Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 561

afternoon.

Zhu Yihai specially went to Queen Zhang's place for afternoon tea.

He has been very busy recently, the New Year has just passed, but everything is complicated, but Concubine Chen has just given birth to a prince and made an exception and directly named King Qin, and Concubine Chen was also named a noble concubine, and the queen is happy again, Zhu Yihai came to visit after knowing the news .

Liu Chao has already changed into a scarlet robe, and has been appointed as the eunuch of the palace and the eunuch of the internal affairs office. This is still the No. 1 eunuch in front of the emperor.

Originally, Zhu Yihai had previously decided that eunuchs should not pass the sixth rank, but after thinking about it, they should change it to the fourth rank. This way, they can also wear scarlet robes, so they won’t drop too much all at once, but it is a restriction that they cannot pass the third rank. Wearing a purple robe.

Liu Chao was very peaceful, and even took the initiative to tell the emperor that the godsons he had known before had all severed ties.

"Choose someone who is loyal, filial and sensible, and accept it, and he will inherit it in the future." Zhu Yihai is very satisfied with Liu Chao, but reforming the eunuch system has nothing to do with personal matters.

Just like Tang Xuanzong Li Longji reused eunuchs such as Gao Lishi, and Gao Lishi was indeed loyal and capable, but the emperor reused eunuchs to interfere in state affairs, but it was a bad start. It's a nightmare not to go, several Tang emperors died at the hands of eunuchs.

"My son sees my father!"

Zhu Yihai's eldest daughter brought Xiao Wu to visit the emperor. This daughter has always been weak and sick, and even suffered from asthma. She has been taking medicine, but she is very sensible and filial. Wei is also brought by the queen herself.

The queen now has a one-year-old daughter and is pregnant again.

"It's better to let the two of them be taken care of by Concubine Ruan." Zhu Yihai was talking about Ruan Lizhen. She has given birth to several children, and she is experienced and talented in raising children.

The queen was just pregnant, and the reaction was quite strong. She vomited after eating, and she lost a lot of weight.

She held the little princess in her arms and said with a smile, "Concubine Ruan also comes here every day, and the children like her very much, and concubine likes them even more, but there is no need to send it to Concubine Ruan, just here to support her." Well, Your Majesty doesn't have to worry about their sisters, the concubine will take care of them, and the two of them like Xiao Si very much, and Xiao Si also likes them."

The princess born to the queen is fourth, and Zhu Yihai named Ning Xuan.Ning Wei was still older than her, but because Xiaosi was born earlier when she was taken in, Zhu Yihai simply gave Ning Wei the fifth place and raised her as his own.

Zhu Yihai looked at the two girls, he really liked Xiao Si, although Xiao Si was being hugged by the queen, he stretched out his little hand to play with the two of them, giggling amusedly.

The eldest princess is weak and thin, but Xiao Wu has grown a lot stronger, even though her head is still big, but her hair is much more shiny. This girl is not so afraid of people now, she can speak well, and even learned etiquette Very good.

Seeing Zhu Yihai coming, it was rare for her to look like a little girl, and ran to Zhu Yihai to act coquettishly, asking him to hug her.

On the contrary, the eldest princess is very sensible, and sensible people feel a little pitiful.

Zhu Yihai held Xiao Wu in his left hand, and the eldest princess in his right hand, and put them on his lap.

The queen hugged Xiaosi.

Such a rare scene of warmth like an ordinary family made Zhu Yihai even a little stunned.

Now he also has one son and six daughters, and two sons who are missing, plus an adopted daughter, and three concubines are pregnant, the royal family is also very large.

Uncle Kuaiji and Uncle Zhang Guojun also came to visit my sister today.

He saw that the emperor was there, and he looked a little scared.

"What's third brother up to lately?" Zhu Yihai asked with a smile, Zhu Yihai was quite polite to this uncle, but he wasn't used to it.When he went south, he married the younger sister of Yuan Concubine Zhang's family, that is, Zhang Guojun's younger sister, Empress Zhang, which can be regarded as a political marriage.

The powerful Zhang family in Ningbo was willing to marry their daughter into the royal vassal. After all, King Lu is also a prince, and Hongguang arranged to guard Taizhou. This can be regarded as a strong marriage.

At that time, Zhu Yihai had fled from Shandong and had no roots in the south, so he was naturally willing to marry Zhang's daughter to get local connections and financial support.

Even the house he lived in Ninghai, Taizhou was given by Mrs. Zhang, not to mention the money for daily expenses.

At the beginning of the army, Zhu Yihai also borrowed a large amount of money from Zhang Guojun, and also borrowed a lot of Zhang's manpower. In short, he can be regarded as a hero.

But Zhang Guojun is a bit of a dandy, he is good at talking, but he has no practical skills.

