Today's upstarts are more and more maritime merchants, and at the beginning of the golden age of the imperial court's vigorous support, coupled with the escort of sailors to ensure safety, there are many small boat families who take advantage of the situation to make a fortune. The commercial taxes of these people provided sufficient financial revenue for the imperial court, and the imperial court naturally had to reciprocate and protect the rights and interests of these people.

The arrival of the Japanese envoys has spread rapidly, and Japan is a piece of sweetness in the eyes of these maritime merchants. However, the conditions under which the shogunate allowed trade were too strict, and there was only a fixed time in Nagasaki where you could trade with Japanese merchants or from the private sector.

As the merchant ships of the Han people became larger and larger, such a degree of trade naturally could not satisfy the appetite of the maritime merchants. Therefore, the threshold of Hou Xuan's palace was about to be broken by the wealthy businessmen who came to complain.

Today, he simply set up a banquet in the palace and invited representatives of merchants from Jinling, Suzhou, and Yangzhou, and the regent attached so much importance to himself that the merchants were naturally flattered and came to the palace early to wait. This is an unprecedented courtesy, just a few years ago, the Ming Dynasty also implemented the Shinong industrial and commercial system.

Jinling came to Wu Shouyu, the son of the Wu family; Jiangpu porcelain magnate Li Chunsheng; Lin Ruyue, the head of the two Huai salt merchants; Suzhou Siling Gu family Gu Shouye; There were also many people waiting outside the palace, and the traffic of cars and horses filled the wide Jinling Changganli Avenue.

The subordinates of the royal palace served wine and food, and these wealthy businessmen also stood up and humbled themselves, and the seven officials in front of the prime minister, not to mention the regent who was many levels higher than the prime minister.

Hou Xuanyan walked out of the inner room with a spring face, everyone saluted together, Hou Xuanyan smiled and said, "You have been waiting for a long time. ”

"The prince is so gracious, let us wait for a year, we are all willing."

"Haha, Xiao Wu Gongzi is still so good at talking, is your father okay? Last time, I heard that Lao Wu was sick, and I asked the medical hall to send someone to show him. ”

Wu Shouyu said with a smile: "Thanks to the prince's concern, my father is no longer in the way, and I said yesterday that I will come to the palace in a few days to thank you." ”

Hou Xuanyan said in his heart, the medical museum was originally built in Jinling, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Changsha, Chengdu, and Yangzhou, of which Jinling and Changsha Chengdu were all paid for by the Wu family, even if he didn't open his mouth, the medical museum might send someone to take a look.

After Hou Xuanyan took his seat, he said with a smile: "Now that the war in the north is not peaceful, it is the season when the country tightens its clothes and food, and the military and the people work together to conquer Liao. The food on this table is not rich, and it may be less than what you use at home. But with a good heart, everyone drinks and eats more. ”

Everyone was inevitably polite again, but they were secretly worried in their hearts, the prince came up and cried poor, and he was a rich person, which was not a good sign.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors, Hou Xuanyan said softly: "I invited everyone here today, I believe you also know it in your hearts, for the sake of Japan." ”

All the businessmen present held their breath and pricked up their ears to look at Hou Xuanyan.

"Japan is now locking off its borders and refusing to communicate with other countries, which not only restricts our merchant ships, but also impoverishes their people. The king's house is kind, and the lives of the people are concerned about the lives of the people in the land where the sun and the moon shine and the rivers go. In order to save the Japanese people from fire and water, I have decided to send troops to Japan and force the National University to open a commercial port. ”

Several businessmen looked at each other, and they all saw excitement and joy in each other's eyes, and the highlight of the day finally came.

Hou Xuanyan continued: "This war is different from the past, this is a war of merchants, we will use money to smash the door of Japan, and then make more money back." Anyone who finances this war for more than 100,000 taels will be exempted from all taxes in Japan for three years after the victory in the future! ”

The purpose of the regent's crying poverty was obvious, but all the few families present immediately decided to pay immediately, and when the news spread outside, everyone was boiling. The imperial court is going to war for merchants, and it is a huge profit to pry open the door of Japan and exempt merchants from taxes in Japan.

Some small and medium-sized merchants had to join forces to form factories like Suzhou Siling. In order to raise enough 100,000 taels and make a lot of money in Japan in the future. In just three days, the imperial court raised 20 million taels of silver, and Hou Xuanyan once again saw how much money was in the hands of private merchants in the late Ming Dynasty.

No one questioned the ability of the imperial court, they were all people who had seen the strength of the sailors, four years ago, when they were poor and white, and there were strong enemies everywhere, Hou Xuanyan spent a lot of money on the Songjiang sailors, and now it is time to use this sword.

The imperial court in Jiangnan was born in response to the Northern Expedition, and once the huge war machine was running again, everything was ready in just two days.

It was none other than Zhu Dadian, a veteran who had just been transferred back, with a total of 150,000 soldiers of the 80,000 Shuizi Battalion plus the two major naval divisions of Songjiang and Denglai, totaling 160 warships and 3,000 cannons.

Exploring the good weather and days, in July of the second year of Jingyu, the Deteri Navy Division and the Matsue Navy Division set off together, and the two sailors were like two giant beasts, sailing to Nagasaki, Japan.

Zhu Dadian sat on the Northern Expedition, the largest warship, holding the secret scroll given to him by Hou Xuanyan, on which the tasks of this operation were arranged in detail.

Hou Xuanyan knew very well that it was a very difficult thing to conquer and occupy Japan, and now that the great enemy of Liaodong had not been eliminated, there was no need to cause trouble. It is enough to force them to sign a treaty by force and allow them to open a trade. So in his secret letter to Zhu Dadian, there was even a post-war treaty that had been written.

The establishment of the Jiangnan factory has greatly improved their production capacity, coupled with the continuous innovation of technology caused by the rise of the status of craftsmen, the goods in the hands of Jiangnan wealthy merchants have reached the point where they cannot be sold. It's not that the attraction of goods is insufficient, it's that the market is not big enough, Zheng Zhilong will lock Penghu, and Japan is the largest market that can be seen at present.

The porcelain and silk of the Ming Dynasty are dumped everywhere and are sought-after goods, as long as Japan agrees to open the door to trade, there is no worry about selling. It also served as a stopover for the Franco, the Dutch, and the British.

This is a complete war of money, which starts because of money, and wins or loses with money, and it is bound to end with money.

The funds for the preparation of the war of 20 million taels were turned into orders from the sailors and fell to the merchants. It not only drove the development of the factory, but also strengthened the strength of the sailor, and also avoided the inflation caused by the inflow of silver.

Zhu Dadian was amazed and said: "In the past, when the cannon sounded, there were 10,000 taels of gold, and fighting a war has been the most expensive thing since ancient times. I didn't expect that in the hands of the prince, I could make money by fighting. ”

Wu Yi said suspiciously: "I'm strange, when the Chongzhen Dynasty was, no matter what the emperor asked, those gentry refused to come up with a penny." How did they get to the prince, starting from the beginning of the army in Suzhou, these people desperately went to the pole to send money. What kind of ecstasy soup did the prince pour into them? ”

"The prince has never been afraid of others making money, giving money to the prince, they earn back more than they send out, who is not happy?" Zhu Dadian said with a smile, his own family is also a well-known wealthy businessman in Zhejiang, and no one knows the way better than him.

Zhu Dadian stood up and looked into the distance with a clairvoyant mirror, and he could already see the island of Japan from afar.