The Ming Dynasty: A Modern Return, Building an Overseas Empire

Chapter 120 Business Begins, Slaves Join the Army

Five days passed slowly, and although Hanjing's commerce was not yet fully open, the two ports outside Hanjing were already full of ships.

Outside the port, many more ships were waiting to pass through.

In the other cities, numerous ships were moored outside the ports they had built, all preparing to come and do business.

Inside the capital of Han, many people from surrounding countries and numerous small nations in Southeast Asia had already entered the city, curiously watching the rising nation.

As the day before the full opening of trade approached, most shops on the street began to display their goods and prepare for business.

The many specially constructed buildings were where officials and merchants of Hanjing displayed their goods.

Everyone is waiting for tomorrow to arrive.

Inside the palace, Zhu Gaoxu was making final preparations with Zhu Huan, Mei Qing, and others.

"Your Highness, all the staff of the Commerce Department are in place, and we will surely be able to maintain a good market tomorrow."

In addition, up to an hour ago, multiple orders had been received, mainly for snow salt, white sugar, tea, porcelain, and textiles.

When I sent invitations to various countries, I specifically stated that initial trade would primarily consist of grain, with gold, silver, and copper as secondary commodities.

辅。

The merchant ships that have arrived are almost all carrying grain. Once all of it is traded, it will greatly alleviate the current food shortage problem.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded in satisfaction as he listened to Mei Qing's words.

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to focus on trading primarily in grain in the early stages.

The food shortage here is too great.

Even if you get money, you still have to use it to buy grain. It would be better to set a price for grain and use grain instead of silver for transactions, which would save you the time and cost of making a round trip.

With the silver mine as a foundation, he will not lack money in the future.

The grain we have now is not only needed by the royal court, but also by the common people.

This also resulted in grain prices here being higher than those within the Ming Dynasty.

The merchants from outside all brought their own grain to come here.

Using grain to pay money is essentially the same as selling grain to Zhu Gaochi and then using the money to buy goods to take back or to other places to sell, making a profit from the price difference.

Not only grains, but also spices and other items are now high-priced and best-selling products in Zhu Gaochi's possession.

Zhu Gaoxu's goods, which were almost all bestsellers, were also quite expensive, thus offsetting the low prices.

As soon as Mei Qing finished speaking, Zhu Huan's voice followed.

"Your Highness, those officials willing to engage in commerce have been obtained from the Commerce Department. The allocation of land to those who engage in commerce has been reduced, and no one has raised any objections."

It has been widely publicized that those engaged in business are ineligible for educational support policies, and everyone is aware of this.

The support for schooling policies included tuition subsidies, which were the same percentages previously set by Zhu Gaoxu.

The reduction in farmland was also because sufficient economic resources had been obtained through commerce, and farmland needed to be abandoned.

We can't let everyone have all the good things; otherwise, everyone would want to go into business.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

As for further restrictions, Zhu Gaoxu has not yet introduced any.

Now is the time to stimulate the commercial economy and show people the benefits. Once the commercial economy stabilizes, the government, controlled by him and Wei Wanrong, will take the lead and be able to influence the market, which will allow for further improvements to policies.

Now, Zhu Gaoxu is encouraging business more.

Unfortunately, most people still prefer farming and cultivating the land, as that feels more fulfilling.

Doing business requires much more, the most important of all being money.

Even though Zhu Gaochi issued special support policies, allowing merchants who lacked funds to borrow from the Commercial Bureau at very low annual interest rates, the number of people willing to do so remained small.

The risks involved are considerable.

To prevent bad debts, Zhu Gaoxu specifically stipulated punishments.

Those with serious offenses will be stripped of their social status and reduced to slavery.

This was originally Zhu Gaochi's attempt to test the waters of finance in advance, while indirectly supporting the commercial economy, but unfortunately, he encountered setbacks.

It's not so much that we hit a wall, but rather that the progress wasn't as good as we had imagined.

The people's conservatism far exceeded his expectations.

After listening to their conversation, Zhu Gaoxu slowly spoke.

"These are well done. During this period, we need to pay close attention and deal with any situation immediately without delay."

A suitable business environment needs to be created so that people from outside will continue to come and do business.

At the same time, we must also pay attention to people from the Ming Dynasty and trade directly with people from those small countries.

We must crack down on this severely, and once discovered, it must be dealt with seriously.

Don't worry about the Ming Dynasty. I'll handle things there myself. Just focus on taking care of your own affairs.

Zhu Gaochi looked solemn. He knew all too well that the officials and gentry along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, especially the merchants, had long coveted the overseas markets of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty only allowed official trade, but prohibited private overseas trade.

But now, because the Ming Dynasty has opened up trade routes with him, Zhu Gaoxu dares to say that someone will definitely try to cause trouble in secret.

The overseas markets all belong to him, and he doesn't want these people getting involved.

Especially since they wanted him dead on one hand, and were also trying to steal his business on the other, plus the overlap in their products, and the absence of those tariffs...

