Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 292: Chapter 283 The Surprise Brought by Luo Shang

“You’ve spent quite a bit of time in Jiangnan these past few years, do you have any understanding of the sea merchants there?” Yang Zhenshan suddenly asked.

Luo Shang looked up in surprise and said, “My lord is interested in sea merchants?”

“I do have some ideas, but I know little about sea merchants, so I’d like to understand more before proceeding!” Yang Zhenshan said.

Luo Shang thought for a moment and said, “Becoming a sea merchant is difficult!”

“Difficult? What aspects are difficult?”

“Firstly, to set out to sea, the investment is substantial—a small merchant ship alone costs upwards of a thousand taels of silver, while larger ones could require tens of thousands!”

“Secondly, the dangers at sea are numerous—natural disasters and human calamities can strike at any time. Natural disasters aside, the most troublesome are the human calamities!”

“My lord may not know that many of the southern sea merchants are both traders and robbers. Once they are out at sea, they can turn into pirates at any moment, robbing and killing any merchant ships they encounter!”

How could Yang Zhenshan be unaware of this—with figures like Li Dan and Zheng Zhilong, he had made in-depth investigations in his previous life.

It was precisely because of this understanding that he was interested in sea merchants.

Maritime trade could bring immense profit, and the only advantage Tenglong Guard had was its proximity to the sea.

Although the maritime trade business was relatively backward in Liaodong, there was at least the possibility to set sail from there.

Yang Zhenshan had the idea to build a pier near the coast, construct a few merchant ships, and engage in maritime trade. However, in order to put this plan into action, careful preparations were needed.

Luo Shang continued, “Third, the taxation on goods by the Market Shipping Department is extremely high, prompting most Jiangnan sea merchants to try every means to circumvent the Market Shipping Department!”

Da Rong allowed maritime trade, but there was strict control over it. The standard procedure was that the Market Shipping Department would issue official permits before ships could set sail. When ships returned to port, the department would tax imports and exports by sorting the goods into coarse and fine categories and the government would take a proportion of the goods as an in-kind import tax.

What Luo Shang referred to as circumventing the Market Shipping Department was smuggling.

Smuggling could avoid the market shipping tax, but it entailed the risk of being seized by the Market Shipping Department.

Da Rong also had a number of navies, and even though their combat capability was fairly mediocre, they were skilled at seizing merchant ships.