Li Siyuan, a middle-aged man in brocade clothes, laughed after hearing this: "Yes, it's reasonable and well-founded. It seems that you have also worked hard."
"We can't do this kind of big business with Funiu Mountain for long. Even if the officers and soldiers don't fight them back to the mountains, when they spend all the money they got, they'll have to plunder the countryside they control. , and it is impossible to maintain such a large-scale business with as much money as we have now.”
"After all, the Song family doesn't exist everywhere, and it's not like after you rob a Song family, another Song family will pop up tomorrow."
"But even if they spend all the money they have, as long as they still control these places outside the mountain, they can continue to collect money and food. By then, it will be a big business."
Having said this, Li Siyuan took a deep breath and said, "But, I'm afraid they won't be able to sustain it for long just relying on their current situation."
"When Shi Wenbin comes, you should talk to him first and see how brave they are and how much money they still have."
"As long as they still have money in their hands, we will sell them as much as they want!"
"Try to empty their pockets. Anyway, if we don't make this money, several other businesses will also make it."
"After they have these goods, they can also get more guns to support them longer. Then our business can continue."
Li Xiumin said: "The third uncle is absolutely right. We have a great chance this time. I already tested Shi Wenbin's tone when I was in Xiangyang. They are now in urgent need of iron and gunpowder raw materials. As long as they have the goods, they will basically come." No one refuses, even if the price is double the market price, I dare to eat it.”
"The sulfur and saltpeter business is our specialty at Fenghe Trading Company. Looking at the entire Chubei, there is no other company that can provide them with so much iron, saltpeter, and sulfur in a short period of time. It has been done at least three to five times. profit."
"Although our family didn't make much iron materials before, we also have a mine in Daye. If the inventory is not enough, we will transfer goods with the companies in Daye. Although the goods are a little more expensive, they only need to be transported to Nanyang and changed hands. , deducting freight and other expenses, the profit should be more than doubled."
"This time we are extremely confident that we will empty their pockets."
"With these goods in the future, they will definitely be able to persist longer. Maybe they will be able to control more places by then. When they have money on hand, even if the scale is not as good as it is now, they will be able to continue doing it!"
"Thieves are everywhere nowadays, but there are many who use guns and cannons on such a large scale as they do. If possible, the business here in Funiu Mountain must be maintained as much as possible."
Li Siyuan said: "This is why I brought you here in person. If you stay in Xiangyang and talk to Shi Wenbin, you won't be able to find out their details."
"Okay, this matter has been settled. When Shi Wenbin comes, we will talk to him in detail. It is best to talk directly to their leader, Luo Zhixue. I heard that Luo Zhixue is a scholar, and it is easier for scholars to talk with each other. It's not like Shi Wenbin, who was born in an accounting department, smells like copper, and cares about everything he talks about."
After Li Xiumin nodded, he looked at Li Qingdian with a hint of curiosity: "According to the clues we know, their general Luo Zhixue is not only a scholar, but also a refugee before being a thief. More importantly, Not too old yet.”
"Although Shi Wenbin didn't say it clearly before, the implication behind his words is that Luo Zhi is probably under 20 years old."
"Tsk, tsk, to be able to accomplish such a great feat at such a young age, even though this person will inevitably be defeated and died like those bandit leaders, it is extremely rare."
"And if you look at the soldiers he trained, at least half of them use muskets. There are so many muskets that they can't be compared to ordinary thieves, not even the officers and soldiers."
Li Xiumin came with his third uncle this time. In addition to confirming with his own eyes the ability of the Baoxiang Army to pay and whether it was worthwhile for Fenghe Commercial Company to use a large number of connections and funds to gather a large amount of strategic materials, there was also another reason why he was interested in Luo Zhixue. He and the Baoxiang Army were both curious.
Fenghe Trading Company has been in contact with these people from Funiu Mountain for several months. In the past few months, these people from Funiu Mountain came secretly to purchase prohibited materials such as gunpowder raw materials and iron materials. Fenghe Trading Company did not pay much attention to it at first. .
There are many thieves sneaking over to purchase prohibited materials, and Funiu Mountain is one of them.
However, as the amount of gunpowder and gunpowder raw materials purchased by people from Funiu Mountain increased, it eventually attracted the attention of Fenghe Trading Company.
Because the amount purchased by the Funiushan family alone is comparable to the total amount purchased by other bandits, and even larger than the amount purchased by the gunpowder workshop of the Xiangyang Prefecture.
By now, they have become Fenghe Trading Company's largest single customer in the northern Chu and southern Henan regions, and they also learned that these bandits in Funiu Mountain are actually an army of thieves who mainly use firearms.
This will naturally arouse the great attention of Fenghe Trading Company. When he was still in Xiangyang, Li Siyuan, the big shopkeeper, personally talked to Shi Wenbin.
Faced with such a big customer, Li Siyuan and Li Xiumin, uncles and nephews, wanted to give Luo Zhixue personal advice so that Luo Zhixue could persist longer, occupy more territory, collect more money, and finally purchase various products from their firm at high prices. Class strategic materials.
