"There's a gold mine!" This was good news, and to Yangzhou, it was indeed good news. This was because gold had rarely depreciated in value since ancient times. Basically, wherever there were people, the gold mines would have already been excavated.
For example, Liu Mang had two or three gold mines in his hands. However, the gold on the outside was already difficult to extract. The only way was to extract the gold from the mines and extract it.
His current standard had not reached that level yet.
Now that he had received news that there were gold mines in Linyi and Funan, it was definitely something that would make people drool.
If the other feudal lords knew about this, they would definitely send out their troops. Gold mines meant huge amounts of gold, and it meant that he could recruit soldiers.
"No!" Liu Mang forcibly suppressed his own greed. Gold is good, but it also depends on where it is placed. If it remains unchanged and becomes a dead object, then what is the difference between gold and ordinary stones?
What Liu Mang needed was for gold to circulate, and it was obvious that this was the case.
The merchants in Yangzhou would sell their goods to Southeast Asia, and exchange them for gold. Although gold was not completely mined there, it was believed that gold would soon be used as the main metal currency.
Then he would definitely join a gold standard country, and the gold would be exchanged for goods to be sold to that country. The gold in that country would only become less and less, and the rarer something was, the more expensive it was. Without gold, they would not be able to exchange for goods. If they wanted goods, they would naturally have to think of ways to obtain gold.
When the time came, they would let the merchants buy the land and build factories, and use the gold they earned to exchange for ores. In the long run, Linyi and Funan would become more and more dependent on the Great Han Dynasty. In the end, they would either be lost in history, or become dependent on the Great Han Dynasty.
If they were to send troops to the two countries now, not to mention how many troops Liu Mang could mobilize, even if he could, how long would it take? Once the war started, the trade routes between the two countries would be blocked.
At that time, Liu Mang's dream of being a merchant supporting Yangzhou would be ruined.
Only the invasion of capital could be said to be soundless. Wasn't it just some porcelain and cloth? If they could have free labor to help them transport gold out of the gold mines, why not?
"Pass down my imperial edict. Let Zi Zhong represent me and the Ministry of Revenue to invite those merchants to a banquet!" Liu Mang left this order and left.
As the saying goes, 'When the leader speaks, the masses run their legs.' Mi Zhu began to move as soon as he received Liu Mang's order.
This banquet naturally couldn't be a child's play. Those who came were all big merchants. Even if they were only insignificant people when they went out to sea, once they came back, they had completely made a fortune.
Mi Zhu knew that his lord, Liu Mang, placed great importance on this banquet, so he went to prepare early.
From top to bottom, it was not only the merchants who had gone out to sea, but also the merchants from Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jiangdong, and Yuzhou who had never gone out to sea had also come uninvited.
Because the benefits were too great, many landowning clans in the Jing Province had also sent their people over.
This time, everyone's goal was the same, and that was to know when they would go out to sea for the second time.
"On the sea, the winds are strong and the waves are strong. I know that you are all afraid that the wind and waves will overturn the goods, but there is no need to worry. You can go out to sea whenever you want, as long as you have a ship. As for the location of Linyi, my Ministry of Revenue will naturally send someone to describe it and let the craftsmen draw out the navigation route. It will be easier for you to go to Nanyang."
When Mi Zhu finished speaking, the crowd cheered. The sea was still a pure land. There were no pirates, and there were no warships from other countries.
In this way, the entire route would be safe. It was even many times better than the original Silk Road. The original Silk Road did not only have to worry about the desert, but also about the embezzlement of the countries passing through or the chaos of war. If they encountered a greedy noble or the chaos of war, then they would really disappear along with their goods.
The sea was different. As long as they didn't encounter any storms, their ships could go to Linyi and Funan unimpeded. There was no need to worry about the war and embezzlement along the way.
"But everyone, don't be too happy too early. All ships that go out to sea must register with Lord Sun Wen's Maritime Administration before they can go out to sea!" Opening the Maritime Silk Road, Liu Mang is not only for the benefit of those merchants, he is also doing it for himself.
