Since Su Ren came back, he has not gone to Chang'an. People from Chang'an can only rush to Louguan. From the Prime Minister Dou Ying to the businessmen of his friend Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce, it can be said that there is an endless stream of people. Many people live in Louguan Town.
Waiting for an interview with Su Ren. Of course, there are lucky ones and unlucky ones. Officials are among the unlucky group. Whether it is the prime minister like Mr. Wei Qing or his friends Wei Qing, Gongsun He, or Su Ren, they are all missing. They only favor merchants.
Cui Chengru was naturally the first person to meet him. He was the person in charge of the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce in Chang'an, and he was Su Ren's elder. Su Ren was very polite to the old man. It was obvious that Cui Chengru had a lot to say to Su Ren, so Su Ren
Ren also gave Cui Chengru this opportunity.
"The general has established the prestige of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions. With the Yumen Pass, the Huns and Qiang people no longer dare to invade. This is a great achievement for the general!" Cui Chengru said while drinking tea: "However, I heard from shopkeeper Wang that the general wanted to pass this line.
Are the trade routes in the Western Regions given to the imperial court?"
Su Ren nodded: "That's what I mean. The trade routes in the Western Regions are the link between the Han Dynasty and the West, and the Ganliang Road cannot be defended without heavy troops. Only the imperial court has the ability to protect it. We merchants have limited abilities and cannot deal with the Qiang people on our own.
and the Huns, so my nephew decided to be alone."
Cui Chengru waved his hand: "General, don't be too humble. I also think that the general has done a good job in this matter. To be honest, I have become more and more worried during this time. The Sichuan Chamber of Commerce was promoted by the general. Over the years, merchants have gathered almost all over the Han Dynasty.
It is no exaggeration to say that if the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce gathers together, it will make us rich and powerful, and to put it bluntly, if the imperial court wants to intervene, it will be our death!"
"How does the old shopkeeper think it can be solved?"
Cui Chengru said: "I have thought about it, this matter has to fall on the general. Even the old man can see everything in the court clearly, so I am going to donate half of my family property to help your majesty use the army. Does the general think it is okay?"
Su Ren nodded: "The old shopkeeper understands the righteousness, I would like to thank you in advance, but should I discuss this matter with shopkeeper Cui?"
"Hmph! This traitor only knows how to make money, and has been blinded by money. The old man has made the decision on this matter. As long as His Majesty needs it, the old man will donate all his family property without any complaints! Moreover, the old man has convinced several big families in the association that they are also willing.
Donate, but I would like to ask the general to inform you about the meeting."
"sure!"
Su Ren knows that the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce has developed too fast in recent years. Cui Jiuming is a pure businessman. He only sees money, so he does not realize the danger behind it. Fortunately, Cui Jiuming has a good father. The old man is trying to survive by cutting his wrists.
, if the imperial court takes action, the Cui family will be ruined, and the entire Sichuan Chamber of Commerce will also suffer a serious blow. Even if the Cui family can survive, they will not be able to turn around in the future.
The purpose of donating money to the court is to buy peace. Su Ren roughly estimated that based on his share of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce, his property to his name is at least one hundred thousand gold, which is comparable to thirty years of taxes in a large county. Cui
He is a businessman similar to his Su Ren, and with Cui Jiuming's hard work over the years, his assets are probably only a lot more than his. With two fat pigs in front of Liu Che, even if Liu Che doesn't have much thought, he will. So.
It was Su Ren who took the initiative to withdraw from the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce. After Cui Chengru received this signal, he immediately understood and donated half of his family property without hesitation, which shows the old man's shrewdness.
The two chatted for a while about donating money, and Cui Chengru turned the topic to Su Ren's establishment of a new chamber of commerce. After looking at Su Ren, Cui Chengru said: "I also heard something from shopkeeper Wang. The general wanted to
Is it true that a new chamber of commerce will be established and people from the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce will no longer be allowed to join?"
Su Ren did not deny it: "Really, I will tell the old shopkeeper, I have already thought of the name of the new chamber of commerce, and it will be called Chang'an."
"Hahaha! What's the difference between the New Chamber of Commerce and the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce?"
"When it comes to the difference, there is not much of a difference. What we merchants do is nothing more than buying and selling. However, this caravan belongs to the imperial court. They are responsible for all the imperial court's purchases, and they handle everything from demand to supply.
, I just bought a share, and the control is in the hands of the imperial court and His Majesty."
"Wouldn't it mean that some of the businesses of the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce and the imperial court will be replaced by them?"
Su Ren waved his hand: "The old shopkeeper misunderstood. Although they are controlled by the imperial court, they are not members of the imperial court. Only the imperial court will prioritize them when needed. Of course, who can complete the business depends on the goods.
The quality and price are the same as the auction that the boy held in Shuzhong. This time it is an auction. The court only buys good and cheap goods from people. As long as the merchants of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce can come up with good things, the price will be fair.
Opportunity."
“Then why create a new chamber of commerce?”
Su Ren smiled: "The old shopkeeper doesn't know something. If the imperial court wants to buy things, of course there are also things to sell. Selling things is not easy for the imperial court, so we merchants have to do it. In fact, the main business of this new chamber of commerce is to sell imperial items. Of course
That’s not what it says on the surface, the old shopkeeper should understand.”
"Then what do you want to sell?"
"That's a lot. Military achievements, war profits, land, slaves, everything that the court can't use will be sold."
