Chapter 267 The Issuance of Public Bonds and the Emperor’s Privileges
While Xia Yan was discussing the opening of new routes with Ming officials in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao also arrived in Guangzhou in the South.
Naturally, Zhu Houzhao came to Guangzhou to take a close look at the specific situation after the Ming Dynasty and Guangxi opened the sea.
Of course, Zhu Houzhao did not make any big fanfare. He just drove Jian Cong and suddenly appeared in Guangzhou. This could not only avoid disturbing the lives of the people along the way from the capital to Guangzhou, but also catch the officials in Guangdong and Guangxi off guard, so that he, the emperor, could see to the most realistic situation in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
The Royal Palace in Guangzhou Prefecture is one of the villas that Zhu Houzhao ordered the Royal Taxation Administration to fund in the 10th year of Zhengde and ordered the various prefectures of the Ming Dynasty to build it.
Now, Zhu Houzhao can naturally use the royal palace in Guangzhou as his temporary residence as the emperor.
Zhu Houzhao is looking at the map now, and naturally he is looking at the map of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Moreover, Zhu Houzhao was still wondering whether he should also draw a circle on the map of the two Guangdong provinces, but then he thought it was unnecessary. After all, Hong Kong doesn't have one yet, and the small fishing village will naturally have to wait for the trade density to be greater in the future. It is not too late to draw a circle later, and now one Hao Mirror can be enough to meet the trade transit of the entire Daminghai region.
After looking at the map of Guangdong and Guangxi for a while, Zhu Houzhao felt a little bored. He got up and went to the glass pavilion window inlaid with lattice glass. He moved a first-class battleship model in front of the window and asked: "Now, Xia Yanhe How are the discussions between officials from Guangdong and Guangxi? When can Ming’s sailing ships be anchored in Goa City on a large scale? ”
"Back to Your Majesty, the results of yesterday's discussion were reached. Officials from Guangdong and Guangxi expressed that they would cooperate with Xia Bu Tang to open up this new route. In addition, Xia Bu Tang has followed your instructions and started to convene local gentry and officials from Guangdong and Guangxi with the help of officials from Guangdong and Guangxi. The heads of the major commercial banks are preparing to build the Ming Stock Exchange in Haojing, and the newly established Imperial Sea Trade Corporation will be listed. At that time, all the people of the Ming will participate in purchasing public bonds to form a fleet and shipping that will open up new routes. Company!”
Liu Jin replied.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and asked with some worry: "Do you think Xia Yan can succeed in starting a business?"
"Xia Butang has received your Majesty's instructions. The ministers believe that he can do it. Besides, your Majesty, among the assistants assigned to him this time are students who have studied abacus for several years with Wang Jijiu (Wang Wensu) of Capital University. , and also followed Mr. Xu (Xu He has been an account official of several banks, so opening this stock exchange shouldn’t be a problem. Moreover, Xia Butang himself is also a student of your Majesty’s teachings at the Capital University, so your Majesty, you should rest assured!”
When Liu Jin said this, Zhu Houzhao also nodded, thinking to himself: "I just don't know if the officials and gentry in Guangdong and Guangxi are willing to subscribe to the public bonds issued by the government!"
……
Zhu Houzhao's worries were obviously unnecessary.
After the Ming Stock Exchange was just established in Guangzhou and the public bonds to raise funds for the Imperial Sea Trade Corporation to open new routes were put on sale, many officials and gentry from Guangdong and Guangxi came to subscribe.
Zhu Houzhao thought there weren't many people there, so he and Liu Jin came here incognito to make a small fortune using the fake household registration certificate registered at the Ministry of Household Affairs.
As a result, when Zhu Houzhao arrived, he found that at 9 o'clock in the morning on the first day of the public bond issuance, many Ming scholars had already gathered here to buy public bonds.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but stop a scholar wearing a lazy scarf and asked: "Dare I ask this brother, are you really willing to buy the public bonds issued by the government, are you not afraid of being cheated by the government?"
