Chapter 1181 - Shen Tingyang

Shen Tingyang had long been on the radar of both the Great Library and Zhao Yingong. This was not merely because he was a famous figure of the late Ming, but more importantly because of his sand junk guild background.

Personal information on Shen Tingyang was scarce, but certain facts spoke volumes: he was a National University student, could fund the construction of sand junks for sea transport from his own pocket, and could immediately produce a hundred large ships when the Ming fell. All this indicated the Shen family was a wealthy maritime shipping clan. Consider that each of those large ships cost at least one to two thousand taels of silver in the late Ming. Calculating from his memorial to the Hongguang court—mentioning his hundred ships, each capable of carrying two hundred soldiers—the total asset value of just these water-transport vessels alone exceeded 100,000 taels of silver. And the Shen family could not possibly own only these ships; they certainly possessed many smaller vessels as well. Additionally, following the common practice of late Ming wealthy merchants, they would have purchased large tracts of land, opened shops, and operated various enterprises. Adding it all together, the Shen family's total assets would conservatively reach at least 500,000 taels.

The Shen family were no ordinary merchants. Shen Tingyang had once maintained connections with Hong Chengchou. After his capture, Hong Chengchou had even tried to save his life—evidence that Shen's background was far from humble. The Shen family were not merely wealthy merchants but likely had dealings with high officials at court.

This type of merchant—well-connected in official circles, commanding substantial capital and ships—would make an excellent proxy against Zheng Zhilong.

The challenge was persuading this Master Shen to cooperate. On this front, Zhao Yingong had advantages. Through his contacts with the Revival Society and especially his promotion of the grain tribute sea transport proposal, he had won Zhang Pu's favor and gained a modest reputation in Jiangnan literati circles. The assessment that "Manager Zhao of Hangzhou's Wanbi Bookstore possesses learning of practical application" had spread far and wide—his bookstore's "Australian style" and many novel products and books had made him a topic of conversation among Jiangnan literati. So before sending someone to express his hope of visiting Shen Tingyang, he already possessed sufficient confidence that he would not be turned away at the door.

It seemed that in any timeline, if one wished to accomplish great things, one needed some measure of fame. Otherwise, even harboring world-shaking abilities, most would simply take you for a madman—and a Bole was ever hard to find.

Had the External Intelligence Bureau and Colonization and Trade Ministry not established this bookstore beforehand, allowing him to "cultivate his reputation," any thought of accomplishing something in Jiangnan would have been pure fantasy.

Throughout the journey, Zhao Yingong had been considering how to persuade Shen Tingyang. From historical records, Shen Tingyang was someone quite capable of execution, with considerable achievements in maritime shipping: he possessed technical expertise and a willingness to take risks. Born in 1594, he was now in his prime—not yet forty, at the peak of his physical and mental powers. He surely harbored ambitious ideas about undertaking great enterprises.

Zhao Yingong knew that directly persuading Shen Tingyang to enter Japan trade would likely fail—the venture was too dramatic, and to people of this era it would seem like gambling. So he decided to raise, several years ahead of schedule, the very suggestion that Shen Tingyang himself would propose in history: converting grain tribute from canal to sea transport.

The fact that Shen Tingyang would later propose this to the court indicated he had clearly been considering and planning it for many years—which was why he succeeded on his first attempt. If Zhao raised it now, the other party would surely respond enthusiastically. Moreover, Zhang Pu was also keenly interested in converting grain tribute to sea transport. As a Jiangnan scholar, Shen Tingyang could hardly remain uninfluenced by Zhang Pu.

Once they achieved even a single success, Shen Tingyang's trust in him would deepen. Then the likelihood of his agreeing to the Japan proposal would improve dramatically.

Zhao Yingong pondered all the way, and the sedan chair gradually approached Chongming County town.

Chongming Island's history as a seat of government was brief. Only during the Yuan Dynasty was a city built on Yaoliu Sandbar, establishing a prefecture—Chongming Island's first administrative center. Later, as Yaoliu Sandbar continued eroding southward, the seat of government relocated twice northward. In the second year of Ming Hongwu, Chongming was downgraded from prefecture to county, and the seat moved from Yaoliu Sandbar first to Sansha, then to Pingyang Sandbar. In the sixteenth year of Ming Wanli, Chongming's administrative seat finally moved to Changsha Town, which would remain the site of Chongming County town ever after.

In this timeline, Chongming County fell under Suzhou Prefecture's jurisdiction, so when Shen Tingyang died for his country, he was listed in Suzhou's Hall of Five Hundred Worthies. He hailed from Xinhe Township in Chongming County, and his residence was not in the county town. But Zhao Yingong had already received word from a servant sent by the other party, inviting him to meet at a villa outside the county town.

Due to its geographical situation, Chongming Island had developed highly advanced shipbuilding and shipping industries, particularly for Yangtze River and coastal transport. Ancient Chongming's shipbuilding and waterborne transportation were remarkably sophisticated. The Chongming sand junk—suited for navigating among shoals and sandbars—had originated here and become famous throughout the nation. Along the way, many shipyards appeared near the docks outside the county town, with hulls of sand junks under construction standing on wooden frames along the mudflats. The coastal docks bristled with masts, with many sand junks of various sizes at anchor.

