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Regarding these dazzling array of rare products, Guo Min was not surprised at this time and did not show any novelty.
Obviously, Guo Min is not here for the first time.
After seeing Guo Min appear, a capable shop assistant quickly came up to him. Seeing Guo Min's luxurious clothes and extraordinary temperament, he immediately put on a smile and asked: "Sir, what goods are you looking for? We specialize in selling some Western things here. As long as they are available in the West, we have them all here. Even if they are temporarily out of stock, we can find them for you soon."
However, Guo Min answered the question incorrectly and said, "I like fish soup best, paired with rice wine."
The waiter seemed slightly stunned and said: "Sir, we are not a hotel here and we do not sell fish soup and rice wine..."
Guo Tang added: "The seventh day of May is a good day, suitable for moving and getting married."
This time, the clerk replied softly: "But it is not suitable for traveling, worshiping gods, or doing business."
Guo Tang nodded and said solemnly: "I want to see the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu."
The clerk chuckled, then quickly closed the store door, then raised his hand and said, "Sir, please come upstairs."
Obviously, the inexplicable conversations between Guo Tang and this clerk were code words in the underworld, which further proves that the origin of this store is not simple.
*
Next, Guo Tang, led by this guy, went up the stairs to the third floor, and then entered a room in the corner.
Sitting in the room was a middle-aged, muscular man with a strange appearance.
It is said that this person has a strange appearance because his appearance is different from that of ordinary Han people in many ways. His face has a deeper outline, his nose is straight and big, his black body is stubby and slightly curly, and his eyes are gray.
If Zhao Junchen saw this person, he would definitely tell that this person was a mixed race. But if ordinary people in this era saw this person, they would definitely comment on him as "weird-looking" and even regard him as a freak.
This man's Han Chinese name is Zuo Qiuci, and he is of mixed Chinese and Dutch descent. He is not only an important leader of a pirate fleet in Southeast Asia, but also has extensive connections among pirates overseas. He is also related to the Dutch East India Company.
In a way, Zuo Qiuci was the spokesperson of the Nanyang pirate forces and the Dutch East India Company.
Guo Min was able to develop his business on such a large scale and become one of the top wealthy businessmen in the capital, not because his elder brother was the self-proclaimed young master Guo Tang, but because he had an accidental relationship with Zuoqiu. Ci established a relationship, and the two collaborated to secretly sell various Western commodities and stolen goods in the capital, earning their first pot of gold.
In fact, the reason why Guo Min was favored by Zhao Junchen was largely due to the relationship between Guo Min and Zuo Qiuci.
Of course, in Zhao Junchen's eyes, Zuo Qiuci was no big deal either. Zhao Junchen mainly valued the Dutch East India Company behind Zuo Qiu Ci.
According to the AD chronology, we are now about to enter the eighteenth century. After the Third Anglo-Dutch War and the Dutch-French War, the Netherlands has gradually declined and will soon be replaced by Britain and France.
But as a former maritime overlord, the Netherlands can still be called "a skinny camel bigger than a horse." Its colonies are still spread throughout Southeast Asia, especially the Indonesian archipelago in later generations, and now almost all of them belong to the Dutch forces. scope.
Moreover, the Dutch East India Company and the Taiwanese Zheng family were mortal enemies. Zhao Junchen would never put his eggs in one basket. Although his ocean-going plan would rely on the Taiwanese Zheng family, it would never be completely dependent on it. Unlike the Dutch East India Company, After establishing a connection, not only will there be one more choice, but it will also allow the two forces to check and balance each other.
The most important thing is that as a former maritime coachman, the Netherlands has now entered the afterglow stage of the empire. It can barely protect itself and is even more unwilling to expand. It is most suitable for Zhao Junchen to choose such a force as the target of cooperation. .
On the one hand, due to the decline of its own strength, the Dutch East India Company is in great need of new profit growth points, so they will attach great importance to cooperation with Zhao Junchen, and may even become dependent. Zhao Junchen can also occupy a certain position during cooperation. Be proactive and don’t worry about losing money.
