Chapter 1466 Big Deal

When He Li came, he didn't actually have much hope for the results of this trip, but after learning more information on the island, he couldn't help but have more ideas. He could feel it.

The official idea of ​​going to Haihan is to introduce more carriers on the northern route to change the previous situation of being completely monopolized by a few large sea merchants, and this will not be feasible for relatively weak merchants like their small group of four.

That said, it's a perfect entry opportunity.

Although it may not be possible to earn huge profits from the northern route in the short term, if Haihan really wants to develop the Liaodong colony on a large scale, there will definitely be other opportunities to make money there. He Li knows that his brother's profit from the plantation

He has done some research on the model, and maybe he will know how to operate this matter to gain benefits from Liaodong. Of course, the premise is that he must first win the qualification of the northern route carrier in the current competition, otherwise he will rely on them

With the current strength, there is no way to squeeze into an unfamiliar area thousands of miles away to get a share of the pie.

Although there are obviously not as many competitors on the northern route as there are in the first two areas, He Li is still a little uneasy about the results. Their small, temporary group has never had the experience of direct sailing to Liaodong in the past.

At most, they didn’t go further north after going to Shandong waters. It can be said that there are obvious deficiencies in navigation experience. The Haihan people will definitely not ignore this shortcoming, and they will consider it when evaluating the strength of each company.

The amount of emphasis may be the key to whether He Li and others can pass the test.

"Northern route carrier, the qualified ones are B-3..."

When He Li heard this sentence, although he didn't have any excited reaction, it was like a firework exploded in his mind. He didn't expect that he could actually pass Haihan's assessment and be announced in the first place.

Although the ranking itself may have no special meaning, He Li is willing to regard it as a symbol of good luck.

The other three were not as calm as He Li. They grabbed He Li's clothes and shook him out of his thoughts: "Master He, we are hit, we are hit!"

He Li came back to his senses and forced a smile: "Why don't you be so happy? It's not like you won the imperial examination! Everyone, calm down, don't be laughed at!"

The three people looked at each other and realized that the current environment was not suitable for showing signs of losing control of their emotions. Otherwise, they would be looked down upon by their peers, and if the Haihan people thought it was not calm enough, then this incident might happen again. Now.

I quickly coughed a few times and calmed down my emotions.

There were four winning bidders for the Northern Route. According to the principle of waiting, one was selected from Zhenguo Shipping Company and Zhan's Shipping Company by drawing lots to make up the five winning bids. This business organization led by He Li was a temporary piece of business.

In fact, it is composed of four companies, and it is probably unique among the winning bidders this time.

Regardless of winning the bid or not, the businessmen present still did their best to show off and congratulate each other. He Li did not dare to neglect the businessmen present. If you pick one of them at random, he may have a stronger background and a richer family than him.

.It was fine if he didn’t know in the past, but now that he knows that many people here have the support of Ming officials and soldiers, he naturally has to handle the current interpersonal relationships carefully.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Haihan officials asked the winning bidders to stay, and the other bidders could leave on their own. He Li knew that there were still many formalities to be completed, so he immediately called the other three people to sit back down.

Waiting for Haihan's arrangements.

After the official presiding over the meeting muttered for instructions, he said to the people who stayed behind: "Now, I would like to ask Chief Sun Changmi, the Minister of Transportation of Haihan, to say a few words to everyone."

Immediately, someone took the lead in applauding, and He Li and others quickly followed suit. Sun Changmi stood up and gestured to everyone to stop, and then began to speak: "Everyone who stays here, some

We are our long-term partners, and there are also new friends who have joined. I would like to emphasize here the rules of our country, which is to act according to the rules. We will sign a written agreement with you, and the content of future cooperation will be included in it. Please

Please read it carefully before signing. If there is anything you don’t understand, you can ask our staff for advice. We will never treat people who work for Haihan Kingdom badly. We hope that everyone can do their best and whoever does it well will

Whoever does not do well will have corresponding evaluation standards. Those who do well will definitely be rewarded, and those who do not do well, well, you just need to remember that Haihan has clear rewards and punishments."