Transaction taxes, etc., what will he do if his business is hijacked?

It's best not to let him find out, otherwise he'll settle old scores and make things difficult for these people.

Zhu Huan and Mei Qing were taken aback, with Mei Qing looking particularly eager to try.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will certainly do my best! Furthermore, I request that Your Highness arrange for the navy to cooperate; I need their assistance!"

"Okay, I'll grant your wish."

Zhu Gaoxu split up the original navy. The current navy's main purpose is to patrol and maintain order in the surrounding waters, as well as to crack down on small-scale pirates, much like the yamen runners in a city.

The navy, on the other hand, conducts naval operations and prepares solely for war.

After saying that, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Huan and said, "Have everyone increase production capacity. This period will be the peak season, so ensure a sufficient supply of goods."

Zhu Gaoxu kept giving instructions, and the group discussed for a long time before they all left.

A day passed quickly, and on the second day, Hanjing City finally resembled a major city in the Ming Dynasty, with shops and stalls appearing and the vibrant atmosphere of daily life blossoming in Hanjing.

Foreign merchants, carrying grain and money, kept emptying out the shops.

These people have wanted Ming Dynasty goods for quite some time now.

Because the Ming Dynasty implemented a system of official-merchant trade, the amount of each business transaction was limited, as it required prior reporting to the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, the price is not particularly advantageous. Although it is possible to make a profit by selling in the Ming Dynasty or buying within the Ming Dynasty, the profit range is limited.

Especially in official-merchant trade, many people simply did not have the qualifications to go to the Ming Dynasty to do business.

Today, this place has become a gathering place for everyone because of the production of many handicrafts, which has formed a production system mainly based on improved techniques. The prices are lower than in the Ming Dynasty, and there are no restrictions on exchanges between officials, merchants and ordinary people.

Basically, any product from here will be profitable if you take it out.

The fact that the grain they brought could be sold at a high price was what excited everyone the most.

In the Ming Dynasty, they wouldn't buy grain from them like that.

The most unexpected thing was the price of spices.

Here, almost no ordinary people could buy them; they were mainly purchased through official channels established by Zhu Gaochi, but the quantity was limited.

As a result, the price of spices not only did not increase, but actually decreased.

Even if someone from the Ming Dynasty wanted to buy it, they couldn't complete the transaction.

Here, unless one registers a business in Zhu Gaoxu's fiefdom, chooses to operate locally, and pays taxes here, one can sell goods to outsiders.

Zhu Gaochi set a trap here by not specifying that people of the Ming Dynasty could only be bought and sold through him.

This was specifically stipulated.

The people of the Ming Dynasty who want to do business here either need to migrate.

Alternatively, one could join the officials and merchants of the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Revenue.

This is why even if people from overseas operate here, they cannot engage in direct trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Unless it is done jointly under the supervision of his business department, which would require the payment of certain taxes.

Zhu Gaoxu left the palace, intending to go out and see the streets for himself.

As soon as they left the palace, all the people greeted them excitedly, attracting the attention and attention of the merchants who came to do business.

The streets were immediately blocked.

Helpless, Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to return to the palace.

"Your Highness, it seems that the people in the city all know you now. This is a good thing, as it shows that Your Highness is deeply loved by the people."

Zhu Gaoxu glared at Zhu Huan as he listened to his flattery.

Zhu Gaoxu is feeling a bit numb now. Indeed, being too familiar is really not a good thing.

Now, if he wants to go out, the people will flock to him instantly if he is discovered.

He wanted to wander around by himself, and occasionally come out to take a look, but this became a problem for him.

He had barely left the palace when, I'm afraid, everyone would know about it soon after.

The key issue was that once he got to the street, everyone knew him, and they all bowed and were excited, making it impossible for him to do anything else.

He acknowledged that he had won the hearts of the people, but this brought him both pride and pain.

When Zhu Gaochi returned to the palace, he made up his mind that the next time he came out, he would have to change his attitude completely, otherwise he really wouldn't be able to get out.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the business had begun to get on track. Zhu Gaoxu's focus also began to shift.

On this day, Zhu Gaoxu summoned Zhu Huan and Jin Rong.

"Nowadays, there is no need to worry too much about business. I have called you here today to enlist you in the army."

Zhu Huan, prepare the necessary money, food, and supplies, and hand over the military equipment to Jin Rong.

Jin Rong, after you go down, begin selecting from the middle and rarest high-ranking slaves to form an army of 20,000 slaves.

You are in charge of training and developing this army; you must get them into combat capability as quickly as possible.

With the opening of commerce, the shortage of food has been alleviated to some extent through trade, and silver is also increasing. If we continue to buy from the Ming Dynasty, most of the difficulties here will be resolved.

With development stabilizing and other matters no longer a concern, he could begin full-scale preparations for further expansion.

Before returning to the Ming Dynasty, we must lay the foundation for further expanding our territory.