Chapter 703: The world is bustling, and it is all for profit

Although Fuxu bathing day was once one of the famous scenery of Yangcheng in the Song and Yuan dynasties, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor of the early Ming Dynasty, canonized the god of the South China Sea, he also set the sacrifice here, but because Fuxu Port is gradually silted up and difficult to travel, the city Bosi moved to Huangpu Town. Most of the tribute ships that came to Guangzhou from Champa, Siam, Ceylon and other places docked here, and traded with local merchants in addition to paying tribute and drawing points. As a result, in the more than 20 years since the Yongle Dynasty re-established the city, Chinese and foreign businessmen have brought countless business opportunities to this town, and also turned this originally unknown small place into a bustling and wealthy business town.

The city is located in the east of Huangpu Town, only across the street is the Fang Market Street where people and merchants trade. Today's sea trade winds are suitable for return voyages, so sea ships continue to enter the port, and many Fanbang merchants stay here, and many more wealthy local merchants. Most of them had heard that the new monarch had ascended the throne and reopened the port of Ningbo to open sea ships, so they all hoped that Guangzhou could break the last ban like Ningbo. After all, although this financial road is good now, the way is in the hands of others, and it is far better to do it alone.

The weather in Guangzhou is hot, and now it is only the beginning of April, and the windows of those big restaurants are pasted with green veils to prevent mosquitoes and insects, and now although this box is on the third floor of Jubin Building, the wind blowing in from outside is still sultry, so the four or five businessmen present are all sweating profusely. It's just that no one cares about those at this time, and they all look at the man in the blue silk collared shirt at the top.

"Brother Wu, everyone knows that you have some dealings with Gonggong Qin of the City Division, and now that you are here, please give everyone a breath, what are the regulations of the imperial court? If you can, you can also make money for Gonggong Qin to go up and do activities. ”

"Don't count on that old gelding, I just asked someone from the north to inquire about the news, and it is very likely that this city will be replaced. Over the years, that old eunuch doesn't know how much benefit he has taken from us, and now he is determined to get out of the way and dare to cheat money, don't think about it! If you believe me, don't make any more ideas about him, or the money will be wasted! ”

Hearing the businessman surnamed Wu say this, everyone couldn't help but look at each other, and even a fat man who was shouting and shaking a fan vigorously stopped moving. It took a while for someone to ask tentatively.

"Brother Ang is naturally no better than us people. It's just that that Gonggong Qin has only been working for three years, although he is insatiable, but after all, if he has a weakness, it is easy to get rid of it, and if he wants to replace it, he should replace that Li Tiju. This person doesn't get in the oil and salt, and he is often entangled with those people because of the points, just for this article, how much money have we lost over the years? ”

This person's words immediately aroused a lot of echoes, and although the merchant surnamed Wu also nodded, there was a helpless expression on his face. Standing up and pressing down with both hands, he reminded him: "Since the Yongle period, the promotion of this city has been just an ornament, just like under the hands of the Qin Gonggong, how capable can this Li Tiju have?" Not to mention the promotion of the city and the city, even the left and right political envoys of our clan and the yamen are not as beautiful as the fathers-in-law who have taken turns to control the city and the city over the years! It's a pity that I have limited access and can't inquire about the specific situation, but there is one thing I can remind you of. ”

The merchants in this box are some in-laws and some fellow villagers, so they have always acted in a group, and when they heard this, they quickly quieted down. Seeing everyone's attentive appearance, the businessman surnamed Wu was extremely satisfied.

"In the past, the city department had its own system, and the political secretary could not control it, but this time it was different. Our new domain has not yet arrived, but you must have heard the reputation, it is the famous Zhang Killing Head! From Shandong to Ningbo to Xinghe and the important town of Xuanfu, a sea of people have been killed along the way. This is not counting the rebellion of King Han this time, he waved his hand, not to mention hundreds of heads! He is not as good as the background of those feudal platforms in the past, as long as he has a word, no matter who is in charge of the city, he has to weigh it! ”

At this time, the fat man who was shaking the fan next to him took over the conversation in a low voice: "Since this master has made such a great contribution, it is enough to pay homage to the marquis, why do you have to come to Guangdong?" There are so many political secretaries in the world, and our Guangdong is only a middle-class province, how can this killing god look down on ......" muttered a few words, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "By the way, I think this one mentioned the ban on opening the sea in the book, and Ningbo City Bosi also has his presiding merit in opening the sea, he came like this, Guangzhou Bosi will inevitably follow, and we don't have to look at the faces of those damn people in the future!" ”

