On the way back, Zhu Houzhao still couldn't believe what a big deal that dark oil could be.
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you, Your Highness?"
"You just said, do you want to join a partnership?"
Liu Jin curled his lips and said, "You have already talked about this. If you still don't believe it, what can I do?"
Oil is a bit dark and ugly, but it is real black gold. The big oil companies in later generations relied on this small life to make a comfortable living.
With a piece of cloth on my head, I am the richest in the world. The joy of digging for oil is not the joy that ordinary people can imagine.
If there was no oil, the big dogs in the Middle East, namely Yemen and Oman, would not be able to live a life of luxury and luxury.
"But didn't they just say that this oil is only found in the Luyan area of Shaanxi and the Jiuquan area of Gansu. Even if it is available, it probably won't be too much."
"After all, it's not a big deal."
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and said.
“We don’t have them here in Ming Dynasty, but there are many overseas.”
"What we have to do now is to lay out the layout first and enclose all these good oil-producing places, so that we can slowly exploit them later."
"In the future, as oil refining technology improves and more and more people use internal combustion engines, are we still worried about selling our oil? Are we still worried about not being able to make big money?"
Liu Jin pulled out a map from the carriage and began to recall the places where oil was produced. Then he also drew circles on the map.
"It's a bit advantageous for Lao Zhang. Li Dongyang is his stepson and ran there by himself. That's good luck. The Persian Gulf is such a treasure..."
"Well, we can't take advantage of Lao Zhang and Lao Li like this. We have to step in and let them give up part of their profits... The oil in the Persian Gulf accounts for more than half of the world's oil."
"The remaining North Golden Island area is also an important oil-producing area. Well, these places can be easily taken over now."
"And this part of the South Golden Continent is also an important oil production area."
While drawing circles, Liu Jin was also thinking about the layout.
"Why are you drawing circles on the map?"
Zhu Houzhao watched Liu Jin draw circles on the map and asked curiously.
"Of course it's for the sake of staking the claim. Only by occupying the resources first can we slowly sit back and count the money."
"Let's invest 10 million taels of silver each first. If we have 20 million taels of silver, we can occupy a lot of good places. From now on, we can slowly sit and count the silver."
Liu Jin looked at Zhu Houzhao, are you stupid? These places must be oil-producing areas.
"You mean there's oil in these places?"
"Is it necessary for one person to invest ten million taels of silver?"
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and said, he has plenty of money, but it is really rare to invest tens of millions of taels of silver in a project from the beginning.
"Ten million taels of silver is still the initial investment capital. We will continue to increase investment in the future. We can't see anything yet."
"In a dozen or 20 to 30 years, when internal combustion engines are widely used, the importance of oil will gradually become apparent."
"When that time comes, our investment now can bring huge returns."
Liu Jin seemed very confident.
"Okay, I'll listen to you. Anyway, you never make a loss-making business."
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and nodded. Liu Jin was a man with a lot of clever ideas, and he had never made a loss-making business. Except for investing in education, any business he made was a hugely profitable business.
"That's right, you can just wait and count the silver later."
Liu Jin laughed, thinking that he could live a happy life like a rich man in the future, and he felt even happier.
Soon, a trading firm called Daming Petroleum Trading Company was quietly established in the capital.
Although it is just a newly established trading company, it is very powerful and wealthy.
A magnificent building was built directly in the new city of the South District as the headquarters, recruiting and hiring a large number of employees, and also hired a large number of chemical engineering and geography graduates from major universities with high salaries.
At the same time, in Tianjin and Songhu, a large area of land that was relatively remote and close to the port was leased, and construction was started vigorously to build some factories, as if they were preparing to do something big.
Although the establishment of Daming Petroleum Trading Company attracted a lot of people's attention and attention, no one paid too much attention to it. Now all kinds of Daming are very prosperous, and rich and powerful trading firms are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain.
, in the Beijing-Tianjin area, you can see buildings with the signs of such-and-such trading companies everywhere.
Although Daming Petroleum Company looks very rich, few people know about the oil it deals in. No one knows what it is at all. They just think it has something to do with oil. It is a small business and not a big deal.
.
The real big business now is maritime trade, whether it is setting up factories, textile factories, steel plants, etc., they are much more profitable than oil-related businesses.
