Chapter 1881 Renzijuan expands the land to the east and gradually gets better

 After carefully discussing the situation in Jiangnan with Gu Dengfeng, Feng Ziying became more and more hopeful about the future.

 The industrial and commercial power in Jiangnan is still expanding, especially the strategy of opening up the sea that he proposed has a great impact on the coastal areas of Jiangnan.

On the one hand, it has contributed to the integration and expansion of the maritime merchant group, and boldly moved to Nanyang, Ryukyu, Japan, and even Korea. Now it even competes with the Hongmao Fan, which also shows that the strength of this group has grown astonishingly.

On the other hand, domestic trade merchants also benefit from overseas trade. Goods from Nanyang, Japan, Ryukyu and even Western Yi are also continuously entering the interior of the Great Zhou Dynasty, although the total trade volume is far less than that of the outside of the Great Zhou Dynasty. There are so many major categories of materials exported, such as tea, silk, porcelain, medicinal materials, iron materials, ironware, salt, paper, ink, and books. However, the goods imported from places like Nanyang, Western Yi, and Japan are rich in variety, and the demand for some goods is huge. Also increasing rapidly, such as spices.

The spices of this era can be generally divided into two categories. One category is the spices most demanded by Europeans for use in food, such as pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, etc., and the other category is the spices most popular among the Han people of the Zhou Dynasty. Spices used in daily life, such as frankincense, ambergris, dipterocarp, agarwood, sandalwood, and styrax.

These two types of spices are actually completely different goods. The consumption of the former in the Great Zhou Dynasty was not large, and the main consumption was still the latter type, especially among the gentry and merchants in the north and south. It was a popular fashion, similar to Perfume of modern society.

If a gentleman goes out without wearing two pieces of fragrant cakes to incense, he will undoubtedly be laughed at. Likewise, as a noble lady, he cannot live without such supplies in his daily life. He needs them in his clothes and in his boudoir. .

However, the demand for edible spices, which were originally the most popular among Europeans, is also increasing sharply in Dazhou.

This type of spices will greatly produce a more comfortable taste when used in various meat diets. This is largely due to the cultivation of Franconians and Hongmaofans in places such as Guangzhou, Foshan, Ningbo, and Zhangzhou. Appearing in large quantities, they are also promoting the use of this type of edible spices among the people of the Zhou Dynasty, making local people gradually aware of the wonderful uses of this type of edible spices.

Practical spices such as pepper have been widely used since the Song Dynasty, but edible spices such as nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom are relatively less used by the people of the Zhou Dynasty, especially in the north. Now they are beginning to appear even in the capital city. Despite the popularity of edible spices, Feng Ziying had to admit that the Civil War that broke out around her did not affect the appetite of the wealthy people in Beijing at all.

The potential strength of domestic trade merchants cannot be underestimated. Although their group of prominent figures is not as large as that of maritime merchants, the group of small merchants under their distribution system can be found throughout the cities and villages in the north and south. This is a group that cannot be ignored. To a certain extent, it can Affects public sentiment and public opinion.

 If the Civil War ended quickly and the market situation quickly returned to normal, they would be able to conduct their business more smoothly, which was naturally what they expected.

In addition to the growth in power of the merchant group, another group also benefited from the strategy of opening up the sea and developed vigorously, that is, the workshop owner group, or business owner group.

The silk industry, mainly in Suzhou and Hangzhou, originally had a solid foundation. After the opening up of the sea, silk exports surged, which stimulated the industry to develop even more rapidly. A large number of new gentry and merchants poured into the industry and joined the industry. come into this lucrative industry.

The same situation also happened in the tea industry. As a result, the tea industry in the Suhuchang area flourished. The tea mountains were expanded even more, and a large number of large and small tea factories also swarmed in.

 Of course the ceramics industry is also indispensable.

Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, Yixing in Zhejiang, and Dehua in Fujian all show a prosperous scene. Although the latter two are far from comparable to the former, compared with the previous history of the Ming Dynasty Jingdezhen porcelain that almost bloomed alone, the current generation is better. a lot of.

This is due to the greater power of scholars in Zhejiang and Fujian in this generation, and they also have closer ties with merchant groups. In other words, the merchant groups of the Zhou Dynasty and the scholar groups have a closer relationship of symbiosis and co-prosperity than those of the previous Ming Dynasty, especially After Feng Ziying launched the strategy of opening up the sea, this connection became closer.

If these three industries are flourishing in the south of the Yangtze River, then the export of iron materials and ironware has become the greatest pride of the north.

Yuguan has become the leading export port for iron materials and ironware. In addition to direct sales to North Korea and Japan, it has also become a major source of transit sales southward to Southeast Asia. This has also formed a competitive momentum with Foshan's ironware sales.

ˆ In contrast, cement can only remain in the domestic market due to production capacity and demand. However, with the expansion of production capacity, it is estimated that this product will also appear on the export list.

 Another industry is the shipbuilding industry.

