prosperous age

"Tell me, what's going on?"

In the study, Wei Guangde sat behind the desk, looking at Zhang Ji who was standing hunched in front of him.

"Sir, this is what happened.

A few days ago, Lu Changli, the owner of the Lujia Shipyard in Chenghai, Guangdong, came to the capital. With the introduction of the shopkeeper of Tongshunhang, he sent a lot of gifts to the government, so I met him. I learned that his family has a shipyard that builds some passenger ships and cargo ships for merchants from all over the country. "

Zhang Ji told the story carefully, and Wei Guangde just listened quietly without asking any questions.

Zhang Ji was also peeking at Wei Guangde at this moment, and seeing that he had no expression, he continued, "Now that the court has opened the sea, the demand for seagoing ships has increased dramatically, so the Lu family intends to expand the scale of the shipyard and build large seagoing ships.

However, the great craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty shipbuilding industry were all in the government-run shipyards, and it was not easy to hire them, so I went to the capital, hoping to get some help and be allowed to bring in a group of great craftsmen to help the shipyard build large seagoing ships.”

"So, he came to me? And offered to let me invest in the shipyard?"

Wei Guangde asked with a frown.

"Well, that's what he said. I think there's nothing wrong with what he said. In the future, a huge number of ships will be needed to open the sea, so shipbuilding will definitely be profitable.

Chenghai is not far from Dongfan Island, and it is convenient to prepare shipbuilding wood. The only thing is that there is a lack of craftsmen with experience in building seagoing ships, so I told my wife about this.

Master, if it's not suitable, I'll go and tell him tomorrow to reject it."

Wei Guangde never revealed his attitude, which made Zhang Ji, who had been following him, feel very nervous. He didn't know whether he had done the right thing or the wrong thing this time.

So, I quickly found a sentence to make up for it.

Wei Guangde thought about it and said, "Well, you go see him tomorrow and ask him to come over tonight. I have something to ask him."

Wei Guangde certainly wanted to get involved in this industry, but there were some things he didn't quite understand before.

It's not about shipbuilding, but when the Japanese pirates first invaded, they had quite a few seagoing ships.

Although the Ministry of War later learned that some of the pirates' ships came from Japan, Korea, and even Southeast Asia, there were also reportedly many shipyards capable of building ships along the coast of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, nearly half of the ships used by the Japanese pirates came from the Ming Dynasty and not from overseas.

Even the overseas ships were said to have been built under the guidance of Ming Dynasty craftsmen, which made him think of technology leakage.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, this was definitely not a technical exchange, but a pure leak.

Even though the imperial court has not attached importance to shipbuilding for more than a hundred years, the shipbuilding technology cannot be easily leaked to other countries. It is necessary to find out the origins and current situation of these craftsmen and block the technology for building large sea vessels.

The Ming Dynasty banned maritime travel, but these vassal states did not. If they needed ships in the future, they had to either build them themselves or purchase them from the Ming Dynasty at a high price.

Since we are going to get involved in the shipbuilding industry, of course we have to establish the market first.

"Yes, sir, I will inform him tomorrow."

Zhang Ji hurriedly agreed, and only then did he feel completely relieved.

After following Wei Guangde for many years, he also understood Wei Guangde's habits.

If something cannot be done, it will be rejected sternly at the first opportunity.

As for coming over to question you tomorrow, it must be that the master has the same idea in this regard, but there are some things he wants to clarify.

On the second day, Wei Guangde was still on duty in the cabinet, but around noon, Zhang Siwei came to see him again.

There is no way. All the ships that can go out to sea are in the army.

Although the coastal garrisons were equipped with some weapons, the condition of those ships was worrying. No one would attack those ships unless it was absolutely necessary.

The best sea ships are naturally in the South China Sea Fleet. In the past few years, only the South China Sea Fleet built a large number of sea ships to prepare for the Japanese invasion.

It’s just that the navy’s warships are now undergoing large-scale replacement, so those Fujian ships, which have only been launched for ten years, can no longer meet the needs of the navy and have been laid up.

This time, the ship guides of Songjiang Prefecture were really distributed equally, even the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi were allocated four ship guides.

I didn’t understand it before, and I didn’t understand the huge profits of maritime trade.

Now I know that if you don’t do business when it comes to your doorstep, you are not stupid, but foolish.

Although Zhang Siwei looked down on the petty profits from Shanghai Trade and cared more about his reputation as an official, he could not prevent his family from having such needs.

As for the boat guide, he could naturally get it by relying on his reputation as Lord Zhang.

But this most critical sea ship really stumped them.

Zhang Siwei had no say in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War, and his relationship with the nobles was just average. It was too difficult to get ships through them.

"Shandai, I heard that the Nanhai Navy has a number of idle Fuzhou ships, and is planning to sell them in exchange for silver to build new gunboats."

After a few casual chats in the deputy assistant's duty room, Zhang Siwei turned the topic to the ship.