Gu Shao
Beijing Benz Bicycle Factory.
Liu Jin came here again. After hearing the news, factory director Duan Hai and chief technical engineer Huang Zhiyuan also hurried over to accompany Liu Jin to inspect the bicycles.
"How is the situation in the bicycle factory now?"
Liu Jin looked at the bicycle factory in front of him. It was already very large. It was not too big at first. After several years of development, the scale of the Mercedes-Benz Bicycle Factory has become very large. It covers an extremely wide area and the number of employees has also increased.
There are tens of thousands of people.
The huge factories here are very busy. Countless busy figures can be seen on the flowing production lines. Bicycles are continuously produced from the assembly line, and then the four-wheeled carriages are filled and transported to Daming.
Sold everywhere.
"Back to Mr. Liu, the efficiency in the factory is very good now."
"The supply of our Mercedes-Benz bicycles exceeds the demand in the market, and sales are very hot."
"We can produce more than 20,000 bicycles a month. Now they are not only sold throughout the Ming Dynasty, but also in overseas vassal states, colonies, and vassal states. We even sell large quantities to Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe.
.”
Duan Hai is naturally very familiar with the situation in the bicycle factory and can report it immediately.
"Um!"
“What is the ex-factory price of a bicycle now?”
Liu Jin nodded slightly with satisfaction, not bad, it can produce more than 6 million bicycles a year, this output is quite good.
"Our ex-factory price is 20 taels of silver. We have opened many direct stores in the Beijing and Tianjin areas. We can sell directly. The retail price is now about 30 taels of silver. As for other areas, we adopt an agent system.
Wholesale sales to agents at ex-factory prices.”
Duan Hai also replied immediately.
“Are there already many other bicycles on the market now?”
Liu Jin had a rough idea in his mind, so he thought about it and asked again.
"Yes, there are many different brands of bicycles on the market now. Some are produced by large factories and some are produced by small factories. They are all different and the quality is also uneven."
"The best quality bicycles are from our Mercedes-Benz Bicycle Factory. We have extremely strict requirements and attention to materials, material selection and craftsmanship. The bicycles we produce are of the best quality and are the most recognized."
"I am also planning to invest in building a branch factory in Songhu. In addition, I am planning to set up some branch factories for related parts, specifically for the production of related parts, especially tires. It is more appropriate to set up a separate factory for production.
.”
"However, the large and small bicycle manufacturers on the market have also put a lot of pressure on us. Their quality is not good, but their prices are cheaper than ours, and they have taken away a lot of market."
Duan Hai thought for a while and replied.
"Competition is inevitable and will definitely exist."
"What we have to do is continue to make progress, advance technologically, and produce higher and cheaper bicycles, so that we can always maintain our leading position."
"Of course, the more important thing is to learn to innovate. Don't always limit yourself to what is in front of you. You must see the long-term development trend and combine it with the latest science and technology."
"Only through constant innovation and constant pursuit of excellence can we become stronger and stronger and maintain our position and market forever."
Liu Jin thought about it and warned him again.
"When I come here this time, I also have a new task for you."
"What mission?"
"Please tell me, we will complete it seriously."
When Duan Hai and Huang Zhiyuan heard this, they immediately replied.
They had already expected that Liu Jin would not come here for no reason, there must be something going on.
"The School of Mechanical Engineering invented an internal combustion engine. Compared with the steam engine, it is more powerful and more convenient. I want you to cooperate with the School of Mechanical Engineering to study the application of internal combustion engines in transportation.
A new vehicle that can be driven by an internal combustion engine has been developed."
Liu Jin stated the purpose of his trip.
"internal combustion engine?"
"More powerful than a steam engine, and more convenient and convenient?"
"A new form of transportation powered by internal combustion engines?"
When Duan Hai and Huang Zhiyuan heard this, they were immediately confused.
I was so happy building a bicycle, but now it turns out to be an internal combustion engine, a brand new means of transportation, etc. Now I have no clue.
"You can go to the Mechanical College to find Ren Siheng and Lu Qing. They know it. If you communicate more, you will know soon."
"This brand new means of transportation, I call it a car. If this car can be researched and manufactured, it will become a truly epoch-making means of transportation."
Liu Jin looked at their confused looks and said again.