Chapter 1 Trade Envoy (II)

Just as Zhu Yinglong was about to refute Yang He, he suddenly glanced at the Minister of Rites Xu Guangqi's expression of wanting to speak but stopping, and said in his heart: "Old Mr. Xu, I think you seem to have something to say. There are no outsiders in this study, so it's okay to say it!"

Xu Guangqi hesitated for a moment and stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister believes that the full opening of foreign ban is a bit hasty, but in the long run, the foreign ban must be opened. If the official market is not opened, the private market will not stop. In the long run, not only will the coastal areas be corrupt, but the imperial court is overwhelmed. In the past, Dayu could understand the principle that it is better to clear the block than to control the flood. The old minister believes that foreign ban is blocking, and opening the foreign ban is to clear the gap. Moreover, today is different from the past. The old minister believes that foreign ban needs to be opened, but it needs to be discussed for a long time!"

Although Xu Guangqi's words were pertinent, they also had a sense of balance. He wanted to open the foreign ban himself, but he was not easy to object. Most officials disagreed with the foreign ban. Old officials like Sun Shenxing kept their opinions on the foreign ban. Some things could not be changed by saying that they could change. Just like when you sweep the floor with a broom and suddenly give you a vacuum cleaner, you will inevitably be at a loss and you will also have to talk about energy to understand its performance. Naturally, you have to resist using it. Especially how much risk you need to take to open the foreign ban, no one can guess what consequences will be. Even Zhu Yinglong, a soul from later generations, cannot know.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Yinglong had to compromise. He pondered for a moment and said, "I have thought about it carefully. Old Xu's opinion is the most pertinent. However, I am summoning you to discuss the issue of the full opening of the foreign ban today. I just want to fill the treasury through maritime trade. All my good friends know how much silver there is in the treasury, how many days is enough?"

A good wife cannot cook without rice. The national treasury has no money. What should we use to support officials like them? Then what should we quell the rebellion?

"Emperor, I support the establishment of this Trade Envoy Office." No one expected that Huang Zunsu, the youngest, was the first to stand up to support this matter.

"Report to the emperor, in fact, the imperial court sent a fleet to North Korea because of insufficient food in the north. Japan and Ryukyu and other places purchased grain, which had broken the old ban of the court. Now coastal smuggling is rampant and pirates are rampant, largely because of the imperial court's foreign ban. Although the foreign ban protected the people of our coastal areas of Ming Dynasty from harm, it also left the pirates without any scruples, because we cannot go out to sea to attack them, and there are smuggling. I have inquired that a good piece of silk is worth ten taels of silver in China, and if you buy Nanyang, you can be worth thirty taels of silver.

At fifty taels, it may still be double this when it comes to Europe. Imagine that such a high profit is not a surprise, but merchants do not take risks. Once the court opens the foreign ban, the court can earn a lot of silver with legitimate trade and crack down on smuggling pirates. Now the court can create treasure ships that can be invincible with red-haired and foreign bans. The security of maritime trade is guaranteed. The conditions for opening the foreign ban are ripe. The Ming Dynasty is no longer the Ming Dynasty when Taizu founded the country, and the emperor is not the Emperor of Taizu at that time. It is the best time to open the ban. It is too late to miss it!"

How could the Chinese at this time realize the importance of the ocean? They are more interested in land. Land is the greatest wealth. Don’t you know that the wealth contained in the ocean is far higher than that of land? Even if Zhu Yinglong explains the truth thoroughly, there are still most Chinese people who will not believe his remarks. Only a few people will be inspired, but apart from blindly admiring him, there are probably only a handful of people who truly believe in it.

It is no wonder that hundreds of years later, there are still Chinese people who believe that maritime power is subordinate to land power and to give up part of their maritime interests to win the favor of neighboring countries. This kind of treason is simply the most shameful continuation. There is no doubt that people in this time and space will not understand this. It is a country that has always been immersed in etiquette. China, which sleeps in the dream of complacentness in a great country, has almost completely given up maritime power, and has won the status of the declining today.

After Huang Zunsu's words, Yang He's face turned pale. He dared not attack in front of Zhu Yinglong. Han Yu's face was also quite ugly. However, Liu Hongxun, the Minister of the Lifan Academy, looked calm, as if the matter discussed today had nothing to do with him.

