I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 271 Maritime Trade Progress (Please subscribe)

In the west of Beijing, Tiemen Hutong.

Huang Dong was reading the newspaper attentively. Today's content not only surprised Lu Xiangsheng and others, but also surprised him.

However, he was not very interested in measures such as the abolition of humble status, but was surprised that the imperial court actually issued an edict to issue regulations to protect industry and commerce.

As a businessman, he is well aware of the difficulties of doing business. It is common for government officials to bully people wantonly, collect taxes for no reason, and default on fees.

Even if he has a backing now, he has also been bullied by the officials of Shuntian Mansion. It is indispensable to pay filial piety every month. You can't default on it, or else they will stumble you secretly, leaving him really helpless.

So when he saw this regulation for the first time, he couldn't be surprised.

Especially when he saw the regulations in the future that required the government and county governments not to collect taxes without reason, and not allow the government to lower prices without reason when purchasing items, Huang Dong's eyes lit up and he felt very happy.

Although I know that it is still difficult to implement it, it has begun to change compared to before.

"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper Zheng is here."

Just when Huang Dong was getting excited, a notification brought him back to reality. Huang Dong suddenly came back to his senses and suddenly thought that he was going to discuss overseas business with Zheng Zhilong today.

"I know, please invite him in."

After hearing this, the waiter quickly opened the door, and soon Zheng Zhilong strode in under the leadership of the waiter.

The two of them were old acquaintances. After a brief bow when they met, they sat down at the foot of Huang Dong, picked up the tea cup and drank a swig of tea.

"Why is this weather getting hotter and hotter?"

"It's early summer now, how can it not be hot? You went to Tianjin Wei this time. How is the ship going?"

"Don't worry, let me take a break. I came from Tianjin this time and didn't even have a bite to eat."

After hearing Zheng Zhilong's words, Huang Dong turned around and said to the waiter at the door:
"Tell the kitchen to cook some food and pick something delicious to make."

The waiter nodded immediately after hearing this. After Zheng Zhilong drank the tea, he took a wet towel and wiped his face. Seeing Huang Dong's instructions to prepare rice, he laughed, and then threw the wet towel onto the maid's plate behind him. He smiled and said:

"It's better for you to relax. You are also doing business for His Majesty. You are sitting here on the Diaoyutai and receiving a lot of income every day. Unlike me, who is running around every day. I am afraid it will be more dangerous when I go to sea afterwards."

Huang Dong glanced at Zheng Zhilong angrily. Since the emperor arranged for them to meet and work together, the two unrelated people quickly became familiar with each other.

The two are similar in age, and they are both people who do big things. They are very congenial in chatting and doing things, and they have a very good relationship.

Now seeing Zheng Zhilong making fun of him, Huang Dong was furious.

"You are dangerous, I am more dangerous than you! You have no money. If something happens to you, you will just walk away. As for me, your majesty, nobles, and all the merchants' money is not mine. Come and take care of me, the first person you look for when something goes wrong is me.

I feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles in this position every day, and I don't want to work at all. If you like it, then take it and let's swap. "

Huang Dong is also very worried. He is the only newspaper in Beijing. Although others have followed suit, he has the inherent advantage of cooperating with the General Affairs and Information Department. No one else can compare with him.

The newspaper's business is on the right track, and Huang Dong no longer has to keep an eye on the business in Beijing. Instead, he has now set his sights on Tianjin Wei, Baoding Prefecture and other places. He has already sent special personnel to inspect these two places to see if he can Start working on the newspaper quickly.

But no matter how big his newspaper industry is, it's just a repurchase deal with middlemen making profit from the price difference, and the profit is not big.

Therefore, on the one hand, he wanted to think about whether he could innovate in the newspaper, and on the other hand, he hoped that Zheng Zhilong would work hard to do a good job in sea trade.

Otherwise, as he said, if it fails, the emperor will be fine, but those nobles and businessmen in the capital will definitely peel off his skin.

Seeing Huang Dong's complaints, Zheng Zhilong burst into laughter.

"Don't worry, I still want to do something big, just tell me what business is better than ours. His Majesty franchised it and invested 100 million in principal, allowing us to do business in the name of the royal family. I am now I don’t dare to think about it yet, I think it’s just a dream, so I must make some achievements in this matter.”

"It's best if you think so. Let's get down to business. How is the ship now?"

When Zheng Zhilong saw that Huang Dong was talking about business, he stopped being careless and immediately became serious.

"The ship is almost ready. It was impossible to have a ready-made ship built within two months. Fortunately, after Tianjin Governor Zuo Guangdou took office, he organized the Tianjin shipyard and asked him to build ships and prepare a navy.

After I heard about it last month, I rushed to the Tianjin Shipyard to learn about the situation. I was not allowed to see it at first, but I had to show His Majesty's name before I could go in.I thought about taking a look first, without any hope, but I didn't expect to find out when I entered that there were actually ten black-tailed boats that were almost built, and more than twenty more boats were being built. "

When he heard that there was a ship in Tianjin Prefecture, Huang Dong immediately showed joy, thinking that this was something he could do.

