In the living room, it was natural for everyone to meet and greet each other for a while. They were all from Jiangnan, and some of them had even known each other before, so they were considered acquaintances.
Cheng Bo'an, Zhu Benduan, Feng Xiang, and Ye Li looked at each other, and they immediately understood each other with one look, so Cheng Bo'an smiled and said: "Master Hou, is this Golden Continent really what the newspapers said? It's everywhere."
Is it all gold?”
Although the Ming Dynasty Morning Post is now only published in the Beijing-Tianjin area and has not spread to other parts of the Ming Dynasty, its influence is gradually becoming apparent.
Some people will send several issues of the Morning Post to various places in the Ming Dynasty on a regular basis. The local officials in various places, as well as the gentry, businessmen, etc. in various places also like the Morning Post very much, because through the Morning Post, you can learn about it.
A lot of information.
Even though the Tomorrow Morning Post has been at least ten days and a half months late since it was delivered to these places, it is still acceptable in this era.
The Ming Dynasty Morning Post reported the detailed route of the fleet and everything they encountered. They also conducted careful research, but they still wanted to hear Du Mingen's words.
Du Mingen personally led the fleet to Golden Continent, so his words are naturally more credible.
"It is definitely impossible to say that there is gold everywhere, but compared to our Ming Dynasty, we can really say that there is gold everywhere. Our fleet has traveled all the way and discovered more than ten gold mines and silver mines alone.
, you should know how many gold and silver mines there are in Huangjinzhou."
"Our fleet does not have much time to conduct large-scale exploration. If we have enough time and manpower, we will definitely be able to discover more gold and silver mines. It is actually not accurate to describe the Golden Continent as being filled with gold and silver.
It’s not an exaggeration.”
Du Mingen thought for a moment and replied slowly.
"That's it~"
After hearing Du Mingen's words, several people nodded slightly. They could accept this explanation. There were many gold and silver mines and they could be found everywhere. Gold and silver were everywhere.
"Master Marquis, did the Inca Empire mentioned in the newspaper really use gold and silver to build their houses?"
"Can you really exchange a few bolts of silk for a shipload of gold and silver?"
Zhu Benduan thought for a while and then asked.
"This is true, because I preside over the trade with the Inca Empire. The Inca Empire is the most powerful country among the descendants of the Yin Shang Dynasty, with a large population. The key is that the area where the Inca Empire is located is rich in gold and silver.
There are a lot of gold and silver mines in this area.”
"I did see houses built with gold and silver in the cities of the Inca Empire."
Du Mingen nodded and said, there is nothing to hide. Everyone in the fleet has been there and knows this. The Inca Empire has too much gold and silver, too much. They easily changed to ten ships.
Bring back gold and silver.
"Tear~"
Hearing Du Mingen's words, several people took a breath. There was so much gold and silver that they could be used to build houses. I'm afraid no one knows how much gold and silver there is here.
Then the eyes of several people turned slightly red. They could earn so much money so easily. How could they not be moved?
"Master Hou, to be honest, a few of us are here on behalf of Jiangnan's business community. We want to ask Master Hou to be a leader. Can we bring everyone together to make a fortune?"
Cheng Bo'an pondered for a while, then thought about it before speaking.
"Haha, everyone really praises me too much. I don't dare to be the leader, I don't dare to be the leader~"
When Du Mingen heard this, he immediately smiled and shook his head.
It's not easy to be the leader, but he still understands the principle of shooting the first bird.
"Master Hou is so humble. This leader must be the queen~"
"Master Hou, you are now a legend in our Ming Dynasty, and you are from Jiangnan. It is most suitable for you to be the leader."
Feng Xiang also followed suit.
"Yes, yes, Lord Marquis, it is most suitable for you to be the leader. We Jiangnan people will support it."
Ye Li also followed suit.
"Thank you for your support, but I really can't be the leader. After going to sea this time, I don't plan to go to sea again in the short term. So if you want to go to the Golden Continent to make a fortune, I'm afraid you have to hire someone else."
."
Du Mingen shook his head repeatedly, but his head was still very clear.
Hearing Du Mingen's words, several people were silent for a while, but after thinking about it, they felt relieved. They had earned nine million taels of silver, and now they were granted the title of Marquis. It could be said that their lives were complete. Who would go to sea to suffer hardships?
"Master Hou, if we want to go to Golden Continent, we don't know how to do it?"
