It can be said that the emperors of the Han Dynasty did everything they could to get money. For example, they moved wealthy households to Guanzhong, specialized in salt and iron, and even went so far as to sue them directly.

Zhu Youxiao felt envious in his heart. The emperor of the Han Dynasty could do this for a simple reason: they had strong military power.

Especially during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the suing and suing of war really required the support of strong military force.

In the era of Qin and Han unification, the feudal landlord class regime based on the agricultural economy could not allow the abnormal development of commerce.

Because the main targets of merchants' exploitation were farmers, especially wealthy businessmen, they arbitrarily annexed land and impoverished farmers, thus destroying the economic foundation on which the feudal country relied.

Therefore, some landlord class thinkers and politicians since the pre-Qin Dynasty have mostly advocated emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, and further formed the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce in the Qin and Han dynasties. The basic spirit of this policy is to maintain social stability and consolidate the power of the landlord class.

regime.

The hoarding merchants and usurer merchants exploited the peasants even more severely. Some people said: "Those who wear coffins want to make the people sick, and those who raise millet want to cause famine in the old age." ("Huainanzi·Shuo Lin Xun") vividly depicts

Understand the profit-seeking nature of hoarding merchants.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty directly stipulated that all industrial and commercial owners, loan sharks, hoarders, etc., regardless of whether they have city registration (businessmen in the Han Dynasty set up a separate household register, called city registration), must report their property figures to the government truthfully, and stipulated that every two

Min (one Min is a thousand coins) is drawn once, which is one hundred and twenty Wen (some say two hundred Wen); while ordinary small craftsmen draw one for every four Min, which is called "calculating the Min".

Those who conceal something or report false information will be fined with a year of imprisonment and their property will be confiscated. Those who dare to report will be rewarded by the government with half of the property confiscated by the accused. This is called "reporting".

This policy alone scares people to death. After filing a lawsuit, you can get half of the other party's property. You can imagine how strong the desire of people at that time was to report those who wanted to hide it. It can be said that everyone was staring at these wealthy businessmen, who

If you dare to conceal your family property and refuse to report it, then someone will naturally report it for you, and they will be really ruthless.

In addition, registered merchants and their families were prohibited from owning land and slaves. Anyone who dared to disobey the law would have all their property confiscated.

The punishment method of these laws is very single, that is, confiscation of all family property, but this is the best way to make money.

What happened to the businessmen who had their property confiscated?

It will definitely not get better. The confiscated family property can still increase the income of the court. The people who supported this policy at that time were the thoughts of Confucianism and Gongyang School.

But in the Ming Dynasty, looking at the current Confucianism, Zhu Youxiao could only sigh with disappointment. But it is not impossible, this can also be done.

Now the businessmen of the Ming Dynasty are all scholars, so they can start from this aspect. Of course, in order to keep the world from chaos, you need to have soldiers in your hands.

As for suppressing commercial development, Zhu Youxiao didn't care at all, because the so-called sprouts of commerce and capitalism in the Ming Dynasty are actually very deformed.

Scholars do business, and officials and businessmen collude, just to make money. These people seek more in politics, and they are not seeking power like real capitalism.

These people form cliques for personal gain, do not pay taxes, and at the same time are embezzling and undermining the country. They do not have the pioneering and enterprising spirit of capitalism at all, but are extremely conservative.

If we want the Ming Dynasty's industry and commerce to develop healthily, these cancers must be eliminated.

It is basically impossible to guide them. These people have been sucking blood from the country since they were born. How do you guide them? They can do nothing else but suck blood from the country.

For example, smugglers along the coast convert rice into mulberry and sell silk overseas to make profits.

According to normal business logic, if we want to make money overseas, should we build ships for overseas trade? Why should we let those overseas make our money?

These people don't want to. They are the ones who oppose the opening of the sea. They want to monopolize trade. They will only blindly ask the court for tax exemptions.

Why do such businessmen or scholars keep them?

All should be cleaned up.

Only by breaking the old can we build a new one. Zhu Youxiao has neither the energy nor the time to fight with them.

To guide them, instead of wasting that time, it would be faster to just kill them all.

"Your Majesty, Bi Maokang is here." Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side and said respectfully.

Zhu Youxiao nodded, collected all his divergent thoughts, and said, "Let him come in!"

Not long after, Bi Maokang walked in from outside.

This is a middle-aged man in his forties, with a slim figure but a handsome appearance. In this era, those who can pass the imperial examination and become an official must not have a crooked appearance.

Bi Maokang was a little confused. What was your Majesty doing to him?

Bi Maokang also knew the situation in the court. Many people said that this was the beginning of a great chaos. If Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch, gained power, the court would inevitably be in chaos.

When His Majesty summoned him at this time, Bi Maokang felt very unsure. He had to know that he only had a Shuntian Prime Minister, let alone a Prime Minister. Even if the Shuntian Prime Minister was summoned by His Majesty, it would not be much!

Although he was beating a drum in his heart, Bi Maokang still bowed and saluted Zhu Youxiao: "I am here to see your majesty, Prime Minister Bi Maokang of Tianfu."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Get up!"

After Bi Maokang stood up, Zhu Youxiao asked directly: "I heard that Aiqing is good at firearms?"

Bi Maokang never expected that His Majesty would ask this, and he hesitated for a moment. But if His Majesty asked, there was no way he would not answer!

After pondering for a moment, Bi Maokang quickly said: "I do like firearms. I think the thing that the barbarians fear most from China is firearms."

After listening to Bi Maokang's words, Zhu Youxiao nodded. What a correct statement!

This is the age of firearms. Compared with bows, horses, riding and shooting, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty cannot compare.

The armament gap between the two sides is not large, but the emergence of stirrups and horseshoes has greatly enhanced the mobility and combat effectiveness of the prairie nation's cavalry. It is too difficult to compete with the prairie nation on horseback.

Coupled with so many years of Confucian education and so many years of suppression of generals, it would be too difficult to repeat the military power of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

You must know that during the Han and Tang Dynasties, Confucian scholars shouted for great revenge and rushed forward with a knife. They emphasized that one should be a general when going out and a prime minister when entering. Everyone is proud of military merit.

What now? What are the students doing now? How many of the Six Arts of the Gentleman are left?

There is no chance of counting on these people.

Besides, Zhu Youxiao is a person from time travel. If he doesn’t play with firearms, how can he play with cold weapons?
Chapter completed!