Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 343 Sold so many? !

The time goes back to the early morning of that day.

His Majesty once said that the day the fleet leaves for Manila is the day the company will raise funds.

As a result, when the people of Guangzhou were going to the dock to watch the excitement, the wealthy families in the city had already hidden around the governor's office.

"Master, today the Zuixianlou is exceptionally lively."

In the private room on the third floor of Zuixianlou, the slightly plump middle-aged man was frowning and thinking about something that night, and the old servant waiting beside him suddenly said this.

This slightly plump middle-aged man's surname is Liang. Although he cannot be considered the top person in Guangzhou, he can still be considered a top figure.

His ancestors rose to prominence through maritime trade, and even owned a fleet at the height of their glory.

But the fate of ordinary people is always closely related to the general trend. Later, the sea routes were monopolized by Westerners, and it was difficult for Ming merchant ships to sail long distances. Their family also changed from traveling by sea to organizing sources of goods for foreigners.

As a result, the huge profits from maritime trade no longer had anything to do with them, and the family's power gradually declined.

However, it depends on who you compare with. Compared with earlier generations, the Liang family at this time is certainly nothing. But with the accumulation of those years, compared with those who rely on collecting land rent, their Liang family can still hold their own.

Therefore, as soon as Mr. Liang received the news that His Majesty was determined to open up the trade route, he was full of expectations.

After the date of the share subscription was finalized, he came to Zuixianlou, which was just one intersection away from the governor's office, early in the morning and waited.

But it was a little beyond his expectation.

When he came to Zuixianlou with his old servant, although he could not see anything from the lobby on the first floor, the waiters who kept shuttling up and down the stairs clearly told him that the business was booming.

Hot business
The vegetables in this place are extremely expensive, and usually, apart from dignitaries, few people patronize this place. But it is like this today. How could it be possible other than that all the rich people in the city have gathered here?

"It's full, so what? We're all very bad people."

Master Liang was fully aware of the old servant's implication, but he acted as if he didn't care. It seemed that this unexpected situation did not bring him much negative emotion except for being a little surprised.

No wonder.

The city of Guangzhou was originally founded on maritime trade, and 99% of the wealthy families in the city have made a fortune from this.

Previously, they had no choice but to deal with the Dutch who cut off their sea routes. But now that they see hope, most people will not miss this opportunity.

just
"Master, can we do business with the imperial court?"

Everyone knows that maritime trade is a lucrative business, but everyone also knows that teaming up with the imperial court is like courting death.

In the final analysis, the arm is powerless against the thigh. If the court decides to turn its back on its promises, no one can stop it.

Therefore, the old servant who had served the Liang family for decades couldn't help but say something.

"It doesn't matter. Since it's related to maritime trade, we can't miss it anyway. After all, today is a sales day. If the situation is not right, the worst that can happen is that we can just buy less."

The old servant could only nod slowly after hearing the words.

Even though he still instinctively felt a little reluctant about dealing with the imperial court, his master had already spoken and he had no right to comment.

After a while, the servant who was sent to keep an eye on the situation came back. After he told the news that the governor's office had been opened, Master Liang took the old servant out of the private room.

"Brother Liang."

"Brother Chen."

"One?"

"One."

As soon as he went out, Mr. Liang saw an acquaintance.

But just as he expected, neither of them mentioned anything about what happened that night. After saying hello, they went to the governor's office together.

The two of them chatted and laughed along the way. If they met someone they had a good relationship with, they would get together. If they met someone they were not very familiar with, they would just nod slightly. But when Mr. Liang thought that this situation would continue until the singing began, he heard Brother Chen beside him say something with a little surprise.

"How could it be him?"

"Who?"

Brother Chen did not answer Mr. Liang's question immediately. After walking a few steps forward, he seemed to have figured out the reason and then replied indifferently.

"The Wen family of Huating."

"Huating? Isn't that in Zhejiang?"

When Mr. Liang heard the words, he seemed startled. When he followed Brother Chen's gaze, he saw an old man in luxurious clothes going to the governor's office with a few people.

He didn't know what the Wen family did, but he knew that Huating did not belong to Fujian and Guangdong.

Your Majesty had clearly said before that this share issuance would be handled by Guangdong and Fujian, but I never thought that I would see people from Zhejiang here.

