"iron rice bowl?"

Zhang Haogu stopped what he was doing and looked at Huang Zongxi.

Huang Zongxi said sternly: "Yes, the enterprises of the imperial court are not those small businesses that are prone to bankruptcy. The enterprises that serve the imperial court are also considered half-officials. Doesn't that mean they have a stable guarantee of income during droughts and floods? Although such an enterprise is not as good as being an official, But it is worse than stability and security. In the eyes of ordinary people, isn’t this an iron rice bowl that cannot be broken?”

Listening to Huang Zongxi's description of Zhang Haogu Le, he said, "It's not bad at all. The people's descriptions hit the nail on the head."

"The imperial court's enterprises are just half-officials. As an official, you have to pay attention to the impact."

With that said, Zhang Haogu stretched out his hand and nodded: "Taichong, take note of it, revise it based on the existing official guidelines, and make a code suitable for state-owned enterprises, so that they can act in accordance with the rules and regulations."

"Also, I remember there is a symposium in a few days, right?"

Huang Zongxi said: "Yes, in a few days there will be a symposium on the overseas construction of the Ming Dynasty. The large chambers of commerce and enterprises in the north and south will participate. Cui Shilang will preside over it."

Regarding this symposium, the imperial court has been preparing for it before. The purpose is to contact the big businessmen from the north and the south and set the rules in advance.

Although the overseas actions of merchants are not the actions of the imperial court, they still represent the face of the Ming Dynasty, and every move they make will be regarded by outsiders as the Ming Dynasty court.

Therefore, businessmen need to be cautious in everything they say and do outside, and the same goes for what they do.

The land of Nanyang belongs to the Ming Dynasty in the future. This land will become an important economic and trade place for the Ming Dynasty in the future. The Ming Dynasty will not swallow it, but Nanyang cannot be separated from the Ming Dynasty.

Nanyang, which is half a country like this, must always be taken seriously.

A few days passed quickly. Big businessmen from the north and south of the Ming Dynasty rushed to the capital. The current prosperity of Shuntian Mansion once again opened the eyes of the businessmen in the south. Speaking of which, if it weren't for the recent lack of rain in the north and the cold weather, the food harvest was not as good as before.

We still need to rely on the south. It is really possible for Shuntian Prefecture to be self-sufficient in money and food.

After all, relying on the vast grain-producing areas in the Central Plains of Henan and the grain and money from Shandong and other places, there is really no pressure to supply the north.

In the past, the gentry and merchants were all in the south, and the Ming Dynasty's most important areas of money and food were in the south. This restricted the northern court and maintained the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats co-ruling the world.

Nowadays, the gentry and merchants cannot do this. The imperial court is increasingly getting rid of its dependence on the south, not to mention that Hubei and Jiangnan are still under the control of the imperial court.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty is becoming more and more powerful, making businessmen sincerely in awe.

For this meeting, the Business Yamen specially chose a good place. This time the meeting will not be held in the Business Yamen, but in a restaurant.

Today, the famous Jingshi Restaurant was booked by the Commercial Office, and big businessmen from all over the country gathered together to discuss business transactions.

Salt merchants and grain merchants, these big merchants who were highly respected in the past and even the court had to be careful to receive, were now nothing.

I think back then, salt merchants in Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers had to be careful even if they were high-ranking officials in the imperial court. After all, these salt merchants and grain merchants held most of the imperial court's tax money and grain.

But now, not to mention that the capital's dependence on the south is becoming less and less. Nowadays, in terms of taxation, those who are engaged in textile, tea, and porcelain businesses are not major taxpayers of the imperial court. These have gradually replaced the status of salt merchants and grain merchants.

"Master Cui is here."

"Master Cui is here!"

Hearing this, the businessmen quickly looked towards the door and saw that the person coming was Cui Chengxiu, the third-rank official of the Commercial Yamen, Cui Shilang.

There is also a difference between the third-rank imperial officials. This Cui Shilang is the director of the commercial office. It can be said that all the merchants in the world are under his control. Facing Cui Shilang, these big businessmen can chat and laugh with the prefectural governor in the local area.

