Although his adventurous plan made the Zeng family make a lot of money, the Zeng family itself did not have much power in the officialdom of the imperial court. Zeng Qi was the only one who paid tribute to supervise students as an official in prefectures and counties. His wealth and strength were also limited, so his adventurous spirit was far away.
It's better than Yin Feng who ventures into the world alone.
"Brother Feng, when it comes to business, businessmen speak of profit. The original intention of your plan is to make profits, for my Zeng family and for yourself." After hearing Yin Feng's crazy plan, Zeng Qi said slowly:
"After all, you are from overseas, and you don't know the inside story of our Ming Dynasty. As the saying goes, if a tree is as good as in the forest, the wind will destroy it. Good-name firms have been too dazzling this year. Next year, all transactions must not be risky anymore. Business is about long-term success."
Yin Feng thought calmly for a moment and nodded: "What Mr. Zeng said is absolutely true. The boy was reckless."
In fact, on the day he left Macau for Yazhou, after repeated thinking, he had almost rejected his plan. However, he only rejected the plan of cooperating with the Zeng family to "connect with the Japanese"; he planned to cooperate with Bernardo and Li
Dan and others discuss going to Japan. Anyway, Li Dan will go to Japan sooner or later to do business, so he will be a butterfly that changes history and let him go a few years in advance.
After running around all year long, he gradually learned about the family background of the Zeng family from Zeng Jingshan. The Zeng family was once a wealthy family in Chaozhou. They made their fortune by colluding with pirates and smuggling before the Jiajing period. During the Jiajing era of Japanese pirates,
They were also involved in "Japanese pirates" activities to varying degrees, but from the end of the Jiajing period to the Longqing period, the appearance of the thief Zeng Yiben almost wiped out the Zeng family.
Zeng Yiben was a slave of the Zeng family, the lowest servant with a slave status. Then suddenly he became a bandit in Fujian and Guangdong, with a crowd of up to 100,000 people. In order to avenge his master's previous abuse, Zeng Yiben killed him.
Only the three brothers Zeng Ke, Zeng Qi, and Zeng Bai were left in the Zeng family. The Zeng family's stockade was destroyed by fire, and their residential compound was razed to the ground.
The Zeng brothers fled to Quanzhou and took refuge in Fuzhou. After Zengben was annihilated by the army in the third year of Longqing (1569), the Zeng family, with the help of distant relatives, used their remaining money to settle in Quanzhou. Later, the three brothers relied on the
Business relations continued to develop. After the disaster, the three Zeng brothers realized that to keep the family safe, just having money would not help. They must also have an official position and a certain political status to ensure property and personal safety. It turned out to be
Zeng Qi, who was born as a child, worked hard to pass the examination, but failed three times in the provincial examination. Finally, he spent money to get the title of tributary supervisor, and was sent to the ends of the earth as a state judge by the official department.
In the Ming Dynasty, when the imperial examination system was developed to a mature level, "the imperial examination must be conducted by schools", and "those who are not in the imperial examination cannot be admitted to the official position". Paying tribute as a regular prisoner (a person who is not a student but spends money to buy the title of prisoner) is slightly better, but in fact it is not much
Difference; in the eyes of ordinary scholars in the Ming Dynasty, this was not the right way to become an official. Regular supervisors could only be selected as Zuo Er of the state or county (state tong, state magistrate, county chief, chief secretary), chief secretary, press secretary, government official
The chief official (such as Dianshi and the like), with a minor position in the capital, such as Guanglu Temple, Shanglinyuan, and he has been in a different path all his life, and he has been looked down upon. Zeng Qi is such an alternative who is on the right track in the imperial examination. He is already in his 50s.
, there is basically no hope for career advancement.
The hope of the Zeng family lies in Zeng Shan, the son of Zeng Bai, the youngest of the Zeng family, who is Zeng Yue's cousin. He will take part in the imperial examination this year. If he succeeds, he will become the first person in the history of the Zeng family to be elected, and the Zeng family will also become
A family from the bureaucratic class who came from the imperial examination line.
Therefore, in the short term, the Zeng family pinned their hopes on Zeng Shan for the revival of the family business, and commercial trade has taken a back seat.
Yin Feng rejected his plan, but he only rejected the plan to cooperate with the Zeng family. He decided to build his own ship, team up with Bernardo and Li Dan, and continue to explore new trade routes. But for the time being, he still wanted to maintain his relationship with the Zeng family.
After all, the Zeng family treated him well and did not interfere with his own business. Although Yin Feng now has a fortune of tens of thousands, all his wealth and life are attached to the Zeng family in Quanzhou. This is
It's not that he wanted to do this, but it was something he had no choice but to do. After all, he was the lowest-level citizen with no foundation in the Ming Dynasty. However, as long as he still controlled the foreign trade channels, his life and fortune should still be safe.
