Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2094 Yellow Crane Tower ([-])

"Brother Li, please take a seat." Inside the refurbished Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, the big comprador Zhang Shaozong was graciously inviting a middle-aged man with a white face and beardless to sit down and drink tea.Beside him, there are seven or eight people dressed in brocade and silk with rich faces, and they are all laughing together at this time, looking amiable.And the middle-aged man didn't feel flattered by this, and he accepted it calmly, which made people know that he was a person with status at a glance.

"Brother Li" is called Li Nanxian, a top-notch merchant in Dashun Kingdom. He quickly accumulated a lot of money by acting as a comprador for the people of Dongguo. Now he also started running a tea factory, and his business is booming.In addition, he has also recently started to get involved in the shipping industry. The famous Shunguo shipping company "Dafa Yongship" is an industry under his name, holds [-]% of the shares, is the largest single shareholder, and holds the company's management power. The status in the Shun country system is increasing day by day.

Of course, despite this layer of identity, Li Nanxian, as the No. 1 in the comprador world, is inextricably linked with the Eastern Dynasty. This alone is enough for everyone here to look up to.Especially Zhang Shaozong, who is also a comprador, dare not neglect senior figures like "Brother Li", after all, he is also relying on Dongguo people for food.

Today they gathered at the Yellow Crane Tower, and the host was Zhang Shaozong, a big comprador in the textile industry. Apart from a special request that was not easy to talk about, the main purpose was to discuss the current situation and see what they, the business people, should do Break through the current predicament.You must know that the trade between Dongdong and Shun has shrunk to a quarter of what it used to be, and the situation is difficult.

The Yellow Crane Tower is operated by the Gao family, one of the many properties under the name of Marquis Gan of Dashun (sealed by Li Guo).Many years ago, Gao Yigong, who was getting old, handed over the front camp of Dashun to the imperial court, expressing that he would no longer be involved in the military, and he would not even allow those old subordinates to visit during the festivals, as if he was caring for his life.

Li Laiheng was very satisfied with the Gao family's obedient attitude.As soon as the Gao family gave way, tens of thousands of battle-hardened warriors from the front battalion fell into the hands of the court. Since then, the Changsha court has taken control of the front battalion, middle battalion, and rear battalion, and its strength has reached its peak after Li Zicheng's death. The warlords on the mountain tops also had to bow their heads.

Now, there are only two semi-independent hills left in the Dashun system.Among them, the most powerful is undoubtedly the Liu Zhonggui Department of Zuoying, which controls more than half of Sichuan and Yunnan.This guy is the Jiedu envoy of Dashun Sichuan, with many advisers and generals under his banner, and has an army of more than [-] (the number after the surrender of some troops in Yunnan is compiled). Sichuan is also a land of abundance, rich in products and relatively isolated geographically, making the Changsha court a Extremely worried.

The second mountain in Dashun is Yuan Bao's headquarters of Youying stationed on the front line in Hubei.This hilltop can be traced back to Yuan Zongdi, an old comrade-in-arms of Li Zicheng, and one of the main supporters of Li Guo when he took office (the others are Liu Fangliang from the left camp, Gao Yigong from the former camp, and several camp leaders with scattered troops. veteran).After Yuan Zongdi's death, the position of General of the Right Battalion passed to his son Yuan Bao, who currently has more than [-] elite soldiers.

Wuchang Mansion is now the defense zone of Youying, and the military and civilian affairs of the whole mansion are decided by Yuan Bao, the history of defense of Wuchang.Yuan Bao himself went to Ningbo to study many years ago. At that time, he was still a boy. He had systematically studied modern military affairs in Yin County. The thousands of troops he brought over had also been reorganized and reorganized. Knowledge has been greatly enhanced.Many of the key officers in the Right Battalion are from that army, which is also the key to Yuan Bao's ability to firmly control the army after his father's death.

