Tianjin, Liu Jin came here again with Zhu Houzhao.
Nowadays, Tianjin has become more prosperous and lively. People traveling from north to south will choose to stay in Tianjin, especially for business trips to the capital.
Many people even take a special detour to Tianjin in order to see the legendary cement road, see the cement road, Tianjin Port, Tianjin Shipyard, Tianjin Cement Factory, etc.
Because Tianjin is now the only port legally open to the outside world in the Ming Dynasty, a port that allows foreign trade, and it is also the largest and most well-constructed port in the north, so Tianjin is very lively.
Many businessmen from the south now prefer to take sea ships directly to Tianjin and then transfer them to the capital. Similarly, goods sent from the Beijing-Tianjin area to the south also prefer to take ships directly from Tianjin.
The carrying capacity of a Dafu ship is definitely the most powerful and cheapest in this era.
Tianjin Port has also become busier, which is a microcosm of Tianjin as a whole.
There were many large ships moored in the port, including fishing boats that had just returned from fishing at sea. As soon as they landed, they immediately attracted the fish merchants who had been waiting in the port to gather around them.
There are also merchant ships coming from the south, which are full of goods. As soon as they arrive at the dock, someone immediately comes to unload the goods. At the same time, there are carriages and horses that specialize in transportation business and come to discuss the transportation of goods.
There are also empty ships moored at the pier, and workers in the port are loading them. Cement and glass products from Tianjin, cloth from Beijing, ironware from Miyun Iron Works, etc., are now all in Beijing and Tianjin.
A leading product exported to the region.
By sailing down the coast along the south, when you reach the Yangtze River, you can also go up the river, and then transport it to every corner of the Ming Dynasty at the cheapest and relatively fast speed.
Of course, you can occasionally see merchant ships returning from Korea or Japan here. When these merchant ships return, the entire port will become quiet, because everyone will stare at the merchant ship to see how many boxes are carried on it.
The more boxes there are, the more money you earn.
Nowadays, more and more people are organizing groups to go to Korea and Japan to do business. Last year, it was only the powerful and powerful people who organized groups to do business. Later, everyone knew that the profits of going to Korea and Japan to do business were very high.
Especially when going to the Japanese country. There is a lot of gold and silver in the Japanese country. You can make a lot of money every time just by exchanging currencies. What's more, the Japanese country has always admired the Ming Dynasty and learned everything from the Ming Dynasty. The things of the Ming Dynasty are in the Japanese country.
It's also very popular here.
Porcelain, silk, rice paper, satin, etc. from the Ming Dynasty are all traditional export items, and now there are also glass products, cement, etc.
It only took two months for merchants to set off from Tianjin and go back and forth. One ship could earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Driven by such huge profits, countless people wanted to go to Japan to do business.
Those who have the strength will naturally buy ships from Tianjin Shipyard, hire seamen from Tianjin Maritime Institute, and organize goods to go to North Korea or Japan.
Don't worry if you don't have enough strength. There are businessmen in Tianjin who can do business together, build other people's ships, or everyone can contribute money to buy a ship, etc. to do business.
As for those like Zhang Mao who were the first to taste the benefits, they are now preparing to plan to open a route to Nanyang and want to explore the Nanyang market.
Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao were walking in the Tianjin Port. People of all kinds from all over the world gathered here, with various accents mixed together. In addition, there were people wearing various clothes, making the entire Tianjin Port seem lively.
"Tsk tsk, it's even more lively again~"
Zhu Houzhao looked at the lively scene at the port and was very energetic. This time he learned that Liu Jin was coming to Tianjin. He had to work hard for a long time before Emperor Hongzhi agreed to let him come to Tianjin.
But there is a fatal order, that is, no more whaling at sea is allowed.
"Dong~dong~"
"A whaling ship has returned~"
At this moment, bells rang from the tall watchtower in the port, and the person in charge of the watch shouted to the port with a big iron trumpet.
As he finished speaking, a large crowd quickly gathered at the wharf specially used for berthing whale ships. There were businessmen who specialized in whale trading, as well as melon-eaters who simply came to watch the fun.
The whale industry is now also an important industry in Tianjin.
Whales are full of treasures. The oil of a whale is equivalent to thousands of pigs, and the meat is equivalent to hundreds of cows. In addition, whale skin, whale bones, etc., and more importantly, Liu Jin’s operations, everyone believes in this whale.
It's Kunpeng.
Eating whales can nourish yin and yang, sleeping on whale skin can bring good luck, and even whale bones can ward off evil spirits and avoid taboos. It can be said that everything is a treasure, and it is also something that everyone likes and seeks after.
The ancients were superstitious about this. As more and more people believed in this thing, naturally the value of whales began to be continuously expressed. This greatly promoted the development of the whaling industry. More and more fleets went out to sea to hunt whales.
It also allows more and more people to enjoy the benefits brought by whales.
"Haha, there is a whale~"
When Zhu Houzhao heard about the whale, he was so excited that he hurried to the dock.
Soon, in the field of vision, a whaling ship with a large whale slowly moored towards the port dock.
"I want this whale's skin~"
"I'll pay you a thousand taels, and I'll wrap up the whale skin~"
"Brothers on the boat, is this whale a male or a female?"
"Male~"
"I want that whale's treasure, and I'll pay you nine hundred taels~"
"I will pay you one thousand taels of silver~"
Even before the ship docked, the merchants on the dock were impatient and began to bid for the valuable and popular things on the whale.
Especially this whale is a male whale. The treasure of this whale is said to be something that can restore the power of the palace. Now it is something that is sought after by the dignitaries of the entire Ming Dynasty. The price is very high, so naturally it is very popular. People bid for it.
There were many merchants, and in a blink of an eye the price reached a sky-high price of several thousand taels.
"This whale is much smaller than the one I caught~"
Zhu Houzhao looked at the whale in front of him carefully and curled his lips in disbelief. He now often brags to others about how brave he is, killing a large whale nearly ten feet long with one shot.
"Old Liu, how about we go out to sea to hunt whales together?"
Then Zhu Houzhao quietly suggested to Liu Jin.
"...Your Majesty, Your Majesty has told you that if you go out to sea to hunt whales, I will kill you."
Liu Jin said helplessly, this Zhu Houzhao is really worrying, and he will definitely not bring him to Tianjin next time.
"Yes, Your Highness, the sea is extremely dangerous. You are a rich man. How can you take risks if you can't sit down in the palace?"
Liu Jin on the side suddenly broke into sweat. He was also given such a death order by Emperor Hongzhi, so when he heard that Zhu Houzhao was going to go out to sea to hunt whales, he was frightened to death.
"It's boring~"
Zhu Houzhao curled his lips helplessly, then looked at the big whale in front of him, and said excitedly: "It seems that I can only have fun in the port."
"Bitch, hurry up and make arrangements. I'm going to shoot this whale with a whaling gun. Even though it's dead, it's still fun."
Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Liu Jin was immediately speechless. This Zhu Houzhao was really playful, but he smiled after thinking about it. After all, he was still a child.
Ignoring Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin walked towards another pier. The pier here was specially used for berthing of fishing boats.
Because there are a large number of fishing boats anchored here every day, there is also a strong smell of sea here. It is also the busiest place in the entire port. Fishing boats are parked one after another, either preparing to set off or just arriving.