Chapter 1769 Asking for something
Regarding the existence of the Hou Jin regime, Haihan's senior management has the same view, that is, its development must be vigorously curbed. The means required for this include but are not limited to military strikes. A complete blockade of it from the sea is also to achieve the goal. Such purpose. As for using smuggling trade to plunder local products, divide Houjin's internal relations, and even bribe its important figures, Haihan's senior officials and the intelligence department have considered it, but in the end they did not adopt this plan.
After Huang Taiji came to power, he began to appoint a large number of Han vassals and generals. The gun manufacturing technology brought to Liaodong by Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others was also valued by Huang Taiji, and it has begun to be equipped in batches in the Han military flags. Although these weapons are still relatively primitive in Haihan's eyes and cannot immediately change the gap in combat power between the two armies, if the Later Jin army is equipped with firearms on a large scale, it will inevitably cause greater casualties to the Haihan army during the battle. Therefore, the Later Jin army will be equipped with firearms on a large scale. Kim's movements are still regarded by the military as a potential crisis.
What Haihan officials are worried about is that although it is possible to open an intelligence channel through smuggling with Houjin, it will also have the same effect on Houjin, giving this closed regime the opportunity to use this method. Obtaining information about the outside world, this is a situation that Haihan does not want to happen. Haihan would rather give up the profits brought by the smuggling trade than give this regime, which is far behind the times in civilization, more opportunities to contact the outside world.
There is no need to conduct a special discussion on whether the commercial interests of a small group of people are more important than the national interests of Haihan. The executive committee has already set the tone for Haihan. Even if these major shareholders of Qiong Lianfa are well-versed, Even if Schneider can be invited to come forward, it still cannot change Haihan's official decision. Schneider has already used the term "national policy", which naturally means that there is no room for maneuver on this matter.
Zhan Gui sighed and said: "Mr. Shi, when you said that there was a lack of capital injection in Liaodong, everyone raised more than 300,000 yuan without saying a word and invested it in the name of Qiong Lianfa to build a port in Lushun to build a warehouse. First, the shipping We put up a structure, and then we invested some money one after another. The total amount is 500,000, right? The Ministry of Commerce oversees Qiong Lianfa's accounts. You must be very clear about the profit and loss invested last year. , Needless to say, how much is recovered, it should be used to support national construction, but if there is no money to make in Liaodong, then everyone will have no motivation to throw money in it anymore!"
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At that moment, several people echoed, saying that they had lost a lot in it, and if this continued, they would no longer be able to maintain Liaodong's business. Schneider sneered secretly after hearing this. These businessmen did raise funds in the early stage to invest in local infrastructure facilities, but the long-term income of these industries is very stable. Unless Haihan withdraws from Liaodong, it is absolutely impossible to lose money. It is not that they claim to have no money. It can be earned, but not to the level of huge profits.
Schneider has seen this kind of endless cry of suffering before, and of course he will not take the words of Zhan Gui and others seriously. He also understood that the purpose of the businessmen's expression was to get the government to give them some special care so that they could have the opportunity to engage in some lucrative business in Liaodong.
"You don't have to complain in front of me. We have cooperated for so many years. How has the official treated you badly?" Schneider tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said: "Jinzhou is full of waste and is ready to be prospered. There are many businesses that can be done. There are so many, so why bother with those risky businesses?”
"Then please ask Mr. Shi to show you the way!" Zhan Gui seemed to relax after hearing Schneider's tone and responded quickly.
Schneider smiled and said: "Everyone here is a veteran in the business world. Why do you need me to guide you? Lumberyards, quarries, shipyards, brick and tile kilns, carriage and horse shops... If there is demand, you can make money. There are so many industries, Jinzhou now has a labor force of tens of thousands, and the operating costs are low. You can start things immediately if you invest money, and you don’t have to worry about profits.”
