My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 38: The princes are also very useful
However, since it concerns issues concerning future generations, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely concerned.

He could only curse Li Han inwardly for his riddle-solving behavior. After all, he had a good relationship with Li and he was a gentleman, so he shouldn't mind a few curses.

Just looking at what Lao Li said, solving the problem of vassal kings seems to be related to overseas trade, but letting the descendants of the Zhu family do business with the barbarians in overseas countries?

Although he was no longer so opposed to trade, he still felt a little uncomfortable letting his descendants become lowly merchants.

"Lifting the sea ban and engaging in trade are simple to say and easy to do.

The difficult part is who will take the lead.”

We know that Old Li must want us to ask the vassal kings to do overseas trade.

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips, looking somewhat unimpressed, and waited to see what Old Li had to say.

“Although the princes all have fiefs, they don’t own much land at this time, and the same is true for the nobles.

Although it is said that all under heaven belongs to the king, but guess what, Old Zhu, who is the actual owner and user of the land in the entire Ming Dynasty?

Not a farmer anyway.”

Zhu Yuanzhang knew this without any guessing, he was the landlord.

"To be precise, it should be a group of nobles based on landlords.

The gentry were almost all big landowners, and more than 90% of the civil servants came from the gentry group!
Although the Ming Dynasty was still under a maritime ban, there was still sporadic foreign trade. So let’s take a look at the main commodities of the Ming Dynasty’s foreign trade.

Porcelain, tea, raw silk, satin and cloth are the five main export commodities of the Ming Dynasty.

So who is in control of these five industries? "

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and realized that it was true. These were the things that the Ming Dynasty sold the most.

As for who was in control, Zhu Yuanzhang had a vague answer in his mind.

"The landlords and aristocrats in Jiangnan, who are the representatives of these five major categories, are in control of these five major categories.

Whether it is Jiangnan weaving, tea, or folk kiln porcelain, there is the shadow of the gentry behind them.

Let us deduce what the consequences would be if they took the lead in conducting overseas trade.

The landlords and gentry made money from the ocean trade, so how did they spend it? They bought land. This has been a strong and unshakable inertia since the formation of the landlord class.

After buying the land, they continue to make money, and then make more money to buy more land. The final result can only be that the land is merged and concentrated on a large scale, and the farmers are reduced to tenants. "

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Li Han only gave a slight hint, and he fully understood the profound meaning contained in it!

Why was there chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, with rebel armies rising up everywhere and many heroes vying for power? Wasn't the most direct reason that the common people had no land to farm and no food to eat?
Where did the ground go?
Except for those that were robbed and taken away by the Yuan Tartars, the rest were taken away by the landlords!

“So, what did the court gain in this process?
The answer is simple, basically no.

The root of the problem lies in your speechless tax policy, Mr. Zhu."

Zhu Yuanzhang was completely stunned. Old Li had mentioned the taxation issue of the Ming Dynasty before. Now that it was mentioned again, he immediately thought of the key problem!
Because the gentry don’t have to pay taxes at all!
Therefore, many landlords would register their land under the names of the gentry in exchange for paying part of the money and grain.

In this way, the landlords could evade taxes, while the gentry gained the benefits of the landlords. Both parties were happy and closely bound together by interests, but the ones who suffered were the court and the people!
This is the origin of the name of the landlord gentry group. Not to mention that the gentry themselves are landlords!
Old Li, you scolded well, you scolded well!

“In addition, 90% of the civil servants in the court are from the gentry. Will these civil servants take the initiative to collect taxes from their own class for the sake of taxation and the so-called interests of the court?
No one would do such a thing, right?
Of course, we can understand that the reason why Zhuanxu exempted the gentry from taxes was that it was a helpless move to compromise with the gentry at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty when everything was not stable.

Therefore, in order to check and balance the landlord aristocratic group, Lao Zhu, you must cultivate a new interest group to form a check and balance on the aristocratic group.

The only group with strength and ability are the princes and nobles!"

That's it!

Lao Li, I understand, I get it!
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized why Li Han wanted the princes to dominate the maritime trade!
Old Li has a brilliant idea, but it is Old Zhu who is shallow.

"So, Mr. Zhu, if you want your descendants to not become useless but also live a good life, what should you do?

There is a saying that goes, getting rich depends on our hard-working hands, and the working people are the most beautiful! "

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help laughing out loud. He just loved listening to what Old Li said.

"Let the princes and nobles gradually transform from hereditary aristocrats into participants and competitors in trade. The special term is called the bourgeoisie, or to put it more nicely, the national capitalists!"

Bourgeoisie, national capitalists?

What new term is this?

Zhu Yuanzhang felt like he had never been to school in front of Li Han, but the problem was that these things were not in the books!
Moreover, everything Lao Li talked about cannot be found in the Four Books and Five Classics or in the classics of great Confucian scholars. In the eyes of some old-fashioned Confucian scholars, they may even be considered heresy.

So, Mr. Li is a great immortal who lives freely in the world and is not bound by these things at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very envious, but Lao Li and I were good friends, and I also learned things from him. Does that mean that Lao Li can also be considered a half-master?

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled complacently and continued reading.

"What is the bourgeoisie? It is a group that is the opposite of the landlord class and is one level higher than the landlords.

Of course, to fully understand the difference between the two, we must also understand a concept, namely, means of production.

It is easy to understand what means of production are. For example, landlords use land to produce grain, and when the grain is sold it becomes wealth. Those who rely on land to generate wealth are the landlord class.

Land is the landlord's means of production.

The bourgeoisie relies on wealth to invest in production. For example, if you, Mr. Zhu, have 1,220 taels of silver, you build a porcelain kiln, produce 100 blue and white porcelains every day, and then sell them for 1,220 taels of silver.

Then, Old Zhu, you think this deal is very profitable, and continue to invest one thousand taels to expand the factory, recruit more workers, produce more porcelain, sell more silver, and make more money.

Then workers, factories, and money are the means of production.

These things are also called assets or capital, and those who control the means of production such as assets are the bourgeoisie.

Assuming that the court imposes the same high tax rate on landlords and the bourgeoisie, then, Lao Zhu, do you think that the court will make more profit from landlords growing crops and selling grain, or from the bourgeoisie producing goods? "

Zhu Yuanzhang blurted out without hesitation, "Of course it's the bourgeoisie."

There is another chapter at midnight. On Friday night, we won’t rest, watch movies or play games. We will just fight to the death and risk our lives!
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(End of this chapter)