I'm really not doing business

Chapter 893: It's just a pot of half-cooked rice. I can only eat it.

The throne is made of iron and blood. This is the experience and lesson of the Ming Dynasty. Every change of dynasty is accompanied by rivers of blood and countless corpses.

But this is the consensus of the Ming Dynasty, not the consensus of the world.

Even the Dutch, who were already very rebellious, still did not dare to provoke Felipe too much. Even if Huang Ming showed goodwill, the Dutch did not dare to accept it, but chose an evasive attitude of "you can't see me".

This is normal. The Spanish phalanx is almost invincible on land, and Spain also has the world-renowned Invincible Armada. Even if the Atlantic storm engulfed the Invincible Armada, England was still no match for the remaining fleet.

Issuing gold bonds, arming the navy and army, continuously carrying out military expansion, and stabilizing the confidence in gold bonds through military victories are the secrets of Felipe's dominance in the West for so many years.

Ainmaren told the Emperor that Portugal could retaliate against Felipe's tariff policy by selling gold bonds.

This is to divert trouble to other countries, but Portugal has no power to refuse the Ming Dynasty.

Portugal had not yet repaid the war loan it had taken from the Ming Dynasty. This was a huge sum of 15 million silver dollars, extended over 40 years, and was the key to Portugal's escape from Felipe's clutches.

The biggest commercial activity of the Portuguese royal family now is to collect and distribute the goods of Ming Dynasty's global trade every year;

In the Portuguese court, a large number of Ming Dynasty people were employed to maintain basic stability. Minister of State Xu Fan came from the Ming Dynasty.

While Portugal did not have the power to reject the Ming Dynasty, it had the strength to fight against Felipe. After all, it had fought against him twice. It had the extensive and real influence of the Great Light Church, the military strength of the Crusaders and the Free Fleet, and the support of the people.

In addition to having strength, there is also motivation. No one wants to have a powerful country around them that has the strength and intention to annex them but is just unwilling to pay a sufficient price.

The best candidate to stab Spain in the back is not the Netherlands, but Portugal.

Ainmaren said with some emotion: "In fact, they are the same race, their languages ​​are not much different, and they even have many similarities in living habits. Their beliefs are exactly the same. In the eyes of many Western countries, they are one country, just like Westerners think that Japan, Korea, and Annan are all Ming countries. It is not easy to completely distinguish them."

"During the reconquest that began four hundred years ago, King Afonso VI granted Portuguese lands to his son-in-law Henry, who became the first Count of Portugal and then established Portugal on the County of Portugal."

"If Felipe hadn't revealed his desire to annex Portugal, he wouldn't have provoked widespread resistance."

Ain Malen explained why Portugal has so many gold bonds. In the past, Portugal was actually part of Spain, and the two countries had highly similar politics, military, economy, and culture, but in the end, under Felipe's ambitions, the two countries drifted apart.

Portugal found its own way and joined the trade system after the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, becoming the most stable and reliable transit station for the Ming Dynasty in the West.

For the Portuguese, the Ming Dynasty was a large-scale Spain that would never annex them.

Once you understand Portugal's position, you will understand why Ian Malen came up with this idea.

"What you said makes sense, but I will not force Antonio to put himself in danger. After all, he is the King of Portugal appointed by me, just as I did not force the Dutch to accept my goodwill." Zhu Yijun thought about it and decided to judge the possibility after meeting Antonio's envoy.

The situation is not so bad that we have to bully other countries. Similarly, this is inconsistent with the Ming Dynasty's consistent foreign policy. It would be a mistake to treat Felipe as a joke, make the people of the Ming Dynasty hate them, and even lead to a moral decline in the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty has its own logic for doing things. China is a 5,000-year-old country. It cannot play with Felipe and lose face.

"This year, our expedition fleet has discovered several more islands and several settlements in North America. In order to repay your Majesty's generosity and kindness, we present you with nautical charts, star maps and compass maps." Ian Mullen took out three volumes, which were geomancy maps of the vicinity of New Netherland, and included hydrographic and geographical islands.

