Li Zhaoji saw that everyone was still a little restrained, and said with a smile: "Everyone doesn't have to be angry. When I was in Tamsui Trading Company, Brother Cheng was one of the first people to send people to trade. Brother Huo and Brother Gao have contributed a lot to the affairs of Chen Sigongzi, and we should be friends.

The reason why Governor Chen and Uncle Wang were invited here was because everything in the future would be carried out on the ground in Songjiang, and with the help of the two, everyone would do things more smoothly. Sooner or later, you have to get to know each other, see you first today, and it will be convenient to deal with them in the future. ”

The two businessmen who came with Cheng Bi, one named Huo Mingjia and the other named Gao Cheng. The former is from Yangzhou, the latter is from Suzhou, and it is the first time he and Li Zhaoji have met, in fact, the three of them are only acquaintances, and there is not much friendship, but in the past, because of business matters, Huo Mingjia and Cheng Bi still had some disagreements.

"Since the big shopkeeper talked about this, I also want to explain more, it was Xu Shangshu from Nanjing who found me at the beginning, and I did it for Lord Chen. The big shopkeeper also knows the situation on Daming's side, and Master Shangshu has ordered, we don't dare to refuse ......... Huo Mingjia cautiously explained.

He is talking about the rescue of Chen Zizhuang's fourth son Chen Huaiyu who was trapped in Japan, when the Nagasaki Incident, Chen Huaiyu was trapped in Japan, Chen Zizhuang's beloved son was executed, and his reputation was also affected, but he couldn't care about his son's life or death, and found someone in many ways to rescue his son.

In the same year, he found a scholar from the Sixth Department of Nanjing, and found Huo Mingjia and Gao Cheng, two merchants who had trade dealings with Japan, and went to negotiate with Japan.

After an inspection by the Japanese side, it was also found that Chen Huaiyu had no direct relationship with the Oriental Trading Company, and his background was deep, so he did not want to be embarrassed, so the shogunate ordered his release. However, the Japanese government that carried out this matter took the opportunity to extort 10,000 taels of silver, and in the end it was Chen Si'an, the original shopkeeper of the Chen family, who paid for this silver, because of this money, he also broke off with Chen Jiaen, and there was no grudge.

But now, Chen Zizhuang has entered the court as an official, and these partners in Jiangnan know that the Oriental Trading Company and the Chen family have always been on good terms, for fear that Li Zhaoji will be angry with the two of them over this matter.

Li Zhaoji did not let Huo Mingjia finish speaking, but responded seriously: "Don't worry, I have no objection to the two's approach." Although I have some discord with Chen Zizhuang, I have a good relationship with the fourth son, Chen Huaiyu, who was executed in Japan and was also burdened by me. The two of you were able to rescue him, and I was relieved of the guilt in my heart.

Second, Chen Si'an Chen's shopkeeper has made great contributions to the trading company, and he has also been free, no longer a servant of the Chen family, and he has helped me even more.

I will never blame the fourth son, please don't worry. ”

Li Zhaoji said it so clearly, Huo Mingjia and Gao Cheng were both in a much more relaxed mood, and Gao Cheng said: "The big shopkeeper is really a big hero who stands up to the sky, and his grievances are clear, and he admires him." ”

"The big shopkeeper doesn't mind this matter, and he will be at ease in the future." Huo Mingjia also echoed and said.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "The two of you were invited here today because of the joint recommendation of Uncle Wang, Mr. Cheng and He Bin, and I am naturally relieved of the two." If nothing else, I will say the purpose of today's invitation, I have always been a straightforward person, you are not surprised. ”

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Li Zhaoji nodded slightly to He Bin.

He Bin got up and opened the map hanging on the shelf next to him, and after dotting between Matsue and Nagasaki, he said, "You should also know that because of the Sado incident, the trading company and Japan are in a hostile relationship. Therefore, trade with Japan has always been something that we at the Oriental Trading Company have not been able to get involved in.

In the past, in order to get the benefits, we cooperated with the Dutch to sell goods to the Dutch, but the Dutch also shared most of the profits.

