500 years ago, China was once a well-deserved world trade center. If the Ming Dynasty did not attack Shuangyu Island, but opened its doors, let go of the maritime ban, and made use of China's overwhelming trade advantage to enrich the people and strengthen the country, making China a world trade center, then all the national disasters after the Opium War might have been avoided 500 years ago. Kangxi * * *, the sea ban was once opened, and it was banned in his later years. At the same time, Peter the Great of Russia frantically promoted overseas trade and industry and commerce. At this time, it was only over one hundred years since Britain opened the door of China with a gun.
The opportunity for China to master its own destiny and have a strong position in globalization began in Shuangyu Island, Ningbo, and ended in the sea ban of Kangxi's later years. In the face of 500 years of vicissitudes, we have to admit that once, China people had the opportunity to take the initiative of globalization and take the helm in their own hands, and we were so close to becoming a world wealth center. After the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court strictly enforced the maritime ban, and at the same time carried out sporadic and limited tribute and merger trade. That is to say, foreign businessmen came to China with tribute envoys, and trading companies paid tribute to the imperial court in the name of tribute, while China returned the goods to foreigners who admired China's prestige regardless of the scale, profit and efficiency of trade. At the beginning of Jiajing, it was three years' tribute, and Mifune was allowed two hundred people at a time. Later, due to the "tribute war" between Japanese business groups, the court stopped the Sino-Japanese survey trade.
During the same period, Wang Zhi Group broke through trade barriers, armed smuggling and doing business overseas. Wang Zhi has lived in Japan for 20 years. At the peak of his career, he took Hirado as the base, dominated the sea and defeated the Ming army many times, so he was called "King of Emblem". During this period, Wang Zhi inherited the traditional style of Huizhou merchants and carried it forward in Japan. Japanese history called Wang "Daming Confucian scholar". Wang Zhi studied Japanese language and writing, studied Japanese commodity market, and profited by faith. Under the command of Wang Zhi, there are also some Japanese who follow the command of Wang Zhi and learn business skills. The spirit of "Oriental Businessman", which treats customers sincerely, receives things by faith and benefits by righteousness, is regarded as a model by Japanese business circles. In today's Japan, the story of Wang Zhi is also told in various forms, such as picture books, books, cartoons and game software. In Hirado, there is Wang Zhi's former residence for people to visit.
500 years ago, there was a key figure in this public debate. He is Wang Zhi, a native of Shexian County, Huizhou during the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. Historical records describe Wang Zhi as "less Ren Xia, stronger, wiser and more charitable". In his early years, he did business for Jia according to Huizhou Customs, and went south to Guangdong to build a huge ship to transport nitrate yellow and silk floss to Japan, Siam, the West and other countries. Foreign trade makes Wang Zhi's wealth accumulate rapidly. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, "one tree was forbidden to go to sea", and the government's sea ban and oppression drove agriculture, fisheries and industry to a dead end. Large-scale armed smuggling activities broke out along the coast of China, and Wang Zhi was in charge of the fleet for Xudong Group at Shuangyu Port in Ningbo. And Zhejiang Governor Zhu Wan sent troops to attack and suppress, Li Guangtou was arrested, Xu Dong brothers fled, and Wang Zhi took over the rest, and developed into the leader of Jiangsu and Zhejiang maritime armed groups.
In A.D. 1550, Wang Zhi was attacked and besieged by the imperial court for his meritorious service in fighting bandits in the Jinghai. After Wang Zhi broke through, he fled to Japan and accumulated strength. Two years later, he returned to Yang Zhe. With the support of coastal businessmen, attacking the city slightly has a great influence on Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Wang Zhi is called King Jinghai in Dinghai, also known as King Huiwang. Loyalists dare not stop them. Zhejiang (now Anhui and Shanghai) is difficult to support, and three governors, Zhou and Yang Yi, have been dismissed successively. Although the maritime ban is still in effect, foreign trade is still carried out in the form of armed smuggling. ...
In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing (AD 1555), the Ming Dynasty was forced to change its strategy and decided to appeal to Wang Zhi. Hu Zongxian, the new governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, was ordered to plan. Hu Zongxian released Wang Zhi's old mother, wife and children in prison and gave them generous treatment. At the same time, he sent a mission to Japan to announce and appeal to Wang Zhi. After careful consideration, Wang Zhi decided to submit to the imperial court, and sent someone to remove Hu Zongxian from his post of "inviting trade on behalf of others". Wen Shu strongly urged the Ming court to lift the sea ban and open the trading market, and asked the governor to order it to "suppress the sea and open the market". After several rounds of negotiations, Wang Zhisui led thousands of valiant soldiers to return home from Japan in late September of A.D. 1557, anchored in cengang, Zhoushan, and soon went to the Qiantang Governor's Office to be summoned. Hu Zongxian politely stayed in Wang Zhi, and then Shangshu pardoned Wang Zhi. But at this time, some important North Korean officials changed their faces and violently impeached Hu Zongxian, saying that he had been bribed by Wang Zhi for personal gain.