Chapter 1886 Renzijuan uses retreat to advance, secretly revealing the bright future

Huang Ruliang couldn't help but stand up, rub his hands, he was as excited as a lion in a cage, pacing back and forth, finally stood still, looked at Feng Ziying steadily, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well done, Ziying, let me put it this way, you managed to get 600,000 taels of silver into the imperial court's account out of thin air. This is really a timely help! I want to report it to the ministers in the cabinet. This is a big deal. The ministers of Zhou Dynasty are not like some people who only ask for money, but never want to share the worries of the court!"

Feng Ziying quickly waved her hand, "Mingqi Gong, please don't do this. I'm just following the trend. I'm indeed familiar with the Anfu merchants. This group of people was the first to colonize Yunnan and they have quite a lot of experience, so they were the first to colonize Dongpan. I helped them a lot. This time I came to Beijing to inquire about information. I also wanted to show off my skills in Dongfan, so I just followed the trend and told them about this matter. Of course, it ultimately depends on The court decides."

"What is there to hesitate about?" Huang Ruliang looked incredulous, "Dongfan has never been favored by the imperial court. I am a Fujianese. Don't I know the situation in Dongfan? That is to say, Penghu's geographical location is important, and Dongfan It is hot and humid, and the miasma is widespread, making it extremely difficult to cultivate. If you are not careful, you will lose your money and people. Moreover, there are many natives in the mountains who are extremely fierce and have always been hostile to outsiders. If outsiders want to settle in Dongfan, they will definitely conflict with them. This This is also the reason why no one wants to take risks in Dongfan."

"Now that they are willing to open up land, of course the imperial court wants it. They provide money and effort, so naturally they have to give people something to think about. What's the big deal about the ten-year exclusivity period?" Huang Ruliang continued: "It doesn't matter whether it's a big tree or a deer. Whether it's skin or salt, the imperial court didn't take it into account in the first place, but now they've picked up this sum of money for nothing, why not?"

Feng Ziying had already expected that all the princes in the court might have such thoughts. Anyway, he didn't want it for nothing. The Anfu merchant took the initiative to hand it over, asking for nothing more than an illusory franchise that the court didn't even count. This was a surprise in the first place. How could it be better? Will you care about it?

"Ming Qi Gong, the output of these big trees in the East will be quite large in the future. Anfu merchants mainly focus on this area. Jiangnan has always had big trees. The shipyards in Ningbo, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou, and the furniture and building materials in Yangzhou, Jinling, and Hangzhou are all in urgent need of these growths. The large trees that have been harvested for hundreds of years can be logged and processed in Dongpan, and can be transported by sea through the Yangtze River, or even directly to various places in Shandong north of Yangzhou. The profits are quite huge. Once this industry develops, the profits will be considerable."

Feng Ziying knew that Huang Ruliang was seriously ill and had to seek medical treatment. He would dare to sell anything to anyone who could offer such a large sum of money, not to mention an illusory fifteen-year exclusive right to the franchise. He would still dare to sell it even if it added another ten years.

He had to speak clearly to avoid Huang Ruliang regretting it in the future.

According to his estimate, the Anfu merchants had a very sophisticated calculation this time. Just from the large timber logging and manufacturing industry, the scale of their output to the mainland in three years is estimated to be more than 400,000 taels. The Anfu merchants are very ambitious, and they are starting to move north and south at the same time. Over the years, the scale will only get bigger and bigger. The total sales volume is at least four to five million taels, and the profit is at least two to three million taels. This mere 600,000 taels of franchise fee is worth thousands of dollars.

This does not include such industries as deerskin, gold sand, and other industries that may yet be unearthed.

Seeing that Feng Ziying was about to say more, Huang Ruliang waved his hand and said quite grandly: "Ziying, I know what you want to say, and I also know that the Dongfan merchants have big plans and may even gain huge profits from this, but so what? You want to Think about it, they went all the way to find the capital, but they didn’t mention going to Nanjing to find the puppet court? In any case, this also represents their trust in the imperial court, and in a sense, this is also the public opinion of the people in Jiangnan. A manifestation of this, and for this reason, we all need to repay him generously!"

Feng Ziying's heart moved, and she thought that Huang Ruliang was really only focusing on this small profit, or he underestimated his political vision. What he valued more was the public opinion of the people in Jiangnan, and he looked at the overall situation. This is what it means to be a minister. should be considered.

Of course, it is not ruled out that the Fujian merchants who have joined forces with the Anfu merchants have also approached him. They have already considered it. The previous excitement was just acting.

“What is our primary task now? That is to concentrate our efforts to completely defeat the resistance of the Nanjing puppet government.

“My lord is still thinking far-reaching, but Ziying is still short-sighted.” Feng Ziying cupped her hands.

"Haha, Ziying, there are only a handful of young people in this generation who can compare to you, so why do you have to be so humble?" Huang Ruliang waved his hand, "Back then, Lian Guoshi and Yang Sichang, who were in your subject, could barely follow you. Behind you, you won't be too far behind. Brothers like Huang Zunsu, Xu Xie, and the Hou family can only sigh with joy. You have done several things in succession very beautifully, and the court has noticed it. This is the real thing. A pillar minister who cares about national affairs and relieves the country's worries..."