After getting a little bit of support, he became a little swollen, stretching out his hands indiscriminately, accepting gifts and accepting indiscriminately, Zhu Yihai was not used to it, beat him a few times, and then simply refused to let him be an official.

Zhang Guojun was a little dissatisfied at first, and then he was afraid of being cleaned up.

Fortunately, Zhu Yihai is not that kind of ruthless person. Although he beats and cleans up, as long as Zhang Guojun knows his mistakes and repents, he has other arrangements.

Zhang Guojun lost his official career, but Zhu Yihai also pointed out another way for him, arranging for him to develop in business.

With the identity of the uncle of the country, and the emperor's personal guidance, plus the fact that the Zhang family in Ningbo is already a wealthy and powerful family, it has grown rapidly in the past two years.

Zhu Yihai has a lot of profitable royal properties, and even specially asked Zhang Guojun to contribute money to buy shares, so as to take off with him.

It is said that Zhang Guojun is very rich now, and it is rumored that he is worth millions.

"Returning to Your Majesty, I am mainly busy with pawnshops and bank affairs recently. The issuance of the two edicts of abolishing yuan and reform has a great impact on this business, and all places have to adapt to adjustments."

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, pawn shops and money shops were very large and well-known financial institutions. In the pawn industry, Huizhou merchants accounted for half of the country, and one was the only one.

However, in the money store and money shop industry, there are nine major business gangs, led by Zhejiang merchants, which are specifically divided into Ningbo Gang, Shaoxing Gang, Hangzhou Gang, Songjiang Gang, and Zhenjiang Gang.In the bank industry in Zhejiang, there are actually several big business gangs.

Among them, the Ningbo Gang is even more famous. They are inherited from father to son, and they are passed down as a family business. Next to Qi Ya, most of the employees are fellow villagers. The first thing to do is to introduce them.

Their banks, money shops, etc. are very credible and have a good reputation.

Zhang Guojun's family used to be a money store and a pawn shop, and also engaged in maritime trade, etc., and was a well-known landlord.Now, with the help of his relatives, especially the Zhang family's property, he got Zhu Yihai's internal funds to invest in shares. This business has become even more popular, and now he has become the leader of the Ningbo gang.

This is also supported by Zhu Yihai's intention. As long as the uncle Guo's family can operate in a law-abiding manner, he is of course willing to support his own people. The money he invested in the Zhang family's shares is not much, but the returns he brings are very high.

"I heard that you intend to eat the ginseng brought by the Korean mission?" the emperor asked.

Zhang Guojun knew that he couldn't hide it from his brother-in-law, so he said truthfully, "These North Koreans carry a lot of personal data in private, and I can't eat it alone."

"If you are short of money, I can ask the Shaofu supervisor to pull out the money for you to turn around, but you can talk to them about the specifics. You can take this batch of ginseng together before selling."

The North Korean mission brought 8 catties of ginseng as a tribute, and a catty of ten taels was directly worth [-] taels of silver.

But this is only their tribute. Members of their mission are also allowed to carry eight packs of ginseng, each pack of ten catties. This time, there are 200 members of the official North Korean mission, so they also carry [-] catties in private.

In particular, the ginseng they carried was of higher quality and older, and it was divided into two grades, 25 taels a catty of super quality and 50 taels of treasure, both of which were better than tributes.

This batch of goods is about 25 taels for 50 catties, and 55 taels for six thousand catties, with a total value of [-] taels.

This is a welfare policy given by the King of Korea to members of the mission. In fact, it is not only North Korea. Missions such as Liuqiu and Japan come to pay tribute, and they will also bring goods privately. When the Ming Dynasty went to Korea, Liuqiu, etc., it would also let the members of the mission. Carry goods.

There are actually rules about how much each person brings.

For example, a guard with a low status in the North Korean mission can also bring eight packs of ginseng, but in fact this is only a quota, and it is impossible for him to buy eight packs of rare Korean ginseng, so in fact the owner of the goods is someone else Enjoying this quota of goods, you can get a lot of benefits.

The ginseng with a total value of 55 taels is the largest private trade cargo carried by the North Korean mission. They brought it in the name of tribute, and they can also be exempted from customs duties, etc., and the income is extremely high.

Although the price of this top-quality ginseng is high, there is no need to worry about sales. Korean ginseng is very popular in several countries in East Asia. Even if Zhu Yihai resells it to Japan, he can make a lot of money.

Of course, such a large order requires so much money at once, which is not something everyone can afford.

Uncle Guo took a fancy to this batch of goods, and he didn't eat it alone. He teamed up with many people, including the queen's uncle Mao Youlun, who was from Xiaoshan, Shaoxing, Zhejiang.

