Chapter 745 The Prime Minister’s Eight Hundred Stones of Pepper
On the afternoon of the day Qin Lang paid a private visit to Fang Xuanling, a quiet transaction was completed in front of a warehouse in Guangyuntan outside Chang'an City.
A Hu merchant delivered 800 shi of pepper in the warehouse to another Hu merchant.
Two bearded businessmen, with high noses and deep eyes, were both Sogdian beards from the Western Regions. One was surnamed Shi and the other was An.
A total of eight hundred shi peppers changed hands like this.
An Lushan checked the bank notes with a smile, one by one bank notes of the World Bank, each with a denomination of one thousand guan, stamped with more than 30 seals of various sizes, signatures, special paper seals, and various anti-counterfeiting marks , coupled with special tokens, etc., so that this batch of bank notes is guaranteed.
One hundred tickets, three hundred thousand guan.
After counting, An Lushan closed the box with a smile, "Happy cooperation, brother!"
Shi Jingzong smiled and hugged An Lushan, "Happy cooperation!"
The transaction was completed, and the two Sogdian Hu people did not make too much noise. An Lushan gave Shi Jingzong 800 stones of pepper and the entire warehouse.
Sit in a carriage and leave with 300,000 silver notes.
His son asked in puzzlement, "These 800 shi peppers are a rare commodity to live in, and 300,000 guan are sold to Shi Jingzong, which is too cheap for him!"
Nearly 100,000 catties of pepper, this pepper warehouse, is the largest pepper inventory in Guanlong, all of which were trafficked by sea, landed at Jiaozhou Taiping Port, passed Zhennan Pass by land, passed through Yongzhou, Guizhou, and then From Hunan to Han, and finally arrived at the capital, not long after arriving in the capital, he was sold to Shi Jingzong.
On average, three pens per catty, the price is indeed cheap enough.
Normally speaking, according to the previous distribution and sales method, so many peppers can be sold for at least another five to one hundred thousand dollars.
An Lushan just closed his eyes and smiled.
"We are just maids with keys, and we are not really in charge of the house. This pepper is not ours. Since the owner of the pepper says to sell it, we will sell it, and the price is also set by the above."
"Saburo is not the most popular and favored, why are you selling these peppers at a low price now?"
"Do you know who Shi Jingzong works for?"
"I know, Fan Yang and Lu's family."
"Wrong, it's Lu and Li's family, Fanyang's Lu's second house, Longxi's Li's aunt's house, and this Wubenfang Fang's." An Lushan is a wealthy businessman. But that is not his property, he just manages it on behalf of him. Four Seas Company has more than a dozen shareholders, and the largest shareholder is Wei Guogong Qin Lang.
And he was the big shopkeeper selected by the Duke of Wei.
As the shopkeeper, of course you have to listen to the boss.
Eight hundred thousand peppers that had just been shipped to Chang'an were sold to Shi Jingzong at a low price of 300,000 guan, which was naturally Sanlang's intention.
"Even if Saburo wants to give the 800 shi pepper to Shi Jingzong, we can't interfere."
"But why?" An Qingxiang was puzzled.
"Son, you are still young, don't just stare at the goods and money, you have to look up. Money and goods are just small ways, and the avenue is power. All goods have to be attached to power, without power, everything is just clouds, remember last time The guy whose house was ransacked? He had a family property of 600,000 yuan. He was in Chang'an City before. , this is just a fat pig, once he offends someone who shouldn't be offended, even the man above him won't dare to protect him."
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The fifth year of Zhenguan, winter.
Fang Xuanling, who had been dismissed for three months, was reinstated as prime minister. He still worshiped Shangshu Zuopushe, entered the crown prince and grand teacher, and entered Kaifu Yitong Sanshijie.
This is also the first time that the three high-ranking officials have been given the title of Tongpingzhangshi, which means that the authority of the Zhengshitang has risen again.
At the same time, the emperor further weakened the authority of Shangshu Province, and further raised the status of Zhongshu and the two provinces under his sect.
The three high-ranking officials used to be natural prime ministers, but now the left and right servants of the Shangshu province have to be added to the Zhongshumen Xia Pingzhangshi to enter the political affairs hall. superior.
Immediately afterwards, the right servant shot Gao Shilian.
Servant Wei Zheng, Zhongshu Ling Xiao Yu is still the prime minister of the Zhengshitang without adding a title. Among the emperor's edicts, Zhongshuling ranks first, servants rank second, and left and right servants rank third and fourth.
Fang Xuanling, who was reunited, did not expect that there would be such a big change in three months.
After the court meeting, they played against each other, and played against the emperor alone.
Fang Xuanling requested the establishment of port and municipal shipping departments in ten states including Dengzhou, Mizhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Mingzhou, Wenzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Qinzhou, Jiaozhou and Wu'an.
He requested to increase trade seaports along the coast, open thirty-six seaports, and put them under the jurisdiction of the above eleven city ship divisions.
The three major responsibilities of the Municipal Shipping Department are ship entry and exit management, issuing port entry permits to foreign ships, and issuing port exit permits to domestic ships.
The second is to manage the goods, send troops to monitor the ships entering and leaving the port, board the ships to inspect the goods, and collect taxes on imported goods. Important materials are bought by the imperial court, and export taxes are also levied on export merchant ships.
Third, sea defense is prohibited. Establish a naval division, prohibit the export of gold, silver, copper and iron, military books, agricultural books, etc., prohibit sea smuggling, and combat piracy.
Lao Fang’s suggestion is well-founded. According to his suggestion, the imperial court will receive more stable tax revenue. For important imports such as spices, when they enter Hong Kong, the imperial court first collects two out of ten to collect taxes, then buys them at the market price, and then sells them to merchants, directly increasing the price to make a lot of money.
