On the eighth day of October in the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign, a bird ship named "Xiazi No. 62" set out from Gaizhou Port in the early morning after being loaded with cargo. By noon, the Bohai Strait was clearly in sight on the east side.
This ship came from Xiamen and carried two thousand stones. In addition to more than two hundred stones of soybeans, the cargo on the ship also contained hundreds of packages of melon seeds, fungus, beef tendons, venison, etc.
Since the ship has paid taxes at the customs office at Lianyun Island, there is an apricot pennant hanging on the top of the mainmast. The customs offices located south of Gaiping along the way will not notice the pennant on the ship when they see it. Send another ship for inspection.
During the Qing Dynasty, merchants from southern provinces began to trade in the Northeast after the maritime ban was lifted in the middle of Kangxi. In the late Kangxi period, a large number of southern maritime merchants came to the Liaodong Peninsula to engage in trade. Businessmen from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces also built a Sanjiang Guild Hall in Gaizhou.
In these years, those who came to Liaodong to engage in maritime trade included sand ships, bird ships, guard ships and east ships. Sand ships generally come from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, bird ships from Fujian; guard ships and east ships, as their names suggest, come from Tianjin and Shandong.
Before the military boom in Beihai Town, the commodities imported to Liaodong by sea ships from various places were mainly cotton, silk, tea, paper, sugar, porcelain and other handicraft products, while the export commodities included soybeans, cereals, dried fruits, seafood, mountain medicinal materials, etc. .
Since the 51st year of Qianlong's reign, due to the large-scale deployment of troops by the Qing Dynasty outside the customs, rice and other grains were not allowed to go to sea. At the same time, the demand for cotton cloth, grain and various medicinal materials increased sharply, so the sea trade of the entire Liaodong Peninsula became increasingly intensive. Prosperity.
As of the 53rd year of Qianlong's reign, the total tax collected by the 25 tax gates of Shanhaiguan Customs exceeded 200,000 taels. In addition to the three types of taxable silver, the surplus amounted to more than 100,000 taels.
Many people may have no idea. Taking the forty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign as an example, the total tax revenue of Shanhaihai Customs that year was 130,000 taels, with a surplus of 70,000 taels of silver.
It can be seen that war is indeed an important driving force for economic prosperity, but we do not know how long this "prosperity" can last.
When "Xiazi No. 62" was traveling more than 20 miles away from the Bohai Strait, the sailors on the deck accidentally discovered that three large ships suddenly appeared from the sea-sky line on the east side.
At this time, the view on the sea was excellent. The cold wind blowing from the northwest blew away the light mist rising on the sea in the morning. How big was the ship that could be seen twenty miles away?
As a result, the bow of the ship and the sailors on the deck all forgot about the work at hand, and all used their hands to cover their heads to look around. Those who were resting and busy in the cabin also ran up to watch after hearing the news.
Not far behind "Xiazi No. 62", several accompanying bird boats and sand boats apparently also discovered anomalies in the sea in the distance. However, what is different from sand boats is that because Fujian is close to Guangdong, the bows of some bird boats are equipped with telescopes smuggled from the outer sea. So when the bow of the "Xiazi No. 62" opened its telescope and looked into the distance, I was shocked to see the silhouettes of the three large ships approaching quickly, and they could fit two duck eggs into their wide-open mouths.
After a while, the figure of the Thunder God became clearer. When he saw the blue and white hull, Mr. Niu Lao on the bow lamented: "Uncle Tiangong, what a disaster! Why did you encounter these gangsters?"
It is said that in the past few years, the Thor and the Thunder have become a presence on the coast that everyone is afraid of and hides from every ship.
Not to mention that Zhao Xin bullied the British off the coast of Guangzhou and bombarded the Macau Fort and the Xiangshan Water Camp, which caused great turmoil along the Fujian and Guangdong coasts; just what Deng Fei did with the Thunder and two motor-sailing ships in Rongcheng last year, even more It makes the merchant ships from all over the sea trade in Liaodong unknown to everyone, and they are frightened.
Fortunately, the large ships of the Northern Navy usually sail in the Yellow Sea, and even if they are anchored, they are near Wutiaosha at the junction of the inner and outer oceans. The routes of coastal merchant ships are all in the inland sea, so everyone does not interfere with the river, and the Northern Navy has never plundered.
At this time, the north wind was strong, and the sailor Jin Aguang next to Niu Boss on the bow said: "Dua, let's hoist the sail and leave quickly?"
"I've beaten you! Get out of here? That's a big iron ship from the God of Thunder. It can travel thousands of miles a day!" Boss Niu finished cursing, frowned and thought for a moment, then ordered everyone on the deck: "Let's break up! It's time to do it!" Why don't you go! Just pretend you didn't see it and let's go our own way!"