I'm afraid he's here to steal food.

Thinking of this, Mr. Liang's face immediately turned ugly, but he was not curious about how people from Zhejiang would participate in this singing and selling.

After all, it is not difficult to find a few locals to act as fronts. Not to mention those foreign enemies who want to enter the market through a backdoor listing, he himself has also found a few for future use.

"It's easy to get things done if you have someone in the court. Your Majesty has only announced it for a few days, but people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, thousands of miles away, have already heard the news. I wonder how many horses our Minister Zhongcheng has run to death."

In response to Brother Chen's complaints, Mr. Liang only echoed a few words and then remained silent.

Although he did not stop at this time, his expectations for this IPO were lowered a bit.

After about half an incense stick of time, wealthy merchants walked through the gate and entered the governor's office. After that, they walked along the stone-paved road for a while and a large courtyard came into view.

It was not the first time that the Governor's Office summoned the gentry and elders, but each time it was in the depressing lobby. It seemed like this was the first time in a place like this.

Seeing this, Mr. Liang did not think much about it. He took a quick look at the situation inside and walked with Brother Chen to the dozens of chairs placed in the middle of the yard.

"Brother Liang, let's focus more on the people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang for a while, and don't raise the price for our own people."

"Well, that's what I'm planning too."

"Then why don't we talk to those we know?"

"Row."

After the words fell, the two men who had just sat down on the chairs stood up and left. They were both making a living in Guangzhou, and even if they were not familiar with each other, as people in the scene, they had all heard of his name.

In a short while, under the active coordination of these two people, the local wealthy businessmen in Guangdong finally reached a tacit understanding.

Master Wen was very aware of the little actions of the locals, but in his opinion, it was all in vain. Could there really be someone who would sacrifice himself for the benefit of others and use his own money to pave the way for others?
Thinking of this, Master Wen couldn't help but smile slightly, but when he was about to say something to the person next to him, a red-robed figure appeared in the yard.

"Greetings, Lord Zhongcheng."

Facing the respect from the merchants and wealthy people in the courtyard, Gu Yuanjing did not put on airs. He walked and greeted everyone cordially. When he reached the desk in front of the courtyard, he cleared his throat and spoke to everyone.

"Maritime trade is a major issue concerning the national economy and people's livelihood. However, the trade routes of our Ming Dynasty to overseas countries have been controlled by the Dutch for a long time, which has resulted in the people of our Ming Dynasty working hard for many years but gaining nothing."

At this point, Gu Yuanjing paused, and after looking around the courtyard and seeing everyone nodding slowly, he clasped his hands together and continued in the direction of the Governor's Mansion, "Fortunately, God has sent the Holy Lord, our navy annihilated thousands of Dutch pirates the day before yesterday and captured more than a hundred enemy warships. The seas of our Great Ming Dynasty are finally peaceful and peaceful, and there is no longer any place where pirates run rampant.

Although the pirates are pacified, the trade routes are unclear. These matters should be handled by you merchants, but Your Majesty understands the difficulties on the sea and finally decided to let our Ming navy protect the trade routes. "

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard bowed to the ground. After they stood up, Gu Yuanjing entered the topic of today.

"However, sending out the navy is very costly and is not a long-term solution. In order to ensure that the people of the Ming Dynasty can profit from maritime trade in the long run, we are raising funds today."

After he finished speaking, Gu Yuanjing took a few steps back. Then, an aide beside him holding a booklet stepped forward and began to read it aloud.

"1. The Ming Maritime Trade Group will be divided into one thousand shares, each worth five thousand taels of silver.

2. The number of shares to be offered this time is 200, and the highest bidder will win.

three,.
27. The shares are held in real names and are tentatively prohibited from being transferred, sold or traded within two years.

28. Shareholders of the Ming Maritime Trade Group have the right to review the company's accounts, and this right is protected by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

35. The details and unfinished matters may be discussed and decided after the establishment of the Board of Directors.

April 15th, the first year of the Jingwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

This charter, which consists of 35 articles, does not have many words in total, but the aide would pause for a long time after reading each article, and it took him three or four cups of tea to finish reading all of them.

