1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 880 Daming Ship
August 1673, 8, Guangdong, Aniang Shoes Island (now Weiyuan Island, Humen).

After the successful Northern Expedition two years ago, the Ming Dynasty had successively expelled the Qing captives from the pass, and basically restored the nominal unity of the traditional Han land in the past.But in the north and south of Daming, there are two territories occupied by the Qi State, which are outside the jurisdiction of the Ming government, and have become a very special form of existence.

One is the Changshan Islands located in the north of Denglai. Since it was controlled by the Qi State more than 30 years ago (1641), it has been an important sea base for fighting against the Qing captives, and it is also a transshipment center for immigrants from the north.

The other place is Aniangxie Island near the Pearl River Estuary. 20 years ago (1651), the Qi State and Li Dingguo's Ming Army launched the Guangdong-Guangzhou Raiders, wiped out Shang Kexi, Geng Jimao and other Qing troops in one fell swoop, and regained Guangdong. Throughout the territory, Qi State took advantage of the opportunity to control this small island in order to facilitate the provision of food and combat supplies to the Ming army, as well as the transfer of war refugees.

Previously, because they had to face the threat of Qing captives in the north, and needed military support from Qi State, all Ming officials, including Sun Kewang, also acquiesced to Qi State's occupation and control of the above two places.

However, now that the Ming Dynasty has completed the formal unification, these two extremely sensitive islands have immediately become a dazzling existence inside and outside the court.

"Shaoqing, do we in Qi need to return this small island to Daming?"

At the welcome banquet held for Bi Shaode, the young minister of Honghe Temple, Zhou Weizhi, the big shopkeeper of the Guangzhou Trading Company, took advantage of the heat of the wine, and carefully asked the concerns of everyone present.

"Treasurer Zhou, what you said is not rigorous." Bi Shaode said with a smile: "This small island has never belonged to our country of Qi, but only allowed our businessmen to live here temporarily. How can there be any talk of returning it?"

Hearing this, Zhou Weizhi looked at Bi Shaode in astonishment, and asked in a surprised voice: "Shaoqing, now on this small island, whether it is the maintenance of public security, the collection of commercial taxes, or even the management of civil affairs, it is all for our Qi State. It’s like the territory of our country of Qi. Whether it’s Guangzhou, which is tens of miles away, or the nearby Dongguan county, they all agree that the island is our territory of Qi, and no officials or subordinates have ever been sent to the island to declare power.”

"However, in March last year, the Minister of the Ming Dynasty in Chang'an proposed to Qi State to restore the governance of the island and the northern Changshan Islands." Bi Shaode shook his head and said: "You know, Daming has never put this The two lands were ceded to our country of Qi, and they only allowed our country to use it temporarily. In addition, Ming intends to restore the market ships of the Zhengde period in the coastal areas and start mutual markets with other countries. Therefore, whether it is the Changshan Islands or this A Niang Shoe Island, Ming Dynasty does not allow a place that is not controlled by Shibo to exist."

"My country of Qi has continued to build on the island for more than 20 years, and the Ming government will take it back for nothing?"

"Why don't you tell me how much silver dollars your Guangzhou trading company has earned in more than 20 years by taking advantage of the island's special status?"

"Shaoqing..." Zhou Weizhi looked a little embarrassed, but he was a little dissatisfied in his heart. Our Guangzhou trading company did take advantage of the special status of this small island to earn a lot of silver dollars from the Guangdong area, but we did not give it to the Qi government. Pay taxes.

This young minister of Honglu Temple, you are an official of Qi State, why is your position not correct!

Where are you standing?

"Your Majesty intends to establish a comprehensive cooperative partnership with Daming, and the two sides will further deepen political, economic and military exchanges and cooperation between each other." Bi Shaode said solemnly: "To achieve the above goals, our country of Qi will not We must forcibly occupy the territory of Ming Dynasty. Moreover, this small island is located on the side of the Pearl River waterway, so it can be said that it controls the entire Guangdong outbound trade route, if it is occupied by Qi for a long time, how can the Ming court feel at ease?"

