The Reborn Duke of Ming Dynasty

The sixteenth century was a century of great geographical discoveries and the development of colonialism. It was also the era of religious reform in Europe, and various new theological ideas appeared one after another.

Under the leadership of Emperor Muzong Longqing of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty broke Zhu Yuanzhang's policy of closing the country and began to allow private individuals to go to sea to do business. Therefore, the land of China relies on the vast land, a large number of believers, and most importantly, those Europeans Products that could not be produced but were in great demand quickly occupied overseas markets, and a large amount of silver and gold poured into the land of China.

In all fairness, this did have an effect on the progress of the land of China from the peak of feudalism to capitalism at that time. However, China's vast territory and the Chinese people's idea of ​​imperial power granted by heaven cannot be easily changed, even in the feudalism of the Ming Dynasty. The era of development to its peak is also difficult to shake.

However, due to their large number of countries, Europeans are quite evenly matched with each other, just like the Hundred Years War between Britain and France, which lasted for more than 120 years. , set his sights on the map, the land outside Europe.

However, China did not do so. Maybe it is the fault of Confucianism in China from ancient times to the present, or maybe it is the reason why Chinese people are too proud to look down on those "uncivilized" places. In short, China has not set foot on this world trend. The road of colonialism, however, is also the beginning of China's backwardness to the world. Hundreds of years later, when the artillery of foreigners knocked on the door of this self-styled country, people all sighed, but they didn't know that this situation was as early as 300 It was determined years ago.

Zhang Fan understands this, but now he is at the beginning of this era, people are ambitious, and although Zhang Fan is not a patriotic and angry youth, every normal Chinese, or people from every country There is no doubt that everyone wants to become strong in their own country. Now Zhang Fan has this kind of thinking and a little bit of this ability. Moreover, since meeting those two people from Portugal, Zhang Fan's eager heart couldn't stop anymore.

But Zhang Fan is not without a little care in his heart. After all, if he really intends to do this, China's colonialist path will be opened. At that time, in the future, China will also be crowned as an "Oriental Power" The hat, Zhang Fan thought about it for a long time. However, various influences from that year, China was invaded, people were massacred, and old photos of women and children being insulted flashed in his mind one after another, so Zhang Fan made up his mind up.

But now the imperial court allows private individuals to go to sea to do business, but there is no plan for the government to come forward, and Zhang Fan is not willing to step forward by himself, so he wants to borrow the strength of this Zhao Xiande.

"My lord, you called the grass people here, I wonder if there is anything you want to discuss with the grass people," Zhao Xiande asked nervously.

The two are now in the same room, there is no one else, and there are Jin Yiwei guarding outside the room, all this makes Zhao Xiande a little nervous.

"You don't have to, I just want to ask you some questions this time, it's not a trouble," Zhang Fan said with a smile, "Sit down quickly."

Zhao Xiande thought so too, although he is now worth tens of millions, if a person of Zhang Fan's status wants to touch him, a look is enough. Thinking of this, Zhao Xiande calmed down, sat down, and said: "What do you want, my lord?" If you ask, just ask, the grassroots will know everything and say everything, "

"Okay, I like straightforward people," Zhang Fan said with a smile, "I think you can guess in your heart what I'm doing in Jiangnan, right?"

Zhao Xiande was taken aback when he heard Zhang Fan's words. At first he thought that Zhang Fan wanted to ask him about overseas affairs, but he didn't expect it to be about these. Zhao Xiande was a little difficult to answer. He was not worried about what Zhang Fan would do to him, but worry about those people...

Seeing his appearance, Zhang Fan knew what he was worried about, so he couldn't help but said, "Don't worry, the conversation between me and you today will never be known by a third party, and I promise you that if you have any trouble, as long as you You didn't do it yourself, I can keep you," Zhang Fan said this is not a lie, it is still useful for him to keep this Zhao Xiande.

Hearing what he said, Zhao Xiande thought about it, and felt that Zhang Fan must have known something, and it would be bad to conceal it by himself, so he made up his mind, and said: "Since your lord said so, Cao Min will just say it straight. Now, the purpose of my lord's coming here, the grass-roots people can also know a thing or two, "

"Is it because those people confiscated your red envelope when you got off the boat?" Zhang Fan said suddenly, he also heard what Liang Chao told him, and now he said it to scare Zhao Xiande again.

