Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 692: Reopening Border Trade
When Zhu Shenzui saw Kang Youfu's look, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, stop knocking and get up. This isn't the first time you've seen me, so why bother?"

"I...no...I think today is different from the past. When I meet the Regent, I should follow the etiquette. What's more, I am not a court official, and you, the Regent, are my boss. What's the big deal about kowtowing to you a few times?" Kang Youfu said seriously.

Although Kang Youfu was just a businessman and had never been an official before, he was able to run Hengtong to such a large scale. Kang Youfu's talent in this aspect was simply beyond the reach of ordinary people. Moreover, businessmen are very versatile, good at dancing with long sleeves, and their tongues are much more eloquent than ordinary people. Kang Youfu's words were not only reasonable, but also secretly pointed out that the relationship between Zhu Shenzhui and him was not just that of a monarch and his subject, but also that of a boss and his shopkeeper. How could other subjects compare to this kind of relationship?
"You are the only one who can talk, but you are always the same when you open your mouth." Zhu Shenzhui smiled and shook his head. At this time, Kang Youfu had already climbed up from the ground and stood aside with his hands hanging down.

"Please sit down. You are an official now. Please sit down and talk. Besides, if you stand over there, I will be tired of looking up at you."

"Hehe, thank you very much, Your Majesty." Kang Youfu grinned and then sat down on a chair that had been prepared long ago.

Although the identities of both parties are different from the past, Kang Youfu is still Zhu Shenzhui's own man who has followed him for many years. As Zhu Shenzhui asked questions, Kang Youfu answered them. Between questions and answers, Kang Youfu gradually lost his initial nervousness and returned to his usual attitude.

The reason why Kang Youfu came was mainly because of Hengtong's business. Now Hengtong's business is developing steadily and rapidly in the north. Not counting the original Shanxi area, just the Zhili, Shandong and Henan areas, Hengtong's development speed is several times the total of previous years.

In addition, Hengtong gradually extended its tentacles to Jiangnan, but compared with the north, Hengtong's development in Jiangnan was not as rapid. On the one hand, it was because of time. After all, Zhu Shenzhui had only been the regent for more than three months, and he actually controlled less than half of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Although the various places recognized the central government of the capital, it would take time to truly control those provinces.

On the other hand, there was the resistance and competition between southern merchants and northern merchants. Most of the merchants in the entire Ming Dynasty were divided by spheres of influence. For example, Shanxi merchants have been famous since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Over the past two hundred years, Shanxi merchants have become a huge group and control a large amount of wealth.

In Jiangnan, there are also business groups similar to the Shanxi merchants, the two largest of which are the Huizhou merchants and the Zhejiang merchants. Most of the business in Jiangnan is controlled by these two business groups, which compete with the Shanxi merchants in the north. The two sides compete with each other in business, but also cooperate, and basically form a tacit understanding, and do not interfere with each other.

Under such circumstances, Hengtong, as a branch of Shanxi merchants, had no problem developing rapidly in the north, but it was not so easy to enter the south. Even though Zhu Shencui was behind Hengtong, the merchants in Jiangnan were not pushovers. They knew that Hengtong would inevitably cause competition to them if it went south, so resistance and non-cooperation were inevitable. This was also the reason why Zhu Shencui did not let Kang Youfu extend his tentacles to the south so quickly, but focused on the north first.

"You have made a great contribution to the growth of Hengtong under your leadership." Zhu Shenzhui praised Kang Youfu, and then said, "But now it is different from the past. Hengtong is not only a merchant, and I am no longer a member of the royal family. So you can no longer stay in Shanxi. What do you think?"

"It's up to Your Highness." Kang Youfu answered without thinking, with a firm attitude and no hesitation.

Zhu Shenzui was very satisfied with Kang Youfu's attitude. Shanxi was the place where Hengtong made its fortune and it was also the headquarters of Hengtong. As the general manager of Hengtong, Zhu Shenzui asked Kang Youfu not to stay in Shanxi permanently, which was equivalent to handing over the business in Shanxi to other people. If it were someone else, they would probably have some thoughts, but Kang Youfu was not like that. He not only agreed immediately, but also had a firm attitude.

"Who do you think is suitable to take over in Shanxi?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

Kang Youfu thought for a moment and said, "I think the Eighteenth Master can take over."

"Little Eighteen?" Zhu Shenzhui laughed. The person Kang Youfu was talking about was Zhu Qiuqi. Zhu Minfeng, Zhu Minyu and Zhu Qiuqi had followed Zhu Shenzhui for a long time. They were not only his juniors, but also trustworthy people. Among them, Zhu Qiuqi had been helping to manage Hengtong. Although he was not the actual manager of Hengtong, he had a high status in Hengtong. He was a suitable candidate to take over.

However, Zhu Shenzhui shook his head. Zhu Qiuqi was suitable in terms of ability, but it was not appropriate for him to be the general manager of Hengtong. After all, he was a member of the royal family, and had always been following Zhu Shenzhui. It was not good for him to show up in public to do business. Besides, Zhu Shenzhui had already made other arrangements for these three people.

"Little Eighteen, I have another one for you. Please choose another one."

