…
…
Zhao Junchen is now well versed in the art of power, and every move he makes contains profound meanings, so he will naturally not talk nonsense without any reason.
Under the silence and gaze of the Hui and Zhejiang merchants, Zhao Junchen continued with a smile: "Since I started running the household department, I have been very successful. Before I took charge of the household department, the national treasury was only about 4,770 per year. With an income of one million taels of silver, after excluding expenditures on salary, military expenses, waterworks, construction, daily expenses, etc., there is only a balance of less than two million taels of silver each year. It seems to be a lot, but the Ming Dynasty The country is so huge that as long as there is a slight accident in the government and the public, whether it is a disaster among the people or an accident on the border, the two million taels of silver will be consumed in an instant. Therefore, the Ministry of Household's money and food have always been difficult to turn over and cannot make ends meet. There are losses every year! But today, the situation of the Ministry of Household Affairs has been greatly improved. The annual income of the treasury has increased to 53 million taels. After the rectification by the official, the expenditure of the treasury has also been reduced. Every year The balance has reached more than seven million taels of silver. Not only has it gradually made up for the deficit over the years, but the court's money and food turnover has gradually become easier. Even if unexpected situations arise between the government and the public, the court is no longer as helpless as in previous years. "
Zhao Junchen's words were rather boastful, and the Hui and Zhejiang merchants naturally cooperated and showed their due admiration.
However, the admiration of the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants was not just for show. Zhao Junchen's achievements in running the household department were indeed remarkable.
After all, although Zhao Junchen started to take control of the Household Department when he was the Minister of Household Affairs, it has only been three years since then. In just three years, the income of the Household Department can be increased by nearly 20%, and the balance has more than tripled. Such achievements cannot be achieved by anyone.
After all, during this period, the economic foundation of the Ming Dynasty did not change. The increase in the income of the Ministry of Household Affairs was all due to Zhao Junchen's ability to increase revenue, reduce expenditure and manage finances!
In addition, the officialdom is different from the shopping mall after all. The officialdom is subject to constraints from all aspects, and the relationship of interests is extremely complicated. The officials below only make money but do not know how to do things. In such an environment, they can achieve such achievements. , even more rare.
The most important thing is that the series of figures listed by Zhao Junchen are only superficial figures. Now everyone knows that the Ministry of Household Affairs has long been the largest corruption group in the Ming Dynasty, and a large part of the annual revenue of the national treasury is stolen. Zhao Junchen and the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs secretly embezzled it. If the apparent balance of the Ministry of Household Affairs is already as high as more than 7 million taels, then the actual annual balance of the Ministry of Household Affairs may be doubled!
This also means that since Zhao Junchen took charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the actual revenue of the treasury has increased by at least 30%, and the actual balance of the Ministry of Household Affairs has increased by at least seven or eight times!
This kind of achievement is even more amazing!
Although the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants present are all veterans of shopping malls, and each of them has extraordinary financial management skills and business methods, they asked themselves that no one can achieve such results as Zhao Junchen!
Therefore, Zhao Junchen's boast made the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants present suddenly realize a fact that they had always ignored, that is, in addition to being the most well-known corrupt official and the youngest powerful official in the entire dynasty, Zhao Junchen was also a Deqing official. The emperor's "financial management skills are the best in the world"!
Judging from Zhao Junchen's actual results, Emperor Deqing's evaluation was not exaggerated in any way!
*
While thinking secretly, all the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants present were thoughtful, and many of them had vaguely guessed the hidden meaning of Zhao Junchen's words.
At the same time, businessmen from Huizhou and Zhejiang also took the opportunity to compliment Zhao Junchen and praised Zhao Junchen's abilities and achievements. For a while, there was a flood of compliments.
"Master Zhao's achievements are truly outstanding and rare in thousands of years. I am afraid that only the saint Guan Zhong in the Spring and Autumn Period can compare with him!"
"His Majesty believes that Mr. Zhao's financial management skills are the best in the world. Now it seems that this evaluation is indeed appropriate! Although our Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen have some experience in financial management, compared with you, Mr. Zhao, they are no better. There is a huge difference between Yunni and Yunni, and I feel ashamed!"
"The imperial court cannot be separated from the treasury, and the treasury cannot be separated from Mr. Zhao. From this we can see that Mr. Zhao is definitely the pillar of the country. The imperial court can be without the cabinet for a day, but it cannot be without Mr. Zhao for a day!"
In this way, with their compliments and flattery, Zhao Junchen has become the most capable minister, chief hero, and indispensable Optimus Prime Stone of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years...
Zhao Junchen has heard similar compliments countless times and has become accustomed to them. After hearing the compliments from the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen, Zhao Junchen still looked indifferent and did not show any pleasure.
