"Are you willing to do it, Landlord Lao Cai? It doesn't sound like there's any guarantee."
"I'm sure I won't lose, but I need someone to take the lead. There happens to be an old man who got into a little trouble. Let's talk together?" Wang Kai asked his secretary to bring in shopkeeper Gu as he spoke.
There are thousands of indigenous and naturalized people named Gu in Lingao, but the most famous one is undoubtedly this young man: Gu Baocheng.
Gu Baocheng has been running the Liaohai branch in Lingao for several years. Relying on his uncle's strong financial resources and the Senate's policy of "welcoming people far away", he has basically been making money in Lingao. Not to mention the profits from selling goods, he made a lot of money just by successively selling the land that his uncle had bought for him in the early years.
Although Gu Baocheng did not have any talent in business, he followed the rules and kept a low profile, and he did not cause any trouble to his uncle.
After the second counter-encirclement and suppression campaign, Li Luoyou canceled the Lingao Semiconductor Code under the pretext of "military looting", so the Lingao Semiconductor Code of Liaohai Line was transformed into the "Tianbao Code" and directly became Gu Baocheng's personal Property - of course, his uncle secretly became a shareholder and became the actual controller behind the scenes.
Gu Baocheng was doing business in Lingao, and he was abiding by the law. However, in recent years, he didn't know whether it was due to Li Luoyou's instructions or a sudden enlightenment, and he gradually became restless.
Not long ago, the Ministry of Colonial Trade received a report from the Political Security Bureau, which confirmed some of the things Wang Kai had always suspected. This led to today's meeting.
Shopkeeper Gu's appearance can be called "handsome" even from the perspective of a veteran. He always has the calm and indifferent expression taught by his uncle. But at this moment, his forehead was also sweating untimely.
"Two chiefs." Gu Baocheng bowed respectfully.
"Shopkeeper Gu, sit down." Wang Kai greeted "warmly", "I heard that you encountered some trouble in Japan? Why didn't you tell us? Maintaining the order of maritime trade is an important task of the Senate. You don't trust me. Us."
"Although a shipment of goods has been lost, the value is not too high. The elders have many things to do every day, and there are already too many troubles for you on weekdays, so I think I will forget it this time." Shopkeeper Gu Baocheng is familiar with the origins of various pirates. What I was worried about was not being robbed, but being robbed by pirates from the Senate.
"Shopkeeper Gu, you are so generous. You have tens of thousands of yuan worth of goods and an H800 worth several thousand yuan. That's it?"
Now Gu Baocheng couldn't hide his embarrassment. He was young after all. He couldn't think of anything to say in response, so he just blushed and stopped talking.
Wang Kai wanted him to do something, so naturally he wouldn't push him too hard, so he softened his tone and said:
"I can't blame you completely for this. Our policy is not clear yet, but we will soon have a system. But when it comes to the Dutch, we still have to make it clear to them in the end."
"I understand. In fact, when it comes to trade with Japan, since the goods are all purchased by the Senate, and the ports in Japan are gradually obeying the orders of the Senate, it really shouldn't be borrowed from others. Nowadays, whether it's merchants or the Dutch, , the Portuguese, no matter how good they are, have the mentality of making money every time.”
Shopkeeper Gu understood the core problem in just a few words. In the past, the Senate was weak and unable to do what it could. It also wanted to squeeze out the Zheng family, so it could only share the fat meat of the trade with Japan to everyone. Now the Senate has become more powerful and wants to monopolize it.
Gu Baocheng has followed his uncle for many years and understands the government's thoughts very well. So as soon as Wang Kai said a few words, he immediately joined in.
Wang Kai immediately felt that he was very knowledgeable. He added: "Of course, our Senate is not just competing for profits. Instead of burying this money in your cellars, it is better for the Senate to develop industry and agriculture. You will have bigger ships and more goods." By doing business, our income will increase by orders of magnitude.”
After saying dirty words, he still regained the situation with righteous words. Of course, this was not wrong.
"I understand, this is called 'mercantilism', right? I have attended the courses taught by the elders. Obtaining a surplus, subsidizing industry, and further expanding the surplus. This is a virtuous circle."
"Oh, yes." Fatty Wang looked at Shopkeeper Gu with admiration, "But our mercantilism is still different from that of the West. It has been improved. We are not opposed to the prosperity of diversified businesses. It's just that the stage we set up is , the profits picked up for free on the platform cannot be given away, which would become a "loss of state-owned assets", which is a serious crime here. As for the safety on the platform, we also provide such public goods. The ship you were robbed We'll get the ship back from you, and we'll pay you the purchase price."
"Ah... I'm deeply grateful for the great favor of the Senate!" Gu Baocheng originally no longer counted on ships and cargo, but now that Chief Wang was willing to grant an exemption, he was naturally overjoyed. He quickly stood up to salute, but Wang Kai immediately stopped him: "It doesn't have to be like this."
