Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 717 Going to Taiwan

On the sea line from Fujian to Taiwan, more than a dozen ships escorted a ship in rough seas.

July and August are when typhoons are prevalent. Even though the Taiwan Strait is relatively calm, the wind and waves cannot be underestimated.

"vomit--"

Zhang Qi was lying on the head of the bed, vomiting while facing the wooden barrel, his face was pale, the general's belly was constantly rising and falling, and he was panting heavily.

He felt his whole body swaying and his stomach churning.

Such a day is too difficult.

"How long will it take to arrive in Taiwan?"

Zhang Qi wiped the corner of his mouth and asked helplessly.

"Penghu County is ahead, please wait a moment."

The Penghu naval division who was ordered to escort Yingzheng, bowed his head and bowed, with a fawning expression on his face.

Although the fat man in front of him only had the title of Jin Yiwei, he had two daughters who married the emperor and became the emperor's father-in-law.

It's not just him who wants to curry favor, but also the entire Fujian province, for fear of delaying him.

"That's good, it's finally landing."

Zhang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and finally showed a smile.

From Tianjin Port to the sea, almost along the coastline, it can be said that the weather is calm and stable.

But when he got to the real sea, even the Taiwan Strait, he still couldn't bear it, and he suffered from seasickness.

It's hard, it's hard, how could I get so excited to take this job?
But recalling the conversation in Beijing, Zhang Qi cheered up again, with a tinge of blood on his face.

The emperor revealed that due to the excessive production of the emperor, the eunuchs had limited talents and could only perform the work of inspectors, and the specific operations had to be done by outsiders.

Therefore, the emperor decided to no longer hang those industries on Jinyiwei, and set up the House of Internal Affairs to manage them.

Even those external purchases by the court are basically undertaken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has a minister in charge, with the title of the fourth rank, and several co-organizing ministers, from the fourth rank.

"The minister in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs..."

"It's a fourth-rank title, the same level as the magistrate, obediently—"

Muttering to himself, Zhang Qi was overjoyed: "Even if you vomit out the bile this trip, it's worth it."

"However, I heard that there is malaria in Taiwan, so we have to be careful."

As time passed, Zhang Qi settled down in Penghu County, and it was a joy to have a welcome banquet.

Especially for the guerrilla Sun Lin of the Penghu Navy, Zhang Qi was very polite.

Without him, this young man in his twenties, whose sister is the concubine Sun Xuaner, and whose father is Sun Changzhou, the governor of Xuanda, even though he lives in Penghu, Zhang Qi dare not show his face.

"What is uncle doing in Taiwan this trip?"

After these two years of wind and rain, Sun Lin was tanned into a wheat color, and the delicate young master became like a soldier, with rough skin.

He got married by his father's order last year, and he is about to become a father. He has matured a lot.

"Taiwan government!" Zhang Qi sighed, and glanced at Sun Lin. His identity didn't have to be scruples, and he said directly: "Let's run the imperial property!"

"Didn't we open up [-] mu of sugarcane fields the year before last? Even if you want to run something else, you don't need your help!" Sun Linqi said.

"Hey, I won't hide it from you."

Zhang Qi said with a smile: "Penghu is closer to Dayuan County, so you should understand how Tangliao makes money."

"Nowadays, the Taiwan government also has a customs office. The sugar produced is directly resold. It earns a lot of money, but it accounts for a large part of the inner court. It is inevitable that His Majesty will not take it seriously."

Sun Lin was stunned, but he was inexplicably surprised.

His family also had a Tangliao in Taiwan, but he seldom asked about it. His wife managed it all by himself. He never thought that he could make such money and alarmed the emperor.

You know, most of the vassal fields in Huguang and Sichuan have become Huangzhuang, with hundreds of thousands of hectares, but these are not as good as Tangliao?

It seems that my family has to develop a manor.

Zhang Qi said a few more words about the situation in the capital, and said with a smile: "Two big lamas came from the plateau before, and now the whole city of Beijing is preaching that His Majesty believes in Buddhism, and the temples in the whole city of Beijing are full of incense!"

The next day, Zhang Qi arrived in Dayuan County under the escort of the Penghu Navy.

Although Taiwan is relatively large in size, it has only four counties.

Penghu, Dayuan, Danshui, chicken cages.

Dayuan County is located in the Jiade Plain, and it is the place where the Dutch, Zheng Zhilong, operated in the past, and has a large population.

Especially before the Portuguese expelled Macau, they announced that the Taiwan government had its own access, which was similar to deposing Lu Yin, and thus attracted most of the merchants in Southeast Asia.

When Zhang Qi came to Dayuan Wharf, he saw a strange scene.

The deep-eyed, high-nosed, curly-haired Xiyi people walk freely on the road, kissing and holding hands like no one else, which is extremely indecent.

And those Han people passing by, even the yamen servants, you pass by without seeing them, and you don’t take a second look.

There are dozens of large and small ships docked on the pier, most of which are Western-style sailboats, and many merchant ships improved from Fuchuan are docked, which is dizzying.

All kinds of strange languages, Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin, etc. are mixed together, and I feel like I have come to a foreign country.

"Is this the Taiwan government? Why is it weirder than going to North Korea?"

Zhang Qi sighed, got into the carriage with extreme discomfort, and checked into an inn.

At night, he invited Yang Tingjian, the prefect of Taiwan, Yang Zhan, the general soldier of Taiwan, and Guo Huaiyi, the county magistrate, to the banquet, and explained his intentions:

"There are more and more candy houses in Taiwan, and the price keeps dropping. This is not a good trend. It makes those western barbarians cheap for no reason."

Yang Tingjian smiled slightly when he heard the words, and sighed: "It's all the business of those merchants, and the court can't control it, and there is no leader to appeal."

"Now that Zhang Yuanwai is here, it can be regarded as a blessing."

"That's exactly what I mean." Zhang Qi nodded and smiled, "According to Huguang's idea back then, let's set up a sugar guild in Taiwan, and all businessmen who run sugar houses must join."

"Then set a minimum price, and no one can violate it. In this way, everyone will benefit, and it will no longer be cheaper for those Xiyi."

"That's a good way."

At this time, Yang Zhan also nodded, he also bought Tangliao, and was overjoyed: "In this way, we can all make money, lest some people take advantage of loopholes and make us lose money for no reason."

If you earn less, you lose.

Yang Tingjian has nothing to do with it. This is a good thing that helps to regulate the business order.

There are 300,000 people in Taiwan, and [-]% of them are planting sugar cane to sell money, especially those merchants in Fujian who are rushing to buy fields to plant sugar cane, attracting a large number of people.

As long as sugar merchants can be guaranteed to make money, Taiwan will be able to develop greatly and collect more taxes.

"It couldn't be better."

After completing the first goal, Zhang Qi was overjoyed.

Then he opened his mouth again and said, "I want to develop another [-] mu of land. I hope Dayuan County can help you?"

"One hundred thousand mu?" Guo Huai was shocked: "This is not a small amount."

(End of this chapter)