After nearly 10 days of difficult discussions and voting, the first commercial law of the Ming Dynasty was finally formulated. Although this law was born out of the customary law of merchants' guilds and the capitalist commercial law of the Netherlands, it abandoned more feudal customs and personal dependencies.

The emergence of this law made the Ming industry and commerce begin to get rid of the feudal production relations and move towards the capitalist production road of personal independence.

But most importantly, these Ming merchants suddenly found that they had a place where they could make their voices heard and their will become reality.

In the face of unknown risks, businessmen are humble and timid. But when it comes to determining that there are huge benefits behind the risks, they are again crazy and fearless.

At the beginning, the businessmen did not understand the significance of the enactment of a commercial law for them, so they did not dare to oppose the legal provisions proposed by Zheng Tingji, who presided over the meeting.

However, when these provisions began to touch their own interests, the opposition of some business representatives actually won the revision of the legal provisions.

Only then did they realize that it was in their interest to make the law. With this understanding, the enthusiasm of the business representatives of the provinces for the formulation of the legal provisions suddenly increased.

However, when Zheng Tingji finished reading the draft commercial law handed to him by the emperor, these business representatives still felt that they were still not satisfied.

Therefore, from the beginning of Shaanxi businessmen's proposal that foreign tea should be added to Shaanxi to increase heavy taxes, businessmen from various provinces have put forward various strange proposals, wanting to monopolize the commercial interests of a certain region and a certain industry.

Obviously, however, this assertion of exclusive interests cannot be supported by other businessmen, and there is a real legal provision.

However, Zheng Tingji, who was in the middle of the household, was disgusted by the selfishness and ugliness of these businessmen. He no longer paid attention to the dissuasion of the palace attendants, and hurriedly ended the first meeting of the representatives of the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, so as to avoid accidentally passing an absurd law and tarnishing his reputation.

After Zhu Youzhen received the first draft of the commercial law sent by Zheng Tingji, he asked Wang Chengen to inform Zheng Tingji, and asked the businessmen representatives to adjourn the meeting for three days, and after he had reviewed all the legal provisions, he would convene a closing meeting and announce the draft commercial law for adoption in public.

During the three days when the businessmen's representatives were adjourned, Chongzhen also arranged activities. On the first day, the emperor arranged for the merchants to visit the famous places in the capital and sent them to visit Yenching University.

At the same time as visiting the university, the chamberlain who accompanied the merchants suggested that the merchants could enter the university if they donated a sum of money.

As a result of this day, Yenching University added 3 to 40 new students and received a donation of 32,000 taels of silver.

The next day the merchants were taken to visit the cotton mills set up in the outer city, and the new cotton gins and spinning machines immediately aroused the interest of some of the merchants.

Wensi Institute sold 500 cotton gins and 700 spinning machines, 20 taels each for cotton gins and 15 taels for spinning machines, with a total contract price of 20,000 taels and 500 taels.

Wensi also negotiated with several Zhejiang businessmen to set up a branch factory in Hangzhou for the manufacture of cotton gins and spinning machines, and one-third of the machines under the contract would be produced in Hangzhou.

In the afternoon, the merchant representatives also went to see the light railroad located in the arsenal, although the merchants were very interested in this new mode of transportation. But after inquiring about the cost of the railroad and its maintenance, the merchants suddenly became silent.

Although the return on investment of this light railway does not seem to be low, the huge one-time investment, as well as the concern about the local security situation where the railway passes, make these businessmen only let out a few praises, but there is no investment**.

Only a few businessmen in the Susong area are quite interested in the railway, after all, the Susong area is the most stable and prosperous area in the Ming Dynasty, and the scale of the handicraft manufacturing industry in Suzhou and Songjiang also makes the canal connecting the two places often congested and inefficient.

Due to transportation restrictions, a small half of the price of goods in these two places is spent on the road.

The Taihu Lake below Suzhou was originally a shortcut to water transportation, but with the relaxation of local armaments and the government's oppression of fishermen, Taihu Lake has now become a paradise for bankrupt fishermen and fugitive criminals.

The originally busy shipping industry in Taihu Lake began to decline gradually due to the rise of lake pirates. Instead of a fleet of boats organized by large households, or a fleet of boats of a certain size, small and medium-sized businessmen preferred to avoid Taihu Lake.

If there is a light railway connecting Songjiang, Suzhou and Jiangyin, then the traders who sell Songjiang cloth will be able to avoid the dangerous Taihu Lake waterway.

However, although these merchants had this idea, they had to go back and consult with the local gentry first. There is no local gentry to come forward, and just solving the land problem for the construction of this railway is a threshold that these businessmen cannot cross.

On the third day, the Emperor did not arrange any further activities for the merchant representatives, leaving them free to rest for the closing meeting tomorrow.

However, on this afternoon, several Huizhou businessmen were quietly taken away by an attendant in the hall.

After a journey of more than 20 minutes, Wang Fengyuan and Fan Wuzhi took three carriages and drove into a spacious alley and stopped in front of a sign hanging from the Beijing Library.

