The land of Jianfu, a river terminal somewhere.
A scholar is waiting for the boat to arrive, preparing to take the examination in the provincial capital.
He waited and waited on the pier. Then he saw that a suitable passenger ship had finally arrived, and he immediately went forward.
At this moment, another smaller boat came, carrying a yellow flag and four big words: "Express Shipping Ship".
"This scholar, please take my boat." The boatman on the big boat shouted.
"Hey, scholar, come to my boat and I'll help you get to the provincial capital safely." Huang Qi boatman shouted.
The scholar looked at it and was about to get on the big boat.
A big boat is definitely more comfortable than a small boat.
At this moment, a laborer at the dock whispered: "Master Xiucai, it is better to get on the yellow flag ship."
"Why is this?" The scholar asked in confusion.
"The yellow-flag boat is owned by the governor's family. Since you passed the examination, why don't you give the governor some face?" Li Gong whispered.
"That's right." The scholar then boarded the yellow flag ship.
After seeing it, the big boat immediately shouted: "My shipping fee is one tael less than his."
The journey is long and the transportation is expensive.
A journey of several hundred miles often costs taels or even dozens of taels of silver. It is cheaper to travel by boat, but more expensive by oxen and horses.
Therefore, most people cannot afford to go out. Even if they go to Beijing to take the exam, they often have to borrow money to prepare for the expenses.
The scholar waved his hand.
But I thought in my heart: "When I become a Jinshi all the way in the future, I must impeach these corruptions who collude with cheap businessmen and exploit the people!"
Huang Qichuan left proudly. .
The scholar did not suffer too much along the way, but his experience was just that.
But it's really fast.
It’s not that the boat is fast, but that it’s fast to pass through various checkpoints. Most of the checkpoints require no tax or inspection, and you can travel smoothly all the way.
There are only a few feudal checkpoints that require payment, and they are very polite. Once you pay, you will be released in advance.
Other ships give way.
This speed is several days faster than other ships.
Many levels are deliberately tormenting you, and even if you pay the money, they will still let you pass slowly.
In short, if you don’t have a background, you won’t be able to do this business, and good products can go bad.
Fortunately, the boatman was very polite and considerate and didn’t show any emotion.
After all, he is a scholar.
Identity is still very valuable.
"I wish Xiucai Gongyi High School and the Beijing News to be listed in Huangjia."
"Thank you."
Xiu Cai had only one feeling in his heart, it was so good, he would sit down next time, so he handed over and left.
As for impeachment, there is nothing wrong with impeaching an old-timer. What is Lao Futai doing?
…………
This is just a microcosm.
Wen Rensheng then continued to integrate the shipping industry in Jianfu Province.
With more and more funds, buy new ships and build good ships.
He also bought a government-run shipyard to improve the treatment of craftsmen in the shipyard. The so-called improvement does not mean to raise it to the level of later generations like in other novels.
It’s just a matter of making sure the actual payment is made on time, without arrears of wages, bad money, or bad rice.
This is also the stipulation of the bet and cannot exceed this era.
Whatever this era is like, he must be like that.
Even so, the craftsmen were filled with gratitude.
These days, craftsmen in government-run factories are craftsmen, shouldering heavy tasks and suffering heavy exploitation.
If you are recruited by officials, your work will be in vain. If you have a conscience, you will be given some food but no money. Sometimes you will have to bear the labor of going to Beijing. That is a fatal thing.
They can only make a living by taking advantage of their free time and working hard to do private work.
There are very few kind-hearted people like Wen Rensheng.
Only the master craftsmen in private shipyards, the core craftsmen, who can build an entire large ship will be paid much better.
After all, maritime merchants are not stupid. If you don’t give them good treatment, they will risk their lives if they don’t take care of themselves at sea.
But the small workers are still squeezed to the extreme.
Wen Rensheng continued to purchase shipping companies and consolidate them.
However, many shipping companies soon became unwilling to join the "Express Shipping Lines".
This is the Wang Family Boat Shop.
The family has been passed down for four generations, and there are 52 ships of various sizes, traveling on thousands of miles of rivers across the province.
It can be said to be a relatively large river boat company.
The total cost exceeds 100,000 taels.
He definitely doesn’t want to be swallowed up by the express shipping company. Isn’t it okay for him to take care of himself?
Do you have to find an ancestor to look over your head?
His family background is that of a county king, and he gives 3,000 taels of silver every year.
This is a lot of money.
Bribing a pavilion elder is 5,000 taels of silver.
3,000 taels of silver is equivalent to 6,000 shi of grain, which is equivalent to the harvest of 2,000 to 5,000 acres of land.
