Chapter 1427 Zhejiang Maritime Customs, Zhejiang Right Governor!

In May of the seventh year of Hongzhi (1494). Daming, Ningbo Port.

Blue bricks are connected with white tiles, and the stacked shops and houses spread out along the port, with 300 dazzling shops. Three rivers converge at the mouth of the river, and the prosperous "Mingzhou" is right on the river and sea, extending thirty miles of prosperity. At the end of this prosperous age, there is the Ashoka Temple, which has been in existence for more than a thousand years, standing quietly in the eastern suburbs of Ningbo. At this moment, the morning bell echoes in the quiet woods.

"Dang! Dang!..."

Shi Wende knelt in front of the Buddha statue, bowed his head and worshiped for a moment, silently reciting something. Then, he stood up, and the servant next to him put on the black gauze hat for raising people, and another servant presented a heavy sincerity to the host. Afterwards, during the "sincere" sutra chanting by the host, the three people left the temple and went straight to the wooden stakes at the door where the horses were tied.

"Master? Would you like some snacks?..."

"No need. I just paid homage to the Buddha, and with the help of this Zen and Buddha spirit, I went to meet Fan Tai. Fan Tai's annex is near this Buddhist temple. He is a Bodhisattva. When we meet, I will mention What I saw and heard at the Buddhist temple this morning can help me get closer to him, and maybe I can talk about it..."

"Ah! I see it clearly! Wisdom is all given by Mazu!..."

"Ha ha!…"

Just this nondescript flattery exposed Chongming Shi's background. Shi Wende smiled and got on the horse, running at a slow pace for half an hour. The harbor in the distance once again appeared in front of us, and the large "ships" moored one after another were this port, the source and symbol of amazing wealth!

"Fan ships, fan ships... barbarian ships, Japanese ships... But there are so many barbarian ships and Japanese ships in Ningbo's harbor! Behind these foreign ships, there are more or less Zhejiang sea masters Their shadows! However, how hard is it to find a suitable cornucopia? ... Even if you can travel overseas and collect valuable goods from the barbarian Japanese... If you want to legally transport them back to Ningbo, do it openly here... How difficult is it?…”

Looking at the bustling port, Shi Wende's complicated emotions also rose and fell with the horse's back. Ever since Taizu of the Ming Dynasty left his ancestral precepts, the Ming Dynasty has implemented maritime bans on the bright side. Legal ocean trade can only be carried out at three ports: the "Ningbo Port Shipping Division" in Zhejiang, the "Quanzhou-Fuzhou Port Shipping Division" in Fujian, and the "Guangzhou Port Shipping Division" in Guangdong. Moreover, the ships being traded must be "Fan ships" on the surface, that is, "ships of overseas Chinese people", and must also have tribute and trade permission!

Since the establishment of the Municipal Shipping Department by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the political philosophy followed has been to "specialize in paying tribute, treating people from afar with kindness, and making guests from all over the world submissive." Among them, Ningbo mainly faces Japan, Quanzhou-Fuzhou faces the Ryukyus, and Guangzhou faces the Nanyang vassals. They must be "divided and ruled without interconnection."

In other words, the Municipal Shipping Department was a diplomatic department from the beginning of its design! It is not an economic department, let alone the customs for import and export transactions. Trade has never been its responsibility!

Therefore, from the perspective of the political logic of the court, if the vassals are all obedient and the political goal of "serving guests from all directions" is achieved, all shipping departments can be closed or overseas trade can be reduced to the greatest extent. And if the vassal rebels and this goal cannot be achieved at all, then the city shipping department can also be closed down, just like the previous chaos in the Japanese country and the Northern and Southern Dynasties... This is the most common political consideration when the government banned and loosened the sea ban several times in the past 100 years or so. .

However, more than a hundred years have passed, and the original "simple" political design of Ming Taizu is no longer in line with the current situation of the empire's prosperous commerce! Similarly, no matter how stubborn the emperor's ancestral precepts are, they will inevitably loosen to varying degrees under the long-term infiltration of wealth and interests.

At present, under the control of the eunuchs, the actual functions and work of the three major shipping departments have changed to varying degrees. The number of "fan ships" traded in the shipping companies of the three major cities, and the "fan ships" pretending to be Ming Ship, is also increasing, and it has far exceeded the acceptable permit. Even commercial tax collection, which did not exist before, appeared naturally under the management of middle officials. Here, the Guangdong Shipping Department was the first to pioneer the "Fanbo Water Payment" and distribute it directly to the entire yamen!

Therefore, how big the loosening of the sea ban is, how many "fan ships" can be traded with one piece, how many times of trading, how much water is extracted, whether it is necessary to strictly abide by the frequency of "tribute"... it all depends on the flexibility of the officials. bottom line” and “enforcement standards.”

Of course, the most basic political principle is that "fan ships" that come to trade must be affiliated with... No, they must have a valid certificate issued by the Ming Dynasty to the vassal country, so that they will not be "forced to enforce the law" by the Ming Navy. If there was a "gold leaf inscription" given to the vassal by the Ming Dynasty, there would be even more room for maneuver!

