Liu Bei didn't know much about the Western Regions of this era, but he vaguely remembered that there were many countries in the Western Regions, with large populations, and some were very wealthy.
But at present, they are all eating unpalatable and bitter salt. Liu Bei believes that once Liangzhou fine salt enters their market, it will definitely form an advantage in the local area.
People who dare to explore can make money in the Western Regions.
As for the risks…
Liu Bei doesn't need to care about it yet.
Of course, the government must first levy a 15% tax on the money earned, and then the profits will be paid to the warriors who dare to pioneer.
Many big salt households were dumbfounded by this, and then burst into tears.
The Western Regions, to put it simply, the Silk Road was indeed prosperous back then.
But today is different from the past. The Eastern Han Empire no longer has any absolute control over the local area. It is uncertain what risks there are, what hostile forces there are, and who will take a cut from them.
One bad thing is that everyone, including their cars, goods, and the escorts who accompany the team, have to explain where they are. If they don’t make any money for the trip, they will have to pay settlement expenses.
How dare we do this business?
"The risks in the Western Region are very high. Bandits and bandits are everywhere. No one knows whether they will come back after a trip. Lord, this is too..."
Faced with the guilt and cowardice of these people, Liu Bei spread his hands and expressed his disappointment.
You don’t even have the courage to step out of your comfort zone and explore new tracks, so you still want to make a lot of money?
If you want to make big money, you must have the courage to step out of your comfort zone! To discover new outlets, open up new tracks, find new industry pain points, and strive to complete new industry integration.
Then give me your comfort zone!
Of course, if you don't go and don't have the courage to leave your comfort zone, it's okay. With your existing wealth and land, of course you can live a good life, but it's just not that good.
Can’t afford to feed so many people?
You guys can demobilize a group of them and hand them over to the government.
Can’t afford to serve so much land?
The government can fund the acquisition, and you just hand over the land.
Can’t run so many industries?
The government will help you reduce your burden and lose weight, so you can sell your property to the government, okay?
By the way, let’s check again to see if you have evaded taxes before, okay?
Seeing Liu Bei's smile and listening to his words, the big salt households finally understood that Liu Bei was a ruthless man who only ate meat but didn't spit out bones. When they met Liu Bei, they would suffer bad luck for eight lifetimes. , but there is no countermeasures.
It is not that there is no one behind them. It is not that there is no official force in the local area that protects them, provides them with a lot of help, and takes a lot of money from them. The bureaucratic forces in these places are also very unwilling to accept Liu Bei's policy changes.
But the key problem is that there are people behind Liu Bei.
He is still the biggest and greediest person in the world.
Moreover, the protectors of the powerful people in Liangzhou should be at the bottom of the Han Dynasty in terms of power and connections. They can be compared with Bingzhou and Jiaozhi, and have nothing to do with the Luoyang court.
In the entire Han Dynasty, there were not many people who could compete with Liu Bei, and they had nothing to do with them, and they were unwilling to have anything to do with them.
Without foreign aid, and unable to defeat Liu Bei themselves, they wanted to protect their own interests, but did not dare to die. Faced with Liu Bei's obvious threat, they could only admit defeat, hand over their interests, and keep them all for Liu Bei.
If Liu Bei really checks their accounts and raids their homes, not to mention the chain reaction that will follow, they will definitely be eaten up by Liu Bei right now and nothing will be left.
Again, Liangzhou is really Liangzhou. This Liangzhou that wanders on the edge of the rules of the game and is not taken seriously by everyone is really wonderful.
Liu Bei is not galloping here, but ten thousand horses galloping!
All the imaginable and unexpected things were possible in Liangzhou in the late Eastern Han Dynasty!
Under Liu Bei's pressure, the old vested interests in Liangzhou had to compromise and admit defeat to Liu Bei.
But there are also three or five families who have the courage to take risks. They feel that even if they can no longer sell salt in Liangzhou, they still want to go out and have a try. They definitely don't want to leave this industry just like this.
They made an agreement with Liu Bei and began to prepare to explore trade routes to the Western Regions.
But Liu Bei doesn't care about the past, but now, he has to pay taxes. If you make money, you must pay taxes honestly, otherwise the new and old accounts will be calculated together, you know.
Understand!
Who doesn't understand?
The old game in Liangzhou no longer exists and has been shuffled. Who dares not understand?
At this moment, everyone understands the king.
Liangzhou Salt Industry was unified by Liu Bei, but Liu Bei's pace did not stop, followed closely by the steel industry.
In recent times, the government's supply of agricultural tools to the entire Liangzhou agriculture has also begun to increase on a large scale.
Originally, the iron industry was half-government-owned and half-private. It was extremely difficult for Liangzhou farmers to use farm tools, and they couldn't use any good products.
However, after the government-run departments supplied agricultural tools in large quantities and sold them at reduced prices, in just a few months, Liangzhou people suddenly found that they could afford iron farm tools.
Moreover, the quality of these iron farm tools is quite good, much better than those they used before.
The quality is good, the price is a little bit cheaper, and the supply is quite sufficient. The government-run iron shops are full of brand-new and high-quality iron farm tools, and the supply is open to the farmers.
This wave of price-quality tactics instantly allowed government-run iron shops to occupy more and more market shares.
Private iron shops are crowded, and government-run iron shops are bustling with people. In just over two months, a group of people who operate ironware in Liangzhou can no longer survive.
Like the big private salt dealers, they did not dare to blatantly oppose Liu Bei, and they did not even dare to utter a sound under the protective umbrella behind them.
There was no other way, so a group of people came to Liu Bei to beg for mercy, asking Liu Bei to give them a way to live and not to kill them.
After hearing how Liu Bei dealt with the big salt dealers, in order to prevent Liu Bei from checking their accounts and confiscating their homes, they also joined forces to collect a sum of money and quickly donated it to the state capital in the name of a donation to please Liu Bei.
Liu Bei then met them with a smile and showed them a way.
Don’t think about continuing to live your previous life. My goal of unifying salt and iron in Liangzhou cannot be changed. This goal needs to serve a more ambitious goal and will not change in the short term.
But as long as you are willing to hand over all the production lines and craftsmen, as well as the mines you control, etc., the state government will buy them at the right price. Then I will not ask about all the purchases and sales in the past, and you will continue to live a boring life. Rich life.
Think about it, the wealth you have accumulated before and the money given to you by the government are enough for you to live luxuriously for several lifetimes.
Of course, if you can't think about it and don't agree, I won't accept the money. Let's take our time.
Let’s check your account books, decades of salt and iron taxes, land taxes, and the oral taxes of everyone in your family.
Check one thing, do one thing, no one can escape.
Is there anything else to say about this?
It's a good thing that Liu Bei is willing to spend money to resolve this matter with them. At least it shows that Liu Bei is not a madman and will not kill people casually. But if he really wants to dig out the account books and settle the past tax issues, they will all be ruined.
In this place where Liu Bei covers the sky with only one hand, and under the premise that all the protective umbrellas are torn apart by the strong men descending from the sky, they really have no choice but to be finished.
Today, these big players finally understand what real power means.
They have no choice.
Therefore, in July and August of the fourth year of Zhongping, Liu Bei, with the power of great victory, actually realized the salt and iron monopoly in Liangzhou through mergers and acquisitions.
