Chapter 750: The idea of the canal shipping company
The sun is high in the sky!
The scorching sun hit the ground directly, burning the armor of the soldiers on duty.
The formidable armored swords and guns, and the majestic palace guards symbolize the inviolability of imperial power!
However, the temperature in Nanjing today is not too high!
It is late autumn now, and the Ming Dynasty is still a little bit of the tail of the Little Ice Age. In addition, Nanjing is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and the humidity in the air is very heavy.
The feeling of clammy and cold is quite uncomfortable!
Especially for an elderly person like He Wen'an, this humid and cold climate is quite unfriendly.
The moisture mixed with the cold seemed to penetrate into his bones. When the rheumatism started to hurt, it would almost tear open the seams in his bones.
He Wen'an pondered over the draft he had made before submitting the letter, and hurried towards the imperial study room under the leadership of several eunuchs.
Along the way, he was considering his words, hoping to persuade the emperor to resume water transportation as soon as possible.
Take this to restore prosperity along the canal!
Since the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, the capital of the Ming Dynasty has been in Nanjing, not Yanjing.
In addition, the nine-border defense system has not yet been rebuilt, and the amount of military rations required on the border is not large.
As well as the large-scale farming promoted in the northern provinces during the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, there is no shortage of food in the north of Ming Dynasty!
Since then, water transportation in the Ming Dynasty has been suspended.
The imperial court didn't say it would be abolished, but it didn't do it, which was quite embarrassing.
If He Wen'an hadn't submitted the letter this time, Zhu Hongyu would have completely forgotten about the water transportation.
But, the matter of water transportation is reasonable as it exists!
Just because it was expensive to transport by water, it was still used until the end of the Qing Dynasty, which explains the problem.
In fact, the biggest resistance to the abolition of water transportation is not the vested interest groups in water transportation, nor is it the "millions" of water workers along the canal.
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Whether it is vested interest groups or the so-called millions of laborers who need quotation marks, at the beginning of the founding of the country, all dynasties have been able to solve the problem and arrange it properly.
The real umbrella for water transportation is actually the Grand Canal itself!
The urban agglomerations along the Grand Canal can be said to be the most prosperous and affluent places in the world in this era, except for Jiangnan.
The reason why the urban agglomerations along the Grand Canal are so prosperous is the transportation convenience brought by the Grand Canal.
With convenient transportation, goods can circulate, populations can gather, capital can flow in, and cities can develop!
It is precisely because of water transportation that the urban clusters along the Grand Canal are as prosperous as they are today.
Therefore, the existence of water transportation is related to the rise and fall of the urban agglomerations along the Grand Canal, and is related to the vital interests of millions of people.
Who dares to say anything about abolishing water transportation?
None of the founding emperors of the past dynasties dared to do this.
In modern times, water transportation was abolished because of the emergence of trains and railways, which replaced the transportation functions of canals.
That’s why water transportation was abolished!
Zhu Hongyu knew this. Before the opening of the north-south railway network in the Ming Dynasty, water transportation had its existence value.
It should not be abolished directly!
Therefore, Zhu Hongyu chose to meet with He Wen'an, the minister who wrote a letter requesting the restoration of water transportation.
…
While Zhu Hongyu was holding a tea cup and reading the memorials on the bookcase, He Wen'an entered the imperial study.
As soon as he entered the imperial study, He Wen'an bowed to Zhu Hongyu and saluted.
"The humble minister He Wen'an, pays homage to Your Majesty!"
"Long live your Majesty, may you be blessed forever!"
Zhu Hongyu put down his teacup, raised his head and said.
"Pingshen, give me a seat!"
After He Wen'an sat down, Zhu Hongyu raised his head and asked.
"The He Qing family should know why I summoned you today!"
He Wen'an sat half-assed on the chair, quite restrained. Faced with Zhu Hongyu's question, he carefully considered his words and answered.
"Your Majesty, I know that it is because of the water transportation matter!"
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly, as if to express approval.
Then he continued to ask.
"Tell me, why did the Qing family write a letter advising me to restore water transportation!"
Zhu Hongyu also had his own ideas about water transportation.
From the current point of view, water transportation is not essential to the Ming Dynasty.
Even if there was a shortage of food in the northern part of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Hongyu could mobilize ships to transport it by sea.
After all, the cost of sea transportation is much lower than that of water transportation!
Therefore, Zhu Hongyu was not very concerned about restoring water transportation.
However, due to the existence of urban agglomerations along the canal, Zhu Hongyu felt that water transportation had the value of restoration.
He Wen'an heard this and spoke.