"Da Ming has asked me a lot from Qi State. If I ask for a few territories from it, I will not dare to refuse it easily. Although it will not be like pinching Lu Song Weiguo and the Zheng family, it is very necessary to coerce Daming a little bit. .”

"The Great Ming has a territory of tens of thousands of miles and a population of tens of millions. Is it easy for our Qi State to take hostage?" Bi Shaode shook his head, "Since a thousand years ago, the mainland has become its own central empire, conquering the barbarians and conquering overseas. And our Qi State is far away from thousands of miles away. In addition, how can its power expand to this point? Since this is the case, it is better to cooperate with it, Qi and Ming will benefit from each other, and if they fight because of quarrels, it will be a lose-lose situation. What's more, for more than [-] years, our country of Qi It has become a special interest relationship to blend and entangle with Ming Dynasty in many aspects such as politics, economy and military. Under such circumstances, how can it be compared with the land of Luzon?"

More than a month ago, Bi Shaode went to Longzhou to visit the Zheng family of Luzon after completing the succession of the king of Weiguo.On behalf of the Qi emperor and the cabinet government, he reprimanded the Zheng family for wanting to take advantage of the domestic turmoil in Wei to provoke troubles and provoke war again.

Your Zheng family occupies the most elite area of ​​Luzon. Instead of expanding your territory northward and stepping up immigration, you always think about rushing southward, intending to occupy the entire big island of Luzon.What do you want to do?
The state of Qi insists on supporting the state of Wei, and tacitly allows them to expand their power to the southern islands. It is to balance the strength of the entire Luzon region and prevent one family from being dominant. It allows Qi State to easily control the entire Luzon region.

For any behavior that wants to break the current balance, Qi State firmly opposes it.

To this end, the State of Qi proposed two border division plans. The southern border of the Luzon State was bounded by the Xiangshui River in the Xinghua area of ​​​​the State of Qi State (now the Dumaca River near Lucena) to the Qingxi River in the northern mountainous area.The northern border of the Wei State was bounded by the Xiaocang River (now the Sapaan River near Atimonan, Philippines).

In this way, the Xinghua region of Qi State will lie between the two countries and become a buffer zone for both sides, completely separating them from the land.

In the Luzon area, Qi can use its tyrannical power to subdue all parties, and divide forces according to the principle of its own security and interests, and determine the territorial ownership of all parties in the area.

However, in the face of the complete formal unification of Ming Dynasty, Qi State still communicated and exchanged with it in various aspects with an equal attitude.As the diplomatic envoy this time, in addition to solving the chaos in Luzon and canonizing him as King of Wei, Bi Shaode was also ordered to make a special trip to Daming to meet with Sun Kewang to discuss the future comprehensive mutual assistance and cooperation between the two countries.
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November 8th, Guangzhou.

Daming's overseas trade, whether in the past hundreds of years or in the current Guangde Zhongxing period, has two methods: private and government.The private ones include "Shangbo" and "Koubo", while the government-run ones include "Gongbo" and "Shibo".Before the opening of the "maritime ban" by the Ming Dynasty, although private foreign trade was legally prohibited, in the Ming Dynasty, there were often domestic and foreign private businessmen who violated the prohibition and illegally traded across the sea.

As for the overseas trade of the so-called "tribute ships" and "shi ships" run by the Ming government, it was actually a "tributary trade" system.Under this system, once the countries paid tribute, the imperial court would reward them, and if the imperial court did not reward them, they would repay the value of their tribute.

In addition, "overseas countries pay tribute, and they are allowed to trade with China, because of the establishment of a city ship department and the promotion of officials to lead them."The main responsibilities of the Daming Shipping Department after its establishment were to take charge of the registration of import and export ships, pay taxes, buy the goods transported by the ships, and be responsible for sending the precious items drawn or bought to the inner court.

