Be the emperor from the postman

Chapter 1007 Guangdong Investigation Report
When Zheng Zhipeng saw He Jinzhao, he thought about throwing money at him and got used to it.

After all, who doesn't love money?
So their Zheng family used money to open the way in the local government in Fujian, and with a small strength of [-] million points in the sea, even many officials in the government had to look at the face of his Zheng family.

As a result, after listening to He Jinzhao's words, after a little thought, he knew that his family had only been at sea for more than ten years, and in the future, it would only take a few years to dominate the entire Nanyang.

How can it be compared to the 200-year-old Prince Daming who has been crazily piling up in his own treasury?

The key point is that the prince of Ming Dynasty was not the only one who robbed He Jinchao.

Then there is no way to compare.

To say that He Jinzhao is the wealthiest person in Daming today is not bad at all.

The ability of others to spread money and make money is not comparable to him.

Compared with him, the strength of the Zheng family is really insignificant.

Just now I didn't change my mentality, and I still wanted the money to clear the way, which was really a bit embarrassing.

Zheng Zhipeng picked up the teacup and took a sip, swallowing back the next sentence he wanted to say.

Zheng Du, who always thought his family was extremely rich, stared wide-eyed.

I didn't expect to be so rich by robbing the Daming vassal, and robbing a few ships at sea is really nothing.

Hammer bandits are a bit interesting, they are really quicker than pirates to get money back.

Zheng Zhipeng was overwhelmed by He Jinzhao, and didn't even think about it carefully.

He Jinzhao didn't want his maritime trade channels, nor his money, what exactly did he want from him?
He Jinzhao took the teapot and poured some water for Zheng Zhipeng:

"By the way, what weapons did you use to fight at sea?"

"The cannons clashed, the blunderbusses fired at each other, the big ships collided, and finally jumped gangs to fight at close range to capture the opposing ships.

Generally speaking, whichever side's artillery is powerful and accurate, they will be unable to fight back before the battle. "

Zheng Zhipeng didn't even think about it. Today's pirate ships are all bombarded with artillery, and they don't choose to join gangs until the end.

"Oh, did you cast the cannon yourself?"

"Well, most of them are made by myself. If you find that the cannon on the opponent's ship is easy to use, try to grab it and copy it in large quantities."

Zheng Zhipeng felt that there was nothing to hide about this kind of thing, and He Jinzhao's people could find out after a little inquiring in Guangdong.

"Liu Xiang, the pirate leader who fought against my elder brother back then, ordered a large number of artillery and firearms equipment in Foshan, but when he passed the news, he was led by my elder brother to fight him. In the end, Liu Xiang was defeated and committed suicide with a gun."

He Jinzhao nodded. It seems that it is very common for pirates to use flintlock pistols, otherwise they would not be able to commit suicide:

"What was the relationship between Liu Xiang and your elder brother before? Why did they fight each other?"

"Sworn brothers."

Before He Jinchao raised his eyebrows, Zheng Zhipeng took the initiative to explain.

When they were in Taiwan, there were [-] "sea merchants" (pirate merchants) who swore sworn vows.

That is to say, headed by the five brothers of the Zheng family, they joined forces to eliminate the Fujian and Zhejiang naval divisions led by Yu Zigao, the admiral of the Daming Navy, and the Hongyi people (Dutch compradors) Wushang Zhangzhou Gang Xu Xinsu.

Because it is Xu Xinsu's method to use his official identity to wash his whitewashing.

After colluding with the Dutch, he bought Yu Zigao with another 2 taels of gold and became his confidant, prompting Yu Zigao to recruit some pirates.

At the same time, Xu Xinsu contracted all the business of the East India Company and China, and monopolized the trade between China and the Netherlands.

This kind of eating alone naturally made Zheng Zhilong and others dissatisfied, and there was a serious conflict with him because of their interests.

Although the tiger's father had no dogs, Yu Zigao really did not have the skills of his father Yu Dayou, and was defeated in the naval battle.

Under the leadership of Zheng Zhilong, after they won the battle against Xu Suxin and Yu Zigao, disagreements arose within the 18-member group and they fought against each other.

Zheng Zhilong also wants to follow the path of Xu Xinsu, maintain relationships with overseas giants, and manage carefully in the local area. As a middleman, he can earn a huge profit difference.

It can be said that you can make money while lying down.

But not everyone wants to join the Daming government like Zheng Zhilong. The 18 people are divided into several forces and fight each other.

In the end, Liu Xiang and Frangji (Portuguese and Spanish) joined forces to confront Zheng Zhilong.

Shi Daxuan on the side also added some details of the naval battle.

It wasn't until He Jinzhao asked him and his son's name that they realized that this person was Shi Lang's father.

He Jinzhao smiled and pointed at Zheng Du:

"General Shi, why don't you send your son to study with him, so that he can have a companion, so that he won't be alone here without anyone to take care of him."

Shi Daxuan said that his son didn't like reading, so he learned fencing from his teacher.