"Reporting to your Majesty, as far as I know, water transportation is the lifeblood of millions of canal workers!"
"Now that the imperial court has stopped operating water transportation for a long time, many water workers along the canal have difficulty maintaining their livelihood!"
"Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Hongyu nodded and fell into deep thought.
It’s still such a cliché!
But Zhu Hongyu had to admit that the cliché also made sense.
The food, clothing and livelihood of the millions of water workers along the canal was indeed an issue that the emperor Zhu Hongyu needed to consider.
The water workers are also his subjects, Zhu Hongyu!
As the emperor, Zhu Hongyu cannot ignore it!
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly when he heard this, but then he asked rhetorically.
"So, if the imperial court resumes water transportation now, what should it transport?"
Zhu Hongyu's words stopped He Wen'an from questioning him.
Yes, there is no shortage of food in the north of the imperial court now, so what should be transported by water?
If there is no shortage of food, we still need to transport food to the north on a large scale through water transportation. Isn't that just a disease?
Zhu Hongyu's current attitude is that it is okay to resume water transportation, because currently water transportation has its own significance and value.
But you have to tell me what to transport by water, right?
He Wen'an had drafted the letter before he submitted it. Although he was momentarily stunned by the question, he did not panic and spoke in an orderly manner.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I think the imperial court may be able to change the transportation of grain by water to the transportation of various handmade goods!"
"In this way, the reopening of water transportation by the imperial court can facilitate trade and exchanges between the north and the south! It can also promote the imperial court's industrial and commercial development plans."
What to transport by water is also the first question that He Wen'an thinks about!
In fact, for those cities along the canal, it doesn't matter what water transport is carried, as long as there is water transport.
What they need is only the transportation convenience brought by water transportation, not the water transportation itself.
After Zhu Hongyu heard this, he finally got an answer that he was quite satisfied with.
"Well, that's a good idea!!"
"The Qing family should retire first. I need to think carefully about the water transportation!"
"..."
Seeing this, He Wen'an knew that the emperor had already made up his mind, so he stopped insisting and decisively chose to resign.
Because he knew that facing such a founding emperor with almost unlimited power, no one could change the things he decided.
If things are done, then they are done!
If it doesn't work, He Wen'an can't change the emperor's mind!
You can only accept your fate!
After sending He Wen'an away, Zhu Hongyu fell into deep thought.
For the current Ming Dynasty, temporarily resuming water transportation is indeed the best choice.
First, it can ensure the prosperity and development of cities along the canal and avoid the decline of the canal in this traditional fertile land.
Second, it can provide a job for the water workers who originally relied on water transport for their meals!
Although the Ming Dynasty does not lack fertile farmland that has been abandoned, what it lacks is people. It can easily relocate those laborers to farm fields, and it will definitely not be a problem to ensure their basic life.
But what a waste it would be to let a group of watermen who know how to operate a ship, or reserve sailors, farm the land!
Anyone can farm!
But these watermen all have skills, and with a little training, they can become qualified sailors.
Zhu Hongyu would not arrange for them to farm so hastily.
Temporarily resuming water transportation, allowing them to continue working as water workers, and at the same time, these water workers can be trained as sailors. This can also be regarded as preparation work for the Ming Dynasty to move towards the deep blue on a larger scale in the future.
The third is the most important point!
That is the benefits gained from water transportation, which can be used by the court to build a railway network that runs along the North-South Canal.
Water transportation is only a stopgap measure, while railways represent the future!
When the railway network is repaired, those pit workers will definitely be trained enough to become sailors on sea ships!
Therefore, for the current Ming Dynasty, the temporary restoration of water transportation is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone!
Zhu Hongyu really has no reason not to support it.
…
After the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Hongyu spent a lot of effort to rectify the imperial city inside and outside, and dealt with many dog slaves who were eating outside.
So compared with the pre-Ming Dynasty, the current Ming Imperial City is as big as an iron barrel.
As long as Zhu Hongyu is not willing, no news can be spread from the Ming Imperial City to the outside!
However, if it was Zhu Hongyu's instruction, it would be different.
Under Zhu Hongyu's instructions, the news that the Ming Dynasty wanted to reopen water transportation spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River as if it had wings, and was still heading north of the Yangtze River at an extraordinary speed.
After the Ming Dynasty's telegraph network was successfully laid, in order to spread the cost of the installation, the telegraph network was not only used to transmit official documents from the court or military reports.
A special line for civilian use has also been set up for private messaging and so on!
Of course, the charges for telegrams are not cheap. They are almost charged based on the number of words.
But, that's not important!