Youying has also actively traded with the East Bank, because otherwise it would be very difficult financially.Although the Wuchang government is not poor, it is still a bit difficult to raise more than 5 elite soldiers. What's more, these 5 people are not low-cost garrison troops, but expensive field troops, so they are squeezed a bit hard. Continue to exchange for wealth through foreign trade.

Of course, relying on Wuchang alone, no matter how much trade is done, it will not help.In fact, the Youying had to receive part of the salaries and supplies from Jiujiang and Nanchang in Jiangxi every year to make up for the gap in military use. Therefore, Yuan Bao's Youying was not as independent as Liu Zhonggui's troops in the Zuoying.Yuan Bao also very much hoped to create a new world like Zuoying entered Sichuan, but he really didn't have this opportunity.For example, this time when Dashun went south to conquer Ming Dynasty, Yuan Bao took the initiative to invite Ying, expressing his willingness to lead his army to crusade against Guangdong and Guangxi, but was rejected by Li Laiheng.

The reason for the refusal is actually easy to guess.Zuoying is now showing signs of getting too big. Li Laiheng really doesn't want Youying to have a chance to develop and grow, because it will greatly threaten his authority, so he let Youying be firmly nailed to the front line of Huguang, facing the front line of the Qing army. Bingfeng, finally slowly consumed, is no longer a threat.

The third mountain in the Dashun Army is the 3-strong man under the original He Zhen father and son.When Li Zicheng was defeated at Tongguan and fled to Hubei, He Zhen took his troops around northern Shaanxi and Gansu.After repeated defeats, he had no choice but to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, just like the local Shunjun stragglers who were recruited by the Qing army in large numbers.

However, the soldiers of He Zhen and his son did not sincerely surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Later, they found an opportunity to kill the generals of the Eight Banners who were monitoring them, and led their troops back to southern Shaanxi. The governor is desperate to die, but he has nothing to do with them.

In the years that followed, He Zhen and his son communicated with the Zuoying in Yunyang Mansion, cooperated tacitly, repelled many attacks by the Qing army, and gained a firm foothold.Later, the main force of Zuoying went to Sichuan to develop, and the vacated Yunyang Mansion was given to He Zhen and his son. They also got a preliminary piece of land, although this land was relatively poor.

After He Zhen died of illness, his son He Daoning took charge of the whole army and took over the post of defense history of Yunyang.But he, the vassal, is also not free. Those who need to accept the payment from the Changsha court cannot really control their own destiny. They can only take one step at a time in this troubled world, just like the rootless floating weed.

All in all, the domestic situation in Dashun is good now, and the authority of the Changsha court is increasing day by day. Whether it is military power or economic strength, they have obvious advantages. Those towns and towns below should also feel a chill.It's hard to say in the future, they will all be cleaned up by Li Laiheng one by one, and the release of military power with a drink is something that any ruler is very keen on.

Well, let us turn our attention to the Yellow Crane Tower.Li Nanxian was invited to come here today, in fact, it also has the intention of Yuan Bao, the owner of Wuchang Mansion.Yuan Bao occupies the entire territory of Wuchang, with a long river bank, and the demand for shipping in various places under his rule is also relatively large.However, he was short-sighted before and did not take a stake in the shipping company Dafayong founded by Li Nanxian. After being reminded by others, he realized the problem, so through Zhang Shaozong's relationship, he invited Li Nanxian to come over and have a look. Is there any chance to come in.

Of course, Zhang Shaozong was not so stupid as to ask Li Nanxian about Dafayong's investment in shares, but first talked about the current situation, which undoubtedly aroused a series of sighs from everyone present.The reason is unknown, the imperial court cheated them a lot of money?Take the big comprador Zhang Shaozong as an example. He opened a silk reeling factory in Yuezhou, and was "persuaded" by the local government to donate 3 taels of silver. At the same time, a batch of cloth sold to the army was also owed the payment. The official gave him 2 taels of banknotes to settle the matter.

