Chapter 590 Another Me in the Taqing World

Author: Linjiangjun

Chapter 590 Another Me in the Taqing World

At Zhuhai Port, Mustafa Pasha and Jew Shain were wandering here with the Ottoman envoy. They were already very tired after sitting on the ship for several months.

So I plan to rest here in Zhuhai for a day, buy some things on the way, and then set off again, taking the boat all the way north to Yingtianfu.

"It's incredible. The Ming Dynasty people actually mined so many stones to pave the road, making the road so wide and flat."

Mustafa Pasha stepped on the concrete road paved with cement and tried to avoid his feet. The road was very hard.

"This is not a stone, but a road built using a special material called cement. They call this road a cement highway. The rare high-rise buildings on both sides of the road are also made of cement."

Schein, the finance minister who has been away all year round, has already learned about some of the magical things of the Ming Dynasty.

"cement?"

Mustafa Pasha couldn't help but knelt down and stroked it a few times with his hands.

"Yes, it is cement. It is a magical material. Once the water dries, it becomes extremely hard. The city walls and houses of the Ming Dynasty were all built with this material."

Schein nodded and said, unable to help but show off his knowledge in front of the prime minister.

"nice one!"

"If we in the Ottoman Empire can master the manufacturing method of this kind of cement, we can quickly build a large number of strong city walls, which will become a nightmare for Europeans!"

Mustafa Pasha immediately realized that this was an extremely important building material and its huge role.

"Sir, the people of Ming Dynasty keep their cement manufacturing methods very secret. Foreigners are subject to many restrictions in Ming Dynasty. Their counter-intelligence agency Jinyiwei is very powerful. Ming Customs has strict inspections when entering and exiting. I want to obtain Ming Dynasty's cement manufacturing methods.

,very difficult."

"I have also ordered people to think of a solution. Maybe you can negotiate with the people of Ming Dynasty to see if we can get the cement formula."

Schein nodded solemnly and said.

"Okay! These Ming people are really smart, they always come up with some incredible things."

Mustafa Pasha nodded and looked at the bustling street in front of him.

On the spacious cement road, people come and go, horse-drawn carriages flow continuously, and people from all over the world gather here.

There are many shops of all kinds, some specializing in buying all kinds of goods, and some specializing in selling various specialties. Of course, what is done in the shops are all small businesses.

Real big business deals are negotiated in each business house. From time to time, you can see Ming businessmen at the gate of each business house greeting guests from all over the world with smiles on their faces.

"Sir, if it is a big deal, you can go to these big trading houses to negotiate. Many of these Ming Dynasty trading houses have royal backgrounds in the Ming Dynasty and are extremely powerful. It is said that some of their trading houses can earn tens of millions of silver dollars a year, whether it is

They can handle any deal no matter how big it is."

"In the past, when I was in charge of selling European slaves, I sold them exclusively to these big trading houses. The price was a little lower, but no matter how many slaves they had, they could eat them all at once."

"Now slaves do not have to be sold to these trading houses. They can be sold directly to the Ming Emperor's Royal Manpower Company. While doing business, you can also make good friends with the Ming Emperor."

Schein was relatively familiar with this place, and while taking Mustafa Pasha shopping, he introduced him to the situation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Earn so many silver dollars in a year!"

When Mustafa Pasha heard this, he opened his mouth slightly. This was really incredibly rich. At least the Ottoman Empire's sultan only had tens of millions of silver in taxes a year.

The most intuitive manifestation of the decline of the Ottoman Empire is its fiscal revenue. At the end of the 16th century, the fiscal revenue of the Ottoman Empire was estimated by Western colleagues to be 6 million ducats in gold coins (which is not far from the actual situation. In 1534, the central government revenue of the Ottoman Empire was 5 million

gold).

But by the beginning of the 17th century, it was reduced to more than 2 million ducats in gold coins, a decrease of 2 or 3 times.

This number is huge, because the total value of goods transported by sea in the Mediterranean every year during the entire 16th century was only 6 million ducats in gold coins. The Ottoman Empire lost more than half of its revenue from Mediterranean shipping in a year. These shrunken wealth and the small Akce

Related to silver coins.

Akce silver coins were the most common currency in the Ottoman Empire and the most convenient accounting currency. Ottoman soldiers relied on it to keep accounts during wars and their daily lives. However, the silver coins had poor color and low weight.

A resident of the Ottoman Empire had to pay him 25 Akça silver coins every year. At the end of the 16th century, the entire empire alone had more than 70 million Akçe silver coins in head tax alone.

The empire needs 300 Akchi silver coins to mobilize an Azab infantry archer, and it takes three to six Akchi silver coins to make him work every day.

A Guardsman also needs an annual salary of around 20,000 Akche.

During most of the 16th century, one ducat gold coin was equal to 84 Akche silver coins. This means that the Ottoman Empire's revenue from the poll tax alone was as high as nearly one million ducats, and it could mobilize about 200,000 Azab archers and other auxiliaries every year.

With troops, plus 50,000 elite paid Janissaries, the Ottoman Empire could rival any major power in Europe in terms of military and financial strength.

But starting in 1584, the currency of the Ottoman Empire began to collapse. The Akç depreciated twice in value relative to the ducat gold coin, from 60 Akç to one ducat gold coin, which plummeted to 120 Akç to one ducat.

, and by 1590 it had dropped to 220 to 1!

In line with the devaluation of the currency, the poll tax in the Ottoman Empire skyrocketed. The poll tax rose from 25 Akç per person per year to more than 300 Akç per person per year in the early 17th century.

Currency depreciation and rising prices caused all industries in the Ottoman Empire to collapse. However, the Ottoman Empire pursued a small government policy. All walks of life were autonomous by guilds, and the imperial government was only responsible for collecting money.

The life of the Ottoman industrial and commercial people became increasingly difficult, and everyone turned their attention to the army. At the end of the 16th century, "devout" believers of the True God of Constantinople entered the Ottoman Guards in large numbers.

They usually bribe their superiors not to train, and they also make excuses not to participate in wars. They just run faster than anyone else when they steal money.

Therefore, the decadence of the Ottoman Empire was all-round, not inferior to that of the Tatars!

It is simply another me in the Taqing world.

If the Ottomans did not work hard to become stronger before they were completely degenerated, and if the Western world carves it up, it is estimated that if the new Qing Dynasty were driven away from Tianzhu by the Ming Dynasty, the next target would be the Ottomans.

Now an exquisite Ming Dynasty silver dollar can be exchanged for at least 100 Akche silver coins.

Therefore, even Mustafa Pasha was shocked when he heard about the income of these trading houses in the Ming Dynasty!

"Yes, the people of Ming Dynasty are extremely rich, and the wealth owned by the emperor of Ming Dynasty is beyond imagination!"
Chapter completed!