Shenlong Mansion.

Zhu Xu was rafting and fishing on a lake, wearing a straw raincoat, and he was the only one on the entire lake. He really had the artistic conception of fishing alone in the snow on the river.

There were already two fish in the fish basket next to Zhu Xu. Looking at the buoy that had not moved for a long time, he looked at the fish in the fish basket and shook his head and said, "Is it necessary to jump up and down in the middle of winter? Have you been caught?"

The two fish were very honest in the fish basket and did not move.

Zhu Xu continued fishing. I don’t know how long it took. After the lake was screened by the imperial guards, four people stepped onto the small boat by the lake and rowed towards Zhu Xu.

"My minister Wang Wensheng (Gong Yonggu, Wei Liangqing, He Yunshan) meets the emperor."

The four of them got on Zhu Xu's ship, raised their hands behind him and bowed.

Zhu Xu put down the fishing rod, took the snack on the side, and said, "Find a place to sit."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

A few people raised their hands and then looked back and saw a few small stools in the cabin, the very small one.

In addition, the boat was not big, and every move would shake. The four of them were either rich or noble, but no one looked strange. They found a small stool and sat respectfully behind Zhu Xu.

Zhu Xu ate a snack, clapped his hands, and said, "Let me talk about the United Fleet first."

Wang Wensheng has been in charge of the joint fleet for a while since he succeeded Cao Bianjiao. He leaned forward and said, "Return to the emperor, the joint fleet is now full, with 50,000 people and 1,200 ships of all sizes. Starting from Vladivostok, from north to south, along the coastline, outside our Ming Dynasty, from Ceylon, Suez and Panama in the middle, have been the northernmost section of Africa, Morocco, separated from the sea of ​​Europe, with large and small naval bases, temporary rental islands, and lands, reaching 60 places... These places have set up offices of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, and people are specifically responsible for contacting the local area and building various relationships... The joint fleet is currently fighting pirates with various places, and also participates in some local bandit suppression operations, helping them train troops, teaching them various technologies such as paving bridges and building roads..."

These are the infiltration of both soft and hard aspects, and will not arouse local disgust and vigilance, but can also help the development of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason for the absence of violent colonization is that the Ming Dynasty's national strength is now very exhausted, and the Ming Dynasty did not understand the overseas Chinese enough, so it needed a process of slow development.

According to Zhu Xu's judgment, five years is enough. The merchants of the Ming Dynasty will find that there are fertile soil that has not been developed outside the Ming Dynasty. The indigenous people are wild, ignorant, and most importantly, vulnerable!

With a little guidance in policy, those merchants with a keen sense of smell will take their weapons to every corner of the world with their weapons.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty's joint fleet and navy had developed and formed, and after the national strength was restored, it had sufficient financial and manpower support.

It would be a grand occasion, a grand scene that Zhu Xu had been waiting for for a long time!

Wang Wensheng was also saying: "The organization of the joint fleet is mainly based on the Ming Dynasty. Currently, there are 40,000 people in the Ming Dynasty, and there are many other places, especially the Western barbarians. Our cooperation with Spain is deepening. In many places, our fleets and merchant ships can be freely entered and exited. Morocco, including Gibrón, has been controlled by us quietly. The Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands can also enter and exit, and there are more and more merchant ships. England is more vigilant, and its cooperation with us is limited. Frank has no cooperation at all. They seem to be only focusing on landings. On the Ottoman side, we are mainly limited to Suez. Since the canal will be excavated next year, we currently have only a temporary base, and we can truly master the area ten miles wide next year..."

Wang Wensheng obviously had a naive draft and said it very well, which made people have a rough impression when they heard it.

Zhu Xu held the fishing rod, his expression remained motionless, and he listened silently.

It took a while for Wang Wensheng to finish his words and said: "I plan to slowly expand the fleet starting next year. It takes about five years to double it to 100,000 people, 2,000 ships, and the main soldiers will be recruited and trained from Japan and Africa. The joint fleet will be self-sufficient. I hope the cabinet can provide necessary support and do not intervene..."

After listening for a while, Zhu Xu nodded with satisfaction and said, "It is developing well. You can still think about expanding the fleet at this time, which means you still have some strategic vision. I will tell you that you don't need to worry."

Sun Chuanting needs to concentrate on responding to the challenges of the "New Deal", so he lacks attention in other aspects and tries to cut budgets in all aspects.

Wang Wensheng was naturally overjoyed when he heard Zhu Xu say this and said, "I thank you for yourselves."

Zhu Xu laughed and said, "The rare treasures you have brought from overseas are not bad. My treasure house is almost full. Don't give away the money in the future. I still have some treasury. You can keep it for the development of the joint fleet."

Wang Wensheng was stunned and said with a sharp look, "Don't worry, Master, three million taels are not much for the joint fleet, and they will not have a big impact. I will send them to the palace on time."

The Joint Fleet, Shenlong Mansion and other institutions, such as the business of King Ping, the Royal Manor, will regularly send large sums of silver into the palace and fill Zhu Xu's treasury.

Over the years, Zhu Xu has been spending occasionally, but his treasury is quite solid.

Zhu Xu ignored Wang Wensheng's words and said, "Tell me about the Shenlong Mansion."

Wei Liangqing bowed and said, "Emperor, there are currently as many as 500 commercial banks in Shenlong Mansion, including our Ming Dynasty, covering all aspects of our Ming Dynasty's trade. Shenlong Mansion owns 26 chambers of commerce, 137 commercial banks, and more than 300 merchant ships. Their names have more than 100 shops, manors, tea houses, restaurants, etc., and the assets under their jurisdiction will exceed 20 million silver after conversion..."

Zhu Xu knew it in his mind. Gong Yonggu and Wang Wensheng were really shocked when he heard it. Twenty million silver is just an asset. If you add the privileges you have, indirectly controlled commercial banks, etc., wouldn’t it be unimaginable?

Wei Liangqing paused for a moment and said, "The trade within the Shenlong Mansion and the Ming Dynasty is increasing, mainly to be a middleman and resell it overseas. Therefore, there is more relationship with overseas, especially in recent years, the increase in trade with Spain and the Netherlands, and the continuous advancement of trade with Ottomans, England and other countries, the goods sold are increasing day by day. The trade volume this year may exceed 50 million silver. With special operations such as spices, firearms, and weapons, the profit will be as high as about 30 million silver. If the commercial tax added to the court is added, there will be more..."

"Because there are a series of planned expenditures for some merchants of all sizes, especially related mines and iron smelting investments, which will be paid to the emperor by a series of planned expenditures of around 10 million silver..."

"At present, there are three open trade locations built by the main force of Shenlong Mansion. One is Gansu Town, which mainly faces Mongolia and further west. One is Tianjin Wei, which is mainly for the consideration of Jingji, Shanyou, etc. The other is Guangzhou Prefecture, which faces the South China Sea. Whether it is Western Yi or other trading countries, this place is the closest place built by the main force of Shenlong Mansion..."

"At present, in addition to Tianjin Wei, Gansu has a county-sized county and handed over to Shenlongfu for full management. Guangzhou Prefecture is two counties. Shenlongfu has taken over and is undergoing renovation. It will be put into use next year and will be completed the renovation year after... In addition, Shenlongfu, there are four trade zones in total. If the plan goes smoothly, in a few years, the trade volume may exceed 10 million silver, bringing more than 10 million taxes and more than 20 million profits to our Ming Dynasty..."
Chapter completed!