The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 618 Who Rules Maritime Trade
Time flies, and more than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The naval officers and soldiers, carrying Desila, traveled day and night, hurrying as fast as they could, and finally returned from Goa.

At this time, the weather in the capital was getting a bit hot.

When Desila and Huang Cheng arrived at the palace, it was still noon.

Both of them were sweating profusely from the scorching sun.

However, when they entered the corridor of the Qianqing Palace, they immediately felt a chill, and when they arrived at the luxurious hall, they felt a bit cold.

At this moment, Xiao Zhu Changxun and Song Yingxing were taking their lunch break. Li Yuansheng, who had come from Liaodong, accompanied Wanli to receive them.

After bowing and making a gesture of respect like Huang Cheng did, Deshera greeted him warmly, saying, "Kapitan, it's been a long time."

It's obvious that this guy is in a pretty good mood.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuansheng felt extremely embarrassed.

Why are you greeting me in front of His Majesty?

Besides, I was a pirate leader in Southeast Asia, but in the Ming Dynasty I was a naval commander. Why are you calling me Kapitan in front of His Majesty?

When Wanli saw this, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Deshera didn't understand the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, so he didn't need to care about such things.

He gestured for everyone to sit down before asking, "Yuansheng, are you all very familiar with each other?"

I don't know this guy well.

Li Yuansheng carefully explained, "Your Majesty, I have bought some firearms from them before."

Oh, that was back when you were a pirate.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Deshera, what did your governor say?"

Of course, I agree.

If we disagree, you'll send troops to attack us.

We simply cannot withstand the strength of your Great Ming Dynasty.

The key is that once the fighting starts, this incredible opportunity will be out of our reach.

I explained it to our Governor and he agreed.

De Shera said with some excitement, "Our Governor has agreed to exchange Malacca for the right to trade with the Ming Dynasty. He also wants the Ming Dynasty to send a batch of goods over as soon as possible. Here is the list."

Is this guy really that agreeable?
Emperor Wanli ordered a eunuch to bring up the list, and upon looking at it, a hint of doubt appeared on his face.

The Portuguese didn't want anything special; they just wanted common goods like cloth, silk, tea, porcelain, and spices.

The total price of these goods was not high, roughly five or six million taels, which was a small business for Wanshengtang at present.

He thought for a moment, then handed the list back to Li Yuansheng before asking, "Is your governor in a hurry for this shipment?"

Descartes nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, our Governor said the sooner the better."

What is going on here?
After thinking for a moment, Wanli simply asked, "Why?"

The reason he asked this question was because later generations summarized that the best thing to say when talking to these colonial robbers was to be direct and not beat around the bush.

As expected, Descartes didn't find it strange at all.

The man then explained in detail: "Our Governor said that the Dutch and the British seem to have formed some kind of East India Company, preparing to steal our business."

Moreover, the Dutch and British have come to the Far East, and their merchant ships have started doing business here. It seems they can import a lot of goods from Southeast Asia, making our business a bit difficult.”

Oh, so it turns out the Dutch and British are starting to steal our business.

History seems to have changed now.

It seems the Dutch won't establish a foothold in Southeast Asia for another year or two.

It seems that the British during this period of history were specifically preparing for the colonization of the Mughal Empire, and did not actually come to Southeast Asia.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Yuansheng, are there many Ming merchants doing business in Southeast Asia right now?"

Uh, this seems a bit prohibited.

Li Yuansheng thought for a moment, then cautiously replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, because there is no longer a sea ban, ships are easier to buy, so there are more merchants going to Southeast Asia to do business."

However, the giant sailing ships with a capacity of over 1,000 li were not available for purchase at the moment; they were mostly buying centipede-sized ships with a capacity of 800 li.

They usually sourced their goods in the Zhejiang-Zhili area, then traveled south along the coast from Fujian and Guangdong, passing through Annam and entering Southeast Asia.

This route is a bit longer, but it's quite safe; even a small, 800-ton centipede can manage it. If there are big storms or waves, just bring it ashore and you'll be fine.

Oh, I see.

It turned out that many merchants were transporting goods to Southeast Asia, which attracted a large influx of colonial bandits.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "You mean they didn't buy the Maritime Trade Office's certificate, right?"

How do you say this?

Li Yuansheng thought about it carefully before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I actually already knew that quite a few of us went to work on ships."

However, seeing that it wasn't easy for them to do their little business, I didn't report it.

In my humble opinion, the Maritime Trade Office's valuation is indeed a bit too expensive, tens of thousands of taels of silver per ship. Only large sailing ships of over a thousand taels can make a profit.

Their journey to Southeast Asia by boat was arduous, requiring the hiring of many people, taking a long time, and carrying large quantities of food and fresh water.

That means they can't carry much cargo. At best, a ship can earn a few thousand taels a year; they simply can't afford the official Maritime Trade Office's fees.

People from your area like to travel.

Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly and sighed, "Yuansheng, I do not object to private merchants going to Southeast Asia to do business."

You should have told me about this earlier. The cost of the Maritime Trade Office's assessment is too high, but we can change it. We can determine the assessment based on the cargo volume and the number of trips.

However, it's not allowed for merchants to smuggle goods on their own, as this would disrupt maritime trade, you know?
The Netherlands and Britain have already heard about this and are coming to buy from these merchants. They're sure to get their goods cheaper than Wanshengtang's.

