It is October of the seventh year of Yongli, Zheng Chenggong was born in the fourth year of Ming Qi, and now he is only twenty-nine years old. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Before he could stand, in Chen Wen's time, there were many people who were still gnawing at the old age, but he was already in the eighth year of fighting to the death against the Manchus along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, and it can even be said that his entire life was spent in the battle between the Manchus and the Qings.

In fact, in the middle and late Southern Ming Dynasty, the leaders of several more active anti-Qing forces were actually not very old. Zheng Chenggong is now twenty-nine years old, Li Dingguo is thirty-three years old at the moment, Zhang Huangyan is also thirty-three years old, and Sun Kewang is slightly older than Li Dingguo, not very much. Chen Wen has worked in several companies for a few years after graduation, and it has been three years since he came to this era, which is slightly older than Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Chenggong's letters were full of praise for Chen Wen's use of military methods, and he was optimistic about the prospects for trade cooperation between the Ming army in Zhejiang and the Ming army in Fujian. Otherwise, nothing else will be mentioned, whether it is sea trade or joint combat.

In maritime trade, Zheng Chenggong granted Zheng Tai full powers, which is the proper meaning. But now in the southeast battlefield, the Qing army has turned to the defensive, Chen Wen's own strength is insufficient, if the two can join forces, not to mention other places, just rely on the Geng family of Jingnan Domain and those Fujian green camps, the land of Fujian can support more than half a year. However, now Chen Wen is independently bearing the pressure on the two fronts of Jiangxi and Hangzhou, and it is impossible to rush into it without the cooperation of the Fujian Ming Army, but Zheng Chenggong's letter does not mention joint operations, not even a temptation, and the implicit meaning behind it is self-evident.

After reading the letter, Chen Wen remained silent and continued to talk with Zheng Tai about business and trade. Zheng Tai is here, opening the trade between the two sides is the first priority, and the last time it has been negotiated will naturally take advantage of this time to carry out a formal transaction.

"Brother, those prisoners of the Eight Banners of the Han Army have been locked up in prison for a long time, and their bodies may not be as good as they were a few months ago. However, the younger brother can guarantee that these people will be transported over, fed and drunk, and exercise diligently, and it will not take long to restore the old outlook. ”

In order to prevent trouble, it is normal for the captives not to be fed, even if a deal is set, it is impossible for Chen Wen to let them eat, after all, it is a brave man of the Eight Banners of the Han Army of about 2,000, and a riot is extremely unfavorable to the Ming army in Zhejiang. Zheng Tai agreed with Chen Wen's statement, and said that he would transport them away by sea ship, and give them as much silver as they sent, even if they died at sea, the loss would be borne by the Fujian Ming army.

A duke and a marquis simply used the tone of trading cattle to completely finalize the fate of those prisoners of the Eight Banners of the Han Army, along with artillery and the accompanying artillery crew.

A total of 2,423 people were captured by the Eight Banners of the ordinary Han Army and sold to Zheng Chenggong, each of whom was calculated at 50 taels of silver, a total of 121,150 taels of silver, a figure that could not help but make Chen Wen begin to wonder what kind of profit the triangular trade from Africa to the Americas to Europe would be in this era. However, after calculating the artillery matter, Chen Wen found that the profit margin of the original manufacturing of high-tech products and the tying of technical personnel seemed to be much higher than that of simple sales personnel, so he no longer considered these boring things.

The artillery comes with a cannon crew, and the specifications are all calibers that Chen Wen can manufacture, he is unwilling to retrain the artillery crew for the old guns, and he can't trust these Han Army Eight Banners, and the price sold to Zheng Chenggong is also very cheap. But even so, a transaction volume of more than 115,000 taels was reached. If you count those bird guns and cold weapons, this time just the two major crimes of buying and selling people and weapons, which are 100% gun-eating in the later generations, provided Chen Wen with nearly 400,000 taels of silver!

What does more than 300,000 nearly 400,000 taels of silver mean, when the Lu Jianguo Imperial Court was first established, eastern Zhejiang threw away the territory of the seven prefectures outside Quzhou, which belonged to the Longwu Dynasty, and the Ding Yintian Fu in a year did not reach twice this number, but it was only more than 600,000 taels of silver.

Due to the existence of the blockade order, the commercial tax was greatly reduced, and the summer and autumn taxes of the year together did not reach 600,000 taels, all relying on the aftermath, the expropriation of loans, the local tyrants of Ma Jinbao and Chen Jin, the confiscation of the property of Manchu officials, the crackdown on the unscrupulous gentry, and the support from outside. But even so, when there is no Taiwen, 20,000 troops is the limit.

