New Shun 1730

The emperor thought he had come up with an excellent idea, which was perfect. He originally wanted to show his "business acumen" in front of Liu Yu, but he was not that pedantic person.

Who would have thought that the emperor actually saw the scene where Liu Yu's face changed drastically? Instead of flattering him, he hurriedly objected as if he was about to be beheaded.

The emperor thought he was hallucinating, and after thinking about it for a long time, he felt that he was absolutely right.

The only ones that Westerners could come to trade with were the East India Company.

In this case, why not communicate directly with the East India Company? If the Westerners can grant monopoly rights and make money, why can't we ourselves?

Moreover, it is much better to trade directly with Westerners and obtain profits than to collect a small amount of tariffs.

An extra three to four million taels of silver a year can be said to be an extra profit. In addition to immigration and repatriation, an additional one million taels can be allocated to Liu Yu every year. What do you think of Liu Yu? Yudu should be in high spirits.

Thinking of Liu Yu's enthusiasm for immigration, Liu Yu's enthusiasm and persistence in building a navy, and looking at Liu Yu's attitude at this time, the emperor was a little dizzy.

After a long while, Li Gan said: "Did you hear wrongly? Or do you think I have underestimated the navy? If I can collect an extra three million taels, I should put all of it into the navy?"

When Liu Yu thought of a trade deal just now, he almost subconsciously objected. Now the emperor asked, his expression gradually calmed down.

It would be a lie to say that I was not moved at all after hearing that the emperor wanted to invest an extra two to three million taels a year for the navy.

There is no need to invest three million more a year. Even if one million more is invested a year, that is three main battleships a year.

If we really do this, within ten years, Dashun will be able to conquer the West, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain in Nanyang, take back Macau, and capture Malacca...

But after thinking about it calmly, Liu Yu still refused.

All this stems from the emperor's thoughts.

If the emperor wants to give, he can; if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to. In this way, it would be okay if the emperor keeps being aggressive, but once he reaches the bottom line and starts to be conservative, it will be over.

"Your Majesty, please give me an example."

"explain."

The emperor was also curious as to what made Liu Yu look so ugly.

Li Gan thought to himself that now that he had seen the strong ships and cannons of the Westerners, he also knew the level of Western firearms, and understood the importance of communication, so he still wanted to continue to invest money in the navy.

Moreover, he can get a large amount of money to invest in the navy in a short period of time. With his quick temper, he hopes to build a powerful navy as soon as possible.

Why did Liu Yu object?

"Your Majesty, in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen in the previous dynasty, Emperor Taizu entered Henan. What was the slogan he shouted?"

This is the historical event of the founding of Dashun. Li Gan's Li was not Li Zicheng's blood, but he inherited Li Zicheng's throne. Of course he remembered these things clearly.

Slowly, the emperor said four words.

"Equal fields, no grain."

Liu Yu also repeated the story and said: "Equalize the land and avoid food. After a piece of stone, the Wu thieves led the Eastern captives into the pass. After the Battle of Jingxiang, what is the righteous flag of Emperor Taizong?"

"Drive out the Tartars and protect the world."

Liu Yu added: "At that time, in order to protect the world, most compromises were made with the gentry. Didn't Emperor Taizong want to expel the Tartars first to protect the world, and then, after the world was stable, let the gentry pay the grain together, exempt them from privileges, and check the land?"

This kind of thing is like lice on a bald head, but Dashun hasn't done it yet.

Liu Yu smiled bitterly and said: "It has been nearly ninety years since Taizu established Xi'an. What was a temporary expedient has now become deeply ingrained. Unless we use thunderous means to fight against the corruption of Jiangnan, it will be difficult to complete."

"Therefore, any expedient measure will have consequences. Your Majesty wants to grant a monopoly. This is also an expedient measure. Even if His Majesty wants to get money to build a navy... I dare to ask."

"If there is a war with the West in the future, the Westerners will have to cut off trade. By then, will Your Majesty really be determined to see that his annual income of three to five million taels of silver will be gone? Will Your Majesty still be determined to dominate the Seven Seas? How many people and affairs will arise at that time, and even if it is to be abolished, how can it be carried out? "

Li Gan was silent.

What Liu Yu said seems to make sense.

The original slogan of expelling the Tartars and preserving the world was also to compromise with the gentry. At first, I wanted to wait for the world to stabilize and completely solve the problem of the Jiangnan gentry. However, various accidents and obstructions later made it impossible to even inventory the land, pay the grain to the gentry, and exempt the land tax from the land tax. , none of them were done.

I knew it was a stop-gap measure at the time, but later on it became so ingrained that it is difficult to eradicate.

Li Gan looked at Liu Yu and suddenly said: "Then don't you support the establishment of a trading company against Japan and the exercise of trade monopoly? You also know that this is not good, but it can collect money, facilitate administration, and reduce smuggling. Why? Do you support this and oppose that?"

Liu Yu felt it was necessary to make the difference clear.

