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Thanks to book friend He Xian for the 100-coin reward Zheng Chenggong felt that His Majesty the Emperor's words were probing, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
His father Zheng Zhilong basically monopolized the trade to Japan after replacing Li Dan.
Similar to the preferences of other Southeast Asian countries, the Japanese are very interested in raw silk, satin, and porcelain from the Ming Dynasty.
The Zheng family's ship to Japan was basically filled with these things.
The Zheng family has extensive connections in the Hirado clan, so they don't have to worry about selling these porcelain and silk satins.
They can basically sell them as soon as they are unloaded, and the price is three to five times the original price.
This profit may seem substantial, but it is nothing compared to the high risk of crossing the ocean.
The real money is in the "goods" taken away on the return trip.
After selling their goods, the Zheng family's fleet would stay in the Hirado Domain for a period of time, waiting for the Japanese to load the "goods" onto the ships.
The "goods" they wanted to take away on their return trip were none other than a large amount of copper.
It is well known to the world that Japan produces copper and there are many copper mines.
Of course, the Zheng family did not buy copper to cast a statue of Buddha, but to make money for themselves.
Before Wanli, there was no large influx of silver, and private transactions basically relied on copper coins.
Even after a large influx of silver, it was basically concentrated in the hands of a small number of merchants and landowners.
Ordinary farmers and ordinary people in the market do not have much money in their hands.
Folks still mostly rely on copper coins for transaction settlement, and silver is only used for large transactions.
Therefore, the quality of copper coins has become what ordinary people are most concerned about.
Throughout the dynasties, the right to mint money was a privilege enjoyed by rulers.
If the ruler was kind-hearted, he would increase the proportion of copper.
If the ruler's heart is darker, coins worth four and six in copper can be cast.
In the early years of Chongzhen, the imperial court once minted a batch of good coins, but eventually gave up due to huge consumption.
The common people are not fools.
They can tell the difference between good and bad coins at a glance.
Some copper coins minted by the imperial government are really useless, so they will choose to use private money.
The casting of private money requires a large amount of copper, which is not available to ordinary people.
Therefore, those who can mint private money are big and respectable businessmen.
These people also have connections in the government and can ensure that private coins can flow smoothly into the private sector after they are minted.
Speaking of which, coinage is definitely the most profitable business in the world.
Even if you are not as evil as the imperial court when you cast copper coins, you will definitely make some money, and the profits will be staggeringly high.
Of course Zheng Zhilong would not fail to see this.
A long time ago, he used his relationship with the Hirado clan in Japan to open up channels to purchase large amounts of copper at low prices, and then used maritime trade opportunities to ship the purchased copper back to Fujian.
After more than ten years of hard work, Zheng Zhilong controlled an army of tens of thousands and more than a thousand warships, making him the emperor of Fujian.
Here he could mint private coins without any scruples, and the copper coins he minted would naturally flow into ordinary people's homes.
Minting money is a matter of huge profits, and because Zheng Zhilong purchased the main material copper at an extremely low price, he made a lot of money.
Such a big movement will certainly attract attention, but which official in Fujian would dare not to give face to the Zheng family?
All the officials pretended to be confused and turned a blind eye to Zheng Zhilong's behavior of casting private money.
Therefore, after so many years, not a single memorial to impeach Zheng Zhilong has been delivered to the imperial court.
The emperor suddenly asked, making Zheng Chenggong very nervous.
The Ming Dynasty was rich in silk and porcelain.
These top-notch goods are often the first choice for shipping merchants to ship and take to the sea.
The Zheng family is naturally no exception.
It is impossible for the emperor not to know this, so he asked Zheng Chenggong what the Zheng family sold overseas to Japan, which was obviously a test.
Zheng Chenggong forced himself to calm down and respectfully replied: "Your Majesty, most of them are silk and porcelain."
"Oh."
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Zhu Cixiang said with a faint smile: "Then what did you bring with you when you returned?
It must not be an empty ship." boom Zheng Chenggong felt like his brain was exploding and he was a little confused.
His conjecture was absolutely correct.
By asking this, the emperor seemed to know that the Zheng family bought copper in Japan and brought it back to Fujian to cast private money.
Zheng Chenggong clenched his fists tightly and thought about how to answer.
He also knew that it was taboo to mint private money, and what his father did was indeed a bit too domineering.
But no matter what, Zheng Zhilong is also his father.
As long as his father did not commit treason or other evil deeds that would be outraged by both humans and gods, Zheng Zhilong still couldn't bear to kill his relatives out of justice.
On the one hand, he is the king, and on the other hand, he is the father.
On one side is the country, on the other side is the home.
How should he choose, how should he choose?
"I was just making a joke."
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand and said: "Nan Anbo has been traveling on the sea for many years, so he should be very familiar with Japan's specialties.
Japanese knives, folding fans, and lacquerware are all good.
The Zheng family's return ship must be full of these."
His Majesty the Emperor took the initiative to give Zheng Chenggong a step down, and Zheng Chenggong was naturally very grateful.
He walked down the slope and said: "Your Majesty is wise, the fleet does mainly bring back these things from Japan, and they are all easy to sell."
The Ming Dynasty did not ban knives among the people, so the sale of Japanese knives could be openly discussed.
Seeing that the emperor had no intention of pursuing the matter, Zheng Chenggong felt much more relaxed and saluted Zhu Cihong: "Your Majesty, I heard that the first batch of sea-going ships built by the Longjiang Shipyard are ready for launch.
I wonder if your Majesty wants to pass them off as a A sea-going ship or a merchant ship?”
This question was actually a test for Zheng Chenggong.
The emperor's answer hinted at the court's future actions to some extent.
“A little bit of both.”
Zhu Cixiang said with a half-smile, "I am going to allocate some to be used as merchant ships and some to be used as warships."
Zheng Chenggong sighed deeply in his heart.
The emperor pushed his temptation away with just one understatement, which was really clever.
However, he still couldn't understand why the emperor just mentioned it and didn't delve into the Zheng family's smuggling of copper and casting of private coins.
Could it be that the emperor wanted to use this to knock the Zheng family into a more honest position in cooperating with the imperial court in sea trade?
The more Zheng Chenggong thought about it, the more likely he felt that this was possible.
Otherwise, why would His Majesty the Emperor divide the first batch of sea-going ships manufactured by Longjiang Shipyard into two halves, with one half used as merchant ships and the other half used as warships?
Doesn’t this mean that the emperor wants to form a fleet controlled by the imperial court for sea trade?
As for the warships, they are showing off their force.
Zheng Chenggong knew very well who he was showing off his force to.
Although the imperial court may not have enough soldiers to form a navy now, if the emperor is really determined, recruiting manpower will only take a few months.
The best candidates are fishermen, who are familiar with the water, are hard-working, and have a clean background, unlike pirates who would arouse the concerns of the court.
Zheng Chenggong sighed in his heart, His Majesty's kindness and power are both benevolent and powerful.
It is really the work of a hero
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