The family is sitting cross-legged on the floor eating hot pot.
Seeing Yang Fan frowning at that little thing, Xiao Niangpi came over, hugged Yang Fan's right arm, and said softly: "Master, is there any trouble?"
"Well, it's not really a troublesome thing. Just in time, let me ask you and Yueru, is there a lot of gold in the Ming Dynasty?"
Tu Shanyue and Lin Yueru looked at each other, why did the master think of asking this?
"The largest gold producing area of Ming Dynasty is in Yunnan, which is about 40,000 taels a year. The national annual output is about 200,000 taels, which is about 7.5 tons according to the master's calculation." Tu Shanyue said.
She and Lin Yueru are both leaders from the secret service, and they know very well about many secret things.
Lin Yueru also came over, hugged Yang Fan's other arm and said: "Sir, although the Ming Dynasty does not produce much gold annually, gold production began in large quantities during the Warring States Period, and reached its peak in the Han and Tang dynasties. The gold reserves in the two thousand years have been
There should be a lot of it. But no one has counted it, and no one knows how much gold there is among the people."
Xiao Niangpi also said: "Anyway, most of the gold is among the people, and there is very little in the government. There are probably three or four tons in the palace, which are all kinds of gold objects. On the contrary, gold ingots, gold bars, horseshoe gold, etc. should not be used as rewards.
many."
At this time, Yao Guang, who was sitting cross-legged and eating hot pot, put down his kuaizi and said: "China is the main producer of gold in the world. It was rich in gold in prehistoric times. The gold used to mint gold coins in Rome and Greece in the West was quarried from the Altai Mountains in China.
, and then transported to Europe along the trade routes that existed in prehistoric times. For this reason, the Altai Mountains are also called Jinshan Mountains in Europe."
Yang Fan nodded, indicating that he understood what Yao Guang meant, but if the gold mine is too late to be mined, it means there is no gold. We still need the gold we have now.
Yang Fan continued to discuss with everyone while eating hot pot.
Lin Yueru put the cooked duck blood into Yang Fan's seasoning bowl and said, "Do you want to collect gold? I don't know how much you want."
Yang Fan knew that Duke Wei's intelligence organization, funding sources, and treasury were all in Lin Yueru's hands, and Lin Yueru would never hand them over until she gave birth to a child for Yang Fan.
Yang Fan understood that people like Lin Yueru, who grew up in an environment of intrigue and intrigue, were very suspicious.
She is also the number one in Tianxiang Tower, and she has seen a lot of love affairs between men and women.
Isn't that job just about playing tricks on men? After all, she is an innocent hen, and her top status is just a cover.
But she has seen more in the brothel than many women have experienced in their entire lives. She is very calm emotionally.
How else to say that bitches are heartless and actors are meaningless.
Actors perform on the stage all day long, talking about brotherhood, righteousness between king and subject, and love between husband and wife. They are all numb. They are so annoying that they feel so fed up.
In reality, there are still people who are keen on these things.
She was born in a secret intelligence agency and a spy organization, and was raised by mentally unsound eunuchs. She is a ruthless woman who is used to seeing the darkness in this world and has a clear understanding of the ways of the world.
Although she also longs to start a family and be loved. She hopes to marry well and have a husband-in-law who takes pity on her. However, this does not mean that she will accommodate Yang Fan without principles.
Moreover, she has not yet met Duke Wei who has gone to Nagasaki, and she is still worried about the safety of her adoptive father. After all, Duke Wei is her only relative in this world besides Yang Fan.
Only when she gives birth to children can her mentality return to the family. Only then can the psychological trauma she suffered since childhood be healed.
Yang Fan looked at Lin Yueru and said: "If you have gold in your hand, I will exchange it for you with silver. You decide the price."
Yang Fan said shamelessly. Modern silver only costs 5 yuan per gram, and modern gold costs 420 yuan per gram. The actual ratio is eighty-four to one.
Of course, Lin Yueru didn't know this.
Lin Yueru looked at Yang Fan, her big eyes watery and shining with a cunning light.
She knew what Yang Fan was thinking. Lin Yueru's money was not just his money, but sooner or later it belonged to his and Lin Yueru's children. Giving the money to Lin Yueru was like exchanging his left hand for his right hand. Whether or not the money was exchanged was actually the same thing.
Why waste money and still keep it at home?
She also understood that Yang Fan was just afraid of her being suspicious and wanted to give her a sense of security, and she felt a little moved in her heart.
After all, this means that the master cares for her and cares about her feelings. She can also feel that in Yang Fan's heart, all women are equal, and there is no distinction between concubine and concubine.
"Before the Ming Dynasty, one tael of gold was exchanged for four taels of silver, but after Jiajing, the exchange ratio increased, and it was necessary to exchange for five taels of silver. In the Wanli Dynasty, a large amount of overseas silver poured in, and now the market price is a little more than seven taels of silver. Sir, you
No matter how much money you pay, you are not allowed to bully me or my future children." Lin Yueru said with a pitiful look.
Yang Fan hugged her over, held her pointed chin with his fingers, and said teasingly: "If you feel comfortable serving me tonight, I will pay you eight taels of silver. What do you think?"
Lin Yueru was overjoyed. She was a typical money addict, and her money always went in and out.
After all, I was too poor and homeless when I was young. I have understood that money is a good thing since I was a child. So I searched for money whenever I had the opportunity.
In addition to her adoptive father's money, she also has a large treasury of her own, which is much more than her mother-in-law's possessions.
"Master, you must keep your word and don't deny it." Lin Yueru immediately became excited.
She has a lot of gold in her hands. The main reason is that gold does not take up space and is easy to collect. Except for the silver that needs to be circulated, she has basically exchanged all her secret wealth for gold.
