After drawing the grand blueprint, the next step is to divide the cake. This is also the most uneasy part in everyone's mind. Negotiations require bargaining chips, and after Li Mu drew the grand blueprint, everyone has no chips in their hands. Now everyone is eager to
Like the Xiao family, they are Li Mu's lackeys, and once they are rejected by Li Mu, what will follow will be rebellion and separation, and they will be suppressed. Even if they are not suppressed, they will not be able to develop. When Li Mu built Jiaozhou Port and Mingzhou Port, he built
With the military port established and a fleet organized, he would control the sea. At that time, let alone a small aristocratic family, there would be no rival in the vast sea. Who he wanted to deal with was just a matter of thought, wasn't it?
Therefore, now the two parties have no way to negotiate at all, and one party has lost the qualification to negotiate.
Everyone looked at Li Mu, waiting for his verdict. But Li Mu did not do so. He did not mention the allocation of the stubble, but said: "The conditions given by this prince are already here. What do you want to choose? It's up to you.
Let's talk. As long as you don't go too far and don't overestimate your capabilities, it's easy to discuss, but you have to say ugly things first. If anyone dares to speak loudly and amuse me, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Everyone didn't dare to say anything. Gu Sizhi, as a respected elder, stood up on behalf of everyone and said: "Master Marquis, I wonder if you can allow us to discuss it. Tomorrow -"
"My time is precious and I don't have much time to wait for you. I'll give you three hours. There must be a result before evening."
After Li Mu said that, he went back to his room to rest. Only everyone was left looking at each other. No one dared to speak in Li Mu's place. In the end, Gu Sizhi brought it up. Nearby, the Gu family ran a rice shop. Although it was a bit shabby, it was
This is not the time for enjoyment, and there is no good place to discuss things.
When everyone came to Mipu, someone immediately started complaining and asked Gu Sizhi how Wang Rui's words reached Li Mu's ears. How could Gu Sizhi bear such a crime? They immediately retorted and the two sides almost started fighting. Within half an hour, there was a fight.
However, nothing came of the argument. In the end, Zhu Qing, the elder of the Zhu family, stopped everyone and said: "Is there any point in checking this now? The Marquis only gave three hours, and now half an hour has passed.
If we don’t hurry up and we can’t come up with a result, have you thought clearly about what the consequences will be?”
Everyone, who had been arguing until their faces were red, calmed down. Everyone was no longer a child, and they knew when and what was important. After calming down, they did not delay the matter and started discussing seriously.
Li Mu didn't care about how they discussed it. In his eyes, as long as someone does what he wants to do, it doesn't matter to him whether the Gu family does it or the Wang family does it. But he doesn't cooperate.
People need to be cleared away, it’s that simple.
What he considers is more macroscopic. After all, all the details ultimately serve a big purpose.
The big goal Li Mu considered was the ocean.
He wants to gain control of the sea, and to use a relatively unreasonable saying in his previous life, his real goal is the sea of stars! This is also the best solution he can think of to escape unharmed without causing an irreconcilable conflict with Li Shimin.
This is also the best way he can think of to not affect the major trajectory of history and to preserve himself!
The Tang Dynasty is still the same Li Tang, and the future of the sea belongs to Li Mu! The Wanshi ship is the beginning. If there is one ship, there will be a second ship. If there is a second ship, there will be a fleet or two fleets. During this period, if
A fleet composed of ten thousand stone ships will have no opponent, at least at sea. Even a thousand years later, when Portugal and Spain compete for maritime hegemony, their main battleships will not reach the level of ten thousand stone ships!
What Li Mu has to do is to put on his straw hat and create his own age of navigation!
The earth occupies 30% of the land and 70% is the ocean. The treasures contained in the vast ocean far exceed human imagination.
The history of the world is a history of fighting for land. All countries are no different. The ocean is limited by human capabilities, and for a long time it did not receive enough attention. When the land is divided up by humans, the vast ocean will
will become their new goal. Various claims for maritime domination are still limited to limited sea areas along the coast. No country has ever thought about, or in other words, they simply cannot, occupy the ocean. What Li Mu wants to do is to occupy it in a practical sense.
He wants to be King of the Sea, and at least as long as he lives, the sea areas around Datang will be his master.
The ocean issue can be summed up in three points: "Who belongs to the ocean?" "Who will distribute the ocean?" and "How to divide the ocean." When Li Mu watched One Piece, he specifically searched for knowledge about navigation.
