Chapter 1550 Grain Industry
Sending money to officials of the Ming Dynasty is not a problem at all for Haihan. As long as Haihan's requirements can be met, the financial benefits are just a large or small number in the eyes of Haihan's executive committee. When encountering a high-ranking official who holds real power and can provide assistance for Haihan's various plans in the Ming Dynasty, Haihan will even find ways to send money to his door, just like what Shi Diwen is doing now.
However, Wang Ji's situation seems to be a little different from the Ming officials Shi Diwen met in the past. Although Shi Diwen hinted from the beginning that the other party could directly negotiate terms, and also laid out optional business projects for the other party. However, Wang Ji rejected the proposal, and then went around in circles to play a big show, and finally proposed to make a fuss in the grain industry. Shi Diwen really didn't understand why Wang Ji ignored the already paved road and insisted on choosing the grain industry as a bargaining chip. Could it be that Wang Ji's influence among the people in Zhejiang is mainly concentrated in the grain industry?
The Ministry of Security has certainly done a thorough job of Wang Ji before this, but the information it has is basically public or semi-public, such as personal background, family situation, private hobbies, etc., and it can not directly or indirectly understand him. There is not much reliable news about the controlled industries. On the one hand, this is because there is no reliable and stable news channel between Haihan and Wang Ji, and understanding of him can only come from public information; on the other hand, Wang Ji's official position is too high, and one sentence from him is enough to influence the areas under his rule. In any industry, it is impossible for the outside world to guess which industry he can really control.
Of course, now that Wang Ji has pointed out the grain industry, he is definitely not joking about it. Shi Diwen simply made a condition that as long as the grain business is Wang Ji's family industry, Haihan will purchase it directly. That’s it.
Wang Ji said: "General Shi is indeed a cheerful person. Let me tell you straight away. I can organize a huge supply of grain in the several state capitals mentioned earlier. With your country's purchasing volume in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I can shoulder the responsibility here.”
When Shi Diwen heard his tone, he actually planned to monopolize Haihan's share of local grain procurement, leaving no food for other grain merchants. The autumn harvest is the peak season for Haihan to purchase grain every year. The other party proposed this condition before the autumn harvest. It was obvious that he saw the right time and planned to make a lot of money from it.
Haihan currently purchases grain from seven or eight grain merchants, mainly Ningbo grain merchants, and each company has a different purchase share. In fact, the grain prices of each family are almost the same. Haihan's reference standard for determining the purchasing share is mainly the background of each family. The stronger the background, the more shares he can get. Of course, in Ningbo Prefecture, the largest official backstage is the prefect Qu Yutong, and the grain merchants controlled by him are indeed Haihan's main supplier of grain purchases in Zhejiang.
However, Wang Ji made it clear today that this situation may change in the future. If he wants to reach out for this grain procurement deal, Haihan will definitely give it priority. After all, the governor of this province is much bigger than the officials below the prefecture. In terms of the purchase value, Haihan will definitely choose it. On the official side.
Of course, Wang Ji's few words alone were not enough for Shi Diwen to make an immediate decision. Although he had spoken beautifully in the previous scene, when it came time to make a decision, he still had to make a clear decision. At that moment, Shi Diwen asked Wang Ji about the price of grain supply in these state capitals, the time required to organize the supply of goods, the delivery method, etc. Although Shi Diwen was not from the Ministry of Commerce, he had gained some knowledge on grain trading in order to negotiate with grain merchants some time ago. Unexpectedly, it would come in handy again after a few days.
Wang Ji saw that the questions raised by Shi Diwen were also very targeted, so he answered them truthfully. He knew that Shi Diwen asked these questions not to embarrass himself, but to measure whether the food supply he provided could truly meet Haihan's needs. But Wang Ji has made a lot of preparations for this. With the authority he holds, he understands the grain production situation in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions even better than ordinary grain merchants. He must use his power to make certain arrangements for the whereabouts of grain. It's even easier.
