At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 523: High Shipping Costs and Generation Gap

On April 20th, the 24th year of the Han calendar, in Chang'an City, in a restaurant filled with gold and jade.

Zhou Ce and other princes invited all the sea merchants in Chang'an City. The purpose of inviting them was very simple, that is, they wanted these sea merchants to help them transport people and goods. The transportation volume of the princes' team alone was far from meeting their needs for labor and goods in the New World.

But the ships of the Han Dynasty were too expensive. The larger and stronger the ship, the more expensive it was. A ship of 2000 dan in the Han Dynasty cost about 5 million coins. In order to ensure his own safety, Zhou Ce bought a ship of 5 dan. This ship cost Zhou Ce 1 million coins, and this was the internal price considering his status as a prince of the Chu State. To sell such a ship of 5000 dan to the outside world, it would cost about million coins. In the Han Dynasty, only the top merchants had the financial resources to buy such a ship.

Now they have a lot of goods and people to transport to the New World, which requires a huge carrying capacity, but if they spend money to buy ships, the silver they mined in the New World will not be enough even if they multiply it tenfold. Troubled by these factors, Zhou Ce and his people can only find merchants to rent ships.

Zhou Ce smiled at the merchants and said, "We, the 12 princes, need to transport 3 civilians, 50 dan of grain, 30 jin of iron ingots, 10 pieces of cloth, and 10 dan of goods. Our ships are not big enough to carry them, and I think you are the only ones in the Han Dynasty who can satisfy us. We can discuss the money, but I only ask you to transport the goods to the New World safely."

Cao Qiu and others also looked at these sea merchants with pride. With a mountain of silver in their hands, they did not think that these merchants would offer a price that they could not accept.

Of course, this is also related to the low prices in the Han Dynasty. In the New World, prices are generally 10 times higher than in the Han Dynasty. Even the most ordinary rice wine can make them feel like they are in a feast for the feast. Now that they are back in the Han Dynasty, even if they stay in a top restaurant like Jin Yu Man Tang, they feel that the cost of a meal is just that of a barbecue. The low prices in the Han Dynasty finally make them feel that the silver in their hands is real silver.

But Wu Xiao from Tianzhu Trading Company said, "Supplies are easy to deal with. The total amount of these goods is only 80 dan of storage space, and 80 ships with dan of storage capacity are enough." Then he looked at Zhou Ce and said, "How long did it take for you and others to return to Linzi from the New World?"

Zhou Ce was confused and said, "Less than three months, probably more than 80 days."

Wu Xiao calculated in his mind and said, "In this case, I will charge you 1 million for the transportation of these goods. As for the transportation of the people, I will charge you 6000 coins per person. For 2 people, that's 3 million coins, a total of 6 million for transportation."

Then Wu Xiao saw the other sea merchants and said, "Since you have given us such a big business, I would like to give you a small portion of the money, 700 million yuan. What do you think?"

"Sure!" The other merchants nodded. Although the profit from going to the New World was not high, the total price was high. If they brought some goods back, that would be extra profit. More importantly, by following them to the New World, they would open up new business channels, and the money they didn't earn would be regarded as the cost of channel construction.

But Cao Qiu and others were stunned by the figure. This was the only amount they earned, but it was all spent on transporting more than 3 immigrants.

Cao Qiu was furious and said, "You know that we have found the silver mountain, so you treat us like fools. You dare to ask for 7 million yuan for transportation fee. Do you know who we are? Do you believe that I will let the court arrest all of you profiteers?"

Wu Xiao calmly calculated: "Even if the deal fails, we still have righteousness. How can Master Cao assume malicious intent against us? If Master Cao intends to use the power of the government to suppress me, I will tell Master Cao that this is the Emperor's feet in Chang'an City. Even if you are the son of the Prime Minister, you cannot cover the sky with one hand."

Ye Zhao said: "Cao Qiu is too excited, but the transportation fee you mentioned is too high. Seven hundred million was the fiscal revenue of a county in the Han Dynasty. We are just asking for the transportation of goods."