The Mao family was also a well-known gentry family in the Ming Dynasty. Mao Youlun himself was a Jinshi. Later, he recruited rebels in Shaoxing, Ningbo with the fame and wealth of the Mao and Zhang clans. Baodingbo.

Mao Youlun's nephews are very famous. Mao Qiling and Mao Wanling are called Jiangdong Ermao, while Mao Qiling, Mao Xianshu and Mao Ji are also called Zhejiang East Sanmao.

The four brothers of the Mao family all followed Mao Youlun in the army before, and the four scholars abandoned their pens and joined the army, which was also famous for a while.In particular, Mao Qiling was able to read at the age of four, and at the age of 13 he ranked first in the Tongzi Examination, and was called a child prodigy by the chief examiner Chen Zilong.

Now the four brothers are all Hanlin.

The Zhang family is richer than the Mao family now, but the Mao family is better than the Zhang family in terms of official career.

From the court to the family of scholars, everyone loves ginseng. The concubines in the palace usually like to contain ginseng. They think it can beautify the skin and prolong life and nourish blood. Wherever the emperor goes, he will also carry ginseng for preparation.

The home of bureaucratic gentry, not to mention, if you have a child, you must prepare ginseng in advance.

The price of ginseng produced in Liaodong is very high, especially that produced in Changbai Mountain. The Koreans classified ginseng into three grades, while in the Ming Dynasty they could even be classified into five grades.

Different grades of ginseng are used, and there are also identity restrictions. Those top-level ginseng can't be used without identity, and even if they have money.

But Zhu Yihai doesn't pay much attention to this, ginseng, if you have money, you can use it, so he let the royal palace manage ginseng.

The [-] catties of ginseng that the Koreans paid tribute this time belonged to the tribute trade. They paid tribute, and Zhu Yihai gave it back. It was actually a transaction, just in the name of paying tribute.

In the Ming Dynasty, the tribute belonged to the emperor, but now Zhu Yihai stipulates that the household department and the internal treasury participate in the tribute trade together, and the income is divided in half.

Eight thousand catties of ginseng, Shaofu supervisor can get four thousand catties.

But who thinks too much?

You should know that ginseng has always been monopolized by the royal family in the Ming Dynasty. In the past, it was traded with Jurchen and North Korea, and then sold at a fixed price. The price was all decided by them.

The first to fifth grade ginseng are basically doubled and sold directly.

That's right, doubled, sometimes several times.

For example, the ginseng that North Korea paid tribute was ten taels of silver per catty, while the Ming Dynasty sold it at five or sixty taels of silver per catty, and sometimes even increased the price because of the reduction in the amount of ginseng obtained.

The first-class participation price is 50 taels, and it can be directly sold for more than 100 or even more than 200 taels.

In addition to the fifth-class ginseng, there are even pao ding (hollow ginseng with only the skin) that costs 16 taels per catty, [-] taels of slag, and [-] taels of reed silk.

For example, in Chongzhen these years, due to the war outside the customs, especially after the surrender of North Korea, Jin stopped paying tribute to ginseng. Later, the Ming Dynasty blocked the trading of Houjin, which led to the loss of sources of ginseng. The price of ginseng in Beijing has been rising steadily.

This time the North Koreans sent [-] jin of ginseng at a time.

Of course, no matter how many ginseng, as long as they engage in monopoly operation, they are not afraid of too much. Anyway, in the past, the Ming Dynasty was a monopoly operation. Except for the palace's own use and the emperor's reward, the rest were priced, some of which were sold in Beijing, and the rest The salt transport, weaving, banknotes and other local yamen are sent to various places for sale.

It is said that in the early Ming Dynasty, ginseng was actually not expensive. During the Jiajing period, the last ginseng was only three taels of silver a catty. Jurchen and North Korea were still competing to pay tribute to Daming. Hit the hand.

By the beginning of Chongzhen, it had risen to 16 taels of silver per catty.

With the decline in the production of natural wild ginseng, the price is naturally rising, especially the efficacy that is praised by the people, which makes him deified. In addition, Little Japan highly respects ginseng, and buys a large amount of ginseng every year, which leads to the supply of ginseng to Ming Dynasty There are fewer and fewer ginseng, so the price is getting higher every year.

Now that you get ginseng, you can get several times the profit, at least double the net profit, not the gross profit.

Originally, Zhang Guojun was not eligible to buy ginseng, although it was carried privately by North Koreans, but Zhu Yihai had already relaxed a lot of restrictions on this.

"This sixteen thousand catties of ginseng is not too much. I don't think the Zhang family can eat it. Why don't we let the Shaofu supervisor come forward to negotiate the purchase price of this batch of ginseng with the North Koreans. After negotiating the price, we pack it up and buy it. Officials of the DPRK and China, local gentry, if they are willing, they can subscribe at this price..."

