Beiyang new warlord

Page 661

Open a salt factory by yourself, no matter how many markets you have worked so hard to build, in the end, you still have to spend money to buy salt from this old man?

What a great deal. In the past, more than half of the kitchen households in the Lianghuai Salt Fields were hired by him. Simple wooden fences surrounded several villages of kitchen households near the seaside. Huge signboard with four big characters written on it, "Jinhuo Salt Field", a string of firecrackers crackling, a large group of colleagues carrying presents congratulated each other with smiles on their hands, their chubby faces smiling like a picture scroll, Feng Xuewen He also returned the gift with a smile on his face.

"Hey, congratulations to the general merchant for a prosperous business!"

"Don't dare, don't dare!"

After exchanging greetings, another four-wheeled carriage dangled and parked on the edge of the beach. Looking at the signboard of the carriage, it was obvious that Feng Xuewen's eyes lit up. The treasurer is here, the humble house is full of splendor!"

Following his greetings, a man in a waistcoat with a dry face like an old radish jumped down from the stopped carriage, Kang Wanli, the big shopkeeper of Xingjin Commercial Bank, and one of the general merchants of Yangzhou salt merchants , followed by carrying the gift, he also held his fists with a smile and congratulated: "Boss Feng, you have made a lot of money, and your voice is booming!"

"How can it compare to Brother Kang? I heard that the Regent has recently handed over the rights to sell salt in Taiyuan to Brother Kang. In the future, Brother Kang will need to take care of the salt farm!"

When Feng Xuewen said this, he smiled and blinked his eyes. He said he was modest, but he was actually showing off his brains. It is better to act first. If you act later, there is no room for profit.

Who knew that Kang Wanli shook his head in embarrassment when he heard these words: "Brother Feng, I also want to continue to cooperate with you, but my marketing salt is already there. Wasn't the regent a while ago?" If you want to set up a factory, let us invest? My brother, I put money there, we are in business, and we can get [-]% off the salt after investing for my brother, so brother, you can’t take care of this salt factory.”

The main salt production areas of Huaihe River and Huaihe River are all here. This really surprised Feng Xuewen, and asked in disbelief: "After all, the salt field of the Prince Regent was created in the first place. Our Huai salt sells hundreds of thousands of salt every year. With the help of the Regent Is the king's saltworks producing enough?"

"Of course it's enough! Don't talk about the brother's family, there are enough houses in Huaiyan!"

"real or fake?"

Feng Xuewen's heart skipped a beat. He spent several 10 taels of silver on the construction of this salt field, which was a scarce source of supply. If Mao Jue's Lianghuai Salt Field covered all the needs of the entire Huai salt field, he would even sell a hammer ah?

Although he still felt that it was impossible, Feng Xuewen was still not in the mood to continue opening the business. He had asked a few shopkeepers to be busy there, and he couldn't help but clenched his fists sadly at this former competitor.

"Brother Kang, my little brother has just opened, and there are still many omissions. I want to go to the Prince Regent's saltworks with Brother Kang to experience it. I wonder if Brother Kang can recommend it?"

"Of course, I just finished visiting Brother Feng, and I still want to go to the saltworks. If that's the case, let's go together!"

It will be Kang Wanli's turn to show off triumphantly.

Feeling uneasy, Feng Xuewen got into Kang Wanli's carriage, and while the two were chatting, he casually looked around, looking at the scenery outside the window, and suddenly Feng Xuewen asked in surprise: "No, brother Kang, this The road goes north, it seems to go to those small islands in the distant mountains, how many deserted islands can the Prince Regent's saltworks be built on?"

But when it came to this, Kang Wanli also played tricks, and said with a smile: "Brother Feng, be patient, and you will know when you go!"

Even his appetite was raised. Looking at the scenery outside the car window, Feng Xuewen also became impatient for a while.

As expected of Mao Jue's handwriting, a large wall made of blue bricks is like a city wall, and there are security guards at the gate of the city, which is much better than his dilapidated wooden stockade. At the gate, Kang Wanli showed him The guard at the gate immediately opened the gate respectfully, and with a little luck, this country bumpkin Feng Xuewen took the lead to poke his head in. The next second, the old salt merchant who had been digging in the salt pile for most of his life He couldn't help but shouted loudly.

