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whenever zheng he's voyages to the west are mentioned, people will always think of two completely opposite evaluations. among them, praisers focused on the volume and sensory aspects, believing that the voyage of the three treasures eunuch spread the majesty of the ming dynasty far and wide. opponents focused on the economic performance and felt that such a hugely expensive project did not bring in many real benefits.

although they seem to be seriously opposed, the above two views are actually perfectly valid, but they are just as one-sided as a blind man trying to grasp an elephant. only by integrating all the information can we realize that the voyages to the west did benefit the emperor, but at the cost of more people paying for it.

the ancestral system competes with the people for profit

the evil of the ming dynasty's maritime ban originated from zhu yuanzhang's abnormal mentality of seclusion.

at the end of the 14th century ad, zhu yuanzhang established a number of ancestral systems for the ming dynasty he founded, including the infamous maritime ban policy. although the original intention was just to cut off the logistical supply of the resistance forces in eastern zhejiang, after the situation completely subsided, there was still no loosening, and even in the hands of the heirs, the situation continued to increase. its core idea is to control, while the underlying logic is to compete with the people for profit.

in fact, rulers before the ming dynasty had already had two cases of maritime bans. among them, the sui dynasty implemented stricter control after the destruction of the chen dynasty, emphasizing overall control of the newly occupied areas, and also caused large-scale uprisings throughout the jiangnan region. although suppressed by force, the policy itself was quickly swept into the trash heap of history along with the short-lived regime. later rulers of the yuan dynasty also issued maritime bans out of commercial interests, hoping to replace private ships with official fleets funded by the imperial court. unfortunately, it only lasted from 1292 to 1322, and was abandoned because the cost was too high and the gains outweighed the losses.

the maritime ban of the ming dynasty had all the characteristics of similar policies of its predecessors.

in contrast, the ming dynasty's maritime ban, which began under zhu yuanzhang, can be described as a comprehensive one. it was necessary to attribute limited commercial profits to the imperial court, but also put an extreme emphasis on personal control over the local residents, so the balance of payments was not balanced at all. in addition to resolutely banning merchant ships from going overseas, even ordinary people's fishing boats are included as contraband. any foreign country that needs to exchange supplies must follow strictly limited tribute regulations in order to maximize the benefits in hand.

at the beginning of the 15th century ad, king zhu di of yan successfully usurped the throne and basically continued most of the rules left by taizu. the original sea-going ships were converted into flat-headed ships to ensure that they were technically unable to sail long distances. at that time, the ming dynasty not only had to regularly send troops to the grasslands, but also took the initiative to get deeply involved in the vietnam battlefield. if you include the cost of building the forbidden city, the great wall defense line, the great baoen temple and strengthening the factory and security system, there is no doubt that there is a strong demand for fiscal revenue. only then did they pay attention to shipping, which still had profit margins, and sent large fleets led by zheng he to various places overseas.

map of zheng he’s seven voyages to the western ocean

during his seven subsequent voyages, zheng he relied on various states to collect a large number of rare and exotic animals and sent them back to the country for the enjoyment of the emperor's relatives. but the real core goods were pepper and sappan wood. the former is mainly produced in the malabar region of india. it was introduced from the south to the mainland as early as the qin and han dynasties, and has always been a very important high-end condiment. the latter is basically from the south sea islands, has antibacterial and anticoagulant properties, and can also be made into a precious red dye. due to the prohibition of private trade in the ming dynasty, these hard currencies, which had gradually become popular during the mongolian and yuan dynasties, became more scarce, enough to fill the emperor's private treasury with huge amounts of wealth.

according to historical records in the early ming dynasty, the price of pepper in the sumatra market was only 0.01 taels per catty, but the price after being shipped back to china would skyrocket to 0.2 taels per catty. the price difference is a full 20 times, which can basically cover the sailing expenses of zheng he's treasure fleet. although the cost of setting up 240 ships and more than 27,000 people was more expensive, it was basically borne by the central and local finances of the imperial court, and a considerable part of the profits from the periodic return of capital belonged to the emperor himself. this formed a deformed logic of "the emperor was full and others starved", and spread to a wider area as time went by.

pepper and sappan wood were the main commodities brought back by zheng he’s fleet

new regulations compete with the system for profit

the huge profits from the voyage to the west were soon exhausted by oversupply.

