I'm really not doing business

Chapter 358 The thought of opening the sea makes the world widen instantly
  When Wang Qian was clamoring for the worsted woolen business, Wang Chonggu immediately opposed it because he felt that once the silk coin business affected the common people and aroused public anger, their family would definitely be taken out and beheaded for a quarter of an hour. From that Since that time, Wang Chonggu has been thinking about replacement. There must be a cornucopia. Wang Chonggu is very clear about his position. He is a sycophant who amasses profits.

Therefore, after the old cornucopia was smashed, Wang Chonggu dedicated another cornucopia as quickly as possible to continue gathering, this time a three-masted plywood ship and a five-masted ocean crossing ship.

Five-masted transoceanic ships were also on the list. Zhang Juzheng had discussed it with the emperor before. The Ming merchant ships going to sea at this time were all armed merchant ships. Unarmed merchant ships at sea were just meat in other people's mouths.

The last time the Tax Institute was expanded, the Ming Dynasty had already made concessions on the issue of arming merchant ships and would not restrict them when entering Hong Kong.

The T-shaped five-masted transoceanic ship is the most powerful armed merchant ship.

There are four types of five-masted ocean crossing ships: A, B, C and D. Among them, A is the prototype ship, with one deployed in Luzon, one each in Songjiang, Ningbo, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou. It was later discontinued because there were many flaws in the design. .

Then came the B-type. This kind of sea-going ship was mainly used for foreign trade, that is, a reduced version. The splints, rams, artillery, etc. were all reduced in pursuit of maximizing profits. Antonio and Felipe II Both Shi and Shah Maimaiti purchased ships of this type. One feature of this ship is that it cannot continue to install turrets and increase the amount of gunpowder. Private installations can easily lead to rollover and poor stability.

Type C is the main battleship of the Ming Dynasty, with more than twenty-five ships deployed. It is a battleship without any commercial ship attributes. Looking at the entire ocean world, it is the battleship with the most powerful firepower.

The T-shaped ship is a civilian armed merchant ship used in maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty. It has slightly stronger firepower than the B-shaped ship, but is extremely limited. However, the T-shaped ship is extremely fast. The fast speed is designed to get rid of pirates and increase the efficiency and efficiency of sea trade. speed.

In the new trading house, the transaction ticket divided the T-shaped five-masted ocean crossing ship into one thousand parts, because the price of the five-masted ocean crossing ship was too expensive, even if the T-shaped five-masted ocean crossing ship was reduced and then reduced. The price of a single foreign-masted ship exceeded [-] silver.

"Why not set up a trading house in Songjiang Prefecture? Instead of setting up a trading house in the capital?" Zhu Yijun asked Wang Chonggu. Logically speaking, most ships pass through Songjiang Prefecture. It would be more convenient to set up a trading house in Songjiang Prefecture. The ships are right in front of you, and the goods are The transactions are right in front of you, and the dividends are right in front of you, which can stimulate the trading volume of the trading house.

Wang Chonggu said quite accurately: "Your Majesty, the trading house cannot be located in Songjiang Mansion, it can only be located in the capital. It is indeed inconvenient to locate it in the capital, but this is the inconvenience we want."

"What do you want is inconvenience?" Wan Shihe frowned, then realized it, smiled, and said no more.

The meaning of Wang Chonggu's words could not be more obvious. The people sitting here are all the best in the Ming Dynasty. It is inconvenient for everyone. With such convenience, there will be an information gap. The information gap can facilitate traders. Make money by taking advantage of the information gap, making it easier for traders to cut leeks.

Wang Chonggu has never been a wise minister. He is a serious minister who surrenders to his Majesty and is anxious for His Majesty's needs.

The ship's ticket price will definitely fluctuate. For example, a certain ship was supposed to return to Daming Songjiang Port in March, but in May, the ship still did not return to Songjiang New Port. At this time, the ship's ticket price will plummet. , after dragging it for so long, and still not receiving any news, it is basically certain that it will not come back, but if this ship suddenly returns to the port in June.

