The first prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 146

The word pirate was widely used by maritime merchants in the Song Dynasty, all of which originated from today.

Later, the "Logbook" of the Song Dynasty introduced the origin of the word pirate in detail, saying that it was created by Emperor Wu in November of the first year of Jianlong in Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xu didn't think of these things, and he was called their ancestor by the pirates because of this. I don't know if Zhao Xu knew this or was he laughing?
Zhao Xu asked them to calm down in a hurry. He still had business to do, so he had no time to listen to these compliments.

"Boss Wang, since you know this, um, pirates threaten your safety, that's what I want to say to cooperate with the imperial court." Zhao Xu immediately got to the point.

"The villain doesn't dare, just ask the prince to call Xiaomin by his name. How dare Xiaomin call you the boss in front of you, don't dare." Wang Yanmin flattered.

People at this time are just brains, just a title, how can there be so many Taoism, this is what Zhao Xu is most annoying, and it is also what he hates the most, so let him go.

If he was serious, there was really no way for this conversation to continue, so he shook his head helplessly.

"Prince, please continue."

"I said just now that since there are pirates, even if you hire some bodyguards to follow you, it must cost a lot. In this case, your profit will not be much."

Profit is the most fundamental destination of a businessman's actions. Later, another man named Lao Ma said this:
If there is a 50.00% profit, it will take risks, if there is a [-]% profit, it will dare to trample on all laws in the world, if there is a [-]% profit, it will dare to commit any crime, even risking being hanged danger. "

Although Lao Ma's words may seem exaggerated, they are perfectly appropriate to describe the actions of businessmen.

Businessmen have been chasing profit since ancient times, and they dared to do anything for profit, otherwise many dynasties before the Song Dynasty would not have issued laws and regulations to restrict the development of commerce.

It makes some sense to think about it. Profit is like a piece of bloody meat, and a businessman is like a fly that comes when it smells fishy.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Xu finished speaking, he looked deeply convinced, and the businessmen began to discuss in a low voice.

"That's right, what the prince said is right. That's the reason. Every time some bodyguards die, we have to pay a lot of housing expenses to their family members. In this way, we have almost no profit at all."

A fat man stood up and said, Zhao Xu frowned when he heard this. It turns out that a businessman can't do anything without a profit.

Seeing Zhao Xu's expression, Wang Yanmin thought the prince was angry, and immediately defended the fat man:
"Prince, this is Qian Dafu. He hasn't read any books, and he doesn't have any scruples when he doesn't speak. Don't be surprised."

It turns out that this person's surname is Qian Ya, and it really means that he cares about money. It turns out that money is in his heart, hehe.

"It turned out to be Boss Qian. Since Boss Qian's surname is Qian, could it be that he is related by marriage to the royal family of Wuyue Kingdom?"

Zhao Xu wanted to play tricks on this fat man, so he said such a thing, and it was these words that scared Fatty Qian a lot.

The king of Wuyue is surnamed Qian. You should feel honored to be in the same family as the king of Wuyue.

But this is not the case at all, Wu Yue is not the Great Song Dynasty after all, but you are doing business in the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, you can only be the master of Wu Yue Kingdom.

Not only Qian Dafu, but everyone present was a little puzzled, especially Miao Xun who knew Zhao Xu very well.

When did the lord stop talking in plain language, is this Qian Dafu really from Wuyue Kingdom?
"Prince, I am wronged. My surname is Qian, but it has nothing to do with the Qian family in Wuyue. My ancestors are all from Hebei!"

Qian Dafu kowtowed like pounding garlic, could he not be like this, seeing that his life was in danger, no one was in a hurry.

"Prince, did you make a mistake? This Qian Dafu is indeed from Hebei, and he came to Jiangnan later. This villain can guarantee it."

Seeing that everyone looked worried, Zhao Xu began to speak slowly:

"Okay, I just made a joke for you to adjust it because I saw the atmosphere is so heavy. I didn't expect you to be so unfunny. You have no sense of humor."

Fatty Qian heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't understand what a humorous cell is, but he knew that he had nothing to do.

The heart that was hanging high was finally let go, and then he wiped the sweat on his forehead with his hands, but it was useless, the clothes on his back were completely soaked.

This cold day is really uncomfortable, and other people have nothing to say, how can this prince not figure it out, can this joke be made casually?

Looking at them now, Zhao Xu shook his head helplessly again. People in ancient times were really pathetic, they didn't even have a sense of humor.

"Okay, let's get on with the business. I'll continue what I said above. I just said that you have been harassed by pirates for a long time..."

