In the city of Zhangjiakou, countless business gangs are busy and busy. When they heard that the Sunites came to pay tribute and trade, the shopkeepers of each shop were shouting at the shopkeepers to put their goods on the counter and put them at the door to display them in preparation.
After they entered the city, they watched the trading.
Yongjuxiang, Hengzhongheng, Dadexing, Dadecheng, Jushengchuan, Hengdahuan and other companies are one after another. There are more than 100 tea houses alone, and there are also fur businesses and cattle and sheep businesses.
There are countless shops selling camels, horses, butter, and mushrooms, and many of them are century-old brands.
Many of them are famous Shanxi merchants in the late Ming Dynasty, but those who are careful will find that these Shanxi merchants are still there, and even many old shopkeepers are still there, and the guys are still there, and people still criticize each other.
But I always feel like something is different somewhere.
In fact, the biggest difference is that these Shanxi merchants have been reorganized, indicating that the previous ones are still operating, but in fact the imperial court has already completed the investigation and statistics of these Shanxi merchants through factory guards, especially the so-called Eight Emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
business.
After the recapture of Beijing, many of the eight major Shanxi merchants fled directly with the Tatars. Some families made bets on both sides. On the one hand, they sent some of their disciples to follow them outside the pass, and they continued to operate inside the pass. Both sides wanted to please, and neither side wanted to miss out.
.
But how could the emperor tolerate their behavior of cheating others? Before they regained the capital, Bao Guozhu and others from the Tu Kingdom had secret deals with them. That was just a special situation during the war, but once Yanyun and Zhao Jin were recovered, then
He also immediately started to attack them.
It's just that the method is a little smarter. Instead of simply confiscating homes and shops, we first invite all the owners, shareholders, and big shopkeepers of these Shanxi merchants, big and small, to Beijing, and the factory guards invite them to tea. Of course, it won't be pleasant.
There is a price for drinking tea, that is, they hand over the business operations of their respective companies. After the handover is clear, the emperor will grant them an amnesty and will send them to Hainan Island to settle down, where each will be given ten acres of land and ten silver coins.
, start a new life again, wipe out the past.
If you refuse to cooperate, refuse to hand over, or even conceal it, you will be responsible for the consequences. Not to mention how professional the factory guards are in their interrogation methods, let alone how they can hide it from the factory guards. The best outcome is that they have the opportunity to commit suicide if they resist.
The most likely outcome is exile to a labor camp.
Now that the emperor has abolished the penalty for being a slave, Han people will not be demoted to slavery no matter what crime they commit, but this does not mean that it will be easier, because they can be exiled to do hard labor, mine, cut and plant, and go to the deep mountains and forests or Hainan.
, go to Taiwan and other islands and work hard for a lifetime, which is really no different from being a slave.
Women are also sent to workshops, which is even more miserable.
I have to say that Jinyi Weidong Factory is indeed a time-honored brand. They are really good at doing this kind of work. Even the old traitorous families such as the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, no one can withstand them for three days.
Those who behave well and actively cooperate will also receive preferential treatment, such as good tea, good wine, good meals and good food. Not only will they not be beaten or tortured, but they will also be able to reunite with their families.
So nowadays, those traitorous Shanxi merchant families and their business houses have basically been taken over by the Shaofu Jian. The old business is still there, and the goodwill relationship is still there, whether it is a bank, a tea shop, a leather shop, etc.
, everything is business as usual, and trade with the Mongols continues.
Of course, the loans given to the Mongols still have to be repaid.
The four tea shops that once received royal charters from the Qing court, namely Nagayu River, Nagamori River and Dayama River, were all royal merchants authorized by the Qing court and held the red dragon ticket given by the Qing emperor.
It is a special pass that allows unimpeded access from acquisition to transportation to the hinterland of Mongolia. It is protected by all parties. When the Mongolians see this red dragon pass, they rush to trade and identify their business name.
Now, the owners, shareholders, and shopkeepers of these four major tea houses have changed, and have been taken over by the Ming Dynasty Royal Shaofu Supervisor. However, the original business and relationships are still there, and even the emperor has now issued red dragon tickets to them.
, retaining everything original.
"Hang up the sign, we will trade with each other tomorrow. We have prepared enough tea bricks this time, and we must grab enough goods." The new shopkeeper explained.