Compared with the high efficiency that telegraphy can bring, many people don't care about the cost of sending a telegraph.
Because telegraphs represent time differences and information differences, and information, to a certain extent, also represents money.
Along with the news that the imperial court was going to reopen water transportation, the news also spread that water transportation would be changed from transporting grain to transporting goods, specializing in the smooth flow of goods from the north to the south.
And more importantly, the imperial court was not prepared to continue to use official yamen to manage canal affairs.
Instead, it was planned that the Ming royal family would take the lead and the relevant departments of the imperial court would take the lead to establish a canal shipping company.
and publicly offered shares of the canal shipping company.
As long as you are a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, you are eligible to subscribe for the share capital of the Canal Shipping Company!
As long as you spend money to subscribe for share capital, you can participate in the shipping company's profit dividends by the end of the year.
Of course, it’s just about enjoying the right to dividends!
The decision-making power of the canal shipping company was still in the hands of the imperial court.
Canal Shipping Company, to put it bluntly, is the business model of a "state-owned enterprise" dreamed up by Zhu Hongyu.
However, this state-owned enterprise is not only run by the imperial court, but also plans to introduce private capital and royal capital to jointly operate it.
how to say!
In fact, Zhu Hongyu felt that it was too slow to make money through transportation, and he didn't know when he would be able to earn enough money to build the railway, so he was planning to use financial means.
After all, apart from a certain gangster's nuclear-powered money printing machine, there is nothing in this world that is more profitable than finance.
Of course, the reason why Zhu Hongyu founded such a company was not just to make money.
Because it’s true that canal shipping can make money!
Although after the railway is completed, there is a high probability that canal shipping will be squeezed out of profits by the railway.
However, within a short period of time, railway transportation capacity is limited and it is impossible to completely replace the value of the canal.
In the formation of the canal shipping company, Zhu Hongyu put pressure on the credibility of the royal family and the court. Of course, it was not just a matter of making money.
How dare he be so shameless!
Zhu Hongyu is actually planning to use the canal shipping company as a guinea pig to explore this capital operation model that resembles a "state-owned enterprise".
Let's see how the royal capital and the court end up taking the lead.
Then join forces with private capital to play a supporting role.
The feasibility of participating in or even controlling some key industries such as steel, transportation, energy, etc.
Although Zhu Hongyu really wanted the Ming court and the royal family to take full control of these key industries, the court and the royal family are now very strapped for funds and their power is limited.
Zhu Hongyu wanted to make Ming Dynasty take off rapidly in various industries and enter a capitalist society, so it was necessary to introduce private capital!
For Zhu Hongyu, he now holds great power and great prestige.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! There is enough trial and error cost and room for error.
Now that you have an idea, you should try it boldly. What if you succeed?
…
After the news spread that the imperial court was going to set up a canal shipping company and publicly sell its shares, people in the south and north of the Yangtze River, especially along the canal, spread.
A large number of wealthy merchants and wealthy families are interested in the equity of the canal shipping company!
They have lived along the canal for generations, and no one understands better than them how huge the benefits of canal shipping are.
As long as you can have a little bit of contact with canal shipping, you can definitely make a lot of money.
Unsurprisingly, the stock of the Canal Shipping Company has topped the list of hot searches in the Ming Dynasty.
Even the news contained in North Korea cannot suppress the topic related to the canal shipping company!
…
On the Grand Canal!
A fleet of ships headed south in mighty force!
The pilot ship flies a flag that represents the identity of the people on the ship.
It can be seen from the flag that this fleet was led by Zhao Yingdong personally to offer prisoners to Beijing.
Zhao Yingdong stood on the deck, the cloak behind him fluttering in the wind.
His eyes looked at the prosperity along the canal, but he was still thinking about military affairs in his heart.
Thinking about the future Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty, the specific strategies and tactics, etc.!
Beside him, Wei Wu looked at the towns on both sides of the canal with interest.
Be amazed by the prosperity along the canal!
“It’s so damn prosperous along this canal!”
This is due to the suspension of imperial water transportation in the past two years, and the canal has become much more depressed.
Water transportation was busy back then, but the prosperity on the canal will only be even worse!
"I'm afraid it's not that bad compared to Jiangnan!"
Wei Wu couldn't help but speak.
Zhao Yingdong nodded.
"That's natural. The prosperity along the canal is no worse than that in the south of the Yangtze River."
"It's a pity that when Emperor Sizong was in power, the imperial court did not have strong control over the south of the Yangtze River and along the canal. Otherwise, how could there have been the disaster of Jiashen and even the destruction of the world."