On the fourth day of February in the fifteenth year of Jianji, it was sunny in Wudi County.
Just after the first lunar month, small groups of sailors gathered at the dock, waiting for the river to thaw before going out to sea with their ships.
As soon as they arrived, all the shops started to open their doors.
Everyone knows that those who make a living at sea are the most generous with their money, so you have to deceive them into getting the money they have to work for.
As a result, the wine shops used different tricks to attract customers, the girls from the prostitutes went out with their legs weak to empty the toilets, and the gambling stalls became even more smoky, with the lights on all night long.
Who would have thought that this place was still a battlefield more than ten years ago, and that Master Wang and Lu Yanwei were fighting again and again?
All gone, the world has changed.
"This time we go to sea, let's go north again." Inside the teahouse, Wang Heizi, the boss of the ship, said.
"Listen to Heizi!"
"Sanlang, you have the final say."
"You are the leader of the ship, and everyone listens to you."
The people summoned by Wang Heizi said one after another.
Wang Heizi laughed loudly and said: "Shop, please bring some snacks."
Everyone applauded.
Wang Heizi glanced at everyone one by one and was very satisfied.
I think back then, he was hanging out with others and doing some chores on the ship.
Going to sea was very profitable, and he was a smart man. After saving some money, he got sponsorship from the elders of the family, bought a boat in Qingzhou, and became the captain himself - this title was passed down from the saints, I heard.
Speaking of my overseas career in the past two years, there are mixed feelings.
He was happy that he was now the master of his own family. Apart from sharing the profits he earned from going to sea with the elder of the clan who sponsored him, the rest was at his own disposal, which was very satisfying.
Sadly, more and more people are going to sea.
Take this tea shop where sailors often gather. A few years ago, there could only be one or two tables, but now it can hold six or seven tables. The business of the shop is booming, and the store has even been expanded. They even married two concubines in one go.
The eldest wife helps out in the kitchen together - there are two more free cooks, and they can sleep with him at night, which is so beautiful!
Another annoying thing is that the price of marine fish is getting lower and lower.
The most deceptive thing is the turtle head! You can catch it without going out to sea, and the quantity is huge. The price of marine fish has gone down, which is mostly due to the turtle head.
Of course, the increasing number of fishing boats out to sea is also a factor that cannot be ignored.
Some changes are not well understood by outsiders, but they are all too clear to insiders. The trend that the saint inadvertently set off gradually penetrated into every detail of people's lives after ten years of subtle influence.
In Wudi County and even in Texas, if anyone hires masons to build a house or carpenters to make furniture, they won't work well if they don't have turtle heads to eat - the owner is too stingy and I won't like it!
The store owner quickly brought the snacks over, pointed to two plates of raisins, and said, "Wang Heizi, I haven't seen you here for a long time, so I specially prepared Gaochang raisins. Isn't that interesting?"
"It's full of nonsense." Wang Heizi laughed loudly and said, "You are so stingy that you still buy Gaochang raisins? They are probably collected from the countryside."
The shopkeeper's lie was exposed, and he looked a little embarrassed. He left behind a sentence of "I haven't settled the debt for touching my concubine's butt yet" and left in a daze.
Everyone laughed again.
Wang Heizi put away the smile on his face and pressed his hands down, causing everyone to stop laughing.
"All the people here this time are good people." Wang Heizi looked at everyone and said, "So I plan to go further north."
"Sanlang, where do you want to run?" someone asked.
"Go north and take a look at the coastal waters of Kishu. Think of a way -" At this point, Wang Heizi paused, lowered his voice and said, "Catch a big fish!"
In the mouth of sailors, "big fish" means whale, and it is also the most valuable catch - or prey.
"Sanlang wants to be an official."
"Isn't this... dangerous?"
"Mother-in-law, the bow of the boat said to catch big fish, so we will catch big fish. The fish is docile and doesn't eat people, so what are you afraid of?"
"I heard from others that the big fish is as high as a mountain, which is really scary."
…
The sailors were talking a lot and had different expressions.