New Netherland, this place was later called Manhattan, which is the most prosperous place in New York.

Felipe adopted a conciliatory approach, dividing the Dutch into two factions, north and south. The situation of the struggle became worse. Felipe could take back the Netherlands, but he could not take away the will of the Dutch.

And this area is constantly developing and growing.

Zhu Yijun accepted the nautical chart. If the Xinri Canal could be built, the value of this nautical chart would increase thousands of times. However, fifty years was too long and there were too many uncertainties.

After Ainmaren left, Zhu Yijun summoned Antonio's envoy, the Sword Saint Marcus.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty." Marcus received the emperor with courtesy. The feudal system in the West was 'my vassal's vassal, not my vassal', but the feudal monarchy of the Ming Dynasty was completely different.

Marcus was a minister of Antonio and also a minister of the Ming Emperor.

"It's been three years since we last met. Even the sword master who could defeat the violent storms in the Atlantic Ocean back then has gray hair now." Zhu Yijun sighed.

Marcus hadn't been here for three years. He was old, and the long journey was too much of a strain on his body. Besides, his old injuries were tormenting him.

Marcus said dejectedly, "I felt strong when I was young, but many of my actions back then have planted the seeds of disaster for today. I slept on the floor on the boat in my early years, and now, as long as I move a little, my bones feel like they are being pricked by needles."

"The reason why I came to Ming Dynasty despite my long-term illness is that His Highness Antonio must send a trustworthy person to Ming Dynasty to show His Highness Antonio's attitude."

"His Highness Antonio is just as opposed to Felipe's perverse actions as the Portuguese. He is so desperate for money that he has even increased tariffs on Portugal by 30%!"

Marcus came to the Ming Dynasty despite his long illness to express Portugal's attitude.

Felipe's madness was not only directed at the Ming Dynasty, he even wanted to increase taxes on Portugal.

"He will not only increase taxes on the Ming Dynasty, but also on Portugal?" Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked with a strange look on his face.

Marcus said angrily: "Because Portugal distributes goods from the Ming Dynasty, Felipe declared that Portugal is the Ming Dynasty's running dog and accomplice, which led to the failure of the expedition! So we have to increase taxes on the Ming Dynasty as well."

"He was lying and cheating. Everyone knew that was not the case. Antonio, Your Highness, fully cooperated with his actions and provided all the support he could, including ports, armor, bows and arrows, gunpowder, etc. needed for military use."

"In my opinion, he is completely senile and too old, so he believed the words of those court secretaries. He has forgotten how he became the king of the British Empire."

"Spain does not have many reliable sailors and pilots, while Portugal has a complete maritime school. Without Portugal, Spanish merchant ships would not even know how to reach the New World."

Marcus was a Portuguese, and it was also the Portuguese who initially explored the ocean. For this reason, the Spanish hired a large number of Portuguese as navigators, which led to the Spanish Empire's status as the British Empire.

Now Spain's tax increase has also been imposed on Portugal.

Moreover, when Felipe attacked England, Portugal fully cooperated with the military operation out of consideration for the maritime trade environment, and actively cooperated with the operation by contributing manpower, money and food. As a result, Felipe actually said that Portugal was a sinner.

This was completely unacceptable to Marcus, Antonio and the Portuguese. The Ming Dynasty was so big that it could bear the brunt of the defeat of the Invincible Armada, but Portugal could not.

"Ian Malen proposed that Portugal sell off the gold bonds to force the collapse of the gold bonds and stop Felipe's childish behavior. What does Marcus think about it?" Zhu Yijun did not hide his concern and asked the question.

Marcus shook his head and said, "The Dutch are indeed cunning. They dare not let Felipe focus on them, so they let the Portuguese be the villain."

"Your Majesty, at present, the gold bonds are still money if they run fast, and paper if they run slowly."

"When I set out, His Highness Antonio had already started selling gold bonds. Just like the Yanxinglou market, we can't just sell them all. Otherwise, we won't be able to get a good price. We need to buy to stabilize the price, and then sell more and gradually reduce the amount."

