Xinshun 1730

Chapter 284 Businessmen are the barometer
Shortly after returning from Huai'an to Suzhou, where the Yamen of the Jiedushi was located, Tan Zhen went to Songjiang again.

This year is the first time to transport rice by sea, and it was he who suggested it. This time, he needs to come forward to show his importance.

When they arrived in Songjiang, the fleet led by Chen Qinghai also arrived in Songjiang.After a show of force against the Western Commercial Hall, Chen Qinghai took Liu Yu's gift and went to visit Tan Zhen, the envoy of Jiangsu Jiedu.

Tan Zhen is from Xiangyang, and Chen Qinghai is from Gyeonggi, but the identities of the two are still very close.

They are all from good families, it is nothing more than that Chen Qinghai was not admitted to Wude Palace, while Tan Zhen was admitted to Wude Palace.

There is always a layer of separation between people with formal imperial examination backgrounds, and people with similar backgrounds are naturally close. This is also a characteristic of Dashun's officialdom system.

Chen Qinghai presented the gifts from Liu Yu, all of which were exquisite Western playthings, as well as some glass windows and glass screens and other local products that were once expensive but are not new now. French pocket watch with crystal lens.

"Master Jiedushi, I have been ordered by Ying Suobo to greet you. I am Chen Qinghai, and Ying Suobo sent me to escort the Caomi fleet."

Although both of them were from good families, after all, Chen Qinghai followed the "crooked ways", and his behavior and conversation were far from those of people in the officialdom.

When he was studying on Liugong Island, he squatted on the island all day long; he got on the boat with great difficulty, and he didn't have the chance to get off the boat several times a year.

There is a very blunt temperament in the officialdom when speaking.

Fortunately, Tan Zhen has also dealt with people from Weihai in the past few years, and it is not surprising that people from Weihai have this tune.

For Liu Yu's sake, he asked Chen Qinghai to sit down, and asked, "What else can I teach you?"

"Returning to your lord, Ying Sabo said, this time your lord needn't worry at all. The people in the grain transportation company prepared a few percent more grain, even if there was a loss, they would not miss a single grain of rice and transport it to Tianjin."

"Moreover, many people have walked through Heishuiyang countless times. They have sold beans to Liaodong over the years, but this time our navy led the way and escorted them, with all kinds of navigation equipment available. In addition, Liugong Island and other places have also built lighthouses. No problem. Just rest assured, my lord."

"Ying Suo Boyan, even though we haven't met, we can still be regarded as close friends. This time, it's not just the adults' business, but also his business to transport the rice into Beijing. No matter what, we must be beautiful."

After repeating Liu Yu's instructions, Tan Zhen didn't quite understand how the newly established companies and insurance companies in Songjiang operated in the past two years, and she didn't bother to understand.He didn't care if he believed in these things Liu Yu created, or in Liu Yu's ability to create something out of nothing.

As long as the tax is paid on time and there is no trouble, why not do it?What's more, Songjiang is more complicated than Huai'an, where there is a river governor, and there is also a Western Customs, stamp duty bank, etc. that belong to the emperor's family affairs. Tan Zhen also knows the depth of this, and it doesn't look like stretching too long a hand here.

As far as Liu Yu's relationship in the capital is concerned, it would be impossible to say that there are no noble shares in these new industries.It's hard to say whether there are even emperor's shares.

"Since Eagle Sobo is ready, I don't worry. The sea is no better than a canal after all. If you want to really change the sea from the waste water, not only must it be fast, but also stable, and you must save money. To sum up, It is fast, steady, and economical. If you can do these three things, you will be able to straighten your back when the court discusses in the future."

Chen Qinghai and Liu Yu have been together for a long time, and he has little impression of the attitude of the officialdom. Hearing this, he couldn't help laughing and said: "People like us have studied astronomy, geography, and mathematics for five full years. Not to mention going to Tianjin from Songjiang, our navy has already begun to explore the Americas and go to Sweden. There is really no need to worry about going to Tianjin."

"Ying Suo Bo often said that Westerners can travel from the Western Ocean to the Southern Ocean and travel tens of thousands of miles by sea. If I have to be timid even from Songjiang to Tianjin, how can I compare myself to the Han and Tang Dynasties? The Huns and Turks in the Han and Tang Dynasties What level is it? What kind of bullshit strength is the current Mongolia and the Zhunbu? The world is changing, and the sea is going out, so we can compare ourselves to the Han and Tang Dynasties."

The extreme self-confidence he said does not come from anything else, but from the professional knowledge he has learned over the years.Knowledge makes a person confident and powerful.

In Chen Qinghai's view, many people in the imperial court did not support shipping and were worried about this and that, but they just lacked knowledge and didn't understand anything.

Normally, she is more confident, but Tan Zhen will inevitably feel a little frivolous when speaking at this time.Fortunately, Tan Zhen, who was born in Weihai, met most of them with this kind of virtue, and each of them wanted to put his eyes on the top of his forehead. Although he was a little upset, he didn't say anything for Liu Yu's sake.

However, Chen Qinghai didn't want to finish it. In his opinion, the DPRK and China were still so worried about the matter of going from Songjiang to Tianjin. The Jiedu envoy came and the navy escorted him. Those who didn't know it thought it would be a war against Japan.

He thought to himself, this is the end of the war against Japan.

Things that could walk in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, after almost 400 years, are actually like a big girl getting on a sedan chair now, which is really boring.

After following Liu Yu for so long, the last time I felt that Liu Yu attached great importance to sailing was when Mi Gao led a merchant ship to Sweden; and this time again.

