Chapter 450 Knowledge is expensive
Shen Shixing was quite heartbroken to see Shi Peng and other seven boat masters trained by the Ming Dynasty eventually go against the imperial court. Wang Daokun’s nine years of hard work, and It was not completely in vain. At least Shen Shixing was able to mobilize the boatmen in the navy to maintain the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade.
Shen Shixing looked at Shi Peng and others and said solemnly: "I know that you have gradually forgotten the pain of the past. Those unbearable memories have even become your shame. They are the reason for your glorious life now. The ugliness that cannot be uncovered.”
“In the past, you had to carry one hundred and twenty kilograms of cargo on your body. You only paid six cents for a trip, and you could only do it in one day. After ten or so trips, your back will be so tired, but every time you put down the goods, you have to run back to pick them up, just to make one more trip for this day."
"No matter how tired you are, the first time you do it. The next day, I have to wake up when the rooster crows and run to continue working. Even though it is so hard, no matter whether it is a strong wind or a heavy rain, I dare not take a rest. Moreover, I am afraid that the dock will not be able to work today, and it will only cost 1,800 yuan a month. The money can probably be exchanged for one tael of silver. "
"Now you are highly respected on the ship. All the sailors will say hello to you, and even the captain needs to listen to your opinions. You go ashore. , you are sought after by people, and countless people invite you to attend banquets. They never hesitate to praise you. Yes, if it were me, I would also praise you. Your voyage can bring them thousands of taels at a time. to a profit of tens of thousands of taels of silver.”
Shen Shixing was very familiar with the life of poor coolies in the Ming Dynasty. When Wang Daokun did not leave, Shen Shixing spent a month at Songjiang New Port and the shipyard. To truly understand the life of poor coolies in the Ming Dynasty, this was Zhang Juzheng's confession before leaving. When Zhang Juzheng left Shen Shixing, he told him: Only by being down-to-earth can you go far.
Shi Peng and others looked embarrassed. Shi Peng clenched his fists and said loudly: "That was the past, not who we are now!"
Shen Shixing looked slightly painful and spread his hands. , then put it down and continued to patiently say: "If you don't return to work in three days, you will go back to the way you were before. Don't believe what those powerful people say, they have been deceiving you."
"You have I have never thought about a question. They support complete freedom because they, the ship owners, are extremely rich. They have many ships. Each ship can bring thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of silver when it returns from the ocean. , they don’t even know how much money they have. No matter how luxurious their life is, the speed of spending money is far slower than the speed of making money.”
"The complete freedom they preach to you, the interference of the imperial court is hindering the vigorous development of sea trade. They support this completely free sea trade in order to make more money. What about you? Act as the first to die in the battle, and even What can you get if you don’t hesitate to disobey the imperial decree?”
“What are you doing for two taels of silver a month?”
What are you doing for two taels of silver a month? Shen Shixing’s soul torture.
Recently, a Songjiang School has emerged in Songjiang Prefecture. The arguments of this Songjiang School advocate absolute free sea trade.
Advocates that the imperial court should open up the qualifications to purchase five-masted ocean-going ships instead of using trading houses to purchase funds; advocates that the imperial court should remove the Metropolitan Rate Office and opposes the imperial court's tax sharing; advocates liberalizing the ship navigation system, free navigation and free trade ; Advocates the complete abolition of the trade ban, and any goods can be trafficked out of the sea; advocates that the imperial court completely abandons overseas plantations, and instead switches to commercial shipping...
The logic of these ideas is based on the foundation of great free trade superior.
In this school of thought, those who are willing to give up freedom in exchange for security will lose both freedom and security.
The imperial court's in-depth interference in maritime trade hindered the development of maritime trade, which in turn caused harm to the people of the world. Accepting the imperial court's interference in maritime trade was to exchange freedom for guarantees and the emperor's promise, but the imperial court The rope will gradually tighten and eventually suffocate.
The promise of the Ming Emperor is worthless. The stingy and greedy dragon will eventually devour everyone. Just like when Yongle opened the sea, official ships and official trade completely monopolized maritime trade. All profits from maritime trade belong to Unique to emperors with internal money.