Kang Youfu thought for a moment and said the name of another person. Zhu Shenzhu knew that this person was one of the shopkeepers of Hengtong and also Kang Youfu's right-hand man. Although he was not as capable as Kang Youfu, he was also capable, especially he was always prudent and reliable. Zhu Shenzhu nodded slightly and decided on him. "Let's choose him." Zhu Shenzhu said, "Go back to Shanxi in a few days and take over the affairs there. By the way, when you go back to Shanxi, gather all the Shanxi merchants for me and discuss some matters with them in my name."

Kang Youfu nodded in response, and at the same time showed curiosity, wondering what Zhu Shenzui asked him to discuss by gathering the Shanxi merchants.

Zhu Shenzhu told Kang Youfu that the discussion he had with Shanxi merchants after returning to Shanxi was about business. Zhu Shenzhu planned to directly open up border trade, which was the opening for Ming Dynasty's foreign trade. Since Emperor Chongzhen came to power, the border trade opening opened by Emperor Tianqi was directly closed. Initially, this opening was opened in the name of Wei Zhongxian. After Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne and suppressed the eunuch party, how could he allow this opening to continue to exist?

Once the border trade was closed, the imperial court lost an income, which meant that it lost its profits from border trade. However, in fact, bilateral smuggling still existed among the people. In other words, the trade between Ming Dynasty and Mongolia had always existed, but it had turned from the open to the underground, and Hengtong accounted for the majority of it.

In the past, Zhu Shenzui was just a member of the royal family. He engaged in smuggling for his own profit and for the sake of the Tengger tribe. But now Zhu Shenzui is the regent of the Ming Dynasty. As for the Tengger tribe, it is no longer the same Tengger tribe. The current Tengger tribe is the leader of the Tumed tribe. Its sphere of influence extends from the left wing of Chahar to the area east of Qinghai. It is one of the most powerful forces in Mongolia.

The relationship between Zhu Shencui and the Tenger tribe was unknown to others, but Kang Youfu was the clearest. The two were almost one and the same, and even Tenger, the leader of the Tenger tribe, was actually Zhu Shencui's eldest son.

The Tumed were in the hands of Tana and Tenger and were no longer a threat to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, because of Tana and Tenger, Zhu Shenzui had to find ways to support their growth and thus help the Ming Dynasty stabilize the grassland tribes in the north and at the same time deter Huang Taiji in the east.

Therefore, it is imperative to reopen border trade and expand it on a large scale. This will not only bring huge benefits to both sides and promote the development of both Ming and Mongolia, but more importantly, the court can gain a lot of benefits through border trade.

You should know that during the Tianqi period, Hengtong alone assisted the court in opening border trade in Shanxi, which brought the court considerable income every year. Once a large-scale border trade is carried out, the amount of income will increase sharply, thus making up for the current financial shortfall.

However, this time Zhu Shenzui did not intend to have the benefit alone. He wanted to take this opportunity to win over the Shanxi merchants, especially the Zhang and Wang families, who were the strongest and most well-established among the Shanxi merchants.

The Zhang and Wang families were not only merchants, but also local prominent families. Their relationships in the court were also complicated, and their backgrounds were definitely not as simple as ordinary merchants. Apart from the Zhang and Wang families, there were also the Cao, Chang, Liu, Zhou, Hou, etc. These Shanxi merchants formed the entire Shanxi merchant group, and they were very important in the Shanxi business community and even the entire Ming Dynasty business community.

Zhu Shenzhui himself started his business by smuggling, so he knew better than anyone the huge profits of bilateral trade. In fact, for Shanxi merchants, if they could do business properly, who would be willing to take the risk of smuggling? Unfortunately, the imperial court did not allow border trade, so even if they wanted to do business properly, they could not do it, and could only smuggle secretly.

Moreover, the risk of smuggling is not small. Not only does one have to make arrangements with people at all levels, but one also has to bear the possibility of people and goods being robbed on the grassland. In addition, smuggling also has certain limits. Generally speaking, the scale and cycle are far less than normal border trade. Zhu Shenzhui is very clear about this.

The financial problems of the Ming Dynasty were very serious. If the Emperor Chongzhen continued to impose heavy taxes, the already shaky Ming Dynasty would soon collapse. By that time, it would be impossible to save the country. Therefore, Zhu Shenzhu had to solve this problem as soon as possible, and it was imperative to change the strategic goal of Liaodong, switch from offense to defense, and reduce the military expenditure in Liaodong.

In addition, the additional taxes imposed by Emperor Chongzhen, such as Liaoxiang, were cancelled, and local plunder was further reduced to reduce the pressure on the people so that they could survive. Only in this way, when the people have a bite to eat, will they not continue to rebel. After suppressing Gao Yingxiang and other rebel forces, the entire Ming Dynasty can rest and recuperate and gradually recover its vitality.

But doing so would inevitably cause a financial gap, so Zhu Shenzhui needed to make up for it from other places. Starting from Shanxi, Zhu Shenzhui's home base, directly opening up border trade between Shanxi and Mongolia was the best and fastest way.

Once border trade is liberalized, the taxation of border trade alone will generate huge revenue, not to mention other things, and this does not include the profits from goods trade. According to estimates, the direct and indirect profits generated by border trade each year are as high as millions, enough to make up for the shortfalls in other areas.

(End of this chapter)