Yan Hong had breakfast, and then under the command of a group of generals and Jinyi guards, he went to Qincha. When he got to the gate of Xingyuan, he saw Hu Baiqi and said with a smile: "Yan Xiaoxianggong, where did you go last night?" Hurry in, Zhang Xijiu and Gonggong Feng are running errands. ”

Yan Hong hurriedly entered the courtyard. Ma Zimian's house is also a triple door, the main entrance living room is a lobby, but Zhang Juzheng and others are working in the study in the front hall. After Yan Hong entered, Zhang Juzheng raised his head from a stack of paper and ink, and scolded with a smile: "Chunchen, as the deputy envoy of the Qin Mission, you will not stay in the house on the first night you go to the mansion, such laziness is rare in the world." Come and work together. ”

Yan Hong smiled and made a gesture: "Sir, forgive the sin." I don't know what to do, just tell the students to do it. ”

Zhang Juzheng said: "You said the situation in Yangzhou before, you are most familiar with your own family, and you are still waiting for you to get an idea, how can you arrange it for the teacher?" ”

Although Yan Hong was ridiculous for half a night, his brain was not stupid, and after a little thought, he said: "Mr. Zhang, in my opinion, I might as well invite the local salt merchants and wealthy people in Yangzhou to come here today and talk to them about the opening of the sea and trade." We can also share a few of the ship guides we are scheduled to issue, and tell them to make preparations as soon as possible. At the same time, you can also listen to what they have to say about Kaihai. After all, if we open up the sea, first, we must formulate good rules and ensure the safety of the system, and second, we must also let these wealthy businessmen participate more. They are rich and powerful, and they can not only bear the cost of going to sea to do business by boat, but also have a leading role in ordinary small and medium-sized families. Let the rich businessmen cover this line of work, and the poorer people dare to follow suit. In the same way, only when they can get practical benefits from it can they really carry out the policy of opening up the sea. ”

Yan Hong finished speaking. He raised his eyes to see Zhang Juzheng's face. But Zhang Juzheng was still calm. On the other hand, Feng Bao clapped his hands sharply and laughed: "Okay." Yan Xiaoxianggong, Zhang Da sacrificial wine, is really a famous teacher and a high apprentice! ”

Yan Hong didn't understand what it meant for a while, and Feng Bao said again: "Little Xianggong, before you came in, Zhang Xijiu had already arranged for someone to invite the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou, as well as a group of wealthy leaders, to come together this afternoon to discuss the opening of the sea." Our family originally wanted to. There are a lot of people here, twenty or thirty people are crowded into a room, how can they discuss it. But Zhang Saijiu said, if he has something to say, he will listen to it, what he wants is to make these first-class and second-class people in Yangzhou City look forward to the opening of the sea. As a result, you came to the same idea. So your master and apprentice, that's the same thing that the hero sees, and we admire it. ”

Yan Hong smiled: "Gonggong Feng, you have praised it falsely. Xiao Ke hit crookedly. It's just a secret agreement with Mr. Zhang. By the way, Mr. Zhang, I don't know about the people of Wang Cuiqiao's family and the Mo family. Will it come too? ”

You must know that Yan Hong made a trip to Jiangnan last year, and from Zhang Yongfu alone, he cut 35,000 pieces of salt. Coupled with the gifts of Shen Qingshan, Wang Quanxin, Ma Zimian and other wealthy businessmen, a total of more than 50,000 pieces of salt were fished. Among the more than 50,000 sheets, Yan Hong gave a few thousand to some other related figures, which were used to maintain everyone's common interests, or to appease his party henchmen in Jiangnan, and a small part was handed over to some account offices to be taken care of. Among them, more than 40,000 were given to Wang Cuiqiao and Xue Yanniang respectively. Among them, Wang Cuiqiao has more than 30,000 sheets, and the number of Huaibei salt quotations has been able to sit on an equal footing with the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou. Although the Mo family's salt shop is not as good as Wang Cuiqiao, it can be regarded as a door that is counted on the toes in Yangzhou Salt Road. It must be known that the legal tax amount of a salt quotation is six taels, six coins and four cents, and Emperor Jiajing personally promised Yan Hong's two salt stores that they could be exempted from taxes. This alone means that the Mo family can also steal tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. Since Zhang Juzheng wanted to summon wealthy businessmen to discuss the matter of opening the sea, he ignored the two families.

