"What are the advantages and disadvantages of adding more ports?" Chongzhen asked Fan Jingwen.
Fan Jingwen answered without hesitation: "Maritime trade is very profitable, but the Ming Dynasty only has one port and it is far away in Fujian, which is very inconvenient! Driven by profit, many coastal people rushed to smuggle. In order to avoid being caught, they built ships and cast cannons to fight against the court."
"As more and more people rebelled against the imperial court, bandits appeared along the coast."
"When the market is closed, merchants turn into bandits. When the market is open, bandits turn into merchants. This is a benefit!"
"After the port is established and the market is opened, the imperial court can obtain a large amount of tax revenue. These are the two benefits!"
"But," Fan Jingwen changed the subject, "while the establishment of ports and the opening of markets have made maritime trade prosperous, maritime disasters are inevitable! In order to control the maritime disasters, the court must spend real money."
"This is a harm!"
"The Ming Dynasty is short of silver, and the East is rich in silver and very cheap. One tael of silver can only buy one bushel of grain in the East, but it can be exchanged for two bushels of grain from our Ming Dynasty merchants! The merchants seem to have made money, but the actual profit is from the East, who used cheap silver to exchange for the precious grain of the Ming Dynasty!"
"These are the two harms!"
After listening to Fan Jingwen's analysis, Chongzhen couldn't help but nodded a few times.
What he said was very good, especially his analysis of the second harm was so incisive.
The second harm mentioned by Fan Jingwen can be summed up in two words: exchange rate!
Ancient people had no concept of exchange rates, but they had a concept of the purchasing power of money.
The Ming Dynasty was short of silver, which led to high purchasing power of silver.
The East is rich in silver, but its purchasing power is low.
Since it's all silver, many people think it's okay.
But if we change our thinking and make an assumption, the problem will become very obvious.
Imagine silver as paper money.
The Japanese can print paper money, but the Ming Dynasty cannot print paper money because of a lack of paper.
The Japanese used cheap paper money to exchange for precious materials from the Ming Dynasty!
Unless the Japanese run out of paper, they can keep printing banknotes and then exchange them for countless supplies from the Ming Dynasty.
The essence of transaction is exchange activity.
The general principle of commodity exchange is equal exchange.
Exchanging precious materials for cheap silver was by no means an equal exchange for the Ming Dynasty.
Productivity was very low at that time, and what countries lacked was materials rather than currency.
But the reality is that the more frequent the foreign trade, the more money is earned, but the more materials are lost to the country.
Other supplies are fine and have little impact on people's livelihood.
But food is a strategic material.
Once the maritime ban is lifted, a large amount of grain will be exported, and national security will be threatened.
Were the ancient kings who implemented maritime bans fools for not making money?
No!
They were unable to solve these problems, and since they were not short of money, they could only impose a maritime ban.
(Except the Qing Dynasty! I personally think that the fundamental reason why the Qing Dynasty implemented the maritime ban was to prevent the Han people! If the maritime ban was lifted, the people would have one more way out. The Qing Dynasty would not be able to lock the people up with land, and would not be able to use the method of exhausting the people.)
In fact, the problem of equivalent exchange is easy to solve.
First, set tariffs to keep the prices of both sides at the same level through tax rates.
Second, improve productivity.
The development of productivity will liberate labor.
The liberated labor force was invested in other industries to produce a large number of goods, leading to overproduction.
It is obvious whose interests will be harmed if surplus goods are exchanged for silver at this time.
The productivity of the Ming Dynasty is far from being in excess now, so we must never completely lift the maritime ban!
In fact, there is another reason for the maritime ban.
Feudal rulers did not want the people to have too much communication with the outside world, for fear that it would affect their rule.
Chongzhen was not afraid.
His soul is that of a modern man. His goal is not only to save the Ming Dynasty, but also to speed up this giant ship of the Ming Dynasty.
After making up his mind, Chongzhen slowly asked: "The ministers from the six ministries and nine ministries are all here today. Can you discuss whether it is necessary to build an additional port?"
"If it is necessary, do it immediately. If you think it is not necessary, just tell us why!"
The cabinet ministers and officials from the six ministries and nine departments immediately began to discuss in a low voice.
Chongzhen seemed to be dozing off while sitting on the dragon throne, but in fact he was concentrating on listening to what his ministers were discussing.
Fan Jingwen looked around and asked, "Everyone, please tell us what you think."
As soon as he finished speaking, an official said loudly: "Not appropriate, we must not set up a port in Songjiang Prefecture!"
"Why?" Fan Jingwen asked.
The official took a half step forward and bowed, saying, "Songjiang Prefecture belongs to Nanzhili, and is adjacent to Zhejiang."
"Nanzhili and Zhejiang are important tax collection areas for the imperial court. Once ports are opened here, the huge profits from ocean trade will cause a large number of people to abandon their farmland and go out to sea to do business, which will in turn affect the foundation of the country!"
"If you ask me, we can add more ports, but we can't add more ports near South Zhili and Zhejiang. We should set them up in Shandong or North Zhili."
“Second!”
“Second!”
Two or three officials came forward to express their views.
"It seems to make sense!" Chongzhen whispered to himself and began to doubt his previous decision.
"I disagree," another official clasped his hands together and shook them vigorously at the others, "Songjiang Prefecture guards the seaport, where the water is deep and there are no reefs, making it the most suitable place to be a port."
"As for the remarks that will affect the country, it is simply nonsense! Ordinary people only care about the land and can only farm it. Asking them to give up farming and do business is more difficult than killing them! What's more, the Ming Dynasty has no shortage of people. If they don't farm, there are plenty of people who can do it."
"As long as there are people farming, the imperial court will not reduce taxes!"
“Second!”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