“It is expected that within one to two years, all of them will be sold off.”

Portugal holds about 140% of gold bonds, which is equivalent to million taels of gold. Such a huge debt sale cannot be completed overnight. Otherwise, everyone will know that you are trying to run away, and they can only buy and sell at the same time.

Now, Felipe's gold bonds are on the verge of collapse. Everyone knows that the gold bonds are going to collapse, but no one knows exactly when. Everyone is betting that this thunder will not explode in their hands.

Today's gold bonds are no longer a qualified financial product, but a scam of passing the parcel.

Zhu Yijun thought of a person, that was the weaver who died in front of the Nanjing Manufacturing Bureau. The weaver was also living beyond her means. She borrowed a lot of money from the money house to buy gold, silver, jade jewelry, rouge, powder, silks and satins. In the end, she could not borrow any more money and could not borrow new money to repay the old, so she could only commit suicide by hitting her head against a wall.

Felipe's dilemma is exactly the same as that of the weaver.

"The ocean is still too wide, otherwise the Ming navy must tell Felipe II not to shirk the responsibilities he should bear." This was the first time that Zhu Yijun hated the vastness of the ocean so much, otherwise he must let Felipe know why the flowers are so red.

Marcus hesitated for a long time before speaking: "Your Majesty, when I arrived in Ming Dynasty, did I find that Ming Dynasty was also issuing gold bonds?"

Zhu Yijun did not deny it, and replied affirmatively: "If you understand the Ming Baochao as a gold bond, it is also fine. I am indeed issuing gold bonds."

"The Ming Dynasty is developing and needs more silver and more gold to meet the demand for special commodities such as general equivalents. However, Felipe has been reducing the inflow of silver and gold into the Ming Dynasty. I can only use the gold bond method."

"I originally planned to complete the gold storage in ten years, and use 15 million taels of gold to issue treasure notes to supplement the currency shortage of Ming Dynasty. This is a half-cooked rice, but how can everything go as planned? Even if it is a half-cooked rice, I can only eat it."

The Ming Dynasty was not prepared. The gold storage had only been going on for the third year, and the Tonghe Palace treasury had not been completed. Now the internal treasury was being used as a treasury. Zhu Yijun planned to store 1500 million taels of gold so that his credibility would be more solid.

Everything was beyond his control. Faced with the actual situation of reduced silver inflow, Zhu Yijun could only launch the gold narrative and gold treasure notes in advance.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was not convenient to use gold directly as currency because there were many people in the Ming Dynasty and the monetary system based on gold, silver and copper was too complicated. The Gold Treasure Notes allowed the exchange of gold and silver, which was essentially still based on the silver standard.

"A pot of half-cooked rice is really hard to swallow, even worse than raw food." Marcus expressed his sympathy. There is not even half-cooked rice at sea. Everything is eaten raw. Eating raw rice is okay, but half-cooked rice is the most uncomfortable.

"Your wise Majesty, Prince Antonio is a little confused, but he is not in a position to mention this confusion to others. This time Felipe has increased tariffs, which will inevitably lead to rampant smuggling. Should Portugal do something?" Marcus talked about something that Antonio had not communicated with the Secretary of State.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Although countries only talk about interests, I don't want Antonio to return to his old ways. He was a good captain before, and he also engaged in smuggling, plundered Spanish treasure ships, and even embezzled, which is true, but he is the king now."

"I don't expect him to have any long-term plans, but being a pirate will affect the maritime trade environment. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is not advisable."

"Of course, if Antonio is really in financial difficulty and is so far away, and doesn't take my words seriously, there is nothing I can do."

When Marcus heard the emperor's reprimand, he quickly stood up from his stool, knelt on the ground and said, "We are guilty of a thousand crimes. Portugal has made a lot of money by re-exporting Ming Dynasty goods. We are not in financial difficulty and are very rich. We just want to avenge Felipe's actions."

"But they did not take into account the more important maritime trade environment." The Ming Dynasty was accustomed to it and even believed that this was the philosophy of governing the country, such as the four words of importance and urgency, which was like instinct, but for Antonio, this was really a high-end knowledge.

