Even if the goods arrive safely, the Ming Dynasty's supply system and financial chaos are so chaotic that merchants who are full of dreams of getting rich spend all their money in exchange for only a few pieces of paper or even not even a piece of paper. They commit suicide and live on the streets.
There are also many beggars and starving people.
To do business for the imperial court here in Dengzhou, in addition to having capital and business ability, you must also have a strong official background. Similarly in Dengzhou, some people made a fortune by transporting military supplies for the imperial court, and they also used sailing on the Bohai Sea
Ships transporting military supplies engaged in large-scale traveling activities, transporting goods and specialties that were urgently needed by all parties. They traveled between the Ming Dynasty, North Korea and Hou Jin Dynasty, making a lot of money.
Sun Yuanhua knew this very well in Dengzhou, but since he was an official, he would not care about it. The reason is self-evident: the businessmen participating in such si activities all have backstage, and some
He couldn't afford to offend the powerful officials, some of whom wanted to work hard and not offend; some of them were his patrons and friends. In the same year, there was a quarrel, and everyone broke up. Not to mention that the rectification could not be carried out, it was him who was Denglai
Whether the governor can continue to work is a question.
Therefore, Sun Yuanhua himself, apart from trying to control the output of grain and pig iron for Houjin, had his eyes closed in other aspects. And he also needed to bring in urgently needed horses from the back plate by traders. Dengzhou is located in Shandong, not
Like in Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou, the Ming army generals on the front line can buy horses from Mongolia nearby. Therefore, buying war horses from Houjin has become the main source of war horses for the new army in Dengzhou. What's more, traders also buy horses from time to time.
It brought a lot of news about Hou Jin - in terms of intelligence collection, it was much better than the detailed work sent out by the imperial court.
The young man in front of him might have the same plan. Sun Yuanhua looked at Zhao Yingong. He came to visit him obviously to "catch relatives" and "find a backer." When it comes to doing business in Dengzhou, no one is more suitable than him, Sun Yuanhua.
Become a backer.
Sun Yuanhua was not disgusted with this.
In the Ming Dynasty, this was a matter of course. He, Sun Yuanhua, was not a Taoist scholar, otherwise he would not have become a senior official when he was around fifty.
This Zhao Yingong is not only doing business with the Australians, he is willing to travel thousands of miles to Shandong, a place where the people are unfamiliar, in order to make money. He is not afraid of taking risks and is a bold and courageous person. He also has deep trade relations with the Australians, which can also be used. Finally,
It would be beneficial and harmless to him to have direct control over several businessmen.
But whether this person is worthy of use still needs to be further examined. He asked: "Since you want to do business here, what kind of business are you going to do?"
This topic is a bit sensitive. The business that Zhao Yingong wants to do is actually human trafficking. Of course, this cannot be said, but making up a random one must withstand scrutiny. Zhao Yingong has considered it repeatedly, and then said very cautiously: "My lord, are you here?"
Naturally, what is most needed for this military training is food..."
Sun Yuanhua twitched his beard, nodded and said, "Yes, it's just food." He sighed, "It's difficult."
Zhao Yingong asked: "Dare you ask me the reason?"
"It is said that the imperial court has food, but the word 'luck' is difficult to deal with," he said.
There are a large number of troops stationed in Denglai and Denglai, which consumes a lot of food itself, and also supplies food to the tens of thousands of people stationed in Dongjiang Town, Liaodong. The transportation of food is extremely heavy. However, land transportation in Denglai is extremely inconvenient. During the Ming Dynasty
The Chief Secretary of Shandong Province has jurisdiction over six prefectures. The three prefectures of Qingzhou, Laizhou and Dengzhou located on the eastern coast are called the "Three East Prefectures", while the three prefectures of Jinan, Yanzhou and Dongchang located along the western canal are the "Three West Prefectures".
Relatively speaking, there is a big gap between Dongsanfu area and Xisanfu area in terms of transportation and trade.
Dongsan Prefecture, located on the eastern coast, is mostly hilly and mountainous, and land transportation is extremely inconvenient. Dengzhou Prefecture, located in the easternmost part, faces the sea on three sides, and land transportation is the most congested. “Although the western border is connected to Lai (prefecture), Qingzhou
(state), and the mountains and ridges that block the bird's path, the car cannot accommodate the track, and the man cannot square the bridle. It is known as "there is no straight road". This traffic situation has undoubtedly greatly hindered its trade with other areas.
circulation, so there was a situation of being "secluded in the east, blocked by mountains and surrounded by sea, with barren land and few people, no trade, and few merchants".
After a large amount of grain is transported from the south to Shandong via the Grand Canal, it needs land transshipment to be transported to Deng, Lai and other places. The geographical conditions of Xisanfu make land transshipment very difficult. Because the road is difficult to travel, the freight rate is very high.
of high.
The grain allocated by the imperial court to the Denglai garrison and Dongjiang could not be transported to Dengzhou quickly and was piled up in Linqing and other places, which not only greatly increased the loss, but also involved many official interactions. To transport the grain to Dengzhou, it must be
Recruiting civilians, hiring vehicles, providing food, drink and accommodation along the way, and sometimes repairing bridges and roads. This all involves the cooperation of local officials. After all, Sun Yuanhua is only the governor of Denglai, not the governor of Shandong Province. He has exceeded his own jurisdiction.