When this school gathers its disciples to give lectures, it never talks about a key issue. To this day, except for going to the Mughal Kingdom to pull war horses, the Ming Dynasty does not have any official ships and official trade, nor does it talk about And another question, what did Emperor Yongle use the money he earned from sea trade, such as conquering the grasslands, moving the capital, sailing to the West, building the Yongle Grand Ceremony, building official roads and post roads, etc.
"I can earn three taels of silver a month!" Shi Peng seemed to have finally found a breakthrough point and a reason to convince himself under Shen Shixing's strong suppression.
Shen Shixing smiled and said: "You know very well how much money can be earned from that ship's cargo."
"Recently, the Songjiang School, they told everyone that money was invented by humans. The greatest tool of freedom, only money will be open to the poor, but power will never be. Money will not be expropriated, only power will be, because money is free."
"This logic is very strange and strange. , money is open to the poor, doesn't it mean that the poorer the person, the richer he is? Moreover, money is free, so why does the profit of tens of thousands of silver from a ship not flow into your hands? Is that a little thing worthy of your gratitude?”
“Money cannot be stolen, but power can?” “The Book of Han” says: The farmer and his son were exposed in the wilderness, not sheltering from the cold and heat, and their hands and feet were calloused. . After receiving the grain rent and paying the levy tax, the township government asked for the levy tax privately, but it could not be paid. Therefore, the people abandoned their roots and drove away the poor."
"The imperial court asked for the levy tax, and the township government asked for the levy tax privately. , the landlords asked for grain rent, but after all, the imperial court took the tax and spent it on the border and on the official roads and post roads. What about the township government and the landlords?"
"Me? The reason why they are willing to call it a school instead of evil is because the freedom it advocates has merits, but they are distorting freedom.”
Shen Shixing’s understanding of freedom is completely different from that of the Songjiang School. If I really want to apply it, it is that money will not open to the poor, but power will open a small window.
Zhang Juzheng was born in a military household. Zhang Juzheng was definitely not wealthy. He was ridiculed by Wang Shizhen for being a poor coolie who didn’t even wash off the mud on his legs. Wang Shizhen turned around and gave Zhang Juzheng a Song Dynasty song Huizong's "Picture of Bamboo Birds" was painted by Song Huizong himself. At that time, the Northern Song Dynasty court had many painters. Excellent paintings would be signed with Song Huizong's monogram, which made him famous in the world.
The Bamboo Bird Picture is one of the few paintings that can be confirmed to have been painted by Song Huizong himself.
This is not a strange thing. In his later years, Taoist Master raised a lot of Qingci writers. Taoist likes mystical cultivation, is keen on alchemy, and prays for immortality. During the ritual of gods and gods, he needs to write some Qingci for incineration and sacrifice to heaven, that is, Chapter memorials dedicated to the gods in the heavens need to use extremely gorgeous rhetoric and word stacking to express the emperor's respect for the emperor of heaven and his sincerity in seeking immortality.
Zhang Juzheng criticized Dao Ye for his word "burning Xiu", referring to the political monstrosity of "Prime Minister Qing Ci" and Dao Ye's own obsession with Xuan Xiu.
Shi Peng can't defend Shen Shixing at all. Shen Shixing has already been involved in this position. When he returns to Beijing, he will directly enter the cabinet, only one step away from the top building where official officials are elected, and Shi Peng It just transcends the class of poor people and coolies.
“As a naval engineer, you don’t actually have to worry about the impact this expansion will have on you. The Ming Dynasty has a huge gap in its navy. The Ming Dynasty has already explored routes to Mexico, Peru, Brazil, and Western Europe. , and the war in the Strait of Malacca has come to an end, in addition to the Nanyang, the Ming Dynasty also has the Western Ocean to explore, and the gap between the Ming Dynasty and the navy will only become larger and larger."
" Three days later, Shen Shixing looked at Shi Peng and others. After the man had nothing to say, he held out three fingers. This was the maximum time he could buy.
It was Shen Shixing's dereliction of duty that Wang Chonggu really put his hand into Songjiang Mansion. It was also Shen Shixing's dereliction of duty that this problem has not been resolved for a long time.
