Father can be an enemy to the country

The atmosphere in the Xingyuan Flower Hall became more and more harmonious, almost as good as honey mixed with oil.

"I understand your intentions completely." Zhu Zhen still has this kind of temper. The more you support him, the less he can let you suffer.

"It's true that borrowing and repaying has some merit. But how can I let my friends suffer? That would be too shameless!" He thought for a while, patted his thigh and said:

"Why don't you do this? I will give you another chance to make a fortune."

"Okay, Your Highness, please tell me." The big names have extremely high expectations for the 'magical sixth'.

"Don't you think that the goods we export are a bit monotonous at the moment?" Zhu Zhen asked first, and then asked Shen Rong: "You are the deputy director of the Shipping Department, so you have the right to speak on this issue."

"Yes." Shen Rong nodded hurriedly and replied respectfully: "Right now, raw silk, various silks, and silk products account for more than 80% of the Shibo Division's export commodities. It is indeed too dependent on silk."

"What is the remaining 20%? Why can't the share be expanded?" Zhu Zhen asked.

"The remaining 20% ​​are mainly stationery such as porcelain, Songjiang cotton, rice paper and pens, and some handicrafts." Shen Rong replied in a deep voice:

"As for why the share is so small, some are because of limited output, such as porcelain. Some are because of average sales, such as Songjiang cotton and various medicinal materials. Cotton is produced overseas, and no matter how good the quality of our Songjiang cotton is, they are not willing to spend tens of Buy at twice the price.”

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded and said in a deep voice: "It seems that only products that we produce exclusively and are widely sought after by overseas countries, such as silk, can achieve high volume and price, allowing us to make a lot of money. !”

"Your Highness is absolutely right." Shen Rong nodded heavily and said, "It's just that there are not many such products. Among the products that Ming Dynasty can export, the only products that meet these two conditions are silk and porcelain."

"..." Some wealthy people moved their lips but did not dare to speak. In fact, they used to make a lot of money by smuggling arms overseas. However, considering His Highness’s status, this deal cannot be even considered.

"Isn't tea good?" Zhu Zhen asked with some confusion. In his impression, traditional overseas trade also includes a flagship product like tea. Together with silk and porcelain, they formed a troika of foreign trade.

"The sales of tea overseas are very limited, mainly because few overseas people are accustomed to drinking it." Shen Rong replied: "In the north and southwest, tea is the hardest product."

"We can't touch the tea-horse business." Zhu Zhen frowned and said in a deep voice: "The tea-horse trade is an important tool for the imperial court to control Mongolia and Tibet. Don't get involved, otherwise I won't be able to protect you."

"Yes, we will bear in mind His Highness's teachings and will never go too far." The wealthy people who had had enough of prison food expressed their opinions one after another.

Zhu Zhen asked again: "What about porcelain? This can be sold openly, why are the sales volume so low?"

"Because we can't get the goods." The big merchants murmured: "The output of Jiangnan porcelain is limited, and only kilns are open in Longquan, Zhejiang."

They won't say it's because food stamps can only buy silk... so they don't bother to develop other products. All I wanted to do was spend the food stamps quickly.

"Jiangxi is also Jiangnan." His Royal Highness the King of Chu said calmly.

The wealthy people heard the same words from Zeng Tai yesterday, but today they heard it as if they were hearing fairy sounds, and suddenly they all asked in unison: "Is your Highness talking about Jingdezhen?"

"Yes, it's Jingdezhen." Zhu Zhen smiled and nodded.

Of course, there is no need to talk nonsense about the famous Jingdezhen. By the Yuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain had basically unified the world and was sold overseas.

By this dynasty, Jingdezhen's status continued to rise. In the second year of Hongwu's reign, the imperial court set up the "Imperial Kiln Factory" in Jingdezhen, making Jingdezhen porcelain used by the royal family, far ahead of the rest of the country.

The quality of porcelain produced in Jingdezhen is also unparalleled in the world. Jingde porcelain is even more popular than silk overseas. But they usually export from Fuzhou and Guangzhou, and rarely export from Jiangnan.

Jiangnan is closer to Goryeo, Japan, but what do Bangzi and Wonu know about porcelain? It's enough to just buy some local folk kilns and sell them to them. Selling them Jingde porcelain is a waste.

Therefore, even though the homes of wealthy households are full of Jingde porcelain, few have the idea of ​​exporting it.

~~

After listening to everyone's explanations, Zhu Zhen nodded and said: "I see. It's because it's too far."

"Yes." Everyone nodded and said, "If you want to transport Jingdezhen's porcelain to the south of the Yangtze River, you must first take the Changjiang River into Poyang, then enter the Yangtze River from Poyang Lake, and follow the river to Taicang. Not to mention the long distance, Jiangnan is closer than Nanyang. Fujian and Guangdong are much further away, so most people don’t sell to us.”

"What if some of the workers in Jingdezhen are moved to our place to open kilns?" His Royal Highness the King of Chu asked quietly.

"That's a great feeling!" Everyone was excited when they heard it: "If we can open our own kiln and produce porcelain similar to Jingdezhen's, we can make a lot of money!"

"It's just the people in Jingdezhen who have always kept the kiln under wraps. Are they willing to let go of this chicken that lays golden eggs?" The more the big business owners cared about it, the more worried they were.

"Haha, I would definitely be reluctant to part with you in normal times." His Royal Highness King Chu smiled slyly and said, "But is this normal now?"

"Yes, yes, yes, no, no, of course not!" All the big businessmen reacted immediately, clapped their thighs and shouted: "Now we are undergoing a large-scale immigration. Anyone who dares not to cooperate will be sent to Huguang!"

"The people who are saying this are all the people of the Ming Dynasty. How could I treat them like this?" Zhu Zhen said with an angry look on his face.

"Yes, it's our Meng Lang." Everyone apologized quickly.

"However, Jingdezhen is the most densely populated place in Jiangxi. It would be unreasonable for them not to move during this large-scale immigration." Hearing Lao Liu change his subject, he said calmly:

"I heard that there are only 23% indigenous people there, and 70% to 80% are kiln workers and kiln households from outside. It is really inappropriate to have such a floating population. Is it reasonable to move 10% or 20% of the population out?"

"It's reasonable, very reasonable." Everyone nodded in unison.

"It's a pity to just let these craftsmen with unique skills go to Huguang to farm." Zhu Zhen said leisurely: "I will make the decision and relocate them to Susongchang Town. Do you have any opinions?"

"No, no, absolutely not." Everyone completely understood what His Highness meant and nodded excitedly.

"As for the cost of resettlement..." Lao Liu said in a funny tone again.

"We are responsible, we are responsible!" Everyone was immediately jealous and wanted to take all the kiln workers and kiln households to their homes.

"But you can't be a mate. Let's do this. I'll take you to visit the kiln tomorrow." Zhu Zhen smiled and said: "How many craftsmen you can recruit depends on your own abilities."