"This is the relevant matter of the Sea Trade Group. If you have any questions, you can ask as soon as possible. If not, we can start now."

After the aides left, Gu Yuanjing stood in front of the desk again. He then said a few words for the occasion and prepared to get into the real topic.

To him, it seemed totally unnecessary to wait like this, but to the merchants in the courtyard who had been doing business for half their lives, each of them was worth savoring carefully, but different people had slightly different focuses.

Like Mr. Liang, he is most concerned about numbers 28 and 35.

Although he had no idea what a board of directors was, he could make out about 70% of what it meant. If he added the auditing power protected by His Majesty, then the capital they invested in this company would be protected to the greatest extent.

But for Mr. Wen, what he was most concerned about was Article 27.

According to the original idea of ​​these people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, since this share issuance is targeted at Fujian and Guangdong, the worst that can happen is that they can find some locals to hold the shares on their behalf.

But now the regulations clearly state that it is not allowed to be transferred or sold, so this method has considerable risks.

Of course, it’s not difficult to buy a few indentures here.

But after the incidents in Jiangnan, he realized that the current court was not easy to fool, so after careful consideration, he finally stood up.

"May I ask, Lord Zhongcheng, although I have some businesses in Fujian and Guangdong, my household registration is in Huating, Zhejiang. I wonder if this will have any impact."

"This share offering is only for Fujian and Guangdong. You people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang probably have no hope."

Before Master Wen finished speaking, a sneer came from somewhere in the courtyard, but he seemed not to notice and just smiled at Gu Yuanjing, as if he saw through something.

Those who wanted to make a fuss were naturally disappointed with his performance, but this was in the government office after all, and in front of Gu Yuanjing, someone dared to say such a weird thing, which was already the limit. How could they dare to do nothing about it?

"Well, Your Majesty said before that this time it is only aimed at Fujian and Guangdong," Gu Yuanjing said, inadvertently glancing at the fellow villagers in the courtyard, then hesitated slightly but couldn't say the second half of the sentence.

He really couldn't have imagined that His Majesty would do such a thing. The prohibition of transfer and sale completely blocked the way for Jiangsu and Zhejiang to get involved in maritime trade.

He also couldn't understand why His Majesty would do this.

If it is a sales event, the more people participate, the higher the price will be. But now
Alas~~~, I originally wanted to do some favors, but I never expected to offend all the people in my hometown.

Thinking of this, Gu Yuanjing was confused and embarrassed. But when he was about to give up the idea of ​​the Jiangsu and Zhejiang merchants, he saw a middle-aged man he was quite familiar with kneeling on the ground.

"Please ask the Minister of the Central Secretariat and others to present our case to His Majesty, so that we can fulfill our patriotic aspirations."

"Please ask the Minister of the Central Secretariat and others to present our case to His Majesty, so that we can fulfill our patriotic aspirations."

"Please ask the Minister of the Central Secretariat and others to present our case to His Majesty, so that we can fulfill our patriotic aspirations."

Faced with the pressure from his fellow villagers, Gu Yuanjing was suddenly caught in a dilemma.

Only at this moment did he truly understand the feelings of those predecessors who were forced by their clansmen to resign from their official positions.

But now that things have come to this, what else can he do?
No matter what, he was the one who leaked the information to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If this matter fails, he will have offended all the important people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

"I'll go try it."

After leaving behind these words, Gu Yuanjing went straight to the Governor's office as if he was going to die. Without the high-ranking official to suppress them, whispers gradually began to be heard in the courtyard.

It is easy to imagine the shock these thirty-five articles brought to the merchants present.

Even those from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were still worried about whether they could participate in this IPO, but if you listened carefully you would find that most people were talking about the thirty-five points.

Probably only a few cups of tea's time, the merchants from the four provinces who were discussing the meaning of the thirty-five articles heard footsteps, and then saw Gu Yuanjing walking quickly into the yard.

"Your Majesty, mindful of your sincere desire to serve the country, has approved your participation in this share offering."

After hearing these words, the people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were delighted and prepared to thank the emperor again. However, who would have thought that before they could take any action, Gu Yuanjing had already called out to the staff behind him, and then a loud shout rang out in the courtyard.

"The bidding for the first share begins!"

"Ten thousand taels!"

(End of this chapter)