On the other hand, because the Dutch East India Company no longer has the power to expand, and has been defeated by the Ming Dynasty navy many times in the past century, and is in awe of the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Junchen is not worried that he will attract wolves into his house - on the contrary, If it were Britain and France, they were currently in a stage of ambitious and rapid expansion. Zhao Junchen would be wary when he came into contact with them.
It was precisely with these circumstances in mind that Zhao Junchen arranged for Guo Tang to follow Huo Zhengyuan south and assist Huo Zhengyuan in completing the ocean-going plan. Huo Zhengyuan was responsible for cooperating with the Zheng family in Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty, while Guo Min was responsible for contacting the Dutch East India Company secretly. .
After Guo Min came into contact with the Dutch East India Company, he would do some shady things, so Zhao Junchen deliberately kept Guo Min's mission secret.
It is worth mentioning that in order to ensure Guo Min's absolute loyalty, Guo Min's only son Guo Sang has now been recommended by Zhao Junchen as the Xuanwei Comrade of Liaodong Town. His immediate boss is one of Zhao Junchen's military henchmen, Liaodong Fang Zhenshan, the governor and governor of the town, was also the governor.
As we all know, the situation in Liaodong is chaotic, and people often die in mysterious circumstances. If there is a slight change on Guo Min's side, his only son Guo Shang will definitely suffer the same fate.
In a few years, when Guo Min does more and more things for Zhao Junchen, the interests will become more closely bound, and Zhao Junchen will no longer have to worry about Guo Min betraying him easily.
*
At this time, seeing Guo Min's appearance, Zuo Qiuci immediately stood up to greet him and laughed loudly: "I didn't expect that Boss Guo is here! I heard a few days ago that a staff member of the Southeast Patrol Envoy Huo Da It looked a lot like Boss Guo, so I thought it was just a coincidence, but I didn’t expect it was actually Boss Guo!
I also received news a few months ago that Boss Guo's brother had offended Zhao Junchen, a powerful minister of the Ming Dynasty. Then the whole family was implicated, and Boss Guo was also imprisoned. At that time, I have been worried about Boss Guo. I even thought about going to the capital to rob the prison and rescue Boss Guo. Unexpectedly, before I could organize the manpower, Boss Guo had already turned the corner. What a blessing! "
After saying that, Zuo Qiuci walked up to Guo Tang and hugged Guo Tang hard.
Zuo Qiuci spoke Chinese fluently, but with a very obvious Guangxi and Guangxi accent, but his attitude in his words showed no respect for the Ming Dynasty officials, and he did not seem to regard himself as a member of the Han nationality.
Guo Min was already used to Zuo Qiu Ci's attitude, but he was not used to Zuo Qiu Ci's hug. He quickly broke away, raised his hands to Zuo Qiu Ci and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zuo Qiu Ci, for your concern." , I will definitely thank you for your kindness in the future! In fact, the reason why I came to see Mr. Zuoqiu today is to give Mr. Zuoqiu a big business!"
After hearing what Guo Min said, Zuo Qiuci's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled Guo Tang to a chair and sat down. He sat opposite Guo Tang and asked, "But I don't know that Boss Guo represents himself and the boss?" Are you talking about business, or do you represent the Southeast Patrol Envoy, Academician Huo?"
Guo Min shook his head and said: "It's Academician Huo... the Zhao Gechen behind him!"
Zuo Qiuci's eyes lit up again, his expression became excited, and he laughed loudly: "It turns out that Boss Guo not only turned danger into safety, but also turned misfortune into blessing! I have also heard of the reputation of Zhao Gechen. Throughout Jiang and Zhejiang All the merchants in the land are following him to make a lot of money, which makes me jealous all the time. Now that Boss Guo is following Zhao Gechen, he will definitely have a bright future and abundant wealth in the future! What a blessing! What a blessing!"
Obviously, in Zuo Qiuci's eyes, Guo Min was forced to work for Zhao Junchen after being punished by Zhao Junchen. This kind of thing not only did not mean any humiliation, but was actually a good thing.
