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"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Wu Xingshou's suggestion is feasible, since the king is the king of a country, he should have the prestige and honor of the king, and it is also appropriate to set up an internal affairs office to manage the palace."

The first to seconded was Zuo Zongtang, Zhu Jishi had already told him that he didn't need eunuchs, but Zuo Zongtang raised his hands in favor of this -- this eunuch of the Ming Dynasty gave an extremely bad impression to future generations. It is true that Zhu Jishi did not set up eunuchs, but ...... This Ming court also needs people to manage it. Although Zhu Jishi is a Ming monarch, he is quite fond of women, including the Luo family sisters, Mrs. Duran, Wang Yunjiao, Hong Xuanjiao, Tokugawa Akiko and Su Yuniang, who is about to enter the palace, the number of concubines of King Zhu has reached 7, and in the foreseeable future, this number will definitely increase. How could these women, with their children, not have a whole bunch of people to serve? Shouldn't there also be an internal affairs office to manage it?

"Your Majesty, the thirteen elements are willing to serve the court." It is said that Pan Shicheng, who is no longer ready to do business and wants to be an official wholeheartedly, is also impatient to fight for the status of "imperial businessman" for the thirteen lines.

Zhu Jishi looked at Liu Peng again, this Ming Liu Xiangye touched the goatee that had just been needed and said: "Your Majesty, you can let the Thirteen Lines and your Four Great Foreign Banks become imperial merchants together and serve the Internal Affairs Government." The envoys in this palace are also recruited and trained by the seventeen imperial merchants. ”

It's the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Imperial Merchant, why does it sound so much like the Qing Dynasty? Zhu Jishi shook his head with some tears and laughter. Chinese businessmen have always liked to make friends with the government, cling to power, and then use it to suppress their competitors. Monopolies. Didn't these thirteen lines be initiated by this hand? Now I want to paint a scoop according to the gourd and be an "imperial businessman" for myself.

"I don't think there's a need for the establishment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Zhu Jishi touched his beard and pondered. "It will be enough to set up a palace steward, and let Madame Duran be the one. As for the Imperial Merchants...... I don't think there's any need! In the future of the Ming Dynasty, there will be no imperial merchants, officials and merchants, and all merchants will be equal in front of me and the Ming court! ”

That being said, it's not easy to do. However, it is much better than not having even a sense of free competition and creating a large number of privileged imperial businessmen, officials and businessmen.

"Your Majesty, according to your intentions, aren't your four major businesses the same as ordinary merchants?" Su Yuniang frowned. Asked with a puzzled face. She is King Zhu's woman, and she naturally has a share of Zhu Jishi's industry, so she has to care about it, right?

"It is the same in front of the law of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming government should also treat all merchants equally." Zhu Jishi's eyes swept in the room, including Zuo Zongtang and Liu Peng, everyone had an expression of disbelief, that official of the Ming Dynasty dared to treat Zhu Jishi's business house as an ordinary merchant?

Zhu Jishi frowned, freezing three feet is not a day's cold, if you want to thaw, it is not a day or two! This is the kind of business environment in China. Officials and businessmen colluded, and they were bullied and suppressed. Ordinary people and small businessmen are naturally the objects of oppression. And the emperor Lao Tzu is the object of deception! I heard that it costs dozens of taels of silver for an egg to eat by the Dusk King, and a patch on the dragon robe costs thousands of taels. I can't say anything that I can't be such an unjust emperor!

"If we say that this business is developed and the country is rich, our China is actually not comparable to the continent of Europa!"

Zhu Jishi lowered his tone and showed a solemn expression, "Dignified China, with a population of 40,000,000 and a vast land, but how much is the annual income in a year?" The Manchu Qing Dynasty was only 45 million taels, which is equivalent to 15 million pounds! And England is a country with a population of less than 20 million, although it is nearly 100 million pounds, which is several times that of China! This English income mainly comes from industry and commerce, and the prosperity of England's industry and commerce can be seen. The main reasons why England's industry and commerce are so developed are two points: first, it attaches importance to science and technology to reward inventions; The second is to encourage competition by the rule of law - there are no privileged merchants in England today, and all merchants are equal before their laws. Whoever can make a lot of money and who will suffer losses depends on their own ability, and their English court does not care. ”

Zhu Jishi did not tell everyone in the audience that there is no absolutely level playing field in England, and the influence of power on business is still everywhere. Of course, the collusion between officials and businessmen in England was a completely different model than that of the Manchus. In England, officials are more for business! In the Manchu Qing Dynasty, on the contrary, Shang was the slave of officials.

