Songshang refers to merchants in the Kaesong area.

Bay merchants refer to Yiju merchants.

Among them, Uiju, where Bay Merchants is located, is the most powerful because it is close to the Yalu River and is the most convenient on land. It almost monopolizes overseas trade.

However, Songshang had previously supported the crown prince's enthronement in Pyongyang to counter the new king established by Hong Chengchou, so in recent years, his strength has gradually expanded.

Unlike the Shanxi merchants and Hui merchants of the Ming Dynasty, these two major chambers of commerce not only monopolized trade, but also performed government duties, such as tax collection, escort, corvee service, etc. In some places, they even had greater power than the government.

For example, almost all the eight tribute rice, which is related to Seoul's livelihood, are controlled and escorted by Taiwanese businessmen, and the North Korean government has no choice but to do anything.

Without it, because there are many reefs at the mouth of the Han River, the real boatmanship masters and route masters are all merchants in the sea. If the imperial court transports it, the losses will be heavy.

The king of Yue knew how powerful he was, so he summoned him.

When the two major chambers of commerce heard the invitation from the Ming Dynasty, although they were puzzled, they still sighed and did not dare to ignore it.

Trade with the Ming Dynasty was an important profit for the two major chambers of commerce.

"You two, I want food, a lot of food."

The King of Yue looked at the two shrewd businessmen and said in a deep voice without any hesitation.

"How much do you need?" Song Shang couldn't wait to ask: "One thousand stones, or five thousand stones. Although there is no business now, we can get you ten thousand stones in three days."

"Hmph, our businessmen in Taiwan can raise thirty thousand dan in three days. As long as we have a few more days, I can even raise fifty thousand."

The businessmen from Taiwan did not lag behind at all, stretching their necks and saying.

Seeing this, the King of Yue sighed in his heart: "He is indeed a wealthy businessman who controls a country. He is really extraordinary."

"To be honest, I need at least one hundred thousand stones——"

The expressions of the two businessmen changed.

"However, I don't need it urgently. It won't be too late to wait until after the summer harvest."

"As far as I know, North Korea's tribute to the Ming Dynasty is only 100,000 shi. What do you want with so much food?" the businessman said with a vigilant face.

"For the sake of founding the country!" Seeing the two of them acting like this, the King of Yue did not hide anything: "I am the King of Yue of the Ming Dynasty. Because I was granted the title of Ezo, I am planning to purchase some things in Korea."

As soon as these words came out, the two of them were shocked and then calmed down.

However, their attitude became more respectful, and their faces were full of fawning:

"I have long heard that His Highness was granted the title of Ezo, but I never thought that he would come to North Korea. This is our great luck."

"Whether it is wood, grain, cloth, ironware, etc., although my country is not as good as the country above, it can still be used. Your Highness, no matter what you say, as long as North Korea has it, we can send it to you."

The king of Yue was unconvinced.

During that period just now, he had a rough understanding of North Korea's prices.

The price of food in the imperial court was cheap, but the price of iron was expensive. Anything with a little bit of skill was more expensive in North Korea than in the Ming Dynasty.

For example, North Korea stumbledly managed to make a shotgun after getting help from some immigrants from Liaodong, but the quality was extremely poor.

Most of the goods imported into the Ming Dynasty were mink, otter, green mouse, leopard and other furs; sea cucumber, abalone, shrimp, fish, kelp and other dried seafood products.

And imported ones, such as scissors, tweezers, needles, bed stoves, cauldrons, suitcases, saddles, umbrellas, wooden chopsticks, abacus, combs, buttons, tobacco pouches, glasses, porcelain, wool paper, square paper, flint, fire sickle, and pens

, ink, inkstone, copper pot, tin pot, compass and other daily groceries.

To put it simply, North Korea imports more than it exports, so trade is naturally at a disadvantage.

After letting the two of them chatter for a while, he looked as usual and said slowly: "Where are the people?"

"Your Highness wants to take a concubine?"

"No, I'm referring to the common people, the farmers who work the land, the blacksmiths, the bamboo craftsmen, the carpenters, and even the scholars..."

The words of the King of Yue were like a heavy hammer, hitting their chests until they could no longer breathe.

Slave trading, large-scale slave trading, is this legal?

It's illegal and unconscionable.

Moreover, selling one's own people to other countries really tarnishes one's reputation and is immoral.

