Chapter 291: The four major chambers of commerce in the Ming Dynasty (please subscribe and vote monthly)
Chapter 291 The four major chambers of commerce in the Ming Dynasty (please subscribe and vote monthly)
Yesterday's chaos disappeared without a trace after being suppressed by the army. Even most of the people's main topic of conversation was the changes in the Ming army.
In the streets, teahouses and restaurants, even the vendors on the small streets were almost all talking about the scene when the army appeared yesterday.
"I have lived for seventy years. From the previous dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, this is the first time I have seen such an army."
"Such a unique army, when walking, looks like a single person. It does nothing to the common people. I heard that this kind of army was personally trained by the current Highness Taisun."
"Our Ming Dynasty, if there are successors, it will be passed down to generations."
In the restaurant, an old Confucian scholar with white beard and hair praised loudly while holding a wine glass.
His words should have aroused the agreement of many restaurant diners.
There was a small table where two men dressed in Tsing Yi were sitting. After hearing this, they looked at each other and one of them asked loudly: "Old man, today everyone only talked about the army and didn't mention anything about the recruitment of workers yesterday.
, I wonder what my father-in-law thinks about yesterday’s recruitment.”
"Such generous recruitment conditions are available to almost everyone. If this were the case all over the world, how would anyone be able to farm?"
After hearing this, before the father-in-law could say anything, the boy in the teahouse suddenly stiffened, his eyes flashed, and the corner of his eye turned to the two people.
The boy is naturally Jin Yiwei's secret agent.
In this era, teahouses and restaurants are the places where the most news spreads. Jinyiwei's hidden development, all restaurants are the focus of attention.
As the eyes gathered, it was obvious that the old man rarely had such a highlight moment. He took a sip of the wine in the glass and said:
"That's wrong. The Qunying Chamber of Commerce is recruiting workers. This is a good deed. Everyone can go there. Don't use such a name to fool people. There are people recruiting workers."
"If nothing else, there are so many people who don't have enough food to eat in this big tomorrow."
"When it comes to setting up factories, only big cities can do it. Even if all big cities can do it, it's enough for those who don't have much money."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Hearing the father-in-law's disdainful tone, the person who asked the question immediately lost his temper and wanted to argue.
However, he was immediately grabbed by the person next to him and shook his head.
The man sat down unwillingly.
The old man took a proud look and drank by himself.
Seeing that the two of them did not argue, the guests felt a little pity that there was no excitement to be seen.
After my father-in-law had eaten and drank enough, he went to the counter to pay the bill and staggered away.
The man who spoke earlier stared at the back of his father-in-law as he left, obviously unwilling to do so, and gave his accomplice a look.
After a slight hesitation, the accomplice nodded.
The two of them immediately checked out and left without finishing the food and wine on the table.
The moment the two left, the waiter from the restaurant immediately followed them.
Before he finished walking down the aisle, five people had already gathered around the boy.
In a certain alley, my father-in-law was blocked by two men.
"What do you want to do? This is the capital, so we are not afraid of the king's law." The father-in-law didn't expect that the two of them would dare to come here, and he suddenly panicked.
The man who spoke earlier said: "Today I want to let you, old man, know who should be provoked and who should not be provoked."
Hearing this, the old man, who was a little scared at first, suddenly laughed.
"It's these two people. Catch them. We've finally made a contribution here. I almost said that I was bald, and I just found two small fishes."
The old man cursed and said.
These words shocked the two men, and the man behind them immediately wanted to leave.
Then, people blocked the alley in front and behind it.
The two men realized that they had fallen into a trap, and their faces turned pale.
Jinyiwei's layout, after the morning dynasty, has begun to implement fishing strategies in the entire capital, and the purpose is to arrest the relevant people behind the scenes.
Especially after knowing the businessmen and having targeted target groups, this becomes much easier.
Zhu Ying was able to guess that the Chamber of Commerce was responsible, and it was not just based on guesswork.
There has always been communication and communication between chambers of commerce, and we can still get to know some breaking news.
As a large number of businessmen were arrested, the leaders of many chambers of commerce began to become anxious.
In a corner of Xicheng, more than ten people gathered together.
"Didn't you say that Gao Yong has been poisoned to death? Why did Jin Yiwei seem to have got a clue and arrested so many of our brothers?"