The industries mentioned by Schneider would have never occurred to these old people. If it were a colony closer to Hainan Island, they probably wouldn't be too picky and would have already invested in it. But Liaodong is too far away. If they want to operate these industries, they must send management and technical personnel to the local area. The increased cost in this regard is likely to offset the lower operating expenses caused by the low price of local labor, while the operating risks caused by the local environment will be higher. It is much higher than in the south. With their small calculations, they are naturally unwilling to take the initiative to engage in these low-profit transactions.
Li Nai responded: "Mr. Shi, we all understand what you said, but you must also understand why we don't do it. We are all our own people, so don't go back and forth in circles! Mr. Shi wants to If we really want us to operate some industries in Liaodong, we must get some preferential policies. After all, we must make money to do business in the long run.”
Schneider nodded and said: "What you said is not unreasonable, but the discount I can give you is at most tax reduction and exemption for the first two years. If you want other conditions, then you must go to Jinzhou yourself. Talk to the chief over there. Sha Xi is in charge there now, the same Chief Sha who used to work in the Guangdong Office and Hong Kong, and he must be familiar to you. If he is willing to offer more preferential terms, Then there’s no problem with me.”
Schneider kicked the ball thousands of miles away to Golden State. Even if these businessmen wanted to negotiate terms with him, they had nothing to talk about at the moment. The conditions given by the Ministry of Commerce are tax exemptions for two years, which is neither too much nor too little. But to these businessmen, the business in Liaodong is like tasteless food, and it is a pity to abandon it. mean.
If you really want to give up, businessmen from other places may take advantage of the discounts in the past two years to occupy all the industries mentioned by Schneider. If Haihan continues to push the front northward and occupies a larger territory in Liaodong in two years, it will be too late to invest more in the area by then, and there will be no pit left for southern businessmen like them. After all, they have all witnessed the development of Haihan with their own eyes. Two years is enough to bring about earth-shaking changes in the situation in Liaodong. If you don't follow this bet, the final result is likely to be to lose the entire Liaodong market.
Schneider expressed his attitude, and the minds of everyone present immediately became active. Some people still think that it is not worthwhile to continue investing in Liaodong when the returns are not ideal, and they are already thinking of giving up; while some people think that since the operating costs for the first two years can be reduced by part, it is better than no discount at all. , operate it for at least two years to see if there are any better prospects. If the situation in Golden State is still in dire straits in two years, then by then we can probably make a small profit by selling off the properties to recycle the investment, but we won’t lose too much no matter what.
However, these specific industries do not necessarily need to be invested in the name of Qiong Lianfa. As Schneider said, since the person in charge of Jinzhou is our old acquaintance Sha Xi, then the corresponding investment conditions can completely send people there. Go and discuss with Shaxi alone over there, instead of exposing your business intentions here. To put it bluntly, although everyone present is a shareholder of Qiong Lianfa, except for a few large-scale industries invested and developed in the name of Qiong Lianfa, there will still be competition in the industries they operate.
Schneider talked to Qiong Lianfa's shareholders about this, and took the initiative to say goodbye and leave. In addition to Qiong Lianfa's group of people to deal with, he also had to meet up with Tao Donglai to discuss this year's trade arrangements with Annan and Fujian, two die-hard allies. Haihan has signed various covenants with quite a few people, but among them, the ones with the most iron-clad interests tied to Haihan are still the Annan Zheng family and the Fujian Xu family, and even Qiong Lianfa. In this kind of trading organization, there are also shares of both of them. Haihan's main foreign trade cooperation partners are naturally indispensable institutions such as these two trading houses and shipping companies. Military cooperation, including arms trade, has been basically finalized in the past two days. Now we must seize the time to finalize commercial cooperation projects.
After a group of businessmen tried to persuade him to stay, they sent Schneider out together. The place where everyone is meeting is the residence of Zhan Gui, a merchant from the sea. Although there are only four entrances, the area of each entrance is two or three times the size of an ordinary courtyard. It is considered a first-class mansion in the local area. An acre of land was specially set aside for the gate, all paved with flat marble slabs, for guests who usually come to the door to park their carriages and horses. This is a move made by local tyrants in Sanya, where land is already at a premium.
