Chapter 213 Businessmen chatting about the surrounding situation
"Sell newspapers, sell newspapers.
The Qin army has captured Guangxi and is launching an attack on Guangdong."
"Man, bring me a newspaper."
"Brother Qiao, last time I came to Hanzhong, there were many newsboys selling newspapers, but now these newsboys are gone."
Du Baonian, owner of the Xingsheng account of the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce, asked curiously.
The Shanxi Chamber of Commerce is just a small chamber of commerce in Hanzhong. They don't have a restaurant where they live, so they can only go to Yuelai Restaurant for talks.
Qiao Zhen, the owner of Longchang, simply explained: "There are many factories now, and these newsboys are sent to the factories to be apprentices.
How much can you earn by selling newspapers? You can’t earn more than one or two silver coins a month.
Nowadays, there are more and more newsstands, which also crowds out the living space of newsboys.
Working as an apprentice in a factory earns three taels of silver coins a month.
Today's parents are very smart. They have student loans to go to elementary school, and after graduation, they can earn back by working in a factory for one or two years.
The family is reluctant to pay for schooling and wants their children to earn money as soon as possible and be sent to a factory as an apprentice.
Factories now require both male and female apprentices, especially female weavers, who are in very short supply."
Qiao Zhen walked into the private room of Yuelai Restaurant while talking.
“Last time I left, I saw that many factory products here in Hanzhong were overstocked.
I heard that there were still workers who were demanding wages, which alarmed the King of Qin.
From what you say, the factory has developed again." Du Baonian asked doubtfully.
It was only when he saw that the factories in Hanzhong were saturated that he hesitated to open a factory in Hanzhong.
It is so profitable to open a factory now, more profitable than doing business.
"The things you are talking about are all from the old history. The King of Qin launched a war against Guangdong and Guangxi, and it took only three months to capture Guangxi.
I estimate that in one more year, it will not be difficult to conquer Guangdong.
The Guangdong and Guangxi regions have a population of tens of millions.
There has been no war there and the population is very large.
If you look at Sichuan, you will know that compared with the Ming Dynasty's yellow list, it has a quarter more people.
These are people who want to avoid the poll tax and hide it.
In the past, due to constant small-scale wars, roads were almost always blocked.
Many of the goods we have here cannot be transported to Guangdong and Guangxi for trade.
Now that the markets in Guangdong and Guangxi are open, they can absorb the inventory of most factories.
King Qin's military operations and large-scale purchases of various materials also indirectly saved many factories.
Now the Shu Chamber of Commerce is recruiting a large number of craftsmen to open factories in Guangdong and Guangxi.
A large number of skilled craftsmen in Hanzhong were all recruited by the Shu Merchant Chamber of Commerce.
The factories here in Hanzhong are short of workers, and apprentices are the cheapest, so they will definitely recruit a large number of apprentices."
Qiao Zhen, like an old friend, briefly introduced the industrial situation here in Hanzhong.
"Brother Qiao, I heard you say that you can still make money by building a factory in Hanzhong." Du Baonian asked with some expectation.
Qiao Zhen shook his head, took a sip of tea, and analyzed Du Baonian:
"It's late, it's very late to enter now.
In order to make transporting goods safer and more convenient, I formed a caravan before.
The Longchang Caravan needs a large number of carriages, so I established a factory to produce carriages.
It was still early for me to enter the industry. At that time, as long as I spent money and purchased patented technology, I could open a factory.
Build a factory and there will be a steady stream of orders.
Now we only rely on the public patented technology sold by the Qin Palace, so we can only make ends meet and cannot grow bigger or stronger.
Only its own unique technology is the foundation for a factory to survive.
For example, in my Longchang carriage shop, all carriages have hollow steel-framed wheels, and the bearings are also made of steel.
The quality of our Longchang horse-drawn carriages is very suitable for long-distance transportation.
A carriage with wooden wheels cannot compete with me.
Without unique technology, it would be very difficult for a new factory to survive in Hanzhong.
I suggest you go to the Guangdong and Guangxi areas, which have not yet been captured by the Qin army.
The industrial market is now deserted and is very suitable for land reclamation.
As long as we build factories in Guangdong and Guangxi, we will definitely make a profit without losing money.
If I hadn't invested all my silver coins in the construction of the caravan, I would have wanted to build a factory in Guangdong and Guangxi."
Du Baonian stood up, clasped his fists at Qiao Zhen, and said thank you, "Thank you, Brother Qiao, for clarifying my doubts. I'm going to inspect Hanzhong's industry.
Let’s see which industry is suitable for businesses like me that have a lot of capital but entered the industry late.”
Du Baonian then drank with Qiao Zhen, and he talked about the changes in Shanxi merchants' thoughts during this period.
The Shanxi merchants have been divided. The eight Shanxi merchants, including Fan Wang, Liang Huang, and others, are too closely tied to Houjin. They use the Shanxi merchants' connections to invest in Houjin.
Most of these small Shanxi merchant families came to Hanzhong and invested their resources with the King of Qin.
Most of them are doing their old business and go to the Hetao area to do business with the Mongolians.