The king of North Korea knew to give the members of the mission a lucrative benefit, asking them to bring eight packs of ginseng to Daming.Zhu Yihai plans to share some benefits with everyone.

Half of this batch of Shen Shaofu supervisors ate, and the remaining half, Zhang and Mao's two families each shared a thousand catties.

The remaining [-] catties were shared with everyone, and different subscription quotas were allocated to them according to their titles and grades.

If you buy it, you earn it, and if you sell it, it is a huge profit.

This is sending money.

The only condition is that after participating in their group purchases, in addition to personal use and gifting, if they are sold, they must be sold at a uniform price, and they cannot be sold at random prices to disrupt the market.

Zhang Guojun felt a toothache after hearing this.

Originally, I wanted to eat this batch of ginseng with my uncle Mao's family. It was only a few 10 taels of silver.

But now the emperor wants to monopolize the bulk, and that's fine, but he wants to share the remaining half with everyone.

My heart aches, but I dare not refuse.

After all, they would not even be eligible to buy these ginseng without the emperor's permission.

"Your Majesty will listen to you."

Zhu Yihai nodded, ginseng shouldn't be so expensive. Anyway, there are many people behind the scenes, and Zhu Yihai is happy to promote it. Anyway, ordinary people can't afford ginseng, and the high price won't affect others.

He also didn't worry about the money being taken by the North Koreans, because Daming didn't buy ginseng directly with silver, but bartered.

The price of Korean ginseng is set high, and of course the price of Daming's silk porcelain tea is also high.

And the ginseng got into Zhu Yihai's hands, and he reselled it to get even thicker, so let alone a few tens of taels of silver a catty, no matter how expensive it is.

[-] to [-] jins of ginseng are actually not much for the entire Ming Dynasty.

If a Beijing official divides a few catties and tens of catties, if he hands them over, he will earn tens of taels and hundreds of taels. If he uses it for himself, it is also equivalent to paying tens of hundreds of taels less in cost.

Of course, the emperor took the big head.

The Shaofu Temple took half of the [-] jin of the tribute, now the [-] jin, and another [-] jin, actually got a total of [-] jin.

This batch of ginseng can earn at least three or four million taels of silver.

No wonder in history the Tatars have so strict control over ginseng gathering outside the customs, they have to issue ginseng tickets, and they can only go to pick ginseng with the tickets, and there are quantity restrictions, etc., which is really too profitable.It is said that in the late Qing Dynasty, a catty of ginseng could sell for 2000 taels of silver.

He was thinking now, there must be a lot of ginseng in the hands of the Tartars, should some merchants be sent to Liaodong to smuggle the ginseng back with the Tartars?
Now Tartar must have a lot of ginseng reserves, but there is no market.

If smuggling is used to exchange silver for ginseng, even if the Tatars get the silver, it is useless for them to eat or drink it. The more silver they exchange, the more inflation will be exacerbated, and the price will increase. price etc.

Of course, it is also possible that the Tartars took the silver and let the traitors of the Eight Great Imperial Merchants smuggle food for them, but now Shanxi, Shaanxi, and even Henan and Shandong have become like this. If the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants are capable, where can they get food?

This year the Tatars will definitely suffer from a more serious famine. When they were outside the customs, they used to pay eight taels of silver for one stone of rice. In this year’s situation, when there is no harvest, it is estimated that 18 taels of silver is possible for one stone.

Zhu Yihai thought it was a good idea.

It just so happened that the Ming army reopened the Dongjiang River, and even went deep into the upper and middle reaches of the Yalu River. The Zhenjiang Fort has been rebuilt, and it will be no problem to send people to smuggle private ginseng.

Of course, Tatars may not be willing to exchange silver for ginseng, but you can try.

They can't keep all the ginseng for their own food, and they can't eat it as a meal.

Zhang Guojun sat there, carefully sizing up the emperor secretly, and found that the emperor actually raised his mouth and smiled slightly, he couldn't help but secretly startled, what is the emperor's brother-in-law holding back?

Still dissatisfied with him, and want to clean him up again?

He was hairy all over laughing, feeling that he shouldn't be tempted by this ginseng, so he stepped into it rashly.

"I retire!"

Zhang Guojun slipped away quickly.

"Well, you can go to the Shaofu Supervisor to discuss this matter in detail. You just work harder and it will be done. I will reward you with a subscription amount of [-] catties for each of the two grades of ginseng."

"Thank you, long live."

[-] catties of ginseng, but only [-] catties in hand in the end, but Zhang Guojun still hurriedly thanked En and ran away. After staying with the emperor for a long time, he felt uncomfortable all over.

(End of this chapter)