Chapter 288 Chamber of Commerce 【Seeking Monthly Ticket】
"In less than two years, cotton from Shandong will be transported to Songjiang Prefecture by sea instead of canals."
In the living room, Zuo Mengeng asked Fu Yusun to hang up a large map and expressed his thoughts.
What he said was very calm, but the impact it had on everyone in Songjiang Mansion was shocking.
No one thought that he would abandon the Grand Canal and choose to take the sea route to provide cotton to Songjiang Prefecture.
However, looking at the route on the map, everyone suddenly discovered that if you go south along the coastline from Shandong, the distance to Songjiang Prefecture is much closer than the Grand Canal.
Not only that, everyone knows that the volume of freight transported by sea is simply not comparable to that of the canal.
The most important thing is that there is no need to worry about congestion when shipping by sea, and there are no checkpoint charges along the way.
If this is done, the cost of cotton can really be reduced.
But everyone present was frightened by this ambitious plan.
Chen Jiru kept wiping off the cold sweat, hoping that Zuo Mengeng would wake up a little bit.
"General Zuo is unaware of something. The imperial court has strictly ordered not to go to sea. Anyone who violates this will be severely punished and will not be able to escape."
Others sighed and said yes.
Everyone knows the benefits of shipping. However, everyone is afraid of the harsh punishments imposed by the court.
Zuo Mengeng was fearless.
"Although there are strict orders from the court, pirates are rampant. What can be done? Even if the court wants to strictly enforce the sea ban, the decadent soldiers in Jiangnan will not be able to resist the power of pirates."
Everyone's expressions changed, and when they looked at him again, they were all frightened and weird.
The god-riding pirate!
What a perfect reason.
Everyone suddenly discovered that this reason was really good.
The imperial decree only targeted the people of the Ming Dynasty, but pirates were already running rampant and lawless, so naturally they would not abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
So isn't it normal for pirates to smuggle cotton?
What?
You said the imperial court would hunt down pirates?
Haha, it all depends on the strength of both sides.
Today's Ming court cannot even defeat real pirates.
If you meet a pirate who takes off his uniform...
Zuo Mengeng smiled slightly and said casually: "Seniors, you don't know. Just thirty years ago, there was a female king of the Kingdom of England in Europe, named Elizabeth I. When she was in power, she had conflicts with Portugal, Spain, and France.
, the Netherlands and other countries competed for supremacy at sea. In order to gain an advantage, they acquiesced in allowing their own navy to turn into pirates, plundering countless wealth and at the same time attacking the sea trade of these enemy countries. So, in this vast sea,
Come on, who can say for sure?"
He was just stating a fact, but everyone in Songjiang Mansion was dumbfounded.
I discovered for the first time that sea trade can still be played like this?
How could they know that in this barbaric age of great navigation, there were even more absurd things.
Li Wancai from Qinglong Town was very worried.
"If this matter is known to the court..."
Zuo Mengeng looked over, his eyes scrutinizing.
"The sea is no better than the land. Whoever has a bigger fist is the right one. The imperial court is now unable to go to the sea. We have the world in our hearts. How can we let thousands of miles of sea territory be handed over to others?"
Beneath the high-sounding words, there is a naked threat of force.
However, Xu Ji knew that these people in Songjiang Mansion did not know Zuo Mengeng's strength, and Zuo Mengeng was too high on the mountain and far away from the emperor, so he might not be able to resolve the danger in time.
"Zhongheng, just go ahead and do this. As long as the cotton is delivered to Songjiang Mansion, regardless of the route, it is a good deed."
This is to remind Zuo Mengeng that everyone needs to see the benefits before they can get on board.
Zuo Mengeng woke up and realized that he was a little anxious.
As for shipping, just do it quietly by yourself.
Do these people in front of me really dare not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty?
They just haven't seen the real benefits and won't give up easily.
Once the cotton shipped by sea reaches Songjiang Prefecture and is cheaper than canal transportation, these people will immediately change their stance.
Anyway, we can't rely on these people for shipping matters. No matter how much we talk to them, it's just a waste of words.
But for another thing, Zuo Mengeng was not prepared to let these people go.
"It is not easy for the seniors to operate and the gains are limited. The juniors see it in their eyes and feel the same. What's more, from now on, the cotton of the juniors also needs to be supplied to everyone, so naturally we must work together. The juniors suggest that we cloth merchants in Songjiang Prefecture should unite
Let’s get up and form a unified chamber of commerce to advance and retreat together.”
Everyone here was talking in low voices, not knowing for a moment what the Chamber of Commerce meant.
Qu Ye was familiar with Zuo Mengeng and asked: "What is the difference between the chamber of commerce mentioned by Zhongheng and the guild hall today?"
Zuo Mengeng introduced the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce.
