But things are different now. After this series of developments, the national treasury's revenue is getting higher and higher. Even after tax reductions and exemptions, the revenue from silver has not decreased but increased.
Based on this calculation, the current annual fiscal revenue is conservatively estimated to be around 40 to 50 million taels of silver.
Not to mention that if this trend continues, it may even double next year.
After all, it is already summer. If the fiscal revenue is 40 to 50 million taels of silver in just half a year, wouldn't it be even more in a year?
In short, this event made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy, and he finally became a wealthy emperor.
So he said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Now that the imperial court is rich, we no longer have to live such a frugal life. From now on, we can finally indulge in some luxuries."
Zhu Yunwen laughed heartily, then said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Grandpa, this is nothing! Are you satisfied with just a bottle of floral water, a bicycle, and a tricycle?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up immediately, and he looked at Zhu Yunwen and said:
"Good grandson, do you have any other ways to make money?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled mysteriously and said:
"Yes, of course there are, and there are many more. Of course, the ways I'm talking about to make money are not just for making money, but also for bringing some real benefits."
For example, bicycles can solve the problem of transportation, while tricycles can not only solve the problem of transportation but also solve the problem of goods transportation.
So I'll be creating more things later, things that can actually be useful in real life.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became expectant and said:
"Okay, we believe that you can do it to boost the economy for the country and the people, and also improve people's lives."
Zhu Yunwen nodded with great confidence.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Zhu Yunwen went directly to the Ministry of Revenue.
He had previously heard Zhang Shan, the Minister of Revenue, say that sweet potato and potato seeds had reached a point where they could be distributed nationwide for planting.
Through their cultivation, the number of seeds has increased considerably, even exceeding their expectations.
We currently have several million kilograms of sweet potato and potato seeds. If we distribute these seeds nationwide and teach the people how to plant them, we expect to have a harvest this year.
Therefore, after receiving the news, Zhu Yunwen went to the Ministry of Revenue to conduct an on-site inspection to see if these sweet potato and potato seeds were any good.
Upon arriving at the Ministry of Revenue, Zhu Yunwen was personally escorted by Minister Zhang Shan to leave the capital and conduct an on-site inspection of fields outside the capital that were specifically used for cultivating sweet potato and potato seeds.
When Zhu Yunwen arrived, he dug up the sweet potato and potato seeds from the soil and found that they were all growing very well, especially the sweet potatoes, some of which were even as big as half a head. They were growing vigorously and the yield was astonishing.
Zhu Yunwen was very happy and said directly to the Minister of Revenue:
"Now that we have so many sweet potato and potato seeds, we can distribute them to people all over the country in fixed quantities. And remember, we must teach them the correct planting methods. We must not let these seeds go to waste."
Zhang Shan, the Minister of Revenue, naturally understood the importance of this matter.
So after receiving the order, he began to work on it.
Sweet potato and potato seeds have always been highly valued by ordinary people, court officials, and the scholar-official class.
If successful, it would be a tremendous blessing for the people.
For the scholar-official and aristocratic class, this could have been a catastrophe.
The reason is nothing more than the word "interests." Previously, Zhu Yunwen forcibly measured the land of the whole country and implemented a policy of distributing the land evenly according to the number of people, which had already affected the interests of the scholar-official and noble classes.
It caused many problems, and Zhu Yunwen had to use many methods to resolve them one by one. He also came up with a series of policies to finally deal with the various tricks that the scholar-officials, nobles and landlords came up with.
Those nobles and landlords who made money from land had their plans thwarted and had long harbored deep hatred for Zhu Yunwen.
If these sweet potato and potato seeds could be planted on a large scale and produce a large yield, solving the people's food problem, it would be another devastating blow to them.
Because the amount of grain controlled by these scholar-official and landlord classes was terrifyingly large.
After all, they used to have a lot of land, and each acre of land could produce a lot of grain.
With a large amount of land, over the years, one naturally accumulates a large amount of grain.
Grain is also a form of hard currency, sometimes generating greater profits than land. This grain can be stored for a long time and is controlled by these nobles.
They can find ways to raise the price of grain at any time and then sell it at a higher price.
It's similar to what happened when a county in the Northwest suffered a drought.
At that time, the common people had nothing to eat, but the scholar-officials, nobles, and landlords controlled a lot of grain.
Even when the imperial court tried to buy from them, they were able to drive up the price to make their goods scarce.
If Zhu Yunwen hadn't come up with a way to trick them into donating grain, they probably still wouldn't have given it up.
This shows that these gentry and landlords with grain were profiting from the national crisis.
There's a saying that goes, "The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish."
The same principle applies to the gentry and landlords who control the grain.
The more people suffer from food shortages, the more money they can make from the grain they hold.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
