Before Zeng Qi could react, Xu Xinsu understood. She shook her head in confusion and said, "Mr. Zhang is our old customer. There is no reason to betray us. Besides, it won't do him any good at all..."
Yin Feng shook his head: "No, there should be nothing wrong with him. Firstly, is it good for him to betray the secrets of our merchant ship? Secondly, the documents from the Zhejiang government can prove that he was also arrested, so this shouldn't be the case. The person he betrayed, if it wasn’t because there was a mole within us, then it was the people around Zhang Yuyu or his partners. Someone among the companions who went to sea together betrayed him. Brother Xu, you are familiar with the situation in various provinces in the mainland, and you are familiar with the various companies in Fujian. The merchants are also familiar with it. You should take over the mainland trade again and hand over the Japanese trade to Chen Zhongji of Ryukyu. After returning, immediately investigate the situation of the ships captured by the Zhejiang Navy: which merchants were on board, the captains, and the conditions of the sailors. etc……"
Yin Feng's intuition was a gift from the analytical skills he developed as a reporter before time travel. It was also because he was better at grasping the overall situation, and his intuition was quickly confirmed.
When Yin Feng's Xinxing had to turn around along the coast of Zhejiang, Li Lihua looked at the green Zhejiang coastline with melancholy. Yin Feng sighed and said guiltily: "Ali, I disappoint you. I originally wanted to show you my hometown of Hangzhou. And the beautiful West Lake, now it seems that we won’t be able to go to Hangzhou in this year and a half,”
On its way back, the Xinxing encountered the Second Fleet's main battleship Feilang and other large groups on the coast of southern Zhejiang. The fleet commander, Colonel Mai Dahai, brought out almost 80% of the fleet's strength, accompanied by the special battalions of Lin Yue and Luo Aquan. Troops, planning to use force if something happens to Yin Feng.
When Yin Feng returned to Taiwan Port, news from various places quickly came back. Since Lin Yue and others promptly used flying pigeons to notify the personnel of the Hangzhou Huaxing Co., Ltd., the preparations for the shareholders' meeting were immediately stopped, and most of the people who participated in the meeting were The shareholders were notified in time and left or lurked before Shen Yourong sent troops to blockade Hangzhou City. However, several high-profile shareholders were caught by the government, including Yin Feng's earliest business partner, one of the first businessmen to become shareholders. Fujian businessman Yang Caipu; and Ye Chenggao, who was nostalgic for the fireworks and willow alley by the West Lake and did not leave Hangzhou in time. The nephew of the cabinet chief Ye Xianggao was arrested at the same time as several northern businessmen.
At the same time, various places in Zhejiang began to arrest Zhonghua Company. In addition to Hangzhou, employees and partners of Zhonghua Company were arrested in Ningbo, Taizhou, Wenzhou and other places for treason with the Japanese.
Through Lin Yue's Business Information Department and Xu Xinsu's connections, they worked hard to investigate, and soon the cause of the incident was roughly understood. The informant who reported to the government should be someone from Yuyao's Xie family. They were originally Zhang Yuyu's partners, and they were against Zhang Yuyu. The ship's sailing route and the passing date are well known.
In fact, there have been ships running on the route from Quanzhou Bay to the Japanese state for a long time. The officers and soldiers of the navy were not completely unaware, but many of the ships and cargo on these routes were owned by insiders of the Zhejiang coastal officers and soldiers, so everyone was If you turn a blind eye, no one will seriously search these merchant ships.
However, one of the leaders of Huatian Company is the adopted son of the Xie family in Yuyao, who originally specialized in Nanyang trade; Yuan Jin and Li Zhong got in touch with the Xie family through the adopted son of the Xie family, and the Xie family has a monopoly on Yin Feng and Zhonghua Company Hailu was dissatisfied for a long time, so he reported Zhang Yuyu.
The Xie family in Yuyao is not an ordinary businessman. According to legend, the Xie family was originally a descendant of Xie An, the prime minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the Xie family in Yuyao even produced three chief ministers in the cabinet, including Xie Qian, a powerful figure in the government and the public.