But no one dares to show off his power.

Cui Chengxiu smiled and apologized: "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm late."

"I just went to Yuansuke's place, and I came out a little late. I kept everyone waiting for a long time."

When the businessmen heard this, they quickly said it was no problem, and they waited quietly for Cui Chengxiu's next words.

I'm still here now

A trip to Prime Minister Zhang’s place. Could it be that Prime Minister Zhang has any thoughts on overseas development?

Anyone who can reach the level of a big businessman is a talented person. How can he expand his business when he is surrounded by powerful enemies without certain skills?

Now that Cui Chengxiu mentioned Prime Minister Zhang at the beginning, there must be a deep meaning in it.

Instructing everyone to sit down and drink tea, Cui Chengxiu also sat down. He chatted with these big businessmen for a few words, and then mentioned overseas: "The land of Nanyang has now stabilized, and the kings of the country have all brought money given by the court.

The son has returned, which means that the development of Nanyang is already imminent."

"As for the development of Nanyang, the imperial court actually doesn't have many requirements. We just need everyone to pay attention to a few points."

"One: When you go out to do business, you represent the face of the Ming Dynasty. You must pay attention to every word, deed, and move, and you must not lose the face of the court."

Seeing the businessmen nodding, Cui Chengxiu added: "We are all big businessmen with status. Naturally, we have to pay attention to our appearance when we go out. Those small countries in Southeast Asia are now vassals of the imperial court, so we must pay more attention to this. We must remember this.

"

"The second one is that you must abide by the laws within the Ming Dynasty. When you go to the land of other countries, you must also abide by the laws of other countries. Although these southeastern countries and Southeast Asian countries are vassals of our Ming Dynasty, there are no laws between countries.

It’s different. When you go out and abide by the law, you can’t rely on your status as a Ming Dynasty to do whatever you want.”

"But you can rest assured that if you violate the laws of other countries in Nanyang, the court will take you back. The laws of Nanyang cannot control the people of Ming Dynasty."

The merchants nodded again and put their worries into their stomachs. The imperial court was still the Ming Dynasty, it was biased towards them.

Cui Chengxiu continued: "The third reason is that you must not discriminate against people from various countries in Nanyang. No matter whether they are people from various countries in Nanyang or the indigenous barbarians in Nanyang, you must not discriminate."

"Other than that, the imperial court does not make any demands on you, but I personally hope that when you go out to do business, peace is the most important thing. If you want to compete, you should compete with businessmen from other countries, not with your own people."

"I don't want to hear such embarrassing news about two Ming businessmen fighting overseas over business."

The imperial court's requirements are not many, just three. Such requirements can be said to have almost no restrictions.

For the Ming merchants who have been honed in the Central Plains for so many years, doing business outside is like breaking into a novice village. Those small businessmen and nobles in Nanyang can adapt to the various Ming merchants who come from the high-end market of Ming.

Means?

Cui Chengxiu said that he had nothing to do with him. Ming Dynasty merchants were doing business outside and abided by local laws. What else should they do?

Cui Chengxiu then chatted with the businessmen again, and the businessmen raised some of their concerns and opinions. Cui Chengxiu also said that these would be handed over, and the court would definitely protect the interests of the businessmen and prevent them from being bullied outside.

After all the discussions were over, good wine and good food were served, the businessmen discussed business on their own, and Cui Chengxiu left early to go to the cabinet.

"Moonsuke, take a look."

In the cabinet, Cui Chengxiu handed over some opinions and concerns raised by businessmen to Zhang Haogu, which Zhang Haogu had specially ordered before.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

After receiving these opinions, Zhang Haogu looked through them and asked, "Do the businessmen all agree with the three opinions of the imperial court?"

Cui Chengxiu nodded: "Everyone agrees, no one objects."

Zhang Haogu said with a smile: "Actually, I don't plan to set many rules for them. It's not easy to go out, let alone go to sea to do business. Everyone goes to Nanyang to make money, and the court also has

Actual benefits. Businessmen work hard and there is no need to make so many regulations."