But the problem is that this is not a difficulty at all. I really don't understand why there is anything to worry about?The Japanese trade has been going on for so many years. Is this sea route that was played very slippery 400 years ago, is it worth being so cautious?
Tan Zhen saw that Chen Qinghai still had the look of eyes above the top of his head, and said with a smile: "Since you are confident, I am not worried about this matter anymore. There is something, please call Ying Suo Bo."

"Sir, please speak."

"Just say that this year when the Jiedu Envoy enters Beijing, I will discuss the matter of abolishing the water and changing the sea. Don't mention Ying Suobo, lest it seems like we are connecting with each other. I don't write a letter about this matter, just spread it by word of mouth. Say."

Chen Qinghai didn't understand the truth, but he still wrote it down.

"It's just right, you come with me and go to the place where the rice is transported."

At this time, the rice has not been completely collected and transported, but the company established for the transportation of rice has already been in place, abandoning the previous method of individual ship owners, and it is undertaken by a capital-rich company assembled by a joint-stock system, which also reduces intermediate links. , which is easier to manage.

Most of the newly-built yamen in Songjiang are near the trading company, whether it is for tax payment, exchange, or rice delivery, they are all in one building complex.

Chen Qinghai accompanied Tan Zhen there. The people in the company didn't pay much attention to Caomi, but they were all busy there sorting out the goods that they would bring to the north this year.

The court saved money, and the merchants made a profit. These duty-free goods were extremely profitable.

When several company executives and decision-makers saw Tan Zhen, they hurriedly bowed down, and after bowing down, they flattered him fiercely again.

"I wait for the merchants, and I am all grateful to your lord. If it weren't for your lord's proposal to try to transport rice from Songjiang and Suzhou by sea, where would we have the opportunity to do our best for the country?"

These words are beautiful, and Tan Zhen also understands that this is just a scene.Isn't it profitable to do your best for the country?

But this is indeed a win-win situation.

The court saved a lot of money.

In Songjiang and Suzhou, the grain and rice amounted to nearly one million shi. If they went through the canal, they would have to pay twice the original loss. There were real sinkings, fake sinkings, embezzlement, accidents, and consumption by civilians. money.

The people also saved the pain of transporting food.

It is impossible for food to go to the canal by itself, and it is impossible to walk from the canal to the capital.Although the imperial court has theoretically continued and inherited a whip method and has developed it. In theory, money is required for repairing embankments and transporting grain, but the money given is really not enough.If it's three taels of silver a month, they will definitely flock to it, but... But if you don't have money, don't talk about benevolent governance.

Businessmen can take advantage of this opportunity again.

It is indeed a win-win situation. If businessmen insist on saying that they "do their best for the country", it is hard to say that they are wrong.If you win the face, you also want to save face.

The few in charge said again: "Your Excellency, I don't know. In the past, the goods transported to the capital took the canal. Although the imperial court stipulated that there were only a few tax customs, but the food and cards along the way, I and other merchants really couldn't bear it."

"Nowadays, when transporting straw rice, one-tenth of the goods can be exempted from tax. This saves a lot of money. When I came back, I happened to be able to transport soybeans from Liaodong. Once I came back, I made a lot of profits, and the shareholders also paid attention. Happy."

"My lord is here, it's not like I'm talking nonsense. It's just that the rice in Songjiang and Suzhou is really not worth mentioning. If you want to ship all the rice by sea, just let me know in advance, and the people who invest in it will definitely flock to it .”

"Weihai's shipyard is even more capable of building large ships. Even if we don't use the newly built ships in Weihai, there are still many sandship owners who want to bring their ships to buy shares. If in the future the imperial court transports all rice by sea, the threshold of our company will be trampled. "

Seeing the excitement of such participants, Tan Zhen also relaxed, and seemed to understand why Chen Qinghai was so frivolous before.

The merchant seeks profit, and if the ship sinks, the merchant will suffer losses.Whether it will work or not, the businessman knows best.

If it is really risky as some people in the court said, how can these businessmen be so shrewd to get into it?

The businessman's attitude reassured Tan Zhen more than Chen Qinghai's self-confidence.

Chen Qinghai's confidence in this shipping may also be attributed to the fact that the Weihai navy has always behaved like this; the merchants are also like this, so there is really nothing to worry about.

There are naturally various reasons for the self-confidence of businessmen.

In addition to the long-standing ship owners who often went to Liaodong to sell soybeans, some ship owners from Guangdong and Fujian who came to buy shares also often traveled to Southeast Asia, and they have also been to Luzon, Batavia and other places.

Of course, there is the risk sharing of the joint-stock system and the establishment of insurance companies.Pay a certain amount of insurance premium, and the marine insurance company in this new city will pay if something happens.

If it was in the past, it would take a long time for this new thing to be accepted.

But this newly established marine insurance company has Liu Yu's platform. With this reputation and its reputation in the business circle over the years, it is naturally credible enough.

The trading company next door also sells rice from Nanyang. If something happens to the rice, it can be replenished at any time, so there is no need to worry.

Carrying by one person may not be able to afford the risk.In this form, the risks are shared equally, which is much easier to accept.

The imperial court is also assured that this group of people is worthy, and this group of people is also convinced that there is no compensation at all... Someone has already calculated that the canal has too many tariffs, food and cards, and this batch of sea freight used to be one-tenth of the capacity It only takes one or two years for duty-free goods to make those who bring goods along the canal unrecognizable.

At that time, it will be the time for the sea and river transport groups to face each other.

It's a pity that Dashun's businessmen are not fighting for capital, technology, or cost, but to see who has the deepest relationship in the officialdom, who has the loudest spokesperson in the court, and whose backstage kneels hard in front of the emperor.Nothing to do, but nothing to change.

(End of this chapter)