Seeing that no one around him responded, his voice that had just suddenly raised suddenly became quieter, and he immediately found that everyone was looking at him with foolish eyes, so he was even more sneering. The businessman surnamed Wu looked amused, and said angrily: "Chu Fatzi only thought of this now? Everyone has already thought about it, haven't you seen that Guangzhou is now available for ships from their country to return to Ningbo to berth? It's just that the benefits of that one are not so easy to take, and I'm afraid that there will be a clear constitution and disadvantage as soon as it comes. This is too strong at the top, and the food at the bottom is not delicious, if the city boss also looks up to him, how can we live our lives? ”

There is a way to break the county order and destroy the door to Yin, which naturally attracts everyone's nod. Merchants believe in never hanging themselves from a tree, and that a single family means a single price, and that they have no room for bargaining. So, everyone sat there and discussed, and most of them agreed to find those familiar merchants in the street first, and connect them in advance, so as not to be caught off guard at that time. With such a matter in mind, almost everyone on the table did not eat the delicious food well.

It wasn't until the end of the day that everyone came out of this Jubin Building one after another, but the fat man fell last. He stood at the door for a moment, until everyone was gone, and he scratched his head helplessly and sighed. It wasn't until the little man reminded him again that he saw that his big mule pulling the car had stopped in front of him, and hurriedly lowered his head and got into the car. Just as he was passing by Huaiyuanyi in the town, he accidentally caught a glimpse of a few horses parked in front of the gate there, so he glanced at it twice, but he didn't take it to heart.

The afternoon sun was already blazing, although there was a wall above his head, but the fat man Chu still felt that it was stuffy and unbearable, so he could only shake the fan vigorously. I don't know how long it took, but he suddenly heard a call.

"Master, there are a lot of people around the Fan Si Street in front of you."

Hearing this, the fat man Chu, who was a little unhappy, immediately came back to his senses. Before the car stopped, he poked his head out and looked out, and saw that the Yamen of the Governor in the middle of Fansi Street was already three floors inside and three floors outside, full of onlookers, he hurriedly ordered the coachman to pull over and stop, and then jumped down with agility. He was also impatient to let the little servant go to inquire, grabbed a handful of copper coins and asked a passer-by, only then did he know that the new political envoy had arrived today. Thinking that everyone had discussed how to deal with the famous Xiao Zhang, he hurriedly called the little guy to open the way, and squeezed in the front.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, there was a shout from under the archway at the west end of Fansi Street, and after a while, I saw a dozen horsemen crowding around several carriages and driving over. The men at the front reined in front of the eight-character wall in front of the yamen of the feudal division, and shouted for the leaders one by one, and everyone jumped off the horse in unison, which was a military faction. Seeing this scene, the subordinate officials who had been waiting for a long time came forward, and Xu Tao, who took the lead in the left and right political participation, greeted them with a smile, but because of the words of the person in charge, his face suddenly stiffened.

"Youlao adults have been waiting for a long time, my family passed by Huaiyuan Station, and I wanted to go in and take a look, I want to come later!"

There are many post stations in the world, but Huaiyuan Station is different. This post was built in Yongle for three years, only received the four Yi to pay tribute to the mission, never received other officials, even the post Ding and others are set up separately, the treatment is far more generous than the ordinary miscellaneous officials. Most of these people from the South China Sea countries such as Champa and Siam were generous, and the money and silver coins minted in foreign countries were rewarded at will, so I don't know how many people are hot for this post. Today's Yicheng Ma Fang is also because of his relationship with Qin Huaijin, the admiral and eunuch of the city, so he has been able to work steadily for three years.

Since it is to entertain the guests of Fanbang, the post station is naturally built with a grand style. In addition to the post office, there are a total of seventy or eighty rooms in the quadruple courtyard, which can basically meet the needs of all the people who come and go. It's just that now is not the season when the sea ships are busy entering the port, and this place is much more deserted than before, so although it is an uninvited guest entering this Huaiyuan Post at this time, Ma Fang still does not dare to slack off. When he heard that the other party said that it was introduced by the city boss, it was a Jiangnan merchant who wanted to do business with Fanren, and he was ready to inquire about the situation on Fanren's side, and took out the token of Gonggong Qin, he couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he was not rude.

