New Shun 1730

When the memorial arrived at the palace, Li Gan didn't know what to think when he looked at what Liu Yu had sent.

He invested 20,000 taels a year ago, and got 40,000 taels of silver in a year, and the cost has not been counted yet.

The bold words that day, that the people will not be taxed and the country will have enough money, and that we will not compete with the people for profits, seem to still ring in my ears.

In just one year, these words have been fulfilled into silver.

Although it is not much, 40,000 taels is still far from enough money for the country, but it is a good start.

The emperor also needs money, the emperor wants a good reputation, the emperor wants to fight, and the emperor wants to be highly praised in history books in the future, so he has to use some crooked methods.

In theory, it is legitimate for the household government to pay for the construction of the navy, but if you think about it, you will know that the court discussion will never pass, and it will also cause a huge response.

What to do after it is built?

Say to fight Japan?

Wouldn't that expose the news in advance? Besides, Japan has never provoked you, why do you fight him? The emperor has no reason to fight, how can he do it? What's the use of wasting money and manpower?

Say to guard against Westerners?

Is it meaningful to spend millions of taels every year to support an army that may not be used at all? It's just a possibility. Is it necessary to spend millions of taels?

Say to expand the territory?

There must be ministers who advise him to think about the fate of Emperor Wu of Han who was aggressive and aggressive. Is it worth conquering Dayuan for the benefit of a single horse?

These are all things that will give you a headache after thinking about them once.

The Hu government will not take this money. Even if it is suppressed by imperial power, its reputation will be tarnished.

And Li Gan also knows that this is an unavoidable vicious circle: if the navy is built, the Westerners will not dare to fight, which will prove that the navy is useless and millions of taels of silver have been wasted; but if the navy is not built, the Westerners may dare to fight, and then it will be too late to know that the navy is useful.

He could only use the treasury, but he was frightened by Liu Yu's words at the beginning: the price of a warship, Li Gan only then knew that Europeans now have several large ships with a cost of about 300,000 taels, including artillery.

Twenty such large ships are enough to set the three main halls of the Forbidden City on fire again.

Calculating his own treasury, even if he only eats bran and vegetables every day, he definitely can't come up with so much money.

Fortunately, Liu Yu gave a way that neither competes with the people for profit, nor has the bad reputation of "restoring the 24 yamen", and can also raise a navy of a certain scale without using the government's money.

He took 20,000 taels of silver and tried it, and now he has received a reward, which makes Li Gan quite sigh. The white silver is clearly written in the account.

Liu Yu said that Westerners often use this method, joint trading, the royal family also invests, and grants monopoly rights.

However, if the monopoly is granted, some people may say that it is competing with the people for profits, especially since many scholars and officials in Jiangnan are involved in the trade with Japan.

In this case, it is better to operate secretly, hide the fact that the capital comes from the palace, and let merchants trade in the future, and distribute dividends according to the fixed capital every year.

The Japanese side helped a lot in this matter. They closed the country themselves, and the court just legitimately prohibited the transportation of prohibited items. In this way, although there is no name of authorized monopoly, there is the reality of authorized monopoly.

First, if the royal family comes forward directly, they may be ridiculed by the scholars and officials. The emperor is the spiritual embodiment of Confucianism. When the distinction between righteousness and profit has not been clearly distinguished, the royal family will be criticized for coming forward to trade.

Second, if the royal family comes forward and sends a special person to manage it, there will inevitably be situations such as poor operation, deception, solicitation and acceptance of bribes, etc. In the long run, even if money is made, it will be gone when it reaches the emperor.

Of course, a confidant must be sent for such a matter, and this confidant must also be able to make money.

Li Gan had seen Liu Yu's ability to attack cities and fight. Moreover, Liu Yu said that training soldiers was the most important thing and fighting was the second. There should be no problem with training soldiers. The details he described were clear in logic and highly feasible.

However, he had never seen his ability to make money. Now he had shown some of his ability to make money, which made Li Gan very pleased.

After reading the memorial about his experience in Japan attached by Liu Yu, Li Gan realized Japan's wolfish ambitions in every detail.

He even had the idea of ​​"taking over the official business of the East Asian trade", but soon this idea was thrown out of his mind. He knew how terrible things would happen if he did so.

Once the official business was established, the bureaucracy would expand, deceive the superiors and conceal the truth, and force the price down. It was unknown how much trouble would be caused, and how many "righteous men" would stand up to fight against tyranny.

Since Liu Yu was confident that he could break the impasse in Japan, and Li Gan had also seen the first return, he knew that the 40,000 taels of silver was a big bait, but he couldn't help swallowing it.

The royal family paid money, but did not make it public. Merchants raised shares, shared dividends and made profits... There was even no precedent for the emperor to smuggle contraband and sell the country. Now the world is changing day by day, why not give it a try.

So he approved the memorial, in addition to the 40,000 taels of profit and 20,000 taels of capital, the emperor's treasury will pay another 60,000 taels to make up 120,000 taels.

The emperor didn't care how to use this money, as long as he reported the accounts every year. The profits earned during the period did not need to be sent back to the capital, but invested in the operation of the navy.

Allow Liu Yu to try not to report the money from the treasury, and find a set of effective and controllable methods in the future.

