Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1377
It seems that the actions of the Senate have more and more changed the direction of history.It's just that the change of shipping has always been greatly helped in history, but this time it went so smoothly, obviously some factors he didn't know played a role.

Shen Tingyang was very interested in talking, and it could be seen that his ambitions over the years finally had a chance to try, which made him very excited.From his mouth, Zhao Yingong roughly knew that it was the proposal of Xiong Mingyu, Minister of the Ministry of War, to directly transfer grain and pay from Jiangnan to Liaodong. The position in the middle is not bad, although he was punished, he was not dismissed from office like the old time and space.Continue to mix in the position of Minister of the Ministry of War, which is becoming more and more difficult to mix.

It is not surprising to Zhao Yingong why Xiong Mingyu, a slippery bureaucrat who has always been submissive, suddenly put forward such a bold proposal - he is now anxious to restore the "Sacred Heart".Only by taking risks to show his "talent" and let the emperor recognize him is still "useful".The consequences of the Dengzhou Incident cannot be remedied by "pacification".Sun Yuanhua, who was dealing with the aftermath in Dengzhou, was very busy, and he is still punished with "dismissal" - Chongzhen will not easily forgive them, the main responsible persons.

However, the reason why Xiong Mingyu was able to make such a bold suggestion was obviously because someone gave him a lot of confidence.I am afraid that this person is not as simple as Zhou Yanru and Xu Guangqi, who are the elders on the surface, and must be the result of the operation of extremely powerful figures in the court.

Could it be that Tongtian Sect advocates Pu?Zhao Yingong thinks this is the most likely.Since the last time I went to Taicang in person and advocated the idea of ​​abolishing the water and transforming the sea, I felt that this Zhang Xianggong was very interested in it at that time-Fushe largely represented the group of southern straight gentry and landlords. interests, and water transport has always been their most annoying burden.Thus they are the most motivated.

Xiong Mingyu's performance was supported by all parties.Since Shen Tingyang had been campaigning for this matter in the capital for a long time, Xiong Mingyu recommended him, and then submitted his "Sea Transport Book" and "Sea Transport Map".Under the court discussion, the emperor and ministers felt that it was possible to give it a try to solve the urgent needs of Liaodong.He was granted the false title of secretary in the cabinet and had full power to handle the matter.

"If this can be done, it is also possible to change the grain from the grain to the sea in the future!"

As long as we can directly transport grain from Jiangnan to Liaodong this time, it will prove that sea transportation is reliable and cheap. Let’s talk about the transformation of white grain into sea in Taicang, and even the expansion of waste water into sea, we can implement it step by step and step by step. .

Zhao Yingong knows that things are not that simple. The force of habit and the obstruction of vested interest groups will make any reform encounter great resistance.In history, Shen Tingyang's sea transportation experiment was a complete success, but water transportation still took the inefficient Grand Canal.

However, since history has been changed due to their arrival, this change is bound to cause a series of chain reactions—butterfly wings and so on are not just talking casually.

Zhao Yingong properly showed a look of "joy and encouragement", and said a few words in agreement, just waiting for the other party to speak.Shen Tingyang specially invited him to discuss with him, so he naturally had specific cooperation proposals.

However, Shen Tingyang's happy expression didn't last long, and he soon became serious, "To be honest, Brother Yu specially invited you to come to Shanghai this time to discuss some important matters."

"Where it is useful to get my brother, I will help you." Zhao Yingong nodded again and again, with a very solemn expression-the joints are located below, and Shen Tingyang must have come to him because he felt that some things were difficult to handle.

Since I came to find myself, it goes without saying that this business of buying and selling China Merchants has to be involved.If we can take this opportunity to bring the coastal routes into the hands of China Merchants, our company will be a justifiable "official ship of the Ming Dynasty".Thinking of this, Zhao Yingong couldn't help feeling a little excited.

Only then did Shen Tingyang talk about the details of the grain delivery.

This time, the grain and salary shipped to Liaodong was [-] shi of brown rice for Guanning Town.This amount of transportation is not a heavy burden on Shen Tingyang's shipping force. A brand new large sand ship can carry about [-] shi, and thirteen or four large sand ships can meet the demand.The Shen family has as many as one or two hundred sand ships, and many of them have already sailed on the Beiyang route.More than enough to complete the task of transporting food.

But things are often not as simple as they seem. After Shen Tingyang received Xiong Mingyu's support and wrote a letter, although he quickly got the order to try out the food and payment.The next question made him feel very difficult.

The [-] shi of grain will be allocated from Jiangnan—the amount will be deducted from Jiangnan's grain this year.

This was originally a way to facilitate both public and private affairs, but when Shen Tingyang went to the chief envoy's office to handle it, he got frustrated.

The chief envoy's yamen refused to allocate food, saying that many counties in Nanzhi suffered from floods, droughts and famines last year.