"This..., is this salt?"

In front of my eyes, the white sea salt piled up on the beach like a huge hill!

Chapter 629. Opportunity is not so good

Mao Jue has a common fault of tyrants, that is, he is very happy!Good guy, a salt factory can make him build the momentum of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Off the coast of Xuzhou, among a series of islands, a long embankment was built up by the fleet of concrete blocks mixed with sandbags. The workload of the embankment for tens of miles is no less than that of building a large city, and in these few days In a few months, plus sand and rocks were brought in to level the tidal flat, the engineering volume would have to be calculated by 10 people.

However, the effect is remarkable. The shoals and wastelands with a radius of more than ten miles have now become neat salt fields. The seawater poured in by the spring tide in the morning is turned into brine in the hot weather and transported by ditches and water trucks. To the crystallization pool on the upper floor, after an afternoon of exposure to the sun, it turned into shiny salt. Thousands of people worked in the salt fields with wooden rakes. It is holding a sack and a shovel, and filling the sack one by one.

No wonder Kang Wanli boasted that just such a salt field is enough to be worth the entire Huai salt production area.

While walking along the blue sea and blue sky, Kang Wanli was gesticulating with joy, while Feng Xuewen was as listless as a frost-beaten eggplant. Mao Jue had invited them, the big merchants of Yangzhou, a few days ago. Inviting them to take shares in the salt farm has always been distrustful and respectful of the government. He just wanted to pay with tens of thousands of taels of silver, but he was rejected by Mao Jue directly. The minimum participation is 20 taels.

At that time, there were not many people who participated in the shares, and Feng Xuewen secretly laughed at these fools who were crazy about filming the political king's flattery, and spent millions of taels of silver for nothing. Now it seems that he is the one who is stupid, even if the salt farm does not pay dividends, half price Taking salt is enough to make every salt merchant jealous.

As for Mao Jue's production model, he still can't learn it. It mobilized [-] prisoners of war, used hundreds of Dongjiang ships, cement from Tieshan for a quarter, and tens of millions of taels of silver to build it on the largest scale. The cost has been minimized, typical economies of scale, there are still a few good tidal flats near Xuhuai, but even Feng Xuewen, one of the richest men in Yangzhou, cannot afford the manpower and financial resources to build a salt field of this scale. Compared with Mao Jue’s cheap way of drying salt in salt fields, he still relies on the ancient method of boiling seawater for salt, so the cost is not on the same starting line. Either he has to lose money to sell it and hematemesis, or he has to lose even a bag and hematemesis. !

Almost without saying a word, he followed Kang Wanli through the entire salt field, and watched him vigorously direct the workers who had been on standby to carry the salt bags into the carriage, and deliberately slapped the salt bags a few times in front of him , looking at this old Shanxi old man who was beaming with joy, suddenly, Feng Xuewen asked in a flash of inspiration.

"Brother Kang, if you sell the Huai salt back to your hometown in Shanxi, you can be regarded as returning to your hometown. However, Shanxi is mountainous, so the salt transportation will not be easy, right? When the goods arrive there, people eat horse chews, and you can get the goods at half price. Isn't the cost enough?"

"Haha, brother, I don't know something. Isn't this the king of the regent who runs the railway and uses the kun to transport the goods? I'm waiting for a stake in this railway..."

He was talking excitedly, but just in the middle of the conversation, Kang Wanli stopped abruptly. He hurriedly smiled and waved his hands: "Brother has some contacts in Shanxi, and I can get back. Brother, don't worry!"

"Oh! That's my little brother worrying too much!"

Without continuing to ask, Feng Xuewen clasped his fists with a smile.

After parting with Kang Wannian, General Manager Feng didn't bother to go back to see his Jinhuozhai Salt Farm, and rushed back to Yangzhou City in his own four-wheeled carriage. Before returning home, he couldn't wait for the heat. He finally found Feng Yongxin, the master who had been with him for decades and was finally protected during Mao Jue's poaching storm.

