Fujian, Quanzhou Port.

This is the most prosperous place for trade in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the most prosperous place in the whole East and even the whole world.

Quanzhou port started in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, flourished in the two Song Dynasty, once set a single day back and forth 10,000 ships of the horror record, one day to handle the goods in the Southern Song Dynasty Yuan You year was as high as 10 million, its economic and trade as high as more than 70 countries.

As far as Arabia and East Africa, as close as Japan and Southeast Asia, they are all frequent visitors to this port.

The decline of Quanzhou Port was in the Yuan Dynasty, first Kublai Khan slaughtered the green cultists of Fuquan and Fuquan, and then the Yisi Baxi War in the Zhizheng period, which lasted for ten years, and the Yisi Baxi had not yet been leveled, and the Yuan Dynasty lost its right to rule the south of the Yangtze River, and the warlords in the south of the Yangtze River were divided and mingled.

Then Chen Youliang and Zhu Hongwu cleaned up the Green Sect in Quanzhou, and it was a bloody massacre, and Quanzhou Port completely declined.

In the thirty-first year of the Hongwu Dynasty, Quanzhou Port still failed to restore the glory of the past, and Emperor Jianwen, who ascended the throne in the year of Chongling, ushered in a new life for Quanzhou Port.

Each province has a special office along the river, called the Transshipment Mission.

Only in Quanzhou, there are two transshipment envoys!

One is called the Quanzhou Cao Transport Envoy Division, and the other is called the Quanzhou Shipping Transit Envoy Division.

The former is an old yamen that has been established for many years, while the latter is a sign that was hung after the beginning of the new dynasty, and the establishment period is only five or six years.

But in just five or six years, the shipping and transshipment department has come from behind, and it has completely exploded the big brother Cao Transportation Department in terms of scale and political level.

A shipping department, the structure of the four products, but there are more than 1,000 officials up and down!

Such a huge personnel structure even exceeds the Yamen of the Fujian Chengxuan Political Envoy Department hundreds of miles away.

Even with such a large number of people, the shipping department is also looking to expand, but there is no way, the manpower is too busy to be busy.

As the transshipment envoy of the shipping department, Geng Jiang was busy in his forties with half a gray hair, and every day he approved all kinds of documents, ultimatums, and acceptance forms that needed to be handed over to the newly established Ministry of Commerce could fill two wagons, and it could be said that he was busy from opening his eyes in the morning until late at night.

Of course, Geng Jiang is very happy about this.

If you are not busy, it means that you have no power as an official.

The busier you are, the more things you do, and the more things you do, the more power you have.

Of course, if it is useless to say that the kind of help that is running errands, but if you can sign every day just by signing for a day, then this power is amazing.

Absolute power has also made Geng Jiang the hottest big man in this hot land of commerce.

In Fujian, the most popular thing at the moment is not Fantai, but his Gengjiang.

The transfer envoy is under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Commerce, not under the local administration, and what about the domain?

Geng Jiang was a hundred bulls in his heart, and the foreign guests who were waiting to see him could be lined up in Guangdong every day!

"Si Cheng, Ma Boliang asks to see you."

It was another day when he was buried in the case, and the clerk in the class room walked in to report it, which made Geng Jiang pause his pen.

Ma Boliang, mentioned in the mouth of the scribe, is the president of the Quanzhou Chamber of Commerce, a wealthy businessman, and he does not come to him to walk around on weekdays, and the gifts for the three festivals and birthdays are also sent one by one.

"Please come in."

The scribe was ordered to retreat, and in a short time or so, a middle-aged man who was also over forty years old walked in.

"I've seen Geng Sicheng."

At this time, Geng Jiang had already stood up from his seat, bypassed the big case and held Ma Boliang's arm with a warm smile: "Brother Boliang is outside, please take a seat, please take a seat." ”

As he spoke, Geng Jiang led this Ma Boliang to sit down in the Taishi chair in the house, and the scribe had his own eyesight and hurriedly added two cups of tea.

"Si Cheng has every opportunity, and it can be regarded as a nuisance for my brother to come here."

"Where."

Geng Jiang hurriedly waved his hand, and didn't mind: "It just so happens that Brother Boliang is coming, this official is lazy, and it can be regarded as a breath of rest, alas, I feel dizzy when I sit for an hour now." ”

"Si Cheng is upright in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, where is an old word, still young, and he is young."

