I'm really not doing business

Chapter 455 Privateering License

Wang Chonggu has been a very normal conservative from the beginning to the end, but at this moment, Wang Chonggu can no longer bear it. Whether it is Meishan, Jinshan, Yinshan, or Tongshan, the benefits are far beyond imagination. He can only take advantage of them. Only by opening up and creating a legal system between the government and factories can real success be achieved.

"The Jin people have taken away the wool business." This is also the reason why Zhu Yijun didn't want to read the pond newspaper to Wang Chonggu. The interests were too great, and there was no guarantee that Wang Chonggu would not lead the Jin party and quarrel with the emperor for the sake of interests.

Zhu Yijun was not afraid of the Jin people quarreling with the court, but Zhu Yijun didn't want to see the degrading scene, so he chose to be straightforward. For such an old fox, Wang Chonggu already knew what the emperor was worried about before Zhu Yijun opened his mouth.

In this regard, the Jin Party has the advantage of location and people. The Jin Party's inherent territory is the northwest regions such as Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. Wang Chonggu assured with his heart that the Jin people will definitely get a share of the pie. Whether the imperial court allows it or not is an established fact. .

Fortunately, Anda Khan was captured. This was Wang Chonggu's most fortunate thing. Otherwise, His Majesty would not have hesitated, but would have taken action. His Majesty never lacked for decisiveness, and as a student of Zhang Juzheng, he never lacked for ruthlessness.

For example, in Haitrade, Zhu Wan, the governor of Zhejiang, led the Taoist imperial edict of "doing things cheaply" to suppress the Japanese pirates. After he was forced to commit suicide, the Japanese invasion caused a boil, just like boiling water. The conflicts between the imperial court and the coastal areas, It has reached the point of war, and now the sea is fully open, and the luxury households along the coast are also beneficiaries.

This takes advantage of the geographical advantages and people, and the people of Jin will definitely get a share of the pie, some big and some small.

"Meishan, Jinshan, Yinshan and Tongshan are worthless if left there." Wang Chonggu could not give His Majesty a guarantee as to what the Jin Party was. He knew very well that any guarantee given to His Majesty would be a stage. The old general who went up, planted a flag for himself.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said: "The imperial court has no money, whether it is building roads or mining coal to refine gold, silver and copper, but the Ming Dynasty needs these. It is actually quite good for everyone to be a shipowner, Wang Cifu thinks."

Wang Yu, the chief envoy of Shaanxi Province, Xue Lun, the second assistant official, and Qiao Bixing, the inspector general of Shanxi Province, were all cleaned up by Wang Chonggu himself.

The barbarians were wolf-like and beast-like, fearful of power but not moral, could not be intimidated without thunderous means, and were gentle. During the Yongle period, they sealed the captive king Mahamu. Later, Mahamu's grandson also took the lead and captured the Ming Emperor Ming Yingzong.

The Xishan coal fields in Gyeonggi Province of the Ming Dynasty are generally 30 feet below the ground. In order to light the coal, it is a dojo inside a snail shell. It is as difficult as it is. Just to light the coal, we have to work hard to mine it. The Imperial Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty is here In Xishan, in order to mine coal, they did not hesitate to alarm their ancestors. Now, an almost endless mountain of coal has fallen from the sky.

Mining is a very complicated project, and Jin people are not professional. It is better to leave professional matters to professionals. You can wait for dividends with peace of mind. There are many people who don't want to cause trouble, and it is the first thought of most people, laziness. It’s human nature. If you can just lie back and take the money, why bother?
But many times, judging from experience, the words spoken by the Ming Emperor and the court were like farts and had no credibility at all. For example, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were issued with a value of one tael of silver. By the 26th year of Hongwu, they were no longer as good as wipes.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were very tolerant. Even though they had suffered a lot in the past, the government kept its word and had a strong reputation and would recognize the government's decrees.

In order to unite the hearts of the people and for the sake of the credibility of the emperor and the court, Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng had differences and insisted on granting Qi Jiguang a public title.

