The capital of the Ming Dynasty became more and more prosperous.
Since the lifting of the maritime ban, merchants from all over the world have gradually received the news and have been rushing to the Ming Dynasty like crazy.
There is no other reason. In this day and age, only the goods from China are the most valuable.
Some merchants from small countries brought some of their own specialties and all their belongings to the Ming Dynasty to purchase a batch of tea, porcelain and silk.
Then transport it back and sell it. As long as the journey goes smoothly, you will become a superior person in your own country.
This kind of thing is not an exaggeration at all.
After silk, tea and porcelain came out of the Ming Dynasty, the profits would be dozens of times higher. Who wouldn't be envious? Even if they sold well, hundreds of times the profits were not impossible.
Among them, silver trading is one thing. Some small countries that are not short of treasures can directly exchange them for treasures, and then resell them to the Ming Dynasty. The wealth value will soar immediately.
There is no expensive treasure that cannot be sold in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, where there are too many rich people.
Foreign merchants who traveled here liked to transport their goods to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to sell.
This resulted in the streets of the capital being filled with foreign merchants.
Although there were quite a few in the past, not so many. Now, just counting the foreign merchants stranded in the capital, there are probably hundreds of thousands of them.
In view of this situation, Zhu Ying is constantly making adjustments.
First of all, in terms of customs duties, we must strictly monitor them and not let any smugglers go.
The foreign merchants' favorite thing to do is to evade taxes. For foreign merchants, as long as they pass through the customs and enter the sea, the Ming Dynasty can almost guarantee their control.
There is no possibility of catching anyone in the vast ocean.
The cost of arresting people is too high.
So the key is to escape.
For the Ming Dynasty, evading taxes would mean damaging the Ming treasury. These taxes were the country's money, and not even a penny less could be tolerated.
For this purpose, a customs inspection agency is set up.
The main purpose is to catch corruption among customs officials.
On the road construction side, the north-south highway that Zhu Yuanzhang had always dreamed of was finally completed.
As soon as it was completed, Zhu Yuanzhang took his eldest grandson out of the palace to see it.
The North-South Avenue was built from outside Zhengyang Gate all the way to Peking.
Such a wide cement road means that horse-drawn carriages can travel at least several times faster than before.
Especially for trucks, the passage will become faster.
It includes many aspects such as the marching and dispatch of the army, and is of great significance.
The grandfather and grandson came to the source of the North-South Avenue in plain clothes. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw them, he frowned and said, "This avenue has just been opened, how come there are so many merchants occupying the main road? They are so bold that they dare to act so recklessly."
"When we return to the palace, we will issue an order to investigate who dared to start this."
Zhu Ying touched his nose awkwardly and said, "Grandpa, I did it."
"What?"
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't react for a moment.
After all this fuss, it turns out that it was Da Sun who did it?
"My great grandson, this is an official road. Why are ordinary merchants and civilians allowed to go here? If there is a war, it will delay the march."
"Even in other aspects, it will take a lot of time."
Zhu Yuanzhang, whose good mood had been ruined, was still thinking about returning to the palace to conduct a thorough investigation. Now that it was his eldest grandson who did it, it was difficult to explain.
After all, the current Zhu Yuanzhang has delegated more power to his eldest grandson, so such small matters can be decided directly by the eldest grandson.
Zhu Ying explained: "Grandpa, if fewer people walk on this road, wouldn't it be a waste?"
"Such a wide road is just left there for nothing. My grandson thinks it's a waste. Besides, this road needs many people to walk on it before it can be smoothed out."
"There are many merchants now, and the amount of goods transported is even greater. The only goods transported by the Qunying Chamber of Commerce are passing through the pipeline. If this continues for a long time, other chambers of commerce will definitely be dissatisfied, sowing the seeds of resentment, which is not conducive to business operations."
"Now even some people living in the surrounding areas can follow the road all the way here. The embodiment of the road is that it is more effective to point the way."
"Many people who can't find their way can just follow this road and arrive at the capital. This will be much more convenient, and the tax revenue in the capital will also increase significantly."
