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The expedient was to agree to use Jiangdong Zuojun as the middleman to resell the grain to Jinhaicang and the border armies. Lin Fu would organize the landing, and Lai and Hejian Prefecture maritime merchants would transport Shandong grain to Jinhai for storage.
With Lin Fu's methods and the prestige of the Jiangdong Zuojun, it would naturally be easy to form a maritime merchant power group with the Jiangdong Zuojun as the core, and even bring the entire maritime-cao system under the control of the Lin family.
Naturally, some people in the DPRK are unwilling to have such a situation. In fact, even Zhang Xie and Tang Haoxin, the soul figures of the Chu Party, do not want to see Lin Fu or the Lin family's power expand too much. However, the grain reserves in the capital can only support two more.
In March, the Ministry of Revenue simply did not have the ability to leave the Jiangdong Left Army aside and organize a seagoing fleet with sufficient transportation capacity within two months.
Tang Haoxin's submission was sent to Beijing overnight on the 29th, and Beijing's reply arrived at Tianjin in the evening of March 2nd.
The Ministry of War officially organized the Jiangdong Zuoying Township Army into the Jiangdong Zuoying Township Army, with a full strength of 3,000 men. Lin Fu was made to supervise the Jiangdong Zuoying Township Army as the Jiangdong Inspector General, and designated Chongzhou County as the source of pay for the Zuoying Township Army.
Land, with Dingtian Zhengfu of Chongzhou County as the capital to support the army in Zuoying Township.
Lin Fu didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he received the letter from the Ministry of War. The Jiangdong Left Army had a formal name. Although it was still a rural camp and a rural soldier, it was assigned to a formal salary source, and the treatment seemed to be better than
The government army is still a step above.
"It's true that we haven't reduced the number of troops, but it's too shabby to only allocate one county for the salary source..." Cao Ziang took a look at the letter from the Ministry of War, put it in front of the desk, and asked Lin Mengde
, "Approximately how many Dingtian Zhengfu are there in a county in Chongzhou?"
The Jiangdong Left Army was stationed on the south bank of the Woshui River. A letter from the Ministry of War was sent. Lin Mengde, Cao Ziang and others gathered in Lin Fu's tent. It was already dark, and the candles in the tent were burning loudly, emitting grease.
aroma.
Lin Mengde frowned slightly. Seeing Cao Ziang asking him about the status of Dingtian's official tax in Chongzhou County, he thought for a moment and said: "I can't remember the specific number clearly. The fixed amount of grain should be about 30,000 dan. After deducting the local expenditure, it can be used
Those who come to pay are only eighteen thousand to twenty thousand shi, and the exchangeable silver will not exceed 10,000 taels."
"It's just better than nothing..." Zhao Qingshan said.
Zhao Qingshan didn't feel anything when he was in the township camp. At that time, the money and wages were controlled by Lin Zonghai, Lin Xuzong and others. They, generals with foreign surnames, couldn't get involved, but they basically knew that the Lin family's investment standards for the township camp were the same as those of the town government.
Being on par with the army also makes the Shanglinli rural camp have considerable combat effectiveness, which is extraordinary compared with ordinary rural soldiers.
Compared with Lin Fu's military management, the Lin family's investment in the rural camp can only be said to be insignificant; Lin Fu's military management can simply be described as a prodigal. According to Lin Fu's standards for military management, Jiangdong Zuoying is considered a prodigal.
Returning to the garrison without marching and fighting, it would cost at least one hundred thousand taels of silver a year to maintain. Chongzhou's annual salary was less than one-tenth, which can only be said to be a drop in the bucket.
The Jiangdong Zuoying Township Army formed an army in Jiangningcang. The Jiangning Ministry of Industry allocated 60,000 taels of silver, 30,000 taels of Anjia silver, and 30,000 taels of silver were spent. In fact, the cumulative expenditure exceeded 120,000 taels. The army was defeated only in Jinan.
The purchase of armor in his hands cost 50,000 taels of silver, and the cost of medicine for wounds reached 20,000 taels. In addition, one of the largest expenses has not yet been allocated, which is the pension money for casualties. Lin Fu "died in battle or suffered death."
According to the standard of "granting farmland to support their relatives", nearly 900 Jiangdong Left Army soldiers were killed or disabled in battle, and they had to purchase 9,000 acres of fertile land or exchange 60,000 taels of silver for compensation. In addition to the reward money, the total expenditure was
One hundred thousand taels of silver is enough.
In other words, the total expenditure of the Jiangdong Zuo Army from the hasty formation of the army to the post-war pension was about five months, reaching 250,000 taels of silver.
Of course, the Zuoyingxiang army relied on fighting to support the war, and the income was very rich.
Including the wounded who could be cured and returned to the team, the actual strength of the Jiangdong Left Camp had reached 4,500. At this time, there were 800 people in the Fleet Guard Battalion, 600 people in the Cavalry Battalion, and 1,800 people in the Third Battalion of Armored Soldiers.
The Jiyun military guards and rural troops stationed on Xisha Island have not been included.
