Domineering Daming

Further south of Yingtian Mansion is Raozhou Mansion, which reaches the boundary of Jiangxi, and Jingdezhen is not far from Yingtian Mansion, passing through Raozhou Mansion, and to the south is Nanchang Mansion.

It is not the first time for Zhu Xu to come to Ying Tian Mansion. The last time he came here caused a lot of disturbances. This time, he just made a private visit in a low-clothes suit, and made an open and undisclosed visit calmly.

This is an ordinary tea house, no one talks about books, and no one comes and goes, there are only one or two tables of people, and they don't move for a long time.

Zhu Xu, Cao Huachun, and Cao Bianjiao sat down quietly, ordered a pot of tea, and sat there, watching the people coming and going on the side of the road.

Cao Huachun looked at the crowds outside, and said with a smile: "Master, although this Yingtian Mansion is not as good as Suzhou, it is not as lively. I heard that the Qinhuai River is brightly lit at night and dances and dances like a dragon. Why don't you go and see it?"

Cao Bianjiao had no expression on his face, calmly watching his surroundings.

Zhu Xu took a sip of the tea, feeling bitter and ordinary, shook his head, and said, "It's not interesting, I'll go to the grain market later..."

Before Zhu Xu finished speaking, a man in his early thirties on the next table turned his head, looked at Zhu Xu and the three of them, fixed on Zhu Xu, and said, "Brother, you also come from the north and want to do food business?"

Zhu Xu turned his head to look at a few people, his heart moved, and he smiled and said: "Yes, I heard that the price of rice in Southern Zhili has increased a lot recently, and the price of rice and noodles in the north is cheap, and the shipping is cost-effective. a sum."

The man shook his head immediately, and said: "Brother Tai's idea is correct, but you are still late, but the price of rice noodles has not only not fallen, but is still rising, do you know why?"

Zhu Xuzheng was curious about this, raised his hand and said, "Please give me your advice, brother."

The man seemed to hesitate for a while, and said: "It's all public, and I'm not afraid to tell you about it. The big households in the whole Nanzhili are now holding their grain and refuse to pay. If it wasn't for the governor's government to intervene and adjust the grain price to parity, I'm afraid it will go up." It's even crazier, but it's only temporary, if these big households still suppress it, after the autumn harvest, the price of grain will increase even more, and no one can suppress it..."

The price of grain in Daming has been basically stable in recent years, about one tael and one stone, but in Nanzhili, it has risen to two taels now, and it is even rising. If it reaches three taels, then the people's grievances will probably boil over.

Zhu Xu was quite surprised by this, and said: "Why do big households suppress? They still want to speculate and make huge profits? I remember that there is a price bureau in the governor's yamen, and they don't care about it?"

The man laughed when he heard Zhu Xu's words, and said, "Brother, it seems that he has been in the north for a long time, and he doesn't know the south. Whether this matter is big or small, in the final analysis, it was brought out by the 'New Deal' Yes. The imperial court wants to check the fields and households of the big households, and also collect taxes. How can these big households agree? They just don’t want to make huge profits. What can the Price Bureau do? This is what these big households gave to the new Governor Chen's downfall..."

Zhu Xu's eyes flashed, and he was thoughtful.

Chen Qiyu has not reported this matter yet, and it was obviously a sudden and slow incident, indeed a bell confrontation triggered by the "New Deal".

Zhu Xu raised his hand and said: "Thank you, brother. Then, I don't care about the governor's office. I have met this Mr. Chen. He is quite capable. Can he bear it?"

The man simply turned around and said face to face: "If you can't bear it, what can you do? Nanzhili is complicated, the water is very deep, and the food is in other people's warehouses. You can't force it to sell at a low price, right? There is no such reason, let alone, The imperial court is so ruthless, why can’t it make people play with their temper? Yamen also has its own difficulties, so it can’t be too ugly to make people feel dissatisfied, right?”

Zhu Xu was taken aback. This brother's statement is really... irrefutable.

After thinking about it, Zhu Xu said, "Then, what kind of business is easy to do?"

The man laughed immediately, and said: "It seems that Xiongtai has indeed been in the north all along. You know, in the south, the most profitable thing is going to sea. As long as there is no strong wind, you can earn back as much money as you want..."

Zhu Xu showed curiosity, and said, "Is it really so profitable to go to sea?"

The man seemed to be interested, and even wanted to stand up. Finally, he held his teacup and said, "The north is not used to going out to sea. It's not my fault. To tell you the truth, I have gone to sea twice, and those barbarians overseas have almost nothing to do with food, clothing, housing and transportation." I can’t see it, I’m Ming can sell sky-high prices for just about anything! For example, last time I brought a boatload of canned food to a small country next to Ceylon. Originally, my Daming was at most [-] yuan a can. Over there How much do you know? Five taels of silver are still being scrambled for, and the supply exceeds demand... I inquired about it, and Yan'an is a small country. Going in, there is a Timur Khanate, which is said to be established by the Mongols. It has a large population and a huge area. If you can make a wave there, it will definitely be a hundred times the profit. That’s not counting. I heard that Raozhou Prefecture is preparing a porcelain chamber of commerce to specialize in exporting porcelain. This porcelain does not cost much. Just how much silver do you sell each for? Ten taels! The ones from a good kiln cost more than a hundred taels, and there is a profit here, brother, think about it..."