Sun Changmi's speech did not have much substantive and specific content. It was mainly to inform everyone of the general background of this cooperative relationship and remind them to take the matter seriously. His words naturally had no impact on those old guys who had cooperated with Haihan for several years.

There was no novelty at all, but He Li, who had just arrived, still listened very carefully and tried to taste something from Sun Changmi's speech that he needed to pay attention to. However, his political sensitivity was far less than that of his brother He Xiao. Even if

Even if you think about it carefully, it is difficult to gain any deep understanding. You can only listen and speak casually.

Sun Changmi obviously did not intend to make a presence felt on this occasion. He spoke concisely and concisely for less than three minutes before ending his speech and leaving the venue. The subsequent formalities would be handled by his own officials.

Soon a clerk brought a large stack of documents and distributed them to each family. He Li stood up and took it with both hands. When he saw the words "Northern Route Carrier Contract" written on the brown paper cover, he put it on the table and started.

Look through.

The terms listed in this contract were relatively detailed, describing the responsibilities and obligations of both parties in detail. However, there were many professional terms used in it, and He Li had to discuss it with three other people from time to time, and even had to rope in a clerk.

Officials interpret.

The content of this contract clause naturally tends to favor Haihan, and there is no obvious care for the carrier. When he came, He Xiao had warned him to read the content carefully if there was a contract. He Li did not dare to neglect, so he turned the contract over and over.

He read it many times to make sure that there was no deliberately deceptive content in it. After reading it several times, He Li was basically sure that it was not unreasonable for those large merchants to give up the fight for the northern route. This route was indeed unavailable.

How much oil and water can be said, and carriers still need to invest a lot of transportation capacity in route operations to ensure that they can complete the tasks assigned by Haihan every month.

However, the contract also states that "the carrier can enjoy the trade share and land purchase qualifications linked to the points level at the mission destination." This means that the carrier can operate in the Haihan control area on the northern route.

Carry out investment and trade. If done properly, this will naturally be a considerable amount of income, and this is one of the main reasons that prompted He Li to determine to obtain the qualification of a carrier.

It's just that He Li doesn't have a clear idea about how to use the conditions given by Haihan to make profits. As for the three businessmen who came with him, he will not place his hope on them. After all, these people have worked with Haihan before.

There is no cooperative relationship between Hai and Han, and he doesn't know much about Hai and Han's rules in business cooperation, otherwise he wouldn't come to his home to pray to gods and Buddhas.

When he turned to the last page, He Li's expression changed slightly. Haihan required every carrier to deposit at least 10,000 yuan in deposits in Haihan Bank, or the equivalent of 10,000 taels of silver.

But of course his family wealth is more than this, but he does not have so much liquidity on hand. When he turns to look at the other three people, his expressions are not so good. The financial strength of these three people is far less than him, even if the four of them are equal,

Spreading this deposit, two thousand five hundred taels of silver is a lot of money for them.

Before they see the hope of making money, they have to pay such a large deposit to the people of Haihan. This feeling is really uncomfortable. Even if they know that Haihan's business reputation is unparalleled in the world, they are unlikely to swallow it.

Magical events such as losing the deposit, but such a large amount of money turning from living money to dead money will have an impact on their current business conditions and even living standards, and it is inevitable that they will feel hesitant.

At this time, He Li and others realized that their previous worries about their lack of strength finally began to show up. This deposit was just a number for those large-scale merchants, but for merchants of their scale,

In terms of money, it is very likely that the book turnover will be two to three months or even longer. And if you want to continue the business of this carrier, just having a deposit of 10,000 yuan is not enough, let alone their

The hope of making money is pinned on investment in the north. If I don't spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to prepare, I'm afraid I will have to work for Haihanbai in the next year.

But in the current situation, it is not enough not to sign the contract. If he regrets it now, he is afraid that he will be blacklisted by Haihan in the future. He Li can only ask the Haihan official who is responsible for answering questions for his group.

