New Shun 1730

"In the past, King Zhao of Yan, in search of talents, traded his wealth for his bones."

"This dynasty used force to open Japan's door, but still allowed Japanese trade to be run by merchants instead of the government. It is also a kind of money-making business. For today."

"If there were smart people, as early as when this dynasty began to cultivate sailors for long-distance voyages, they would have thought that one day they would expand Western trade. It was possible to think that they would invest in many industries such as shipbuilding and silk reeling, but there was none."

"With the opening of Western trade, the imperial court is really not worried about you. I just feel that it's just you who don't understand the meaning of capital? You are just living in the nest, saving money, buying land and hoarding it."

According to what Liu Yu said, it seems that the imperial court was strategizing, and it was as if it had prepared for a rainy day and started preparing for Western trade more than ten years ago.

This is of course nonsense. The imperial court is not that smart at all. It’s not that the officials are stupid, it’s that they don’t understand the new era at all. The best dinosaurs, the dinosaurs that evolved to perfection, would definitely die the fastest in the new era brought about by the big explosion.

As for the last sentence, it is ironic that businessmen don’t understand what imperialism and capitalism are at all. Businessmen don’t understand much either, but they probably understand what Liu Yu said that the meaning of capital is the essence of doing business? After all, they understand both capital and righteousness, which is also the wonderful thing about Chinese.

What the businessman heard in his ears was not only the rich man's bones, but also the warning implicit in the last sentence.

Of course the merchants understood that the court did not like merchants buying and hoarding land with the profits earned from overseas trade.

Although Liu Yu basically didn't say anything about this matter, the businessmen present also understood that Liu Yu didn't say anything because of support.

It's because Liu Yu knows so much about profit-seeking that he thinks it's useless to talk about it, so he doesn't say it at all.

Now Liu Yu's words are purely like giving some warning to these businessmen from the perspective of the court.

The businessmen thought that since ancient times, selling and buying land has been a matter of course and no one can control it.

Besides, if I don’t buy the land, those poor people who are eager to sell their land to pay off their debts may starve to death. Who’s to blame?

The imperial court did not care about the land rent, and even after decades of shouting about land and fields, nothing was done. If this is the case, if I don’t buy the land, won’t others?

When the time comes, those who are obedient will suffer losses and those who are disobedient will get rich. Isn’t this bullying of honest people?

Even if you can manage Songjiang Mansion, can you control other places?

But I just muttered these words in my heart, and I didn't dare to say them out at this time.

Several businessmen who had been interviewed by Liu Yu before thought to themselves: No wonder the Duke wants to talk to us about reclamation in Nanyang first. Does he want to send all our money to Nanyang? Is he afraid that we will keep all the money in China to buy land? Does he think that all capital should be transferred to Tohoku, Ezo, and Nanyang to avoid staying in the country and aggravating land annexation?

These few people who thought they had figured it out quickly echoed: "The Duke is right. It really puts us to shame, and it also makes us understand the court's good intentions."

"The success of this trade is all due to His Majesty's great fortune and foresight; the Duke of the country has foresight and foresight; the military master has used his life and fought bravely to seize it. We are just eating what is ready."

"Since the Duke comes to supervise us, we can't ask for it. Who would think it's inappropriate? Without the supervision of the Duke, we are so clueless that we really don't know what to do."

"Furthermore, we have been taught by the Duke of the Kingdom over the years, and we also understand the deep meaning of monopoly. Naturally, we have to donate a lot of money to support the imperial court in raising troops. Otherwise, we cannot monopolize the benefits of Nanyang."

When the others heard this, they thought they had captured the essence, and echoed: "Exactly, exactly. This Japanese trading company has military obligations. Naturally, we also have military obligations."

Liu Yu waved his hand and said seriously: "You are wrong in saying this."

"Businessmen talk about profit, but they only ask for high prices and pay back on the spot."

"As far as you are concerned, what you like most is, of course, that you don't have to spend a penny to raise troops, and there are no other countries in Southeast Asia to grab spices, and no other countries in Southeast Asia come to collect spices and raise prices."

"This is all normal."

"People without dreams are different from salted fish. If I were a landowner, I would also dream that the court would not charge a cent of tax, and the county magistrate would never go to small farmers because of the court's anti-annexation policy; if I were a businessman, I would also dream I dreamed that the imperial court would not collect any commercial taxes, and it would not prevent people from hoarding goods, speculating on food prices, etc. "

“Of course it’s good to have dreams.”

"But dreams are dreams, and reality is reality. The reality is that this is impossible, so a balancing act is needed - if you accept it, the court will also accept it; if you benefit, the court will also benefit."

"Why do you say you have benefited? Let me put it this way, the imperial court dismantled the fort in Malacca and withdrew the patrol fleet in Gaolangbu. Tomorrow the British East India Company can go to Sulawesi to collect cloves and nutmeg. By then , can you still make money?”

"If trading companies with Japan have to bear non-essential military obligations, yours is not a military obligation at all, but a pure commercial investment, which is a normal cost."

"If the name is not correct, the words will not be justified. The matter must be made clear, otherwise you will still feel wronged and feel that the court has taken advantage of it."

Liu Yu firmly disagreed with merchants who felt that paying to raise soldiers was an imposed feudal obligation, similar to performing labor service.

