The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 1140

[1140.Chapter 1089 Cutting down the vassalage]

Fang Jifan deliberately kept a straight face when he saw Emperor Hongzhi.

But Fang Jifan was too familiar with Emperor Hongzhi.

Behind that stern face, there was still a look of joy that couldn’t be concealed.

Of course I am happy if I make money.

Fang Jifan said cheerfully: “Your Majesty, if you have any questions, I will naturally know all the answers. I am stupid and not as good as your Majesty. Your Majesty is a sage and wise king. He is very perceptive and has a clear eye. There is nothing in the world that can be hidden from your Majesty.” “My son…”

Emperor Hongzhi shook his head and thought to himself, who does this mouth look like? It doesn’t look like his father.

But many of the ministers in the palace were really anxious.

Before His Majesty could ask, someone jumped out: “Captain Fang, may I ask? The Ming Dynasty invited so many Japanese people to study here. Are these Japanese people so ambitious? Don’t you worry that they…”

” Don’t worry.” Fang Jifan answered decisively without waiting for him to continue asking.

“This…” Emperor Hongzhi frowned. In fact, he was also worried.

Those standing here today are all ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and no one is a fuel-efficient lamp.

Let’s just say Zhang Sheng, Rang is the Minister of Rites. Doesn’t what he said make sense?

Sad.

But Fang Jifan’s answer was so affirmative that it made Emperor Hongzhi interested.

“Huh? Jifan, please tell me in detail.”

Fang Jifan said: “The knowledge of Xinxue and Xishan’s various subjects is actually nothing extraordinary. Even His Highness the Prince’s steam locomotive is actually… nothing extraordinary.”

“What ?

?” The ministers looked at Fang Jifan in confusion.

Not to mention anything else, let’s just talk about this steam locomotive. For the courtiers in this palace, after they slowly accepted it, they began to understand more and more how powerful it was.

But Fang Jifan actually said that this was nothing special.

Fang Jifan said: “Here, if any knowledge wants to develop and make countless imaginations become reality, the fundamental reason is actually silver. Your Majesty, this silver is the best thing in the world. It affects the national economy and people’s livelihood. It’s related to money. Your Majesty’s internal funds need money. To build a mansion in Xishan, people also need money. To build a steam locomotive, they need more money.

It

’s gone. From the initial development, to the subsequent rail laying, and then to the operation, there are tens of millions of taels of silver. In the future, countless rails will be rolled out, so… how much money will be needed?

The emperor nodded, this sentence is correct.

Of course…

every word and deed of the emperor will be recorded and written into the annals of history, or spread out and become the talk of the world.

Therefore, although Emperor Hongzhi agreed in his heart, he said lightly: “I think money is important, but morality and filial piety are fundamental.”

The ministers had complicated thoughts and nodded one after another: “What your Majesty said is that Captain Fang regards the money as It’s too heavy.”

Fang Jifan: “…”

“Jifan, please continue.” Emperor Hongzhi blushed and encouraged Fang Jifan.

Fang Jifan said: “Your Majesty has hit the nail on the head. Of course, morality and filial piety are the most important. However, I should talk about money first. The fundamental way to make a country rich and strengthen its army is money and food. The Japanese people come here, no matter how much they learn, The knowledge of Xinxue and Xishan is useless to them, because…even if they understand the principles of steam locomotives, how can they build a car? Even if they understand it, what is the use

? Therefore, your Majesty asked your Majesty to summon them to the capital. The essence of this is to completely cut off their accumulation of money and food. Your Majesty, think about it. These Japanese people, who are either rich or noble, have come to settle in the Ming Dynasty and live in the capital. It is not easy. But housing is their long-term need. Therefore, they have to buy a house. After buying a house, they need to live in it and have food, clothing and transportation. They also need tuition fees to study here. They have good conditions here, but where does the money come from? In the final analysis, it comes from their territory. They collect taxes from farmers and businessmen, or get revenue from their own mines, and they will continue to send it to the capital. This money supports countless people. At the same time, their craftsmen will also be injected into the continued research of steam locomotives. The more people they come, the more they will learn. In the end, they will be inseparable from our Ming Dynasty, because… what they learned is not what they learned in Japan. There is no place for it. Only in the Ming Dynasty can it become a reality.”

Fang Jifan said with a smile: “I call this the siphon effect. The more the Japanese nobles are used to the convenience brought by the Ming Dynasty, the more people in their territory will be able to use it. Wealth will be sent here in a steady stream. Then, how can they have any spare power to imitate our Ming Dynasty to make the country rich and powerful? This is the reason why I beg your Majesty to summon the powerful children from all over the world to come to the capital. The more they come, the more they spend. The bigger it gets, eventually, their descendants will only regard the capital as their hometown, and their territory is just a tool for them to maintain a good life.”

“My son has such good intentions, but some people slander him .

