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Zhao Youheng, the former prefect of Qiongzhou, became the governor of Guangdong after not seeing him for a few years, and then immediately inspected a small county town in Qiongzhou Prefecture, which not only surprised Shen Tingyang, but also made the officials, businessmen and gentry in Ding'an County "flattered". (Please search, or enter directly to see the latest chapter)

The Ding'an Wang family, as the leader of the official gentry in Qiongzhou, naturally relied on the relationship between his son-in-law Liu Yaoyu and Zhao Youheng's wife and uncle to become proud again. Who doesn't know that the rise of these new agricultural policies and Nanyang business in Qiongzhou was strongly supported by Zhao Youheng, and now that Zhao Youheng has made a comeback, the future of Qiongzhou will be more secure.

At the beginning, the people walked the tea and cooled, and instantly became upside down, and the Ding'an Wang family was pompous, calling friends everywhere for three days, and almost half of the local gentry in Qiongzhou Mansion gathered in Ding'an County. Singing praises and virtues is continuous, which makes Zhao Youheng a little crying and laughing, and at the same time, it also makes the Wang family proud.

The repeated banquets lasted for three days, until Zhao Youheng couldn't resist the push, and then the Wang family smiled and let Liu Yaoyu come forward and settle the other party in their mansion to wait for them to move in. Who let the son-in-law Liu Yaoyu and the governor be related, it is natural to live in the Wang family, not to mention that the Wang family is also an official family with a lot of connections in Nanjing.

All of a sudden, officials from all over the state and county of Qiongzhou Prefecture came to visit with gifts, and there were many kinds of Cheng Yi. The local petty officials who have eaten and drunk enough in Qiongzhou over the years will never miss the opportunity to show loyalty to their old bosses. In just two days, all kinds of gifts and property piled into the Wang family made Liu Yaoyu startled.

……

Late at night, Zhao Youheng returned again with a slight sense of alcohol, and his wife and brother Liu Yaoyu were also waiting in the backyard study early, and the two could finally stop and chat privately.

“…… Brother Yu, your sister has been feeling unwell recently, so she can only stay in Guangzhou to raise her, otherwise you should let your sister and brother meet. ”

I haven't seen him for a few years, and the last lone seedling of the Shandong Liu family in front of me is more mature and stable, and the former white-faced little scholar has grown a short lip beard.

"My brother-in-law works hard. For the official to be honest and honest, the governor of a province now lives in the official residence, and it is also God's way to reward diligence. Liu Yaoyu smiled, and his attitude towards Zhao Youheng became more indifferent.

"I won't mention much of the polite words between us...... This time, your brother-in-law and I were ordered to patrol Guangdong, and I saw that the Nanyang Maritime Trade was even more than before. The Huamei Hong Kong concession has been open for several years, and the merchants of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang are like carp crossing the river, I don't know how you should deal with it? Shen Tingyang Shen is the new local prefect and military preparation. What do you think of your new business? ”

Zhao Youheng took out a document from his sleeve and put it on the table. This is an official document transferred by the Guangzhou Municipal Shipping Division when he first arrived in Guangzhou, which roughly describes that the merchants from Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang have avoided the Guangzhou Municipal Shipping Division, competed for Hong Kong merchants, and guided most of the trade in the border areas of the Ming Dynasty to be transferred to Hainan. It's not Qiongzhou, it's Hong Kong, and Guangzhou Bosi has existed in name only.

"Hehe, my brother-in-law has been away from Joan for many years, so naturally it can only be inferred from the official letter. If my brother talks about it in detail, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it clearly in three or two days, so it's better for my brother-in-law to go for a walk with my brother in the next few days. Just take a look. ”

Seeing that his wife and brother actually sold Guanzi to him, and he looked very relaxed, Zhao Youheng was also a little relieved, at least for now, the new policy of the Nanhai business and even the local Qiongzhou has not been greatly affected.

……

The next day, Zhao Youheng returned to Qiongshan County with Liu Yaoyu, and after simply expressing to Shen Tingyang that he wanted to pay a private visit to Weifu, he brought a few guards and attendants at dusk that day. Take the Nanhai Merchant ship out to sea and head to Danzhou Bay in the west of Qiongzhou Mansion.

