Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 326: A Loyal and Patriotic Merchant (I)
When the people in Beijing who had a little bit of food in their pockets and didn't need to worry about food every day were all rushing to Tianjin, a meeting was also being held at the headquarters of the Ming Royal Bank.
"... Ladies and gentlemen, the above is the war report. In short, although the Siamese pirates have retreated, the Malacca route has been cut off. Before our navy defeats the main fleets of the two pirates , not to mention Malacca, even the South China Sea will become very unsafe. Therefore, this official recommends that the Ming Dynasty Maritime Trade and your own companies should not go out to sea for the time being."
The topic of today's meeting was set by Zhu Youdong himself: Ming Dynasty Wartime Economic Coordination Meeting. All the participants were the top merchants in Ming Dynasty.
On the surface, they were all civilians. But in the Ming Dynasty at that time, who could do business to this extent without some background?
In short, in the venue, apart from Huang Shijun from the Ministry of Revenue and Cheng Jiming from the Ministry of War who were ready to answer questions at any time, the wealth of everyone present was around one million yuan.
"Master Cheng, we know how the war is going. What I want to know now is where is the fleet of the Ming Dynasty? Why don't they gather together for a decisive battle as soon as possible? You know, now that sea trade has been cut off, the porcelain in my warehouse is not a big problem, but the maintenance of silk is too troublesome. Not to mention tea!"
"Yes, Master Cheng, we work hard every year on the sea, paying the customs duties and dividends to His Highness... a lot of money, a considerable part of which goes to the fleet. But these guys eat and drink well on weekdays, but when they are needed, they hide and don't fight! Hey~!"
"That's right, Mr. Cheng. We are all people with some assets in various provinces, but outsiders don't know. Don't you know? A large part of our assets are in goods. If we can't sell the goods, I might have to go out to beg on the street with my whole family tomorrow!"
"Dong dong dong~~!" Seeing that the wealthy merchants below were talking more and more nonsense, the young head of the Ministry of War Cheng Jiming was already a little overwhelmed. At first, Cao Sanxi, who had been sitting next to them with his signature smile and without saying a word, suddenly changed his expression and banged the table hammer hard.
In his early years, President Cao opened Fangshan Grocery Store and established Daming Maritime Trade. In recent years, he has run a bank and promoted the new currency. He has long been famous in the Daming business circle. Therefore, when he showed his power, the venue instantly became quiet.
"Everyone, why doesn't our fleet go out to fight the enemy? The Minister Cheng of the Ministry of War has already said it. Our first-class battleships are only half of the enemy's. How can we fight this battle? The situation in Chongmingsha has clearly shown that as long as our fleet is still there, it can play a great role in diversion. Wasn't it because of the efforts of General Yan that the Siamese bandits retreated this time? If everything is as you said just now, regardless of the relative strength of the enemy and us, and we foolishly gather our main forces to fight, what if we lose? Then we won't even have the power to divert the enemy!"
Cao Sanxi spoke, and the merchants present certainly did not dare to make a scene like they did to Cheng Jiming. However, it was their own wallets that suffered heavy losses due to the blockade of maritime trade, so no matter how powerful President Cao was, everyone still had to speak up.
"Well, President Cao, we are aware of the court's difficulties, but we are also good citizens of the country! We give His Highness so much dividends every year..."
"Nonsense! What do you mean you give the Crown Prince a share of the profits? It's more like the Crown Prince giving you a share of the profits! Over the years, it's fine that you were allowed to distribute things like soap, mirrors, penicillin, and streptomycin. Even for the three major items of silk, porcelain, and tea, if the Crown Prince hadn't organized you to purchase and sell them in a unified manner, would you have made the profits you have today? Not only did you take the Crown Prince's share of the profits, but you also didn't pay a penny of tax to the country! How can you be considered a good citizen of the country?"
As soon as Cao Sanxi said this, the smart people present understood what he meant.
"President Cao?" Xu Yuanzuo, a large landowner and businessman in Songjiang Prefecture, who had been cooperating with the crown prince for the longest time, was the first to react: "The court is having some difficulties with military expenses recently? Do you need us to donate money for military pay?"
As soon as Xu Yuanzuo said this, merchants from all over the country felt that they understood something.
To be honest, no one had any objection to donating money to help the war: if the war was not ended soon, everyone would have a hard time. As long as the amount the court asked for was not too exaggerated, everyone felt that it was acceptable.
What? You said that if sea trade is not working, we can just go back to enjoying the dividends of land or exporting to domestic sales? Hey! After seeing that sea trade can bring in tens of thousands , who the hell still wants to do a business that only makes a few hundred or a few thousand dollars a year?
"Humph! Although the country's fiscal revenue has not met the Crown Prince's expectations in recent years, didn't the country sell so many salt mines in the past two years? The court still has money for the war, so I won't bother you bosses."
"Uh, President Cao, if the court doesn't want us to donate money to help the war, what about today's meeting?"
“Dongdongdong~~”
After the gavel was struck again and the meeting room fell silent, Cao Sanxi cleared his throat.
"Today's meeting was organized by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness asked me to tell you three things."
The merchants present all stood up and said, "We respectfully listen to the orders of the Crown Prince."
"First, the Siamese and Japanese pirates are just clowns. They may be dangerous for a while, but they will eventually be destroyed. The country is now working hard to build new ships in the two major shipyards in the north and south. Once we regain control of the sea, it will be time for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to eliminate the two pirates.
Secondly, all of you who are present are important people in the lives of the people in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. I advise you to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic when the country is at war, and to ensure the stability of the prices of materials related to the people's livelihood, such as grain, oil, salt, meat, etc.
Third, if anyone dares to raise prices during a war, he will be executed after the war. If anyone actively stabilizes local prices during the war and contributes to social stability, after the war, the crown prince will open up the production technology of soap, cement, glass, mirrors and other materials to him..."
“Hiss~!”
If everyone felt that the first two clauses still had some official language, then the second half of this last clause was of course extremely attractive to the businessmen present!
"President Cao!"
Glancing at the merchants whose eyes had turned bloodshot, Cao Sanxi curled his lips coldly, then slammed the hammer again: "Everyone, please be patient. I haven't finished what I just said."
"Ah? Oh, yes, yes!" Many businessmen nodded quickly like chicks eating rice, and then they all did their best like primary school students in class: "Please continue, President Cao."
"Well... In addition to opening up production technology, His Highness will also grant these loyal and patriotic merchants machines that can increase production efficiency by dozens or even hundreds of times!"