If the grassland people really want to hate specific people, then they should hate the emperor himself and Qi Shuai.

Wang Chonggu fully understood His Majesty's determination to revive the Ming Dynasty. What is his name after his death? Don't care at all, just take care of yourself.

Zhu Yijun even announced specific financial reports on dividends, and he never used the dividends for other purposes once a year. Keeping his word is Zhu Yijun's second biggest label besides being stingy.

Everyone makes a shipowner plan and executes it very well. As can be seen from the vast number of ship ticket transactions in the trading industry, the ship ticket volume is already large enough, but these shipowners who buy ship tickets are always unwilling to trade in their hands. Ship tickets are mostly held for a long time.

Mining is a systematic project. Anda Khan built Bansheng City and repaired it for more than 20 years. Under the artillery fire, it did not survive even three days. The organization was not enough and the city construction was laborious. The Ming Dynasty and Beilu fought. At least for more than 200 years, the thirteen Northern Expeditions to the grassland in the early days of the People's Republic of China, plus the embargo on the northern barbarians for more than 200 years, have completely degraded the grassland to the slave age. The multi-party coordination of mining has never been possible. Can't coordinate.

A government order that is not accepted by the majority of people is just a piece of waste paper.

Wang Chonggu stood in front of the study room of Tonghe Palace and sighed. His Majesty never hesitated when it was time to take action. In fact, all the officials were waiting, waiting for His Majesty to deal with Anda Khan. If Anda Khan died of old age like this, In prison, the official would impeach Qi Jiguang for killing five thousand people in Bansheng Pit;

"Your Majesty, what should I do with Anda Khan and the other prisoners?" Wang Chonggu asked the question he wanted to ask. He is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments. Anda Khan has been locked up in the sky prison. Whether he kills or scrapes him, Your Majesty must say something. It's not a big deal to shut it up like this.

Shengzhou (today's Ordos) was established in the early Sui Dynasty. In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the leader of the Turks fell. Li Jing led the generals out of the fortress in the third year of Zhenguan, destroyed the Turks, captured Jieli Khan, and then attacked the Yinshan Mountains to regain the Hetao. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, this place Then set up Shengzhou, Xiazhou, Yanzhou, Fengzhou, Lingzhou and so on.

"I obey the decree." Wang Chonggu bowed again, bowed his head and said, "I take my leave."

Wang Chonggu thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, any promise is pale. I can't even guarantee it myself, but I can say it loudly. I will definitely use the most powerful means to ensure that the majority of Jin people are loyal to the emperor." Boost your ambitions and inspire your country.”

Obviously, more than a hundred households were executed, including the concubines, and the two sons of the third wife were also executed. This was something that Wang Chonggu did not expect. Wang Chonggu’s judgment was correct, Your Majesty. Really cruel and ruthless.

"Including the two sons born by Sanniangzi?" Wang Chonggu asked in a low voice.

The credibility of the Ming Emperor is extremely strong.

Zhu Yijun said with a serious face: "The centurions, the captains of thousands, the ten thousand households, Anda Khan, the concubines of Anda Khan's descendants, etc., will all be beheaded. The old and new grudges between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Lu will be ended."

"I don't understand. Didn't An Dahan notice this bright open-air coal mountain?" Zhu Yijun and Wang Chonggu chatted about coal mining. Xishan Coal Bureau needs to send the general office and agent to Shengzhou to mine coal. Mountain, Wang Chonggu is also familiar with these things, and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Industry, the mining is off to a good start.

The Ming Dynasty has been fighting with the Northern Barbarians for so many years. The main trend now is reconciliation. For some historical issues, someone needs to bear the infamy. The current and future infamy. The title of executioner will definitely fall on His Majesty's head in the future. Can't take it off.