Cheng Bo'an understood that it was impossible to get Du Mingen to come forward. In this case, he could still ask Du Mingen for advice.
"If you want to form a fleet to go to Golden Continent, remember three points. First, you must buy a ship from Tianjin Shipyard. Only the ships built by Tianjin Shipyard are of high quality."
"Second, we must invite people who graduated from Tianjin Maritime University to pilot the ship. Without them we would not be able to reach the Golden Continent. No matter how expensive the salary and benefits are, we must hire them."
"Third, it is best to adopt a dividend system, which is to promise that a percentage of the money earned will be distributed to these crew members. Generally speaking, at least 10% should be given."
"As long as you do these three things and follow the rules for going to sea, you'll be fine. There won't be any problems with the storage."
Du Mingen thought for a while, then gave his own suggestions after thinking about it.
In Du Mingen's opinion, the most important reason for their smooth return to Golden Continent is that they have mastered the most advanced navigation technology of this era. The crew members trained by Tianjin Maritime Academy are definitely the best navigators of this era.
Going to the Tianjin Shipyard to manufacture ships was naturally smooth sailing.
Ten ships went to Golden Continent, and ten ships came back with no one missing. They successfully completed their mission and brought back a huge wealth of 30 million taels of silver.
Without these excellent crews and quality ships, it would simply not be possible.
“Must I buy a ship from Tianjin Shipyard?”
When Zhu Benduan heard this, he immediately frowned. Tianjin Shipyard's ships are notoriously expensive. Ordinary fishing boats and whaling ships cost tens of thousands of taels of silver each. As for this ship that can go far across the ocean, then
They even asked for 200,000 taels of silver per vessel, which was no different from robbing them of silver.
"Yes, the Dafu ship you used when you went there was probably not made by Tianjin Shipyard, right?"
Ye Li also followed suit.
"Those ten Dafu ships were not built by Tianjin Shipyard, but they were modified here at Tianjin Shipyard. If they had not been modified by Tianjin Shipyard, I estimate that half of the ten ships would be back."
Du Mingen nodded slightly and said.
"I have already found someone to inquire about the ocean-going ships of Tianjin Shipyard. One ship costs two hundred thousand taels of silver, which is really too expensive. If we just build a fleet, buying ten ships will cost two million taels of silver.
, the investment is too big.”
Feng Xiang couldn't help but shook his head slightly and said.
"Buying the boat alone costs two million taels of silver, as well as other expenses. This manpower is relatively easy to recruit, but if 10% of the income is to be divided, wouldn't it be too high? In one year,
With a few hundred taels of silver, you should be able to hire someone who graduated from Tianjin Maritime Academy, right?"
Zhu Benduan also praised him, and then said very stingily.
For people like them, who are still accustomed to the previous thinking, they will naturally try their best to exploit those who are miserable and at the bottom.
In their opinion, hiring people to go to sea for a few hundred taels of silver a year is already a sky-high price. This is after they found out that the salaries of seafarers in Tianjin are very high.
If it weren't for this, they might even think that a few dozen taels of silver would be enough.
"I've said what needs to be said. As for how to operate it, that's your business."
When Du Mingen heard what they said, he smiled and said nothing more.
Some things just need to be said once, and whether they believe it or not is up to them.
For a few hundred taels of silver, do you want to hire someone from Tianjin or the academy to help you sail to the Golden Continent?
Let's dream, even if they travel around Korea and Japan, they will earn at least several hundred taels of silver a year. Even the crew members of the fishing boats who are responsible for fishing at sea are all high-income people, and they can easily
It is not difficult to make a few hundred taels of silver a year.
Liu Jin and Liu Gongzi made a good start. He was the first to take the lead and came up with a benefit-sharing system. Whether it was fishing or going out to sea for business, the crew members could share a certain percentage of the profits.
Because of this system, there is a lot less trouble. The crew members all know that whether they go fishing in the sea, go to Japan or do business in Korea, the more money they can earn, the more they can earn.
Naturally, they are more attentive and motivated. As for the sponsors, although they make less money, they are more assured and do not have to worry about the crew swallowing their goods and wealth.
In this way, a virtuous cycle mechanism can be formed, and everyone can enjoy their own piece of cake in this benefit chain, achieve win-win results, and promote the development of the entire industry.
Now you want to go to Golden Continent to make money. Since you don’t want to distribute money to the crew members and the remuneration is low, who will do it for you?