A county prince can own only a few thousand acres of land, while a prince can own hundreds of thousands of acres.
Now Wen Rensheng is encountering a problem. What should he do when he encounters a shipping company with a strong background and confidence?
He must be integrated.
Only by integrating can you make big money.
Monopoly has always been synonymous with high profits.
The premise is that the internal management must be properly managed, so as not to be taken advantage of.
Wen Rensheng has many gray methods, but naturally he will not use them first.
After all, we have to consider the reputation of the governor.
Now that the other party is unwilling to be acquired, Wen Rensheng can just use this business method to compete with it.
When he loses money to the point where he can no longer pay the tribute of his backers, he will have to be merged.
Otherwise, you are seeking death.
The pigs like the county prince will not consider the difficulties of his business. They only know that they gave him gifts before but did not give them this year. They look down on him, so they must be punished.
Wen Rensheng then specially dispatched the fleet to take the overlapping route of the opponent.
At the same time, some shares are also allocated to relevant management.
This is very common in this era, especially those who run sea ships, all have crotch.
Because the danger is great, this allows everyone to work together.
As a result, everyone worked harder.
What's more, Wen Rensheng specially selected loyal and reliable people.
Compared with others, because of working hard, the efficiency can be doubled or even twice as efficient as other boat companies.
A person who works hard and a person who fishes have completely different results.
Even the boats and sails are the same.
While Wen Rensheng was busy with this matter, Governor Wang asked him to call him:
“Xiannephew, this year’s provincial examination is here again. I have sent someone to change your household registration to Here, you can take exams in urban and rural areas of the province. How do you feel about it? ”
Since Wen Rensheng wanted to make full use of the existing conditions, he would certainly not let go of the imperial examination.
He cannot use technologies and ideas that are beyond this era, but the stereotypes and classic meanings are naturally not a problem. So Wen Rensheng said, "I'm 100% sure." It would be great to change you over, since you have such confidence." Governor Wang said happily.
Then Wen Rensheng took the exam.
After the provincial examination, he really got to know Yuan.
The old master praised his article: "It is smooth and flawless, appropriate in every aspect, and an excellent piece of writing."
He also said that one must be among the top three Jinshi to be able to write this.
Governor Wang was very happy and recommended Wen Ren for promotion.
This time he was directly promoted to provincial capital magistrate. Although it seems to be a deputy position, there is a governor behind him, that is, even the prefect must listen to him.
This is where the name and reality are different.
In the seventeenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1384), the imperial court officials were ordered to recommend honest and capable officials. Later, the nine ministers were ordered to recommend officials, and the supervising vassals recommended officials in prefectures and counties.
When Wen Rensheng wants to take the imperial examination, he can resign first, then take the exam, and enter the Imperial Academy of the Qing Dynasty.
This is not a waste of time. It is the same as later generations who dropped out of college and took the exam again after discovering that they were not good at it.
Wen Rensheng naturally handled the affairs of the government easily. Everyone was employed, talented people were selected, dirty officials were cleaned up, and the government was quickly managed.
For a time, he was called a capable official.
At the same time, he multitasked and continued to expand his express shipping line.
We also opened an accounting business, which is a piggybacking business. We use flying tickets to deposit money here and use flying tickets to withdraw money in another place.
Pay the handling fee in the middle.
This kind of thing completely tests your credibility and official background.
Don't do it without background.
Once you do it, you will get free profits.
Be aware that the time difference can also be used to slightly misappropriate loans, but you need to be extra careful not to lose money.
As the express boat trip expanded, Wen Rensheng began to collect industries in the counties, prefectures, and provincial cities along the way.
The development stopped when the total industrial value finally reached one million taels.
Because no matter how high you are, the backgrounds of governors and colleagues are no longer reliable.
At this time, the eight Shanxi merchants had a net worth of hundreds of thousands taels, and behind them were senior officials such as deputy general soldiers, general soldiers, and governors.
After doing these things, Wen Rensheng began to develop his own private army.
In fact, it is backdoor development.
He is not a military commander, and it is not easy for him to follow the path of a military commander for the time being. Instead, he can win people's hearts and make friends with others.
In the late Ming Dynasty and early to mid-Ming Dynasty, military generals still could not stay in one place, and they often changed defense zones.
A typical example is to transfer border troops to Liaodong to die.
Who doesn’t know that it is a desperate place?
But how many can disobey?
This is the result of the Ming Dynasty's use of literature to control martial arts to its peak.
Only in the last few years did warlords appear, and the emperor's orders could not be mobilized.
This is much better than the Han and Tang Dynasties.
It was also much stronger than the later Qing Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was very successful in using literature to control martial arts.
