New Shun 1730

"Of course. There are some minor things."

"Anyone who invests more than 10,000 taels and goes out to sea for two years without permission and does not return will have his shares confiscated."

"There is no relocation of the Maoling magistrate in this dynasty, but those who invest more than 30,000 taels must live in Songjiang."

"All ships and cannons of the trading company shall not be built overseas. The trading company shall not recruit non-national sailors... All these are not a big deal, so there is no need to talk about them separately."

"You will not have to pay taxes in the future. Pay it all at once, buy the monopoly rights, and you can be exempted from import and export taxes."

Compared with the first two conditions, the latter ones can really be regarded as minor issues.

Liu Yu made another joke: "I wanted to advise the court that those who benefited from the participation in the trading company should be prohibited from buying land, so as to prevent a large amount of gold and silver from flowing into the land instead of industry and commerce. However, the dog can't change its nature. How can it not eat shit if it is not allowed to eat it? I thought about it for a long time. If I don't want it to eat shit, I have to get a piece of fatter meat. This is the fundamental solution."

The merchants are not confused about good and bad. They know that Liu Yu compares them to dogs, not them, but the gold and silver in their hands.

They also know that Liu Yu doesn't like to spend money on buying land and renting it, but they can't really control it. The profit of investing in hoarding land and renting it is too high, and it can maintain its value for a long time, and the risk is small.

Look at the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of Shun. Although the north has equal land and exempted grain, the south is still the same. The land belongs to the old owner and it is difficult to shake. Although the imperial farms have been destroyed and the vassal kings have been eliminated, the land deeds are long-lasting, no matter whether the Ming and Qing dynasties are in the west.

Since Liu Yu said there might be fatter meat, several businessmen have seen Liu Yu's methods and are more confident.

Even if the biggest dream of a businessman is to transform into a local landlord and take the imperial examination, he has seen some new things in recent years. Who knows if there are any new workshops that can make more profit than buying land.

"Everyone, this is the condition, there should be no more. What do you think, please tell me."

The businessmen whispered to each other for a while, buzzing like a bunch of flies. Although they all spoke dialects, they still gave Liu Yu enough face and did not mutter in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Wu dialect, but tried to use Mandarin as much as possible.

Liu Yu drank his wine glass by himself, trying not to put pressure on these businessmen. After waiting for a long time, Lin Yunwen came out and said a few words.

"Sir, this condition is not unacceptable."

"There is just one thing. If we are obedient, we can build Western ships and train sailors... But if the court waved its hand in the future and said that we compete with the people for profits and allowed trade. Then, they don't need to build thick-plate ships or train sailors, and the freight cost will definitely be lower than ours."

"When we can't compete, we will be accused of competing with the people for profits and monopolizing incompetence, and the public opinion of the Confucian Society will be one-sided... We will be miserable. The nobles in the capital can participate in the shares or withdraw their shares. When they build cheap Fu ships and use cheaper sailors, we will have no place to cry."

"So, please give us a definite answer, or can the court write it down in black and white?"

This is what the businessmen are most worried about. These conditions can be agreed, but the premise is that equal power must also be ensured.

They contributed money, people and effort, and might even participate in the court's future confrontation with the Dutch. But when they had used up all the money, they would be directly dismantled or allowed to go out to sea with a piece of "competing for profit with the people" righteousness, and they would lose a lot of money.

But their demands made Liu Yu feel a little ridiculous.

Red-lettered iron certificates may not be useful, so what's the use of black and white words?

If they really have the ability, they can use violence to make themselves the ruling class.

If they don't have that ability, even if the court gives black and white words, can't they tear them up at any time?

Always thinking that the court will show favor and keep its promise is really unbearable.

But this cannot be said at this time, otherwise he would be inciting merchants to rebel.

The key to this matter still lies in the circle of nobles in the capital, and his attitude as a guarantor and lubricant.

It seems that many conditions have been added to the monopoly rights of trading companies, like preventing thieves, but in fact, the chains on the merchant class have been loosened a little.

The political power of merchants is too weak, and they need to find a big tree.

Civil officials are not hereditary, policies change frequently, and we have seen many cases of the death of a person and the end of a policy. Today we support it, tomorrow we oppose it. The best big tree is to tie it to the interests of those hereditary nobles to maintain the continuity of policies.

Dashun could not allow the emergence of VOC and BEIC, which are powerful, rich, have armies, warships, can levy taxes and establish governments.

So if you want to learn, Dashun is actually more suitable for the Spanish model. The government and the nobles are in charge, and merchants do not want to participate because of the heavy military obligations.

Spain played too much because Spain did not know the level of its own industry and commerce.

Spain once had a gold mountain, and it dug it when it was short of money; and Dashun also had a "gold mountain", but this gold mountain was Dashun's handicrafts.

If Spain had the handicraft level of Dashun's Jiangsu Province at this time, its colonial and trade policies would not have been played, but would have prospered. If you don't know the level of your own handicrafts, you will introduce some laws to prohibit foreign goods from going to the colonies. It would be a miracle if you can enforce them.