Zhang Juzheng scolded with a smile: "Chunchen, are you deaf as a teacher?" You have a great relationship with Wang Cuiqiao and the Mo family, tens of thousands of salt introductions are let them run it, this is good for opening the sea, how can they not participate in it? It's just that because of their relationship with you, it's not appropriate to come to today's meeting. One is that it is not appropriate for a woman to show her head after all, and the other is that if it involves the matter of going to sea to share profits, it is not good for you to be in front of it. That Wang Cuiqiao heard that he followed Xu Hai in the past, and he was also a heroine on the ocean, so I would like to meet him when I have time to ask for some advice on maritime matters. ”

Yan Hong nodded hurriedly and said, "Mr. is very right. Then don't let them come yet. ”

Zhang Juzheng said again: "Chunchen, there is one more thing for the teacher, and I want you to help weigh it." This time, each of the five ports will first issue 60 ship guides this year, and I want to guide the ships in Ningbo and Hangzhou to each issue 15 tickets in Yangzhou, a total of 30 tickets. However, the rich people in Yangzhou, in addition to their high financial resources, their personal character, business methods, and Jiangnan connections are different. At that time, how to divide these 30 salt quotations will have to be considered. ”

Yan Hong said: "The student has an idea for this matter. As long as Mr. Zhang gathers today, let these wealthy businessmen submit a plan for each of them. In the book, they are asked to describe their plans to go to sea, how many ships they hope to get, what kind of goods they want to load, where they will be sold, what are the expected profits, how much time they want to go back and forth, and how much profits and taxes they will pay. And declare that if the plan is good, the ship will take more. Who doesn't want to get a boat to make money? Naturally, I tried my best to make this plan detailed. In this way, we can not only understand the financial resources and plans of these businessmen themselves, but also grasp some information about overseas trade. Then one can be used to assess which merchants are relatively reliable, and the other can also give them a needle, so that some businessmen with weaker financial resources may jointly go to sea, so as to use the power of Yangzhou merchants in opening the sea. ”

Zhang Juzheng listened, clapped his hands and said, "Clever plan." Chunchen, your idea is very good, let's handle it accordingly. I think that when these merchants come in the afternoon, you will share them with them. ”

Yan Hong thought to himself, Mr. Zhang, you really know how to send people, let me do all the bad things. He rolled his eyes and said, "Sir, there is one more thing to be done." I set up a concubine room in Yangzhou last year, which is Mo Qing'er, the young lady of the Mo family. Now Qing'er is eighteen years old, and the students want to take her through this time. It is calculated that the auspicious day is the second day of the seventh month, and when the time comes, the concubine will be performed, and the elders in my family are not here. As the saying goes, a day is a teacher. Fatherhood for life. I also want to ask my husband to be the head of the male family. ”

Zhang Juzheng heard this, and couldn't help but point his finger at the driver: "You, you, you...... It's ridiculous! scolded this, and suddenly smiled again: "You Yan Xiaoxiang concubine, presumably you have to follow the rules of marrying a wife, wearing a red wedding dress and sitting in a big sedan chair." Maybe it's okay to be a teacher, so I'll accompany you to make this trouble. It's just that you don't want to delay your business. These days, you have to do marriages and arrange miscellaneous servants to do it, but you have to be honest and handle official business with your teacher. ”

Yan Hong said with a hippie smile: "I will follow Mr. Order." ”

It wasn't until noon. The street reported that a guest had arrived. At noon, there was a crowd of cars and horses at the entrance of Xingyuan, and more than 30 wealthy businessmen and gentry from Yangzhou arrived one after another, and the reception room in the front hall of Xingyuan was full of people. These big businessmen also know that this trip to the south is related to a lot of business opportunities. Therefore, it is said that it is in the afternoon, and everyone is afraid that it will be late, and when it arrives at noon, everyone has already come.

