Yang Qing finally returned to Nandu at the end of the year with the agreement between labor and management in Guangzhou and covered it with a jade seal......

The Empress came to be the guarantor.

If either party breaches the contract, the other party can appeal to the Empress.

The contents of this agreement were also published in the local newspapers, and caused a stir, the workers began to seek their rights, and the new capitalists, at last, woke up from the previous frenzied barbaric growth, and began to seriously face the reality of the workers' awakening. After all, they didn't want to be like the capitalists in Guangzhou, whose death figures and property losses were not fake, and despite the fact that Yang Qing was biased in favor of the workers in this matter, it was not he who led the millions of workers to sweep Guangzhou.

"Where there is oppression, there is resistance!"

In the garden conservatory of the palace, in the baking of the heating, Yang Qing held his wine glass and looked at the clear winter sky outside and said.

"It's the same as Li Zicheng.

When the exploitation of the local lords and gentry made the peasants unbearable, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were born, not because they were born thieves, but because of the oppression, they had to choose to resist.

The same goes for workers.

When the factory owner's oppression makes them unbearable, they will inevitably choose to resist, no one is slaughtered by pigs and sheep, that is, pigs and sheep will bite people when they are in a hurry! Therefore, we must have a bottom line in the treatment of workers, and we must be able to feed them, have clothes to wear, and not be exhausted to death early. In the final analysis, what we want is for them to be able to create wealth for us, and we are not trying to create enemies, and it is not good for anyone to break up in one or two if we really make trouble, and the factory owners in Guangzhou who were hanged by the workers are a lesson from the past. ”

He continued.

"But in this case, the cost of our factory is getting higher and higher, after all, we are not without competitors. Needless to say, the Dutch have started making sugar in Java, and even cotton cloth we have to face the Indian homespun cloth as well. The cost of our cotton cloth is low, even if the cotton from India is shipped to us and then woven into cloth and shipped back, the price is still lower than the price of the cloth they weave themselves. But after the cost of our workers has increased significantly, I am afraid it will be difficult to be cheaper than Indian cloth, so that the British will turn to India to purchase, and our factories will be in trouble. Although our export is not only cotton, but now cotton is the most potential, almost so the first choice for new factories is cotton. ”

Shen Tingyang said.

What he said is also true.

Before the invention of new machines such as the Jenny machine, Britain had been facing the impact of Indian cloth, and it was not until the gradual application of advanced textile machinery such as the shuttle Jenny machine and the mule machine that the British turned the situation around.

And then by the time of the steam engine, it was completely their dumping in India.

The Ming Dynasty also copied the British route.

At present, Daming cotton cloth can only rely on the machines of the former steam age such as hydraulic textile and Jenny machine, and only Britain can do it in the steam age, mainly because of the closer distance, and the merchant ships bring back Indian cotton with tax reduction subsidies. Before the steam engine was promoted, a situation of importing Indian cotton and then exporting cotton cloth on a large scale had already been formed, but the maintenance of this situation was very fragile, and once the cost of workers increased significantly, it would inevitably collapse.

That's a real problem.

You must know that at present, the private enterprises in Daming are almost dominated by cotton spinning.

Of course......

"The steam machine makes you see that in the face of the rumbling mechanical civilization, any agricultural civilization is a mantis arm, and the advent of the big industrial age can only crush the small peasant economy."

Yang Qing said indifferently.

"As for the sugar industry on the island of Java......"

He looked at the flowery sister-in-law in front of him and said, "Brother Wumei, you seem to have forgotten that we still have cannons." ”

"Well, I really didn't expect that."

Shen Tingyang said with a smile.

Indeed, he really didn't expect that there was actually such an option, the Dutch planted sugar cane on the island of Java on a large scale would indeed affect the Daming sugar industry, after all, they could use the natives as slaves, but it was impossible for the Daming sugar industry to do so. Then with the cheap cost and the fleet of ships by sea, the Dutch will gradually seize the market that originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty, especially the countries of the South Seas, and even one day dump cane sugar on the Ming Dynasty.

After all, they can be cheaper.

But......

What if Daming solves it with cannons?

Just go and destroy the sugar cane plantations of the Dutch, they are still playing!

This is not only about sugar, all other industries can be like this, anyone who threatens the Ming in business is nothing more than to destroy it with cannons, the Ming has the most powerful army in the world, if normal means can't solve commercial competition, then why use extraordinary means?

