Whether the Maritime Trade Office was profitable or not was something many people knew in their hearts. At that time, the ports of Quanzhou in Fujian, Shanghai in Southern Zhili, and Tianjin in Northern Zhili were practically raking in money every day. In addition to those trade affairs, the amount of silver transported from Japan to the national treasury each year was over two million taels.
While the income from the imperial treasury was not as much as that from the national treasury, it would not be less than 500,000 taels of silver per year.
Zhu Yunying looked at some people with a hint of sarcasm and said, "Everyone says that my business dealings violate the teachings of the sages. But let me tell you, our court is not lacking in scheming and despicable people, nor in hypocrites. Some of you know your own family situation without me having to tell you. On the surface, you are noble officials, but in secret, your families are running shops and making money."
Zhu Yunying scoffed, unafraid of trouble. "If you ask me, we've saved face and substance, so it's really not a loss! The imperial family blocking your path to wealth is competing with the people for profit. The nobles earning more is just the arrogance of our Ming nobles. Don't forget, I granted you permission to make money, but we didn't interfere with some trade routes!"
Zhu Yunying's voice was stern, carrying a strong warning: "Remember this, don't be too greedy and try to take all the benefits! This is the Ming Dynasty; there aren't so many good things for you to do!"
After saying this, Zhu Yunying turned and left in a huff. Seeing Zhu Yunying leave in a fit of rage, the civil and military officials naturally knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Some people felt a pang of sympathy, some were indifferent, some were indignant, and naturally, there were plenty of people who were excited... The court was a stage for all sorts of people, because the emperor's attitude seemed to reveal something.
At least some clear signals have been sent out; it remains to be seen what the people below will do next.
Some people think that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were very good, and that they had worked diligently to govern the country over the years, making the Ming Dynasty increasingly wealthy. Indeed, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were wise and capable, opening up overseas trade routes to enrich the national treasury and being willing to release a considerable amount of profits.
However, people are never satisfied, and some felt that the emperor was too domineering, with the emperor and his family reaping all the benefits. It's important to understand that in the past, these kinds of things were mostly done by large families or merchant guilds.
At present, the imperial court is cracking down on pirates and severely punishing smugglers along the coast.
This has caused many people great distress. If it were merely a strict maritime ban, that would be one thing. But why should we, the noble scholars, not be allowed to enjoy so many benefits? Or why should the imperial family, the rulers of the land, have to compete with the common people for profit?!
Why would an emperor want to establish banks and issue paper money? The emperor, who loved to stir up trouble, controlled the supply of goods and prices, wanting to hoard or dump goods. Now, doing these things is not easy, or at least it's becoming increasingly difficult.
This year, the salt and iron monopoly was abolished again, and the imperial court now has a monopoly on salt and iron, which has once again caused many merchants to complain...
The emperor's actions were devastating to those wealthy merchants. Even if they weren't crippled, they were enough to cause them considerable distress and severely damage their interests.
If they wanted to oppose it, the garrisons throughout the Ming Dynasty were currently training their troops and sharpening their swords. Since they couldn't win militarily, they could only hope that some people in the court would speak up for them, but now the domineering emperor seemed completely unreasonable.
Besides these spokespeople or those who transfer benefits, some people are also starting to worry.
Actually, the national treasury and the imperial treasury were not clearly separated before the Ming Dynasty, mainly because the national treasury was relatively poor. The Ming Dynasty was in dire need of reconstruction and there were too many places where money was needed, so the imperial treasury was required to provide subsidies from time to time.
However, now that the Ming Dynasty is becoming increasingly wealthy, the national treasury can receive subsidies from the imperial treasury. But some people are unwilling to accept the national treasury subsidizing the imperial treasury.
It seems the emperor has some ulterior motives. This time, the emperor's attack may be because Yu Xin's previous words offended him. The emperor wants to teach everyone a lesson and make an example of them!
In the second year of England's reign, everyone initially thought it would be a peaceful start, but now it seems that things may not be so.
Let's keep fighting. Although we fear the pressure from the emperor and the retired emperor, there are times when we can't easily back down, absolutely not!
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