Sure enough, when Zhao Xiande heard Zhang Fan's words, a surprised expression immediately appeared on his face. He didn't know that Zhang Fan was in charge of Jinyiwei, and now he also panicked at Zhang Fan, but after the panic, he admired him. If he can keep himself, then he has nothing to fear. The bold Zhao Xiande said: "Your Excellency is really well informed, and the grass people can see it from here."

"Hehe," Zhang Fan chuckled twice, and said, "Tell me, how much money did you spend in the past two years?"

Zhao Xiande didn't think about it carefully, he still had some talent for doing business, he knew the account very well in his mind, and said, "My lord, Caomin didn't have much capital in the first year, but when he came back from the sea, he brought back 300 yuan worth of silver." 290 taels, after excluding the cost paid by the grassroots, the profit is about [-] million taels.”

When Zhang Fan heard it, good guy, with 10 taels of capital, plus more than half a year of hardships and adventures, there are actually [-] times the profit. Although the others returned to India, they must be quite a lot.

Zhao Xiande didn't see any surprised expression on Zhang Fan's face, and couldn't help feeling admiration for Zhang Fan, so he continued: "However, after the grassroots came back in the first year, apart from the 50 tax money handed over to the court, each After planting expenses, there are about 200 million taels left.”

"150 million taels?" Zhang Fan sighed slightly in his heart. He couldn't help but wonder how much these people got greedy. You must know that although Zhao Xiande has a big family and a great career, he is considered the most successful one among the people who went to sea, but the people who went to sea He wasn't the only one. After such a calculation, Zhang Fan really didn't dare to think about the specific number.

Zhao Xiande naturally didn't know what Zhang Fan was thinking, and continued: "The second year, Caomin continued to go to sea. That time Caomin had a lot of capital, but he was a little greedy. Although the business was hard, it was easy to do, so Caomin I chartered two boats by myself," said Zhao Xiande a little embarrassed, he thought that Zhang Fan would despise his profit-seeking nature like those officials.

Zhang Fan didn't mean to look down on him at all. In his previous life, he was born in an era when economics determined everything. In addition, he was a major in economics. How could he have such thoughts, even if his head is full of sage books now, This concept remains unchanged: "No need to do this, the job of a businessman is to make money, and there is nothing to be ashamed of,"

Hearing what Zhang Fan said, Zhao Xiande let go of the burden in his heart, and continued: "The grassroots spent millions of dollars and brought a lot of high-quality porcelain, tea and silk. Many princes in Europe The nobles and even the royal family are people who want to save face. Seeing that the grass people brought a lot of things that are better than last time, they don’t seem to care about the money at all, they just buy from the grass people. There are many, about 100 million taels, but most of them are gold gems, gold is better, and some of these gems are not easy to value here, so Caomin didn’t plan to sell them, but just collected them.”

"It's understandable," Zhang Fan nodded and said, but his heart was still a little shocked. After all, this is not a business, it's a money grab. "Then how much did you spend after you came back last year?"

Although Zhao Xiande knew that the five people came back to eavesdrop, he still looked around for a while, and then came to Zhang Fan's ear and whispered a number rather mysteriously.

This time Zhang Fan was a little shocked. He was only a little shocked when he heard that Zhao Xiande had made so much money. After all, it was the blood and sweat he earned through all the hard work and risking the consciousness of ruining the sea all the time. Money, but these officials who sit back and enjoy the benefits don't need any risks at all. With just a look and a word, they took away the total tax revenue of the court for seven or eight years, which is really too much.

Seeing Zhang Fan's shocked face, Zhao Xiande was also very helpless, but this was the actual situation, and he couldn't possibly be talking nonsense.

"I know these things well, as long as you don't spread them," Zhang Fan said. Zhang Fan didn't mean to blame him. After all, he was just a businessman, an ancient businessman, and he didn't take the initiative to bribe him. It was those people who took the initiative to reach out, and Zhang Fan didn't intend to make any fuss about him.

"Yes, the grassroots know about it," Zhao Xiande said. To be honest, he was very disappointed when he heard Zhang Fan say this at the end. He bribed those officials a lot. The blood and sweat earned by risking his life was handed over for no reason. Hearing that Zhang Fan ended it in such an understatement, he felt that this imperial envoy had no hope.

"I just said that I am looking for you not only for these things, but also for other things," Zhang Fan said, "I am planning to do a big thing and need your assistance. How about it? Are you interested in joining Jinyiwei? It can be regarded as half a foot into the official career, "

Hearing Zhang Fan's words, Zhao Xiande was completely stunned,