Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred and Twenty-seven Zhejiang Shipping Department, Zhejiang Right Chief Envoy!
In May of the seventh year of Hongzhi (1494), Ming Dynasty, Ningbo Port.
Blue bricks are connected with white tiles, and stacked shops and houses are spread out along the port, with 300 dazzling shops. Three rivers converge at the river mouth, and the prosperous "Mingzhou" is right on the river and sea, extending thirty miles of prosperity.
At the end of this prosperous and prosperous era, there is the Asoka Temple, which is more than a thousand years old, standing quietly in the eastern suburbs of Ningbo. At this moment, the morning bells are echoing in the quiet woods.
"Dang! Dang!..."
Shi Wende knelt in front of the Buddha statue, lowered his head and knelt down for a moment, silently reciting something. Then he stood up, and the servant next to him put on the black gauze hat for raising people, and another servant gave the host a heavy sincerity of worship.
Later, while the host was reciting "sincere" sutras, the three people left the temple and went straight to the wooden stakes at the door where the horses were tied.
"Master? Would you like some snacks?..."
"No need. I just paid homage to the Buddha, and with the help of this Zen and Buddhist energy, I went to meet Fan Tai. Fan Tai's annex is near the Buddhist temple. He is a Bodhisattva. When we meet, I will mention it.
What I saw and heard in the Buddhist temple this morning, I can get closer to you, and maybe I can talk about it..."
"Ah! I see it clearly! Wisdom is all given by Mazu!..."
"Ha ha!…"
Just this nondescript flattery exposed Chongming Shi's background. Shi Wende smiled and got on the horse, maintaining a neither fast nor slow speed, and ran leisurely for half an hour. The distant harbor once again appeared in front of his eyes.
, and the large "ships" moored one after another are the source and symbol of this port's amazing wealth!
"Fan ships, fan ships... barbarian ships, Japanese ships... But there are so many barbarian ships and Japanese ships in Ningbo's harbor! Behind these foreign ships, there are more or less Zhejiang sea masters
Their shadows! However, how hard is it to find a suitable cornucopia?... Even if you can travel across the sea and collect valuable goods from the barbarian Japanese... If you want to legally transport them back to Ningbo, you can do it openly here...
How difficult is it?!…”
Looking at the prosperous port, Shi Wende's complicated emotions also rose and fell with the horse's back. Ever since Ming Taizu left his ancestral precepts, the Ming Dynasty has implemented a maritime ban on the bright side. Legal ocean trade can only be carried out in Zhejiang's "
Ningbo Port Municipal Shipping Division", Fujian's "Quanzhou-Fuzhou Port Municipal Shipping Division", and Guangdong's "Guangzhou Port Municipal Shipping Division" are conducted at three ports. And the ships traded must be "Fan Ship" on the surface, and also
It is a "ship of overseas foreigners", and it must have permission to pay tribute and be able to trade!
Since the establishment of the Municipal Shipping Department by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the political philosophy followed has been to "specialize in paying tribute, treating people from far away with kindness, and making guests from all over the world submissive." Among them, Ningbo mainly faces Japan, Quanzhou-Fuzhou faces Ryukyu, and Guangzhou faces Nanyang.
The vassals must be "divided and ruled, not interconnected".
In other words, the Municipal Shipping Department was originally designed as a diplomatic department! It is not an economic department, let alone a customs for import and export transactions. Trade has never been its responsibility!
Therefore, from the perspective of the political logic of the court, if the vassals are all compliant and the political goal of "submitting guests from all directions" is achieved, all shipping departments can be closed or overseas trade can be reduced to the greatest extent. But if the vassals rebel,
If this goal cannot be achieved at all, then the Shipping Department can also be closed down, just like the previous chaos in the Japanese and Southern Dynasties... This is the most common political consideration when the government banned and loosened the sea ban several times in the past 100 years.
However, more than a hundred years have passed, and the original "simple" political design of Ming Taizu is no longer in line with the current situation of the empire's prosperous commerce! Similarly, no matter how stubborn the emperor's ancestral precepts are, under the long-term infiltration of wealth and interests, they will inevitably
There will be varying degrees of looseness.
At present, under the control of the eunuchs, the actual functions and work of the three major shipping companies have changed to varying degrees. The "fan ships" traded in the three major cities' shipping companies are different from the "fan ships" pretended by Mingzhou Shipbuilding.
The number of "ships" is also increasing, and it has far exceeded the acceptable permit. Even the collection of commercial taxes that did not exist before has naturally appeared under the management of middle-level officials. Here, the Guangdong Shipping Division is the first
, created the "Fanbo water money" and distributed it directly to the entire yamen!
Therefore, how big the loosening of the sea ban is, how many "fan ships" can be traded on one card, how many times of trading, how much water is extracted, whether it is necessary to strictly follow the frequency of "tribute"... it all depends on the flexibility of the officials.
Bottom line” and “enforcement standards”.
Of course, the most basic political principle is that "fan ships" that come to trade must be affiliated with... no, they must have a valid certificate issued by the Ming Dynasty to the vassal country, so that they will not be "forcibly enforced" by the Ming Navy. If there is
The "gold leaf inscriptions" given to the vassals by the Ming Dynasty have even greater room for manipulation!
