I'm really not doing business

Chapter 708: Freeze to death but not destroy the house, starve to death but not plunder

The emperor's travel plans had been made long ago in order to give the local authorities sufficient time to react so that everyone would not lose face. Yao Guangqi, the magistrate of Shanghai, had already prepared for the execution of justice, waiting for the emperor to make a just judgment to satisfy the emperor's sense of justice.

When the emperor goes on tour, everything cannot be peaceful and harmonious. There must be problems, otherwise the emperor’s visit would be in vain. But there must not be big problems. Once there are big problems, it will implicate the emperor, and he will lose his official hat and his life.

The Ren family fell within the scope of crying out for the emperor, which satisfied their sense of justice without implicating Yao Guangqi.

"The Ren and Chu families colluded with the Japanese and sold opium." Yao Guangqi first told His Majesty the two serious crimes that were enough to punish the entire family. He bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, Chu Xunxiao dared not offend the Ren family because if he angered them, the entire Chu family might not see the sun tomorrow."

After the death of former cabinet chief Xie Qian, Xie Qian's family was wiped out by roaming Japanese pirates. The brutality of the case reached the ears of the emperor and even alarmed him.

The Chu family does not have any elders who are former prime ministers, so naturally they dare not make trouble with the Ren family who are in collusion with the Japanese.

Yao Guangqi told His Majesty everything he had investigated. The Chu family's collusion with the Japanese was introduced by the Ren family. To be precise, this Ren Qiubai was a token of their complete cooperation. When the wrath of thunder comes and the nine clans are implicated, their Chu family will definitely be implicated as well. Only when they are in the same boat can they do business with peace of mind.

The Ren and Chu families' cooperation with Japan was mainly to transport grain to Japan, because Japan was very short of grain and the price of grain was extremely high. However, Ming law prohibited the sale of grain to Japan, and the route for selling grain was very strange, and the entire route was completely out of the heartland of Ming Dynasty.

"In other words, enough food is transported from the Yuanxu Islands. Although the customs documents state that it is transported to Songjiang Prefecture, when it leaves Shuri Prefecture, it will go north to Japan, exchange for Japanese slaves, and transport them back to the Yuanxu Islands. After gathering in Davao City on Mindanao Island, these unscrupulous businessmen will suddenly change their identities and transport the goods they have obtained back to Ming Dynasty in exchange for silver?" Zhu Yijun was surprised by this link.

These people really know how to find loopholes. The biggest risk here is the journey from Shuri Prefecture to Japan. As long as this section is not discovered, the rest of the journey is completely legal! It can be said to be very covert.

"Yes, all the procedures are legal. It was only when we reconciled the accounts with Shuri Prefecture for the first time last year that we discovered something wrong. Last year, the amount of rice flowing into the Ming Dynasty from the Ryukyu Naha Port was missing by a full 1.3 million stones, and we realized this problem." Yao Guangqi said with his head down.

The loophole is that the accounts of the four major governor-general's offices and the Maritime Customs were audited independently, and during the audit, the court paid more attention to the Governor's Office, which involved the court's annual revenue, while there were not enough manpower and resources to audit the details of the goods. This independence was actually caused by the incomplete construction of the governor-general's office system.

Even Yin Zhengmao had to suffer the wrath of the Luzon gentry. The widespread lack of scholars made the accounts of the Governor-General's Office extremely fragmented. It was already an effort to collect taxes clearly.

When Matsue Prefecture and Shuri Prefecture reconciled their accounts, this not-so-small institutional loophole was discovered.

One million three hundred thousand shi of grain was the source of the Ren and Chu families' fortunes.

"As for the trafficking of opium, it was the Chu family that brought the Ren family along." Yao Guangqi continued to report that the trafficking of opium was the Chu family's unique skill, and the reason why the Ren family was willing to let Ren Qiubai 'marry' was because they were attracted by the huge profits from opium.

As for the search by the coastal defense inspectors? They didn't take it seriously at all, because they had been doing this business for several years without any problems. The court was rigid and had always been slow to react. By the time the court found out, they had already escaped, or simply left the Ming Dynasty and went to the Yuanxu Islands to become the king of the Thousand Islands, living a carefree life.

The idea of ​​the Ren and Chu families was extremely correct, but when Yao Guangqi targeted the Ren family, he discovered their unusual behavior. He followed the clues and caught the Ren and Chu families with irrefutable evidence of opium trafficking. The evidence was complete, with witnesses and physical evidence as solid as a mountain.

"They sold the opium to Japan..." Yao Guangqi reported the specific source of the opium. Compared with the strictly guarded heartland of the Ming Dynasty, it would be safer to send it to Japan.

