"You two gentlemen are very polite." Feng Ziying responded lightly, "In the past two years, the princes from the south of the Yangtze River have spent less time in the north. I went from the Hanlin Academy to Yongping Mansion, and from Yongping Mansion to Shuntian Mansion. Although
In the capital city, there are Dongting guild halls, Longyou guild halls, Huizhou guild halls and other Jiangnan guild halls, but we rarely see our Jiangnan merchants performing in the capital. This makes me surprised. Could it be that all Jiangnan merchants are interested in sea trade?
Are we ignoring our internal needs within the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
Weng Qiming and Weng Qiyang's hearts sank slightly. Although Feng Ziying seemed to be just a casual joke, it may not represent the views of some big shots in the DPRK.
Of course, the fact that Jiangnan merchants did not do business in Gyeonggi Province does not mean that business in Gyeonggi Province is not good, but it means that Jiangnan merchants did not speak out for the imperial court in the conflicts between the Jiangnan gentry and the court, and did not put forward their opinions in the so-called Jiangnan public opinion.
Different views and opinions.
Obviously, the imperial court was also very dissatisfied with this. Perhaps it was using Xiao Feng Xiuzuan's words to criticize Jiangnan merchants?
The public opinion in Jiangnan seemed to be at odds with the imperial court. The imperial court was facing many difficulties, so it specifically opened the sea ban and granted the power to develop the east side to Jiangnan merchants. In the view of the Weng brothers, this was actually a sign of goodwill.
However, the Jiangnan gentry had many demands from Jiangnan because of the financial difficulties of the imperial court, and they were particularly resentful about the increase in taxes, so they always seemed a bit aggressive.
For example, on the establishment of Huaiyang Town, on the special exemptions and exemptions required for additional taxes, on the quota of Jiangnan scholars in the Autumn and Spring Festival Competitions, and on the issue of the Nanjing Six Ministries requesting the court to grant greater authority.
Such high demands were difficult for the court to accept.
Because of this, over the past year or so, the relationship between the imperial court and the Six Ministries of Nanjing, which represented the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, had continued to tighten. Although the court later made some concessions, such as meeting some of the demands of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River in selecting the chief officials of the Six Ministries in Nanjing, it still
It was difficult to satisfy the public opinion of the Jiangnan gentry.
The Jiangnan merchants, who were caught between the Jiangnan gentry and the imperial court, were having a hard time.
For wealthy businessmen like the Weng brothers, they actually did not want to see the relationship between the imperial court and Jiangnan being too bad. There were still some differences between these merchants and the land-based gentry.
Although the two have always shown signs of blurring or infiltrating into each other, the gentry still relied on the continuous expansion of land as their basis, exerting influence on local governments through renting, controlling tenants and farm laborers, and clan control, coupled with their status as gentry.
, and some of them also run industry and commerce, but it is not fundamental, but incidental.
But these merchants who mainly focus on industry and commerce are different. It can be said that yarn mills, silk farms, tea factories, ceramic workshops, shipbuilding workshops, pharmaceutical workshops or fleets, warehouses, and trading houses are the foundation for their survival, no matter what.
Whether it is their business in the North, or outside the border wall or in Nanyang, Japan and Korea, they all need a strong government to protect them. From this perspective, they are extremely reluctant to take Jiangnan as their foundation.
However, relations with the imperial court were at loggerheads, which would directly affect their business in Beidi, Huguang and even overseas.
Those gentry who are based on land may not care about this, but they can't. If they lose the Beidi and Huguang markets, and lose the asylum of overseas courts such as Korea, Japan and Nanyang, their foundation will collapse. This is absolutely unacceptable.
Acceptable, this is also the main reason why Dongting merchants, mainly the Weng brothers, must come to the capital.
The Weng brothers saw clearly that the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River clamored to build Huaiyang Town. In fact, they also realized that without the protection of the army, one or two thousand Japanese pirates could land unscrupulously in the south of the Yangtze River or even march straight in. Facing the imperial army, the public opinion in the south of the Yangtze River would no longer be the same.
So what if it’s high?
But what can a Huaiyang town do? Can it still resist the imperial court and rule across the river? This is a big joke.
The officials in the Six Ministries of Nanjing who represented the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River could only wave their flags and shout for a while, but if they were really asked to take any substantive action, they would be afraid to shrink back.
"Your Majesty, your words are serious. Our Dongting Chamber of Commerce has always regarded the Northland as our foundation. Our shops along the canal, especially in Shandong and Beizhili, have increased a lot, and the iron materials, ironware and cement from Yongping Prefecture are now flowing in.
It is constantly transported to Jinling, Yangzhou, Songjiang and Ningbo, and we have a share of the credit for this."
Weng Qiyang glanced at his brother and quickly answered.
"Oh?" Feng Ziying glanced at Weng Qiyang. He didn't expect that Wang Shaoquan and Zhuang Limin would cooperate so closely with these Dongting businessmen, but he knew that iron, ironware and cement from Yongping Prefecture were being continuously shipped from Yuguan to the south.
transport.
Since iron and ironware are in short supply, and the quality of iron and ironware in Yongping Prefecture is higher than that produced in other places, and the price is not much higher than that of iron in other places, it is extremely popular, and cement is even more popular.
