Every time Hu Dashan introduced someone, Gu Zhengchen looked over, smiled and nodded.
Not all the businessmen who came to Tazilou were only about sixty businessmen with considerable financial resources.
Tang Dabang stood up, cupped his hands towards Gu Zhengchen, and then sat down, still looking at Gu Zhengchen.
This young man was the well-known Gu Zhifu. With his vigorous killing methods, he reversed the trend of corruption in Quanzhou Prefecture in one fell swoop. With astonishing courage, he exempted the people from two taxes and allowed them to rest and recuperate for a year!
Before Gu Zhengchen, Quanzhou Prefecture could not compare with Fuzhou Prefecture in terms of population or taxes. Of course, it cannot compare with it now. But once the sea is successfully opened and voyage trade flourishes, Quanzhou Prefecture is likely to be on par with Fuzhou Prefecture in ten years, or even surpass Fuzhou Prefecture and become the largest prefecture in Fujian Province!
Tang Dabang was a businessman and knew that voyage trade was not just about trade, it was as simple as doing a few businesses. As the only legal place to open sea in the Ming Dynasty, this place will become the largest distribution center for long-distance trade goods.
Products supplied to the sea, such as silk, cloth, ceramics, tea, ironware, other handicrafts, etc., will be gathered here, while imported spices, gems, pearls, precious woods, medicinal materials, ambergris, etc. will also be gathered here. It left Quanzhou and was shipped to various places in the Ming Dynasty.
Behind the episodes is the influx of population, frequent transactions, and prosperity of business.
Looking at Fuzhou Prefecture, they have not made any moves and are already lagging behind Quanzhou Prefecture. The emperor will not agree to open sea in other places for at least three years.
Quanzhou Prefecture's first-mover advantage was brought by Gu Zhengchen.
After meeting many businessmen, Gu Zhengchen smiled at everyone and said: "Uncle Hu has helped the Gu family a lot, but he is not Gu's biological uncle. Don't think about using him to gain relationships and let Gu do something that violates the regulations of the court. When I meet with you today, Gu cannot give you preferential treatment just for Uncle Hu’s sake.”
Lu Sanyuan, Tang Dabang and others laughed.
Hu Dashan smiled and patted his chest: "Don't worry, Magistrate Gu. In business, we discuss business matters. If someone comes to see Mr. Hu, Mr. Hu will not dare to come to the door. He has harmed Magistrate Gu. The 300,000 people in Quanzhou Prefecture will not give us up." Hate it to death?"
Between singing and harmonizing, it not only expresses Gu Zhengchen's attitude, but also takes care of Hu Dashan's face.
Some businessmen who really wanted to curry favor with Hu Dashan couldn't help but give up their thoughts.
Gu Zhengchen picked up the teacup and said seriously: "The opening of the sea in Quanzhou is the biggest event in Quanzhou Prefecture in recent years, and it can even be said to be the biggest event in Fujian Province. It cannot be careless. In view of the current unrest on the sea and pirates and Japanese pirates attacking from time to time, In order to ensure that there will be no chaos in the initial stage of opening the sea, which will cause the imperial court to suspend the Quanzhou Shipping Department, therefore, I decided to open the sea in three steps..."
Open the sea in three steps and proceed with caution.
Hu Dashan, Tang Dabang, Lu Sanyuan and other businessmen nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and no one questioned the three-step plan to open the sea. No matter how many steps it takes to open the sea, as long as the merchants rush to the sea in the first step, there will be no problem.
After Gu Zhengchen finished talking about the three steps to open the sea, he continued: "For those of you who are concerned about whether the store in the government office can be sold, I can tell you that it can be sold, but if no one buys it in advance, the government office will increase the price by five yuan. OK. The shop that originally cost 4,000 guan now charges 6,000 guan."
"this……"
Tang Dabang, Huang Ruyu and others were a little surprised, but more regretful.
I bought it with all my heart and now have a nice shop, but are you worried about not being able to start a business in the future? The money can be recovered in less than five years, but now, the government office has increased the price again...
Gu Zhengchen looked at the whispering businessmen and said, "Of course, you can also choose to rent. The first two years of leasing only cost a few hundred dollars. As for the rest..."
Renting a shop?
This is not what big businessmen do.
At present, everyone is optimistic about Quanzhou Prefecture. As long as the policy of opening up the sea remains unchanged, the industries here will continue to maintain or even increase in value. No businessman wants to leave a good property to his children and grandchildren. If he leases it for decades, he can spend enough money to buy a shop.
Suzhou businessman Lu Sanyuan stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Prefect Gu, I don't know if the government office can still handle loans now. We came here in a hurry and didn't bring a lot of money."
Gu Zhengchen raised his hand, motioned Lu Sanyuan to sit down, and said with a smile: "The person who just spoke was Lu Sanyuan and Mr. Lu's family. Due to some changes, the government office no longer handles loans. It is impossible to go to the government office for loans."
"In this case……"
"But we didn't bring so much money..."
"Yes, we are from Jianning, and it's not easy to turn around at the moment..."
Lu Sanyuan also frowned.
The government does not lend money, so things are difficult to handle.
Ding ding!
Gu Zhengchen banged the tea bowl with copper coins. After everyone calmed down, he said solemnly: "The government does not lend money, but it does not mean that the Daming Bank in Quanzhou does not lend money. This is Gao Tai, the director of Daming Bank in Quanzhou."
Gaotai stood up and said to everyone: "On March 1st, the imperial court officially issued the Ming Dynasty Tongbao, and ordered the establishment of Ming Dynasty banks in various places to allow the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes to be freely exchanged for gold, silver and copper. There are businessmen from Jinling who know this. Well, if you want to apply for a loan, you just need to find a good guarantee or take out a pledge, and Daming Bank will lend you."
"Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes?"
Tang Dabang, Huang Ruyu and others still don't know.
Hu Dashan took out a leather bag that was palm-long and palm-wide from his sleeve, opened the lock on it, took out a stack of brand-new treasure banknotes, raised it in his hand, and said with a smile: "This is the Ming Dynasty treasure banknote, I When you come from Jinling, you don’t bring bulky silver and copper, but only treasure notes. If you need it, you can pick up silver and copper from the Quanzhou branch. Of course, after the Quanzhou branch of Daming Bank opens, you can also use treasure notes directly. Trading."
"Can I borrow it for a look?"
Le Baiju stood up and asked.
Hu Dashan smiled and said: "Why not, let's take a look at it separately."
Le Baiju and others were surprised when they got the treasure banknotes.
"Could this be the emperor's portrait?"
Tang Dabang and others asked in surprise.
Gaotai nodded solemnly: "Yes, this is the emperor's portrait."
“So beautiful!”
"When you look at the color, it's so vivid and pure."
"The emperor's beard actually looks like one root. How was it made?"
"There seems to be a hidden pattern here. Oh my God, there is actually a hidden emperor's head!"
"let me see."
The production level of Ming Dynasty banknotes can be said to be far better than that of Song Jiaozi and Yuanbao banknotes. With the help of a magnifying glass, the engraving can create more details, and it is the high degree of characterization of these details that makes Ming Dynasty banknotes more exquisite. The watermark method has become a top-secret technology of the Banknote Lifting Department, and no one can easily figure it out.
"Okay, okay."
Tang Dabang and others were amazed.
Guan Baobao is just such a thin piece of paper. A small stack is one hundred taels, and a thousand taels is only ten small stacks, which does not take up much space. Carrying a thousand taels on a trip is a lot of effort. Even if it is all silver, you still need to carry two boxes. If you include copper coins, it may be eight or nine boxes. You also need to find someone to carry it back and forth, and you need a carriage, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. manpower……
Lu Sanyuan returned the treasure note and asked, "Can this treasure note be exchanged for silver in the bank?"
Gaotai said solemnly: "This is natural. The bank opens its store for eight hours from morning to night. As long as the store is open, you can exchange your treasure banknotes for gold and silver at any time, or you can deposit gold and silver and exchange them for treasure banknotes. The imperial court has modified it. The "Laws of the Ming Dynasty" have been passed, and the Qianzhuang of the Ming Dynasty also has rules and regulations..."
Gu Zhengchen looked at the crowd quietly. Judging from their expressions, they were more interested in Ming Dynasty's treasures than they were worried about it. Gaotai explained the policy of treasure money in detail, dispelling the concerns of the businessmen, and introduced the interest rates for loans at Daming Bank, which were far lower than those for private loan sharks, which made the businessmen overjoyed.
After solving the loan problem, Tang Dabang asked: "Prefect Gu, I heard that the Shifu Division has set the tax at five taxes and one tax. The court is currently implementing a policy of thirty taxes and one tax. Is it okay that the Shibu Division's tax is so high? Some relief?”
This question resonated with many businessmen, and the excessive taxes made many people feel pain.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the merchants and said seriously: "Everyone is here, I will open my mouth and say a few words. Since ancient times, most dynasties have focused on agriculture and suppressed business. What is the root cause? Is the flow of merchants easy to cause chaos? Is it the businessman who has wealth and creates trouble? No, it is the businessman who has wealth but has not thought about the court."
"Businessmen have made a lot of money, either buying fields or building houses, and enjoying themselves as much as they want. But have you ever thought that you can make more contributions to the court and the Ming Dynasty, and improve the status of merchants? How to obtain the status of a merchant, Just two words: pay taxes.”
"The more merchants pay taxes, the richer the imperial treasury will be, and the less the imperial court will demand from the people. When the people have money in their hands, they will buy things from the merchants. The merchants' business will get better and better, and their taxes will also More and more, like a rolling snowball, getting bigger and bigger. The final result is that the court becomes rich, the merchants become rich, and the people's lives are easier."
"If you participate in the voyage trade, you will make a lot of money from each other. He will earn three thousand guan, he will earn 8,000 guan, but the imperial court will only get one hundred taels or eight hundred taels. Do you think the imperial court will be happy? Are you officials happy? But if you earn 3,000 guan, you are willing to give 600 guan to the court. If you earn 8,000 guan, you will give 1,600 guan to the court to buy war horses, build the Great Wall, build cities, dredge rivers, and resettle houses. People, do you think the court will be happy?"
Lu Sanyuan, Tang Dabang and others listened.
These principles are very new and have never been taught before.
Although what Gu Zhengchen said seemed to make sense, it still hurt to have so much money cut off from him.
Hu Dashan is the person who understands Gu Zhengchen's thoughts best. Whether it is the sugar business in Jinling or various businesses in Jurong, taxes are paid according to the 15-tax rate, not the 30-tax rate.
Gu Zhengchen is using his own efforts to change the fact that the court's business tax is too low.
Facing the merchant who didn't respond much, Gu Zhengchen said: "Of course, the Quanzhou Shipping Department has imposed heavy taxes, so naturally I will not ask you for customs tax. But any goods used for long voyages, whether they are outbound or inbound, For goods, you don’t need to pay customs duties anywhere in the entire Fujian Province with the documents provided by the Municipal Shipping Officer.”
Tang Dabang, Lu Sanyuan and others were shocked. What do you mean, you, the prefect of Quanzhou, decide the affairs of the entire Fujian Province?
