As an important figure who assisted Emperor Yonglong in winning the final battle for the throne, King Zhongshun certainly understood the entanglements and conflicts of interest involved. He also understood how wide the scope and weight of the sea-opening strategy would be once it was rolled out.
How heavy.
He is now Emperor Yonglong's right-hand man, but more importantly, he serves as a link in Emperor Yonglong's intelligence system, cooperating with Long Jinwei. At the same time, he will also help Emperor Yonglong in dealing with the Supreme Emperor, Prince Yi Zhong, and even others who may attack Yonglong.
The emperor's brothers and brothers judged and analyzed the threats posed by the emperor and made suggestions.
But he also knew very well that as Emperor Yonglong's throne became more stable, and when the Supreme Emperor passed away and there was no longer a threat to Emperor Yonglong's throne, his importance would be greatly reduced, and this time would not take long.
Therefore, if you can find a "career" that is more suitable for you to participate in before then, or that your son can also participate in, it will undoubtedly make the importance of your lineage continue longer. If it can continue to the future after Emperor Yonglong, he
After his son succeeds to the throne, it will be the best.
"..., Yinzhuang not only provides monetary loan support for Denglai's navy and trade, but also follows the court's strategy, such as Nanyang Maritime Trade. If the scale of the fleet needs to be expanded, a new tea plantation and porcelain kiln will need to be built.
Zhuang can also provide support..."
King Zhongshun is very business-minded.
His Mingyue Tower is currently the second-best theater in the capital after Daguan Tower. In addition to seizing Jiang Qiguan as the number one player, King Zhongshun also put a lot of thought into its management.
Of course, he also had an advantage, using the pretense of understanding social conditions and public opinion to benefit private interests, but just because someone would use his brain like this, Feng Ziying felt that this prince was not simple, at least he was not a pedantic fool.
Many people can't see the benefits of banking, but because of the lending business involved, everyone can also see the risks involved. Many people haven't figured out how to avoid and reduce this risk.
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King Zhongshun must also be able to see some of the mystery in this, but it depends on how he views it.
"Ziying, let's discuss the matter of Yinzhuang in detail when we come down, but I will definitely follow the emperor's opinion and support all his decisions. Well, now I want to know more about this pair of Liaodong couples.
, for North Korea, for Japan, and even for the more distant Ezo Territory, Haixi and Savage Jurchen trade that you mentioned, well, you just mentioned exclusive maritime trade, well, what does this mean?"
Compared with ordinary merchants, King Zhongshun undoubtedly has a higher and further vision. After all, he has been by the emperor's side for many years and has mostly dealt with Long Jinwei and important officials in the court. His knowledge and judgment ability are much better than those of ordinary merchants.
Compared with ministers, he does not have as many restrictions and restrictions as civil servants, and his thinking is more inclined to merchants.
So the combination of the two made him immediately smell a word coined by Feng Ziying - exclusive rights to maritime trade.
The strategy for opening up the sea mentioned that sea trade routes could be opened up by paying a charter fee to the court, but now there is an exclusive right to sea trade, which is obviously more exciting.
"Your Majesty, this exclusive right to sea trade does not refer to Liaodong, North Korea and Japan. These sea trade routes have actually been included in the imperial court's strategy of opening up the sea. The exclusive right to sea trade I am talking about refers to the exclusive rights to Ezo and Japan.
The Haixi Jurchens and Savage Jurchens, these routes are still blank. They need capable people to provide people, ships, money, and even weapons to explore. Even after finding the routes, they need to establish bases and trading stations, and
These Yeyi people, Haixi Jurchens and Barbarian Jurchen tribes have signed many trade agreements. Well, to put it bluntly, they represent the imperial court and go to the front station to clear the way..."
King Zhongshun nodded slightly and expressed understanding: "Ziying, what do you mean is that you may continue to invest manpower, material and financial resources in the early stage, but you may not see any benefits in the short term?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, you should understand how difficult it is to open up a new maritime trade route. Many people and ships may be lost, but once this route is found, there will naturally be a lot of money, but other people may also
will follow, what about the upfront investment? So as long as this happens, the court will grant it exclusive rights to maritime trade for a certain period of time, such as three, five, or even ten or twenty years after the route is discovered.
It depends on its difficulty, but no matter what, we must ensure that the first discoverer will receive generous rewards, otherwise who will do such a thing in the future?"
Feng Ziying talked eloquently.
If King Zhongshun is willing to take the initiative to intervene in this matter, Feng Ziying would be happy to do so.
The future connection between Ezo and Haixi and the Barbarian Jurchens by sea is not only considered from the perspective of commercial interests, but more importantly, it is to set fire to the Jianzhou Jurchen backyard.
At this point, even if the imperial court spends money, it must be done.