After just one night, early the next morning, Zhao Youheng stood on the pier of Danzhou Bay. The sea ship that rode all the way was not the kind of hard-sailed Dafu ship or sand ship that was common in the Ming Dynasty, but a three-masted long-sail merchant ship from the gorgeous scenery at first glance, and it is said that it carried more than 8,000 quintals of cargo!

A larger, larger, large, five-masted schooner merchant ship. Even steam merchant ships, Zhao Youheng saw them at Qiongshan Wharf when he was the prefect of Qiongzhou. But now that the South China Sea merchants have this kind of fast boat that travels at least 500 miles a day, Zhao Youheng is not a little surprised. If he knew that the price of such a gorgeous Western-style clipper was as high as 60,000 taels of silver, it would probably be even more untenable.

A few years ago, Danzhou Bay was just a deserted bay with only a small rundown fishing village called "White Horse Well" nearby, but now it has become a new and lively port market town. Judging from the flow of people near the port alone, there are at least one or two thousand households in the local population, and most of them speak with local accents, and there are not many natives in Qiongya.

In addition to the high-grade big ship of the Nanhai Merchants, there are also more than ten small and large Ming sea ships moored in the harbor, and a steam merchant ship with a gorgeous flag stands out from the crowd. Large bamboo baskets filled with coal were stacked on the docks, and then loaded into ships by the people, or transferred to the inner 6, and many of them were being sent to the Huamei merchant ships in a number of quantities.

Look at a new workshop near the port area, where a few strange iron cellar stoves and tall chimneys with gray mist stand out, and a strange smell wafts through the air. Farther away, there was a large shack and a few blast furnaces, and every time a stick or two of incense passed, a thick white smoke would rise, and streams of bright red molten iron would flow into the trenches, surrounded by shirtless furnace workers.

"My brother-in-law allowed the opening of the Nanhai Mine, which has been mined and transported for many years, and Gaozhou coal and stone have also been transported here. After the selection, one went out to Hainan to sell Huamei, and the other was used in the subway field for iron smelting. With the help of steam machinery in Danzhou Coal Yard, Nanhai Mining Refined Coal Mining consumes extremely manpower, and the bid price is only one dollar and two cents per load, and the annual price is 200,000 quintals. In addition to transportation and miscellaneous expenses, you can make a profit of more than 10,000 taels a year! ”

"The leftover 'oil and coal stone' is steamed into 'oil' in the local 'oil steaming field', and can be sold in barrels, which is about 25 taels of silver per quintal, and can be steamed more than 15,000 quintals a year. The remaining stone slag is then sent to the cement brick yard to mix marl bricks, which can be called the best use. The states and counties of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, and Guangxi repair the city, and use more Qiongzhou green mud bricks, which do not consume additional coal salary, and are made by cold drying, and the size can be made. These two kinds of annual profits can also be more than 50,000 taels. ”

The so-called oil and coal stone in Liu Yaoyu's mouth is the associated oil shale produced in the Changhua or Gaozhou (Maoming) open-pit coal mines in Danzhou. Many open-pit coal mines in Maoming, which lack knowledge of history, have buried a large number of these poorly burning oil shale mines as impurities, or simply burned them down.

Liu Yaoyu pointed to the smelter in the distance, and his face was quite complacent: "This is the smelting field operated by the Nanhai firm, and the Nanhai mine transports refined coal, copper and iron ore to smelt here. Brother Zhao introduced a new smelting method from Nanyang a few years ago. You can get more than 7,000 catties of iron and more than 1,000 catties of copper in one day! The new Huamei smelting method really saves time and reduces a lot of effort, and one furnace can be worth ten furnaces of the old method. Out of a pound of fine iron, the silver consumption is only three points, Huamei bids seven cents and a half percent of silver per catty, and the annual sales of copper and iron totals 1.4 million catties, making a profit of more than 70,000 taels, and the supply is still in short supply! Selling refined coal, oil, refined iron, and refined copper. Qiongzhou will increase the mining and metallurgical miscellaneous courses by 10,000 taels! ”