Now, with the issuance of the Xingshui Token, the trading company has re-established the order of the Eastern Seas, so it is conceivable that the trade routes between the Ming Dynasty and Japan will quickly prosper.

I think that a group of powerful businessmen, including the three, are the first batch of profiteers. ”

Cheng Bi and the three of them all smiled slightly, thanking Li Zhaoji for his kindness.

The reason is very simple, before the rise of the Oriental Trading Company, Cheng Bi rarely participated in trade with Japan, because he did not get Zheng Zhilong's permission, and it was not until the rise of the Oriental Trading Company that he used advanced technology to transform sailing ships, so that Cheng Bi had the ability to throw off the Zheng family's fleet, and he was able to try to trade with Japan.

As for Huo Mingjia and Gao Cheng, although they traded with Japan within the Zheng family's system, they were also constrained by the Zheng family's investment and foreign trafficking, and their profits were limited.

Now, the ships of the three families are preparing for the April trade, and they have also hired a large number of sailors and merchants from Fujian and other places who trade with Japan, most of whom are people who have no food and clothing after the collapse of the Zheng family.

The Zheng family collapsed, the Oriental Trading Company ate meat, and they also drank soup.

But the problem is that the first to make a profit is always the powerful people, because the ships of the trading companies cannot go to Japan, and if you want to trade, you have to have your own ships.

According to the technology of the Ming Dynasty at that time, it took as little as 3,000 taels of silver to build a sea ship that could carry out ocean trade, and at most 20,000 taels, and half of the construction cost was spent every year for maintenance. This requires considerable capital to sustain a boat.

He Bin continued: "Some time ago, everyone saw the grand occasion of Wangjiang Pavilion, just in Wangjiang Pavilion, nearly 100 people were entertained in two batches, and there were a group of people in Hong Kong, Tamsui, and Fuzhou, adding up, I am afraid that there are nearly 300 people.

Most of them didn't have ships, so how could these people go to Japan to trade? Naturally, it is leasing other people's space, and I think a few of the cargo ship ships that have been rented out have already rented out a seven, seven, eighty, eight. ”

Cheng Bi and the three of them immediately became vigilant, it seemed that the Oriental Trading Company intended to participate, although the ship of the Oriental Trading Company could not go to Japan, as long as it did not hang the flag of the Oriental Trading Company, after all, in addition to the military and public officials of the trading company who were required to adopt the new hairstyles and clothes promoted by Li Zhaoji, there were ordinary Han people under the rule of the trading company, and there was no difference between them and the people of the Ming Dynasty, after all, they were all from the Ming Dynasty. Cheng Bi said carefully: "Does the big shopkeeper also want to participate?" ”

Li Zhaoji laughed: "If I get involved, you will have to leave the table." If nothing else, as long as I don't issue you a water flag, won't all those merchants come to rent my boat? ”

Cheng Bi was embarrassed, because Li Zhaoji was telling the truth, and it was also the situation they were most worried about.

He Bin said: "The meaning of the big shopkeeper is to set up a trading company to improve the efficiency of trade. ”

"This ...... We know what the general is, but how can we improve the efficiency of trade? The three of them looked at each other, obviously not understanding, Huo Mingjia asked seriously.

He Bin said: "The three of them look at the map, the current trade pattern has been determined, the fleet of trade with Japan, the ships of Liangguang depart from Hong Kong, the ships of Fujian and Zhejiang first go to Tamsui and then depart, and the ships of Jiangnan depart from Songjiang Prefecture, and the destination is Nagasaki ......... ”

There is no doubt about it, because the above three ports, together with Port Arthur, are the four ports where trading companies issue water tokens. Unlike the Zheng family's token, which is issued once a year, while the Oriental Trading Company is issued once a year.

In fact, this seems to be no different in the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, taking Cheng Bi's fleet as an example, in April, from Songjiang Prefecture to Nagasaki, Japan, it will not come back until the north wind season comes, that is, around October, it is impossible to go to Japan again within the year.

