Chapter 52: See the Marquis of Navigation

He Xi took the secret letter from Princess Anqing's hand. Take a closer look. Sure enough, He Xi replaced the fifty percent of the shares of Jinghai Firm held by the royal family, and it was directly counted in the name of Princess Anqing.

But in He Xi's heart, he smiled dumbly.

Because He Xi knows one thing very well, in the next year or two. A large number of businesses will appear on the southeast coast. It can directly carry out maritime trade, and perhaps make a transition in Jingjiang. But in the near future, it will become the norm.

When the time comes, it is very difficult to say how much money Jinghai can make.

Of course, in the next year or two, this Jinghai firm will still be very profitable. The main thing is the question of the ship.

As mentioned above, there is a shortage of ships in the Ming Dynasty, at least ships that can be transported in the ocean. The ship of the Jinghai Merchant is a relationship between the soup and the soup. I just got it. But there were not many ships in the soup and hands. For a long time to come, ships will be in short supply.

The Jinghai merchant has ships and has a first-mover advantage. Naturally you can earn some. But it's just a first-mover advantage of a year or two.

Moreover, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang gave up these shares was because Daming imposed two layers of taxes on these firms. The first layer should be the qualification tax. It is not easy to get a license for ocean trade. It's going to be re-shot in a few years. Even if you go with the market, for a long time in the future, it is estimated that a license will not be able to get out of 10,000 taels.

Then there are the import and export duties.

Combined, these two items are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of taels per year.

Don't underestimate these hundreds of thousands of taels. Gain, the silver that Daming collects every year is only three million taels. A few hundred thousand taels is already a lot of money, and it is still increasing.

Under such policy changes, Jinghai Firm's shares will only become less and less valuable, unless there is a business wizard in charge.

He Xi may be able to run the Jinghai business and kill all sides. But He Xicai would not do such a thing, he had more important things to do.

Therefore, Princess Anqing was very happy with fifty percent of the shares. In fact, it is already depreciating rapidly. Zhu Yuanzhang not only safeguarded the interests of the imperial court, but also fooled his youngest daughter. made He Xi cry and laugh, although Zhu Yuanzhang doted on his daughter, but when it came to major matters related to the court, he would never show favoritism.

Just this little trick. It really made He Xi feel funny.

At the same time, they did not dare to pierce it. With the wisdom of Princess Anqing, it is estimated that it will be half a year or a year later.

He Xi didn't care about the goods, he just smiled and coaxed Princess Anqing to say; "Yay. This family business will be well guarded. ”

Princess Anqing's face was flushed with excitement. After all, this Jinghai business is too profitable. Although Princess Anqing is rich and noble, the money in the house is counted in 12,000 taels at most. When will I be able to see it in units of 10,000 taels.

It can be said that the money earned by Jinghai Merchant has exceeded the income of other aspects of the Princess Mansion.

Princess Anqing said: "Xianggong, you can rest assured." The male protagonist is outside, and the female protagonist is inside. Leave this to me. ”

He Xi smiled slightly. Say no more. I just want to see what Princess Anqing looks like.

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It's a pity that He Xi and Princess Anqing are destined to get together less and leave more.

He Xi originally wanted to get together with Princess Anqing, but he could only rush to Liujiagang quickly. The reason is very simple, first, Zhu Yuanzhang's affairs in Beijing have been handled very well. When many people didn't know, the names on the life and death book in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand had been filled in a lot.

Naturally, I came to Ningbo here and tried to make money by engaging in maritime trade. As for those that are not on the book, it is another problem, and it will be punished later. Of course, a group of people led by Li Shanchang are stinky and hard. didn't think that Zhu Yuanzhang would be ruthless to them.

It is no longer suitable for He Xi to stay in Ningbo.

There is another reason, that is, the maritime fleet of the seafaring Hou Zhanghe is about to go to the north again.

The reason is simple, and this summer. The south wind is blowing, if you wait. With the north wind, many things are not easy to do.

But Princess Anqing did not leave Ningbo. Without him, Princess Anqing is treating Jinghai Business as her family's industry. Very attentive. As for many nobles come to Ningbo. Princess Anqing doesn't have to avoid suspicion. The reason is very simple, if He Xi stays here, he will be a distributor, and his qualifications will not be able to suppress the field. It's going to be embarrassing. But Princess Anqing is different, she is here to get a piece of the pie.

