When Zhu Gaoxu was talking eloquently in the living room, Ma Enhui occasionally had a funny feeling; Because Zhu Gaoxu said that he was proud, he would look at Ma Enhui, and there was a sense of showing off in his eyes.

In fact, the rule of the Jianwen Dynasty has completely collapsed, and reality has confirmed its failure, and Zhu Gaoxu does not need to compare. But he seems to be very competitive, from cutting the domain, the northern expedition, and the merits are all talking; This is incompatible with what the sage said about honor and disgrace, indifference and humility.

Ma Enhui is not disgusted, she also thinks that Zhu Gaoxu is indeed very ambitious; Besides, the woman really doesn't care much about those merits, as long as she doesn't ruin her family. His greedy passion reminded her of the night a few months ago, and her heart was very chaotic for a while.

The tea was brewed, Shen Xu filled it with three small cups, and sent it to Zhu Gaoxu and Ma.

Zhu Gaoxu took a sip, and then said: "Let's talk about money, and I gradually learned about some problems in the imperial court. The depreciation of the Daming treasure banknote to the present, as well as the chaotic currency circulation, can be said to be a financial failure.

But what's even more interesting is that what should have been an economic collapse doesn't seem to have had much of an impact so far. This was due to the system of conscription and tax in kind since the beginning of the country, so the currency turmoil did not affect the operation of local government institutions; As long as the government can use the conscription system to recruit manpower and receive all kinds of things, it can maintain it.

Such a system has another problem: it is extremely inefficient. For example, according to the original system, the military quartermaster of Weisutunbao was assigned to a number of prefectures and counties. Let the state and county governments organize craftsmen, manufacture armor and ordnance, levy horses and other physical goods, and then transport them to the garrison in forced labor; There are also guards that are barren and have insufficient military rations, and they are also a long-term burden from a certain yamen in a designated place.

In this way, a lot of manpower and material resources are wasted. Moreover, it is difficult to ensure military supplies, making some guards look like beggars. In the past, there were various conflicts, and the local government and county delivered moldy grain and military rations, which led to armed fights and so on. ”

Zhu Gaoxu drank all the tea in the small cup, and Shen Xu listened with a smile while pouring him tea again.

He continued: "At present, the current cash income of the imperial court is only a few million yuan, and it is completely impossible to change the status quo for a while. But if the treasury has enough cash revenue, it can change the problem of extreme inefficiency; Through the division of labor and cooperation, parts, assembly, procurement, and transportation are separated. The refinement of the division of labor is the direction of the country's progress. ”

Shen Xu said suddenly: "Last year, the saint asked the concubine to provide warm clothes and bedding for the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the concubine also found weavers from all over the country to buy it, and even found other merchants for water transportation and vehicle transportation. It turns out that the Holy One has a more long-term plan! ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "That's exactly the truth." If I asked the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Industry, and other yamen to do these things, they would appoint subordinates, let the branch offices stationed in various places carry out the decrees, and then let the local officials make the transportation. If this were the case, I would not have been able to march north by now; Because most of the soldiers in the Beijing camp were southwestern soldiers and lacked a lot of warm fabrics, the local yamen was too slow to do things.

It will also cause a lot of contradictions in the country because of the imperial court's use of troops abroad. Officials should take advantage of the opportunity to exploit it, increase taxes and forced labor, and increase the burden on the people. This is why both the government and the people are opposed to war. ”

Shen Xu nodded and said, "The concubine body seems to understand." The saint felt that the people's cash was too small, and most of the taxes could only be in kind, and could not be collected in cash, and believed that sea trade could increase the wealth and income of the imperial court. After the court had money, it changed the law and let the government and businessmen ...... Division? ”

Zhu Gaoxu actually gave a thumbs up and praised: "Mrs. Shen is really a talented woman, that's probably what happened." Improving the efficiency of manufacturing, procurement, and water transportation can greatly improve the Ming army's ability to mobilize military supplies, as long as there is a benefit, it can start a war at any time, but it will not intensify the internal contradictions in the country! As long as there were no problems with the imperial court's finances, the war could stimulate the prosperity of industry and commerce.

With the vast territory of our DPRK and the many Dingkou, as long as it is mobilized, its strength will be very strong, and border defense and other issues will not be a problem. ”

Ma Enhui couldn't interject, seeing that the two of them looked like sympathetic to each other and like confidants, she gradually felt very uncomfortable and a little annoyed. She was a little difficult to face Zhu Gaoxu this time, so she behaved very reservedly, but somehow her feelings gradually changed.

Zhu Gaoxu was talking excitedly, ignoring Ma Enhui for a while, and he said to Shen Xu: "The emperors of all dynasties have tried their best to please the gentry, firstly, because the government is not in the county, and secondly, the local gentry need to help collect taxes and levy taxes. Some peasants rebelled against the gentry because they were at odds with the gentry, and in the end they could only become rogues, because they couldn't even collect taxes.

If I had sufficient sources of capital, I would be able to get rid of the constraints of the gentry and landlords, and I would have more room for maneuver in national policy. ”

He paused for a moment, and then said, "But at this time, I can't abolish the redundant bureaucracy, let alone easily reduce the power of the various officials, otherwise it will cause discontent among the officials. But military uniform fabrics are an exception.