Half of the careerists can coerce 95% of the mob. This is what Zhang Juzheng told the emperor, and he needs to be wary of these careerists fanning the flames.
“Thank you Futai for your teaching.” Shi Peng’s eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this! What he is most concerned about is himself, or whether the interests of the boat master group will be damaged after the enrollment expansion, and this is a profession that can be a blessing to future generations.
There is a very common hereditary system in the Ming Dynasty. The son of a jailer is still a jailer, the son of a soldier is still a soldier, the son of a craftsman is still a craftsman, and the son of a general is still a general. If you become a boat master, your children and grandchildren will have the privileges of others. One step advantage.
Shi Peng was confused about those big principles, but he completely understood the last words. The ocean is really big.
I don’t know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain.
Shi Peng and other boat masters who were fascinated by the authorities were worried about gains and losses and had trouble sleeping and eating after being shouted into their ears. Instead, it was Shen Shixing's last words that suddenly made him realize something he had been ignoring. Point, the maritime trade of Ming Dynasty did not stand still.
"Student resigned." Shi Peng looked at the others and saw that no one had the courage to continue arguing with Shen Shixing, so he had to say goodbye.
Shen Shixing was given a slap in the face, and he had to return to work within three days, otherwise the letter plate would be confiscated, and another big picture was drawn. The Ming Dynasty expanded the recruitment of boat master apprentices, and would not let the boat master Benefits are damaged because the ocean is really big enough and the needs are sufficient.
"Is there really free trade?" Shen Shixing looked at the backs of the seven boat masters and asked himself, and then smiled at himself. Confucianism has always said that as long as everyone If you cultivate virtue, the world will be unified. This has been said for fifteen hundred years, but there is no world where everyone cultivates virtue.
After three generations, it is just an utopia that scholars continue to describe.
Soon, the Ming Dynasty naval officers began to return to their posts due to pressure from the court. The court was urging them. Under the feudal monarchy, the navy commanders were not willing to risk their lives to maintain the so-called freedom. As criticized by the Songjiang School, the boat master traded freedom for security.
Because the imperial court is not an invisible hand, the Ming Dynasty navy anchored in and out of the Songjiang New Port Pier is a visible hand and a real physical threat.
However, from then on, Maritime School began to close its doors. You can owe money if you don’t have money, but you must pay it back, and the price is not cheap. Studying at Maritime School for three years requires sixty silver, which is It is said that after the captain boarded the ship, it would take three to five years before he could return the favor without eating or drinking.
Even though the boat master rebelled against the imperial decree and hoped that the imperial court would take back the order, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty still did not want to accept the money. According to the Ministry of Household Accounting, the repairs were too expensive, costing one hundred and twenty per person. Silver, excessively expensive repairs, would hinder the Ming Dynasty's pace of opening up the sea.
In the end, at the emperor's insistence, the national treasury allocated 30 silver each, and the Maritime School's obligation was reduced to a personal responsibility of 60 silver. If you are willing to join the Navy and serve for three years, you do not have to repay the obligation. During these three years, you can still receive salary.
And Zhu Yijun requested that there be no interest, which means that the sixty silver loan is an interest-free student loan.
Zhu Yijun still felt that it was too expensive, but Wan Shihe told His Majesty that knowledge is expensive, whether in Ming Dynasty or in Western Europe.
Shen Shixing handles all matters in Songjiang Prefecture. The Songjiang Prefecture Tax Office communicates with the Songjiang Prefecture Yamen and carries out penetrating law enforcement on some tax audit matters.
It’s just some right-wing people who evaded taxes in maritime trade without personally showing up, and started a brokerage and comprador activity. When the tax office came to collect taxes, they found that this brokerage and comprador had no ability to repay. , we need to find out who is behind this brokerage and comprador who owes taxes, and send reminder notes and reminders to the people who really owe taxes.
This is penetration, penetrating the blinders and finding the person behind the scenes.
The tax audit office only does one thing, and that is to collect taxes. The taxes that should be paid should not be less, and the taxes that should not be paid should not be paid more. The tax office would retain 30% of the tax income, and the court gave him generous rewards.