Purchasing a large amount of high-quality armor from the defeated troops and capturing four battles and four victories made the Jiangdong Zuoying generals' armor, bows and crossbows much better than the Zhenfu army, and they had two thousand sets of high-quality armor.
They have accumulated more than 800 horses outside the country.
The gold and silver property directly seized on the battlefield and put into Jiangdong Zuoying's pocket was converted into nearly 100,000 silver.
A large amount of horse meat, furs, and supplies collected on the battlefield were traded with merchants from Den and Lai. The accumulated grain and grass and a large number of mules and horses were resold to the Water Transport Department of Tianjin and Haidu for more than 80,000 taels of silver.
In addition, more than 1,200 foreign horses are being transported to Chongzhou, Jiangning, Weiyang and other places for trade, and they can probably get 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver.
Not counting the value of large quantities of high-quality soldiers and armor, the Jiangdong Left Army was almost able to break even, spending 250,000 taels of silver and capturing 256,000 taels of silver on the battlefield.
War is so snobbish and cruel. The loser will enter a vicious circle, and the situation will become worse and worse. The victor will enter a virtuous circle, and the situation will become clearer and clearer.
Of course, the above does not include the 50,000 taels of silver rewarded for military merit and the 200,000 taels of silver obtained from trading the heads of barbarians with Hao Zongcheng.
Since Lin Fu allocated an additional nearly 100,000 taels of silver from Jiangning to go north, and the pension and reward money had not yet been distributed, the Jiangdong Zuoying Township Army still had nearly 400,000 taels of cash in Jinhai.
If Tang Haoxin knew that Lin Fu had nearly 400,000 taels of cash in Jinhai, he would be so scared that he would spit out a piece of his tongue. In such an emergency, the Ministry of Revenue could only squeeze out 500,000 taels to open the sea canal.
Two pieces of silver come.
***********
At this time, the guards reported to Sun Shangwang, and Sun Fengyi and others asked to see him. Lin Fu took Lin Mengde, and Cao Ziang and others came out of the camp to greet him in person. Sun Fengyi, Sun Shangwang and others were all frightened. At this time, Lin Fu was no longer a little prisoner.
official.
Lin Fu was more casual and invited Sun Fengyi, Sun Shangwang, and several maritime merchant representatives from Deng, Lai, and Hejian to enter the camp to discuss matters. He also gave rare instructions to prepare a banquet for Sun Fengyi and others in the camp, and discuss matters while drinking.
Eight candles as thick as a baby's arms illuminated the camp as brightly as daylight. Lin Fu sat in the main seat. Behind him was a screen with a painting of a white-breasted tiger swatting at the rocks. In front of him was a long pear tree table with writings on it.
Lin Mengde, Cao Zi'ang and other Jiangdong left army generals sat opposite to Lin Fu with Sun Shangwang, Sun Fengyi and maritime merchant representatives.
Lin Fu stared at the candlelight and thought for a while, then sorted out his thoughts a little, tapped his fingers on the table, and said: "The Ministry of Revenue has agreed that Jiangdong Zuojun will be the middleman for everyone to sell grain.
We were resold to Jinhai Okura and various border armies. The Ministry of War also officially issued a letter to reorganize our department into the Jiangdong Zuoying Township Army, and allocate Dingtian Zhengfu from Chongzhou County as a source of salary. Everyone does not have to worry about Jiangdong Zuoying being in debt.
You can’t find a place to collect debts…”
"Your Majesty, you are joking," Sun Fengyi said with a smile, "We are really eager to get the money your Majesty owes us so that we can show it off to outsiders. How can there be any reason to worry?"
Lin Fu smiled and said: "When the country is in trouble, everyone is responsible. Although Jiangdong Zuoying was brought out to be the middleman reluctantly, Jiangdong Zuoying has no reason to make profits from it. You are responsible for sailing the ship to the designated place for delivery. For grain, I will send people to follow me to help with communication. The grain payment will be settled with me. The grain will be divided into grades. Each stone of millet of the lowest grade will be calculated at 1,500 yuan. I will not deprive you of a single penny!"
"How is this possible?" Sun Fengyi said in surprise, "How does this make us feel at ease?"
"Mr. Sun, listen to me first," Lin Fu said with a smile, "All maritime merchants, ships and personnel involved in transporting grain need only register and verify with our office, and allow our office to send personnel to accompany them. We will prepay at a rate of 20% A deposit is required to ease the financial pressure on each family. When the grain arrives in Jinhai and is warehoused, the cost will be calculated based on the grain purchase price and labor and food money. Our office will immediately pay a considerable amount of money and a deposit for the next grain purchase, and the profit portion due to it will be We are temporarily withholding... There is no other way. The money I have tried my best to mobilize is very limited. I can only shamelessly ask everyone to trust me. After I get the money from the Ministry of Accounts, I will never do it. There is a moment's delay for everyone to make up the remaining money."
Lin Fu cupped his fists and raised his hands towards Sun Fengyi and others.
"Your Majesty, you are so polite. If we don't trust you, who can we trust?" Sun Fengyi looked around and asked, "Should we just listen to your arrangements?"
