"PS: After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to temporarily change "Yu" to "王", which means "the king's businessman". Occasionally in writing, it may be written as "王之士人" or "王思之家", which means "王思人"
Shop, Jia means merchant, I feel this is more appropriate. If I think of a better word in the future, I may change it.』
————The following text————
"The king uses merchants..."
Looking at Mr. Wen intently, Zhao Hongrun muttered a few words, then showed a look of interest on his face and said: "Let's talk about it in detail, your so-called 'king businessman'."
"Yes." Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Mr. Wen cupped his hands towards Zhao Hongrun, then stood up and said in an excited tone: "The businessman for the king that I proposed to His Highness Prince Su will only take orders from His Highness.
If His Highness needs utensils, I will provide utensils; if His Highness needs labor, I will provide labor; if His Highness needs money and food, I will provide money and food. None
No matter what kind of demands His Highness puts forward, I will do my best to meet them... But accordingly, I beg Your Highness to give me the highest authorization so that I can intervene in some purchases that are not accessible to ordinary businessmen. For example, the troops under His Highness' command
Obsolete armaments and equipment are allowed to be sold to foreign countries, such as the iron ore needed by the Smelting Bureau..."
Listening to Wen Shaobo's eloquent narration, Wei Jiao, the head of Zongwei's family, opened his eyes wide in shock. Even Jie Zigui looked at Wen Shaobo with incredible eyes, as if he had just met this sworn brother today.
No other reason, just because the request put forward by Wen Shaobo is really shocking - arms smuggling!
The reason why it is "arms smuggling" rather than "arms trading" is because the conservative thinking of the Wei court will never allow domestic arms to be sold abroad. They would rather have piles of obsolete arms.
They rot in the warehouse and are unwilling to sell these backward weapons to other countries.
Therefore, since Wen Shaobo wanted to buy and sell weapons, he had the only way of "smuggling" - to sell the equipment eliminated by King Su's army at a premium to those who needed these weapons.
This object may be a Chu person, a Korean person, a Qin person, or even a remnant of the Xiao family, the arch-enemy of the royal family in Wei State, as long as the other party pays several times the premium.
For example, the Smelting Bureau spent two hundred taels of silver to create a set of infantry equipment and distributed it to the soldiers of King Su's army. After waiting for the soldier of King Su to wear this set of equipment for two or three years,
When it is time to replace it with better weapons and equipment, this old equipment can still be smuggled abroad at a value of two hundred taels of silver, or even an excessive premium of three hundred or five hundred taels.
You must know that there are still many forces who want the old equipment of the King Su Army. There are many in the Wei Kingdom alone, such as Nangong Yao, the surrendered general of the Song Dynasty, such as the "Song County Rebels", such as the "Remnants of the Xiao Family"
”, not to mention the unofficial forces allowed to exist in other countries, such as the “Miqu clan” who had a grudge against the Mi Xiong clan of the Chu royal family, the Dongou Army of East Vietnam, and so on.
It is undeniable that this may become an act of capitalizing on the enemy, but on the other hand, it is also a clever strategy that can recover research and development funds, recover production costs, and even make a profit. But there is no guarantee that this batch of armaments
Will it eventually fall into the hands of Wei's enemies and become a weapon to kill Wei's soldiers?
This is a double-edged sword.
"..."
Zhao Hongrun tapped his right index finger on the table, thoughtfully.
Suddenly, he turned to look at Jie Zizi and said with a smile: "Jie Zi, you decide this matter on my behalf."
Hearing that Zhao Hongrun called himself "Jiezi" instead of "Mr. Jiezi", Jiezi understood it in his heart and immediately adjusted his mentality to the staff of His Royal Highness King Su in front of him. He turned towards Wen Shaobo and arched his hands with a serious face.
It probably means something like "let me talk to you now".
Seeing this, Mr. Wen's expression was really strange. After all, Jie Zizi was his adopted brother.
However, Wen Shaobo was not the only one who felt awkward. In fact, Jie Ziyu also felt awkward. Although he wholeheartedly hoped to serve His Highness Prince Su, he did not expect that the opportunity to showcase his talents would come so quickly and so conveniently.
People are caught off guard.
What's even more embarrassing is that the person is still his sworn brother Wen Shaobo, whom he has been with for several years and is in love with him.
"Master Wen, what do you want?" After taking a deep look at Mr. Wen, Jie Ziyu asked calmly, as if he and Mr. Wen were not sworn brothers who had known each other for many years: "If you just said
I said that all your profits can be dedicated to His Highness, so what do you want?"
After listening to Jie Zizi's question, Zhao Hongrun nodded secretly. He must admit that Jie Ziu grasped the key point of this matter - what did Wen Shaobo want?
You know, if you follow what Wen Shaobo said, it would be like Wen Shaobo giving all his family wealth to Zhao Hongrun to work for nothing. Zhao Hongrun does not believe that Wen Shaobo has nothing else to ask for, otherwise, this person will be the best person in the world.
The biggest fool.
It's like pie in the sky. The fact that a meson owl takes the initiative to serve is enough to make Zhao Hongrun smile secretly, and there will not be another Wen Shaobo who is willing to dedicate all his family property to Zhao Hongrun to work for free.
