Zhu Ying has been checking the list of merchants in recent days.

It is not an easy task to develop an ocean-going colonial chamber of commerce. Zhu Ying knows very well what will happen if this caged monster is released.

But this is inevitable. The primitive accumulation of capital is often the most bloody and cruel.

The sprouts have already appeared in the West today, and the Renaissance represents true ideological liberation of thought.

When the Ottoman artillery bombarded the gates of Constantinople, it foreshadowed the weakening of theocracy, and this, coupled with the chaos of multinational wars, gave more room for technological development.

But things are not that simple, at least for now.

If the West wants to achieve technological development, the first thing it has to face is the primitive accumulation of capital.

Without sufficient capital for trial and error, a technological explosion would be impossible.

Not to mention anything else, just Zhu Ying's side has already seen a huge amount of consumption.

Zhu Ying didn't understand the technology, he only knew the general principles of the steam engine.

To put it simply, boiling hot water provides the boiling power to drive it.

Principles aside, actually manufacturing a steam engine is a very cumbersome process.

And here, first of all, investment is needed.

Whether it is the craftsmen's salary or the support for various materials, it is an unimaginable expense for an ordinary family.

Fortunately, Zhu Ying is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, so he will not be short of money or materials.

At most, some people think that this is just a ** technique, a crooked way.

For example, those old stubborn scholars.

Most people dare not condemn it openly, thanks to Zhu Ying's huge influence in the current Ming Dynasty.

No matter what he does, he will undoubtedly get the support of the people.

He has indeed brought a lot of benefits to the Ming Dynasty today, and many people even firmly believe that the Crown Prince is a banished immortal sent by God to save the world.

It's not that there were no aristocratic families in the Ming Dynasty. It's just that after experiencing the destruction of the Mongols and nearly a hundred years of rule, these families no longer had any influence in history.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a commoner family. Among all the founding heroes, there was indeed some help from aristocratic families, but they were not able to truly control the government and expand their families again as in history.

The most typical representative among them is undoubtedly Liu Bowen.

Liu Bowen was not born into an ordinary family. He came from a large family in the Jiangnan region.

Unfortunately, although he was considered a founding hero, he was actually suppressed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Old Zhu has a very obvious tinted filter when looking at these greedy families.

Most of the remaining aristocratic families were located in the Jiangnan region, but this did not prevent Zhu from imposing heavy taxes and carrying out large-scale relocation of wealthy households, completely breaking up the influence of these families.

In this regard, Lao Zhu is undoubtedly very excellent and cruel.

However, Zhu Ying now seems to be on the opposite side of Old Zhu.

Whether it is business support, or allowing Jiangnan families to participate in maritime trade, as well as encouragement and guidance, all aspects are equivalent to helping the families.

This is only Zhu Ying, otherwise no one can achieve such a situation.

Naturally, such behavior has been recorded by Lao Zhu.

"With the current economic development, large families are gradually emerging, whether old or new, and these things cannot be completely avoided."

"But we can find a way to control them in our own hands so that there will be no unrest. We must let them know in every aspect that only by following the footsteps of the court can they gain benefits. Otherwise, they will only be completely destroyed."

"Money is indeed an important aspect for the country, but at the same time, these families will also focus on making money instead of thinking about how to enter the court, build their own party, and enter the official career to compete for power."

"The most important thing is that my grandson is now guiding them to develop overseas. If they want to continue to grow, they can only follow the method set by my grandson and continue to follow the path of Shanghai Trade."

"At the same time, the harsh environment in the Ming Dynasty will make them want to stay overseas, because there are no restrictions from the court overseas, and they can also use the name of the Ming Dynasty to gain more wealth."

"This cycle indirectly completes the migration of Haiwa."

"These families that continue to cultivate power overseas, because they are far away from their hometowns, will pay more attention to their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. Even if such loyalty may be pretended, they must do so. This is the basis for them to suppress the development of others."