"What's the use of optical swordsmanship? It can only kill a few people. Does your son Shi Lang want to learn the art of war next?"

He Jinzhao sat on the chair and looked at him and said, "The lecture hall run by me, Hammer Bandit, is for teaching the art of war, and its cultivation is much better than that of ordinary teachers."

"What Marshal He said really makes sense." Zheng Zhilong hurriedly helped Shi Daxuan agree.

After all, Marshal He doesn't want anything, and now he just wants to take one more person as a hostage, so why don't you hurry up and agree, do you really think that he has no temper if he is so pleasant?
Moreover, He Jinzhao also supported the pirates to dominate the ocean, and Zheng Zhipeng was extremely satisfied, which guaranteed the interests of the Zheng family.

Shi Daxuan could only agree, and wait until the next time to send his son to study with Zheng Du.

"Just now you said that Liu Xiang ordered a large number of artillery guns in Foshan?"

"Yes, he is from Cantonese."

Zheng Zhipeng said that the rise of the iron smelting industry in Foshan was not accidental.

Foshan strangles the rush of two rivers in the northwest, traces up the Zhenshui River, reaches Shenjing (specially refers to Beijing), connects Shanxi, Luo, and Jingwu provinces, goes down to Leiqiong, and connects Sichuan, Guangyun, Guizhou.

With Foshan Fort as the center, there are twelve rivers winding around it.

Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Beijiang waterway moved southward to the Fenjiang River, passed through Foshan and then reached Guangzhou, and Foshan was at the center of north-south traffic.

In the case that the southern part of the Ming Dynasty was dominated by waterway transportation, Foshan's geographical location became a favorable condition for iron-coal transportation.

Near Foshan, rich clay and high-quality river sand are good materials for casting models.

In Shiwan, near Foshan, pottery kilns have been developing since Tang Dynasty.

In ancient times, the soil was cast into gold, and the edification stood side by side.

There are many technical connections between the two.

The existence of Shiwan Ceramics has made technical preparations for Foshan Iron Smelting Industry.

In the early Ming Dynasty, private mining of iron ore was allowed, and the production of pig iron in Guangdong increased significantly, which stimulated and promoted the establishment of the iron industry.

Moreover, from the Song Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty, a large number of people who migrated to the South China Sea settled in the South China Sea, which also prepared sufficient labor for the development of Foshan's iron smelting industry.

Under such excellent conditions, the iron smelting industry developed naturally.

"Marshal He, Foshan's iron smelting mainly uses cast iron, such as iron pots, agricultural tools, bells, and military weapons. Since Zhengde 14 years ago, many iron merchants have purchased pig iron and transported it to Foshan, where they were fried and cast into iron ingots and sold. The imperial court also acquiesced to this fait accompli."

Zheng Zhipeng smiled: "From Jiajing to Chongzhen, the number of furnace households, iron merchants, and ironworkers in Foshan increased sharply. If the commander-in-chief controls Foshan, there is no need to worry about weapon manufacturing in the future. Of course, there are also boats needed for river boats. Nails are also extremely important."

"Why is this?"

"The quality of shipbuilding depends on the density of the nails on the ship's plank. In the past few years, the Guangdong government has installed five large ships in Foshan. The cost of iron nails is several times that of wires and locks, not to mention the iron chains, iron anchors, Iron wire or something."

Zheng Zhipeng changed the subject: "So if the general wants to develop in Guangdong, Foshan must be occupied.

Because Japan is not good at iron smelting, a pot of Foshan iron pot can be sold for a high price of one tael of silver, even a small iron needle can be sold for seven cents of silver. "

He Jinzhao nodded. He remembered that Japan was a tiny place with a lot of silver mines.

Because He Jinzhao made it clear to Zheng Zhilong that he wanted to be a supplier first, at this time Zheng Zhipeng also tried his best to persuade He Jinzhao what kind of goods to provide, so that everyone can earn more, which is really a win-win situation.

Anyway, the thinking of pirates is that since they can't beat them, as long as they don't harm their own interests and can earn more, then join them.

Zheng Zhilong's pirate fleet also has many forces joining, which is equivalent to the leader.

He Jinchao nodded and held a tea ceremony: "Is there any iron mine in Foshan?"

"No, most of them are transported to Foshan by rail from Guangzhou, Nanxiong, Shaozhou, Huizhou, Luoding, Lianzhou, Huaiji and other places."

He Jinzhao looked at the subordinate officer at the side and saw him writing vigorously, so he put down the teacup in his hand: "Thank you, General Zheng, for your reminder."

Holding his beard, Zhang Fuzhen was really thinking that if the Hammer Bandit had mastered this line, because of Foshan's fine workmanship, he could not only meet his own quality requirements for military orders, but also obtain various utensils at a low price and obtain more taxes.

At this time, the iron smelting industry in Foshan had not yet reached its golden age, and the surface iron ore in Guangdong Province had not yet been mined, and a large number of foreign nails and iron chains had not yet been imported in large quantities.

