Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Naturally, Chen Shengwu, who didn't know that Qingyunpu escaped by chance, left his contact information and hurried back to Guangdong. On the way, he got the news that Zheng Jun had attacked Qiongzhou again.In this regard, Chen Shengwu was also very helpless. Dongning needed a real population, but in this way, the contact with Dongning was bound to be cut off again, and Xin Hanliu had to hide again to get a chance to make a comeback.Fortunately, more than 1 taels of silver had been shipped into the mainland before, so that Xinhan would not lose the lubricant to continue its operation.

Back in Shaoguan, Chen Shengwu, who had just entered the city, quickly found the contact point of Hanliu. A group was introduced into the inner courtyard.

"Lord of the mountain," the Sixth Master of Huaguan in Shaoguan hurriedly ran to meet Master Longtou upon hearing the news, and at the same time he sent a message. "The remnants of Shang Zhixin hope to join forces with us," Chen Shengwu frowned, and Liu Ye, the flower official, added. "They can instigate the old Shang army's rebellion in Guangdong and Guangxi to contain the Qing army in Guangdong and Guangxi. The condition is that we first transport Shang Zhixin's family members out."

Relatives of Shang Zhixin?Chen Shengwu's eyes narrowed slightly, but his mind opened up.That's right, Shang Zhixin's relatives suddenly disappeared before Shang Zhixin's execution. This incident caused a lot of trouble at the time. The Qing court even sent imperial envoys from Beijing to visit. A dozen Manchu and Han officials under the vice capital of Guangzhou were all arrested. On crime, it once threatened the development of Hanliu, so he still remembers it fresh.But although the facts are true, they appear to be extremely abrupt. Not to mention that the whereabouts of Shang Zhixin's family members were not found out when Guangdong and Guangxi were purged. Is there another mystery or this matter itself is a trap?In this regard, Chen Shengwu had to be cautious.

"How did you get in touch with Shang Zhixin's people?" Chen Shengwu asked tentatively. "Have we revealed the truth?"

"Actually, they didn't come to the door directly." Huaguan Liuye reported. "Shang Zhixin's people were looking for Qiankun to make a move, and the result was transferred to us. Therefore, the matter is too big, and the big guys dare not make a decision, so all the halls have been notified. Once the Shanzhu returns from Jiangxi Province, Be sure to let the mountain master know as soon as possible."

"Then how many of these family members are there?" Chen Shengwu asked again, if there were only three or five, maybe it could be arranged, but if there were ten, twenty, or even more, he would have to consider the risks if he wanted to arrange it. "Who is it exactly?"

"The other party refuses to say who the specific characters are, but the number has been guaranteed, and there should not be more than ten." The sixth flower official is not very clear about the reason for this matter, just parroting it. "It is said that if Li Shizhen hadn't strictly banned the sea, and the boards were not allowed to enter the water, they actually didn't need to find us."

"If it's only ten, we can try it out." After the Qiankun meeting, Hanliu might not be exposed, so Chen Shengwu, who has settled down a lot, has a different idea. You know, this matter is obviously The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. For the possible rebellion in Guangdong and Guangxi, Chen Shengwu will fight whatever he says. "But tell the other party, I'm afraid they won't be able to leave once, and they have to make a noise after the first batch left, otherwise, the second batch doesn't have to leave either."

Although four-wheeled carriages are very popular in Japan, the Japanese market is small, and those who are able to enjoy and need such enjoyment are only the names of more than a hundred Jiaoshen companies. Therefore, in order to open up the Japanese market, Zheng Kezang needs to find another one. As a stepping stone, he thought of the opium that had been made in China and was in dire straits.

Opium is made from the dried juice of poppies.Poppies were originally produced in Southern Europe and Asia Minor. In the Neolithic housing estate excavated in Switzerland in 4000 BC, archaeologists discovered the remains of seeds and fruits of poppy, and they belonged to artificial hybrid varieties. By 3400 BC In 2160, people in Mesopotamia had planted this crop on a large scale, and gave it the good name of "happy plant". At least in [-] BC, asparagus had become a veterinary and gynecological medicine.

When Zhang Qian was on a mission to the Western Regions in 139 BC, poppies were introduced to China through the ancient Silk Road.Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the Three Kingdoms period, used hemp seeds and poppy seeds to make Mafeisan; in the second year of Emperor Qianfeng (AD 667), there was a record of importing finished opium. At that time, this kind of opium produced in Arabia was called "A "Furong"; in the "Kaibao Materia Medica" published in the Northern Song Dynasty in 973 AD, opium was named poppy.

Thomas Sydenham, a 17th-century English physician and founder of clinical medicine, sang about opium: "I cannot help but sing aloud to the great God, Maker of all things, who brings comfort to human distress. There is no drug of such value as opium, either in the number of diseases it controls, or in the efficiency with which it eliminates it. Without opium, medicine would be but a lame man."Of course, this master of medicine also won the nickname of "Opium Philosopher". It can be seen that opium still existed as medicine until this time, and in the Ming Dynasty, opium was listed as a tribute from Portugal, the Netherlands and other countries.

