My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 202 Huge Profits

The Japanese left happily and bought a lot of precious materials such as sugar and liquor before leaving. They thought they had returned with a full load this time.

Of course, the so-called liquor is all the highly fermented sweet potato liquor brewed by Zhang Dewang. Although the aroma is not as mellow and diverse as the liquor sent by Li Han, the strong aroma of the liquor also makes the Japanese unable to stop.

Zhu Yuanzhang also happily sent the Japanese away because he knew that it was the Ming Dynasty that truly reaped the benefits.

The Japanese valued the establishment of trade relations, but what they didn't know was that the Ming Dynasty valued the establishment of trade relations more. This was the Japanese putting a collar around their own necks that bound them.

In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang personally nailed a nail into the heart of Japan, and this nail was called Daoyan!

The main agenda of the court meeting the day after the Japanese were sent away was the harvest from the Ming Dynasty's first maritime trade.

When the civil and military officials listened to Yang Siyi's memorial, they couldn't help but show expressions of surprise.

In this sea trade, three 5,000-ton steamships of the Ming Dynasty carried a total of more than 10,000 tons of sugar and sailed through Ryukyu, Penghu Islands, Luzon, Temasek, Annan and other places. All the sugar was sold and was very popular wherever it went.

The Ming Dynasty harvested millions of taels of silver, more than 100,000 taels of gold, various rare spices such as cloves, cinnamon and pepper, and countless luxury goods such as gems, pearls and ivory.

All the ministers were stunned when they heard this. The income from just one maritime trade exceeded the fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty for an entire year. This trade was too profitable!

Zhu Yuanzhang was also shocked. Old Li was not lying to me. Trade is indeed faster than robbing money!

In fact, not only the ministers were shocked, even Yang Siyi, the Minister of Revenue, was shocked when he counted the income.

Although he knew that maritime trade could make money, he did not expect it to be so profitable. Moreover, after deducting the costs, a portion of the income would go into the national treasury. By then, he, Yang Siyi, would be the true God of Wealth of the Ming Dynasty!
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty needs money everywhere, including military equipment, education, research and development, people's livelihood, agriculture and sericulture, and the investment in factory construction and industrialization is a gold-devouring monster. Not to mention, Li Min's first phase investment in building a new shipyard in Songjiang alone has exceeded 300,000 strings of cash.

Moreover, Your Majesty has ordered Fang Xiaoru to start compiling the Hongwu Encyclopedia, which is another huge expense.

Before the fleet returned, although factories such as sugar mills and steel mills also brought in considerable financial and tax revenue, the expenses were too high and Yang Siyi was stretched everywhere. Now that he has such a large income, he can start spending money lavishly.

To use a popular saying nowadays, "I have never fought such a rich battle."

Xu Da's old face was already beaming with joy. He had already made plans in his mind. After deducting the costs, dividends from the court, and the profits from expansion, the dividends from the Xu family alone would be more than 50,000 taels of silver. This did not even include the 30% of the profits, and there was also performance appraisal!
This time, his eldest son Xu Huizu personally led the Musket Battalion to be responsible for the escort, so he must at least win the first prize, which is another considerable reward.

Moreover, His Majesty will present the award personally, and the glorious image of his Xu Huizu will even be included in the honor roll of the imperial palace!

The Xu family is truly an honor to the family.

Not only Xu Da, but also Li Wenzhong, Tang He and others were calculating with joy how much profit they could get.

As for the other nobles who did not invest, they were regretting their decision very much at this moment. What was even more infuriating was that Xu Da would provoke them with a smug look from time to time, which was even more intolerable.

If this wasn't in the court, I would definitely have to fight that old man to the death.

After the court session, Zhu Yuanzhang held another banquet in the palace, but this time it was a family banquet. In addition to members of the royal family, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong and other nobles were also invited.

The main purpose of the banquet, in addition to celebrating the great success of the first maritime trade, was to welcome Xu Huizu.

The Imperial Garden was decorated magnificently, with lanterns hung everywhere, brightly lit and colorful. It was not yet time, and in the Imperial Garden, apart from the busy palace maids and eunuchs, only Zhu Yuanzhang was talking to Empress Ma.

It has been a long time since the old couple had such a happy conversation.

"Chongba, we are an old married couple, why did you give me this? It would be bad if the children saw it. I have always taught them to be thrifty. This thing is too expensive. People will gossip about it."

While Queen Ma said this, she was stroking the huge ruby ​​that Zhu Yuanzhang had given her, and her face was full of happiness.

Although she lived deep in the palace, Empress Ma could clearly feel that the Ming Dynasty had changed tremendously over the past year.

From investing in factories, to the Northern Expedition to the desert, to ocean trade, the Ming Dynasty's national strength was growing, and the contributions of these extraordinary people were indispensable.

Not to mention the magical hot air balloon that can fly into the sky, or the projector that can transform into a myriad of things, just the mobile phone that can take pictures is enough to fascinate people.

During this period, Zhu Funing often asked her to take photos of her. Looking at herself in the photos, Empress Ma felt that she had become much younger. She felt like a fairy and was extremely beautiful.

There was also a lot more laughter and joy in the palace.

Although her grandchildren became obsessed with playing war games in the palace all day after seeing the sword, causing her a lot of worry.

I'm afraid all this started when Zhu Yuanzhang found the elixir from a strange man and used it to cure his own illness.

From that day on, she became curious about this extraordinary man and wanted to meet him in person to express her gratitude for everything he had done for the Ming Dynasty and for saving her life.

The only thing that made her feel regretful was that Qi Ren refused the engagement with Huai Qing, which was really a pity.

"Sister, you are our queen and the master of this harem. It's just a gem, which is nothing. Let's see who is bold enough to gossip about it!
Haven't you seen that old man Xu Da, after receiving his dividends, buy lots of gold and silver jewelry for his family?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's words interrupted her contemplation. She smiled slightly and said, "Chongba, I know what you mean, but you are the ruler of the Ming Dynasty, so you should set an example."

"Sister, we understand, we understand." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

The two were talking when Zhu Biao came over with his family. He had also invested in the maritime trade and got a lot of dividends this time. He looked very happy and in a very good mood.

"Greetings, father and mother." When seeing Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, Zhu Biao bowed respectfully.

"Biao'er, you are good in every way except that you are too polite. We said it's a family dinner, so just call us dad and mom." Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be angry.

"Yes, yes, Biao'er has met his father and mother."

"Hahaha, that's more like it."

After Concubine Lu and Zhu Yunwen had paid their respects to Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, Zhu Biao sat down and said:
"Dad, this maritime trade is really beyond my expectations. I never thought that maritime trade could make so much money. I heard from Minister Yang that the profit this time is equivalent to the fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty for more than a year."

(End of this chapter)