Yin Feng didn't know that Zeng Qi was very satisfied with him, and the little worry that he might harm the Zeng family at the beginning of the year disappeared. He learned from Zeng Jingshan that Yin Feng didn't like to socialize by nature, and he was everywhere this year.
Zeng Jingshan is always busy but keeps a low profile. Zeng Jingshan is basically the one who does the things that appear in public. Not only does he never exceed his authority and commit corruption, but Yin Feng actually becomes the accountant himself. What is even more reassuring is that Yin Feng rarely goes to Fireworks Willow Alley.
Pan Huan, at most, went with Zeng Jingshan to entertain important clients. Zeng Qi felt that although this person was sometimes impulsive and reckless, he was also motivated by loyalty, stable and reliable character, low-key and conscientious. He told everything about the plan that had been brewing for nearly a year.
He pulled Yin Feng and said: "Your parents died early, so you can make the final decision on your marriage. Now you have a great marriage, I wonder what my nephew will do..."
In Yazhou and Hangzhou, people have tried to match him more than once. Yin Feng quickly wanted to find an excuse to refuse, but Zeng Qi waved his hand and blocked his mouth, and continued: "I have two gangsters, the eldest is betrothed;
You are still in the boudoir; your character is quite gentle and virtuous, haha, what do you think of my virtuous nephew?"
Yin Feng was speechless for a moment: I didn't expect that Zeng Qi would take the initiative to be a matchmaker for his little daughter, and she still seemed to have to marry him. What should I do?
Based on reality, reason and interests, Yin Feng should agree immediately. But after all, Yin Feng received enlightenment education in the 20th century. Although ***'s sexual games do not violate his moral bottom line, marriage is another matter.
The thing seemed to be related to love. For a moment, his realism and the romanticism in his heart conflicted. His face turned red and he said incoherently: "This, this...isn't appropriate? Marriage is a major event in life.
The boy has no tiles above and no earth below, but he will be aggrieved..."
In Zeng Qi's view, his performance was a manifestation of his lack of selfishness and his integrity and unwillingness to cling to the ranks of officials. Zeng Qi, out of the instinct of that era, believed that if a wandering businessman like Yin Feng could cling to someone like him,
The home of a small official is undoubtedly on a high branch. How could he have other ideas? He couldn't help but smile and patted Yin Feng on the shoulder: "You don't know yet? I have already bought a house for you in Quanzhou Real Estate.
Clear up the relationship and transfer your household registration to Quanzhou. Now, you are rich, haha!"
Yin Feng left the Zeng family silently, and was dragged to the hotel by Fatty Li on the way. He said that he must ask him for some accounting methods. However, at the hotel, Boss Li did not discuss the issue of double-entry accounting, but asked him
Introduced some information about Zeng Qi’s daughter: According to him, the second daughter of the Zeng family is a concubine. She is 17 years old this year. She was born to a prostitute that Zeng Qi brought back when he was a birth supervisor in Nanjing in his early years. Her mother had already died of illness, and Zeng Qi was the official
She had a large bedroom and was said to be extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, Zeng's eldest wife was quite aggressive, and the girl suffered a lot, and they never found a husband for her - according to the local custom of early marriage, a 17-year-old woman should already have children.
"The Zeng family treats you well, so you have to let them rest assured." Finally, Boss Li said this without thinking. At this time, Yin Feng's rationality and realistic interests weighed out in the balance of life.
of morality and romanticism. Of course, generally speaking, this is true at all times and in all countries.
The mother is a beautiful woman from Qinhuai, so the daughter can’t be bad, right? Yin Feng thought to himself, and returned to his residence in Haozhao. He was not an ascetic, and he had the experience of chasing girls when he was a student; after coming to this era, he was busy
As he struggles for his own survival, he rarely thinks of women. Out of romanticism, he likes beauties and love; out of practical interests, he must compromise with social reality. This is a helpless choice for Yin Feng, who is still dependent on others.
Returning to Haozhao Trading Company, he walked into his yard gloomily. Magaro still lived in the old house in Hebosuo, five miles away from the city. Yin Feng was not particular about his personal life and liked to do things by himself.
However, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Mai Waner standing under the eaves, timidly there. Then the sea-breathed face of Old Man Mai came up to him. He couldn't help but pull Mai Waner over and said that it was Yin Feng who had repeatedly
The young man who rescued his family had no repayment, so he sent Mai Waner to him as a slave.
Yin Feng, who was confused, silently asked the sky: Is today a peach blossom calamity or a peach blossom luck? Why do people keep trying to give me their daughters?