As long as it was a ship that went out to sea, it would have to pay taxes. Of course, if you brought back a ship's worth of provisions from Linyi and Funan, then you would also be exempted from the tax.
If they didn't register, then wouldn't all Liu Mang's efforts go to waste?
Even so, Liu Mang still managed to get a return of several tens of thousands of gold.
"Lord Mi! This humble one has something to ask! " A Xuzhou merchant who had never been out to sea asked. He had never been out to sea, so he had the most questions.
"Of course!" Mi Zhu was very generous. Who asked King of Han Liu Mang to be a hands-off shopkeeper? However, Mi Zhu didn't lose out. His Mi Family also made a huge profit from this trip. This trip was equivalent to several years of the Mi Family's previous income.
"Lord Mi, what if we get caught at Linyi Lake in Funan? What do we do?" A merchant asked the question that many other merchants wanted to ask.
They all wanted to transport their goods to Funan and Linyi, if they travelled all the way to Funan and Linyi, and were robbed by the Funan and Linyi people at the port, wouldn't they cry to death?
"You don't need to ask me about this. You have to ask Lord Sun Wen!" Mi Zhu said with a smile. His Ministry of Revenue was only in charge of collecting taxes. Adjustments and other matters were left to the Maritime Administration.
Everyone turned their gazes to Sun Wen.
Sun Wen had never been looked at like this in front of so many people before. Thus, he still had a shy expression on his face.
"Everyone, please don't worry. As long as you don't burn, kill, or loot in Linyi, all of your rights and interests will be protected!" Sun Wen said to the group of merchants below.
"What if there are people with evil intentions in Linyi?" Some merchants were still worried. Going out to sea was not a small matter. If they weren't careful, they would lose their lives. Thus, they had to ask carefully.
"If anyone from Funan Linyi is plotting against you, then my Great Han Navy will be your strongest shield!" Sun Wen said with a heroic tone.
The purpose of the Maritime Affairs Department was to mediate the conflicts between the merchants, as well as to negotiate with the coastal countries. If the Maritime Affairs Department couldn't reach an agreement, then there was no need to discuss it. This wasn't something that could be discussed clearly, it was better to prepare for war.
Sun Wen's promise didn't make these merchants feel at ease. However, the Great Han Navy made them smile.
The Sovereign Class Warship was really awe-inspiring.
That day, they felt like they were at home.
On the second day, all the captains in Yangzhou were completely overwhelmed by these merchants.
Originally, Liu Mang gave him the warships that were used to traverse the rivers and rivers. He gave them to Liu Mang to convert them into cargo ships.
However, these ships were limited. Liu Mang had rented out a batch of ships. Some of them were even bought by people who went out to sea. Liu Mang couldn't disappoint these people who were crazy with him for the first time.
As for the others, whether they were new members or those who had gone to sea before, they all wanted to get more ships. This was because more ships meant more money to be made.
No one would complain about having too much gold.
Therefore, the shipyards were completely overcrowded.
"Chief Tong, we have known each other since we were young. These ten ships, I will take them all! What, not for sale? You said that there are people who have already taken them? Good, good, good, our friendship is not counted. How about this, I won't make things difficult for you. Give me half, half is not enough! What, half is not enough? Then three ships should be enough, right? Three ships is not enough? Do we really have a friendship? Let's sever our friendship. "These merchants were all tough in the beginning, but in the end, they were all acting like cowards.
In the end, this so-called childhood friend of Chief Tong got a ship. It was a small ship, but this was also the result of begging Grandma Bai.
These scenes were happening everywhere in Yangzhou. All of a sudden, the shipyards in Yangzhou had orders for three years.
Those shipyards were really making a lot of money.
Not only Yangzhou, even the merchants in Jiao Province and Jing Province could not sit still. The most important thing was still Yan Province. The Zhang family was a stepping stone. They went out to sea and actually brought back 10,000 gold, and this was only after paying a little bit of the cost.