"Military glory and war profits? So, the merchants of this new chamber of commerce will do the same things as the traitor and the general did before?"
Su Ren nodded with a smile: "Yes, but the last time was done by the boy alone and had nothing to do with Brother Cui. Of course, future events will have nothing to do with Cui Xiong. The court will take action on this matter."
"Is the imperial court going to do something like this?" Cui Chengru heard this with his heart in his throat.
Su Ren glanced at Cui Chengru: "That's it, I only told the old shopkeeper about this matter. If others have other ideas, the old shopkeeper should know what to do after being a merchant for so many years."
Cui Chengru was sweating. What Su Ren said was too shocking, and Su Ren also told him what it meant. Of course Cui Chengru understood that it was to silence him. Once the matter was leaked, Cui Chengru would also have to bear the responsibility.
Responsibility, so neither Cui Chengru nor the merchants in the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce dared to discuss it.
Su Ren smiled: "Don't worry about it, old shopkeeper. This matter is done very secretly. At least it has nothing to do with the court on the surface. At most, it can only be traced to me. The boy is a merchant and has a thick skin.
Don’t be afraid of anyone gossiping, it doesn’t matter!”
Cui Chengru wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "The general handles things carefully. It is true that such a big thing should not involve a traitor. Don't worry, general, this matter will definitely rot in the belly of the old man, and the old man guarantees that as long as he is a merchant from the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce, there will be absolutely no one."
Dare to chew your tongue."
"It's so good, then there's Lao Lao, the shopkeeper!"
It took almost a whole morning to meet with Cui Chengru. In the afternoon, Su Ren faced the old people from the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce. Following Su Ren for so many years, he was able to do business all over the world. No matter how sluggish his business was at the beginning, several of them have been doing business in these years.
He is a heavyweight among the merchants of the Han Dynasty. There is no need to talk too much to these people. Encouragement and encouragement will make them feel that they are very proud.
Of course, these people are not fools. They are also trying their best to get things out of Su Ren's mouth. The most common one is naturally Su Ren's newly established chamber of commerce. Su Ren did not hide anything, and introduced the situation of the new chamber of commerce to a limited extent, and
Encourage these people to join. No matter what kind of chamber of commerce it is, it is impossible for Su Ren to do it alone. Only with the entry of different capital can the chamber of commerce develop healthily. This is Su Ren's purpose.
After learning that if you want to join the new chamber of commerce, you have to withdraw from the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce. Some people agree and some are hesitant. This is not surprising. Su Ren will not force it. Besides, the ultimate goal of his new chamber of commerce is to compete with the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce. Simply
There is no need to copy the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce and establish a new chamber of commerce.
The last group of people to be received were those merchants who followed Su Ren from Jincheng to Chang'an. These people were the main force of the new chamber of commerce. To them, Su Ren did not tell all his plans. Since he wanted to be the shadow of the imperial court, he had to have
Shadow's consciousness. Moreover, during this meeting, Su Ren assigned these merchants a task, which was to raise supplies, the more the better, especially highly strategic supplies such as grain, grass and horses.
Meng Fangtian, the shopkeeper of Mengji in Shuzhong, is considered a representative of these merchants. Their family is engaged in grain trading. With the rise of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce, Mengji's grain store has gone downhill. Especially with the establishment of Lingnan and Jiangsu, Shuzhong
The Chamber of Commerce used the grain and rice shipped by large ships to quickly seize the market in Shu County and even the whole country. Mengji Grain Store could only survive in the cracks. If he had not been unable to survive, he would not have followed Lu Yi to take risks.
Meng Fangtian is a very good business person. The Mengji Grain Store was very famous in Chengdu at that time, and almost half of the people in Chengdu were Mengji’s old customers. Meng Fangtian inherited the family’s good reputation, even in business
Even during the most difficult period, he never sold a grain of adulterated grain, which is why he is still alive today.
Meng Fangtian said: "Mr. Su, to put it bluntly, the things you want are basically controlled by the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce. If we want the price to be higher, why don't you just let the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce prepare it?"
Su Ren glanced at Meng Fangtian: "It's Shopkeeper Meng, right?"
Meng Fangtian quickly saluted: "The villain Meng Fangtian runs a grain and rice shop in Chengdu!"
Su Ren nodded: "What Shopkeeper Meng said makes sense, but I do things so strangely. Don't worry, as long as you follow my instructions and ensure the quality of the goods, the imperial court will accept them all and will never buy them from the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce."
Buy a horse and a grain of grain!”
Upon hearing this, some people's faces immediately became excited. Only Meng Fangtian still frowned: "We all believe what you say, sir. I have one more thing!"
"Shopkeeper Meng, please speak!"
Meng Fangtian glanced at everyone: "It's not that the villain is meddlesome. We all know the big moves of the imperial court, and we also know that Sir is looking for a way out for us people, but the villain is worried that we may not be able to complete such a big project with our financial resources.
Quantity, if we delay the important affairs of the court, we will not be able to atone for our sins even if we die!"
Based on Meng Fangtian's words, Su Ren could see that this person thought about issues comprehensively and was quite capable, so he patiently said: "Don't worry, I have already considered these things. As long as you can buy what I said,
, transported to several designated locations such as Yanmen, we will pay with one hand and deliver the goods with one hand. If you find it inconvenient to carry the money, you can exchange it with Dahan Bank. In addition, I will tell you good news, maybe those places
There will be goods you want, and you don’t know the price will be cheap?” (To be continued)