Wu Xiao calculated, "It's not that we are asking for a high price, it's mainly because the cost of sea trade has always been so high. It takes three months to go to the New World, and it takes half a year to go back and forth. The depreciation of my Han Dynasty's 100-ton sea-going ship is about 50 million coins per year, which is 30 coins in half a year. A 15-ton sea-going ship requires about 50 sailors to operate, and the monthly salary of a sea-going ship is about coins. Half a year is almost a million coins. The cost of a trip to the New World is million coins. It is already extremely low for a ship to make a profit of .

A 100-ton ship can transport about 3 people. 300 200 people will need 6 10-ton ships to transport them. One ship costs million coins, which is million coins. This is the lowest price we have calculated for the sake of you gentlemen. Even so, we are still looking to go to the New World to see if we can open up a new route. Otherwise, the normal market price is billion coins for transportation. If you don't believe it, you can ask other sea merchants to see if you can find one with a lower price than us. "

Zhou Ce looked at these sea merchants and said, "Let's discuss it before making a decision."

Wu Xiao said: "Please make a decision quickly, gentlemen. The weather on the sea does not wait for anyone. The ship we are waiting for cannot go to the New World, and we have to go to India. If you don't give us a definite answer in ten days, we will have to do other business."

This transaction ended in a bad way.

Ye Mansion.

Wu Xiao came to Ye Teng's house, and the two of them were talking and laughing. Wu Xiao and the Ye family were old friends. The Ye family had roots in Kuaiji County, but they fled to Nanyang during the Warring States Period. Later, Ye Teng became the governor of Kuaiji County, and the two sides got in touch again. Later, Ye Teng supported Wu Xiao's development, and Wu Xiaoze provided Ye Teng with political achievements. Wu Xiao was considered Ye Teng's white glove.

Ye Teng asked Wu Xiao, "Is your business in Tianzhu going well recently?"

Wu Xiao shook his head and said, "There are too many sea merchants, much worse than in the past two years. This is the bad thing about our Han Dynasty. No matter what business it is, they all rush to do one industry at a time, driving the profit of that industry to an extremely low level, forcing everyone to have no food to eat, and squeezing the weak out of the market. Now the trade in Southeast Asia mainly relies on transporting laborers from India, and the triangular trade. A single trip to a reclamation site can make about double the profit, and a sea vessel can make 3 to 4 times the profit. I don't know what's going on. Obviously, navigation is an industry with a very high threshold, but I don't know how so many sea vessels have emerged."

Ye Zhao felt a little envious when he heard this. He had also lent money to Dahan's factories. Those workshops that could make 50% profit were already excellent workshops. Now this Uncle Wu made three or four times the profit, but he still said that business was difficult. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Ye Teng said: "Not counting the shipyards that are still under construction, there are 10 shipyards that can manufacture more than 5 tons of cargo. These shipyards have an average of 50 docks that can manufacture more than tons of cargo. That means that ships with more than tons of cargo leave the port of the Han Dynasty every year. The number of small ships with tons and tons of cargo is even more difficult to count. The competitive pressure at sea is naturally great."

Now the shipbuilding industry and the steel industry are the two pillar industries of the Han Dynasty. The annual output value of the shipbuilding industry is hundreds of billions of dollars, and it is still developing rapidly. In addition, the shipbuilding industry has a huge driving force on the upstream and downstream industries, which can drive dozens of industries and affect hundreds of thousands of industrial workers. This is a real pillar industry for the Han Dynasty.

Not to mention the steel industry, which is the foundation of all industries in the Han Dynasty. In recent years, with the court replacing wooden tracks with iron tracks on a large scale, and the maturity of steelmaking technology, it is precisely because of such market expectations that the entire Han Dynasty has been swept by a wave of investment in steel. In the past five years, the production capacity of the steel industry has almost doubled. The Han court was terrified. Prime Minister Zhou Bo even included steel mills in the statistical scope of the budget, and strictly prohibited the construction of new steel mills in local areas to prevent the overheating of the local steel industry.