Selling grain and opium to Japan, and then taking away Japanese women and slaves. This is the strange thing about this case, which needs to be dealt with by the emperor, because all the illegal acts occurred overseas and the victims were the Japanese.

The Chu family and the Ren family looked down on the Ming army from the bottom of their hearts. The Ming navy had an annual military expenditure of 220 million silver coins. With so much money spent, they only killed a few Japanese pirates?

Through this business, the Chu and Ren families can transport 3,000 to 3,500 Japanese slaves and more than 500 Japanese women from Japan every year. Isn't that more efficient than your Ming Dynasty navy?

They never thought that they could do this and take whatever they wanted from the Japanese because they had the navy by their side, forcing the Japanese to obediently accept their exploitation. Otherwise, in the harsh maritime trade environment, their ships would not be able to arrive, and if they arrived they would be robbed, and maritime trade would be out of the question.

This is the consistent thinking of these powerful and wealthy people. All my achievements are due to my own efforts. I have never thought about what will happen if I leave the environment of the Ming Dynasty.

"It seems that they have harmed the Japanese, but business needs to make money. Opium balls only cost a few dollars in Japan, and how many people can afford it? Only by finding ways to open up the Ming Dynasty's market can we gain enormous wealth. It seems that they are harming the Japanese now, but it won't be long before they will harm the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yijun said with a frown.

Merchants are profit-driven, especially those who do this kind of business that wipes out their families. How can they have any patriotism? In the end, it still harms the people of Ming Dynasty. Take opium as an example. How many powerful and wealthy people in Japan can afford such expensive things?
Yao Guangqi said sincerely, "Your Majesty, it won't be long before they start. The Coast Guard has already seized several ships with opium on them, seven boxes in total. I guess they are trying to test the inspection strength of the Ming Coast Guard. These ships are inextricably linked to the two families."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Inspect the taxes, consolidate the evidence, and arrest the people."

"Your Majesty, they also did something inhumane." Yao Guangqi frowned and said, "They got a marine insurance and made a mess."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said, "Tell me in detail."

The Ming Dynasty's maritime insurance policy was modeled after the business model of insurance merchants in Antwerp, a southern city in the Netherlands (Belgium). It was a policy specifically launched to promote the development of maritime trade. The insurance of the Ming Dynasty government was mainly concentrated on ocean commerce, with a water distance of more than 3 miles. The profit of ocean trade insurance was only about %.

As for the insurance for offshore trade below 50,000 miles, it was handed over to private merchants. The Ren family and the Chu family were responsible for the territorial waters insurance of the Ming Dynasty.

Thanks to the construction of the Ming Maritime School and the Ship Design Institute, the Ming Dynasty's return rate has increased year by year, from 80% at the beginning to 95% now. The Ming Dynasty's territorial waters insurance business is a sure win because of the safety of the Ming Dynasty's territorial waters.

The Ren family and the Chu family made a mess of the place, and the way they played was extremely disgusting, mainly because of the Ren family.

The Ren family never showed up themselves, but looked for a broker on the street. Most of them were from other places, not locals in Songjiang Prefecture. This way, they would not be able to find anyone when they ran away. They used low prices and high compensation as their main means of competition, and gave insurance salesmen extremely high authority. When selling, the salesmen often used their authority to promise rebates. In addition to rebates, they also promised high profits.

At this point, this business has actually deviated from the definition of insurance itself. The first thing these salesmen say is the rate of return. Five or six percentage points a year is a minimum, and it is very convincing because all the money will be lent out at high interest rates. Rather than insurance, it is more like a pawnshop business of raising funds and lending.

When enough funds are raised, the brokers and compradors from other places will receive a generous reward and disappear without a trace. The salesmen are also very clear about what they are doing. When the brokers and compradors disappear, they will hide their identities or even change their appearance and continue to work for another company.

The Ren family, who actually received a large sum of money, was hiding behind the scenes. This was the reason why the Ren family's territory had grown larger and larger, and they had more and more money over the years. How could they make money faster by raising funds and lending than by running a workshop and doing maritime trade.

"This has caused the maritime merchants in Songjiang Prefecture to quarrel with Governor Shen. They want the government to monopolize insurance and launch territorial waters and inland waterway shipping insurance. They don't want to let these money-obsessed guys destroy the insurance market and the business environment." Yao Guangqi said with emotion.

The court only had ocean-going insurance, and no insurance for territorial waters or inland waterway shipping. Shen Shixing had never even proposed setting up such an insurance to the court.