Hearing what Zuo Qiuci said, Guo Min's expression became more and more awkward - every time he came into contact with Zuo Qiuci, he could feel that the values of both parties were completely different - even if some things were true, you couldn't tell them directly. Say it!
But Zuo Qiuci completely ignored Guo Min's awkwardness, and just asked eagerly: "I don't know, Zhao Gechen, what business does he want to discuss with us?"
Guo Min stretched out three fingers and said: "There are three businesses, all of which are big businesses!
First, I know that the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu has connections with several wealthy businessmen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. When these wealthy businessmen run the ocean smuggling trade, they will give a sum of money to the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu as payment for passage, and then Shopkeeper Zuoqiu will also contact various pirates in Southeast Asia not to rob their ocean-going fleets, is that true? "
Zuo Qiuci nodded and said, "That's right."
Guo Min said slowly: "From now on, Zhao Gechen hopes that Master Zuoqiu can do the opposite! From today on, all ocean-going fleets departing from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, as long as they are not under the name of the Southeast Patrol Envoy Yamen fleet, the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu should stop charging them money to buy the way!
On the contrary, the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu wants to contact various brothers overseas and rob them as much as possible, not only the goods, but also all the ocean-going ships and the sailors on the ships!
Of course, Zhao Gechen will not let the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu suffer. Whenever he successfully robs an ocean-going fleet, Zhao Gechen will give you a benefit of 10,000 taels of silver! At the same time, Zhao Gechen will buy the plundered goods at 60% of the market price. Zhao Gechen will also buy all the plundered ships at 90% of the market price. As well as the plundered sailors, as long as they are not injured, Can, Zhao Gechen is also willing to pay a ransom of fifty taels of silver to each of you, how about it? "
Hearing what Guo Min said, Zuo Qiuci looked a little shocked and asked: "Even the Zheng family's fleet is going to be plundered?"
Guo Min said slowly: "If you have the ability to rob the Zheng family's fleet, Mr. Zhao will also pay!"
Zuo Qiuci was stunned for a long time, and then he showed admiration and said: "I now know why Zhao Gechen's business has grown so big. Such skill and courage are really amazing!
Ha ha! As long as the fleet is not owned by the Southeast Patrol Envoy Yamen, all the fleets will be plundered. In this way, it only takes at most two or three years for the Southeast Patrol Envoy Yamen to completely monopolize the Ming Dynasty's ocean trade...
To be honest, I personally do not approve of this business. Although the cooperation with Ming Dynasty merchants does not bring much profit each time, it is better than long-term stability. However, the cooperation with Zhao Gechen will certainly increase the profit in the short term, but it will not last long. However, after the southeastern patrol allows the Yamen to monopolize the Ming Dynasty's ocean trade, I'm afraid the brothers will lose their way of making money, but..."
Having said this, Zuo Qiuci shook his head regretfully and continued: "After all, I am just a contact person and cannot make the decision... In our profession, we have always tied our heads to our belts. We are precarious and may die at any time, so I Those brothers never pay attention to long-term interests. Nine times out of ten they will agree to this business, and I will tell them what you mean...
But in this way, after two or three years, the Southeast Patrol Envoy Yamen will have a monopoly on the Ming Dynasty's ocean trade, and my brothers will also lose a way to make money. If they are extremely poor, they will target the Southeast Patrol Envoy. What will happen to the Yamen's fleet then? "
The implication of Zuo Qiuci's words was that he hoped that the southeast patrol would enable the yamen to follow the example of those ocean-going smugglers and pay a sum of money to the pirates for each shipment of goods.
However, in response to Zuo Qiuci's hint, Guo Min shook his head and said: "Let's talk about the future matters later... What's more, Zhao Gechen has three businesses to do with you. Shopkeeper Zuo Qiu will listen to the next two businesses first. Maybe these two businesses will be your new ways of making money in the future!"
"Oh? Boss Guo, please elaborate."
Guo Min said slowly: "This second business is grain. Zhao Gechen hopes that the brothers of Zuoqiu Boss can try their best to collect all kinds of grains and transport them to the territory of the Ming Dynasty... Zuoqiu Boss must not despise the profits of this business. Low actually has great benefits!
