Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In the previous life, everyone hated the evil capital.

Compared with the feudal era, the big landlords with solid granaries were actually more hateful. They wanted to trap the tenants in the fields forever, and would not take the initiative to promote social development, and even became obstacles to social development.

On the other hand, the greedy big capitalists, although they exploited the workers crazily, after the depression period of pouring milk, they knew the other value of the working class. They not only vigorously developed social productivity, but also promoted social progress.

Zhu Youtang has been strengthening military construction in recent years and has also made the Ming Dynasty the overlord of the ocean, but he has also quietly built large enterprises that can shoulder the responsibility of social development.

Relying on the economic knowledge of the previous life and the advanced technology he has now, he has been quietly establishing "technology companies" and developing these enterprises.

That is why he is not only the largest landlord in this feudal society, but also the largest capitalist of this era.

"I obey your order. I will arrange for the listing of Royal Pharmaceuticals!" Medical Concubine Yang Zisu is the real person in charge of Royal Pharmaceuticals, so she expressed her opinion in a proper manner.

In fact, Royal Pharmaceuticals is not short of money now, and has a very considerable income every year, but this is the arrangement of the emperor, so she will naturally do it unconditionally.

Emperor Zhu Youtang naturally cannot be a capitalist. He immediately looked at the women present and encouraged them: "The throne of the Ming Dynasty will definitely belong to the prince in the future, but if your son wants to get more shares, then you have to make the company bigger and stronger! Of course, if you want your son to live a plain life, I can also give them a fiefdom, and they can live a luxurious life in the fiefdom like the prince rules set by Emperor Taizong!"

The system of vassalage in the Ming Dynasty actually has advantages and disadvantages. Although the number of vassalages became the last straw that crushed the Ming Dynasty in history, the existence of vassalages actually prevented the situation of the three families dividing Jin from happening.

However, up to now, he has gradually liberated most of the clansmen of the Ming Dynasty, and let those clansmen who are already distant relatives invest in the construction of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the real threat to their Emperor Taizong's lineage is the close branch. For example, the Jingjiang Palace is not even the blood of Taizu, so there is no need for the court to keep these nearly 10,000 people.

Zhu Youtang knew that he did have to prevent the situation of Quwo replacing Yi, but since the disadvantages of keeping hundreds of thousands of clansmen in captivity are greater, it is natural to make appropriate choices.

For his sons, he did not intend to keep them in captivity. He did not want them to become useless people who eat and wait for death in China, so he began to cultivate their business talents from an early age and become an outstanding entrepreneur.

Zhu Youtang insisted on the system of primogeniture on the throne, so he kept his other sons away from politics from an early age, and worked towards the direction of chaebols, so as to help promote the development of the Ming Dynasty.

"I will remember that I will never disappoint the emperor's expectations!" Concubine Jing and other concubines knew the emperor's good intentions and expressed their opinions in a proper manner.

They were naturally against the feudal system. Although their sons had no worries about food and clothing, they had to report to the emperor if they wanted to leave their fiefdoms, and there was no chance for them to return to Beijing.

On the other hand, they could run the business well, which would not only give their sons a good job in the future, but also allow their sons to inherit the legacy.

Zhu Youtang's eyes fell on Su Yun'er, so he told her: "I heard that the stock market is overheated. Has the situation improved now?"

"I have sold a lot of stocks in my hands recently, which has alleviated the speculative sentiment of the Beijing Stock Exchange to a certain extent. So the situation in Beijing is actually still benign, especially our key enterprises are making money. It's just that the stock market in Suzhou is obviously overheated. I heard that many wealthy people hired Nanyang servants to work on the land and specialize in stock speculation. Now the market value of my mother's Su Silk has exceeded that of United Textiles!" Su Yun'er smiled bitterly and reported seriously.

Although the Beijing Stock Exchange was established as early as the tenth year of Hongzhi, it has achieved great success. Due to geographical reasons, it is relatively difficult for the wealthy in Jiangnan to participate in stock trading. After all, it is not easy to come to Beijing.

After years of continuous applications, the court approved four local exchanges in Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou in the 15th year of Hongzhi, allowing more citizens to participate and providing financing platforms for enterprises in these regions.