At this time, Jingtang will be very late in receiving the news, but His Majesty will receive the news within two days after passing the coastal defense inspection. With this information gap, the Ming Emperor has a lot of room for maneuver. As long as the emperor Be cruel, the little money speculators make from speculation is all working for His Majesty.

This was Wang Chonggu's fundamental purpose in setting up a trading house in Beiya. Major shipping companies even strictly prohibited the emergence of trading houses.

"Awesome!" Zhu Yijun understood the meaning of these words and had to say that Wang Chonggu was indeed a scholar. This scholar's mind was really dirty. Any bad idea could affect a large number of innocent people.

No matter how powerful Qi Jiguang was in killing people, he had been fighting for a lifetime and his first contribution was less than [-]. However, if a civil servant like Wang Chonggu came up with a bad idea, it would affect the livelihood of millions of people, which would be more vicious than killing people directly.

Fortunately, Zhu Yijun was a king who united knowledge and action. He said putting people first means putting people first. He did not just shout slogans, nor did he carry out political activities with banners. He always fulfilled his political commitments. Wang Chonggu, as a dedicated minister, What he did was not so outrageous as heaven and earth, and so indignant among men and gods. On the contrary, what Wang Cifu did after Zhang Siwei's death was of great benefit to the Ming Dynasty.

The kind of king determines the kind of ministers. What the king wants is the attitude shown by the ministers.

"Then are commercial banks allowed to establish their own countries overseas?" Zhu Yijun raised the second topic today. The advantage of Yanxinglou Trading House being established in Jingtang is to facilitate control and control of major commercial banks. So if commercial banks overseas Whether we can build our own country has become a question that must be discussed.

After Zhang Juzheng read the memorial, Wang Chonggu avoided talking about this issue. What does it mean to establish a foreign country overseas? That is, the commercial banks have independent yamen, their own military, their own diplomacy, their own taxes, their own justice, etc. This issue involves a position issue, which Wang Chonggu cannot discuss. It also involves the issue of ownership of overseas colonies. .

In an imperial country, this issue is obviously an issue that cannot be touched. Wang Chonggu's original intention is to avoid talking about it and acquiesce in the established fact.

Avoiding talking about it is also an attitude, which expresses a kind of tacit approval. As long as they do well overseas, Ming Dynasty will acquiesce to the existence of this self-established country.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"This issue should be determined at the beginning of the establishment of the trading house. Whether the imperial court allows the existence of self-established countries. Otherwise, it will be a lot of trouble in the future. Regardless of whether it is recognized in the future, it will be of no benefit to the Ming Dynasty and will not be beneficial to overseas self-established countries. ." Zhu Yijun first clearly stated his attitude that this issue can be discussed and must be discussed.

Since the founding of the Fan Kingdom, the Ming court's recognition of the legitimacy of the Fan Kingdom must involve an ownership issue. These Fan Kingdoms are the Fan Kingdoms of the Ming Dynasty and belong to the Ming Dynasty. Whether they are military, political, and economic affairs of the Ming Dynasty. , cultural restrictions, if it belongs to it, then it is picking peaches, which will inevitably cause widespread dissatisfaction in the local area. If it does not belong to it, why did the Ming Dynasty recognize its legality?

The stance issue must be clearly confirmed so as not to create hidden dangers for future government orders.

Zhu Yijun looked around for a week and said: "Legasi, the special envoy to the West, once discussed with Chen Xuehui, the minister of Honglu Temple, the high moral inferiority of the Ming Dynasty. This is the fundamental reason why Ligasi firmly believes that the Ming Dynasty's overseas colonies will not succeed. The disadvantage of high morals means exploitation without peace of mind, plunder without peace of mind, and occupation with peace of mind. The development of overseas colonies is a bloody and tragic thing. High morality plays a vital role in overseas colonization. It’s a disadvantage.”

"But overseas expansion is also something that the Ming Dynasty urgently needs now."

"The world is trapped in annexation. The contradiction between man and land in the Ming Dynasty is very acute. The large number of people and the limited land will inevitably lead to instability in the country. The people will rise up if they cannot eat. There are too many people in the Ming Dynasty, and they need to be dredged overseas; since the first year of Yongle Since then, it has become increasingly bitter and cold in the north, and winter in the grasslands is coming earlier and more severe year by year. Not only the grasslands, but also grain production in Shandong, North Zhili prefectures, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan are all decreasing;"

"The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and it seems that it is full of treasures, but is this really the case?"