"At present, the Nanhai firm has five fast ships, and there are more than 60 ships of more than 300 ships in Qiongzhou, which can go to sea to deliver 900,000 quintals of goods every year, which is especially insufficient in capacity. In time, the younger brother bought more clippers from Nanyang Huamei. Why worry about the prosperity of the family and the country? ”

Looking at the spirit of his wife and brother, and the demeanor of "serving the country wholeheartedly" back then, and then looking at those busy and hard-working furnace workers, compared with those mining and metallurgical private workshops that cut work and evaded taxes in all parts of the Ming Dynasty, it is simply an outlier!

"Cane, cotton and other agricultural products are still recognized in Nanyang, so good fine iron and copper, the country's heavy goods, why still lose to Nanyang merchants? Didn't the Qiongzhou official inspect it?! Zhao Youheng seemed to think of something, and his face suddenly turned pale. His tone was lowered a lot, and he turned his head and secretly looked at a few retinue officials who were not far away.

"If it's an internal vendor, in the opinion of my brother-in-law, can you ever receive a penny and a half of silver?" Liu Yaoyu smiled coldly, and a touch of self-deprecation appeared on his face, as if he had already seen it, "The local gentry in Qiongzhou have worked hard to run a mining and smelting field to settle the displaced people. To boost people's livelihood and benefit the country, what is wrong with selling in Nanyang? Not to mention ......"

"Huh? But it doesn't hurt to say that. Zhao Youheng saw that his wife and brother seemed to be interesting, so he quickly raised his hand.

"Invest in shares, build mountain roads, help mining and transportation vehicles, and at least seventy percent of the coal, iron, and copper obtained must be sold in Nanyang. This is the agreement between Brother Zhao of Huamei Oriental Union Group and the squire of Qiongzhou. Otherwise, how could such a good thing fall in Qiongzhou? Although we and other merchants must compare baht, but the Ming maritime merchants pass through the South Seas, how can hundreds of years of faith be in our hands? As he spoke, Liu Yaoyu lowered his voice again. Secretly pointed to a large mansion covering a wide area in the market town, "There are people from the Oriental Union Group staying in the inn here, and it just so happens that there is a 'patent to equity joint venture' to negotiate and bid recently, and my brother-in-law can observe it ......with me in the dark."

Seeing that his wife and brother were so mysterious, Zhao Youheng's doubts in his heart became even heavier.

……

A few plainclothes men sat in the corner of the hall of an inn in the town, attracting no one's attention, because at this time there was a red-faced tender for the "joint venture of the spinning mill patent to share".

“…… This is the most advanced spinning technology in the country, and the full production line is equipped with a steam power pack! It is many times more advanced than the production line in Wanzhou, which runs with animal power, and the production cost of each spindle yarn will be reduced by at least two percent! On the high platform, a young Chinese man dressed in gorgeous clothes was proudly drawing general information on the blackboard, and all the wealthy gentry in the audience who had come from all over Qiongzhou stared at them and breathed heavily.

In the past few years, Wanzhou Baisheng yarn factory can be said to have earned all the profits of cotton and linen yarn, but I did not expect that this year Huamei has launched a more advanced yarn factory production line, and the cost of yarn will be lower by two percent in the future! Not to mention the demand of Guangzhou, Fujian and Zhejiang, the cotton yarn and linen yarn exported to Nanyang last year alone were as high as 100,000 quintals.

"In the lower Danzhou Xusheng, bid 24,000 taels, and transfer 20% of the shares to you!" A chubby squire raised his arm in the audience.

"In the lower Wanzhou Baisheng, I am willing to give 26,000 taels, and transfer shares into two!" Another skinny middle-aged businessman said something coldly in the corner, and everyone present turned their heads in surprise.

As soon as he heard that the Wanzhou Baisheng in Qiongzhou Mansion, which was the first to eat crabs on the yarn factory, made another move, a group of squires who came to grab business glared angrily, and the middle-aged businessman who called out the high price still looked unfazed.