This is an advantage that ordinary grain merchants and their official backers cannot compare to. Although it will not bring any discount to Haihan in terms of procurement costs, it may even lead to an increase in freight costs due to further dispersion of sources of goods. But this is a good opportunity to deal with the Zhejiang Chengxuan Administrative Department, and the cost is controllable. Shi Diwen will never let go of such an opportunity.
When the two talked about specific matters, they both became serious. Wang Ji simply brought Shi Diwen to the study room, then took a pen and paper and began to write and scratch, calculating several issues mentioned by Shi Diwen. . He originally thought that a general like Shi Diwen, even if he knew a little bit about business matters, would still show his shortcomings when it came to arithmetic, but after talking for a few words, he discovered that Shi Diwen's mental arithmetic ability was comparable to his. Much stronger, even faster and more accurate than his masters who were said to have unparalleled skills.
Wang Ji had already made a lot of preparations for this meeting in advance, including various data on grain trade. He had already ordered people to calculate the results. At this time, he only needed to report them one by one to Shi Diwen. Otherwise, Wang Ji would not be able to respond immediately with accurate figures based on the questions Shi Diwen just raised.
Of course, Shi Diwen was not a mathematical genius. In the era before time travel, his calculation ability was only at the normal level of a highly educated person. However, in this era, people generally believed that warriors who led troops to fight had little education, let alone Will connect it with mathematics. Shi Diwen showed off his mental arithmetic ability a little bit, which already surprised Wang Ji.
"I didn't expect General Shi to be good at calculation. Is this the talent of your people who are good at business?" Wang Ji couldn't help but sigh.
Shi Diwen turned his attention away from the messy numbers, looked up at Wang Ji and said with a smile: "Thank you, Mr. Wang. This is not a talent anymore, it's just a small skill."
Wang Ji thought to himself that the few masters I asked to settle the accounts were not as fast as you. They had to offer each person a salary of twenty taels of silver per month before they could settle the accounts. Is this a small trick? Then the price tag for this little skill is a bit high.
Since Shi Diwen was good at mathematical calculations, Wang Jike did not dare to mess with him on numerical issues such as cost accounting. He could only bargain with Shi Diwen bit by bit according to the established plan. But what Shi Diwen cares about is not the price issue, whether the supply is timely and sufficient, whether the quality of the goods can meet Haihan's requirements, and the method of delivery of money and goods. These are his real focus.
For example, when it comes to the delivery method of money and goods, generally speaking, both parties order the goods in person and receive payment. However, if both parties have relatively reliable credibility, it is normal for the goods to be delivered first or paid first. Haihan has always been good at promoting its own financial system through trade means, allowing Haihan banknotes to gradually enter the market in the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty, and be used as currency in the import and export trade between the two countries, and even reduce the amount of currency to a certain extent. Reduce the circulation of cash. Haihan Bank has good commercial credit, and the banknotes it issues are easy to carry and settle quickly, and are not easily counterfeited. Therefore, they have gradually begun to circulate on a large scale in coastal business circles in the past two years. Although some unscrupulous people tried to counterfeit Haihan banknotes during this period, the people involved were all killed suddenly at home, or even burned down by an unknown fire. After a few more times, the people naturally understood that Haihan had taken action, and from then on no one dared to risk their lives to challenge Haihan's bottom line.
After the reliability of Haihan banknotes was guaranteed, this new currency was increasingly used in trade settlements between the two countries to replace heavy silver and copper coins. And if this currency can be promoted to the point where all the chief ministers of a province join in the use, the economic control over the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty will be further strengthened, and there will be a call to continue to promote Haihan banknotes in Zhejiang in the future. What a powerful role model.
The two talked until noon, and Wang Ji, as the landlord, ordered someone to prepare a banquet in advance. However, both parties planned to continue discussing cooperation matters during the banquet, so neither arranged for their subordinates to sit with them.
After the luncheon, the two returned to the study to continue their discussions. After spending another two hours, the two parties had roughly finalized the content of the cooperation. Only some contact details were left to be handed over to the person in charge below. At this stage of the discussion, Shi Diwen had basically understood why Wang Ji chose the grain industry as a cover to make money.
