Chapter 164: A Changed Historical Fact

Cao Guangjiu took the visiting card, his hands trembling. “Quick!” he repeated, “Open the central gate! I will personally welcome him!”

“The master who came said there was no need for such ceremony. I took the liberty of welcoming him to the flower hall…”

“Good, good,” Cao Guangjiu waved his hand. “Go on, tell him I dare not accept the card, and that I will come out to see him at once.” He stomped his foot and scolded the maid, “Are you all dead? Get me changed!”

An hour later, he saw off the clerk who had come to visit. The master of the card was a man of too great a reputation to come himself, but a single clerk bearing his card was enough to give Cao Guangjiu face. He shut himself in his study for a long time, unable to quite fathom the other party’s intentions.

He knew, of course, that the man could not come forward himself and wished to use him as a pawn. Being a pawn was not a problem, so long as the benefits were sufficient. The problem was, he did not know what the other party wanted him to do. This had to be weighed carefully, which was why he had not dared to agree completely.

From the clerk’s words, he had gathered that the master of the card wished to deal with the newly emerged Master Zhao. Though this master’s own background was formidable, the Catholic gentry behind Master Zhao were not to be trifled with. A “poxue dang” like himself, caught in the middle, might get his head broken.

But the potential benefits were truly tantalizing, and he, a “poxue dang,” could not help but swallow the bait.

Thinking of this, he touched the heavy purse the other party had sent. Men die for wealth as birds die for food, he thought. Master Zhao was just an outsider. Though he had some reputation, his roots were not as deep as the master of the card’s. It was better to lean against a big tree for shade. The opportunity was not to be missed.

At that moment, Zhao Yigong was in his estate, arranging the purchase of mulberry leaves.

The smooth implementation of the spring silkworm plan and the official start of the silk reeling factory had filled him with confidence. The local gentry and silk merchants who had profited greatly from the cocoon and silk operation had all, on various occasions, expressed their “admiration” for him. He had become a “capable person,” skilled in maneuvering. Naturally, many were also envious and jealous.

This year’s mulberry leaf purchase was not on a large scale. He needed only enough to satisfy the needs of the three “core villages” and a dozen or so “peripheral villages” he planned to cooperate with, as well as the sericulture farm set up by the Cihui Hall. These villages’ sericulturists already had some of their own mulberry groves and could be partially self-sufficient. Even if the scale of sericulture were to expand next year, the increase would be limited.

Therefore, he had not initially spent many resources on controlling the supply of mulberry leaves, nor had he intended to directly control the mulberry groves themselves. The taxes were too heavy. Secondly, the cost of buying the leaves was not large, and it was convenient. Moreover, if he were to raise summer and autumn silkworms, the price of mulberry leaves would be pitifully low. Mulberry leaves were only valuable in the spring. For the rest of the year, besides the branches that could be used for weaving baskets and as firewood, and the mulberries themselves, there was little profit. So when his men went to the various mulberry groves to request leaves for the summer and autumn seasons, the owners thought they were mad.

The conditions Zhao Yigong offered were very generous: a contract price of one tael of silver per mu. From now until the leaves fell in autumn, all the mulberry leaves produced in the grove would belong to Zhao Yigong. His people could come and pick them at any time, without the owner’s help. For the current Zhao Yigong, manpower was the least valuable input. With a large number of free laborers, it would be a waste not to use them.

For the mulberry grove owners, though the income of one tael per mu was small, it was extra income. A small supplement. Therefore, the purchase of the summer and autumn mulberry leaves went very smoothly. Zhao Yigong did not spend much silver to acquire enough for two seasons.

He had wanted to buy the quota for next spring in one go, not only to meet his own needs but also to make a huge profit by selling it later. However, he found the required capital to be quite large. He was currently juggling too many projects: bookstores, printing and publishing, sericulture, raw silk, maritime trade… and the huge refugee camp. Each required a large amount of capital, and his cash flow was mainly sustained by the money from the China Merchants’ Bureau. Such a juggling act was not unique to the old timeline, and it was not impossible that someone would see through his little tricks.

For now, it was a small operation. Though he had many other ideas, Zhao Yigong had to be content. The bigger steps would have to wait until next year. At present, he lacked sufficient strength, and the influence of the Fanhaijin was not enough. In this society where the powerful take all, he had to be careful. There were still many things he had to do.

“Jiying!”

He called out, and Jiying immediately appeared at the door of the study, waiting for his orders.

“Prepare a boat for me, to Shanghai!”

To facilitate his travels in Jiangnan, he had long since purchased a Wuxi fast boat. With one order, the boatmen would row in shifts day and night, and in a few days, they could reach the important political and commercial centers of Jiangnan such as Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nanjing. Shanghai, in particular, was the most important commercial channel for the Fanhaijin in the entire Jiangnan region. Shanhai Wulu had set up institutions here. Zhao Yigong’s upcoming trade with Japan also used Shanghai as its operation center.