"That's not a worry. The imperial court treats students favorably. If the government dares to cheat, we can make trouble." The scholar waved his fan and replied with a smile when he saw that Zhu Houzhao was dressed luxuriously and was decorated with gold and jade.
Zhu Houzhao thought about it. After all, this was the Ming Dynasty under his rule, not the Qing Dynasty. Although he was an emperor who was not merciless in killing civil servants, it also encouraged the people of the Ming Dynasty to regard themselves more as individuals and not even have the slightest suspicion of the government. None, not even the student in front of me who looked like he had not yet become a scholar.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao continued to ask: "But do you really believe that you can make money by buying government bonds?"
"That's natural. To say it, this was created by the emperor, the most sage in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Back then, he used such a method of raising shares to secure his throne. Until now, those old ministers who followed him back then... Everyone is extremely rich. You should know this. Nowadays, private businessmen are also doing this. Everyone knows that everyone raises funds together and then lets powerful people do business. Everyone can make a fortune. The same is true for this public debt. ”
The scholar became interested in showing off as he spoke, and Zhu Houzhao was dressed richly and wanted to make friends. He continued: "This time the government issued public bonds to open up new routes to Goa and even Cape Verde. , I heard that there is gold and silver everywhere on that route. Mr. Xia brought it back when he came back last time. Quite a lot, Shouning Hou (Zhang Heling)'s fleet also brought back a lot. Now that Mr. Xia has obtained the emperor's approval to form a company to open up this new route, he will certainly be able to bring back more gold and silver. Although we can't follow to make a fortune. , but it is also possible to invest in individual stocks now!
From Zong's point of view, this is a sure profit. Look at that guy, the brother-in-law from Jiaoge's hometown, who came all the way from Henan to buy it. I heard that he brought a full 20,000 silver dollars this time! ”
After Zhu Houzhao heard what the scholar said, he understood. He knew that since Xia Yan, Zhang Heling and others brought back a lot of gold and silver, the officials and gentry people in Guangdong and Guangxi already knew the benefits, and the officials and gentry The people themselves are unable to organize a powerful armed fleet. Now that the government is selling public bonds, the armed fleet is gradually becoming stronger for maritime trade. Naturally, these officials, gentry and citizens are not fools. They will rush to buy it. Even some people with a keen sense of smell in the mainland are following. Coming.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and couldn't help but look at his brother-in-law from Jiaoge's hometown who was sitting in a semi-open sedan in front of him with his maid holding his back. He couldn't help but ask Liu Jin: "Jiao Fang is eighty-three now, isn't his brother-in-law so young?" ? He looks only sixteen or seventeen years old!"
"Replying to Your Majesty, this old Jiao Ge has just taken in the 18-year-old concubine of the 26th concubine, the Mei family. This brother-in-law must be the younger brother of his 26th concubine, the Mei family." Liu Jin couldn't help but think He replied awkwardly.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that the officials who followed me back then were indeed extremely rich. Even women earned more than me. The Daming Securities Exchange is about to open soon, and we will go and make a small fortune. Let’s go!”
……
At this time, a queue had begun to form in front of the Daming Stock Exchange. After the spiritual civilization construction carried out by Wang Hua, queuing has now become a common behavior in the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin appeared here in casual clothes, so they did not take advantage of their privileges and lined up in a very orderly manner. However, when there were still two or three hundred people away from him, Zhu Houzhao, suddenly there were two or three hundred people in front who did not want to wait in line anymore and directly Dispersed.
Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin suddenly appeared at the front of the stock exchange.
Seeing this, the scholar who had just bought the public bonds in front of Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin couldn't help but asked Zhu Houzhao in shock: "Why didn't they queue up?"
Zhu Houzhao said that he didn't know and couldn't say that this was his bodyguard, so he only came to the counter.