As Wang Ji himself said, he controlled a group of well-connected grain merchants in various coastal states. Some of them were indeed related to him. It can be said that it was with the help of his official position that he gradually controlled the grain merchants in various places. Grain market. Even if the Haihan people have not come to Zhejiang, Wang Ji still has his own goals to achieve, and his goals are actually very similar to the methods Haihan is currently implementing in coastal state capitals, which is to try to integrate the grain industry and control the pricing of this industry. rights and voice.
So far, Wang Ji has made much greater progress in the grain industry than Haihan. The grain markets of at least four state capitals are already under his control. It can be said that just a stamp of his feet can really make the whole world prosper. The granary of Zhejiang is shaking three times. Although Ningbo's grain merchants are still outside his control for the time being, Wang Ji believes that as long as he can seize Haihan's grain supply business from Ningbo Prefecture, Ningbo's grain merchants will definitely be hit hard. Merger and integration will be much less difficult than it is now.
Although Wang Ji did not tell Shi Diwen all about these ideas, Haihan originally had plans to integrate the local grain industry, but they did not have such unique conditions as Wang Ji. Therefore, Shi Diwen understood Wang Ji's words. We can roughly deduce his thoughts.
Shi Diwen never thought that a high-ranking official in a province could seek personal gain in this way. It seems that Wang Ji can be regarded as a man of action. At least he did not lie in his official position waiting for others to send money, but They chose to take the initiative and gain profits by controlling the grain market. Although this method is more troublesome, the proceeds are easier to legalize, and it is definitely safer for a high-ranking official like him.
Moreover, Shi Diwen had to admit that Wang Ji had made far more progress than Haihan in integrating the grain market. He had at least controlled several major grain producing areas in Zhejiang. , but Haihan couldn't even manage a Ningbo mansion. If the transaction conditions between the two parties are reached this time, then Haihan is actually adding fuel to the flames and helping Wang Ji integrate the local grain market in Zhejiang faster.
Whether this is good or bad, from Shi Diwen's perspective, it is actually difficult to make an immediate judgment. After all, his area of expertise is military rather than trade, and he does not have Schneider's keen business sense. During this period of time, he was traveling non-stop around Zhejiang for business negotiations, which was actually a last resort to avoid being put on the shelves.
Wang Ji knew very well that if he could reach a deal with Haihan, the integration of the province's grain market would be just around the corner. This was why he decisively rejected the seemingly tempting conditions previously proposed by Shi Diwen. . For Wang Ji, as long as the grain market is integrated and large sums of wealth are at his fingertips, there is no need to run risky projects. Of course, the prerequisite is that the Haihan people can be persuaded to accept the transaction conditions proposed by them.
The discussion between the two came to an end in the afternoon. Shi Diwen took the initiative to take a break and process the information received today. Wang Ji did not rush to urge him to make an immediate decision, but asked someone to arrange a quiet courtyard for Shi Diwen.
The rest Shi Diwen said was actually a cover. As soon as Wang Ji's people left, he ordered his entourage to immediately take out the radio station packed in a wooden box and send a telegram to Zhoushan Island. Since the field radio he carried was of low power, it had to be relayed through Zhoushan and then sent back to Sanya Victory Fort.
The content of the telegram sent by Shi Diwen was to inform Sanya of the current progress of the negotiations and the intentions of the Chief Envoy Wang Ji, and then seek the opinion of the Executive Committee on whether he should cooperate with Wang Ji to help him integrate Zhejiang's grain market. .
After Shi Diwen sent the telegram, he felt a little more relaxed. As far as the officials of the Ming Dynasty he has come into contact with so far, Wang Ji can be regarded as a very pragmatic group, and he even knows better than the low-level officials at the grassroots level how to use the power in his hands to make money. If Wang Ji had not held such an official position, Shi Diwen believed that he would most likely have become a very powerful businessman. Even if he did not deal in grain, he would still be successful in other industries.
(End of chapter)