frightfiction Chapter 786 What Choice Should the Ming Dynasty Make?
Chapter 786 What Choice Should the Ming Dynasty Make?
Through continuous improvements, the glass produced by glass workshops in Ningyang County is now almost perfectly pure and transparent, with virtually no impurities visible to the naked eye.
Zhu Biao couldn't help but marvel, "As expected of Ningyang Glass Workshop, they are truly impressive."
Yang Shaofeng picked up a glass and tapped it casually.
"Zheng~"
The crisp sound of glass breaking rang out, and Yang Shaofeng nodded in satisfaction. He then called over a craftsman and asked, "How's the production going now?"
The craftsman bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, if all of these materials were used to produce such glass cups, we could make about two thousand a day. If we calculate based on four teacups paired with one teapot, we could make about four hundred sets a day."
Yang Shaofeng nodded, but Zhu Biao was already making plans in his mind.
At the Dengzhou border market, a teapot with four teacups could fetch 999 strings of cash from some unscrupulous merchants.
And this is considered a friendly price, not even including the mandatory "optional features".
If you include everything, the price of a complete set would probably be several thousand strings of cash.
Even at a price of 1,000 guan per set, it would be enough to sell for 400,000 guan.
Several thousand strings of cash! A pound of rice only costs a few coins. Even if we calculate it at ten coins per pound, one string of cash is enough to buy a hundred pounds of rice.
This is no longer a question of whether someone is heartless or not.
This is simply treating the merchants like fools.
While inwardly complaining, Zhu Biao asked, "Where's the glass? It's used to make windows."
The craftsman bowed and replied, "Your Highness, if we used plain glass instead, the daily output would be higher. Assuming each pane of glass is two feet long and one and a half feet wide, and each window requires two panes, the daily output would be enough to install approximately two thousand windows."
How many windows can a room have?
There's no fixed standard for this.
However, based on the requirement of ten windows per room, and each window being double-glazed, the production capacity of the Ningyang County Glass Workshop is sufficient to supply the needs of fifty rooms.
If this is happening every day, what about a month?
Most importantly, this is just a glass workshop in Ningyang County.
If glass workshops in other prefectures and counties gradually take shape, how high will the total glass production of the Ming Dynasty be?
Thinking of this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but turn his gaze to Yang Shaofeng and ask, "Brother-in-law, if all the prefectures and counties in our Great Ming Dynasty produced large quantities of glass, and there was so much glass that we couldn't use it all, wouldn't that bring down the price of glass?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "The price of glass will be brought down sooner or later."
"But before the price of glass is completely driven down, we can take some out and go to the market to fool the fools."
"Anyway, there are too many fools now, and not enough scammers."
Zhu Biao couldn't help but say with a dark face, "The number of fools may not be large, but there are certainly many smart people willing to be fools."
For example, Park Deok-hwan, Park Sung-sung, and Du Shunqin.
The smarter a person is like them, the more they understand the importance of playing the fool at the Dengzhou market.
Yang Shaofeng seemed not to hear Zhu Biao's complaints, and instead said rather proudly, "If it weren't for these clever people, the price of grain that the people of the Ming Dynasty could not be reduced, and the people of the Ming Dynasty would hardly be able to afford spices."
Speaking of spices, Yang Shaofeng suddenly thought of Champa.
It is unknown whether Lao Deng, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and others have decided how to deal with Champa.
After all, it involved the words "sea pirates" and 70,000 jin of sappanwood.
……
"What a bunch of bastards!"
Emperor Zhu had Chen Zhong hand over the confession submitted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Li Shanchang, then cursed with a dark face, "We don't even know if they are smart or stupid now."
"You could say they're smart, but these bastards use all their intelligence against their own people."
"But if you say they're stupid, how come they've managed to make such a huge splash overseas?"
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Li Shanchang couldn't help but scratch the back of his head.
It is true that Zhang Ruhou, Lin Fu, and others claimed to be marshals. This was not a deliberate frame-up, nor was it a smear campaign against them by the Champa king, Adah.
It is a fact that these two scoundrels also worked as pirates. This was not a frame-up. King Adana of Champa even tacitly agreed that a port occupied by these two "marshals" no longer belonged to Champa.
However, these two fools, perhaps used to running rampant in Champa, or perhaps feeling that they were more capable, eventually set their sights on other Ming Dynasty "maritime merchants".
Simply put, it means "This port is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass through, leave your toll."
This offended far too many Ming Dynasty merchants.
Our lives are already tough enough. After all the hardships of going out to sea, we still have to pay all sorts of taxes and clear customs when we get back to the Ming Dynasty. And you, surnamed Zhang, want to collect another tax on the way?
Go to hell!
I may not be able to provoke the Ming Dynasty's navy, but surely I can provoke you, Zhang Ruhou?
You're so bold, but I'm not exactly timid either!
Then, several maritime merchants who disliked Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fu joined forces and, under the pretext of resting and reorganizing in port, directly confronted Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fu.
And then, that was it.
Although Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fu were not weak, the combined strength of the maritime merchants was even greater, so it was no surprise that Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fu met their demise.
After Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fuliang took over, the ports that they had occupied naturally fell to the new Ming Dynasty merchants.
As for King Ata'a of Champa...
Even Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fu dared not offend Ada'a, so naturally he wouldn't dare offend any more Ming Dynasty merchants.
Or rather, Ata'a did consider taking back the occupied ports, but the army he sent couldn't even handle Zhang Ruhou and Lin Fu, let alone the newly united maritime merchants.
So the question now is what the Ming Dynasty should do.
Those who favor Ata'a will send troops to help Ata'a reclaim the occupied ports.
Or should we pretend we didn't see it and continue to let those maritime merchants occupy the port of Champa?
Or, as a prince consort from Ningyang County suggested, why not simply establish a naval base in Champa and then send troops there to protect the safety of the merchants and collect taxes on the side?
Li Shanchang's head throbbed with worry as he thought about it. After a long while, he finally spoke up and said, "Sir, why don't we do as the Prince Consort suggested and set up a naval base in Champa, with Champa and the surrounding vassal states responsible for supplies?"
Liu Bowen echoed, "Your Majesty, I second that suggestion."
"If there were a naval base, it would not only protect the safety of maritime merchants, but also allow for the collection of taxes, thereby enriching the national treasury."
"As for the ports of Champa..."