eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 453 The crime lies in the present age, and the merit lies in the future

The 80 mu of land has been redeemed, 420% of the dry shares, and [-] million taels of silver on paper have also been paid. Of course, it is to pay next year's interest.

If something happened overseas at this time, Zhu Houzhao decided to build a big ship and build a navy to clean up the small countries in Nanyang and the Portuguese who came from afar. I don’t know how the court will react?
In fact, Zhu Houzhao was somewhat curious. In the history of the Central Plains Dynasty, this scene should have never happened.

Would the civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty still think that it was militarism?

It's hard to say.

Anyway, things have been done this way now. After all, the average land price is less than five taels, which is a bit of a pitfall, but Mei Kejia has no choice. The fewer 'commodities' you have in hand, you have to lower the price, even so, there are still people who are willing.

Especially once someone is caught by either side, the business of that day will be much better.

In April of the second year of Zhengde, according to the emperor's order, Daming Nanyang Company set up its headquarters in the capital. The sign on the wall of Zheng'er Bajing has three more characters in the name, which is: joint-stock system.

The writing is very clear at a glance, this is a new type of company based on the system of multiple people owning shares.

The location is close to Zhengyangmen, in Zhengyangmen, and the city that never sleeps is separated from Zhengyangmen.

After that, Mei Kejia seemed to have some supernatural powers, and kept posting some systems at the door.

First, all persons with shares in a joint-stock company are called company shareholders, and those who account for more than [-]% of the shares can submit suggestions to the company's board of directors, and the board of directors must give a written reply.Board members are appointed by the Emperor.

Second, as the prime minister of this joint-stock company, Mei Kejia is responsible for all daily affairs and reports to the board of directors every year.

Just like officials from all over the country reported their work to the emperor, Mei Kejia now also has to report his work.

The debriefing must clearly explain the achievements and problems in the past year, hidden worries and countermeasures in the future.

Third, within three years, the shares among shareholders are not allowed to be sold or traded with each other, and are allowed to give up.

In this way, in fact, Zhu Houzhao did an important thing unknowingly, that is, he successfully introduced joint-stock enterprises into the Ming Dynasty in this era. While solving old problems, he also opened up a new direction.

Afterwards, smart businessmen will inevitably imitate this model to establish private companies.At that time, the government can follow up and formulate some corresponding laws, mainly to encourage and regulate.

Under this situation, when the emperor set up an agenda to discuss how to further expand maritime trade, hey, the whole court became concerned.

For example, there are only three Shibo Departments, is it necessary to add more?

In addition to silk and porcelain, do Western countries want anything else?Daming is rich in products, what good things are there?

As far as silk is concerned, can mulberry fields be used more, and raw silk produced more?

To extend it further, to borrow the example of the original merchants in the frontiers, can we go to Nanyang to find a piece of land, set up mulberry fields, raise silkworms and reel silk, and then sell them directly without shipping costs?
So the question is, how did the land come about?To rent or buy or...?
"...Can the loom be improved?"

Zhu Houzhao stood above the main hall and asked this question loudly.

"Improvement of the loom?"

"How to improve?"

……

The voices of whispering discussions below have been incessant.

"I'm just pointing out a direction. For example, the original loom weaves [-] bolts of silk a day. After the improvement, can it weave [-] bolts? I don't know the exact number, but I'm just saying that. Besides silk, other things can also be used." So on and so forth."

"Also, can merchant ships be made bigger? Or is there a shipbuilder who can improve the sails to make them travel faster? This is also a way to reduce the cost of transportation."

After all, the cost of floating at sea for one month and two months is completely different.

The emperor's formulation is very instructive,
Yes, there are many ways to do business.

For example, can silk be sold more expensively?Let's not talk about poor silk, but the price of high-quality silk will be increased.

In short, Mei Kejia is very annoying now. Many people will have to look at him to see if they will live in style next year. It is estimated that there will be people who will give him advice.

"Your Majesty, there is also such a system of rewards and punishments within the company. I have already issued an internal reward order. As long as a big ship with [-] materials or [-] materials can be built, I will not be stingy. I believe that Your Majesty will not be reluctant to part with some bonuses." .As for the loom... I ignored it earlier, but I will also remind the craftsmen when I go down."

"Prime Minister Mei, this cannot be ignored blindly. The three years of Zhengde is the year of reintroduction. Without the money from Haimao, how will His Majesty's national policy be implemented?"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't laugh or cry,
Oh, at this time, I started to use this reason to urge Mei Kejia to work hard.

