Chapter 1542 The little calculations of the rich
Yang Yun had business in mind, so he didn't drink at the wine table. The rich men naturally saw that Yang Yun had reservations, and they wisely did not continue to persuade him to drink wine. In the end, they did not even finish the first jar of rice wine they had prepared. However, the intention of this meal was not to get drunk. Everyone knew that business was important. When they were almost done eating, Gu Qufei winked and a servant went to the counter to pay the bill in advance.
After finishing their meal, the group left the county town again and stopped after traveling about two miles toward the seaside. Gu Qufei went to ask Yang Yun to get out of the carriage, and then explained to him: "Mr. Yang, the road we are on at this time is the official road from Xiangshan County to the seaside port. This depression to the west is where we plan to gather together." The place where the elements take it to do business with your country.”
Yang Yun looked in the direction he pointed and saw a gentle slope from the roadbed to the west, and then a large area of flat land. The terrain was about three meters lower than the official road and the area to the east, and it was currently in a state of desolation.
Yang Yun asked: "Why is there no cultivated farmland here? Even growing some food is better than leaving it uncultivated!"
There is not much flat land in Xiangshan County. Logically speaking, it should be the most popular land in the eyes of the landlords. However, it seems that this is not the case. Yang Yun is well-informed and can't help but have some doubts about this land. Are there any other questions?
Gu Qufei didn't expect that Yang Yun would notice it so quickly, and responded with a sneer: "Sir, this place is too close to the seaside, so there is a lot of salt and alkali in the ground, and no food can be grown, so it is deserted."< br>
So it turned out that Yang Yun immediately understood what the other party was planning. Saline-alkali land is indeed worthless for the agricultural level of this era, and the price of land is naturally much cheaper than farmland. The hundreds of acres of land claimed by these wealthy families should not cost much money at all. It is more likely that the other party used this as an excuse to ask Haihan to send someone to negotiate the terms.
Yang Yun didn't have time to go around slowly with these rich country people, so he simply asked bluntly: "Then there should be more than a hundred acres of saline-alkali land here, right?"
"There are also thousands of acres." Gu Qufei didn't dare to hide it anymore and answered honestly: "From here to the west, the wasteland for several miles by the sea is all saline-alkali land. If your country wants to build some workshops here, I will come forward to seize these territories and form a joint venture with your country.”
Yang Yun smiled and said: "But the biggest local industry is fishery. We can't do much in such a big place on the shore. Is it used to dry fishing nets?"
Gu Qufei smiled and said: "You are joking, sir. We all know that your country is the best at doing business, so we specially asked someone to contact Zhoushan. We hope that your country can send an expert like you to Xiangshan to give guidance."
Yang Yun frowned and said: "According to my understanding of Xiangshan, although there are some mineral deposits here, most of them are in the mountains. Not to mention the inconvenient transportation, the reserves do not seem to be large, and it is very troublesome to mine them. Apart from that, there seems to be no other local It is a land-based industry. With the agricultural technology our country has mastered, it is possible to grow some crops in this saline-alkali land, but it is not easy to cultivate and it is difficult to make any profit.”
Gu Qufei couldn't help but show a look of disappointment on his face: "Sir, is there no other use for this wasteland besides growing food?"
Yang Yun thought that if this was in Sanya, where land is at a premium, it would naturally be used for various purposes. The worst would be to build a residential area under the auspices of the Ministry of Construction, which would also bring in a large amount of revenue to the national treasury. But in the Ming Dynasty, if such a piece of wasteland is to be turned into a profitable industry, it must be carefully calculated.
Yang Yun really understood the situation in Xiangshan County. Apart from fishery, there were no other large-scale private industries here. It could be said that there was a serious lack of industry foundation needed for Haihan to engage in manufacturing. If you want to develop a processing industry based on local conditions, such as wood or stone processing, then someone must be able to provide raw materials. Otherwise, Haihan will have to set up his own lumberyards and quarries, and there does not seem to be an industry of corresponding scale here in Xiangshan. Provide Haihan with a stable supply of raw materials.
Yang Yun was about to explain the situation to Gu Qufei, when suddenly a piece of information flashed in his mind, and he swallowed the words on his lips again, and asked Gu Qufei: "Do you remember if there is a salt field here in Xiangshan?"
Gu Qufei nodded and said: "Yes, the local area has begun to use seawater to boil salt in the Tang Dynasty. By the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yuquan Saltworks was set up. However, in the past few years, too much private salt came from Fujian, and the local salt industry was gradually destroyed. The salt farm went bankrupt.”