Zhao Hongrun picked up a cup of already cool tea from the desk, took a sip, and looked at Uncle Wen intently, waiting for the latter's reply.
Not to mention, Wen Shaobo really did not disappoint Zhao Hongrun. He stared at Jie Zitu intently and said in a sonorous and serious voice: "I want to become the biggest merchant in the world, and as a merchant, I will leave my name in history.
Ask the historian to write a separate chapter specifically for me, Mr. Wen, so that my visit to this world will not be in vain."
Hearing this, not to mention Jie Ziyu opened his mouth in shock, even Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but feel a little moved.
Leave your name in history as a merchant?!
You want to ask the historian to write a separate article specifically for him, Wen Shaobo?!
What a shocking statement!
You know, the greatest hope of the world is just to leave a name in history, even if it is just a passing mention, but this young uncle Wen is so ambitious that he wants the historian to write a narrative specifically for him - this is something that no king of the country has ever done.
See what an honor you can enjoy.
Can a businessman really leave his name in history and have a separate chapter?
Jie Zizi couldn't help but feel a little distracted. After all, this was an unprecedented thing.
Of course, this does not mean that there is no possibility at all. If Wen Shaobo does what he promised and fully supports His Highness King Su, making Wei become stronger and stronger, and even eventually annexing other countries and unifying the world, then,
Perhaps Wen Shaobo really could become "the most powerful businessman in the world" and become a mountain that future generations of businessmen would never be able to overcome.
Thinking of this, Jie Ziyu couldn't help but feel excited.
There are two reasons: one is for Wen Shaobo. After all, Wen Shaobo is his sworn brother. Out of the feelings of his sworn brother, Jie Ziyu very much hopes that this sworn brother can achieve his... lofty goals that are unbelievable.
his ambition; and the second one is for the Prince Su whom he decided to be loyal to.
Next, if he, Jie Ziu, still hopes to assist His Highness to become the king of Wei, and to assist him in his quest to conquer the world, then he will definitely need a lot of money during this period, probably a huge amount of funds that the world cannot imagine, and this batch of funds, Wen
The young uncle can earn it for his highness.
The question is, how can he speak? Uncle Wen is his adopted brother.
Jie Ziyu secretly glanced at Zhao Hongrun, but regretfully found that His Highness King Su was sipping tea by himself and had no intention of speaking.
The clever Jie Ziyu immediately guessed that this was a test for him by His Highness Prince Su.
After hesitating for several breaths of time, Jie Zigui secretly gritted his teeth, raised his hands and said to Zhao Hongrun: "Your Highness, I think that you need a businessman like my sworn brother for the king's business. However, as for the young uncle's mention,
I disagree with the smuggling of arms, and this matter still needs long-term consideration."
In the end, Jie Ziyu did not shy away from his sworn brother relationship with Wen Shaobo, and truthfully spoke out his thoughts.
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun took a deep look at Jie Zizi, and nodded secretly with satisfaction: Being able to say such impartial words shows that Jie Ziu has indeed placed his mentality in the position of "a retainer of Prince Su's Mansion", which is very good.
good.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun said with a smile: "I have already said that this matter is up to you. Since you nodded in approval, then..." At this point, he turned to look at Mr. Wen and said with a smile: "Support me.
All kinds of actions, including supporting foreign wars, this is not an easy task, my king uses businessmen."
Of course, this is just a polite word. After all, it is impossible for Zhao Hongrun to really leave it to Jie Zigou to decide such a big matter. It can only be said that his thoughts are similar to Jie Zigou.
The concept of "merchants for kings" proposed by Wen Shaobo is different from the nature of official merchants.
Official businessmen refer to businessmen with a certain official background. For example, some business officials under the Ministry of Revenue under the banner of the Ministry of Revenue can be called official businessmen. The advantage is that they can use channels with official backgrounds.
The concept of "royal merchants" proposed by Wen Shaobo refers to merchants who are only responsible to his king, Zhao Hongrun. They do not belong to the country or the court. Therefore, they do not have the advantages of official merchants, and even in the
Regarding certain sensitive transactions and smuggling, Wen Shaobo was not yet able to openly display the banner of suing the king.
But even so, Wen Shaobo still had certain authority as a royal merchant of Su Wang Zhao Hongrun.
For example, he could use the momentum of King Su Zhao Hongrun in normal trade, or recruit retired soldiers of King Su's army to expand the caravan guard, or even ask the Green Crows and Black Crows to handle some dark side matters for them - but if King Su
Wen Shaobo can use all the powers of this series to a certain extent.
I have to say that this right is very terrifying.
Some people may wonder, doesn't Zhao Hongrun already have a "Su's Chamber of Commerce", so why did he recruit Wen Shaobo as a merchant for the king?
The reason is very simple, because "Su's Chamber of Commerce" has gradually become a tool used by Zhao Hongrun to win over some aristocratic forces in the country who are close to him. Although it has stable profits every year, Zhao Hongrun cannot truly control the resources of the entire chamber of commerce.
For example, if Zhao Hongrun decides to go to war with any country and asks the "Su's Chamber of Commerce" to provide money and food for free, I believe that the nobles in the "Su's Chamber of Commerce" will probably curse after suffering heavy losses.
Therefore, Zhao Hongrun really needs a businessman who only takes orders from him and can fully support him in various major operations.