Chapter 115 Opponent
Shen Guogong Deng Zhen said: "Those are some factories that Mr. He built to build the city of Beijing and said they were for sale."
Li Jinglong said: "Is this very profitable?"
Li Jinglong is really not too sure about whether the factory makes money. After all, he used to focus more on the court than on making money. Now even when he arrived in Beijing, most of his thoughts were on He Xi's reconciliation and getting on He Xi's boat. Making money is just incidental.
He knew that He Xi could turn stones into gold, but he didn't quite understand how He Xi could turn stones into gold.
Deng Zhen said: "I don't know. However, you have opponents in this regard."
Li Jinglong said: "Opponent?"
Deng Zhen said: "Those who come from the sea are led by the Nanyang Lu family."
The Lu family of the Marquis of Yan'an is now the Lu family of Nanyang. In the past ten years, except for Nanyang and the sea, the Lu family has completely withdrawn from the Ming Dynasty. In the imperial army, there is no such figure as the Lu family.
But no one dares to ignore the Lu family. When it comes to opening up the sea, the Lu family is the family with the most to eat. Lu Zhongheng put everything he had into it, and naturally gained the most. Especially in terms of financial resources, it can even be said that there is no one like him in the world.
The Lu family's wealth has already been heard in Ming Dynasty.
Li Jinglong thought to himself: "So, there is money to be made in this area."
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Li Jinglong didn't know whether the factory made money or not, but Lu Xian knew.
Over the years that Lu Zhongheng has been in Nanyang, he has long developed Nanyang into the Lu family's own territory.
It can even be said that whether Nanyang belongs to the Ming Dynasty in the future will need to be decided by the Lu family and several vassal kings in Nanyang. The Ming court relied on these families to exercise power, not the other way around. Of course, the court also has checks and balances. The biggest check and balance is that the biggest interests of these big families in Nanyang are not the local output of Nanyang, but the control of Nanyang trade routes. But the problem is, without Ming Dynasty goods, these trade routes What's the use?
But the problem is that it costs one thousand to oneself and 800 to the enemy. Not to mention the millions of taels of tariffs every year, just how many people in the Ming Dynasty rely on sea trade for their livelihood.
Therefore, both sides will benefit from cooperation, and both will suffer from division. Not to mention, behind them are the major families in Nanyang who are the Ming Dynasty and the local emperors of Nanyang. But without the support of Ming Dynasty, their situation is different from that of losing the support of the Tang Dynasty. The same as Anxi Protectorate.
Although there is not a big force in Nanyang like Tubo and Dashi, it does not mean that the local indigenous people have no strength. Now I just don't dare.
Lu Xian and Chen Zuxiao were sitting on the carriage. The carriage was very stable. Although it still felt a little shaky, the bumps were not too strong. It was not the kind of feeling that could knock out all the internal organs of a person. After all, the roads in Beijing have been repaired.
For long-distance travel, many people prefer to ride horses. The pain of riding long distances has been mentioned before. But it's not as painful as riding a horse-drawn carriage. Without any shock absorption system, it can really turn you upside down.
Now the two of them still have the energy to talk. It's already pretty good.
Chen Zuxiao said: "Sir, when you go to see Mr. He this time, you must fight hard. No matter what kind of factory, we need it. We also need to ask if we can move the factory to Nanyang."
Lu Xian said: "I understand."
As the dominant force in Nanyang, the Lu family deeply felt a change, that is, the goods purchased by Nanyang from the Ming Dynasty were previously purchased from the south of the Yangtze River in nine out of ten cases, but now they are purchased from the north, especially from Liaodong. Purchases are becoming more and more important.
And the profits are getting bigger and bigger.
In absolute terms, the Jiangnan area, especially the Suzhou area, is the place where the most goods are purchased in Nanyang. After all, Su style is popular all over the world and can be said to be the fashion capital of the Ming Dynasty. The handicrafts were extremely developed and were simply the pinnacle of feudal society.
But in terms of profits, Chen Zuxiao knew one thing very well. The Liaodong factory was much more profitable than the Suzhou factory.