Only after the compliments from the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen came to an end, Zhao Junchen said slowly: "Thank you all for your praise, but I really don't deserve it. The Ministry of Household Affairs can achieve today's achievements, of course, it is due to my management methods. The reason is appropriate, but the most important reason is your Majesty’s sage and wisdom, the court’s generous help, and the resources and foundation of the Household Department. Without your Majesty’s ability to recognize people, I would not be able to control the Household Department. Without the court, I would not be able to control the Household Department. Without the support of policies, the development of the Ministry of Household Affairs will not be smooth. If the Ministry of Household Affairs does not have the power to tax and maintain the national treasury, I can only start from scratch, let alone achieve today's political achievements. All these are all my own management of the Ministry of Household Affairs. The advantage of the occasion!”
What Zhao Junchen said is still true, so after the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants were slightly stunned, they were surprised at Zhao Junchen's modesty, and they all also thought about it.
Then, Zhao Junchen changed the topic again and said with a smile: "However, since you are willing to come to the capital to meet with me, it means that you are willing to cooperate with the court and form a joint shipping company with the Ministry of Household Affairs! Wait until the joint shipping company After the official establishment, all the advantages we once had, whether it is His Majesty's support, the preferential policies of the court, or the abundant resources of the Ministry of Revenue, will also become the advantages of our United Shipping Company! In addition, you are all from the business community. As long as experts and experts can work together and work together, I firmly believe that the annual dividends of all of you will grow and double several times year after year just like the national treasury balance, and the growth rate will be much higher than that of the Ministry of Household Affairs. By that time, The net worth of all of you here will probably be doubled!"
After saying that, Zhao Junchen's expression became meaningful and he concluded: "So, you must seize the opportunity!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's speech, all the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen present were refreshed!
At the same time, the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants finally understood the hidden meaning of all Zhao Junchen's words!
First of all, Zhao Junchen considers himself a merchant and is of the same type as the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants. He even describes the Ministry of Household Affairs as a large trading house, implying that the cooperation between the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants will be equal business cooperation. Zhao Junchen also The imperial court will not rely on the imperial court to bully Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants. When everyone discusses the details of cooperation, the two parties can bargain and there is no need to worry about Zhao Junchen's shop bullying customers, thereby alleviating the worries of Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants.
Secondly, Zhao Junchen talked in detail about his achievements in running the household department, and secretly reminded the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants that although I, Zhao Junchen, am a court official, in terms of business vision, management methods, and financial management skills, I still have to Stronger than you Hui and Zhejiang merchants, so when the two parties cooperate in the future, you should not think of deceiving me or acting secretly. The business operations of the Ministry of Revenue are all over the Ming Dynasty, and I can manage them in an orderly manner. How could the shipping company lose control? So if some people are lucky and want to get a small advantage, don't try to hide it from me! ——This undoubtedly eliminates some people's luck.
Finally, Zhao Junchen reminded the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants of the importance of court support, and took the Ministry of Household Affairs as an example to show what kind of development a business would have and what its prospects would be if it received full support from the court. Beautiful, in order to strengthen the confidence of Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants to form a joint shipping company!
In this way, Zhao Junchen's speech, which seemed to have nothing to do with the topic, actually contained so many profound meanings. However, it was all based on facts, which made people have no choice but to believe it. In just a few words, it was eliminated. The worries in the hearts of the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen suppressed the bad intentions of some Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen, and also strengthened the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen's confidence in their future prospects. It can be said that it kills three birds with one stone. All the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen present had to be convinced.
Therefore, as Zhao Junchen finished speaking, bursts of applause from Hui and Zhejiang merchants suddenly rang out in Tianhai Tower.
*
After the emotions of the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants calmed down, Zhao Junchen finally got to the point!
"Everyone has traveled thousands of miles to come to the capital, naturally, to cooperate with the imperial court and establish a joint shipping company. Therefore, I will not talk nonsense anymore and go straight to the point! The establishment of a joint shipping company is to change the imperial court's business The current situation of tax corruption was proposed by me on my own initiative, and I also received His Majesty's approval and support. I will be fully responsible for this matter and have the power to act expeditiously! I will not hide it from you, but now within the imperial court, many officials are interested in the United Nations. The shipping company is hostile, and in order to thwart this matter, they even sent people to assassinate me! However, the assassination could not scare me, but it strengthened my determination! I also assure you that as long as I am still here, As an official in the DPRK, the relevant policies of the United Shipping Company will never change! I am still young, and Your Majesty also trusts me, so we will have a long-term, long-term cooperation. My position will not change, and the court will also Orders will never be changed overnight. From now on, I will be your backer, the court will be your backer, and Your Majesty will be your backer, so you can rest assured!"
Amidst the applause, Zhao Junchen finished his opening remarks, which further strengthened the confidence of the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen.
Then, Zhao Junchen said: "Since the imperial court has agreed to the joint shipping company, and everyone is willing to cooperate with the imperial court, it is imperative to establish a joint shipping company! I will invite you to dinner tonight, that is I want to discuss with you some details about forming a joint shipping company! I already have some immature ideas about this, so I will take advantage of today's opportunity to speak out and discuss with you! If you are not satisfied with anything, we can Further revisions!”
After hearing Zhao Junchen's words, all the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants present concentrated their attention and waited quietly for Zhao Junchen's detailed explanation.
In all cooperation, the focus is always hidden in the details!