During the Qing Dynasty, the polished foreign iron was dwarfed by the earth iron covered with bee eyes. In addition, the foreign iron produced by machines was also extremely cheap. Under the massive dumping, it directly impacted Foshan's iron smelting industry in sevens and eighties.

"What about making salt?" Zhang Fuzhen asked with a smile, "You also need iron?"

Since ancient times, salt and iron have made huge profits, and Guangdong Linhai boiled salt must have made good profits.

The production of salt industry in Ming Dynasty was still in the stage of decocting salt.

All frying and burning utensils must have pots and pans, the large ones are eight or nine feet long, and the small ones are four or five feet long, all made of iron.

Once there are dozens of stones, pour them into the pot, and there are four pots in one stove.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were fourteen large salt fields in Guangdong, nine in Haibei, six in Qiongzhou, and 890 five citations of salt each year (each citation was [-] catties).

The number of pans and woks required is enormous.

Among the varieties offered in Daming Foshan, there is "fried pot wok".

Many of the wealthy iron smelters are also engaged in salt sales, and these two industries have a very close relationship.

Of course, the profit from cooking salt in Guangdong alone is huge, but what happened to the Ming court?

The imperial court can still collect a little salt tax, so thank God.

"I can't hide it from Staff Officer Zhang."

Zheng Zhipeng also followed He Jinzhao's address, and after making a profit in one industry, he naturally has the confidence to mix in another.

The two of them started talking.

He Jinzhao was keenly aware of the fact that there were many handicraft workers in Guangdong.

They are not enthusiastic about subdividing the fields, and most of them want to rely on their own craftsmanship to make a living, or open their own small family workshops.

worker.

All are private companies.

Whether it is a small family workshop, a large family workshop or a large workshop run by a businessman.

As for the official camp, they are all held in the palace.

At this moment, Niu Youcheng said a few words, He Jinzhao stood up, went to receive the envoy sent back by Zhao Xiaowu, and handed over the thick investigation documents Yang Wenyue had sorted out to He Jinzhao.

He Jinzhao asked Zhang Fuzhen to entertain Zheng Zhipeng, and first went to the side room to open the letter Yang Wenyue had written to him.

The way of life of the people in Guangdong is different from that in the Central Plains.

Because of the influence of pirate merchants, most of them love to do business for profit instead of farming fields.

He Jinzhao opened Yang Wenyue's investigation report, and wrote the table of contents at the front.

They are Guangdong economic crops, family farmland, Shatian, iron smelting and craftsmen, iron ore distribution,

He immediately turned to the pages of Iron Smelters and Craftsmen to read Yang Wenyue's field investigation.

After all, there are quite a lot of workers there.

According to the Guangdong model, small family workshops are all organized by father and brother, and the children contribute, usually on a scale of five to ten people.

The workshop owners who are brothers and fathers have to marry wives for their younger brothers, and with their marriages, a family workshop will be divided into several small workshops, so the scale and funds of small family workshops are very limited.

They can rise and continue to operate, most of them are craftsmen who know how to operate independently.

Therefore, most of the investors are craftsmen who have been educated and become teachers, and their source of funds is also the wages of helpers for many years.

The members of these small family workshops are mostly formed by relatives, and the relationship between them is maintained by patriarchal clan.

Parents have absolute authority, and the work of brothers and nephews is carried out completely in accordance with the "guidance" of parents.

Even if the nephew's workshop made money, it had to be provided to the workshop of the parents.

Seeing this, He Jinzhao raised his brows slightly. The clan in Guangdong is really a big problem, and it is not conducive to ruling at all.

Of course, the disadvantages of small family workshops are huge. They have meager funds, are easy to go bankrupt, and become popular and disappear.

In addition, the purchase of raw materials and product sales of small family workshops often go through dental shops.

Dental guilds will cut off the connection between small workshops and the market, and small workshop owners can only be exploited by them.

In addition to the ordinary forced buying and selling, there are also people who "secretly set teeth" and force craftsmen and small workshop owners to hand over money, five taels per person, and extort money.

It can be seen that small workshop owners are often stabbed and cheated by dental firms in their operations, which is completely incomparable with large workshops.

Such people can be bought over.

But how to cut in, He Jinzhao hadn't thought about it yet.

After all, according to the current situation in Guangdong, there are mostly people who dare to break through.

The power of the clan is very strong, which is something that He Jinzhao finds quite difficult.

As He Jinzhao continued to look down, it was a large family workshop, and this kind of operation method was only mastered by local prominent families.

This kind of family buys more land, and then uses servants to run the business and work in the workshop, or turns the neighbors who have no land around them into their servants, relying on them for a living.

Most of the workshops are controlled by the patriarch, and the personal dependence is very strong, so there must be a large number of hermits.

He Jinzhao raised his brows slightly, which meant that a powerful clan was trying to exploit them.

(End of this chapter)