Chen Zuxiao has inspected that the goods produced by a factory in Liaodong are more than those purchased in one or two counties in the south of the Yangtze River. To collect goods from rural farmers requires layer-by-level monopoly, and from farmers to their hands, it has been I don’t know how many times it has changed hands.
And these people will definitely not make money-losing transactions.
Of course the price cannot be lowered.
But it is necessary.
And it is impossible for the Lu family to monopolize the supplies of several counties.
But the Liaodong factory is different, it seems to be quite big. But in fact the largest number is only a few thousand people. Many are only a few hundred people. He Xi had not said before that it could be sold, but Chen Zuxiao had already secretly prepared to recruit people. Let's see if we can set up a factory of our own.
There is no other idea than making money.
From this perspective, He Xi's decision is very clear. Unless He Xi strictly prohibits everyone except the imperial court from setting up factories, this kind of industrial production model will definitely spread.
There is no doubt about this.
In the face of competition, what will be the reaction of these industries purchased by He Xi?
He Xi didn't even know.
Now it seems that the loss has been stopped.
Of course, Lu Xian came here this time not just for this issue. The longer Lu Zhongheng stayed in Nanyang, the less influence he had on Ming Dynasty, or even no influence at all. But Lu Zhongheng understands one thing very well. The power of the Ming Dynasty lies in the central government. Regardless of the fact that the Lu family has almost everything in Nanyang, if the relationship with the central government is maintained well, problems will likely arise in the future.
Lu Zhongheng settled the Lu family in Nanyang, which can be considered to have advantages and disadvantages.
Naturally, the shortcomings had to be remedied, which was to choose a capable ally in the center, and Lu Zhongheng thought about it and decided that this ally could only be He Xi. First of all, He Xi's status is high enough. Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's favor and He Xi's own abilities, He Xi has his own power behind him. He may be slightly weaker than several princes in the court, but he has become the leader of the court. an indispensable force in the world. Lu Zhongheng was a direct descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Yuanzhang was old, and Lu Zhongheng also wanted to think about the future. As for the other princes, Duke Wei did not care, Duke Song had no son, and Duke Ying was all about his son. After Lu Zhongheng thought about it, He Xi was the most suitable.
After all, did the two ever work well together?
This time, He Xi personally wrote a letter and sent someone to invite Lu Xian. Regardless of whether he makes money or not, as long as he doesn't lose money, Lu Xian is ready to spend a lot of money in Beijing.
As for money, the Lu family doesn't have much else but money.
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When the group arrived at He Mansion, He Xi quickly welcomed them out. After chatting with Lu Xian for a few words, he went into the inner room and sat down.
He Xi and Lu Xian recalled some past events in Nanyang and learned about old battles. Let’s get down to the topic.
Lu Xian said: "Master He, what my father meant is that you and I are close friends. Now that our Lu family is in need, we naturally have to help."
He Xi said: "Brother Lu is serious. This is just an opportunity. Both parties are mutually beneficial. After all, the world's tinware comes from Nanyang. From now on, Liaodong and Beijing will purchase large quantities of tin materials every year. This is also an opportunity. And Liaodong and Beijing produce A considerable part of the things we produce have to be sold to Nanyang, and now that the imperial court is in a deficit, these factories want to sell, so naturally they think of your home."
"Don't say secret words, Mingren, and don't say your family isn't interested."
Lu Xian said: "People of the Ming Dynasty don't tell secret words. Well, I can't be convinced by the idea that the court is in deficit. I want to know why you sold these hens that lay golden eggs. I don't know the reason behind this. I I don’t dare to take action.”
Seeing this, He Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Okay. Here's the thing."
He Xi told the story of the Liaodong nest case. Said: "The imperial court is more like a imperial court. The most important role of the imperial court is to maintain social order and maintain fairness. It is not to make money. Making money is good, but if it is like this, it is too much. If this factory is in your hands, it will be like this I will not hesitate to fine you and shut down your factory. But factories under the imperial court can only fine you three drinks. Therefore, this needs to be changed."
He Xi did not elaborate on many things behind this, such as managing marginal effects, recycling currency, maintaining currency balance, and other reasons. He Xi did not explain it. He was worried that Lu Xian would not understand it even if he did.
Some people died, but not completely...
