The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 744

Wang Zhen agreed and was about to leave to give his orders when the emperor suddenly stopped him and asked, "Sir, do you think the national treasury belongs to me?"

Wang Zhen bowed and said, "The whole world belongs to your Majesty, and so does the national treasury."

The emperor nodded contentedly and waved his hand, saying, "Go."

If the national treasury is equivalent to the internal treasury, then it is not impossible for official ships to pay taxes.

Just as Pan Yun said in the secret letter, since he, the emperor, had handed over everything, how could those royal family members and powerful people dare not hand over?
Pan Yun was still mumbling to Cao Jixiang and making big promises for him: "See, see, it hasn't even started yet and so many people are already yearning for maritime trade. If the maritime ban is officially lifted, these people will each have a ship, and all the money going in and out will be silver!

As long as the emperor pays taxes, everyone else has to pay as well. The emperor has money in his left hand and in his right hand. If the emperor pays, how dare they not pay? This is taking money out of other people's pockets and putting it into the national treasury. It all belongs to the emperor!"

Pan Yun’s three large ships have already docked, and everyone is moving the goods onto the ships in an orderly manner.

From the Wulin League, the prefectural government, the navy office and the Maritime Customs, all those who were preparing to go out to sea were carrying their bags and saying goodbye to their relatives and friends, so the usually deserted Quanzhou Port was now full of people.

Some vendors had known the news in advance and were carrying their loads and pushing carts outside the crowd, shouting at them.

Don't think they are small vendors, they are not small at all.

The owner of the Wu Family Silk Shop couldn't squeeze onto Pan Yun's ship, so he could only shout to the crowd through the officials: "Wu Family Silk, Wu Family Silk, colorful and smooth as fat, selling at cost price, selling at cost price!"

A Jinyiwei who had been standing silently finally couldn't help but turned and walked towards him.

When Wu Dongjia saw him, his eyes immediately lit up, and he held a piece of rose-red patterned silk and thrust it in front of him: "Look, sir, this is top-quality Fujian silk, only three taels of silver a piece!"

Jinyiwei frowned: "I have only heard of Su Chou."

"I have Su silk, but Fujian silk is more cost-effective," Wu Dongjia said immediately, "Master Pan's business brought a lot of Su silk this time. You can't compete with her with only one or two pieces. It's better to buy Fujian silk. If you touch it with the back of your hand, it feels no worse than Su silk."

The Jinyiwei then touched it with the back of his hand and found it was cold, which was indeed true.

"Only three taels?"

Wu Dongjia immediately said, "Under normal circumstances, merchants would need five taels of silver to buy this kind of Fujian silk, and it can be sold for seven to ten taels of silver in stores. However, this is the first batch of private ships that have gone out to sea in recent years, so I will sell it to you at cost price. I only hope that you can bring more Fujian silk and Wu's Silk Shop when you get there, and I will be very grateful."

To put it bluntly, he was not selling the silk for the purpose of making money, but just wanted the Japanese to know about Fujian silk and his Wu's Silk Shop. In the future, when the maritime ban was lifted, more people would choose his silk.

Humph, he is not qualified to go out to sea. Does that mean he can’t sell his goods?
Wu Dongjia enthusiastically explained to the Jinyiwei the benefits of his silk.

The Jinyiwei became more and more excited. He turned around to look for his comrades. After a while, seven or eight Jinyiwei came together. They pooled their money and finally came up with more than eighty taels of silver.

Wu Dongjia immediately selected the most colorful silk for them, and even took two more pieces with a painful look on his face: "I will round up to thirty pieces for you adults! When you arrive in Japan, if anyone likes this silk, please mention Fuzhou Silk Shop."

“Are you from Fuzhou?”

"Yes, I heard that Master Pan's ship was about to go out to sea, so I hurried here immediately. Although it is in Fuzhou, Fuzhou is not far from Quanzhou. In the future, whether the ship goes out from Fuzhou or Quanzhou, I can deliver the silk and satin."

Wu Dongjia took out oilcloth and wrapped them carefully, and also taught them the precautions for preserving the silk at sea.

As a cloth, it is most afraid of water, fire and stains. Wu Dongjia is very experienced in how to protect the cloth. He not only wrapped and tied it for them, but also wrote it on paper and stuffed it in front of them in case they forgot to remember the precautions, repeatedly reminding them: "Be sure to bring it to Japan in good condition."

Those who didn't know would think they were carrying some rare treasure. Wu Dongjia was worried that they wouldn't be able to carry it properly, so he reluctantly looked away until the Jinyiwei carried the silk onto the boat, and then he immediately shouted at those who hadn't had time to get on board.

However, most people on board prepared their things in advance.

After all, except for the group of people brought by Cao Jixiang, everyone else already knew that they could get on the ship.

They already knew by heart what to bring and what the goal was.

So large items like silk are difficult to sell here, but small items are very popular.

Combs from Changzhou, obscure tea from nearby areas, and beautiful porcelain from Jingdezhen were all sold for a dozen or even dozens of coins.

The people who had already emptied their wallets could not afford even a few taels of silver, but they could still give them a few dozen coins.

Everyone added some things here and there and got on board one after another.

Pan Yun took Cao Jixiang for a tour and showed him how popular the sea trade was. He said happily, "How is it? Private trade is very vibrant, right?"

Cao Jixiang nodded: "Yes, they are very active. Do they pay taxes?"

Pan Yun glanced at him and said, "Lord Cao, if you want to collect taxes from them, it's very simple. See, this piece and that piece can all be turned into shops and warehouses. When the maritime ban is lifted in the future, this piece can continuously make money for the national treasury."

The prefect happened to come over to greet them, and upon hearing what was said, he started coughing violently.

Pan Yun and Cao Jixiang looked back at him together.

The prefect paused and smiled, "Sir Cao, has the court decided to lift the maritime ban?"

Cao Jixiang said expressionlessly, "No, it's the prefect who has such a huge reaction. Could it be that he wants to build this place on behalf of the Maritime Customs and collect taxes on its behalf?"

The prefect smiled and said, "You are joking, sir. The Maritime Customs Office collects customs duties. If we want to build shops and warehouses in this area, the rent and taxes will be collected by the prefect's office, and have nothing to do with the Maritime Customs Office."

Cao Jixiang’s face turned as black as charcoal as he looked at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun pretended not to see or hear anything. He looked up at the sky and then at the big ship. He smiled and said to the two men, "The ship is about to leave. I'm going to see my housekeeper."

Xue Shao was on the boat. He didn't go to Japan, but just made some arrangements for the three boats.

He reminded everyone one by one who was on which boat and who needed to be paid attention to.

Song Dalin stared at him. Although he was a little unconvinced, he was the person brought and entrusted by Pan Yun, so he could only obey.

Xue Shao had a good temper and did not care about his hostility. After all, he was an official before, and he was also an imperial censor who was said to be useless and filed complaints against people everywhere.

Not only did the rebels dislike him, but the officials also disliked him, so he was accustomed to people's dislike.

After he finished giving his instructions, he saw Pan Yun coming up and asked with a smile, "Did you piss off Cao Jixiang?"

(End of this chapter)