In order to avoid long nights and many dreams, Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo sorted out the yellow book of fish scales and the "rectangular objects" used as tribute almost overnight, and set out as soon as it got dark.

But compared to Luo Fangbo's excitement, Jiang Wubo was a little worried: "Chief Commander, do you think the Ming Emperor can appreciate the little things we offer as tribute?"

"Wax cloth, this thing is pretty good for fooling those European barbarians. Isn't the silk produced in our Central Plains Tangkou thousands of times better than this thing?"

"There are also silverware, wood carvings, spices, these things, can the Ming Emperor like them?"

After taking inventory back and forth, Uncle Jiang Wu became even more worried: "Now it seems that only these ginseng, wings, and bird's nests can be managed."

Luo Fangbo smiled and shook his head and said: "As the saying goes, sending goose feathers thousands of miles away is a light gift but a heavy affection. The reason why square things are square things is not because of how valuable they are, but because of the intention."

"For example, these ginseng, wings, bird's nests and the like may seem like good things to others, but for the emperor who is rich all over the world, no matter how good the ginseng and wings are, they are just something for mouthwash, and they may not be as good as

A fun and interesting wood carving.”

Only then did Jiang Wubo feel relieved.

But within three minutes of the silence, Jiang Wubo began to worry about another problem: "What if the officials sent by the Ming Dynasty are bent on making money and don't care about our life or death... As the old saying goes, robbers are like combs, and soldiers are like combs."

…”

The envoy sent by Luo Fangbo to the Ming Dynasty laughed and said: "The deputy chief is overly worried."

"The Ming Dynasty paid extremely high salaries to officials, and dealt with corruption very strictly. Those with more than sixty taels of silver were often skinned and eaten, or three tribes were implicated. Those with less than sixty taels of silver, even if they only had one penny.

The whole family will be exiled for three thousand miles."

"The Laws of the Ming Dynasty stipulates that if an official commits corruption and harms the people, the local people can directly tie up the official and go to Beijing to file a complaint. The Jin Yiwei and the Tiandihui will be responsible for escorting the officials, and the yamen are not allowed to stop them."

"And what you just said about soldiers crossing like grates... When I was in Jinan Prefecture, I saw many military masters walking through the streets, but the people of the Ming Dynasty were not afraid of them. From this, it can be seen that the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty should follow

The officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were different."

Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo looked at each other, but neither of them spoke.

If you embezzle sixty taels of silver, you will be skinned and eaten? Are the people allowed to tie up officials and go to Beijing to complain?

The legal provisions are quite good, but there were also such provisions during the Hongwu period. What was the final outcome?

The officials of the Ming Dynasty were still as greedy as they should be, and the people still had no way to appeal. Even Emperor Hongwu was hacked and outed!

As for the people not being afraid of officers and soldiers...

Are you so sure that the officers, soldiers and people you see are real people and officers and soldiers, not what the Ming court wants you to see?

For a moment, the cabin fell silent again.

It wasn't until they sailed all the way to Camlan Port that Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo realized that the world had changed——

Outside Cam Ranh Port, merchant ships one after another were queuing up to pass through the customs. Whether they were flying the French flag or the English flag, including those flying the flag of the Dutch East India Company, they were all queuing up obediently.

.

Crush the card? Break through the levels?

In Lanfang Port, this kind of thing happens almost every day. Even when the Qing Dynasty is not cool, these European barbarian merchant ships will never be so honest.

Luo Fangbo stood on the bow of the ship, watching the merchant ships queuing up one after another in the distance to pass the customs. He couldn't help but marveled: "It seems that the Ming Dynasty is different from the Qing Dynasty."

Uncle Jiang Wu also nodded and said: "I didn't expect that these barbarians could be so honest sometimes."

In front of the Lanfang fleet was a merchant ship flying the flag of the East India Company. Through the telescope, it was obvious that those Dutch barbarians who were arrogant and domineering at sea were facing the Ming Dynasty tax collectors who boarded the ship for inspection.

Everyone was respectful and showed no signs of their usual arrogance.

When it was Lan Fang's fleet's turn to pass the customs, Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo felt as if they were in another world.

Whether they went to sea in Guangdong before or returned to Guangdong later, the officials of the Qing Dynasty's maritime affairs always lowered their heads to the foreigners and looked at their own people through their nostrils, especially towards "abandoned overseas citizens" like Luo Fangbo.

”, then the attitude is even worse.

As for the tax collectors and royal guardsmen who boarded the ship for inspection in the Ming Dynasty, although their faces were expressionless when they first boarded the ship, they looked completely businesslike, but after discovering that the entire fleet had the faces of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

After that, a smile appeared on the tax collector's face.

"Going to sea to make money?"

"How's it going? Did you encounter any trouble at sea?"

"Is there enough water and food? Do you want to replenish it at Cam Ranh Port?"

Almost just like this, we completed the entire process of entry, registration, inspection, supply, and release.

Jiang Wubo couldn't help but sigh: "For the first time, for the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to stand up straight and be a human being."

Luo Fangbo looked at the flag on the mast thoughtfully and said: "If one day, we can fly the flag of the Ming Dynasty on the ship in an upright manner, but I don't know what it will look like?"

…

When Luo Fangbo and Jiang Wubo came to the Ming Dynasty by boat, Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, and Liu Huaiwen, the Ming Dynasty Minister of Household Affairs and the head of the treasury, were staring at each other.

As we all know, He Shen and Zhongtang were actually the most capable ministers of the Qing Dynasty. The houses, fields, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, shops, gold, silver, jewelry and other things they had acquired over the years totaled up to an estimated eighty million taels of silver.

If converted into Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, that would be eight billion dragon yuan.

