Chapter 149 Making money in the right way
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression kept changing, and it seemed as if a fire was burning in his heart.

Fortunately, Deng Qianqiu said at this time: "So the root of all the problems in the world lies in this. Many times, if you don't change, you can only perish. Zhou divided the world and swallowed up the Dongyi, and Qin conquered the six kingdoms. These are all like this. Just like Qin, at that time, all countries had noticed that the production method had changed. After the emergence of iron tools, productivity increased greatly, and knowledge began to gradually become popular. A large number of scholars without titles also began to appear. At this time, whoever can strengthen the authority of the court, attract scholars from various countries, and carry out reforms can survive. And those who still use the old ways, how can they defeat the Qin army? Destruction is actually just a matter of time."

The word "ruin" made Zhu Yuanzhang's heart tremble.

Zhu Gang said: "So, our Ming Dynasty will also fall?"

Deng Qianqiu cursed: "My Great Ming is different. My Great Ming has its own destiny. Well, you also stand in the corner."

"But Master, you were just talking about the rise and fall of the world, why is it different when it comes to my Ming Dynasty?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Hey, you see, I am the same as the tribes and countries that adapt to the production relations. If I don't change myself, I will be destroyed physically. Now that my Great Ming has been founded, the people of the world hope to have a stable life, and your majesty is in the prime of his life. The prosperity of my Great Ming will surely continue. At this time, you are talking to me about this. If I really follow your comments on state affairs, what is the difference between me and the six countries that refuse to adapt to the changes? In the end, I can only perish, die and my clan is destroyed, do you understand?"

Deng Qianqiu cleared his throat and continued, "We are all smart people. Smart people should follow the trend, that is, see the direction of the wind. The Qin Dynasty saw the direction of the wind and changed it, so it was able to destroy the six kingdoms. The same is true for individuals."

What I said actually makes a lot of sense. Not only does it explain the principles of family and country, it also explains the principles of being a human being.

Zhu Di said, "Master, let me put it another way. The Ming Dynasty will last for ten thousand years. Is there any danger?"

"Yes." Deng Qianqiu said, "The production relations of the various ethnic groups in the desert are extremely fragile, just like our ancestors. Once they can't hunt prey, they will starve to death. Once the sheep at home die, they will also starve to death. Because of this, their organizational relationship comes from everyone uniting together and going south to plunder together. As long as the plunder is successful, the semi-state form of this alliance can continue. Once they cannot plunder smoothly, brutal civil strife is bound to break out. This is the inability of production relations to be transformed into fruits, which ultimately leads to fratricide."

"The essence of China is actually the same. We focus on reclamation. As long as the land can still generate income and support everyone, there will be no problems with the production relationship, and naturally, the country will be stable."

"But let me ask you, throughout the dynasties, can arable land really feed the population forever?"

"..."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face showed a bit of sadness. He lowered his head and remained silent.

In the Great Hall, many great scholars discussed the rise and fall of the nation, focusing more on the issue of the monarch.

As long as the emperor is not fond of beautiful women, does not spend lavishly, does not favor treacherous ministers, his relatives, and eunuchs, and suppresses military men who do not understand the ways of sages, then the world will be at peace.

Basically, this set of theories had already been formed into a self-consistent theory in the Song Dynasty. Especially after the appearance of "Zizhi Tongjian", this set of theories was further strengthened.

Almost all great scholars are trying their best to avoid one issue... land.

Deng Qianqiu then added: "Let's not talk about natural disasters, just the continuous increase in population and the annexation of land. There are still many wastelands in the world, enough for people to cultivate, but what about over time? Over time, the land will slowly be annexed, and the population will continue to increase. One day, it will reach a certain stage, and no matter how hard everyone works, they can't fill their stomachs..."

"You have been wandering around with me these past few days, and you have obviously seen the lives of many common people. You think their lives are miserable, but in fact, this may be the most comfortable and happy time for them in the past few decades or even hundreds of years. Because the war has eliminated many wealthy families and reduced the population, the common people can always find ways to reclaim some wasteland to make a living. Nowadays, the population of a family is not large, and they have not yet reproduced. The land at home can barely cover the expenses of the family."

"What about later? Ten years, a hundred years, two hundred years?"

