On the cement road leading from Beijing to Tianjin, more than a dozen four-wheeled carriages were driving very smoothly on the platform and on the open cement road. These more than ten four-wheeled carriages were very luxurious, with exquisite workmanship and decoration, even
Even the horses pulling the cart are top-quality horses from the grasslands.
The horses in each four-wheeled carriage are all the same color, either uniform white or uniform red, making these carriages suddenly become the focus of the bustling road, and the people around them are all guessing which one it is.
The big shots are out.
In one of the carriages, British Duke Zhang Mao, Cheng Guo Duke Zhu Fu, and Xu Guangzuo of Dingguo Palace were sitting together. Compared with traditional carriages, this four-wheeled carriage is larger, wider, and more durable.
smooth.
It is very smooth when walking on the cement road, and it is becoming more and more popular now. While riding a carriage, invite a few friends on the carriage to have a drink and chat together. It is definitely the best way to kill a boring journey.
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“I haven’t been to Tianjin for a few months, and it’s become more prosperous and lively here again.”
Xu Guangzuo opened the car window curtains and saw people coming and going on the concrete road. It was very lively. Then he looked at the Tianjin New Town in the distance. High-rise buildings were rising from the ground, and there were busy scenes everywhere.
"Yeah, I think Tianjin is more energetic. Tsk tsk, these high-rise buildings are already built with seven or eight floors. We can't build them as high as here in Beijing."
Zhang Mao also expressed emotion on his face. Concrete and steel-reinforced buildings are very popular here in Tianjin. Of course, this was also brought about by Tianjin Real Estate.
Tianjin Real Estate is a real estate company under Liu Jin that specializes in building and selling houses. In addition to high-end and high-end communities such as Moon Bay, Tianjin Real Estate has also begun to learn from later generations and built some seven or eight-story commercial suites.
Come for sale.
The price of this type of house is relatively low. A house only costs a few dozen taels of silver. The supporting facilities are very complete. In addition to the lack of elevators, running water, toilets, and kitchens are all very complete.
Although the house is small in size, it is well-equipped, so it is very popular now.
Once launched, it immediately became popular, and the profit was even higher than that of a community like Jian Yueliang Bay, so it has now become a new product promoted by Tianjin Real Estate.
Because Tianjin has taken the lead in the industry, many people have also seen the profits of commercial housing, so many people have followed the example of Tianjin Real Estate and started to develop this real estate, which in turn has promoted the development of the entire Tianjin New City.
"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Liu Jin are also planning to imitate Tianjin here in the capital and build a new city outside the capital. Do you know this?"
Cheng Guogong Zhu Fu carefully looked at the Tianjin New Town in front of him. Everything was neatly planned, spacious roads, clean streets, high-rise buildings on both sides, busy shops on both sides, dense flow of people, everything
Everything is different from here in Beijing. It looks very novel and makes people feel full of vitality.
"I've heard about this too, and I'm planning to find a time to ask Liu Jin. This guy won't take us with him to get rich now. It seems that I have to find a time to introduce him to a beautiful woman."
Zhang Mao nodded, then touched his beard and said.
He now has one principle in mind when doing things, that is, follow Liu Jin. Whatever Liu Jin does, he will do the same, keeping it and making money.
"Ahem~"
Hearing Zhang Mao's words, Xu Guangzuo couldn't help but cough a few times. I'm Liu Jin's brother-in-law. Can you say this in front of me?
"This time he asked us to come to Tianjin, so we can take the opportunity to ask him carefully. To build a new city, we will invest thousands of taels of silver in it. If we can't make money, won't we suffer heavy losses? It's better to ask him clearly.
good."
Zhu Fu thought for a while and said.
Since ancient times, building new cities has been a very huge project. Generally, only the imperial court could handle it. Hundreds of thousands of people were often recruited to build the city before a new city could be built.
The investment is very huge.
If you don't use the power of the imperial court to build a new city, and rely solely on money to build a new city, the investment involved will be very terrifying.
Zhu Fu couldn't even imagine how much money would be needed to invest in this new city. If you just throw a million taels of silver into it, you probably wouldn't even see a splash.
