In mid-October, ten miles south of Lingshan Acropolis.
This place was originally a wasteland. There were no villages around it and the land was relatively barren. Basically no one came to cultivate it. It had been a desolate place for many years before.
But now, two huge workshop courtyards have sprung up here, and many craftsmen and employees have gathered here. The two newly built workshops are not far from each other, just over a mile apart. There are also some supporting shops, wine shops, water shops, medical clinics, etc. in the surrounding area. It seems like overnight, an uninhabited wilderness has turned into A lively town.
Here are two new workshops that Song Gongming mobilized manpower to build. In order to facilitate the entry and exit of goods and personnel, Song Gongming specially sent people to open a road, one leading to the Lingshan Acropolis in the north, and the other leading to other places in the east.
At this time, there were more than 300 households here. In addition to the craftsmen employed in the two new workshops, the rest were the families of the craftsmen and the small traders who came to do small business.
After a month of intense construction, the two new workshops were quickly completed. Next, Song Gongming took several batches of money, food and materials to the two new workshops and began to make preparations before they were put into production.
Song Gongming followed Liu Yan's instructions and set a high wage for these craftsmen, which was much higher than the usual wages. Therefore, the craftsmen of the two new workshops were very motivated, and the two workshops were put into production quickly. Liu Yan did not promote the two new workshops with great fanfare this time. During the period from the construction of the two new workshops to the preparation for production, most merchants in Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei did not know the existence of these two workshops.
Until that night, Liu Yan, accompanied by Song Gongming, braved the cold wind and came to the two new workshops.
It was already mid-October, and according to the Gregorian calendar of later generations, it was already early November. The weather had become very cold, and the strong wind blew on my face, like a knife, causing pain.
At this time, there were crowds of people outside the two new workshops. The stewards of the two workshops and a group of craftsmen had cleaned the surrounding roads, and lit several bonfires on the official road between the two new workshops, lighting up the buildings. It lit up most of the night sky.
In addition to the craftsmen from the two new workshops, dozens of merchants from Lingshanwei, Aoshanwei, Jimo Yingcheng and other places were also invited to come here and greeted Liu Yan and his party on the official road.
"Jimo camp Liu guerrillas arrived!"
Following a loud chant, a group of merchants and craftsmen from the two new workshops stepped forward to salute. Liu Yan got off his horse and returned the salute with a smile.
"Everyone is here! It's very cold tonight, thank you for your hard work!"
"It's not hard, it's not hard!"
"Guerrilla-sama is too kind."
"Sir Guerrilla has given instructions, and we will do our best."
All the merchants exchanged polite greetings. Liu Yan looked at everyone present and said to Song Gongming: "It's too cold tonight. Let's start now. Don't let you wait in the cold wind for too long."
"yes!"
I saw Song Gongming clasping his fists to signal to the merchants, and then riding away with two followers. Just when the merchants were puzzled, suddenly there was a sound of axles turning, and everyone followed the sound and saw Song Gongming himself drove a beautifully decorated four-wheeled carriage and stopped steadily in front of everyone.
"Lord Guerrilla, this is..."
Liu Yan said with a smile: "I have invited you here tonight to do business with you. I have two goods here that are very popular, and this new carriage is one of them."
"Best-selling goods?"
A merchant clasped his fists and asked, "Excuse me, Lord Guerrilla, besides being four-wheeled, is there anything else special about this carriage?"
"Of course!"
Liu Yan said with a smile: "Everyone! You all come from rich families, so you rarely travel by carriage. However, the carriages you usually ride are two-wheeled. Not only are the carriages small and bumpy, but the ride is also very uncomfortable. If the horses run a little faster, the two-wheeled carriage will shake around and may even be dangerous."
"But the new type of carriage produced here is different. This new type of carriage was designed and improved by me personally. Eucommia gum is added to the outside of the wheels of the carriage. This Eucommia gum is directly vulcanized on the rim to make it solid. After the new carriages are replaced with these tires, the vibration and noise during driving will be greatly reduced, and the comfort will be greatly improved. When you go out on the new carriages, you will not feel tired no matter how long the journey is!"
