Chapter 593 T-shaped roll boiled and dried
"There are eight salt merchants in Yangzhou and twelve households. The eight households have been passing down salt to their families for more than a hundred years. They have been engaged in this business since the Ming Dynasty, while the twelve households only gradually started to do so after the founding of this dynasty. Among the eight households that prospered, six were merchants from Zhongshan and Shaanxi, and two were merchants from Huizhou. However, among the twelve households, only three were merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi, and the remaining nine were all Huizhou merchants.”
Wang Wenyan patiently introduced to Feng Ziying the top powerful group among the Zhou merchants—salt merchants.
It’s not that they have great power, but that they have enough money to ignore others.
“Based on the literature, if I want to persuade these merchants to buy Kaihai bonds, or persuade them to invest in Tonghai Bank, how sure is it? How much money can be raised?”
Feng Ziying didn’t beat around the bush. After collecting so much information, was it really just for fun? That would definitely mean not giving up until the goal is achieved.
Whether the most satisfactory effect can be achieved in terms of quantity depends on the ability of each company.
Wang Wenyan laughed, "Your Excellency has set up a government office here. The salt merchants are all shrewd people who adapt to the changing circumstances. How could they not understand your intentions? It's just that they are the most astute and cunning in business. People like you naturally have to weigh the weight of adults and use various methods to test or negotiate conditions."
Feng Ziying's face was full of interest, and she wiped her non-existent beard on her chin, "So it seems that everyone is tacitly understanding it, and it's nothing more than bargaining?"
"Absolutely." Wang Wenyan also made the same judgment, "But depending on who opens the gap, the effect may be quite different."
Feng Ziying was thoughtful.
The salt merchants are definitely not monolithic. This can be seen from the fact that the so-called eight households and twelve households are divided into two eras and two places. Wang Wenyan's opinions are naturally broken down one by one, and then contrasted, forcing them to follow Feng Ziying's Intention comes to the end.
But he had no intention of doing so.
Although they belong to different groups, they have the same temperament at their core.
The source of profit for salt merchants is monopoly. At this point, it can be said that this group did not make much contribution to the Great Zhou Dynasty, let alone the arty things like building gardens, developing drama culture, and raising thin horses.
If they intervene directly from the beginning, they can certainly achieve some results, but it will definitely be difficult to achieve the best results, because the threshold determines the upper limit, so they will subconsciously draw a line for themselves.
Looking at the posts piled on the table, Feng Ziying picked up a few and read them.
These posts can still receive more than a dozen copies almost every day, even if they know they are not visited, but these people are still tireless.
Even Lin Ruhai would convey some irresistible messages from time to time, so that Lin Ruhai said that she originally thought that she rented this small courtyard to use the scenery of the Si Yamen to transport salt from Lianghuai Province, but now it seems Some inversions come back.
“Do you have an idea, sir?” Wang Wenyan naturally knew that Feng Ziying would not easily follow the method he recommended to him.
If everything was done according to his own ideas, it would be impossible for this person to reach such a high position at such a young age.
Just like Dongfan reclamation and salt affairs, in Wang Wenyan's view, this is simply a stroke of genius. No one would have thought that a seemingly inadvertent piece of useless material could actually have such a wonderful effect, but this is based on his understanding of the situation in Dongfan. On top of understanding.
So Wang Wenyan was also surprised that the other party knew that the coastline of Dongfan near Penghu was extremely suitable for salting, and even the salt content in the sea water was higher. These situations are not something ordinary people can do.
"Well, I have some thoughts. Good food must be tasted last. They all know that my target in Jiangnan is them, so let them suffer first." Feng Ziying picked up the tea cup, opened the lid, and flipped it , took a sip, "There will always be times when they come in handy."
Wang Wenyan understood and smiled, "Sir, are you planning to burn out the fire?"
Glancing at Wang Wenyan, he saw that this man was smart and resourceful. No wonder he could serve as a think tank for the Donglin Party in his previous life, but under his own command, he should have a better performance stage.
“Let the fire be full first, and the food will cook naturally.” Feng Ziying responded, which seemed to have a little rhyme.
"Then where do you plan to start?" Wang Wenyan found that following this new owner, he could feel and learn new things almost every day, and the other party's sophistication and maturity made people doubt his age and experience. It's completely disproportionate, and perhaps it can only be explained by the genius.
"There are emblems everywhere in Dongting, let's start with the Dongting merchants. It is said that they are the best at judging the situation. I would like to see what they think of my trip to the south of the Yangtze River and the imperial court's strategy of opening up the sea. Feng Ziying casually raised another letter in her hand and said, "A letter from my other father-in-law has also arrived. I should give him some face."
Feng Ziying also found it quite interesting. Both of her parents-in-law came from Suzhou.