When you are a stranger in a foreign land, you miss your family all the more during the holidays.

Zhu Ying actually understood this feeling very well. In the past life, or in the future life, even in the Qing Dynasty, there were a large number of Chinese people in the Nanyang region.

Even though the Qing Dynasty was such a mess, there were still many true patriots who emerged, and some even returned to their homeland with their dreams and money.

Unfortunately, what they were given in the end was the cold reality.

It's different now.

Because the Ming Dynasty was really strong, so strong that it was currently the most powerful country in the world, without a doubt.

Even in the open sea, if a Ming merchant ship was looted by pirates, the Ming navy would really be dispatched as long as there were survivors reporting the incident.

Even if it is a case of gangs robbing each other, they must do it cleanly, at least they cannot be discovered by the government.

Otherwise, no matter where they run to, or whether they are from another country, they cannot escape the sanctions of the Ming Dynasty.

As the suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty's public security department and military have the right to investigate vassal states and dependent states.

As long as the Ming Dynasty issues an investigation order to the subordinate departments of the Ministry of Rites, even ordinary yamen runners, in theory, have the power to handle cases across borders, and can request cooperation from the government in their respective regions, even those outside the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, this is the scope of power. In fact, affected by the current speed of passage, cross-national and regional case handling has not yet occurred.

Oh, that's not right.

Strictly speaking, yes.

For example, Zhao Yuanhong had become the Grand Chancellor and Minister of Finance in Constantinople, Europe.

In order to capture the traitor Li Laosi, he has literally traveled across half the world.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty approval document he carried with him really showed its effect.

In fact, many countries still don’t know much about the Ming Dynasty, but they know the East.

In the East, there is a very powerful country with a history of thousands of years.

Most importantly, they can produce exquisite porcelain, colorful silk and extremely comfortable silk.

In fact, except for the areas surrounding the Ming Dynasty, people in countries like India and Europe do not understand the dynasties that have been passed down in the Central Plains.

Just like the Orientals only know the Roman Empire when it comes to Rome, and only know the Delhi Sultanate when it comes to the Delhi Sultan.

For example, the Ottoman Empire, the same thing happened to these Turks.

In fact, Constantinople alone is similar to the current Central Plains. It has also experienced a large number of dynasty changes, including the Ottoman and Delhi Sultanates.

Even because of the long distance, some European nobles still believe that the Central Plains was ruled by the Tang Dynasty.

For example, Chinatown in later generations came into being in this way.

Why not Han Street or Ming Street?

There is no way around it. In terms of foreign trade, the prosperous Tang Dynasty was the most famous and powerful, and had a huge impact on the world.

When Zhao Yuanhong, also known as Zhao Xiucai, arrived in Europe and revealed his identity.

Many nobles were confident that the Central Plains was the Tang Dynasty and Chang'an was the capital of the Central Plains today.

But for now, the name Chinatown will basically not appear in the future, and it will most likely be renamed Mingren Street.

Zhu Ying has already begun to make the families that have gradually developed within the Ming Dynasty become part of the external expansion.

During these few days, the various families have been screened.

Zhu Ying’s current idea is to establish an overseas investment chamber of commerce that is in line with the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

The era of sea shipping has begun, and the good news is that the initiative is in Zhu Ying's hands.

When the steam ironclad ship was developed, Zhu Ying wanted to let the world see the power of the Ming Dynasty.

During this period of time, the first thing to do is to fix the pattern.

"Your Highness, the current families are more compatible in terms of character and loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."

"Their business scope has always had a lot of contact with our previous Qunying Chamber of Commerce. No bad deeds have occurred and they abide by integrity."

There was some obvious joy in Zhang Bo's tone.

Because the boss... Oh, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has finally set his sights on business again.

This seemed to make his old bones useful again.

In Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying nodded slightly: "Although the Chamber of Commerce to be established this time is mainly based on the Royal Chamber of Commerce, in fact, there is no trustworthy candidate on the court side."