Chen Wen's situation is typical of relying on inland agriculture to support the army, and the size of the army is directly proportional to the amount of land. Unlike Zheng Chenggong, a series of small islands off the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, with little agricultural or handicraft production, relied on less than half of the Taiwan Strait tolls, sea trade, and sweeping Manchu-occupied areas to feed the army.

Now that there is an outlet to the sea, although it is not comparable to the 170,000 war auxiliaries of the Northern Expedition to Nanjing in the thirteenth year of Yongli, it is more than enough, and the income from the salt class and the market will allow him to obtain a large amount of silver, and Chen Wen also intends to expand the trade route to Japan, Korea and the Ryukyus to earn more goods.

In time, relying on the strong agricultural foundation brought about by the military merit granting system, the abundant human resources brought about by going deep into the interior, and the Shanghai trade and commercial taxes, the foundation is far more solid than Zheng Chenggong's, and it is not difficult to resist the heavy pressure of several aspects, let alone the embarrassment of almost completely losing the ability to recover lost territory on a large scale after the disastrous defeat in Nanjing.

This time, in addition to these illegal and criminal activities, Zheng Tai will also buy a large amount of cloth, silk, silk, medicinal materials and special products in Zhejiang, aside from the grain that Chen Wen has clearly stated that is still insufficient for his own use, the rest will be large transactions, some will be purchased by the government from military households, and some will be sold by merchants themselves. The only thing that made Chen Wen feel interesting was that there was still a large amount of Jinhua ham in Zheng Tai's list of purchased goods, and the amount of money purchased was so large, anyway, Chen Wen didn't believe that it was as simple as Zheng Tai taking it back to eat for himself or giving it away.

Since there was no logistics system in this era, and there were no means of transmission such as wire, radio, and network, Zheng Tai's fleet was stationed in Sanpan and Haimen.

The income from commerce and trade is long-term and the quantity is also huge, and compared with the previous more reliance on Ding Yintianfu and abnormal means to obtain military supplies, it will greatly improve the ability of the Zhejiang Ming army to support the army. It's just that this also needs a process, and the accumulation of a long time is not achieved overnight, and the reason why it can make a quick profit this time is that there has been an agreement between Chen Wen and Zheng Tai for a long time.

Population, weapons, cloth, specialties and other goods produced by Zhejiang were all trade exports for Chen Wen, in exchange for silver, and Chen Wen also needed Fujian's sea ships, warships, and books, large-caliber artillery, and machinery that they had obtained through trade with European maritime merchants.

Zheng Tai did not bring warships and sea ships this time, because the fleet that came with him would be used to transport these large quantities of goods back to Fujian, and they could only be delivered after the goods were delivered. As for the books and translations, Zheng Chenggong had already found them and transported them with the ship.

"Brother Fool and Damu's cousin, Zheng Qi, Furen should still have an impression."

Seeing the translator with his own eyes, Chen Wen was stunned at first, he thought that Zheng Chenggong would find a European to act as a translator, who would have thought that it would be his cousin, it was really beyond his expectations. However, if you think about it carefully, maritime merchants are the group that China has come into contact with Europe in this era. The Zheng family in Nan'an Shijing was running to the sea from Zheng Mian, the prince of Yinshi, and the accumulation of more than ten generations completely broke out when Zheng Zhilong was alive, but talents often walked ahead.

For example, Zheng Zhilong is proficient in Japanese, Dutch, and can also speak Portuguese, learned swordsmanship in Japan, entered Catholicism in Macau, and worked as a translator and messenger for the Dutch. If this stain is not cleared, maybe future film and television dramas will still use it as the protagonist.

Nowadays, a talent who is proficient in multiple languages is estimated to be not too rare for the Zheng family. It's just that compared to last time, this young man's eyebrows are more sad, but I don't know why.

………………

The capital of Quzhou Prefecture, which once developed because of the connection of the four provinces and the gathering place of merchants, first suffered a great loss under Chen Jin's madness, and the Ming army had vigorously restored the economy after recovering here, but who wanted to just recover, it ushered in the blockade of the four provincial capitals and waiting.

Today's Quzhou, trade has declined significantly, after all, the territory of the Ming army is only six prefectures, and this is the place near the intersection. Artificially created a blind spot for trade, rather than a thoroughfare, commerce would naturally be greatly hindered.

In recent months, the merchants of Quzhou have been running around, after all, it is not easy to sit and eat empty, but the overall situation is like this, and these merchants are helpless, just relying on Yongfeng County, which is controlled by the Jiuxian Mountain Righteous Army, that third-party area smuggled some goods from Jiangxi, the number is very small, but it is hard to endure, there is no way.

"Wang Shaodong's family is young, but he attaches great importance to integrity, he is really a model for my generation, and there are successors to the old Wang family."

