open sea

Chapter 829
Chen Mu asked Hai Rui the wrong person to ask this question. Hai Rui only cares about whether the people are well fed and warmly dressed. Human energy is limited. For those people who have no worries about food and clothing, Hai Rui selectively Don't pay attention.

But even so, Chen Mu still got a little bit of information.

For example, the average price of cotton cloth in the northern and southern provinces is [-]% lower. This average is a rough estimate. After all, Hai Rui is not the Minister of the Ministry of Officials Wang Guoguang, and he does not have the energy and responsibility to compile the "Wanli Accounting Record".

Hai Rui’s method of comparison is that the price of cotton cloth in Guangdong is [-]% cheaper than in previous years, and that in Beijing is half [-]%.

But it is very informative. In Chen Mu's view, this is the result of productivity improvement and business competition. At the same time, he suspects that Yin Zhengmao's work is not doing well, so the market is saturated like this?
How can Guangdong cotton cloth be sold domestically when the market is not saturated, and how can the price of cloth be reduced so much?
Very unreasonable.

In fact, Ming’s overseas market is far from saturated. Cotton cloth is exported to Southeast Asia, India, and Japan. However, it is very reasonable for cloth prices to drop because there are officials.

Nanyang Minister Gao Gong on the sickbed believes that to fill the vacancy in the overseas market, we must rely on the production of various provinces, not just rely on Guangdong. This small textile factory can't even finish weaving the cotton that Yin Zhengmao brings back every year.

Not at that little bit.

Therefore, in the fifth year of Wanli, he jointly issued orders covering all walks of life with local governments at all levels and various commanders and envoys, ordering merchants and military surplus factories to keep at least [-]% of the production materials in sea trade and sell them domestically, and set the highest price. It is [-]% of the original market price of various goods.

The price of cotton cloth in Northern Zhili is normal, because the cotton cloth produced there is generally sold domestically, and the productivity increases the output. Generally, cotton cloth is sold outside the customs and by land, so the price is low.

"Tinda, it's time for you to go."

On September [-]th, Chen Mu summoned Shao Tingda and Shen Sixiao, who had lived at home for a long time, and handed him a bilingual parchment, saying, "Duke Avar has signed the treaty that the land on the west coast of South Asia is owned by Ming. You can go and take over the land."

The treaty held in Chen Mu’s hands is like Mingxi Nanjing. There are four copies, which are owned by Emperor Wanli, King Philip, Chen Mu, and Alva. At present, it is only a draft, with Chen Mu’s and Alva’s signatures, seals, Fingerprints also have two different names in Ming and Xi.

In the Ming Dynasty, it is called the "Mingxi Asia Trade Treaty", and in Spain it is called the "Act on Minting Coins on behalf of the Ming Dynasty". No matter what it is called, the content in it is the same.

Chen Mu handed the treaty to Shao Tingda, and raised two soldiers. One pulled down the map, and the other handed over the bamboo stick. He gestured on the map and said, "Go to Lima, the Viceroyalty of Peru in Spain, Alba has sent someone to Now let’s pass on the news, and the next thing will be measured by the two countries.”

"It is said that there is a watchtower in the south of Lima City. From the foot of the watchtower, it measures 660 li along the coast to the south, and a boundary marker is placed there. The boundary markers are [-] li to the east and [-] li to the south, all belonging to Ming Dynasty. "

"There are several cities established by Westerners along the way, Arica, Santiago, Concepcion, Arauco, and Valdivia. They will wait for you to take over in turn."

Chen Mu said, turning his eyes to Shen Sixiao, and said: "Father Shen Chun, you have also seen how Changsheng County is governed. There are heavy political tasks there, and there are many people, especially the language is difficult. There are many wastelands and deserts, and the land is very vast , you have to show your ability as a Jinshi."

In fact, when Chen Mu talked about wasteland and desert, he didn't just meditate on filial piety, no one had this concept.

What is the concept of a land of more than [-] miles in length and width?
This is the distance from Haojing to Tianjin by boat.

No matter how many deserts there are, Shen Sixiao has no idea in his heart. He really has no idea. He asked Chen Mu: "Can the commander-in-chief be changed to Haigong? Sixiao will be satisfied if he goes to fight. This land of thousands of miles... I am really worried." Delay the important affairs of the court."

Chen Mu saw that Shen Sixiao retreated as soon as he came up, and laughed: "If you can send Haigong, why ask you to help? Your duty is not only to manage, but also to other important things."

"First of all, although Alva has ordered the local Westerners to retreat, many plantation owners along the coast may not be willing to retreat. If they want to stay, they will be driven away one by one by Shao Zongbing. Kill the evil leader and let the others go, don't give them a chance to unite."

Now it was Shao Tingda's turn to face difficulties, he said: "The front of the military mansion just sent four thousand banner troops to the border, how many people can we allocate to our subordinates now?"

Shao Tingda felt that this matter required a lot of troops. Facing the [-]-kilometer-long coastline, even if the banner army to fill the entire Dongyang Army Mansion was not enough, his heart beat like Shen Sixiao's.

This is also a more difficult problem for Chen Mu. He smiled helplessly and said, "I can only give you a thousand Beiyang infantrymen and four hundred for various military craftsmen, but don't worry, we will send five hundred Jurchen soldiers and other soldiers from Jincheng later." Two thousand Japanese soldiers will help you suppress the various places, and the Japanese soldiers may go later, waiting for them to learn how to speak."

"Except for Arica, the rest of the cities are all big cities, and there are many Westerners nearby. They will leave in batches according to the contract, which will take a long time. You should hand over Arica first, and then measure the land. Inside, there will be Westerners who will continue to govern other places for Ming Dynasty."

Hearing that there was only one place, both Wen and Wu heaved a sigh of relief. If it came up, the coastline of [-] miles would scare people to death. Is there not enough manpower to take care of it?

Chen Mu laughed seeing the relief of the two people, and said: "I'm not kidding you, the governance of the land is only a long-term goal. For a while, it will mainly be stationed in Arika, and the cannon temple, county government, and cannon factory will be built. To the east, there is an official road leading directly to Potosi, where the garrison escorted the silver, and purchased iron ore from Peru to mint coins for the Western Kingdom.”

"But this is just hard work. Helping them mint 200 million taels of silver a year can earn back our military pay in Asia, nothing more."

"There are quite a few copper mines in the area, and there are also some small silver mines and lead mines. You should dig them out as soon as possible. If you encounter any Western country mine owners who are unwilling to let go, drive them away. The most important thing is not these."

"There is a big job related to the fate of the country, you must do it well." Chen Mu approached the two mysteriously, and whispered: "When the place is stable, you have to take advantage of the measurement to make dozens of gunpowder craftsmen." The team, escorted by soldiers, went deep into the desert from all directions to find saltpeter."

(End of this chapter)