Of course Yang Yun knew where the private salt in Fujian came from. After all, he had been an official in Penghu before, and the production and sale of sea salt was also one of the trade contents he was in charge of. At least 50% of the sea salt produced in Penghu every year is shipped to Zhejiang for sale. With its low price and excellent quality, it has grabbed most of the official salt sales in coastal states. Under such circumstances, it was naturally difficult for Zhejiang's local official salt fields to survive. So, just like the salt fields in Fuzhou and Guangzhou, some salt fields with relatively small scales closed down one after another. The Xiangshan salt field obviously Also one of them.
Since the Ming Dynasty had set up a salt farm here in the past, it means that the salinity of the sea water here is suitable for salt production. And this place is so close to the sea and there is a large area of open space. Wouldn't it be just right to set up a salt farm?
The more Yang Yun thought about it, the more reasonable he felt, and he said to Gu Qufei: "Have you ever thought about opening a salt farm here?"
Gu Qufei and others looked at each other and shook their heads in fear. Yang Yun came back to his senses. This private salt farm was taboo in the Ming Dynasty. If it was found out, it would definitely be a felony. How dare these wealthy people operate such a project that might cause them to lose their heads.
Yang Yundao: "Opening a salt farm is a very profitable business. Don't you plan to give it a try?"
Gu Qufei said with a bitter face: "Sir, stop joking. We are all kind-hearted people who abide by the law. How dare we make and sell private salt at will? If the government finds out about this, how can we survive!"
Yang Yun said sternly: "Don't be afraid of this. If we really want to open a salt farm, I will naturally operate everything properly and won't let you take risks. Tell me first, can you really win all this wasteland?" Gu Qufei said: "It is very easy to acquire these lands. It is estimated that the price of two or three taels of silver per acre can be paid. But how exactly this matter is to be operated, please let me know clearly."
Yang Yundao: "I will first learn about the operation of the official salt field in the past, and then talk to the county magistrate to see if we can take over the title of the official salt field. Since private salt sales are illegal in Ming Dynasty, we think It’s better to turn him into an official.”
Gu Qufei and others were dumbfounded. They had never thought that such an operation method could be possible. Making and selling private salt was not surprising, but directly purchasing the title of an official salt farm was unheard of for them. People in the Ming Dynasty would only worry about the crime of making and selling illegal salt. Probably only the Haihan people who were not bound by the laws of the Ming Dynasty would have such unbridled ideas. But is it really feasible to negotiate with the county magistrate?
Gu Qufei said: "Sir, the local Wangzhi County is a rigid person and is not so easy to deal with."
"It doesn't matter, let's go meet him first and see his attitude." Yang Yun had an idea in his mind and would not change it easily. He immediately asked his subordinates to check the topography and landforms nearby, and went to the beach to sample seawater before returning. I brought it back to Zhoushan for testing to see if the salt concentration was suitable for building a salt farm.
After arranging these matters, Yang Yun asked Gu Qufei to lead the way to the Xiangshan County Government Office to visit the magistrate Wang. Although Gu Qufei felt that the chance of success in this matter was extremely small, since Yang Yun insisted, he did not want to offend the God of Wealth who had finally invited him back. And he really wanted to see if Yang Yun could push this matter forward as he said. If he really got the title of official salt farm, wouldn't he step into the ranks of salt merchants in the future? , when the time comes, you will make a lot of money every day, and your life will definitely be happy.
Since they were going to the county government office, it would be too ostentatious for Gu Qufei and his group to go, so the others went to a teahouse in the city to wait for news, while Gu Qufei accompanied Yang Yun to the county government office alone.
Later, Yang Yun met the county magistrate named Wang Huan at the county government office. He was about fifty years old. He was said to be from Shaoxing and had been in office for five years. Regarding the arrival of the Haihan people, Wang Huan did not show much enthusiasm, but was slightly wary. However, he still treated them politely, let them into the study, and served hot tea.
Of course, Yang Yun also understood where Wang Huan's vigilance came from. When Haihan first arrived in Zhejiang, he started from Shipu Qianhu Station under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County. Although a group of local guard officers, including Yan Guowei, the commander of Changguo Guard, later fell to Hai Han's profit offensive, the Wangzhi County magistrate never bowed his head to Hai Han. The gifts sent from Zhoushan to the Xiangshan County Government during the holidays were always returned intact. The envoys sent to lobby Wang Huan also ran into trouble and left every time.