I even watched a documentary about the rise and fall of Spain's two maritime empires.
Portugal and Spain occupied the oceans based on "Roman Law" as the legal basis, first-come-first-serve, and the Pope's injunctions as religious basis, psychological construction, and expedition rewards as inducements to carve up the global oceans. The "Roman Law" held by Portugal and Spain
"The theory of ocean possession" is a self-argument of the logic of "first impression, the stronger takes possession". In essence, it is the hegemonic thought of "might makes right". It is not very reasonable, but it is very useful. Portugal and Spain have successively become maritime hegemons.
This illustrates this point. Since the wheel of history has proved that this method is effective, and hundreds of years later, Portugal and Spain did this, then why can't it be done now?
This is like a knife. There is no reason for foreigners to hold a knife and be justified. When the Tang Dynasty held a knife, it was bullying. Even if it was, it was just done. Li Mu himself did not have any psychological burden. He never
He traveled back a thousand years later and learned more than a thousand years of history, world history, and Chinese history. Even before he traveled through the world, it was already a new era after 2,000 AD, and everything showed that power is right, and those who fall behind will be beaten.
, if you have a choice, why not be the powerful one? Instead, be the weak one, argue with the powerful and demand fairness?
But one bite cannot make a fat man, and things must be done step by step. Li Mu looked at the 'world map' hanging on the wall, his eyes retracted from a distant place, and finally, his eyes were fixed on the right side of the Tang Dynasty territory.
He wants to turn a large island below into a home port for his fleet heading to the sea of stars. He wants to build a huge lighthouse to lead the way for future generations to become a powerful maritime nation!
…
Three hours later, everyone finished their discussion and returned to Yuelai Inn. Compared with the panic just now, everyone seemed more confident and logical this time.
Gu Sizhi was the first to speak and stated that the Gu family's ancestors ran Suzhou and Hangzhou and were willing to stay and assist in running the Yangzhou Port. At the same time, they hoped to participate in the construction of Mingzhou Port. The Zhu family expressed that they were willing to give up the rest of the industry and devote all their energy to
They are all focused on shipbuilding and are willing to train sailors to prepare for going to sea.
But not everyone thinks so. For example, the Langya Wang family is not very interested in going to sea. They are willing to give up all businesses involving shipping in exchange for operating cement plants or iron mines. Those who have the same idea as the Langya Wang family,
And the Yu family is very determined.
After listening to everyone's attitudes, the twelve Jiangnan aristocratic families can be roughly divided into two parts. The faction that abandons the sea and protects the mainland and the faction that abandons the mainland and protects the sea. Each party accounts for half. It is obvious that they have discussed it privately and made an exchange of interests. Each family,
They all took out a list, which included the list of industries they were replacing. Li Mu casually picked up a list and looked at it. He each took out 10% of the part related to replacement without indicating the ownership, but these people looked ambiguous.
With a smile, Li Mu knew what this meant.
10% of all replacements were given to Li Mu, the dragon crossing the river, which was a big gesture. But Li Mu didn't want to accept it. If he accepted it, it would be difficult to do things in the future, and his plan was not here.
As the saying goes, wealth gathers and people gather, and wealth gathers and people disperse. It is when people are needed to do things. Why be greedy for a little money and delay the progress of big things?
Li Mu asked someone to bring him a pen, and with one big stroke, he wiped out everything. Everyone was surprised. Gu Sizhi was about to say something, but Li Mu stopped him.
"I am here to do business, not to blackmail you. If any of you have any thoughts of bribery again, get out of here as soon as possible."
Everyone was secretly happy and hurriedly sent out another round of flattery. Li Mu waved his hand and said: "Since you have made the division yourself, you will all sign and sign today, and no one will be allowed to go back on it in the future. All deliveries will be completed within two months.
, During this process, I don’t want to hear any questions related to this. If there are any problems, let me know. No matter who is responsible, the property involved will be confiscated. Do you have any questions?"
Everyone has already discussed it, and the list submitted to Li Mu has been confirmed by each other, so there are no doubts. Moreover, Li Mu did not charge them 10%, they have already taken advantage, and even if there are any problems, both parties will definitely not do it.
Before making trouble in front of Li Mu, let things go wrong, because it will definitely bring greater losses.