"Including, before Mrs. Zhongshun left, she told me that it was not her child. At that time, Anda Khan was planning to cause trouble and just needed a child. At that time, Anda Khan could no longer give birth." Zhu Yijun nodded and said, Mrs. Zhongshun Before resigning, she specifically told His Majesty that the two sons under her knees were only sons in name, and those two sons did not live in Guihua City, but in Bansheng.

Wang Chonggu was appointed by the President as the Second Assistant to the Cabinet. Wang Chonggu was about to take office, so there would be some minor troubles.

Yao Guangqi, the king of kelp, wanted to bring kelp into Huguang, Sichuan, and Jiangxi, but he also had to look at the faces of Zheshe households in Xitucheng. Otherwise, Yao Guangqi would not have had to attend that banquet. In the current Ming Dynasty, local rural gentry, gentry, and right-wing officials Still controls the vast majority of local social resources.

The open-air coal mountain that Ma Gui heard about is located on the northeast edge of the Shengzhou coal mountain. It is a coal mountain in the physical sense. The entire mountain is made of coal. Dr. Lin Buzheng, who discovered this coal mountain, also Great surprise.

During the Ming Dynasty's expedition, there was no need to rename the places, only the place names from the Tang Dynasty were used.

If Anda Khan beheads his head in public, everyone will think nothing has happened.

The courtiers actually had no idea how the emperor would make his decision. After Emperor Taizong captured Jieli Khan, he also kept Jieli Khan and danced to entertain everyone when he had nothing to do. After all, Anda Khan was also canonized by the late emperor. The king of Lu is the king of Shunyi with a golden seal and a five-piece uniform and crown.

"That makes sense." Zhu Yijun agreed with Wang Chonggu's point of view. It was indeed difficult for Altan Khan to mine.

What Zhu Yijun means is that if the Jin people want to eat, they can refer to the trading method and divide the profits, but it is impossible to take them all. When necessary, when there is a need to suppress rebellion, the Beijing camp can also The blade points inwards.

If it cannot be done, it is simply impossible to do it under the political structure of Beilu.

Zhu Yijun is clear about this, and Wang Chonggu is also clear about this. Politically, this kind of local unity is manifested in the form of township parties, townsfolk forming parties, Jin Party, Chu Party, Zhejiang Party, Qi Party, etc., which are all regional unity. Party model.

In April of the eighth year of Wanli, when the Ming Dynasty's exploration fleet set out, Zhu Yijun promised to give each soldier of the exploration fleet one thousand silver to those who successfully returned, and five hundred silver to each of those who failed to return. Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji, etc. After returning to court, he did not mention this matter because everyone knew about His Majesty's frugality. (Chapter 368)
Zhu Yijun did not forget it, but he had to check the number of people before doing the accounts, check the letter plates, customs clearance documents, etc. Until the court inspection was completed, the court affairs had their own rigidity and inefficiency, and every expenditure of money required a lot of time. After a long time, the money was finally paid out in full two and a half months after the exploration fleet returned.

Wang Chonggu's meaning is very clear. His Majesty still keeps his promise. He is responsible for cleaning up the rebellion among the Jin people. He does not need to bother Your Majesty to take action. Your Majesty is the emperor after all. He has many worries when he takes action. But Wang Chonggu is a traitor and has no such worries. Yes, that's what he said, and that's what he did.

In a few years, the third wife will be able to adopt two more children, which will not be a big deal. On the grassland, blood relationship itself is not very important.

Wang Chonggu took two steps forward and suddenly stood still. He could suddenly understand why His Majesty did this. It was the same reason why Qi Jiguang killed people, for reconciliation.

"That's it." Zhu Yijun smiled, motioned for Wang Chonggu to sit down, and talked about the Meishan incident.

Why was Duntai Yuanhou willing to hand over a kilogram of Wo Ma Jin directly to Qi Shuai? I know that if you hand over this gold, your majesty will never treat you badly, and you will even get more. This is the embodiment of credibility. The country has lost great trust and people are suspicious. Now the credibility of the emperor and the court is rapidly recovering.