If there are more and more of these merchants, Wanshengtang's business will become increasingly difficult, and Ming Dynasty goods will become increasingly worthless, you know that?

Alas, a profit of several thousand taels a year is indeed quite high for an ordinary merchant.

As time goes on, there will indeed be more and more vendors doing this kind of business.

Li Yuansheng quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This humble general acted out of personal motives and perverted the law for personal gain. Please punish me, Your Majesty." You haven't even perverted the law for personal gain?

Emperor Wanli raised his hand and said, "Sit down. I am not here to punish you; I am simply stating the facts."

This maritime trade must be led by us. We can't let those colonial robbers take advantage of the situation, you understand?

Li Yuansheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, this humble general understands."

After saying that, he carefully sat down.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Huang Cheng, this time the naval fast ships just followed the coast all the way to Goa, right?"

Uh, why is Your Majesty asking me directly?
Huang Cheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the shipping lanes along the coast are much easier to navigate than before."

It seems that the countries of Southeast Asia have all built ports and wharves along the coast, making it very convenient to replenish food and fresh water.

The naval fast ships didn't bring much fresh water when they returned, because they could find a port to dock at almost every day to replenish their supplies.

If this continues, things will get really bad. Once there are more supply points along the way, we won't need to carry food and fresh water by boat. The 800-ton centipede boat can carry almost as much cargo as the 1,000-ton Fujian boat.

He has to find a way to rectify the situation, otherwise maritime trade will really be in chaos.

Emperor Wanli glanced at Li Yuansheng, then frowned and fell into deep thought.

Li Yuansheng was so frightened that he immediately bowed his head and confessed his guilt.

De Shera was stunned.

Weren't we discussing business between the Ming Dynasty and them? Why is the Ming emperor suddenly ignoring him?
He couldn't help but look at Huang Cheng.

Huang Cheng shook his head solemnly, signaling him not to speak.

Emperor Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then suddenly announced in a loud voice: "Summon Li Hualong, Minister of Revenue."

He then fell into deep thought.

After a long while, Li Hualong finally arrived quickly.

Seeing this, Wanli raised his hand to gesture for him to sit down, and then turned back and said, "Uncle, you sit down too."

Li Xuancheng was a little stunned when he heard this.

Why did he sit down?

Wanli thought about it carefully again before solemnly saying, "Yu Ye, the Ministry of Revenue and the inner court must work together to establish Maritime Trade Offices in the main ports of all the prefectures along the southeast coast."

From then on, the Maritime Trade Office would be jointly managed by the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Court. The Ministry of Revenue would be responsible for collecting merchant taxes and issuing permits, while the Inner Court would be responsible for cooperating with the naval patrols.

My only requirement is that all goods shipped from the Ming Dynasty must go through the Maritime Trade Office, pay commercial taxes, and be sold to foreign countries at prices set by the court.

As for the specifics of how to implement it, the three of you should discuss it carefully. Yu Ye, you are in charge of this matter, and you are also responsible for drafting the new regulations for the Maritime Trade Office. Once the regulations are finalized, show them to me.

what?
All the major ports of the prefectures along the southeast coast must establish maritime trade offices!
How many maritime trade offices would we need to build?

Upon hearing this, Li Hualong thought for a moment and then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that this may take some time."

You have plenty of time.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "It's alright, there's no rush. As long as you're ready this year, we can start implementing it next year."

Oh, there's still more than half a year to go.

That's no problem.

Li Hualong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly and then said to Li Yuansheng, "Yuansheng, you will be in charge of the patrols from now on."

We need to check not only the ports and wharves of the prefectures along the southeast coast, but also the ports and wharves of the countries in Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, after recovering Luzon, we blocked the Strait of Malacca, so that no merchant ships of any colonial powers would be allowed to enter Southeast Asia.

This maritime trade must be led by the Ming Dynasty; they can forget about buying Ming goods privately anymore.

My goodness, all the way from the southeast coast all the way to Malacca!
You're asking me to be in charge of patrolling such a vast sea area?

Upon hearing this, Li Yuansheng nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly, then solemnly said, "Uncle, select a group of literate eunuchs to accompany the naval ships to investigate the divination and cargo."

Oh, so you just want me to send someone to keep an eye on things.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

De Shera was completely dumbfounded.

He had no idea why the Ming emperor suddenly stopped talking to him.

Fortunately, he knew he would have to talk to the Ming emperor, so he spent the whole journey frantically learning the official language of the Ming dynasty.

He understood almost everything the Ming emperor said, and he even got a little excited when he heard the last sentence.

They're going to make a fortune now! The Dutch and British can't get into Southeast Asia anymore, and the Spanish are going to be driven away. They'll be the only ones able to get goods from the Ming Dynasty.

He was secretly thrilled.

Wanli suddenly turned his head and asked, "Can we send someone to take over Malacca at any time?"

Oh, they finally talked to me again.

Desila nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, you can send someone to take over at any time."

Wanli nodded slightly, then carefully instructed, "Yuansheng, you are in charge of arranging this matter. Send a thousand naval centipede ships and fifty thousand naval soldiers to take over Malacca."

Also, please prepare this shipment as soon as possible and send it over together.

Li Yuansheng nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli then turned to ask, "When will you pay for this shipment?"

Without hesitation, Descartes replied, "Our Governor said that payment is due upon delivery, so you can bring the gold and silver back directly."

That's good.

I'm giving you this opportunity to become agents; it's up to you whether you can seize it.

(End of this chapter)