The degree of laxity in law enforcement of this maritime ban is usually inversely proportional to the distance from Shuntian Prefecture and the degree of central control. Guangdong Shipping Department has the loosest law enforcement, the scale of "Fan Ship" trade is the largest, and it is also the top expatriate job. Fujian
The Municipal Shipping Department's law enforcement is a little looser, and the mid-level officials need to be more cautious. As for the Zhejiang Municipal Shipping Division, it is the tightest, and even if you are not careful, you will lose your head!
"It has been one hundred and thirty years since the founding of our country in the Ming Dynasty! The population in Zhejiang is booming. How can we support ourselves just by relying on these fields that have long been divided up? And the taxes imposed by the imperial court on Zhejiang are the highest in the country... so
, the coastal Zhejiang people have no choice but to go to sea! Just like me, the Shi family of Chongming, how can I possibly support my people with the little farmland on the island..."
"It's just that if there is no suitable paper and the fake 'fanship' trade is carried out only by the manipulation of middle-ranking officials... Although the secret demands are heavy, compared with the lucrative sea trade, it is still bearable.
But the laws in the court are sometimes loose and sometimes tight, and the officials in the inner court come and go... If you are not careful, you will be dead!"
"Just like today, since I took over the throne, I have executed the eunuch Liang Fang, expelled the 'treacherous men', and trusted the 'gentlemen', so that 'all the people are upright and prosperous in the court'. However, the middle-ranking officials of the Shipping Department are all uneasy, fearing that they will be betrayed by the censors."
Seize the opportunity to impeach. The sea trade gap is getting tighter and tighter! Especially in the port of Ningbo, Zhejiang, the officials can't even make the decision. First, Liu Fantai of the Chief Envoy was in charge. Liu Fantai had just been transferred to the Yellow River
To control the flood, Wang Fantai came again and continued to control Ningbo Port!..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "This Wang Fantai is a Jinshi in the North. He was promoted from a border town in Shaanxi Province. It is said that he has made achievements in guarding prisoners on the border. He does not seem to be a moral person.
...For the future of my Chongming Shi family, I can only come up with this last resort and give it a try to see if I can get a match! ...If it doesn't work, the Taiping'ao Inspection Department will become more and more strict...Then the sea people
Trade must either take the risk of being introduced into private trade, or it must be discontinued for a few years!…”
Thinking of the shady bribes and the sea trade that must be carried out in this way, Shi Wende frowned and felt the danger of walking on thin ice. This is a test that most of the Ming Dynasty's sea trade merchants must face throughout their lives.
!
And once the test fails and the crime of pretending to be a ship trader is weighed, the government's guillotine will ruthlessly chop off the weight that cannot be weighed down by a thousand kilograms! At that time, other than abandoning the family business and going into exile overseas,
There is no other way to survive!
Thinking of the worst possible outcome, Shi Wende pursed his lips and his heart beat two cents faster. After all, in the Ming Dynasty, merchants were just the lowest class. In the hearts of the government, maritime merchants were regarded as wanton and lawless.
There are quite a lot of thieves and gangsters. And the only "right path" is...
In front of a courtyard with high white walls, Shi Wende jumped off his horse dozens of steps ahead. Then, he handed the horse to the servant and straightened his identity. Then, he walked to the courtyard in small steps.
In front of the Zhumen, he bowed slightly towards the Qin-looking concierge with his head slightly raised, a friendly smile on his face. And one of his hands was already holding an envelope in his sleeve, which was in contact with the concierge's hand.
A quick touch.
"Student Shi Wende is going to pay homage to the feudal lord... I handed over the invitation three days ago and the appointment is today."
The concierge narrowed his eyes, weighed the envelope in his sleeve, then his face changed into a smile, and he responded with the same politeness.
"It turns out to be Shi Xiaolian! The master has already given instructions in advance... please go this way!"
Shi Wende followed the concierge and entered the first courtyard. Then, in a side room, he washed his hands and face, and was served by the servants, who tidied up his clothes. Of course, it is said to be "served" here, but in fact it is...
A default security check. Then, a servant brought tea and snacks and asked Shi Wende to wait patiently. Generally speaking, depending on the status, the host will not see the guest immediately, or even necessarily.
"..."
Shi Wende waited for two full hours, and even drank two pots of tea. It was not until the morning and afternoon that the housekeeper appeared in person. He also looked like a Qin native from Shaanxi, and guided him with a smile.
"The master just woke up from his lunch break and asked to see Shi Xiaolian in the study room where the guests are..."
"Yes! It is the student's honor for Fantai to meet him..."
Shi Wende smiled and thanked him, and then followed the housekeeper into the second courtyard. Then, he went to the plum garden in the third courtyard and saw Wang Zhe and Wang Fantai in the study. This man was in his fifties or sixties.
The second-rank official, Zhejiang Right Chief Envoy, was concentrating on reading a booklet.
"..."
Shi Wende had no choice but to stand in the courtyard again, silently waiting for Fan Tai to finish reading. After waiting for two quarters of an hour, he carefully looked up and saw five words vaguely written on the cover on the back of the book.
The large vertical characters... "Collection of Le Van Hey Gong".