In fact, it is earning twice.
Fang Xuanling also guarantees the royal family's original share of income, and all the fragrances of spices will be given priority to the royal palace, with a total share of 10%.
Thirty-six commercial ports will be opened, eleven city ship divisions will be established, and eleven naval battalions will also be established.
"Taiping Port also needs to set up a shipping department?" Li Shimin was a little puzzled, "Is Taiping Port the resident county of Wu'an Prefecture, Qinlang fiefdom?"
"Sage, Taiping Port has developed rapidly in recent years, and now it has become an important port in Annan. It has the largest carboniferous mine in the entire southeast coast. In addition, Taiping Port now has an important shipyard. In addition, it is also the largest sugar center in the country."
"Is it very big?" Li Shimin always felt that it was a bit strange that Taiping Port would set up a shipping department together with Jiaoguang and other ports. Isn't Jiaozhou right next to it, so it is necessary to set up another one?
"Your Majesty, last year alone, the Taiping Port Shipyard delivered more than 60 ships, all of which are sea-going ships. There are now several shipyards in Taiping Port, and they are still increasing this year. Around the shipyard, there are still many supporting facilities there. Industries such as ship cables, sails, planks, masts, anchors, etc., from logging to plate making, to keel, anchors, and construction, Taiping Port has a complete shipbuilding industry, and their ships are exquisitely designed. With excellent performance, it is the most popular ship type for maritime merchants today, known as Fuchuan, it can sail in the ocean, and can even sail directly to the Persian Gulf!"
Maritime trade is naturally inseparable from high-quality sea-going ships, and the ships from the Taiping Port Shipyard have many advanced technologies.
They are the first to use docks to build ships, using nail-and-tenon joint technology, watertight cabin technology, and splicing keel technology. Make the model of the ship for the customer to choose to modify, and then draw the ship's drawing and construct according to the drawing.
Even because the supporting related industrial chain is complete, after receiving the order and starting construction, subcontracting various component materials can build a new ship at the fastest speed.
The nautical compass they made greatly facilitated sea navigation, and they could sail deep sea instead of just along the coast. The new sailing technology can even achieve wind from all directions. As long as there is wind, even headwinds can run faster than tailwinds, and it is no longer necessary to completely rely on trade winds to set sail.
It is these new technologies and shipbuilding efficiency that keep the orders from Taiping Port Shipyard. They specialize in building ocean-going ships and are now the first in this field.
Although only more than 60 ships were built last year, these 60 large ships are equivalent to hundreds of old ships in other shipyards.
Not to mention, the Qin family has mastered the processing and refining technology of white sugar and rock sugar. Now Taiping Port in Wu'an Prefecture has become a sugar center and sales center for white sugar. Raw sugar from all over the country is transported to Taiping Port, where it is processed and refined before being distributed to other places. .
The nearby carboniferous mine is the one with the highest proven reserves in the entire Tang Dynasty and the largest mining volume. Tens of thousands of slaves are working there day and night. Countless charcoal boats come to transport charcoal, and many boats will arrive first. The supply and reorganization of Taiping Port has brought more excitement to Taiping Port.
It is backed by a huge coal mine and has cheap coal, so now Taiping Port is also developing iron smelting, introducing many iron factories, and making iron pots and other exports.
This is still a very lively slave trading port.
In short, Taiping Port was still a little-known fishing village a few years ago, but it has changed with each passing day. The key is that Qin Lang is willing to invest money and has a good long-term plan.
This is missing elsewhere.
Before that, Taiping Port was still an important spice port.
If it weren't for the fact that Jiaozhou is a traditional big port, Fang Xuanling even thought that Annan's shipping department could be directly located in Taiping Port, and Jiaozhou would not need to be established again.
In response to the recent impeachment of foreign trade by many officials, which has caused a large number of fields to be planted with cash crops, and a large number of people to work in workshops, etc., Lao Fang also proposed his own solution.
"The Ministry of Households delimits the basic grain fields according to the original number of cultivated land in each county, and orders local officials to guarantee the number of basic grain fields to ensure food security. In addition to the basic farmland, economic crops such as sugar cane, cotton, mulberry, and hemp can be developed. This will not only help to increase the income of the people, but also avoid food hazards.”
Laofang’s approach is specific to each landowner, only a certain amount of land can be planted with cash crops, and a certain base of farmland must be guaranteed to grow staple food, under the supervision of state and county officials.
As for the development of handicraft workshops, which led to a large number of young and middle-aged laborers leaving the fields, Lao Fang felt that there was no need to panic. Nowadays, the population of the Tang Dynasty is still sufficient. As long as the number of basic grain fields can be guaranteed and the fields are not barren, it is not a disadvantage to properly develop the handicraft industry and develop the commodity economy.
Current agricultural taxation is actually far inferior to industrial and commercial taxation. As long as the basic grain output is guaranteed, there is no need to worry about other things.
Li Shimin originally thought that Qin Lang would come to tell him these words, but unexpectedly it was Fang Xuanling.
But after carefully reading his strategy, he has to say that it not only guarantees the interests of the imperial court, but also takes care of those who are dissatisfied. Those who belong to wealthy families will aggravate these people's plundering and possession of wealth, but it does take care of the interests of all parties and can calm their current dissatisfaction.
It's just that Qin Lang didn't say anything, which made the emperor less chance to take the opportunity to beat him.
"Fang Xiang went back to draw up a specific proposal to attract incense merchants, and I will give it to me, and I will think about it again!"
(end of this chapter)