Chapter 803 Differentiation
Fang Jun said matter-of-factly: "Of course I entrusted it to your Lu family. How can you not take care of your good friends when they do such a good thing?"
Lu Xiaoyu automatically filtered out the word "good friend" in Fang Jun's words and asked, "Where are those ordinary papers?" Although the quality of those bamboo papers is lower, the output is large! Now it is just a workshop. It is conceivable that as long as the process is confirmed, Fang Jun will definitely increase production. The profit here is no worse than that of high-grade bamboo paper!
Moreover, the large-scale manufacturing of paper has significantly increased the Lu family’s status!
Fang Jun shook his head and said: "Don't be greedy. Leave those mediocre bamboo papers to the other noble families. You, the Lu family, can't eat them yourself..."
It's fun to put all the money in your own pocket, but if you look too ugly, it will inevitably lead to envy and jealousy. There is no need for the Lu family to go back to the past. Even if their strength is greatly reduced, they can sell these bamboo papers all over the south of the Yangtze River, but it will inevitably arouse the hostility of other noble families.
Moreover, Lu Xiaoyu also understood that Fang Jun planned to use huge profits to gradually disintegrate the alliance of Jiangnan noble families. He not only wanted to break down the hostility and constraints of each family towards him, but also wanted to subdue them one by one and use them for his own use.
This is a big game of differentiation and co-optation, which to a large extent determines whether Fang Jun's strategy in Jiangnan can be achieved. He naturally ignores mere monetary interests.
Lu Xiaoyu admired him wholeheartedly.
How old is Fang Juncai? He is such a dandy, but he has transcended the scope of money and enjoyment and begun to climb towards the highest realm of life. He is already ahead of most of his peers and has a bright future.
And what about yourself?
Lu Xiaoyu felt sad, his originally excited expression quickly dimmed, and he was in low spirits...
*****
"The Book of Songs, Daya, Volume A" has a saying: "The phoenix is singing, and it is on the high hill. The phoenix tree is growing, and the sun is rising there." It is symbolized by the phoenix singing in harmony, and its song is flying over the hill; the phoenix tree is growing like crazy, and it is covered with the bright morning sun. The noble and beautiful character. Yu Shinan, the great scholar of Yongxing County who passed away just a few years ago, once wrote a poem "Cicada" in his early years, which said: "The dew is hanging down to drink the clear dew, and the sound of the trees is flowing out. The reason why I raise my voice far away is not to borrow the autumn wind." This little poem with metaphorical meaning uses the tall and straight parasol trees with sparse green leaves as the cicada's habitat. It describes the cicada's nobility and is a metaphor for the beauty of his own character.
It can be seen that since ancient times, the sycamore tree has been a symbol of nobility. Even in later generations, there is a saying that "planting a sycamore tree will attract golden phoenixes." This is why the Gu family built the mansion on Fuya Street in Suzhou ten years ago. The interior is planted with sycamore trees, which means "planting tung trees to attract phoenixes", so that the Gu family can produce more talented people and restore the glory of their ancestors...
Gu Cong knelt down in the flower pavilion, looking at the invitation on the coffee table in front of her, frowning and worried.
Gu Yong, the representative of the Jiangdong clan who first followed Sun Quan, had been assisting Sun Quan when he was the governor of Kuaiji. Although Sun Quan was the prefect of Kuaiji at that time, he did not merge with the county. He only made Gu Yong the prime minister to carry out the affairs of the prefect, pacify the bandits, and the county was peaceful and the officials and people surrendered. Since then, the Gu family's ancestral home has been in Kuaiji County and has not changed for hundreds of years.
However, with the founding of the Tang Dynasty and the gradual increase in national power, Kuaiji County's position as the southern rear area of the Yangtze River no longer existed. Instead, the prosperity of sea trade and sea salt made Suzhou, the most important place in Wu County, increasingly prosperous. Therefore, the Gu family used a lot of manpower and material resources to gradually establish a presence in Suzhou, which gradually made the family stronger.
This mansion located on Fuya Street in Suzhou has spent countless manpower and material resources to show the prosperity of the Gu family and its potential to catch up with the Xiao family, the leader of the Jiangnan noble clan.
But everyone in the Gu family knew that even if the Gu family's strength increased to a higher level, it would not be able to shake the Xiao family's status for the time being. There is no other reason, it’s just that the Gu family is too weak in the court and has no external aid...
There was a gentle breeze outside the window and the leaves were whirling.
Over the past ten years or so, the sycamore trees planted have matured into mature trees. Their lush branches and leaves can block out the sky and the sun. The straight trunks are seven to eight feet high and have deep leaves and deep roots. In summer, they can already form a continuous green shade, which can be used as a bridge under the trees. , the clansmen fighting crickets shaded themselves from the sun.