Among them, Suzhou Exchange has been the most active exchange among the five major exchanges since its inception. The fluctuation of stock prices is obviously too large, and the valuation level is the highest in the country.

Take Su's Silk as an example. Although Su's Silk has considerable profits every year, there are many competing products for silk, and the demand in this upper market is easy to saturate.

On the other hand, United Textile not only occupies the second place in the Ming Dynasty cotton cloth market, but also exports a large amount of cotton cloth overseas, even better than Royal Cotton Cloth.

What is the result? Under the crazy hype of the wealthy in Jiangnan, the market value of Su's Silk actually exceeds that of the more promising and profitable United Textile. This valuation is obviously unreasonable.

However, the shares of the Royal Treasury are mainly concentrated in the Beijing Stock Exchange, and the distance between the two places is too far, so it would be difficult for them to cool down the stock market by selling.

Zhu Youtang showed a bitter look on his face, and found that Jiangnan was indeed restless.

Even if the Ming Dynasty is getting better and better, there will actually be various problems. The Chinese love gambling, which is indeed an intractable disease, and the current stock market just provides a place for these people to speculate.

Zhu Youtang knew that some things should not be interfered with too much, so he also expressed his own approach: "I have ordered the Ministry of Revenue to increase the stamp duty on the Suzhou Exchange, and at the same time crack down on some attempts to manipulate the stock market, but I still have a vague feeling in my heart. disturbed!"

Although overheated speculation on the Suzhou Exchange was a problem, the court had always collected taxes through stamp duty, so the phenomenon of the Suzhou Exchange actually benefited the court.

If the Ming Dynasty's greatest confidence is that it has a very healthy financial system, it can face any emergencies.

"Your Majesty, Su's Silk has indeed been very profitable in recent years, and Su's Silk is the face of Suzhou Exchange. Investors there have no better choices, so they rush to buy Su's Silk. I think this is a good sign. , those bubbles will be digested slowly!" Xiang Fei Han Youying added a cup of new tea, looking very optimistic.

The medical concubine nodded gently, agreeing with this view.

Although they are all exchanges, the Beijing Exchange can provide high-quality stocks such as Royal Shipbuilding, Royal Textile and United Textile, while companies in Suzhou and other places started relatively late, so they can only be kings of monkeys without tigers in the mountains.

Zhu Youtang naturally knew that the companies that represented the world's science and technology were now listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange. He reached out to pick up the teacup and said with a hint of worry: "Public confidence is difficult to build, but easy to lose. They say it takes a hundred days to spend. No one can guarantee what emergencies will happen, so we have to make some bad plans!”

He was not too worried about the Beijing Exchange. After all, the Beijing Exchange today was equivalent to a high-tech exchange in a certain country in later generations. But the Suzhou Exchange made him see a familiar shadow.

China has never lacked speculators. Now that the Ming Dynasty dominates the four oceans and has become a true maritime overlord, the dividends here are actually very considerable.

Since all walks of life have made money in recent years, no matter how stupid people enter the market, they can become stock gods.

It's just that China's stock market has not experienced big storms. Once systemic risks arise, the stock market is likely to plummet, and a group of radical speculators will suffer.

A few years ago, they could send bankrupt people to the Golden Basin, but now the Golden Basin has been divided up, and it is not appropriate to continue sending people to the American continent at this stage.

That's why he not only needs to guard against the possible stock market crash in Suzhou Exchange, but also needs to be prepared for the worst. Where should these bankrupts be sent this time?

Concubine Jing Su Yuner nodded in understanding. Although she was very smart, she had never seen the big storms in the stock market, so she didn't quite understand Zhu Youtang's concerns.

Later, the three sons arrived.

Since today is Concubine Jing's birthday, Zhu Youtang had a small celebration for Concubine Jing in Xiyuan.

As the number of royal members increases, birthday banquets are held almost every month, which brings a bit of warmth to the royal family.

Because Jing Fei likes barbecue, she is holding a unique barbecue party in front of Tingchao Pavilion today, and the ingredients and spices here are naturally available.

"Father, my son baked this for you, please try it!" Zhu Houfeng, who was born to Concubine Jing, appeared to be flattering and sent over a bunch of golden chicken wings.

Zhu Youtang looked at the sons in front of him and couldn't help but feel a sigh of relief.