, it was not so easy to do things. For this reason, he had to do a lot of work in the province and counties along the route to ensure that the food could be transported smoothly.
Not only food, but other supplies also have such problems. According to modern people's perspective, Dongsanfu is a coastal state and county, which is a typical area suitable for "export-oriented economy", and the shipping conditions are very good throughout Dongsanfu.
The coastline stretches for nearly 3,000 kilometers. Among the 29 prefectures and counties under its jurisdiction, coastal prefectures and counties account for nearly 60%. As early as the Sui, Tang, and Northern Song Dynasties, Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Jiaozhou had developed into a strategic hub between China and foreign countries.
An important port for trade.
However, due to the strict sea ban in the early Ming Dynasty, maritime trade along the coast of Shandong declined. Although the sea ban was relaxed after Jiajing and private shipping recovered, the scale has always been small, with each ship carrying only a few hundred dan, and the number of ships arriving at the port every year.
There were two to three hundred ships. Places such as Denglai were still in a state of inconvenient transportation and difficulty in material circulation. Sun Yuanhua was often troubled by this.
In comparison, other materials can still be transported by sea, but this grain, as long as it is transported from the south of the Yangtze River, it has to be transported through the Grand Canal. This is a systemic problem. It is not his decision to change the sea route. Water transportation is the imperial court.
Even Xu Guangqi, who has joined the cabinet, cannot influence the "major affairs" of the country.
Zhao Yingong said: "In this case, why not try to raise money on the spot? Even if it cannot be solved completely, at least part of it can be solved, and the people will also get some benefits."
Sun Yuanhua said: "You have just arrived here, and you don't know what the joints are here. As for local food, the land in Denglai has always been poor and the output is limited. But if you have more than enough grain, you can't give it to other counties to transfer capital. If you don't have enough grain, you can't buy it from other counties.
, only for self-sufficiency. Therefore, those who are little ripe will be suddenly rich, and those who are little evil will be trapped in the place! Not only must we escape in famine years, but we must also flee in ripe years!"
"Why do you want to run away when you are mature?"
"The grain here can't be sold at all. If it can't be sold, how can we pay a small amount of silver?" Sun Yuanhua looked at him in surprise and said, wondering why he didn't understand this matter.
"Oh, Yin Gong nodded quickly, thinking that he was ugly again. This is basic common sense to the people of the Ming Dynasty, but it is very strange to me.
"When the imperial court collected grain from the local area, even though they paid an extra two cents per stone, the people were still miserable." As he spoke, he sighed, "So the proverb goes like this: Dengzhou is as big as an urn, and small people are in cauldrons."
end.
The price of millet is worth a gold, but the price of millet is cheap to feed dogs and hogs. If you run away without food, you will starve to death in the wilderness."
Of course Zhao Yingong knew the reason: it was simply because of the difficulty in circulation caused by inconvenient transportation. The local grain harvested could not be transported out and the price could not be sold; the grain from other places could not be transported in during the famine years. He had already discussed this problem before coming to Dengzhou.
I have done some research, and I bring it up now to spark the next topic.
"Since it is a difficult task, the students are willing to help you here." Zhao Yingong said, "The students intend to start a boating business here."
Sun Yuanhua nodded and smiled, but did not comment. Zhao Yingong was not in a hurry: Sun Yuanhua must understand the value of boating. The reason why he did not express his position shows that he attaches great importance to it. He should think about it carefully before talking to him about it. He will not talk about it anymore.
Continue this topic.
The topic turned to local agriculture again. If the local grain production situation is good, the dependence on grain transshipment can be greatly reduced. Therefore, Sun Yuanhua is very interested in improving local agricultural production. Like Xu Guangqi, he is very interested in agricultural issues.
Research. Xu Guangqi once used the "Western Water Method" to farm fields in Tianjin and "applied what he learned" with very good results. Sun Yuanhua said that he also had such an idea at one time.
"Your Majesty has this intention, why don't you recruit exiles to open up wasteland and farm in the local area?" Zhao Yingong probed, "I saw a lot of wasteland in this area. As I traveled along the way, there were hungry people all over the road, crying for food. If your Majesty has this intention, not only
It can be used as food for the army, and it is also a great good deed." Zhao Yingong originally wanted to say "merits", but when he thought that he was a Catholic, he immediately changed his words to "good deeds".
Sun Yuanhua shook his head: "Land and people are easy to talk about, but money is difficult to deal with."
Accommodating the hungry requires food, clothing, and shelter. Although land does not cost much, opening up wasteland requires seeds, livestock, and fertilizers. All require a large amount of initial investment. Sun Yuanhua was appointed governor of Denglai, but his jurisdiction was not limited to Denglai.
, Qingsanfu, together with the islands along the coast of Shandong and the Bohai Bay, is a typical place with poor people and barren land. The resources at hand are limited, and even with the military pay and food allocated by the court, it can barely maintain the army and defense.
System. If we want to engage in construction and development, we will have no spare energy.
"Furthermore, this place is mostly close to the sea, and the territory is mostly hills and mountains. Therefore, the land is mostly saline and infertile. It cannot be done without great efforts and energy." Sun Yuanhua said, "I have been conducting military affairs here.
I am exhausted mentally and physically, and I don’t have the energy left.”!