"We must ensure the supply of mulberry leaves. [Read the latest chapter] Otherwise, all plans will be ruined." Li Yaoer warned repeatedly.
Zhao Yingong was naturally smitten. He was so interested in buying "tip leaves". In addition to this being a safer and cheaper way to purchase mulberry leaves, he also noticed another thing: when Ye Xing sold "tip leaves" to silkworm farmers, Sales on credit are also available. It was agreed that cash or raw silk would be used as the condition for repayment of principal and interest. In this way, Ye Xing actually played the role of a lender.
If this method can be used, then his small loan plan will have a reliable and convenient channel to implement.
As he said, Zhao Yingong immediately asked Cai Shi to prepare invitations and gifts, and he would visit the Jin gentry in the city one by one. Among these Jin gentry were those who expressed their intention to join the Investment Promotion Bureau, and there were also "directors" of Cihuitang. If you want to set up a charity factory, it is most appropriate to attract these two groups of people to protect you.
Zhao Yingong's investment plan has caused a great stir among the gentry circles in Jiangnan. There are countless people who want to buy shares. Even at the "sky-high price" of one thousand taels per share, many people are flocking to it and changing trustees. I want to buy a share or two.
Silver inflation in the late Ming Dynasty was not as serious as that in the Qing Dynasty. Fifty thousand taels of silver was a huge sum of money. Most of the wealth of ordinary gentry families was reflected in land. It was not easy to raise several thousand silver in cash immediately. Therefore, although subscriptions were enthusiastic, there were not many "big investors". This avoids the situation that Zhao Yingong once worried about that some large investors would buy half of the shares at once.
Zhao Yingong came from Guangdong, and the things he sold were all the goods of the "Kung Thieves" - the "Kung Thieves" who once turned Guangdong upside down. The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are now gradually aware of it.
Unlike ordinary people, the gentry had a close relationship with colleagues of the same age, and they could keep track of a lot of local news through letters exchanged with each other. Various news from Guangdong and various Australian goods that began to flow into the south of the Yangtze River linked Zhao Yingong and the "Kun Thief". Zhao Yingong and Kun Thief must have a close relationship in private. This point has become a consensus among many Jin gentry in private discussions.
With such a background, there is no doubt that in addition to the Japanese route, he probably also has channels for the now popular "Australian goods". This made many Jin gentry have a strong interest in Zhao Yingong. Some people began to look for opportunities to work with him to make money. As soon as the prospectus of China Merchants Group came out, many people got wind of it and started to take action.
The Catholic gentry in Jiangnan greatly approved of his actions - not only because his strong support for the church made him the hidden "pillar of the church" in Hangzhou. Moreover, the Catholic missionaries of the Hangzhou Church also regarded the opening of the navigation channel to Japan as a major opportunity for the church to re-enter Japan. Therefore, several religious gentry in Hangzhou responded quickly and quickly raised 6,000 taels of shares. Among them, Sun Yuanhua's family came up with two thousand taels of silver - one thousand taels of which were obtained privately by Xu Guangqi's family, not for profit. All profits from the named shares will be used by the church.
As for the other gentry who are always bold and want to make money from the frying pan, they naturally don't care about the relationship between Zhao Yingong and Kun Thief. Anyway, the free money is the same everywhere. Why not have someone help you make money?
Including Wu Zhixiang, who came to Jiangnan to promote his own fame, also paid one thousand taels of silver.
Even in Fushe, some people gave money. Sun Chun went straight to Wanbi Bookstore without any hesitation and bought in directly. Zhao Yingong originally thought that it would attract heavyweights such as Zhang Dai and Fang Yizhi to invest in the company, and he also specially distributed the prospectus to them.
Unexpectedly, it was Sun Chun who arrived! Zhao Yingong knew about Sun Chun. He is a key figure in Fushe. It's equivalent to being a secretary-general. But the reputation is not obvious. Even in the Fushe, many members still do not have a correct understanding of Sun Chun's true status, and only regard him as a logistics backbone similar to "serving tea and delivering water".
It is quite intriguing that such a person invested in Fushe. Zhao Yingong felt that Fushe still valued him rather than trusting him. Zhang Pu, the "Tongtian Cult Leader", is still observing himself.
Zhao Yingong quickly raised 50,000 taels of silver, with a total of thirty-six investors, including not only the Jin gentry from Southern Zhili but also some businessmen who had dealt with Zhao Yingong.
However, these shareholders are not members of the board of directors of China Merchants Group. Zhao Yingong does not need so many decision-makers. These thirty-six people just have to sit back and wait for their dividends. There are only two actual board members: himself and the Shen family. Other shareholders are just sitting back and enjoying the dividends.
This loss of dividends can be tolerated for the time being. First, the Senate urgently needs to rely on Japanese resources. Secondly, the next activities carried out in Hangzhou also need to be protected by such an interest network.