"What would Anda Khan do if he discovered it? Your Majesty, the open-air coal mountain is also inside the mountain. Even if he discovered it, he would send a bunch of slaves over to dig it out and they wouldn't be able to transport it out." Wang Chonggu shook his head and said, "He doesn't even have one Bansheng City can’t be built, how can we expect him to open a mine?”

On the fourth day of July in the ninth year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun summoned Antonio's special envoy Marcus at the Wenhua Palace.

"My lord, Cascais, commanded Marcus to pay homage to your majesty. Long live your majesty, long live your majesty." Marcus bowed five times and kowtowed three times.

In the imperial edict that consecrated Antonio, Marcus was also consecrated as the commander of Cascais. Cascais is located forty miles west of Lisbon and is the most important defensive fortress and military port on the sea of ​​Lisbon. Zhu Yijun conferred him the title of commander. Yes, this is the package for canonizing the king.

"No gift." Zhu Yijun looked at Marcus and asked with a smile: "I heard that the King of Portugal asked you to bring 500,000 silver to repay my debt this time. Actually, you don't have to be so anxious."

"Your Majesty's generosity and kindness shine in Lisbon thousands of miles away." Marcus said politely. In fact, His Majesty's interest rate is not high among private loans, not even usury, but Portugal really If we can't afford it, if we delay it for ten or eight years, I'm afraid I'll have to pay the entire Portugal to His Majesty.

"How many boats do you plan to buy this time?" Zhu Yijun asked directly. Marcus hurriedly said: "Two are enough. Felipe II has no time to conflict with His Majesty's Portugal at this time. The gold and silver in His Majesty's hands are really stretched. This time I can buy two five-masted ships." Yangzhou, after returning the 50 arrears to His Majesty, you need to leave some capital to do business in order to repay all the arrears."

In what Marcus said, Portugal is His Majesty's Portugal. Even if you ask for mercy from the emperor, you really have nothing left. You must always leave some capital for business.

After Zhu Yijun heard this, he said seriously: "Sword Master Marcus, there is an old saying in the Ming Dynasty, which is to prepare for a rainy day. If you wait until it rains before you prepare for it, I'm afraid it will be too late. I have to remind you, Felipe II really has no time to pay attention to Antonio now, because the independence of the Netherlands makes him anxious. "

"But again, once he solves the problem, I'm afraid it will be too late to build a larger fleet to deal with him. It will take a year to go back and forth, and you have to recruit naval troops to fight, so time will only drag on. longer."

Doing business means selling anxiety. Felipe II could not solve the independence of the Netherlands at all, so the possibility of another conflict between Felipe II and Antonio began to decrease, especially after Antonio leased a port.

But otherwise, how could Antonio buy a boat? How could he willingly give the hard-earned silver to Ming's hands?

Marcus bowed his head again and said: "Your Majesty's wisdom is like the stars in the sky, and your Majesty's revelation guides us forward. However, we really have no money. His Highness Antonio has not received the support of the governors. The current sea trade We even need to rely on Spanish ports. Please give His Majesty some time."

There is really not a penny left!

The old king Enrique the Pure did not leave any inheritance to Antonio, and the whole of Portugal was in dire straits. Antonio came to the Ming Dynasty with a total of 1.5 million silver, which was already spent to pay back the money and buy two ships. Nine hundred thousand silver, and the remaining six hundred thousand, you need to buy enough goods and earn profits before you can pay back the money.

Antonio and Duchess Catarina's grandfather were the same person. Xu Fan was extremely shocked and carefully concealed this, but Antonio had 500,000 of the 1.5 million silver given by the Duchess.

"I know Antonio's plight, why not do this? Merchant ships in the Portuguese Viceroyalty that do not obey Antonio's orders will not be allowed to buy spices in Manila, Old Port and other places. In this way, Antonio can gain some support from the governor." Zhu Yijun He said with a smile: "Now, the spices that Portuguese merchants urgently need are all under the control of the Ming Dynasty. This punishment is unbearable for many governorates."