In the Ming Dynasty, only death and taxes were inevitable.
The tax bureau’s penetrating law enforcement requires the cooperation of the Songjiang government office. This matter made Shen Shixing scratch his head, but he finally agreed, because if he didn’t agree, the tax bureau would use its own law enforcement. If you have the right to enforce the law on your own, it will be more difficult to end it. The Taxation House is subordinate to the Taxation Yuan, and the Taxation Yuan is under the Fusi of Nanbei Town and under the Jinyi Guardi Cavalry.
The North and South Town Fusi is the judicial department, which has independent investigative powers in addition to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Criminal Department, and the Dali Temple.
Shen Shixing had to agree, and the tax-collecting households of the tax-collecting office would enforce the law on their own. The power of the tax-collecting office would soon break away from the scope of tax collection and expand rapidly.
On June 24th of the ninth year of Wanli, Shen Shixing came to Songjiang Wanguo City. This was a seaside city no more than ten miles away. All the foreigners would gather here. It was also the residence of the Shipping Department, and Shen Shi The main reason why I came here was to communicate with Special Envoy Taixi about the number of five-masted transoceanic ships to be purchased this year, so as to confirm the delivery.
Francis Drake, the English navigator, needed to avoid the colonies and ports of Portugal and Spain in his journey around the world. This put Drake's voyage around the world in crisis and took nearly three years. Just finished.
The circumnavigation of the Ming Dynasty by Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji and others took only one year and one month to complete, because along the way, the Ming Dynasty exploration fleet did not have to avoid the jurisdiction of the Hongmao Fan and could sail in mature areas. port supplies.
Ming merchant ships can trade in Peru, Brazil, and even Seville, Spain's home of New World trading. However, if English merchant ships appear, they will be treated as pirates.
Felipe II had to open these permissions because he needed to purchase the Ming Dynasty’s five-masted transoceanic ship to maintain his position as the overlord of Europe and the West. He also needed the Ming Dynasty’s silk to keep the silver in his hands. , religion and gold and silver are the two most important links for Spain to maintain its status as an empire on which the sun never sets.
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really did not prefer friends to domestic slaves. The price of a five-masted ocean-going ship was extremely expensive. If the purchase authority was released, it would only become a carnival for a very small number of people.
“I’ve met the governor.” Marcus bowed in a nondescript manner. King Antonio of Portugal was the king canonized by the Ming Dynasty, so Marcus used oriental etiquette for the meeting.
"Captain Marcus, we meet again." Shen Shixing met Marcus for the sixth time. Antonio's first mate has now become the new red-haired envoy.
Marcus introduced the young man next to him and said: "This is Matteo Ricci, a missionary from Italy and the Holy See. This time he came to the Ming Dynasty as an envoy of Felipe II. I hope he can stay here for a long time."
< br>"The Ming Dynasty did not allow Nestorian Christianity to preach, and he might not be able to stay there for a long time." Shen Shixing looked at the handsome man with a high nose in front of him and shook his head.
"Envoy Legaz is also a believer and a missionary, but he stayed in the Ming Dynasty, didn't he?" Marcus smiled and said: "I will tell him the rules clearly, If the Ming Dynasty finds out that he wants to preach, he will be thrown into the sea and sunk. Anyway, he is Felipe II’s man.”
Spain, as the defender of the New Crusade, has too close a relationship with the Holy See. , Marcus used to be a pirate on the sea, and he was born with no connection with order.
“This time we plan to repay His Majesty’s debt of 500,000 silver. The excessively heavy debt really makes His Highness uneasy.” Marcus kept communicating with Shen Shixing in Chinese and drove slowly out of the City of Nations. Marcus wanted to arrange for people to trade and buy silk, porcelain, tea, cotton and woolen cloth.
This time woolen cloth is also on the purchase list. Antonio is not a qualified king, but he is very keen on business. What England and Spain compete for is the profits of the woolen business, and Antonio also wants to use it. There are abundant and cheap supplies in the East, so you can do some serious business.
Matteo Ricci couldn't understand what they were talking about. He was just looking around, with shock in his eyes.
