After asking the envoys to retreat, Lao Zhu ordered people to find Han Du.
"Why do you have to double the price of the mirror before you are willing to sell it to those foreign ministers?"
When Han Du heard this, he immediately laughed and said, "Hey, they really came to the emperor to complain?"
Lao Zhu's face suddenly darkened when he saw Han Du's dissolute appearance. He sneered and said: "Have I been too tolerant to you recently, so you are so bold that you are looking for trouble?"
"What, what do you mean looking for trouble?" Han Du was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion.
Lao Zhu said angrily: "The mirror is sold to everyone, why do you have to double the price before selling it to them?"
Han Du saw that Lao Zhu's tone was a bit unkind, and when he heard the meaning of the words, he suddenly felt bad.
He asked tentatively in a low voice: "Your Majesty, you didn't promise them, did you?"
"So what if I agreed? Your mirror was originally a huge profit, wouldn't it be a good thing if they can buy more?" Lao Zhu said disapprovingly. "And it's also difficult for them to transport the mirrors all the way back. Maybe they won't make much money at all."
Han Du looked at Lao Zhu speechlessly and couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, are they the ones who said you can't make much money?"
"They said that, what happened?"
To be honest, in Han Du's opinion, Lao Zhu is really an honest man. I have known myself for so long, but I haven't learned a single bit of the nature of a profiteer.
If they really couldn't make money, would those people be so active? If you really can't make money, then unless someone is willing to pay, don't even think that they will approach like a shark that smells blood. Not to mention that in order to get the mirror at a low price, I would go to your old place to complain. If the words of those profiteers can be believed, then even a sow can climb a tree.
Han Du had no choice but to explain: "Your Majesty, it is indeed difficult to transport it thousands of miles back, and there may be a lot of losses along the way. But Weichen has already taken all of this into consideration when setting the price. Even if they You can make a lot of money by buying the mirror back at twice the price. Does your Majesty know how high the price of something like a mirror can be in other countries?"
"How high is it?" Lao Zhu really didn't know this, after all, it probably wasn't sold in those places yet.
With a bit of a smile on his face, Han Du continued: "Things are rare and valuable, Your Majesty. This mirror seems ordinary in Dabai, but it is the first time it has appeared in them. Not to mention a unique treasure. , that is also a top-notch good thing, is such a thing worthless? I dare not say, but once they ship the mirror back, there is no problem in making ten times the profit."
"Ten times? With so many, is it really so profitable?" Lao Zhu was shocked.
What is the concept of a price difference of ten times? Let alone doing business, even if you go to loan sharking, you may not be able to make ten times the profit.
This is the high profit of foreign trade in this era.
This is why so many people are keen on sailing. To be honest, sailing is not safe in this era. It is common for people and ships to sink when encountering strong winds and waves. But why did so many people flock to the sea during the Southern Song Dynasty? It is because there is such a high profit that induces it.
People die for wealth and birds die for food. Who can make such a profit? No one can bear it.
"That's natural," Han Du nodded and explained to Lao Zhu casually: "The emperor is knowledgeable about the past and present, so he should know about overseas trade in the Southern Song Dynasty, right?"
"Of course I know," Lao Zhu looked at Han Du with a meaningful look in his eyes, and continued: "Businessmen were active in the Southern Song Dynasty, and overseas trade was naturally good."
Is it just nice?
When Han Du heard what Lao Zhu said, he understood that Lao Zhu must have never seen the detailed data on maritime trade in the Southern Song Dynasty. Although he didn't know why the emperor Lao Zhu couldn't see the data, Han Du didn't care so much. Anyway, he just wanted to let Lao Zhu know.
"An ordinary piece of silk can only be sold for six taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty, but if this piece of silk goes to Sumatra or Dashi and other countries, it can be sold for a hundred taels of silver. But it is said that if a ship of goods goes out, half a ship of gold The silver comes back. According to what Wei Chen knows, at the peak of the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court had an annual income of more than 160 million guan, of which at least 80% was from overseas trade."
The imperial court of the Southern Song Dynasty had an annual income of 160 million guan, while the Ming Dynasty only had an income of less than 3 million guan. Although the Southern Song Dynasty was not strong in military force, in terms of economy, it really stood out in the long river of ancient history and could stand out for thousands of years.
"Are you telling the truth?"
After seeing Han Du's affirmative nod, Lao Zhu's face quickly turned red. Can he not be popular? He wanted to establish a Ming Empire, and since the Ming Dynasty could easily overthrow the Meng Yuan, he naturally believed that his Ming Dynasty was powerful and far superior to the previous dynasty.
But now Han Du told him that although the Ming Dynasty's territory was several times that of the Southern Song Dynasty, in terms of the imperial court's annual income, it was not even worthy of carrying shoes for the Southern Song Dynasty, and the gap was eighteen streets.
As his face turned red, Lao Zhu's eyes turned green.
How much does an annual income of 160 million yuan cost? If Ming Dynasty had such an annual income, would he still need to grow rice and tea? Do we still need to worry about military expenses every year?
If he really had so much money, Lao Zhu would have gathered millions of soldiers to completely wipe out the remaining money. Why can Can Yuan survive for so many years? It's not because Can Yuan is powerful, but because Ming Dynasty has no money. In terms of strength, Can Yuan is simply not as good as Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, Can Yuan would have been completely defeated in every battle and never won.
"Of course." Han Du said affirmatively.
Lao Zhu frowned slightly and said, "That's not right. I asked all the countries to come to court not just to show off the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. I also thought about using tribute to trade with the countries, but why did the Ming Dynasty and the countries The trade gap between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty was so big?"
Um! Um?
Mom, is this the truth about Lao Zhu Jinhai? Does he want to monopolize overseas trade?
I also know a little bit about Ming Dynasty's tribute Han Du. To be honest, it is different from what ordinary people think. Ordinary people think that the foreign countries paid tribute with goods worth 20,000 guan, but the Ming Dynasty wanted to return the gift with 100,000 guan, thinking that the Ming Dynasty was suffering a loss. In fact, this was not the case.
First of all, no matter how much the tribute goods are, half must be given to the court free of charge. Then the officials would price the rest and use it as a basis for return gifts.