First of all, the volume of goods is large. Zhao Gechen will charge as much as you have; secondly, the price is high. In the past, you only robbed merchant ships at sea and sold the stolen goods to the Ming Dynasty. But after all, they were just stolen goods, and the selling price was only three times the market price. Fifty percent, but Zhao Gechen is willing to buy your grain at 90% of the market price. In the end, it is stable and safe. There is no need for the brothers of Zuoqiu to risk their lives and plunder... What does Zuoqiu think? "
The market price is 90%, which seems very high. After Zhao Junchen purchased it, he also had to pay for transportation. It can be said that he made no profit but lost money.
But in fact, if there is a food shortage in the territory of the Ming Dynasty in the future, the market price and the black market price will be ten times different, and having food in hand can stabilize the situation between the government and the opposition, so Zhao Junchen will not hesitate to invest heavily.
What's more, as long as some tricks are used in the accounts, Zhao Junchen does not have to pay the money himself, he must use the national treasury silver.
On the other side, after hearing what Guo Min said, Zuo Qiuci nodded thoughtfully and said: "It is indeed a way to make money, but how do I feel... Once I agree to this business, my brother Are we going to become Zhao Gechen's errands? The brothers' fleet is equivalent to becoming Zhao Gechen's caravan?"
Guo Min's smile remained unchanged and said: "As long as you can make money, why should you care about these things?"
Zuo Qiu Ci is indeed a shrewd person, but as he said, he is just a contact after all and cannot make the decision. However, his pirate brothers are not as shrewd and calculating as Zuo Qiu Ci, so Guo Min believes that this cooperation will be successfully completed.
After a pause, Guo Min asked again: "Master Zuoqiu, do you want to hear about the third business?"
Zuo Qiuci nodded repeatedly and said, "Boss Guo, please tell me."
Guo Min's expression became more solemn, and he lowered his voice and said slowly: "The third business is guns and cannons! Zhao Gechen hopes to purchase a large number of muskets and artillery from the Dutch East India Company. There is no limit on the types, whether they are long guns, short guns, Both heavy and light artillery, Zhao Gechen are willing to buy them, and the price is easy to negotiate!"
The North Korean and Chinese ministers secretly purchased a large amount of gunpowder and guns from foreign forces. The nature of this matter can be described as extremely serious. It is no wonder that Guo Min's attitude is so serious.
However, compared to Guo Min's seriousness, Zuo Qiuci did not see the previous scruples, and immediately waved his hands carelessly: "This matter is easy to talk about, guns and cannons are not difficult to buy, Zhao Gechen can have as many as he wants!"
Guo Min added: "But Zhao Gechen doesn't want a matchlock gun, let alone a fire door gun. He only wants the most advanced percussion flintlock gun, preferably a rifled flintlock gun! As for artillery, he only wants the most advanced smoothbore cannon. It needs to be paired with explosive bombs!”
Hearing what Guo Min said, Zuo Qiuci was stunned again.
In this era, the Ming Dynasty's technical level in manufacturing muskets and artillery was not lagging behind that of the world. Whether it was flintlock muskets or smoothbore cannons, the Ming Dynasty could manufacture them all, but the stability and qualification rate were somewhat worse, so Zuo Qiuci did not It's strange that Guo Min knows about flintlock guns, smoothbore cannons, and even percussion flintlock guns and explosive bombs.
Thinking about Zuo Qiuming, the reason why Zhao Junchen purchased guns from him was not because there were no guns and other items in the Ming Dynasty, but because the workshops that made guns in the Ming Dynasty were closely watched, making it impossible for Zhao Junchen to start. .
However, Zuo Qiuci did not expect that Guo Min actually knew about rifled flintlock muskets. You must know that rifled flintlock muskets have not yet become popular in the military in Western countries. Only nobles and hunters will be equipped with this weapon.
But in the end, Zuo Qiuci didn't go into details, just smiled and nodded: "We naturally don't dare to mess with Zhao Gechen, they are definitely the best guns! As for rifled flintlock guns and explosive bombs, I will also try to collect them One batch.”