"If there is an army on the march, we should go forward to clear the way. If there are goods from the imperial court on the march, we can also hang up a bell to remind them. It shouldn't have too much of an impact."
After hearing these explanations, Zhu Yuanzhang was still somewhat reluctant.
But now that the eldest grandson has already passed the order, if I go back and change it, wouldn't that be a slap in the face of the eldest grandson?
What's the difference between slapping Da Sun's face and slapping yourself in the face?
After thinking about it, I was too lazy to care about it. After all, it was not a big deal.
This is also because of my eldest grandson.
After feeling relieved, Zhu Yuanzhang personally walked along the North-South Avenue to experience it for himself.
Sure enough, this cement road is very useful. Not only is the road surface flat, it also speeds up the passage of carriages and it is not too tiring for people to walk on it.
On the wide avenue, you can still see crowds of people coming in and out.
The opening of the official road was a blessing for ordinary people, especially the small vendors around the capital, who were extremely happy.
I feel much more energetic when carrying the load.
"From now on, we will have to repair all the official roads in the Ming Dynasty with cement. This will greatly increase the speed of travel across the country, and our court will be able to manage the local areas more effectively."
"As for the post station, it looks like we're going to add a lot this year."
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.
Wherever the post station is, that is where the imperial power is controlled.
Zhu Yuanzhang always attached great importance to post stations and issued strict systems, including the selection of personnel.
He was very clear about the benefits of the post station. It could be said that where there was a post station, imperial edicts could be delivered directly.
The faster the delivery, the stronger the effect of the decree.
"Grandpa, here at the post station, my grandson wants to make it as self-sufficient as possible, just like the garrison troops." Zhu Ying suggested while the old man was happy.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Grandson, do you want the post stations to have their own lands, just like the garrisons?"
Zhu Ying explained: "It's not the land, but the transportation."
"Nowadays, whether it is the common people or merchants, there is a great demand for post stations. Even the simplest things like letters are often very expensive."
"The post station itself has the ability to transport things, so my grandson wants to open a separate section during transportation, as a feature of the post station, to make the delivery of letters easier."
"It only needs to be delivered via letters along a specific route, with a few thin pieces of paper, and it will be much simpler. This will not only be convenient for the people, but also make communication smoother."
"In this regard, the post stations can also earn some income as subsidies to reduce the burden on the court."
"And it's not just letters, other goods can also be transported by the post station. If the post station doesn't stop, we can add more staff."
Zhu Ying wants to establish a private logistics system.
As for the current post station, it can be said that it already has a very complete logistics system. As long as we add some things to it, it can be used directly.
The logistics system is profitable, very profitable.
This is an even bigger expense for maintaining the post station.
If it could become mature, the post station would not only be able to cover its own expenses, but it might also be able to hand over even more money to the national treasury.
On this point, Zhu Ying naturally has his own insights.
The post station was for civilian use, which made Zhu Yuanzhang start to ponder.
Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that his eldest grandson meant to divide the post stations into two groups, separating official and civilian use, in order to establish a complete system.
"Has Grandson ever estimated how much money can be made this way?"
After thinking for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
If the cost problem of the post station itself can be solved, it will be a huge burden relieved for the court.
Zhu Yuanzhang is now more open-minded. As long as it does not affect the imperial power, it can be used for civilian purposes.
According to the current practice, there is no difference between the post station being used by the government or by civilians. The Chamber of Commerce under the name of the eldest grandson has almost always been using the post station, and Zhu Yuanzhang is very clear about this.
It is precisely because of the extensive use of post stations and the saving of transportation costs that the price of goods sold by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce has a greater price advantage than other chambers of commerce, which also benefits the people.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was studying the money-making ability of his eldest grandson's Chamber of Commerce, he had already paid attention to this aspect.
I didn't even think about how much money the post station itself could make.
Zhu Ying replied: "My grandson's Chamber of Commerce has calculated that if all the goods transported each month were to be transported through post stations, the cost could be saved by nearly 20%."
