ATPnovel Chapter 79 Those who do not submit will be attacked by the whole world!
Chapter 79 Those who do not submit will be attacked by the whole world!
After bringing Zhu Houzhao's drawings back to the Ministry of Works, Li Sui immediately summoned the officials and experienced craftsmen of the Ministry of Works to study the drawings.
They started with the acidic bottom-blown converter steelmaking method and, using the technology shown on the blueprints, produced the first Bessmayer converter.
They then worked tirelessly to produce the first batch of high-quality steel with very few impurities.
When the officials of the Ministry of Works saw the quality and grade of the steel, they were overjoyed and wept tears of joy.
The emergence of this high-quality steel marks the beginning of a new stage for the industry of the Ming Dynasty!
Subsequently, the Ministry of Works immediately used these new steel materials to manufacture flintlock muskets and breech-loading cannons.
Zhu Houzhao poured silver into the project, and the flintlock muskets and breech-loading cannons manufactured by the Ministry of Works were being produced in large quantities...
While the officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Works were engaged in the Great Leap Forward, producing steel and firearms, Shangguan Haitang had already completed the initial preparations for the Ming Dynasty Salt Estate.
During this period, she went deep into some of the more important prefectures of the Ming Dynasty to take over Wan Sanqian's businesses.
Later, following Zhu Houzhao's orders, a general operational framework was established.
From now on, as long as the staff of Daming Salt Estate operate Daming Salt Estate in accordance with this framework, there will be no problems.
Of all these things, the most troublesome for Shangguan Haitang was the selection of personnel.
The person in charge of each salt estate in the Ming Dynasty had to be proficient in divination and also be an honest official.
After all, in this position, countless sums of money and grain pass through one's hands. A greedy person in this position could embezzle an enormous amount each year.
Ultimately, after consulting with Zhu Houzhao, Shangguan Haitang selected a group of successful candidates who had been waiting for the imperial examinations over the years to serve as the chief officials of the Ming Dynasty Salt Estate.
After everything was ready, Shangguan Haitang returned to the capital with the treasure chest containing 13,000 yuan to report to Zhu Houzhao.
……
Forbidden City.
Cining Palace.
Shangguan Haitang knelt before Zhu Houzhao and presented him with a treasure chest containing 13,000 coins.
"Your Majesty, this is a treasure chest containing thirteen thousand coins. Each gold coin inside can make a martial arts master do one thing for you unconditionally."
"This humble servant specially presents it to Your Majesty."
"Oh, really?"
"It seems this treasure chest is indeed very attractive."
Zhu Houzu opened the treasure chest, looked at the dozens of gold coins inside, and closed it again with little interest.
"Keep it for yourself; I have no interest."
"what?"
Shangguan Haitang looked up in surprise, thinking that Zhu Houzhao did not understand the value of the treasure chest.
"Your Majesty, although the gold coins in this treasure chest can only be used once, these dozens of coins are enough to command half of the martial world, Your Majesty..."
"To command the martial world?"
Zhu Houzhao smiled dismissively: "I can command the entire Ming Dynasty, why would I care about this so-called Jianghu? Or is it something I can only command once?"
"Whom can I command, and who will refuse to submit?"
"Those who do not submit will be attacked by the whole world!"
Zhu Houzhao stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an aura of dominance that made Shangguan Haitang's breath catch in her throat, and a feeling of boundless admiration welled up in her heart.
Women admire strength, and without a doubt, in Shangguan Haitang's heart, Zhu Houzhao was the most powerful man in the world.
Shangguan Haitang felt a surge of emotion and quickly bowed to express her gratitude: "It is Your Majesty, this humble servant thanks Your Majesty for the reward."
"It's alright, let's sit down and talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Shangguan Haitang stood up and sat down next to Zhu Houzhao, continuing to report to him.
"Your Majesty, the salt estates of the Ming Dynasty in various regions have been initially established, with most areas directly using 13,000 units of property."
"Only in remote and harsh places such as the Western Regions and the frontier, there is no preparation yet. Other inland areas, such as the Central Plains and the southeastern coast, are ready and can be opened for business at any time."
"Um……"
Zhu Houzhao nodded, then suddenly ordered Liu Jin outside the door, "Liu Jin, go and summon Zhou Jing, Cao Zhengchun, and Yu Huatian. I have something to say to them."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Upon receiving the order, Liu Jin immediately summoned the three men to the Cining Palace as quickly as possible.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"
The three approached Zhu Houzhao and bowed first.
No need for formalities.
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said to the three men, "You should know that I previously ordered Shangguan Haitang to set up salt estates for the Ming Dynasty in various places, right?"
The group nodded: "Your Majesty, we have heard of it."
"Very good. I believe that in all prefectures where the Ming Salt Estate is located, the annual taxes paid by the people should no longer be paid to the local county government, but should be paid directly to the Ming Salt Estate."
Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhou Jing and said solemnly, "Every year, the people can choose to pay taxes in silver or directly in grain."
"And let's keep the amount of grain exchanged for silver constant, set at thirty copper coins for one dou of rice."
Zhu Houzhao's move undoubtedly transferred the power of taxation from the prefectural and county governments to the hands of the Daming Silver Bank.
Previously, after collecting taxes, the county government would keep enough for its own salary before handing the money over to the Ming Dynasty court.
But now that the system has been reformed, the county government no longer collects taxes and can only wait for the annual salary allocated by the imperial court.
This indicates that Zhu Houzhao's trust in local officials had reached its lowest point.
As a result, the local government offices of various prefectures and counties became extremely dependent on the funding from the Ming Dynasty, greatly enhancing the Ming Dynasty's control over the local government offices.
This also eliminated corruption in local county governments at its source.
At the same time, Zhu Houzhao specifically emphasized that the exchange rate between money and grain must be kept constant.
This is because when Zhang Juzheng implemented the Single Whip Law in later generations, he adopted a silver-based tax system.
The imperial court no longer collected taxes in kind, but instead collected taxes in cash and grain.
The imperial court collects taxes during the harvest season.
This led wealthy merchants and gentry in various regions to drastically lower grain prices during the harvest season, forcing ordinary people who had to pay taxes to sell their grain at rock-bottom prices.
When the people need grain, they raise the price of grain and exploit the price scissors to ruthlessly exploit the poor.
The purpose of keeping grain prices stable is to prevent this from happening.
Of course, the stability of grain prices does not mean that the prices are fixed, but rather that they are dynamically adjusted in accordance with changes in commodity prices.
Although there have been adjustments, there will absolutely not be a situation where prices increase several times over.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jing's face showed a look of horror.
Zhu Houzhao stripped local county governments of their tax collection powers, which was tantamount to going against local officials throughout the Ming Dynasty!
Your Majesty is forcing local officials to rebel by doing this!
Thinking of this, Zhou Jing immediately knelt down and earnestly advised Zhu Houzhao, "Your Majesty, you must reconsider now!"
"His Majesty is preventing local county governments from collecting taxes. Isn't this tantamount to forcing them into rebellion?"
"Even if they don't rebel, there's no guarantee that local county governments won't slack off, which could actually negatively impact people's livelihoods!"
Zhou Jing's words came from the bottom of his heart; they were based solely on reality and were entirely without any selfish motives.
But to Zhu Houzhao, it sounded particularly jarring.
What do you mean I'm forcing them to rebel?
Does my refusal to allow them to embezzle mean I'm forcing them to rebel?
What kind of logic is this?!