The Shibo Department is somewhat similar to the prototype of the later customs, and it is also a foreign trade management agency.But for more than 200 years, its responsibilities have only corresponded to the tributes of various countries, and have not dealt with private "market ships".By the Wanli period, in the Guangdong area, there were 36 entourages who went out to replace the Shibo Secretary and presided over foreign trade matters. Wherever there was tax money, the promotion officials "take one out of ten" and "sit in peace".

When the Qing captives entered the customs and quickly swept across the mainland of China and captured Guangdong, trade was almost banned, and the city ships were temporarily abolished for several years.After Li Dingguo regained Guangdong, with the infiltration of Qi's commercial forces, Guangzhou quickly resumed its once prosperous foreign trade in a short period of time.

Commodities such as raw silk, silk fabrics, porcelain, pottery, satin, musk, tung oil, bristles, woodware, and medicinal materials were continuously exported from Guangzhou.Correspondingly, glass, clocks, sandalwood, hardware, guns, leather goods, steel bars, honey wine (sugar cane wine), refined ivory products from Qi, as well as pepper and high-grade spices from Nanyang were also imported from Guangzhou.

Countless merchants from the north and the mainland brought goods to Guangzhou, making it the most important commodity distribution market for foreign trade in the Ming Dynasty.Among them, merchants from coastal areas such as Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong are the most numerous. Only "there are no fewer than tens of thousands of merchants from Fujian and Zhejiang who gathered in Guangdong for profit."

At the same time, businessmen from Malays, Siamese, Annans, Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, British, French and other countries from Europe gathered in Guangzhou. Among them, people from Qi State were the most important. The goods in Guangzhou have the largest variety, the largest quantity, and the highest value, and the quality of the goods obtained from Guangzhou is also the best, so that they can obtain the greatest benefits.

What makes businessmen from all over the world even more envious is that the 36th line, which acts as the representative of the local government of Guangdong Province, only imposes a tax rate of 5.00% on the businessmen of the Qi State, while the tax rate of [-]/[-] is levied on the businessmen of other countries, which is much higher than that of the Qi State. Tax rates for businessmen.

Faced with this unfair treatment, it is not without exception that foreign businessmen raised objections and complaints, but they were all rejected by the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, the local chief envoys, and the prefect of Guangzhou without exception.

What is the relationship between Qi State and my Ming Dynasty?What is the relationship between you foreign countries and my Daming?
You must know that Qi State was a country of brothers who turned the tide, helped our Ming Dynasty to recover, and continued to provide various assistance to the imperial court when our Chinese mainland was in danger and collapse.If it weren't for Qi Guo's help at several critical moments of life and death, I, Da Ming, might have been wiped out by the Qing captives.

What's more, in the past 20 years of my Ming Dynasty, several natural disasters have occurred, and the Qi State has provided necessary material assistance at all costs.

More than ten years ago, rare floods broke out in the Yangtze River, Huaihe River and other river basins. Qi State transported hundreds of thousands of shi of rice from Annan, Cambodia, Champa, and Siam, and rescued countless victims.

Five years ago (1668) the Great Earthquake in Tancheng, Shandong Province affected Jianghuai, Jiangnan, Henan, Huguang, dozens of prefectures, more than a hundred counties, and millions of people were affected.The state of Qi not only gave the court 30 Hanzhou silver dollars in free aid, but also shipped a large amount of cheap grain to relieve the victims and restore people's livelihood.

The Luzhou (now Hefei) earthquake that occurred in March this year spread as far as Wuchang in the west and Wuxi in the east.To this end, the State of Qi provided the imperial court with currency and material support of 30 Hanzhou silver dollars, which greatly relieved the pressure on the imperial court.

Of course, Qi State provided a lot of aid and support during various disasters in our Ming Dynasty, and it was suspected of wantonly recruiting refugees.However, this move still won the unanimous favor of the Ming government and the people, because without the food and material support from the Qi State, the imperial court's financial distress and the military pressure from the Qing Dynasty were indeed unable to provide the necessary assistance to the disaster area.

