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Finally, with Zhao Junchen's hard and soft tactics, most of the Huizhou merchants were convinced by Zhao Junchen, and they expressed their willingness to cooperate with the court and join the United Shipping Company!
At this point, Zhao Junchen's plan to rectify commercial taxes and smuggling is half successful.
However, Zhao Junchen did not take any immediate action. He just ordered the Hui merchants to go back and prepare, and asked them to go to the capital to discuss the specific details with Zhao Junchen in a few days.
After all, Zhao Junchen has not officially taken over the business and tax rectification. Regarding the establishment of a joint shipping company, Zhao Junchen also needs to convince Emperor Deqing and the court officials before it can be officially launched. Only in this way can this plan be considered a success. Initially successful.
However, in Zhao Junchen's view, it was actually easier to convince Emperor Deqing than to convince Hui merchants. After all, in Zhao Junchen's plan, compared with the money, effort, and manpower provided by Hui merchants, Emperor Deqing did not There is no need to pay too much, just provide some policy concessions, and then Zhao Junchen only needs to explain to Emperor Deqing how much money this plan can bring, then Emperor Deqing will not have too much Hesitated!
One of the biggest shortcomings of Emperor Deqing was that he was "fearful of poverty", so with targeted persuasion, Emperor Deqing could become an emperor who accepted advice and had an easy-going personality.
*
When Zhao Junchen left "Fuhui Pavilion", the moon hung on the branches and the sky was getting late.
After saying goodbye to the Huizhou merchants, Zhao Junchen did not go back immediately. Instead, he led Xu Qingyan to walk in the night market of Taierzhuang and observed the current situation of Taierzhuang in detail.
In Zhao Junchen's plan, Taierzhuang's status is very important. Although it is rumored that Taierzhuang is now extremely prosperous, catching up with places such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, Zhao Junchen still wants to conduct an on-site inspection. Then you can feel at ease.
Facts have proved that the rumors are not wrong, since the opening of the Jia Canal. Taierzhuang has become a hub connecting the north and the south, an important dock and commercial town on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. Although it is getting darker now, Taierzhuang still has a scene of "fishing fires along the river, singing for ten miles, merchants meandering, and the market does not stop at night".
While secretly observing, Zhao Junchen thought deeply: "Since the opening of the Jia Canal, Taierzhuang's commercial prosperity has indeed become more and more prosperous day by day! Every year, there are more than 12,000 tanker ships, transporting goods to the capital through here. The amount of food is more than four million dan! In addition, silk, bamboo, tea, rice, cotton and other materials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huguang are also transported to the north through this. As for the northern mountain fruits, ginger and medicinal materials , miscellaneous grains, skins, tobacco leather, etc. also transited southward through Taierzhuang! Relying on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal's south-to-north grain transportation, material exchange, currency customs taxation, Taierzhuang's economic vitality is now so amazing that even the buds of capitalism have It’s very obvious.”
While thinking, Zhao Junchen looked very serious and thought: "Since ancient times, many policies have good intentions, but they often backfire. After the policies are implemented, not only do they not bring benefits, but they produce many disadvantages. This often It's because the people working below do not follow the rules and are doing things behind the scenes. The saying "there are policies from above and countermeasures from below" is what it means!
Wait until the United Shipping Company is officially established. In order to seek greater profits, Huizhou merchants may not be able to do things secretly and violate the law, but they need to set up checkpoints at several transportation hubs to further suppress smuggling activities. They can also closely monitor the goods accounts of United Shipping Company... Among them , the existence of Taierzhuang is the top priority. As long as Taierzhuang's investigation is strict enough, even if the Huizhou merchants want to do something secretly. It won’t make any waves! "
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen frowned slightly.
The existence of Taierzhuang is so important. In order to effectively control the operations of the United Shipping Company, Zhao Junchen needs to send a trusted official to be stationed here. Strictly monitor the cargo accounts of United Shipping Company, lock the neck of United Shipping Company, and prevent the behemoth that he personally built from becoming a wild horse and getting out of control.
Therefore, the official stationed in Taierzhuang not only needs to be a close confidant of Zhao Junchen, but also must be strong enough and flexible enough in his methods. The most important thing is that this official must have certain principles and cannot guard against others and be stolen by Huizhou merchants. Easy to buy!
However, among the officials under Zhao Junchen, most of them are corrupt officials, ghosts and monsters. Although there are many loyal, capable and flexible people, there are very few who are honest and self-sufficient, and those who have all four are rare. There are even fewer people!
This situation made Zhao Junchen scratch his head.
Then, Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of Zhang Jizhi, the prefect of Linqing who had taken refuge with him a few months ago! (See Chapter 308 for details
Regarding Zhang Jizhi, the prefect of Linqing, Zhao Junchen only met him three times, but he was deeply impressed and fond of him!
At the beginning, when Emperor Deqing was on tour to the south, in order to protect the people, Zhang Jizhi was the only local official who did not waste people and money to build a palace for Emperor Deqing!
Because of this, the officials in Shandong were worried about Emperor Deqing's blame, so they all alienated and excluded Zhang Jizhi, which also allowed Zhao Junchen to take the opportunity to take Zhang Jizhi under his sect!
Although this person has a bit of a cowardly personality, he is able to stick to his principles and bottom line, has outstanding vision and talents, is flexible, and has a lot of economic acumen. He has many advantages, so Zhao Junchen also values him very much!
Originally, Zhao Junchen planned to transfer Zhang Jizhi to the Ministry of Household Affairs in the capital after returning to Beijing to help Zhao Junchen further control the financial power of the imperial court.
