Li Miao wants to cultivate a group of educated and high-quality talents for his own use in the future. Of course Li Miao values force, but he values people who have brains and can do things more. Except for the village slaves, the villagers are not Li Miao’s people? He is his own banker, and with Li Miao's kind treatment, he can quickly get over it.
Now the Northern Bureau alone has a net income of more than 300,000 taels of silver per month. There are more bureaus in the south. After all, the south is the commercial center of the Zheng Dynasty. Branches have been opened in Hangzhou, Suzhou, Songjiang, Wuxi, Changzhou and other places, with a monthly turnover of more than 500,000 taels of silver.
You know, all the tea and spices are produced and sold in the inner space. It's almost all pure profit. inside the space now. Are there still more than two million taels of banknotes sleeping? This is what Li Miao requires of each head office. No one can participate in sales exceeding one hundred thousand taels of silver. A branch shall not exceed fifty thousand taels of silver.
The southern guard team has grown to more than 300 people. Wang Daoqi, the head of the Southern Bureau, wrote to ask for instructions. The current escort force is too wasteful, so we request the formation of a transport fleet. Purchase of boats, Southern Guardsmen, Shanshui Club to operate the boats. Li Miao finally wrote back and agreed.
Anyway, the money is too much to use. Now you have an income of more than 700,000 taels of silver every month, and it will be even more soon after you gain the title of Jinshi. The money can only become your strength if you spend it, otherwise it will be a burden.
Now Li Miao can only take one step and count the sweet potatoes, corns, etc. in the space. Alas, it’s still too much. We can only bring in some private goods after the land here is harvested. The area of the space will be expanded in about a month. What to plant? This is a big problem. It seems that we have to decide the direction of development. It will definitely not work around the capital. The impact will be too great.
In fact, it was a little early to set up a fleet. They were exploited during the transportation process. Shipping by sea was a matter for the future. Li Miao feels that her current status and power are not enough. Even if you win the Jinshi, you still can't let go. Always give him a taste that he can't bring out.
In fact, at the beginning, Li Miao still wanted to promote high-quality crop seeds through seed sales, but it obviously didn't work. Just like wheat and rice in hometown, they can only pass from household to village, then to township, and then to county. This is a process. It seems that there is no rush, because if people don’t see the yield of your seeds, who would dare to buy them?
Now, six to seven thousand acres of land have been purchased in Wanping and Tongzhou, high-quality seeds have been planted, and pig breeding has been started. Now we are waiting for a good harvest in the second half of the year, and there will be no shortage of people coming to buy seeds. This also has to promote seeds through demonstration effects. Otherwise, if Li Miao's inner space is to release your seeds directly to the outside, then the speed will be faster.
In this era when transportation is underdeveloped and government orders do not go to the countryside, the promotion of seeds can only be like this. What does Li Miao value most now, seeds or sweet potatoes? This thing has a high output, and there are countless people alive at critical times. It is currently near the capital. It can only go so far. Low-key and reserved.
Li Miao always felt that he had not done enough, so he asked Wang Yonggui to discuss it. At present, the southern fleet has been established. Traveling back and forth between the north and the south, they were constantly exploited by water transportation channels. If you don’t exploit, who will you exploit? So Li Miao doesn't expect it to make much money. It's about training the team. Reserve talents for future shipping and lay a solid foundation.
Li Miao said cautiously: "The future of the Zheng Dynasty lies in shipping." Li Miao just said one sentence. Wang Yonggui thought for a long time. In other words, Li Miao is interested in shipping and wants to hear Wang Yonggui's opinions.
The Zheng Dynasty has basically been closed to the outside world for nearly a hundred years. Sea closure, coastal areas infested with Japanese pirates, rampant pirates, coupled with the current political situation. Li Miao always felt that something should be done.
Wang Yonggui thought for a long time and recalled, "The owner is actually in the south. It's not a secret. Many wealthy families have connections with pirates. Even...". To put it bluntly, doesn’t the imperial court ban the sea? So pirates can smuggle?
Because the cake was so big, many wealthy and prominent families in the south and official families also secretly participated. As the saying goes, wherever there is interest, there will be people trying to get in. So, the struggle began there. Many families sent their men to join the pirates, and eventually they became pirates or even Japanese pirates.
After becoming a pirate, you can help those big families smuggle. Brought huge wealth to those families. Pirates sometimes harm coastal areas, killing people, setting fires, robbing property, and plundering women. They do all kinds of evil anyway. Therefore, in the southern coastal areas, ordinary people suffered greatly from pirates.
Li Miao's current strength cannot control so many things in the south. He is thinking about promoting his high-quality seeds in Qingzhou, Shandong. In later generations, Shandong was a large province rich in sweet potatoes. That is, after Li Miao purchased land in Qingzhou and cultivated it, he then sold it to surrounding farmers and landlords after a good harvest. This method will speed up the promotion of high-quality seeds in the north.
After all, Qingzhou area in Shandong Province is located in the coastal area and is still relatively far from the capital. Today's Qingzhou is still relatively poor, with barren land and low food yields. It is a good place to plant and promote high-quality, high-yield crops from the north.
Moreover, Qingzhou is very backward now. It is not a prefectural government at present, but only a sixth-grade state government. Slightly higher than the county level. But the vaster the land, the six counties under its jurisdiction are all poor. This shows Qingzhou’s backwardness. The imperial court itself did not pay much attention to Qingzhou. It is in line with Li Miao's low-key development strategy.
After all, doing something too big near the capital is not in line with his principle of keeping a low profile. And Qingzhou belongs to the coastal zone and can develop maritime transportation. It is also a good place.
Therefore, Li Miao explained to Wang Yonggui. On the one hand, it is to purchase land in Qingzhou, develop agriculture, and promote high-quality seeds from the north. On the other hand, it is. Just engage in sea ship construction. Start with a small sea boat first and slowly gain experience.
In addition, there is an island near Qingzhou. Also need to pay more attention. It would be best to take it down and make it your own. As your own rear area. These days no one pays much attention to the island. People's lives are so difficult on land, let alone on islands.
Many islands in the south are occupied by pirates. The resources in the north are even poorer, and they are basically uninhabited islands. If this island near Qingzhou is occupied by Li Miao, it can become Li Miao's own independent kingdom and he can do what he wants without having to hide it.
What Li Miao is talking about now is only the use of small sea ships in coastal areas. It is not just ocean transportation. Originally, with the shipbuilding technology of the Great Zheng Dynasty, it was completely possible to build large ships and develop ocean trade. But firstly, the political situation is unstable, and secondly, the national treasury is empty.
No ships have been built in nearly a hundred years. The original few large-scale ships have long since disappeared.
Li Miao used small sea boats to transport in coastal areas, which was more convenient than transporting in inland rivers. Shipping costs are also cheaper. It also saves a lot of exploitation. It can also lay a solid foundation for future ocean transportation.