Because in Shen Shixing's view, this area should be left to the people to prevent them from criticizing the court for excessive accumulation. In addition to concerns about public opinion, manpower is limited. The Ming Dynasty has done its best to handle ocean-going insurance. As for the larger territorial waters and inland river transportation, if the court really wants to manage them, the manpower, material, financial and energy it will consume is really too great.

As a result, private insurance was in a mess. Songjiang maritime merchants quarreled with Shen Shixing every day, asking the court to take care of this chaotic market.

"When they are in charge, they complain it's too much, and when they are not in charge, they complain it's too chaotic. When will these guys understand that they can't have it all?" Zhu Yijun sighed. He and Shen Shixing had the same inclination. The court could not control so many things, and there were not so many talented mathematical people.

Yao Guangqi asked in a low voice: "They are willing to increase the premium. Your Majesty's official insurance is already the most expensive. Is that not possible?"

"No." Zhu Yijun shook his head again, and said helplessly: "This is not a matter of premium. The court is also composed of specific individuals. To be able to achieve this level is also the result of the unity of the officials on the ground in Songjiang, who work hard and wholeheartedly."

Each three-masted splint requires five hundred silvers, which is for a voyage of more than 50,000 miles and less than 100,000 miles. For a voyage of more than 100,000 miles, it is calculated based on the distance traveled and is more expensive, costing thousands or even tens of thousands of silvers. Increasing the premium sounds good, but mathematical talents need to be cultivated, and this chaos will continue for a long time.

And the most important thing is to avoid unlimited and excessive expansion of government insurance, which will lead to the worsening of the bloated problem.

"In the midst of conflicts, we must constantly look for solutions that are acceptable to everyone, so as to achieve reconciliation. The court can only deal with each case as it arises, and try not to make things too bad." Zhu Yijun did not strive for perfection in any policy, but chose rationality.

"I obey your command." Yao Guangqi bowed his head and accepted the order. He was a little disappointed. On the road of development, there are not only flowers, but also thorns.

Yao Guangqi was now facing a very difficult problem. August was the month with the most severe typhoons in Songjiang Prefecture. This month, many ships could never return to Xingang and sank in the wind and rain, remaining in the ocean forever. His Majesty the Emperor could not go out because of the heavy rain.

A bunch of fund-raisers under the name of insurance will go bankrupt again. The sea merchants who have lost their capital, the sailors and relatives who have lost their families, and the merchants who have lost their goods will definitely block the Ming government, hoping that the court can judge for them and uphold justice. However, those brokers and compradors who ran away with the money are just salesmen who changed their names and are basically impossible to find.

Whether it is insurance or trading, once these things develop into profit-oriented and fundraising is more important than doing things, these social contradictions will erupt. In the thirteenth year of the Wanli Reform, all the problems facing the Ming Dynasty are new challenges, and we need to constantly find ways to reconcile these challenges.

There were two factions in the Ming Dynasty's economy, one advocating more goods and the other advocating more currency. They were roughly the pragmatists and the idealists. Obviously, the idealists who advocated more currency could make money faster and take less risk. Once they got used to making quick money, they would never be willing to make slow money again.

Seeing that the idealists can make so much money, the pragmatists will gradually become idealists, and finally the entire Songjiang Prefecture will become a place of chaos.

Yao Guangqi didn't know what to do, and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't seem to intend to interfere too much in the changes in Songjiang Prefecture. This was the testing ground for the Ming Dynasty's new policies and also the largest and most important battlefield in the Ming Dynasty's economy.

The Ren and Chu families were in bad luck! This was something that the people of Shanghai County knew immediately.

That same day, the imperial guards and yamen runners surrounded the two families again, and then began to arrest people. They did not trample them to death, but instead searched their homes. Soon, the yamen posted a notice to publicize the crimes of the two families. The evidence was very conclusive, especially the fact that the Ren family raised funds in the name of insurance and lent money in underground banks, which had a wide impact and many victims. Even the dogs on the street would spit at them before leaving.

The fact that the Ren and Chu families committed crimes is very clear, and is generally recognized by the people. However, there are rumors in Shanghai County that the Ren and Chu families were in trouble because General Qi Jiguang severely reported them in front of the emperor because the eldest son of the Chu family, Chu Zhongtian, offended a noble who should not be offended, and thus brought disaster upon himself.

The people of Shanghai County all applauded. Although Qi Jiguang had been in the Northern Yamen for nearly 20 years, he was still the same Qi Jiguang who was eager to do justice and would deal with injustice when he encountered it. And that naughty Mr. Huang, although he was a little dissolute and liked to bully others, he upheld fairness and justice when he was a dissolute man.

Compared with the fact that fairness and justice have been achieved and the error correction mechanism of the huge Ming Dynasty machine is still running smoothly, the people generally believe in the script of "offending people who should not be offended" and think that this script is more reasonable.