Luzon, Cebu, Mindanao, Yuanxu Islands and other regions are called the "Spice Islands" by the West. The West can live without Jerusalem, but it cannot live without spices.

Legaz has a travel diary that specifically discusses pepper, called "Fortune Adventure Colonization and Pepper", which systematically discusses the importance of pepper to the West.

Legaz said in his travel notes: "It's hard to imagine that there is no black pepper on the spice rack. It is a chameleon in the culinary world, blending silently into countless food combinations. It produces different hot and spicy tastes depending on the place of origin. Pepper is absolutely indispensable in recipes. When we go into the food store, we can usually find many kinds of ground pepper. pepper shakers, or bottles of colorful pepper seeds that you can buy and grind at home. ]
[Pepper is a worldwide spice. ]
For Ming Dynasty, pepper is a kind of seasoning, but Taixi does need pepper, which is related to their dietary rules.

Legaz once recommended Thai and Western delicacies to the emperor. The next day, the Tiqi soldiers threw him to Fusi, Beizhen on the charge of "murder". He was imprisoned for three days before being released by the emperor without permission. After that incident , Legaz no longer dares to recommend Thai and Western food.

Thai and Western cuisine is still in the era of "rubbing hair and drinking blood". If the emperor eats uncooked beef, it is against etiquette. "Book of Rites: Liyun" says: Before cremation, eat grass and trees, and drink the meat of birds and animals. Blood, like its hair. This was considered a barbaric act, and even Zhu Yijun only tasted the sea fish sent by the Trek expedition fleet.

The chief medical officer said that there were live insects in the uncooked beef, so it was absolutely not allowed to be eaten raw, for the sake of His Majesty's health.

The importance of pepper has a great relationship with eating habits. Although Legas is still arrogant, saying that freshly ground fresh pepper has a strong aroma and may be as intoxicating as smelling a glass of very strong red wine, so the Thai people are very fond of it. Pepper is extremely sought after.

Wan Shihe believes that Taixi mainly uses pepper to cover up the smell and blood.

Now the Ming Dynasty's strategy in Nanyang has completely controlled the spices in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. Even the large ships in the West can only get enough spices from Manila.

Therefore, Zhu Yijun's threat was real. If the governors and merchants did not support Antonio, they would have no choice but to buy it from Felipe II.

Marcus hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and said: "Thank you for your majesty's grace, but don't do this. This way, the governors will not be able to sincerely support Antonio."

"Really?" Zhu Yijun immediately asked, "Does Antonio really not need it? It's really not a troublesome thing to do with a decree. Since I canonized Antonio, how can I ignore it?"

"It doesn't cost anything, right?"

Free ones are often the most expensive ones.

The reason why Zhu Yijun imposed a ban on spices was because the spices from the plantations could be sold easily, because the Ming Dynasty was the largest market in the world. Even if the Ming Dynasty couldn't eat it, there was still a large sailing ship arriving in the harbor once a year, which could bring the spices back. Tessie.

Zhu Yijun's move was indeed supporting Antonio to become king, but was it not cutting off Antonio's last retreat? After this ban is issued, the governors of the Governor's Palace will never really support Antonio. Antonio can only be a traitor to Tessie.

Maintaining the relationship with Daming has become the most important thing for Antonio.

Marcus obviously understands this very well. He has been dealing with His Majesty for so many years, but everything he can get for free has to be paid for at a high price, such as the high interest on the money he borrowed to buy the ship before.

Marcus struggled a little, but finally, he bowed his head and said: "Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

We must first secure the throne before we can talk about other things. Antonio and Marcus, who were born pirates, cannot see the long term and can only focus on the present. Antonio urgently needs the support of various governors' palaces. The Eastern Emperor issued this ban and take effect, it can indeed make the viceroyalty surrender to Antonio.

