life was miserable or not. You just want to be productive, right? The terraced fields opened in the mountains did not have much water and the soil was not fertile enough, so the yields produced were higher than those of traditional crops grown on the plains cultivated land in the Yongle era.

"The place where these three crops are located is this continent."

Jiang Xinghuo turned the globe and pointed at the American continent.

Looking at the vast ocean, the ministers were not only a little amazed.

"It's so far away?"

"Don't worry, as long as the imperial court supports it, Ming's ocean-going fleet will definitely be able to bring these three things back within ten years."

This is not bragging. Columbus’s broken ships can do this. For the Ming Dynasty, as long as they improve the ships and sails suitable for ocean-going, and use the positioning method given by Jiang Xinghuo, work step by step, and first become familiar with the traditional maritime traditions of the Ming Dynasty and West Asia. The Silk Road, then establishing several strongholds in Africa and the Middle East, and finally around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Atlantic into South America, was not a difficult task.

As for why they did not choose to go north from Japan and then take the direction of the Bering Strait to enter North America, the reason is also very simple. The trade direction with the Ming Dynasty is not smooth, and there is a lack of supply points along the way.

When Jiang Xinghuo told the ministers about the three-piece set's strong adaptability, yield per mu, and the number of people it could support, Fengtian Hall fell into a brief suffocation.

No one doubts the ability of the national master.

And everything along the way seems to be verifiable whether it is true or false.

After all, it’s difficult to figure it out on your own, but the detailed map is given to you, which is equivalent to directly sweeping away the fog of war and automatically finding the path. What’s so difficult about this?

If the National Master is making it up to deceive everyone into promoting reforms, then there is no need to go to the New World. All it takes is one major trip along the way to prove the falsification.

"so."

Huang Fu, who was suffocated by his dream, had an undetectable tremor in his voice at this moment, and even he didn't realize it.

"Not only will overseas trade not affect the total amount of food in the Ming Dynasty, but it will increase the total amount of food and the population that can be supported?"

"good."

Jiang Xinghuo prepared a magic stick at the right time, raised his finger to point to the sky, and then put his finger to his lips.

Seeing this, the ministers seemed to understand something.

This is the "secret that cannot be told."

——There is someone in the sky.

Xia Yuanji sighed: "I personally went to the south of the Yangtze River. Now our Ming Dynasty is in a prosperous stage where the world is peaceful and the country is peaceful and the people are safe. However, due to the shortage of food, many people have trouble even eating. If this situation can really go away, Come back, how great would that be?"

"well."

At this time, Zhongzhong Borujun also sighed, paused for a moment, and then shook his head and said: "In these years, I don't know how many people have lost their families and perished in order to fill their stomachs and get a bite to eat."

"As important ministers of the country, we should eliminate tragedies like this invisible, but unfortunately, it backfired!"

A long sigh followed by a long silence.

When he saw all the officials looking dull, Zhu Di suddenly spoke.

"Okay! We, Ming Dynasty, have to look forward!"

Shen shouted, and the hall fell silent instantly.

Zhu Di glanced at everyone and said slowly: "I know that you all have great doubts about the globe displayed today. I can tell you that I am also doubtful. However, this is one of the top secrets of my Ming Dynasty. In any case, you have some doubts in your hearts. All huge doubts must be kept secret!”

After a pause, Zhu Di continued: "In any case, the Ming Dynasty has an absolute advantage over overseas countries in maritime trade. Since it can increase the total economic volume, even if the high-yielding crops in the New World cannot be obtained in a short time, the Ming Dynasty will We can still obtain food through overseas trade surplus, and we don’t need to worry about a food crisis in the Ming Dynasty after some people engage in business, so why not conduct overseas trade?”

In a short period of time, Ming Dynasty has the buff of population reduction after the disaster, and the buff of increased production of chemical fertilizers. With fewer people and more food, there is actually no need to worry.

What Huang Fu and others are discussing are also mid-term issues after the shift in economic policy. Since there is "trade surplus to earn food" to deal with the mid-term, and there is a "three-piece set of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes" to deal with the long-term, then from the long, medium and short term Looking at the three stages, the reasons for opposing overseas trade because of the actual situation of the empire are not valid.

The good thing at this time was that after experiencing the debate competition and Xiaoling's refutation of Wang Jing, no one used things like "rituals" and "ancestral methods" to make matters.

How good is this? If you present facts and reason, if both facts and principles work, then it will work.

Zhu Di said solemnly: "I have decided to abolish the sea ban. Not only Zheng He and other royal family fleets can conduct overseas trade, but also merchants who have obtained special trade licenses. The unarmed free trade zone between Ming Dynasty and Japan is the first A batch of pilot projects.”

This was to conclude a part of the court debate, and Huang Fu and others naturally had nothing to say.

The next topic shifted to domestic commerce.

Jiang Xinghuo continued: "As I said just now, the first priority of the imperial court's economic policy is to develop production and expand the economic aggregate through economic value-added; and the second priority is to obtain economic income through tapping the market, that is, Fully activate the domestic market.”

"Wang Anshi's so-called 'green crop method' and 'market change method' are actually in this direction. Of course, although Wang Anshi's direction is right, although it is still a dynamic financial management technique, when formulating and implementing policies, it is inevitable to go astray. Hongyang’s old path is to use state power to intervene in the market through administrative means, but facts have proven that this does not work and is wrong.”

The essence of the "Young Crop Law" and the "Market Change Law" is that the government intervenes in private credit to seek profits from the private sector.

The so-called "Young Crops Law" is to loan money and grain from the government treasury to farmers at an interest rate lower than that of private loan sharks. In theory, it can help farmers survive the lean period, and the government can effectively use idle resources, but in fact .Let’s not say it backfired, it could also be said to be going in the opposite direction.

The "market exchange method" refers to commercial loans, that is, the government lends money to merchants, or loans to government-run firms to purchase unsold goods. It seems pretty good, right? However, this directly led to forced borrowing like cutting leeks, and the power of government-run firms to "acquire unsold goods" to buy competitors' goods at low prices, eventually forming a monopoly and earning a large interest rate differential.

"Then what does the Imperial Master think should be done to fully activate the domestic market?" The eldest prince Zhu Gaochi also became interested at this time. He had also thought about this issue before.

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a moment and answered decisively.

"Basic of property rights, central bank, commercial banks, corporate system."