As if they were still waiting for food yesterday, in the blink of an eye, each of them has grown up, especially my eldest princess, who has also reached the age of recruiting a consort.

Zhu Youtang picked up the freshly baked chicken wings from the tray and ate them with relish.

"Royal father, the child has something unclear, please give me some advice!" Zhu Houfeng did not leave, but said seriously.

Zhu Youtang had completely different attitudes towards his daughter and men, so he said with a straight face: "What's the matter?"

Zhu Houfeng exchanged glances with his two younger brothers, then told what he saw and heard at the Beijing Stock Exchange today, and finally concluded: "Royal father, if everyone is devoted to the stock market, then who will specialize in farming?! "

"Approximately how many people are there in the Beijing Exchange Hall?" Zhu Youtang asked a question without thinking while chewing the fragrant barbecue in his mouth.

Zhu Houfeng said without thinking: "There are estimated to be two thousand people!"

"How many people are there today?" Zhu Youtang asked another question.

Zhu Houfeng thought seriously for a moment: "Since my father ascended the throne, the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment. The population of our Ming Dynasty has continued to grow for so many years. In the 16th year of Hongzhi, the Ministry of Household Affairs estimated that the country's population reached 100 million, and now the total population should be 120 million That’s it!”

The happiness index of a dynasty is often reflected in population growth. During the years of Hongzhi's rule, the population of the Ming Dynasty continued to grow, and even experienced a rare blowout.

In terms of taxation, the Ming Dynasty adopted light taxes, which gave the people more living space.

In terms of water conservancy, the Ming Dynasty strengthened water conservancy construction to provide a more solid foundation for agriculture.

In terms of natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty successfully controlled the Yellow River and adopted more scientific and technological methods to control locusts, thus reducing natural hazards.

In terms of land, the Ming Dynasty regained Jianzhou and built the Northeast Granary. At the same time, it built a golden granary in the Americas. Now the grain industry of the Ming Dynasty has reached the highest level in history.

In terms of seeds, the Ming Dynasty introduced high-yielding crops from America. Thanks to the promotion of potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn, it not only increased food production for the people, but also solved the food problems of the people at the bottom.

It was under the rule of Hongzhi that China ushered in the first period of population explosion. The current population has doubled compared to when Hongzhi ascended the throne.

"What you saw today in the Beijing Stock Exchange Hall was two thousand people speculating there, but there are 120 million people in the country, and most of them are working diligently. Isn't it a glimpse of the leopard in the tube?" Zhu Youtang's vision has long been above the overall situation, so he asked back.

When the three brothers Zhu Houfeng heard this, they couldn't help but nod their heads, knowing that they really didn't see enough. They only saw the crazy speculators in the trading hall, but these two thousand people were just a drop of water in the ocean across the country.

Zhu Youtang didn't want to hit his son's confidence, and immediately added: "You can see the overheated side of the stock market, which is indeed a progress. The original intention of my founding the stock market was to hope that the people could share profits with enterprises, and now the stock market speculation is overheated, it is indeed necessary to pour cold water!"

"The sons and ministers will remember the teachings of the emperor father!" Zhu Houfeng and the other three immediately became happy and solemnly expressed their opinions.

From childhood to adulthood, they naturally respected the father who was ambitious and capable.

It was not entirely because of the overwhelming power of their father, but because their father was deeply loved by his subjects, which made them as sons deeply proud.

In the years of growing up, they witnessed the changes in Beijing, and the people's support for their father was beyond words. As long as it was about their father, the outside world seemed very interested, and every time their father went out, the streets would be empty.

Zhu Youtang knew that Zhu Houfeng was about to travel to the Indian Ocean, and he also gave a few special instructions.

Night fell, in the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang, as usual, came to the East Warm Pavilion after taking a bath to read intelligence from all over the world.

Due to the use of telegraphs, the intelligence in his hands is no longer the originals sent from various places, but the intelligence reports from various places, and then the intelligence supervisor copied and sent them over.

This method greatly increased the speed of information transmission, and also allowed the emperor to get the latest developments in various places more timely, so as to make the fastest response measures.

Zhu Youtang opened the information from the Indian Ocean and couldn't help but frowned slightly. It turned out to be a letter from the Lodi Dynasty to the Indian Ocean Governor's Office for help. (End of this chapter)