After explaining the precautions, Mr. Zhao asked Jin Xishan expectantly, "How is it going? Can the first batch of goods be shipped before the New Year? The trade has been interrupted for almost half a year, and the Japanese are already looking forward to it."
"Don't worry, sir. The goods can be shipped this month, just in time for those famous people to purchase New Year's goods." Jin Xishan said with a smile.
At this time, Japan and the Joseon Dynasty both used the Ming calendar, and naturally celebrated the Lunar New Year. Daimyo wanted to win over their retainers and reward them with generous gifts during the New Year. If they missed this shopping festival, their desire to spend would drop instantly.
"Is it true?" Young Master Zhao asked half-doubtingly. He was really afraid of the Li Dynasty people's habit of bragging.
But this time, Kim Hee Sun really didn't brag.
Because since last month, every time the Jiangnan Group transported grain, it would also transport a few ships of raw silk, silk and cloth. When they were docked in Xingang City, they would unload the goods into the warehouse of the Tamra Chamber of Commerce at the dock.
On the return trip from Tianjin, the ship had more capacity. Moreover, the various products in the north of the Ming Dynasty were of high quality and low price. The same items were much cheaper than those in the south of the Yangtze River. It was just that the transportation between the north and the south was inconvenient, so they could not be transported to the south.
Therefore, as soon as the northern goods are transported to the south of the Yangtze River, they will be snapped up by various merchants in an instant. Even if they do not deliberately raise the prices, they can easily make more than double the profit. Some rare commodities can even make several times the profit, which is no less than selling the goods to Jeju Island.
The shrewd and capable Sister Chen worked closely with the newly established Xishan Trading Company of Xishan Group. Relying on the powerful logistics network of Xishan Group, all the cabins were filled every time with nuts, hazel mushrooms, ginseng, deer antlers, gastrodia elata, ganoderma lucidum, sable skins and tiger bones from Liaodong; liquor and crispy candies, jade and glass, Beijing embroidery and lacquer carvings, and amber tapestries from northern Zhili; silk fans, porcelain, aged wine and bacon, inkstones and candles, dried shrimps, scallops, sea cucumbers and abalone from Shandong; Chengni inkstones, Liu brushes, Du Kang wine, Maojian tea, dog skin plasters and Daokou tinware from Henan; and even aged vinegar, fragrant vinegar, rice vinegar, white vinegar, Laba vinegar from Shanxi...
On the return trip, the fleet would also stop at Xingang to unload some of the goods needed by the Tamra Chamber of Commerce. Then they would load up with livestock, citrus fruits, dried seafood, etc. from Tamra Island and return to Jiangnan. Sister Huaixiu is indeed a genius in warehouse management! She really utilized the shipping capacity to the extreme, without wasting any space.
At present, the first phase of the newly built warehouse of the Tamro Chamber of Commerce is so full that it is about to burst. It is just waiting for Mr. Zhao to nod and then send out the first shipload of goods.
"Speaking of which, the Royal Shipping fleet will arrive at the port at the end of the month. The second phase of the warehouse has not been repaired yet, and the Chamber of Commerce is worried about having no place to store goods." Jin Xishan smiled happily, "That's great! Hurry up and try to ship out the warehouse one day in advance to make room for the new goods!"
"Oh, is the group's fleet heading north or south?" Young Master Zhao's heart moved. He also missed Sister Huaixiu.
"Head south." Jin Xishan replied quickly: "Normally we will arrive at Xingang in three days."
"Do we have any other schedule?" Mr. Zhao asked Secretary Ma behind him.
Secretary Ma smiled and said, "Having dinner with Governor Li."
"Then let's go to Xingang today. I'll treat him to a meal on the boat." Zhao Hao said with a smile, "Let's go back to Jiangnan with the main force, so that the garrison won't have to send another fleet to escort us."
"Yes." Secretary Ma responded and immediately made arrangements.
~~
Master Zhao left as soon as he said he would and left Chengshan Port that same day.
The 101 ship was being repaired in the dock, and he was on the galleon Oriental Beauty, which was fully loaded with reparations extorted from Japan.
In this punitive operation, a total of 120,000 taels of silver and 8,000 taels of gold seized from the Portuguese were brought back, as well as 40,000 taels of gold paid as compensation by the Omura family, and 100,000 taels of silver later. The Mishima pirates paid 180,000 taels of gold as compensation, and 50,000 taels of silver and 3,000 taels of gold were found in the ruins of Jiangchuan City.
In addition to the sale of Tanegashima, the Shimazu clan also paid 30,000 taels of gold as compensation. In addition, there was the 100,000 taels of silver offered by Tanegashima Tokiyoshi. In addition, according to the Treaty of Oita, the Otomo clan paid 200,000 taels of silver. In addition, according to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Mori clan paid 1 million taels of silver.
As for the two million taels of silver paid by Sakai City, Zhao Hao asked them to take them all back. Half of it was used to buy timber, and the other half was used as an investment for the group to buy half of the shares of Sakai Sho Co., Ltd....
In the end, they obtained a total of 1.57 million taels of silver and 261,000 taels of gold. According to the exchange rate of the Ming Dynasty, the silver was about 3.65 million taels. After deducting all the expenses of this operation, including the subsequent cost of repairing the ship, recasting the cannon, and replenishing ammunition, there was still a profit of 3 million taels!
According to the agreement, one quarter of it was given as bonus to the soldiers who participated in the war. Another quarter belonged to the garrison area and was used for various construction projects in the area. The remaining half, that is, 1.5 million taels of silver, belonged to the group's profit.