Thinking about it like this, Shen Tingyang was relieved.

After all, the protector is wise, in order to improve the treatment of workers and stabilize the internal, as long as the internal stability has no worries, the rest is nothing more than outward, there are competitors to beat, there are not doing business with the Ming Dynasty also to beat, there are high taxes on the Ming businessmen to beat. In short, use fleets and cannons to ensure the overseas trade of the Ming Dynasty, ensure that every country opens its doors to the Ming Dynasty, let the Ming industrial products sweep the market, and beat them if they dare to resist, until they no longer resist. Then, under the deterrence of this big stick, the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty continued to transport out the products of the factory, and all the factories kept running, absorbing a steady stream of wealth to maintain the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

This is the real way to become a country!

In this way, Shen Tingyang completely changed from a feudal gentry to an imperialist capitalist.

His gaze turned to the front......

"The eldest princess is already in the year of cardamom, so it's time to consider choosing a colt, right?"

He said to the Protector who was looking at his sister-in-law.

"Well, that depends on what the Empress thinks!"

Yang Qing said.

His sister-in-law is already thirteen years old, and according to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, she can already consider finding a mother-in-law next year, and usually a girl of this age should have someone come to the door to ask for marriage, but the eldest princess Zhaoren has not been cared about so far. It's not that she's ugly, although Princess Zhaoren is indeed slightly inferior to her sister at present, but this is only a young age, and she hasn't really grown yet, and the future of the eighteenth change of the female college is bright. It's not about temper, although it's been too rude to be used to it over the years, it's a little far from this lady, and the extravagant life is sighing, but it's not a problem to can't afford it, people have their own money, and the luxurious life of Princess Zhaoren is all about spending her own money.

The key is ......

This identity is a bit delicate!

Yang Qing started with a foreign relative, and the first emperor had two daughters, so if this is who married the eldest princess Zhaoren, wouldn't it be the same level as the protector?

Who shouldn't be careful?

As the two spoke, the eldest princess looked at them with a puzzled expression, and then picked up her Chinese pastoral cat and sat in her hanging basket, surrounded by a group of merchants from all over the world, from European British to Siamese cats, and even a desert cat lying lonely on the side.

"Lord Protector, the task force has arrived!"

Zhang Shifeng walked up to Yang Qing and whispered.

"Let's go, go meet our warriors who have returned from their voyage, Akihito, and go to the docks to see what good things they have brought back for you!"

Yang Qing stood up and said.

Shimonoseki Pier.

Amid drumming and cheers, two cruisers that looked dilapidated and old, even with patched sails, approached slowly.

Countless tanned soldiers on the deck stood in line, silently looking at the city in front of them and the crowd welcoming them, and on either side of them, the warships of the Yangtze River Naval Division guarding them continued to fire salutes. After a long voyage of more than a year, the first task force of the Americas, and also the first Rim of the Pacific fleet, finally returned to its place of departure.

"One less!"

Yang Qing stood in front of the crowd and said with emotion.

It is true that the fleet was originally three, but now there are only two left, but this is how the voyage was carried out in the first few years.

A total of 10 ships set sail from Shimonoseki Wharf, entered the Kuroshio Current, headed north along the coast of Japan to Sendai, and then turned east to ride the Kuroshio Current, and then split up on the way to Hawaii and meet in San Francisco. Four ships were left there to operate the first colonies in the Americas, and the other six continued south along the coastline to visit ports on the west coast of South America and to purchase potatoes and corn seeds in Peru or now the Viceroyalty of Peru, Spain. After another separation, the three sailed west in Peru and sailed straight to the island of New Guinea, now two returned, and the other three continued south.

Those three are still early!

Because they had to go to Brazil, collect rubber and seeds at the mouth of the Amazon River, and then travel to Europe and back again, completing a great circumnavigation of the world.

It is estimated that it will be at least two years before he returns.

Sailing ships circumnavigated the globe in this era, three years which can be said to be standard time, three years for Magellan, three years for Drake, two years and one month for the fastest Cavendis, and two years and one month for the fastest Cavendis. Three years for Nolte, three years for Spielberg, and for more than 100 years since Magellan sailed around the world, except for Cavendish, all other round-the-world voyages have been three years without exception.