The idea of ​​priorities was first proposed by Guanzi in the pre-Qin period and has taken root, sprouted, flourished and borne fruit in China for two thousand years.

Antonio is just like Felipe. When the mood strikes, it's not surprising to make any decision.

"No need to be polite. Just don't do it. Smuggling will only worsen the maritime trade environment in the West. If you want revenge, the English will naturally do it." When Zhu Yijun heard that Antonio just wanted revenge, he told him not to worry, the English would take action!

"Your Majesty is wise." Marcus thought, indeed, the Portuguese are now decent people, and it is most appropriate to let the British do this kind of dirty and tiring work that will get them scolded. The English privateering license is still in effect.

"Your Majesty." Feng Bao leaned close to the emperor's ear and whispered. This was a very rude behavior. It was obviously an important matter, otherwise he would not interrupt His Majesty's meeting with the envoy.

"Oh? Very good." When Zhu Yijun heard Feng Bao's whisper, he was a little surprised at first, and then he showed a sunny smile.

"Marcus, I received good news. My stargazing ship has just returned and brought back 120,000 taels of gold from the New World. Now this batch of gold has arrived outside the Mochou Lake Palace. It's a good opportunity for us to go and take a look." Zhu Yijun stood up and told Marcus what Feng Bao had heard.

Previously, the Ming Dynasty traded natural gold nuggets from the natives of North America, and the Ming Dynasty's stargazing ship set out. Chen Dazhuang was originally going to take a ship from Songjiang Prefecture to North America to explore gold mines, but was forced by the emperor to go to Datielingwei in Juezhou.

Chen Dazhuang was ultimately unable to make the trip, but the exploration of North America is still ongoing.

Two years ago, the stargazing ship found the location of the Golden Mountain, but the exploration was difficult. The local barbarians were not very friendly and refused to share secrets. The Ming Dynasty’s coastal defense inspectors were constantly harassed, and even three geomancers died. But the location of the Golden Mountain was finally found.

Ports, strongholds and mines were established, and initial mining was completed.

It is not easy to find gold mountains in this desolate area full of sand dunes and hills. In addition, due to the constant harassment by the barbarians, this batch of gold is also blood-stained gold.

It was during the Ming Dynasty's exploration of gold mines that a conflict broke out with the local barbarians. The gains from conquering cities and territories, to put it more bluntly, were robbed.

Zhu Yijun met Marcus in the West Flower Hall, and then went to the main hall to meet the astronomer Quan Tianpei from the returning stargazing ship.

Quan Tianpei was born in the second year of Longqing reign. He is 22 years old this year. He is from Xinning County, Guangzhou Prefecture. He is a Doctor of Gewu of the Imperial Academy of Gewu of the Ming Dynasty. He was talented when he was young. He studied astronomy with Xing Yunlu and became an astronomy student.

Quan Tianpei went to sea in the 12th year of the Wanli reign, when he was only 17 years old.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty." Quan Tianpei greeted him respectfully.

"No need for formalities. I haven't seen you for a few years. Zijun has lost a lot of weight. Sailing is really hard work." Zhu Yijun had met Quan Tianpei twice, when he accompanied Xing Yunlu to the audience.

Quan Tianpei loves sweets very much, so when he was in Gewuyuan, he was fat and white. Now Quan Tianpei has become a lean man.

Zijun is Quan Tianpei's courtesy name. He has a name, a surname, and a courtesy name, and he likes sweets. He is not born into a poor family, but a wealthy family of the Xinning Quan family, and is also a hereditary thousand-householder in the Ming Dynasty.

He went to Beijing to take part in the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's astronomical examination because he didn't want to endure the hardship of practicing martial arts, nor did he want to endure the hardship of being a scholar. Quan Tianpei's father forced him to practice martial arts, and when he failed, he forced him to study literature.

In the end, Quan Tianpei suffered the hardships of sailing.