Bei Yayi's son Lin Fucheng returned to his hometown, Songjiang Prefecture, but he didn't recognize this place at all. He felt a little confused when walking on the street. After being away for a long time, those familiar streets have all been renovated. The bluestone streets have also been hardened and the trees on the roadside have grown tall and majestic.

This unfamiliarity made Lin Fucheng late again when he attended a gathering at Yanzheng Tower in Shanghai County. Shanghai County was even more luxurious than Beiya, which meant that the traffic in Shanghai County was bound to be more congested than Beiya. After being stuck in traffic, Lin Fucheng got off the car and walked to Yanzheng Tower. As a result, he lost his way and took a long detour, so he arrived a little late.

"Please forgive me, I haven't been back for a long time. I got lost in this ever-changing Shanghai County." Lin Fucheng bowed to all four sides, then sat down and looked at the three people on the stage. He smiled and asked Li Zhi, "Who are these two?"

"This one is Mr. Wen Dao Ma Jinglun, and this one is Yuan Zongdao of the Yangchun Society of the Gong'an School." Li Zhi introduced the visitors. Ma Jinglun was a juren, and was about to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination. Yuan Zongdao was one of the three Yuans of the Gong'an School, and they were all famous opinionated people.

Lin Fucheng looked around the audience below the stage, and saw that they were all talented men from Songjiang Prefecture. What surprised Lin Fucheng was that in addition to talented men, there were also beautiful women. Almost every talented man brought a female companion, which was completely different from the atmosphere of previous gatherings.

When a group of grown men get together to chat, it is easy for them to shout slogans like "Your families must be having a hard time too." Therefore, in Ming Dynasty gatherings, men had to bring their beauties with them to prevent the atmosphere from being too serious.

Lin Fucheng sighed. This group of talented men and beautiful women were all vying with each other for beauty. They were simply here to compete with each other in wealth. Just looking at the large pile of odds and ends on their bodies, one could tell that these talented men were not thinking about the content of the conversation at all, but about these beauties. How to outdo others in front of them was the purpose of their participation in the conversation.

But it doesn’t matter, everyone has to buy a ticket to enter, and you have to pay to come to the gathering.

Li Zhi looked very relaxed, because the windows of the Tianzi Box were closed, proving that no one was inside. The Ming Emperor's schedule for the day was to inspect the Iron Horse Factory of Songjiang Prefecture. When Yao Guangqi arrived in Shanghai County, the first thing he did was to settle the pending Iron Horse Factory of Songjiang Prefecture in Shanghai County.

Huating, Qingpu, Shanghai and Pudong were all competing for the Iron Horse Factory. Yao Guangqi relied on his special relationship with Wang Chonggu, the leader of the Labor Party, to get the Iron Horse Factory settled in Shanghai County. This was a project that even the emperor personally cared about.

Yao Guangqi was an extremely capable man and had made this iron horse factory very successful. It was now able to produce Shengping No. 3, three types of iron horses: 30 horsepower, 16 horsepower, and 10 horsepower. The annual output was expected to reach 1,000 units.

When the emperor was not around, even if Lin Fucheng spoke nonsense, the emperor would not listen to him in person.

"Master Lin, you're here just in time. We were just discussing how the Ming Dynasty should promote both culture and military power." Ma Jinglun said calmly, "I'm an old scholar, and I still think that promoting both culture and military power is the strategy for stabilizing the country and maintaining peace. It's right to promote both culture and military power."

Yuan Zongdao nodded and said, "My point of view is consistent with Mr. Wen Dao's. If one day I pass the imperial examination and appear before the emperor, I will say the same thing. Promoting culture and military is beneficial to the country. It is better to stop at the right time to strengthen the military. If you give more, there will be trouble."

Li Zhi was unable to convince Ma Jinglun and Yuan Zongdao, as both of them were very stubborn.

"I agree with both of you. Indeed, promoting culture and martial arts is right." Lin Fucheng nodded in approval. This was his usual way of having a conversation, affirming and supporting the other party's point of view.

"I think it's right to promote culture and military power because throughout the dynasties, whether Han, Tang, Song or Ming, no matter how the system changed, there was a common understanding, that is, great unification. The two Song dynasties, which were not great unification, were ridiculed by the literati of our Ming Dynasty." Lin Fucheng first stated why he supported it, and there was a very clear reason.

The literati of the Ming Dynasty often surpassed the Han and Tang dynasties, and their attitude towards the Song Dynasty was mostly critical, absorbing lessons from experience.