In addition, Princess Anqing grew up under the knees of Queen Ma. Many of these nobles have hugged her. It is estimated that no one has to compete with Princess Anqing. not only offended Zhu Yuanzhang, but also seemed to have no taste. It can even be said that Princess Anqing is in Ningbo, and she is like a fish in water. There is no need to worry about He Xi at all.

He Xi could only go to Liujiagang in a hurry.

As soon as I arrived at Liujiagang. Zhang He greeted him.

Zhang He is a Huaibei man in his early fifties. At first glance, I think that such a person should be a fierce general who charges into battle on horseback, and he is not a great talent who manages the sea and is proficient in water warfare. Perhaps because of Zhu Yuanzhang's age, many of the heroes are not much different from Zhu Yuanzhang.

It is probably Zhu Yuanzhang who joined the army at the age of 24 and has been in the army for more than 30 years now. If at the beginning, follow the young man of Zhu Yuanzhang. By this time, he was in his fifties. Of course, all if you can survive.

As for the elderly, most of the old strategists like Zhu Sheng are gone. And Li Shanchang is also in his seventies.

These people have all faded out. or was faded out of the court by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhang He said: "Donkey." I've been waiting for a long time. ”

He Xi said: "There is Lao Hou Ye waiting for a long time. There was no delay, right? ”

Zhang He said; "Naturally, there is none. If you're interested, why don't you check it out now? ”

He Xi said: "I naturally want to see it." However, Master Hou doesn't call me a colt. I'm just a petty official. Come to Hou Ye's side to listen to it. ”

Zhang He said; "You don't need to call me Master Hou. What is my Hou Ye? If you don't dislike it, call Brother Zhang, and I'll call you Brother He. ”

He Xi said: "Then meet Brother Zhang." ”

Zhang He laughed, and the relationship between the two seemed to be closer.

In fact, Zhang He said it well, although he has a knighthood, but he does not belong to the founding hero, his navigation marquis, is to preside over the shipping, plus some of the merits between him, the annual salary of hundreds of stones. It's nothing.

And a lot of things are not a matter of being a fool.

The time of the marquis is also a matter of seniority. Because it is not the first batch of knights in the Ming Dynasty. Zhang He also missed out on the founding heroes.

Of course, this is the founding hero in the narrow sense. That is, Zhu Yuanzhang was canonized at the same time as the founding of the country. But if the founding hero in a broad sense is the person who participated in a series of battles for the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang He is also counted.

However, the founding heroes are still there, although some have passed away. However, the group of founding heroes has not withdrawn from the stage of history. The latter cannot be taken forward.

This is also why Zhang He and He Xi should call each other brothers, but they dare not let He Xi call him Uncle Zhang.

Because the two are fundamentally different in status.

He Xi followed Zhang He to the wharf, Liujiagang was the starting point of Zheng He's voyage to the West, and it is also the largest port in the Yangtze River estuary. In later generations, half of Shanghai is now in the water. When Liujiagang was silted up by the sediment of the Yangtze River. The wharf at the mouth of the Yangtze River gradually moved eastward, and Shanghai was formed.

It's not the first time He Xi has come to Liujiagang. But at this moment, Liujiagang is extraordinarily spectacular. Dozens of boats were parked on the pier and were high above the pier. A long plank, one end of the ship, on the high slope of the wharf, each carrying a sack, walked on the trembling plank, and carried a sack of grain onto the ship. Then come down from one side and continue to carry the grain. And so on and so forth.

Fill so many ships one by one.

Zhang He explained to him: "This year, I shipped a total of 700,000 stones, and the last time I sent 400,000 yuan, I transferred it to the political department of Beiping and got off the ship in Tanggu. And this time, it was to be sent to Liaodong. There are 300,000 stones in total. ”

"It's a big project."

He Xi looked at dozens of ships and said; "Are there only these ships?"

Zhang He said: "Naturally not. The ship, full of grain, was already waiting outside. Wait until it's all full, and then we'll go together. ”