"Zhongcheng, it's hard for us to accept your country's regulations. It's simply unreasonable! Why do we have to use your currency? In addition, your tariffs are really ridiculously high. You don't have them in Nagasaki or Manila." Gao, hasn’t the Chinese Empire always advocated light corvee and low tax, and good neighborliness and friendship? Why did it suddenly impose such a heavy tariff on Songjiang?!"
Eric, the captain of the Hongmaofan merchant ship, expressed his dissatisfaction to Sun Chengzong, the governor of Susong.
Sun Chengzong replied directly: "You don't have to come to Songjiang to buy our official cotton and silk."
When Eric heard what Sun Chengzong said, he slapped the table directly: "You guys are going too far!"
When Sun Chengzong saw this, he just rolled his eyes at him, put down the tea and said, "See you off!"
Therefore, Eric had no choice but to leave the Susong Governor's Yamen.
Eric's deputy, Widenna, also hurriedly followed Eric and whispered: "Mr. Eric, what should we do now? The silk and cotton here are the best and cheapest. We have nothing else that is better." choose!"
Eric said angrily: "Now I really want to use a cannon to teach these hateful Orientals a lesson! Just like we teach the Indians in the Americas!"
"But this is a huge and difficult empire. We can only play the role of businessmen here."
Widener replied.
"So, I feel even more annoyed. Only the Cotton Yarn Bureau and the Weaving Bureau here can provide such cheap and high-quality cloth. We have no choice!"
Eric replied, and said: "Forget it, Widener, let's just follow their rules."
Next, because Eric and other foreign merchants could not give up buying textiles produced by the Cotton Yarn Bureau and the Weaving Bureau, they followed the rules set by Zhu Youxiao and went to the Baoquan Bureau branch to exchange for Ming Dynasty silver coins, and went there honestly. I went to the West Factory Lift Department and paid a heavy tariff.
The government-owned textile industry established by Zhu Youxiao using new spinning and weaving technologies successfully implemented currency reform and new tariff policies in Songjiang Prefecture, which also enabled Ming Dynasty to further open up the sea.
As a result, the imperial court had an additional income from the exchange of silver coins for foreign currencies, and an additional income from customs duties.
Coupled with the profits earned by the government-run textile industry itself, the Ming Dynasty's treasury's current silver storage has increased sharply.
Zhu Youxiao had to ask the Municipal Shipping Department and the Grain Industry Bureau to increase their efforts to import grain, cotton, raw silk, wood, iron ore, agate, and gemstones from outside to offset the phenomenon of cheap silver and high value of money caused by large amounts of silver.
As a result, prices in Daming remain at a low level.
This is simply too happy for the people in Songjiang Prefecture.
Because the people in this area have just received a large increase in income due to the expansion of the cotton yarn bureau and the weaving bureau and the increase in workers' income, but prices are still not high, so the lives of the people in this area are becoming more and more prosperous.
In fact, not only Songjiang Prefecture, but also people in other areas of Jiangnan surrounding Songjiang Prefecture are becoming more and more prosperous because they come to Songjiang Prefecture to work.
Because Shanghai County in Songjiang Prefecture has two of the most profitable cotton yarn bureaus and weaving bureaus, it has attracted a large number of poor people from Jiangnan, which has acted as a siphon, increasing the income of ordinary people in Jiangnan and narrowing the gap between rich and poor. It was just like before, except that the gentry in Jiangnan were particularly wealthy, and the people at the bottom were still hungry.
Therefore, even though Zhu Youxiao asked Zhang Tongchang to severely suppress many troublemaking villagers in this area, these Jiangnan people did not become dissatisfied with the imperial court.
In addition to the foreign companies that also produced cotton and silk, the real victims in China were naturally the Jiangnan gentry.
After all, the benefits of exporting silk and cotton to the sea were originally monopolized by them.
But now, part of this profit has flowed into the national treasury, part has flowed into the emperor's inner treasury, part has flowed into the powerful gentry who supported the emperor, and part has flowed into the common people, but they themselves, who originally benefited from it alone, have not received a cent.
Therefore, they had to face the bankruptcy of their weaving and spinning mills.
They also had to face the situation where a large number of people from their own clan and villagers entered the government-run cotton yarn bureau and weaving bureau to work, thus losing control over these people.
As a result, their tribesmen and villagers began to disobey them less and less.
Their "independent kingdom" is beginning to fall apart.
The Jiangnan gentry are very reluctant to accept this reality, but they must accept it unless they rebel.
Of course, some of them must have had objections, but most of them still chose to tolerate it. Just like in history, the Manchu Qing Dynasty strictly implemented a sea ban in order to prevent the southeastern gentry from providing logistical supplies to the Zheng family in Taiwan, and even moved the coastal gentry inland for thirty years. Just like here, even if these people's interests are seriously damaged, most of them still choose to endure it.
For them, rebelling is a decision that requires careful consideration. After all, they are not desperate. They still have land and other industries.
Most of these Jiangnan gentry still just hope that Zhu Youxiao's era will pass quickly, or that Emperor Zhu Youxiao will change his mind early and allow the court to return to the era of forbidden seas in Jiangnan, abolish the Weaving Bureau and Cotton Yarn Bureau, and let Haili returned to an era that only belonged to the Jiangnan gentry.
But this is no longer possible.
Because the powerful gentry who supported the emperor's government-run textile industry have made a lot of money this time. They now only feel that His Majesty the Emperor is a good emperor who truly deserves their allegiance. They even began to sincerely hope that the government-run textile industry can continue to be established like this. If it goes on, it will not change even if the emperor changes.
Having tasted the sweetness, they no longer want to spit out the meat they have eaten in their mouths.
However, what they didn't know was that their Emperor was already thinking about cutting off their flesh.
"Exquisite official porcelain and colored glaze must be developed and sold in factories as soon as possible. In addition, the glass, soap, cigarettes and other processes developed by Shang Gongjian must be put into production as soon as possible to make more luxurious things and sell them to these dignitaries. Noble man, please earn back the dividends given to them!"
Zhu Youxiao very much hoped that the courtiers who would become rich with him could spend more, even if it was luxury consumption, instead of using it to buy land and make loan sharks. That was something he didn't want to see. After all, the latter would only aggravate the land conflict. and class conflicts.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao had to rack his brains to ask Shang Gongjian to work with the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering to develop various new products to encourage these people to consume, and it was at this time that he gave these instructions to Liu Ruoyu.
"In addition, you can pass on my decree to gather people like Wen Zhenheng and Ji Cheng who are good at gardening to form a government-run construction bureau specializing in building luxurious gardens, and design and build some luxurious gardens so that they can be sold to these people. Loyalists, let them have a better place to live, so it must be luxurious and expensive enough, just to use the wood stockpiled by Shibo Division from outside, so the price must be set high, and it must be high enough."
Zhu Youxiao's real purpose is naturally not to provide a good residence for the powerful and gentry, but to make money from these people by engaging in real estate.
"My slave obeys the order!"
Liu Ruoyu replied.
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