"It seems that Zuo Guangdou is still a practical person. I didn't expect to start building ships so early."

Zheng Zhilong nodded upon hearing this. This efficiency was indeed beyond his imagination.

"It's true. Since the establishment of a sea ban in Tianjin, there have been more and more people. Last month, I discovered that merchants from Jiangnan and Shandong came by boat. They probably also want to open up waterways for business.

Zuo Guangdou is indeed very powerful. I also heard that he personally explored the wasteland and established a camp. Currently, he has opened up [-] acres. I think Tianjin Prefecture has a lot to do in the future. "

Huang Dong is also aware of this situation. He even paid for his cousin to go to the Tuen School. Now that he heard what Zheng Zhilong said, he couldn't help but secretly make up his mind to go to Tianjin Mansion when he has time to see what's going on there. Case.

"But isn't this ship used by the imperial court as a navy builder? Can we buy it?"

"Of course. They didn't agree to it at first. But then, for some reason, they agreed immediately after hearing that I was from Daming Trading Company. However, the quotation was extremely high. It cost 8000 taels of silver for a boat. If this was Macau, it would be enough to buy it. Two boats.”

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong couldn't help complaining, Huang Dong didn't take it seriously. Now it's better to buy the boat and set up a team.

"It seems that someone has said hello. Regardless of this, since you are willing to sell the boat, then buy it. First set up the team and start the business."

Zheng Zhilong also agreed. He was also under a lot of pressure, and he wanted to buy it first no matter what, and then run it first, so that at least the people who invested money like him could rest assured.

"I also think so. Although the Wuwei ship is more expensive than the Fu ship, it is larger than the Fu ship, and because it is made of hardwood such as ironwood, it is stronger than the Fu ship made of pine and fir. More goods will be transported in the future.

And now we are centered on the capital city, focusing on Liaodong and North Korea in the early stage, and the scope is the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. These places have small winds and waves and shallow drafts, which are suitable for black-tail boats.

This kind of boat is not resistant to wind and waves. If it is placed in places with small wind and waves such as the Bohai Sea, it will sail smoothly. In addition, it is equipped with multiple oars on both sides, which is still convenient in a windless environment. "

Huang Dong didn't know much about ships, but he felt relieved after listening to Zheng Zhilong's explanation. He felt that it was very reliable.

"Then just follow what you said. I don't understand these things either. It's up to you to decide. By the way, last time you said you wanted to recruit crew members, I'm already doing it. There was a severe drought in Liaodong and Shandong before, and there were a lot of refugees. There were quite a lot of people who signed up, but many didn’t meet the requirements, and only over 400 people were screened out.”

Huang Dong said and asked someone to bring the roster and show it to Zheng Zhilong. When Zheng Zhilong heard that there were more than 400 people, he thought to himself that there were enough people.He took the booklet and read it roughly.

"There must be a lot of people coming. It's hard to find a job like this one and a half a month. But you have to set strict standards. There must be people on the shore who are good at water, can endure hardships, and can stay there." .”

Huang Dong picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, and couldn't help but roll his eyes when listening to Zheng Zhilong's words.

"Don't worry, they are all selected according to the requirements. They all have family members on the shore, otherwise they would not be selected at all. But these are just crew members. As for the people in charge, you can't arrange them all. You must allow me to allow a few people to come out. Otherwise, I'm afraid that the nobles and businessmen who have already invested will not be reassured."

After hearing Huang Dong's assurance, Zheng Zhilong finally felt relieved, simply flipped through the roster and put him on the table.

"Don't worry about this. I know this rule. Now we have the ship and the people. My uncle also wrote a letter ten days ago. The skilled seamen he recruited are already on their way. I think they will arrive in the capital soon. By then, it will only take a little time. After training, you can go to sea.”

"That's very good. You have to be careful when doing it for the first time. As long as nothing happens, it's easy to say. I'm also renting a store and warehouse. As long as the purchased items are useful, don't worry at all, just leave them to me."

Seeing Huang Dong's solemn instructions, Zheng Zhilong nodded to express his understanding. He knew in his heart that this was definitely a hurdle. As long as he got over it, the future would be bright. If he couldn't get over it, he really didn't dare to think about it, so he could only succeed and not fail. .

"Don't worry, I have rented a venue in Tianjin Mansion. Now that the crew is ready, I will take them to Tianjin Mansion for training. I just need to wait for the crew from my uncle's side to come and get a little familiar with the training.

That is to say, when we first went to Liaodong and North Korea to do business, the profits were far less profitable than those in Southeast Asia and the West. "

"It's nothing. His Majesty said it when he handed it over to you. He doesn't seek to get rich suddenly, but only to have long-lasting water, so he must be steady. As for going to Southeast Asia, or even to the West, you can do it without any rush in the future."

After taking Huang Dong's reassurance, Zheng Zhilong felt relieved.

I sighed secretly in my heart that it was a shame that His Majesty allowed Huang Dong to work with him. Huang Dong was thoughtful, bold and careful.

Not only did he give himself a lot of substantial help, but he also always helped him solve his problems. Otherwise, he would never be busy with so many things.

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(End of this chapter)