The imperial court issued official documents to various prefectures and counties. For those people or families who wanted to go overseas for trade, various ministries and departments would jointly establish special approval offices.
Anyone who intends to apply for a customs clearance document can submit a document to the government, introduce the guarantee, and state the reasons. Finally, after the government reviews the qualifications, the list of people who can go to sea for trade will be determined.
After the people heard the news, whether they were families who had been doing business for generations or people who wanted to go out to hunt for gold, they were all happy and excited.
Those who can read should write the document themselves and submit it to the government; those who can't read should ask a writer to polish their writing before submitting it to the government.
Suddenly, documents used to write applications for overseas travel were continuously delivered to the Chang'an government like waves, and the phenomenon of "Luoyang paper being expensive" even appeared on the market.
The Gyeonggi area with Chang'an as the axis alone has submitted thousands of applications for overseas travel. If the documents submitted from various places are counted together, then this number will increase to a staggering tens of thousands.
At this time, some people may ask, if the people go to the sea and go east to the Americas to find gold, then they can just sneak out directly, so why wait for the ultimatum?
After all, Sanzang (Xuan Zang) of the Tang Dynasty in history had been begging the court for several years, but failed to apply for a customs clearance document. In the end, he sneaked out of Chang'an without any documents, "violating the charter and privately "To Tianzhu" (the story in Journey to the West about Tang Monk having a customs clearance document is a fabrication).
However, in the Tang Dynasty, smuggling by land and smuggling by sea were completely different things.
If you go by land, all you need is a carriage or even two legs; but if you go by sea, you have to take a boat.
Especially for ocean routes like the American continent, ordinary inland water transports will definitely not work. Sea-going ships dedicated for trade must be built or rented.
The manufacture and use of this kind of sea-going ship are registered and recorded by the government, so there is no way to use it privately.
Therefore, the people of the Tang Dynasty who wanted to go to America to prospect for gold could only wait for the official list.
Getting back to the topic, the Chang'an official office organized manpower and began to work overtime to organize and record. One month later, the first batch of lists of thirty-three trading firms licensed to go overseas was posted outside Anshang's door.
On the day when the list was released, the whole city of Chang'an was even more lively than when the list was released in Chunwei.
Thousands of people flocked to An's door one after another, wanting to see who could get the first batch of qualifications to go to the Golden Continent.
After seeing the list clearly, those who wanted to apply for sea trade in North America were all surprised.
Among the first batch of thirty-three trading houses designated by the imperial court to conduct business in North America, only three were somewhat famous in the country, and the rest were unknown in the business world.
Everyone looked at each other with confusion on their faces.
Since the last years of Tianbao, folk commerce in the Tang Dynasty has emerged from Anxi, and then spread eastward to Hexi, Hebei and Gyeonggi.
Nowadays, in terms of strength and reputation in the Tang Dynasty, most of the top trading firms came from these places.
However, the list posted outside the door excludes those who are outstanding.
Some people felt that there must be something hidden in this, so they sent people to check the details of the selected trading firm.
You wouldn't know if you didn't check. After checking, everyone was dumbfounded.
Most of the thirty-three trading houses designated by the imperial court were newly established.
The imperial court did not select those powerful private trading firms, but instead agreed to allow these newly established trading firms to obtain North American trade qualifications.
The secret behind this, if you think about it carefully, will really send chills down your spine.
If it were normal times, the private trading houses might have swallowed their anger and let it go...but this time it was different.
Firstly, the profits from business in North America are so huge that a broken celadon pot can be exchanged for a house with three entrances and exits. This kind of business is enough to make people bear the risk of beheading; secondly, the court's actions this time are really
It's too much. Among the thirty-three overseas trading companies, only three quotas were allocated to the private sector. Looking at the rest, they were all quotas determined by the government.
Therefore, after some urgent consultations, the merchant alliance in Chang'an City decided to negotiate with the imperial court on this matter.
As for the negotiation channels, they are also ready.
The emperor once established the "Royal Council" to solicit opinions from the people. Now it is the best way to appeal.
There are about 400 well-known trading houses in Chang'an City. These people pooled their brains and used their connections to find a heavyweight with a very high status - Cen Shen.
Cen Shen had followed Emperor Zhou Jun for many years and was a veteran of the court. His official position was once the Minister of Household Affairs.
