Chapter 50 Various Reactions
"Hehe, don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who forces people to do things. Since I've asked you to do this, I'll naturally create the conditions for you." Yongzheng smiled and said: "It's impossible to build a hundred ships in just one year, but at most, I can give you four years' time. As for the wood, that's not a problem either. Tomorrow, I'll have someone issue an announcement, exempting all ships transporting giant logs from taxes at Jianghai Customs and giving priority to supplying cotton cloth quotas. With this, are you still worried about nobody transporting wood to Shanghai?"
"As for the money, I'll give you 80% of the cotton cloth share to operate for two years, and allow you to take a 10% price increase. You won't have to worry about not having enough money, right? However, you can't interfere with the purchase of cotton cloth, and must directly pick up goods from me. Also, the foreign firm in your hands must be handed over to me as a deposit for purchasing cotton cloth, and this Shanghai cotton transportation warehouse will also fall under your responsibility."
Zhang Yuanlong involuntarily took a cold breath, pinched his thigh hard, and forced himself not to faint. To put it in the largest quantity of 'Ba Bu', each piece is six cents, one percent is six points, how big is Shanghai's annual trade volume? Moreover, now that only one port in Shanghai is allowed for trade, 40 million pieces should be conservative, just this account alone is 2.4 million per year, plus other high-priced fabrics, over 3 million a year.
Zhang Yuanlong swallowed the news of Shanghai's entire cotton export quota in one gulp, and within an hour it spread throughout Shanghai. The entrance to Changqing Garden became a vegetable market, with Zhang Yuanlong happily yet painfully receiving and sending off relatives and friends from Shanghai and nearby areas.
Yuan Zhen sat in the study with a worried and bitter face, facing a large pile of miscellaneous things. He had to muster up his spirit to record them one by one: he had to establish new regulations for the Jianghai Customs, issue announcements, replace at least half of the officials, clerks, patrolmen, sailors, etc., issue announcements to stabilize the people's hearts, set up collection points in each county and town, build warehouses in Shanghai and other prefectures and counties to store and transport cotton cloth, inspect the progress of building workshops, it was almost New Year's, he had to give red envelopes and salaries to his subordinates, write letters to a large group of people in Beijing...
Merchants and landlords in Shanghai and its surrounding areas quickly sensed the smell from the official gazette, Shanghai was going to develop greatly. Some insightful people immediately started sending people to buy land around Shanghai. However, what made them feel depressed was that the land around Shanghai County, especially the land along the river in the northeast of the county seat, had been bought up by others. This situation further stimulated their determination to buy land. If they couldn't buy land on the outskirts, they would buy land in the outer areas. Before the new year, the land price near Shanghai had almost doubled.
Seeing this hot market, Hai Feng, who has been buying large tracts of land one after another, couldn't help but sigh in admiration: "Following Boss Ye, making money is too damn easy! Is this any different from picking up silver on the ground?"
In the midst of worries, happiness and busyness, time flew by and it was already the eighth day of the first month of Kangxi 49.
From that day on, Yongzheng began to accept New Year's greetings from all officials of the Jianghai Customs Office. He leaked out the news that he would investigate and rectify the Jianghai Customs Office at the beginning of the year, while also declaring that those who resigned automatically would not be pursued.
As soon as the news came out, a wave of resignations swept through the entire Jianghai Customs. At this time, who among those in the customs is clean? Rather than being investigated, it's better to resign quickly and seek another opportunity. With money, you don't have to worry about not having a place to be an official.
Then, Shanghai, Songjiang, Jiaxing, Suzhou, Huzhou, Zhenjiang and other surrounding counties posted notices, Jianghai Customs and Global Shipping Company recruited people, and specifically stated that they were recruiting poor students.
As soon as the notice was posted, it caused a sensation. Not to mention the global firm, but what about the Jianghai Customs? The place where the fat flows with oil, where people have always been unable to enter even if they cut off their heads, is now recruiting from outside? Looking at the bright red Jianghai Customs seal on the notice, everyone suspected that the newly appointed supervisor of Jianghai Customs, the 14th prince, had gone crazy, either kicked by a donkey or pinched by a door.
Doubts are doubts, but when faced with this rare opportunity, countless young men from poor families also don't care about the holiday anymore, and they rush to Shanghai with their friends to see if they can hit it big.
At the same time, the prominent families of Jiangsu and Zhejiang also received a formal letter from Yongzheng, who politely stated that as Shanghai was newly established and lacked talented personnel, he hoped that each family would recommend outstanding young men with excellent talent and high moral character to come to Shanghai.
Fourteenth Prince Yi Xiang Beile Yin Zhen has been making waves in the imperial court and the countryside this year. The Agricultural College, the "Four Constants", the ocean-going fleet, the Jianghai Customs supervision, and the cotton monopoly - all are grand gestures that have been pulling on the nerves of the prominent families of Jiangnan at every moment. Now he is asking them to recommend their outstanding sons, which is a dream come true for them. Each family immediately sent their most exceptional sons to Shanghai.
Yin Zhen's reputation for seeking talent like a thirsty man quickly spread to the two rivers, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Upon receiving the news, the aristocratic families were unwilling to fall behind and hastily sent their excellent young sons to Shanghai. It would be even better if they could gain the recognition of the 14th prince; even knowing in advance what the 14th prince's next move would be would allow them to seize the initiative. The 14th prince's methods for making money are now known throughout the world.
In Guangzhou, Macau and Shanghai, foreigners were allowed to reside and cotton was specified for export in Shanghai, which caused a great sensation. Astute businessmen immediately sensed the business opportunity from it. Western missionaries had long received the news brought by five missionaries including Peter, and they were overjoyed at the chance of residing in the interior of China to preach. As soon as the news spread, they sent people to Shanghai to set up a foothold while trying their best to persuade and recruit various talents needed by Shen Bingyuan. As long as they could curry favor with Shen, who was actually in power in Shanghai, they would be able to quickly gain a foothold there. At that time, large numbers of businessmen, missionaries and foreigners flocked to Shanghai by boat.
Two days later, the notice that Jiang Hai Guan would transport giant wooden ships free of tax and give priority to supplying cotton quotas spread rapidly throughout the coastal areas. At this time, local merchants and ship owners didn't care about the previous three-year agreement not to transport wood, and they all worked together to find ways to collect giant wooden ships.
The tax is not a big deal, the problem is the quota for cotton cloth. These sea merchants are all shrewd businessmen with foresight. Everyone knows that if they can't grab this year's quota for cotton cloth, it may be gone forever. Who would be willing to give up their allocated quota once they have it? Even if they could get a quota in the future, they would have to pay several times more than now.
At one time, merchants carrying a large amount of silver or silver notes to purchase giant timber for shipbuilding flocked to the sea, going north and south, buying wood everywhere. The northeastern region, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and various timber-producing areas in the mainland suddenly set off a wave of giant timber-cutting frenzy.
