Suzhou City, the first state capital in the world.

Prosperous but not gorgeous Hanchuan Kou, gorgeous but not prosperous Lingfu, the world will be the most prosperous, except for the Beijing Wuxia have.

Suzhou spring and summer tax and grain paid 2,52,900 stone crown the world's state capital, and Suzhou silk and other handicraft industries are at the leading level in the country, Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau stationed in Suzhou City, has become a veritable first capital in the world.

Suzhou City has eight gates, the circumference is full of 47 miles, located in the east side of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, of which the west gate of the city is called the world wharf.

Every day, countless goods are loaded and unloaded through the wharf of the world, and a large number of goods are sold to the whole country through the waterway from here, and a wharf that can berth large ships is worth 10,000 gold.

"Haha...... We're back! ”

"It's still our Jiangnan air good!"

"That's wrong, it's still our Jiangnan girl!"

……

Zheng Jie and Hou Haotian and other sons and brothers came back with their steps, saw Suzhou City in front of them from a distance, and loudly expressed their homesickness.

The trip to Kyushu Island in Japan can be said to have been very smooth.

The establishment of the Jiangnan Textile Factory on the island of Kyushu not only broke the monopoly of the Tokai Governor's Office on cotton cloth, but also greatly reduced costs with the help of cheap Japanese labor.

In fact, the most important thing is that they found a large Japanese silver mine in Nagasaki, although the scale of the silver mine is not as large as the Iwami silver mine, but at least it can be mined for decades.

Now that they have brought the technology of the Huaxia soot blowing method, they can help the Otomo family in silver mining.

Although the Nagasaki silver mine nominally belonged to the Otomo clan, the Otomo clan was now constantly fighting and had always relied on the commodity support of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as they brought a steady stream of goods and women to the Otomo family, the silver mined from the Nagasaki silver mines would eventually go into their pockets.

"Zheng Gongzi, they're back!"

Jiangnan firm has integrated the resources of all parties, and in the land outside the west gate of Suzhou, it is also rebuilding a Jiangnan wharf, but it is warmly welcomed.

After Zheng Jie and the others disembarked, the workers of the dock carried the goods back and sent them to the large warehouse next to the wharf.

Some will be sold in the Suzhou area, but others will be distributed elsewhere. It can go south and north through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, or it can go north to Huguang and other places from the Yangtze River, and there are special personnel of Jiangnan business in charge of this kind of thing.

"Mosquito meat is also meat!"

"We've made a lot of money on this trip!"

"Not to mention a lot, at least tens of thousands of taels of profits!"

……

Although Zheng Jie and others went to Kyushu Island to do business this time, after all, under the guise of trade, this maritime trade can be said to have made a lot of money, and the trade with the Otomo family has achieved very considerable benefits.

They didn't have to worry about selling the sulphur, seafood, and Japanese swords they brought back, and now that they have reached a close cooperation with the Gangnam firm, these products can be easily sold to Gangnam.

In particular, Japanese swords and swords, Japan was originally a martial country, and during the Tang Dynasty, the "Tang-like broadsword" was used as a blueprint and then improved, and its casting level was already very high.

In addition, the Japanese side sells it really cheaply, or the Japanese sword exchanged for a silk is very considerable, so there is a large market in Jiangnan.

Sulfur from volcanic eruptions is formed by the condensation of sulfur-containing vapors from volcanic eruptions that reach the ground and are formed near the vents, and Japan is also rich in sulfur mines.

Sulfur is not only an important part of gunpowder, but also an important Chinese medicinal material in this era, and it is said that Han Yu's wives and concubines in his later years were eating aphrodisiacs containing sulfur.

There is also no shortage of sulphur imported from Japan, and the profits from it are even more eye-catching, and although they are exempting seafood from the seafood, they actually bring back mainly sulphur and swords.

In fact, judging from the trade situation alone, they have made a lot of money, but no one will be satisfied, after all, this profit is too much worse than that of silver mines.

The moon is falling and the sky is full of frost, and Jiang Feng is sleeping.

Hanshan Temple outside the city of Gusu, the bell rings in the middle of the night to the passenger ship.

……

Suzhou City, Humble Administrator's Garden.

Jiangnan Firm's headquarters are located here, and they will also choose to hold a business meeting at the end of the year, both for a business exchange and for new decisions.

Since the maritime trade was in full swing, their gang enjoyed the greatest dividends. Since everyone has meat to eat, even if they eat less, there is not necessarily much complaint.