"Um, is there any connection between the great unification and the promotion of culture and military power?" Ma Jinglun was a little confused. Most of his and Yuan Zongdao's arguments were based on the idea that knights use force to break the law. If the power of military men is too strong, it will affect the stability of the country, pose a direct threat to the emperor, and influence the execution of court orders.

As soon as Lin Fucheng came to power, he raised the issue to the level of great unification, which made Ma Jinglun a little panicked.

Is this layout a bit too big?

"Why have all dynasties emphasized great unification? Where did most people come from?" Lin Fucheng looked at everyone and said, "Because great unification means stability, it means that the borders are secure, and there will be no high-intensity wars in the hinterland, which means that the lives of the people can be basically maintained. It is better to be a dog in prosperous times than a man in troubled times."

"At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a female poet named Li Qingzhao. She lived a carefree life in the first half of her life, just like her poem. She often remembered the sunset at the pavilion by the stream, how she was so drunk that she didn't know the way home, and how she got back to the boat late at night and mistakenly wandered into the depths of lotus flowers. But the world suddenly changed. The Jin soldiers came. In her later years, her situation was just like her poem, cold and desolate, sad and miserable."

Why do we need unification? Because the borders will be stable, large-scale wars will not occur in the hinterland, and life will be stable. When the world is in turmoil, even Li Qingzhao, who came from a wealthy and powerful family, would live a miserable life.

Under the nest, there are still eggs.

Lin Fucheng said with great emotion: "In all dynasties, soldiers have always been a part of instability. Let's take a look at the soldiers from the pre-Qin period to the present. In the pre-Qin period, there were no just wars during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The whole country would mobilize troops to fight at any time, and the people would wither. In the Han Dynasty, life finally settled down, and the soldiers became the lackeys of the aristocratic families. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eighteen princes were in flames. Wasn't it because the aristocratic families controlled the powerful soldiers?"

"Han fell because of its strength. It was indeed strong, but the people suffered."

"During the Jin Dynasty, the Sima family introduced the Hu people to fill the Central Plains. Because of the great population shortage caused by the war, the Yongjia Rebellion broke out and the two emperors of the Western Jin Dynasty were captured."

"The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties lasted for hundreds of years. Finally, in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Guanlong aristocratic families, which were mainly based on the Fubing system, gradually rose. With the establishment and improvement of the imperial examination system during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, although the aristocratic families still had great influence, they were no longer what they used to be. It was not until the middle and late Tang Dynasty that Huang Chao completely swept the aristocratic families into the garbage dump."

"But at the end of the Tang Dynasty, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the military was powerful and caused so much chaos. There is no need to elaborate. In the Song Dynasty, the situation was overcorrected. In the eyes of the court of the Song Dynasty, the threat of military generals and warriors was greater than that of the barbarians. In the end, the world was destroyed by the barbarians."

"Should we promote both culture and martial arts? Yes."

Lin Fucheng briefly sorted out why the great unification and the promotion of culture and military are linked together. The great unification is the consensus of people in pursuit of a stable and beautiful life. The military is an unstable factor, so the promotion of culture and military has become inevitable. This is a historical lesson. The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were absurd enough and not beautiful at all. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, everyone could become military rations.

"Master Lin, that's a great idea!" Ma Jinglun said sincerely.

Lin Fucheng continued, "In fact, after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the exiles of Emperor Qinzong and Emperor Huizong, in the midst of fierce conflicts and contradictions, military generals from the lower classes, represented by Yue Fei, began to look for the significance of soldiers in the country, and Yue Fei found it. In terms of goal, it was to restore the old country. In terms of military discipline, he proposed: do not demolish houses even if you freeze to death, and do not plunder even if you starve to death."

"Originally, the debate and evolution of the social status, rights, responsibilities and obligations of soldiers should have been completed during the Shaoxing period in the early Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei did a good job. The Shenwu army had strict military discipline and was good at fighting. If there had not been the twelve golden medals in the tenth year of Shaoxing, the Song army would have recaptured the capital, and the soldiers would have been restrained by strict military discipline. The obligation to defend the country would have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the evolution would have been successful."

"But all this came to an abrupt end in the 11th year of Shaoxing, when Emperor Gaozong ordered the execution of Yue Fei, because of his natural distrust of the army."

Ma Jinglun and Yuan Zongdao looked at each other. They heard something else in Lin Fucheng's words.

"Of course, we should emphasize both civil and military when we see bad military discipline, but we should emphasize both civil and military when we see bad military discipline, but we should emphasize both civil and military when we see bad military discipline, and ...

Lin Fucheng said with certainty: "Since you have fulfilled your obligations, you should enjoy the rights you deserve."

(End of this chapter)