Therefore, the British government often waged foreign wars for commercial interests, almost like a thug of the capitalists!

The merchants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were often exploited by the official court, and their property was confiscated at every turn, a bit like the fat pigs raised by the government......

The difference between the two has caused the British Empire to have an annual revenue of nearly 100 million pounds, but because it has spent too much money in previous foreign wars, it is heavily indebted! Although the Qing Dynasty only had an annual income of about 15 million pounds, it maintained the basic balance of finances by "slaughtering fat pigs", and now has no domestic or foreign debt.

But now, there are people rushing to come to the Ming Dynasty to be this fat pig! Of course, King Zhu can't blindly drive these "pigs" outside, right? After all, there was still a "pigsty" on the Manchu side.

So he looked at the wealthy businessmen sitting at the small table sitting on his right (the current banquet of King Zhu, of course, you can't make a round table, everyone is lively and eat together), smiled slightly, changed the conversation, and said: "Of course, we can't copy England in its entirety, after all, China has China's national conditions, which is different from England." ”

The merchants breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, it seems that this fat pig can still be stable.

"Our Ming Dynasty first wants to encourage competition, and we don't do this for imperial businessmen, officials and businessmen." Zhu Jishi said in his heart, I, a great capitalist in Zhu, am shrewd, you profiteers, don't want to slaughter me like Emperor Daoguang!

"But...... Daming still has to support a group of internationally competitive businessmen! Zhu Jishi said a little proudly, "Do you know what it means to be internationally competitive?" It is like the four major banks, which are all first-class among foreign banks. Is there a fifth such a firm in Daming in addition to the four major banks? ”

His eyes fell on Wu Shaorong, "Chief Wu Xing, your Jardine Bank has deposited more than 1,000 yuan in HSBC, which is converted into more than 3.3 million pounds!" Now my four major banks are added together, and that's a small net worth. But I dare to say that your Jardine Walk is already in the mountains, while my four major lines are thriving. In less than five years, the four major banks will be able to surpass Jardine House, and in another ten years, it is difficult to say whether your Jardine Bank can exist or not! ”

Wu Shaorong nodded silently. Jardine Hong is indeed encouraging maintenance, and it has long since lost its former strength. The owners of the other 12 banks here all felt the same way, although they avoided the bad luck of immediate bankruptcy by investing in the Ming Dynasty, but the crisis has not really been resolved - the foreign trade monopoly of the 13 banks no longer exists! If you lose your monopoly position, you will naturally lose your monopoly profits. Where is there room for them to survive as middlemen who don't have much industrial support?

"However, I don't want to see the thirteen lines fall like this! Because the Thirteen Lines are the most powerful business houses in my Ming Dynasty except for the four major banks. If you simply compare the financial strength, the four major banks are not as strong as your thirteen banks. Therefore, as long as the Thirteen Lines take the right path, they can become a thriving big commercial house like the Four Great Ocean Banks. In this way, I have seventeen big trading houses in the Ming Dynasty, and my pocket can be bulging as the king of the Ming Dynasty! ”

"But how can our thirteen lines become the same foreign banks as the four major banks?" Wu Shaorong asked with a frown. In fact, as early as the time of his father Wu Haoguan, Jardine was looking for a new profit model, and even invested in American railroads. But like many of the declining large companies that followed, the road to transformation was not easy.

Zhu Jishi said confidently: "The way for the Ming Dynasty to support the Thirteen Lines is to help you establish an industry that is truly competitive and can defeat foreign counterparts!" The basis of the Thirteen Lines should be industry, not foreign trade monopoly. (To be continued......)