Weiyang Palace, inner hall.
"What is going on with the foreign trade of the Western Region Commercial Road? Why is the income during this period not as much as the tax paid by the Empress Dowager during the period of operation? Is it possible to tell my empress that she not only lied about the income during the period of operation, but also handed over all the profits? Did you post some more?"
The income in this area is far less than expected. It is now an established fact that Emperor Jianyuan will of course be held accountable.
Fortunately, Sang Hongyang did a detailed investigation when he discovered this situation, so he was not too panicked at this time, but hurriedly saluted and explained:
"Your Majesty, this matter is a bit complicated."
“According to the person in charge of trade, among the products they brought over, only silk had a pretty good sales volume, while other items were far less popular.
The spices and other items shipped back are not that easy to sell.
So the income will be reduced. "
"There are many reasons. The Empress Dowager's Chamber of Commerce has had long-term and stable cooperation with many countries outside the Western Region. Now that we have rashly intervened, they lack trust and it will probably take some time to get used to it.
The second is that our products are far inferior to the Queen Mother's products in all aspects. Even if it is silk, they just reluctantly bought some, and they feel that the size, precision, and pattern of the silk are not very impressive to them. Satisfied, just because the Queen Mother has not been to the Chamber of Commerce during this period.
They are willing to buy some reluctantly.
From the moment the Empress Dowager received the order, she ordered most of the workshops to be shut down. Most of the products that were originally intended for sale abroad were no longer produced, and the corresponding products could not be purchased from the Empress Dowager's workshops. And many things are unique to the Queen Mother.
Others cannot imitate it at all, or even if it is successful, the cost will be greatly increased and the profit will be meager.
Take porcelain for example. At present, top-grade porcelain is produced by the Empress Dowager's Porcelain Workshop. Now that the Empress Dowager has stopped production, the price of top-grade porcelain in Daqian has doubled. As for ordinary porcelain, it can only be said that those outside the country have the taste and taste. The taste was spoiled by the Empress Dowager.
They are not very willing to buy it. They would rather increase the price and exchange a thousand times the weight of gold for the top secret porcelain.
Another example is silk. Only the Queen Mother's silk workshop has machines that can weave large and wide pieces of silk. The precision and luster are also superior. Only the royal tribute can barely compete with it, but the royal tribute requires a lot of time. Too long to sell on a large scale.
The gap between us and the Queen Mother.
It seems a bit big..."
Even Sang Hongyang had to admit that the gap between them was huge. It was easy for everyone in this world to go from frugality to luxury, but it was difficult to go from luxury to frugality. They had seen the top porcelain, the most exquisite silk, and People from other lands who have other types of handicrafts that are far more sophisticated than Daqian's folk crafts today take it for granted that the goods shipped by Daqian officials are ordinary goods.
Even if the price is cheaper, they are not very willing to buy it. After all, no matter whether it is cheap or expensive, those things are not affordable for ordinary people. And the nobles, who is willing to buy things that are inferior to others?
Wouldn't it be shameful to buy it back and attend the banquet?
So they don't sell well.
This was something Bai Sheng had expected.
Are you kidding, when her more than ten years of technological development, more than ten years of talent training, and nearly 100 billion in investment are all in vain? Without something unique and unmatched, how can she occupy 80% of the market? , just because she takes the first step?
Do not make jokes!
There are not many pioneers, or in other words, the front wave who were beaten to death on the beach by the waves behind. How can they always occupy a huge market without the support of unruly and crushing national policies and no real knowledge?
"You didn't discover such an important thing before, and only now do you think about it?"
Emperor Jianyuan couldn't help pinching the center of his eyebrows at this time. He was very depressed. He didn't expect that so many problems could be solved easily. As a result, he was stuck in the source of the goods. In the past, things in the Empress Dowager's workshop could be purchased at will. He really didn't notice this.
But what can be done now? You can't force the Empress Dowager to start work and sell things to him.
But after a while, Emperor Jianyuan continued to ask:
"Okay, sell things to other regions. Because the Empress Dowager's workshop has stopped production and there is no sufficient and high-quality supply of goods, I can understand it, but why are the sales of the things bought from outside the Western Regions not good?"
Yes, the sales of the purchased items are not good, which is a bit unreasonable. After all, the Queen Mother also buys things from outside and then sells them for takeout!
Sang Hongyang sighed helplessly:
"Well, Your Majesty, this matter is actually closely related to the Empress Dowager. Many spices have been successfully transplanted by the Empress Dowager in the country. However, the person in charge who went out to purchase the goods did not know about this. He brought in a lot and the result was the imported ones. The spices are not as fresh as the spices produced locally in the Queen Mother's farm.
The quality is also slightly inferior.
Moreover, the cost price is more expensive than the Queen Mother's selling price. If you want to sell it, you will probably lose money, so you don't dare to sell it for takeout at all, and you can only keep it in the warehouse.
Only a few non-planted spices and spices with a relatively long planting period can be sold, but these spices are very rare and expensive, so the actual profit is not very high, so in terms of spices.
It looks like there is some profit at present, but including the spices that are packed in the warehouse, there may be losses in the future.
In addition, there are many imported things that are imported by the Empress Dowager and then processed for takeout. We also don’t have the corresponding technology, and most people don’t really want to buy raw materials and process them. "
"For example, we have tried many processing methods for diamonds, but they are far less beautiful and gorgeous than those produced by the Queen Mother. The selling process is very difficult. They would rather pay ten times the price to buy smaller ones, but they are made by the Queen Mother's workshop. Finely crafted diamond jewelry.”
Sang Hongyang knew very well that this time they might have stolen the chicken but lost the rice. It was almost impossible to make the profits created by the Empress Dowager with their existing capabilities and products, and it would be impossible in a few years. .
But he would definitely not be willing to admit defeat.
So he hurriedly spoke again:
"But your Majesty, don't worry too much. I believe that all this is only temporary. People from outside the country will be unable to buy more exquisite porcelain and silk for a long time, so they will inevitably have to buy our porcelain and silk.
After three to five years, the income will definitely recover.
At least 70% to 80% recovery is not a problem.
But the Queen Mother may not be able to sustain it for three to five years. After all, the Queen Mother is still paying wages to the workers in her workshop. When the Queen Mother cannot pay wages, no matter how loyal the workers in the workshop are , I have to leave and look for other jobs in order to survive.
Your Majesty will be able to accept those workers at that time.
In that way, all the industries and technologies of the Empress Dowager will naturally belong to you and the country.
So the current situation is not a bad thing. As long as Your Majesty persists for a few more years and persists until the Queen Mother can no longer hold on, the final winner will definitely be Your Majesty! "
"It's just that your Majesty may need to reassure the Queen Mother that everything is fine. After all, worry and anxiety are very harmful to the body!"