Zhu Xu also knows that sea trade makes money, but most of them are small and large chambers of commerce under the control of Bumbutai, but he didn't expect that there are already so many "adventurers" among the people who go to sea.

Zhu Xu squinted his eyes, then turned to look at Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun understood, leaned closer and whispered: "My lord, this sea trade is extremely risky. I heard that hundreds of ships disappeared last year, and many people died..."

Cao Huachun's voice was not too loud, and the man heard it clearly, and said decisively: "Brother, I didn't say that if you want to make a lot of money, how can you not take risks? There are so many ways to make money in the Ming Dynasty? Who wants to take that risk?" But going to sea is different, it’s a lot of money! My brother is not a small family, so if you pay 3 taels, within a year, I will pay you back [-]!"

Zhu Xu remained expressionless, and said with a smile, "Is it really so profitable? Can it double in one year?"

The man chuckled and said: "Of course I can earn money, but the risk has to be shared. You pay the money, and I work hard. If it is broken at sea, you can't blame me?"

Zhu Xu understood, smiled even more, and said: "Although I haven't been to sea, I have traveled a lot. Brother, this trick is not very clever."

The man turned around, sat back, and said: "If you believe me, brother, bring me some money tonight. If you don't believe me, make a friend. No one will lose."

Zhu Xu nodded secretly. This person is straightforward and capable of doing things. He looked at Cao Huachun and said, "After you go back, give this brother a silver note of 10 taels."

The three people at the table were originally relaxed, but their expressions changed as soon as Zhu Xu finished speaking.

The three got up and walked over. The man who spoke just now raised his hand solemnly and said, "I'm sorry for Meng Lang just now. I don't know your brother's surname, where is your residence?"

At this time, Cao Huachun took out ten redemption bills from his pocket, each worth 1 taels. This was the deposit certificate of a big merchant in the Royal Bank.

He spread it out on the table, and said: "One month ago, the Beijing ticket number, the first batch issued in the second half of the year, there is one not far away, you can take it for verification."

The man took a look, he had seen it before, and he could tell at a glance that it was not a fake. His expression was shocked, and he was speechless for a while.

There are only a handful of people in Daming who can casually hand out 10 taels to strangers, not to mention courage, but in terms of financial resources alone, right?

The three of them looked at each other, and it was the same man who raised his hand and said solemnly, "I'm going to Menglang. If you really want to make a big deal, I can introduce someone to you. This person is Mr. Fu's early life." He came from a training class, and now he runs a large fleet, which is related to all aspects of the Shenlong Mansion, and can ensure to the greatest extent that the son's money will not be thrown into the sea casually."

Only then did Zhu Xu nod his head, and said: "You told the truth, and I believe you too. How about this, I'll give you 8 taels to test the waters. If you can earn me back [-] taels within a year, I'll introduce you to Su University." girl."

The man was startled when he heard this, and then said with a startled expression: "Young Master is talking about Miss Su, but the Miss Su next to Mrs. Chen?"

Zhu Xu stood up with a smile, and said: "That's right, my wife and Miss Su are old friends, and I have met her a few times, I believe she can still give my wife some face."

In just a few words, the man was shocked one after another. He couldn't believe it, raised his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Based on the words of the young master, the villain will earn the money back for the young master even if he dies!"

Zhu Xu smiled, fanned his fan, and left the tea shed. Cao Huachun would naturally ask him to handle the rest of the matter.

The three looked at Zhu Xu's back and looked at each other.

"Such a person must come from an unusual background, right? Could it be a noble son from the capital?"

"I'm afraid it may not be the case, this person is very expensive, maybe he is the son of a prince..."

"No matter what, we still can't waste this opportunity. Even if it's a real discount, we have to scrape together enough money for him. If we take his route, we can earn back as much money as possible..."

The three secretly gasped, watching Zhu Xu's back disappear.

After walking for a while, Zhu Xu said, "What do you think?"

Cao Huachun was a little uncertain about Zhu Xu's intentions, paused for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty, it is beneficial for you at the moment, but in the long run, you need to watch as you go."

Zhu Xu nodded noncommittally, the fan in his hand slowed down a bit.

It is really difficult for Daming to say whether the rise of the commodity economy is good or bad.Not only is the rise of commerce and trade that the Ming government and the public are concerned about threatening agriculture, but there are also longer-term ones.

Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and France were also prosperous for a while, and their commerce and trade developed, but they all fell in the end. The reason is that they rely too much on trade and there is no industrial support in the country.On the contrary, the United Kingdom caught up with the good times. The first industrial revolution, sea trade boosted development, and the development of the industrial revolution boosted sea trade. This allowed Britain to dominate the world for a century.

The Ming Dynasty also had no industrial foundation, and there was no sign of an industrial revolution. If the country with developed commerce and trade had indigestion, would it flourish and decline?

Zhu Xu thought about it, and slowed down his pace.

After a while, Zhu Xu said, "Is there any special breakthrough in the research of the Royal Political Council?"

Cao Huachun followed Zhu Xu, thought for a while, and said, "Nothing special."

Zhu Xu said "hmm" and continued to walk forward.The development of industry is fundamentally derived from the needs of social development. It is useless to invent and create things that are not needed or used by society.