Shenlong Mansion.
Zhu Xu is on a lake, boating and fishing, dressed in a cloth, he is the only one on the entire lake, and there is really an artistic conception of one person fishing alone in the snow.
There were already two fish in the fish basket next to Zhu Xu, looking at the buoy that had been quiet for a long time, he looked at the fish in the fish basket, shook his head and said: "It's not good to hibernate in winter, so you have to jump up and down and get caught, right?"
” The two fish are honest and motionless in the basket.
Zhu Xu continued to fish, I don't know how long it took, after being screened by the guards, four people stepped on the boat by the lake and rowed towards Zhu Xu.
"The minister Wang Wensheng (Gong Yonggu, Wei Liangqing, He Spruce) see the emperor."
The four of them got on Zhu Xu's boat, raised their hands behind him and bowed.
Zhu Xu put down the fishing rod, took the snack on the side, and said, "Find a place to sit." ” "Your Majesty."
A few men raised their hands, and then looked back, and saw a few small mazahs in the cabin, very small ones.
In addition, the boat is not big, and every move will shake.
The four of them were either rich or expensive, but none of them looked unusual, found a little Mazha, and sat behind Zhu Xu respectfully.
Zhu Xu took a bite of snacks, clapped his hands, and said, "Let's talk about the United Fleet first." ” Wang Wensheng has been in charge of the combined fleet for some time since he succeeded Cao Bianjiao, and when he heard this, he leaned over and said: "Back to the emperor, the combined fleet is now full, 50,000 people, 1,200 large and small ships, starting from Vladivostok, from north to south, along the coastline, outside of our Ming Dynasty, starting from Ceylon, Suez and Panama in the middle, all the way to the northernmost section of Africa, and Morocco across the sea from Europe, large and small naval bases, temporarily leased islands and land, as many as 60 places......
In these places, there are offices of the Foreign Affairs Agency, and each of them has a person who is responsible for liaising with the local community and building various relationships......
At present, the Combined Fleet is working with various localities to combat piracy, and is also participating in some local anti-bandit operations, helping them train their troops and teaching them various skills such as building bridges and roads......"
These can be regarded as the penetration of both soft and hard, which will not cause local disgust and vigilance, but can also help the development of the Ming Dynasty.
The reason why there was no violent colonization was because the Ming Dynasty's national strength was now very tired, and secondly, the Ming Dynasty did not know enough about overseas and needed a process of slow development.
According to Zhu Xu's judgment, five years is enough, and those businessmen in Daming will find that outside Daming is a piece of undeveloped fertile land, those natives are wild, ignorant, and most importantly, vulnerable!
With a little guidance in policy, those businessmen with a keen sense of smell will take people and weapons to every corner of the world.
At that time, the combined fleet and navy of the Ming Dynasty had developed into shape, and after the national strength was restored, it had sufficient financial and human support.
That will be a grand occasion, a grand scene that Zhu Xu has been looking forward to for a long time, a prosperous world!
Wang Wensheng is still saying: "The establishment of the combined fleet is mainly based on our Ming Dynasty, and at present there are 40,000 people in our Ming Dynasty, and there are many other places, especially Xiyi.
Our cooperation with Spain is deepening, many of their fleets, merchant ships have been able to enter and exit, and Morocco, including Gibro, has been quietly controlled by us.
The port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands is also in and out of the country, and merchant ships are coming and going.
England was more vigilant and had limited cooperation with us, and the Franks did not cooperate at all, they seemed to be only staring at land.
On the Ottoman side, we are mainly limited to Suez, and since the canal will not be excavated until next year, we only have a temporary base at present, and we will only be able to really control the ten-mile-wide area of the canal next year......"
Wang Wensheng obviously has a draft, and what he said is very organized, so that people can have a general impression when they hear it.
Zhu Xu held the fishing rod, looked motionless, and listened silently.