After receiving such things as banknotes, Zhang Shaozong could only smile wryly.Although the official currency issued by Shunguo clearly says "Take one tael" on it, the question is, can a tael of banknotes really be used as a tael of silver?The answer is obviously no!In fact, in the area of ​​Yuezhou Prefecture, the private exchange ratio of banknotes and silver is 20:1, and in some areas it is even higher, which shows the degree of depreciation.Shun country officials use this kind of banknotes to buy supplies from merchants, which is actually a disguised form of plundering. The people don't recognize it at all, and neither do the merchants in the Qing Dynasty and the east coast. They can only rot in their own hands. Who should I talk to?

Li Nanxian's family wealth is greater than that of everyone present, so he naturally collected a handful of banknotes in his hands, the total amounted to about 4 to [-] taels, which seriously weakened his ability to transfer funds.But he also understands that the money has to be paid!Shunguo went south to defeat Ming, which was the only way to expand the country and strengthen its strength.Most of their business is in China, and they are even tied to Dashun. If Dashun prospers, they will be rich, and if Dashun is declining, they will be poor. There is nothing to say.In fact, the imperial court still valued their merchants, which has been rare since ancient times, so the loss of some assets can be tolerated. I only hope that the situation will be calmed down in the future, and I can earn it back. The problem should not be too big.

And since we are talking about banknotes, it is impossible not to mention the "abolishing the two to replace the yuan" that is going on vigorously recently.The so-called "abolishing the two and changing the yuan" is different from the concept of later generations. The main purpose is to change the silver in circulation in Shunguo into silver dollars.

As we all know, since the maritime trade prevailed in the Ming Dynasty and a large amount of silver flowed into China, silver began to become the main currency in circulation, but it also contained many problems.The most important thing is actually all kinds of oddly shaped broken silver, not only inconsistent in weight, but also suspicious in color, which greatly hinders the development of commerce.After people from the east coast intervened in Chinese affairs, with the deepening of economic ties, all kinds of silver coins minted in Sakhalin Island began to enter the Chinese market, and were greatly loved by the Chinese people because of their fineness and uniform shape.

Undoubtedly, people on the east coast have made a lot of money by collecting silver taels (broken silver and silver ingots), and then minting them into silver dollars to sell back. Everyone in Shunguo is also aware of this.Therefore, at this time of financial difficulty, the officials of Shunguo have plans to mint silver dollars by themselves, in order to prevent the spillover of rights and interests, and to collect seigniorage by themselves.

However, this kind of action of abolishing the two and changing the yuan undoubtedly requires the technical assistance of the East Bank. For this reason, they imported a batch of hydraulic stamping equipment and began to try to cast silver dollars by themselves, and achieved some results.This time the East and Shun countries were at odds with each other, and the people on the East Bank cut off the technical services in this area, which suddenly caused a sharp drop in the output of the self-made silver dollars in Shun, causing many problems.Every time Zhang Shaozong talked about it with others, he felt very regretful.

But in any case, he was very supportive of this currency reform, and everyone else was pretty much in the same position.Some people even asked if they could find a way to talk to the people on the east coast to see if they could buy some temporarily.After all, this kind of equipment is not a military controlled item, so it is still possible to buy it.Even if it is really not possible, it is good to smuggle a batch of stamping equipment at a high price, even if it is not specially used for minting coins, Shunguo will find a way to transform it.

Li Nanxian also appreciated this very much, and said that he would inquire through the relationship to see if there is any possibility of purchasing.After all, the abolition of the two reforms is extremely beneficial to the development of business, and he has no reason not to support it.

Everyone talked like this for a long time, until after drinking for three rounds, everyone was a little fuzzy, Zhang Shaozong found an opportunity, and quietly whispered into Li Nanxian's ear, talking about the meaning of Yuan Bao, General Youyingquan, who wanted to invest in Dafa Yonghang Yun , which made Li Nan frowned all of a sudden.This matter is a bit tricky. He really doesn't want to participate in the power game of the Dashun court, but he doesn't want to offend a big man like Yuan Bao. It's really a dilemma.

(End of this chapter)