In particular, the wool textile and livestock trade were highly developed during this period.
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"Brother Du, have you chosen which industry to enter after such a long time?"
Qiao Zhen asked curiously.
Du Baonian invited him to come to Yuelai Restaurant again, which must have made him determined.
"Brother Qiao, I'm here to take care of your business. I have purchased a large number of machines and plan to transport them to Guilin first.
Will your Qiao family's Longchang caravan accept this job?"
"Brother Du, I must take this job. The most important order for the Longchang Caravan right now is to transport goods from Hanzhong and Sichuan to Guangdong and Guangxi.
Most orders are mainly for machines.
Longchang Caravan is the only caravan in Hanzhong that guarantees goods to customers.
My price is the highest, but we bear the loss of the goods.
Regardless of whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, as long as the goods are delivered to us, they are not delivered to the destination, or the goods are damaged when they arrive at the destination.
Longchang Caravan will compensate according to the price of the goods.
Agree in advance that we only guarantee industrial products and raw materials with stable prices.
We will not guarantee goods with high added value such as works of art."
Qiao Zhen always adheres to integrity when doing business.
Previously, the Longchang caravan was transporting a batch of machines to Jianchang County, but encountered an earthquake on the way.
The entire caravan was buried under the mountain.
The machine and the pensions from the Longchang caravan almost made him bankrupt.
But he persisted and became famous as a caravan in Longchang.
Now their Longchang caravan has become one of the largest caravans.
The two soon discussed the next business deal.
Qiao Zhen looked at the list of machines and asked doubtfully: "This is a juicer and centrifuge for making sugar, as well as so many boilers.
Are you preparing to enter the sugar industry? Can you compete with Li Gong, the president of the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce?
Your capital and technology are not even a fraction of others’.”
Qiao Zhen was trying to persuade him. He was afraid that his friend would be stubborn and if he entered the sugar industry, he would definitely not be able to compete with Sichuan merchants.
The opportunities now are too important. If you choose the wrong industry and miss the opportunity, it will be too difficult to develop in the future.
When Du Baonian heard Qiao Zhen's words, he laughed.
"Brother Qiao, if you got it wrong, then others will definitely not think about what industry I will choose."
Du Baonian didn't keep Qiao Zhen waiting for too long. He directly told him about his industry.
“The fruit planting industry is developed in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
Like here, apples and pears ripen once a year.
Sugar is scarce here, canned fruits are rare, and most of them are canned meat and fish.
I am planning to enter the canning industry, especially canned fruits.
The sugar and fruits needed are abundant in Guangdong and Guangxi.
I have talked with Cantonese people who come to Hanzhong to do business. There are many fruits in Guangdong and Guangxi that can ripen multiple times a year.
These fruits have a very short shelf life, and most of them are only eaten by people in Guangdong and Guangxi areas.
If you make it into cans, it will definitely sell well."
Du Baonian just said that he entered the canning industry.
He did not tell anyone the most important business logic.
Now the silk-cutting field in Hanzhong has placed orders for silkworm cocoons from farmers.
He is ready to learn this business model and place an order for fruits.
He came to seek cooperation from local officials, who were motivated by political achievements.
He also paid the funds in advance, and officials would definitely cooperate with him.
As long as you gain the trust of the villagers, you can get a steady stream of fruits.
After the cooperation is stable, under normal circumstances, villagers will not change cooperative companies.
Qiao Zhen praised: "This industry should be very profitable.
But the variety of fruits must be chosen well. Nowadays, canned yellow peaches are very popular, but sales of canned cherries are very low."
"Sell newspapers, sell newspapers.
A special issue of Yanhuang Daily, the Qin army has captured Wuzhou, and Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was captured alive."
The sound of newspaper sales was heard outside again.
"Man, here are two newspapers."
Du Baonian and Qiao Zhen read the newspaper.
"Great, Brother Qiao, I'm going to leave now.
If Wuzhou is captured, Guangdong will definitely not be able to hold it.
Now many places in the southwest and west of Guangdong, such as Leizhou Prefecture and Lianzhou Prefecture, have been occupied by the Qin army.
This is a perfect place for growing fruits, and I want to seize the market as soon as possible. I can’t let others take advantage of me.”
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On the sand table in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas in front of Suhe River, he took out a small flag representing the Qin army and planted it on Wuzhou City.
"Wuzhou was captured, and the Xunjiang and Xijiang rivers were connected. The supplies shipped to Guilin could be transported to most places in Guangdong along the river.
Xiong Wencan and 200,000 Ming troops from Guangdong and Guangxi were surrounded and annihilated in Wuzhou City.
The situation in Guangdong and Guangxi has been decided.
New Year's Eve is coming soon, if Su Xiong is faster, he can celebrate the festival in Guangzhou City."
When Su He saw Su Xiong's report, he was completely relieved.
After Wuzhou City was captured, the Guangdong Ming Army lost the chance to resist.
Even if the Qin army did not have rifles and artillery, they could capture Guangdong.
As long as the Qin army did not make any mistakes, such as seeing the gentry using women and children as threats, lingering outside the city and not daring to attack, this was an extremely stupid response.