A clerk is writing a sign with a pen.
"One big sheep, one pound of brick tea, one ten pounds of tea and one ox."
One tea brick weighs four kilograms, which can be directly exchanged for four fat sheep, and two and a half tea bricks can be exchanged for one cow.
This is Chang Yuchuan's signature for tomorrow's trading. It is simple, direct, and very traditional. When trading with the Mongols, tea and sheep can be used as the basic units of accounting.
The transaction price of tea bricks and sheep is the simplest and most practical exchange rate.
A pound of brick tea is exchanged for a large sheep. The price is not high, or even a little low, but it is a fair transaction for both parties, and it is not forced to buy or sell. Such a price can only show that the market is like this, and Mongolians need tea more.
, large supply of cattle and sheep.
Chang Yuchuan directly purchased cattle, sheep, camels, wool and sheepskins in Zhangjiakou, traded them for brick tea, and then shipped them back to Beijing, Tianjin or Taiyuan, making high profits.
In the past, they would go directly into the hinterland of Mongolia for transactions, where the prices would be lower and the profits higher. They would even directly lend money to the Mongolians.
It is better to go without food for three days than to go without tea for one day.
Sometimes they would directly exchange tea bricks with Mongolian herdsmen for a few calves, but they would not take them away directly. They would still let the herdsmen raise them. After three or four years when they grow up, they would collect them and take them away and transport them back to the mainland, where they could sell them for several times or even more.
More than ten times the profit.
These tea bricks are processed in the mainland and sold specifically to herdsmen, which are relatively cheap. However, the tea sold to princes and nobles is very high-end, and the price is naturally expensive.
If the same tea is exported from the customs, for example, black tea is 26 liang per quintal, green tea is 24 liang per quintal, and sold to Mongolian princes, the price will at least increase two or three times. If it is that kind of high-end boutique tea, it will cost one
A kilogram can be sold for half a tael of silver, or even a few taels or a dozen taels.
In the past, Shanxi merchants did business on the Mongolian grasslands, selling them tea bricks, iron pots, medicinal materials, cloth, silk, salt, sugar, tobacco, etc. Not only were they sold expensively but received cheaply, the shrewd Shanxi merchants also took advantage of the herdsmen.
Livestock has a long growth cycle, and various loans have been developed for herdsmen.
First, sell all kinds of inland commodities they need to the herdsmen. It doesn't matter if you don't have money. Set the price, and then make an appointment to collect the goods in autumn and winter, when the livestock have grown up and become fatter, and collect the capital and profits together.
When the season comes, they come over on horseback and go from yurt to yurt with their account books to collect the accounts.
They even invented the idea of ​​collecting livestock and skins every autumn and winter when the cattle and horses are fat. After collecting the livestock, they do not give them money or goods. Instead, they give them a money sticker with a business name stamped on it and give it to them for storage.
Well, in the spring and summer of next year, their company's cargo fleet will pass by. At that time, herdsmen will come to buy the goods they need, and then use money to settle the bill, and they will buy other people's cattle and sheep for free at half a year's interest rate.
Of course, whether it is lending to herdsmen or collecting money from herdsmen, it is actually a commercial credit relationship, which involves considerable risks. Major businesses are also actively working hard to maintain their commercial credit and win the trust of herdsmen.
The business names that can establish themselves on the grassland are actually pretty good.
Many businesses were built up little by little over several generations. From one or two people, to a caravan, to a branch, many camel teams went in and out of the grasslands. It was not easy to build a big business that was famous in the grasslands, but it was not easy.
Nowadays, most of them are taken over by the royal family because of being imprisoned.
In some cases where the Tonglu were not serious, shareholding reforms were also carried out, with the royal family or the imperial court taking shares, or nobles taking shares, etc.
After all, with the way Shanxi merchants operate outside the customs, it is impossible not to get involved with the captives, so they will get involved in some way. Originally, if strictly investigated, it would be a serious crime of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan, but now the court can provide a way out, just give up some shares, which is not bad
Still kind, they didn't dare to feel dissatisfied.
Even the owners or shareholders of some companies directly asked them to take the money and withdraw their shares and leave the market. They had to be kind and grateful. After all, no matter how famous a businessman is, he is just a businessman. In front of the court, especially in front of the emperors and ministers of the Shaotian Dynasty who are now resurgence,
, they are just a bunch of pigs and sheep without any resistance.
