Chapter 1466 Big Deal
When He Li came, he didn't actually have much hope for the results of this trip, but after learning more information on the island, he couldn't help but have more ideas. He could feel that Haihan's official idea was to introduce more carriers on the northern route to change the previous situation of being completely monopolized by a few large sea merchants, which was relatively weak for a small group of four like them. For businesses, it is an excellent entry opportunity.
Although it may not be possible to earn huge profits from the northern route in the short term, if Haihan really wants to develop the Liaodong colony on a large scale, there will definitely be other opportunities to make money there. He Li knew that his brother had some research on the profit model of plantations, and perhaps he would know how to operate this matter to obtain benefits from Liaodong. Of course, the premise is that he must first win the qualifications as a northern route carrier in the current competition. Otherwise, with their current strength, there is no way they can squeeze into an unfamiliar area thousands of miles away to get a piece of the pie.
Although there are obviously not as many competitors on the northern route as there are in the first two areas, He Li is still a little uneasy about the results. Their small, temporary group has never had the experience of direct sailing to Liaodong in the past, and the top of the ship under their name At most, I didn't go further north after reaching Shandong waters. It can be said that there is an obvious lack of navigation experience. The Haihan people will definitely not ignore this shortcoming. How much emphasis they will put on it when evaluating the strength of each company may be the key to whether He Li and others can pass the test.
"Northern route carrier, the qualified ones are B-3..."
When He Li heard this, although he didn't have any excited reaction, it was like a firework exploded in his mind. He didn't expect that he could actually pass Haihan's assessment and be announced at the first place. Although the ranking itself may have no special meaning, He Li is willing to regard it as a symbol of good luck.
The other three were not as calm as He Li. They grabbed He Li's clothes and shook him out of his thoughts: "Master He, we are hit, we are hit!"
He Li came back to his senses and forced a smile: "Why are you so happy? It's not like you won the imperial examination! Everyone, calm down and don't want to be laughed at!"
The three people looked at each other and realized that the current environment was not suitable for showing signs of losing control of their emotions, otherwise they would be looked down upon by their peers. If they were considered by the Haihan people not to be calm enough, then this incident might happen again. Immediately, he coughed a few times and calmed down his emotions.
There were four winning bidders for the Northern Route. According to the principle of waiting, another company was selected by lottery from Zhenguo Shipping Company and Zhan's Shipping Company, making up the five winning bids. The business organization led by He Li, which was put together temporarily, was actually composed of four companies, and it was probably unique among the winning bidders this time.
Regardless of whether they won the bid or not, the businessmen present still did their best to show off and congratulate each other. He Li didn't dare to neglect the businessmen present. If he randomly picked one of them, he might have a tougher background and a bigger family fortune than him. It was fine if he didn't know in the past, but now that he knows that many people here have the support of Ming officials and soldiers, he naturally has to handle the current interpersonal relationships carefully.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Haihan officials asked the winning bidders to stay, and the other bidders could leave on their own. He Li knew that there were still many procedures to be completed, so he immediately asked the other three people to sit back and wait for Haihan's arrangements.
After the official presiding over the meeting muttered for instructions, he said to the people who stayed behind: "Now, I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation of Haihan, Chief Sun Changmi, to say a few words for everyone."
Immediately, someone took the lead in clapping loudly, and He Li and others quickly followed suit. Sun Changmi stood up and gestured for everyone to stop, and then began to speak: "Everyone who stays here, some are our long-term partners, and there are also new friends who have joined. I would like to emphasize that our country, Haihan Country, The rules are to act according to the rules. We will sign a written agreement with you, and the content of future cooperation will be included in it. Please read it clearly before signing. If there is anything you don’t understand, you can ask our staff for advice. We will never treat those who work for Han State poorly, and we hope that everyone will do their best. We will have corresponding criteria for considering who does well and who does poorly. Those who do well will definitely be rewarded. People who don’t get good results, well, you just need to remember that Haihan has clear rewards and punishments.”
Sun Changmi's speech did not have much substantive and specific content. It was mainly to inform everyone of the general background of this cooperative relationship and remind them to take this matter seriously. His words were naturally nothing new to the old guys who had worked with Haihan for several years, but He Li, who had just arrived, still listened very carefully, trying to taste some things from Sun Changmi's speech that he needed to pay attention to. thing. However, his political sensitivity is far less than that of his brother He Xiao. Even if he thinks carefully about it, it is difficult to have any in-depth understanding. He can only listen and say it casually.
Sun Changmi obviously did not intend to make a presence felt on this occasion. He spoke concisely and concisely for less than three minutes before ending his speech and leaving the venue. The subsequent formalities will be handled by their own officials.
Soon a scribe brought a large stack of documents and distributed them to each family. He Li stood up and took it with both hands. When he saw the words "Northern Route Carrier Contract" written on the brown paper cover, he put it on the table and started to look through it.
The terms listed in this contract were relatively detailed, describing the responsibilities and obligations of both parties in detail. However, there were many professional terms used in it, and He Li had to discuss it with three other people from time to time, and even had to rope in a clerk. Officials interpret.
The content of this contract clause naturally tends to favor Haihan, and there is no obvious care for the carrier. When he came, He Xiao had warned him to read the contract carefully if there was any contract. He Li did not dare to neglect, so he read the contract over and over again to make sure that there was no deliberately deceptive content in it. After reading through it several times, He Li was basically sure that it was not unreasonable for those large sea merchants to give up the fight for the northern route. This route did not have much oil and water to speak of, and the carriers still needed to invest a lot of capacity in route operations to ensure it. Complete the tasks assigned by Haihan every month.
