Although the imperial treasury and the national treasury both nominally belong to the royal family, their actual uses are completely different.

In many cases, the national treasury managed by the Ministry of Revenue would often compete with the emperor for annual revenue.

In many aspects of taxation, the struggle between civil servants and the emperor has never stopped. Even Zhu Yuanzhang could not avoid it in this regard.

The emperor could naturally use the money in the treasury however he wanted, but he had to discuss the money in the national treasury with his ministers.

Although the emperor can use force, there are too many places where the national treasury needs money.

Such as salaries for the official army, military expenses, famine relief, banknotes for the Guanglu Temple, river repairs, repair of tugboats, banknotes for salt merchants, and minting of treasure notes, etc.

These are the major expenditures of the Ministry of Revenue every year.

There are many items on the inner treasury side, such as the emperor's rewards, inner court compradors, construction of palaces and imperial tombs, assistance in weaving, and salaries of local princes, etc., all of which need to be spent from the inner treasury.

If there was no money in the treasury, Zhu Yuanzhang could only transfer part of it from the national treasury, calling it a loan.

Everyone knows that this loan will never be returned.

Oftentimes, due to financial constraints, even the ministers in the court would have their salaries delayed.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a wise man, especially when it came to officials.

I have suffered for most of my life. Now that I am the emperor, can I still suffer more?

At present, both the national treasury and the internal treasury are actually very tight. After experiencing the chaos of the conquests at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has been in a state of chaos and can only recuperate. It is impossible to have too high taxes.

Therefore, the extremely wealthy Jiangnan region, which was not greatly affected by the war, imposed such heavy taxes.

"Grandson, you won't lose all our treasury, will you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while and said with some concern.

Although he had never been a businessman, Zhu Yuanzhang understood that in the business of business, there are gains and losses.

You may make a huge profit this year but suffer a huge loss next year.

If the loss is huge, they will have no choice but to swallow their pride and reach out to the national treasury.

Zhu Ying felt a little sad when he heard this.

At least in the business field, the old man is relatively simple and innocent, not as ruthless as usual.

So he explained: "Grandpa, do you know why some businessmen make so much money? For example, Shen Wansan can make tens of millions of taels of silver in just a few years."

"There are ways to do all this. In fact, no matter what business you do, as long as you get through the officials, you can make a lot of money."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "What do you mean? Do we have to be like those profiteers and oppress the poor people?"

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

This method won't work, it's just digging into your own corner.

Zhu Ying smiled bitterly and said, "How could my grandson be like this? Of course he is trying to make money from the wealthy families. How much can a poor commoner make? Even if you scrape the land three feet deep, you will only get that little."

"When my grandson was in the Western Regions, the people he mainly cooperated with were the powerful people in various forces. The more powerful they were, the deeper the cooperation was, which meant that they had more money."

"Given the size of our Ming Dynasty, we naturally have more money. While earning money from the rich, we also give some benefits to the poor."

"For example, we can open more government-run academies and colleges to provide enlightenment education for young children."

“Print ordinary books to spread Ming culture.”

"Repair roads, repair bridges, repair houses, etc."

"It can be said that we take from the people and use it for the people."

Zhu Yuanzhang heard this and said in a loud voice: "Great! This is a great idea of ​​taking from the people and giving back to the people. With this quote from my great grandson, I believe that in the future, the people of the Ming Dynasty will praise my great grandson."

"Plus, high-yield crops will soon be promoted throughout the country. By then, my grandson will surely be a wise ruler."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes gleamed as he looked at his eldest grandson.

Which father and which grandfather does not want his son or grandson to become successful?

Sometimes when I see the excellence of my offspring, that feeling is more comfortable than myself.

This kind of experience can only be felt when you are a father or a grandfather.

"Grandpa is too modest. When I was in the Western Regions, I had a lot of experience in these matters. Our Royal Chamber of Commerce, which is funded by the imperial treasury, will definitely have no obstacles in the eyes of the government. With the support of the local government, we will not have to worry about not being able to do business."

"Many businesses need people to do it. If we don't do it, others will do it. Someone will make the money in the end."