"I am only the nominal president. The specific affairs still depend on you, Uncle Zhang."

"But the general direction must be made clear first. The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce is mainly to carry out external acquisitions and investments. As for transportation and trading, they are other matters."

"You know, I can't show up, and I don't have time to manage these things, so you still need to take care of many things, Uncle Zhang."

Zhang Bo was excited, he felt the closeness of the Crown Prince to him.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will do my best."

In fact, he is not a business talent, and he doesn't even have unique insights in many business aspects.

These were not important to Zhu Ying; all that mattered was that Zhang Bo was loyal enough.

Zhu Ying thought for a while and said, "This time there will be some differences. I will arrange some soldiers from the Chamber of Commerce to enter as guards."

"Overseas is different from the Ming Dynasty. The nobles and kings of those countries will be wary, but the lower-class forces will not, so sufficient military force is needed to deter them."

"Similarly, these overseas assets also need adequate protection, at least to have the ability to fight back when faced with some provocations."

"I will sign a special decree to allow members of the Chamber of Commerce to make independent decisions within a certain range, and these actions will be supported by the court."

This specially signed decree is actually equivalent to a privateering license.

However, as a civilized and courteous country, the Ming Dynasty would naturally not be as bloody and cruel as it was in history.

At least, when the population is introduced, Westerners will not pay attention to the lives of the "cargo", while the Ming Dynasty not only provides normal meals, but also provides medical care to ensure the safety of personnel.

Because of infectious diseases, these people introduced by the Ming Dynasty, no matter where they came from, would not be allowed to directly enter places like the capital or other provincial capitals.

Instead, they go to remote places that have been prepared in advance to carry out land reclamation and planting, or labor and construction.

After receiving Zhu Ying's order, Zhang Bo immediately began the preliminary preparations.

Not every family can enter the Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce.

In a sense, the several families that Zhu Ying specifically mentioned for approval were actually supported by Zhu Ying himself, and they have achieved very good results.

To join in the ocean trade, one must first pay a huge membership fee.

The membership fee is not much and is independent of the shares. The first thing to pay is 20,000 strings of treasure notes.

This is similar to a ship ticket, which means that even an individual, as long as he is a good citizen, can participate in ocean trade.

There are also some special restrictions, such as the number of goods that can be carried.

Then there is share participation.

In the ocean-going trade guild, Zhu Ying only retained 30% of the original shares, which were actually planned to be included in the treasury.

The reason why we don't have absolute control is firstly because there is no need.

The Chamber of Commerce system is based on the joint participation of several large families to decide issues in a similar manner to that of a parliament.

Zhu Ying only provided the initial military support.

Zhu Ying had no intention of embezzling the treasure notes from the sale of these shares, and no one would dare to say anything even if he did.

All of this money will be used for the investment and operation of the entire Ocean Trading Chamber of Commerce.

Seventy percent of the shares is not a small amount.

In terms of pricing, it can be sold for tens of millions of coins.

These tens of millions of precious coins are the original capital of the entire chamber of commerce.

In fact, what Zhu Ying provided this time was already worth more than 30% of the shares.

Just talking about the armed forces, for example, the introduction of retired soldiers, cannot be achieved with money.

Of course, the salaries of these guards will be paid by the Chamber of Commerce in the future.

After listening to Uncle Zhang’s subsequent story to the Chamber of Commerce, many families wanted to invest all their assets in it.

No matter who sees it, the Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce with the participation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is definitely a business that is sure to make a profit, especially since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has provided a lot of conveniences to the Chamber of Commerce.

The most important thing is that this is the only time in all the transactions in which His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has participated that the money from the shares has been put into the Chamber of Commerce.

In fact, even if Zhu Ying took a lot of things from there, no one would say anything.

Although it is just tens of millions of coins, it is really nothing to Zhu Ying now.

The subsequent value generated by this ocean-going trading chamber of commerce is definitely not just in the tens of millions.