"If it's just Zhejiang merchants, let's not talk about it. Now even our Hui merchants, many brothers have been arrested one after another. Isn't this Gao Yong's confession?"
A man dressed in short clothes said rather angrily.
As soon as these words came out, everyone was a little angry.
One of the old men frowned and said: "Impossible. Even if Gao Yong is still alive, it is impossible for him to know so much information. Apart from contact with us Zhejiang merchants and everyone sitting here, he has not had any contact."
Someone immediately retorted: "Gao Yong doesn't know, doesn't his boss know? It's been so many years, I'm afraid the details have been revealed. This time, we gave 100,000 gold coins and still lost so much."
Brother, I’m afraid it’s a bit unjustifiable.”
"In my opinion, since the money has not played any role, the Zhejiang merchants should return it."
After hearing this, other chambers of commerce immediately felt that the proposal was good, and they all looked at the old man representing the Zhejiang merchants.
The old man snorted coldly and said: "This time, our Zhejiang merchants have lost a fifth-rank official in the capital, and a Jin Yiwei who took many years to win over. Why don't you all share in such a huge loss?"
Generally speaking, there is not much more to say.
The loss is on the one hand, but the main reason is that Zhejiang merchants have been targeted by Jin Yiwei, and they will definitely be severely hit in the future in the capital.
"Okay, everyone has suffered a loss, so I won't go into small talk. Now that the Qunying Chamber of Commerce is under the command of the grandson, this matter should have spread throughout the capital."
"Next, we still need all of you to come together and mobilize the literati to make a fuss about the struggle between the royal family and the people."
"The reason why we can sit together today is that we don't need to mention the past grudges. Now we all have a common enemy, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce!"
"In just two months, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce has misappropriated everyone's business. I must be well aware of it. If this continues, we, the Chamber of Commerce, will probably be annexed by it and have no way to survive."
"This step is particularly crucial. The bigger the momentum, the better. It is best to make the whole world agitated. Let our Majesty receive a mountain of memorials."
"Only in this way can everyone have a chance of survival. Now, it's time to contribute."
A middle-aged man in Chinese clothes said in a deep voice.
When he spoke, all the representatives of the chamber of commerce listened quietly. It was obvious that his status was quite high among many chambers of commerce.
After finishing speaking, someone couldn't help but ask: "I don't know what Mr. Fan means, how much silver is needed to arrange this matter properly. Can you tell me the number so that we can have a better idea?"
Mr. Fan glanced at the representatives of the surrounding chambers of commerce and said: "If you want to bribe literati, especially big literati, the cost is not small, but I, Mr. Fan, believe that the effort is worth it."
"This time, on behalf of the Shanxi merchants, Fan is willing to pay 800,000 taels of silver. According to calculations, it will cost about 3 million taels. I will ask you to collect the rest."
In the early Ming Dynasty, what was the concept of three million taels of silver?
According to today's market price, it is equivalent to six million Ming Dynasty treasure notes, and this much money is just to bribe literati across the country to write and spread news about the struggle between the royal family and the people.
This huge amount caused all the chamber of commerce representatives present to fall silent for a long time.
"Why, you are reluctant to spend money?"
"Okay, this time, Mr. Fan will introduce this matter on behalf of the Shanxi merchants, so there is no need to participate. Anyway, my path to the Shanxi merchants is not in the capital or at sea. Just do whatever you want.
"
Mr. Fan, you snorted and stood up to leave.
The old man from Zhejiang Province said quickly: "Mr. Fan is in a hurry! No one here says no, we just want to see if the silver can be reduced. It is really too much."
Mr. Fan snorted coldly and said: "You think you are just a child playing house. Don't I, Fan, want to be less?"
"I don't know if this three million taels is enough. This is a direct confrontation with the imperial court. The imperial court, as well as our majesty, the brothers who want to come to Zhejiang merchants know best."
In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhejiang merchants were the most financially powerful of the four major chambers of commerce: Shanxi merchants, Hui merchants, and Guangdong merchants.
Its origin is mainly from the maritime trade of the previous dynasties.
A businessman from Jiangsu and Zhejiang is really rich.
However, with Zhu Yuanzhang's attack on the Jiangnan region and the restrictions on maritime bans, the strength of Zhejiang merchants has shown a downward trend.
Naturally, he hated the Ming Dynasty even more.