"If we run this business ourselves, at least we can guarantee the livelihood of the people. Some unscrupulous businessmen maliciously manipulate the market price to seek huge profits. Their consciences are so dark that they can do anything."

"With our Chamber of Commerce taking the lead, we can also establish a good reputation in the Ming Dynasty business world. Merchants in the future will be more cautious in their actions."

Zhu Ying said slowly.

In today's Ming Dynasty, pursuing democracy is asking for trouble. The sprouts of capitalism are inevitable after the slow start of industrialization.

In this case, why can't we make this biggest capital ourselves?

Besides, at the moment, it is impossible to abandon so many business elites in the Heroes Chamber of Commerce.

At present, there are many commercial constraints in the Ming Dynasty, and businessmen are often looked down upon. However, when the era of industrialization arrives, this situation will change with economic development.

Such changes cannot be completely curbed by scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.

Money is unavoidable, whether for individuals or countries.

The intellectuals despise the smell of money, just like they say the grapes are sour because they can't eat them. Many emperors have been guided by this idea, which has led to the decline of people's livelihood and economy.

The so-called not competing with the common people for profit is just a pretext made up by the civil servants to deceive people.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and finally said: "The current commercial tax of our Ming Dynasty is like this, neither high nor low. Let's not talk about the former Yuan Dynasty. Compared with the former Song Dynasty, their territory was not as large as ours, but their annual revenue was much higher."

"Regarding the taxes and laws in this regard, let your eldest grandson re-determine them. We will take a look at them when the time comes. If there are no problems, we will announce it to the world and act in accordance with the new laws."

That is the eldest grandson. Only with Zhu Ying's words would Zhu Yuanzhang seriously consider the feasibility of it.

If any civil official dared to raise the issue of commercial taxes in the court, even if he shared the same idea as Zhu Ying, he would be punished by a banquet at his home.

Zhu Yuanzhang was suspicious and jealous.

You thought it was just a joke, but as time went by, your whole family was put in order.

With the old man's words, Zhu Ying became more motivated.

The level of urbanization in the Ming Dynasty is very low nowadays, and most of the people live outside the city. The key to this is naturally the important factor of land.

If we want to develop urbanization, the first thing we need is to have enough food.

The specific operation will take two to three years.

However, Zhu Ying was very confident that within five years, he would make the entire Ming Dynasty a brand new place.

…

The first day of October is getting closer and closer.

All the garrisons that are qualified to participate in the military parade are now really putting in their best efforts and training day and night.

Many garrisons were not professional soldiers, but mostly military households.

For example, the military households in the garrisons on the outskirts of the capital city also rely on farming.

At this time, it is the time for sowing late rice, which will obviously delay the training of the soldiers.

Just when the soldiers were worried about not having enough time for training, the tribute side issued an order to hire a large number of civilians as temporary workers to replace the soldiers in the double robbery.

This allowed the soldiers of the garrison to train with peace of mind, and the wages for these hires were all paid from the emperor's treasury.

"Your Majesty has treated us so well, what qualifications do you have to be lazy? Why don't you train hard to repay His Majesty's kindness?"

"Today, if anyone dares to be lazy, I will expel him from the parade."

"Let me make it clear to you. There are countless people waiting behind you. They are hoping that you will fail even such a simple exercise, and then they will take your place."

"This morning, I also received an order from the East Palace. If I explain it in a complicated way, you will not understand. To put it simply, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince means that if you perform well enough this time."

"From now on, you will be able to get rid of your military household status and become the personal soldiers of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You will no longer have to dig for food in the soil."

"And there is no need to worry. When you are old and can no longer carry swords, don't be in a hurry. You should all know that we now have a new government office in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty Public Security Bureau."

"This Public Security Department is spread across all prefectures and counties in the entire Ming Dynasty. When you are old enough, you don't need to retire and return to the countryside. You can go directly to the Public Security Department and continue your duties."

"If I can achieve some merit in the army, that would be incredible. When I go to a county, I can work as an official in the Public Security Bureau, eat the salary from the court, and live a worry-free life for the rest of my life. Isn't that wonderful?"