Compared with the strictly controlled steel industry, the expansion of the shipbuilding industry was welcomed by the Han court. Not only was the Shaofu building a new type of large-scale shipyard, but many local wealthy businessmen also began to invest in the shipbuilding industry.

The demand for seagoing vessels in the Han Dynasty has been increasing. Over the past decade, the major vassal states in Nanyang have already established a certain foundation. Various economic crop gardens have begun to generate profits continuously. These raw materials need to be transported to the Han Dynasty by seagoing vessels, and then manufactured into various industrial products. The sea merchants then transport the industrial products of the Han Dynasty to the major vassal states in Nanyang. Nanyang has become the largest commodity market and raw material production area of ​​the Han Dynasty. This economic trade between the two sides has greatly promoted the development of maritime trade. In addition, with the new continent now, the demand for seagoing vessels in the Han Dynasty will only increase. The market prospects are very promising.

Of course, the rapid development of the shipbuilding industry is not a good thing for Wu Xiao and other sea merchants. With more and more competitors, their profits are naturally getting lower and lower. In addition, the profits of more than ten times in the early stage of sea trade have expanded the appetite of Wu Xiao and others. In their view, it is a good time to make more than ten times the profit in one trip. Now, making several times or even double the profit is considered bad business.

But in fact, a rate of more than 10 times is abnormal, and it only happens when the industry is just emerging and in the bonus stage. Just look at the textile industry, which has the most competitive pressure in the Han Dynasty, and the profit is only 30%. The shipbuilding industry, which is the most prosperous in the Han Dynasty, has a profit of less than 100%. This is already the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty's manufacturing industry. If the bosses of 1% or 2% in the future see the current manufacturing industry of the Han Dynasty, I am afraid they will cry with envy.

Ye Zhaoyou complained: "Since Uncle Wu's business is so difficult, why do you still quote such a high price?"

Wu Xiao said: "My little son, we can't make 30% profit, that's in manufacturing. Now we are doing sea trade, this is risking our lives to make money, the profit is less than double, we will be laughed at by our peers, if we don't want to go to the New World, we can't make this trip without 1 billion.

Although sea merchants like us earn a lot, we also spend a lot. For example, the salary of a sailor is generally around 4,000 to 5,000 coins. If you don't pay him this salary, he will risk his life for you! However, a ship generally needs 30 to 40 sailors, which means 1 to 2 million coins a year. How can a workshop in the Han Dynasty cost so much?

Moreover, the sea is not calm. If a storm hits, the whole ship will capsize. A 5000-ton ship is worth 3 million yuan. In addition to the cost of paying for the goods, the funeral expenses of the sailors, and the resettlement expenses, this will result in a loss of 5000 to 7 million yuan. In recent years, pirates have risen again. If a ship is captured by them, it is necessary to pay a ransom. If you want to make a living on the sea, you really have to risk bankruptcy to do this. If the profit is not high, no one will do this business. "Ye Teng looked at Ye Zhao dissatisfiedly and said, "You have only dug more than billion yuan of silver and you are so arrogant. The imperial fleet can only transport people to the New World, but you dare to transport people. Do you know that the imperial court spent more than billion yuan on these people? Do you still think that Brother Wu and his people quoted you million yuan too much?"

After Ye Zhao came back, Ye Teng carefully asked Ye Zhao what he had done in the New World in the past six months?
As a result, Ye Zhao only built a blast furnace and the foundation of a city wall, and did nothing else. He did not educate the local barbarians, nor did he reclaim the land. How did this look like building a vassal state?
Isn't this just like those gold diggers who went to Liaodong and Treasure Island, and ran back to the Han Dynasty to enjoy themselves after finding gold? But gold diggers can do this, but their Ye family wants to take root in the New World and establish a vassal state. This is not putting the cart before the horse.

