Chapter 174 Ming Dynasty National Policy
"Brother, you're wise!" Zhu Chong offered his compliments without hesitation, adding, "For our royal family, the best source of wealth and income is an industry that's highly profitable. Coal mines meet all the requirements!"
Zhu Biao nodded. "So, according to you, salt and iron and other things should also be included in the royal income sources?"
"Brother, you're awesome!" Zhu Chong gave Zhu Biao a thumbs-up, laughing inwardly, but then his expression turned serious. "But, brother, have you ever thought about this? It's not that easy to do."
Zhu Biao frowned upon hearing this. "What do you mean? Everyone knows the benefits of salt and iron. As long as you manage it properly, you can make a huge profit. How can it be difficult to do it?"
Zhu Chong shook his head. "This is all our father's fault. He wanted to share the prosperity with the people, but he actually allowed the people to smelt iron privately. He wasn't afraid that someone would take advantage of it and use it to rebel."
"As for the salt, big brother, you know who owns it now. Do you think they'd be willing to give it up?"
Zhu Biao was speechless when he heard this. It was indeed as Zhu Chong said. He had advised Zhu Biao about the iron many times, but Zhu Biao just wouldn't listen.
As for the salt, Zhu Biao certainly knew that it was controlled by the court officials, and those people would certainly not easily give up the profits from the salt and return them to the royal family.
After all, as Zhu Chong just said, the court officials are now suppressed by Zhu and him, and are already in a vulnerable group. If the salt profits are taken away by the royal family, won’t they be bullied by the royal family?
Therefore, the court officials would definitely not give up the salt profits. If Zhu Yuanzhang or I were to force it, there was no guarantee that there would be some unmanageable chaos. If things went wrong, the gains would be more than the losses!
Thinking of this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but shake his head. It might be possible to find a way to deal with the iron, but there was probably no chance for the salt.
But on second thought, Zhu Biao felt something was wrong and looked at Zhu Chong with suspicion. "Second brother, do you just think about this all day long? Which steel furnace did you come up with like this?"
Zhu Chong's face suddenly turned dark. He had good intentions in giving Zhu Biao advice, but he didn't expect that Zhu Biao would be obsessed with his things!
These two big brothers of the Zhu family are simply outrageous. Why do they always focus on fleecing their own people but can't focus on others?
Of course, it’s not that Zhu Chong was stingy and unwilling to hand over the steel furnace. No matter whether it was Zhu Biao or Zhu Biao, none of the people under them could handle the steelmaking business. If they didn’t keep an eye on it themselves, the steel furnace would be scrapped sooner or later!
So Zhu Chong simply said, "Brother, forget about the steelmaking furnace, and don't even think about taking our father's hand. I'm not saying this to you, but who among those people under you can really get the job done and endure the hardships of steelmaking?"
Zhu Biao felt a little embarrassed when he heard Zhu Chong belittle his subordinates. Of course, he also understood that Zhu Chong had no other intentions, so he could only wave his hand slightly in a concealed manner.
"Got it. I won't touch the steel furnace, but don't blame me for not reminding you, second brother. Find someone capable to take over quickly. After all, given my father's personality, he wouldn't feel at ease if you kept that thing."
It was rare for Zhu Biao to tell the truth. Zhu Chong thought about it and revealed something to Zhu Biao.
"Don't worry about this, big brother. Once I finish the things I have on hand, I will definitely expand the production scale of the steelmaking furnace. By then, my father will have one, and you will have one. Maybe you won't even care about mine!"
Zhu Biao nodded. He had never thought about the steelmaking issue. He was just concerned about Zhu Chong. After all, no one knows a father better than his son. He didn't want Zhu Chong and Zhu Yuanzhang to have any conflicts over a furnace.
It has to be said that Zhu Biao was a very generous man. No wonder Zhu Biao was determined to hand over the Ming Dynasty to him.
Of course, in order to prevent problems before they occur, Zhu Chong advised Zhu Biao on a business that was more profitable than salt, iron and coal mines.
"Brother, actually I told you so much mainly because I wanted to tell you something else." Zhu Chong said with a mysterious smile.
"As long as we can do this well, coal mines, salt and iron are nothing compared to that!"
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up when he heard this. "There's such good news. Second brother, don't hold it in. Tell me about it now."
Zhu Chong raised the corner of his mouth in a beautiful arc, moved closer to Zhu Biao, and gently uttered three words, "Open the sea market!"
Hearing Zhu Chong's words, Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "What do you think I thought you said?"
"Second Brother, you're right. The reopening of the Sea Market will indeed make the court and the royal family a fortune, but it's not as simple as you think!"
Zhu Chong smiled slightly. How could he not know? He knew it too well. Once the mirage market was opened, the profits would be huge. But the mirage market had not been opened for a long time, and even the Ming Dynasty was closed to the outside world almost from beginning to end. What was the reason?
Of course, Zhu Chong knew that it was definitely not that Lao Zhu did not want to make money. Lao Zhu must also know that Haishi could bring him huge wealth, but why did he not open it yet?
Zhu Biao gave the answer at this time, "Second brother, this matter has been discussed many times in the court, but it has always been shelved for one reason, that is, pirates and Japanese pirates at sea!"
Hearing Zhu Biao's words, Zhu Chong laughed heartily. "Brother, stop kidding. Compared to our Ming Dynasty navy, those Japanese pirates and thieves on the sea are nothing."
"Besides, even if the pirates and Japanese pirates are powerful, opening a sea market will bring huge risks. But it is precisely because of the high risks that there will be high rewards. We can't lose the big picture for the sake of small gains and stop eating because of choking!"
"Having said that, second brother, don't forget that our Ming Dynasty has a more troublesome enemy in the north!" Zhu Biao pointed at Zhu Chong again.
Zhu Chong immediately understood that this was the key point. Even though he had told Zhu Biao and Zhu Yu so much about the harm that the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Japanese pirates posed to the Ming Dynasty, they still believed that the Ming Dynasty’s biggest enemy and the opponent that should be eliminated the most was the small Northern Yuan Dynasty!
From the beginning to the end, Zhu Yuanzhang regarded the Northern Yuan Dynasty as a major threat to the Ming Dynasty, so he was unwilling to make more enemies for himself.
The small Northern Yuan Dynasty court was already stretched to the limit, and with the addition of Japanese pirates, wouldn't the court be bankrupt?
Therefore, Zhu Chong finally understood why the Ming Dynasty had not been able to completely solve the problem of Japanese pirates. It turned out that the root of the problem was Zhu himself.
In that case, there was nothing worth talking about. Zhu Chong immediately lost interest. Zhu Biao also noticed that Zhu Chong was in a bad mood, but he didn't say anything.
The two brothers then had a brief conversation. Zhu Chong asked to leave, and Zhu Biao did not try to keep him.
Zhu Chong then left the Eastern Palace and returned home directly.
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