Zhao Yingong knew: sand junks featured flat bottoms, making them especially suited to the many shoals and sandbars in China's coastal and major river waterways. They were not afraid of running aground, highly adaptable to various docks and channels, and because of their flat bottoms, their holds possessed large effective volume and excellent carrying capacity—a very economical and practical coastal cargo vessel. At the same time, they had decent ocean-going capability.

Shanghai was the main construction site and shipping port for sand junks. In the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai would have over five thousand sand junks, with annual throughput reaching two million tons. The British demand to include Shanghai among the open ports after the Opium War was not simply about its geographical advantages.

Zhao Yingong had conducted preliminary research on Shanghai's maritime shipping industry: though the late Ming sand junk guild was not as massive as it would become in the Qing, it still possessed over a thousand vessels. These sand junks sailed along the coast each year between Tianjin and Shanghai, transporting large quantities of civilian cargo.

The Shen family itself operated sand junk maritime shipping. Converting grain tribute to sea transport would be no challenge for him. Presumably the Shen family had always hoped to undertake the court's grain tribute sea transport operations, recapturing the glory of Zhu Qing's direction of northern grain shipment in the Yuan Dynasty.

Thinking along these lines, the sedan chair was already being carried into the Shen family villa's sedan hall. The chair was set down and the armrest removed. Zhao Yingong emerged slowly from the sedan chair with a smile on his face.

Waiting to receive him was a young man around twenty years old—probably one of Shen Tingyang's sons or nephews. He wore a student's blue robe, had a respectful manner, and spoke courteously. He led him all the way to the main hall.

Shen Tingyang was already waiting in the hall. This Master Shen was a National University student. Late Ming National University students were often there through imperial favor or purchase—merely a path to scholar status. Zhao Yingong estimated Master Shen's situation was similar—for a great household like the Shens, obtaining a studentship was simple enough.

This Master Shen appeared about thirty-seven or thirty-eight, handsomely featured, with dark skin and a solid build—clearly a weathered man, not some frail bookish scholar who had read himself to weakness in his study. By his appearance, he had probably been to sea and sailed ships himself.

His manner was bold, his movements imbued with a chivalrous spirit. His Chongming dialect, though not loud, was crisp and decisive. Zhao Yingong could not help feeling more confident about this visit.

Meanwhile, Shen Tingyang was also sizing up Manager Zhao—whose name he had long admired. Not only was Wanbi Villa's reputation like thunder in his ears, but he had also heard that Zhang Pu regarded him highly. Shen Tingyang was not exactly a member of the Revival Society, but Zhang Pu was practically the leader of Jiangnan scholars. Anyone Zhang Pu valued, he naturally regarded more highly as well. Moreover, this Manager Zhao apparently maintained an unusual relationship with the Xu family of Shanghai. Jiangnan literati even rumored that Sun Yuanhua—in-law to the eldest son of Elder Xu's family—had escaped disaster this time partly due to Manager Zhao's efforts on his behalf.

All these factors together made Shen Tingyang quite look forward to Zhao Yingong's visit—what could be Manager Zhao's purpose in seeking him out of his own initiative?

Whatever his purpose, making the acquaintance of such a personage was something Shen Tingyang found quite intriguing.

The two exchanged greetings, took their seats as host and guest, and were served tea. They naturally went through the customary pleasantries of "long-admired your great name" and such before gradually approaching the main topic.

Zhao Yingong steered the conversation to the malpractice of grain tribute transport that he had discussed during his recent visit to Zhang Pu, then raised the topic of "abolishing canal tribute for sea transport"—relating the contents of his discussion with Zhang Pu in full. Through his artful phrasing, of course, the idea became a case of "great minds think alike" rather than originating from his own suggestion.

As expected, this topic immediately scratched Shen Tingyang's itch. Just as Zhao Yingong had anticipated, Shen Tingyang had always harbored deep interest in grain tribute sea transport. He had long studied the tribute transport system as a matter of major state importance. He hoped to emulate his local predecessor Zhu Qing of the Yuan Dynasty, shipping southern grain to the capital by sea, thereby saving the court enormous tribute transport costs. Shen Tingyang understood the court's current fiscal difficulties very well—eliminating the expenses of maintaining the Grand Canal and the tribute boatmen would be extremely attractive to the Emperor.

His predecessor from the same hometown, Zhu Qing, had shipped tribute grain from Liujiagang in Taicang using sand junks built in Shanghai. The very first year he transported 40,000 shi of grain, and at the peak he shipped three million shi annually, with losses so minimal as to be negligible. There was no need to expend endless manpower and resources dredging and maintaining the canal, or supporting a bloated, inefficient fleet of tribute boats and tribute soldiers.

His considerations encompassed not only political ambitions but also practical interests. The Shen family was the largest sand junk operator at the Yangtze estuary. If grain tribute were converted to sea transport, the enormous shipping fees would be quite enticing.

For several years now, Shen Tingyang had been studying Zhu Qing's sea routes, trying to work out a route that was both fast and foolproof—after all, tribute transport was a major state affair that could not be handled carelessly.

But he came from a merchant family and possessed a nimble mind. He immediately understood that this was a serenade intended to win his support: this Manager Zhao had come to see him with precisely this scheme in mind!

This Manager Zhao was truly exceptional! Shen Tingyang was a man of "chivalrous spirit"—knowing well that this matter faced enormous difficulties only made him more interested in the challenge.

(End of Chapter)