"Your Majesty, by granting a monopoly on the Japanese trade, Your Majesty can get tens of thousands of sailors who can be recruited on ships at any time; get money; gain control of the Japanese country; get hundreds of ships that can transport food and troops at any time; get the geographical mountains and rivers of the Japanese country …”

"And if you monopolize the government-run trade with the West, what else will your Majesty get besides money? Corruption? Embezzlement? Drifting? There are neither sailors nor crew members with sailing experience, let alone captains who can compete on the ocean. ”

Li Gan smiled and said: "You are wrong. My money must be invested in the navy. I can also get sailors, crew members, and warships."

Liu Yu frowned and asked: "Your Majesty, since you can collect money just by sitting on the ground, why do you need to raise a navy? Isn't that a loss of money?"

Li Gan was almost bypassed by Liu Yu. He thought for a moment and couldn't help laughing: "Ai Qing is so confused! You are putting the cart before the horse. Does raising a navy have to be useful? It's like raising an invincible army. Wouldn’t it be better if there were no soldiers in the world to fight with the elites in the world?”

"As Aiqing said, if you raise a powerful navy, Westerners will not dare to attack our country and corrupt the southeast. Why must we use it? If it is not necessary, what can I do if I spend money to support it? "

Liu Yu waited for the emperor to laugh, and then asked: "Your Majesty can continue to invest money, how can you guarantee that future generations will definitely invest money? The former Ming Taizu could guarantee diligence and abolished the prime minister, how can you ensure that future generations will be so diligent? Your Majesty's A temporary measure will be of great benefit within thirty years; but in the long run, it will not only be useless, but also harmful.”

"If you have a monopoly on Japanese trade, Your Majesty can leave an annual income of one million taels for future generations; leave a steady stream of tens of thousands of sailors every year for Dashun; leave a thorough control of the Japanese country for Dashun; leave for Dashun There are hundreds of ships left that can be called into action at any time."

"But if we monopolize trade on the shore, we will get nothing but money. Moreover, Your Majesty is wise enough to invest money in the navy, and I have no doubt about it. But I can't believe whether the navy will still have money to invest in it a hundred years later. Therefore, in the short term, it may be beneficial and can raise money; in the long term, it may be very disadvantageous.”

"So, this time I took advantage of the Swedish order for porcelain and sent a ship to Europe. Your Majesty has the largest share and can benefit; similarly, your Majesty also got a captain who has been to Europe and a ship that has been to Europe. sailors; a route to Europe; a supply chart along the way."

"Therefore, I am opposed to granting monopoly rights on shore. If you can make money just by sitting at home, you will be lazy."

"My lord, object!"

This was the first time that Liu Yu formally opposed the emperor's opinions, and he did so as a legitimate Earl of Dashun.

Everything he did was to break the inertia of the Celestial Dynasty that "just sit at home and collect money". For this reason, he would rather wait a few more years and would rather build a slower number of ships each year than do this kind of expedient for the emperor. plan.

It may only take one person to change the dynasty's surname.

To change the world, what is needed is a group of people, a group of interest groups that are completely different from the ruling basis of Dashun at this time.

The emperor could give something today and take it back tomorrow. He did not place all his hopes on the emperor's "sage".

Even this kind of "holy wisdom" may allow Dashun to expand an invincible fleet east of the Cape of Good Hope within a few years.

But this is not a fleet at sea, but a fleet in the Forbidden City. It is likely to be as short-lived as Zheng He.

Seeing Liu Yu's fierce opposition, Li Gan didn't feel unhappy, but carefully considered his idea.

"My dear, please don't be impatient. Are the Western countries in seclusion?"

This point cannot be refuted. The Western countries were closed at this time, with monopolistic trading companies and mercantilist thinking. They only wanted to go out but not to enter.

According to the monopoly rights of Dong Trading Company, if Dashun's merchant ship docks at the British port for sale, the British government is obliged to sink Dashun's cargo ship and separate the goods. Even if it is not so fierce, Dashun's merchant ships will never be allowed to enter the port.

"Yes. Western countries are closed to Dashun." Liu Yu could not refute.

"Then, if I send a ship to Sweden and rely on those helpless smugglers, how long will it take for me to earn a million a year? According to you, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have a total of 1.2 million warships. My navy has 1.2 million ships every year. How long will it take to invest one million? I have to fight against everyone's opinions, and I can only squeeze out one million two million taels to invest in Weihai every year. It has been almost ten years since you went to Weihai."

"For so long, we haven't even had a single battleship, only six or seven cruisers. How can I not be anxious?"

"The annual income is nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. If I do this, isn't it also increasing revenue?"

Liu Yu shook his head.

"Your Majesty, this is not a source of income. You are competing with the people for profit. The water flow from the source has not expanded. It is just that it originally belonged to the merchants, but now it belongs to your Majesty."

"Send a ship to Sweden and start with smuggling and expand gradually. That's called increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Because if a load of tea is sold in Fujian for ten taels, it can be sold to smugglers in Gothenburg for thirty taels. The extra twenty taels , that’s called open source.”

"The smugglers in Gothenburg, Sweden, are the source of China's prosperity."

"You can only choose one of the two. If your Majesty has a monopoly on customs and allows me to send ships to Sweden for smuggling. Let me ask, if the Westerners accuse me of smuggling and threaten to cut off trade if they don't deal with it, your majesty will stand by the Chinese maritime merchants. On the other hand, can it be done in a hundred years?”