Don't be curious about what they think. After all, Fenghe merchants have a great business. They not only support a large group of various clerks, but also rely on the big boss of the family who is an official in Jinling and a lot of people in Wuchang. In order to maintain the profitability of the commercial bank, huge expenses are incurred. At the same time, for the normal operation of the commercial bank, Fenghe Commercial Bank spends huge sums of money on management every year.
Otherwise, how could it be possible to do business in saltpeter, sulfur, iron and other strategic materials, and also become the raw material supplier for many government ordnance workshops in Huguang, Henan and Shaanxi.
If they don't use money to clear the way, no matter how powerful they are, they have to follow the rules, no matter how powerful they are!
Not to mention other places, it is just the filial piety of officials from all over the area in northern Chu that is indispensable.
As a member of the collateral clan who was sent by his family to take charge of Fenghe Trading Company, Li Siyuan's uncle and nephew were also under great pressure.
Every day when I wake up, I have to think about how to improve the profitability of my business.
Although their Fenghe Trading Company has many businesses, the most profitable thing is the strategic materials business, especially the business with the bandits...
Some bandits also used artillery and muskets in their battles, but in smaller quantities, which gave the people of Fenghe Trading Company a headache.
Because there seem to be a lot of thieves in the north, with hundreds of thousands of thieves at every turn, but the iron market is okay, but the gunpowder market has been difficult to open...
Those thieves basically don't know how to use artillery and guns. Only a few big thieves have a small number of guns on hand.
This is not in the interest of their Fenghe Trading Company!
For Fenghe Trading Company, the best thing is that the government uses guns and cannons to fight, and the bandits also use guns and cannons to fight.
Moreover, whether it is thieves or officers and soldiers, it is best that the guns and cold weapons used by them are made of their own iron materials, and the gunpowder used is made of the saltpeter and sulfur raw materials provided by their families.
In this way, Li Siyuan's uncle and nephew can wake up from their dreams with laughter!
Based on these reasons, it's no wonder that uncles and nephews Li Siyuan and Li Xiumin were interested in the Baoxiang Army and Luo Zhixue, and even came over in person.
In fact, they were also curious about why the Baoxiang Army used guns and artillery on a large scale, which was different from other bandits.
At this time, Li Siyuan also looked at an open space not far from the dock. In that open space were a group of soldiers wearing gray military uniforms to protect their hometown.
This 100-strong army of soldiers protecting the countryside is not here to monitor or guard against Fenghe Trading Company's caravan.
In fact, these more than 100 soldiers who belong to the 1st Infantry Battalion have followed this caravan all the way north since the day before yesterday, and it was to protect them...
Although the goods in the Fenghe Caravan still belong to the Fenghe Caravan for the time being, the Baoxiang Army has actually paid a part of the deposit, not to mention that the items shipped are all types of military supplies that the Baoxiang Army is in urgent need of. supplies.
If some blind bandits suddenly appear and attack them, the Home Guard Army will cry to death...
Therefore, since the caravan of Fenghe Trading Company entered the area controlled by the Baoxiang Army, Huang Dingquan, who was leading the battle at the front, simply sent more than a hundred people to protect them.
In order to avoid trouble, they would not go close to them, so they followed them nearby. They even sent scouts to help them explore and open the way...
It can be described as a full escort service!
Along the way, the uncles and nephews of the Li family also carefully observed the thieves of the Hometown Protection Army. There was not much else to say. What really attracted their attention was that half of the more than a hundred thieves were musketeers.
This shows that the proportion of musketeers in the Baoxiang Army is very high, at least more than half.
And what does this mean?
Because of the vast market!
If possible, the uncles and nephews of the Li family wished that all the thieves of the Hometown Protection Army were musketeers, and they would conduct live-fire training all day and night, and shoot as if they were free of charge.
It would be best to get a lot of artillery pieces, and just shoot them when you have nothing to do.
In this way, their Fenghe Trading Company can make a lot of money every day!
Unfortunately, even the uncles and nephews of the Li family know that this is impossible.
What they can do now is to make as much money as possible from the recent looting of the Baoxiang Army.
Then we hope that the Home Guard Army can support them for a while longer, preferably by occupying more territory, looting a few more powerful people or conquering a certain city, and getting enough money to continue doing business with them, Fenghe Trading Company.
To this end, the uncles and nephews of the Li family also provided Shi Wenbin with a piece of news for free, a piece of news that was unknown to the outside world and was only circulated among senior officials in Nanyang Prefecture for the time being: Chen Yongfu was gathering troops and was preparing to go north to encircle and suppress the Baoji troops who had been causing harm to the countryside in the northern part of Nanyang Prefecture in the near future. Rural Army.
The purpose of revealing this news is simple. The uncles and nephews of the Li family do not want to see the Baoxiang Army finished in ten days and a half.
Even if it is going to end, Fenghe Commercial Bank must make enough money before it ends.
After Shi Wenbin heard the news, he was shocked and couldn't care less about hospitality. After he ordered his subordinates to continue handing over goods with Fenghe Trading Company, he hurriedly took a boat across the river to report to Luo Zhixue. went!