If he hadn't married the daughter of the Jia family, Lin Ruhai would really have nothing to do with Wu Xun.
Dongting merchants are the leading representatives of Suzhou merchants. Their business categories are almost all-encompassing. Although each has its own focus, it is almost spread throughout Jiangnan, Huguang and even the north. Although this group is not as famous as Shanshan merchants and Hui merchants, But in fact, it is the appearance of a new force.
"Do you agree to see us?" Xu Chengdong finally breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, it won't be in vain for us to follow from the capital to Jiangnan. Where is the Weng family?"
"Weng Gong is still in the capital, but the news that came back is that although the official met with Weng Gong, he didn't say much. He only said that the court was in difficulty. He hoped that the gentry and merchants would understand the difficulties of the court. As for the various matters involved in the strategy of opening up the sea, However, he always shirks and deals with common matters and refuses to discuss them in detail..."
The person who sent the message back spoke cautiously.
Xu Chengdong was silent.
When he went south, he went to Dongchang Mansion to visit Shen Jue, and he spent a lot of time on it. Lord Shen, the prefect, also wanted to further his official career. In addition, he had not had much contact with him before, so he only got a promise from the other party that he would Write a letter to Feng Ziying, but that's it.
It seems that things are not going well in the capital either.
Guan Yingzhen is from Huguang and is even more difficult to deal with. Weng Qiyang has not achieved much results.
Moreover, looking at this attitude, Feng Ziying went south to Yangzhou with the attitude of having special orders and full authority to make decisions with a single word. His teacher had great trust in him.
Zhuantian Dongting does not just mean that Dongting merchants travel to many places or have a wide range of businesses, but it also means that Dongting merchants have a more accurate and thorough understanding of the current situation.
Doing business in the Zhou Dynasty is a small matter, needless to say. If you want to achieve success without having any judgment and grasp of changes in the political and political situation, it will not last long. This is true for individuals and even more so for groups.
At first glance, it seems that the opening of the sea has little substantial connection with the current livelihood of Dongting merchants. It is more related to maritime trade or overseas reclamation. Although it has some relationship with the current livelihood of Dongting merchants, it is not deep.
However, they all felt something different with their keen sense in this regard. The imperial court's big move in this regard was unprecedented, and it had an even greater impact on the entire situation of the Zhou Dynasty. It can be said that the situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty will definitely change due to the opening of the sea. Suddenly a big change comes.
They all have a feeling that if they cannot keep up with this rhythm, Dongting merchants may be like a flash in the pan, or even become a second- or third-rate business gang.
Seeing Xu Chengdong silent, the man next to him whispered: "Mr. Xu, can you make some preparations?"
"Preparation? What preparation?" Xu Chengdong said calmly.
“Well, as usual,…”
"Do you think this little Feng Xiuzhan is an ordinary official?" Xu Chengdong's body, which stood up straight, seemed to relax. He walked around the flower hall with his hands behind his back, "If he is like that, he can settle it." If it’s done, why do we need to go from the capital to Yangzhou?”
“Perhaps it’s for sale?” The people next to him were a little unconvinced.
"The word "wait for price" is used accurately, but the words "price" and "selling" are probably not as simple as you think. If he only looks at money, then I really should gouge out my eyes and throw them away. ." Xu Chengdong sighed: "The plan is huge."
“Mr. Xu, what do you think this little Feng Xiu’s intention is?”
"I don't know. If I knew, why would I need to think hard again?" Xu Chengdong said leisurely: "It seems that we can just sit on the sidelines, but my intuition tells me that if we don't dare to go on this trip, it seems that we will miss a lot, or even miss a lot again. No chance to catch up,…”
Intuition? This reason is really strong enough, but when faced with the person in charge of the Xu family of the "Weng Xu" family of Dongting businessmen, others naturally dare not refute him outright.
“Then Mr. Xu, what should we do?”
"The soldiers came to block the water and cover up the soil, and they just used it as soon as they saw it." Xu Chengdong also put away all his thoughts and said calmly: "This Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan has waited for us for so long before seeing us. Naturally, he has some ideas, but I really want to know what this little Feng Xiuzuan wants us Dongting merchants to do."
Perhaps it’s industry? Xu Chengdong suddenly realized something.
If we want to say the biggest difference between Dongting merchants and Hui merchants, Shanxi merchants, I am afraid that the Dongting merchant group is not just merchants. Such a group not only engages in business, but also includes a group that runs workshops.
Suzhou’s silk workshops and printing workshops, Songjiang’s cotton workshops and dyeing workshops, Jinling’s pharmaceutical workshops, and Jingdezhen’s ceramic kilns are all inseparable from the presence of Dongting merchants.
Is it really this reason that made the other party put Shanshan and Shaanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants aside and see themselves first? Xu Chengdong pondered.
(End of this chapter)