Since Chief Wang talks about friendship like this, a new policy has been released. Gu Baocheng made up his mind to take this opportunity to deal with his opponent.
"Chief Wang, you mentioned diversity, and I would also like to report some information to you. Let's talk about Japan. The diversity you mentioned is really a lot. In addition to the Senate's own operations, there are also Dutch and Portuguese People, there are also maritime merchants like us, and...well, some merchants under the pseudo-Meiji rule. The last type accounts for a large proportion. They are also using the safe environment and cargo organization capabilities provided by the Senate to do business. , there are indeed many die-hards here."
"When did you know about this situation?" Wang Kai was not surprised by his report - colleagues have been like enemies since ancient times. Of course, Gu Baocheng would not and should not let go of such an opportunity to punish his opponent.
"This, this, I know, I know." Shopkeeper Gu said quickly. "It doesn't count before. But now, I think the Senate has firmly taken over the export of cane sugar and raw silk. As for porcelain, the Senate's new products are far ahead in terms of output and quality; on the sea route, Fu The Polish navy is naturally unmatched; even the few places in Japan that have opened ports for trade are all related to the Senate. If you continue to let others enter as they please, then I boldly say that it is indeed a loss of state-owned assets. ’. If you want to take care of it, you can take care of it all. It is useless to take care of only some people. But the elders are far-sighted. You have already planned to deal with this matter. We will definitely work together without any complaints. "
"Made, the Senate also has many accounts that cannot be settled!" Senator Shi Jiantao, who had been listening, suddenly spoke, scaring Gu Baocheng to the point where sweat broke out on his forehead again.
"Hahaha, the organizational process still needs to be carried out." Fatty Wang quickly smoothed things over, "By the way, Shopkeeper Gu, investigate the business situation of Ming Dynasty businessmen in Japan you just mentioned and write a report to me. This part of the figures, Our Foreign Intelligence Agency uses subtraction to calculate, let me see what the results of your direct investigation are."
"Yes, yes, I'll write it when I get back." Gu Baocheng nodded repeatedly, "I'll submit it in two or three days. It's just that I'm very ignorant, and some things are just hearsay, so the report can only be..."
"Don't worry, we are just using it as a reference." In order to reassure him, Wang Kai immediately took out the reassurance he had prepared:
"Trade with Japan is highly profitable, and we are not a one-man shop. We will still leave a hole for you. But we won't rush in like we did before, and no one will make a profit in the end. Do you recognize Mr. Shi from the shipyard?"
"I recognize you, I have admired your name for a long time, you are Lu Ban." Shopkeeper Gu quickly stood up and saluted Mr. Shi.
Elder Shi felt a little embarrassed, smiled and waved his hand.
"So, have you heard about the Nanyang Company?"
"I heard about it. As soon as the details come out, I will give my full support."
"The Nanyang Company is something that the Senate is anxious to do, but can't take care of, so it brings in private capital. In terms of trade and transportation, we have a similar dilemma. If the transportation capacity is insufficient, you and the Westerners will have to do it. Even if The price difference is limited, and freight must be paid. If the freight is more, there will be less money for shipbuilding; if there is less money for shipbuilding, and the demand is still growing, then the freight will be even more. This is a vicious circle . You also know that the trading company of the Senate is half-dead. Rather than being called a trading company, it is better called a transportation brigade. It cannot transport 30,000 to 50,000 tons of grain every year. The entire trade between Australia and Song Dynasty is basically just waiting for someone to come to the door. "
"The Senate is hiding wealth from the people and not competing with the people for profit..."
MD, everything this educated man says is so fresh and refined. Wang Kai thought.
"But this vicious cycle must be broken out. I'm not afraid of you selling goods. I can tell you that next year we will transport 100,000 tons of grain. Therefore, we need to build a large scale and do not hesitate to introduce private capital. The efficiency of the cutting-edge ships is that of the H800 Five times, it is commercially very attractive. The shipyard and the trading company plan to cooperate and come up with two plans. The first one is that private capital will provide the full payment for the ship, and the trading company will be responsible for the operation. We will pay the principal of the payment. What route will we take? It’s determined that you just sit back and collect 20% of the profit. The second option is for private capital to fully fund the ship, and we will pay for the personnel on the ship, but you are responsible for the principal of the goods. You decide what to buy and where to sell it. We will take 20% of the profit. In both cases, the shipyard will value the ship at cost, and the trading company and naval school will provide the sailors needed for operation, and you can send the necessary accompanying personnel."
"Then let me ask you boldly, the goods and routes operated by the ship of the first plan and the ship of the second plan must be different, right?" Shopkeeper Gu discovered the problem at a glance.
"Yes, this is what I just said. In some high-profit places where we plan to monopolize, we will also leave an opening for you to participate. The form of participation is the first option. Here we will introduce the trade details that I plan to implement. The bill has been divided.”
"Then you must have set a limit on the number of ships in the first option?"
