The Li family has orders from Qingyuan Mansion and Quanzhou, so they are not very interested in setting up a workshop in Haizhou.
After hearing that Zhao Tai wanted to take the shares without paying any money, Li Siye decided to end this meaningless conversation.
Seeing this, Zhou Rong couldn't help but feel a little anxious. They finally met Li Siye, but if it ended like this, they would not be able to complete Zhao Tai's mission of attracting investment.
The Zhongyi Army only occupies a few states in Huaibei and Shandong, with a population of more than three million. However, it has to face the threat of Mongolia from the north and needs a lot of money to support the war and maintain the operation of the vassal government.
Because the territory was easily attacked, agriculture was easily hit and affected by war. Haizhou's special location made it less susceptible to war, so it became the only hope for the feudal town to revitalize its economy.
Zhou Rong knew the importance of this trip and was unwilling to leave just like that.
"Li Jianyuan, although our Haizhou is not as good as Quanzhou and Qingyuan, within five years, it will definitely become the largest seaport in the north. The Li family can get a steady stream of orders from the feudal government with just a small investment. , the Li family is definitely profitable." Zhou Rong said with a sincere face: "As Yu knows Haizhou affairs, I can guarantee that as long as the Li family is willing to invest in Haizhou, the county will definitely give the Li family the most favorable terms. Please also ask Li The Procuratorate is considering our Haizhou. If the Li family does not go and gives up the northern market to other businessmen, it will definitely shake the Li family's position in the shipbuilding industry."
"Haha..." Li Siye sneered, "Then let's wait until you surpass Quanzhou and Qingyuan Mansion!"
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand impatiently. When Li Shijie saw this, he was afraid that Li Siye would make him angry, so he could only stand up and said: "Please, please."
Zhou Rong was unwilling to give in, "Li Jianyuan, our Haizhou..."
Li Shijie said: "Brother Zhou, don't make things difficult for me!"
Hu Zhen pulled Zhou Rong, "Let's go!"
Li Shijie reached out and turned sideways, and the two of them could only leave disappointed.
Li Shijie saw off the two of them, returned to the hall, and asked, "Uncle, the terms offered by the people from the Loyalty Festival are pretty good!"
Li Siye glanced at him, "Don't you know about Li Quan?"
Li Quan is the father of Li Fen and the leader of the Shandong Rebel Army. He defected to the Southern Song Dynasty in his early years. With the support of the Southern Song Dynasty, he became the leading warlord in Shandong. Later, because Li Quan was dissatisfied with the restrictions imposed on him by the Southern Song Dynasty, he divided his subordinates and broke with the Southern Song Dynasty. Yangzhou.
From Li Siye's point of view, he could control the business within the Southern Song Dynasty and no one could take his notice. However, if it went out of the Song Dynasty, everyone would be a swordsman and a fish.
Now that he has no shortage of orders, there is no need to take that risk.
Moreover, he used to be close to Shi Miyuan's group, and he didn't like Zhao Tai very much.
He knew that Zhao Tai belonged to Zheng Qingzhi, Shi Miyuan was dead, and now that Zheng Qingzhi was in power, he had resigned and returned home. He did not want to offend Zheng Qingzhi, so he reluctantly met him.
Li Shijie said: "Uncle, the Jiedu envoy of the Loyalty Army is different from Li Quan! It is said that Zhao Jiedu is a member of the Song Dynasty clan, so he will not rebel against the Song Dynasty!"
Li Siye said: "It's hard to say! Even if he doesn't resist, Haizhou is located on the front line of the confrontation between the north and the south and may be attacked by Mongolia at any time. It's not worth it for a small profit!"
Li Shijie said: "My nephew heard from people in the Zhongyi Army that they want to build a navy and develop overseas trade. There is a huge demand for ships. I think there are quite a lot of benefits."
"Haha~" Li Siye said with a smile: "Have you ever seen any ports in the north that are better than those in the south? They want to compare with Qingyuan Mansion and Quanzhou, which is undoubtedly a delusion. Haizhou wants to develop sea trade, and Lin'an , the maritime merchants of Qingyuan Mansion can let them go, and those people have great influence in the court."
In Li Siye's view, Haizhou is located on the front line of the confrontation and the current situation is not stable enough. Secondly, if Haizhou wants to develop maritime trade, it can only trade with Korea and Japan. These two places are the territory of Lin'an and Ningbo merchants. How could it be possible? Let others get involved, and Lin'an and Ningbo are backed by Jiangnan and have a large amount of low-priced goods. How can Haizhou compete.
Li Sijie nodded slightly, knowing that there was no chance, and immediately said no more. He just accepted a lot of benefits from Hu Zhen, but he felt a little regretful that the matter could not be accomplished.
…
At this time, Hu Zhen and Zhou Rong left the club, but did not leave. Instead, they sat opposite each other in the restaurant opposite.
"Master Hu, what should we do now?" Zhou Rong asked with a sigh.
Hu Zhen said: "Wait!"
After a while, Li Shijie came out of the club and hurried to the restaurant.
Although the matter failed, Hu Zhen still stood up immediately and said, "Brother Li, how are you?"
Zhou Rong also looked at him expectantly, but Li Shijie shook his head, and their hearts immediately hit rock bottom.
They have traveled thousands of miles to come to Taizhou, and there is a high probability that their trip will be in vain.
Although it had been agreed in advance that the matter could not be done, the two could not blame Li Shijie. Li Shijie could have ignored the two of them, but he said: "The clan leader is worried about the instability in Haizhou, and the clan's shipbuilding workshop has enough The clan leader has made it clear that he is not interested in your proposal."
Businessmen pursue profits while also assessing risks.
For a country or region to develop economically, it must first have peace and a stable environment.
If this area is often chaotic or war breaks out, then without huge profits, businessmen will not risk losing their money to invest.
Now that the north is in chaos for a long time, and Zhao Tai's territory is directly facing the threat of war, it makes sense that Li Siye doesn't want to invest money.
Seeing the disappointment of the two of them, Li Shijie couldn't help but said: "Actually, you don't need to, you must come to our Li family. I know a few workshop owners. Although their shipyards are not big, they have no problem building seagoing ships, and their orders are not Like our Li family, we have enough. You can try to convince them."
Hu Zhen heard the words and cheered up again, "Let's go, please come up, I'll treat you."
The three of them went upstairs to sit down and chatted while eating. Li Shijie said: "To be honest, your conditions are good, but it's not very safe over there. Think about how much money it would cost to build a shipbuilding workshop there." If the Mongols attack us right after this is built, we will lose all our money! Moreover, to be honest, Haizhou’s location is not good, unlike Lin’an and Mingzhou, so it may not be easy to develop.”
Hu Zhen poured a glass of wine for Li Shijie and said with a smile: "Brother Li, Haizhou does have many shortcomings, but these are not important. What is important is our loyalty, control of Huaibei, Shandong, and two thousand miles of land. Such a large area , and surrounded by the sea on three sides, there is a huge demand for ships, and I think Brother Li should understand the benefits of this!"
Li Shijie raised his eyebrows, "As far as I know, your Zhongyi Army Commander's Mansion only controls Pi, Teng, Hai and other states. Most of Shandong is under Li Fen's control!"
Hu Zhen saw that he didn't care about the lake, so she said in a deep voice: "Yes, we actually only control five states at present, but there are some things that Brother Li didn't understand! The Wuxian who controls Dongping Prefecture and other places in western Shandong has sincerely Submit to our Jiedu Envoy, and Li Fen will marry our commander-in-chief soon, and he will also join my commander-in-chief!"
Li Shijie couldn't help but straighten his body, "Oh, there's another thing!"