Mei Kejia was not shy, and said in court: "I ask the court to allocate money to add ships and build a navy! I am a businessman, and I do business on land. Occasionally, bandits rob goods. At sea... Bandit, these people are evil, since we want to build a bigger ship in the future, we can’t afford to lose it, if a ship’s cargo of one million taels is robbed, I will die and cannot atone for my crime.”

Zhu Houzhao looked relaxed, "What do you love?"

Many people hesitated, mainly because some of them had previously opposed it.You can't just say the opposite right away, can you?People always want to show some face.

But there is no rush.

After waiting for a while, some officials began to come out and say, "Daming is the upper kingdom of heaven, how can the prestige of the upper kingdom be violated by others?"

"My minister seconded the proposal. If those goods are robbed, the imperial court can bear it, but there are thousands of people who have worked so hard to reel the silk but can't see the money back. What should I do?"

"That's right, whether it's bandits or sea bandits, let them be afraid of the Imperial Heavenly Army!"

……

Zhu Houzhao couldn't let himself laugh. Under this situation, once the money is really distributed to them, then Daming will probably become a world ghost in the [-]th century.

"Since this is the case, the cabinet will discuss a solution with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs. It is better to see how much money will be allocated this year. I just want to remind you that you must have a long-term perspective in doing things. For example, this year is the goal, what is next year? What about the year after ?correct……"

Zhu Houzhao thought of one thing, "The navy was built for Nanyang Company. It not only protects the interests of the court, but also protects the interests of other shareholders. Prime Minister Mei, the company also has to pay part of the money."

Mei Kejia had no objection to this, "This humble minister leads the order."

The court was full of excitement.

As for the Duke Bao who made the emperor angry earlier, no one cared about him.Civil servants are not interested in noble relatives and nobles.

People would rather study why the emperor wanted to call the company and pay for the navy.

But this is also everyone's opinion.

Xing Guan, a new Jinshi in the first year of Zhengde, was originally a member of the Ministry of Justice and Punishment, and later asked Gu Zuo to say hello to go to the Shaofu to watch politics. They are free to watch politics.

The cabinet and the Ministry of Rites ordered together.

Xing Guan set off for Wanping County.

In April, the wild flowers on the roadside have bloomed. For more than a month, the countryside is like a New Year’s Eve. There is joy everywhere. The number of people begging for food has decreased visibly with the naked eye. It is even more impossible to have enough rice and no shortage of meat and eggs.

But with three acres of land per person, as long as they are well taken care of, at least people will not starve to death. They usually drink some porridge, catch some fish and shrimp in the river, and catch some game in the forest. It is still possible to make ends meet.

If this is true, it will be a peaceful and prosperous age that has never happened in a hundred years.

"Fu Zun just thinks that His Majesty asked other shareholders to contribute money because it is fair?"

Xing Guan was assigned to Gu Renyi's subordinates, this time he went to Wanping with him, when the two were walking on the road, resting and drinking water, Xing Guan asked this question.

Gu Renyi was so busy that she really didn't have time to think about anything else, "What else? The construction of the navy consumes a lot of silver, so naturally I asked the company to pay for it."

"The construction of the navy is a big expense, and the maintenance is even more expensive. If only the treasury pays for it, everyone will stop His Majesty from spending money in a few years."

"No, since it costs a lot, asking the company to pay, wouldn't it make those people even more unwilling?"

"What can I do if I don't want to? Who will protect the cargo of each ship?"

……

……

Zhu Houzhao is also explaining this truth to Mei Kejia.

"... Therefore, they will ask for the expenses spent on maintaining the navy, and they will also form income and returns."

Mei Kejia's face turned pale, "With so much money, no matter how capable I am, I'm afraid that one day I won't be able to earn enough."

This is indeed the case, Zhu Houzhao knows.

But why insist on doing this is probably beyond the comprehension of a businessman like Mei Kejia.

But in fact, it is not difficult to imagine that the cost of maintaining an army is huge. Generally speaking, the easiest way is to disarm.But the actual interests will make them afraid to disarm. After all, this army is protecting their interests. At this time, they will go in another direction: since they have strong force, they will rely on war and plunder.

This path is very immoral and very bad.But the West will dominate the world for the next 500 years. If you don’t plunder it, it will plunder you.And how good are these bastards for 500 years?The most important thing is that people don't listen to what we say about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust. No matter how much etiquette you talk about, people will just say: How many warships and soldiers do you have?
Then Zhu Houzhao has no choice. Even if it is immoral to bully other countries, he can still plant this seed with peace of mind.

(End of this chapter)