The prosperity of maritime trade and domestic trade has inevitably promoted the rapid development of the shipbuilding industry. In addition to the great development of the time-honored shipbuilding industries in Ningbo, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou, Yuguan and Dengzhou have quickly become emerging shipbuilding industry bases, and Dagu is also catching up. The entire shipbuilding industry shows that the south is advancing rapidly and the north is trying to catch up.

Traditional industries such as salt production have also been greatly expanded in Dongpan. The output of the salt fields on the west coast of Dongpan has continued to expand, which has made the Fujian salt merchants beam with joy and made them stand more firmly behind Feng Ziying. They also gained Also benefiting were the Jiangyou Anfu merchants. Their colonization in Dongfan, after several years of arduous foundation building, began to see the light of day.

“So the Anfu merchants are here?” Feng Ziying rubbed her chin, “They want to see me?”

"Yes, Anfu merchants discovered some gold mines during their reclamation. In addition, in addition to starting to plant rice in the plains and valleys, they also discovered another major source of wealth, which was the shipment of large logs to Ningbo, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Yangzhou. In the city, on the one hand, shipbuilding is in urgent need of these big trees. On the other hand, furniture manufacturing and construction industries are in great need of wood. The demand is very strong. Now Anfu businessmen have successively developed five logging sites for felling big trees, and also in places such as Ningbo, Yangzhou, and Quanzhou. Timber merchants and shipbuilders have signed contracts and are preparing to export large-scale timber to these places starting this year. The price may be 20 to 30% cheaper than the current market price in places like Yangzhou and Ningbo, but the cost is only one-half of the current market price. Even if transportation costs are included, it is only about 30% of the current market price, and the profit is quite considerable..."

Feng Ziying laughed, "Ship out wood, salt, gold sand, ore, and bring in necessities such as grain, cloth, and iron. This is another virtuous cycle. However, the population of Dongpan is too small, and we need to vigorously introduce immigrants to expand the population." Ken is the one.”

"Yes, now Anfu businessmen are becoming more and more interested. Considering that it is becoming more difficult to relocate from Jiangxi and Fujian, they have also set their sights on Shandong, Nanzhi, and Beizhi areas, especially Shandong. If people can be immigrated to Dongfan from the North, or even from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan, I personally think it would be a good thing. There is a severe drought in the North and refugees are everywhere. Giving them a way out can also open up land. , it only takes two or three years of hard work to survive, they will definitely be willing, but this is not what businessmen can do." Gu Dengfeng looked at Feng Ziying.

 Feng Ziying was silent.

The purpose of the Anfu merchants coming to him is obvious. The idea of ​​moving refugees from the north to Dongfan to open up wasteland seems to be beneficial to all parties. It not only opened up new territories in Dongfan for the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also eased the It can reduce the pressure of the refugees and increase profits at the same time, but from the perspective of the court, it cannot be seen this way. If pure businessmen promote the relocation of local people to Dongfan, will the refugees be willing?

It seems that there is no choice to make ends meet, but from a mental point of view, we need to establish a formal management system in Zhou Dynasty that is the same as the local management system if necessary, so that the refugees can feel at ease and not be thought that they have been abandoned. This is very difficult. The essential.

“Sir, I think this move is feasible, but there are still some difficulties, but we can still overcome them by thinking of some ways.” Gu Dengfeng was very smart and could understand some of these joints.

"Dengfeng, at this time of year, it can be operated, but it takes a lot of effort." Feng Ziying nodded slowly, "The Anfu merchants have some backgrounds, and they can also follow the path of their hometown party. From the perspective of the court, from my personal point of view , I support it, but if we want to handle this matter better, we need to cooperate with public opinion, such as how to publicize the importance and necessity of the expansion of Eastern Fan to the Zhou Dynasty and the imperial court, as well as its great significance."

Gu Dengfeng thought thoughtfully, "Sir, do you mean "Today's News"?"

"It's not just "Today's News", there are also many newspapers and periodicals in Beijing and central China. There are also a few that represent the voices of Jiangnan. They can also be considered. But from another perspective, it is necessary to reflect the impact of Dongfan's development on the Northland." Meaning, for example, the salt, wood, deerskin and other products produced in Dongfan can also be supplied to the North, and it can also become an important consumption area for iron materials in the North, etc."

Gu Dengfeng's eyes lit up, "Sir, why don't you take some time to meet and give me some advice? There are some things that just go down and tell them, and they still feel uneasy. It will be much more effective if you come forward."

Feng Ziying didn't want to meet him at first, but considering that the Anfu merchants are very powerful and will be the pioneers of foreign expansion in the future, they will be useful in Ezo (Hokkaido), Kugu (Sakhalin Island), and Nanyang in the future, so they met. It is also necessary. Of course, it would be better if the other party recognizes the situation and is willing to take the initiative to report to the court and gain greater initiative.

"Fine, I'll just meet. You mention it to them first so they can be mentally prepared. I'll also talk to the Ministry of Household Affairs." Feng Ziying finally agreed.

 (End of this chapter)