Yang Lian said cautiously, but Zhu Houzhao was expressionless.

For this kind of thing, Zhu Houzhao is actually not too surprised.

As the saying goes, relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the sea to eat the sea, with the continuous increase in the population of the Ming Dynasty, the land has not increased much.

If it is said that in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the people still had a place to go to the tun, but now there is basically no land for the people to reclaim.

As for the rest of the place, it is immigration, and immigration is one of those policies, but there is no way to achieve this policy.

Let's not mention such a spiritual thing as the inseparability of the homeland, the actual conditions alone do not allow it. In this traffic environment, hundreds of thousands of people are migrating, how many people will die on the road? How much food will be consumed along the way?

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty had a strict population hukou system, which did not allow the people to walk around, so they formed displaced people. In such a situation, the pressure to survive is so great, and people will naturally find a way to survive.

This is also the origin of relying on the mountains to eat the mountains and the sea to eat the sea, and this is how the displaced people in the Jingxiang area gathered.

In recent years, the handicraft industry has been developed, and many places in Zhejiang have realized the transformation of rice into mulberry, and there are many smuggling businesses of all kinds, but on the whole it should be quite stable.

The real large-scale appearance of the Japanese was during the Jiajing period. At the same time, after the early years of Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing ordered a strict ban on the construction of illegal large ships under the pretext of Ningbo's "tribute incident", and all the prohibited sea ships were destroyed.

However, after the twentieth year of Jiajing (1540), there was a "stricter prohibition and the more prosperous the Kou, the piece was not allowed to go to the sea, and the huge ships came back to cover the river; Not an inch of goods are allowed to enter the fan, and the children and jade silk are always loaded away", the scale of private overseas trade is even larger, and the situation of "Japanese robbers" is rapidly flooding along the southeast coast.

There are many reasons for this, some of which are due to the imperial court.

Because Emperor Jiajing was afraid of enemies from the sea at that time, in addition to the Japanese invaders, there were also some Portuguese, so the imperial court became more and more strict on the sea, so it cut off the livelihood of some people along the coast, and they naturally had to resist, so people like Wang Zhi would appear later.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's war between the Japanese and the Japanese, in the final analysis, was a struggle between the people's maritime trade and the government's ban on the sea, which was the essence of the matter, but in the end it evolved into an uncontrollable state.

At that time, the Japanese kingdom was in turmoil, the Portuguese were eyeing each other, and the imperial court banned the sea, so that the people along the coast had no way to live.

In such a situation, they can only choose to resist by force, so they go to sea, they build warships, they fight the Japanese state, they occupy ports in our country as a base, they fight the Portuguese, they trade with the Portuguese, all this requires a strong military base, so Wang Zhi grew rapidly.

Originally, if the Ming Dynasty recruited Wang Zhi and set its sights overseas at that time, everything would have been in time.

It's just that Wang Zhi was killed by Wang Bengu after surrendering, which made everything fall short, and the situation of the Japanese invaders quickly corroded. There is no possibility of bridging, and the two sides can only fight. That's why things get out of hand.

At this time of the day, things are nowhere near as bad as they were later.

First, the private smuggling trade was still thriving, and the imperial court basically did not care much. Although the imperial court did not receive taxes and no income, in fact, the people did not prohibit it, whether it was the common people or the merchants along the coast, they all lived very well.

Zhu Houzhao understands this through Qiwei Zhai, because among the partners of Qiwei Zhai, there is such an existence.

At the same time, they also sold the products of Qiwei Zhai, which Zhu Houzhao also knew. It's just that Zhu Houzhao's energy has been in the north, so he doesn't have the energy to care about things here for a while.

This time he came to Nanjing, just to solve all the things here at once.

Second, the open sea is not so chaotic, although the Ming Dynasty is at war, but it has not reached the level of later. In addition, the Portuguese did not come, so there was basically no big problem, the situation was quite stable, and there would be no large-scale Japanese robbers in later generations, and they did not have the strength to wrestle with the imperial court.