Therefore, Yang Qing's round-the-world fleet is estimated to take almost three years.

Even the two ships in front of them sailed a full 40,000 kilometers in less than 500 days, but fortunately there is also the Kuroshio, and I have to say that this Kuroshio is simply too useful. Nearly 200 kilometers of sea highway in one day and night can propel even a ship without any power to drift from Japan to the Americas in two months. From the coast of the Americas, there is the cold California Current, which is slower but stronger than never, and the South Equatorial Warm Current and the oblique southeasterly trade winds that turn south to the island of New Guinea in Peru. That is, the voyage from the east coast of the island of New Guinea to the north needs to pass through the 500-kilometer equatorial counter-current zone to reconnect to the Kuroshio, but after connecting to the Kuroshio, it is like a highway to Taiwan.

"Look what good stuff they've brought back!"

Yang Qing said.

Immediately after that, he stepped forward in person, and the sister-in-law next to him, who was caught by him, followed with the same expectant face with a plate full of wine glasses.

In front of them a cruiser docked.

Yang Qing's plague messenger, Han Tao, captain of the cruiser Muying of the Beiyang Naval Division of the Ming Navy, walked down the gangway with a frightened look on his sailors, not knowing that he had slaughtered more than 400,000 people. His gift to the Hawaiians created a devastating plague in an archipelago that had been closed off for countless years, and less than a tenth of the entire Hawaiian islands survived. And not only Hawaii, but also the islands he passed through during his crossing of the Pacific Ocean were more or less plagued, and he was like a plague god who kept spreading death along the way. Maybe there are too many souls on his back, and the Muying he rode on hit the reef in the Solomon Sea, although a few sailors died, but the keel was destroyed and had to be set on fire.

"Warriors of the Ming Dynasty, welcome home!"

The Lord Protector bowed and said.

"Warriors of the Ming Dynasty, welcome home!"

……

A shout rang out behind him.

All the soldiers and civilians who greeted them saluted these warriors who had returned from the voyage, and Han Tao and the sailors watched this scene with some confusion.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Qing picked up a glass of wine.

But Han Tao didn't take it, he looked at the glass of wine that was lifted from the tray held by the eldest princess Zhaoren and delivered to him by the Lord Protector himself. In fact, when they left, Her Majesty the Empress had not yet ascended the throne, and they received the news of the trial of the Son of Longxing Tianzi, the Empress on the throne, and the Duke of Chu plus the title of Protector of the Kingdom in Taiwan.

Suddenly, he turned around, separated the soldiers who were standing in the back, rushed to the boat and disappeared into the cabin as fast as possible, and before Yang Qing and the welcoming soldiers and civilians could react, he ran out with a sack on his shoulder, and in the stunned eyes of everyone, he suddenly threw the sack on the ground......

"Guano!"

He said excitedly: "A small island twice the size of Meizizhou is full of guano, and we dug five feet deep and couldn't see the bottom!" ”

Yang Qing immediately screamed behind him.

Well, the guy passed through Nauru.

The welcoming soldiers and civilians stepped forward one after another, and no one even cared about Yang Qing who was holding a wine glass, saying that guano has been used for many years, and this thing has caused the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang to be frantically pursued. The fact that yields per acre have increased by at least one-third have made people who are still agriculturally oriented regard guano as a godsend, but after years of mining, guano in the East China Sea has become less and less. Fortunately, Huguo Gong has developed guano in the South China Sea, but even the guano layer in the Xisha Islands is less than one zhang thick, or even half a zhang thick guano layer is good.

Bottomless?

That's a lot of guano!

"Come, let's drink the wine first!"

In the chaos, Yang Qing handed over the wine glass and said.

Han Tao subconsciously took a drink and drank it all.

Then he looked at the eldest princess of Akihito who was serving the plate on the side and was slightly stunned, obviously he didn't recognize this as the eldest princess at first, and then he suddenly turned around and pushed everyone away and ran back to the boat again, and when he reappeared, he was holding a large bird cage in his hand......

The eldest princess of Akihito immediately let out a scream.

"Phoenix!"

The same screams rang out from the crowd.

In the bird cage held by Han Tao was a bird that was so colorful that it didn't seem to be a human thing, and it was dragging its long tail feathers, except for its small size, it was almost indistinguishable from the legendary phoenix, and it was like a dream in the sun......