After a long time, Wang Wensheng had the finishing words, and said: "The minister plans to start next year, and slowly expand the fleet, and in about five years, double the size to 100,000 people, 2,000 ships, and the main soldiers, and will be recruited and trained from the Japanese country and Africa.
The Combined Fleet is self-sufficient in money and food, and the minister hopes that the cabinet will provide the necessary support and not interfere......"
Zhu Xu listened for a long time, nodded with satisfaction, and said: "The development is good, and being able to think about expanding the fleet at this time shows that you still have some strategic vision."
On the cabinet side, I said, you don't need to worry. ” Sun Chuanting needed to concentrate on the challenges of the 'New Deal', so he did not pay enough attention to other aspects, and tried to cut the budget on all sides.
Wang Wensheng was naturally overjoyed when he heard Zhu Xu say this, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." ” Zhu Xu laughed and said, "Those rare treasures you got from overseas are not bad, my treasure house is almost full."
Don't give the silver in the future, I still have some internal money, and you can keep it for the development of the combined fleet. ” Wang Wensheng was stunned, and said fiercely, "Your Majesty, don't worry, three million taels is not much for the combined fleet, it will not have a big impact, and the ministers will send it to the palace on time." ” The United Fleet, the Shenlong Mansion, and some other institutions, such as King Ping's business, the royal manor, etc., would regularly send large sums of silver into the palace to fill Zhu Xu's internal funds.
Over the years, Zhu Xu has been spending occasionally, and his inner money is quite thick.
Regarding Wang Wensheng's words, Zhu Xu was noncommittal and said, "Tell me about the Shenlong Mansion." ” Wei Liangqing bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, at present, there are as many as five hundred trading houses in the Shenlong Mansion, including my Daming, covering all aspects of my Daming's commerce and trade.
Shenlong Mansion has 26 chambers of commerce, 137 merchant houses, and more than 300 merchant ships.
There are more than 100 shops, manors, tea estates, restaurants, etc., and the assets under its jurisdiction are more than 20 million silver after conversion......"
Zhu Xu knew it in his heart, Gong Yonggu, Wang Wensheng was really startled when he heard it, 20 million silver, this is just an asset, if you add the privileges you have, the business houses you indirectly control, etc., isn't it unimaginable?
Wei Liangqing paused for a moment, and said, "There is more and more trade between Shenlong Mansion and Daming, mainly to be a middleman, reselling overseas, therefore, there are more relations with overseas, especially with Spain and the Netherlands in recent years, and the increase in trade with Spain and the Netherlands, plus the continuous promotion of trade with the Ottomans, England and other large and small countries, the goods sold are increasing day by day, and this year's trade volume may exceed 50 million silver, plus special operations such as spices, firearms, armor, etc., the profit will be as high as about 30 million silver, If you add the increase in commercial taxes for the imperial court, it will be even more ......"
"Because of the purchase of grain from overseas, the purchase of land, and the construction of a new China Trade City, a series of planned expenditures for some large and small merchants, especially related mines and iron smelting investments, should be handed over to the emperor in the ...... of about 10 million silver."
"At present, there are three open trade locations that Shenlong Mansion has mainly built, one is Gansu Town, which mainly faces Mongolia and further west.
One is Tianjin Wei, mainly for the consideration of Gyeonggi, Shanyou, etc.
The other is Guangzhou Mansion, this place faces the South China Sea, whether it is Xiyi or other trading countries, this is the closest, and it is the place where the main force of Shenlong Mansion is built......"
"At present, three places, in addition to Tianjin Wei, Gansu has set aside a county size, handed over to Shenlong Mansion to take full control, Guangzhou Mansion is two counties, Shenlong Mansion has taken over, is being renovated, put into use next year, the year after next can be completed......
Coupled with the Shenlong Mansion, there are a total of four trade zones, if the plan goes well, in a few years, the trade volume may exceed 10,000 silver, bringing more than 10 million taxes and more than 20 million profits to my Ming Dynasty......"