Or to put it another way, there is collusion between government and businessmen.
In China, it is difficult to become bigger and stronger without official support.
Although Shanxi merchants pride themselves on being the smartest in business and the second most in officialdom, they actually do not invest in officialdom because money means resources.
In the Shaowu Dynasty, nearly half of the civil and military officials were from Shaanxi, and the emperor was also from Shaanxi. How could we fight against this?
Therefore, the past few years have been the most comfortable time for Shaanxi businessmen, but Huizhou businessmen have gone straight to Beijing.
Shaanxi Chamber of Commerce.
"Shame!" Zhuang Ziyan was furious. He raised his head and said to the crowd: "This group of Anhui merchants can't be fed in places as fast as the south of the Yangtze River. They dare to come and steal our things today."
"Now that shipping is smooth and there is a lot of traffic between the two places, Huizhou merchants are greedy for these exchange benefits."
Someone spoke.
"Otherwise, I feel that Huizhou merchants may have discovered something."
"Well?" Zhuang Yiyan's face changed drastically, and his anger immediately turned into solemnity: "How is it possible? How could this matter be discovered?"
…
On the other side, Huizhou merchants gathered together and happily discussed bank business in Beijing.
Doing finance is always the most profitable. Whether it is lending or exchange, flying tickets is a huge profit.
Since the prosperity of maritime transportation, Tianjin Port has quickly become the busiest area in the north, and its population has continued to grow, exceeding 200,000 in just a few years.
Silk, porcelain, lacquerware, ceramics and other Jiangnan products all settled in Tianjin, creating a prosperous Tianjin.
But even so, everyone still focuses on Beijing, a major political city.
Economics always serves politics.
"Since Shaanxi merchants went south to Huguang, they controlled Sichuan's salt, tea, and cloth, and Huguang's iron, rice, tea, and mines. They even went south to Guangdong and Guangxi to do business with Western Yi."
"It was during his time in Nanjing that when the Salt Law was enacted, he wanted to seize salt profits..."
"Now with the return of the capital to the north, Shaanxi merchants are getting stronger and stronger. The vast north is almost completely occupied by them. Shanxi merchants are lingering in Shanxi and seem to be integrated into it."
"It is so powerful that there are guilds in every province, and there are groups of merchants from all over the country vying to cooperate with it, and they are forced to give up their interests."
"It is estimated that there are no fewer than dozens of Shaanxi businessmen worth millions. They are actually the largest gang in the world."
The leader, wearing a long robe, was gentle and elegant, making people feel like a handsome young man.
He was the Huizhou merchant who advocated entering Beijing this time. Wang Chao, who was only in his thirties, was famous among Huizhou merchants and had a great say in the Wuhu rice market.
These words shocked everyone.
Especially with a net worth of millions, it is even more inexplicably enviable.
You must know that among Huizhou merchants, only salt merchants can reach a net worth of one million, and there are only a few of them. What a powerful family fortune this is!
"did you mean?"
A certain old man cast a doubtful look.
"Fight, fight with all your strength."
Wang Chao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists: "Nowadays, Shaanxi merchants are so powerful that even the imperial court may have taboos. It just so happens that our Huizhou merchants comply with the imperial court——"
As he spoke, he looked at everyone and smiled: "Besides, there is something extremely important this time..."
At this time, in Yuquan Villa, the autumn frost was gradually rising and the chill was approaching.
Zhu Yixi couldn't bear it anymore, so she found a hot spring and lay down comfortably to soothe her nerves.
"His Majesty--"
Soon, after walking out of the hot spring comfortably, Zhu Yixi met He Yiyi and Tang Yongan who had been waiting for a long time.
As early as Hanzhong, these two businessmen strongly supported him, and then followed the pace of the army and grew step by step.
Now, with the passage of time, both are wealthy families and have great influence among Shaanxi businessmen.
In fact, both Shaanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants are just extremely loose chambers of commerce, just holding together for warmth.
After all, they are all rich people, and there is always competition between them, making it difficult to mediate.
"sit down!"
Seeing the two of them, the emperor chuckled and said: "From Hanzhong to Beijing, many years passed in the blink of an eye."
The two of them naturally lowered their heads and laughed together, chatting with each other for a few words.
"When I was in Huguang, supplies were scarce and prices were extremely high, so I had no choice but to form a guild and put it under management. Today, it seems that it is time to disband."
Tang and He were shocked and could only lower their heads in recognition.
When he was in Huguang, Zhu Yixi established a series of guilds, such as the Grain Merchant Association, the Cloth Merchant Association, the Iron Merchant Association, etc., in order to make the best use of materials and control them as much as possible.
In this way, most merchants are brought under management, whether it is providing materials or controlling prices, it is a very good means.
Often, it is Shaanxi businessmen who hold leadership positions in guilds, which is why they expand rapidly, covering most of China.
Looking at it now, the guild is no longer viable.
Not to mention a mixed bag, but it has created a monopoly to a certain extent.
The right to speak is always controlled by a few big businessmen, which results in the strong getting stronger.
In this way, Shaanxi merchants unscrupulously ran around the country and even fought with Hui merchants in the Jiangnan area to gain access to Huaiyan.
It has become a behemoth.
Therefore, it is imperative to dissolve the guild.
The emperor would never allow a dominant business gang.
Tang and He obviously understood the emperor's thoughts and could only bow their heads and agree.
"As long as you agree."
The emperor smiled: "You will never act arbitrarily, but since you two have no objections, that's fine."
Having said that, Zhu Yixi has always given him a slap in the face and fed him a jujube, and he has also rewarded the Shaanxi businessmen who have been loyal for many years.
"I intend to establish the Hubu Bank. You can also call it the Daming Bank."
"Its main responsibility is to transfer taxes from various places and transfer them to the capital in a timely manner. Considering that there are so many prefectures and counties in the world, I intend to let some banks handle it."
Hearing this, the two were overjoyed.
In fact, after the One Whip Law was implemented, due to lack of transportation capacity and remoteness, many poor counties would remit silver to a trusted bank, and then go to the provincial capital to take it out and remit it to the vassal treasury.
It is convenient and fast for local governments, saving freight, and for banks, this is a flowing stream of living silver.
Even if you just lie down for ten days and a half, it is still a huge profit.
During the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, this extremely rare phenomenon became widespread, creating a prosperous period for money banks.
And this rapid transfer method has more advantages than disadvantages for the court.
Because taxes were transported from the local area to the capital, they were usually recorded in months. The court was anxious for lack of money, and the huge transportation pressure often caused many people to lose their lives.
Moreover, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the now-broken northern provinces all need the central government to redistribute taxes from the south, and the court has to transport them to the provinces, which is too troublesome.
Zhu Yixi naturally wants the benefits of banks or banks, but it is unrealistic to spread it to every county.
In this case, it is better to let the merchants handle it, save some shipping costs, and make them feel grateful.
As for the annexation of taxes, they may be lost, but the court is not afraid, and it will be over with confiscation of homes.
7017k