"How many cotton and hemp fields are there in Qiongzhou today?" Zhao Youheng touched his beard and suddenly asked softly.

"In Yazhou alone, there are 85,000 acres of cotton fields...... In all parts of the province, the total number of cotton fields and hemp fields is probably not less than 200,000 mu. However, over the years, most of the Nanhai firms have contracted these properties to the Anqian displaced people for reclamation. The yarn mills auctioned by the squires from all over the country can make about 80,000 quintals of cotton and linen yarn per year, with an annual profit of at least 25,000 taels, so that the demand for raw cotton and linen must be in short supply...... "Liu Yaoyu thought for a while and said a figure that surprised Zhao Youheng.

“…… In the next Ding'an Huang family. I am willing to give 36,000 taels and transfer shares into 30%! With a thunderclap, a thinner middle-aged man stood up, shook the fan in his hand and said unhurriedly.

The bid was raised so much, and the sound of inhaling cold air sounded. A group of people looked at the representative of the Ding'an Huang family, which ranked among the top three in Qiongzhou's capital strength, in disbelief, as if they had heard it wrong just now.

"Are there any new bids?"

The gorgeous young man on the stage was a little stunned, and it was the first time he had seen such a bold joint venture bidding. This means that OUCC only uses a small yarn mill production line with a domestic purchase price of less than US$25ooo. Just in Daming Qiongzhou Mansion sold a high price of 54ooo US dollars, but also set up a ten-year thirty percent of the shares, and then the annual share dividends of nearly 10,000 US dollars, not counting the cheap cotton yarn, linen yarn back to the Pearl Island textile factory after the value-added profits, this return on capital can be described as earth-shattering!

"Deal! Congratulations to Mr. Huang of Ding'an County for winning this patent to equity joint venture project! Now I have to ask Danzhou Tongzhi Wang to conduct on-site notarization for this contract! Seeing that no one dared to argue with the Huang family in Ding'an, the business representative of the Oriental Union Group hurriedly knocked down the hammer.

As soon as this remark came out. Zhao Youheng almost jumped up, but fortunately, his wife and brother around him were able to sit firmly, and he quickly turned sideways and pretended to drink tea to prevent being recognized.

The side door opened, and a pot-bellied Ming official walked out, and the representatives of the merchants bidding in the hall stood up and saluted. And that Danzhou Tongzhi did not squint, and walked to the high platform with a righteous and awe-inspiring look.

Danzhou Tongzhi took the original contract, just glanced at it slightly, picked up the brush on the side and hooked a circle in the corner, and then took a copy and left, which was regarded as a passing scene.

"Mixing in private shops and businesses is not mentioned for the time being, and the business book has not been carefully inspected, so confused and notarized. Isn't it child's play? Zhao Youheng pinched his beard, already getting more and more angry.

"Brother-in-law, you probably don't know, according to the contract between the Oriental Union Group and the local officials and squires in Qiongzhou, the joint venture has a time limit, mostly ten years, and dividends are distributed by shares. For example, the Huang family built a new yarn factory in Ding'an, ten years later. Regardless of the size of the share capital, only 10% of the shares of the Oriental Union Group are allowed to be retained, and the rest must be returned to the Huang family. Within ten years, the profits of Huangjia Yarn Factory were 10%. It must be paid to the government, of which Qiongzhou and the location of the yarn factory each get half of it, so the local state and county officials in Qiongzhou compete for the joint venture private workshop to settle in the local area. And all the contractors are printed and crossed, and the officials and businessmen in Qiongzhou are already familiar with it. Danzhou official notarization once, you can get notarization of 600 taels of silver, has become a rule in Qiongzhou. This is not only the case in Qiongzhou, but also in the places where the gentry of Canton are on Hong Kong Island, but the amount is small and not obvious......"

Liu Yaoyu lowered his voice and told the biggest secret of Qiongzhou in recent years.

You can get six hundred taels of notary silver by going through the motions, and there is actually this kind of blatant flower, which is enough for the local government of Danzhou to be happy, you must know that the annual salary of Zhizhou is less than twenty taels of silver. Zhao Youheng was suddenly shocked in his heart, and gradually remembered the "Baihuaju" case, and a layer of sweat actually secreted from his back.

