eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 885 Shangtun Shangtun

In February of the 21st year of Zhengde.

A special ship set sail at Ningbo Zhoushan Port. The iconic land and sea flag of the Ming Dynasty Nanyang Company was hoisted on the ship. There were also Ming Navy members wearing white military uniforms on the deck.

Gu Bingtong personally acted as the liaison between businessmen and the government and went to Luzon to handle land purchase matters.

However, the party selling this time was not the Kingdom of Luzon, but the Governor-General's Palace of Luzon in the Ming Dynasty.

The way of disposal of the purchased land is no longer to distribute the land equally among the settlers' families after hundreds of acres. Instead, it will be transferred directly to the purchaser according to the purchased amount and be cultivated in a unified way.

Gu Zuo named the new subsidiary Donghua, which was ordinary and unnoticed by anyone. Its biggest role was to build a bridge between the official and private business groups.

On the one hand, it supports their investment confidence, and on the other hand, it conveys upward the problems that require government intervention, such as the issue of military action.

In fact, Gu Zuo did such a thing only after being ordered by the emperor.

He can also understand the court's intentions, which are interests. And from now on, Ming's demand for overseas territories will be driven by interests, and these unofficial behaviors will become more disorderly and crazy.

But, how to put it.

So he didn't waste a moment and directly visited the Governor's Palace again.

Duke Cheng Guo replied: "This requires asking the Emperor for instructions. Although it will take some time, this is an important decision. If the Emperor doesn't say anything, he can only think about many things."

"It's settled." Zhu Feng pointed out his index finger, "One acre of land, one tael of silver, is just an estimate. Neither the court nor the governor's office refers to this amount of money."

Gu Bingtong remembered seeing him in Hangzhou a few years ago, when he had just been appointed governor and was ordered to go to sea.

Ming found a way to obtain benefits and then practiced it, that's all.

“How many acres of land are needed?”

Fortunately, Gu Bingtong was a fickle person. He did not take advantage of it, but remained polite, "The words of Duke Youcheng made me feel much more at ease. I wonder if the price of the land has been fixed yet?"

This time, Duke Cheng Guo's attitude obviously improved a lot. You didn't need to think about it to know that it was the emperor who had exerted his strength. After the meeting, he became more enthusiastic and said: "As an uncle, I didn't know before that it turned out that my nephew was planning something big.

Although he thought that the land here would definitely be extremely cheap.

Fortunately, I was lucky.

I now fully understand your purpose of coming. In the final analysis, we are all working for the court and the emperor. Land purchase is a piece of cake. "

Gu Bingtong's prediction was not wrong. About half a month later, the Governor's Mansion indeed sent someone to summon him.

Then it will be easier to handle.

"In this case, my dear nephew, please stay here first and wait patiently for a few days. Is this your first time in Shitang Port? I will order someone to show you around."

After waiting for an hour, I finally saw the governor, Zhu Feng, Duke Cheng.

Then he took his father's handwriting and headed to the Governor's Palace.

"One or two?!" Gu Bingtong opened his eyes wide.

Gu Bingtong traveled on the sea for more than a month and arrived at Shitang Port in March.

Although waiting for this period of time made him anxious, he still endured it.

"It depends on how many acres of land the Duke of Cheng has decided on, and how much land there is in Luzon."

"Yes, my father also expected it and sent a memorial to the emperor before departure. If everything goes well, there should be a reply soon."

Because in Shangtun, you have to leave profit margins for merchants, otherwise who would be willing to come all the way here to do this kind of painful business?

But one tael is really too cheap.

In the past ten years, with at least 30 million taels of silver imported into the Ming Dynasty every year, the Ming Dynasty had an over-limit supply of currency and actually caused a certain amount of inflation.

As a result, land prices in Jiangnan have been rising. In the past two years, the price of one acre of high-quality paddy fields has exceeded fifty taels.

Of course, land in Jiangnan is expensive. In some provinces, one acre of land still costs 10 or 15 taels of silver.

But even compared with cheaper areas, the land prices here in Luzon are considered a waste.

"Just one tael." Zhu Feng smiled softly, "Although you are not an official in the court, you have a rich family background and are deeply influenced by it. You should know that the emperor has a long-term vision. What you are doing this time is not about more money or less, but the court. For the little money in the pockets of the merchants, it is to give them more incentive to cultivate wasteland. Compared with this, selling land at a low price is nothing. If the land is sold at a low price, the price of food will be lower."

Of course, merchants would not take the initiative to lower food prices for the sake of excess profits, but the court would not sit idly by either.

What else could Gu Bingtong say?

He just thought of the saying he had always heard before: Either don't do it or never do it.

it's good now,

A new business opportunity is in front of you,

The land on offshore islands seems to be given away for free, which is equivalent to a large part of the cost being removed. Then, will we still worry about insufficient commercial capital investment?

I'm afraid it's the other way around, and they'll be scrambling to buy the land first, right? "By the way, are there any conditions for such a low price?"

