It seems that the Senate's actions are changing the direction of history more and more. It's just that the reform of maritime transportation has always received a lot of help in history. This time it went so smoothly. Obviously there is something he doesn't know. factors played a role.
Shen Tingyang was talking very enthusiastically, and it could be seen that he was very excited to finally have the opportunity to try out his ambitions and propositions over the years. From his words, Zhao Yingong roughly knew that this time the direct transfer of grain and wages from Jiangnan to Liaodong was done by Xiong, the Minister of War. Ming Yu's proposal - Due to the intervention of the Senate, this Xiong Shangshu appeared decisive and capable in the entire Dengzhou rebellion, so his status in the emperor's mind was acceptable. Although he received a punishment, he did not lose his official position like in the old time and space. Dismissed from office and continued to occupy the increasingly difficult position of Minister of the Ministry of War.
Why Xiong Mingyu, a slippery bureaucrat who has always been submissive, suddenly put forward such a bold suggestion is not surprising to Zhao Yingong - he is now eager to save the "Sacred Heart". Only by taking risks to show his "talent", let Zhao Yingong The emperor recognized that he was still "useful". The consequences of the Dengzhou Incident could not be compensated by "pacification". Sun Yuanhua was very busy in dealing with the aftermath of Dengzhou, and he still carries the punishment of "dismissal" - ―Chongzhen will not easily forgive those who are mainly responsible.
However, the reason why Xiong Mingyu was able to make such a bold suggestion was obviously because someone gave him a lot of confidence. I am afraid this person is not only Zhou Yanru. Xu Guangqi, who is such an obvious elder, must be a very powerful person in the court. The result of the powerful people's subsequent operations.
Could it be that the Tongtian Sect advocated Pu? Zhao Yingong felt that this was the most likely possibility. Since the last time he went to Taicang in person to advocate the idea of abolishing the canal system and reforming the sea, he felt that Xianggong Zhang was very interested in this - To a large extent, Fushe represents the interests of the group mainly composed of Jin gentry and landowners in southern China, and water transportation has always been their most annoying burden. Therefore, they are the most motivated.
Xiong Mingyu's memorial received support from all quarters. Since Shen Tingyang had been campaigning for this matter in the capital for a long time, Xiong Mingyu recommended him and submitted his "Book of Shipping" and "Illustration of Shipping". After the court discussion, the emperor and ministers felt that he could give it a try to solve Liaodong's urgent needs. They gave him the virtual title of Secretary of the Cabinet and full authority to handle the matter.
"If this can be done, it will be possible to transfer grain from the land to the sea in the future!"
As long as grain can be transported directly from Jiangnan to Liaodong this time, it proves that sea transportation is reliable and cheap. Let’s talk about Taicang’s conversion of grain from grain to sea, or even the expansion of abandoning canals and converting it into sea, and they can all be implemented step by step. .
Zhao Yingong knew that things were not that simple. The power of habit and the obstruction of vested interest groups made any reform encounter great resistance. Historically, Shen Tingyang's sea transportation experiment was a complete success, but as a result, water transportation still took the inefficient route. canal.
However, since history has been changed due to their arrival, this change will inevitably cause a series of chain reactions - butterfly wings and so on are not just easy to talk about.
Zhao Yingong showed a "joyful" expression appropriately and said a few words in agreement, waiting for the other party to speak. Shen Tingyang specially invited him to discuss, so naturally he had specific cooperation to discuss.
However, Shen Tingyang's happy expression did not last long, and soon became solemn. "To be honest, Brother Yu specially invited Brother Xian to come to Shanghai this time to discuss some important matters."
"I will definitely help you if you can help me." Zhao Yingong nodded repeatedly with a solemn expression - the joint is below. Shen Tingyang must have felt that something was difficult to handle, so he came to him specifically.
Since we have come to find ourselves, it goes without saying that the China Merchants Group must also be involved in this business. If we can take this opportunity to bring the coastal routes into the hands of the China Merchants Group, our company will be the legitimate "official ship of the Ming Dynasty". It is really smuggling in coastal areas. Smuggling, everything he does is justified. Thinking of this, Zhao Yingong couldn't help but feel a little excited.
Only then did Shen Tingyang talk about the details of this food and salary transfer.
The grain shipped to Liaodong this time is to supply Guanning Town with 50,000 shi of brown rice. This amount of transportation is not a heavy burden on Shen Tingyang's shipping force. A brand new large sand ship has a load of about 4,000 shi and uses thirteen Four large sand ships can meet the demand. The Shen family has one to two hundred sand ships. Many of them are already sailing on the Northern Route. They are more than enough to complete the task of transporting grain.
But things are not always as simple as they seem. After Shen Tingyang received Xiong Mingyu's support letter, he quickly got the order to trial the food and salary shipment. The next problem made him feel very difficult.
These 50,000 shi of grain must be allocated from Jiangnan - the amount will be deducted from Jiangnan's grain harvest this year.
This was originally a public-private solution, but when Shen Tingyang went to the Chief Envoy Si Yamen to handle the matter, he was met with disappointment.