Zhao Yingong had everything ready, so he set off with several gentry members of the Hangzhou church to visit Hangzhou Prefecture and the Yamen of Qiantang and Renhe counties.
Originally, the directors of Cihuitang at the foot of Phoenix Mountain were mainly religious gentry from Hangzhou, and the influence of Shantang was not great. When Zhao Yingong built a large-scale refugee camp at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, it aroused some people's surprise.
However, Zhao Yingong and his Cihuitang soon became famous. During the severe drought in northern Zhejiang in 1633, Cihuitang, with its fastest response speed and efficient management, quickly carried out refugee relief activities, opened porridge factories, took in refugees, and buried road collapse...especially for the local area. Almost all the hungry people in Sixiang, who caused great trouble, received relief from Cihuitang to survive. Thousands of refugees were also sent out to open up wasteland - greatly reducing the possibility of local "civil unrest" , the stability of social order has won great favor among local gentry and ordinary citizens.
Therefore, after the drought eased slightly in October, Cihuitang was taken seriously. Not only was Zhao Yingong praised by the officials of the first government and two counties in Hangzhou, but also the gentry who were keen on fame and fortune or who were really enthusiastic about their family also came in droves to join Cihuitang. Step up and put on the title of director.
As a result, the name of Cihuitang became famous - there were government-run charitable organizations at both the prefecture and county levels in Hangzhou, but they were poorly managed and wasteful. Some of the facilities are old and useless - although they are said to have various facilities such as Salesian Bureau and Almshouse, most of the buildings were built in the early Ming Dynasty and were renovated in the middle period. They have long been unusable, let alone resettled refugees. As for the handling personnel, most of them are the staff and relatives of the chief officials and minor officials in the prefecture and county yamen, or they are controlled by rich and powerful local people. Although the county government allocates a certain amount of money and rice every month and has a certain number of shelter places, all of them are actually swallowed up by the handling staff, and it has no effect at all.
Therefore, although famine relief has always required government relief money and food, the specific handling was often entrusted to local gentry. In the increasingly difficult economic situation of the imperial court at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the majority of relief money and food had to be raised by the local government. Therefore, the role of the Jin gentry in disaster relief and famine relief was further enhanced.
Although Zhao Yingong was an outsider, he had gained a considerable reputation in the gentry circle through his active activities, especially through his relationship with the gentry who taught the gentry and restored society. This time, the relief was so impressive that he became " "Relief of shortage of talents".
Therefore, at the end of last year, after the drought ended, the Hangzhou government established a aftermath bureau, and Zhao Yingong also became a member of the aftermath bureau. Because Ci Hui Tang did an excellent job in hosting and rescuing refugees, the Rehabilitation Bureau outsourced all the refugee reception and relief work to Ci Hui Tang. Speaking of which, he was in a very bad position as a committee member - this job cost money and energy, and if he failed to do so, it could easily trigger a popular uprising. The money raised by the aftermath bureau and government funding are just a drop in the bucket.
In the end, Cihuitang still handled the matter in an orderly manner. After entering the cold winter, there were no large groups of refugees gathering on the road. Even the corpses collected on the road every day were more than half less than usual. You must know that this is a famine year after a disaster. In the past, there would have been at least a hundred corpses taken from the city to the cemetery for burial early in the morning.
No one knows how much Mr. Zhao has invested in Cihuitang, but everyone knows that the current situation cannot be achieved with just a little allocation from the government and money raised from wealthy people. Not to mention that the refugees can be settled securely and protected from cold, hunger and diseases - this not only costs money, but also requires the ability to do things.
Such talent and financial resources could not help but impress the local gentry. In addition, everyone vaguely knew that he had the background of Mr. Xu Ge, and he also had contacts with Zhang Pu of Taicang, so they knew that this man was by no means an ordinary scholar in Guangli. Therefore, its position in the aftermath is becoming increasingly important. The officials in the first government and the second county should also be polite when they see him.
He has to do this today, and it is also a matter of the aftermath bureau. Zhao Yingong felt that as long as he made the right decision, it would not be difficult to obtain the support of the government.
Since the beginning of spring this year, the weather in Hangzhou has been relatively smooth, and things have gradually calmed down, so the affairs of the aftermath bureau have gradually become less frequent. However, the relief work is far from over.
After a major disaster, victims often have sold all their means of production and living in order to survive, leaving them empty-handed. There are no seeds and no cattle. It is difficult to carry out production self-rescue activities quickly, and it is already late March. In the blink of an eye, it will be the "five shortages in six months", a time when there is no supply. If we cannot help the victims in time to produce and save themselves, it will inevitably lead to another large-scale exodus of victims. Then the relief work of the previous year would be in vain.
Today Zhao Yingong is going to the aftermath bureau, and this is what he wants to talk about. A few days ago, the Hangzhou prefect had summoned members of the aftermath bureau and asked them to continue "thinking of ways and coming up with an idea." (To be continued...)