He said: "My lord, this deposit... why do you have to pay so much? Can this amount be flexible?"

The official was respectfully called "Sir" by He Li, and was obviously very useful. Nianxu explained: "It is true that we did not have to pay such a large deposit before, but last year some small carriers had accidents one after another, and the chief believed that it was necessary to raise the industry threshold.

As far as possible, only merchants with sufficient strength will be left to participate in route operations, so increasing the amount of deposits is also one of the measures. If it is difficult to raise deposits, then there will only be more and more operational problems in the future. Bosses, if you think

If you can’t accept it, it’s okay to give up now, and we will pick up another one from the waiting list to take its place.”

As the official spoke, he observed the expressions of He Li and others, as if to judge whether they were just asking casually or whether they really had financial problems. If it was the latter, then he had the responsibility to report the situation to his superiors.

, to avoid the situation of weak merchants fishing in troubled waters.

He Li was able to keep his composure and immediately responded with a smile: "Thank you for your explanation, sir. I am just asking. Since it is the rule set by the chief himself, then I should follow the rules. I can pay the deposit as needed.

Absolutely nothing."

The official seemed to be extremely satisfied with He Li's statement. He nodded and said: "That's the best. Boss He has been cooperating with our country for a long time. He must have a good understanding of our country's trade rules. Subsequent business routes should be

It will also be of great help.”

He Li was moved in his heart and asked: "Did the results of your evaluation just now take into consideration that I have had business cooperation with your country before? I know that some merchants have Ming army background, but the adults don't seem to care about it particularly?"

The official responded: "This is natural. Otherwise, why would the major maritime affairs be left to people who have nothing to do with it? Even if you have a background in the Ming army, it depends on the place, right? How many people can the Ming army in Zhejiang make in Liaodong?

Share the force? In this case, why not let an acquaintance who has been doing business with us do it, at least he knows the rules and doesn’t need to be taught."

He Li suddenly realized why he was lucky enough to win from this seemingly hopeless competition. He had previously used his accustomed way of thinking to speculate on Haihan's evaluation criteria, so it was no wonder that the results he considered were skewed.

If you think about it carefully, Haihan's evaluation criteria are indeed more practical. Since the focus of the Northern Route is in the north, these businessmen with military backgrounds in Zhejiang actually do not have any advantages. On the contrary, what is the advantage?

For businessmen like Li who have always maintained trade relations with Haihan, although their business scale is smaller, they are more successful because they know the basics and understand the rules, which makes it easier for them to gain Haihan's trust.

For other powerful maritime merchants, the Northern Route is just a commercial route that has yet to be developed. If they want to intervene, they do not have to go through a carrier. They can also send ships in this direction.

But for He Li and others, with Haihan as their support, they can organize a fleet to go to the unfamiliar waters of the north to engage in international trade. The only problem is that the investment will be huge, so much that they may need to withdraw their existing funds.

Most of them can maintain the transportation tasks on the northern route.

"Big business!"

After signing the contract and leaving the venue, He Licai finally expressed emotion to his companions. While the other three people held the same view, they were also worried about whether they could raise enough funds to maintain operations.

He Li had already thought about how to deal with the problem of funds, and comforted the three people: "You just do your best. First, organize the ship and sailors as soon as possible. The gentleman just said that the fleet will arrive in five days."

Report to Dinghaiport. As for the working capital, let’s take out three thousand taels as a family first, and I will try to put in advance what is not enough.”

The three people looked at each other and quickly bowed and thanked each other. The three thousand taels a family received was only twelve thousand taels, so ten thousand taels had to be deducted from the deposit. If they wanted to maintain a fleet of twenty large sailing ships, they would have to pay monthly

The expenses are calculated in thousands taels, and it may not be enough to buy some goods at both ends of the route. He Li's willingness to pay for it in advance has undoubtedly solved one of the most thorny problems at the moment.
Chapter completed!