The two brothers exchanged a few words of pretended affection, and Geng Jiang led the conversation to the main thing.

"Brother Boliang is here this time?"

"I was happy to go to the New Year, I just added a kid to my brother a few days ago, and I will do wine in two days, and I will invite you to enjoy your face and have a drink at the house."

Drinking wine?

Geng Jiang had a bright smile on his face, hugged his fists and congratulated: "Yes, then you have to say hello to Brother Boliang." ”

After saying a few congratulations, Geng Jiang touched the waist of the robe sleeve for a while, and then took out a piece of loose silver.

"Oh, look at this matter, the official is meager, and more than a dozen people with daughters-in-law and children in the house are waiting for food, and Ping Suli doesn't have much spare money, which makes Brother Boliang laugh."

In this manner, Ma Boliang naturally waved his hands one after another, and he didn't even use it, but he had already scolded in his heart.

Lao Tzu's annual revenue is millions of dollars, how many taels are you missing?

The incense burning gifts sent to you every year are tens of thousands of taels, and you are miserable to sell to me here.

"Geng Sicheng will be able to appreciate his face at that time, and my Ma Mansion will be full of brilliance, where do you dare to accept the gift of Lord Sicheng, you will never dare, you will never dare."

As he spoke, Ma Boliang sighed abruptly.

This cozy attitude let Geng Jiang know that the next thing is the time to get down to business.

"Brother Boliang's wife and concubines have more than a dozen rooms, and his children and grandchildren are around his knees, and now he is even older and stronger, and he has a son, which can be said to be in all aspects of his mental and physical health, and this business is also good in all directions, why sigh?"

Ma Boliang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Geng Sicheng, you don't know, it seems glorious to be a brother, but in fact, every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, and now the concubine in the family has added a son to her brother, and she has the heart to reward her brother with one or two, but she can't even buy a maid, and she has to wait for the confinement at home every day." ”

Geng Jiang jumped his brows: "And this matter?" ”

The president of the dignified Quanzhou Chamber of Commerce, the leading predator in the business community of several coastal provinces, actually waited for his daughter-in-law to be confined at home?

I don't believe ghosts.

"Alas, there is no way to be a brother."

Ma Boliang had a sad face: "Last year, the province issued an official document, and we, the maids in the business and trading house, were forcibly dismissed, and the family left so many scattered four or five old mothers to help, and the policy of the imperial court is here, and we dare not say anything no."

Blame it can only blame ourselves, when we were young, we took so many partial rooms, so that now there is a joy of production, there is not even a person who can serve in front of the couch, I want to spend a lot of money to buy a maid, hey, I don't dare.

The yamen of the prefecture and county check the household registration every day, all the men and women of my Ming nationality are not allowed to sell themselves into slavery, once discovered, even those of us who buy slaves will be severely punished, at least they will have no family property, and at worst they will be exiled to fill the border, alas. ”

Geng Jiang picked up the tea bowl and was silent, but his heart turned quickly.

"The abolition of slavery is related to the great plan of the country, and it is formulated by the current Emperor Long Live and the cabinet, and the provinces and localities fully support the central policy.

In this kind of matter, Brother Boliang still has to put the country first, and he can't just take care of the trivial things in his life and cause trouble to the country. ”

The implication of Geng Jiang's words is that in this kind of big thing, it's useless for you to look for me.

What do you mean not to cause trouble to the country, just say don't make trouble for you Geng Jiang, isn't it over?

Ma Bo's conscience mocked, and his face was naturally sincere and fearful, and he looked like a Vino.

"It's natural to save for my brother, I don't dare to think about it, I just want Geng Sicheng to do me a favor, those with household registration are not allowed to buy, and the court without household registration should not take care of it."

After a pause in the hand of serving tea, Geng Jiang glanced sideways at this Ma Boliang.

"Brother Boliang has something to say, what you mean, the official doesn't understand."

"Hey, hey."

Ma Boliang rubbed his hands and took out a silver ticket like a trick: "At the beginning of this year, forty sea ships laid down 17,000 women from Nantianzhu in our Quanzhou port, and hundreds of sea ships followed one after another, including ships that went to the South Seas, and many of them brought back girls.