Originally, the clothes of the soldiers in the Beijing camp and the guard center were mainly hand-sewn by their own women, and did not involve the interests of any force. Let's start with the fabric, which is like moisturizing things silently, and there will be almost no resistance. ”

Shen Xu looked at Zhu Gaoxu with admiration: "If the saint doesn't say it, the concubine doesn't know how much to think about, you are indeed a very far-sighted person." In the past, the saint courtesy of a drama Li Louxian, the concubine didn't know what was going on at first, and then she woke up. The saint values Li Louxian's husband Chen Xingwang, and the search for Chen Xingwang is for the queen of Annan who is exiled, but the search for the queen is for the strategy of Annan. The concubine admires! ”

Zhu Gaoxu not only did not be modest, but let out a few smug laughs of "hehe", "When the imperial court gradually becomes rich in the future, I want to unify the military uniforms of all officers and soldiers, which is a very big business." Mrs. Shen designed the military uniforms of the water and army armies, first making 300 sets of military uniforms for the navy, and then making 30,000 sets after delivery. ”

He took out a piece of paper from his bosom, on which were drawn a few rough and strange people, "That's roughly what it looks like, but because the Han people tie their hair, the hat needs to be modified." Everyone's body shape is different, so it's important to design a cut that is different in size but adaptable. And there are two kinds of uniforms: military uniforms and formal dresses...... There are also rank markings here.

Clothes are not weapons and armor, naturally they have nothing to do with combat effectiveness, but with morale. In ancient times, good generals went into battle to estimate the enemy's combat strength, all from the perspective of military appearance. In addition to the queue and military discipline, the role of good-looking and uniform armor is also great. ”

Shen Xu looked at it and said in surprise: "This style is a bit strange. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I have already told the ministers, we don't have to be conservative, we just learn what is easy to use." ”

Shen Xu's upper body leaned forward and said, "The concubine obeys the order." ”

Ma Enhui's emotions of being left out for a while seemed to have made Shen Xu find out. At this time, Shen Xu glanced at Ma Enhui, then got up and said, "The saint will have dinner in the cold house." The concubine went to arrange a banquet and asked Mrs. Wang to accompany her. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "There are no outsiders here, Mrs. Shen should not be too extravagant." ”

Shen Xu smiled and said, "The concubine is according to the will of the saint. ”

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand again and made a gesture: "By the way, Mrs. Shen has arranged several people." The Ming army fleet went to sea, divided into two north and two routes, all the way to Chao Xian, Yueben, and all the way to the South and the West; The Shen family can let people go with the army to investigate and find business opportunities. In the future of maritime trade, the imperial court would share the profits with specific merchants, but there would be a tax increase. ”

Shen Xu said: "The concubine obeys the order." ”

When Shen Xu went out, Ma Enhui couldn't help but persuade: "Mrs. Shen is just a businessman, why should the saint tell her about the important affairs of the imperial court?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said in a deep voice: "Just because she is a businessman, she will definitely not oppose my plan, after all, these things are good for businessmen." And after Shen Baoyan entered the palace, Mrs. Shen was like an imperial businessman; She has no children, and she does not dare to remarry. The property of the Shen family will be passed on to Concubine Shen Baoyan in the future, won't this become our Zhu family's money again? I have to let her understand the national policy, so as not to misjudge the situation. ”

Ma Enhui blurted out: "The saint has been on a long expedition to the north, and he finally went out of the palace, but he only cares about talking to Mrs. Shen, I'm afraid I'll forget about it?" ”

As soon as she said this, she immediately regretted it a little, and felt a little humiliated. Her relationship with Zhu Gaoxu has always been strange, but after having a skin-to-skin relationship, everything seems to have changed.

"I and Madame Shen are just talking about business, just like a monarch and a minister." Zhu Gaoxu said, his gaze immediately changed, and he began to look at Ma Enhui's body unscrupulously. Ma Enhui suddenly felt that her face was hot, and she felt that everything was messed up by herself, and she couldn't say a word for a while.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu got up, walked to the door, and bolted the door.

Ma Enhui was taken aback and said in a daze: "What does the Holy One want to do?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I miss you very much, but I can't spend the night in the Shen Mansion tonight." ”

Ma Enhui watched Zhu Gaoxu come over, subconsciously reached out and grabbed his collar, and said in a trembling voice: "This daylight is really out of place, how can the concubine see people?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Wouldn't it be better to see more clearly?" Besides, no one knows what we are doing in the house, and even the people in the Shen Mansion don't even know who you are. ”

Ma Enhui was speechless, she heard from Zhu Gaoxu's previous strategy, she felt that he was very bold, and he thought about some unheard of things; And he is the same in other things, which can be called absurd indulgence. But somehow, her heart was beating fast, and there was an inexplicable novelty that lingered; Coupled with the moral constraints she has believed in since she was a child, her mind is now chaotic like a pot of porridge, and her heart is even more mixed.

Outside the curtained window, it was raining lightly, but the light was still bright during the day.