Even though the sailors were using extremely exaggerated language to describe the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty along the way, this was the first time Matteo Ricci walked out of the City of Nations and saw this prosperity with his own eyes.
Even Seville, the home of the new world trade, is only a city of 150,000 people. Jimo County in Bosi, Mizhou City (now Qingdao) in the Ming Dynasty is just a county seat, exceeding Fifteen thousand people.
Whether it is in terms of size or population, the Ming Dynasty in this era is worthy of the title of "Chinese Empire".
Matteo Ricci, who was only twenty-four years old, was dazzled by the endless stretches of Fuguo houses, the bustling merchants and horse teams, the endless private workshops, the endless flow of people, the row upon row of shops, and the clean and tidy streets.
In Songjiang Prefecture, the number of Dingkou has exceeded one million. It took nine years to grow from a fishing village on the seaside to a million-level city.
“These scavengers only earn three cents a day, nine hundred cents a month, less than half a tael, and only six taels a year. But there are still many people who are willing to do it. Throughout Songjiang There are about 6,000 street sweepers in the government, and the Songjiang government office will give the merchant gang 50,000 silver every year, while the merchant gang only needs to pay 36,000 silver to the street sweepers." Shen Shixing looked at the street sweepers and was quite puzzled. He said to Marcus with emotion.
All the money was made by the merchant gang. The reason why Shen Shixing mentioned this was because Marcus used an extremely exaggerated tone to praise Xu Fan's management of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The stench has disappeared. Lisbon is now called the City of Flowers by the West, and Xu Fan's management model is being promoted to the entire Portugal.
And Xu Fan also became a rich man, because cleaning up urban garbage is a very profitable business.
“I was very curious when I was in Lisbon, why not do it myself? I mean, why didn’t the Songjiang Prefecture Yamen directly hire scavengers to clean up? Instead, the money was made by the merchant gangs, except Xu Fan. The street department was built in Lisbon, and in other places, it was left to businessmen." Marcus asked curiously.
"Because if the imperial court does this, it will not cost 50,000 silver. Corruption, embezzlement, redundant staff and empty wages will all become cases." Shen Shixing said concisely and concisely. The imperial court has the rigidity and rigidity of the imperial court. Bloated, this is why Shen Shixing allowed the Songjiang Free School to exist.
The imperial court is indeed somewhat rigid and bloated, and it is easy to get sick without realizing it. Someone needs to remind and supervise. For example, the complexity of the ship navigation system, coupled with the inefficiency of the handling personnel, has indeed affected the ships going to sea. For example, the Municipal Shipping Department's Pay Office enriched its own pockets and deliberately made things difficult to ask for bribes when drawing points; for example, Shen Shixing discovered that the shipyard had bloated personnel and empty wages.
The emergence of the Songjiang Free School was not without reason or foundation.
Contradiction is the opposite and unified existence of spear and shield, and they do not exist alone.
Marcus still has to go to the capital to meet the Holy Spirit this year. He has to present his credentials, pay back part of the debt, and obtain approval from the Ming Dynasty to sell him a five-masted transoceanic ship. Felipe II is still buying five-masted ships. To cross the foreign ships, Antonio must expand the size of the Free Fleet. The one who benefited most from this confrontation was the Ming Dynasty who sold the ships tens of thousands of miles away.
"What is this?" Marcus came to the shipyard. He originally wanted to see the inventory of the Ming Dynasty's five-masted ocean-going ships and determine the number to purchase this year. He saw the Youlong and Feiyun. keel.
"Clippers under construction." Shen Shixing had no intention of letting them visit. Youlong and Feiyun were top-notch ships that would not be sold to the outside world. The purpose of letting them take a look at them from a distance was to show the country's prestige. , just like in the 19th year of Yongle, Emperor Cheng Zuwen invited envoys from various countries to jointly conduct a military parade.
Marcus said sluggishly: "This is really incredible."
Marcus has been traveling on the sea for more than ten years. He knows sea trade all too well. The emergence of this kind of ship, It would completely change the pattern of maritime trade. However, except for a name, Marcus knew nothing about this kind of ship.