So after another half an hour, the huge figure of the Thor was revealed, and only a person's shout came from the loudspeaker on the bow: "Those ships in front, stop! Don't be afraid, we are I want to do business with you.”
At this time, the sailors on the bird boat all looked at Boss Niu, and Jin Aguang asked again: "Dua, what are you talking about?"
"Shai Xiao!! This is asking us to anchor and stop the ship. How will we explain to our boss when we get back!"
The financial deputy standing next to Boss Niu twirled his beard and said, "No, haven't you heard of Beihai's rare goods? Yu once saw something called matches at the owner's house. The price was fifteen taels, and a box was worth tens of taels. The roots can be set on fire with just a stroke. I think we might even make a fortune this time."
So, faced with the pressure of the three large ships approaching, the five bird boats and the two sand boats behind them had to lower their sails and anchor.
With a series of deafening metal friction and roars, the large anchors on both sides of the Thor were thrown into the sea, and Beihai 1 and 2 also stopped on the left and right sides of the Thor.
Not long after, everyone on the bird boat and the sand boat saw two white brackets sticking out from the deck of the Thor. A black boat was hung on the bracket, and there were several people on it. There was a buzzing sound, and the boat quickly landed on the sea.
At this time, the sailors on each ship gathered around the side of the ship to watch. They saw that the people on the black boat neither raised the sail nor operated the oars, but made a roar and came towards the fleet of bird boats.
Boss Niu and all the sailors' hearts were in their throats. They saw the black boat moving very fast, with white waves constantly surging at the tail. In the blink of an eye, it was outside their bird boat.
At this time, the speed of the black boat slowed down. A person on the boat held up a gray-white trumpet-shaped object and shouted to Boss Niu and others: "Put down the ladder! We want to go up to discuss business with you!"
"Dua, what should we do?" All the sailors looked at Boss Niu, waiting for him to make up his mind.
Boss Niu's eyes were rolling around, hesitating, and he just listened to the deputy financial officer: "Why don't you lower your head when you are under the eaves? Boss Niu, this opportunity is not to be missed."
"Do it! Put the ladder down!"
The baffle of the Narcissus Door on the ship was quickly removed, and a rope ladder fell down. So the speedboat slowly approached, and not long after, three people from Beihai Town got on the deck, while there were two Marine Battalion soldiers holding weapons on the speedboat.
When the sailors on the deck saw the people coming up, they unconsciously stepped back and formed a semicircle.
"Who's in charge here? We won't rob you. Everyone does business fairly."
Boss Niu felt his mouth and tongue were dry, so he took a step forward, cupped his hands, and stammered: "Here, downstairs, it's a boat, the bow, what business do you guys want to do?"
The headed trade department clerk smiled and said to Niu Laodao: "Don't worry, we are here to buy soybeans, as much as we need. What's the price?"
When Boss Niu heard this, he turned around and looked at the financial deputy. It would definitely not work if he didn't sell it. He didn't know how much it would cost.
The treasurer on the ship hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands and said: "This year there are floods in various parts of Zhili, and the imperial court is using troops again, so the price of food has increased a lot. We have traveled thousands of miles, and if this, this price is not suitable, we will not be able to follow it when we go back." The proprietor will explain.”
"It doesn't matter, you just decide the price."
After hearing this, the deputy treasurer began to calculate. The price of the soybeans bought from Gaiping this time was 1.1 taels of silver per stone, which was already three points higher than in previous years.
"Isn't an increase of 30% too much?" Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Each stone costs one, two, four, and five cents of silver."
The clerk from the Trade Department nodded, and under the anxious eyes of everyone on the ship, reported a number that surprised everyone.
"In this case, I will give you two taels per stone. It will not be easy for you to travel all the way from Fujian."
Everyone was in an uproar, thinking that there was such a good thing, and everyone was overjoyed.
Then the clerk asked again: "How many do you have?"
"Two hundred stones."
"What? It's only two hundred!"
Seeing the surprised look on the other side, the Vice Financial Officer quickly explained: "Well, your Excellency, you don't know something. The imperial court stipulates that all ships going to Liaodong for the bean trade must obtain a stamp before leaving the port. Even if you want to buy more, you can't." . Moreover, the upper limit for a large ship is 200 shi, and for a small boat is 100 shi. After purchasing, you have to pay the tax with a stamp. If the bill and the goods are found to be inconsistent when you return to port, the minimum penalty is 100 shackles and a staff, and the worst case is three years of exile. "
The mission this time is to purchase 80,000 dan. Even if the following ships cost 200 dan, it is only over 1,000 dan, which is a far cry!