Although the armaments along the coast are in disuse, they have not yet reached the appearance of the Jiajing period. When Emperor Zhengde fought King Ning, the army in Jiangnan could still be used, and it would not be like Qi Jiguang when he fought for the first time, when he saw the Japanese invaders turn around and run, at that time the army was really unwilling to fight for the imperial court.

Since Zhu Houzhao has come to Nanjing, he naturally will not let this kind of thing happen again.

After listening to Yang Lian finish everything, Zhu Houzhao nodded, and then said, "Where are the biggest?" Can you find someone? ”

"Back to His Royal Highness the Prince, the largest ones are in Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong, and among the three provinces, there are the most people who do this kind of trade. Among them, Zhejiang produces more silk, Fujian produces more porcelain and tea, Guangdong silk porcelain tea is produced, and many of Guangxi's teas are sold in Guangdong. Yang Lian bowed and said.

Yang Lian investigated these things very clearly, so it is also a treasure.

Zhu Houzhao nodded, probably such a situation, although it only involved Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang, but Zhu Houzhao knew in his heart that in fact, this had already involved the entire Jiangnan.

There are 63 provinces in the south and north of the Ming Dynasty, and the north is a little worse, and the south has actually been doing these things.

The reason why Jiangnan is prosperous is also supported by this aspect to a large extent. The handicraft industry in Jiangnan, the so-called germ of capitalism, is actually supported by foreign smuggling trade. If there is no market, where will the handicraft industry come from?

"Can you find some representatives?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

"Back to His Royal Highness the Prince, they are all relatively scattered, and there are no leading figures, but it is still possible to find a few big households." Yang Lian opened her mouth and said, there was no joy or anger on her face, and there was no emotion, it seemed that this was a very ordinary thing.

Zhu Hou glanced at Yang Lian, then nodded, very satisfied with his attitude.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao asked this, Yang Lian couldn't know what he wanted to do, it was possible that he wanted to use these people, and at the same time, he might want to kill these people. However, in Yang Lian's opinion, it doesn't matter, as long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to do it.

"Then let's find a few households." Zhu Houzhao knocked on the tea bowl in his hand and said.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao didn't want to kill them, Zhu Houzhao wanted to use them. It can be seen from the later Wang Zhi that the merchants of the Ming Dynasty were not lacking in adventurous spirit. As long as you allow you to support it, they will be willing to go to sea, even if it is dangerous.

Zhu Houzhao needs to find a few big households, support them, and let them do things for themselves.

The British royal family was able to support pirates, but what happened to supporting a few merchants themselves?

Besides, what era is this?

This is the era of global colonization, the prologue has begun, and it is no longer a question of whether you want to do it or not.

"Yes, Your Highness the Prince. The slave and maid immediately arranged for someone to do it. Yang Lian bowed and said.

Zhu Houzhao nodded, then waved his hand and said, "Go ahead." ”

Yang Lian bowed and retreated, then turned around and walked outside.

He is about to arrange manpower, and this matter must be done as soon as possible, and there is naturally no delay in the matter explained by His Royal Highness the Prince. Besides, there may not be anything else to do in the future, so we must get this matter done as soon as possible.

When Zhu Houzhao arranged for Yang Lian to do things, Nanjing City was also disturbing one after another, because the tax department took action.

Qi Huan directly led people to the household department of Nanjing City, and directly wanted to take over the account books of the household department in Nanjing, and the land was in the fish scale book, all these things had to be taken away, which was the basis for their future investigation and governance.

Household Yamen.

Nanjing Hubu Shangshu Han Wen looked at Qi Huan, stroked his beard and asked, "But have you seen His Royal Highness the Prince?" ”

Facing the Korean language in front of him, Qi Huan didn't dare to make a mistake at all.

This is not easy to mess with, he is old, he has been a jinshi in the second year of Chenghua, and he has been doing engineering at the beginning, and he is also a person who has been up and down in officialdom for decades. The previous term was the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and then he became the secretary of the Nanjing Household Department, and he was his top boss.

Han Wen's methods are very clear to him, and if he is not careful, there will be problems, so Qi Huan does not dare to offend him.

After hearing Han Wen's question, Qi Huan hurriedly spoke: "Lord Hui, I went to meet His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

Although Qi Huan is in charge of the affairs of the tax department, his official position is the squire of the household department in Nanjing, which means that Han Wen is his immediate boss.