"Don't misunderstand——"

"My Yue Kingdom is in the Ezo Territory. It has a vast territory and sparsely populated areas. The most lacking thing now is the people."

The King of Yue said softly: "I need to secretly recruit some people to move there. You will be responsible for transporting them and publicizing this matter."

"There is no restriction on men and women, as long as they are not sick, I will give you two silver coins for each of you."

After hearing that it was not selling, but escorting, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Two dollars, such a huge profit, made their breathing quicken.

This price is equivalent to two taels of silver.

You must know that in North Korea, copper is expensive, silver is expensive, and gold is cheap. The value of silver is actually overvalued.

In the Ming Dynasty, the price of three shi of rice was enough to buy five or even six shi of rice in North Korea.

There is only a handful of silver on the market.

Just like foreign exchange in later generations, there is never too much.

The two returned to the house, found a group of people from the chamber of commerce, and agreed to such a business.

In fact, for the Bay merchants and the Song merchants, they were already connected to the North Korean yamen, and rent-seeking for power was just a piece of cake.

Besides, allowing a group of poor and unscrupulous people to make a living overseas can be considered a way of survival.

After convincing himself with such reasons, the King of Yue got what he wanted.

After the summer harvest, as long as those farmers paid off their debts, they were forced to go to Yue.

At that time, not only can you earn escort fees, but you can also occupy the land. It is simply killing two birds with one stone.

Rough conditions:

Before the end of June, Bay merchants and Song merchants escorted a thousand men and women.

In addition, the order also includes 20,000 shi of grain, 10,000 bolts of coarse cloth, 100,000 jins of pig iron, and 5,000 shi of cotton.

The total value is about 200,000 silver dollars, which can be said to be of high quality and low price.

After a few days of delay, the King of Yue hurriedly left North Korea and came to Tsushima Island.

This is the Kingdom of Tsushima among Japan's Sixty-Six Kingdoms, where the Daimyo of Tsushima is located.

Interestingly, as an island between North Korea and Japan, Tsushima Island is only a hundred miles away from North Korea, so it is a smuggling center from Japan to North Korea.

The Zong family has roots here.

It is precisely because of this that the Daimyo of Tsushima surrendered to Japan and North Korea at the same time, which was a vent under the official trade ban.

On Tsushima, the So clan could directly contact the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, thus eliminating the trouble of communication.

Although Japan was also forced to trade, in fact, like North Korea, it was only limited to Nagasaki, and the mainland was still a closed country.

At this time, in Tsushima Island and Imuhara Castle, the feudal lord Mune Yoshima frowned and was thinking about the construction of the oar gate for the Jinshi Museum of Isubara Castle.

The expense made him feel distressed.

On the surface, Tsushima Island has one hundred thousand koku, but in fact it relies mostly on trade. Years of land opening and tax reform have only increased it from eight thousand koku to ten thousand koku.

"Your Highness, the King of Yue from the Ming Dynasty came to Fuzhong Port——"

The governor in charge of Fuzhong Port couldn't wait to report.

"Ming Kingdom, King of Yue? Is he the son of the Ming Emperor?"

"Yes, I heard he is the fifth son."

"What are you doing in Tsushima Island?"

Zong Yizhen was stunned. He really didn't know what the Yue King meant.

However, it was a matter of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and Ming Dynasty was indeed the suzerainty of Japan, so he did not dare to slack off and left in a hurry.

You must know that Tokugawa Ietsuna, the shogunate, was just the king of Japan and the prince of the prefecture, while the King of Yue was a prince, with a higher rank than a general, and he could not tolerate neglect.

At this time, the King of Yue was looking at the port and suddenly caught a glimpse of a dock. He was surprised and said: "The small Tsushima Domain actually built a dock."

"This feudal lord has some abilities."

Soon, Zong Yizhen's face appeared in front of him.

Good guy, when we first met, he knelt down neatly and without any hesitation.

The interpreter changed his voice and said: "Your Majesty, this is the feudal lord of the Tsuima clan, Yoshizhin."

"Get back on your feet!" King Yue smiled, waved his hand and said, "The feudal lord is brave enough to actually build a dock."

"Xiaofan is only a few dozen miles away from North Korea, and it is difficult to travel without a boat." Zong Yizhen said respectfully.

Immediately, a group of people rushed the King of Yue into the mansion.

At this time, Zong Yizhen spoke Chinese, which surprised the King of Yue.
To be continued...