The clerk from the Trade Department said helplessly: "Okay, two hundred is two hundred! In this way, if you pull the ship next to the big white ship, someone will naturally trade with you. I have to go to other ships to talk, so I'll take my leave first. "
"Stay here," the deputy treasurer hurriedly stopped the other party and asked, "I wonder if you have any rare merchandise there? This will also save me the trouble of waiting for an empty ship to return."
"You can talk to the people on the boat about this later, and they will tell you." After the clerk said that, he and the two Northern Navy soldiers quickly got off the rope ladder, and then the speedboat headed towards the bird boat behind.
The rare goods in Beihai Town are nothing more than leather goods, ginseng, matches, cigarettes, lanterns, etc. Except for Tian cigarettes, which are already copied in many places in Fujian, other goods can be sold at a good price when shipped back.
So an hour later, after approaching the Thor, both the bird ship and the sand ship sent people on board to negotiate the goods, and the deck of the Thor became a market.
The problem is that there are so many merchant ships of all kinds heading south to Liaodong. At noon, those merchant ships returning from Jinzhou, Yingkou, Niuzhuang, Gaizhou, Xiuyan, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou saw such a scene and started to follow the merchants who had finished their business. After asking around, colleagues all headed towards the Thor.
Deng Fei thought it was too cold on the deck, so he asked everyone to go to the restaurant on the second floor of the poop to talk. As a result, people came and went in the aisles and stairs, and the restaurant, which could accommodate more than 20 people, was filled with merchants speaking with Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang accents.
During this period, the treasurer on the ship casually asked: "May I ask, sir, are you buying so many soybeans to extract oil?"
The clerk from the Trade Department who was in charge of the reception was so busy that he casually said: "Grind the tofu."
Um?
There was a sudden silence in the restaurant, and you could hear a pin drop. Then a moment later, everyone suddenly burst into laughter.
"Sir, you really know how to joke!"
"Yes, yes, let's tell a joke for fun." A cold sweat broke out on the backs of several clerks' necks.
At this time, someone asked again: "I wonder what else adults need besides soybeans?"
"Tea leaves, a large amount of tea leaves, whether new tea, old tea, black tea or green tea, one hundred thousand dan is not too little, one million dan is not too much, we can purchase it at double the Jiangnan market price every year, there is no cap!"
boom! All the merchants suddenly became restless. Even those who had completed the money delivery and went out turned around and came back after hearing the sound.
At this time, a clerk said: "If it is convenient for you, you can go to Jeju Island. Our Beihai Town has a warehouse on the south side of the island, and you can trade at any time."
"I've heard of Jeju Island. But it's an overseas country! We all live overseas and have no plans!"
"yes!"
The so-called "needle map" is the ancient navigation route. There is no picture on it, but it says what time and tide level to set sail, what is the speed of the ship, which direction to go, what is the reference object; then where to arrive at a certain time, which direction to go again, and how much time it takes. At the same time, the position of the Big Dipper and the direction of the spoon handle should be explained on the night route.
Maritime trade activities reached the Qing Dynasty, and there were basically no problems with the inland shipping routes. However, the north and south routes were still managed separately so as not to offend each other. However, overseas routes are a secret kept by various shipowners. Generally speaking, gentry who want to do maritime trade have to hire shipowners at a high price and give them a share of the business.
This situation did not gradually end until the end of the Opium War and the Qing government was forced to fully open overseas trade.
However, this matter is difficult for others, but it is really nothing for Beihai Town. Shen Jingdan got his start in sea trade. In the past few years, he went to Jiangnan several times. Through a combination of coercion and inducement, he obtained a plan to travel from Jiangnan and Shandong to the Li Dynasty and the island country.
So the clerk from the Ministry of Trade said with a smile: "We have it! Five taels of silver each."
"I want two copies!"
"I also want!"
"Don't be anxious, I'll bring it to you right away. Let's pay the money and issue a receipt first."
By the way, five taels of silver is nothing compared to the huge profits from sea trade! Haven't you heard that there is no limit to the amount of tea you want? A bird boat of two to three thousand dan can transport it very well, but an eight hundred dan sand boat is like child's play!
After the ships left at night, people from the Ministry of Trade took inventory of today's harvest and purchased a total of more than 7,000 shi of soybeans. Business is doing very well, and advertisements for Jeju Island have been put out. The problem is that even one-tenth of the purchase volume is not enough.
Deng Fei and Ding Guofeng calculated that according to this situation, they would have to wait at least ten days to get it together. The question is who has the spare time? Now Wang Yuanfang has begun to use the war horse feed to grind tofu. If it is later, the war horse will have nothing to eat.
However, according to my chat with these sea trade merchants today, I learned that there are currently large stocks of soybeans in Jinzhou and Fuzhou cities. So Deng Fei and Ding Guofeng immediately decided to set off immediately, enter Jinzhou Bay overnight, and go ashore tomorrow to grab, oh no, buy soybeans!
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