Relying on the power between the DPRK and China, the Xie family quickly became one of the larger middlemen in Zhejiang and Fujian. They often lowered prices in transactions and defaulted on payment for a long time. The key lies in the Xie family's status and my power, which makes
The government and ordinary businessmen like me have no way of holding their people accountable.
During the Jiajing period, the Portuguese and Chinese maritime merchant groups went to the Xie family many times to demand payment, but they were rejected, and even threatened to report to the officials. If it were a mainland business gang, or a local official, perhaps
I can only admit that I am unlucky, but the Chinese and foreign international merchants sailing on the sea do not accept this kind of bullying of the weak. At the same time, the Ming Dynasty government will not protect this kind of "smuggling trade", so Chinese and foreign merchants are used to it.
Xing used their own way to solve the problem, so they went ashore and bloodbathed Xiezhuang, and fled away after killing people and robbing money. The Yuyao magistrate was shocked, but he did not dare to report the truth to his superiors, assuming that the Japanese pirates were attacking.
After notifying the imperial court, the imperial court issued a strict maritime ban policy, which affected a large number of private merchants who relied on the sea for a living, and caused the protracted "Japanese pirates" turmoil during the Jiajing period that stretched thousands of miles of sea territory.
In fact, it can be said that the great Japanese pirate incident in Jiajing was caused by the collusion of these officials, businessmen and powerful officials.
Now that the Xie family has just recovered and has participated in overseas trade again, they are very dissatisfied with Yin Feng's monopoly on sea routes, so they colluded with Huatian Company and reported to Hangzhou, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou in one go.
Merchants in Zhangzhou, Chaozhou, Guangzhou and other seaports engaged in Japanese piracy.
The Xie family has been involved in Zhang Yuyu’s trade with Japan for three years, and has been cooperating with the Chinese company for two years. They know a lot about the overseas trade situation of the Chinese company. When Yin Feng founded the Chinese United Company, he opened the door to attract
The various businessmen who participated did not refuse the participation of people with official backgrounds such as the Xie family or Fujian General Zhu Wenda, and Zhejiang Ningshao General Luo Qing. Although they had the awareness to use their power as a protective umbrella, all trade transactions must be in accordance with
The company's rules and regulations, especially after the establishment of the bank account, changed the payment habits of businessmen in the Ming Dynasty. Those officials and merchants who wanted to default on payment or default on their accounts had clear documents that could be checked.
Yin Feng's insistence on monopolizing sea routes was actually to prevent officials and businessmen from acting randomly. In the event of economic disputes, these people's trade routes could be cut off to force them to abide by the rules.
However, whether it is the Xie family or Zhu Wenda, overseas trade is just a chicken that can lay golden eggs, and it is one of many chickens on hand; they can make a fortune just by accepting bribes and protection fees, and overseas trade is just the icing on the cake.
, not to mention there is a vast domestic market where people can make money.
Therefore, under the instigation of Huatian Company's promise to transfer part of the overseas trade routes, the Xie family of Yuyao took the initiative and took part of their own goods to report on the merchant ships of Zhang Yuyu and others. For the Xie family,
, catching a ride with an unrelated adopted son and some cargo would not hurt their vitality at all. They thought that if they could break the China Company's shipping monopoly, they would no longer be bound by the many rules of the China Company. The Xie family would rely on their own power.
and status, it can at least become the largest middleman in Zhejiang, Nanjing and other places and do whatever they want.
Xie Yuan, the head of the Xie family, was only a scholar, but there were more than a dozen people in his family who were officials in the capital, and there were also more than a dozen local officials in various places. There was a continuous line of in-laws, classmates, and relatives in the imperial court, spreading all over the country. , it can be said that the hands and eyes can reach the sky.
The major case of Tongwa in Zhejiang also involved Ye Xianggao. As a member of Donglin, he was immediately attacked by many bureaucratic factions at the Zhejiang Party and Chu Party levels - including members of the Xie family of Yuyao.
Ye Xianggao was very embarrassed: At that time, some smuggling merchants also pretended to be members of the Ye family in order to avoid inspection. However, Ye Chenggao, who was caught in Hangzhou this time, was a genuine member of the Ye family.
