The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 397 Lack of Money
The result was chilling, the emperor compromised with all civil and military officials, and Huang Han was convicted.

It was Wang Chengen who came to Jinzhou to proclaim the decree.

This was Chongzhen playing tricks, downgrading Huang Han a few levels and losing his Lord Hou. The emperor knew that Huang Han must have resentment in his heart.

Therefore, sending an absolutely trusted confidant eunuch to preach the decree is also to let Wang Chengen come as a lobbyist to widen Huang Han's heart.

Wang Chengen should belong to the No. [-] Zhongliang of the Chongzhen Dynasty. Of course, for the sake of the emperor, he took the initiative to talk secretly with Huang Han.

He painstakingly explained the emperor's difficulties, expressed his understanding of Huang Han's humiliation, and told Huang Han that the emperor remembered the good of the Huang family in his heart, and he would not treat him badly in the future.

Huang Han was really unhappy, thinking of the imperial court, working for his old Zhu family, he was guilty of labor instead of gaining benefits. Once those civil servants and military generals who had paid nothing for the imperial court instigated it, the emperor would lose his position. Who the hell!
No wonder the Chongzhen Emperor in history turned out to be a traitor in the end. This kid really didn't take any responsibility at all, he wasn't very kind!
When Wang Chengen came to Jinzhou, Huang Han must of course receive him well. He accompanied him to watch the city defense for three consecutive days.

While showing Wang Chengen the defense system, Huang Han explained to him how to cooperate with infantry and artillery, and how to use cavalry to attack and divide Jiannu who dared to invade.

Wang Chengen saw the orderly appearance of the troops and horses, the orderly barracks, and the bustling training ground.

He found that although more than half of the teenage children in the "Red Banner Army" had immature faces full of determination, he realized that with the passage of time, these children grew up in the flames of war, and the combat effectiveness of the "Red Banner Army" became even more unstoppable in a few years. Estimate.

Huang Han knew that Wang Cheng'en was not a greedy and vicious person, but he had to be courteous.

He gave Wang Chengen a money order of 1000 taels of silver, a box of Dongzhu worth 300 taels of silver, ten top-quality Korean ginseng worth 200 taels of silver, a pair of golden armour, and a sterling silver-plated binoculars.

It is not surprising that there are many people who are polite, even if Wang Chengen is not greedy, seeing Huang Han is so polite is also very enjoyable.

This is Chinese officialdom, if I am not greedy, it means that you can not give it. Whether I want it is a matter of principle. Whether you give it or not is a matter of attitude.

Huang Han's generous gift is enough to prove his attitude, and Wang Chengen, who is about the same age as Huang Han, smiled happily.

He said in a sharp voice: "General Huang is too polite, how could our family have the nerve to accept such a big gift."

Huang Han said: "I have always admired Wang Gonggong. I didn't have much contact with him before, but I didn't have a chance. How can I neglect to meet you in Jinzhou today."

"General Huang has always been respectful to us people. It is completely different from other civilian and military generals. Our family knows it well. We don't show our merits in front of the general. Whenever the emperor mentions the general, our family will tell the truth about the general's achievements. .”

"I thank you, my father, for speaking out with righteousness!"

"Hey! This time the emperor is really in trouble. It's also because the general's methods are a bit harsh, and the public opinion is hard to end, so he wronged the general."

"It's nothing special! Isn't it just a little less fame! It doesn't affect killing enemies for the country!"

"In this way, our family can feel at ease. The Holy Son of Heaven sent our family across the sea because he was worried that the general would be unhappy. Our family thinks that this trip is worthwhile, so we can report back what we saw and heard. Presumably, the Holy Son of Heaven knew about the front line of Jinzhou. Under the management of the general, if it is as strong as gold, it will definitely make Longyan happy."

After sending Wang Chengen away, it was already early April, and Huang Yong brought the fleet to Jinzhou Port as agreed.

Huang Han was planning to go to Japan for trade in person, and there were [-] warships ready to set off, more than half of which were new warships launched this year.

In the past two years, there have been more than a hundred large merchant ships that have been cheated, kidnapped and plundered, and half of them have reached the No. Elimination is about to be dismantled and reused.

The old lock ship type merchant ships built by Huang himself are simple and practical, low in cost, fast in speed and have an absolute competitive advantage. Now dozens of ships have been launched, with a displacement of between [-] and [-] tons.

This time, I selected [-] No. [-] Fuchuan-class merchant ships and brought [-] five-hundred-ton old lock-type merchant ships with me. They have already loaded the cost of goods such as porcelain, ironware, silk, Songjiang cloth, and tea. The price is more than five hundred thousand taels of silver.

In order to prepare the goods this time, Huang Han not only used up the cash, but also received an advance payment of more than 30 taels of silver from Jiangnan merchants for purchasing steel raw materials, and borrowed [-] taels of silver through the Gao family as a guarantee.

With the official background and Gao's family as the guarantor, the interest that Huang Han has to pay is two cents, that is, 20.00% interest in ten months.

No wonder the dignitaries of Ming Dynasty like to open pawnshops to lend usury. The business of money making money is very profitable. Huang Han has already thought about opening a bank to reduce the interest on loans so that small businesses can get financial support.

Huang Han had no choice but to borrow money with such a high interest rate, because money was spent everywhere.

The capital’s investment has been fully launched, employing more than a thousand plasterers and five or six thousand strong laborers. The 5 taels of silver invested in the early stage is running out, because the monthly wages and food money on the construction site have reached 1 taels silver.

The Huang family's large-scale construction in the capital made it a lot easier for the Wucheng soldiers and horses, because five to six thousand strong laborers were hired, and [-]% of them were refugees who had wandered to the capital to beg for a living.

The Huang family is a military family, and even the management of labor is militarized. Thousands of strong men in the capital have been given job opportunities, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of idlers and a sharp rise in public security.

It is estimated that between 20 taels and 25 taels of silver will be needed to complete the investment in the Jingshi site. Although he knows that he will make a profit without losing money, the initial investment has become a heavy burden for Huang Han.

Therefore, this time, you must make money when traveling to Japan, otherwise the Huang family may break the capital chain and lead to a credit crisis. It will not be possible to close down or go bankrupt. Huang Han is an official businessman with the army in his hands. He has no money to ask for a few months. Dare to use strong?

Eighteen warships were not loaded with cargo. If you can buy a large amount of Japanese copper ingots, sulfur, saltpeter, lead, and rice on the return journey, then each warship can also carry three or four thousand shi of rice, with a tonnage of no more than 350 tons. That's fine.

The merchant ships preparing for long-distance voyages are all No. 350 Fuchuan and old lock ships of more than [-] tons. Half of the warships are improved old lock ships of [-] to [-] tons with added paddles. It will be less than [-] tons, and the goods shipped back are indispensable.

Huang Han was never worried that the great general Tokugawa Iemitsu, who conquered barbarians from Japan, closed the country, because the trading fleet from afar brought [-] warships equipped with dozens of cannons. If they did not open their doors for trade, we would open their doors and directly Go ashore and grab.

(End of this chapter)