"Well, if that's the case, how do you think this matter should be handled?" Ye Xianggao also frowned, "I always feel that Feng Ziying's plan is very big in this strategy."
Li Tingji laughed, "Brother Jinqing, anyone who gets such an opportunity will have to plan carefully. If he is sneaky and petty, how can Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia like him?"
Ye Xianggao thought about it for a while. He finally created such an opportunity. If he couldn't seize it, Qi Yongtai and the others would not be able to forgive themselves.
In a sense, this is also an opportunity that the northern scholars who have been in a difficult support situation for so many years have finally seized. Well, it should be said that this opportunity also fully considers the interests of the south, otherwise it will be difficult to obtain the south.
support from scholars.
Who has the upper hand and who is at a disadvantage in this court depends not only on the strength of the northern and southern scholars in the six cabinet departments, but also on which side the court resources are tilted in a period of time, and the emperor is the balancer. Since the former Song Dynasty
, by the Ming Dynasty and the Great Zhou Dynasty, the power of the southern scholars was firmly in the upper hand, and their advantages became more and more obvious.
In order to maintain the balance between the north and the south, the emperor had to act as a balancing weight and constantly adjusted and compensated for it in the court's policies. For example, the allocation of quotas for candidates in the imperial examinations and the rise and fall of martial arts groups were actually manifestations.
Of course, both southern and northern scholars are equally aware that this balance must exist. The south has the advantage and the north is at a disadvantage. This general pattern will not change, but the north cannot be too disadvantaged.
Once this delicate balance is out of balance, it may lead to some unpredictable results, such as civil unrest in the north, or foreign enemies marching in. This is also not in the interest of the southern scholars. From another perspective, the same goes for the vast areas in the north.
Once the main markets for southern goods are lost, the south will also feel the pain.
Because of this, in the eyes of Ye Xianggao, Li Tingji and Fang Congzhe, such a strategy of opening up the sea can actually be regarded as a compensation for the decline of the north for many years. Once the situation in Gansu, Ningxia and Liaodong is really irreversible, it will
It is also a huge threat to the south.
That's why they would compromise with each other to support such a strategy after careful consideration, and spend more time on how to gain greater benefits for the class groups they each represent in this strategy of opening up the sea.
"Well, to be honest, Feng Ziying does have some ability and vision. The strategy he proposed takes into account the interests of all parties. Even the old side has nothing to say. Once the sea is opened, the silk production in Nanzhi, Zhejiang and Jiangxi will be
The tea and porcelain industries are bound to have a considerable development. We in Fujian can only make profits from the tea making and porcelain industries. Of course, sea trade itself is our strength, and this is what we should get as a matter of course...
…”
Ye Xianggao stroked his beard and sighed, "This man cleverly used the route from southern Liaoning to Denglai as a bait to tear apart our maritime merchants from Fujian and Zhejiang, and took a piece of it to Shandong.
But it will not damage the vitality of our Fujian and Nanzhi people, so that we and Lao Fang can only hesitate to speak. We are holding our breath and can't say it. The heat is quite good. You say this is Feng Ziying herself.
Did you figure it out, or did the emperor take action?"
Li Tingji also nodded in approval, "If it's not Lao Qi's skill, it's probably the emperor's intention. Well, although Feng Ziying has some talent, I'm afraid she won't be able to do it with a knife like this. I think Lao Qi's square character
, Du Xuan, it’s probably the Emperor’s method.”
Both of them agreed that Feng Ziying was extraordinary with such a sophisticated and profound skill, but this was a matter of experience and he should not be able to play it.
"Now that the emperor's attitude is clear, Sir, how do you think this matter should be handled?" Ye Xianggao felt more and more that this matter must be carefully considered, "Although this strategy does not mention the royalties and debt pledged
The Shipping Department will collect taxes in the future, but I feel that Feng Ziying is very confident, what do you think?"
Li Tingji also frowned and thought deeply.
Opening the sea involves two incomes, one is the charter fee, and the other is the sea tax.
The charter fee is nominally a one-time payment, but it has a limited number of years. Feng Ziying proposed several possibilities to choose from in the strategy, including three years, five years, ten years, or even twenty years. In addition, it also needs to be based on the sea trade route and the
Determine the type of transaction product, and propose that preferential treatment can be given to the import of specific products that are conducive to large-scale demand, such as gold, silver, copper and other precious metals, such as firecrackers, artillery and specific plant seeds, wood, and medicinal materials.
In addition, with the expansion of maritime trade, there may be an appropriate increase in the number of people every year. Of course, the increase should not be too much. There needs to be a rule to constrain it to ensure the interests of the first batch of participants. For example, it needs to go through the first batch of participants and the number of participants.
The Ministry of Household Affairs or the Municipal Shipping Department shall discuss and determine.
Sea taxes are debts used as pledges.
At present, analysis and judgment can only be made based on some privately understood sea trade data. The standard can be roughly determined based on the charter situation and the trade volume of several ports that have opened to sea. However, considering that once the sea is fully opened, the development of sea trade will be
Ushering in a larger-scale development, especially the trade with the Xiyi people showed a steady increase. Both the Folangji and the Hongmaofan were extremely interested in trade with the Great Zhou, and were interested in the largest species of the Great Zhou.
