After asking the envoys to retreat, Lao Zhu ordered people to find Han Du.
"Why do you have to double the price of the mirror before you are willing to sell it to those foreign ministers?"
When Han Du heard this, he immediately laughed and said, "Oh, did they really come to the emperor to complain?"
When Lao Zhu saw Han Du's dissolute appearance, his face suddenly darkened. He sneered and said, "Have I been too tolerant to you recently, so you are so bold that you are looking for trouble?"
"What, what do you mean looking for trouble?" Han Du was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion.
Lao Zhu said angrily: "The mirror is sold to everyone, why do you have to double the price before selling it to them?"
Han Du saw that Lao Zhu's tone was somewhat unkind, and when he heard the meaning behind his words, he suddenly felt bad.
He asked tentatively in a low voice: "Your Majesty, you didn't promise them, did you?"
"So what if I agree? Your mirror is a huge profit in the first place. Isn't it a good thing if they can buy more?" Lao Zhu said disapprovingly. "And it is also a difficulty for them to transport the mirror back thousands of miles. Maybe it is not possible at all.
You can’t make much money.”
Han Du looked at Lao Zhu speechlessly and couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, are they the ones who said you can't make much money?"
"That's what they said, what's wrong?"
To be honest, in Han Du's opinion, Lao Zhu is really an honest man. After knowing him for so long, he has not learned the essence of a profiteer at all.
If they really can't make any money, why would those people be so active? If they really can't make any money, then unless someone is willing to pay, don't even think that they will approach like sharks smelling blood. Let alone
In order to get the mirror at a low price, I would not hesitate to come to your hometown to file a complaint. If those profiteers can be believed, then even a sow can climb a tree.
Han Du had no choice but to explain: "Your Majesty, it is indeed difficult to transport it thousands of miles back, and there may be a lot of losses along the way. But Wei Chen has already taken all of this into consideration when setting the price. Even they
You can make a lot of money by buying the mirror back at twice the price. Does your Majesty know how high the price of something like a mirror can be in other countries?"
"How high is it?" Lao Zhu really didn't know this, after all, it probably wasn't sold in those places yet.
With a bit of a smile on his face, Han Du continued: "Things are rare, Your Majesty. This mirror looks ordinary in Dadu, but it is the first time it has appeared in them. Not to mention a unique treasure.
, that is also a top-notch good thing. Is such a thing worthless? Many ministers dare not say, but once they ship the mirror back, there is no problem in making ten times the profit."
"Ten times? There are so many, is it really so profitable?" Lao Zhu was shocked.
What is the concept of ten times the price difference? Let alone doing business, even if you go to loan sharking, you may not be able to make ten times the profit.
This is the high profit of foreign trade in this era.
This is also the reason why so many people are keen on sailing. To be honest, sailing in this era is actually not safe. It is common to encounter strong winds and huge waves, and people and ships sink together. But why did some people in the Southern Song Dynasty
So many people are flocking to the sea one after another? It is because of such high profits.
People die for wealth and birds die for food. Who can make such a profit? No one can bear it.
"That's natural," Han Du nodded and explained to Lao Zhu casually: "The emperor is knowledgeable about the past and present, so he should know about overseas trade in the Southern Song Dynasty, right?"
"Of course I know," Lao Zhu looked at Han Du with a meaningful look in his eyes, and continued: "Businessmen were active in the Southern Song Dynasty, and overseas trade was naturally good."
Is it just good?
When Han Du heard what Lao Zhu said, he understood that Lao Zhu must have never seen the detailed data on the maritime trade of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although he didn't know why the emperor Lao Zhu couldn't see the data, Han Du didn't care so much.
, anyway, just let Lao Zhu know.
"An ordinary piece of silk can only be sold for six taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty, but if this piece of silk goes to Sumatra or Dashi and other countries, it can be sold for a hundred taels of silver. But it is said that if a ship of goods goes out, half a ship of gold
The silver comes back. According to what Wei Chen knows, at the peak of the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court had an annual income of more than 160 million guan, of which at least 80% was from overseas trade."
The imperial court of the Southern Song Dynasty had an annual income of 160 million guan, while the Ming Dynasty only had an income of less than 3 million guan, which is not even a fraction of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the Southern Song Dynasty was not strong in military force, in terms of economy, then
It really stands on the long river of ancient history and can stand proudly for thousands of years.
"Are you telling the truth?"
After seeing Han Du's affirmative nod, Lao Zhu's face quickly turned red. How could he not be red? He wanted to establish a Ming Empire, and Ming could easily overthrow Meng Yuan. Naturally, he thought that his Ming Dynasty
It is powerful and far superior to previous dynasties.
But now Han Du told him that although the territory of the Ming Dynasty was several times that of the Southern Song Dynasty, in terms of the annual income of the imperial court, it was not even worthy of carrying shoes for the Southern Song Dynasty. There was a gap of eighteen streets.
As his face turned red, Lao Zhu's eyes turned green.
How much is the annual income of 160 million yuan? If Ming Dynasty had such an annual income now, would he still need to grow rice and tea? Would he still need to worry about military expenses every year?
If he really had so much money, Lao Zhu would have gathered millions of soldiers to wipe out the residual Yuan completely. Why could the residual Yuan survive for so many years? It's not because the residual residual is powerful, but because the Ming Dynasty has no money. In terms of strength, the residual residual is simply weak.
It is not as good as the Ming Dynasty, otherwise it would not be possible for Can Yuan to suffer a complete defeat every time he goes on a campaign and has no victory.
"Of course." Han Du said affirmatively.
Lao Zhu frowned slightly and said, "That's not right. I asked all the countries to come to court not just to show off the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. I also thought about using tribute to trade with the countries, but why did the Ming Dynasty and the countries
The trade gap between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty was so large?"
Uh-huh?
Mom, is this the truth about Lao Zhu’s forbidden sea? He wants to monopolize overseas trade?
I also have some understanding of the tribute Handu of the Ming Dynasty. To be honest, it is different from what ordinary people think. Most people think that the foreign countries paid a tribute of goods worth 20,000 guan, but the Ming Dynasty wanted to return a gift of 100,000 guan. They thought that the Ming Dynasty was suffering a loss. In fact, this was not the case.
First of all, no matter how much the tribute goods are, half of them must be given to the court free of charge. Then the rest can be priced by officials and used as a basis for return gifts.