Fortunately, Zhonghua Company did not leak the list of shareholders, and Ye Chenggao himself did not fall into the hands of the government. He was released after the Fujian Governor's Office came forward as a guarantee. Fujian Governor Ding Jisi was single-handedly promoted by the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, Ye Xianggao. It is reasonable to come forward to protect Ye Chenggao this time.
For this purpose, Ye Xianggao wrote a letter to Ding Jisi, the governor of Fujian, asking the local authorities to investigate strictly. "The affair with the Japanese has been reported in advance, and I have heard that there are people who have taken advantage of my brother's family name and sex, so I have to say that yesterday, two stations in central Zhejiang Province There are also provisions for capture, and the intention is to hope that the neighboring countries will work together. Now it is also the lower part, and it must be repeated."
This letter was published as an official document in the Capital Newspaper. This was Ye Xianggao's intentional act, stating that he had drawn a clear line between himself and the Japanese Tongcha incident and had nothing to do with it. In order to quell the public opinion attacks from hostile factions, Ye Xianggao could only show more than the attack. Only by adopting a more radical attitude can one prove one's innocence.
Just as Yin Feng gathered the company's major shareholders for several days in a row to hold a board meeting to discuss how to rescue those shareholders who had been captured by the government, even more shocking news came from the capital.
According to the latest transcript of the Di Di newspaper obtained by Xu Xinsu's subordinates and Lin Yue's Commercial Information Department, Ye Xianggao, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty Cabinet, was very worried about the increasingly prosperous smuggling trade with Japan in view of the painful lessons of the "Jiajing Japanese Rebellion" and had instructed the Fujian authorities to Strictly prohibiting it, he said in a letter to the Fujian authorities: "It is the matter of collaborating with the Japanese that is the most harmful. In the beginning, it was just gangsters who were trying to make money, but now the good people are also accusing them of it. Not only the Japanese can harm Fujian, but also Fujian." Everyone is a wimp. At this time, the only way to turn things around is through a strict sea ban..."
"Fujian people are all Japanese, this is simply a heartbreaking theory," Yin Feng looked at the newspaper with a sneer, and glanced at Zeng Qi intentionally or unintentionally. Not long ago, the old man who advocated direct contact with Ye Xianggao was rather Looking at the roof in embarrassment, Yin Feng reluctantly passed the newspaper to Li Lihua and said: "Let's all take a look. It is obvious that the imperial court is not only going to launch a Japanese prison, it is also going to start strictly enforcing the maritime ban. , how should we respond,”
Yin Feng was sighing in his heart: In the end, he had reached this point. Wang Zhi and other seniors all died on this road.
Although Zhonghua Company's profit points include bank accounts, domestic silk trade, Taiwan island agricultural products trade, etc., the main money-making project is overseas trade. If the maritime ban policy is strictly enforced, Zhonghua Company will be dead end, unless it immediately turns against the court. Raise the banner of rebellion.
However, although the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, a lean camel was bigger than a horse. Moreover, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's rule had not been shaken, there was no domestic chaos, and there were no strong external enemies (Nurhachi had not yet rebelled). With the strength of the entire Ming Dynasty, , although it cannot destroy the Zhonghua Company that controls the sea, it can drag Yin Feng to death. As long as the Zhonghua Company cannot successfully obtain the goods from the mainland, cannot successfully conduct trade, and cannot transport overseas silver into the mainland, then the capital turnover will be Sooner or later, problems will occur, and it will be impossible to maintain the expanded "ultra-modern" army. Sooner or later, it will be besieged by Westerners, Japanese, and the imperial court, and it will be completely destroyed.
Yin Feng said distressedly: "The officials and businessmen of the Xie family in Yuyao can make a fortune without relying on overseas trade, but our company and the coastal merchants in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong cannot stop overseas trade; the silk merchants in Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Hu will lose our overseas market. We go to the mainland to find customers, but we have to ask them to get the goods... In short, if the maritime ban policy becomes stricter, our Chinese company will be faced with a life or death decision."
Zeng Qi said bitterly: "Either we go to land to grab goods like Wang Zhi and Baldy Li and openly confront the court; or we maintain the status quo and slowly wait to die..."
Yin Feng smiled bitterly: "Father-in-law, you finally understand; there is a fundamental conflict between us and the imperial court."