"Yes, yes, as far as I know, around these six mansions, the Tartars have killed all the people, and they have to **** patrol. For the sake of reputation, Wang Shaodong's family is not afraid of the Tartar blade, and rushed to Quzhou to report the news, which is really a guts. ”

"What's more, since Huizhou tried to make a detour to Yanzhou, avoiding the real and making it virtual, Wang Shaodong's family is clearly wise and brave."

“……”

The largest restaurant in Quzhou's capital city, most of the banquets were big businessmen from the Longyou Merchant Gang, but they were not the protagonists of this time, even in the recent banquets. Here, a group of big businessmen of all ages complimented a young man who was not very old, but this person was not a high-level or representative of the Ming army or the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and even a few people knew about it a few months ago, which was actually a big outlier in Quzhou's business circle recently.

The young man who was reaping this series of compliments was Wang Fu, a merchant from Huizhou, who buried the old and young in the village that day, crossed two mountains with the young man, and entered the territory of Yanzhou Mansion controlled by the Ming army in Zhejiang, and was never threatened by the Qing army again. sent the young man to Jinhua Mansion, and watched him join the army, Wang Fu rushed to Quzhou.

He didn't come from the direction of Huizhou, but went around in a big circle, which really scared his uncle. However, after the middle-aged merchant who had been trading with his family for many years heard about Wang Fu's experience along the way, he immediately brought him to the capital of Quzhou, dragged the relationship and introduced him to the prefect of Quzhou Prefecture, reported the situation of the blockade of the Qing army, and at the same time introduced him to the local big businessmen, so that he had these days of reciprocation.

Reputation, this is the most important thing among ancient Chinese merchants, a merchant bad reputation, there will be no other businessmen willing to deal with it, which means that he will be completely exhausted on this road; But if the reputation is widespread, well-known and trusted by everyone, then the situation will be completely reversed, and if there are some means and vision, a big businessman will appear.

Wang Fu's failure to transport goods was caused by the change in the battle and defense strategy of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the four southeastern provinces, but just for the sake of the fact that the goods could not be transported, a batch of goods worth only a few hundred taels of silver, he was willing to take a strange risk to come, which was the most obvious embodiment of the word reputation in the eyes of these merchants.

After learning all this, Wang Fu's uncle hyped up the matter, and soon Wang Fu became a celebrity in Quzhou Prefecture, especially after he was summoned by Li Ruixin, the general soldier of Quzhou Town, and the report was also recognized by the army and the government, local businessmen flocked to it, proud of their acquaintance.

In fact, Wang Fu's current reputation has a great relationship with the operation of his uncle. On the surface, Wang Fu had a good reputation for taking risks to deliver letters, but his uncle was originally just a middle-to-low financial sitter, and now with this matter and his relationship with the Wang family, many local businessmen have also begun to be willing to cooperate with him. After all, the word reputation is two-sided, one side is honest, and the recipient has many years of business dealings, and it will inevitably be an honest person.

Left the restaurant and returned to the uncle's home in Quzhou. Being able to repay with so many big businessmen, during this time, the middle-aged businessman can be said to be in high spirits, and he is also very satisfied with his nephew, hoping that he can live here for a longer period of time.

"Virtuous nephew, now that the land route is impassable, my fellow is the most clever. This time I went to Taizhou, from the sea, my old man in Ningbo will try to send the letter to Huizhou, don't worry. ”

This was said to him by Wang Fu's uncle before, and it was also mentioned at the previous banquet, which attracted everyone's compliments and admiration. As a businessman, it is normal to be away from home for a few months, but this time it is different, it is risking his life, Wang Fu is naturally eager to be able to return home as soon as possible, even if the situation is difficult to return home safely, a word of safety must be reported home, so as not to worry his parents, wife and children.

"Little nephew, thank you for your deceased uncle."

"You're polite, nephew is too polite."

Along the way, a little cool breeze blew, and the strength of the wine surged up a little, although it was a decanting soup, but the habit of talking a lot on weekdays was still fully revealed. Pulling Wang Fu to talk about the world here, he is also a heroic spirit, no longer the original promise.

"Master, the post sent by the old shopkeeper Zhu."

The old shopkeeper Zhu mentioned by the servants at home is a very famous businessman in the local area, and has a lot of trade contacts with the Ming army and the government in Zhejiang, including military materials such as sulfur and iron ore, that is, the prefect of Quzhou and those big figures in the Quartermaster Department and the Military Industry Department will also smile when they see him, calling him "Mr. Zhu", and he is also one of the best people in today's Quzhou business circle.

After taking over the post, the middle-aged businessman originally planned to inform the people who came to visit after reading it, but after reading it, the wine on his body turned into sweat, and he pulled Wang Fu up and was about to go out.

"Uncle Shi, what is this?"