On the Junji Pavilion, the chief minister is Sun Chengzong. He is the one who knows Zhu Yinglong's thoughts best. Of course, he is not easy to object. If he does not involve the newly formed East China Sea Fleet and establish a small trade envoy, he will be asked at most about small matters like this, and he will never be summoned to him.

"What Huang Aiqing said is reasonable. I also think that it is imperative to open a foreign ban, but we must take it slowly. However, the establishment of this Trade Envoy is the most urgent thing at the moment. The court's treasury is empty and the money is urgently needed. So no matter what you think, you must focus on this." Zhu Yinglong changed his mind and everyone understood. The emperor had already made a decision in his mind. Establishing the Trade Envoy is a must-have. The key is what functions this Trade Envoy has, and what they want to do is what they cabinet ministers need to consider.

"I have thought about a few things. First, the Trade Envoy Department and the General Administration of Customs have equal status. Second, the Customs General Administration of Customs issued "telling" work to the Trade Envoy Department. Regardless of whether it is official or private, as long as you have the qualifications for maritime trade, the issuance of "telling" is not restricted. Third, foreign goods must be inspected and paid taxes by the Customs Office before they can be sold in our Ming Dynasty. Fourth, the Customs Office and the Trade Envoy Department of Customs Office are in the Ministry of Commerce.

In the future, we will be responsible for formulating trade tariffs for various commodities and setting different tariffs according to different commodities. The principle is to protect similar commodities in our Ming Dynasty from infringement. Fifth, all foreign trade needs to be processed at the Trade Entrust Office. Sixth, the former coastal defense yamen was changed to a coastal police yamen, responsible for combating maritime smuggling and cooperating with the navy to eliminate pirates. The above is what I thought of temporarily. If you have any better suggestions, you can ask me at any time!"

In an instant, Han Yu, Yang He and others were stunned. The emperor had made plans for it, and even thought about the functions of the so-called trade envoy, and summoning himself and others to seek opinions was just a formality.

A while ago, Zhu Yinglong asked for amendments to the criminal law of inequality between men and women, such as adultery, which was not a serious crime in the future. The man was exiled for three thousand miles, but the woman wanted to behead him. Zhu Yinglong felt that the punishment was too heavy and proposed to revise the Ming Dynasty law. This idea was unprecedentedly resisted, and almost created a huge gap between the monarch and the ministers. Fortunately, Zhu Yinglong braked in time and postponed the amendment of the Ming Dynasty law indefinitely. He realized the terribleness of traditional concepts. When social awareness cannot reach a certain level, it is impossible to change something, so Zhu Yinglong had to force himself to wait patiently. Fortunately, he was still young, at least now his body is!

Some things can be slow and light, while some things must not be done because of great resistance. Don’t forget that he is the supreme emperor. What he has done now is not a ruthless move. At least he will get the support of merchants and people in the coastal areas, because they can smuggle without worrying all day long, or go out to sea to fish as they please. Raising their families is not a problem. There is also a reliable income. It is too late to be happy, just to raise a money to rebuild a fishing boat to go out to sea.

Silver is a bit difficult for them, but it is not difficult. The court successively issued a series of regulations on "Bill Numbers, Pawnshops", which can be mortgaged with houses or other valuables, notarized by the court, and borrowed three cents of interest, divided into three, five, and ten years, and you can buy your own fishing ship. If the ship is stolen or silent, the court can still obtain certain compensation after confirming it is true. Of course, this compensation will naturally come from the attacked pirates!

A few months after the opening of the foreign ban, an emerging noun was born, that is, "bank". The bank was the product that was born after the opening of the foreign ban. Although the name came from Zhu Yinglong's head, the person who actually implemented it was Tian Shulan. In order to prevent those bill numbers and those who were loaned money from extorting the hard-earned money of coastal fishermen and people after the opening of the foreign ban, Zhu Yinglong had to push the bank out. The bank originally wanted to wait until the issuance of paper currency was launched, but now there is no way to launch it first. However, its function is similar to those bank banks and bill numbers. In fact, this is good, but let the people accept this title first, and it will be much easier when the court launches it again.

The candidate for the host of the Trade Envoy Department, Zhu Yinglong, tends to be the current Lianghuai Salt Transportation Envoy, Shen Xi of the Jiangnan Salt Road, because he is Zhu Yinglong's father-in-law. Now Chen Fei Shen Qianqian seems to be very favored. It seems that there is no need to offend a concubine in the harem for a fourth-rank official position. Although everyone knows that this position is so fat, the candidate is quickly decided.
Chapter completed!