There are some words that Mr. Mai is not easy to say.
Unable to shirk, Yin Feng changed the subject and asked Uncle Mai about shipbuilding. The local shipbuilding industry in Hainan is relatively developed, but it is only limited to the construction of fishing boats and naval vessels with two masts or less. Maiper does not know whether it can build large commercial ships.
.However, he knows a local shipbuilder and can take Yin Feng to get to know him.
In the end, no matter how hard Yin Feng tried, Uncle Mai hurried away without looking back and left Mai Wan'er in his yard. Boss Li was very reasonable: "You need a maid in your house who can make beds and clean the yard;
I also plan to buy you one. When the time comes, you just need to give some money to those gangsters. I will let someone seduce this girl and teach her how to serve others." He took Mai Wan'er away, and Yin
Feng returned to the house depressed and fell asleep.
Shipbuilding and owning one's own ship was an idea that came to Yin Feng's mind when he returned to Yazhou. The cost of shipbuilding should not be a problem. In the history of Sino-foreign relations, during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the shipbuilding price of Chen Kan's "Sealing Boat" trip to Ryukyu was 2
One thousand five hundred guan. This is the cost of the Fujian government-run shipyard, and this is the cost of the royal five-masted ship. Yin Feng estimates that there should be no cost problems if he wants to build a ship.
In the next few days, he followed Uncle Mai to Baoping Port, Sanya Port, Yulin Port, Wanglou Port, and even to Wanzhou Beach, where he consulted public and private shipyards. In theory, shipyards are run by the government, and shipbuilding craftsmen are directly responsible for the government.
However, these regulations have become official documents and exist in name only. Dan people can build ships, and many shipbuilding craftsmen were originally Dan people.
The result of the consultation was disappointing. The ships built in Honshu have gone as far as Champa.
At the beginning of the Wanli era, Qiongzhou Prefecture set up a warship repair factory in Baishazhai, Haikou Ying, which was one of the four major shipbuilding bases in Guangdong at that time. However, Baishazhai only built some warships called Guangzhou, which were narrow at the bottom and wide at the top.
It looks like two wings spread out, but is stable in the near sea and cannot go out to the ocean; large merchant ships that need to go out to the ocean cannot be built. However, although some pirate ships have been built in the shipbuilding yards of some fishing boat ports in Yazhou and Wanzhou, they can only build a few large fishing boats at most.
;The farthest I have been is Champa, which is said to be able to hear the bells of Buddhist temples on the Yazhou beach when the weather is clear.
Yin Feng finally found an old shipwright in Yulingang who was an old acquaintance of Uncle Mai. After asking him for a long time, Yin Feng understood a problem: there were no design drawings for shipbuilding at that time, only a rough drawing at most, and then everything
The keel of the ship is built based on the experience of the old shipwright. After the length of the keel is determined, the other parts of the hull are built based on the empirical values. The old shipwright has a book with yellowing paper left by his predecessors about 200 years ago. It is said that it has detailed shipbuilding procedures.
and tips, but never take them out for viewing easily.
Yin Feng wants to build a big ship: the merchant ship he envisions must be at least the same as the 900-ton Karak-type ship Tomar. According to the old shipwright: It's not that it can't be built, but that he doesn't know how to build it. There are no drawings and no corresponding instructions.
The old shipbuilder who has never built a large ship will not design the ship shape and hull structure by himself.
After 200 years of maritime ban in the Ming Dynasty, no one could build Zheng He's huge ships. All the ships along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were becoming smaller and degraded. In the early 16th century, ships in Southeast Asia were also rapidly miniaturized. However, this was due to the elimination of Western colonists.
As a result of the large-scale merchant ships in Southeast Asia, the locals were finally forced to build canoes. The stagnation and downsizing of Chinese sailing ships that began in the late 14th century was the result of the brutal crackdowns by the government of this dynasty.
Yin Feng returned to his room with deep thoughts, sat down at the desk and frowned in a daze. Someone handed him a towel and brought tea. He wiped it on his face randomly, took a sip of water, and looked up to see Mai Wan.
The girl stood aside holding tea, lowering her head and dragging the fisherman girl's long braid. She was wearing a green cross-collar long-sleeved short coat and ten long skirts in light green. The tight belt showed off the girl's graceful waist.
Hang a "palace ribbon" made of ribbons, hanging down to the ground.
The girl was standing at the table, dressed as a classic beauty maid. Yin Feng almost spit out the tea, and in a panic, he remembered that Mai Wan'er had become his maid, and she had been accepting visits from Fatty Li in the past few days.
My wife's **, the maid training class is probably over now.