The state of Qi transferred a large number of victims of the disaster to the mainland of Hanzhou, which not only saved their lives, but also correspondingly reduced the financial burden of the disaster-stricken areas and eased the conflicts among the people.At the very least, the imperial court does not have to worry about the civil unrest and refugees inflicted by natural disasters that broke out in the affected areas during the Chongzhen period.

Today, with reference to the import and export management model of the Qi State Customs, the reformed Guangzhou Shipping Department was re-established, taking back the import and export management rights and tax collection rights that were previously assigned by the 36 banks, and unified them under the jurisdiction of the Ming court. , in charge of importing and exporting ships and goods, expropriation, extraction, and trade.

The officials of the Municipal Shipping Department, including Lou Shaoning, Cen Wenbo, Lin Hongjie, and Fan Changhong, were standing with their hands down the steps, listening to Zhen Shiliang, the servant of the household department.

"...Guangzhou is the place where our Ming Dynasty mainly imports and exports Tibetan goods. The goods are no less than tens of millions of taels of silver every year. But if you take one out of ten, you can get a million taels of silver. As far as the imperial treasury is concerned, it is a very crucial benefit. Everyone needs to know that the Tartars in the north are not destroyed, the Wu Fan in the northwest is not peaceful, and there are troubles in Liaodong, so there are many places where silver is used everywhere... So, you must fulfill your duties and do what you can to increase the expenditure of the court. You should live up to the order of the King of Qin and the hope of the court."

"We will definitely do our best to serve the imperial court and die for the King of Qin." Lou Shaoning and other officials from the Municipal Shipping Department bowed their promises.

"Master, as you said, the cargoes produced by the ships in Guangzhou are the most important among all the ports, and the goods imported and exported every year are huge. But..." Cen Wenbo, the deputy chief, hesitated for a moment, stood up and said, "However, the goods imported and exported by the ships are huge. Taking Qi State as the most important, for decades, the tax levied on silver has been calculated at 5.00%, which is far lower than the tax rates of other countries. What’s more, A Niangxie Island, which is occupied by Qi State merchants, is like a land of alienation. It can levy a penny of tax and silver. In this case, I dare to ask the servant, what should our city ship department do to deal with it?"

"This..." Zhen Shiliang stroked his short beard under his chin, with a bitter expression on his face, "It's hard for me to ask Cen Tiju. Qi is a special friend of Ming Dynasty, and the city collects taxes. As far as other countries are concerned. Recently, the special envoy of the State of Qi has gone to Nanjing to meet His Majesty and His Royal Highness the King of Qin. At that time, my Ming Dynasty will naturally negotiate with him about the trade between the two countries. As for the ownership of Aniang Shoes Island, I think it will also be discussed with Changshan in the north. The islands will be settled together."

"Master, there are many types and large scales of the goods sold in the Qi Kingdom, which may account for more than [-]% of the goods in the market." Lin Hongjie, the vice-president, said: "If things go on like this, it will definitely have an impact on all industries in our Ming Dynasty. Potential. The lower officials believe that the imperial court should be vigilant and take necessary measures to delay or block it."

"Oh?" Zhen Shiliang showed surprise, "Is there any evidence for what Lin Tiju said?"

"As far as I know, silk cloth, refined cotton cloth, iron industrial and agricultural utensils, woodware and other guilds in Guangdong have been affected by the goods imported by Qi State, and they are already withered and difficult to compete with. All kinds of high-grade wood such as sandalwood and nanmu , Clocks, watches, glass, jewelry and other extravagant things are flooding the people, causing a large amount of silver to flow out. In addition, the taxes levied by merchants in Qi State are very low, which makes Western merchants from outside the feudal clan scramble to be affiliated with them. Tax evasion. In this way, as far as my Ming Dynasty is concerned, in the long run, the disadvantages will be so serious that I am afraid it cannot be expressed in words!"

"In this case, Lin Tiju will list the provisions and tell this official." Zhen Shiliang looked at Lin Hongjie solemnly, "If the commercial affairs of Qi State are really as bad as you said, I will report to the court and report to the King of Qin, and deal with it properly."

(End of this chapter)