"Our ancestor Ye Gong is famous in history for reclaiming farmland. My father served as prime minister of the Han Dynasty for ten years, and what he was most proud of was that he reclaimed 3000 million acres of farmland for the Han Dynasty. You, an unfilial son, went to the New World and didn't even reclaim one acre of land. You even lost the craftsmanship of your ancestors." Ye Teng became angrier and angrier as he spoke.

Ye Zhao said aggrievedly: "Father, the situation in the New World is different. The Silver Mountain does not belong to our family alone. If we don't go to dig for silver, the other 11 princes will do it. When they make money, I won't make money. Then the new Ye Kingdom will be inferior to the other princely states."

Ye Teng sneered and said, "Then I will teach you how to make money. In the New World, the price of one stone of grain is 300 coins."

Ye Zhao said: "When I left, it was almost 400 meters away."

Ye Teng said, "Then it's 400 coins. The potatoes and corn in the New World can yield 6 dan per acre, and one acre of land can yield 2400 coins. If you can reclaim acres of land in the New World, you can earn more than million yuan a year, and you don't have to give half to the court. Do the math yourself, is this more profitable than mining silver or farming?"

After hearing his father's calculations, Ye Zhao was stunned and asked, "How could this be?"

It is obvious that grain is the least valuable in the Han Dynasty, but selling grain in the New World is more profitable than mining silver. Isn't this going against the will of Heaven?

But he quickly said, "Father, we are short of manpower in the New World. There are only 2000 people in Ye Country now. In addition, there are no oxen in the New World, so it is impossible to cultivate 10 acres of land."

Ye Teng said angrily: "You have completely forgotten the court's teachings. The emperor has made so many preparations and asked the Mayans to return to their ancestral home and become the bloodline of the Yanhuang people. What do you think he is doing? The emperor just wants you to make it easier to teach the Mayans in the New World.

If you educate 3 Mayan farmers in the area, will it be difficult to cultivate 10 acres of land? How come the Northern Yinzhou Governor's Office can reclaim acres of land, and now I'm afraid they have already reclaimed acres of land.

But look at what you have done in the past six months. You dug silver mines for money and went to the Mayan city-states to buy slaves. After buying these people, you did not think about how to educate them to become Han Chinese, but instead threw them into the silver mines to be slaves. Have you never seen silver? Your father has treated you harshly since you were a child, so you are so greedy for money.

You are the swordsman who cuts the boat to find the sword. Your father asked you to go to the New World to build a vassal state, not to be like those gold diggers who mined all the silver mines and then returned to the Han Dynasty. The silver mines will be mined out sooner or later, but the reclaimed land can be used to grow food for hundreds and thousands of years. You went to the New World to become a vassal, not to be one of the mine owners in my Han Dynasty. How many of those mine owners had a good end? They were either hanged by the court or on their way to be hanged. Do you also want to be hanged by those angry miners?"

In the Han Dynasty, the only industry that is more dangerous than maritime trade is mining. Among them, the miners are even more dangerous than the maritime merchants. The Han Dynasty's system is relatively complete. The maritime merchants can sit back and wait to collect their money in the Han Dynasty. Of course, there is no supervision, and a large part of the profits will naturally be divided up by the captain and the sailors under them. Therefore, most of the maritime merchants are also captains, and only the big sea merchants are qualified to testify to the local area.

The risks for mine owners were even greater. The Han Dynasty court did not support private mining. Whenever a mining accident occurred, there would be severe punishment. Not to mention that private miners would take any risk to make money. In order to deter these people, the Han Dynasty court would act ruthlessly after a mining accident. In order to quell public anger, the mine owners would usually be hanged and their entire family would be exiled overseas.

"I know I was wrong!" Ye Zhao felt ashamed. He really didn't think so much. He just thought that there were too many competitors, so he had to dig out the silver mine and refine the silver as soon as possible.

Wu Xiao said: "Prime Minister, the young master is still young. After you teach him, he will understand."