"Now that these are settled, the Ming Newspaper can send out news that the imperial court has begun overseas construction to stimulate the market."

Soon, the new issue of the Ming Newspaper published the latest news from the imperial court. The people of the Ming Dynasty could know some of the latest news at home and abroad through the Ming Dynasty Newspaper. For example, the Ming Dynasty Newspaper previously reported on the imperial court.

The news of the war against the Hongyi people of Nanyang and the tribute paid by the various countries in Nanyang made the people of Ming Dynasty happy, and the cohesion of Ming Dynasty increased to another level.

After all, even the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty will be proud of the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, and will also be happy for their increasingly promising days. These visible things can best enhance national cohesion and centripetal force.

.

The most important thing in this latest issue of Ming Bao is that it mentioned that Ming Dynasty will launch overseas assistance and commercial construction to Southeast Asian countries, saying that it will start building ports, and Southeast Asian countries will also welcome Ming merchants to do business, etc., which attracted people's attention.

After the excitement, the market was further stimulated, and the stock market began to soar again.

Especially for stocks involving shipping, steel, etc., the shareholders whose stock prices rose were laughing from ear to ear.

As for the capital, as the largest private steel company in the Zhili region, Zhang Guoji and Zhou Kui of the Zhili Steel Company are also smiling. The imperial court wants to build overseas and invest in ports in small countries. How much civil engineering and steel are needed to build this port?

To build ports according to the requirements of the Ming Dynasty, these ports must comply with the Ming Dynasty's specifications and be able to berth large ships and even steam ships.

After all, when the Ming Dynasty's harbor was repaired and expanded, the standard set by the imperial court was to be able to berth large ships of 5,000 tons and 8,000 tons. Now that ports are being built for these small Southeast Asian countries, the standards must not be lower.

"Hey, dear, how much steel do we need?" Zhang Guoji looked at the series of figures listed by Zhou Kui, his mouth hanging open.

Zhou Kui waved the data and said excitedly: "Brother, we have to expand again. This time the imperial court will open up overseas markets. We are going to make a lot of money!"

Zhang Guoji also laughed excitedly: "Yes, expand, expand, our stocks will rise again by then!"

It can’t go up any higher!

When did the Ming Newspaper, the official mouthpiece of the Ming Dynasty, not report on the main trends of the court?

If in later generations, one only needs to line up each issue of the Ming Dynasty Newspaper, from which one can clearly see a series of policies and trends of the Ming Dynasty, and analyze the purpose of the Ming Dynasty at that time.

At present, every front-page headline in the Ming Dynasty newspaper will also cause an earthquake in Daming and its surrounding areas.

For example, this time, just after the news that Ming Dynasty was going to explore overseas markets was released, the stock markets in Tianjin and Songjiang immediately followed the trend and skyrocketed, especially the stocks in the steel industry.

The stocks of Zhou Kui and Zhang Guoji's Zhili Iron and Steel Company rose three times a day. The excited two men began to expand again and wanted to expand the scale of Zhili Iron and Steel Company.

In the face of the enthusiasm of the people for overseas construction and the skyrocketing stock market, Zhu Youjian, who had not made any money at all, only felt that people in the world were impetuous and did not return to the sage style of the past.

Facing this situation, Zhu Youjian was heartbroken and worried.

Sitting in the courtyard of Prince Xin's Mansion, with a plate of sweet beans and a pot of wine, the virtuous Prince Zhu Youjian, who was worried about the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, drank sullen wine with a sad look on his face: "Oh, today's world is really turbid.

It's unbearable! Everyone is chasing after copper-stinking things, not thinking about the ways of saints, not reading poems and etiquette, except for grotesque skills such as investigating things, just thinking about making money. If this continues, Ming Dynasty will fall.

How far has it fallen?"

"Is Zhang Haogu and Zhang Ruitu worthy of being called the first and second assistants? These female ministers flattered their superiors and bullied their subordinates, causing trouble beyond their scope. How much harm did they bring to Emperor Taizu's empire? In this world, who else is out there?
To be continued...