Zhang Wen, the magistrate of Hangzhou, personally brought his yamen here. He still dared to talk about doing business?
Lu Yubao, Qian Shao, Zhang Xingshun and other wealthy businessmen in Hangzhou looked at each other, having never seen such a bold person.
Zhang Wen stared at Gu Zhengchen, his majestic aura making the people around him afraid to move, and the huge dock was silent at this moment.
The merchants did not dare to speak, and the people watching did not dare to speak either.
Zhang Wen took a step forward, with a gloomy face, and shouted: "I am here, if you dare to sell an extravagant product, I will arrest you and bring you to justice!"
Gu Zhengchen stared at Zhang Wen.
This person was not an ordinary person. He was the prefect of Huzhou before the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was transferred to the prefect of Hangzhou. This position lasted seven years. The imperial court and local officials were changing one after another, but this person was sitting firmly here! This is related to Zhang Wen's political ability, but also to his strength, not afraid of offending others, and acting vigorously and resolutely, which was highly appreciated by Zhu Yuanzhang.
The rope ladder was lowered, Zhang He, Xiao Cheng and others got off the boat, followed by Gu Zhengchen.
Zhang Wen looked at the young man walking over and couldn't help but be a little shocked. He was so young and so young, he behaved calmly and calmly.
Apart from age, which can be cultivated as a matter of mind, it can only be practiced through work or by having an extraordinary status.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhang Wen, smiled indifferently, and said softly: "Prefect Zhang, can you take a step to speak."
Zhang Wen did not refuse and followed Gu Zhengchen to the ship.
Xiao Cheng stopped the person behind Zhang Wen and said in a deep voice: "Don't get close to the conversation between the prefects."
Prefect?
All the government officials were shocked.
Navy ships, overseas goods, civil servants’ prefects.
How does this look, how strange it is.
Gu Zhengchen and Zhang Wen walked to the side of the boat and said seriously: "I'm here, Gu Zhengchen."
"Gu Zhengchen?"
Zhang Wen took a deep breath, looked around, and finally saluted: "Zhang Wen, the prefect of Hangzhou, has met the man from Quanzhou County."
Gu Zhengchen returned the courtesy: "Prefect Zhang is polite."
Zhang Wen restrained his previous aggression, pointed at the boat, and asked: "Mr. Gu County, what on earth is going on?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head and said seriously: "Governor Zhang is a sensible person. He should know that banning the sea will not solve the people's food and clothing problems, it will not solve the problem of pirates, and it will not benefit the local people's livelihood. I ordered people to go to sea to find this batch of sea goods. I came here to persuade His Majesty to open the sea. But I can’t go back with a bunch of pepper, star anise, nutmeg and other spices. Your Majesty doesn’t need these, what he needs is money and food!”
Zhang Wen thought for a while and asked: "Is it really feasible for you to convince the emperor by using the profits from overseas trade? The emperor is wise and powerful. It is impossible that he does not know that trade is beneficial, but he still issued an order to ban people from going to sea."
Gu Zhengchen smiled calmly: "This time, the other time, it was because of the proliferation of pirates and the initial decision of the country that the battle against the Yuan Dynasty was a victory. But now the situation has changed. The pirates have restrained themselves. Fujian, Guangdong, etc. The land has become much more stable, and the war against the Yuan Dynasty has been forced to become defensive. Your Majesty is in urgent need of accumulating national strength in order to seek another northern expedition. Where does national strength come from? Apart from people, isn't it money and food?"
Zhang Wen looked at the confident Gu Zhengchen and asked: "You dare to go to sea without orders, and you dare to openly sell sea goods, and you are not afraid of being punished by the court? Forget it, just pretend that I didn't ask. You killed so many people in Quanzhou Prefecture, Your Majesty praises you repeatedly. Your fault is not enough to cost you your life."
Gu Zhengchen put his hands behind his back: "Zhifu Zhang, sometimes there is no clear line between right and wrong. It is beneficial to the people but goes against the court's policy. Do you think this is right or wrong? It hurts countless people but obeys the court's wishes. What do you think? Is this wrong or right? When you stand among the people or in the court, you see a different world. It looks like ridges when viewed from the side and peaks when viewed from the side."
Zhang Wen's face was solemn, he raised his hands and bowed deeply: "Gu County man's words are of great benefit to me!"
Gu Zhengchen raised Zhang Wen and said, "No matter what, someone needs to give His Majesty a step forward. So I need to sell part of this batch of sea goods here. Magistrate Zhang, collect taxes according to fifteen taxes per one, and all Hangzhou Prefecture With more business taxes, I can pay your Majesty's errands earlier."
Zhang Wen frowned: "Fifteen taxes per one is not in line with the court's policy. The imperial court ordered merchants to tax thirty per one."
Gu Zhengchen shook his head: "Thirty tax is too low. The commercial tax will need to be adjusted sooner or later. You can just handle it as fifteen tax. If there is any problem, blame it on me."
Zhang Wen did not refuse such a good thing.
Since the person coming is a man from Quanzhou County, it is best not to stop him.
Zhang Wen saluted and said goodbye. He looked at the merchants surrounding the dock and opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. Whatever you say may lead to trouble, just don't say anything and leave is your attitude.
The prefect took the government servants away, and the businessmen immediately became lively.
Obviously, the government will not interfere with this transaction!
Gu Zhengchen returned to the ship and told Zhang Pei: "Tell the merchants that anyone who can eat at least one hundred kilograms of pepper will come on board and talk."
Affected by the imperial court's policy of banning the sea, there was a shortage of spices in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, which also kept the price of spices high. In fact, the price of spices has never been cheap. Let alone the Ming Dynasty, even though later generations were so open and there were many purchasing channels, the price of spices still has not come down. A little spice is more expensive than a few kilograms of pork.
