Nanzhili, Songjiang Prefecture.

After staying in Suzhou Mansion for half a month, Zhang Zhun came to Songjiang Mansion.

In the political and military history of the Ming Dynasty, Songjiang Mansion is absolutely unknown. It doesn't have any outstanding people, no historical events for which it is particularly famous. Among the many prefectures under the jurisdiction of Nanzhili, its history is also the youngest. Its predecessor was just Xiaoxiao's Huating County. It was upgraded to a mansion in less than four hundred years. However, when it comes to the economic field, it is absolutely impossible not to mention Matsue Prefecture. There are also so many prefectures in Nanzhili, in terms of history, Songjiang Mansion is definitely ranked last, and there is no chance to come out at all. However, when it comes to economic strength, Songjiang is enough to enter the top three. Even if it is Yingtianfu, it is not as strong as the economic strength of Songjiang Mansion. Even, if it is divided according to the proportion of population, Songjiang Prefecture is definitely the first.

As we all know, in the later books of the Ming Dynasty, the main financial revenue of the state came from the southeastern half of the Nanzhili, Zhejiang and other provinces. In this southeast half of the wall, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Songjiang, Hangzhou and other areas are the most abundant. Any government can take the fiscal taxes paid by a government, and it is possible that they will pass through a province in the interior.

All this is due to the development of the capitalist economy at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Perhaps, at that time, no one had clearly proposed what capitalism was. However, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty have already interpreted what capitalism is with their actions. The handicraft farms in Songjiang Prefecture account for more than 80% of the country's total. The other two percent are in Suzhou. The textile industry in Songjiang Prefecture is second to none in the entire Ming Dynasty. "Even in remote villages, textiles such as cotton, silk, silk and satin, and yarn are being produced. In Songjiang Prefecture, there are very few people who farm the land, and "every household is engaged in the textile industry. Since the late Wanli period, there has been a saying that "the Songjiang cloth that cannot be sold can be sold, and the Weitang yarn that cannot be harvested". It can be seen that the production of cloth yarn here is huge.

In fact, the cotton silk silk and silk produced in Matsue Prefecture "not only met the needs of the country, but also met the needs of maritime trade." Matsue Prefecture has its own outlet to the sea, and a large number of textiles can be sold directly to merchant ships in the port and then sold overseas. If Suzhou's textiles want to go to sea, they have to go through the canal, but Songjiang Mansion doesn't need it at all.

Zhang Zhun used to be in Aoshanwei" can be described as a poor jingle, even the commander of the guard, he didn't have the heart to stay in the acropolis, and he longed for the outside to run. Why? There's no oil or water! Drink the northwest wind all day long. However, the local officials of Jinshanwei, where Songjiang Mansion is located, are desperately bribing their superiors every year not to transfer themselves out of Jinshanwei. Why, there is oil and water! Several ports under the jurisdiction of Jinshanwei are all passages to the sea for Songjiang Prefecture cloth. At that time, Songjiang Prefecture actually did not have a real civil port. "All of them are military docks, which are commonly known as water villages. These water villages, the combat function does not have a "trade function, but it is very strong." Later, when the interests of all parties were involved, "the imperial court also turned a blind eye and turned a blind eye." The wharves of these guards have become real civilian wharves.

Why did the Ming Kingdom at that time still have a trade surplus when it did not participate in the Age of Discovery? Earn a lot of silver taels from overseas every year? A big reason is because the cost of silk and silk silk and other products in the Ming Kingdom is that of other countries, which cannot be compared at all. Even if other countries master the technology of making silk, they will not be able to defeat the Ming Kingdom in terms of cost.

As mentioned earlier, there are no famous people in Songjiang Prefecture, and there are no famous historical events, and there are only merchants who have the most here. To be precise, a group of handicraft owners. Their main business is the textile industry. For such a place, Zhang Zhun wanted to come and see it in person on the same day, and implement a special economic management policy in light of local conditions.