although the profits at the beginning of zheng he's voyage were considerable, they could not withstand the drag of the government-run command operation model. with lots of pepper. sumu has flooded into the domestic market, and retail prices have continued to fall due to oversupply. in just two years, the price of pepper in the ming dynasty has dropped to 0.1 taels per catty, basically the same as in the nearest overseas distribution center. as a result, the profit margins of the voyages to the west shrank significantly, and the old goods in the warehouses quickly overflowed.

at this time, zhu di, the founder of ming dynasty, actually introduced "new regulations on salary reduction". to put it simply, the hard currency that cannot be sold is used to deduct the wages of officials, hoping to rely on the power of the system to clear the inventory. at the same time, it can save daily expenses and reduce the burden on the central government, which spends a lot of money. since the specific pricing power for distribution is in your hands, you can still recharge according to the standard of 0.2 taels per catty. over time, the losses caused by zheng he's voyages to the west were settled, and more resources were freed up to invest in areas that the emperor valued.

the profits from zheng he's voyages to the west were almost exclusively owned by the emperor.

as a result, officials who were already underpaid complained, but they did not dare to speak out directly because they were afraid of the monarch who had doubts about his legitimacy. after all, the groups that enjoy this treatment are mainly civil servants and petty officials, and do not involve military guards and imperial guards. naturally, it is impossible to maintain a high degree of unity in their resistance attitude. what's more, farmers, who accounted for the largest population base, were not directly affected and had no sympathy with the pampered scholar-bureaucrats in their own eyes. even if the end of the economic transmission chain cannot escape the impact, it will feel lighter like a frog boiled in warm water.

in 1424 ad, zhu di sailed westward on an aimless trip to the grasslands, and the costly voyage to the western ocean was briefly suspended. however, the temptation of exclusive government-owned profits + disguised salary reduction was too great, which made zhu zhanji, ming xuanzong, who later took power, salivate. therefore, zheng he, who was already unemployed, came out again and led his treasure fleet to go overseas to sweep up goods. soon, the difference in salary discounts in the ming dynasty reached a new high, reaching an unprecedented level of 1 tael per catty. at this point, the original deduction has completely escalated into plunder, which is enough to make officials full of sage books curse their mothers in their hearts. however, the huge factory security system is so pervasive that they dare not reveal it quietly in private notes or conversations.

the salary gap in the ming dynasty reached its peak during the xuanzong period

in 1436, due to the death of zhu zhanji and the young age of ming yingzong who had just succeeded to the throne, the auxiliary ministers were able to use the emperor's name to stop purchasing and construction. the ming dynasty's western trade came to an end completely, and was never successfully restored by latecomers.

in the same year, liu daxia, later minister of the ministry of war, was born. although they have not directly experienced the catastrophic era, they still retain the miserable memories of the scholar-bureaucrats. therefore, when he was a charioteer during the chenghua period, in order to prevent ming xianzong from returning to his old ways, he deliberately hid western archives and even secretly burned them as rumored. many modern readers sneered at his behavior, but did not consider the source of the fear of the people at that time.

liu daxia was criticized for allegedly burning zheng he's archives

bad government and law compete for profit

the benefits brought to the emperor by voyages to the west went far beyond exotic animals.

in fact, zheng he's voyages to the west are not the core of the problem. the key lies in the evil political intentions of the ming emperor. since emperor wu of the han dynasty launched a salt and iron monopoly, rulers of all dynasties have always been concerned about private profits. no matter whether they are huge or meager, they must get a share of them.

this kind of thinking continues to sublimate and evolves into a fascinating desire for total monopoly. at first, it seems that it can achieve the dream of a prosperous and powerful country, but in essence it is tantamount to killing the goose that lays eggs, which will inevitably lead to costly backlash effects.

before the introduction of silver circulation, the salaries of officials in the ming dynasty were mainly copper coins.

it is true that the market's self-regulatory mechanism has delays and often requires an invisible hand to limit it. however, when the monopoly attribute is strengthened to a certain extent, the operating efficiency will not increase but decrease, and it will be completely left behind by its highly flexible private rivals. in the end, shock and paralysis were unavoidable, just because we deviated from the normal rules for too long...