Then Wu Xiao said: "A certain ship with 10 cargo spaces can transport 1000 civilians for you. You can use these people to manage the natives of the New World. You can manage tens of thousands of people, and then the foundation of the Ye Kingdom will be established."

Ye Teng said: "I can't let you work in vain. In this way, my Ye country's silver mine will be fully developed for you, and you can use the silver you dig to offset the transportation costs."

Wu Xiao was excited when he heard this: "Is this good?"

If he could occupy some of the silver mines in the New World, he could transfer the ships from India to the New World. Such a new market would be much better than the one in India.
Ye Teng said: "There's nothing wrong with that. You should be paid for your efforts. I'm just worried that the silver mines in the New World cannot make up for your losses."

Wu Xiao smiled and said, "It can be made up, it can be made up."

Zhou Zhang Mansion.

Compared to Ye Teng who used verbal education, Zhou Zhang preferred to use the stick education method. When he knew that Zhou Ce had only dug silver mines in the past six months, he directly gave Zhou Ce 30 lashes, and he did it himself.

After the fight, Zhou Zhang said angrily, "Your father has arranged for you to have scholars from Taoism, Legalism, Confucianism, Mohism, and Agriculturalism, and even military officers. As long as you make good use of these talents, you can build a complete vassal state. What did you do in the past six months in the New World? You only got tens of thousands of pounds of silver, but you used the officers of the Han Dynasty as supervisors. You didn't make good use of any of the talents of the various schools of thought. Do you know that these talents were invited by your father at the cost of his face?

How did the Han Dynasty establish so many vassal states? How many advanced experiences are worth learning? The court even wrote them down in a book. If you follow this plan, you can build a good vassal state with a little bit of construction. Even if you don't read the book, you can learn how the governor's office built the vassal states. As a result, you have high aspirations, but you are full of idiots. It's a pity that you complained to your father in the Han Dynasty that he restricted your talents. Now it seems that the emperor's restriction is a good thing, and it didn't let the world know that you are an idiot."

Zhou Ce said unconvincedly: "I also want to use the gold and silver mines to accumulate wealth so that I can expand the vassal states. I don't think I have done anything wrong."

Zhou Zhang said, "How much money have you accumulated? Is it enough to relocate a few people to the New World? You don't educate the tens of millions of people in the New World, but you spend tens of thousands of dollars to transport people from the Han Dynasty. What will you do after you transport these people to the New World? Do you want to throw my Han people into the mines? You are digging for ore and you don't even know the priorities. You have lost all the face of the Zhou family."

Zhou Zhang was not dissatisfied with Zhou Ce's mining, but he was dissatisfied with Zhou Ce's mining only in the New World, without laying a solid foundation for anything else. He also regretted that he had not taught Zhou Ce well in the past few years, and after he retired, he let him enter the money house system, which made him develop a habit of worshipping money.

Zhou Ce was unconvinced and said, "The emperor also said that we should analyze specific issues specifically. The specialty of Nanyang is spices. The first step for the princes to establish their countries is of course to reclaim land and plant spices. But in the New World, our foundation is the silver mountain. Leaving a good silver mountain unmined and cultivating it is the real pursuit of the trivial. The Han Dynasty is not short of food. One million shi of food in the New World is enough for the people of the princes to eat for several years. In addition, the Governor's Office is constantly reclaiming land. The New World is not short of land at all. The price of food is high now, and it will fall in a few years. And these few years are enough to dig out silver mines worth billions of dollars. What you said is the experience of the Warring States Period, which is no longer suitable for the current era."

"And father, do you think the people who follow me to the New World will really farm? This is just your wishful thinking. Forget about 500 acres of land. Even if I give them 1000 or 5000 acres of land, they won't farm. They go to the New World just to mine silver. This is human nature. How can you stop me? What's wrong with me taking advantage of this human nature?"

"Since you said you would leave the vassal states to me, don't worry about how I handle the affairs of the vassal states. Even if the vassal states decline, it is my own fault and has nothing to do with you."

Zhou Zhang was so angry that he couldn't speak.

(End of this chapter)