In May of the eighth year of Hongzhi (1495), the Ming Dynasty, Ningbo Port.
The mist in the morning dissipated in the port. In Ningbo Port where thousands of sails competed, more than 40 large sea patrol ships and hundreds of small inspection boats gathered on the sea, presenting unprecedented solemnity. A document from the Ningbo Prefect's Office was unprecedented.
Efficiency was issued early ten days ago. Most merchant ships and civilian ships in Ningbo Port were forcibly ordered to leave the port and moor to the surrounding small port fishing villages.
However, at this moment, the "big merchants" in Ningbo Port were sitting upright in the elegant seat of the highest teahouse in the city, sending their subordinates to the port to watch, drinking tea and chatting. Although everyone's faces were all pretending to be calm, their voices were
There is still an unconcealed excitement in it.
Because, with the ten-year "tributary" fleet of Heguo, carrying a full load of gold, silver, copper and other commodities, this battle is worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver, once every ten years.
The big business is about to begin! And those small merchants who were driven away just lacked background and did not have tickets to participate in this grand "harmony trade".
"Hey! So many navy flags? Taiping, Xiayu, Chuanshan, Changshan... Songpu, Shipu, Xiangtou... more than a dozen coastal inspection departments have sent ships?!"
"Well, it's the transfer order of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner. Before, the yamen was rectified and the warehouse was checked, more than a dozen minor officials were abolished in one go, and then they went to check the military equipment of the garrison, ordered the training, and consumed rice, grain and silver... This person from the south came to the south
The Northern People's Vanguard really treats the prosperous civil affairs of the four barbarians and the Japanese tributes as the unbearable military affairs of the northern "preparing the border and the imperial captives"!..."
"Ha! The coastal garrison has been in peace for many years, and it is better to rectify and rectify it, so that the Japanese will not underestimate me. After all, these barbarians are afraid of power but do not have virtue... As for rectifying the yamen and laying off minor officials, it is nothing more than changing a group of people, solemnly
In two or three years, when the vassal state left office, they would become back... However, I heard that this vassal state's aide had previously checked the fish scale field book in the treasury and secretly copied it.
share…"
“… Check the fish scale field book?!…”
Hearing such shocking news, the elegant seat on the teahouse suddenly silenced, and the men's faces were also subtle. After all, since these big merchants could take out a large amount of cloth, silk and porcelain, and the Japanese vassals.
It is naturally impossible to have no roots in transactions. Behind them are all wealthy gentry owners in Zhejiang Province! Most of the mulberry fields, matians and workshops that produce goods are under the control of local gentry.
After all, although the so-called "maritime trade" of the Ming Dynasty has the name of "maritime trade", in this era, it is really the "gentlemen on the shore" who have the final say! Like the four great Jinshi families in Ningbo, the West Lake Lu family
, Chahu Zhang family, Jiangbei Tu family, Jingchuan Yang family, which one does not have tens of millions of fertile land, plant mulberry plants, hire thousands of tenant farmers and servants, weave cloth and silk? What the gentry does is always the most profitable
Naturally, no one can miss the transaction of silk cloth and porcelain. These top-notch and non-taxable land is the lifeblood of their farming and reading, and no one can move them!
"Well! Lu Jingtian, what are you talking about? Be careful of your words, be careful of your words!"
After a moment of quietness, Yang Maode, the old man in the silhouette who was still sitting on the top, coughed gently. He glanced at Lu Shougong, the old man in the green who had just spoken, and the other party nodded with a smile. Both of them sat on the top, with a silhouette.
, a blue shirt, plus two others on the left and right. The four were faintly surrounded by stars and sat in the center of many businessmen.
In fact, it is exactly the case. Yang Maode's courtesy name is Shanxing and Haoliangli. He is not only the famous "Yang Shanren" in Zhejiang Province, but also the largest silk merchant in Ningbo. His identity is actually the former right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing.
Yang Shouchen's concubine gave birth to a concubine's son, and a great businessman from the Yang family of Jingchuan.
The Yang family in Jingchuan was at its peak. Now in the court, there were Yang Maoyuan, deputy envoy of Shandong Censor, Yang Maoren, the doctor of the Ministry of Justice, Yang Shoujian, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Yang Shousui, the right assistant censor of Nanjing, and Yang Shouyu, the doctor of the Ministry of War, the chariot and chariot department...
It can be said to be the most prominent family in and outside Ningbo City. It is precisely such a family that can protect 50,000 acres of fertile land and control nearly half of the silk supply of Ningbo's marine trade!
Compared with him, Lu Shougong, as the representative of the Lu clan of the West Lake family, has a slightly weaker status. The former Minister of Justice Lu Yu had passed away a few years ago. At present, there are only two fifth-rank magistrates of the West Lake family.
Such an official position is a bit reluctant to protect the 30,000 mu of fertile land in his family. Naturally, he is worried about the signs of the government inspecting the land! After all, although each family has "good names", one is considered a family.
If the number and source of the land is really checked, it will not be able to withstand the investigation...
Fortunately, the Lu and Yang families have been married for generations, and Yang is taking care of the court. As long as the family's scientific research seeds are constantly coming, a senior official in the court can be sheltered for decades. It's just this time.