After Wang Fengyuan got out of the carriage, he also noticed that there was a smaller wooden sign hanging next to the wooden sign of the library, on which the words Tongwenguan were written.

On the left side of the gate corresponding to these two wooden plaques, about one person high, there is a boxy bronze plaque nailed to the brick wall.

"No. 3-11 Tin Wax Alley." Fan Wuxi, who was standing beside him, looked at the bronze medal and read out the words on it.

The palace attendant who brought them here seemed to hear Fan Wuxi's voice, he turned to several Hui merchants and said with a smile: "This is the house number of the Beijing Library, Your Majesty ordered Shuntianfu to make every street and alley in the capital and every courtyard number, so as to facilitate the postal department to deliver letters." Come in with me, and don't keep Your Majesty waiting. ”

Wang Fengyuan and Fan Wuxian glanced at the door number again, and then followed the palace attendant into the courtyard of the library.

The façade of the library is not very large, but after entering the courtyard, several Hui merchants realized that the main courtyard of the library is indeed unique.

Surrounded by a pool on the left and a flower garden on the right, a bluestone path leads straight to a courtyard in the middle.

In the middle of the courtyard is a rockery, around the rockery is a small square hundreds of steps longitudinal and horizontal, the east and west side of the trail leads to the wings on both sides, and after bypassing the rockery, a two-story building appears in front of everyone.

Several micro-businessmen noticed that whether it was in the building or in the square, there were many people holding a book and studying, and looking at the clothes on their bodies, it was obvious that these people who were reading were not all scholars.

Entering the courtyard at the back through the hanging flower gate on the right side of the library, the waiter who led the way stopped in front of the east wing, and several guards were guarding the door.

After a few words of conversation with the guards, one of the guards entered the east wing, and then Wang Chengen, who had always followed the emperor, walked out with the guards.

Under his beckoning, Wang Fengyuan and the other five carefully followed Wang Chengen and walked into the east wing.

It is a small living room with two Taishi chairs and a coffee table on the east side, and chairs and a coffee table on the north and south sides.

A handsome young man wearing a black gauze winged crown, a yellow robe with a disc collar and narrow sleeves, and a jade belt around his waist was sitting on the Taishi chair on the east side, chatting with the three people sitting on the chair on the north side.

Wang Fengyuan and the other five people immediately knelt down to the young man and saluted. Chongzhen waved his hand and motioned for Wang Fengyuan and the other five to sit down on the chair on the south side.

Zhu Youzhen pointed to Wang Benren and the three people sitting on the north side, and said casually to Wang Fengyuan and the others: "These three, you shouldn't be strangers, right?" They are all shareholder representatives of Sihai Commercial Bank, and they will also participate in the bank's business in the future, so you should cooperate well in the future. ”

Wang Fengyuan hurriedly nodded and said: "Know, know, these days Xiaomin and this Wang Mushang have met many times, and exchanged a lot of opinions on how to establish a bank, and Xiaomin has benefited a lot." ”

Some surprises from Wang Fengyuan's statement, according to the news received by Zhu Youzhen, in the process of Wang Benren and several people talking with Wang Fengyuan and other micro-businessmen, it was by no means so breezy as Wang Fengyuan said now.

However, Zhu Youzhen had no intention of exposing him, since neither of them was willing to make the contradiction public in front of him, then he pretended not to know and reduced some trouble for himself.

Zhu Youzhen changed the topic and continued to Wang Fengyuan: "I heard Wang Mushang say that after a few days of eager discussions, you have reached a consensus on the establishment of Daming Bank.

As for the capital contribution of Daming Bank, I will allocate 2 million taels of silver, the household department will contribute 1.5 million taels with the central tax as collateral, the currency exchange business of the Four Seas Commercial Bank will be divested and the price will be 800,000 taels, and the Sihai Commercial Bank will contribute another 700,000 taels, and you will raise 5 million taels, a total of 10 million taels, right? ”

Wang Fengyuan didn't answer yet, Wang Benren couldn't wait to answer: "That's true, what did the minister talk about with this Wang Chaofeng." ”

Wang Fengyuan did not echo his statement, but said to Chongzhen slowly: "Xiaomin told Wang Mushang the day before yesterday that he would definitely contribute, but at that time, Xiaomin did not affirm that he would contribute 5 million taels, but said that he would confirm one or two more with a few fellow villagers. ”

Wang Benren was immediately furious, but he didn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of Chongzhen, so he could only widen his eyes and say to Wang Fengyuan: "It's just unreasonable, the day before yesterday you told me that there is no big problem in terms of capital contribution, why do you want to regret it today?" You, you are guilty of deceit..."

Wang Fengyuan immediately wanted to refute Wang Benren and put a hat on him, but Zhu Youzhen was already a little unhappy and said: "Wang Mushang doesn't have to be like this, this investment in the bank was originally voluntary, even if Wang Chaofeng doesn't want to participate, I will never blame..."