With Qian Deafangou, Heshen and Zhongtang being arrested, this wealth worth 80,000 taels of silver naturally fell into Zhu Jinsong's hands.

After getting such a windfall, Zhu Jinsong was so excited that he wanted to sing - I made money and I didn't even know how to spend it. I took a Nokia in my left hand and a Motorola in my right hand...

The key is that before Zhu Jinsong could be happy for two days, Liu Huaiwen came to the door after receiving the news.

Liu Huaiwen felt that this money should belong to the Ming Dynasty's treasury. After all, it was all people's wealth, and the Ming Dynasty's finances had always been very tight. With these 80,000 taels of silver, the Ming Dynasty's finances could be relaxed and the progress of many projects could be further improved.

Speed ​​up some.

For example, social studies, railways, highways, river and bridge projects in various places, and the Fifth Army Governor's Office has been clamoring for military expansion.

Besides, why do you, the Ming Dynasty Emperor, need so much money? You don’t build a garden, raise a wife, or go to the south of the Yangtze River. How can you still let it give birth to cubs if you put these 80,000 taels of silver in your hand?

But it's different if you put it in the treasury. These eighty million taels of silver can really give birth to babies. Maybe they will give you an army of hundreds of thousands in your lifetime and let you take it out to cause trouble.

In short, there are two words: make money.

The problem is that Zhu Jinsong is reluctant to part with these eighty million taels of silver.

Although Zhu Jinsong doesn't like to garden or raise a young wife, Zhu Jinsong still has an imperial academy that can be called a gold-swallowing beast.

Let's put it this way, the national treasury allocates 100 million dragon yuan to the Royal Academy every year, which is equivalent to about 10 million taels of silver, and Zhu Jinsong, the Ming emperor, also subsidizes another 30 million dragon yuan, which is about three million.

two.

Thirteen million taels of silver, if you throw it into water, you can at least make a sound, right?

Throw it into the Royal Academy, not only can't you hear a sound, it doesn't even burn enough!

Eighty million taels of silver seems like a lot, but if the Royal Academy opens up the burning, it will probably be completely burned in three or two years, leaving nothing left.

Therefore, Zhu Jinsong did not want to hand over the 80,000 taels of silver to Liu Huaiwen. Instead, he wanted to use the 80,000 taels of silver to make money.

For example, rebuild the Western Fleet, purchase 5 million taels of silver goods in Ming Dynasty, and go to Europe to exchange for 10 million taels of silver.

The current situation is that the national treasury wants the money, but Zhu Jinsong does not want to give the money to the treasury.

Therefore, Liu Huaiwen blocked Zhu Jinsong in the temporary palace: "Your Majesty, I won't tell you how empty the treasury is. Anyway, you know it in your heart, but the treasury really needs this money!"

Liu Huaiwen wiped away tears: "At Huimin Pharmacy, the national treasury spent 3.53 million taels and 7.6 cents last year, and this year it is expected to increase to more than 5 million taels. Over at Salesian Bureau,

The national treasury's expenditure last year was more than 10 million taels, and this year it is expected to be no better. There are also almshouses, these are giant gold-eating beasts."

"There is also the Royal Academy. The state treasury allocated 10 million taels to the Royal Academy last year, but it took more than half a year to spend all of it. This year it is estimated that 18 million taels will be allocated."

"There is also the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. The 10 million taels of military expenses allocated last year were not left at the end of the year. Not to mention, another three million taels were temporarily allocated because of the Shenyang incident. This year, the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion

The army needs to be expanded over there, and the military expenditures required will be even greater."

"Oh, by the way, there are also river bridges and social engineering projects in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. Last year, the expenditure was more than 30 million taels. This year, if there is not 50 million taels, it will definitely be unstoppable."

"Without these eighty million taels of silver, the treasury would really starve to death!"

Liu Huaiwen was so miserable that even Zhu Jinsong couldn't stand listening to it - if you put less gold and silver in the treasury and put two more kilograms of grain in the treasury, the mouse would not starve to death!

Besides, Zhu Jinsong didn't believe a word of the figures reported by Liu Huaiwen.

All numbers are subtracted in half to approximate the actual numbers.

Because the fiscal revenue of Ming Dynasty last year was only about 30 million taels.

As for infrastructure projects such as river bridges and social studies, although Liu Huaiwen said that money is flowing like water, in fact, it really does not cost much, because building materials such as cement, steel, and wood are basically

They are all provided by workshops or companies controlled by the imperial court at affordable prices.

Therefore, you must listen dialectically to the figures Liu Huaiwen talks about about money.

If he says how much money the national treasury has in balance, then the real balance is probably about three to five times the number he said. If he says how much money the treasury has spent, even if it is halved, it is still small, and there is no benefit in removing a zero.

Strange.

After the two of them continued to stare at each other for a long time, Liu Huaiwen said tentatively: "How about 28?"

Zhu Jinsong shook his head and said: "At least three-seven, I'm seven, and the treasury is three."

Liu Huaiwen immediately became angry: "Your Majesty, let me tell you, my youngest daughter is seventeen years old this year and will leave the cabinet next year."

Zhu Jinsong was unmoved: "Go and tell Erdan this. Do you think he will abduct the little girl?"

After some calculation, Liu Huaiwen shouted: "Four six! Six from the treasury, four from the emperor!"

Zhu Jinsong also made some calculations, and then said decisively: "50-50! If you agree, I will tell you where there is a silver mine - not the Iwami Silver Mountain in Japan, nor the one in Myanmar, but

A silver mine overseas.”

"By the way, there are several gold mines, one in Daming and several others overseas."

"Forty million taels of silver, if you replace it with a few gold and silver mines, your treasury will definitely not suffer a loss!"
Chapter completed!