Gao Shi died in battle in Chang'an that year. Cen Shen lost this close friend, and because he was old and had difficulty moving, he asked the emperor to become an official.
Zhou Jun agreed to Cen Shen's request and named the latter Doctor Yinqing Guanglu.
Cen Shen stayed at home and did not care about government affairs.
This time, the Merchant Alliance did not know how many connections they had made. They found the reclusive Cen Shen, explained to him about the maritime trade ultimatum, and invited him to go to court to intercede with the emperor.
When Cen Shen was in Anxi, he was responsible for the local business planning, and together with Wu Qi, he was known as the business genius of the Tang Dynasty.
Now, after listening to the introduction of the merchant alliance, Cen Shen realized the danger of this matter and agreed to accompany the merchant to meet the saint.
The next royal council meeting will happen in mid-August.
Many representatives of business, religion, workshops, and craftsmen from other places came to Beijing along with the long convoys of government officials from various places. This also made the Royal Council in August the largest Royal Council in a year.
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As usual, Emperor Zhou Jun would appear at the Royal Council and announce the start of the meeting.
Zhou Jun went up to the hall, but before he could speak, he heard the guards coming to report that in the courtyard under the stands, a large group of people from various business houses were kneeling. In front of these people, there was also a man kneeling.
An old man in court clothes.
Not long after, Fan Jinian hurried over and whispered in Zhou Jun's ear: "Your Majesty, the old man is Dr. Cen. He has a memorial to submit to the Holy One."
Zhou Jun was stunned: "Cen Shen? Why is he here? Let him in quickly."
Cen Shen, who was already fifty-five years old, walked into the palace tremblingly, knelt down in front of Zhou Jun and said: "The power of the Tang Dynasty, Your Majesty Hongfu. I heard that someone has discovered a golden continent in the east, and the imperial court is building a fleet to trade with it.
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Zhou Jun and Kong You looked at each other, then nodded and said: "What Aiqing said is true."
Cen Shen: "The imperial court initially designated thirty-three trading houses as the first batch of mutual trading companies. However, I heard that only three of them were from the private sector, and the rest were newly established merchants. I guessed that the latter may be government-run... I
He once served in Anxi and was responsible for the reconstruction of trade routes and the management of mutual markets. Over the years, he has come to believe that the way to national wealth is to find a balance between the government and private sectors, and pay equal attention to both, in order to achieve long-term success."
Zhou Jun looked at the memorial sent by Cen Shen, which included the doubtful points in the list of sea trade, and asked the Holy Emperor to take care of civilians and merchants and balance the quotas. Finally, there were the signatures and fingerprints of more than 400 merchants in Chang'an City.
Zhou Jun put away the memorial, looked at Cen Shen and asked: "Do you think this sea trade list is my idea?"
Cen Shen was startled: "Isn't it...?"
Zhou Jun shook his head and said: "In mid-August, I have been busy meeting with the Privy Council and the Jiannan Protectorate to discuss the next war with Tubo. As for the maritime trade list, I have delegated it to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of City, and Chang'an.
The government, Yushitai, etc. will jointly discuss and formulate regulations."
Cen Shen was a little surprised when he heard this: "Then your Majesty doesn't know about this list?"
Zhou Jun: "I may have seen that list before, but because I am busy with political affairs and I am not familiar with business, I naturally did not think of the issues mentioned in Aiqing's Memorial."
Cen Shen breathed a sigh of relief: "I originally thought that this list was authorized by His Majesty, but now it seems that I was mistaken."
Zhou Jun put the memorial aside and said to Cen Shen: "If it is true as you said, the first batch of merchants to participate in maritime trade are all newly established merchants, then there must be a problem...Wang Hong!"
Prince Hong, the governor of the Jinyi Guards, heard the words and came out.
Zhou Jun: "As for the sea trade list, you take Beizhen to check it out in person. First check the background and origins of these thirty-three trading companies."
Wang Hong: "Here!"
Zhou Jun said to Cen Shen again: "I have read your memorial, and there should be news soon... As for Chang'an Trading Company, let them wait for a while."
Cen Shen knelt down and said, "Old minister, please save me."
After Cen Shen left, Kong You, who had been silent all this time, said, "Your Majesty, the fish has bitten the hook."
Zhou Jun nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's time to lift the pole."