However, the descendants of the Gu family failed to become as successful as the sycamore trees...
Gu Cong sighed gloomily.
The rise to success in the officialdom cannot be achieved by accidental emergence of an amazing talent. It requires the accumulation of connections of a family for generations and the efforts of countless clan members.
Unfortunately, since the Cao Wei Dynasty, the Gu family has been in decline, and even faced annihilation several times during the Jin Dynasty. Fortunately, since the Southern Dynasties, the Gu family has gradually risen, and in this dynasty, the family business is once again prosperous. It's just that although wealth is easy to come by, fame is really hard to come by. Over the years, the Gu family has had a few officials one after another, but they are no more than minor officials in the state capital, and they have never been able to get on the stage.
If you cannot make a voice in the court, you cannot be regarded as a prominent family member, and there is always a danger of being replaced by others. The richer you are, the more likely it is to cause disaster...
Therefore, the Gu family would rather risk annihilation than to promote Yang Hao, the grandson of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty Yang Jian, to the throne. By then, the Gu family, as ministers of Conglong, will suddenly become the most powerful family in the world. As long as they manage it carefully for decades, they will establish a family heritage that has been passed down for thousands of years!
In the face of such a great achievement, any risk is worth it!
Opposite Gu Cong, there was an old man in linen and geese shirts sitting.
This old man is more than seventy years old, but he has a childish face and a pair of long white eyebrows, which is quite a bit fairy-like. At this time, he was sitting upright and sipping the tea from the white jade tea cup, his mood was leisurely and completely out of the world.
Gu Cong tapped the invitation on the coffee table with his finger and asked in a deep voice: "Mr. Dong, what do you think of this matter?"
Mr. Dong's white eyebrows moved, his eyes opened, he glanced at Gu Cong indifferently, and said: "Do you still need to ask? It's obvious! Fang Jun's son is the best at making money. He not only knows how to make money, but also how to use money to invite people. Buy people's hearts. Everyone loves money, so this trick is aimed at people's hearts and has been tried and tested. "
Gu Cong smiled bitterly and said: "Of course I know Fang Jun's intention, which is to throw out a so-called salt farm to break up the alliance of the Jiangnan gentry. But as Mr. Dong said, everyone loves money. Faced with such benefits promised by Fang Jun, Who can be unmoved? Please teach me, Mr. Dong, how to deal with it?”
The invitation on the coffee table was that Fang Jun invited the Jiangnan nobles to discuss the matter of investing in the salt farm. In the invitation, Fang Jun explained one by one the profits that the salt farm could obtain. Each salt farm could earn over 100,000 yuan a year. Even Gu Cong was jealous, let alone other nobles?
There is no doubt that as long as Fang Jun's strategy succeeds and the Jiangnan nobles join in one by one, the alliance of the Jiangnan nobles will definitely collapse and cease to exist.
Why is Gu Cong not in a hurry?
Changing dynasties is a big deal. Even if there are countless old ministers of the previous dynasty who yearn for the Sui Dynasty in the court, if you want to make some noise in Jiangnan and let those people see the hope of the Sui restoration, you must unite the Jiangnan gentry!
Relying on the strength of one family alone, it is really impossible to achieve great things...
Hearing this, Mr. Dong gently placed the tea cup on the coffee table and sighed: "Fang Jun's move is a conspiracy. Let me tell all Jiangnan nobles openly and honestly that if you want development and benefits, then follow me. Go! Otherwise, you are going against me. , not only must we completely cut off sea trade, but he must also intervene in the salt-making industry, which we relied heavily on in the past, unless you, Gu Langjun, can come up with greater benefits to win back people's hearts, otherwise there is no way. Think.”
Gu Cong seemed to be deeply dependent on this Mr. Dong. Hearing this, he said anxiously: "Then we can just watch Fang Jun and that guy divide and disintegrate the Jiangnan noble clans one by one? If so, our affairs will be severely damaged. When will To achieve your wish?”
In fact, there was one sentence that Gu Cong didn't say.
The reason why the Gu family was able to accumulate capital so quickly and emerge as a new force was because of its huge profits from sea trade and sea salt.
Fang Jun's coming to Jiangnan to prepare for the establishment of a shipping company has been put on the agenda. The land west of the Wusong River Estuary is being leveled, brick kilns are everywhere, and a new "cement factory" of unknown origin has been built along the river. It is booming and progress is rapid. When the Shipping Department is established, all maritime trade will be under its jurisdiction, and most of the profits will be taken away by the court, and the Gu family will lose a leg.
smuggling?
Then you have to face the powerful combat power of the Royal Navy... (End of Chapter)