Zhu Di was speechless at this moment, but he seemed to be particularly concerned about this, so he asked: "What will happen then?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "It's nothing more than that the refugees had no food to eat, so they had to start wandering around, and then in anger, they started attacking the prefectures and counties. In order to deal with the refugees, the court had to recruit more officers and soldiers to suppress them. In order to recruit more officers and soldiers, the annual revenue was insufficient, so taxes were increased. After the taxes were increased, more people could not survive... This cycle repeated, and finally... it collapsed."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that these...he seemed to have seen them somewhere.

Zhu Di said: "If this is the case, isn't it a dead end no matter what?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "It's not that there is no way out. Didn't I tell you just now? Whoever can change first and adapt to the new production relations will have the hope of breaking free from the shackles and surviving." "New production relations? What relations?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "In ancient times, people did not know how to farm and only lived by hunting. Now that people have mastered farming, they no longer have to wander around and can settle down safely. They can also greatly increase grain production. This is a new production relationship."

"What about now? Is there nothing we can do now?"

"There is a way." Deng Qianqiu said, "But the first step of this method is not to try to get everything done in one go, but to do it gradually. So, before we want to change this relationship, the first step we should take is to obtain enough resources based on the existing productivity. With enough resources..."

“What are resources?”

Hearing Zhu Di's question, Deng Qianqiu said decisively: "Money!"

Zhu Yuanzhang outside was shocked. He might have difficulty understanding other words, but he understood this word.

At this time, Zhu Di asked: "Just to make money?"

"It's about making money!" Deng Qianqiu said with a firm look, "The tax system of our Ming Dynasty has fundamental problems. Your Majesty has learned from the lessons of the rise and fall of previous dynasties and believes that using the lowest tax rate can make the people abide by the law. Therefore, commercial taxes are almost better than nothing. Agricultural taxes can also be accepted by the people. Other taxes... I don't know how to collect them. This approach has indeed reduced the possibility of arbitrary and extortionate taxes."

"However, this will lead to a vicious cycle of the court spending more than it earns. The only thing the court can do is to barely maintain its business. There is no spare energy for other things. So the only thing to do now is to make money."

"So my teacher is trying to make money for this. I thought he wanted to live in a big house and have more women in the future." Zhu Gang said with a look of sudden enlightenment on his face.

Deng Qianqiu glared at Zhu Gang and said, "Don't flatter me. If you still have a conscience, don't use morality to blackmail your teacher. As a teacher, you have to work hard and enjoy life. As a teacher... you have to have everything."

Deng Qianqiu raised his slightly proud head and said, "Now you know why this mine is open to everyone. I am taking you to conduct a social experiment to show you how to make money."

"Huh?" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered the mining matter at this moment.

When Deng Qianqiu said that he would allow anyone to mine the mine, he scolded Deng Qianqiu harshly for not being frugal.

Is it...

Deng Qianqiu inside said with a smile: "It's not that easy to open a mine. It requires organizing a lot of manpower and material resources. Take the gold mine for example. So many people go to the riverbed to pan for gold. They have to take care of their food, drink, defecation and urination. The gold sand needs to be smelted and transported after it is dug out. This is still the most valuable gold mine. For other minerals, if you calculate the cost and benefits, you can definitely make money, but it's just a matter of how much you can make."

"But as a teacher, I do the opposite. We build a wharf and an inn here, and rent out the land to people to build a wine shop. There are so many laborers in this mining area, and so many merchants. They gather here to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. If they earn money, they have to spend it. This... is our income..."

"Not only that, a large amount of minerals need to be shipped out. And a large amount of materials to supply merchants and laborers need to be shipped in. With circulation, commercial taxes and mining taxes can be levied."

"Also, with the gathering of people, this was originally a barren mountain, but now the value of the land has risen sharply. Isn't this a huge profit?"

"Or, it is inconvenient to transport a large amount of ore, but if we smelt it on the spot at the foot of the mountain and transport the refined gold, silver, copper and iron, we can greatly reduce the transportation cost. Then... can we attract merchants to set up smelting workshops? Or even... build workshops to process finished agricultural tools or other tools?"

"Now you know, the essence of making money is to find a way to attract people and money through something profitable, such as gold and silver mines. As long as people and money start to flow, then... the court will not worry about not having income. If it is a stagnant pool, all the landlords and rich people will store the money they earn in their own cellars, then this money is actually just scrap metal, and it will not benefit the court or the people of the world at all."

Deng Qianqiu said, his voice began to rise: "Zhu Gang, your fourth and fifth brothers seem unconvinced, then you go and tell them how much tax silver we have collected from Qixia in the past few months, and how much silver our Deng family has earned."

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously leaned forward and pricked up his ears.

(End of this chapter)