This was simply a small capital and a huge profit. The Zhang family couldn't stay calm, especially when Liu Mang gave several ships to the Zhang family. All of a sudden, the Zhang family became excited. They wanted to make a lot of money. Needless to say, the Zhang family was really capable. They found some connections and bought four more ships. In addition to the six ships they had before, they formed a small fleet.
This time, the Zhang Clan would not be as muddle-headed as before. Instead, they put all of their money into this voyage. They had a total of 5,000 gold coins. Even so, the head of the Zhang family felt that it wasn't enough. He wanted to add more, but he didn't have the chance.
Naturally, there was no such thing as an airtight wall in the world. The news that the Zhang family made a lot of money also spread in Yanzhou.
The nobles in Yanzhou originally thought that it was just a rumor. But later, they slowly found out that it was a fact. They couldn't sit still.
Who didn't want to make money? This was a profitable business with a small capital.
The nobles in Yanzhou also began to contact the Yangzhou Maritime Affairs Department. They wanted to get some advice from the Maritime Affairs Department. It wasn't that they didn't have a port, but their port was too far away. Moreover, they didn't have the sea map of Southeast Asia. The sea was vast and boundless, it was all water. A slight deviation could lead to hundreds of nautical miles. If they weren't careful, they would become one with the sea.
This sea map was very important. Moreover, to go to Southeast Asia, they had to pass through the coastline of Yangzhou.
If they didn't say hello, wouldn't it be the same as asking the Yangzhou Navy to detain them?
Originally, they thought that it would be very difficult. After all, Yangzhou and Yanzhou were likely to go to war. The Zhang family was very kind to Yangzhou, but they didn't expect that the Yangzhou Maritime Affairs Department would agree so easily.
The only condition was that they had to pay taxes. Both sides used Lü Bu as the currency of the transaction.
If Xun Yu was still there, he might have stopped them. But now, Xun Yu was fighting with his brother Xun Cen in Liaodong.
It was easy to pass. There were even some nobles from Cao Cao's branch among them. They did it for the sake of absolute benefits. There were no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits. Even if the 10% tax was deducted, they could still get nine times the profit. Why would Cao Cao stop them? Liu Mang wanted money, Cao Cao also wanted money.
Liu Mang looked at the documents that the nobles from Yan Province came to sign. He could not help but laugh. This made Xu Shu feel very strange.
Finally, Xu Shu couldn't help but ask, "My lord, why are you laughing?" Xu Shu asked Liu Mang. From the beginning, Xu Shu didn't agree to let Yanzhou's merchants join the ranks of the Silk Road. This was because why should they give such a profitable business to others? Not to mention, these others were their future enemies.
However, Liu Mang still agreed to let Yanzhou join the Silk Road. In fact, Liu Mang knew that even if Liu Mang didn't agree, the nobles of Yanzhou would still find ways to go to sea. Who didn't know the huge benefits?
For these businessmen, a 40% profit was enough to make them risk their lives. A few hundred% profit was simply too much for them to take care of their parents. It was better to let them know than to block them. If they could do that, they could even raise conditions. Why not?
"Yuanzhi, you don't understand!" Liu Mang said to Xu Shu with a smile. Xu Shu was a first-class expert in governance and war. However, when it came to the struggle for capital, Xu Shu was a layman. Even Liu Mang was a dabbler. However, this dabbler had more than 2000 years of experience.
The Silk Road was indeed very profitable. However, Cao Cao didn't know that once he fully promoted the Golden Lü Bu, then Cao Cao would be working for Liu Mang for nothing.
Once he joined the ranks of Gold Lu Bu, then when he returns from the sea, the money he will get will be like a piece of white paper. Although he can exchange gold in Yangzhou, but other than Yangzhou, who will exchange gold for him? If Yangzhou and Yanzhou went to war, then the Golden Lü Bu in the hands of the nobles in Yanzhou would be a pile of waste paper. It was impossible for Yangzhou to send people to Yanzhou to exchange for gold.
That was why Cao Cao was working for Liu Mang.
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