Export commodities are also extremely eager, including silk, porcelain, and tea, and there may be more demand in the future.
"Brother Jinqing, if we follow Feng Ziying's idea, both the royalties and sea tax will show a steady growth trend, and he also mentioned in "Overseas Strange Stories" in "Internal Reference" that in addition to Hong Mao Fan and Fo Lang
In addition to the Ji people, there are many other countries in the West that hope to establish trade relations with the Zhou Dynasty. However, the current Eastern route is basically monopolized by the Hong Mao Fan and Fo Lang Ji people, so they have not entered it for the time being. But since there are two
If there is one, there will inevitably be a third or fourth company, so I also believe in this, that is, the franchise fee and sea tax will continue to grow."
Ye Xianggao knew that Li Tingji understood what he meant, "What about the household department...?"
"Well, the Ministry of Household Affairs must be under our control, and it's time for Zheng Jizhi to become an official. Didn't he write a request to become an official three years ago?" Li Tingji suggested: "If Guan Yingzhen enters the Ministry of Household Affairs, then whether
Can Ming Qi be appointed Minister?"
Huang Ruliang was named Ming Dynasty. He is now the right minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. He is in charge of the affairs of the Hanlin Academy. Like Ye Xianggao and Li Tingji, they are both from Fujian.
Ye Xianggao shook his head slowly, "Mingqi's qualifications are still a little low, and he won't be able to get through to the emperor, and Zhonghan won't agree either."
Li Tingji also frowned.
Scholars in the South are not monolithic. Scholars like Fang Congzhe from Nanzhi and Liangzhe are incompatible with the Fujian scholars.
In the battle for the first auxiliary, Fang Congzhe missed a match with Ye Xianggao, which almost caused the two sides to fall out. However, considering that the power of the northern scholars has been increasing in the past two or three years, the two sides still shook hands and made peace.
Li Sancai and Zhao Nanxing were brought in through connections.
But the northern scholars have not been idle, and they have made great efforts to win over the Huguang scholars, and have achieved obvious results. For example, Chai Ke, Guan Yingzhen, and Yang He of the Huguang faction seem to be neutral at present, but in fact they are already somewhat inclined to the northern scholars.
So this also made the southern scholars a little nervous and in need of unity.
"Tang Binyin (Tang Binyin, courtesy name guest, from Xuanzhou, South Zhili)?" Li Tingji asked tentatively.
The Ministry of Household Affairs is of great importance. After Cui Jingrong was moved to the Ministry of Personnel as a northerner, Guan Yingzhen wanted to be the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. If Zheng Jizhi left office, he would not be able to find a non-Northerner with suitable qualifications to serve as the Minister of Household Affairs.
Tang Binyin is considered a suitable candidate, and Tang Binyin's relationship with Ye Xianggao, Li Tingji and others is very ordinary, but he has a close relationship with Fang Congzhe. From this point of view, I am afraid that the emperor is willing to see the results.
.
But Tang Binyin has a close relationship with Wu Xun and the Supreme Emperor. This is another question. Will the Emperor agree to such a role as the Minister of Household Affairs?
Ye Xianggao slowly shook his head, "The guest's qualifications are sufficient, but his relationship with the Supreme Emperor is too close. This alone is not enough. The key is that he still has contacts with Prince Yi Zhong, and the Emperor may not tolerate it."
"What about Zhao Nanxing? Gao Panlong?" Li Tingji asked hesitantly.
"Gao Cunzhi (Gao Panlong, courtesy name Cunzhi, from Wuxi, Nanzhili) is suitable, but Qi Yongtai and the others will not agree." Ye Xianggao was also thinking hard, "Zhao Mengbai (Zhao Nanxing, courtesy name Mengbai, from Beizhili)
Li Zhendingren) has been idle at home for too long, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public. Moreover, Qi Yongtai, Qiao Yingjia and others may have become suspicious of Mengbai, thinking that he is the second Taoist monk."
Zhao Nanxing, nicknamed Mengbai, and Li Sancai, nicknamed Daofu, were both northern scholars, but they had good relations with southern scholars. This made Qi Yongtai, Qiao Yingjia, Qi Shijia, and other northern scholar leaders somewhat dissatisfied with them.
.
Ye Xianggao rejected several people in succession, and Li Tingji was at a loss. "Brother Jinqing, the candidate for the Minister of Household Affairs must be chosen well. I think the emperor intends to let Zhang Jingqiu join the cabinet. I'm afraid we won't be able to resist in the end. Then
It is even more important that the Minister of the Ministry of Finance is under our control."
Ye Xianggao sighed, "Why don't I know? But if you can't choose the right one, it's better to let Zheng Jizhi continue. At least he won't completely fall to anyone. He just wants to earn a reputation now."
"But Guan Yingzhen also wants to join the household department, what should we do?" Li Tingji was a little worried.
"Let Ming Qi (Huang Ruliang) be the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs." Ye Xianggao's face darkened, "Let Gao Cunzhi (Gao Panlong) succeed Ming Qi (Huang Ruliang), Zhong Han (Fang Congzhe) should not have much objection.
"
The idea is wonderful, but the selection of the candidate will require several confrontations and compromises, as both Ye Xianggao and Li Tingji know very well.