Needless to say, once it was launched, demand exceeded supply, and even the Northland itself was in great demand.
The reason for temporarily suppressing Northland's own demand is also Feng Ziying's advice to them. They must first seize the market, establish a brand image, open up the market first, and then come up with other things to meet the local market demand.
Due to the huge demand for cement, Wang Shaoquan and others started building a large-scale cement plant in Tianjin in March, which can continuously transport cement to Shandong through the canal, along the canal straight south, and at the same time, it can go out from Dagu to Hainan through the Wei River eastward.
Transported to the south of the Yangtze River.
This suggestion was also put forward by Feng Ziying. Tianjin is located in the Gyeonggi Pass and is a hub for canals and shipping. The importance of geographical location will become increasingly apparent as the steel and building materials industries in the North Zhili region begin to flourish.
It is urgent to build Tianjin as soon as possible. As the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, although Tianjin Wei is under the jurisdiction of Ji Town, the Acropolis is located at the intersection of Shuntian Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture. Once it is developed, it will definitely bring great benefits to the capital.
"Mr. Weng, there is a large volume of iron and cement transported from the north to the south?"
"Reporting to your lord, I dare not hide it. Before June, due to the output of Yongping Prefecture and the handling capacity of Yuguan Port, the transportation of iron and cement from the south was still limited. But after June, the transportation of iron and cement from Tianjin Acropolis was limited.
The cement workshop was completed and put into operation. The main transportation of iron materials and ironware from Yuguan Port was changed. The main transportation of cement from Tianjin Wei was divided into two lines: canal river transportation and Dagu sea transportation. The transportation volume is large.
Increase, now the demand for cement in Shandong and even Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Yangzhou is huge. Tianjin Wei's cement production cannot meet it at all. The cement shipped from Dagu is often sold out in Denglai and has to be shipped to Suzhou, Songjiang, and Ningbo.
It’s basically difficult, let alone in Huguang. Even if the price rises a lot, it’s still the same price but no market..."
When talking about this incident, the Weng brothers were filled with emotion.
In the past, goods shipped from the south to the north were often filled with warehouses, but cargo ships from the north to the south often had difficulty in getting enough goods. Generally, they could only be iron materials and dried dates. Chestnuts are local specialties, and there were relatively few bulk goods.
The demand for iron materials and ironware is also very high in the north, so the quantity shipped to the south cannot be guaranteed.
But now the production capacity of iron materials and ironware in the north, mainly Yongpingfu and Shuntianfu, has greatly increased. Coupled with the emergence of a new product called cement, bulk goods transported to the south have become abundant. Moreover, iron materials, ironware, and cement are both heavy goods.
It forms a perfect match with the grain and cloth transported from the north.
Therefore, since this year, not only the number and volume of cargo ships on the canal have increased significantly, but also the number of shipping vessels from Ningbo, Songjiang, Jinling and Yongping, Shuntian and Denglai via sea routes have also increased sharply. In addition, Yuguan, Dagu and
Denglai is vigorously building dock berths, which further stimulates businessmen to increase their investment in shipping.
Dongting merchants headed by the Weng brothers were the first to discover this business opportunity, so they quickly cooperated with merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi. Feng Ziying encouraged the south-to-north transportation of grain, so they contacted Huguang merchants to transport grain southward from Huguang via the Yangtze River, or directly transported it
To transport it from Hebei, you can either go directly to the sea and transport it northward, and then transport the lime and ironware southward.
Because of Feng Ziying's request, the Shanshan and Shaanxi merchants simply joined forces with the Dongting merchants to conduct barter trade. Iron materials and cement were exchanged for rice and wheat. Of course, they were still priced in silver. They were all heavy goods, almost all of which were fully loaded, and the quantity requirements were high.
It is also almost infinite, so the number of fleets on this route has also tripled.
This is also the reason why Feng Ziying is willing to think highly of Dongting merchants and Anfu merchants but is not satisfied with those merchants in Yangzhou and Huizhou. Dongting merchants and Anfu merchants both know that they can actively serve the country's plans while making money. You Yangzhou merchant
Apart from being stuck in salt, what else did Huizhou merchants do besides hoarding grain?
The merchants of Shanxi and Shaanxi were also guilty of original sin. From the Ming Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, they had always been in collusion with the Mongols and Jurchens. However, under their own guidance and "coercion and inducement", they have gradually shifted from trading merchants to industrial merchants.
Steel, coal, cement, shipbuilding and other industries have begun to get involved, and investment has been huge. It can be said that in this time and space, the eight notorious Shanxi merchants in the previous time and space have begun to transform and start to engage in business, and there is a possibility of collusion with Jianzhou Jurchen
It cannot be said that there is no such thing, but the mainstream has been held back by itself. If a very small number of people still persist in their evil ways, they will really have no choice but to seek their own death.
"Two gentlemen, this is a good thing. As far as I know, Tianjin Wei's cement workshop is still expanding and will double or even triple in size next year. By then, the markets along the canal and along the coast will
All can be greatly improved, but this needs to be established in a stable social environment without major disturbances, don't you think?" Feng Ziying looked at the group of Dongting businessmen headed by Weng Qiming and Weng Qiyang.
