"Sea tax and charter?" This new term surprised Chai Ke and Yang He and made them a little confused. Yang He reacted faster and asked quickly: "Ziying, you are talking about sea tax, but you are talking about sea tax." Refers to the commercial tax on sea trade?”
"Well, that's pretty much what it means. Reset the Shipping Department, but don't limit it to one or two places. You can set up several more places according to needs to encourage maritime trade and collect commercial taxes." Feng Ziying said calmly: "Announce such a plan. Then they borrowed money using the commercial taxes from the ship trade as collateral..."
"What is the charter?" Chai Ke asked in a deep voice.
"Since we are going to open the sea, then naturally not just anyone can participate. Maritime trade has huge risks and huge profits. Naturally, it requires powerful merchants to participate. In that case, a royal concession is required. Just like salt merchants, according to needs , each province and city can determine a few shipping companies, and can even negotiate the number and price of participating merchants based on the route, such as Japan, North Korea, Ryukyu, Sulu, Luzon, and even farther away, including Manchuria and even the West!"
Feng Ziying's words made both Chai Ke and Yang He's hearts flutter.
Chai Ke was from Qianjiang, Huguang, and Yang He was from Wuling, Huguang. Both of them were representatives of the Huguang faction in the imperial court. In addition, the opposition official Yingzhen was from Huanggang, Huguang. The Huguang scholars had considerable power in the court.
They were not as resistant to the sea as the northern scholars, but they were not as closely related to maritime merchants as the Jiangnan and Fujian and Guangdong scholars, so they were relatively neutral.
Moreover, these people are known to be pragmatic and capable in the DPRK, so when they heard that Feng Ziying said that they could use the opening of the sea as an opportunity to find a way to make money, and then promote the counterinsurgency or even expand the territory and solve their own big troubles, they naturally felt very worried. For heartbeat.
Chai Ke and Yang He naturally understood that opening the sea was not a simple matter. It involved both the feelings of northern scholars and the interests of southern merchants. At the same time, what position the imperial court held in this process was also intriguing. , the attitude of the emperor and the emperor, once the sea is opened, what kind of changes it will bring to the north and the south need to be carefully evaluated, but there is no doubt that this is indeed a path.
So Feng Ziying said it was drinking poison to quench thirst. Is this what he meant?
"Ziying, what do you mean by drinking poison to quench thirst?" Chai Ke asked cautiously.
"Master Chai, although the Taizu of this dynasty was a merchant, after the founding of the dynasty, he adopted the same policy as the previous Ming Dynasty, supporting agriculture and suppressing business. However, with the rapid growth of the population in our dynasty, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River has become increasingly large. However, in the north, due to bad weather and frequent floods and droughts, the number of refugees has increased significantly, so opening up the sea is actually something that must be put on the table."
Feng Ziying did not hide anything: "Students once introduced Sulu and Luzon in "Internal Reference" in "Stories from Outside the Territory". Such fertile land has three crops a year, but the local natives practice slash-and-burn farming, wasting those fields. In addition, it is rich in gold, silver and copper mines, which are in short supply in our dynasty. If sea trade develops, it can be mined and transported back to our dynasty, and the harvested grain can also be transported back. What's more, if sea trade develops, this sea transportation will also It can alleviate the water transportation pressure of grain transportation from the south to the north..."
Chai Ke and Yang He both frowned. How could it be such a simple matter involving water transportation? But that’s all for the future.
"Ziying, you haven't said anything about the meaning of drinking poison to quench thirst." Yang He asked.
"What the student means is that if this sea trade flourishes, it will definitely have a huge impact on the entire coastal area. Whether or not people drink poison to quench their thirst may vary from person to person. If some merchants collude with external Japanese pirates and smuggle, it will become more and more powerful, and even The people are also drifting outside and become aliens. I am afraid they will be regarded as drinking poison to quench their thirst. However, if the imperial court can form a navy fleet because of this, it can also deter Japan and North Korea and then support the Liaodong war. Even if it is really drinking poison to quench their thirst, then we can It’s like we found the antidote to the poison and resolved it.”
Chai Ke and Yang He both nodded at the same time, Feng Ziying's words hit the point.
Although the maritime ban has historical reasons, it is not without its drawbacks.
Firstly, if the people along the coast are colluding with Japanese pirates and smugglers, it will be difficult to control them. Secondly, in a place with a large number of people, such as Tianshao, they often set sail to the sea and move to Southeast Asia. If they do not accept the king's rule, how should we deal with it?
This is probably the most difficult thing for the court to accept.
Chai Ke thought for a moment before speaking: "Ziying, in your opinion, can Kaihai borrow money from merchants using sea taxes and concessions as collateral to support our war?"
Feng Ziying laughed and said, "Master Chai, you underestimate the benefits of opening up the sea. In fact, you and Master Yang probably know in their hearts that many wealthy businessmen in Fujian and Zhejiang are landowners on the surface, but in fact they go out to sea for smuggling." To make profits, if the sea trade can be carried out in the name of the imperial court, the amount of sea tax and charter money will definitely not be small. It is not just a mere few thousand troops to support what is needed? But the specific number, the student has not done any investigation and has not said anything. Right, but as long as the imperial court is interested and arranges for the Ministry of Household Affairs to send personnel to conduct a secret investigation, they can come up with a rough idea, but it will definitely be no less."
