Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

According to later statistics, the profits of the financial industry account for half of the total profits of all listed companies.

Throughout China's two thousand years of feudal history, the financial industry has always firmly occupied a place, and the most important form of expression is lending.

As early as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the first "emperor's default" event occurred in China, which gave rise to the idiom that is still used today - high debts.

In other words, in 256 BC, the Qin State captured Yangcheng and Fushu in South Korea and approached Zhou Wangcheng. So King Nan of Zhou drafted an edict and distributed it to the six countries, agreeing on a time to concentrate their forces to attack Qin. Because the treasury of Emperor Zhou was empty at that time, he had no choice but to borrow money from wealthy merchants to raise military expenses, promising to repay with the spoils of war after the destruction of Qin and paying interest.

Later, the state of Qin sent a large army to invade the city of King Zhou. King Nan of Zhou surrendered to Qin and was driven to the new city south of Yique.

All the creditors rushed to the new city to collect debts from King Nan. The Emperor Zhou, who was at the end of his rope, had to escape into a post house built on a high platform to hide his debts. This high platform was called "debt escape platform" or "debt shelter platform".

It can be seen that lending has existed since the birth of feudal society, and has even become a means of making money for many people in power.

For example, Mengchang Juntianwen of Qi State supported more than 3,000 diners, and his main source of income was to earn interest from money lending, while He Kun's wealth was inseparable from the income from the financial industry.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty Pang Shen Zhuan", in the fourth year of Emperor Liu Huyong's reign in the Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty fought against the Qiang people. Military expenditures increased significantly. Coupled with years of arrears in collections, the official debt owed to private individuals amounted to billions. In the sixth year of Emperor Shun of Han Dynasty Liu Baoyonghe, the emperor issued an edict to borrow money from wealthy people, and ordered those who had benefactors to give their households one thousand yuan.

As emperors became borrowers, it can be seen that lending has long been integrated into the history of China.

By the Yuan Dynasty, lending had become a malignant problem for the country, and the Yuan Dynasty also introduced a measure for this purpose.

In the thirteenth year of Dading, because the interest rate for private pledges was too high, Jin Shizong Wanyan Yong ordered the establishment of pledge warehouses in Zhongdu, Dongping, Zhending and other places, called "Liuquan", and the mortgage amount was 70% of the mortgaged property. Valuation, monthly interest of one cent, if not redeemed after twenty-five months, the pledged items will be removed from the shelves and sold.

It's just that this measure is destined to fail to prevent the development of the private lending industry, and it is the famous Shanxi Bank that pushes the financial business to the top.

Data shows that the Qiao family's bank account alone has a yearly liquidity of eight million taels to ten million taels of silver. Qiao Zhiyong owns more than 200 bank accounts and stores, and his total assets exceed tens of millions of taels of silver.

When Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world, he was also aware of the dangers of the financial lending business. Therefore, the "Da Ming Law" clearly stipulated that any private lending of money, debts and property pawned should not earn more than three cents per month. Although it is more per month, it is only one book. One benefit.

It’s just that this law cannot stop the development of the financial industry. The names of pawnshops in the Ming Dynasty include Jieku, Jiepu, Dianku, Pianpu, Jiedianku, Jiepengpu, Pawnshop, Qiku, Zhipu, Yinzipu, etc. There are several types of pawnshops, and there are 230 pawnshops in Henan Province alone.

The most important source of income for a pawn shop is actually not interest, but when the pawnbroker fails to pay back the money when it is due, the pawn shop can earn several times or even ten times the profit.

As for the cash lending of Dangfu and Qiansi, this is after all an era when the people are governed but not the power. Otherwise, silver would not be able to become the main currency in circulation, so it is not restricted by the "Da Ming Law" at all.

There is a record in "Dream of the Golden House": A new official's account in the capital is 60% off, six taels is counted as 10 taels, and 15 profits are earned every month. It doesn't take a year, only sixty taels, even the original should be three hundred taels.

Today, Beijing bonds and pawnshops have become the most important sources of income for the powerful class, and Zhu Ji, the Princess of Chongqing, and the Marquis of Huichang are among the beneficiaries.

But no one could have imagined that Hongzhi, who had just ascended the throne for a year and a half, would hit the biggest interest group in the capital with a stick without anyone being prepared.

To the east of the city is the Prince Consort's Mansion.

"Seized? This princess will enter the palace to face the Holy Spirit!"

To the east of the city, the Marquis Mansion of Xiangcheng

"Why was there no news at all in advance? Invite the other princes over quickly to discuss countermeasures!"

West of the city, Ruianbo Mansion

"Hurry... prepare the sedan quickly. I will enter the palace immediately. The Queen Mother must make the decision!"

In the north of the city, Yin Mansion.

"I have been retired for three years. Are you trying to settle an old score?"

In the north of the city, there is a certain house.