"Immediately post a message to Mr. Li, Mr. Zhao, Mr. Liu, and the shopkeepers, saying that my master wants to invite them to participate in the shares, and let the servants hold a banquet in Yechun Garden!"

"My lord, more than half of the salt kitchen households in Xuhuai are under the command of our Feng family, and the Lianghuai patrol salt censor's yamen has fled back to the south of the Yangtze River. In two or three years, the Feng family will decide the salt production in the Lianghuai. Share it with them!"

Full of puzzlement, Master Feng asked back in astonishment, but this sentence happened to be in Feng Xuewen's bitter water, and he almost didn't cry, but he patted his thigh sadly.

"Didn't the Regent talk about building some coastal defense fortress on a few broken islands in the distant mountains? It's not a fortress at all. It's the royal salt field of the Regent. It has built a salt field for dozens of miles. It relies on making brine to dry salt, and the salt production is enough. The entire Lianghuai! The cost is less than half of ours!"

All of a sudden, Master Feng was also stunned, unable to speak for a long time. Most of the Feng family's assets have been invested in this. According to Feng Xuewen's statement, it will take less than two or three years for the Feng family to be dragged down. up.

The matter has come to this point, even if he gritted his teeth and kept going, he would have to go all the way to the dark, Feng Xuewen hummed resentfully: "Fatty Li and Zhao Dagou are blind and didn't follow up, Fatty Kang five If they take the salt at a discount, they will enter at full price. If this competition continues, it will be over sooner or later. For the current plan, we can only pay for the money, and imitate the regent king and come to the sea to dry the salt, otherwise we have to wait. It's out!"

"Master taught me a lesson! I'll go now, little one!"

"and many more!"

Holding his dumb, this Feng Xuewen seemed to be constipated again, he went around in circles for several times, and then asked cruelly: "How much money can be moved in the mansion now?"

"Master, after the saltworks are built, there are still 40 taels!"

"Including the farm house under my name, master, can I make up 100 million taels?"

"Master, if you can get it together, you can get it out, but, it's all ancestral property! Ye Chunyuan still has to go out as the second lady's dowry, you, what do you want?"

"I don't care! Didn't the regent want to build the railway from Yangzhou to Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Tongguan, and Xi'an, with a minimum investment of one million taels? This afternoon, Fatty Kang made a slip of the tongue. There must be some tricks in it. Although I don't know what it is, but Since he dares to vote, let's follow! If you missed this one, master, I feel that our Feng family will still be unlucky!"

Shopping malls are like battlefields!Seeing his master's murderous face, and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Master Feng agreed with great difficulty, but after hesitating for a while, he made another valuable proposal.

"Master, recently the Imperial Bank under the name of the Regent has also been listed in our Xuzhou. Their lending interest is not high, only 5.00%, and it is not easy to roll over the interest. The master does not need to sell the property, and directly mortgages it under the name of the Imperial Bank. You can lend the money, and when the saltworks becomes profitable, we can pay it back slowly!"

"so little!!!"

Even Feng Xuewen couldn't help but scream in astonishment.

How high is the ancient loan interest?Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty clearly demanded in the "Bao Xun" that the interest for lending money in the future should not exceed two or three cents!The law of the Ming Dynasty also stipulates: "The monthly interest of all privately lent money and debts and pawned properties shall not exceed three cents. Although there are many years and months, it is only one interest per penny; offenders can be whipped forty, and the remaining profits will be used to calculate the stolen goods. For crimes, stop with a hundred rods."

Even if the government intervenes in the interest rate, the law allows the monthly interest rate to be as high as 5.00 to [-]%, and the annual interest rate can even reach [-]%. This [-]% interest rate shows how conscientious it is!Anyway, it was invested in Mao Jue's project. Once he lost money, he would lose all his money. Selling it is no different from mortgage, but if he wins the bet, these belongings are still his own. If he is cruel, Feng Xuewen will slap his thigh hard : "It's a bet!"

"But this matter must be kept a secret! Fatty Li and Lao Zhao must not let them know!"

This is a business opportunity!It was also this afternoon that I finally managed to get a little bit of tone out of Kang Wanli's mouth. How could I easily take advantage of others?

"Master, don't worry, the villain will save it!"