"The Ming Dynasty lacked high-quality iron materials. Currently, there is only one open-air ginseng iron plant in Liaodong. The Ming Dynasty lacked high-quality wood. Thousands of years of slash-and-burn cultivation. The mountains in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty are all bare. There is a lack of wood for shipbuilding. The Ming Dynasty lacks wood. There is a lack of copper, silver, and gold. Copper is only [-] million jins a year. Now it is only produced in Tongxiang Town, Manila, Luzon. Silver is only [-] taels a year, while a Thai-Western galleon is only [-] taels. There are nearly [-] million to [-] million silver a year, and the Japanese country also has an inflow of more than [-] million silver a year."

"The imperial court has no way to resolve these fundamental contradictions. There is only so much land, so much grain is produced, and there is only so much gold, silver, copper and iron. The demand is huge but there is not enough supply. This means that we must resort to Overseas.”

"The Ming Dynasty is like a strong man who is extremely hungry, but is limited by the disadvantage of high morals and hesitates in doing things."

"As for businessmen, they are not constrained by high moral inferiority and can do whatever they want."

It was the first time that Zhu Yijun described his understanding of the issue of sea opening in such detail, concreteness and accuracy. This was a political statement. The existence of the Ming Dynasty court was to adjust the contradictions between various classes. When the court was unable to fulfill its obligations, The moment of destruction has come, and the contradictions listed by Zhu Yijun are all contradictions that the Ming Dynasty cannot resolve within the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

And these contradictions together constitute a major contradiction, and the world is trapped in annexation.

"Your Majesty is a sage." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said. He was not flattering. Your Majesty is a real sage. The logic of opening the sea is very complete, the decree of opening the sea is orderly, and the purpose of opening the sea is very clear. For the courtiers who are doing things, this is A great, great blessing.

The Holy Will is unpredictable, and it is indeed a way of putting the king first, but it brings too much trouble to the people below. Should this thing be done? Can it be done? To what extent can it be done? What kind of results will be achieved are all questions, and we need to guess the meaning and what the above means, which is really boring.

Vague orders will inevitably lead to confusion on the part of the executors and deviations in execution.

But Zhu Yijun is not such a king. He is always able to conduct in-depth analysis of phenomena, find the problems behind the phenomena, explore the causes of the problems, and try to find a way. Even if this method is not too perfect, it can alleviate the contradiction. , is extremely obvious.

The Ming Dynasty had such kings, such as Ming Taizu, Ming Chengzu, Ming Xianzong, and the Emperor Shizong Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty who was frustrated after being assassinated after more than [-] years of hard work.

Zhang Juzheng was a Jinshi during the Jiajing period. He knew the temper and character of Emperor Jiajing. Emperor Jiajing was disappointed and despaired, and finally chose to hide in Xiyuan and focus on burning and repairing.

"Then, since the merchants are required to do things, the imperial court must provide them with some convenience. While providing them with convenience, it can also reasonably increase the military, political, economic, and cultural restrictions on overseas countries, whether it is directly under the overseas territories. , whether they are directly subordinate colonies or loosely regulated colonies, they are all within the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yijun said very seriously: "I thought that we could admit that their overseas foreign countries were living happily outside. When the water rises, I can also grant them titles, or even give them national surnames, to represent the Ming Dynasty and my recognition of them."

Zhu Yijun made a clear statement on this position, allowing merchants to establish foreign countries overseas, allowing them to conduct colonial activities overseas, allowing them to plunder overseas wealth, and giving them corresponding treatment and status.

If you want the horse to run but don't want to let the horse eat grass, this mentality is absolutely unacceptable.