The Qin army would never commit such a stupid thing. Su He had already set an example for all generals in the early days.
It was only a matter of time before Guangdong was captured by the Qin army.
He had been worried about the situation of the war between Guangdong and Guangxi.
As long as the war is not over, accidents will often occur.
Su He is now completely relieved. The Ming army has not organized troops to support Guangdong and Guangdong, and Guangdong will definitely not be able to defend it.
"Go and call Su Changsheng over."
Su He had been paying attention to the war in Guangdong and Guangxi.
Now that the war between Guangdong and Guangxi has been decided, he will turn his attention to Henan and Huguang areas.
During this time, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong caused a lot of trouble in the Huguang area of Henan.
Su Changsheng quickly arrived at Lingyun Hall and stood aside with a notebook.
"Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, how are they doing now?
What’s the latest news about Ming Dynasty and Jiannu?"
Su Changsheng reported the information during this period to Su He.
Li Zicheng had caused great trouble in Henan before. He had captured most of Henan and his troops had expanded to more than 300,000.
King Lu Xiangsheng returned to Henan and mobilized heavy troops to fight Li Zicheng in Kaifeng.
At first, the two armies fought back and forth, with each other winning or losing.
The rifled gun troops of the Chuang army also killed many Ming army generals and almost killed Lu Xiangsheng.
The Ming army mobilized a large number of red cannons to attack the Chuang army.
However, the Chuang Army did not purchase any more artillery pieces from them.
The Chuang army lacked firepower and was defeated, but the main force was not lost and they retreated to Luoyang.
The Chuang Army sent troops to open up the waterway with Shaanxi.
The Chuang army came to Shaanxi via waterway and purchased a large number of guns to stabilize their situation.
Zhang Xianzhong rebelled in Huguang, and he was able to fight back and forth with the Ming army at first.
After the artillery and muskets of Zhang Xianzhong's army were damaged, local craftsmen were unable to repair them.
Zhang Xianzhong lost his firearm and was forced to flee by Hu Guangming's army.
Most of the Ming troops in Southern Zhili were transferred to the south to support Guangdong and Guangxi.
Zhang Xianzhong fled south towards Zhili, and no Ming army could resist them.
They fled to Fengyang Mansion in the central capital, dug up the Ming Emperor's tomb, and finally burned the Ming Emperor's tomb in a fire.
This is the mausoleum built by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, for his parents, brother and sister-in-law.
The secret guards went to check after Zhang Xianzhong left and found that the trees above the Ming Emperor's Mausoleum had been chopped down one by one.
The people in Fengyang Mansion in Zhongdu were either killed by Zhang Xianzhong or captured. They even didn't let go of the newly castrated young eunuch.
Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty got the news and severely dealt with Fang Kongzhen, the governor of Huguang.
Fang Kongzhao has been captured by Jin Yiwei and taken to the capital of Ming Dynasty.
Zuo Liangyu, the commander-in-chief of Huguang, was only scolded and punished, and was allowed to continue pursuing Zhang Xianzhong.
Zhang Xianzhong was on the move in the border area between South Zhili and Huguang.
Nothing major happened in Daming recently.
Jiannu eased the attack on the defense line of Ningjin and Ming Dynasty.
They transferred their main forces to the Mongolian region.
Beware of the Mongolian tribes who buy steel knives and armor from us.
After these Mongolian tribes became stronger, they were unwilling to surrender to Huang Taiji.
I just want to surrender in name, but actually remain independent.
The secret guard is in Shenyang City and has learned important news.
There are rumors there that Huang Taiji is not in good health.
Su Ho listened to Su Changsheng's report and saw that the situation around him showed no signs of getting out of control.
His support for Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others was to reduce pressure on the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Ming Dynasty has fallen into decline, but it is far from reaching the end of the road.
If the Ming Dynasty is really mobilized, regardless of other areas, it can cause great harm to the Qin army by watching the Qin army attack fiercely.
With Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, they can hold back at least hundreds of thousands of Ming troops.
Especially Zhang Xianzhong's actions can greatly attract the hatred of Emperor Chongzhen.
An ordinary person can't bear to have their ancestors' graves dug up, let alone Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming court's treatment of Zuo Liangyu also shows that the authority of the Ming court has gradually disappeared.
They no longer have the ability to handle generals with heavy troops.
This was a good thing for the Qin army, and the generals of the Ming army were extremely precious about their lives.
When they discovered that they would not be punished by the court for escaping from battle, who would risk their lives to serve the country loyally?
Huang Taiji is dying. He will not live for a few years in history.
Now that the Eight Banners has suffered several major blows, Huang Taiji will be even weaker.
Su He ordered: "The secret guards continue to strengthen their penetration into Jiannu and Daming.
You keep in touch with Li Zicheng and support him with some firearms.
This allows him to maintain a certain level of strength in Ming Dynasty's attack without allowing his strength to expand too quickly."
Maintaining this situation now is beneficial to the Qin army.
After the Guangdong and Guangxi regions are digested, the industrial foundation and talent training will be further consolidated.
The Qin army continued to expand its army and prepared to unify the country.