"Useless trash!" Wang Heizi scolded with a smile and said, "I already know the secrets of catching big fish, so listen to me. As long as you make one, we will be able to live comfortably for a long time."
It is said that ever since someone successfully caught a live whale, various tips on whaling began to be circulated among captains - of course at a cost.
The captain who came back from buying the news studied the details day and night, putting himself in his shoes and thinking about the most reasonable way to kill a huge whale.
Experience is enriched little by little.
The details are also perfected bit by bit.
Everything is difficult at the beginning, but as long as you stay on the right track and form positive feedback, you can't underestimate people's wisdom. They will go very far on this road and do better than you imagine, without any guidance from you.
Shao Shude promoted the development of the marine industry without relying on administrative orders. However, over the past ten years, the number of sailors gathered in various ports has increased year by year, and navigation technology has also improved to a considerable extent. Even the ships have been iterated several times.
Nowadays, the ships built by private people are not much worse than those built by the government. If you give them enough money, they can even build a ship that surpasses the "Haijiao".
Someone once joked that if a saint recruited sailors, they would be able to recruit 10,000 sailors at their fingertips. After careful training, they would all be qualified sea warriors.
The reason is also very simple. With a good mass base and deep soil, we can naturally select the best from the best.
On the other hand, if you do not have a large maritime population base, not only will there be insufficient recruitment of sailors, but there may not even be enough shipbuilding craftsmen.
Take a look at the shipbuilding workshops that have sprung up in Daxia in recent years. They represent two things: production capacity and cost.
The more craftsmen there are, the greater the production capacity, the lower the cost, and the cheaper the ship price. These, in turn, can stimulate the development of the marine industry and promote the advancement of navigation technology. Everything is complementary to each other.
"On the bow of the ship, whales are hard to come by. This matter..." someone said.
"Peng!" Wang Heizi slapped the table and gritted his teeth and said, "Don't say anything depressing. I have prepared several crossbows. Are you telling me this?"
Everyone was shocked, Wang Heizi was such a wild man, he could actually get hold of more than one crossbow.
"If you can't catch whales, then hunt people." Wang Heizi said viciously: "Go to Sakhalin Island, capture the savages, and send them to Muzhou to sell to the soldiers. Some soldiers can't wait for the court to arrange the troops. As long as there are people
, they are willing to pay for it.”
In the Tang Dynasty, Sakhalin Island was called "Sakhalin Island" or "Ku Shuo".
Everyone swallowed subconsciously, Wang Heizi was really ruthless.
Sakhalin Island is isolated overseas, but not far away. From an administrative point of view, this place does not belong to Liaodong Road, which means it is not royal land at all. So the savages on the island are naturally not royal people.
"Damn it, you deserve it, Wang Heizi, for getting rich, you did it!"
"If the soldiers dare to buy it, we will sell it."
"In the past, some people plundered the slaves of Goryeo and sold them. The king of Goryeo sued them all to Chang'an. Tang Yizong just issued an edict to prohibit it. No one who did this was held accountable."
"Who will complain on behalf of the savages? Haha!"
Wang Heizi smiled with satisfaction and invited everyone to drink tea.
He had a hunch that as more and more people went to sea, sooner or later someone would do such a sinful thing.
In fact, someone has already done this. He is not the first, and he will not be the last.
The main buyers are Liaodong's soldiers, who usually buy them back as slaves. If they meet beautiful women, they will even become concubines.
The soldiers would not pay for it directly, and they didn't have much money. They usually exchanged it for skins, medicinal materials, and wild goods. If they brought these back to the Central Plains, they could make a fortune.
Whaling depends on luck, but hunting people, haha, the chance of success is still relatively high.
****
The Prime Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Zhe Congyi came to Wudi.
This river and sea transport city is actually an important base for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It has an imperial village, warehouses, docks, workshops, and barracks - for the young soldiers who grew up in the imperial village to live. They are the members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
It is an important escort armed force.
Zhe Congyi came from Luoyang, mainly to rush for a batch of supplies - dried meat.