"Your Majesty, overseas lords should be cautious when granting a national surname. If the person is a person with the national surname Zhengmao, it is not a bad idea. However, if he is an ambitious person, the title will be very harmful. You should be cautious and cautious. The title of Martial Lord is Those who are not Han horses should not be awarded lightly." Wan Shihe expressed his attitude from the perspective of etiquette and law. It is okay to give titles and national surnames, but he must be cautious and cautious, and he must not abuse titles. "What Dazai Wan said makes sense." Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said very solemnly.

If a charlatan is a pirate who commits all kinds of crimes, including burning, killing, looting, and even hijacking ships of the Ming Dynasty, similar to the pirate Chen Zuyi who was defeated by Zheng Heping, if a pirate like Chen Zuyi deceived the imperial title, he would be deceived. It was compiled into a collection of Ming Dynasty jokes and was laughed at by people for generations.

Zhu Yijun is not afraid of being scolded, but he will never accept being laughed at.

Caution is inevitable. Yin Zhengmao, Chen Lin, Zhang Yuanxun, Deng Zilong and other overseas lords have all gone through a long period of time to test their actions overseas and finally decided to award them. Even Xu Wei and Xu Wenchang were not able to get a title. , which shows the preciousness of the Ming Dynasty title.

"Is there any difficulty in being knighted based on overseas meritorious service?" Zhu Yijun asked about etiquette.

"There is no difficulty, Your Majesty." Wan Shihe said with a very strange expression: "Your Majesty, in fact, Zheng He and Liu Yongcheng, two virtuous eunuchs, were granted the title of marquis in the eleventh year of Yongle. Unfortunately, during the Xuande period, When the actual records of Taizong were revised, because they were eunuchs, they were not rewarded and were not included in the actual records."

"Ah?" Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment.

Liu Yongcheng, Zhu Yijun really knew such a number one person. He was good at riding and shooting. During the Northern Expedition of Emperor Chengzu, he served as a partial general in the army many times. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, he even served under Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty to put down the rebellion of the Han Dynasty. At that time, he guarded Liangzhou, Gansu and other places, and made numerous military exploits. He also conquered Wuliangha with the left governor Ma Liang and other commanders. He had outstanding military exploits and was as famous as Zheng He. He was one of the few wizards with military talent in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun knew about Zheng He and Liu Yongcheng, but he really didn't know that Emperor Cheng Zuwen even made them a marquis.

They are both eunuchs.

"After overthrowing the eunuch Zhang Yong who claimed to be the emperor Liu Jin, and after pacifying the king of Anhua Zhu Chixiu, he cited the events of Zheng He and Liu Yongcheng and begged Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty to grant him a marquis. The cabinet refused to make it a rule, and Zhang Yong was very frustrated. , even declined the reward for pacifying King Anhua's rebellion." Wan Shihe told an old story.

This incident was recorded in the actual records of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the cabinet's memorials and approvals were still there. The cabinet's doubts were mainly due to non-customization, rather than the fact that Zheng He and Liu Yongcheng were not enfeoffed, and Zhang Yong, who pacified the rebellion of King Anhua, , how can it be compared with Zheng He, who repeatedly sent envoys to the West, traveled to various countries, promulgated the emperor's edicts, and used force to intimidate his rulers if they refused, and Liu Yongcheng, who made numerous military exploits?

However, the fact that the two eunuchs Zheng He and Liu Yongcheng were ennobled did indeed exist.

Wan Shihe searched through the old archives and found only in "Feihuan'an Incense Icon" that Zheng He was awarded the title of marquis. Zheng He's adopted son Zheng Yi inherited the title of marquis, but was later deprived of it and changed to a hereditary title. Thousands of households are blessed with grace and bright clothes.

"Feihuan'an Incense Icon" is an inscription left by Zhou Man, deputy envoy of Zheng He's seventh voyage to the West, at Bifeng Temple in Nanjing.

Isolated evidence does not prove it. It has been too long and there is no good way to verify it. But it doesn’t matter. If anyone objects, then Wan Shihe will take this matter out and say, don’t open the window. Wan Shihe Just lift the roof!

When he wanted to lift the roof, someone would naturally compromise and open a window.

Not only the military heroes did not want to agree to grant the title of marquis to the eunuchs, but also the civil servants who had been fighting with the eunuchs for more than a thousand years also refused to agree.