The goods to be shipped to Japan were currently being gradually transported to Shanghai for assembly. In addition to the traditional exports—raw silk, silk, white sugar, Chinese medicinal materials, and porcelain, purchased by the Hangzhou station from suppliers in Jiangnan, Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi—there were also a large number of daily necessities and hardware produced in Lingao.

Though 17th-century Japan had made great progress in agriculture and commerce, its handicraft industry was very backward. While traditional Japanese handicrafts were highly skilled, they were very specialized. The exquisiteness of niche consumer goods far exceeded the general level, but both the quality and production capacity of mass consumer goods were seriously insufficient. Historically, they had relied on a large number of imported Chinese-made daily necessities. The scarcity of hardware, in particular, was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Even the most common items like iron nails were often unavailable. The so-called lack of nails for the construction of the Great Buddha and temples, and thus the need to carry out the “sword hunt,” was not a ridiculous excuse in the eyes of the people at that time.

And in the current industrial system of the Fanhaijin, the industrial products that could be exported and dumped in large quantities, besides paper, were hardware. They were exported in large quantities not only to the Guangdong market but also to Jiangnan. The export to Japan would naturally not be missed.

However, he had rushed to Shanghai not for the matter of exporting to Japan, but because Shen Tingyang had invited him to discuss something. The letter did not specify the matter, only saying that it was “urgent.”

What matter could be so urgent that he had to be called to Shanghai to discuss it immediately? Shanghai was the future headquarters of the China Merchants’ Bureau, the starting point for trade with Japan and the sea transport of tribute grain. To discuss it here was obviously related to these two matters.

Zhao Yigong pondered this all the way. As soon as he arrived in Shanghai and settled in his mansion, he did not care about his travel fatigue and immediately sent a letter to the Shen family’s mansion to arrange a meeting.

That evening, the two met in Zhao Yigong’s Shanghai mansion.

Zhao Yigong had been worried that Shen Tingyang would cause trouble over the matter of contributing his ships as shares, but unexpectedly, the man was all smiles. As soon as they met, he cupped his hands in congratulations.

“The court finally has some sensible people!” Shen Tingyang was very excited.

“What?!” Zhao Yigong knew it had nothing to do with the Japan trade, and his heart was relieved by half. He knew the other man’s primary concern was abolishing the canal transport in favor of sea transport. Could the Ming court have really changed its ways? Had they experimented with sea transport of tribute grain earlier than in history? He tentatively asked, “Could it be that the court has already agreed to abolish the canal transport and switch to sea transport?”

“Hehehe, you jest!” Shen Tingyang laughed. “If the court acted with such decisiveness, how could it be in its current state!”

Zhao Yigong smiled awkwardly. It was better for him to say less on this issue. Shen Tingyang was a local tycoon of Jiangnan; it didn’t matter what he said. It was better for him, an outsider, to be more discreet.

Shen Tingyang also seemed to feel his comment on court politics was inappropriate and immediately returned to the original topic. “A major matter like abolishing the canal transport cannot be accomplished overnight. But there is a matter at hand now. If it is done well, it will be the cause of the future abolition of the canal.”

He told Zhao Yigong that after the suppression of the Dengzhou rebellion, the entire system of transporting grain and provisions from Dengzhou to Liaodong had been completely destroyed. The grain, silver, and military equipment originally gathered in Dengzhou were lost. The requests for grain and provisions from Guanning and Dongjiang were flying in like snowflakes.

“…You probably also know the habits of these soldiers,” Shen Tingyang said, his good mood making him talkative. “Since the end of the Wanli reign, the world has been in turmoil, and troops have been needed everywhere. These generals have all become arrogant and domineering. Without grain and provisions, they won’t even move, let alone fight. For so many years, the court has invested millions of taels of silver and grain every year, just to barely maintain the situation.”

After the Dengzhou rebellion, the supply line to Dongjiang and Guanning was cut. Land transport was time-consuming and consumed even more manpower and material resources. Therefore, both the Ministry of War and the Grand Secretariat were eager to find new supply routes.

“…So this time, the court has issued a decree to transport tribute grain directly from Jiangnan to Liaodong!” Shen Tingyang seemed very happy.

“Is this matter to be handled by you, Brother Wumei?”

“Exactly!” Shen Tingyang was so excited he almost danced. “I have already asked someone to submit a memorial and have also submitted the Book of Sea Transport and the Map of Sea Transport.”

Zhao Yigong vaguely remembered that this should have happened after Shen Tingyang became a secretary of the Grand Secretariat. The current Shen Tingyang was still just an imperial college student; it would be several years before he became a secretary. Obviously, something had changed.