 Feng Ziying could no longer sit still.

The reason why he went directly to Huang Ruliang was that he didn't want to make too much noise about this matter, not to mention hiding his power and biding his time. But now that he was famous enough, it would be better to sell this share directly to Huang Ruliang, which could avoid attracting wind. It can also ease the relationship with the officials in the south of the Yangtze River in the DPRK, especially Huang Ruliang. If he wants to complain about this again, he will really offend Huang Ruliang.

"Ming Qi Gong, I solemnly state again that I am helping others in this matter. Without me, they will still come to the court. Maybe the court will pressure them, and 600,000 can be turned into 800,000. I am also working with them. The merchants in Anfu have some connections, so I came to act as a frontline for them. How to operate the specific operation, you have to come to your household department tomorrow. I will not get involved in this matter. Don't blame me if you feel you have suffered a loss in the future. "

Feng Ziying reiterated again and named the purpose. This matter is a matter of the Ministry of Revenue, so he pulled a string and built a bridge. You have to accept it and know what it is, and stop shouting everywhere.

Huang Ruliang also smiled knowingly, "Ziying, it's really good, I know."

Huang Ruliang could understand some of Feng Ziying's thoughts. Now Feng Ziying has become a standout in the forest. Many idle censors can't stand this prominent figure who seems to be seen in everything, and their eyes have begun to focus on him. Regarding his relationship with the Jia family, Huang Ruliang also knew that some people had already expressed objections to the matter of being the redeemer of Jia's furniture, and even wrote a letter to attack.

 For no other reason, it’s because you Feng Ziying is too dazzling. It’s okay for you to be excellent. But you take the lead in everything, you can take the lead in everything, and you can take turns in glory and achievements. This is too hateful.

Feng Ziying should have realized this now and began to consciously hide her talents and bide her time and avoid the limelight for the time being. However, Huang Ruliang admired Feng Ziying's approach very much. He still did the same things that were beneficial to the court, but he was more particular about the methods.

 Like this time, it is obviously to show goodwill to oneself and to give the credit to the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Huang Ruliang is not willing to take credit from Feng Ziying for such a thing. He will naturally explain the ins and outs when it is necessary to explain clearly. However, the 600,000 taels of silver is indeed an unexpected surprise, and it can be regarded as a solution to an urgent need. .

Due to the huge cost of military operations, the court is now more and more strapped, the holes are getting bigger, money is needed everywhere, and there are gaps everywhere. He, the Minister of Household Affairs, has been reduced to a money-demanding Minister who is grabbing money everywhere.

Anything that can bring benefits to the Ministry of Revenue is a good thing and he is willing to accept it. As for the subsequent problems it will bring, he is not thinking about it. He will not wait until the Southern Expedition is over and then slowly and carefully discuss the solution. Too late, otherwise even the imperial court will collapse. Does it make sense to talk about this?

After settling the matter of the Anfu merchant, Feng Ziying finally had an explanation. The imperial court was now short of money and was reaching out everywhere. The household department had begun to go crazy. This was actually a sign that once the war was prolonged, it would The adverse impact on the Northland and the imperial court began to appear.

There is no doubt that the Northland, including the entire Gyeonggi region, needs food, cloth, medicinal materials, southern goods and other basic necessities from the South. The severe drought in the Northland has intensified the urgency of this need. Feng Ziying’s early work of stockpiling food This momentum has been somewhat alleviated, but as time goes by, this momentum will gradually become unstoppable.

After all, whether it’s Yuguan or Dugu, grain merchants can estimate the amount of grain they have hoarded, and the common people will realize from the grain merchants’ constant small actions that this grain will become increasingly scarce, and the price will become higher and higher in the future. The higher the price, the stronger their desire to buy grain will be. As long as they have some money in their hands, they will buy the grain first and then store it.

 This will form a vicious cycle, with the mentality of grain merchants and people influencing each other, constantly pushing up grain prices.

Although the southern routes of Yuguan and Dagu have not been greatly affected, seaborne grain transportation is still a new thing that has just appeared, and its transportation volume is far from being comparable to that of water transportation. Although Duan Xigui and Xue Biao are trying their best to expand , but compared with the needs of hundreds of millions of people in Gyeonggi, this is far from enough.

 Feng Ziying must consider some other countermeasures.

 Huang Ruliang also realized this. On this issue, he needed Feng Ziying's help more than others.

"Ziying, I know that you have started planting potatoes and sweet potatoes in all states and counties. I support you on this point. Some people in the government just stand and talk without backache. They always feel that these foreign things are not the right way. But now the common people can't fill their stomachs. The people are going to cause trouble, and you are still saying this. As an official of the imperial court, don't you blush?" Huang Ruliang and Feng Ziying walked out of the room, "Fu Shi did a great job, and all the princes saw it, and Wu Gang's performance was also outstanding. , Xianghe was handed into his hands. Although it didn’t last long, it made a big difference..."

 (End of this chapter)