In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xiong Ying held the official report and said to the old emperor, "Grandfather, our Ming Dynasty's imperial treasury has too much iron; it's time to stop the ironworks in various places."
Old Zhu paused for a moment, then asked, "Too much?"
“Too many.” Zhu Xiong Yingye laughed and said, “Now our Great Ming has more than 230 iron-mining counties, and countless iron smelters. We should stop the state-run ironworks, otherwise the internal inventory will not be able to hold.”
This is no exaggeration. In fact, in the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1389), the Ming Dynasty once suspended state-run iron smelting. The reason was that there was too much iron in the imperial treasury, and they simply didn't know where to use the iron they produced.
Zhu Xiong Ying roughly calculated the exact weight: the Ming Dynasty's official iron smelting currently produces around 9,000 tons of iron annually. Private iron smelting produces even more. This easily surpasses the Song Dynasty's annual iron production of 20,000 tons.
Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "Now our big pots are doing very well in Mongolia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and other places."
These large iron pots were no joke; they were made of stainless steel, which is wear-resistant and hard, but also relatively brittle, meaning they couldn't be used as weapons. However, places like Mongolia and Japan today have a great fondness for these large iron pots; they are strategic materials that need to be imported from the Ming Dynasty.
A three-foot-diameter iron pot and two bolts of silk, or a pot full of mink fur; if you go to Japan, it will be two hundred samurai swords.
This is no exaggeration. Zhu Xiong Ying was essentially robbing his descendants of their prices, and he also established several pot factories specifically for export trade. Guangdong pots are indeed quite good, and they were specifically made for trade.
Old Zhu laughed, satisfied. "Let's stop for now. Our warehouses can't hold any more iron. We need to smelt some steel. Our official factories don't smelt iron, but private ironworks can."
Consider the present era and technology; how powerful a dynasty like the Ming Dynasty must have been! The Ming Dynasty produced 70% of the world's iron, more than all other countries combined. The Ming Dynasty's imperial treasury was overflowing with iron, while many other countries couldn't even manufacture a single pot.
Old Zhu pointed at Zhu Xiong Ying and said, "Ying'er, then according to your wishes, we should start lifting the ban. Over the years, many Mongol tribes have submitted memorials pleading for us to give them some pots."
“Don’t give them the pots, just give them a few.” Zhu Xiong Ying’s attitude was still very clear. “Give them some weapons, that’s fine. My idea is to give those Mongol tribes a chance to become strong. We should exhaust them.”
Tea, I'll give you. Silk cloth, I can sell it. I can even give you some horseshoes and weapons. But large iron pots, buying them won't be so easy. They're strategic resources; to get them, you have to keep begging and see what the Ming emperor's mood is like. If he's in a good mood, you can sell a few more pots.
Old Zhu laughed and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "When your father was alive, he always said you were the worst-hearted one. The things you sold to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea were hardly any good. You just took advantage of their small, ignorant people and always paid high prices without allowing any bargaining."
There's nothing they can do about it. Monopolies are incredibly profitable, and besides, the Ming Dynasty's technology is advanced. They have every right to be so proud, while those smaller countries and tribes can only accept the reality that backwardness means being vulnerable to attack and being bullied by the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Xiong Ying wasn't embarrassed, but still argued, "Grandfather, I've done quite well. I've given them what they lacked, and they should be grateful. What would they do if it weren't for the generosity of our Great Ming?"
Old Zhu chuckled and continued, "As for private trade, it should still be banned, otherwise no one will farm anymore."
Old Zhu was always a farmer at heart, prioritizing farming above all else. He looked down on trade and other such things, and disliked certain merchants, believing they needed to be severely suppressed.
However, Zhu Xiong Ying always felt that the reason why Emperor Zhu should not completely lift the maritime ban was because he believed that maritime trade was simply too profitable. Therefore, at this time, Emperor Zhu still insisted on government trade, with the imperial court responsible for such matters.
The profits, of course, also go to the imperial court; it's not something that can be achieved through private trade. This isn't about taking profits from the people; Zhu Yuanzhang's intention now is to completely exclude ordinary people from maritime trade, to monopolize all the spoils.
“So I think it’s only right to give these tribes some inferior goods,” Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile to his father. “In recent years, I haven’t been able to wage large-scale war against those Mongol tribes, so it’s better to let them fight amongst themselves. Once they rely on the weapons of our Great Ming, they will be at the mercy of others.”
This was also Zhu Xiong Ying's true feeling. The Mongol tribes were currently struggling to survive, and their weapons were relatively poor. So, let's give them some opportunities, let them acquire some weapons, and let the descendants of the Golden Family fight continuously, to punish those who rebel.
Even if the fighting is bloody and chaotic, it indirectly helps the Ming Dynasty. The one or two powerful forces that are cultivated, even if they appear strong on the surface, are merely superficially powerful. If the Ming Dynasty cuts off their weapons supply, those tribes will suffer.
Just like how later generations of Russians liked to sell "monkey-print" weapons, while Americans preferred to sell simplified versions of weapons, it's the same principle.
Even if they were to clash on the battlefield one day, the Ming Dynasty's weapons would still be more advanced. At that time, the Ming Dynasty would naturally hold a certain advantage. While it's impossible to say there won't be any unforeseen circumstances, it certainly has some advantages no matter how you look at it.
Pointing to the map, Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Right now, we'll help you move the capital. In the next two years, we should have conquered Japan. Goryeo sent troops to help in the war, and they've used up a lot of cannon fodder. In a few years, we should take over there and settle your uncles."
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