Han Wen nodded, and then said, "Then do as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince says." ”

As he spoke, Han Wen beckoned to the people not far away, and then said to Qi Huan: "You are also very clear about the affairs of the household department, and the account books and everything will be handed over to you." They were all in charge of this before, and I'll leave these people to you. ”

"Master Xie." Qi Huan hurriedly said.

Han Wen glanced at Qi Huan with a complicated expression.

In fact, he likes Qi Huan very much, he thinks that this is a material that can be cultivated, and at least there will be one more official who can do things in the court in the future.

It's just that since Qi Huan took charge of the Tax Department, Han Wen has taken back this thought.

The Department of Taxation is a yamen established by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and it can be said that it is directly under the jurisdiction of His Royal Highness the Prince. After entering this yamen, they were actually not tolerated by the ministers of the imperial court, and they gave people the feeling of being more like Jinyi Guard, similar to the Son of Heaven's pro-army.

This is not to say their background, they are still civilian, but in terms of management system, they are still similar.

For civil officials, being an official must be in the officialdom, with superiors and subordinates, and under the jurisdiction of everyone, which is in a circle.

But the Department of Taxation is obviously not, they are an independent system, and they only obey the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Although they are attached to the household department, they are not responsible for the household department. This kind of independent operation of the yamen is more like Jinyiwei and Dongchang.

Although everyone will not be excluded and disgusted. He won't be so receptive as he used to be. The attitude upheld by everyone is to stay away, and Korean is no exception.

Especially after this incident came out, they had to take stock of the fields, recompile the fish scale book, and then collect taxes, and they were even more unpopular in the officialdom, because everyone knew that there was one thing they knew was that they had hidden land in their homes.

Whether it is an official from a large family. Officials who were born in poor families were all moved.

Officials from poor families, after you are admitted to the Juren, there will be a large amount of donated land in your family, and these lands are not taxed.

According to normal operation, the imperial court will give you a certain amount of tax exemption, but if you don't have that much land, the people in the family will attach his land to your name, use it to pay no taxes, and only pay you some land rent every year. Hello in this way, hello to me, everyone, it is the court that suffers.

If this is really the case, then it is not a big deal, at most it can be regarded as reasonable tax avoidance, or it is a loophole in the imperial court law. Even if the court is unwilling, you can't say anything.

But more often than not, they will taste the sweetness. They will buy a lot of land and receive more contributions. By bribing local officials, or bribing officials of the yamen, all the land under his name is not taxed.

If it is the former, every three years of the imperial examination, the imperial court will add a large number of people who do not pay taxes. How much will you accumulate over the years?

As the population base grows larger and larger, there will be more and more such people, coupled with the means they engage in private, the tax revenue of the imperial court is naturally worse every year, and the death is getting worse and worse.

This is something that everyone in the officialdom knows, but no one dares to poke this hole.

It wasn't until later, after experiencing the Jiajing Rebellion, that people of insight stood up, that is, a group of people from Gao Gong Zhang Juzheng, although they also changed, but many places did not move to the blade. That can't be considered a reform at all, it can only be regarded as tinkering.

In addition, Director Zhang's proud whipping method was also exploited.

The common people pay taxes with silver, and all kinds of taxes are combined into one, but the people's grain is sold for silver to pay taxes, and during this period, there will be a situation of suppressing grain prices.

Before paying taxes, the gentry would work together to keep the price of grain down, so that the people could only sell their grain cheaply. When the people don't have enough food to eat and want to buy food, they will raise the price of grain, so that the people can't afford to eat, so they can only sell their fields, which is a vicious circle.

Any tinkering is useless if the root cause of the problem is not solved.

Everyone in the officialdom knows that they all understand what is going on, and no one is allowed to touch this thing. This time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came out, Qi Huan was going to touch this thing, and Han Wen couldn't wait to stay away from him now.

So after Qi Huan came, Han Wen gave him all the things he wanted very happily, without the slightest delay, let alone making it difficult.

Han Wen wants to stay away from this matter now, and he doesn't want to get involved at all.