Chapter 1382: We Could Build a Republic

"Your Majesty, how is this Southern Continent scheme different from that joint-stock united republic you set up in the New World? Didn't the New World's united republic also let everyone put up money for shares? Is the Southern Continent going to be made into a united republic too?"

The questioner was Shi Kefa, Minister of Rites. Old Master Shi was incorruptible, a universally acknowledged upright official in the Great Ming court today, with a family fortune worth only two or three hundred thousand taels of silver — all lawfully acquired, of course! Including Shi Kefa's ducal land grant and residence, a commercial street in Tianjin, and tens of thousands of taels in savings. Well, this was what the foremost upright official of the Great Ming feudal dynasty looked like, so everyone could rest easy and boldly become upright officials!

"Different, completely different!" Zhu Cilang waved a hand and said with a smile, "Grand Secretary Shi, do you know what a franchisee is?"

"A door merchant?" Shi Kefa looked baffled. A door merchant? Someone who sells doors? Is there such a thing as a city-gate merchant?

Zheng Sen, standing nearby, explained with a smile: "Grand Secretary Shi, a franchisee is also called a subcontractor. Usually it's a semi-independent small firm hanging under a big trading house or big shop, flying the big house's signboard, acting as an agent for the big house's goods, and sharing a bit of the profit back to the big house."

Shi Kefa still did not quite understand. "Why would a small firm want to fly a big house's signboard? Isn't it better to use one's own?"

Zhu Cilang cut in with a smile: "Grand Secretary Shi, a signboard is reputation, it is prestige. In business one must also know how to borrow the tiger's might through the fox. Back in the day, those sea bandits on the southeastern seas only had to hang up the sign of the Yiguan Party and they no longer feared the government troops!"

Now Shi Kefa understood. "Isn't this just bandits joining up and accepting amnesty!"

Zheng Sen was thoroughly embarrassed and shot a reproachful glance at Emperor Zhu — can you not bring up my family's pirate past? If my little sister hadn't recently regained favor, people would think you, the Emperor, still meant to keep suppressing the Zheng family!

Emperor Zhu smiled and continued: "The joint-stock system of the New Continent United Republic still keeps both grace and authority flowing from above — only this 'above' is not the tycoon king, but the United Republic's parliamentary government."

Zhu Cilang placed great value on the United Republic as an asset, so he had not "opened up franchising" but instead adopted the method of "parliamentary-government centralization." All power of the United Republic's local governments and councils derived entirely from grants by the United Republic's parliamentary government. Correspondingly, most of the United Republic's local prefectures and counties had also been invested in, built, and opened up by the United Republic's central government.

And 30% of the seats in the United Republic's parliamentary government had originally belonged to Zhu Cilang, but had now been handed over to the tycoon king, Zhu Hehao.

But such a model clearly could not be used for the Southern Continent.

Because the Southern Continent was nowhere near as rich as the New World. The Southern Continent was basically kangaroo country — a huge territory, with coal, iron, kangaroos, big lobsters, abalone, and whatnot. Oh, and it seemed there was also a New Gold Mountain, which counted as a decent piece of land.

But it still could not compare with the west coast of the New World!

First, its precious-metal reserves were not as large as the latter's. The New World's west coast had vast amounts of gold, silver, and brass — practically the world's "money-printing factory" of the seventeenth century! And it could also yield precious furs worth as much as gold.

So this joint-stock New Continent United Republic, founded only a dozen or so years ago, had already achieved overall profitability! Moreover, most immigrants shipped to the New Continent United Republic could now "pay their own passage" — signing an indenture contract also counted as paying one's own passage.

The Southern Continent's profit prospects were nowhere near as good!

Second, its farming and pastoral conditions were somewhat poor. The main difficulty was drought and water shortage. The Southern Continent had little rain and high evaporation, and there were not many great rivers within its territory. Most of the land was very arid and unsuitable for developing farming or herding. Only the ring-shaped zone along the eastern coast was acceptable, but the soil there was still a bit barren, and in an age without chemical fertilizer it dared not compare with the fertile soil of the Americas.

Even the mountainous west coast of the American continent was far better than the Southern Continent!

Third, there were no stable ocean currents or wind belts for sailing between the Southern Continent's east coast and the East Divine Continent. Although the distance from Shanghai to the Southern Continent's east coast was shorter than to the west coast of North America, actually sailing it took even longer.

