That night, Zhu Youxiao summoned the eunuch Zhang Yan, the chief eunuch in charge of the imperial horses.

"Slave Zhang Yan, come to the Emperor." Zhang Yan entered the Yangxin Palace with some anxiety. I wonder if the emperor was unhappy after inspecting the four guards of Tengxiang yesterday. He has been working very hard these days to study how to rectify the Imperial Horse Supervisor. However, he has just taken office and has not had time to take specific rectification measures.

"Zhang Yan, how many war horses are there in the Imperial Horse Supervisor now?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Your Majesty, war horses are short. Nowadays, not only the soldiers on the border are short of horses, but also the royal family. There are only more than 2,000 good horses to be war horses." Zhang Yan replied, and quickly explained: "The reason for lack of horses is mainly because the tea and horse trade in Guanglu Temple was smuggled and robbed business by private merchants, so that all good horses were among the people. The court could only exchange some inferior horses in the tea and horse trade. It was still useful to pick up the cart and pull goods, but it was impossible to go to the battlefield."

It turned out that the trade between the Ming Dynasty and the northern nomadic peoples was monopolized by the imperial court. This kind of border trade often used dozens of kilograms of rough tea bricks to exchange for a good horse, and the court sold the horses to the people. The money was first stored in the warehouse of Guanglu Temple, and the silver was taken out to buy the war horses during the war.

During the Wanli period, Guanglu Temple saved tens of millions of taels of silver, but after the three major expeditions, the money was used up. Civil smuggling was very rampant, and bribery of border soldiers to go out of customs trade was almost blatant. The military officers of the border army also participated in a large number of them, and the border army had already experienced serious corruption problems.

"How much does it cost to buy a good horse now?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Your Majesty, there are 5 types of horses in the market, such as horses, horses, horses, horses, horses, and horses. One horse needs 20 taels of silver. If a vendor carries a house in the pass, one horse even needs 30 taels of silver. It takes 15 taels of silver to buy inside the pass, and it costs about 20 taels of silver to buy inside the pass."

"Can you send someone to buy outside the customs?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Hors traded outside the customs require goods, and it is difficult to buy them directly with silver. There are too many private teas among the people, and it is difficult for officials to compete." Zhang Yan said.

There was no war horse, which gave Zhu Youxiao a headache.

"Let's do it! You go out of the palace to buy war horses for me. I will give you 200,000 taels. You can find a way to buy 10,000 war horses back." Zhu Youxiao gritted his teeth and said that it would be more expensive. He would train the cavalry first.

"Yes, the emperor." Zhang Yan received the order, and then Zhu Youxiao asked Li Jinzhong to draft the imperial edict and allocated 200,000 taels of silver to Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan was ordered to go out of the palace to purchase war horses the next day.

Zhang Yan left the palace and immediately went to Zhangjiakou to investigate the situation. Zhang Yan, who was only sixteen years old, was full of passion in the face of the emperor's trust, and he was thinking about how to buy more horses more money.

Since he decided to train troops himself, Zhu Youxiao has learned from Sun Chengzong how to govern the army every day. Zhu Youxiao is still very attentive in his studies.

Soon Zhu Youxiao mastered a lot of military management knowledge.

Zhu Youxiao calculated the accounts and said that if he wanted to form a cavalry unit of 6,000 people, the cost would be very high.

To purchase war horses, spend 200,000 taels.

In terms of weapons and armor, each cavalry must invest at least 10 taels of silver to be considered well-equipped, so it will cost 60,000 taels.

For soldiers and horses, the monthly expenses are at least 2 taels of silver, plus 2 taels of military pay, so it will cost 24,000 taels per month. In addition, some rewards are paid on holidays, and so on, at least 300,000 taels of silver a year.

In other words, it would cost more than 600,000 taels of silver to form such a cavalry. The expenses in the second year would be reduced, but at least about 400,000 taels of silver.

This is definitely a gold-swallowing beast!

Even the national finances are a huge amount.

"Although the glass business makes money, the market is limited after all. This thing is a durable product, and the price will become lower and lower. Although it can expand the production scale, once the price drops to the point where the profit is spread by transportation costs, there will be no money to make money." Zhu Youxiao thought for a long time and felt that he should continue to make money!

Otherwise, this little money would not be enough to subsidize the national finances, not even training troops by oneself.

It seems that I have to find a way to make money!

Fortunately, I have a lot of capital now, and there are still millions of taels of silver that I can use.

"Little Photon, summon Tian Ergeng to protect his carriage. I will leave the palace in vain." Zhu Youchao ordered the eunuch who was in charge of the supervisor beside him.