The degree of laxity in the enforcement of this sea ban is usually inversely proportional to the distance from Shuntian Prefecture and the degree of central control. Guangdong's shipping department has the loosest law enforcement, the scale of "fan shipping" trade is the largest, and it is also the top expatriate agency. The enforcement of the law by the Fujian Shipping Department is a little looser, and middle-level officials need to be more cautious. As for the Zhejiang Shipping Company, it is the tightest, and even if you are not careful, you will lose your head!

"It has been one hundred and thirty years since the founding of our country in the Ming Dynasty! The population in Zhejiang is booming. How can we support ourselves just by relying on these fields that have long been divided up? And the taxes imposed by the imperial court on Zhejiang are the highest in the country... so People from coastal Zhejiang Province have no choice but to go to sea! Just like me, the Chongming Shi family, how can we support our people with the little farmland on the island..."

"However, if there is no written contract, and only the manipulation of the eunuchs is used to conduct fake "foreign ship" trade... Although the commission secretly demanded is heavy, it is still tolerable compared with the lucrative sea trade. But the court's laws are sometimes loose and sometimes tight, and the eunuchs in the inner court come and go... If you are not careful, you will die and your family will be destroyed!"

"Just like since the current emperor took the throne, he executed the eunuch Liang Fang, expelled the "traitors", trusted the "gentlemen", and made the "many upright people in the court". The eunuchs of the Maritime Customs were all uneasy, fearing that they would be caught by the censors and impeached. The opening of the sea trade is getting tighter and tighter! Especially in Ningbo Port, Zhejiang, the eunuchs can't even make the decision. First, let the governor's Liu Fantai is in control. Liu Fantai had just been transferred to the Yellow River to manage the floods, but Wang Fantai came to continue to control Ningbo Port! …”

“This Wang Fantai is a Jinshi from the north, who was promoted from the border town of Shaanxi. It is said that he has made achievements in defending the border and resisting the invaders. He does not seem to be a moral person… For the future of my Chongming Shi family, I have no choice but to resort to this last resort and give it a try to see if I can get a Kanhe! … If it fails, the inspection of the Taipingao Inspection Office will become more and more strict… Then the trade on the sea will either have to risk being introduced into private trade, or it will have to be stopped for a few years! …”

Thinking of the bribes that were not presentable and the sea trade that had to be carried out in this way, Shi Wende frowned and felt a danger of walking on thin ice. This is a test that most of the sea traders in the Ming Dynasty must face throughout their lives!

And once the test fails, the crime of pretending to be a foreign ship for trade is weighed, and the weight of a thousand pounds cannot be weighed, and the government's guillotine will be ruthlessly cut down! At that time, there will be no other way to survive except abandoning the family business and going into exile overseas!

Thinking of this worst outcome, Shi Wende pursed his lips, and his heart beat faster. After all, in the Ming Dynasty, merchants were just the lowest class. In the eyes of the government, sea merchants were even more like bandits who acted recklessly and did not abide by the law. And the only "right way" was...

In front of a courtyard with white high walls, Shi Wende jumped off his horse a few dozen steps in advance. Then, he handed the horse to the servant and straightened his black gauze as a juren. Then, he walked to the red gate of the courtyard in small steps, bowed slightly to the gatekeeper who raised his head slightly and looked like a Qin person, and a friendly smile appeared on his face. And one of his hands, which was already holding an envelope in his sleeve, quickly touched the gatekeeper's hand.

"Student Shi Wende, I'm here to see the governor... I've handed in my visiting card three days ago, and the appointment is today."

The concierge narrowed his eyes, weighed the envelope in his sleeve, and then smiled, responding politely.

"It turns out to be Shi Xiaolian! The master has already told you in advance... Please come this way!"

Shi Wende followed the concierge and entered the first courtyard. Then, in a side room, he washed his hands and face, and was served by the servants to tidy up his clothes. Of course, "served" here is actually a default security check. Then, a servant brought tea and snacks, asking Shi Wende to wait patiently. Generally speaking, depending on the difference in status, the host will not meet the guest immediately, and may not even meet him.

"."

Shi Wende waited for two hours, and even drank two pots of tea. It was not until the morning that the housekeeper appeared in person, who also looked like a Qin person from Shaanxi, and smiled and led the way for him.

"The master just woke up from his lunch break and told me to see Shi Xiaolian in the guest room..."

"Yes! It is my honor for the governor to see me..."

Shi Wende smiled and thanked him, then followed the housekeeper into the second courtyard. Then, he went all the way to the plum garden in the third courtyard, and saw Governor Wang Zhe in the study. This second-rank official in his fifties or sixties, the Right Governor of Zhejiang, was concentrating on reading a book.

"."

Shi Wende had to stand in the courtyard again, silently waiting for the governor to finish reading. He waited for two quarters of an hour before carefully looking up. He saw that on the cover of the back of the book, there seemed to be five large vertical characters... "Collected Works of Li Wenxi Gong".