"In this case, then we have to do it to Taizai Lao Wan." After Zhu Yijun heard about it, he handed the matter over to Wan Shihe. Wan Shihe had obviously been prepared for it, and he didn't dare to say anything else. In terms of etiquette, Wan Shihe really The most important thing is to grab the snail with three fingers and pinch it with a handle.

"One more thing, that is the dividend account, who will calculate it?" Zhu Yijun asked a key question, who will calculate the dividend account? If it is the merchants who calculate it, Zhu Yijun has no doubt that when these ships go to sea, Everyone has to lose money, and sea trade is indeed very profitable, but these merchants, in order to pay less dividends, or even no dividends, will make the accounts even, or even lose money in the ledger.

Who will settle the accounts and issue dividends has become the biggest dilemma for Yanxinglou Trading House.

Wang Chonggu did not discuss this issue in too much depth. It was because he had not thought about it well. It was not that he did not dare to talk about it. If the court came to settle this account, then it would obviously be the court's responsibility. Whether the ship sank, the goods became damp, became moldy, or even The loss was caused by being robbed by pirates and other reasons. Those who hold ship tickets will definitely put the responsibility on the court.

At that time, there will be another chicken feather.

But if the imperial court does not consider this account, this dividend is meaningless, because the specific business firm will definitely make outstanding debts. Dividend? It's good if I don't ask you for money.

"Why not let Songjiang Ocean Trading Company settle this account." Tan Lun thought for a moment and said: "Songjiang Ocean Trading Company is a guild. It is most appropriate for them to settle this account. The imperial court is only responsible for auditing. In this way, Wang Cifu is worried Problems will not arise, and similarly, the court also has the power to supervise."

"This is a good idea!" Zhang Juzheng's eyes lit up when he heard this. He clapped his hands and agreed with Tan Lun's statement.

The court does not want to take too much responsibility, which is inevitable, but necessary auditing and supervision must be done, so a semi-official and semi-private business firm is the most suitable person to take the blame.

The issue of auditing the profits of trading houses was relatively simple in the early years of Wanli, because the profits of all merchant ships were transparent and clear to the Ming Dynasty. All merchant ships were assigned tax items, and for each ship, the profits What it is, where its destination is, and how much profit it makes, the Shipping Company knows everything.

The hard work and taking the blame should be done by the firm, and the auditing and accountability should be done by the court. It is extremely appropriate and appropriate.

After repeated discussions, the various key systems and principles of Yanxinglou Trading House, the division of responsibilities, the review of accounts, etc. were clearly determined during the discussions at Quanchu Guild Hall.

When the moon rose above the willow trees, Emperor Ming finally ended the briefing and held closed-door meetings on important matters. In order to inject a steady stream of money into Kaihai, Emperor Ming had devoted all his efforts.

There are many conflicts in Ming Dynasty that cannot be solved by Ming Dynasty at present. External bailout is the best solution at present. The thought of opening the sea makes the world widen in an instant.

In the early morning three days later, the hall of Yanxinglou Trading House opened its doors again to welcome customers. Everyone was puzzled from the bottom of their hearts. The price of worsted woolen cloth was still seven yuan per square foot, and it had changed from silk coins to a kind of clothing. Fabrics, this Yanxinglou trading house is open, what are you going to trade?
  When people walked into the trading house out of curiosity and saw the notice in front of the door, they knew clearly that the people behind this trading house were really big shots. There were a total of fifty three-masted plywood ships in the first batch. The bidding for five five-masted transoceanic ships has already begun.

While people were still hesitating, a group of merchants with typical Shanxi accents rushed into the trading house and rushed to the counter to buy the five-masted ocean ship. Obviously, these people were Shanxi merchants who had received the news about Wang Chonggu. They waited in front of the door early in the morning and rushed in as soon as the door opened. In order to raise funds for the five-masted ocean crossing ship, this group of Shanxi merchants did not even use brokers and compradors, they went to battle in person!
  The five-masted transoceanic ship is a legendary ship that lives in the newspapers. Even Antonio, the captain of Taixi, and Shah Maimaiti, the special envoy of the Mughal Kingdom, had to pay a premium to buy the ship. You can now subscribe at Yanxing Tower. This is the only opportunity to own such a ship. Even if you don't have the right to use it, you only have the right to become the owner of the ship.