Nowadays, box carriages are no longer a rarity in Sanya. Almost every family of the wealthy businessmen present has at least one. After buying it, many people asked skilled craftsmen to modify it and add a lot of shiny gold to the carriage. Decorative objects attract attention when they are ostentatious on the market. The carriages parked outside the Zhan Mansion were all made by Haihan, and they looked a lot like a carriage and horse racing business.
The special car Schneider was traveling in had no other decorations except a small national flag on the front of the carriage, and it didn't stand out in the middle of the row. However, even from a distance, you can still recognize the difference of this car at a glance, because there are several armed guards with short guns on their waists standing around it to prevent anyone from approaching the car.
Before Schneider got in the car, he turned back and said: "Everyone, there are very frequent exchanges of people and goods between North Korea and Jinzhou. Maybe you can think about how to include North Korea into your trade system. .”
At this time, Schneider did not know that North Korean envoy Li Xi had already taken the initiative to propose a garrison to the military. Otherwise, he could have more firmly announced to the businessmen the close relationship between Haihan and North Korea to attract them to Liaodong. invest.
From the geographical location of Seoul, the voyage to Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula is much closer than to Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and most of the Shandong Peninsula still belongs to the Ming Dynasty. If North Korean merchants go to Zhifu Island to trade with Haihan, they will be If Ming Dynasty found out, it would inevitably lead to a lot of diplomatic troubles, so their preferred trading location was Lushun Port on the Liaodong Peninsula. Schneider hinted to these businessmen that if they feel that Jinzhou is too small for them to fully exert their efforts, there is still a larger potential market in North Korea that can be developed.
Sure enough, after someone heard these words, their expressions changed slightly. It was last year that North Korea and Haihan established diplomatic relations, but before Li Xi came to Sanya this time, the shareholders of Qiong Lianfa had basically not found the opportunity to deal with North Koreans. Moreover, Li Xi has been attending various diplomatic activities in Sanya these days. For the time being, no one has thought of tricking this envoy from North Korea.
But when Schneider mentioned this, some people remembered that there was still such a problem, and they immediately decided to make careful calculations. Should they find an opportunity to visit the North Korean envoy later to learn about North Korea's valuable products? What are the needs that you can profit from? Although North Korea is thousands of miles away, as long as there are enough profits, the distance is not a problem at all.
When Schneider got into the car and left, he saw that everyone was still bowing to each other and had done enough etiquette, and he felt quite proud at the moment. Over the years, businessmen from all over the world have regarded him as the God of Wealth. It is said that some people even specially enshrine his statue, and they have begun to receive incense and worship at a young age. Although Schneider is essentially an atheist, if others regard him as a god, then he doesn't mind enjoying this kind of reverence.
Schneider raised his hand to look at the time. The dinner should have been over for a while. The place agreed with Annan and Fujian is not far from here, I just hope they don't wait too anxiously.
However, when he arrived at the place, he found that Tao Donglai had not come yet. He asked Zheng Zhu and Xu Yuzhuo who were already there, and found out that at the end of the dinner, several senior officials from Haihan said they wanted to discuss matters and left first. We had a meeting because of something.
Since Tao Donglai hadn't arrived yet, Schneider didn't want to make the decision without permission, so he started talking to them about unrelated topics. Zheng Zha took the initiative to mention the discussion with the North Korean envoys about opening a maritime trade channel the day before yesterday, and wanted to hear Schneider's opinion on this.
Schneider praised: "Young Master, you can negotiate such a big matter with the North Koreans without making any noise! In my opinion, this is of course a good thing and is good for both of you. But North Korea's shipping industry is not It’s too developed, and Annan will probably have to organize a fleet to maintain this trade route.”
Zheng Zhu nodded and responded: "I think so too. General Xu also expressed interest in participating. At that time, each of our two families will send half of the ships to form a mixed fleet and go directly to the capital of North Korea for trade. .”
Schneider thought to himself that I had just given an idea to a group of businessmen, and now I have encountered a competitor. Now it depends on who can put it into practice faster.
(End of chapter)