But only half of the gold and silver was left for the garrison area, and what was issued to the soldiers were silver notes... They had to sail across the ocean to go home, and they were willing to take silver notes, so most of the gold and silver was transported back to Jiangnan by this galleon.
The total amount of gold and silver is actually less than 60 tons, which is nothing to the Oriental Beauty with a displacement of 600 tons. They are all used as ballast.
~~
After more than a month of training, the Coast Guard members have roughly mastered how to operate this huge ship. Now they only need a few Southeast Asian sailors to give instructions to complete the basic sail and cable operations.
To be on the safe side, Mr. Zhao also brought along the original captain of the Oriental Beauty, Major Alfonso.
Unlike Colonel Pinto, Major Alfonso did not need to bear the responsibility for the fleet being captured, so he was not easily persuaded. It was not until Colonel Pinto became Mr. Pinto, the highest-ranking prisoner, and began his glorious career as a night-scented incense seller that he gradually figured it out under the influence of the scent of night-scented incense.
No matter how fragrant the noble integrity of loyalty is, it can't resist the strong smell of golden soup. That damn night fragrance can actually cover up his body odor. How stinky is that?
Alfonso took the initiative to ask to see Master Zhao, expressing his willingness to cooperate and accept all arrangements made by the Master as long as he stopped pouring that damn night fragrance.
Zhao Hao gave him three tasks. The first was to serve as the chief professor at Chongming Navigation School and impart relevant navigation knowledge; the second was to temporarily serve as the captain of the galleon and train several reserve captains; the third was to assist the Jiangnan Shipyard in replicating a qualified galleon.
Of course, all this has a time limit. Once an agreement is reached with Macau, he and his crew will be released as soon as possible. During this period, as long as he cooperates, Master Zhao will naturally give him the treatment and respect that a noble officer deserves. And according to his performance, he will give him an unlimited bounty when he leaves.
Major Alfonso also knew that such a matter would take a long time and would not be settled without a year or two. In order to live a more comfortable life, he agreed to Mr. Zhao's request. After sending Mr. Zhao back to Jiangnan, he would stay on Chongming Island to teach and help build ships, which fully reflected Mr. Zhao's consistent purpose of making the best use of resources.
~~
Tang Youde sat on the soft sofa covered with brown calfskin and carved with mother-of-pearl, looking at the luxurious Renaissance-style captain's room decorated with dark brown walnut wood with exquisite carvings, and couldn't help but sigh: "Damn, the red-haired devil really knows how to enjoy himself."
Li Zhoumu, who was standing by, stepped on the carpet and said, "Yes, this carpet must be worth several hundred taels."
But he said this to introduce the second half of his sentence: "I have one at home, which is slightly larger than this one. It cost me a thousand taels of silver. I am afraid my wife is heartbroken."
The people of the Li Dynasty could never change their habit of showing off.
"This is a Persian carpet." Young Master Zhao took a sip of the sweet and fragrant rum from an Italian glass and said with a faint smile, "I heard that when we buy it in Hormuz, the largest one only costs 20 ducats, which is 10 taels of silver."
Li Zhoumu's mouth twitched immediately, and he was so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe.
"Wow, these southern barbarians are really evil." Tang Youde took a sip of port wine and said in surprise, "Damn it, they have made all the money in the world! We must take it back!"
"Yes, we must take it back!" Li Ruotong gritted his teeth and said, "We can't let them make dirty money anymore!"
"Well, we will take back this trade route sooner or later." Zhao Hao nodded and continued, "So we will fall out with the Europeans sooner or later, but before we can defeat them with strength, we have to pretend to be friendly with them."
"I understand." Old Tang is indeed the person who understands Mr. Zhao the best. "Either we beat them into submission or we just deal with them. How can we do business if everything becomes a mess?"
"Yes, that's what I mean." Zhao Hao patted Old Tang's thigh happily and said with a smile: "The Jesuits are a very good glue, which can prevent the two sides from breaking up so easily. So I agreed to become the protector of the Christian Church in the East, and also promised them that I would go to Jeonra Island to preach in the spring of next year..."
"Oh?" Both of them looked serious. Using missionary work to stir up trouble was common in the Ming Dynasty and the Li Dynasty. Especially Li Zhoumu, he had the responsibility of herding the people. If there was any trouble, he would be in trouble.
"We certainly can't let them succeed, otherwise we will be making wedding dresses for others," said Master Zhao and glanced at Li Ruotong. What he was most worried about were the people of the Li Dynasty. The people of this country were too easily bewitched.
"Don't worry, sir! I have plenty of ways to interfere!" Li Ruotong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the sir wanted to make trouble! This was much simpler.
Li Mu is not trying to brag. He did more harm than good. However, he was one of the few officials of the Li Dynasty who was better than his predecessors.
Moreover, the largest population on the island were official slaves and exiles, all of whom were under the strict control of the governor and the two counties. Of course, Li Ruotong dared to say this.
"Very good. If you do this well, it will be a great success for generations to come. Li Mu will have great potential in the future." Young Master Zhao first gave him a free cake, and then said to Tang Youde: "Xingang is more troublesome. If you also use force, the missionaries will see that we are playing tricks on them. And they are expected to build a church. You can neither offend them nor let the Christians spread in Xingang."
"Yeah." Fatty Tang nodded and said with a sly smile, "I'll fight poison with poison!"
ps. There is more in the evening