The governor-general relied on the governor Biaoying to control the generals. Although there were many disadvantages, it at least prevented the generals from separatist rule.
But it is precisely because of this that when the Ming Dynasty fell, no large vassal town appeared internally, and the internal strength could not hatch strong vassals. As a result, the Manchus and Qing Dynasties defeated them one by one and took over the world.
Otherwise, if it becomes the trend of the Han and Tang Dynasties, it will be internal digestion.
Wen Rensheng first allocated grain and silver to buy iron, and then supported the local gun-making factory to re-manufacture a batch of muskets and artillery that met the requirements and standards of the time.
The musket is naturally still a matchlock.
Hitting 60 moves is lethal.
But it can be used as a carrying gun and a heavy matchlock gun.
Originally this thing is useful for dealing with Manchu White Armor.
If you hit it after 20 steps, you will die, and the triple armor is useless.
However, the materials given were insufficient, resulting in a rough and shoddy workmanship that no one was willing to use, or it was put away early, resulting in no effect at all.
So much so that there were only three thousand white-armored soldiers on the battlefield, and they were invincible.
If the muskets really reached the level they should have, if 5 musketeers killed 1 Baijia, the Manchus would have been wiped out long ago.
So the end of Ming Dynasty was the end of the entire system.
It cannot be rescued by a certain emperor or general.
There must be a transformation of the system, such as the rebirth of a certain vassal town, like the rise of Cao Cao in the Han Dynasty, who reorganized the fields and cultivated troops, gathered children from poor families, and then defeated the northern grassland tribes.
Wenrensheng’s current total industrial scale is one million taels, and its annual net profit is 120,000 taels.
This is very conservative.
In fact, the profit and capital of the business these days must be at least 30%, so that it can be maintained.
Because the people behind the scenes have to be given a lot of shares, the final net profit is not high.
For example, if you have a capital of 100,000 taels, you have to earn 30,000 taels every year before you can divide it.
Otherwise, there is no need to open it.
Even if you don’t earn enough points, you will get 30% to 40% or even multiple times of the profits, and only a few of them end up in your own pocket.
And if you make more money, the accountant assigned to your store will also increase their contribution.
With the help of the governor's power, Wen Rensheng integrated shipping in a large area of water, and the profit was quite high. He still had to manage it up and down, and finally ended up with 120,000 taels in his pocket.
It can be freely used and cannot be expanded.
This is hard.
But there is no way, unless he uses the concepts and technologies of later generations, otherwise under this feudal system, this is the limit.
No matter how high he is, princes and eunuchs will come to deal with him, and even the governor will have to cut off a lot of meat.
How much silver and fine iron are needed to make a musket? Wen Rensheng can make up for it.
In this way, a batch of muskets were created.
Following the same example, a batch of artillery pieces were made, which were modeled on the methods of Western cannons.
This will take time, so you can buy naval guns for the time being.
After all, the land of Jianfu is close to Guangdong and Guangxi, and many Western businessmen come here.
The muskets they built subsequently can basically reach the pinnacle of current technology.
At least the dosage is sufficient and the gun is heavy, so there is no need to worry about the chamber exploding.
Quite sophisticated and has a high fire rate.
There were enough pikemen and shield soldiers in front of the musketeers.
It uses a giant shield, which can resist throwing weapons such as axes.
You must know that in addition to being able to use light and heavy arrows, the white-armored soldiers are also good at throwing axes.
If he had only used a spear, he would have been beaten to pieces by the opponent.
You can’t expect the morale of soldiers to be high these days.
The advantage of a musket is that it allows a person who has only practiced for half a year to kill an elite warrior who has been practicing for 20 years.
Obviously the Ming Dynasty had firearms plus car camps, and Ming Dynasty defeated white armor, but its poor finances and contempt for craftsmen resulted in poor muskets, no training, no military pay, and poor morale. , it was played too early and did not reach the level of Qi Jiguang at all.
The red cannons that were later cast were specially supervised and the materials used were sufficient, so the Manchus could only besiege the fortress with ten red cannons for a long time.
A direct attack would result in the loss of too many elite soldiers, which they could not afford.
A strong attack must be successful, but after a siege, 10 cannons fired a total of 30 rounds during the defense of the city, killing 50 people in each round, which is equivalent to killing 5 people per round, which is 1,500 people. loss.
How can you bear this?
Being hit by the cannon at this time would be fatal.
And the opponent can specifically attack the opponent's elite soldiers.
Unless they hide their elite soldiers outside the shooting range, how can they be the opponent of the servants just by relying on the armored flag soldiers?
There is no way to fight in a large formation when attacking a city, so the servants have to use their personal strength.