Taking the pepper of the Hongwu period as an example, a pound of pepper was often worth fifteen taels of silver, and a hefty load could even be sold for twenty taels of silver. Being able to eat one hundred catties of pepper means that you can spend at least one thousand five hundred taels of silver to buy goods.
Unless you are a wealthy businessman or a big family, you don’t have the financial resources.
Zhang Pei's words spread.
Lu Yubao, Qian Shao, Li Ming, Chen Shu, Zhang Xingshun and others walked out of the crowd one after another, making many people secretly envious.
These are all big and wealthy households in Hangzhou Prefecture.
Businessman Ding Jiushi couldn't help but become anxious when he saw the conditions offered on the ship were so high.
With the financial resources of the Ding family, the small businessman could not afford one or two thousand taels of silver at a time. A lot of money was accumulated in goods, and he still needed to set aside a sum of money to purchase silk.
Sea goods are beneficial, so you won’t lose money if you buy them.
Ding Jiushi was unwilling to give in, thought for a while, and walked towards the anxious He Sen: "Dr. He, although we are both in the silk business, we have many contacts. This time, how about we put aside our prejudices, combine two into one, and board the ship together? "
He Sen looked at Ding Jiushi, understood what he was thinking, and stretched out his palm: "50% for each family."
"no problem."
Ding Jiushi agreed.
The two families cooperated and got on the boat together.
A group of businessmen and wealthy people stood on the deck, looking at the mighty sergeants around them with some embarrassment.
After Zhang Pei informed that no one was boarding the ship, Gu Zhengchen looked at the crowd and saw that more than thirty people had come. After all, the publicity time was short, so some big and wealthy households might not have come.
But these people should be enough.
"There is a saying among businessmen that business is about business. I won't say anything else and just say it straight away." Gu Zhengchen stood up, walked to the stand and said solemnly: "Pepper, nutmeg, cloves, star anise, etc. There are spices on this ship, as well as agarwood, coral, pearls, and gems. I only ask for money and food. If you have money and food, you can sell it. Chen Dahe, show them the goods."
Chen Dahe agreed and arranged for the waiters to carry out bags of spices from the warehouse.
Lu Yubao, Qian Shao and others inspected and smelled it carefully and nodded repeatedly when they saw that the spices were indeed good.
Zhang Xingshun raised his hands and asked, "What do you call this official?"
"Gu Zhengchen."
"Oh, Gu-what?"
Zhang Xingshun's expression changed, Lu Yubao and others couldn't help but be horrified, and Ding Jiushi almost wanted to jump off the ship.
Gu Zhengchen?
Isn't that the murderous devil in Quanzhou Prefecture? This person caused an uproar in Quanzhou Prefecture, why did he come here again?
Xiao Cheng chuckled and explained to the somewhat astonished Gu Zhengchen: "What you did in Quanzhou Prefecture has long been spread. Some people say that you are for the people, others call you a murderer, and some people call you the executioner Gu." .”
Gu Zhengchen suddenly realized that his feelings were already notorious. He shook his head and shouted to everyone: "The price of spices is twelve taels of silver per catty. How much can you eat? We will report it after a clear discussion. If anyone wants to eat more I have some goods, but I don’t have enough money with me. It doesn’t matter. As long as you find a guarantor, I will allow you to pay the debt on credit. The money and grain will be transferred to the Nanfu of Quanzhou County in Jinling by February 28th at the latest.”
Lu Yubao's eyes lit up.
Regardless of whether Gu Zhengchen is a legendary murderer, as he said, he is talking about business, nothing else!
Twelve taels per kilogram of spices is indeed not cheap. But this price is considered low. If you take it to Jinling, you can get at least fifteen taels per catty, and you will earn a net profit of two taels per catty!
Most importantly, credit is allowed!
Don't underestimate this credit. Hangzhou to Jinling is not that far away. It is more than 500 miles away, and it is also convenient to take the canal.
After all, this transaction came suddenly, and many people were unprepared. It took five or six days to move money around for a large expenditure. If Gu Zhengchen could give him an extension of about twenty days, then the businessman who originally planned to buy a hundred kilograms of spices would probably have already planned to do so. It’s two hundred pounds!
Qian Shao suppressed the shock in his heart and immediately stepped forward: "Can you really get credit?"
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly: "Seriously."
Qian Shaoyi gritted his teeth: "I want three hundred kilograms of spices! Pay half of the money first, and write down a credit deed for the rest! Brother Li, our families are not far away, how about we guarantee each other?"
Li Ming did not refuse: "No problem, if that's the case, then the Li family also wants three hundred catties! Pay half of it temporarily."
Lu Yubao looked at the bags of spices in front of him and shouted: "The Lu family wants five hundred kilograms, half of which will be paid temporarily!"
As soon as these words came out, many people looked at him with envy.
Five hundred, this is financial resources!
One by one, the merchants began to report their numbers, and the scribes recorded them and finally presented them to Gu Zhengchen. Gu Zhengchen took a look and felt a little bit headache. Why did he only go out with 5,200 jins? At least he could eat 10,000 jins...
Gu Zhengchen stood up and asked: "The credit deed is made in triplicate. One is for you, one is taken away by me, and one is handed over to the Hangzhou government office. Do you have any objections?"
"no disagreement."
everyone replied.
Gu Zhengchen nodded, arranged for the clerk to be in charge of the paperwork, and arranged for Chen Dahe and others to deliver the spices. Then he returned to the cabin, spread out the map and looked at it.
It would be impossible not to go to Suzhou Prefecture. The total amount of spices on the ship was thirty-six thousand kilograms, and Suzhou Prefecture had not even eaten a fraction of it. If it were all shipped to Jinling, it would not be possible to sell it at a good price.
After all, things are more valuable when they are rare...