"The South China Sea Navy did build a batch of Fuzhou ships before, but as the navy's needs shifted to gunboats, these Fuzhou ships were no longer of much use to the South China Sea Navy, so they were prepared to be gradually transferred to the East China Sea Navy and the West China Sea Navy.

After the Nurgan Regional Administration is restored, I will also plan to form a North Sea Navy with Nurgan City as the base, and I will need ships for both.

Gunboats are useful, but the most important thing is combat. We still have to rely on Fuzhou ships to transport troops and food."

Wei Guangde smiled.

Although the navy's current focus is on building gunboats, it does not mean that all the ships in the Ming navy will be replaced with gunboats. Nearly half of the ships will still be left as logistical support ships, and the Fujian ships are undoubtedly the focus among them, especially the tribute ships with thousands of materials, which are large-scale sea supply ships that the navy relies on very much.

"Yes, the four sea navies are about to be formed, but I don't know if the South China Sea Navy has any extra Fuzhou ships, especially large ones.

Lord Wei, you also know that my family is a merchant family, which is not as good as Lord Wei's military family.

Shanxi was also allocated a boat guide, and my family also fought for it, but now we are worried because there is no boat available. "

Zhang Siwei smiled awkwardly.

"Ziwei, do you plan to buy the old ship of the South China Sea Navy, or go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to order a new ship?"

Wei Guangde asked.

The Ming Dynasty Shipyard, a large government-run shipyard, was mainly concentrated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In the final analysis, it was not only responsible for ensuring seagoing ships, but also had the task of building ships for inland shipping.

"If it's Jiangsu or Zhejiang that's building a ship, just say hello to the Ministry of Industry and ask them to put your ship in the front."

Wei Guangde smiled.

Shipbuilding is not that simple. Now, it is difficult to find wood for shipbuilding in the private sector. Everyone is scrambling to buy these materials, and the prices are skyrocketing.

Although a lot of wood was collected on Dongfan Island in previous years, it still belonged to the navy.

Without the approval of the Navy, the Ministry of War, and Wei Guangde, who would dare to touch the wood?

court death.

Once a big hat is put on you, you will be skinned alive even if you don't die.

Therefore, the materials for building fishing boats and passenger ships prepared in the small boat factories along the coast and rivers were noticed by the wealthy and powerful families, and they all started to collect them, but no one dared to lay their hands on the materials of the South China Sea Navy.

"It's hard to find ship materials now. I heard that the navy has ships ready to sell, so I wanted to ask if the South China Sea Navy has any extra ships. My Chamber of Commerce also wants to buy two."

Zhang Siwei also felt that the secretive communication was meaningless. They were all foxes, talking about "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio".

Just ask directly. Although he sometimes targeted Wei Guangde during cabinet meetings, there were actually some things he had to say.

He can't just keep quiet and let Zhang Juzheng bring it up.

If subordinates are useless, why keep them around?

“Two.”

Hearing that the other party had directly stated the request, Wei Guangde certainly would not refuse.

There must be a lot of those Fu ships, and they are now sold as new ships. If the navy needs them in the future, they can just build more. With Dongfan Island, there is no shortage of shipbuilding wood.

What's more, there is actually timber in Luzon. It can be said that there was no shortage of timber for shipbuilding in the Ming Dynasty within 200 years.

As for the future, Wei Guangde didn't know whether seagoing ships more than 200 years later had begun to try to build iron ships.

Anyway, in later generations, shipbuilding no longer requires purchasing large quantities of wood, and ships are all built with steel.

Therefore, there is no need to save anything.

As for protecting vegetation, it seems that Dongfan Island and Luzon actually need to be developed rather than protected.

"I won't object here. It's better to send someone directly to the South China Sea Navy to look at the ship first, and then discuss the price after it is decided."

Wei Guangde said.

"Thank you very much, Lord Wei."

Zhang Siwei immediately stood up and bowed.

"Hey, it's just a small favor. What's the matter with you?"

The fact that the nobles went to the south to negotiate the purchase of ships with the navy was of course a secret that could not be kept hidden in the capital, and Wei Guangde did not believe that Zhang Siwei did not know about it.

Of course, where the navy’s ships are and who they are willing to sell them to is another matter.

Wei Guangde nodded, so the boat was definitely bought, it was just a matter of spending more or less money.

Here, both of them are not short of money, so naturally they are too lazy to talk about money.

The people below will naturally deal with it properly.

Zhang Siwei came, but Zhang Juzheng never looked for him for this.

Come to think of it, what Zhang Juzheng's family is doing now is to pass on the tradition of farming and studying. It doesn't mean that the Zhang family really wants to farm the land, that's just the idea.

Although they had some land to collect rent, they focused their main energy on the imperial examinations, wanting to enter officialdom and become part of an official family. They did not participate in commercial trade at all and did not try to become a big businessman or a wealthy person.