What's more, now Daming Haimao has only officially started for a few years, and now who eats more and who eats less, in fact, there is no fixed number.

Like the Zheng family, although they gave up part of the trade volume, they are now cooperating with the Otomo family in mining silver mines, and they are about to get a steady stream of silver.

In fact, in addition to Japan, they also ventured to Hokkaido, farther west, from which the indigenous tribes traded back large quantities of whale oil.

Whale oil is the most important illuminator for the local tribes, and energy is a hard currency in this era, but it can be used as a substitute for candles and oil lamps.

Although the effect may not be as good as that of candles, it is better than whale oil is cheaper, and there is no market in Jiangnan at all.

It is worth mentioning that in the duty-free column of Shanghai Bosi, although whale oil no longer belongs to the category of food, it is also in the tax-free list.

Just as the head of the Zheng family was discussing the New Year with a group of bigwigs inside, outside was the world of their second generation.

Women have always been a long-standing topic for men, and the Suzhou Oiran at the beginning of next year is the focus of their conversation, and it is also the fighting ground for their noble sons.

"Huh...... Oiran must belong to the purple orchid girl! ”

"How many silver taels can you have, what can you fight with this son?"

"Okay, let's wait and see, don't give up too early and lose face!"

"That's what you said, then let's fight, whoever loses will knock three times!"

……

After Xu Shenggongzi lost to Zheng Jie at the beginning of this year, he has always wanted to get back on the field, and now he is openly speaking, but he doesn't want to be toughened by Li Lian.

Hey?

Zheng Jie and the other sons saw that Li Yi was so confident, and they couldn't help but look at each other.

The sons and brothers present can be said to be either rich or expensive, but Li Yi is a special existence.

If it is said that the ancestors are in the vast period, then everyone present is not comparable, because Li Yi's ancestor Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong, because Li Jinglong opened the gate of Nanjing to welcome Taizong, he is the first martial artist in the world.

It's just that success is also Li Jinglong, and defeat is also Li Jinglong. Because Li Jinglong was involved in rebellion, Taizong took away his title and confiscated his family property, which led to the decline of Cao Guogong.

Now it is Li Xuan who is in charge, working for Nanjing Jinyi Wei.

Although Li Yi is the son of Li Xuan, he has his brother Li Lian in front of him, and he is a concubine, and his future is very bleak.

The reason why he was able to join Jiangnan Business was because his father was involved, and secondly, he was recommended by Zheng Jienian and his classmates in Nanjing Guozijian.

"It seems that his business at sea has become bigger!" Hou Haotian looked at Li Yi who was leaving, and looked enlightened.

"What kind of deal?"

"Isn't he just an escort?"

"Everyone who understands this matter, let's drink!"

……

Cheng Xin and Wang Yanao seemed to be in the dark, but Zheng Jie had already guessed the whole story, but he picked up the wine glass in his hand and said loudly.

Peers are enemies, this is a truth that is applicable everywhere.

Although Jiangnan firms are well-deserved giants in the entire Jiangnan, they have accumulated enough trade technology and talents, and they also have overseas markets.

Although they didn't dare to openly call the Governor's Mansion of the East China Sea, they were actually very unwelcome to other colleagues who wanted to share the food, and even wanted the other party to die.

Due to the excessive number of merchant ships in the Jiangnan Merchants, there were still some unsightly pirates, and they formed an escort team as soon as they were internal.

In addition to the shipwrights of the convoy, the convoy also recruited many simple-minded Japanese samurai from Japan, and their strength was no weaker than that of any pirate force.

After all, Li Yi was a military general, and he was famous for his courage and ruthlessness in Nanjing Guozijian, and he also became the captain of an escort team of a Jiangnan firm.

Others may not know, but Zheng Jie and others knew that Li Yi was holding a sword imported from Japan and recruiting some simple-minded Japanese samurai, but he started trading at sea.

Xu Sheng is also a good-looking person, and immediately picked up his wine glass and said: "Lao Tzu can't compare to Zheng Jie, can't you even compare to you after a traitor, it's really a big joke!" ”

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

In this emperor's dormitory, dozens of palace maids and eunuchs seemed cautious at this time, as if they had also felt the anger of the current saint.

Wang Yue and Yin Zhigui are the elders of the pavilion, and they were originally at home on holiday in advance, but they were suddenly summoned by the emperor, but they guessed that something happened to Daming.

