Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 565 Domestic Money Industry
Fuzhou, Fujian.

Since the establishment of the customs, Fuzhou has replaced Yuegang and has become the main trading port of Fujian.

The difference between the Municipal Shipping Department and the Customs is that the Municipal Shipping Department has a wide range of management, including ship guidance, ship owner protection, all boats sitting together, cracking down on smuggling, etc., and even tribute ships are under his jurisdiction.

The customs is only responsible for collecting taxes and cracking down on sea smuggling. There is no restriction on trading cargo ships. It can be said that the trade is free.

For the Fujianese who are keen on business, this can be described as a pleasant surprise.

Naturally, the rise of commerce has led to the development of the wharf, and at the same time created a large number of job opportunities. For Fujian, where the land is narrow and densely populated, countless people have lived.

"The boat is coming—"

On the pier, under the shade, hundreds of big men with bare upper body, drooping heads, shabby linen clothes tied around their waists, loose long hair tied up casually, staring at the trestle with longing eyes.

Suddenly, I don't know who yelled, and hundreds of people rushed forward and embraced, taking care of them.

The rest can only hope and wait.

As soon as the ship stopped, the tax collectors boarded the ship directly to collect taxes.

Later, a man in a short coat, whose clothes were clean, led someone to talk.

After a while, he got off the boat and shouted: "About NO.50 people are needed, the rest should be retired, and wait for the next one."

After finishing the boat in sweat, Shi Dahu took a breath and poured water.

But at this time, he squinted and saw his younger brother, who had studied in a private school for two or three years, sitting in the shade and reading a newspaper.

He moved his butt, leaving a wet mark on the ground, which dried up in no time.

"Third, why don't you go to work? If you don't work, you won't have food, don't you know?"

"Brother, what a coolie does is tasteless."

The thinner Shi Sanhu carefully folded up the newspaper and said courageously.

"Third son, thirty letters a day is not much, but we finally managed to get it."

The two tigers on the side are not happy anymore. For this youngest brother, he has been envious and hated since he was a child, and all good things are shared with him. Why should he give him the only chance to go to a private school in the family?
"Let the third one finish first." Shi Dahu said, but his eyes kept staring at the pier, for fear of delaying the opportunity.

"Brother, I read the news in the newspaper that Taiwan's government will open up wasteland, and the tax will be exempted for five years. The imperial court also borrowed ironware and cattle."

Shi Sanhu spoke impatiently, with eagerness written all over his face.

As he said that, he handed over the Daming Gazette, the land reclamation order issued by the cabinet:

People from the three provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang were allowed to migrate to Taiwan for reclamation...

The latter is a series of temptations, such as land reclamation, five-year tax exemption, corvee, and the imperial court borrowing cattle and iron tools, etc.

"Taiwan government?"

Shi Dahu turned his attention back, and said, "Is it the big officials and Taiwan that those merchants are talking about?"

"That's right." Sanhu hurriedly said, "How much of this wasteland is open is his own."

Seeing that his elder brother was moved, Erhu hurriedly said: "Sanhu, don't talk nonsense, is opening up wasteland something that humans can do? Our family doesn't have such savings!"

Land reclamation is indeed labor-intensive, even fatal.

To be clear, land reclamation in ancient times was not just a government order. The people flocked to it, and a large piece of land could be added in a year.

In fact, if it is not a middle-class family, there is no room for land reclamation.

Land reclamation requires manpower, and these laborers must devote themselves wholeheartedly. Within a year or two, the family's farming work will definitely not be able to take care of them.

In addition, because it is land reclamation, enough food must be prepared so that the family will not starve to death, otherwise, if there is any disaster, the family will go bankrupt immediately.

Therefore, in ancient times, land reclamation was either organized by the imperial court or by the unity of the family, and small households simply did not have this ability.

Shi Dahu knew very well that the three brothers in his family, plus his father, were only four laborers, and reclaiming the wasteland was tantamount to risking his life.

"Sold the land."

At this time, Shi Sanhu raised his head and said: "Our family still has three acres of land, and the annual grain production is not enough for parents to chew on. Why don't we sell it and go to Taiwan..."

"Fart, Taiwan is full of savages, how can we go there?" Erhu said angrily.

"There are magistrates in the imperial court, officials are not afraid, what are we afraid of?" Sanhu said stubbornly.

"Okay, let's live!"

Shi Dahu didn't say anything, raised his buttocks, and went to work in dry shorts.

Until night, after padding a few worthless sea fish, the three brothers huddled together in the shack, roasting by the fire.

"Brother—" Sanhu hesitated.

"Sleep!" Erhu said impatiently: "Opening up wasteland is not something people do. Our family is not suitable for it. Don't think that after studying for a few years, you can be the master of the house."

"Our family, the eldest brother has the final say."

"Second child."

"Why, big brother, you also think what I said makes sense..."

"I think that this Taiwan must be visited."

Dumb turned around, his dark eyes were extremely bright under the firelight.

"Brother, you can't be confused!" Erhu was startled.

"Second child, don't you want to marry a wife?" Du Hu confided quietly.

The two tigers were silent for a moment.

"Our family has a few acres of land, and there are countless poor people in the village. If it weren't for the support from our relatives, we would have starved to death."

Dahu said helplessly: "Working at this pier, you can't get enough to eat, you can't starve to death, and it's even more difficult to marry a wife. I'm 25 and you are 23. At this age, which family in the village doesn't have a son?"

"What—" Shi Erhu gritted his teeth and said, "Let father sell the land, otherwise the three of us won't be able to marry a wife, and the Shi family will lose their incense, so what's the use of this land?"

These words left the two stunned.

But if you think about it carefully, this is indeed the truth.

Wouldn't it be cheaper for the brothers in the clan to have no children?

The brothers got together and felt that Taiwan must go, but the three brothers were unreliable, so they had to go to the clan to recruit more families, and there would be someone to take care of them when the time came.

The next day, the three couldn't wait to return home, instigated the old man to sell the land, kidnapped two more families, and took all the belongings of 20 yuan silver dollars, and went to the Taiwan government together.

In order to attract people to cultivate, the Taiwan government even directly canceled the road guide, which made it easier for many people.

The influence of the Daming Gazette was enormous. In less than half a month, more than [-] people came to Taiwan from the three provinces, which caught Yang Tingjian by surprise.

"Oops, the food is running out again—"

In Beijing, in Yuquan Villa, Zhang Qi, the patriarch of the state, reported the situation of the domestic money industry in detail.

"According to your request, except for the salt shop and the grain shop, the rest of the inner shops have been sold, and the buyers are mostly nobles, and 500,000 silver dollars have been returned!"

Zhang Qi said in his mouth, feeling very distressed.

These shops are all in the inner city, and the value is unknown. Now that they are sold at a low price, isn't it equivalent to sending money?

The source of these shops is naturally that Li Zicheng seized them at the beginning, and then they were taken down by the Qing Dynasty, and now they are in the hands of the emperor.

(End of this chapter)