These are not the people of our Ming Dynasty, for my brother, I want Lord Si Cheng to pull a line from it, give me a whole batch, not much, twenty or thirty people. ”

Twenty or thirty girls, five thousand taels!

If it had been five years ago, I would have been able to buy hundreds of maids in the north!

Geng Jiang secretly sighed with such a big hand, and his heart was already very excited.

"Gee, that's a hard thing to do."

It was not easy to say it, Geng Jiang looked embarrassed: "Brother Boliang, whether it is the woman of Nantianzhu or the indigenous girls of Nanyang, this is all counted, the holy oracle and the local documents of the cabinet have made clear the purpose and direction, and those fathers-in-law of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau have sent people to look at it, and one less can be found out." ”

As soon as he said this, Ma Boliang knew that this was whether the money was in place.

A boatload is hundreds, one or two less can you find out?

A batch of tens of thousands, if you can find out if you 'lose' one or twenty peaks, you Geng Jiang still dare to deceive in the past two years, and even eat and take so much silver?

"How bothered you are."

Although it hurt, Ma Boliang didn't plan to be stingy in this matter, and waved his hand to give away a silver ticket of five thousand taels.

"Ten thousand taels of tea money."

Now Geng Jiang is really tempted.

Stretched out two fingers and pinched the two silver tickets on the table, and disappeared without a trace in an instant like a trick, and Ma Boliang, who was bluffing, was dumbfounded.

"It's good to say, Brother Bo Liang will go back to the house and wait for the letter, I just don't know how old Brother Bo Liang plans to be, but I can say okay, this is too young, I heard Shangfeng say that this young girl is going to be sent to the north, and the older ones are left to the handicraft workshops of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau and the Imperial Chamber of Commerce."

"It's better to be younger."

Ma Boliang rubbed his hands with a wicked smile: "I glanced at it when I unloaded the ship that day, whether it was Nantianzhu or Nanyang, they all looked very handsome, for my brother, hehe, man, Geng Sicheng, do you understand." ”

Why do you buy a maid, of course, to serve the lady during the day, and to serve the master at night.

"Then ten years old, ten years old."

As soon as Geng Jiang opened his mouth, he set the tone: "Black and white are fine, don't pick it." ”

The so-called black and white is fine, and it refers to the color of the skin.

Nan Tianzhu and the girls of Nanyang, some of them are whiter, and some of them are black, which is similar to the group of traveling merchants from Arabia.

"As long as it's not as black as the slaves of those Arab wandering merchants, it's all right."

Ma Bolian didn't care about the darker skin, but he had a different style, but when he thought of the slaves of the Arab merchants, he couldn't help but shudder.

How can there be such a dark thing in the world?

Give his mother the same coal!

"Don't worry, you have to arrange a few good goods for Brother Boliang."

Geng Jiang was relieved, and then gave him a look that a man understands: "Brother Boliang is the leader of our Quanzhou Chamber of Commerce, and this official supervises the Shipping Department. ”

This old pervert!

"Then thank you Geng Sicheng for saying goodbye to my brother."

The business was finally done, Ma Boliang didn't wait long, got up and said goodbye, leaving Geng Jiang alone to drink tea and secretly happy.

"Xiao Qi."

After a long time, Geng Jiang shouted, and the clerk pushed the door outside the house and walked in.

"What does Si Cheng say?"

"Make an appointment with the commander of the Quanzhou Navy Division for me, oh yes, by the way, call the president of the Quanzhou Imperial Merchants Branch, and I will invite them to dinner in the evening."

"Yes."

When the scribe went down on an errand, Geng Jiang got up and hummed a little song.

Quanzhou is really a good place, not to mention silver everywhere, right now, there are beauties everywhere.

Heaven on earth, to be the shipping director of Quanzhou, to a province and not to change it.

Absolute rights will inevitably lead to absolute**.

After working in this position for several years, Geng Jiang has long forgotten which one is called southeast and northwest, and which one is honest and honest.

He only knew that after working for a few years, he would retire from Zhishi, and after Zhishi, he would use the money to buy hundreds of slaves and go to Taiwan on a boat to enjoy his old age!