"Xu Guangzuo, you are Liu Jin's brother-in-law after all. Do you know why he asked us to come to Tianjin this time?"
Zhang Mao nodded, then thought about it and asked Xu Guangzuo.
"Mr. Zhang, I don't know either, but since he asked us all to come together, he must have some big project."
Xu Guangzuo thought for a while and said.
"This kid still has some conscience~"
Zhang Mao nodded with satisfaction and said.
While the three of them were chatting, the carriage the three of them were riding in arrived at the door of Liu Jin's mansion. Liu Jin, who learned the news, also came to the door to greet him.
"Zhang Gong, Zhu Gong~Brother Xu~"
Liu Jin greeted Zhang Mao, Zhu Fu and Xu Guangzuo with a smile on his face.
"You brat, do you have any plans to make a fortune?"
Zhang Mao suddenly put his arms around Liu Jin's shoulders and asked with squinted eyes.
Liu Jin came to them, it must be something good, and it must be related to making a fortune. Here in Tianjin, their industries are very huge, with a large number of fishing boats, making money every day, and many sea ships.
He traveled back and forth between Japan and North Korea every month, bringing them millions of taels of silver every month.
"Nothing can be hidden from Mr. Zhang~"
Liu Jin smiled and nodded.
"Haha, even if you have a conscience, it's not in vain for me to be your matchmaker."
Zhang Mao immediately became happy. His favorite thing is to get rich. As the Duke of the country, he, Lao Zhang, can no longer be promoted. Even if he is granted the title of king, he can only become the king after his death, so he has never been
I didn't think about this.
For him, only silver is the most real thing.
Under the leadership of Liu Jin, the three of them came to the living room. Zhu Houzhao had already been waiting with his legs crossed.
"I've met His Highness~"
When Zhang Mao, Zhu Fu, and Xu Guangzuo saw that Zhu Houzhao was there, they quickly performed the courtesy of a monarch and his ministers, then looked at each other, and immediately laughed even more.
This business seemed to be so big that Liu Jin even called His Highness the Crown Prince.
As long as the business His Royal Highness is involved in is definitely the most profitable business, they know this very well, such as the glass factory, sea trade, Miyun Chu, Changlu Saltworks, etc., these are all the most profitable businesses.
"No need, no need~"
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said casually.
Then he looked at Liu Jin and said, "Old Liu, everyone is here. If you need anything, please tell me quickly."
"Okay~"
Liu Jin nodded, thought for a moment and said slowly: "I called everyone here today mainly for two things. The first thing is about the Changlu Saltworks."
"You must also know that the salt merchants in the south have competed with us for the market during this period. The price of salt has now dropped to more than ten cents per catty, so the profits of our Changlu Salt Farm may fall sharply this year. Dear shareholders,
You have to know it in your heart.”
The investment in Changlu Salt Farm is very large. The major shareholders are Zhu Houzhao and Emperor Hongzhi. Liu Jin, Zhang Mao, Zhu Fu, and Xu Guangzuo are all small shareholders. Everyone knows that salt and salt are huge profits.
Now that the salt merchants are competing for the market, the price has dropped very low, and the profit will not be that much. Liu Jin feels that he still needs to take precautions against them to make them mentally prepared.
"We all know this. As long as we can kill these salt merchants, not to mention that profits will drop significantly, we can even lose money. Those salt merchants will already be unhappy."
When Zhang Mao heard this, he immediately said very unhappy.
He wanted to get involved in the salt business before, but even though he was the Duke of the country, he couldn't get his hands in. There was no problem in making a little money by taking a small amount of salt from the salt farm.
But if you want to eat cake like those big salt merchants, it is simply impossible. He is a prince who sounds nice, but in fact he does not have much power at all. The salt merchants are not afraid of him at all.
There are people behind the salt merchants, and they are all civil servants who hold real power in the court. Although they do not have a title, they hold real power and have the right to speak, so they are not ignored at all.
Even the most arrogant Zhang brothers cannot get their hands involved in the salt business. This is where salt merchants excel.