The moment the Shanxi merchants rushed in to claim their chips, everyone knew that these Shanxi merchants, who had received the news in advance, were secretly making a lot of money again! In the original worsted woolen business, this group of Shanxi merchants were the first to enter the business, and then left when the price was at its highest point, making a lot of money. Now they are here to grab money again!
  Damn the Jin Party, damn Wang Chonggu, leaked the news to his cronies again! Shanxi merchants who have become accustomed to the privileged economy have formed path dependence. They can accurately grasp the trend every time, and then make extremely enviable profits.

Zhu Yijun thought that it would take months to digest these fifty three-masted and five five-masted ships. After all, dozens of people had just jumped by the Tonghui River. The rabbit died and the fox was saddened by its own kind. After the worsted woolen cloth collapsed suddenly, for the ship Regarding the tickets, these luxury households will choose to wait and see carefully.

The price of these fifty-five boats was as high as [-] million silver, which was not a small sum. What shocked Zhu Yijun was that these fifty-five boats had been pledged in just one day. End of fundraising.

There was also competition here. Shanxi merchants and wealthy households in Xitucheng even staged a full-scale fight in the trading house to buy the last five-masted ship to cross the ocean!
  Zhu Yijun still underestimated the amount of money hidden in the pigpens of Zheshe households in the Ming Dynasty. Even Beiya, which did not have so much silver, still made Zhu Yijun see what the speed of Zheshe households was.

This rich mine can still be mined and mined.

"Mr. Yuanfu, Wang Cifu and Grand Sima couldn't stand the trouble and asked Guo Chaobin of the Ministry of Industry about the approximate time when the next batch of ships would be subscribed. Guo Shangshu was an honest man, so he was a little confused when he was asked. First, Secondary Assistant and Grand Sima , then Guo Shangshu can't afford to offend anyone. He wrote a memorial to the Taoist priests and asked to resign and serve as an official." Feng Bao placed a memorial in front of the emperor and said with a bit of gloating.

There is no need to say more about Wang Chonggu. It is normal for someone to call himself a treacherous minister and leak some information to Shanxi merchants. However, Zhang Juzheng was bothered by this matter to the point of interfering with the Ministry of Industry. It can be seen that the Zheshe households are making trouble for everyone. This plan is highly recognized.

Buying a ship is much more cost-effective than buying worsted woolen cloth. According to the probability of Ming Dynasty ships returning safely, it is as high as [-]%, so it can be said to be a sure profit without loss.

In particular, the imperial court used six books and one account to audit the accounts of Songjiang Ocean Trading Company. This is even more reassuring. Zhang Siwei is a joke. His shopkeeper and accountant concealed Zhang Siwei's secrets and misappropriated more than [-]% of the profits. Leaving [-]% profit for Zhang Siwei has become a joke in the streets of the capital. Of course, the powerful auditing capabilities of the Gewuyuan are also impressive.

With the imperial court auditing, Songjiang Ocean Trading Company, which was responsible for operating these merchant ships, did not dare to act recklessly.

"Guo Shangshu has done a good job. He is still young and powerful. Why did he become an official? Pass the oral instructions to the Second Assistant and the Great Sima, telling them not to put pressure on the Ministry of Works. The expansion of the Ming Dynasty Shipyard has not stopped for a moment." Zhu Yijun became an official at Guo Chaobin A big X was drawn on his memorial. He was an honest man. He worked hard and worked calmly. The three party leaders put pressure on Guo Chaobin, and Guo Chaobin naturally couldn't withstand it.

"Only to the Second Assistant and the Grand Sima, where are you?" Feng Baogang was about to receive the order and suddenly discovered that His Majesty had only informed the two party leaders.

Zhu Yijun said matter-of-factly: "Sir, of course I personally told him the news."

　When in doubt, resort to the ocean and ask for monthly tickets, ugh! ! ! ! Ooooooooooo! ! !
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)