I just want to sell the mansion. Your Majesty, I am more unjust than Dou E. My heart is all for my Ming Dynasty’s thousand-year plan. There is no selfish intention. They insult my innocence like this. I sincerely ask your majesty. , let people cut open the heart of my son and see if this heart is loyal or treacherous!”

Fang Jifan’s words revealed a truth.

Any theory is based on economics.

To put it bluntly, everything requires money, and there is no accumulation of original capital. If you take the current Wealth of Nations and throw it to King Zhou Wu, King Wu of Zhou will guarantee that his head will be hung on the royal city within three years.

Without primitive capital accumulation, how could so much money come from and be concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people? How could these few people control this huge amount of wealth? When they are all sent to the capital to maintain their luxurious life in the capital, this will only continue to strengthen the Ming Dynasty, and cause the entire Japanese country to continuously lose blood.

Even if Fang Jifan takes a drawing of the construction of a steam locomotive and gives it to the Japanese people, will they use it to build railways and constantly update their production tools?

Siphon effect.

Liu Wenshan, who was silent among the crowd, his eyes lit up.

This… is obviously an economic principle, which was not mentioned in The Wealth of Nations, but now that we think about it carefully, it turns out that this is really the case.

My mentor is indeed a mentor. With just a few words, he solved a long-standing doubt of his.

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to feel justified.

The noble sons and daughters from all the vassal states came to live and study in the Ming Dynasty. The essence of it was to use up their money and food to continuously nourish the capital. Thirty to fifty years later, these descendants and grandsons will all live and study here. Guests from all over the world have long regarded Daming as their hometown.

No matter what they learned was new science, whether it was Ming Dynasty medicine or business, how useful would these things be when they returned to their vassal territory? Even if it is useful, it is limited.

Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes lit up: “Is this the reduction of vassalage?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, this is the reduction of vassalage, just like a favor order!” Fang Jifan didn’t even expect that his own siphon effect actually produced a favor order. come out.

Emperor Hongzhi became excited. He clasped his hands behind his back, as if Fang Jifan’s reminder suddenly made him realize something.

Emperor Hongzhi then raised his eyes and glanced at Fang Jifan. There was something profound in his eyes, but then he became calm again: “Jifan is a policy for long-term peace and stability.”

Fang Jifan said: “Your Majesty is wise.”

All the ministers listened .

At this point, it seems that we have to admit that Fang Jifan’s prospects are not unreasonable.

Fang Jifan said again: “Your Majesty, my son, I have one more thing to report.”

Emperor Hongzhi glanced at Fang Jifan and said, “It’s okay for me to say it.” He

is indeed his son-in-law. Look at what he does, how beautiful it is. .

Fang Jifan said: “Your Majesty, the thing is like this. I thought it was inappropriate for Your Majesty to directly take possession of the huge silver mine in Huangjinzhou. This… after all, was discovered by Shouning Hou and Jianchang Bo. They wanted to The discovery of this huge silver mine is a great achievement, but Your Majesty…”

Emperor Hongzhi’s face turned cold: “Didn’t I give them several million gold?”

Fang Jifan coughed: “Your Majesty, I think that if I only give them a few million, Jin is a huge loss to His Majesty.”

Huh?

Emperor Hongzhi found it funny. Did I lose nothing by handing over the silver mine to my two brothers-in-law?

It’s not that Emperor Hongzhi has any grudge against his two brothers-in-law, but because, in his opinion, what do these two bastards need so much money for? But I am different. With this money, I don’t know how many big things I can do.

Fang Jifan said with a smile: “Your Majesty, a silver mine is just the tip of the iceberg. The world is so big, how many treasures are contained under the ground. A mere silver mine, no matter how much silver it contains, your Majesty is He is the hero, so why should he care? But… if your majesty does not set the rules so that Shouning Hou and Jianchang Bo can gain huge profits from this, who will be willing to brave the hardships and dangers to find treasures for your majesty in the future? Therefore, my son. I think this is the royal land in the world. It doesn’t matter if your majesty wants this silver mine, but the most important thing is to set a rule. For all treasures discovered, the inner treasury will get a percentage, the discoverer will get a percentage, and the others will get a percentage. Those who invest in mining can make a lot of profits. Only by establishing this rule can people have no worries. “

If not, no one in the world will look for treasures for Your Majesty, even if they find some gold or silver veins. “

I will never dare to report it to Your Majesty. I have here a copy of the charter that I have prepared over the past few days. I beg Your Majesty to take a look at it.”

The charter was handed over to the emperor’s case. Emperor Hongzhi looked down and it read: “The Emperor and the People make an agreement. Three. ‘”

Emperor Hongzhi frowned slightly and asked for three chapters?

This Fang Jifan seems to have turned his elbows outward.

But…it seems to make some sense.

(End of chapter)