It was he who proposed the Jiangnan businessmen's visit to Beijing. They originally wanted to talk about the development of Nanyang and even Annan, but they didn't expect the Weng family's reply to say that more guests would come, mentioning the Zheng family and the Shen family. , Xu family, Xu family and many others, it was a big surprise to Feng Ziying.
Feng Ziying used to deal with Jiangnan businessmen mostly with the Weng family. Occasionally, the Zheng family would also participate. Others usually did not meet formally, and they mostly just talked with each other. However, this time Weng Qiming mentioned in the letter that the businessmen had some ideas. Feng Ziying vaguely guessed something.
Of course he wouldn't refuse.
In other words, I originally had some ideas in this regard, but I haven't considered them mature yet and feel that some conditions are not yet mature. However, the influence of Jiangnan businessmen should not be underestimated, and we may be able to get more information from them.
In the past few years, the relationship between Feng Ziying and Jiangnan merchants seems to have become much less apparent, but it has become closer on the inside. From the development of Nanyang to the prosperity of the Yangzhou Stock Exchange, everything has touched the biggest interests of Jiangnan merchants.
Jiangnan merchants indeed have a sharper business sense than Shanshan and Shaanxi merchants, and their actions are more radical. In contrast, Shanshan and Shaanxi merchants are more willing to follow up under the guidance of the court, while Jiangnan merchants like to go first and win by themselves. The first one, because eating soup is always the most profitable, and the court guarantees it last.
However, Feng Ziying's intuition and vision are further than those of the Jiangnan merchants, which also makes the Jiangnan merchants feel that Feng Ziying is the real leader of their Jiangnan merchants. Whenever they have new ideas and paths, Feng Ziying's guidance can make them feel fresh and new, and they are overjoyed. .
Because of this, countless Jiangnan businessmen lamented why Feng Ziying was not a Jiangnan scholar.
They felt that Feng Ziying's temperament made it impossible for him to be a scholar from the North, let alone from Wu Xun. But it was this person who, over the years, started from proposing the strategy of opening up the sea and walked down step by step. He has become the most caring and agreeable partner and ally of Jiangnan merchants, and no one can match him.
Gu Bingqian and Xu Guangqi are both authentic Jiangnan gentry, but one is obsessed with fighting for power in the court, and the other is immersed in agricultural science. The expelled Huang Ruliang and even more Jiangnan gentry still tend to be those land gentry, so this also makes The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River increasingly feel that geographical boundaries are no longer an issue. The key is who can represent their interests and who can bring them benefits.
No one can do it except Feng Ziying.
Facing an era of change, Jiangnan businessmen certainly have their own eyes, channels, and connections in the DPRK. The cabinet change next spring will become the focus of everyone's attention.
Although the development momentum of Dazhou has been very good in the past few years, the cabinet and even the DPRK and China are constantly entangled in disputes, which has also affected many policies.
Every class and group hopes that their interests should be protected and supported, and their wishes should be reflected.
In particular, the industrial and commercial class believes that industrial and commercial taxes increase at a very high rate every year, which of course gives them stronger confidence.
Therefore, they hope to have a good talk with Feng Ziying, communicate and express their feelings.
Feng Ziying was a little surprised when the Weng brothers arrived at the same time.
In my impression, the Weng brothers never appear together, either Weng Qiming or Weng Qiyang.
This is also true for the Jiangnan merchants themselves, the Dongting merchants and the Longyou merchants. It is almost rare to see these two appearing at a public and formal occasion at the same time, probably only at family gatherings or ancestor worship of the Weng family. get.
Two representatives from the salt merchants came. In addition to He Tingfa, there was also Gu Zuming, the representative of the Huizhou salt merchants.
Although the Yangzhou salt merchants are Yangzhou salt merchants in name, they are actually mainly composed of Huizhou salt merchants, Shanshan salt merchants and Yangzhou local salt merchants.
But since the Ming Dynasty, these salt merchants from Shanshan and Huizhou have been living in Yangzhou for generations. Although their ancestral home is Shanshan or Huizhou, they have already settled in Yangzhou, and they should be regarded as new Yangzhou people.
However, over the past hundred years, some people from their hometown have continued to come to Yangzhou to develop and start businesses, so they have also continued to add new blood to the salt merchants from Huizhou and Shanshan. Therefore, there are still some differences within the group of Yangzhou salt merchants. .
The merchants on Jiangyou were mainly Anfu merchants, and two of them came.
Two Longyou merchants also came.
The majority of sea trade merchants are from Fujian and Zhejiang, with one from Fujian and one from Zhejiang.
This makes the scale quite grand, a full ten people.
In the past, Feng Ziying would meet at most three or four Jiangnan merchants, and most of the time it would be two or three, but this time the number has more than doubled, which shows how seriously Jiangnan merchants attach importance to it.
Feng Ziying has met most of these people, and has even interacted with them, but there are also some who have only heard of their names but have never met them. However, since they can represent the local business gangs, they are naturally the most influential among them.