The general who was giving the speech did not stand on a high platform, but was in the ranks of the soldiers, shouting at the top of his voice.

After hearing the general's words, the eyes of all the soldiers became brighter. They were full of energy and vigor, as if they had endless energy.

This means that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already made arrangements for both the present and the future.

Just practice to death.

The most important thing is that this is not just empty talk, this is something that all the soldiers have witnessed with their own eyes.

The simplest change is the change in military food.

In the past, people would farm during the busy farming season and train during the slack farming season. This was the case even in the capital’s garrisons.

During training, I only eat two meals a day, and the intensity is average.

Now, not only do we have three meals a day, but every meal has meat and we are always full.

At the beginning, many soldiers made jokes because they were greedy and ate too much and became too full.

Later I found out that it was available every day, so I didn’t dare to eat too much.

Moreover, the taste of this food was something that all the soldiers would never forget for the rest of their lives once they had a bite of it.

I'm afraid even the big restaurants in the capital don't have this taste.

Is this the food the soldiers can eat?

When the aroma first spread throughout the garrison, the soldiers thought they were hallucinating due to hunger. Only when they actually tasted it did they realize that it was so delicious and would become a daily routine in the future.

These scenes appeared in the minds of all the soldiers in the queue.

The next moment, a soldier with a loud voice couldn't help but shout out in excitement: "Long live His Majesty! Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

After a moment of silence, the entire garrison was filled with an earth-shaking roar: "Long live His Majesty! Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

This situation is just a microcosm of a certain garrison. Almost all garrisons have similar situations.

Somewhere downstream along the Qinhuai River,

On the boat, Pierma Heima's hand holding the teacup couldn't help but shiver.

He was frightened by the huge roar just now.

Subconsciously turning his head to look in the distance where the sound came from, Pier Ma He Ma couldn't help but ask Zhu Yunwen on the opposite side: "Yunwen is evil, are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty so crazy in their training?"

That kind of energy and spirit is like thousands of troops galloping forward.

How could someone like Pierma Heima, who grew up in a military camp, not be familiar with it?

They are definitely first-rate elite soldiers.

But if you listen carefully, you can tell that the sound isn't coming from just one place, it seems to be coming from many places.

And this is just a corner of the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Zhu Yunwen was somewhat puzzled by this, he certainly could not lose the face of the Ming Dynasty in front of Piermahema.

He said calmly, "Brother Ma Hei, you are overthinking. These are just the daily training of our Ming soldiers. It is probably because the grand military parade on October 1 is approaching, so the soldiers have been training more diligently recently."

Zhu Yunwen looked calm, but he was not at peace in his heart.

From the place where the sound came from, Zhu Yunwen knew that it was just an inconspicuous garrison among the many garrisons in the capital.

But the aura he displayed just now seemed incomparable even to the palace guards.

After a little thought, Zhu Yunwen knew that this must be the trick used by his elder brother.

Zhu Yunwen really couldn't understand how his elder brother was training his troops.

I have also followed his training, but when my eldest brother was training the palace guards, he would often disappear for three or four days. On weekdays, he would just show up, but would disappear within half an hour.

But in the army, Zhu Yunwen had been unable to accept the soldiers' fanatical worship of their eldest brother for a long time.

Now it seems that the fanatical support for Big Brother in the army is no longer limited to the Black Armor Guards and the Palace Guards.

Instead, it radiated towards all the garrisons in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen sighed slightly in his heart. My elder brother is my elder brother after all.

Listening to Zhu Yunwen's indifferent tone, as if it was commonplace, Pierma Heima felt a little afraid of the Ming army.

Before coming to the capital, in Yupilmahemah's heart, his grandfather's army was the strongest army in the world, no doubt about it.

Even the strongest elite troops of the Ming Dynasty would be unable to resist my grandfather's army.

This is the pride of being the descendants of Genghis Khan. The Mongolian cavalry is the strongest in the whole world. Even the Ming Dynasty can only rely on the city defense and it is impossible to fight against the Mongolian army on the plains.

But now, this once unshakable idea has become somewhat shaken.