Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 152 Royal Curse, Blood of Relatives!

It is already late autumn, and the capital is getting cooler.

In the main hall of Yuxi Palace, Zhang Juzheng and several other cabinet ministers were sweating profusely, and seemed to be very hot.

Zhu Houcong looked at them indifferently.

Zhang Juzheng asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, how much silk should be traded with Tatar in the first batch? What should the price be?"

Well fed and warmed, well fed and warmed.

Eat full first and then warm.

Now, the Ming Dynasty court provided the Tatars with a huge amount of food, and with the basis of food and clothing, the Tatars, especially the Tatar nobles who yearned for the culture and materials of the Ming Dynasty, would inevitably flock to silk, tea, and porcelain.

As for tea and porcelain, there were not many official products of the imperial court, so even if they were not sold to the Tatars, the problem could be solved within the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

However, there were many restrictions on silk, especially luxurious silk, in the Ming Dynasty. The people of the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to wear clothes in bright yellow, red and purple colors.

People are naturally fond of this kind of brightly colored clothes. Zhang Juzheng had no doubt that after opening the silk trade with Tatar, wearing silk clothes would become a trend among Tatar nobles.

As long as there are two or more people, there will be a sense of competition. Before, we didn't think there would be such a sales channel, but now the thinking and pattern have been opened. The huge Tartar and the completely blank market are opportunities for the Ming court to make money.

"Let's say one hundred thousand pieces. The price will be the same as that of Western merchants, fifteen taels of silver per piece." Zhu Houcong said calmly.

Zhang Juzheng heard this and said tactfully, "Your Majesty, this is our first transaction. Is the quantity a bit too much? Is the price a bit too high?"

According to the emperor's pricing, 100,000 rolls of silk would cost 1.5 million taels of silver, which was enough for the Tatars to buy 15 million kilograms of grain from the Ming Dynasty, enough to feed the Tatars' 2 million soldiers and civilians for ten days.

I'm afraid the Tatars will not be able to accept such pricing.

"not tall."

Zhu Houcong saw that Zhang Juzheng also had some shortcomings in business economics, so he smiled and said, "Fifteen taels of silver is only the price of a cow and a sheep among the Tatars. A Tatar herdsman with a few more cows and sheep can afford it.

As for those ordinary Tatar herdsmen who can barely make a living, let alone think about buying silk or wearing silk clothes.

Silk clothes are precious clothing in our Ming Dynasty."

At this point, Zhu Houcong's words were full of sarcasm.

Products of the same brand are sold at a very high price in China, but very cheaply abroad. Moreover, the quality of goods exported abroad is even higher than that of goods produced in China. Some even say that foreigners are only worthy of eating and wearing these defective products.

Having lived two lives, Zhu Houcong has only one evaluation for these beasts who worship foreign things, fawn on foreigners, and forget their ancestors: they are despicable!

They claim to open up overseas markets with low prices and high quality, but they are incapable of achieving uniform quality at home and abroad. To put it bluntly, don’t they feel deep down that the products under their own brand are worthless and are just cheap goods?

Even he himself thinks he is a cheap thing. He acts so noble in front of his compatriots, but he didn't expect that even people abroad think he is a cheap thing.

A brand that Chinese people think is cheap, I think it is cheap, and even foreigners think it is cheap. It is really cheap. Silk clothes were not something that ordinary people could consume in the Ming Dynasty. How could they sell them to Tatars, thinking that ordinary herdsmen with the smell of cattle and sheep could wear them?
That's not considerate!
That's despicable!

Our ancestors knelt before the barbarians of the Yuan Dynasty. Now, hundreds of years have passed and the Ming Dynasty has been established for two hundred years. Can’t they stand up again?
Those knees are not soft, but broken. Since you have become useless, just kneel down obediently. Don't feel wronged when the knife cuts off your top of the head one day!
Cheap and useless stuff.

Although the emperor did not criticize, Zhang Juzheng felt a burning sensation on his face. He then remembered that the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars were enemies. What was the point of worrying about the enemy?
"Yes." Zhang Juzheng said respectfully.

It went more smoothly than expected, and most of the cabinet's proposals were approved. After Huang Jin stamped his seal on it, he hurriedly chose to step down.

Li Chunfang retreated the fastest, but Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were not slow either.

Obviously they all have "urgent matters" to deal with.

The smuggling of silk, tea and porcelain was no secret in the Ming Dynasty.

Officials, wealthy families, and even the royal family were all involved in the smuggling business.

The Xinghua Li family behind Li Chunfang has participated in many events. In order to continue the family, they have to cut off their tail and survive.

Zhang Juzheng and his companions did not dare to fully guarantee that their families were not involved in the smuggling business, and they hurried back to send a message to their families to conduct an internal investigation.

If something is really found out, it would be better to sacrifice one's relatives for the sake of justice to avoid blood being splattered on oneself.

Zhang Juzheng's cabinet really did not expect that although the emperor did not plan to trade with the West this year, all kinds of goods found suitable buyers at suitable prices.

Food, silk... and so on. Your Majesty, you are truly wise and powerful!
Those people and goods smuggled to the West are in trouble.

But, will it really be as the emperor said? Will the smugglers and goods be spared?
You know, in the smuggling business, the royal family is the most rampant. Officials and wealthy families will also be secretive and will not reveal their identities when trading by ship.

The royal family is different. They sell smuggled goods at high prices in the Western market under the name of royal products.

The emperor can kill officials, can kill big families, can kill merchants, but can he kill the royal family? Is his hands stained with the blood of his relatives?
There is a curse that has always been circulating among the Zhu royal family, which is to kill relatives without knowing the reason.

Some say that this curse appeared after Emperor Chengzu Wen ascended the throne after the Jingnan Rebellion. Others say that this curse appeared after Emperor Chengzu Wen forced Emperor Renzong, the King of Han, the King of Zhao, and the Crown Prince Emperor Xuanzong to swear to be close to each other, but after Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, he stewed and roasted the King of Han. Still others say that this curse appeared after Emperor Yingzong launched a coup d'état and launched a restoration, and after the mysterious death of Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu.

In short, after Emperor Taizu Gao, the emperors of Emperor Chengzu Wen's lineage always encountered many twists and turns after they succeeded to the throne, and their hands were stained with the blood of their relatives. Then, the various abnormal deaths of the emperors made the family curse even more mysterious.

Zhang Juzheng and the other four did not know whether the current emperor believed in the curse of relatives, but they were very anxious and wanted to know what was written in the imperial edict that the emperor gave directly to Hai Rui without going through the cabinet.
……

Hangzhou Prefecture, Qiantang Bay!
This is the only estuary bay in the Ming Dynasty.

It is also the docking place of Hangzhou, the window to the world.

In one day, countless goods are shipped in and out of here.

Hangzhou Prefecture Prefect Hai Rui, Hangzhou Prefecture Tongpan Wang Yongji, and Zhejiang Qianhu Suo Qianhu Shen Yu stood on the dock, looking at the slowly approaching ships from afar, with three shifts of yamen runners and Jinyiwei Tiqi standing behind them...

(End of this chapter)