After all these years of getting along, they already knew the emperor's temper, if it wasn't for a major event, he would never summon his courtiers for no reason, and rarely summoned them in the palace.

After Wang Yue and Yin Zhi came to the Qianqing Palace and passed through the ceremony, they followed the palace people through the main courtyard from the long palace road, and then came to the warm Dongnuan Pavilion: "The ministers (Wang Yue, Yin Zhi) please Sheng'an!" ”

"I'm safe!" Zhu Youzhu saw the arrival of the two elders, and immediately shared the information he had just gotten: "I summoned the two of you suddenly today, and it is true that something has happened that has brought shame to Huaxia, so let's take a look first!" ”

Wang Yue and Yin Zhi took the information from Guo Yong's hand, and gasped when they looked at the content on it.

This is actually two pieces of information, one from the Luzon Governor's Yamen, and the other from the East China Sea Governor's Palace.

The Luzon governor's yamen was not sent by the yamen, but by the Luzon guards, who escorted the gold, and their golden ships encountered a storm in the southeast, and one of the golden ships was robbed.

If the loss of the gold ship is only a loss, the Tokai Governor's Office has found out that the Jiangnan side is actually preparing to join forces with the Japanese Otomo family, but they want to mine silver ore together.

As an island country, Japan's agriculture and handicraft industry lagged behind China in an all-round way, so why was it able to live a very prosperous life in the Age of Discovery, and even prepared to attack the Ming Dynasty for a time?

It is they who possess a large amount of silver ore resources, and as long as these resources are mined, the social resources of Huaxia can be looted dozens of times.

The reason why Zhu Youzhu wanted to abolish the silver standard and prohibit maritime merchants going to Japan from trading silver was precisely to prevent the outflow of social wealth from China.

It's just that who would have thought that these greedy Jiangnan landlord class not only resisted the abolition of the silver standard by the imperial court, but were also ready to cooperate with Japan to seize China's social resources.

Zhu Youzhu could tolerate the Jiangnan merchants making money, and even had a certain tolerance for their smuggling, but he would never allow these people to help Japan mine silver and help them use silver to loot China's social wealth.

This behavior of the landlord class in Jiangnan is actually not fundamentally different from that of the Jin merchants, who are a bunch of out-and-out traitors.

"Damn it!" Wang Yue once served in the border pass, and he had strong patriotic feelings in his heart, and he gritted his teeth with hatred at the moment.

Yin Zhi understood the difficulties of the people during his hometown in Jiangxi, and said with red eyes: "There is no monarch, no nation, only silver, it is simply something inferior to pigs and dogs." ”

Liu Jin had always thought that the pavilion elders were gentle and elegant, but now that Wang Yue and Yin Zhi looked so rude, he couldn't help but look at these two pavilion elders in surprise.

"Although you all took the initiative to ask to go down to Jiangnan, I still can't bear to let the two pavilion elders run around like this! It's just that now that this matter in Jiangnan is out, Dongying's silver will never be able to enter my Daming, so this matter can't be handed over to Wu Yu! Zhu Youzhu didn't plan to go around in circles, but went straight to the point.

Wang Yue actually wanted to go down to Jiangnan, and even took the initiative to ask Ying: "Your Majesty, the old minister is fortunate to have the blessing of His Majesty's resurrection, and now the chaos in Jiangnan is indignant, please hand over the matter of Jiangnan to the minister!" ”

"Your Majesty, Elder Wang Ge is in poor health, and it is not appropriate to go to Jiangnan. Although the minister does not have the courage and skill of the old king, but the minister has also cultivated himself for decades, please hand over Jiangnan to the minister, and the minister is willing to make a military order, and he will not want to mission! Yin Zhi knew that he really didn't have Wang Yue's illustrious resume, but he took the initiative to ask for it.

Although he returned as a pavilion elder, he was no longer able to conquer others with the seniority of the Hanlin Academy. This time is not only to do things for the empire, but also to justify himself as not the old man of the Straw Bag Pavilion.

In particular, Jiangnan is related to the rise and fall of China, and he also wants to apply what he has learned all his life to this matter.

Zhu Youzhu looked at Wang Yue and wanted to speak again, but he stopped him and said, "Two Aiqing, I'm afraid you have misunderstood what I meant!" I summoned you to the palace, in fact, I want the two of you to go down to Jiangnan together, one is in charge of Nanzhili, and the other is in charge of Zhejiang! ”

Originally, it was the best thing to set up a governor of Zhejiang, but the energy of the two of them was limited after all, and the large area could easily cause a lack of skills.

