Shanghai County.
Along the south bank of the Yangtze River estuary, several port areas and docks are under construction, and the prototype of the Greater Shanghai Port is beginning to emerge.
On the shore, a row of tall and imposing buildings with carved beams and painted rafters rose from the ground. This was the Maritime Merchants Association that was about to open.
After returning home to show off his wealth, Yan Siqi seemed in a good mood. Actually, it couldn't be said that he was showing off, but there were more important things to do. Without showing off his wealth, things might not go smoothly.
Perhaps it seemed like a trivial matter to Zhu Youxiao, but people at that time regarded being able to re-list the family tree as a major event.
Re-listing on the family tree means having your own plaque in the clan ancestral hall. Yes, that's what it is.
The work was done and he was in a good mood, but Yan Siqi pouted and started to argue with Li Dan again, "It hasn't been long since I left, and you look so stingy, the building is not impressive at all."
Li Dan ignored him, his smile unwavering as he continued, "The craftsmen said that in a few days, once the paint dries, everything will be finished. Do you have any comments on the rules of our first maritime merchant conference?"
Yan Siqi shrugged his shoulders and said, "Whether I have an opinion or not is not important. The key is the other merchants. They don't understand Wansui's thoughts."
Li Dan lowered his eyelids, snorted softly, and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. With our strength, who would dare to disobey?"
"That's right." Yan Siqi rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Call Xu Xinsu, Yang Tiansheng, and Lin Huazhong tomorrow and we'll discuss this further."
"Sure!" Li Dan agreed readily. After a pause, he continued, "What if the red-haired barbarians come and want a piece of the pie?"
Yan Siqi frowned. This possibility existed.
If we refuse to trade directly with the red-haired barbarians and continue to let them purchase goods from middlemen, we can naturally make more money.
But if the Red Haired Barbarians disagreed, a real war would have to begin. With the combined strength of him and Li Dan, plus the Ming Navy, there was some confidence in driving the Red Haired Barbarians away.
However, driving away the Red Haired Barbarians would have a consequence: merchant ships in the South China Sea would be very likely to be plundered by them. However, they were not strong enough to severely damage or even eliminate the Red Haired Barbarians.
"I mean to take a long-term view," Li Dan said slowly. "If we don't turn against the Red-haired Barbarians, we'll just make less money. But if trade with the Southeast Asian countries is unimpeded, we can make double the profit."
Although Yan Siqi was reluctant, he felt that Li Dan's words made sense. He nodded helplessly and said in a deep voice, "I want to go to Dongfan and build a manor there."
Li Dan was a little surprised and looked at Yan Siqi, thinking that he felt that he was not safe after being pardoned and wanted to find a way out.
Yan Siqi rolled his eyes at Li Dan and said, "It's not what you think. When I returned home, I heard the government was recruiting people to settle in Dongfan. Some villagers were quite interested, and I wanted to help them."
After a pause, Yan Sixia added, "You don't know yet, Fujian Province has little land and many mountains. Life is hard without access to the sea. A famine would be even worse."
Li Dan's expression softened as he said, "Immigration to Dongfan is Wansui's decision. Although clearing wasteland and building houses may be difficult in the early stages, once we settle down, growing rice and sugarcane will be enough to make us rich."
Huh? Yan Siqi looked at Li Dan in surprise, wondering how this old man knew so much more than he did. Didn't the Taiwanese immigration program just start in Fujian?
Li Dan coughed dryly and said slowly, "During your absence, I've been very busy with official duties! Here are the documents issued by the court. Please take some time to read them carefully."
Reaching out and pointing at Li Dan, Yan Siqi said suspiciously, "Are you hiding something from me? This isn't very decent."
Li Dan laughed heartily and said, "You're the vice president, how dare I hide it from you?"
After a pause, Li Dan continued, "It's okay to tell you. There are two major things that Your Majesty is anxious to do. One is to open up Taiwan to settle down, and the other is to transport grain to Liao."
Needless to say, Zhu Youxiao opened up Taiwan to immigrants. He also provided preferential policies for participating in the Hai Shang event, which included allocating land to build manors on Taiwan. If they performed well, they would be promoted to a higher rank of nobility.
Another way to transport grain to Liao was related to opening up maritime trade with the countries in Southeast Asia.
The Ming Dynasty's overseas markets mainly included Japan and Southeast Asia, which was further divided into the Atlantic Ocean and the East Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean was mainly composed of Annan, Champa, Siam, etc., while the East Ocean was composed of Luzon and other places.
When merchants sailed back from the Atlantic Ocean, they would usually bring back products from various countries such as sappan wood, coriander, rhinoceros horn, and ivory; however, merchants were reluctant to go to Luzon because they often returned empty-handed.
Zhu Youxiao now hoped that the maritime merchants going to Southeast Asia would include grain as an import commodity. One way was to ship it to Taiwan to facilitate large-scale immigration, and the other was to ship it directly to Dengzhou to provide aid to the various towns in Liaodong.
Of course, it wasn't free shipping, but the profit was less. If the grain was shipped to Dengzhou or Tianjin, another quotation would be issued, which could be used to purchase commercial goods from Liaodong and Korea in Qingdao, mainly ginseng, sable furs, and other mountain products.
After the fall of Liaodong, the prices of goods like ginseng and sable furs skyrocketed. Some could still be brought in from Dongjiang Town and Korea, but the quantities were small. The imperial court had already bought them all out at Pi Island, and the goods were only brought to Qingdao for trade.
In other words, the profits from maritime grain transportation are not much, but if it is managed well, the ships will not run empty and the profit can be made from other sources.
After listening to Li Dan's story, Yan Siqi rubbed his chin and thought for a while, then said uncertainly, "From what you said, it seems that transporting grain to the north is more profitable?"
Li Dan spread his hands and said, "I don't know which one makes more money, but Dongfan doesn't seem to have any special products. I guess they're going back empty-handed, right?"
"I can't trust you. I need to think about it carefully." Yan Siqi didn't feel like making a decision in a hurry. After all, he hadn't calculated it carefully and didn't know the specific benefits.
Moreover, since it was the emperor's order, there must be a distinction between urgency and urgency. We cannot just think about making money. We must also make the emperor believe that maritime merchants are not profit-driven, but are concerned about the country and the people.
Li Dan shrugged his shoulders, waved his folding fan twice, and said with a smile: "Anyway, I can't have an exclusive monopoly. You can do whatever you want. I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now."
After walking a few steps, Li Dan turned back and said with a smile, "I forgot to tell you, in a few days, the plaque of 'Maritime Merchants Association' written by His Majesty will be delivered, and we both have to go and greet it! Also, remember to buy some firecrackers, and buy plenty, don't be stingy."
Yan Siqi snorted, rolling his eyes at Li Dan's graceful back as he walked away. "How come you seem to be even more energetic now, old man?"
Well, I have to go find Wu Zheng and look at the documents. I don’t know how many things this old guy is hiding from me!
………………
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