There are three hardest jobs in the world: rowing a boat, forging iron, and making tofu. Rowing a boat is even harder than rowing a boat.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. My physical strength is much better than before, and I have gradually gotten used to it. When I got ashore, I was swaying and couldn't stand steadily." When Quan Tianpei heard that His Majesty remembered him, he immediately smiled. The smile looked somewhat simple.

Quan Tianpei wanted to go sailing on impulse. He yearned for the vastness of the ocean and felt that with all his talent and knowledge, it was a waste of time to stay in the Gewu Academy where he could only see the sky in all directions when he looked up!

To this end, he asked for an order to go to the Songjiang Navy to train and sail on board as a naval pilot.

He regretted it deeply as soon as he got on the ship. Gewuyuan was indeed a relatively closed place, but once the ship was out to sea, it would be for years and months, which was much more depressing than prison.

It is true that the sky is high and the sea is vast, but the sky is too high and the sea is too vast!
Sailing on a ship is worse than going to jail. This is Quan Tianpei's complaint about life on a ship, and it is widely circulated in the Gewu Academy.

But he endured this hardship for five years, and he never thought about why he had to endure it or whether it was worth it, because he didn't have the time to think about it.

Zhu Yijun motioned Quan Tianpei to sit down and talk. He smiled and asked, "Do you regret leaving the Institute of Gewu? Doctor Gewu is not worldly and is not in the Five Elements."

"I regret it so much. I was really crazy at the time and thought about getting on the boat." Quan Tianpei was so annoyed, but he thought about it and said, "If it happens again, I will still get on the boat."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun was a little surprised. Quan Tianpei regretted his original choice, but still wanted to do it.

"Li Bai said, the living are passers-by, the dead are returnees; the world is a temporary inn, and we all mourn the eternal dust. The five years I spent on the boat were not lived in vain." Quan Tianpei gave his reason.

The living are like passers-by who come and go in a hurry, their lives filled with busyness. They don’t know why they are born, why they die, and even less why they are busy; the dead are like returnees who are destined for their final destination and never come back.

The world is like an inn that welcomes and sees off travelers; life is short, and countless people throughout history have lamented this.

Between life and death, the most important thing is to live, and how to live is extremely important. Obviously Quan Tianpei has suffered a lot, but he has also witnessed the vastness and splendor of the world.

This is not living in vain.

He had climbed trees and caught fish in Guangzhou, read books and gazed at the stars in the Imperial Observatory, mapped the vastness of the Ming Dynasty in Womagang, fought storms at sea, and galloped on horseback in a life-and-death battle with the indigenous people on the sand dunes of North America. Now, he had returned to the Ming Dynasty with gold.

At this moment, even if you die, the journey in Tiandiyiinuijiu is already exciting enough.

Zhu Yijun agreed and said, "I heard that the Han towns such as Manila and Coconut Sea City in Luzon have golden beaches, endless coconut groves, and vast plantations. I really want to go and see them myself, but what can I do? People are not free when they are born."

Quan Tianpei was free, but Zhu Yijun was not. During the seventeen years of the Ming Dynasty, he spent most of his time in the square city of Beiya. Every time he went out, he had to mobilize a large army. No one is free, and even Zhu Yijun is no exception.

No one can do whatever they want in this world. The powerful and wealthy in the Southern Court want the freedom and liberty that Zhu Yijun cannot give them because he doesn't have it either.

Hearing this, Quan Tianpei thought for a moment and said, "Really, there are. I've been to Luzon. It was my first time going out to sea. I vomited so much that I almost died. But there are indeed golden beaches and coconut groves."

"Tell me about it." Zhu Yijun said very curiously.

Quan Tianpei talked eloquently, sharing his experiences during his five years at sea. He himself did not realize that the atmosphere of his conversation with His Majesty was extremely harmonious. In fact, from the very beginning, as soon as the word "Zijun" was mentioned, the atmosphere of the conversation was completely controlled by the emperor.

It was the first time that Marcus had seen His Majesty like this. He seemed very approachable and made people feel warm and relaxed.

"It's really enviable." Zhu Yijun said sincerely.