Zhao Xu said a lot in one breath, and it took a long time for everyone to finally understand what he was talking about.

The so-called cooperation is to let these merchants and the imperial court do these sales business together, and the profit will be shared with the imperial court, which is only [-]% to [-]%.

There is a point that the big head is expensive for the court, and the small head is for the merchants. In this way, the merchants did not take much advantage, but no merchant objected.

They have been engaged in these things for a long time, so they naturally know how much their real profit is, and they may not get much in the end.

What Zhao Xu was talking about was to let them join an institution of the imperial court. Officially, they were officials of the imperial court.

These businessmen are not very unfamiliar with this institution. Their grandparents and fathers have experienced it, or have dealt with it. It is called Shibosi.

This Shibo Department is very famous. It is a full-time management agency for the entry and exit of maritime transport in ancient China. Its functions are somewhat similar to today's customs.

The history of China's foreign trade development can be said to have started from the Han Dynasty. At that time, foreign trade was mainly based on land.

The Silk Road was the representative of land foreign trade at that time.Although it is mainly land trade, it does not say that there is no sea trade.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che began to have official overseas trade, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. However, at this time, China's navigation technology was still very backward.

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, China's navigation and shipbuilding technology has made great progress, so overseas trade has further developed.

And it gradually prospered. Among the tax revenue of the imperial court, the tax revenue of this customs began to occupy a large share.

Facing the ever-growing overseas trade, a special institution was needed to govern it. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty set up a special institution to manage foreign trade affairs - "Shibosi".

Therefore, it was in the Tang Dynasty when the Shibosi appeared, and these businessmen were somewhat familiar with this institution.

However, since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, there have been constant wars in the country, and people who often go to sea are not common.

Gradually, this institution was also abandoned. Some courts of the Five Dynasties simply did not set up this institution, and there was no such institution in the bureaucracy of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

Zhao Xu wanted these merchants to belong to the Shi Ship Division and follow the imperial court's official fleet for ocean voyages.

In this way, they are the official status of the court, and the most important thing is the fleet of the court, that is, they are guaranteed,

Didn't the imperial court send soldiers to protect their ships? It would be hard to say if they didn't, so these people are still holding back their own little calculations.

"The prince just asked if there is such an institution in our Great Song Dynasty. As far as Xiaomin knows, has this institution been established since the fall of the Great Tang Dynasty?"

These people are all headed by Wang Yanmin, so he asked this question without hesitation.

Sure enough, he is a quick-witted person, and he immediately grasped the key points, and directly asked us if there is such an organization in Da Song?

Zhao Xu still admired this person very much:
"We don't have this organization in Song Dynasty now, but there will be one soon. It will appear as long as we need it, and it will appear as long as you are willing. I don't know if you are satisfied with my answer?"

Zhao Xu smiled.

"Ah, this crown prince is really domineering. If you need it, you can treat this court as your family's, and this Da Song really belongs to his family."

All the businessmen present were muttering in their hearts.

"Um, I'm satisfied. Since the Crown Prince has said so, I, Wang Yanmin, have dedicated all of my wealth to the imperial court."

With Wang Yanmin's statement, his younger brothers couldn't wait to express their loyalty. His boss had already said it, so could he not support it?
Zhao Xu was very satisfied with the result. With the first batch of people, there will be a second batch. These are the pioneers of colonization, and they are all the governors of overseas colonization.

"Alright, since everyone has agreed to Gu, thank you again." Zhao Xu's use of the title "Gu" meant that he attached great importance to this matter.

Sure enough, he didn't even dare to say thanks to the prince, but he was still very happy in his heart. What is the status of the prince, let him say thank you, it's because his ancestral grave is smoking.

Zhao Xu asked them to go back and finish handling their goods first, and then go to Bianjing. He will contact these people when the time comes.

"Prince, are you really planning to reopen the Shibo Department?" Miao Xun asked when only Zhao Xu, Miao Xun and Song Yanwo were left in the hall.

"Yes, when I return to Beijing tomorrow, I will discuss with my father that the Shibo Department must be reopened. This is a major event and cannot be delayed."

"But..." Miao Xun wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Zhao Xu.

"Sir, needless to say, even if the entire land has not yet been unified, we must do this as soon as possible. This is related to the future of our Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu's thoughts went back to the seventeenth century, when warships were rampant on the sea and a lot of wealth was shipped to the west.

At that time, China was keeping its doors behind closed doors, slowly losing its yearning and control over the sea.

Knowing that the country's maritime strength will be very weak hundreds of years later, I will never allow such a thing to happen again.

(End of this chapter)