If Wang Yue is in charge of Nanzhili and Yin Zhi is in charge of Zhejiang, the two can not only share the pressure, but also work together to solve all the problems in Jiangnan.

"Your Majesty Shengming!" Wang Yue and Yin Zhi learned that Zhu Youzhi had this plan, and immediately bowed respectfully.

Although they hoped that one person would solve everything, they just saw Zhu Youzhi arranging like this, but they knew that it was more reasonable and easier to solve the problems in Jiangnan.

As for the affairs of the cabinet, even without the two of them, it will not have much impact, and the current Liu Ji and Xu Qiong are both good at playing the bill.

Zhu Youzhu knew that these two important ministers going to Jiangnan could produce good results, so he restrained some of his anger and said: "Since this is the case, then the matter is settled, Wang Ge Lao is suspended as the governor of Nanzhili, and Yin Ge is appointed as the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you can set off after the Spring Festival!" ”

"Your Majesty, the soldiers are fast, and the ministers are willing to go down to Jiangnan immediately!" Wang Yue asked even if he pleaded.

"The same is true of the minister, I am willing to go to Hangzhou immediately!" Yin Zhi also followed suit.

Zhu Youzhu saw that these two old guys had a heart to do practical things, so he retreated and said, "It's the third day of the new year!" Time is not in a hurry at this moment, you and your family have a good reunion, and on the third day of the new year, I will issue an order, and I will also arrange for you to be accompanied by a Qincha escort! ”

"Obey the Divine Commandment!" Wang Yue and Yin Zhi exchanged a look, and immediately bowed respectfully.

They are not unreasonable people, although they do want to arrive in Jiangnan early, but now that it is already the Spring Festival, they can indeed spend the Spring Festival before leaving.

Zhu Youzhu looked at Wang Yue and Yin Zhi, and also showed a little emotion: "Although this trip is very dangerous, the development of China today is like sailing against the current, and the affairs of Jiangnan are entrusted to the two Aiqing!" ”

"It is an honor to serve His Majesty!" Wang Yue and Yin Zhi immediately expressed their attitudes together.

The two left the Qianqing Palace together, and when they walked out of the Qianqing Gate, they saw that the square in front of them was already covered with snow, and this year's winter seemed to be colder than before.

Yin Zhi saw the snow in front of the Qianqing Palace for the first time, and asked with concern: "Elder Wang Ge, is your body really fine?" ”

"The old man is only five years older than you, we are all old people, how can there be nothing wrong with our bodies?" Wang Yue helped his waist, and it seemed that he had already seen through all the ways.

Yin Zhi noticed Wang Yue's eyes looking at him, but he said very sincerely: "Wang Ge has been killing enemies at the border when he was young, but I have stayed in the Hanlin Academy for so many years, and there are no major problems with my body so far, and there is no problem!" ”

Ah......

Wang Yue suddenly felt that God was unfair, and those who worked harder were even more offended, but his body turned on the police light again, and he couldn't help but hold his waist and groan.

The situation of the two seems to be really like this, although their bodies look strong and big, and they are taller than Yin Zhi, but they have been living a pampered life, which is like going through the ups and downs of officialdom in the southern and northern wars.

Wang Yue is not a hypocritical person, but he adjusted his state and waved his hand: "The old man's body is indeed not as good as before, but I thought that those guys dared to collude with the Japanese people, and this waist pole can definitely straighten up and kill those Xiaoxiao!" ”

"The prestige of the old man Wang Ge, the old man has always admired it!" Yin Zhi felt the pride on Wang Yue's body, and he also bowed respectfully.

Wang Yue had a good impression of Yin Zhi, and he also turned around and told him seriously: "Yin Ge Lao, the place is not as good as the capital, some people can really use any means, so you have to be careful, you will definitely not be soft when you should be ruthless!" ”

"Thank you Wang Ge Lao for the point!" Yin Zhi knew that Wang Yue was a good word of the golden rule, and he also silently wrote down the Tao.

The two ministers went down to Jiangnan together, which was an extremely sensational thing in the imperial court, and it was an earthquake when it reached Jiangnan, after all, this was something that had never happened since the capital was moved. (End of chapter)