"It seems that we can only compensate in other ways." Zhao Kuo said. In any case, the salt and iron franchise is necessary. Only in this way can Zhao have enough money to support the construction of the army. “How many businessmen have donated supplies?”
"Most of them have been donated," Zhao Mu said.
Zhao Kuo thought for a while and said: "We will wholesale the salt to them at a price of eighty yuan per stone, and they will sell it in Zhao. I don't care how many hands they pass through, the final price sold to civilians must not exceed One hundred yuan per stone. Moreover, it is strictly prohibited to mix soil or sand into table salt. Once found violating the regulations, their business qualifications will be revoked and their homes will be searched."
Mixing earth or sand into salt has been common in dynasties. Once the government suppressed the price of salt, profiteers would mix sand into salt and sell it to the people in order to obtain the same profit. The people had no choice but to continue to buy their salt.
The merchant would give some more silver to the patrolling official, but the official would not say anything when he saw it. In addition, the price of salt on the market has indeed dropped, and his mission has been completed. He does not need to cause trouble for some untouchables, he only needs to go back and accept the emperor's commendation.
In the end, the government did suppress the price of salt, and the price of salt did come down, but it was ordinary people who suffered.
How could the emperor, who sat in the palace all day long, know about the filth involved and thought he had done a good deed? Little did he know that he was a scapegoat, and people all over the world were cursing him for a good death.
"As a result, although the interests of the salt merchants will suffer some losses, it is not unacceptable." Zhao Mu nodded.
Compared with Shang Yang's methods, Zhao Kuo's methods are already very gentle, and now that Zhao has low-cost salt, there is nothing he can do even if the merchant does not agree. Zhao Guo was very kind to give them a way out and give them some benefits.
"Don't worry, they won't have any objections. I have only limited the price within the Kingdom of Zhao, but I have not restricted the price of salt in other countries. Even if they sell it for a thousand yuan per stone in other countries, I will not care about it." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
Although the profits within the Kingdom of Zhao are not large, they are enough for small and medium-sized businessmen. Ambitious businessmen will inevitably explore other markets.
The price Zhao Kuo gave them was lower than the price they got from salt merchants in other countries, and the salt was of better quality, enough to allow them to open other markets. By then, they would make more than they did now.
"Brother is still thoughtful." Zhao Mu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said with great admiration.
Zhao Kuo smiled and said nothing.
"Then what does the big brother with the right to manage the cast iron business plan to do?" Zhao Mu asked.
The salt merchants in Zhao State are generally small in scale and relatively easy to deal with.
However, the scale of iron merchants is very large. Both weapons and farm tools require iron. Two giant merchants, Guo Zong and Zhuo Family, occupy half of Zhao Guoye's iron industry. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as being as rich as the enemy. .
It has great influence both among the people and among the nobles. If it is not handled properly, it is likely to cause turmoil in the Zhao Kingdom.
"Cast iron, like table salt, must be recovered and is exclusively owned by the state." Zhao Kuo said firmly.
Private iron smelting not only harms national interests, but also has a very bad impact on social security. Many people in the six Kanto countries can find machetes or spears under their beds at home. Fighting becomes commonplace.
Only by nationalizing cast iron can this situation be reduced.
Moreover, the salt and iron franchise is also of great benefit to the people, allowing them to eat cheap salt and use better and cheaper agricultural tools.
Of course, all this is based on the political clarity of the government.
Once the government begins to become corrupt, the impact on the people will increase tenfold and a hundredfold, which is far more terrifying than the greed of businessmen.
But these are things for the future. At least for Zhao Guo, the salt and iron franchise has more advantages than disadvantages.
"Similar to table salt, the state will make agricultural tools and wholesale them to them, set a maximum price, and they will be responsible for selling them. However, only agricultural tools are allowed to be sold, and weapons are not allowed to be sold."
"In addition, they can also switch to other industries, such as coal, paper, etc., and the government can support them." Zhao Kuo said.
Coal has been used very early in ancient China. In addition to lighting and heating, it was also used to smelt iron. However, due to the difficulty of mining and transportation, the scale was never large. It was not until the Song Dynasty that it became popular in ordinary people's homes.
Zhao State has a large amount of coal in Shangdang, Taiyuan, and Yanmen, and many of them are open-pit coal mines. With Zhao State's current mining level, even if it is mined for hundreds of years, it will not be exhausted.
Zhao Kuo arranged for people to mine it a few months ago, and now it has been continuously transported to the workshops in Handan and Wuyang.
When winter comes, they will be sold to ordinary Guizhou people to keep warm and help the common people of Zhao country survive the cold winter.
The benefits of this kind of monopoly industry are astonishing. Although Zhao Guo can eat them all, it is not necessary, and if he wants to sell to other countries, he still has to rely on businessmen. As long as the merchants were obedient, Zhao Kuo didn't mind giving them some soup when eating meat.
Regardless of whether they are civilians, businessmen, or nobles, they are all subjects of Zhao State.
"Brother Zhi is also planning to sell?" Zhao Mu said in surprise.
This is a strategic material. After other countries obtain paper, they will inevitably print books quickly. As for printing, don't even think about keeping it secret. Anyone with a discerning eye will know what's going on when they look at Zhao Guo's books.
"Of course, it's just a limited sale," Zhao Kuo said.
Everyone knows how precious paper is. If the Zhao State does not sell a single piece of paper, it will be lost to the world and suffer joint suppression from all countries.
Of course, the State of Zhao can also provide some benefits to Han, Wei and Chu, and unite the three countries to fight against Qin Qiyan.
But there is no need. Instead of doing this, it is better to use it to make money.
Those who can afford paper these days are the nobles among the nobles. Presumably after they use paper, they never want to go back to the life of using bamboo slips.
How could Zhao Kuo be willing to do so unless he drained their wallets dry?
Zhao Kuo planned to sell one hundred pieces of paper each month, which is ten thousand pieces.
This was enough for them to copy the treasured classics, but it was impossible to print as many copies as Zhao did.
In addition to paper, Zhao Guo was also improving and optimizing inkstones, brushes and ink, dividing them into three, six or nine grades and selling them to people from different classes.
Don't underestimate the tendency of comparison among nobles and the money they spend on education. Even if they are asked to sell off their farmland, they are willing to do so.
Moreover, rich nobles more or less have some small hobbies, for example, some like to collect.
Zhao Kuo specially prepared a gift for such people. He ordered people to make different brushes according to the hair of different animals such as sheep, rabbits, wolves, foxes, etc. Similarly, the penholders were also classified according to bamboo, wood, brass, bronze, etc., and then Engraved with different patterns and inlaid with gold or jade.
The same goes for inkstones and ink. Dozens of categories must be sorted out. Each category must have a resounding name, and be labeled as exclusive for the royal family and specially provided by the emperor. If sold to the nobles, they can make a fortune.
Zhao Mu was stunned when he heard this. Can business be done like this? He suddenly felt that compared to himself, Zhao Kuo was a real businessman.