"But if you think this is the only special thing about this new carriage, you are totally wrong. The best thing about our new carriage is the wheel structure of the carriage."
"Everyone who travels around doing business is well-informed and should know that ninety-nine percent of today's carriages are two-wheeled. This is because today's four-wheeled carriages simply have four wheels assembled into the vehicle. On the frame, the two front wheels cannot turn left and right. This kind of four-wheeled carriage can drive on a straight road. But once it turns, more animals must be used to pull hard to complete the steering, which is naturally not as flexible as the two-wheeled carriage. Practical. Therefore, four-wheeled wagons at this time were extremely rare, and four-wheeled passenger carriages only appeared on ceremonial occasions, and no one rode them on weekdays."
"But the stability, comfort, and carrying capacity of the new four-wheeled carriage produced by our Guerrilla General's Mansion are unmatched by the two-wheeled carriage. You may ask, how does this new four-wheeled carriage turn?"
“In fact, this problem is not difficult at all. You only need to install the front two wheels of the carriage on one frame, the rear two wheels on another frame, and the front and rear frames are connected by a vertical shaft. It’s actually a combination of two two-wheelers.”
"So that's it!"
"So, this four-wheel carriage is really a good thing!"
"Is this invented and improved by Guerrilla Master? Guerrilla Master is really a great talent, I admire you, I admire you!"
Following Liu Yan's explanation, a group of merchants immediately started talking, and their eyes when looking at the new carriages became different. Many merchants even ignored the cold night wind and went directly to take a closer look. This is a sample car.
Liu Yan's introduction continued: "In addition to the bogie, I also added a shock absorber to the carriage. What is a shock absorber? In the past, two pieces of wood were placed at the bottom of the carriage and ropes were used to handle the carriage. The axle is tied to it. The shape of the wood is like a crawling rabbit, so it is called a rabbit. The rabbit separates the axle from the carriage and plays a certain role in shock absorption."
"However, the new carriage produced by our guerrilla general's house is equipped with a unique shock absorber. A skilled craftsman buckles two bow-shaped thin iron plates together, and an iron plate shock absorber is completed. , use it to replace Futu, and the effect will be immediate!”
After Liu Yan finished speaking, Song Gongming, who was waiting over there, saw the opportunity quickly and invited several merchants to get on the carriage and drive it several times on the dirt road around the two new workshops. The new carriage was indeed very stable, even when bumping. It was fast and very comfortable on the dirt road, and the merchants were amazed.
When Liu Yan saw Song Gongming dragging several merchants around for a few laps, he said loudly: "Everyone, please see, the carriage of this new carriage was specially custom-made by the Guerrilla General's Palace. It can be said to be airtight, and it is equipped with my colored glaze." The small pieces of colored glaze produced in the workshop not only transmit light, but also prevent cold winds like today from blowing in. Even if you go out by car in winter, the cabin will still be warm!"
Next to him, Song Gongming looked at Liu Yan who was chatting casually, and thought to himself: "With your attitude and eloquence, it would be strange if those merchants didn't compete to buy it! But having said that, you are really capable of literary and military skills, even in business. It’s much better than waiting for me!”
In fact, Song Gongming didn't know that Liu Yan was used to all kinds of marketing methods in later generations. Today he only used some small tricks and no big tricks.
At this time, a merchant asked loudly: "May I ask Master Guerrilla, how much does this new carriage cost?"
Liu Yan said loudly: "Look, everyone, the new workshop here on the official road is the vehicle workshop. This new carriage is the latest product of the vehicle workshop. There is a big reward for the opening tonight, not one thousand taels, not five." One hundred taels, only one hundred and eighty-eight taels! Because the production is limited, please buy on a first-come, first-served basis!"
Song Gongming burst out laughing when he heard this and coughed several times. The manager of the vehicle workshop next to him also tried his best not to laugh out loud. The two of them did not expect that in order to increase their income, Liu Yan acted like a businessman soliciting business, and he was also very good at it.
"I want two!"
"I want it too, give me three!"
"I want one!"