Of course, the opium imported by the Ming Dynasty was raw opium obtained by directly drying the milk of poppy juice—this was also the main form of opium before the seventeenth century—raw opium was dark brown in color, bitter in taste, and had a stale smell. It smells like urine, so basically no one would think of using it for smoking. For this reason, Zheng Kezang is also a pioneer in East Asia.

The reason why Britain and the United States sell opium to China but not to Japan in different time and space is because China has a large number of commodity exports but does not need foreign commodity inflow, thus forming a "silver black hole". Japan is just the opposite. Japan lacks enough commodities and only has gold. And silver can be exchanged for foreign goods, thus creating different futures for the two countries.But now, on the one hand, Zheng Kezang just does not have enough commodities to open up the Japanese market in exchange for the gold and silver he needs, and on the other hand, he also wants to correct the track of history and ensure that China's fate in this era is no longer miserable.

Therefore, on May 39th, [-]th year of the Yongli calendar, Nagasaki's "Yangshengtang" opened for business. In the afternoon of this day, Tagawa Jirozaemon specially invited some daimyos and merchants including the Nagasaki magistrate, Tang Xingnian, and Kyushu. More than [-] people, including those present, were trained by the young women to serve these big guys to smoke the opium named "Fu Shou Gao".

"Mr. Tian Chuan, I am very optimistic about the prospect of this drug." After enjoying a dreamlike feeling, several big businessmen began to sit down and divide the big cake. "I suggest setting up Zhongjian immediately to specialize in the drug business. I don't know if the Tianchuan family is willing to give up this part of the interest."

"Isn't it impossible to give up the benefits?" Tian Chuan looked at the big businessmen in front of him. Their power is not something that his Tian Chuan family can resist, but he has a source of goods in hand, so he is not very frightened by it. He always asks for what he deserves Interests. "But I would like to ask a few of you, how should the family give up?"

"Although this thing is called Fushou Gao, it's actually just opium." The merchants are well-informed people, so they immediately played through the Tian Chuan family's cards. "Of course opium is a good medicine, but as far as I am concerned, I did not enjoy the ecstasy feeling mentioned by Mr. Tianchuan. Instead, I felt nausea and vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, lethargy and blurred vision. , This is a normal phenomenon, and I believe it will be fine if you smoke it a few times. However, there are not many people in Japan who are capable of smoking opium. They are usually city lords or quasi-city lords. Even ordinary warriors under [-] shi may not be able to enjoy opium for a long time. Mr. Tian Chuan, you need the royal merchants of each family to come forward, I believe you don't have the ability."

"Although the Tagawa family can expand the branches of Yangshengtang to all the towns and cities in Japan, how much capital will it cost? Where will the capital come from is a big problem." Another wealthy businessman continued. "How many people will accept it after it's opened, and how much time it will take to reap the benefits, and whether spending the same time and money can be exchanged for greater benefits in other areas, have the Tagawa family carefully considered it?"

"I understand all of these, so I sat down to discuss with a few of you calmly. Doesn't it mean that I will give up my interests for nothing?" Tagawa Jirozaemon responded sincerely. "It's one thing to earn more and less money, but it's another thing not to make money, so please give me a clear answer."

"I don't think it is necessary for the Tagawa family to directly manage the Nutrition Hall." Said the representative of the Kansai luxury merchants based in Nagasaki. "Still concentrate on the import of opium. Of course, after Nakama is established, there will be a place for the Tagawa family."

"I'm afraid this is not good." Tian Chuan frowned. "After all, most of the interests belong to Dongning."

"Of course we can't let the Tagawa family do it for nothing." The representatives of the wealthy merchants in the Kanto region knew that the price was not enough to tempt the Tagawa family. "In this way, whoever builds a health care hall or a commercial house with a similar purpose will pay the Tianchuan family [-] Zhu in one lump sum."

At that time in Japan, one tael (15 grams) of gold was combined into sixteen zhu, so 370 zhu gold was approximately equal to 66 five taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty. Although this amount was not large, it could not hold up to a large amount, but Tagawa was still not satisfied, so he Put forward a suggestion: "How many towns and cities are there in the 1 countries in the world, and how many towns and cities can open health care halls? How does the Tianchuan family know? How about this? All merchants who join the opium middle room pay an extra 0625 silver in addition to the opium price every year."匁 ([-] 匁 real weight [-] money)."

This turned the one-time income into a long-term income, but the initial investment was much reduced. Therefore, several businessmen looked at each other and responded: "Yes, but the consent of the shogunate and the main family must be obtained first."

"That's natural." Tagawa Jirozaemon nodded with a smile, so the matter was settled. Soon the phenomenon that Zheng Kezang expected appeared, and silver and gold began to pour into Dongning continuously.

The good news from Japan did not make Zheng Kezang naturally hope to underestimate the possibility of the return of the drug tide, so he immediately banned the officials and people in Dongning from taking opium on the grounds of implementing a monopoly. , Entraining and concealing opium at home will be exempted from hard labor for ten years, and those who commit crimes again will be punished."