"Yes, the emperor, I'll go now." Xiao Guangzi's name is Zhao Guang. He is thirteen years old this year. Because he is smart and has a good understanding, he studies hard in the school and is considered a talent for making. So Zhu Youxiao promoted him to the eunuch of the Supervisor and Supervisor. He usually follows Zhu Youxiao and is responsible for summoning and other things. By the way, he will train him. If he really can become a talent, there will be an extra person who can stand alone in the future.

Xiao Guangzi immediately went out and asked Tian Ergeng to lead the team to protect him. Keshi changed Zhu Youxiao's clothes to leave the palace, and said to Zhu Youxiao: "Emperor, you must be careful when you leave the palace."

"I know." Zhu Youxiao nodded. In fact, there was no danger. Who dared to do anything randomly under the emperor's feet? Besides, with the Jinyiwei and the East Factory masters, ordinary cats and dogs cannot get close to them at all.

After nearly half an hour of preparation, Tian Ergeng was also waiting outside the palace. Zhu Youxiao immediately took two big-name masters with personal protection and left the palace again.

It was the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather was cold and cold. After a heavy snowfall, there was a rare morning of bright sunshine. In this wonderful weather, Zhu Youxiao naturally didn't want to be stuck in the palace. He went out for a walk and took a look. Not only could he relax, but he might find any business opportunities!

This time when he left the palace, Zhu Youxiao did not take Li Jinzhong, and he was busy arranging spy activities at the East Factory.

Walking along Qianmen Street to the entrance of the royal store he opened, Zhu Youxiao stopped to watch for a while and found that the store was much more desolate than the lively scene when it first opened.

The powerful and wealthy businessmen who can afford to consume glass mirrors, glass windows, and those who are willing to consume glass mirrors, have already consumed them. The current business is mainly those merchants who sell glass mirrors to other places, and the most important customer is Jiangnan merchants.

Zhang Quansheng, the shopkeeper of the Liuli Store, saw Zhu Youxiao and other people, and knew that it was the emperor who came and hurried out to greet him.

"Is the business so good?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Your Majesty, the business in the store is basically supported by Jiangnan merchants. A large number of freight has been shipped to Jiangnan before, and it is estimated that a large number of orders will be available after half a month. In the opinion of the people, if the price is not reduced, 2 million taels should be earned by the end of the year." Zhang Quansheng replied.

"No, it's done well." Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction. Zhang Quansheng hurriedly bowed and said, "It's all the credit of the emperor. If it weren't for the royal sale of the mirror and glazed window, the price wouldn't have been so high."

This is true. Since the glass mirror and glass window were called glazed, they have become exclusive to the royal family and become unique to the royal family.

In addition, the art of craftsmen in the palace made frames, they were all very good at art, and they also had added value in art, which caused a shocking huge profit.

Another one is that it is a talented and versatile product. Although Italians can make mirrors, they have not mastered the technology of making large flat glass, so the mirror is so big. Compared with the royal mirror, it is completely different from the mud.

"Emperor, in the opinion of the people, if the Liuli business is to grow, it is not enough to rely on a shop in Beijing alone. It is best to open the shops to Yangzhou, Nanjing, even Fujian, Guangzhou and other places. Those places are unimaginable places with silver that is too much." Zhang Quansheng tried to suggest.

"This is true. Yangzhou has the benefits of private salt, Nanjing has the benefits of nobles, Fujian, and Guangdong have the benefits of maritime trade, which are all places where the world's wealth gathers." Zhu Youxiao nodded after hearing this.

In terms of economy, the north is far inferior to the central and southern regions. The private salt of salt merchants in the central region has become very rampant, and marine trade is even more of a cancer of the Ming Dynasty. Because marine trade in the Ming Dynasty did not rely on technical commodities to exchange for more raw materials like the Song Dynasty.

The marine trade in the Ming Dynasty sold steel, silk and cotton cloth produced by the people with hard work, but in exchange for silver mined by the Spanish from South America. This silver flowed directly into the people, causing severe inflation. Not only did ordinary people not get benefits, they became poorer.

The north is basically the capital city. Zhangjiakou places have more money. The wealth in the capital is mainly gathered by the imperial court, while Zhangjiakou is the wealth gathered by trade with foreign races.

"This is it! You are responsible for the branch. In addition, set up another manufacturing factory in Nanjing to avoid the trouble of long-distance trafficking. I will give you a commission of one percent. The more you sell, the more you get." Zhu Youchao said to Zhang Quansheng. Zhang Quansheng was the shopkeeper who was temporarily recruited when Zhu Youchao opened a glass shop. Now he is doing well, so Zhu Youchao can rest assured.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Quansheng knelt excitedly and thanked him. The business opportunities for these royal glasses are absolutely huge. For every 100 taels of dividends earned, he would be able to accumulate a net worth of tens of thousands of taels in a few years. This is simply a wealth of a splash for an ordinary shopkeeper.

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Chapter completed!