Many merchants placed orders one after another, and the carriage factory sold more than 130 new-style carriages overnight, earning more than 20,000 taels of silver. Liu Yan was laughing so hard that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear. Song Gongming also resisted the urge to laugh and talked with them. Liu Yan looked at each other and the two nodded in agreement.
This new type of carriage looks very high-end, but its manufacturing cost is only more than 20 taels. Now it sells for 188 taels, which has increased by nearly ten times. How can Liu Yan not laugh when he can still sell so much.
A group of merchants and people from the vehicle workshop completed the procedures. Song Gongming promised that starting from tomorrow, the Guerrilla General's Mansion would send people to deliver new-style carriages to everyone's mansions one after another, and left the addresses of each family.
Those merchants also looked forward to how much money they could make by reselling the new carriages they bought.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Yan took out another strange-shaped object, stood on the carriage and raised it high, and then said loudly: "Put out the bonfire!"
The craftsmen who had been waiting by the two bonfires used sand to extinguish the flames, and the scene suddenly became dark.
A group of merchants were startled. If it weren't for the numerous New Army soldiers guarding them, they would have thought it was a robbery by thieves, but at this time they were still buzzing and shouting.
"Light up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, lights came on one after another, quickly lighting up the scene again. The merchants looked intently, and it turned out that the strange thing held up in Liu Yan's hand was shining brightly.
"That thing is a lamp?"
"What kind of light is that? It's so bright!"
"Look! That lamp is not afraid of the cold wind and will not go out even when blown by the strong wind!"
A group of merchants suddenly became interested, and they all saw the value of this strange lamp, and started asking questions.
Liu Yan said loudly: "Please see, this lamp is a horse lantern produced by the Guerrilla General's Lighting Workshop. It is a new type of lamp that is portable and weatherproof. It can be hung on the horse when riding at night, so it is It’s named after the horse lantern.”
"Since it is called a horse lantern, it must have a saddle. The saddle is an iron cylinder frame with an oil pan at the lower end to hold the candle in place. The thin iron cover is fully sealed to ensure that the candle does not drip. There are two on the upper end. The iron cover is layered with gaps to allow air to escape. In the middle is a glass cover and a wire handle, which is not only windproof and rainproof, but also easy to carry..."
Before Liu Yan finished his explanation, a group of merchants couldn't wait any longer and started to grab people from the workshops around them. In the blink of an eye, the two thousand lanterns prepared by Liu Yan were sold out. The lanterns priced at five taels are so popular that most merchants even start selling them without even asking the price.
Some merchants who had not bought the lanterns surrounded Song Gongming and asked if they could order the next batch of lanterns in advance.
Song Gongming smiled and agreed repeatedly, and ordered people to record them one by one.
After a while, when all the merchants were quiet for a while, Liu Yan said loudly: "I have a favor for you all tonight. I will hold a banquet in the new workshop, with wine and meat. You will join me to celebrate the night. Wait until Tomorrow, please spread the word about the new carriages and windproof lanterns of the Guerrilla General's Mansion!"
All the merchants agreed one after another, and together with the stewards of the two new workshops, they surrounded Liu Yan and Song Gongming and entered the vehicle workshop nearby. It didn't take long for the banquet to begin. Food and wine were being served, and the sounds of people drinking and drinking were heard. It was very lively.
During the banquet, Song Gongming sat on both sides of Liu Yan and said with a smile: "I really admire you. You are actually proficient in the Mohist arts. This new carriage is exquisitely constructed. No wonder it was sold out overnight! With these two best-selling products Goods, adults will have more money and food to use."
Liu Yan waved his hand with a smile and said: "What happened tonight is just a formality. Although the vehicle factory and the lighting factory will definitely make a lot of money in the future, they will never have the same sales volume as tonight. You have to keep this in mind. There are many. So what you have to do is to promote sales and open the market for new carriages and horse lanterns as soon as possible. "
"yes!"
"When the market for new carriages and lamps is established, these two goods will also be subject to business tax, and there will be no exceptions."
Song Gongming smiled and said, "I understand."
Some people died, but not completely...