After the court session ended in the evening, Wei Guangde returned home. After dinner, he stayed in the backyard for a while and then went to the study to read.

Not long after entering, Zhang Ji came in and reported in a low voice that Lu Changli from Chenghai had arrived.

"Let him in."

Wei Guangde put down the Taoist scripture in his hand and gave instructions.

Soon, Lu Changli was led into the study by Zhang Ji.

As soon as he entered the room, Lu Changli knelt down and saluted him.

"Get up, no need to be so polite."

Wei Guangde said with a smile.

After the people got up, Wei Guangde walked around the desk and led them to sit next to the coffee table. He then casually asked a few questions about the Lu family's situation and the scenes he saw on the way north.

Naturally, Lu Changli was just praising the current prosperous scene in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, and only said that Wei Guangde and other cabinet ministers governed well.

Wei Guangde knows something about what is going on.

In fact, the current Ming Dynasty may exceed most people's imagination.

There are people who live in hardship, but it is not absolute. They are only a minority and we cannot generalize.

What kind of life did the people of the Ming Dynasty actually live?
Naturally, it was a prosperous time, especially for the people in the south of the Yangtze River. This is why, after the Japanese pirates plundered the south of the Yangtze River, they were still unwilling to move north or to other places even when they were besieged by the imperial army.

In fact, the people of the Ming Dynasty at that time were rich, and their wealth came from their strong productivity.

Although the emperor, eunuchs and ministers were fighting with each other and constantly showing their inferiority, the Ming Dynasty's production technology was still constantly improving.

From farming and producing crops to spinning and weaving, all industries were developing, although they were also affected by the Japanese invasion and experienced a period of regression.

However, after more than ten years of recovery, most parts of Jiangnan, especially the coastal areas that were once invaded by the Japanese pirates, have recovered.

But speaking of grain prices, one stone of rice in the south costs more than half a tael of silver, which is about ten cents of silver. It is more expensive in the north, but only twelve or thirteen cents of silver, less than one tael.

why?

Because of the large agricultural output, at this time, the best farmland in the south of the Yangtze River can produce up to three stone of rice per acre if the weather is good.

In addition, the prices of pork and other commodities were also very cheap, which was the main reason why the people could still afford it even though the salt merchants manipulated the price of salt.

When Western missionaries came to China, they were amazed by the scenes of the Ming Dynasty.

Because at that time in the West, people were still worried about having enough to eat three meals a day.

However, these problems did not exist for most people in the Ming Dynasty.

Even if they paid "heavy" land rents and taxes, the people could still live a good life.

Before the Jiajing Dynasty, even the "poor" people could wear silk clothes and go out for a stroll in their spare time.

The Japanese invasion had a great impact on the economy of Jiangnan. These sceneries no longer exist. After all, the imperial court levied heavy taxes in Jiangnan to suppress the Japanese invasion in those years, which really made the people poor.

And now, Jiangnan is recovering as before.

The situation in the north is slightly worse, mainly because there have been too many natural disasters in recent years, and the economy of the south is more developed than that of the north.

In front of Wei Guangde, Lu Changli recounted in detail what he had seen on his journey north.

"The north-south divide will not be eased anytime soon, especially since the north was hit by floods a few years ago and there are signs of drought in recent years."

After listening to this, Wei Guangde could only shake his head and sigh.

"The imperial court dispersed the boat guides to various provinces, probably hoping that the northern provinces would also focus on handmade ginger factories to increase people's income like the southern provinces."

Lu Changli asked tentatively.

"That's true. There are differences not only between the north and south, but also between the east and the west. The people in the eastern provinces have a pretty good life, but in the western provinces it's much worse.

The imperial court naturally hopes that people everywhere can live a prosperous life, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment."

Wei Guangde nodded.

"Lord Wei cares about the sufferings of the common people. This is a great blessing for the common people. I will lead the people of the world to kowtow to you and thank you."

Unexpectedly, when it came to this, Lu Changli started to act, and he stood up and kowtowed to Wei Guangde again.

"Okay, okay, get up and talk."

Wei Guangde frowned, then a smile appeared on his face and he told him to get up.

"Let's talk about shipbuilding. I asked you to come here because I have something to ask you."

After the pleasantries, Wei Guangde got down to business.

"I heard that Japanese pirates could build their own ships in the early years. Why can't Mr. Lu build one?"

"Master Wei, those Japanese pirates are actually mostly slaves of maritime merchants. They rely on their master's connections and spend money to hire master craftsmen from the shipyard to help build ships.

I don't have the capital, so I can only build some small boats for inland shipping. It doesn't matter if I talk to the shipyard and ask for craftsmen to help build sea vessels."

Lu Changli directly revealed what happened at the beginning, and it was exactly as Wei Guangde had guessed. The sea merchants collected wood and then asked craftsmen from government-run shipyards such as Longjiang to help build ships.

Then, the blame was all put on the "Japanese pirates". (End of this chapter)