During the Sage's Western Expedition, the army consumed a lot of money, and the government and merchants worked hard to transport supplies day and night. As an institution created by the Sage, if the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not show any signs of it, it would be too lacking in political sensitivity.
Normal grain and meat can be purchased and transported in Liangzhou, but it is only for military supplies. What about the saint's share?
Unmentioned, among the several ships that arrived at Wudi Port in late October last year, they were loaded with venison and sea fish that the saint loved to eat.
Taking advantage of the cold weather in winter, the Ministry of Internal Affairs transferred a batch of goods to the west at any cost. Now Zhe Congyi has come to supervise the second batch.
"Zhefu Cheng."
"Fu Cheng."
After entering the workshop gate, people saluted one after another.
With a smile on her face, Zhe Congyi returned the gifts one by one.
He enjoys every day in the Ministry of Internal Affairs because he can see so many new and novel things. Moreover, the oil and gas here is really rich, and getting your hands on it is a great benefit.
In the fourteenth year of Jianji's reign, the Bohai Trading Co., Ltd., run under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, made a very impressive profit of 69,000 yuan. According to the rules, it paid out 30,000 yuan as a dividend, and received another 30 yuan per share. Everyone praised it.
Thinking back a few years ago, when Bohai Trading Company paid dividends for the first time, some people didn't take it seriously. But when shareholders could receive dividends every year, Bohai Trading Company's reputation suddenly became established - occasionally paying dividends for a year, and
Paying dividends every year is definitely two concepts.
Nowadays, the dignitaries in Luoyang say that Liaodong is a treasure house, and they all ask if there are any similar opportunities to make a fortune. To this, Zhe Congyi just wants to say: "Why did you go there so early?"
But they still have a chance.
Zhe Congyi looked at the crowds of people in the workshop and knew in his heart that they were over-staffed and were cultivating relevant talents for Annan Trading Company.
Until today, the establishment of Annan Trading Co., Ltd. has basically been completed.
There is no resistance. On the contrary, everyone is looking forward to completing the establishment as soon as possible so that they can subscribe for shares and keep them as family heirlooms at home. The dividend may not be a big sum of money, but it is long-lasting and legal, so people are naturally attracted to it.
Annan Trading Co., Ltd. still has one thousand shares. As for how to allocate them, it is up to the saint to decide. Zhe Congyi has received the news that Annan Trading Co., Ltd. will be established by the middle of this year at the latest and will settle in Annan. Make preparations for it next year.
Officially opened at the beginning of the year.
Saints really have the power to turn decay into something magical.
More than ten years ago, some people still said that there were frequent rebellions in Liaodong, and troops were stationed every year, which was very expensive, and they suggested "reinhibiting it". But now no one talks such nonsense.
The cost of garrisoning is the imperial court's money. What's none of your business? The Ministry of Household Affairs and the nobles sit on the ground and divide the money. Who dares to say that we should give up Liaodong? Let's get rid of him together.
In order to completely prevent anyone from saying bad things, the saint planned to distribute the dividends from the 200 shares owned by the Hubu as welfare for officials working in Beijing above the fifth rank.
Anyway, the dividend of 200 shares is only 6,000 cents, which is nothing to the Ministry of Household Affairs. It is better to use it and distribute it to the officials to provide benefits, so that they will be embarrassed to open their mouths when they want to complain.
Every time I think about this, Zhe Congyi wants to laugh.
You are noble and great, do you want to take this money?
Okay, if you don't want the Bohai Trading Company, then do you want the Annan Trading Company? In the future, it is possible to form a Yunnan Trading Company or a Western Region Trading Company, but you don't want them? Then you must be prepared to be slandered by your wife and children, and life will be difficult.
The workshop is still busy.
Pieces of venison and fish were sorted according to size and put into jars. After some time, when the Yellow River was open to navigation, they were sent to the front line. The quantities were not large, but they were all filial piety from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"Do a good job." Zhe Congyi turned around, looked at the officials of all sizes who were following him, and said: "There are a lot of vacancies in Annan Trading Company waiting for you. Whoever does a good job can go.
Taking up a position in the society is what the saint personally promised. Stop hanging around here and go to work quickly."