Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 1149 I, Zhu Yuanzhang, share the world with the common people, not with the scholar-official

Yang Shaofeng put down his teacup, stood up and walked to the huge map in the Qianqing Palace. He gestured on it and said, "The biggest advantage of maritime trade lies in transportation costs."

"Whether it is the quantity of a single shipment or the human and material costs in the transportation process, maritime trade has an unparalleled advantage."

"To put it bluntly, even if the Silk Road had not been lost during the Tang Dynasty, future trade and transportation would have gradually been replaced by maritime trade."

"Based on this premise, no matter what reforms are implemented or what is done, the economic center of the entire Ming Dynasty will gradually shift towards the coastal areas."

"When ten, twenty, or even a hundred years have passed, countless wealthy merchants will still emerge along the coast, and they will still try every means to extend their reach into the imperial court."

“If we were to forcibly relocate coastal residents to the interior every thirty or fifty years at any cost, and then relocate people from the interior to the coast, we might be able to curb this situation. But the key issue is that neither the court nor the people can afford such a cost.”

Emperor Zhu's face remained extremely gloomy, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen both had their brows furrowed, and even Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, who had rushed over, dared not even breathe loudly.

Yang Shaofeng stretched out his finger again, gesturing along the coastlines of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong: "The only temporary solution I can think of right now is to classify the fiscal power. The fiscal planning power of non-coastal areas can be delegated to the prefecture and county levels, but the fiscal power of all coastal prefectures and counties must be returned to the Provincial Administration Commission, and at the same time, it must be subject to audit by the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate."

"Secondly, all coastal areas can only develop light industries, that is, heavy industries such as steel, coal, oil and arms production are excluded. In particular, arms production is a red line that these areas cannot even touch."

"Thirdly," Yang Shaofeng said, stretching out his finger again and gesturing across the map, "we will use the tax revenue from these coastal areas to vigorously promote the construction of railways, with non-coastal areas taking on the production function, the railways taking on the transportation function, and the coastal areas taking on the trade function."

"Fourth, on the basis of the state monopoly on salt and iron, we should go further. The government should strengthen its direct control over workshops and industries that are related to people's livelihoods, such as salt fields, iron mines, railways, and money shops, and prohibit local gentry and merchants from entering these industries."

"With such a multi-pronged approach, the coastal areas will certainly become richer, but people in non-coastal areas will also be able to earn money through local workshops, so there won't be a significant gap."

This is the benefit of copying homework.

Lao Deng, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen wanted to copy the work of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, while Yang Shaofeng directly copied the existing work from later generations.

Moreover, during the Ming Dynasty, there was no need to consider issues such as this power or that power.

human rights?

Wangfa?

Go and talk to the Ming Dynasty Code!

If all else fails, I'll have Lao Deng directly amend the "Great Ming Code"?

Yang Shaofeng shook his head again, clearing his mind of these chaotic thoughts, and then continued, "Based on what I said earlier, and the principle of the terrain and interlocking lines when dividing the boundaries of the various provincial administrations, we can further deduce the division of the provincial administrations."

"For example, the northern part of Jiangsu and Zhejiang should be assigned to the Jinan Regional Military Commission, while the southern part of Jiangsu and Zhejiang and Fujian should be assigned to the Zhili Regional Military Commission, and the Guangdong, Guangxi and Hubei areas should be assigned to the Guangzhou Regional Military Commission."

Xu Da and Chang Yuchun exchanged a glance without realizing it, and both saw the words "unexpected joy" in each other's eyes.

The Grand General's Office had been calling for a re-division of the districts and a re-establishment of the various regional military commands for the past two years, but after two or three years of arguing, they still hadn't come up with a reliable plan.

Now we're getting a ready-made answer right away—isn't this a freebie?

However, just as Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were hoping that Yang Shaofeng would say more, Yang Shaofeng changed the subject and said, "Based on the same principles, the reform of the cabinet and the censorate will be much easier to handle."

"First, the national treasury should be separated from the Ministry of Revenue. The national treasury should be in charge of revenue but not expenditure. The power of control should belong to the competent department under the Cabinet. At the same time, a separate auditing department should be set up to be responsible for auditing the revenue and expenditure of the national treasury and various government departments and local government departments. It should also be directly under the management of the Cabinet and be subject to the supervision of the Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"..."

As Yang Shaofeng spoke, he returned to his seat and took another sip of tea.

Emperor Zhu, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen's faces turned even darker than the bottom of a pot.

The goal of fooling that scoundrel has been achieved.

But it seems his bluffing was too effective, resulting in him throwing out too much information that was difficult to sort out in a short time, leaving everyone with a headache.

Emperor Zhu couldn't help but scratch the back of his head and said, "Um... my dear son-in-law, why don't you write a memorial about the division of these government offices first, and then we can discuss it slowly?"

What the hell?

Yang Shaofeng pointed to himself, looking completely bewildered, and asked, "Son-in-law? Writing a memorial? Isn't that something the officials should discuss at tomorrow's grand court assembly?"

No, this is such a big matter, and you want me, Yang, to write a memorial?

You old man, you're not just copying homework, you're trying to fleece me, and you're aiming to turn me into a movie star!

Emperor Zhu felt somewhat guilty, and after chuckling twice, he said, "Well, the main problem is that the officials in the court have too many worries, and we don't really trust them. Besides, Mr. Shanchang and Mr. Qingtian are already in their sixties, and we can't bear to let them work too hard..."

So, you have the heart to make me work so hard?

Yang Shaofeng suppressed his anger and said, "Father-in-law, this matter is really not something that can be resolved by me writing a memorial. After all, one person's plan is limited, but two people's wisdom is greater. It is better to gather ideas from all sides for such an important matter."

After a slight pause, Yang Shaofeng chuckled twice, "Actually, I have another idea."

Emperor Zhu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Yang Shaofeng smiled and did not answer Lao Deng's question directly. Instead, he asked in return, "I remember my father-in-law once said that we should not share the world with the scholar-officials, but with the common people?"

Upon hearing Yang Shaofeng's words, Emperor Zhu immediately puffed out his chest proudly, "That's right, I did say that I, Zhu Yuanzhang, share the world with the common people, not with the scholar-officials."

Yang Shaofeng nodded and continued, "In that case, why doesn't Father-in-law summon people from all over the world and ask them for their advice?"

Emperor Zhu blinked, looking completely bewildered, and asked, "What? Ask the people for their advice?"