"Brother thought it was just a bad rule to ask for personnel. I didn't expect that the master in charge would not take in oil and salt. No matter who went to the customs, he would not even ask for personnel. He only said that there was no food, and insisted on discounting it."

"Discount?" Zhao Yingong was startled, as the name implies, discount is to not allocate grain, but to allocate silver according to the grain price.This was very common in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, because silver was easier to transport and use than grain. For areas with long distances and poor traffic conditions, the cost of cashing silver was much lower than transporting grain.

Folding color involves tricks such as silver fineness, fire consumption, etc. Compared with the transportation of brown rice, there are many places that can be cheated.The most important thing is that there are fewer procedures for cashing out after embezzlement, so it is very popular among officials.

"...You also know that it is the so-called June of the Five Famines, and the price of grain outside is three qian per bucket of rice. Even if you buy it from a grain dealer at a large market, it costs more than two taels of silver per shi. And the current grain price is falling. When it’s time to go up, I’m afraid it’s more than this price.”

Zhao Yingong already understood: Most of the chief envoys are discounting according to the "official price". He asked, "How much is the official price?"

"One tael." Shen Tingyang smiled wryly, "One tael would only buy six or seven buckets of rice in the market. To make up 4 shi of rice, at least [-] taels of silver should be posted."

The Chief Secretary's discounted price is based on one tael, but when the actual reimbursement to the Ministry of Households is based on the price of two taels and one stone.After coming and going, the 4 taels became the benefit of the handler!

Compared with the 4 taels, the "routine" and "personnel affairs" of a few hundred taels are nothing.No wonder you have to use such a high-sounding reason
Zhao Yingong secretly scolded the officials for being shameless, because they were too greedy.

"What should I do? Brother Ji Ming can't do it himself with money."

"That's right." Shen Tingyang said angrily, "Brother is also considered a half-businessman. There are all kinds of business avenues in the world. Only business that loses money can't be done. Although Brother Yu intends to reimburse the imperial court for the transportation of Guanning's food and salaries this time, he can't do it. You can’t use your own money to stuff the dog holes of those corrupt officials.”

If it was in the past, since the Shen family was a shipping family, they would have a good business network.No matter where the waterway grain terminal is, as long as there is cheap grain, they can earn a lot of money, not only will they not lose money, but they may also make some small money.

But this time Shen Tingyang encountered even more troublesome things. It turned out that the masters of Guan Ning Town, who were in charge of the grain transportation in the capital, had secretly said that Guan Ning would never want "dorsty old warehouse rice" ", indicating the silver to be discounted.

"Isn't such a difficult problem solved?" Zhao Yingong was puzzled.Since the Guan Ning army wanted silver, wouldn't it be easy to transport the 6 taels of silver directly, and it also saved the price difference.

Shen Tingyang smiled wryly and shook his head: "My dear brother, you still know too little about the tricks of this officialdom. The reimbursement from the household department is two taels of silver and one stone. Why is Guan Ningjun willing to accept one tael or two taels of silver?"

No matter how you calculate it, Shen Tingyang, who undertook the shipping, will lose money.This is only a loss on the "front item", and the sum of various other "expenses" and "management" is not a small amount. If it is in the past, as long as a part of it is "lost", this part of the cost can be offset , not without minor supplements, but this time the gap in the main item is too big, and Shen Tingyang also feels at a loss what to do.

"Besides, this shipping, the big bosses of the DPRK and China have contributed a lot, and they have to express themselves one by one." Shen Tingyang couldn't help frowning when he thought of the huge follow-up expenses.

These personnel expenses must not be less, otherwise he may not even be able to get the folded silver shipped by sea on time-the yamen has a set of methods to make things difficult for people, and you will never let you pick the wrong one .If there is no talk from the big bosses in the court, I will not be able to pass this first test.

Originally, according to his idea, this time the shipping of food and salaries was originally for the imperial court, so it didn't matter even if he couldn't make any money for a while, as long as the cost could be evened out.In the future, if the water can be abolished and the sea changed, it will be of great benefit to the country and ourselves, and this benefit can be let go.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the decree of shipping grain and pay came out this time, he found himself standing on the cusp of the storm. People from all walks of life seemed to think that he had got a huge fat job, and they were all eager to devour him.

"I didn't expect it to be so difficult to do something!" Shen Tingyang couldn't help sighing when he said this, "I don't know if my brother has a good plan?"

Zhao Yingong had already had several thoughts when he spoke.He thought of the information he had read in the "Compilation of Political and Social Affairs of the Ming Dynasty" given to him by the Foreign Intelligence Agency and the various business intelligence collected by Shanhai Wulu over the past year, and he already had a countermeasure in his mind.

He coughed lightly: "According to brother's opinion, this matter is not impossible..."

Shen Tingyang seemed to be waiting for his words, and stared at him solemnly: "Please teach me my brother!"

(End of this chapter)