However, thinking about it again at this time, it may also be a good choice to transfer Zhang Jizhi here to serve as the prefect of Yanzhou (Taierzhuang was under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou in the Ming Dynasty).
Although Zhang Jizhi is disliked and ostracized in Shandong official circles, it is precisely because of this that if Zhang Jizhi wants to make a difference in the future, he can only hug Zhao Junchen's thigh tightly! In addition, Zhao Junchen's close confidant Li Lide is now serving as the chief envoy of Shandong, and he can look after him secretly.
"It seems that Zhang Jizhi is indeed a good candidate..."
*
After his mind gradually settled down, Zhao Junchen planned to go back.
Then, Zhao Junchen suddenly realized that something was wrong - Xu Qingyan's performance today was a little too quiet, and he didn't say anything.
So, Zhao Junchen turned around and saw that Xu Qingyan was quietly following behind him. He kept giggling, not knowing what he was thinking.
Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly and asked: "Qingyan. What are you thinking about? Are you smiling like this?"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Xu Qingyan came back to his senses. Then he replied: "Master, you don't know, when we left Fuhui Pavilion just now, an Huizhou merchant secretly told me that they had prepared some gifts for you, Master, and now they have been delivered to our temporary residence! Hehe , Young Master, please think about it, these Huizhou merchants are all rich and powerful. How can they be stingy with the gifts they prepared? Now they are asking for help from Young Master. These gifts are probably worth a lot of money, maybe dozens. Maybe ten thousand taels of silver!"
After saying that, Xu Qingyan continued to giggle, looking extremely happy.
Seeing Xu Qingyan's behavior, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head, knowing that Xu Qingyan's miserly nature was showing.
Speaking of which, Zhao Junchen has never committed any corruption or misappropriation during this period of time, even if he occasionally accepts bribes. Most of them are based on human considerations, not on their own initiative.
On the contrary, in order to win people's hearts, Zhao Junchen has given a lot of benefits to his officials in the past year. In addition, the establishment of the intelligence network, the plan to infiltrate the army and the inner court, and the daily expenses to please Emperor Deqing all required a large amount of money. All these combined, the Zhao family's money has been at a loss for this period of time. Income cannot meet expenses, and savings are reduced every day. Even with the gold mine of "Yue Rong Fang", the situation has not improved much.
As a miser, Xu Qingyan was naturally very sad about this situation.
Precisely because of this, the gifts from Huizhou merchants were like rain after a long drought for Xu Qingyan. Xu Qingyan was naturally very happy after reversing the Zhao Mansion Bank's losses.
Just as Zhao Junchen smiled bitterly and shook his head. Xu Qingyan added: "Master, when we were still studying in Yangzhou, we were used to the prestige of Huizhou merchants. Even the prefects and magistrates nodded and fawned over them. But now when they see the master, they They try every means to please and be careful, but they are just trying to steal the land with their heads... Speaking of which, these Huizhou merchants have a lot of influence. After they join the young master, the young master's power and influence in the court will probably increase a lot!"
After saying that, Xu Qingyan looked proud and happy, but this look always made people involuntarily think of the term "a villain succeeds".
Zhao Junchen laughed again and shook his head, saying: "The Huizhou merchants are respectful to me only because they have no choice but to ask for something from me. Even if they are willing to cooperate with me, they may not be willing to surrender. Lin Yunpu has always hidden it, Bai Ming Yu is also a person unwilling to lie dormant. Even if they surrender to me for a moment, they will not be controlled by me forever. As long as the time is right, they may find a way to get rid of my control, but you cannot be fooled by their disguise. Cheated."
After saying that, Zhao Junchen asked again: "By the way, when I was in Xuzhou, I asked you to send someone to pay attention to the 'Rongfa Shipping Company' of the Wu family in Xuzhou. Is there any news now?"
Xu Qingyan was slightly stunned and asked: "Rongfa Boat Shop? Oh, I remembered that the young owner of that boat shop once overestimated his capabilities and wanted to compete with the young master, but he was humiliated by Miss Chen Zhirong and Chen. In the end, They invited Cao Wenbin, the Minister of Household Affairs in Southern Zhili, to apologize to us, and also gave us a precious diamond as an apology..."
Speaking of this, Xu Qingyan shook his head and said: "I sent people to keep an eye on them, but I never received any useful news. I only heard that they followed the young master's advice and planned to leave Xuzhou, which was declining day by day. To develop elsewhere... However, there is currently no certainty as to whether they are willing to join the young master."
Zhao Junchen nodded and ordered: "Send someone to keep an eye on them. This boat shop will be of great use to me!"
*
As Zhao Junchen said before, he does not trust Huishang Group very much.
Most of the Huizhou merchant groups are pure businessmen, but most of the businessmen are unscrupulous.
Once the United Shipping Company is established, it will inevitably become a behemoth, and the strength of the Huishang Group will also be greatly enhanced.
Therefore, in order to prevent the Huizhou Merchants Group from escaping from his control, while wooing the Hui Merchants Group, Zhao Junchen also prepared many back-ups to prevent problems before they occur.
Among them, setting up checkpoints in Taierzhuang is just one of Zhao Junchen's backup plans!
Planting a nail in the United Shipping Company is another back-up plan for Zhao Junchen!
Regarding the choice of this nail, Zhao Junchen prefers Rongfa Shipping Company in Xuzhou! This shipping company has gradually declined due to the decline of Xuzhou. It is easy to control, but its vitality is still there, and it needs someone to help it.
…
ps: Thanks again for everyone’s encouragement. Without further ado, here’s an update!
…(To be continued.)