Today, the purpose of meeting with Zhao Junchen among the Anhui and Zhejiang businessmen present was precisely to discuss the details of cooperation between the two parties! In this regard, they all have many doubts and want to get answers from Zhao Junchen.
Then, under the spotlight, Zhao Junchen once again told his idea about forming a joint shipping company.
Compared with the last time I was in Taierzhuang, Yanzhou, the content is not much different.
I saw Zhao Junchen talking unhurriedly: "Everyone is already very familiar with the corruption of the imperial court's commercial tax. Although all of you here are wealthy businessmen with astonishing wealth, how did you get your wealth?" Everyone is well aware of this! If we are held accountable, you will all contribute a lot to the current corrupt situation of our country’s commercial taxes! Therefore, for hundreds of years, every time our country has rectified commercial taxes and rectified smuggling. When the time comes, many Hui and Zhejiang merchants will be affected. Not only will their wealth that they have accumulated through hard work be confiscated, but their lives will not be saved. Therefore, although you are extremely wealthy, you are actually walking on a cliff. , it looks glamorous on the surface, but in fact it is dying... My idea of forming a joint shipping company is not only to reverse the imperial court's business and tax situation, but also to consider your prospects!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's words, although the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants were mentally prepared, and many of them had even heard Zhao Junchen make similar remarks when they were in Taierzhuang, their expressions still changed, or they were embarrassed. , or weird, or even a little angry, but I can't refute it.
Zhao Junchen ignored the changes in the expressions of the Hui-Zhejiang merchants and continued in a clear manner: "The focus of establishing a joint shipping company is the cooperation between the imperial court and you! Among them, the imperial court provides preferential policies, while you provide ships and manpower. and financial resources, and then rely on the advantages of policy and scale to join forces to monopolize the business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River Waterway! I might as well open the sky and speak out. The essence of this cooperation is to legalize your smuggling activities! Then we will The money spent on buying off officials and opening up connections on weekdays turned into the imperial court's business tax revenue and dividend sharing...
In this way, you have become collaborators of the imperial court. With the preferential policies of the imperial court, although your apparent income is slightly lower, it also saves you the expenditure and energy of managing relationships and buying off officials. In fact, On the contrary, the income has increased! And this is just the initial income. After we monopolize shipping, the income will definitely increase exponentially! At the same time, the imperial court can also obtain a large amount of commercial tax income and dividend sharing through the joint shipping company! Therefore, this kind of cooperation is a win-win situation. For the court, it increases the revenue of the treasury! For everyone, from now on, you no longer have to worry about the imperial court’s repeated rectification of commercial taxes, but it is also a long-term way to gain a foothold..."
After a pause, seeing that all the merchants from Huizhou and Zhejiang were thinking deeply, Zhao Junchen continued: "President Lin has already told you about the preferential policies provided by the imperial court, that is, in addition to the most basic goods tax, In addition to shipping, ship money and door stall taxes, other complicated taxes, such as points, toll taxes, temporary donations, etc., are all exempted! In addition, following the example in the early days of our dynasty, if we transport people’s basic daily necessities, And farming equipment, even the most basic goods tax can be exempted! Also, after this shipping company gets the support of the court, it can also avoid the local government officials’ private embarrassment, deductions and fines, and reduce a lot of trouble and costs! So, everyone, The benefits are absolutely guaranteed, there is no need to worry at all!…
The specific method of cooperation is not to completely integrate your shipping companies. Your shipping companies are only nominally branches of this joint shipping company. On weekdays, they have the same interests and act together, but in fact they are still their own shipping companies. The decision-maker only formed an alliance with other shipping companies, used the same name, and obtained the imperial court's shareholding! So you don’t have to worry about losing control of your own boat shop! In addition, according to my vision, the United Shipping Company will elect seven executive shareholders every three years to integrate, manage and formulate the business direction of the United Shipping Company. Among these seven executive shareholders, only There will be a deacon shareholder representing the court! To put it simply, the imperial court is only responsible for providing preferential policies and collecting dividends. You are still responsible for the management! …
As for the distribution of share income, it depends on the specific situation! The more ships, manpower and funds you provide, the higher the shares you will hold and the greater the dividends will naturally be! Theoretically, the imperial court’s controlling stake in each shipping company would not exceed 40%! In addition, if you have extra merit, the court will also give you extra discounts to further increase your share dividends! …”
All in all, Zhao Junchen told all his ideas.
Then, Zhao Junchen asked the Huizhe merchants present: "This is roughly what I have in mind. If you still have any questions, just ask me and I will definitely answer them!"
As soon as Zhao Junchen finished speaking, a Huizhe businessman stood up and said to Zhao Junchen: "Master Zhao, I have some questions, and I hope Master Zhao can give me some advice!"
…
PS: Well, it’s still two chapters in one!
In addition, in view of the fact that readers have been asking about "The Rebellion" during this period, Chongzi would like to explain here that around the end of this year, Chongzi will finish "The Regency" and then continue to update "The Rebellion" !
All in all, if you dig a hole with your own hands, even if you don’t get good grades, you still have to fill it in! (To be continued.)