"Seized? Could it be that the Za family's small treasury was known to His Majesty?"

…

His financial store was suddenly closed down by the court, which immediately shocked the entire elite circle in the capital and caused these people to take action immediately.

Just a few yamen secretly operated, and the commander of the 12th Battalion personally led people to help seal the deal. As a result, not one of the 100 largest financial shops in the capital was spared.

For a time, the entire capital seemed to be filled with grief, and some people even chose to flee the capital immediately.

In the Yangxin Hall, a stream of sandalwood rose from the copper furnace.

Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, was sitting in the palace. Although he knew that the dignitaries outside were panic-stricken, he seemed completely indifferent to the commotion outside and was handling the affairs at hand seriously.

I was in a good mood at first, but compared with the worries of those powerful people, I also felt a headache after seeing some of the expenses that the court was about to allocate.

Many people think that as long as the court's taxation is managed well, the Ming Dynasty can create a new prosperous age and become a wise king.

But living in a farming society, we always need to face two very real problems: one is that the revenue from grain tax and salt tax cannot even cover normal court expenses; the other is how to improve the consumption power of the people.

Revitalization and prosperous times have never been about literati writing a few poems. Instead, they need to create healthy finances and at the same time tap into the people's consumption power.

Like now, even though I have brought shuttle weaving technology to this era, I have to face a heartbreaking problem. Many people at the bottom still cannot wear cotton cloth woven by shuttle machines.

As for the Ming Dynasty's finances, Zhu Youtang believed that he had done well enough last year, but he only had three million taels of silver available for free spending. It’s just that after most of the silver was allocated to the Tianjin Royal Shipyard to produce sea-going ships, there was not much silver left.

Although the imperial court had an income of 30 million stone in taxes and grains a year, although it was responsible for military salaries, official salaries, vassal rice, and honorary rice, it also had to be responsible for water conservancy projects and water transportation.

Since the glacier has been unsealed, last year's autumn grain is being transported northward by more than 100,000 cavalry troops.

Just to transport four million stone grains to Tongzhou Granary every year, the cost per year alone is close to two million taels, accounting for 80% loss.

As far as Zhu Youtang knows, corruption in the water transportation system is very serious. For example, shipyards that produce tank boats always cut corners and cut corners, causing the mortality rate of tank soldiers to increase year by year, and even tank boats have to become fast-moving consumer goods.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were exploited at all levels. Not only could they not get the pay they deserved from the water transport yamen, but they also had to pay for water to pass through the floodgates. Although they came to the capital with local specialties to earn some extra money, some soldiers had no choice but to sell the planks of their ships in order to make a living.

When Zhu Youtang saw that the Yamen of the Governor of Cao Bing requested that 300,000 taels be allocated for the production of watercraft and 200,000 taels for the maintenance of river embankments, Zhu Youtang was about to allocate a full 500,000 taels from Taicang to the Governor's Office of Water Transport in the blink of an eye.

After Zhou Nai, the governor of water transport, who was also the governor of the river, requested 500,000 taels for water transportation, the Yellow River also asked for an allocation of 500,000 taels like a lion, and a total of one million taels was needed.

Zhu Youtang has never been a stingy person, but when he saw that his income was like milking a cow and his expenses were like turning on a faucet, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

It's just that the water transportation involving four million stones of grain has to be repaired. After all, the north is still unable to be self-sufficient in food, but grain from the southeast is needed to supply the capital to ensure the livelihood of millions of soldiers and civilians.

As for the Yellow River, nothing should be lost. It is related to the livelihood of people in Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong.

Although Zhu Youtang felt very sad, these two matters were related to the food security and water conservancy projects of the military and civilians in the capital and Jiubian, so he had to allocate one million taels.

"Your Majesty, all the ministers are here!" Liu Jin came in from outside and said respectfully.

In the imperial study room, all the ministers gathered together, but the atmosphere seemed a bit solemn.

No one expected that the emperor would seize all 100 businesses in the capital. This was probably the biggest attack on merchants by the imperial court since the Ming Dynasty.

Wan An and Liu Ji looked honest and solemn, sitting in the front row with their eyes closed to relax.

Although Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and Jia Jun, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, were anxious, they were more speculating on the emperor's intentions. After all, this time he wanted to make enemies of the entire elite circle in the capital.

However, judging from the latest news, the emperor only asked various yamen to seal stores, but did not seize money, so the emperor's true intention is not known.

Although Li Si, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Wang Yue, the Censor of Zuodu of the Duchayuan, knew some of the inside story, as the emperor's trusted ministers, they naturally would not speak out easily.

Chen Zheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and other officials frequently looked towards the door. Since people came to the door one after another, they just wanted to find out what the emperor was really thinking.

If the emperor really wants to keep an eye on the wealth of these pawn shops, money shops and money banks, with the emperor now firmly in control of the Twelve Capital Camps, no one can really disobey the emperor's will.