"Do you call this place Jinshan?" Zhu Yijun mentioned the specific place name. Jinshan City and Jinshan Port are commonly used names.

Quan Tianpei smiled and said, "Yes, for now we call it Jinshan City. If Your Majesty thinks it is too straightforward, you can change it to Jinshan City. The main street in the city is called Daming Street. Daming Street connects the east and west of Jinshan City. The west gate is called Tonghe Gate, and the east gate is called Shengping Gate."

Tonghe Gate refers to the Tonghe of Tonghe Palace, and Shengping Gate refers to the Shengping of Shengping Iron Horse.

Unlike Luzon, the Daming Street in Manila, Luzon connects the north and the south. The north gate is called Tonghe Gate and the south gate is called Shengping Gate, that is, Tonghe Gate is the gate facing the Daming direction.

Quan Tianpei didn't say that there was a huge statue in Jinshan City. It was his majesty himself, holding a sword and looking at the sea. There was one such statue in Manila, Coconut Sea City, and Dajinchi City.

"Since it is a convention, we won't change it." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Zijun, is there any difficulty in developing Jinshan City?"

"We are short of people." Quan Tianpei said succinctly, somewhat helplessly, "Jinshan City needs at least 200,000 people. There is a fertile land suitable for cultivation over there. Although it is not large, it is more than enough to support a million people. At least 200,000 people are needed to develop it."

Quan Tianpei did not deceive the emperor. Less than three hundred miles away from Jinshan City, there was a large lake and a fertile land with conditions for land reclamation. In Quan Tianpei's opinion, just mining gold was still missing something. Only by reclaiming land and cultivating it could one feel at ease.

But land reclamation requires people, and the shortage is as high as 200,000.

There are less than 3,000 Han people in Jinshan City now, and the rest are barbarians.

"I really don't have any way to get people." Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun waved his hands repeatedly. He really couldn't give it to him.

Even the ruffians and lazy guys were sent to Southeast Asia by the Ministry of Justice. Now the Governor's Office in Luzon, Jiugang, and Jinchi wants people, and even Jinshan wants people. Zhu Yijun has really run out of tricks.

Zhu Yijun couldn't change the population.

The Wanli Reform had just begun to radiate to the poor and coolies, and even if the population began to grow from the 15th year of the Wanli reign, it would still take several decades. This was a long-term contradiction.

Quan Tianpei knew that the Ming Dynasty was in great need of manpower. Even the landlords began to reduce rents in order to keep their tenants in their hometowns to farm. He thought for a moment and said, "Then I have nothing else to ask for. Your Majesty's policy of opening the seas is already very benevolent. The gold from the Jinshan can be exchanged for enough goods at a fair price."

The merchant ships of the Overseas Governor's Office are treated no differently from the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty. They do not have to communicate through the City of Nations to purchase goods, but can buy them on their own or have the court make overall arrangements. The court's overall arrangements are slightly more expensive, but can save considerable time costs.

It can be said that without the support of the Ming Dynasty court, the development of Jinshan would not have been so smooth. The stargazing ships, imperial teachers, naval masters, astronomy students, naval escorts, etc., every aspect of the booming development of Jinshan City was inseparable from the support of the Ming Dynasty.

"Then will Zijun continue to go to Jinshan City?" Zhu Yijun asked Quan Tianpei about his personal intentions.

"I don't want to give up halfway." Quan Tianpei did not plan to stay in Ming Dynasty. This time he would bring the gold back to Ming Dynasty and hand it over to His Majesty in exchange for goods. Then he would return to Jinshan City to continue the development.

"In that case, I will confer the title of Earl of Jinshan on Zijun, and he will work hard to develop the area." After hearing Quan Tianpei's plan, Zhu Yijun conferred him the title of Lord of Development.

Upon hearing this, Quan Tianpei hurriedly bowed and said, "I thank your majesty for your grace."

With a legitimate name, one can speak with ease. The reason why Quan Tianpei came back this time is naturally to ask for a legitimate status from His Majesty. Now Jinshan City is only a small city, but it has the potential to become a governor's office.

(End of this chapter)