In order to bring all the textile industries in the south of the Yangtze River under jurisdiction, a relatively high-level organization is needed to carry out comprehensive management and coordination. During the Qing Dynasty, the famous Suzhou Manufacturing Bureau was set up to govern the textile industry in Suzhou and Songjiang. Now, Zhang Zhun also decided to set up a Songjiang Weaving Bureau, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Government Affairs of the Metropolitan Governor's Office of the Tiger Ben Army, that is, the jurisdiction of the Government Affairs Department of the Tiger Empire in the future. The steward of the Songjiang Weaving Bureau was, of course, the old courtier of the Tiger Army. Such an important position is in the hands of others, of course Zhang Zhun is not at ease. This place, in the future, can be regarded as the economic motive of the Tiger Empire, and it must not be sloppy. After careful consideration, Zhang Zhun finally decided on the right candidate. This person is Liu Guangxin.

Speaking of which, Liu Guangxin is definitely the old man of the Tiger Army. His qualifications are slightly worse than Liu Hang, Wang Mingyu, Hou Shanping and others. Previously, Liu Guangxin held a series of official positions, all of which made Zhang Zhun very satisfied. So, with a paper order, Liu Guangxin was transferred from the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture to the position of manager of the Songjiang Weaving Bureau.

"My lord, this is some data compiled by my subordinates." In the yamen of the Songjiang Weaving Bureau, Zhang Zhun listened attentively to Liu Guangxinzhuang's report.

So far, there are more than 3,400 handicraft workshops in each county under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture. The largest number of employees was more than 860 people. The smallest number of employees was 10. If there are less than ten people, then it is not counted. Those cannot be called handicraft farms, they can only be said to be family xiao workshops. Every day, the entire Songjiang Prefecture produces at least 100,000 pieces of cotton cloth, as well as other silk silk and satin. Every day, boats carrying cotton cloth and other fabrics travel north and south along the canal from various wharves in Matsue Prefecture. Every day, there are at least several large ships that transport cotton from other areas to Songjiang Prefecture.

In fact, the current Songjiang Mansion is not the most prosperous time. Due to the influence of Zhan 1uan, there was not enough supply of cotton, and the cloth yarn produced by Shengyan and produced was also affected to a certain extent. Some handicraft farms with relatively poor strength had to go out of business. As the situation stabilizes and the supply and sales situation gradually normalizes, the number of handicraft farms is further increasing. The most optimistic estimate is that by the end of next year, there should be more than 4,000.

"It's too small."

"It's not enough."

Zhang Zhun said slowly.

"Your Excellency?" , Liu Guangxin said with some confusion.

Isn't such a large production of cloth yarn "not enough? Liu Guangxin, who served as the manager of the manufacturing bureau for the first time, "When he first arrived in Songjiang Mansion, he was shocked by the scale of the cotton textile industry in Songjiang Mansion. He really never expected that in the Daming Kingdom, there was another place that was completely different from other places. The people here basically do not farm and farm, only know how to spin behind closed doors, but their lives are much more solid than those of the people in other regions.

The poor court has such a gold ingots area, and it doesn't know how to cherish it or use it. The Ming court, for a time, set up Suzhou manufacturing in Suzhou, specifically for the court to take a variety of textiles. The main position made in Suzhou is generally the Metropolitan Governor Yaoling, and the actual power is the eunuch sent out by the palace to procure.

Qualitatively speaking, this Suzhou manufacturing is purely for the emperor's private interests, and it is the emperor's xiao's treasury. Obviously, the high-level civil officials of the Ming Kingdom would not allow such a thing to succeed easily. Therefore, they have repeatedly joined forces to resist all kinds of actions made in Suzhou. Due to the strength of the civil power, the emperor often had to give in. Since Suzhou manufacturing can't be made public, the "CAO behind it" is a mess.

There is enough evidence to show that in Suzhou and Songjiang Mansion, those handicraft owners are all rich guys, "just take the roots of everyone and take it down, it's all white huahua silver." However, the absurd thing is that it is here、They are exempt from taxation The imperial court is about to perish, and they still enjoy the policy of exemption from taxation。

After the Tiger Benjun came, in accordance with the regulations, the commercial tax of the roses was levied. Every month, the commercial tax of Songjiang Prefecture alone is 200,000 taels of silver. In a year, it is more than two million taels. It's almost half a year's income from the Ming treasury. If the imperial court also acts according to the Tiger Army, it will definitely be able to alleviate the financial crisis to a considerable extent!

"Lao Liu! Take a long-term view."

Zhang Zhun said earnestly.