"Now that we've talked about the small things, let's talk about the serious stuff." Li Mu knocked on the table, glanced at everyone, and said: "In order to regulate shipping trade, the imperial court decided to establish a municipal shipping department to manage foreign trade at sea and be responsible for inspecting incoming and outgoing ships and cargo.
, explore, extract, and trade matters."
After hearing this, everyone felt a thump in their hearts. Although there had never been a government office like Shibosi before the Tang Dynasty, you could guess its meaning after hearing these three words. The imperial court was going to collect taxes, so...
Although I don't know how much tax the court will collect, businessmen are pursuing profits. They didn't have to pay taxes before, but now they have to pay taxes. Even if they pay a small amount, they feel uncomfortable. At this time, they chose to abandon the sea to protect the land, and they were secretly happy.
Come to think of it, Shibosi has little to do with them, so this knife can't hit them.
Gu Sizhi asked in a trembling voice: "Please, Lord Marquis, please tell me in detail what's going on in this city's shipping company. I'm an old man and I don't understand."
"The City Shipping Department has the same status as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is directly subordinate to His Majesty without going through the six ministries. The chief officer of the City Shipping Department is called the City Shipping Minister, ranking third rank. He is appointed by His Majesty or is concurrently held by a high-ranking official of the third rank or above in the court. The general manager
Everything in the Shipping Department is in charge of everything. Below the Minister of Shipping, there are four-level Shipping Envoys who are stationed in various ports. Their main responsibilities are to collect tariffs from ships coming for trade, purchase a certain amount of imported goods on behalf of the court, and manage foreign countries to pay tribute to the emperor.
tribute, supervise and manage the city’s shipping trade, register, manage ships entering and leaving the port, and merchants.”
"In short, the Municipal Shipping Department has three functions: the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Foreign Affairs Office, and the trading market. It is actually the culmination of the new policies implemented by this Marquis." Li Mu looked at Gu Sizhi and said: "The Municipal Shipping Department of Yangzhou Port, this is the official
The Marquis intends to recommend Mr. Gu for a two-year term. After two years, Yangzhou Port will recommend three candidates for His Majesty to choose from. What do you think?"
The city's envoy, a fourth-grade official, all have real power in their hands!
The people who had just gloated about the misfortune of abandoning the sea and protecting the mainland were confused. Even Gu Sizhi himself was confused. Is there such a thing as pie-in-the-sky good things? He was originally a country squire, but he became a fourth-rank official in the blink of an eye, and entered the court in one step.
Done?
The most incomparable thing between the Jiangnan noble families and the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes is their political influence. However, if the shipping trade develops in the future, the Jiangnan noble families will have a way to advance through the Shishi Ship Division, and they may not be unable to compete with the northern clans in the future.
Compare them!
The Abandoning the Sea and Protecting the Mainland faction wanted to swallow what they just said immediately, but under Li Mu's scrutinizing gaze, they did not dare to say anything. They could only comfort themselves in their hearts. They all went to sea, and there would definitely be vacancies for business on land.
, although there are losses, there is also compensation, almost, almost the same.
But whether it is really much worse or about the same, everyone knows it in their heart. Only you know whether your heart is bleeding or not.
Li Mu looked at the stunned Gu Sizhi and pretended to be angry: "Why, Mr. Gu is not willing to help with this?"
"How dare I not dedicate my whole life to repay Lord Marquis for his kindness!" Gu Sizhi was about to kneel on the ground, but was helped up by Li Mu. He still expected to use this old guy for two years, but he couldn't let it pass.
Gu Sizhi really didn't expect that such a big pie would fall on him. He thought that even if such a good thing happened, it would definitely fall on the Xiao family. He glanced at shopkeeper Xiao next to Li Mu and saw that he
Without any anger, he knew that the Xiao family must have gained greater benefits, and they looked down upon this position.
As soon as jealousy arose in his heart, he retreated. If someone gets more, they have invested more. Just bidding for the Wanshi Ship cost hundreds of thousands, so it is normal to get rewards. Thinking of this, Gu Sizhi secretly
Gritting his teeth, he couldn't bear to let go of the child. Although the Gu family could not compare with the royal descendants of the Xiao family, the hidden resources accumulated in the local area were not much less. This time, he took a gamble on Li Mu. Everything had just begun. It might not be too late to place a bet now.
! As long as the bet is right, it will not be a generation, but a life with the country, and the honor will be from generation to generation!