After all, the emperor who has been on the throne for a year and a half has completely controlled the court, but he can do whatever he wants.

Today is a sunny and beautiful day. A dark shadow suddenly appeared at the door. All the ministers stood up and saluted Zhu Youtang who came in.

When Zhu Youtang first entered the door, he had already seen the eager expressions of some ministers, but he knew that the 100 properties seized might have something to do with these people.

After all, he came from the era of information explosion, but he knew that none of the officials present were truly clean and upright officials, and there were even quick-thinking ministers like He Kun who had already been involved in the loan business.

Zhu Youtang asked everyone to return to their seats and walked directly to the stairs over there: "Wang Aiqing!"

"I'm here!" Wang Yue stepped out of the queue and said respectfully.

Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and others looked at Wang Yue one after another, and then turned to look at Zhu Youtang who was going up the stairs in confusion, wondering why the emperor suddenly let the Metropolitan Procuratorate participate in politics.

Zhu Youtang glanced lightly and said seriously: "The Metropolitan Procuratorate is not among the six ministries, so it is said that it cannot attend this meeting! It's just that Wang Aiqing wants to know the latest policy trends of the Ming Dynasty, so that he can supervise all officials, so I He is specially allowed to come and observe!"

Observe?

Li Yu, the Minister of Civil Service, and others looked at Wang Yue who was sitting next to him, and then opened their mouths in sudden realization.

But one has to admire the wisdom of this emperor. While giving great power to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he also placed some restrictions on the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Now the six of them are in charge of the direction of the empire, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, headed by Wang Yue, is keeping an eye on the six of them, so as to ensure the smooth sailing of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang turned his attention to Wang Yue and warned seriously: "Wang Aiqing, although you are in this meeting, you are not allowed to participate in the discussion in the future!"

"I only have ears but not a mouth!" Wang Yue knew that it was a great favor for him to come in, so he promised seriously.

Zhu Youtang knew that Wang Yue was a person who knew the rules, and looked at the officials present: "I am here to announce something! Du Ming has retired and returned to his hometown. The impeachment of Du Ming for corruption in the project can be stopped. It stopped. If there is no real evidence of impeachment, it is impossible for me to check on my important ministers, let alone check the family property for no reason!" After a pause, he seriously assured: "I know what some of you are worried about. It’s because I’m afraid that I’ll listen to the shady impeachment, so I will search my property to prove whether I’m corrupt or not. I won’t do this now, and I won’t do it in the future, so you can rest assured!”

Du Ming, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, left, just like a tree falling and the hozen scattered, and many officials of the Ministry of Science and Education impeached him one after another. In fact, this kind of impeachment undoubtedly carries a kind of temptation, I am afraid that I want to see how I will react.

Zhu Youtang was unwilling to speculate on these ministers with the "evil nature of human nature", but Wang Zhi, who was in charge of Xichang at that time, said to Xianzong: "Yang Jizong is the only civil servant in the world who is not corrupt."

An official who is not corrupt is already the most honest official in the Ming Dynasty. How low has this threshold been lowered?

Zhu Youtang believed that Du Ming might have taken some money from the project when he was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, but he raided the ministers' homes just because of this speculation.

Even if you don't say that you can't do such a thing, you can't do it like this.

The most important thing now is to build Ming Dynasty into a world textile center. Only in this way can we continuously obtain materials from other countries, thus bringing benefits to the Chinese people.

If you always focus on checking the family wealth of officials, not to mention the confiscation of He Kun's 10 million taels in Jiaqing, it will not bring prosperity to the country, and it will easily lead to the officials below being alienated and unable to do anything.

Zhu Youtang knew that now was not the time to vigorously combat corruption. The productivity of this agricultural society alone could not support the prosperous age he wanted, so the most important thing now was to gather the power of these ministers to push the Ming Dynasty forward.

this……

Chen Zheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Liu Zhang, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, exchanged silent glances and suddenly felt relieved.

They knew that the emperor in front of them had always been consistent in his words and deeds. Now that the emperor did not investigate Du Ming because of the impeachment, he would not inspect their family property without evidence in the future.

For example, Zhu Ji, the former commander of the Jinyi Guards, everyone knew that Zhu Ji had fallen out of favor, and Zhu Ji obviously had problems with his economic style. However, the emperor did not torture Zhu Ji without any evidence before obtaining evidence of his crime.

A well-behaved emperor undoubtedly made them feel at ease.

Liu Jian, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, did not care about this kind of thing. After all, he had been staying in Qingshui Yamen, but he looked with a bit of resentment at Zhu Youtang who had closed down his wife's brother's pawn shop.

"I called you here today because I want to discuss with you all how to rectify the financial industry in the capital!" Zhu Youtang stated his intention, and then said to Liu Jin below: "Bring Song Cheng in!"