The share of trade, the Yang family naturally cannot compare with that of the time in Chenghua eleven years ago and 20 years ago. They must give up a large part of the interests to hand them over to several other companies...
"Yang Shanxing, everyone listens to you, you always have the final say!... It's rare that everyone is here, why don't you start and discuss the share allocated by each company this time trade with goods?..."
"Well, then I'll discuss it?"
Yang Maode, the old man in literary clothes, nodded slowly and looked around the crowd present and nodded, especially the faces of the three merchants in Lu, Zhang and Tu paused for a while. Then, he coughed lightly again and said with a smile.
"Well! The inspection department communicated with me in advance... This time, eight large ships with more than 1,000 stones came with people, with a heavy load! More than the previous few times, second only to Jingtai
The most popular in four years, the eleven big ships…”
"What?! Eight ships with one or two thousand stones and ships? So many?!... Several of them were tributes to the Lord, and several were traded accessories? Among the accessories, several were worthless.
How many ships are valuable gold, silver and copper?…”
As a tribute trade in foreign vassals, there must be tributes dedicated to the court. However, according to the tribute practice, tributes need to be "common for good deals and favors" and require the court to pay money. If there are too many tributes paid by the vassal states, the court will do so in order to
To reduce losses, you often choose to "not accept".
Correspondingly, the court also gave tribute vassal states, especially North Korea, Ryukyu and Japan. Another policy preferential treatment is to allow trade of "attached goods". That is, the tribute missions are allowed, not tribute.
Other goods of the goods are obtained "legitimate and open" trade power at the location of the Maritime Bureau of the Tribute. Every time Japan comes, it carries the largest number of "subjects" that are often several times, ten times more than tributes.
. Moreover, compared with the Koreans who overlapped goods, the Japanese were able to produce an astonishing amount of real money and silver, without selling them again, and were more valued by the gentry...
"Cough! Don't be anxious!... After the delegation and the people came ashore, they paid homage to the emperor's ceremonial guards and counted the tributes... They naturally knew that this time they brought several ships of gold, silver and copper!...
”
Yang Maode, the old man in the literary shirt, picked up the teacup and took a sip to moisten his throat. He spoke very slowly and had a kind of "a clan of the slinger" and "a noble man's words slowly". The sea trade in Zhejiang in the Ming Dynasty, especially on the ground
The "tributary trade" of collecting money was divided up in advance in the elegant conversation of gentry on the shore, and the big part of the profit was taken away.
As for the sea merchants like the Shi family in Chongming who are truly rushing to the sea, they have no official protection, but are just subordinates of the gentry and men on the table. They are running around under the table. Even if they try their best, they can only eat a bite of leftover rice and soup.
The "dog"...
"However, the ugly thing is ahead... No matter how much gold, silver and copper materials you brought with you, I, Yang, will take up this amount of the share of the sea trade this time!"
Yang Maodewen, the old man in the literary shirt, sniffed and stretched out three fingers. Then, he looked at the big businessmen who were "not big enough" around him and set rules leisurely.
"...If you want to trade silk with others, the price of silk for all merchants cannot be lower than that of my Yang family! If the gold and silver brought by others are limited, then there is no need to say much... And if the other party has a lot of gold and silver, I
Yang's goods are not enough, so please ask everyone to borrow some goods for me and the profits are converted in half!..."
"According to the rules of previous tributes, the fleet of people will stop here for two or three months, and after trading all the attached items, the tribute mission will be allowed to go to the capital... In the past two or three months, all of them will be in the
For the trade in Ningbo Port, please watch some... "
"Any businessmen who do not follow the rules, do not follow the shares, dare to come up privately and trade with others...that is, they do not give everyone here the face!... This requires you to write down your names and hand them to the inspection department
Go to the yamen... the prisons of the various inspection departments and the yamen need to be allowed to go sooner or later..."
In the elegant teahouse in Linhai, the merchants looked at each other and their eyes flashed. But no matter what they thought, Ningbo and even Zhejiang Province were always the largest gentry and noble family! After just a few breaths, everyone smiled respectfully, one after another.
Nodded in response.
"Yes! Listen to Mr. Yang!"
"Yes! Everything is done according to the rules..."
"For those small businessmen from other places, inspection departments and yamen, what should be arrested must be arrested!"
"Come on, drink tea, drink tea! Longjing good tea that was sprouted in the first buds in the tea, Lu Yuquan water in Jingshan, Yuhang..."
"But I see the clear and green shadows falling from the green mountains. Cooking the golden buds without taking the Grain Rain... This golden tea soup is really fragrant and fragrant, and the clear taste is unparalleled!..."
Soon, in the elegant seat, there was a lot of laughter. The big merchants were talking and laughing in harmony, talking about how to distinguish the quality of various "harmony goods", how to determine the difference between red and "gold and silver".
.When several servants panted and rushed from the port, without them speaking, everyone looked at the sea and smiled.
"Master, dear men..."
"Heren...Heren's fleet has passed the inspection by the Inspection Department and is under the 'escort' of the navy..."
"They, after two days of mooring on the sea, finally landed!..."