Of course, it would be better if there are businessmen who are willing to take the lead in opening the way, and the condition the court can provide is the exclusive right to trade for a certain period of time, which will also make many people excited.
"It is not limited to Ezo and Haixi, the Savage Jurchens, and may even include places further away and undiscovered. As long as it can bring benefits to the court, the court will not hesitate to give generous rewards. The court also wants to establish a
With such a model, money may even be spent in the future to support this kind of discovery that is almost an adventure..."
This is almost the prototype of a colonization company. Of course, in the early stage, we will focus on trade, but later on, it will depend on the situation.
King Zhongshun leaned forward slightly to show how seriously he took this matter: "Ziying, please tell me the truth. Has this matter started? In addition, if I intend to participate, how should I operate it?
"
"The prince really intends to participate?" Feng Ziying asked deliberately: "This needs to be considered carefully. The initial investment is huge, and once you participate, if you want to quit halfway, you will probably suffer huge losses, and it will also ruin the prince's reputation.
, in other similar situations in the future, people may not welcome the prince."
King Zhongshun gritted his teeth and said, "I have decided that I will follow the emperor's brother regarding the Yin Zhuang matter, but I find the exclusive rights to sea trade very interesting. Well, the risks are high, but the rewards are even greater.
Ziying, with regard to the situation in Ezo, Haixi Jurchen, and the Savage Jurchen, please don’t bully me, because I want to move all the coffins."
"Your Majesty is joking, how can you get into the eyes of your Majesty with a little money? For a Mingyue Tower, your Majesty will spend no less than 80,000 taels of silver, right?" Feng Ziying said with a smile.
"Hmph, Ziying, if you don't mention this, I'll almost forget that I just bought Mingyue Tower, and after all the hard work, you pulled a bunch of people to build a Daguan Tower. Are you deliberately giving me
Are you fighting alone in the arena?" King Zhongshun became angry when he thought of this, and the reputation of Daguan Tower is now greater than that of Mingyue Tower, and the two companies are also rivals in business, and they are evenly matched.
"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong." Feng Ziying said, "Ziying just wants to ask, after Daguan Tower opened, it was inseparable from Mingyue Tower, but has Mingyue Tower's business declined? No, in fact, not only Mingyue Tower
The business of Yanzi Building and Yaoliang Pavilion should also be affected, but according to Ziying’s understanding, they have not been affected, and are even better.”
King Zhongshun was startled and couldn't help but nod. This was indeed the case. The person in charge of management came to tell him. He still didn't believe it, but he couldn't think of a reason.
"Ziying, what's the reason for this?"
"Without him, the competition between Mingyue Tower and Daguan Tower has made our business even better. With Jiang Qiguan in Mingyue Tower and Liu Xianglian in Daguan Tower, the two stars competing for glory have made this business very popular in the capital city.
, there are more people who like to watch and listen to operas, the entire group has expanded, and the four major families are more famous. Naturally, distinguished customers will go to these families, and the business will be better." Feng Ziying laughed, "This
It’s called win-win.”
"A win-win situation?" King Zhongshun said if he had any idea, "Then Ziying, if you participate in this adventure and enjoy exclusive maritime trade rights, will it also be a win-win situation?"
"As expected, Your Majesty saw it clearly. As for His Majesty alone, I estimate that Your Majesty may not be capable of this. We need to explore, find routes, and build commercial stations and trade lines. This cannot be done with money alone. Someone has to have a ship.
And they are people who can sail and dare to take risks on the sea. In addition, crew members, interpreters, and craftsmen are indispensable. If the prince really wants to do this, it is best to cooperate with maritime merchants, and maritime merchants are also happy to work with people like the prince.
To cooperate with such people, you can even choose other people who are also interested in this industry. After all, this industry has high risks and investment. Only if everyone jointly contributes money and people to run this business can it last long." Feng Ziying smiled, "
This is also a win-win situation, and it is a win-win situation for many people, including the court."
King Zhongshun's heart was pounding.
Feng Ziying's description is not just a talisman on paper, it is based on real evidence. King Zhongshun believed that Feng Ziying neither dared nor would deceive him, and he was honest with her, so this career was worth it.
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"Ziying, if I cooperate with these maritime merchants, what will happen? Well, will the imperial censors in the court..."
"Your Majesty, this is something that the imperial court strongly advocates and promotes, and Your Majesty is also dedicated to serving the country. If others are willing, they are also welcome to participate. This does not involve seeking power for personal gain or corruption. You can even welcome the supervision of the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
Feng Ziying was very confident, "So I say the more people involved, the better. If the prince can invite more people with different identities to participate, and everyone can jointly invest and share risks, Ziying believes that things like this will go more smoothly."
King Zhongshun's eyes lit up.
He has already heard the voice of Feng Ziying's words. With more people with different identities, more communities of interests can be formed, and they can also unite to resist external pressure.