"Okay, I, Mr. Yang, never keep my word. As long as you have gold, no matter how much, I will exchange it for you at eight taels." Yang Fan felt happy in his heart.
Eight to one is a huge profit. Buying a gram of gold for 40 yuan is so exciting.
"Master, I have some gold items here. I estimate that I can make about three thousand taels. I don't want the master's money, so I will relieve my worries." The young lady glanced at Lin Yueru and hugged Yang Fan's arm tightly again.
He tightened his grip and said softly.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Humph" Lin Yueru snorted coldly and turned away unhappily, not looking at Tu Shanyue's dog food.
It's your business if you wish. I am a child from a poor family, so why should I compare with you, Miss Tushan? I only care about benefits and not about face. Besides, I am a concubine, so what kind of face do I need?
"Ah, thank you madam for this." Yang Fan was a little embarrassed and quickly hugged Tu Shanyue to express comfort.
Tu Shanyue is telling him that the one on the right is his wife, who has sincere plans for her at all times.
Mei Xiang looked at Lin Yueru and then at his wife, she was so anxious that she was about to cry.
He sobbed and said, "Master, I am useless and cannot help you. I have no gold. I only have a few sets of gold hairpins and hair ornaments. I gave them to you when I accepted you. I will go and get them now."
Yang Fan felt very uncomfortable after saying this, and quickly coaxed her: "It's not that I'm short of money, and I haven't encountered any difficulties. I just need to exchange gold for work. I don't need your jewelry. Your young lady and the second wife are both small rich people."
, don’t compare with them, I know you care about me the most.”
Yang Fan put some food into her bowl and said, "Why are you so serious? Eat, eat, talk while eating."
This made Mei Xiang happy.
"Xiangyi, you are in charge of the bank. After dinner, quickly send out messengers to give orders to Xinghe banks in various places. From now on, we will exchange gold at a price of 7.5:1 until we collect enough gold.
. Now all the banks are open there.”
Xiang Yi put down Kuaizi and reported: "Master, now there are eight banks. The one in Zunhua mainly deals with iron factories, mines and merchants selling iron. The one in Tianjin mainly deals with maritime merchants, water transport merchants, and local merchants.
merchants. There is one in each of the three cities in the east, west and south of the capital, mainly for the officials and merchants of the capital. There is one in Yangzhou, mainly for salt merchants. One in Nanjing, mainly for the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. One in Guangzhou, for the overseas trading merchants of Nanyang."
Yang Fan frowned a little. In this era, the largest trading ports were all in Fujian, whether it was Quanzhou, Yuegang or Xiamen, which emerged in the late Ming Dynasty.
These ports have good water depth and are surrounded by mountains, which limits the impact of flash floods on the estuary. The tide is small and large ships can enter. They also block annual tropical storms. They are also backed by Jingdezhen and Longquan Kiln in Jiangxi, as well as the silk producing areas in Jiangnan.
"Why haven't banks been established in Fujian?" Yang Fan asked puzzledly.
Now that flying shear ships are put into use, the time of sea transportation has been greatly shortened, making it possible to arrange commercial bases along the coast and along the Yangtze River.
It only takes about ten days to go back and forth from Tianjin to Guangzhou. It can even take three days to go back and forth from Nanjing.
Xiang Yi said in embarrassment: "Fujian is the territory of Governor Xiong Wencan, and they don't seem to be very friendly to merchants from the north. So far, the people we sent have not received any reply."
Yang Fan nodded and said he understood. Zheng Zhilong was in close contact with Xiong Wencan at this time, preparing to recruit people. The situation in Fujian is very delicate now.
Xiang Yi said: "The people who were sent sent a reply before saying that there was a great famine in Fujian, chaos was everywhere, and martial law was imposed in Fuzhou and Quanzhou. There is nothing we can do for the time being. We can only take one step at a time."
In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), southern Fujian suffered another severe drought and many people were hungry.
With the support of Xiong Wencan, Zheng Zhilong once again recruited tens of thousands of victims of the Zhangquan disaster. "Everyone was given three taels of silver, and three people were given an ox." They were shipped to Taiwan to reclaim wasteland and settle in Taiwan.
In the history of Taiwan, Zheng Zhilong was the first person to organize large-scale immigration.
If nothing unexpected happens, in the second half of this year, Zheng Zhilong will tell the court that it is his mission to "cut off the barbarians and pacify the bandits."
Because he had contributed to disaster relief, paid out of his own pocket, and showed great sincerity, the court accepted Zheng Zhilong.
In order to stabilize the southeastern coast, the emperor ordered coastal defense guerrillas and appointed him as the "Five Tiger Guerrilla Generals".
After accepting the official position of the imperial court, Zheng Zhilong, also known as Nicholas, the most famous official in Western history, would leave Taiwan, the maritime base he had operated for many years, and sit in the Fujian Sea.
At this time, Zheng Zhilong had more than 30,000 troops and more than a thousand ships, occupying southern Taiwan.
After being recruited in the second half of the year, he still led his original troops to guard the coast for the Ming Dynasty to prevent attacks by pirates, Japanese pirates and the Dutch. After becoming an official, his strength expanded rapidly, and the maritime power became dominant.
Five years later, in 1633, he defeated the Dutch fleet at Kinmen and controlled the entire southeastern sea. Immediately, he became the commander-in-chief.
But not long after he was recruited at the end of the year, he retreated from behind the scenes and returned to his hometown in Nan'an, Quanzhou, Fujian. He considered himself an official and cleared his identity as a pirate and a maritime merchant.
Now, it is the time when the southeast coast has no owner and all the heroes are vying for the throne.
Although the Zheng Zhilong Group has a certain degree of strength, it does not have the status of a court official and soldier to recruit people, and it is far from rising.