"The trio's fleet departed from Songjiang Prefecture in April and returned in October, but in fact, the ships had to stay in Nagasaki for half a year or more," He said. Although repairs are required, in reality, most of the time, the ship and manpower are wasted.

Because of Japan's hostile relationship with trading companies, any ship with soft sails, as long as it was not Dutch, was seized ........ ”

The Chinese junk's ocean-going ability is limited, its sails and rudders are not suitable, and the hard sails can use eight winds, but that is suitable for the complex shipping lanes and sea and land breezes in the near sea. When sailing on the open sea, not to mention the slow speed, there are many people, and if there are fewer people, it is impossible to control the ship.

Although the elevator is suitable for shallow water, it is easy to be damaged when it is against the current. This is the main reason why the Ming Dynasty carried out trade between the east and the west, once a year. If the ship that goes to Japan in April comes back during the southerly season, it will be fine on the sails because it can make the wind blow on all sides, but there will be problems with the rudder.

Seeing that the three of them were interested, He Bin's hand clicked on Jeju Island and said: "Three, what if we go another way, the ship departs from Songjiang Prefecture and does not go to Japan, but goes to Jeju to unload and change ships, and then goes from Jeju to Nagasaki, Japan ........" ”

All three of them were leaders in the business, and they immediately understood the fun of this.

Fleets departing from Matsue Prefecture do not have to worry about Japan's restrictions on sails, so both foreign ships purchased from Tamsui shipyards and Ming ships with soft sails and rudder modifications can be visited. The ship in the hands of the three people was only responsible for the transportation from Jeju to Nagasaki.

If it's just the Jeju-Nagasaki route, the ships can come and go almost once a month.

This is also the reason why Li Zhaoji promotes cooperation between all parties, the more ships come and go, the more water orders are issued, and the more money the trading company makes.

"Wonderful! It's wonderful! Cheng Bi was the first to applaud and praised loudly: "The pen of God, it is really a stroke of God, I thought that the trading company occupied Jeju just to deal with Liaozhen at the beginning, and by the way to deter the Manchu Dynasty, Xian, but I never thought that there was such a wonderful use in trade." ”

"High, really high!" Gao Cheng also shouted excitedly.

Li Zhaoji got up, poured wine for the three of them and said, "The higher and better is still to come."

In this company, Uncle Wang will participate in a share, and according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, nobles like Uncle Wang who have made meritorious contributions have the right to tax in the territory. Therefore, Shanghai Customs could not levy the uncle's tax, and the company could avoid the imperial court's tax on the route from Songjiang to Jeju.

However, the trading company will only add Jeju as a place to issue Xingshui tokens, and there will be no points further north.

Therefore, from Jeju, you can go not only to Nagasaki, Japan, but also to the Hokkaido territories of trading companies, such as Sado, Matsumae, and Miyogai, ......... ”

Li Zhaoji said, marking all the way north on the map, until it was out of the map, because the outer northeast where Temple Street is located is not within the scope of this map.

“..... There are furs and ginseng, and it is a good place to trade. It will also increase your trade in Japan.

As we all know, we transport a large amount of raw silk, cotton cloth, and iron to Japan every year, but we don't need much for things produced in Japan, so we often go out with a shipload of goods and come back empty. The Tokugawa shogunate in Japan was very unhappy about this, because of the outflow of large quantities of silver, gold, and copper.

And those in my northern territories need handicraft products such as food, iron products, and clothes, and of course those produced in Nagasaki can also be produced. ”

The three of them were amazed when they heard it, and they all cheered, and Wang Xing said, "Brother Li, why do you want to join a share." ”

"If you are short of money to buy a ship, I will take in a share, and if you are not short of money, forget it." Lee Zhaoji's attitude is open-minded.

"Trading companies can use ships to buy shares, and from Shanghai to Jeju, it is precisely the high-quality ocean-going merchant ships that need to be high-quality, especially the wind direction restrictions, preferably chopstick boats, and the sails are suitable for sailing against the wind." Elevation said immediately.

"Treasurer, gentlemen, I have a question." Huo Mingjia suddenly interrupted everyone's excitement.

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