The Anglo-Dutch model is not bad, but unrealistic. Liu Yu can only dance with shackles in the court.

Even if the Dashun Emperor was enlightened, he was still a feudal emperor. It was impossible for him to allow a behemoth with an army, money, political power and overseas territories to exist.

The merchants represented by Lin Yunwen are not worried about the gentry and the big families snatching their food in the future, but they are worried that the nobles will kick the merchants away and abandon them in the future.

For example, if the court directly opens up competition, the stock price will plummet, and the nobles can buy it with a little trick.

Because trading companies have to bear the military obligations of reserve sailors and armed merchant ships, the cost is too high, and opening up competition is not "fair" to them.

If those jealous people rush in and justifiably say that they are competing with the people for profit, they can only surrender at that time.

The merchants think far ahead about this matter, but their strength is still far from enough. They have never thought of ideas such as "If you dare to breach the contract, I will rush into the Forbidden City to force you to admit it." All they can think of is to expect the court to show favor and keep its promise.

Liu Yu also knows that it is not easy to be a guarantor. Although he has some face and credibility, his persuasiveness is not strong enough to this extent.

"Everyone, there is a saying that goes, when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked; when the high bird is gone, the good bow is hidden. This time, Mi Ziming has returned from Sweden. You should also know how much profit you can make if you monopolize the Western trade?"

"Let's say something unpleasant. The Han Dynasty only lasted for 400 years, and the Ming Dynasty only lasted for 200 years. The dynasties of the past have not made such long-term plans. You may not think too far ahead."

"Why do you think the court insists on you agreeing to those two conditions? If it is just to attack Japan, don't you think about it, don't you need so many reserve sailors? If you worry about this at this time, it's really worrying about nothing."

This is not really a promise, but it is more or less a strange comfort.

The merchants looked at each other, and finally laughed at the huge benefits of the monopoly behind them.

I thought it was true. There is a saying that the swallows in front of the halls of the Wang and Xie families in the old days flew into the homes of ordinary people. Not to mention the dynasties, even the seven clans and five surnames at that time were only a few hundred years, and there is really no need to consider things too far ahead.

The ancients said that the kindness of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations, and that wealth cannot last more than three generations. Now there is really no need to think too far ahead.

I also thought that if the court really wanted to expand, it would not hide its bows until all the birds were gone. The West is tens of thousands of miles away. Who knows when it will reach the point where all the birds are gone and the rabbits are dead?

After listening to the two conditions proposed by Liu Yu on behalf of the court, the merchants naturally understood the court's purpose.

Needless to say, the requisition of ships, and the construction of Western-style soft sailing ships are also for the purpose of training sailors in large quantities.

If it is only based on the navy to train, it will cost military pay.

But if the trade companies and sea merchants train, they can directly forcibly recruit in wartime, and then pay military pay when the war starts. When there is no war, the sailors' wages will be paid by sea merchants.

This is not just about simple business and gold and silver, but also involves the court's future strategy.

As long as the court's strategy is still to expand outward, the merchants feel that they are safe and valued by the court; if the court does not expand one day, it will be time to hide the bows when all the birds are gone.

They should be the most supportive of overseas expansion.

The merchants discussed for a while and said, "Sir, if you say so, we will listen to you. Since we are going to build ships, I think it is better to build large ships, like the Spanish ships."

"It can be used for trade with Japan today, and it may be used for Western trade tomorrow. If it is for the ocean, the cost is a little higher, but it is better to prepare for the rainy day. Some opportunities are fleeting. When there is a chance to expand trade, there is no large ship that can sail far, wouldn't it be too late to regret it?"

Seeing that they are very sensible, Liu Yu praised: "Well said, I think so too."

Considering the pros and cons of the Spanish model, the big ship trade is afraid of wolf-like privateers. At least in the East and South Seas, the Dashun merchants do not need to consider this.

In the southeast and South Seas, there is no Britain and the Netherlands, so there is no need to worry about wolf-like privateers.

Many disadvantages of the Spanish model do not exist in Dashun. By borrowing and using it, we can get rid of its dross and take its essence.

And if we really want to go beyond Malacca in the future, the bigger the ship, the better.

"It seems that you all have no objection, so let's do this. In the future, the trading company will build ocean-going ships as much as possible. The shipyard in Weihai can still meet the demand. As long as the money is in place, the ship is not a problem."

"To be honest, you all made a lot of money this time. Once Japan opens up, you should know that it is not just the original goods."

"The iron smelting plant and glass factory in Liaodong, these objects that were originally not allowed to enter Japan, can also be sold. The profit will not be small."

"Shipbuilding and sailors are also considered as you paying for the court to raise reserves. As long as the court has to fight outside, you will have a good life and rest assured. The earth is so big, are you still afraid that there will be no country to fight?"

"Everything is ready. As for whether you can suppress the possible Japanese pirates, pirates, and smugglers, it depends on your ability."