Chapter 2628

This is the first time in Zhu Zian's life that he has seen an island city like Zhoushan based on ports and maritime trade, and he can't help but feel very novel. Tao Hongfang and others can probably feel his feelings, so

The next activity arranged is to visit various construction results on the island, which can just satisfy Zhu Zian's curiosity.

If Hangzhou is a representative of the prosperous cities during the Ming Dynasty, then Zhoushan, which has been governed by Haihan for more than 20 years, can be used as a horizontal comparison with the current situation of Hangzhou.

The first obvious difference Zhu Zian felt was in terms of infrastructure. Compared with the slightly older city of Hangzhou, Zhoushan's urban area shows a completely different style.

The urban construction of Hangzhou at this time is described by the people as "ten gates, three passes, one well, three mountains, six ridges and nine streets". It has always been a regional core city in history. After the construction of past dynasties, it has relatively complete infrastructure and urban defense.

The system, water and land transportation are very developed, and it can be said to be one of the cities with the best infrastructure in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Although Haihan has taken over Hangzhou and is preparing to build a new city, the old city has basically retained its original style and has not

Carry out large-scale demolition and construction operations.

The planning of Zhoushan is completely different from the traditional city Zhu Zian knew. There are no tall towers or city walls densely covered with arrows. The city is naturally connected to the busy port area without any obvious defenses in between.

fortifications.

The roads here are also smoother and wider than those in Hangzhou. Some of the main roads have even been hardened and look very high-end. Zhu Zian noticed that land freight here mainly relies on large and small horse-drawn carriages, which can be found everywhere on the streets.

The fully loaded convoys benefit from the good traffic conditions, which also creates transportation convenience that Hangzhou does not have.

Of course, due to the unique geographical environment of this place, all transportation facilities are ultimately for maritime services, so the real priority is still the related facilities of the port and terminal. The ten-mile-long port area has a dock that is several feet high.

The spreaders, the huge warehouse, and the hundreds of busy port workers all left a deep impression on Zhu Zian.

The architectural style of the city is completely different from that of Hangzhou. If the architecture of Hangzhou is a combination of the elegant and beautiful styles of Jiangnan, then Zhoushan can be called a hodgepodge of architectural styles of various civilizations in this era.

Here you can see not only traditional Chinese-style buildings with carved beams and painted beams, but also Haihan square-style buildings with simple style and bright lines. In addition, Japanese-style buildings full of Japanese style, Manueline style brought by the Portuguese,

The double-mansard roofs and dormer windows that the Dutch love, these various architectural styles appear on both sides of the same street, giving the city an exotic feel.

"There may be as many as five to six thousand foreigners on this island during the peak trade season. The vast majority of them are merchants and sailors, and Zhoushan Island can provide everything they need."

Ha Jianyi came to Zhoushan some time ago to inspect the navy and shipyards, and lived here for some time. Therefore, among everyone at this time, he was the most knowledgeable about the local situation, so he obliged and acted as a tour guide. By the way, he also served as a tour guide for Zhu Zi.

An explains the situation on the island.

Zhu Zian asked curiously: "I just heard everyone talk about it. In addition to the closer countries such as North Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, and Annan, there are also many countries thousands of miles away. The profits from trade here must be very huge.

Attract them to come here despite all the hardships, right?”

Ha Jianyi nodded and said: "Of course, the various commodities they trafficked back from our country, Haihan, have no problem selling. It is not uncommon for the profits to be as little as three or four times, and even ten to eight times."

Speaking of this topic, it is Tao Hongfang's professional field. He followed the conversation: "Forty percent of the trade completed in Zhoushan every year is cross-border trade with foreign businessmen, so you can see that here

There are many inns and shops run by foreign businessmen. For them, this is a huge cornucopia that can continuously provide them with wealth."

Zhu Zian said: "In this case, the government can also get a lot of tax revenue from it?"

Tao Hongfang said: "Obtaining taxes is only one aspect. The social production driven by trade activities is what the government really values."

Zhu Zian listened with only a vague understanding. He didn't quite understand what social production was, but he could vaguely understand what Tao Hongfang meant. What the Haihan government valued was not only the taxes collected from the transaction process, but also the trade activities.

ancillary effects.

This truth is not difficult to understand, but what Zhu Zian doesn't quite understand is that since so many foreign businessmen are willing to gather here to engage in cross-border trade, why did this not happen during the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu Zian expressed his doubts, and Tao Hongfang patiently continued to explain to him: "During the Ming Dynasty, maritime trade was very strictly controlled, so most cross-border trade could only be carried out through smuggling. In this way,

In the future, the government will not be able to obtain actual benefits from it, and naturally it will not be able to get these trade activities to be lifted by the imperial court."

Zhu Zian frowned and said: "Since it is profitable, why doesn't the imperial court lift the ban and develop cross-border trade?"

At this time, Ha Jianyi took over again: "The reason is very simple, because those in the court do not have the ability to control the situation. They are worried that foreigners will harm the place like Japanese pirates, and they are also afraid that the wealthy maritime merchants will develop strength.

Terrifying private armed forces. The small amount of taxes collected by the government from cross-border trade seems to be far from being able to balance the risks arising from it. Since it cannot be regulated, we might as well just ban it across the board, so that there will be less trouble for everyone up and down."

The words are ugly, but it is true. Since Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty has believed that the foundation of the country lies in agriculture, and transnational maritime trade will only bring chaos, so it issued strict bans and blocked coastal ports. It was not until the Longqing period that the imperial court

The ban began to be gradually lifted, but only a limited number of ports were opened for cross-border trade, and commercial taxes were levied on trade activities.

This strict restriction caused the Ming Dynasty to lose valuable development opportunities. At the same time, Western countries took advantage of this stage to complete global colonization and trade layout, and their utilization efficiency of the ocean greatly exceeded that of the Ming Dynasty. Until Zhu Zian came to Zhoushan

On the island, he still didn't understand why Haihan was able to run this place so prosperously, and where did Ming Dynasty lose.
Chapter completed!