At this time, a green-robed official from the stock exchange was fiddling with the abacus skillfully and asked without raising his head: "Name, how much do you want to buy?"
"Zhu Shou, thirty thousand silver dollars, buy them all!"
As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he handed over the bill issued by the Royal Bank. At this time, another official in green robe smiled and handed over a coupon: "You are a big customer. According to the above, I will give you a coupon to Haojing Haitian for free." Shengyuan’s coupons.”
Zhu Houzhao didn't quite know what the Crystal Pavilion's coupons meant, so he stood aside first and waited for Liu Jin to finish buying before asking: "Where is Haitian Shengyuan?"
"This is the most romantic place in Guangdong and Guangxi. It is the property of the Shouning Hou family. They specialize in snatching overseas orchids and Japanese women for people's entertainment. This is your pass. You can play the whole set. The coupon starts at three hundred silver dollars. ! And the price is unbeatable! ”
At this time, the scholar suddenly came over and said.
"Give it to you!"
Zhu Houzhao handed it over to the scholar, thinking that if he wanted to play Hu Ji, he would have to go to Haitian Shengyuan. He, Hou Ning, dared not to present the most stunning one. Therefore, after Zhu Houzhao said this, he took Liu Jin and left here. .
After returning to the palace, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but ask Liu Jin: "How much did you buy?"
"Your Majesty, ten thousand silver dollars," Liu Jin replied.
"Did I give you a coupon for Haitian Shengyuan?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
Liu Jin quickly put the coupon into his sleeve and replied: "Your Majesty, no!"
"It doesn't matter if you don't have it. This is of little interest to you." Zhu Houzhao said and ordered people to go and see Zhang Heling, the Marquis of Shouning who was temporarily staying in Guangzhou.
After a while, Zhang Heling came to Zhu Houzhao with two stunning orchids who looked as white as jade: "I don't know that your majesty is coming to Guangzhou, and I am not welcome at a distance. Please forgive me, one of these two orchids is Qianxiang." The princess, firstly, is the fiancee of the prince of the Duke of Venice, and is specially presented to serve as your majesty’s messenger. She is the most beautiful this year, and she has not shown her beauty to anyone yet!”
Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were people specially arranged by Zhu Houzhao to go overseas as pirates;
Zhang Yanling also embarked on a circumnavigation, but Zhang Heling purely robbed and robbed people. But because these two were the uncles of the dynasty, they didn't care even if the Neo-Confucian official was impeached. Besides, Zhang Heling also knew the rules. Every time he gave the best to his nephew emperor.
Although Zhu Houzhao knew that according to modern education, everyone is equal, he now found that even if he was the emperor, he could only make all the people of the Ming Dynasty equal in the Ming Dynasty, and even so, he still used imperial power to intervene and even failed to do so. The obstacles to complete realization are huge, and it is even more difficult for these white and black people outside the Ming Dynasty.
Even reformist officials did not support Zhu Houzhao.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao can only accept this phenomenon of treating non-national people as human beings in the early Ming Dynasty's colonial era.
Zhu Houzhao believed that with the progress of civilization, the Ming Dynasty would change, and many years later, those white people and black people would choose to forgive himself and the Ming Dynasty.
After all, in history, didn’t some people who were colonized by Western colonists many years later forget their hatred, and some were even grateful to these invaders, because these invaders brought them advanced civilization.
Zhu Houzhao thought that maybe a hundred years later, these Fanyi people who had been enslaved by the Ming Dynasty would be grateful to the Ming Dynasty for colonizing them, and even hoped that the Ming Dynasty would colonize them for another three hundred years!
What's more, it would be better to keep these snatched Hu Ji with him and at least let them go to the Sea and Sky Garden for all the people of the Ming Dynasty to play with. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Uncle is interested. Come and take them to the backyard." Meet Concubine Su!”
Thank you to the super blood scholar for the 100 starting coin reward
(End of chapter)