The Chief Envoy's Yamen refused to allocate grain, saying that many prefectures and counties in Nanzhi suffered from floods and droughts last year, and there was insufficient grain in various places, and a large amount of grain was urgently needed for the beginning of spring. There was really no grain in the vassal treasury.
"Brother, I thought this was just a bad rule of asking for personnel. Unexpectedly, the master in charge has no money and salt. No matter who comes to tell me, he even refuses to ask for personnel. He only says that he has no food. He insists on giving it in cash."
"Discount?" Zhao Yingong was startled. As the name suggests, discount means not allocating grain, but allocating silver according to the price of grain. This was very common in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, because silver was easier to transport and use than grain. For long distances, For areas with poor transportation conditions, the cost of paying cash is much lower than transporting food.
Corruption involves the fineness of the silver, fire consumption, etc. Compared with transporting brown rice, there are many ways to cheat. The most important thing is that after corruption, there are fewer procedures for cashing out, so it is very popular among officials.
"...You also know that now is the so-called "Five Years of Famine" and June, and the price of grain outside is three yuan per dou of rice. One stone of rice, even if you go to a grain dealer to buy it at a large price, it will cost more than two taels of silver per stone. And the current price of grain is right. When we go up, I'm afraid it will be more than this price."
Zhao Yingong had understood by now: most of the chief ministers' discounts were based on the "official price". He asked: "How much is the official price?"
"One or two taels." Shen Tingyang said with a wry smile, "One or two taels of money means you can buy six or seven buckets of rice. To collect 50,000 shi of rice, you must put in at least 40,000 taels of silver."
The Chief Secretary's discounted price was based on one tael, but when the actual reimbursement was made to the Ministry of Household Affairs, it was based on the price of two taels and one stone. As time goes by, these 40,000 taels become the benefit of the person in charge!
Compared with these 40,000 taels, the "routine" and "personnel affairs" of just a few hundred taels are nothing. No wonder such a high-sounding reason is used.
Zhao Yingong secretly scolded the officials for being shameless and being too greedy.
"What should we do? Brother Ji Ming can't do it with his own money."
"Exactly." Shen Tingyang said bitterly, "Brother is also half a businessman. There are all kinds of business paths in the world, but you can't do business that is loss-making. This time, Brother Yu intends to reimburse the imperial court for Guan Ning's food payment. , and you can’t use your own money to plug the holes of those corrupt officials.”
In the past, since the Shen family was a shipping family, their business network was also beneficial. No matter where the waterway grain terminal was, as long as there was cheap grain, they could make a large sum of money. Not only would they not lose money, but they might also be able to make some small money. .
But this time Shen Tingyang encountered a more troublesome thing. It turned out that the masters of Guanning Town, who were responsible for handling food and salary transportation in the capital, had secretly said that Guanning would never want "rotten old warehouse rice." ", indicating the amount of silver to be discounted.
"Wouldn't this problem be easily solved?" Zhao Yingong was puzzled. Since Guan Ning's army wanted silver, wouldn't it be easier to just transport the 60,000 taels of silver and avoid the price difference?
Shen Tingyang smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Brother, you still know too little about the tricks of this officialdom. The reimbursement from the Ministry of Household Affairs is two taels of silver and one stone. How can Guan Ningjun accept one tael of silver? "
No matter how you calculate it, Shen Tingyang, who undertook this shipping trip, will lose money. This is only a loss on the "main items", and the various other "expenses" and "management" do not add up to a small amount. In the past, just "floating" a part of it could offset this part of the cost, and there was still some small compensation. However, this time the gap in the main items was really too big, and Shen Tingyang felt helpless.
"Besides, the big guys from North Korea and China have contributed a lot to this shipping, so they all have to express their efforts." Shen Tingyang couldn't help but frown when he thought of the huge follow-up expenses.
These personnel expenses must not be spared, otherwise he may not even be able to get the discounted silver shipped by sea on time - when the yamen wants to make things difficult for people, there are a set of methods, and they will never let you find fault. .If there is no big boss in the DPRK to say something, I will not be able to pass this first hurdle.
Originally, according to his idea, the purpose of transporting food and wages by sea this time was to contribute to the imperial court. Even if he could not make any money for a while, it did not matter, as long as the cost could be equalized. In the future, if the canal system could be abolished and replaced by sea, it would be beneficial to the country and the capital. There are huge benefits, so you can put aside the benefits you have in front of you.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the plan to transport food and wages by sea came out, he suddenly found himself at the forefront of the storm. People from all walks of life seemed to think that he had got a huge job, and they were all eager to take advantage of him.
"I didn't expect that it would be so difficult to do something!" When Shen Tingyang said this, he couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder if my dear brother has any good ideas?"
Zhao Yingong had already had a few thoughts when he was talking. He remembered the information in the "Compilation of Political and Social Information of the Ming Dynasty" given to him by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau and the various business intelligence collected by Shanhaiwu Road over the past year. , I already have a countermeasure in mind.
He coughed lightly: "According to my brother's opinion, this matter is not impossible..."
Shen Tingyang seemed to be waiting for his words, staring at him solemnly: "Please teach me, dear brother!"