It can be said that Wang Huan is one of the few officials in Ningbo Prefecture who can make Haihan unable to attack. However, he was self-aware and did not try to stop Haihan's actions in Xiangshan County. He even acquiesced to Haihan's control of Shipu Port. And Haihan had no intention of forcing the magistrate to submit, so the two parties maintained a strange tacit understanding for a long time, treating each other as transparent.
From Wang Huan's point of view, Yang Yun's arrival is actually no different from the Haihan people who came to visit him in the past few years. Most of them came to try to convince themselves to accept the benefits they offered, and then turned a blind eye and betrayed Daming. Benefit. Although Wang Huan considers himself not a loyal minister, he is not willing to give in to this group of outsiders. Therefore, he has actually prepared a reply to Yang Yun's possible rhetoric, so that the other party will leave early after hitting the nail on the head. . As for Gu Qufei, who was introduced in the middle, Wang Huan would not blame him for colluding with the Haihan people. He knew that Gu Qufei was engaged in fishery business, and the coast of Zhejiang was now dominated by the Haihan people. If he didn't stick around and serve the Haihan people, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Gu Qufei to continue his business.
However, when Yang Yun opened his mouth, Wang Huan was surprised. He never expected that the other party would directly target the official salt farm that had closed down. This Haihan man actually wanted to spend money to acquire the name of the official salt farm and then use it to privately build another salt farm. Wang Huan naturally understood the fishiness of this as soon as he heard it. The other party wanted to sell private salt openly in the name of official salt. His courage really amazed him.
But Wang Huan would not easily agree to such an unreasonable request. He did not even intend to listen to the other party's quotation, so he shook his head and rejected Yang Yun's proposal: "This move is not in line with Ming law. I am sorry that I cannot agree to this matter. What's more, I Officials can't take care of the affairs of the salt field. This is the responsibility of the Salt Envoy Department, the Salt Class Promotion Department and the Salt Patrol Censor. The small Qipin County Magistrate cannot take on this important task. "
The transfer envoys of the Salt Envoy Department are from the third rank, and the Salt Class Promotion Department is from the fifth rank. As for the Salt Inspector, he is directly the Salt Envoy who patrols the local area on behalf of the imperial court, and his authority is not restricted by official rank. . To put it this way, Wang Huan has indeed shirked all his responsibilities.
However, this trick did not work for Haihan officials like Yang Yun who were well versed in the official routines of the Ming Dynasty. He smiled and shook his head and said: "There is a saying in our country that county officials are not as good as current officials. Mr. Wang is both a county official and an official. Now, if I don’t look for you, who can I look for? Which of these yamen are in Ningbo? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. How can they manage it? By the time they find out about the situation here, the salt field will have already started. After making a profit, are you still afraid that you won’t be able to silence them with money?”
Wang Huandao: "Having said that, the salt field is ultimately beyond my control."
Yang Yundao: "Master Wang, there is no need to be modest. I came to the county government specifically to ask for a meeting. I just want you to give me permission. As long as you agree to this matter, starting from next month, I will give you a thousand taels of silver every month. As long as you serve as the magistrate." Come on, you can take it as long as the salt field is open.”
Gu Qufei, who was listening carefully to the negotiation between the two men, not only secretly admired this, but Haihan was indeed a man who was not short of money. He started asking for a thousand taels of silver per month. How much personal salt would he have to sell to cover the expenses? Earn it back!
However, Wang Huan is not that easy to deal with. Hearing this, his expression did not even change. He just continued to refuse: "I am not interested in these extraneous things. Besides, this matter is not in accordance with Ming Dynasty law. You better not bother. ”
Yang Yundao: "The Ming Dynasty's legal principles ceded Zhoushan Islands and Shipu Port to our country. What else is wrong with this? No matter how much Mr. Wang insists, the Ming Dynasty will have lost its face long ago."
"Presumptuous!" When Wang Huan heard these provocative words, he couldn't help but slap the table: "How dare you humiliate Ming Dynasty in front of my official!"
"It's not me who insulted the Ming Dynasty, but the high officials in your court." Yang Yun was not affected by Wang Huan's anger at all, and said unhurriedly: "What Mr. Wang is protecting now is not the face of the Ming Dynasty, but the face of the Ming Dynasty." It’s just your own face.”
(End of chapter)