Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 105 Comprehensive Layout
After seeing off Yan Siqi and Li Guozhu, the operation of Nanhua Palace began to accelerate significantly.
First, Zhu Youdong issued a grandson's order to the officials in Nanjing: The emperor sent me here to take charge, not just to take charge. However, I am still young and need more time to learn. Therefore, I set a rule here that Nanjing will hold a ten-day meeting every ten days. The participants are the eunuchs, the meritorious officials, the six ministers, the left censor of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, etc. At the meeting, officials at all levels will report on matters that are difficult to judge or require assistance from other departments. The grandson will make the judgment. If you are not satisfied with the judgment, you can report it directly to the Beijing Tongzhengsi.
Anyway, I have a lot of things to do, and I am too lazy to compete with you for power and profit. I will just show up every ten days.
As soon as this order came out, many officials in Nanjing breathed a sigh of relief: It seemed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not going to interfere in the Nanjing officialdom in a rude manner.
The second thing was to send Cao Huachun to Yingtian Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture to exchange the imperial farms. The two prefects were very happy about the request made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and they hurriedly handled it.
The third was that Zhu Youdong personally found Xu Honggang and asked him to transfer Li Ruzhang, who had just been transferred from Yansui, from the former deputy governor of the Military Governor's Office to the governor-general of the Yangtze River.
The Caojiang Admiral in the Ming Dynasty can be understood as the commander of the inland fleet in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. When the Ming Dynasty established its capital in Nanjing, this position was extremely important. After the imperial capital moved north, this inland fleet quickly degenerated into a group of pirates.
Well, calling them pirates is still an exaggeration. They just rely on their military power and status in the imperial court to collect protection fees from merchant ships passing through the Yangtze River in the name of investigating smuggling. They usually don't kill people.
In short, the combat effectiveness of this fleet is now very poor, and the equipment is outdated. The only benefit is that it can make money.
When Zhu Youdong made this request to Xu Honggang, Xu Honggang was still thinking: The Crown Prince is indeed the same as the rumors say, he loves money very much. He doesn't even let go of this little bit of blackmail.
But the Nanjing Ministry of War is not a good thing either: they have to take a share of money from Admiral Caojiang every year!
Therefore, after a round of mercenary bargaining between the emperor and his minister, and after Zhu Youdong promised to increase the annual share of 10,000 taels of silver allocated to the Nanjing Ministry of War to 20,000 taels after Li Ruzhang took office as the governor of Caojiang, Xu Honggang nodded in agreement.
Alas, the monarchy is weak, and he has to bargain with his ministers to arrange for someone to a certain position. These civil officials are really too much! You just wait for me!
"Your Highness, I have fought on horseback all my life and have never been good at naval warfare. This time, I almost vomited on the boat crossing the river when I went south. How can I be the Admiral of Caojiang?"
"It's okay, Uncle Li. Just vomit more and you'll get used to it."
What to do? The grandson considered himself a junior, so no matter how miserable Li Ruzhang looked, he could only force out a helpless smile.
"I asked you to be the Admiral of Caojiang for a reason."
"Your Highness, please explain clearly ."
"Well... although you have been in Yansui these years, you should have heard of the products produced in my Honghe Manor, right?"
"Of course. The telescope in my hand was given to me by Shizhong."
"I have asked Daban to take over Fangshan. Whatever Honghe Manor had before, Fangshan will also produce in the future. Whatever it didn't have before, Fangshan will also develop. All the output will still follow the old rules, and your Li family will own 10% of the shares."
"I understand. I will firmly control the Yangtze River Navy. I will not let these ruffians cause trouble to the Crown Prince's caravan."
“This is just one of them.”
"Please speak, my Lord. I am all ears."
"Hmm..." Zhu Youdong stretched his body in his chair and waved his hand: "Come closer to me."
When Li Ruzhang came close, Zhu Youdong whispered, "I have already contacted the Ming Dynasty merchants who are wandering in Japan. When the time comes, I will control the silk, tea, and porcelain trade in the entire Yangtze River Delta. Do you know how to do it?"
"Hiss~~" After thinking for a long time, Li Ruzhang couldn't help but take a breath. He looked up at Zhu Youdong with a look of fear.
Although they have been fighting for their whole lives, the Li family is now the first military family in the Ming Dynasty. As the saying goes, a tall tree attracts the wind, and with such glory, they can't just bury their heads and be a simple warrior. Therefore, the men of the Li family understand the twists and turns of the officialdom to some extent. But it is precisely because he has figured it out that Li Ruzhang is a little trembling.