"Virtuous nephew, the old shopkeeper Zhu is invited, it is today."

"Now?"

It's getting late here, and the time when the post is sent is very particular, and it is extremely rude to invite someone before dinner, that old Zhu shopkeeper has been in the business world for many years, and he has seen it not long ago, but he is an elder who never puts on a stand even for juniors, how can this be the case this time, it really makes Wang Fu feel puzzled.

No more than Wang Fu, the middle-aged businessman more or less guessed the inside story, but when he and Wang Fu arrived, he saw many big businessmen in Quzhou, even including a few in tonight's banquet, who hurried over, which made him a little more confident in those possibilities.

After waiting for everyone to gather, I saw the old man of the main family said: "Please come here at night today, the old man is really cold, but the situation is urgent, and I have to invite you to come to the backbone of my Quzhou businessmen and young talents." ”

All of them were local businessmen, and Wang Fu's uncle was deeply honored to be able to participate in such a gathering, and when he saw the old man confess, he humbled himself with everyone. It's just that he didn't expect that the old man seemed quite anxious, and just got up and made a simple gesture to suppress everyone's politeness.

"The old man went to visit Fuzun today, and got the news from Fuzun that the Hou Ye has now been canonized as the Duke of Xiuguo for the Son of Heaven, and the Governor of Jinhua Sun is the governor, and the angel will soon arrive in Quzhou to canonize Li Dashuai as the earl."

"Congratulations for the country, congratulations for the lord, congratulations for Governor Sun."

A group of businessmen stood up to congratulate, but even Wang Fu's uncle, who had the honor to participate in the Great Merchant Jia Mi meeting for the first time, sniffed out something. Local officials are promoted, and they usually have to give congratulatory gifts, and Chen Wen and Sun Yu are strictly controlled by the Zhejiang Ming Army, but they can't be completely exempt from vulgarity, but if it's just this matter, there is no need to be in such a hurry to call them over.

In addition, Fuzun also revealed that on the Wenzhou side, the fleet of the Zheng family in Shijing, Nan'an, has arrived, and it needs to purchase a large number of goods, and it is a long-term transaction. The government will post a list tomorrow, and the monarchs have a preparation in advance, which is also the love of the prince, the army and the government for everyone. ”

In the eyes of the Ming and Qing armies, the Nan'an Shijing Zheng family was the Fujian Ming Army Group headed by the national surname Zhu Chenggong, but in the eyes of the merchants, it was the maritime merchant family that was inseparable from the Fujian Sea trade. The arrival of the family's fleet in Wenzhou reminded some well-informed people present of Zheng Tai's visit to Jinhua to meet Chen Wen a few months ago, and the trade between the two sides was decided at that time.

The recovery of the two provinces of Taiwen was a major event for the Ming army in Zhejiang, and it was a great good thing for the merchants in the areas occupied by the Ming army, especially the Longyou merchant gang who are now in trouble. Recently, in fact, some merchants have begun to try to use the outlets of Taizhou and Wenzhou to trade, but most of them are still colluded with local maritime merchants, such as the Zheng family, not to mention unique, but I am afraid that the combined maritime merchants of these two provinces are far from being able to compare with the Zheng family's trade capacity.

Time is money, and now the most well-informed in these six provinces are the army and the government, whose carrier pigeons and fast horses are incomparable to those of merchants and gentry. The businessmen respectfully inquired about the details of the old shopkeeper Zhu, especially the proportion of taxes collected, and between the questions and answers, they were quite satisfied, only one thing was unreasonable, that is, not a grain of grain and rice should be sold to the outside.

These people know very well that the original purchase of military grain by the Ming Army in Zhejiang relied on grain merchants, and now it has been changed to a monopoly on military production and monopoly sales, ensuring that the military grain procurement channels are no longer controlled by people, but the grain merchants are deeply hit, and even before the order to hit the Manchu gentry is issued, there are still preparations to raise grain prices in tandem. As soon as the first issue of "Zhejiang Di Bao" was published, the grain merchants and the gentry behind them stopped a little, but if the merchants were allowed to resell grain to the outside world, then the fluctuation of grain prices would inevitably be a chain reaction, and the stability of the six prefectures of Taiwen would be greatly hindered by the strict treatment of Jinqu.

Having made up their minds not to touch this line, the merchants hurried away after asking for details. On the way back, Wang Fu's uncle was quite excited, not only qualified to participate in the secret meeting of such a big businessman, but also a good opportunity to make a lot of money in trade with the Zheng family.

In contrast, Wang Fu, who accompanied him, was silent, and it was not until he returned to the uncle's house that he whispered: "Uncle Shi, the little nephew thinks that the prince is likely to make big moves in the near future, so the little nephew plans to go to Jinhua Mansion to see ......" (to be continued.) )