Chapter 419 Drawing Borders as King
It's just that no matter how difficult things are, they have to be done one by one. As more and more officials are transferred by the court to fill the vacancies, Zhu Biao's work becomes more and more comfortable, and the young and strong victims also start to replace them with work. endowed.
After finding out that they could eat more food and get copper coins at the end of the month, their enthusiasm for work became more prominent, and they worked hard to build water conservancy and canals and other hard work.
Quan Xu had already returned to Jinyiwei Base with one hundred thousand taels of silver and those suitable orphans. Zhu Biaoben planned to return to Beijing when he was almost done.
It's just that he can't get out of his birth, and too many things have not been settled. Zhu Biao can't bear the suffering of the people in Shaanxi and Gansu. He stayed in Pingliang Prefecture for more than a month.
Seeing the transition from summer to autumn, and the heavy rain in Shaanxi and Gansu for two consecutive days, Zhu Biao was finally ready to leave for Beijing. The accompanying guards were only half of the government's military guards and soldiers dispatched by Cao Liangchen.
The chiefs of the guards in several major state capitals were wiped out, and Zhu Biao naturally had to arrange for his confidants to fill them in. Naturally, Tang Shizhong, the military guard of the government, and others were perfect. After all, it was the personal guards of the Zhu family who could be trusted.
What's more, these state capitals are located on the main routes of the Silk Road. At present, the risk of shipping is too high. It is still necessary to connect Central Asia and India by restarting the Silk Road on the road.
The Silk Road began in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Until the Northern Song Dynasty, the actual territory was greatly reduced. The imperial court failed to control the Hexi Corridor. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was even less able to set foot in the northwest region. The decline of the Silk Road became increasingly obvious.
However, during the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, Mongolia launched three Western and Southern Expeditions, greatly expanding its territory. In addition, the establishment of post roads and the restoration of the Eurasian transportation network made the long-distance trafficking of international merchants in the vast area of Eurasia flourish again.
In the early years, Zhu Biao consulted the records of the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, there were European merchants, merchants from West Asia and Central Asia, and Chinese Semu merchants who were engaged in caravan trade on the long east-west land road. The undisputed status of the center of trade.
Merchants from Europe, Central and West Asia generally brought a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, medicine, exotic animals, spices, bamboo cloth and other commodities to China or sold them along the way. What they bought were mainly Chinese satin, embroidery, gold Brocade, silk, tea, porcelain, medicinal materials and other commodities.
Until the end of the Yuan Dynasty, wars raged. At the same time, there were frequent riots in the Western Regions, Central Asia and other places, and business was hit hard. Therefore, in recent years, there have been very few caravans, and Lao Zhu doesn’t pay much attention to these things. It can even be said that he rejects everything. alien race.
But Zhu Biao knows that it is not enough to blindly close the country, and the benefits of economic prosperity to the country are self-evident. Counting the time, Italy has already begun the Renaissance. What is the Renaissance? Feudal New Culture Movement.
Time waits for no one. The savages of the Han and Tang Dynasties are now starting to move forward. The Ming Dynasty cannot lag behind. Now more than half of the four years of Hongwu have passed. In the past four years, Zhu Biao has been determined and steady, and now the results are outstanding.
Northern Mongolia is now in civil strife and fragmented, with Li Wenzhong and Chang Yuchun disrupting the situation, at least for a few years they have no intention of going south to commit crimes.
The same is true for Yunnan and Guizhou in the south. Unlike the rich and prosperous Bashu, it now consumes a lot of resources and still needs to be governed. So that Daming needn't be in a hurry.
The Japanese pirates along the eastern coast are also going well. The last time I received news from Tang Ding that they had made a big name in the East China Sea, and they also recruited many Japanese wanderers, and they are going to rob Iyo Island in Japan...
Since the land of abundance in Bashu was taken back, the last piece of the puzzle for the development of Ming Dynasty has been assembled. Four years after the founding of the country, people's livelihood in Jiangnan and other places has been restored, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou and other places have returned to the appearance of paradise on earth, and the economy has developed rapidly.
After returning to Beijing, Zhu Biao will also start to promote economic development. As his direct descendants, the Jiangnan gentry will naturally have to bear more. Zhu Biao has already discovered after this trip, and there is no need to worry about capital getting out of control.
Because of the different national conditions, China has been an official position since ancient times, or the perception of assets is different from other countries. Being rich in China never means noble status, it can only mean that you are a fat sheep.
In Rome and Athens, if you can pay enough taxes, you are a noble citizen and have all the rights, but in China, if you pay enough taxes, you are still a merchant and lowly businessman, with strict restrictions on food, drink and clothing.
Fan Li, who restored the country and destroyed Wu for King Goujian of Yue, and then resigned from office to do business after becoming famous. Although many businessmen are now regarded as the ancestors, but because of his status as a merchant, his historical achievements are almost ignored by official history.
Another example is Lu Buwei. Although he is rich as an enemy, he still has to invest in Qin Zhizi to win other people to enter the gentry circle.
Since ancient times, China has never lacked wealthy merchants, but they have never been the protagonists of history, not even supporting roles, and their waists cannot stand up.
Therefore, the pursuit of merchants after becoming rich is not to seek more wealth, but to complete the class transformation, from merchants to gentry, from gentry to officials. The Jiangnan gentry is an obvious example. They are rich in the world, but they are still willing to disperse He spent all his wealth and worshiped under the gate of the East Palace.
Coupled with Zhu Biao's understanding of future generations, capitalism is impossible to prevail in China, which does not conform to the national conditions. This is a unified dynasty, accustomed to the central leadership of the local government, and the imperial court occupies the best part of all walks of life. Agriculture and business are just a part of him.
What's more, Zhu Biao will not let them be unscrupulous, and will not let them intervene in industries that can be related to the lifeline of the country. The salt and iron gunboats will be managed by a special department of the imperial court, and merchants are not allowed to intervene. They can get rich, but they Can't hold power.
Silk, tea, porcelain, medicinal materials, jade, silk brocade, etc. It doesn’t matter. Of course, if you have the ability to occupy territories other than Ming Dynasty, you can do whatever you want. However, developing a country is not so easy.
In the future, with the opening of the era of great voyages, the imperial court will inevitably bite off the fattest few bites to ensure the necessary resources for future development, and the rest will be dedicated to the hunting grounds for ambitious people. Wouldn't it be fun to be king in Xinjiang?
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(end of this chapter)