Zhu Youdong's words have the following meanings:
First, I invited a group of pirates to be the villains. From now on, anyone who trades silk, tea, and porcelain along the Yangtze River will be killed by these pirates. Of course, they deserve it. The court now only allows legal overseas trade in Yuegang. If you do this in the Yangtze River estuary, it is smuggling. In short, from now on, only my grandson will be allowed to smuggle, or those who have colluded with him to form a profit group will be allowed to smuggle . Others should report to the Dragon King of the East China Sea.
Secondly, getting you to the position of Admiral Caojiang to ensure that Fangshan's various goods can be smoothly distributed throughout the country along the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal is only one aspect. More importantly, you have to provide this group of pirates with a legal identity. When necessary, you must also provide protection for this group of pirates - after all, the Ming Navy fleet in Funing Town, Fujian, under the command of Yu Dayou's son Yu Zigao, is quite combat-capable. If the pirate gang under His Royal Highness the Crown Prince accidentally gets into trouble and is targeted by Yu Zigao, you will be responsible for cleaning up the mess.
Third, when necessary, throw out all the soldiers who have no fighting ability and can only extort money, and let the outstanding cadres in the pirate groups take up posts in the Yangtze River Fleet.
What a cruel prince! How many people does he want to kill?
But doing this seems very exciting?
"Your Highness, rest assured. Ever since Shizhong and Chunzhong came to your side, my Li family has become one with the Crown Prince. I know how to do it. Please rest assured, Your Highness, within two months, I will definitely complete all the relevant arrangements for Chongmingsha and other four sandbanks."
After Li Ruzhang left, Zhu Youdong called Cao Sanxi again.
"When I was fighting Yan Siqi and Li Guozhu, I asked you to listen in. You should understand what I meant, right?"
"I understand. The Crown Prince not only wants to make money at home, but also abroad."
"Well, in the future, when it comes to contacting Yan and Li, Li Ruzhang will be the main military officer, and you will be the main economic officer. What I mean is to set up a Ming maritime trade company. I will own 40%, Li Guozhu's family will own 30%, Yan Siqi will own 10%, Li Ruzhang will own 10%, and you will own 10%. "
"I understand. I will make sure to sort out the accounts. Your Highness, please put it down. As long as this list is done, Nanhua Palace will earn at least one million taels of silver every year!"
"Very good, but speaking of money, how much capital do we have now?"
"Your Highness is traveling south from Beijing this time, and I have prepared 400,000 taels of silver. Old Wei said that since Your Highness has decided not to produce glass in Honghe Village, he can only provide 300,000 taels of silver per year. We have been in the south for almost two months, and the first 100,000 taels have been received. In addition, Lord Sun said that he would provide 600,000 taels per year. The first 100,000 taels have also been received. After deducting some expenses in Nanjing, I still have 594,300 taels in my hand."
"Well... Sanxi, let's arrange it this way. Spend 200,000 taels on Fangshan to set up various workshops as soon as possible and resume production as soon as possible."
"Yes, Fangshan has started to produce in the past two months. However, the workshop is not fully built, so the production capacity has not yet been increased. I estimate that by the end of this year at the latest, Fangshan will be able to provide Your Highness with more than 500,000 taels of silver every year."
"It's still too slow. The profits from soap, candles, and bone china are already very thin. A little production capacity is enough at Fangshan Base. The main production location of these things should still be in Honghe Village. We mainly produce various types of glass and mirrors here."
"That's what I had planned. But, Grandson, these are just small things. If we want to quickly accumulate silver so that we can submit it to the Emperor for coinage in a few years, we still have to make money at sea. After all, no matter how hard Honghe Manor and Fangshan try, their production capacity is still far from enough compared to the silk, tea, and porcelain of the entire Ming Dynasty."
"I know this. Of the two hundred thousand , how much can really be spent on building the workshop? It's mainly for Xu Guangqi and Zhao Shizhen. If Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi want to roam the sea in the future, they can't do without strong ships and powerful guns!"
"I understand."
"After Li Ruzhang cleans up those places on Chongming Sandbar, hire a group of people to build a dock there and rebuild the wharf. Let's budget 100,000 taels first."
"Yes, I've made note of it."
"Allow another 100,000 taels to be given to Liu Zhaosun at the Boy Camp on the north side of Fangshan. That is my base."
"Yes, I obey your command."
"Prepare another 100,000 taels and give it to Mr. Zhang Yicheng."
"Uh... Your Highness, the subordinates in front all understand and think it should be done. But what are you going to do with so much money from Mr. Zhang?"
"Hehe, Mr. Zhang's matter is very important. Although we have to invest money in it for a long time, we will see the results one day."