"The Chamber of Commerce is an industry alliance. All members of the Chamber of Commerce must abide by the Chamber of Commerce's charter and receive support and help from the Chamber of Commerce. For example, if a family has a dispute, the Chamber of Commerce will come forward to mediate and provide help. Once they are bullied by outsiders,
, then everyone will share the same hatred of the enemy and deal with the outside world in unison."
Later, he revealed his true purpose.
"In addition, the Chamber of Commerce can also unite everyone's strength to seek benefits for the entire industry. For example, Songjiang cotton exports are always priced down by big businessmen. But with the Chamber of Commerce, from now on, the Chamber of Commerce will take the lead in negotiating prices.
.The Chamber of Commerce represents the entire Songjiang cotton spinning industry, so the weight of its words is naturally different."
Everyone thought carefully and gradually figured out the secrets of the Chamber of Commerce.
But as for the second benefit mentioned by Zuo Mengeng, everyone still thinks it is unrealistic.
Kang Xilin from Qianmentang sighed: "Songjiang cotton textiles are everywhere. Even if we here set up a chamber of commerce, there are still so many who do not participate. When the time comes, others will still buy cotton at low prices. What can I do?"
Another important reason why the price of Songjiang Cotton Spinning has been kept low is that there are too many practitioners, and they are not united, so it is easy for outsiders to defeat them one by one.
However, this problem is nothing to Zuo Mengeng.
He said with murderous intent: "Another meaning of this junior is that from now on, non-members of this chamber of commerce will not be supplied with cotton. Shandong cotton will only be supplied to members of this chamber of commerce."
The scene suddenly turned cold, and everyone was frightened. They didn't expect that he would actually take advantage of the situation.
It was only after Zuo Menggen came to Songjiang Mansion that he discovered that he actually controlled such an important strategic resource as cotton.
Relying on cotton alone, 80% of the entire Ming Dynasty's cotton spinning industry could be controlled.
In this case, if we don't take this opportunity to aggressively consolidate Songjiang Cotton Textile Industry, how long will it take?
It doesn’t matter whose technology is better or how fine the cloth is. If I don’t give you cotton, you are still a clever woman who cannot make a meal without rice.
Based on this alone, Zuo Mengeng can shape Songjiang cotton textile industry according to his own ideas and play its due role.
His threat hung over the heads of everyone in Songjiang Mansion like a butcher's knife.
Regarding his proposal to establish a chamber of commerce, quite a few people present were initially resistant.
They are all shrewd people. It can be felt that Zuo Menggeng seems to be very ambitious and is afraid of being implicated.
But now, it is no longer a question of whether they are willing or not.
Zuo Menggeng said it very straightforwardly, the only choice they can make is life or death.
If you don't listen to him, you will be eliminated by the cotton textile industry in a short time.
When it came to personal interests, these cloth merchants hardly hesitated for too long and all chose to follow their hearts.
"Songjiang Cotton Textile Chamber of Commerce is related to the welfare of everyone. The younger generation suggested that we should recruit more talents and strive to win everyone's support for our chamber of commerce. In addition to our major families, people with high skills in the industry should also become members.
"
Hearing that Zuo Menggeng actually wanted to recruit craftsmen, every family was a little reluctant.
The industry model of Songjiang cotton spinning is actually relatively primitive. Although craftsmen are valued highly in the eyes of these families, their status is despised.
Now that Zuo Mengeng wants to bring in the craftsmen, doesn't that mean he will be on an equal footing with them?
After finding out everyone's attitude, Zuo Mengeng warned them carefully.
"Everyone, don't underestimate the craftsmen. Whether your cotton fabrics are popular or not depends on the craftsmanship of the craftsmen? To put it bluntly, what is a craftsman? He is your God of Wealth. If you don't give the craftsmen enough respect and status, how can you weave them?
Better cotton? How come it keeps monopolizing the market?"
He still said with a slight threat: "If you still don't take craftsmen seriously, I think this is a good opportunity. I wonder how many craftsmen will change jobs if I offer you twenty taels per month?"
There was a gasp of air in the hall, making everyone feel frightened and uneasy.
Today, the best craftsmen in Songjiang Prefecture only earn five taels per month.
If Zuo Menggeng said it was true that he offered twenty taels of silver as wages, everyone can imagine that it would be strange if the craftsmen didn't run away.
But without those skilled craftsmen, can each cotton spinning company maintain its standard?
"Seniors, don't think that juniors are making trouble out of nothing. Improving the status of craftsmen will actually help us to formulate standards for the cotton spinning industry. From now on, what is good and what is bad in cotton spinning in the world will be decided by us."
Determined. Do you think this business can be done?"
Zuo Menggeng is not a business wizard, but he still understands the principle of first-class companies selling standards, second-class companies selling brands, and third-class companies selling products.
As the largest cotton supplier in the world today, Songjiang Cotton Spinning has no reason not to hold the power to set standards in its hands.
To achieve this, technical support is necessary.
Is it possible to do this without giving full play to the subjective initiative of the craftsmen?