Marcus could not and did not dare to refuse. He was not afraid of the Ming Emperor. It was indeed very dangerous to disobey the Ming Emperor and he was likely to be sent to the hell on earth that was Jiegeyuan. However, Marcus could not refuse His Majesty's proposal. There is another reason, which is also the most important, and that is that Antonio has changed.

Antonio was a captain, now he is a king.

This captain, after sitting on the throne of the king, did not work hard to govern. After completely handing over the general affairs to the Minister of State Xu Fan, he began to live a luxurious life. As for before becoming the king, he was already living a luxurious life to inspire the country's ambitions. Medium, faded.

Felipe's secretary, Solon, had reason to be dismissive of Antonio. Solon sneered that Antonio was not worthy of being a king at all, but only a captain. Solon's monarch, Felipe, was extremely diligent and had to write more than four hundred letters a year. I wrote letters to governors everywhere for several years.

Antonio likes to be the king, at least it looks like he is full of flowers, which is why Marcus can only agree.

Waiting for leisure to change but the old people's mind, but the old people's mind is easy to change.

"Okay, Grand Uncle Zong has made a plan." Zhu Yijun nodded, this time strengthening the political and economic constraints on Portugal.

Wan Shihe understood the purpose of His Majesty's move, and he didn't care if any of his allies were surprised. He immediately bowed his head and said, "I obey the decree."

Zhu Yijun met Legas, who was still the same as before. He, the special envoy to the West, had been abandoned by Felipe II, but on the surface, he was still the special envoy. During this meeting, Legas presented a new letter to His Majesty. A good travelogue, the main content is that he looked at the Ming Dynasty's conquests from the perspective of the Westerners.

From Legas' perspective, the Ming Emperor and Qi Jiguang's treatment was too gentle and benevolent.

The other special envoy is Matteo Ricci. Matteo Ricci is still very young. His eyes are full of curiosity. He can't even say hello well. Because he is a little timid, he even stutters when he enters Beijing. On the way, Matteo Ricci had already seen how terrifying the power of the Ming Emperor was.

Zhu Yijun assigned Matteo Ricci to Zhang Guoxiang. After finishing the study of Dao Zang, he also had Buddhism, which was enough for him to sink his whole life.

Matteo Ricci presented the letter from Felipe II. Zhu Yijun could understand it. It was written in Latin. The main content was greetings and nonsense about maintaining the friendship between the two countries. There was only one thing worth noting. Felipe II hoped that the Ming Dynasty would not open a route to England. Felipe's words were full of resentment towards England. Obviously, he had already known that England had completed the circumnavigation of the world.

Felipe II obviously worked hard to convince the Ming Emperor. According to Felipe II's description, if England had not been behind the scenes, the situation in the Netherlands would not have deteriorated to the point it is today. In this way, Ming Dynasty may not understand intuitively. Felipe described England as a Japanese country in Western Europe.

This is immediately easy to understand.

England, the troublemaker, can stir up trouble in Spain's territory today, and stir up trouble in the Ming Dynasty's waters tomorrow.

Regarding this kind of country, I still hope that the Ming Emperor will be more cautious and think twice before acting.

"Felipe II mentioned in his credentials that England issued privateering licenses to merchant ships. Is this true?" Zhu Yijun looked at Marcus.

Marcus sighed and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, something like this is indeed happening. This is bad news for all maritime trade, but it does happen."

This statement was agreed by Marcus. In order to support the independence of the Netherlands and to cope with the maritime trade competition with Spain, England has begun to openly issue "private licenses", authorizing individuals to attack armed merchant ships. Or plunder other countries’ ships.

Under such a policy, it will only give birth to countless pirates. Whether it is Portugal, Spain, or the Ming Dynasty, pirates cannot be tolerated, because the breeding of pirates will seriously affect the smooth flow of shipping routes.

False legalization is a kind of bandit logic, but England openly implements this decree. Marcus and Felipe are hostile, but they also despise this behavior. There are even privateers on the coast of Portugal.

Marcus, who had been at sea for a long time, hated pirates.

(End of this chapter)