"Yes, within ten years, the food produced can only supply the Ming Dynasty."

This shouldn't be a problem.

When Gu Bingtong brought the news back,

The seven businessmen who came with him were all excited. They even started asking "offensive" questions, saying, "Isn't this fake?"

Gu Bingtong explained: "Can the words of Duke Cheng be false? And there is a reason why the court did this. First of all, these lands were obtained for free, and some of them were given to immigrants for free. However, the number of immigrants was limited after all, and the remaining What’s the use? It’s better to sell it cheaply.”

"But it's too cheap."

"No." One of the businessmen said, "Haven't you ever read "The Map of Ten Thousand Kingdoms"? How many excellent arable lands are there in the world? I guess the imperial court doesn't 'cherish' these lands too much. After all, Luzon is just It’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’m afraid there will be more in the future.”

Gu Bingtong didn't think that deeply.

But the truth is true.

"Never mind that, do you want these one to two acres of land or not?"

"Of course I want it, I want 5 acres!"

"I want 7 acres!"

At the same time, the Governor's Palace

The third prince, Zai Yao, was extremely excited about the court's decision. "Father, this should have been done a long time ago. If this policy had been implemented three years ago, the severe drought in the north last year would have been resolved immediately."

"Your Highness," Zhu Feng said slightly worriedly, "there are many benefits to this matter, but there are two problems. Who will cultivate such a large amount of land? We need manpower. Furthermore, King Suleiman must be there. Will complain."

They did have someone on staff a few months ago.

Because they captured more than 4,000 rebels, but these people were used to cultivate wasteland.

There is really no one now.

"In terms of manpower, we can only hire more young people from Luzon. As for Suleiman, I have long disliked him, so I just want to destroy him."

"I am afraid that if you act without permission, you will anger His Majesty."

"I want to ask for an order from my father." Zai Yao touched his chin and said, "If the court wants to use this strategy to speed up the reclamation of wasteland and alleviate the food shortage problem in some areas, then it cannot tie its hands and feet. Thinking about the Tang Dynasty, Wang Xuance only had He was sent as an envoy, but he conquered and destroyed a country on the way and achieved great success. This should be the case now."

In fact, there is such logic in ancient political concepts. In essence, it is all social Darwinism. I am better than you and I will destroy you. This is normal.

Zhu Houzhao has strong control ability, so he will slow down a little, because there are many countries in Nanyang. If troops are sent to destroy Luzon, other countries will panic.

The Ming Dynasty was engaged in trade here. If the peaceful and stable political environment was broken, what business would there be?

But he also understands some of the overbearing ideas of the ancients...

If someone really conquered all of Nanyang, as the emperor, he would really have no choice but to reward him lavishly. This is a great contribution to the expansion of territory. How could he not reward him?

So it is quite normal for Zai Yao to have such thoughts.

Zhu Feng said with high expectations, "If it is His Highness the Third, the Emperor will consider it as appropriate."

"We should have made a decision early. Why bother with him anymore? Suleiman himself is a man of both sides and has many thoughts. Even if we kill him, what can we do? If it doesn't work, we can also promise him a prince of peace. Please He went to live in the capital. This would also save these businessmen from worries and set off a wave of development in Luzon."

Zai Yao had a sense of honor as an 'Emperor Ming'. He couldn't sit still, "No. It's better to do it sooner rather than later. I'll write it now!"

……

……

The capital in early February.

Qianqing Palace.

"I am opposed to selling these lands at high prices. High land prices will inhibit the investment enthusiasm of Ming merchants, lock in these economic activities, and ultimately make Ming Dynasty less motivated to move forward.

Looking around the world, there are too many places with valuable land. There is really no point in holding it in our hands. The businessmen of the Ming Dynasty should be able to easily purchase it. Whether it is grain or cotton, what the Ming Dynasty needs more!

The high price of land can only be a one-time deal. You will get some immediate benefits, but the loss is the future of Ming Dynasty. "

The emperor's words were loud, logical, and far-sighted, echoing back and forth in the palace.

In fact, this is also a symbiotic relationship between the court and businessmen. When these capitals continue to obtain excess returns in this way, they will try every means to encourage the imperial court to continue to expand.

You can even support some literati and create some beautiful sayings to provide a complete set of logic for doing things.

Of course, it all started with the attack on Japan.

After the emperor explained, the courtiers gradually understood and understood the connotation of what the emperor said about taking a long-term view.

Foreign Affairs Officer Yan Song expressed his position and said: "Military means exhausting national power and people's wealth. But your Majesty's method can supply land and labor at an extremely low cost. From this, there will be more territory and more output, so the Ming Dynasty will only become richer and richer."

This is exactly what Zhu Houzhao thinks. As long as he occupies cultivated land and grows food, with the combat power of the Ming army and the population potential of the Ming Dynasty, who else in the world can defeat him?

(End of this chapter)