Guo Min nodded again, then took out one hundred thousand taels of silver from his pocket and pushed it in front of Zuo Qiuci, saying: "This is the deposit for three businesses. It also allows shopkeeper Zuoqiu not to have any doubts. Zhao Gechen doesn't have many others." , there is a lot of money, as long as we cooperate happily in the future, the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu and his brothers will definitely have a continuous source of money."
Speaking of this, Guo Min remembered what Zhao Junchen said to him.
"With the large-scale mining of silver mines in various places and the inflow of silver from overseas, our country currently has no shortage of silver. In the past, it was just that we could not collect it through collection. Now with my various reforms, there is more and more silver in the national inventory. …
But after all, money is just a dead thing. It cannot be eaten or worn. It has no value if it is not spent. So this time you cooperate with the Dutch East India Company, there is no need to deliberately save money. As long as you can exchange for enough supplies, the money will be spent. value!
I bought guns from the Dutch East India Company this time, not because I deliberately wanted to do anything, but because the money was idle, I might as well buy some guns to strengthen the court's military strength, just in case in the future... wait until the future Once the network is stable, we can also introduce Western gunsmiths... Although the guns made by our military craftsmen are not backward, the pass rate is really hard to describe. "
Guo Min didn't know whether Zhao Junchen's words were his true thoughts, or just to make him feel more at ease when buying arms, but in any case, he already knew that Zhao Junchen was not afraid of spending money, so he was also Extraordinarily generous.
On the other side, after Zuo Qiuci carefully counted the banknotes, the smile on his face became more and more cheerful, and then he patted his chest repeatedly and promised that he would definitely facilitate these businesses.
Next, Zuo Qiuci and Guo Min discussed some business details and established friendship. Seeing that it was getting late, Guo Min finally stood up and left.
And just when Zuo Qiuci sent Guo Min out of the room, Guo Min seemed to have thought of something, turned around and added: "By the way, the three businesses of Zhao Gechen, not only must the shopkeeper Zuo Qiu For my brothers overseas, it would be best if they could win over the Dutch East India Company... As far as I know, after the Dutch-French War and the Third Dutch-British Naval War, the Dutch court is currently in a very difficult situation and should be concerned about these businesses. interest."
Hearing this, Zuo Qiuci was stunned again. He had no idea that Guo Min not only knew the current situation in the Netherlands, but also knew about the Dutch-French War and the Third Anglo-Dutch Naval Battle.
In fact, Zuo Qiuci had only heard about these things, but he didn't know what they were about.
After being stunned like this for a long time, Zuo Qiuci looked at Guo Min carefully and said slowly: "I haven't seen him for more than a year. I didn't expect that Boss Guo's knowledge has increased so much. He can be called a supernatural power." Got it!"
Guo Min smiled and shook his head, saying: "It's not that I have great magical powers, but that Zhao Gechen has great powers! Therefore, if the great shopkeeper Zuoqiu can cooperate with Zhao Gechen for a long time, he will naturally not suffer any loss."
After saying that, Guo Min turned around and left.
Zuo Qiuci stood upstairs, watching Guo Min's figure gradually disappear from the window, and suddenly waved to summon a waiter and ordered: "In the next period of time, I will go to sea for a while, and I will close the shop for the time being. Unless this Guo Min comes to visit again, all other guests will refuse to entertain us!"
*
Although Zhao Junchen's ocean-going plan has been laid out and is progressing smoothly, it will definitely not be able to see results in a short period of time. At this time, it has not attracted the attention of both the government and the opposition.
In fact, in addition to the merchants who paid close attention to what Huo Zhengyuan did in Jiangsu, the officials also only paid attention to it for a period of time at the beginning.
But soon, a big event happened that quickly diverted the attention of most people.
That is - in Hunan, after the new imperial envoy Wang Youlun played a hide-and-seek game with Prince Zhu Heyu for a while, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore and completely broke out, and completely broke up with Prince Zhu Heyu. !
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Still six thousand words!
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