“If other chambers of commerce also use the post station, they will naturally say it’s about the same.”
"Based on the current cargo handling capacity of the capital, the surrounding post stations will naturally have no problem transporting cargo. The more prosperous the place, the more obvious the effect will be."
"For example, the post stations around the capital can easily support 10,000 postmen, and they may even have a surplus to hand over to the Ministry of Revenue."
"In some remote places, goods may be scarce and need subsidies from the court. However, we can use the money from the rich post stations to support the poor ones. In this way, the post stations of the entire Ming Dynasty can reach a balanced state."
"And as the economy develops, the post stations will also develop slowly, and then they can gradually turn losses into profits. The soldiers of the entire post station will also be a very good reserve army for our Ming Dynasty."
"These postmen have been traveling for a long time, and their physical strength and endurance are excellent. They have simple training and can be put into the real army after some specific training."
"It's like leaving something for future generations."
The previous words did not impress Zhu Yuanzhang much, but Zhu Ying's last sentence moved Zhu Yuanzhang quite a bit.
According to Zhu Ying, the current post station system will undergo another major expansion.
Postmen are also soldiers.
If things continue like this, there will definitely be hundreds of thousands of postmen. If there is a war that involves the safety of the Ming Dynasty, the postmen will play a very important role at that time. There is nothing wrong with that.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang also hoped that the Ming Dynasty would last forever, historical facts have proved that there has never been a permanent dynasty.
No matter how prosperous a dynasty is, it will always decline due to various reasons.
In this regard, Zhu Ying is the most experienced.
Even in later times, the once-mighty British Empire had already been in overall decline before Zhu Ying traveled through time.
That is in modern times, and such situations still occur.
Not to mention the Ming Dynasty today.
"That's fine. Having more soldiers is good. At least we can wait for some unworthy descendants to die, and give us a chance to have some wise rulers."
"As for the post station, Grandson, just go ahead and do it."
After thinking it through, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke.
He also knew that it was impossible for all of his descendants to be good rulers, and that some of them would be incompetent.
As the saying goes, a son does not feel sorry for selling his father's land. Now that he and his eldest grandson have worked so hard to build this empire, he feels nothing at all when his descendants squander it.
The only thing we can do is to keep a little longer and let the Ming Dynasty last a little longer.
After obtaining permission, Zhu Ying began to work on the reform of the post station.
During the Hongwu period, there was no resistance to such reforms.
Unlike changes in other periods, there was absolutely no resistance during Zhu Yuanzhang's period, and those who were capable of resisting had all been killed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
In terms of the entire historical dynasty environment, there are few periods that can have such a reform environment.
Basically, it can be said that as long as the rules are agreed upon, the ministers in the court can only follow them and are unlikely to even raise objections.
Anyone who has offended His Majesty will not be able to stand in the Fengtian Hall for long.
Not to mention that this decision is right, even if it is wrong, who can do anything to Your Majesty? You may not even be able to say a word.
In addition, the Jinyiwei had control over the officials in the capital, so they could kill you if they wanted to, without any need for any excuses.
Lan Yu, the only one who was able to jump around, has now run to the border.
Even if Lan Yu were still alive, he would not have any say in internal affairs.
The power of the Ming Dynasty is now concentrated in the military generals and nobles. For the military people, all they have to do is support His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince when they want to do something. They don't understand the long-term anyway.
Those who understand dare not speak, and those who can speak don’t understand, so naturally the court is dominated by the grandfather and grandson.
The entire post station system was also very important to the Ming Dynasty. In order to prevent other officials from interfering, Zhu Ying pulled the post station out of the Ministry of War and established a separate post station office, which was the General Administration of Beijing Post Stations.
They are directly under the emperor's command and do not accept any transfer or arrangement of officials. All procedures are directly in accordance with the palace's wishes.
Zhu Ying also published the news about the civilian use of the post stations in the capital's gazette so that the people of the Ming Dynasty could know about it.