Ming Dynasty: At the beginning of the game, Lao Zhu resigned and retired.

Chapter 953: Mr. Hu Explains the National Economy

"Your Majesty, first you must understand one fact."

"That is, whether it is my Huaxia country or the vassal states that your sons will establish in the future, at least in the next few decades, it is absolutely impossible for them to develop into a vast territory like the Ming Dynasty."

"It's not just the area, but also the population, national strength, military strength and other aspects. It is definitely not as good as the Ming Dynasty."

"I believe you all understand why this is the case."

Mr. Hu spoke very calmly, and everyone nodded calmly as well.

Yes, everyone can understand this difference.

After all, the starting points are completely different.

On one side is the Central Plains, which has been inherited and operated by the Han people for thousands of years, and on the other side is a barren land and a small foreign country in the eyes of everyone. How is it possible for the two to catch up in a short period of time?

Even a 'hanging wall' like Mr. Hu didn't think he could catch up.

Because population growth must follow natural laws!

Without a certain population base, sufficient daily necessities and a stable living environment, the population will definitely not experience explosive growth.

This is useless even if there is a birth control policy.

Because this is the law of nature.

"Since you have already acknowledged this premise, it will be easy."

"In fact, this is why Daming will not only not lose money but will make money, and ultimately achieve a win-win situation."

"To put it bluntly, the population of the Ming Dynasty is too large!"

"A large population means a strong country. At the same time, a large population means more wealthy households and a larger market."

"It may seem like a huge amount of food to the vassal states, but to the Ming Dynasty, it is just the right amount of grain to fill the national treasury."

"After all, in order to deal with disasters, the Ming Dynasty has to prepare a large amount of food every year."

"And because Fanguo has three crops a year, it can be said that the price of grain sold to Ming Dynasty will be cheaper than Ming Dynasty itself buying it locally!"

"What's more, we don't have to pay for these grains in the early stage. We are just repaying the loan from the treasury."

"The Ministry of Revenue only needs to transfer the money to the treasury according to the corresponding price."

"Hmm? Transfer it to the treasury?"

Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed the richest man in the Ming Dynasty.

When he heard that money was going to be sent into the treasury, his little ears immediately pricked up.

Master Hu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he saw him like this.

He just didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would make a fuss at this time.

"Of course it has to be transferred to the treasury."

"The Ministry of Revenue's treasury and the imperial family's treasury each have their own rules. How can we mess up the rules and the accounts?"

"The reason why the feudal state has to pay back the money is because it borrowed money from the imperial treasury before."

"It is the treasury that borrows the money and takes the risk, so naturally the benefits should also come from the treasury."

"Otherwise, if the prince goes out to establish a country in the future, where will the treasury get the money from?"

"To put it bluntly, whether it's borrowing money to build a country or using goods to repay debts, this is all royal family affairs!"

"Tell me, shouldn't this matter be dealt with with the treasury?"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized what was going on when he heard this, and then nodded repeatedly.

He was also confused by his concern.

If it were any other time, or if the money issue wasn't mentioned so directly, he would definitely be able to figure it out.

There is a huge difference between the national treasury and the private treasury.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang's small problem was solved, Mr. Hu turned around and continued to answer the previous questions.

"Okay, I said before that this matter will not affect the Ming Dynasty in the early stage. That's because no matter whether it is food or other things, at least the Ming Dynasty will not lose money."

"Because the treasury has money coming in, even if the Ministry of Revenue pays out money, the price will be lower than normal purchases, so both sides can make a profit."

"And the reason why you are worried about this matter, Your Majesty, is that after the repayment period has passed or the repayment is made in advance, the various materials of the vassal state will continue to be sold to the Ming Dynasty."

"In your opinion, this is making money from the Ming Dynasty, which is a harm to the Ming Dynasty!"

"Is that right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded seriously.

Obviously, this is the crux of the matter.

Mr. Hu felt that this kind of worry was quite normal.

For an emperor who does not understand economics but is concerned about the country and the people, he follows the most simple values.

Those who bring money and food are good people;

Those who earn a few taels of silver from their own homes and leave are all bad people!

The main point of this view is simplicity.

And Master Hu wanted to give him a good lesson and let him know that economics is not so superficial.

Master Hu picked up the teacup and took a big sip to moisten his throat before speaking slowly.

"This kind of thing, how should I put it, we need to look at it separately."

"Does the vassal state make money from the Ming Dynasty?"

"Of course there is!"

"But if we ask whether the Ming Dynasty suffered a loss, it is not what you think, Your Majesty!"

"Da Ming, it's really worth it!"

Master Hu raised his hand to stop Zhu Yuanzhang from speaking and continued.

"Your Majesty, please don't be impatient. Wait until I'm done talking, and then we can think about it together."

"Let's review the whole thing. First of all, after the foreign countries have repaid their debts, they will definitely not give up such a large and stable source of income. They will naturally continue to sell grain or other products to the Ming Dynasty."

"So, no matter who comes to buy this grain, as long as it enters the Ming Dynasty, it stands to reason that they must pay customs duties at the Foreign Diplomatic Department."

"In this way, Daming received its first income."

"Then, the foreign countries' grains were sold and the money was collected. So, do they take the money back with them now?"

"of course not!"

"Any normal merchant would not let his ship return to the vassal state empty, but would try to buy as many in-demand and easy-to-sell goods as possible."

"In this way, they will have to pay another commercial tax. If the export tariff is added, it means they will have to pay two taxes to the Ming Dynasty."

"Then, at least for the Ming Dynasty, this vassal state is definitely not here to take the money and leave!"

"But these are not the most important things. The most important thing is that as foreign countries purchase supplies from Ming Dynasty, then in turn, aren't they also creating income for Ming Dynasty?"

"After all, if there were no vassal state, the various products produced by the Ming Dynasty would only be consumed by the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"But there is one more country coming to consume, which invisibly makes the people of Daming earn some extra money."

"Although most of this money may end up in the hands of Ming merchants, after a few rounds, it will actually go indirectly into the national treasury."

"Because no matter how greedy this businessman is, he is just a businessman of Ming Dynasty. His people and wealth are all in Ming Dynasty. Is it possible that he can run away?"