Not to mention nobles like them, even if Emperor Hongzhi wanted to slightly change the salt policy, he would encounter countless objections. If it weren't for Li Guang's case, holding on to the pigtails of a large number of courtiers, this private person would
Don't even think about getting approval for setting up a salt farm.
The power of the salt merchants is definitely the most powerful force in this era. It has even reached a point where even the imperial power cannot be shaken, and it has reached a point where they dare to start to get involved in the imperial power.
Zhang Mao, of course, couldn't get in in front of such a huge force, so even if he knew that the salt was very profitable, he could only watch with red eyes.
"Yes, as long as we can dig out their roots, it doesn't matter if we lose money now. It's just money, just throw it away."
Zhu Fu also nodded and said very grandly. Now they are really very rich. Various industries under their command have begun to have high returns, which makes their pockets continue to expand. He is also confident when he says this.
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"We can still make money from a pound of salt worth more than ten cents. We won't lose money, but our profits will be affected in the short term. But after we defeat these salt merchants, we will increase the price appropriately.
Our profits will also be very considerable.”
Liu Jin looked at Zhang Mao and Zhu Fu. It seemed that he had had many conflicts with these salt merchants in the past. Most of them were jealous of not being able to eat the cake.
After thinking about it, he said with a smile. Liu Jin's words also greatly boosted the confidence of the shareholders of the Changlu Salt Farm present. In fact, they, like the salt merchants, felt that the cost of salt was very high. It would definitely cost more than ten yuan per pound.
I was going to lose money, but now I can still make money.
"Old Liu, just go ahead and do it. It would be best to kill all these salt merchants. Hum~ I have long been unhappy with them. They wanted to rob our property last year. That is to say, my father is soft-hearted. If I
, I have already killed them all."
Zhu Houzhao also seemed a little angry. He was very angry when he thought about what happened last year. These salt merchants, Hui merchants and the Jiangnan Shilin behind them were simply audacious and dared to get involved in the imperial power.
According to Zhu Houzhao, all these people deserved to be killed. Emperor Hongzhi was still too merciful and merciless. He only killed a few leading Huizhou merchant families and punished some officials from Jiangnan.
"Yes~"
Liu Jin nodded quickly. What he needs is your words so that he can be free to deceive these salt merchants.
"You brat, do you have any clever ideas to trick those salt merchants?"
Zhang Mao looked at Liu Jin, thought for a while and asked.
"Actually, it's not my idea, it's them seeking death themselves."
"Now those salt merchants are buying the salt from our Changlu Salt Farm on a large scale. They think our costs are very high. At the current price, we are losing money and making money."
"So on the one hand, they are constantly lowering the market price and subsidizing money to the salt merchants below them. On the other hand, they are also eating our salt on a large scale. They feel that if we buy a pound of salt from us, we will lose the corresponding money.
The more, the more we will lose."
"How do they know that although we have to pay two million taels of silver every year and give profits to dealers, our costs are actually very low, very low. A pound of salt only costs a few cents."
"The more they buy, the more we earn. Now there is a surplus of salt in the Changlu Saltworks, and they have just bought it all."
Liu Jin explained the current situation to everyone. When he said this, everyone couldn't help laughing.
After several days of investigation and testing, Liu Jin is now certain that the salt merchants are using this method to bring down the Changlu Saltworks.
This played into Liu Jin's plan. The output of the Changlu Salt Farm was very terrifying. Once it was fully operational, and in the summer, the salt produced could definitely suffocate all these salt merchants.
"Great, now I can take out all their money."
When Zhang Mao and others heard this, they all laughed happily.
"It's not that easy to empty them out, and they are not fools. If we want them to keep pocketing money, we still need to work hard, so we will do some superficial work every once in a while to let them
They feel that we are losing money, and it is a big loss, and we need to keep paying money."
"Only in this way can they keep throwing money in, and then all their money can be taken out."
Liu Jin smiled and said, these salt merchants are all ghosts and ghosts. It is not that easy to drain their money, but Liu Jin can also create some illusions for them to see and let them keep pocketing their money.
, the more money they pay, the deeper and deeper they will slowly get, and eventually they will be really stuck in, unable to get out, and they can only keep following until the end, and lose nothing in the end.