Liu Guangxin asked a little puzzled: "Please also make it clear." ”

Zhang Zhun pointed to the world map on the wall and said meaningfully: "Not only our own country, but also the whole world." Our merchant fleet, currently the farthest trade dial area, is the "Japan". However, in the near future, our merchant fleet will go even further. Eventually, our merchant fleet will be all over the world. Liu Guangxin was shocked and excited: "What do you mean by your lordship, do you want to sell our cloth and silk to the world?" Songjiang Prefecture and other places, want to supply the world's cloth? Every corner of the world? ”

Zhang Zhun nodded proudly and said unabashedly: "That's right! It's every corner of the world! Wherever there are people, you should buy our goods! If they are in need and we can't provide enough goods, then you are remiss in your duty! ”

Liu Guangxin pondered for a moment, his eyes were a little straight, and he muttered to himself: "Then we have to expand more workshops and recruit more workers."

His words, at first glance, seem to be very simple, as if subconsciously did not have any meaning to respond. However, experienced officials can hear the difficulties.

What's the difficulty?

Mass gatherings!

Illegal party!

Forming a party for personal gain!

This series is a series of murderous words.

In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was most worried about large-scale parades and gatherings. The imperial court has been closely monitoring the actions of the people, prohibiting any form of assembly. Whenever someone gathers, they will be severely hit. When Dongchang and Jinyiwei were most rampant, when the three of them approached, it would be considered an illegal gathering.

For those who gather illegally, the means of dealing with them by the imperial court are very cruel. The worst sentence is imprisonment and fines, and the worst is murder and seizure. From this point of view, the Ming Dynasty was indeed the darkest dynasty, and the people did not have the right to express their protests at all. In the next life, you can go for a walk in the streets.

Although, this cruel rule was relaxed in the later period of Wanli, and the number of arrests of Dongchang and Jinyiwei was not so much. However, this absolutely does not mean that the imperial court has abandoned this rule. In the minds of the vast majority of Ming Dynasty officials, gatherings of more than ten people are still very vigilant. This is already a deeply ingrained notion.

After the Tiger Ben Army took control of Songjiang Mansion, it was certain that a considerable number of old officials would be retained. Well, it's not so easy to turn their minds around all at once. To be honest, in Songjiang Prefecture, the handicraft field of hundreds of people is already very risky. The local government is also under a lot of pressure, and if something happens, who will be responsible?

After Liu Guangxin arrived, he naturally felt such pressure. Within the Tiger Army, there are still quite a few ways for officials to express their dissatisfaction. The prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, after discussing with Liu Guangxin, was not very in favor and continued to allow the expansion of more handicraft farms. To be on the safe side, he even wanted to forcibly close part of the handicraft yard.

Fortunately, in Shandong, there is also a precedent for the Tiger Army. Workshops with hundreds of people are not uncommon. There are such examples, and the local officials in Songjiang Prefecture are not so worried. However, once more handicrafts are added and more hired workers are recruited, local officials will certainly be worried. Unless, it is Zhang Zhun who is stationed in Songjiang Mansion to prevent all accidents.

Zhang Zhun naturally understood Liu Guangxin's dilemma. Sometimes, what seemed ordinary in later generations was met with great obstacles in the Ming Dynasty. The establishment of a handicraft workshop is one example. These local officials in Songjiang Prefecture are actually good personal cao. However, it is understandable that they are confined to the old way of thinking and cannot let go. After all, no local official wants to see his own jurisdiction and make a bad scene.

As the governor of the Tiger Ben Army and the future emperor of the empire, what Zhang Zhun has to consider is how to emancipate his mind and develop the economy. The concerns of local officials cannot be completely ignored. However, the exhibition of the textile industry also needs strong support. There are many things, Liu Guangxin has no authority to make decisions, only he gives an order.

"What are you afraid of? What is a handicraft farm with hundreds of people? I've seen a large factory with tens of thousands of people. Employees are also human beings, and it is good to manage them according to ordinary people. As long as we do our job well, we don't need to worry about anything happening! ”

"Huh!?" , Liu Guangxin's face was full of surprise.

God, a handicraft field for tens of thousands of people!

The entire Songjiang Mansion may be hundreds of thousands of people!

Isn't it that ten large-scale handicraft farms have more population than Songjiang Prefecture?!