The representatives of the merchants calculated that even if they could not get the full amount of money, they could at least get back their principal and part of the deposit every time. Lin Fu would not deduct their food prices. Jiangdong Zuoying had achieved this level, which was reflected in The sincerity is far beyond what the frontier army and the household department can compare with. Besides, they go to sea to do business and travel north, south, east and west. They must take shelter, seek refuge or make friends with powerful people in order to avoid being overly oppressed. Lin Fu led the Jiangdong Left Army at a young age to establish a With illustrious military exploits, he rose up among Jianghuai and Yanlu. He is actually the most popular up-and-coming figure in the Chu Party, with a bright future. If you don’t fawn over such a figure, who will you fawn over?
Sun Fengyi expressed his stance first, and everyone else also agreed, so the matter was finalized.
Lin Fu added: "The sea is rough and the waves are dangerous, and the other side is the captive land of Liaodong. The cargo and the ship are related to your wealth. If it is capsized by the storm or robbed by the pirates, the rich will instantly become penniless. This is probably what everyone thinks." The fundamental reason why the sea is like a dangerous road..."
The merchants talked to Lin Fu about the central issue, and told them about the difficulties and high risks of going to sea; Lin Fu patiently listened to their complaints.
No matter how advanced the shipbuilding technology is, it cannot be denied that sailing is one of the most risky industries at present. Frequent pirates and unpredictable hurricanes and waves, even if a large number of landless poor farmers are willing to go to sea to fight for their lives and gain wealth, However, merchants are not very motivated to invest in sea-going ships.
Even if there are businessmen who want to go to sea to make profits, most of them are not willing to put all their wealth on a large sea ship. Although large sea ships have higher ability to withstand wind and waves and have larger loading capacity, once something goes wrong, it means bankruptcy. Strong businessmen are more willing to build multiple small and medium-sized sea-going ships to spread risks. Although small- and medium-sized sea-going ships have low wind and wave resistance and limited loading capacity, they can only sail along the coastline and travel slowly, but multiple sea-going ships can The risk is spread. Even if one ship capsizes or is hijacked, the profits of other seagoing ships can make up for the loss.
This is also an important reason why it is difficult to see the appearance of large sea ships in the Bohai Bay where the sea ban policy is not strict and piracy is not very rampant.
To change this situation, it is actually very simple, that is, someone needs to stand up and spread the risks of maritime navigation on behalf of all ship owners or maritime merchants.
Lin Fu listened to everyone complaining and said: "In the past few days, I have been taking a boat out to Jinwei Island every day to see. During this short sea journey, I feel that the wind and waves are dangerous. No wonder everyone feels like walking on thin ice when going to sea. Every day
Everyone is risking their lives for wealth when they go to sea, which is why I don’t deduct everyone’s food prices. It’s not easy to save even a few bucks.”
"Only adults can understand our hard work." All the sea merchants said. Most of them had seen the large ships of Jiyun Society with their own eyes. This was not to flatter Lin Fu.
"I thought of a compromise and discussed it with everyone," Lin Fu said. "I also have Jiyun Society doing business under my command, and I think everyone knows it. For example, transporting grain from Dengzhou to Jinhai,
If the shipowner is willing to discount the goods and ships, he will pay a deposit to Jiyun Social in the ratio of 6 out of 100 or 3 out of 100 depending on the ship's sturdiness and ability to withstand wind and waves. If he transports grain from Dengzhou to Tianjin, he encounters storms and waves on the way.
If the ship sinks, or the ship's cargo is robbed due to pirates, you can obtain full compensation for the ship and cargo from Jiyun Society afterwards; if you complete the journey smoothly, the deposit will be Jiyun Society's profit... as a guarantee
Jiyunshe has sufficient compensation capacity in Jinhai. I will deposit 20,000 taels of cash in Jinwei Island as the principal. Of course, if you think this business can be done, you can also invest the principal to participate in one share. In the future
The profits and losses are naturally shared.”
"This..." Sun Fengyi asked doubtfully, "Sir, you want to do business with us."
"Doing business is secondary," Lin Fu said with a smile. "The main thing is the hardship and danger of sailing. I can also understand a little. If we gather everyone's strength and are willing to insure money before going to sea, even if we make less money during the trip,
But you don’t have to worry about encountering storms or going bankrupt on the way to pirates... Do you think this is true?”
Lin Fu probably remembered that the marine insurance industry had appeared in the West very early, but he had carefully observed the current situation of the maritime trade in Dai Viet Dynasty. He found that it was fragmented and not large-scale. There was no such rudimentary insurance industry that shared losses and shared risks.
Doesn't appear, doesn't mean Lin Fu can't give birth.
The advantage of doing this is that in addition to promoting the enthusiasm of merchants in coastal counties and rural tycoons to invest in sea-going ships, a commercial organization similar to the marine insurance industry can be established in the name of Jiyunshe or Jiangdong Zuoying. Once a sea-going merchant, the ship owner will "
"Sharing losses and sharing risks" will make us rely more on this risk sharing model. Naturally, a closer maritime power group will be formed with Jiangdong Zuoying as the core, and it will become a supporter of Jiyunshe and Jiangdong Zuoying.