However, the contract also states that "the carrier can enjoy the trade share and land purchase qualifications linked to the points level at the mission destination," which means that the carrier can operate in the Haihan control area on the northern route. Conduct investment and trade. If done properly, this will naturally be a considerable amount of income, and this is one of the main reasons that prompted He Li to determine to obtain the qualification as a carrier.
It's just that He Li doesn't have a clear idea yet about how to use the conditions given by Haihan to make profits. As for the three businessmen who came with him, he will not place his hopes on them. After all, these people had no cooperative relationship with Haihan before, and they didn't know much about Haihan's rules in business cooperation, otherwise they wouldn't have come to his home to pray to gods and Buddhas. When he turned to the last page, He Li's expression changed slightly. Haihan required every carrier to deposit at least 10,000 yuan in deposits in Haihan Bank, or the equivalent of 10,000 taels of silver. Can. Of course, his wealth is more than this, but he doesn't have so much liquidity on hand. When he turns to look at the other three, his expressions are not so good. The financial strength of these three people is far inferior to him. Even if the four people share the deposit equally, two thousand five hundred taels of silver is still a large amount of money for them.
It feels really uncomfortable to have to pay such a large deposit to the Haihan people before they see any hope of making money. Even if they know that Haihan's business reputation is unparalleled, it is unlikely that magical events such as swallowing up the deposit will occur. However, such a large amount of money turning from living money to dead money will have a negative impact on their current business conditions and even their living standards. Affected, it is inevitable that there will be feelings of hesitation.
At this time, He Li and others realized that their previous worries about their lack of strength finally began to show up. This deposit was just a number for those large-scale merchants, but for merchants of their scale, Generally speaking, it is very likely that the book turnover will be two to three months or even longer. And if they want to continue the carrier's business, just having a deposit of 10,000 yuan is not enough, not to mention that their hope of making money is pinned on the investment in the north. If I don't spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to prepare for this, I'm afraid I will have to work for Hai Hanbai in the next year.
But in the current situation, it's not enough if I don't sign this contract. If I regret it now, I'm afraid I will be blacklisted by Haihan in the future. He Li could only ask the Haihan official who was responsible for answering questions for his group: "Sir, why is this deposit... so high? Can this amount be accommodated?"
The official was respectfully called "Sir" by He Li, and he was obviously very useful. Nianxu explained: "It is true that we did not have to pay such a large deposit before, but last year some small carriers had accidents one after another, and the chief believed that it was necessary to raise the industry threshold. As far as possible, only merchants with sufficient strength will be left to participate in route operations, so increasing the amount of deposits is also one of the measures. If it is difficult to raise deposits, then there will only be more and more operational problems in the future. If the bosses feel that. If you can’t accept it, it’s okay to give up now. We will replace it with another one from the waiting list.”
As the official spoke, he observed the expressions of He Li and others, as if to judge whether they were just asking casually or whether they really had financial problems. If it was the latter, then he had the responsibility to report the situation to his superiors. , to avoid the situation of weak merchants fishing in troubled waters.
He Li was able to keep his composure, and immediately responded with a smile: "Thank you for your explanation, sir. I'm just asking. Since it is the rule set by the chief himself, then I should act according to the rules. I can pay the deposit as needed. Absolutely nothing.”
The official seemed to be extremely satisfied with He Li's statement and nodded: "That's the best. Boss He has been cooperating with our country for a long time. He must have a good understanding of our country's trade rules. Subsequent business routes should be It will also be of great help.”
He Li was moved in his heart and asked: "The results of the review just now by the adults are based on the fact that I have business cooperation with your country before? I know that some merchants have Ming army background, but the adults don't seem to particularly care about this?"
The official responded: "This is natural. Otherwise, how could the major maritime affairs be left to people who have nothing to do with it? Even if you have a background in the Ming army, it depends on the place, right? How many people can the Ming army in Zhejiang make in Liaodong?" In this case, it’s better to let the acquaintances who have been doing business with us do it. At least they know the rules and don’t have to teach them.”
He Li suddenly realized why he was able to win by chance from this seemingly hopeless competition. He had previously used his accustomed way of thinking to speculate on Haihan's evaluation criteria, so it was no wonder that the results he considered were skewed.
If you think about it carefully, Haihan's evaluation criteria are indeed more practical. Since the focus of the Northern Route is in the north, these businessmen with military backgrounds in Zhejiang actually do not have any advantages. On the contrary, businessmen like He Li who have always maintained trade relations with Haihan, although their business scale is smaller, are better because they know the basics and understand the rules, which makes it easier to gain Haihan's trust.
For other powerful maritime merchants, the Northern Route is just a commercial route that has yet to be developed. If they want to intervene, they do not have to go through a carrier. They can also send ships in this direction. But for He Li and others, with Haihan as their support, they could organize a fleet to engage in international trade in the unfamiliar waters of the north. The only problem is that the investment will be so large that they may need to withdraw most of their existing funds in order to maintain the transportation tasks on the northern route.
"Big business!"
After signing the contract and leaving the venue, He Licai finally expressed emotion to his companions. While the other three people hold the same view, they are also worried about whether they can raise enough funds to maintain operations.
He Li had already thought about how to deal with the funds, and comforted the three people: "Just try your best. First, organize the ship and sailors as soon as possible. The gentleman just said that the fleet will arrive in five days." Check in at Dinghai Port. As for the working capital, let’s take out three thousand taels as a family first, and I will try to put aside the remaining funds.”
The three people looked at each other and quickly bowed and thanked them. A family taking 3,000 taels is only 12,000 taels, so ten thousand taels would have to be deducted from the deposit. If you want to maintain a fleet of twenty large sailing ships, the monthly expenses would also be calculated as a thousand taels, and some more would be purchased at both ends of the route. There may not be enough goods. He Li was willing to pay for it, which undoubtedly solved one of the most difficult problems at the moment.
(End of chapter)