He read the memorial written by Liu Yu carefully again, and when he read that the Japanese had been collecting information but could not stop it, Li Gan couldn't help but replied: "The Japanese are inquiring about the laws and regulations of the country, and they are really spying on them, so we must pay attention to them." . Qing, you both use the time, and you also use the time carefully to make it seamless. I have also heard what you said about Ryukyu's one minister and two masters. However, this matter must not be mentioned. Firstly, the navy is not yet established, for fear that the Japanese will be wary; secondly, this matter will damage the reputation of the dynasty and weaken its strength. It is better to hide one's ears and steal the bell. ”

"As for the maritime merchants of the country, they leaked the secrets of state affairs in order to obtain trade credentials... It is inevitable to say that you are unavoidable. I also believe that I should not stop eating because of choking, so I just pretend that I don't know about this matter. You can't trust the businessmen and you must not disbelieve it. It makes sense. If you, sir What he said, Before the new trade policy was introduced, the merchants of the country and the dynasty were able to unite and force the Japanese to lower their prices; now, they each bribed and actively raised their prices. They were not loyal one day but treacherous today, but they were either good or bad, and profited. Neither good nor evil."

After reviewing the memorial on Japan, Li Gan couldn't help but smile bitterly as he thought about Ryukyu.

I always said before that the world has changed, so don’t lie to others.

Now think about it, Ryukyu alone pays tribute to both China and Japan, which is a living deception.

Every time the imperial court went to pay tribute, they all knew about Ryukyu, but they always reported the good news but not the bad news. They were afraid of the disaster of weapons and fought fiercely with Japan for the sake of their own land.

Every time Ryukyu's mission comes, they always report good news but not bad news. Ryukyu knows that if there is a war, Ryukyu will suffer.

Li Gan also knew, but he pretended not to know; many people in Tianyou Palace knew, but they all pretended not to know.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but write down my frustrations on the approval.

"The Japanese have locked up the country, and they still know how to peek through the cracks in the door, and ask the wind to tell stories. But when I turn on and off the switch, I cover my ears and steal the bells. I don't dare to believe that the world has changed. It's not that I want to cover my ears, but I am really powerless. . The Han Dynasty said: Anyone who openly offends a strong man will be punished even if he is far away! Unless I don’t want to, I am unable to do so. If you don’t encourage him, you should cover his ears and eyes for me. silk."

…………

In Duke Yi's mansion, Liu Shengping retreated from the rest of the people and was only in the room with his wife.

"The money from Yu'er's wedding is useless, right?"

Liu Sheng opened his mouth and asked his wife about the money Liu Yu prepared for marrying his wife. Although he was not the eldest son, he was still the son of his first wife. The noble family had to prepare two to thirty thousand taels of silver for the marriage.

He doesn't care about the family's financial affairs. His wife is in charge of the inside and he is the outsider.

Liu Yu's mother was startled, but she also knew that there must be a reason for suddenly asking, so she said: "I have never used it, and I have not loaned it out."

"I'll take it out in a few days, and don't disturb the family. How much cash can the family raise? Don't make too much noise to let others know."

Liu Yu's mother smiled bitterly and said: "Where in the world is there an airtight wall? What are you doing?"

Since there was no one around, Liu Sheng told what the confidant Liu Yu had sent here said. Liu Yu's mother was also shocked.

She was not shocked that trade with Japan had such high profits, but she was shocked that her son actually went to Japan. The danger at sea was ten times more dangerous than on land. What was this for?

Liu Shengdao: "What Yu'er means is that the family will take out a sum of money. Firstly, it will make a lot of profit. Secondly, it will prepare an extra way out for the family in the future. Thirdly, he is short of money now, so he wants to use the money from his family." Turn it over and use it as equity capital.”

"This money will have to be repaid in the future, and His Majesty also has shares in it. Our family can't take too much. It's just a turnover. If we take another seven or eight thousand taels of shares, the principal will be returned and some profits will be distributed. As for his marriage, The money is just that I won’t be able to marry within three to five years, and I can’t make money by keeping it at home. It’s better to take it out and let him make money, and then pay it back when I get married in the future.”

Liu Yu's mother thought about it, frowned and said, "Yu'er is so short of money that she is worried about her own wedding money?"

Liu Sheng smiled and said: "Are you confused? The court's money, his money, and His Majesty's money must be clearly distinguished. He went to the Japanese country and earned 40,000 taels. Whose 40,000 taels belong to him? ? Is it possible that you still dare to split the money from these 40,000 liang? Is it possible that he is using his own money to train troops for the imperial court? It is impossible to separate public and private matters, and now it is even more impossible to do so with His Majesty’s internal funds. Confused."

After saying this, Liu Yu's mother immediately understood. She was just worried and couldn't react for a while. Now she understood and said: "In this case, the more than 20,000 silver he prepared for his marriage can be paid to him first. If the family Without disturbing others, I can still get 20,000 taels. If I pay it back next year, I don’t have to say anything to them. I think it’s enough to collect 50,000 taels.”

Speaking of this, Liu Yu's mother couldn't help but ask: "What on earth is Yu'er doing now? Why am I so unsure? Is it bad or good, good or bad? He didn't say anything, he just said go Why did you go to Japan again for military training? If you knew about it, why didn’t you tell me?”

Liu Sheng shook his head, sighed and said: "Good luck or misfortune is unpredictable. What can happen to the path he chooses? The future path is entirely up to him, and his family can't help him at all. You must not mention this matter to others. Yes, but you don't have to worry. As long as Yu'er knows how to advance and retreat, it will be fine. I'm just afraid that his ambition is not just to be a prince. If he is just to be a prince, it would be easy. He can't see through it... …”