The fact that he was able to do so longer than the previous postmen was able to do so much because of his prudence. At this time, he ordered someone to pour tea, so he sat down on the main seat, first gave a brief introduction, and saw that the other party listened carefully, and he had to show off.

"This son, it's not me boasting, I've been dealing with people for three years, and I'm very familiar with these people! It is said that it is an envoy, but most of them are confused, but they are just greedy for the reward of our heavenly kingdom! Take the group of people who live in the inn now, they are all merchants of Ceylon, and the gems they bring are only goods that can be picked up everywhere in the local area, but they are worth a lot when they get here, and besides, the price given to them by the court is double the market price, so who would not want to come? ”

Ma Fang said and took out a ruby from his sleeve and showed it to the young man opposite, and when he saw him looking at it again and again with great interest, he explained: "This ruby looks like it is also a treasure, but these things are still good for the common people, but the real rich people don't look down on them." If you look at the color, this lilac is pretty good, and the rest is only a little reddish, which is not worth much at all, but the sapphires and cat's eyes of Ceylon are good things in comparison......"

Others said it like a river, Zhang Yue listened carefully, and he couldn't weigh it in his heart. Guangzhou is more than 4,000 miles away from Nanjing, and more than 7,000 miles away from Beijing, and he has really walked enough this way, and he has suddenly come from the dry and cold north to the humid and hot south, and he will really find it difficult to get used to it for a while. Moreover, when he first arrived, he didn't see the kind of heroism that dared to eat anything in the future, that is, Guangzhou Mansion, which is rich and prosperous, and there is still a big gap between Suzhou and Hangzhou, let alone compared with the north and south of Beijing.

"By the way, listening to Childe's accent, it seems to be from Nanjing?"

Zhang Yue has traveled all these years, and he can say some words from all over the world, and just now he deliberately showed a bit of Jinling's official tone, at this time, when the other party asked, he was amused in his heart, but he still pretended to nod carelessly, and then returned the ruby in his hand to Ma Fang. Who knew that Ma Fang didn't mean to take back the thing at all, but pushed it back with a smile.

"Since Gongzi is from Nanjing, and he can be recommended by Duke Qin, he must have an excellent family background. I happened to have a bunch of merchants here, and now I'm waiting for the right wind to go back, bringing with me a lot of good things like red sandalwood, ebony and agarwood, from which I can match. It also costs a lot of money for the son to go through the door of the Qin father-in-law, this deal is done, you can also be more filial to that person, and this tax can be confused. ”

Zhang Yue chose to take office in Guangdong this time, and he also took a fancy to Guangdong's geographical location and prospects. After all, the emperor is far away, and he will not be hindered in everything, and he has already handed over a note to the city. However, at this time, listening to Ma Fang's unremitting lobbying, he couldn't help but gradually frown. The conscription of the Ming Dynasty was very heavy, but the taxes were actually not as good as those of the Tang and Song dynasties, especially for merchants, the tax rate of thirty taxes and one was simply a drop in the bucket. Moreover, these merchants who traded with Fanren were even richer.

"So, can you advise me on what is the most suitable thing if I and Fanren are bartering?"

"Needless to say, the son is in Nanjing, so he is naturally silk! Silk is lightweight, but it's valuable. In addition, the weather in Western countries is hot and humid, and this light yarn is also an extremely easy thing to sell. As for the rest, it is porcelain and tea. Tea is forbidden by the imperial court, which is not easy to deal with, but porcelain does not matter...... If you can get good lacquerware, it's worth more than porcelain! ”

"I see, thanks to Arima-sama's reminder."

Although he was clear about the profits of overseas trade, oil and water, etc., Zhang Yue still patiently asked carefully, and quietly sandwiched some important questions during the period. And when Ma Fang talked about the rise, he couldn't help but be even more pretentious: "If you want to talk about profit, there is one thing that is the biggest, that is, the ...... people."

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside, and then the bamboo curtain in front of the hall moved, and many people poured in, led by a middle-aged man with a thin face and no beard.

"Things in this world are really new, and someone dares to use our family's name to deceive?"