Shen Shixing smiled and said nothing, and took Marcus to the dock of the five-masted ocean ship. Marcus reluctantly looked back and looked around. Governor Songjiang did not introduce much, and the meaning was already clear. This kind of The boat was not for sale, but Marcus took a quick look and could not forget the figure of the clipper.
Three days later, Marcus set off for Tianjin Wei, and in addition to Matteo Ricci, there was also a Ming Dynasty man who went to Jingtang. This man's name was Chen Chengyi, who was from Tongxiang Town, Manila, Luzon General Office, this time we are entering Beijing. Chen Chengyi escorted five thousand taels of gold.
These five thousand taels of gold were a congratulatory gift to the emperor from His Majesty’s daughter, Princess Yingjia, Zhu Xuanchang.
August 17th is my father’s birthday. As a daughter who is married outside, she has to give her father a gift. This is filial piety.
Zhu Yijun was frugal and never celebrated the Wanshou Festival. The Wanshou Festival was the emperor's birthday, which means longevity without borders. He had to take a three-day break and reward all the officials in the palace according to their rank.
According to the system, the former emperor had a dragon to control the guests. Within three years, the emperor did not attend the Wanshou Festival. In the third year of Wanli, the Ministry of Rites presented the Wanshou Festival, but the emperor finally canceled it because it cost a lot of money and wasted people and money.
This is also true. In order to celebrate this festival, the palace needs to make intensive preparations for a month. During the Jiajing and Longqing years, a birthday would cost hundreds of thousands of silver, and the capital of the Ming Dynasty had to pay attention to both inside and outside the nine gates. Burning colorful lanterns, building colorful pavilions, high-rise pavilions, burning trees and silver flowers, and singing and singing are all the labor of the people.
The Wanshou Festival of the Ming Dynasty was not that big in scale. In the Northern Song Dynasty, all places had to offer "birthday guidelines", which was a big mess that caused public resentment.
Zhu Yijun finally stopped the Longevity Festival.
At that time, internal funds and state funds were begging each other, and the soldiers on the border were owed pay. Zhu Yijun was really not in the mood. In the sixth year of Wanli, the country's finances were increasing day by day. The Ministry of Rites wanted to restore this festival again, and every time The emperor objected on the grounds that "there is no need to pay as usual".
Princess Yingjia Zhu Xuanchang is indeed not His Majesty’s biological daughter, but since His Majesty recognizes this daughter, he should express his filial piety.
Princess Yingjia gave five thousand taels of gold at one time. In fact, she was telling the emperor that his daughter was living a good life in Luzon. She had not been wronged and could use five thousand taels of gold to honor her father.
Of course, usually, the emperor will reward you.
After Chen Chengyi, the general office of the Luzon Copper Factory in Tongxiang Town, came to Beijing, this batch of gold entered the palace. Zhu Yijun issued an order and ordered the Bingzhan Bureau to forge gold vessels. In addition, Zhu Yijun was rarely generous and added five With a thousand taels of silver, another batch of ritual utensils were made, and Chen Chengyi was asked to take back all the gold jewelry and ritual utensils.
Five thousand taels of gold, 312.5 kilograms, 186,500 grams of gold, is just a birthday gift. It is a generous gift, but Zhu Yijun did not want it. It is mainly for courtesy exchanges and strengthening the relationship between Ming Dynasty and Luzon contact.
Zhu Yijun had heard of Chen Chengyi's name. He was one of the first batch of candidates to arrive in Luzon. He was a white man from Guangzhou. In order to obtain the special Enke Jinshi after the nine-year term, he obtained an official status. When he arrived in Luzon, Chen Chengyi received the Luzon Copper Award. Factory errands, and Tongxiang Town grew from scratch and gradually grew under the leadership of Chen Chengyi.
Zhu Yijun had not yet announced his meeting with Chen Chengyi, but Wang Daokun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, went to Huitongguanyi to see him first.
Wang Daokun was asking Chen Chengyi about his copper mining experience. Luzon’s annual copper output has reached 12 million jins of red copper, while Yunnan copper is only 6.5 million jins.
(End of this chapter)