Fortunately, Ma Zimian's family is wealthy, this house is very large, and there is no pressure on dozens of people in the front hall. Don't underestimate this room of people. or obese, or lean. If they are slaughtered, they can't produce 3,000 catties of meat, which is not enough to reward the three battalions of soldiers and horses, but their net worth combined is several times the Taicang income of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty was the first power in the East, and in the eyes of Westerners, it was a wealthy heavenly kingdom full of gold, but this money was not in the hands of the imperial court, but in the hands of wealthy merchants.

Yan Hong looked at this room of people, and secretly sighed in his heart. With the status of the Ming Dynasty, if the policy is successful, it can make a lot of money from overseas trade, coupled with the exchanges between the East and the West, cultural complementarity, and the introduction of armaments, no matter how it will not end up in the embarrassing situation of final destruction. Now these big businessmen have resources, the court has policies, and the two sides are bridged, and that is a win-win situation.

Seeing that the people had arrived, the servants sent fragrant tea and snacks, and these wealthy businessmen also put on makeup, greeted the weather, and greeted the young master with a few words. But when he said it, he was absent-minded, and his eyes were staring straight ahead. Zhang Juzheng smiled slightly, glanced at Yan Hong and Feng Bao, and the three of them went to the main seat together, and bowed their hands to the merchants: "Gentlemen, you are polite." ”

Panicked, all the guests replied together: "Master Qincha, please." "Your Excellency, please." "The little people are polite." "The student has come to courtesy." "Please, please!"

Zhang Juzheng and the other three sat down, Zhang Juzheng coughed, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the lower officials, Yan Xiaoxianggong, and Mr. Feng have been ordered by the Holy Order of Heaven to come to Jiangnan to handle this matter of opening up the sea and trade, so that the overseas vassal countries can all bathe in the favor of our Great Ming Dynasty, and also enable the coastal merchants to seek food and clothing from the sea." You are all well-known gentry, well-to-do families, leaders of the place, and you are invited to come today to discuss this matter of opening up the sea. Today, I ask you to be open and honest, and know everything, whether it is right or wrong, and there is no fault in what you say. If it is beneficial to open the sea, it will not only make great contributions to the country, but also create great virtues for the people. With that, he glanced at Yan Hong again.

Yan Hong followed and spoke, but he didn't talk about such a politeness, and said: "Everyone, as soon as this sea ban is opened, our goods from Middle Earth will be sold to the South Seas/Western Oceans, which is a daily income." When Western goods enter Middle-earth, money rolls in, and these people are all people who understand. However, the state has its own laws, and the family has its own rules, and there is always a rule of law to manage this sea traffic. Otherwise, everyone will do their own thing, and it is inevitable that there will be treacherous criminals, tax evasion, smuggling, and even collusion with foreign criminals, plundering places, and causing great disasters. Therefore, I invite you to come here today, so that we can discuss together, what are the risks of this open sea, how should they be managed, and what can you do to help the imperial court? Otherwise, if the sea is opened for a year or two, and the imperial court does not receive much tax, but causes trouble, it will be against the original intention. If the pros and cons are big, then everyone is bored. ”

Yan Hong broke the words like this, and the gentry understood what he meant. Ma Zimian is a leading figure in the Western merchants, and here the Qincha Xingyuan is the house he lent, and he thinks that he has a lot to do with the Qincha, so he immediately arched his hand and said: "The master of the Qincha is Mingjian." By opening up the sea, merchants and people could profit from it, and the imperial court could also receive taxes, which killed two birds with one stone. Speaking of this management, I heard that the imperial court is preparing to issue a number of ships at each of the five ports, and depending on the situation, ships without guidance are not allowed to go to sea. If you don't look at it, this method is very good. But the ship must be cautious in its issuance. It is better to choose the family that is well-off, law-abiding, and well-known in the locality, and give them the ship, and at the same time order them to straighten out their itinerary and report it to the government. In this way, all the people who go to sea are reliable people, and they are not afraid that they will evade taxes, that is, they will collude with foreign criminals, and these big families will not even be able to escape with their houses and land, which is more worry-free. Otherwise, if the ship is triggered by the rootless and bottomless Shengdou small people, this group of people has little capital and does not understand etiquette, once they are not good in business, it is inevitable to do some perverse deeds, and even turn business into cowards, it is not a strange thing. (To be continued......)