The royal family, the imperial court, and the nobles came in and took over the border trade very smoothly. At the same time, most of the shopkeepers and clerks kept their jobs, and they could even still enjoy their shares, and their seniority benefits remained the same.
He also won a lot of praise for the court.
For the imperial court, border trade was very important to Mongolian trade. By maintaining trade, not only could it receive a lot of taxes, but the cattle, sheep, camels, horses, and furs of the Mongolian tribes were also commodities that the Ming Dynasty needed very much. The exchange of goods was beneficial to people's livelihood.
The royal family, the imperial court and the nobles slaughtered the fat sheep of Shanxi merchants, and after they bought shares, they also got a share of the pie.
Now the imperial court has integrated these Shanxi merchants and taken the border trade rights into its hands, which not only increased tax revenue and reduced smuggling, but also directly obtained a lot of trade profits.
Not to mention that after integrating these border trades, the imperial court could directly form an alliance with the princes and nobles of various Mongolian tribes and directly negotiate the pricing of trade.
This kind of unified trade negotiation is of course very beneficial to Ming Dynasty. After all, it has stronger pricing power.
During the alliance negotiations at the beginning of the year, they not only discussed trade pricing, but also reached a new agreement, which is the now established Zhudufufu and Dudufu. These princes and nobles who serve as Dudufufu will allow trade with Mongolia.
businessman contracting tax.
As the guardians and governors entrusted by the imperial court, they still enjoyed the right to rule over the tribal people in their own territory, so they naturally also had the right to tax.
They directly determined a tax amount based on their own consumption needs and the need to pay tribute to the court. In order to facilitate tax collection, the princes cooperated with Shanxi merchants and directly handed over the tax to the merchants for contract collection. After determining the tax amount, they paid it in the form of bills.
Write it down.
They also discussed and determined that herdsmen can use goods to offset the tax from businesses. Cattle, sheep, horses, camels, furs, medicinal materials, etc. can be used as offsets, and various tax deduction prices have been set. If the herdsmen cannot pay off the tax within the specified time, the business can
It must be paid in full, but the herdsmen must pay interest and pay off the principal and interest on schedule.
After the merchants contracted the tax, they had to pay the tax directly to the princes on a regular basis. In order to facilitate the princes' consumption and tribute, they directly wrote checks at the imperial household bank or the Royal Bank, or exchanged their deposits into exchange notes and handed them to the princes.
With their banknotes or exchange coupons in hand, princes could request cash withdrawals from merchants at any time, or purchase various supplies such as tea, tobacco, porcelain, silk, ironware, etc.
This kind of tax package is much more convenient than the princes collecting taxes themselves, especially if they can be directly exchanged for banknotes or exchange coupons. Whether they are shopping with Han merchants, paying tribute to Beijing, or spending money within the customs, it is very convenient.
If you levy it yourself, you can only levy cattle and sheep fur in kind, and you have to sell them again.
As for the Han merchants, it was certainly profitable to obtain the tax rights. Even if they had to pay the taxes first, it was still worthwhile. The tax packages not only earned the agreed interest and tax, but also provided loans to herdsmen, etc.
Not to mention that in this way, the influence and control over herdsmen can be strengthened.
Nowadays, among the merchants who go deep into the Mongolian grasslands and the merchants in border towns such as Zhangjiakou, many of them are operated by the royal family, or controlled by the royal family, or have shares in it.
Whether a sheep is exchanged for a pound of tea bricks or a pound and a half of tea bricks is now basically decided by the royal family.
Even the taxes of the Teng Jisi brothers are now collected by Shanxi merchants. They can easily get hundreds of thousands of taels of tax money. They can easily go to Zhangjiakou with banknotes or exchange coupons, or directly
While shopping with Han merchants on the grassland, he did not know that he had fallen into a trap.
The brave and militant Tengjisi brothers did not expect to be so deep. His son Batu, who was a guard in Beijing, and his nephew Dorji usually spent their money conveniently and lived a very comfortable and luxurious life in Beijing. They never imagined that there would be such a secret behind this.
Lots of things to say.
After all, it was much easier to carry a hundred thousand taels of banknotes in a small backpack than to catch 10,000 sheep to Beijing. Little did he know that when he was convenient and happy, he was also invisibly bound.