Chai Ke nodded slightly, "No wonder all the scholars from Fujian and Zhejiang are calling for the opening of the sea. Even the officials from Fujian and Zhejiang in the imperial court have many complaints about the sea ban."
Feng Ziying smiled and said nothing. This involves the different interests between scholars from Fujian and Zhejiang and scholars from Huguang. There will naturally be differences.
But if we can't convince the northern scholars, I'm afraid there will be twists and turns in the opening of the sea.
"Ziying, this matter still needs to be discussed in detail, but if the court can agree to this matter, I'm afraid it will take some twists and turns and time, right?" Yang He thought for a while before asking again.
"Master Yang, as long as the court has this intention, it won't be a big problem. It doesn't matter if it takes a little longer. Liu Dongyang's departure from Shazhou to the west is only the first step. It may not be necessary to capture Hami in one step. Standing at Shazhou If we keep a firm foothold, clear up business channels, and achieve some results, it won't be too late to consider Hami affairs." Feng Ziying smiled and shook her head: "Think about it, the emperor and the elders definitely want to see continuous victory and success, right? What?"
Chai Ke and Yang He secretly admired how this guy was only sixteen years old, but his mind was so thoughtful that he could even figure out the thoughts of the princes and the emperor. He was really born to be an official.
No wonder both Zhang Jingqiu and Qiao Yingjia were full of praise for this boy. With such an understanding, he could still get ahead even if he didn't have a commoner.
Only by continuing to succeed can we persist for a longer period of time and raise funds to open the sea there to ease the pressure. Taking Shazhou now can stop the mouths of the court, and then wait for half a year to take Hami again. If we can find another It should not be a problem to wait for a year or two to provide some other good news about the tribute trade to cater to the wishes of the emperor and the princes of the court.
In two years, everything should have a result.
After coming out of Chai and Yang's place, Zheng Chongjian, who had been unable to say a word, accompanied Feng Ziying out. Feng Ziying saw that the other party had been silent and was a little strange: "What's wrong, Dazhang? Why have you lost your energy?"
"Looking at you pointing out the country in front of Mr. Chai Yang, Brother Yu is really sour and bitter. Why is there such a big difference between this man and other people?" Zheng Chongjian took a deep breath, "You I don't envy you if you come out to serve as an envoy to the grassland. You seduced the little girl. I don't envy you. You will go back to show your victory to the emperor and the cabinet ministers soon. Brother Yu is still unknown. Why is there such a huge difference between this person and this person? He is unwilling to do so."
Zheng Chongjian's slightly exaggerated words made Feng Ziying laugh, "Dazhang, are you praising me, or are you criticizing yourself? Stop acting in front of me. Master Chai and Brother Chu Cai are both very satisfied with your performance. Chai Your Excellency even asked me if I am interested in staying in the Ministry of War after the administration is over. Brother Chu Cai also highly approves of you and hopes that you will stay in the Staff Department of the Ministry of War..."
"Really?" Zheng Chongjian perked up.
He has a calm and reserved personality, and he doesn't like to express his emotions in front of others. Even in front of other students, you can only see his mature side, but after all, he is only a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, and he is quite close to him. Feng Ziying, who got along well with her, was more open-minded in front of her.
"Have you ever lied in front of Brother Dazhang?" Feng Ziying pondered for a moment, "I guess Mr. Chai still wants to keep you in the Ministry of War to sharpen your skills, and now Mr. Chai will not be able to hold the post of governor of the three sides for a short time. It is impossible to resign, and it is estimated that I will have to wait until Liu Dongyang’s troops capture Shazhou before he can be said to be resigning.”
Zheng Chongjian hesitated for a moment, "Ziying, do you mean that after Liu Dongyang takes Shazhou, Master Chai will return to the Ministry of War?"
"Well, the return is a return, so I'm afraid he may not be the right minister." Feng Ziying smiled, "Master Chai's talents are obvious to all, and he is also a pragmatic person. Today's emperor likes this kind of officials the most..."
"Left Minister of the Ministry of War?" Zheng Chongjian took a deep breath, "Xiao Shangshu will..."
"I'm afraid he won't be able to sit in this position anymore. It would be best if he resigns as soon as possible. The position of Zuo Shilang is also reserved for Mr. Chai, especially since the counter-insurgency affairs went very smoothly this time. Mr. Chai will be promoted to a higher position after he returns. It's just around the corner." Feng Ziying looked at Zheng Chongjian, "Dazhang, if you continue to suffer in Ganzhou for another year and a half, I believe that the three-year political observation period will save at least half of your time, and it will also be great for you to stay in Beijing. The advantage is that even if you want to go out in the future, you will be one step ahead of other students."
Seeing that Feng Ziying was so sincere, Zheng Chongjian no longer tried to hide it, "If Mr. Chai resigns as the governor of the three sides, is there any chance that your father will take over?"
Feng Ziying also considered this issue, but unexpectedly Zheng Chongjian actually thought of it. He thought for a while and then said: "The imperial court generally chooses civil servants for governors. After all, this is a temporary position, but during the reign of Guanyuan Xinian Until now, there have been precedents for governors to be replaced by military attachés, not just civilian officials. However, governors are still mainly civil servants, so it is hard to say whether my father will take over. However, my father is not young anymore, and he may not be willing to stay in Ganzhou. …”