Probably because he had said too much before, the young business representative of the Oriental Union Group who presided over the auction retreated to the back hall, and after a drink of cattle, a new auction resumed.

"Thank you again for coming to this auction of the patent-to-equity joint venture project, and we will launch another new project for you: a new oil press unit! This patented production equipment is also driven by a steam engine, which is at least three times more efficient than the animal-powered oil press unit set up in Thanksgiving County, Yazhou the year before. If the raw materials are sufficient, about 1,000 tons of oil can be extracted per year, that is, at least 16,000 quintals. The minimum investment price is 8,000 taels, the minimum conversion is 10%, and the price increase is not less than 500 taels each time......"

It only takes dozens of people to extract 16,000 quintals of oil a year? The Qiongzhou squires present were stunned at the same time, and at the same time, they rose up with endless competition.

The scale and output of cotton and flax planting in Qiongzhou have long exceeded the processing and receiving capacity of Huamei Pearl Island enterprises, and the rough processing of cotton and linen has to gradually fall in Qiongzhou, and the cotton seed alone is an astronomical amount every year, but most of them are landfilled back to the field, which is simply a tyrannical thing in the eyes of the Oriental Union Group.

The new 1,000 tons of oil extraction may not be as good as a small oil mill on Pearl Island, but for Qiongzhou, it is a good opportunity to turn waste into treasure.

Under the skillful guidance of the bidding host of the Oriental Union Group, there was another burst of chickens and dogs jumping in the audience, but the oil extraction project was soon won by the more wealthy Ding'an Wang family, which caused a strong disappointment among the small local gentry present. When the last pulp production line was put on the table, the competition on the scene reached the highest point.

Zhao Youheng, who was listening in the corner, had no interest in continuing to listen, but quietly withdrew from the auction site.

……

Seaside tidal flats, endless mangrove forests, Zhao Youheng stood on a high slope, silently looking at the sea, touching his beard and never moving for a stick of incense.

"Brother-in-law......" Liu Yaoyu walked behind him and bowed.

"It's only been five or six years since Qiong, and at first I was worried that you and Zhao Mingchuan would be squeezed out by the gentry here, but I didn't expect it......" Zhao Youheng sighed, turned around, and stared at each other's eyes, "The state affairs are difficult, and the land of Qiongzhou is extremely prosperous." Taixi Huamei is so flamboyant that it has already touched the county and township of Qiongzhou, and this local government has no restraint......"

"My brother-in-law doesn't know that Qiongzhou is rich in grain and cheap, and now rich businessmen resell their fields and build workshops. The land rent and land price are not as good as 30% of Guangzhou, if it were not for the fact that some displaced people enter Qiong every year, it would be difficult for ordinary rich households to find someone to be tenants. Although the tax law is difficult to change, the new policy in Qiongzhou has been more than ten years old, and how many families have been fed. The people are rich and the officials are rich, the people are at peace, there is enough food and clothing, surplus grain is exported, and the silver class has increased greatly. Such a scene that benefits the country and the people, even if it is a personal relationship? Why is my brother-in-law still not satisfied? Or does my brother-in-law feel that such a good life is against the ancestral law? ”

Liu Yaoyu, who is not confused in his youth, has been calm after many years of turmoil, and in addition to being polite to his brother-in-law, his former caution is long gone.

Such a sharp rhetorical question from his wife and brother made Zhao Youheng unable to answer for a while, recalling the joke that Liu Yaoyu and Zhao Mingchuan originally promised that he had regarded as a joke that he did not know the height of the sky.

"In the land of Qiongya, if the new policy of industry, agriculture and commerce is carried out, it can be prosperous in ten years......"

After silently reading it, Zhao Youheng walked towards the distant port with his hands behind his back, and he no longer had the interest of continuing to stay in Qiongzhou to visit. Because he knows that whether it is the gentry and wealthy households or the common people in Qiongzhou, the current qiē is almost the lifeblood of life that cannot be reversed, and whoever goes against their lives will not hesitate to fight for their lives.