This is a matter of principle and he must make it clear.

He was neither on the side of the court nor on the side of the businessmen, but on the side of a fairly fair perspective, explaining that the companies paying to raise soldiers were for themselves.

He said that the Japan Trade Company had assumed too many military obligations that were not within its obligations, and this was not an empty statement.

The basis of the Japan Trade Company's monopoly was not the monopoly granted by the court, but the policy of isolation under the five ports of trade that the Japanese shogunate continued to maintain - the shogunate had become a comprador, and the five ports of trade, like Nagasaki, were all managed by the shogunate.

Now the shogunate's isolation has nothing to do with Catholicism. It is purely to monopolize customs taxes and domestic sales of Chinese goods, and to ensure sufficient economy to suppress the other feudal domains.

The relationship between the shogunate and Dashun is now quite good.

The shogunate is counting on Dashun to suppress the feudal domains and not dare to have dissent; Dashun is counting on the shogunate to control the comprador business and supervise the other feudal domains to prevent smuggling.

Now if any feudal domains rebel, Dashun will absolutely fulfill its obligations as a suzerain state and suppress them with all its might and in circles.

If there is no isolation policy on the shogunate's side, the monopoly of the Japan Trade Company would be a joke. Smugglers can line up from Vladivostok all the way to Guangzhou.

But the Western Trading Company is quite different.

The smuggling problem they face is much more serious. Not to mention the area west of the Cape of Good Hope, just talking about Nanyang, if there is no court patrol, all kinds of smuggling can't make them a penny; all kinds of pirates can rob them and pay protection fees every year.

The Dutch killed the British in Ambon Island; and because the Nanyang people sold cloves and nutmeg to the British privately, they slaughtered more than 50,000 people, all for these two words.

Monopoly.

The Japanese trading company was forced to use soft sailing ships, forced to train sailors, forced to use large cargo ships that can sail to Europe, etc. For the company, these are all unnecessary and compulsory obligations similar to feudal corvée.

Or, it is a special contract: either accept it or leave, someone will accept it.

If they don't do this, can't they sell goods? No, not only can they still sell goods, but they can also use the previous Fuchuan and the like in the early stage, take the Ryukyu route, and do not need to build new ships, thereby reducing many costs, and it will not affect their profits at all.

And the Western Trade Company has to pay for the maintenance of troops, which is purely a necessary business investment. If they don't do this, it will greatly affect their profits.

The non-essential obligations undertaken by the Japanese Trade Company are the basis for the easy establishment of a European trade fleet. Taking advantage of today, Liu Yu feels it is necessary to explain the truth to them.

The merchants of Dashun are not stupid, but they are really spoiled by the wisdom and diligence of the working people accumulated by the Celestial Empire for two thousand years.

It seems that they can toss around, but in fact, they are still sitting and collecting money, and they lack sufficient competition.

If they are really let go, as long as they go abroad, they will be beaten to shit.

Just like the French merchants who are ridiculed by Liu Yu all day, what they have to consider is how their own woolen cloth can compete with British woolen cloth? How can their own wine compete with Portuguese wine?

The only thing that the merchants of the previous dynasty had to consider was: Should I ship tea, silk and porcelain to Batavia or Manila?

As long as they were shipped there, someone would buy them. There was no commercial competition.

Since the previous dynasty, the biggest choice faced by the merchants was "Should I send this batch of goods to Manila? Or to Batavia? The profit margin in Manila is 120%, but there are pirates recruited by the Dutch on the way; it is safer to send it to Batavia, but the profit margin is 60%. Oh, it's so difficult to decide."

So, in this era of crazy sailing and commercialism in various countries, can it be called a commercial problem?

It should be said that the Dutch merchants were thinking about how to break the British navigation regulations, which was a problem; and many of the problems that the merchants here were worried about were simply whining in the greenhouse in this cold era.

Many things are honed. If they are kept in the greenhouse all the time, they are fundamentally lacking in ability.

This is the reason Liu Yu gave to the merchants for the need for supervision.

He tried not to use his official status to pressure people, but hoped to make the truth clear. Whether they listened or not is one thing, and whether they explained it clearly is another.

He is not a fool, and he would not foolishly think that shouting a few slogans can make these people give up their nature and distort the nature of capital seeking profit.

Reasoning and using means are mutually complementary.

After a round of "heretical theories", many businessmen really thought carefully about what Liu Yu said.

Whether these words are said or not, they can't escape the fate of paying money to support the army.

But if they don't say it, they think that the court is cheating them.

If they say it, some people will think that paying money is for their own interests.

However, even after saying so much, even many businessmen present think that what Liu Yu said is actually reasonable.

But in fact, what really convinced them was the annual interest rate of at least 12% promised by Liu Yu's reputation over the years.

Some businessmen were quick-witted, thinking that the Duke of Xingguo had already promised an annual interest rate of more than 12%. In fact, we don't really care how much money we need to pay to support the army, anyway, shareholders will share the profits according to their shares.

It is said that there is no need to talk about these reasons.

But since it is said, this is really a good thing.

Does this mean that what the Duke of Xingguo said, that the court will not supervise so comprehensively after a few years of supervision, is actually true?

It seems that the Duke really wants to train us to be the successors of the righteousness of capital.

I hope that after he leaves in the future, we can do it beautifully.