Moreover, since no large-scale exploration of the Southern Continent's east coast had ever been organized before, no one knew how the sea route to the Southern Continent's east coast should be sailed.

Therefore, the exploration, opening up, and construction of the Southern Continent carried the drawbacks of high investment, high risk, low output, and difficult profitability.

To try to set up a joint-stock united republic there, one would probably have to prepare for long-term losses, and if things went badly it might turn into an S-rated united republic.

Zhu Cilang did not want to produce an S-rated united republic, so he could only open up franchising and recruit a batch of franchisees full of dreams and adventurous spirit.

Of course, it could not be entirely franchised either; a headquarters and "flagship stores" were still needed. But the investment would be controllable, and the scale of losses bearable.

It needed to be emphasized that Zhu Cilang the Emperor kept public and private strictly separate! He would not misuse the Great Ming state treasury's silver to invest in building a vassal state for his own son.

The money for building the vassal state would come either from the Royal Trading Company or from other investors.

This was also why Zhu Cilang's overseas expansion had always been able to win heartfelt support from the whole court — overseas colonies could absorb the landless and unemployed population at home, ease class conflict, and cost the court nothing. Why not do it?

And this strict separation of public and private also forced Zhu Cilang to consider the question of profit and loss.

If he really invested in an S-rated kangaroo country, the Royal Trading Company might well be dragged down with it!

Emperor Zhu continued: "The Southern Continent is a complete blank to us. Apart from knowing there's a piece of land there, we know nothing else. We can't have the Royal Trading Company pouring money into it! Not only do we not have that much idle money to pour in, it would also be very hard to manage. So we must delegate power — delegate it greatly — and run it on the model of joining up and accepting amnesty! Senior Brother, your family is the most familiar with how to accept amnesty. Why don't you recommend someone from the Zheng family to serve as superintendent of the Southern Continent?"

How am I familiar with joining up and accepting amnesty? Zheng Sen thought to himself: when my father accepted amnesty, I was still in Japan!

"Your Majesty," Zheng Sen naturally would not take it on, and said hurriedly, "my father's acceptance of pacification happened more than thirty, nearly forty years ago. None of the Zheng family sons of my generation understand anything about joining up and accepting amnesty."

You don't understand?

Zhu Cilang was a bit troubled and looked left and right. Which of you has ever been a bandit?

One look, and he actually found one!

Feng San, who had just been promoted to Commissioner-in-Chief of the Cavalry Bureau of the Grand Marshal's Office, seemed to have been a bandit, and had also been in charge of the work of offering amnesty to the bandit hordes of the Dabie Mountains.

Moreover, he was a northerner, very close to Wu Sanfu, and just the right person to assist Zhu He'ao.

"Feng Mingshan!" Zhu Cilang called Feng San by his courtesy name "Mingshan" — the name Li Yan had given him, and a rather imposing one at that.

"This subject is here!" Feng San answered, while thinking to himself: Li Yan was also a roving bandit! Your Majesty, how did you only think of this subject?

Zhu Cilang smiled: "We intend to first establish a Southern Continent Governor-General's Office, and the first Governor-General — well, why don't you take the post!"

"Your Majesty, this subject..." Feng San looked thoroughly troubled. "This subject gets seasick, cannot go overseas, and cannot go to the Southern Continent."

Zhu Cilang waved a hand: "No need to go overseas. You will serve as this Governor-General right in Yingtian Prefecture!" He paused. "As for the seafaring, We will have Lin Yihu do it for you."

Lin Yihu?

Feng San was startled. Who is this man? Why have I never heard of him?

Zhu Cilang glanced at Zhu Chunjie, Commissioner-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the latter immediately said: "Lin Yihu is Jia Bushi! He has always been one of our Embroidered Uniform Guard's men."

So Jia Bushi had already returned to the country!

But he had not returned to take office in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He had merely received the title of Count of the Happy Market of Enduring Hardship and gone on being the great proprietor of the Jia Happy Market Firm.

And his Jia Happy Market Firm had now become a "listed firm," with one-third of its shares assigned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, one-third still in Jia Bushi's hands, Jin Dongzhu also holding a portion of the shares, and the rest in the hands of small shareholders.

Saving the Great Ming