After hearing the words of Shanxi merchant Mr. Fan, the old Zhejiang merchant gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, I will take the Zhejiang merchant's money tomorrow. Everyone must work together, otherwise our four major chambers of commerce will no longer exist. "
"If strong dragons don't suppress local snakes, I won't believe it. This chamber of commerce from the Western Regions can really turn the world upside down."
Seeing that the two major chambers of commerce agreed, Huizhou merchants and Guangdong merchants naturally nodded along.
They all said that they would be able to gather the money and complete the plan tomorrow.
Duke's Mansion of Liang Kingdom,
Lan Yu and Jingchuan Marquis Cao Zhen, Heshou Marquis Zhang Yi, Junshou Marquis Zhu Shou, Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi, Dongguan Bo He Rong and others gathered together.
And the person sitting at the top was none other than Zhu Ying.
There were all kinds of big fish and meat on the table, and the dishes were rich, but no one moved their chopsticks first, they were all waiting for His Highness Changsun to speak.
This is the first time that Zhu Ying has asked Lan Yu to bring together all the core nobles of the Huaixi generals group.
"Everyone is a hero of our Ming Dynasty. Without your contribution, there would be no Ming Dynasty today. Once again, I would like to pay a toast to all the generals."
Zhu Ying did not pretend to be a grandson, even if the canonization ceremony was tomorrow.
On the contrary, these noble generals were treated as if they were members of their own family.
When Zhu Ying picked up the wine glass, all the nobles present, including Lan Yu, stood up quickly and bowed, not daring to receive Zhu Ying's bow.
"Come on, don't be restrained, let's eat food and wine."
Zhu Ying said with a smile and a calm tone.
This gave many noble generals peace of mind.
But even so, the generals who usually have loud voices do not dare to say too much now.
Grand Sun's identity is one thing, but the most important thing is that His Highness Chang Sun's prestige in the military is increasing day by day. Although he does not have any achievements in the battlefield, no military man dares to underestimate His Highness Chang Sun.
How could His Highness Changsun be someone like Yi who could practice such military discipline?
After three drinks,
Only then did Zhu Ying put down her chopsticks.
The generals also put down their chopsticks.
After Zhu Ying wiped his lips for a while, he said: "Generals, it is not Grandpa's intention to bring everyone together this time, but my personal intention."
"I believe everyone has heard about the factory that the Qunying Chamber of Commerce is about to open."
Cao Zhen, Marquis of Jingchuan, was the first to reply: "Your Highness Changsun, you have not only heard of it, but it is astonishingly famous."
"No one in the capital knows about the Qunying Chamber of Commerce."
"Speaking of which, I am extremely envious of Liang Guogong. For less than 10,000 acres of fertile land, he got a 30% stake in the brewery. This is a good deal."
"From now on, the shares in Duke Liang's hands may be worth tens of thousands of gold."
"I don't know if His Highness Changsun will also sell his shares in other factories, so that we can know in advance."
Cao Zhen's words attracted the attention of many nobles present, and at the same time they also showed their desire.
They don't understand valuation, but the housekeeper below or other friends naturally understand.
The fact that Liang Guogong has shares shows that everyone also has hope.
The income from a factory run by the Royal Chamber of Commerce comes much faster than from fertile land.
Zhu Ying looked at Jingchuan Hou Cao Zhen with satisfied eyes.
As Lan Yu's good brother, Cao Zhen had already received secret instructions to cooperate with Zhu Ying.
Zhu Ying felt the attention gathered, and said: "To be honest, generals, due to some changes in the current situation, I plan to expand the scale of the factory."
"There is no need to worry about sales. Everyone in the Qunying Chamber of Commerce knows that there are many ways to sell."
"Just setting up five factories at once would cost too much money. In this regard, I thought carefully and decided to sell some shares in each factory."
As soon as these words came out, all the generals were very happy. If they were not in front of His Highness Changsun, they would probably drink three big bowls.
As expected, His Highness Changsun's thoughts are still towards everyone.
Later, Zhu Shou, the Marquis of Junshao, asked, "I don't know how many shares your Highness is planning to sell, and how much money you need to get for 10% of the shares."
Zhu Ying smiled and said: "Each factory will sell 40% of its shares, and each share will cost 500,000 guan."
As soon as these words came out, the smiles of the generals turned stiff.