Looking around, Feng Ziying couldn't help but sigh. If these people wanted to give full support, it would be no problem to spend hundreds of millions of silver. They represented the most powerful capital group in this era, and even Shanxi businessmen were a little less coquettish.
It is a pity that the officials in the court have subconsciously ignored this power. They are still obsessed with the reputation of the scholars and the reputation of the land gentry, but they do not know that capital has the ability to change everything, and this era is coming.
The atmosphere was not serious. Feng Ziying was even in the mood to joke with the businessmen and talk about business this year and the coming year.
"Keding, Dongfan has become your sphere of influence. I heard that Dongfan has established a prefecture, but the prefect often has to listen to the opinions of you Anfu merchants. Do you think this is a good phenomenon or a bad thing? Is it a sign?" Feng Ziying said with a smile.
Liu Keding is the chief representative among Anfu businessmen. He has been happily cooperating with Feng Ziying over the years, and he has unswervingly followed Feng Ziying's baton, participating from Dongpan to Palawan and then to Ezo.
However, Anfu merchants preferred Nanbian. The great success of Dongfan greatly strengthened Anfu merchants' confidence and began to cooperate with Duan Xigui to develop Palawan.
The number of immigrants in Palawan is increasing day by day. Immigrants from Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi are beginning to enter Palawan. They are very adaptable to the climate of Palawan, but it is somewhat difficult for them to go to Ezo.
Rice cultivation on Palawan Island can produce three crops a year, which is unmatched by these places on the mainland.
Of course, the threat and impact of typhoons every year is also a problem, causing great fluctuations in food cultivation here. However, for the tenant farmers and laborers who are used to poverty and have no land in their hands, they can be given a piece of land that they can cultivate and plant on their own, and they can make their own decisions. The land simply gave them a second life. No matter what difficulties and obstacles they had, they could not stop their enthusiasm and passion.
Palawan's reclamation has entered a period of rapid development, but Feng Ziying knows very well that Palawan cannot accommodate many people, and Annan and Old Port are the future.
However, there are still some promising places around Palawan, such as Panay Island and Mindanao Island, which have good water and heat conditions for rice production. The Francois are expanding, but they are beyond their capabilities. A great opportunity for Anfu businessmen.
There are too many islands in Southeast Asia with good water and heat conditions. Even if any island is not as good as Dongfan, it is still similar.
As the exploration of Nanyang becomes increasingly in-depth, the most detailed map of Nanyang is now on the desks of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of War, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Agriculture. How to further strengthen reclamation has also become a priority for the Zhou court. A national policy direction.
As the Great Zhou Dynasty entered a period of stability, explosive population growth was inevitable. So how to solve the livelihood pressure brought by these population growth, in addition to working on crops, relocation and cultivation has become a national policy.
Feng Ziying attaches great importance to Anfu merchants because he knows very well that in the next few decades, the Great Zhou Dynasty will have to force the court to expand, whether it is external commercial development needs or internal population pressure. Going north and west is a strategic necessity, but going south is a strategic necessity. It's due to population pressure.
Liaodong in the north is okay, but further north, it is unrealistic to say how many people can be accommodated. The same is true in the west. Unless the Yarkand Kingdom is completely solved and the Fergana Basin is entered, it may be possible to absorb some of the population, but Without 20 to 30 years of operation, it is estimated that it will be difficult to control that area.
In comparison, Nanyang is much easier.
The three major naval forces are now useless, and the imperial court is already questioning the necessity of spending a lot of money on it, so it is inevitable that the navy will go south to escort the immigrants and open up new areas.
Reclamation is not a simple matter. It requires careful planning and deployment, and involves too trivial and complicated matters.
Anfu merchants have been in business for so many years and are already familiar with the business. If another group of people does it, they may not be able to get started in a few years.
Therefore, Feng Ziying attaches great importance to this group, especially the large number of management talents trained by this group.
"Sir, we have always respected the laws of the government. The situation in Dongfang may be more special. The newcomers to the government may not be familiar with some aspects, so we tend to ask for help. However, we are seeking truth from facts and providing suggestions for the government. "
Liu Keding's answer made all the businessmen present laugh. This was a beautiful statement, but it could not conceal the influence of Anfu businessmen in Dongfan.
But it's no wonder that since the government was newly established, the officials who went there didn't know anything about it. I wonder if they could rely on Anfu businessmen to gradually get familiar with it. What else could they do?
"Keding, you Jiangxi people can also select some trustworthy people to enter the government. Jinshi is unrealistic. As for promoting people and talents, you can also be white. Wouldn't this complement each other?" Feng Ziying suggested leisurely: "In addition, the imperial court intends to recruit people in the future. When reforming the imperial examination, we should not only examine classics, meanings and current affairs, but also include examination of things, business calculations and laws..."
It was deafening and enlightening, and everyone stood up for a while.
