After turning from a monkey to a monkey king, the monkey was happy but also felt a heavy responsibility. In order to live up to Shen Ao's trust, it has been staying in the small courtyard to train the monkeys for a while, and finally achieved some results. , although there is still a long way to go before it can be used, it can be considered as progress. The monkey took a break from the busy schedule to travel with Shen Ao. This is because it is smart and knows what its biggest reliance is. It must establish a strong relationship with Shen Ao. Only when feelings come, will it be conducive to its future development.
Zhaojia Workshop.
With the help of Shen Ao, the scale has been getting bigger and bigger, and the territory has more than doubled, making the Zhao family jump from the original third-rate businessman to the first-rate. Although it is still some distance from the top wealthy family, as long as it is If you keep working hard, you may not be able to stand on the top of the mountain.
Knowing that Shen Ao was coming, Zhao Yuanji had already been waiting at the entrance of the workshop. When he saw the bullock cart stopped and Shen Ao walked out, he smiled and greeted him, bowed his body respectfully and said, " Caomin Yuanji respectfully welcomes Duke Zhongguo."
"Haha, cousin Yuanji doesn't need to be so polite." Shen Ao strode forward and supported Zhao Yuanji with a lot of sentiment on his face.
Shen Ao knew very well in his heart that as his property and wealth increased, it was impossible for him and his cousin to go back to the casual chatting before. This is the cold shoulder after gaining power. Family affection is an inevitable trend that is difficult to change. But no matter what, Shen Ao still tried his best to maintain his original intention. This was the only thing he could do.
In the courtyard of Zhao's workshop, after the guests and hosts were seated, Shen Ao spoke out his thoughts without any polite words. His cousin was his "trustee" who was ready. If all the businessmen did not agree, If you join the Chamber of Commerce, someone has to do the work, and your cousin is the best candidate, so that at the very least it won't make the scene too cold.
Zhao Yuanji listened attentively at first, but when he heard Shen Ao say that he would build a merchants' chamber of commerce, but all those who joined the association would have to pay twice the current tax when doing business, he sat blankly. on the spot.
Shen Ao had been observing Zhao Yuanji's reaction. After seeing the confused look on his face, he stopped talking and waited for the other party to ask questions.
"Zhong...Zhongguo Gong, is this too cruel? If so, will those businessmen agree?" Zhao Yuanji looked at Shen Ao and found that the other party looked serious and was not joking. Finally I couldn't help but speak out loud, or complain.
Once something changes, everyone will be a little unaccustomed to it, but it will be fine if you adapt." Shen Ao chuckled, obviously he had been mentally prepared for Zhao Yuanji's reaction.
Adapt to adapt?
Zhao Yuanji wanted to say that this was not a matter of adapting at all. When a person has to pay a heavy price, how many people would be willing to do such a thing? In his opinion, as long as there is nothing wrong with the brain, no one would be willing Join this chamber of commerce that can be said to drink human blood.
With this thought in his mind, Zhao Yuanji did not point it out directly. In his current capacity, he had to pay attention to the way he spoke to Shen Ao, not to mention that the Zhao family is still carrying a lot of business outside the country, such as many countries. Changlong's goods are also given to the Zhao family for sale, such as glass products. The Zhao family can get two pieces from Shen Ao every month, and they are responsible for auctioning them to earn the difference.
It is with Shen Ao's help that the Zhao family has gained a lot in two years and grown stronger. With these, Shen Ao is not someone he can offend, let alone Shen Ao and Zhao Guifei. Because of the relationship, even if he disagrees, he will still carry out any instructions from Concubine Zhao.
It can be said that from the moment Shen Ao talked about these things with him, Zhao Yuanji actually had no choice.
Zhao Yuanji, who could only accept his fate, suppressed his unhappiness and asked carefully, "Mr. Zhongguo, what are the benefits if you join the Chamber of Commerce?"
Zhao Yuanji really wanted to see what benefits the businessmen could get if they had to pay such a heavy price. If they just paid without getting anything in return, I'm afraid no one would be willing to do it. This was not in line with Shen Ao's way of doing things.
Don't look at the nickname "Madman" given to Shen Ao by the public. It seems that he is blaming the sky, the earth, the air, and is not afraid of anyone. But anyone who has a good relationship with Shen Ao knows that this is a very reasonable young man. , as long as you follow the rules, the benefits will never be less. This is a person who knows how to do business and cooperate with others to share the fruits of victory.
"Of course there are benefits." Seeing that Zhao Yuanji had suppressed the surprise in his heart, Shen Ao smiled with satisfaction, and then explained the benefits of joining the Chamber of Commerce one by one.
First, joining the Chamber of Commerce is equivalent to being protected by Daqian Law. In the future, no one will bully you at will, or look down on you, or even utter contemptuous insults towards merchants. If someone does this, report the matter to the Chamber of Commerce and you will support them, and report to the official to hold the person accountable.
Second, if you join the Chamber of Commerce, you can reduce the toll by half in the future. For example, if you go from Daqian to Liaozhou, if there are ten trucks of goods, the toll for the single trip will be one hundred taels. If If you are a member of the Chamber of Commerce, you only need to pay fifty taels. If things go on like this, this can save a lot of money.
Third, joining the Chamber of Commerce will give you the opportunity to cooperate with Daqian Bank and Guochanglong. Even if you don’t have enough money and want a loan, the procedures and interest rates will be much lower than those of non-members of the Chamber of Commerce. Not only that, once both parties With business cooperation, there will only be more opportunities to make money.
The fourth and most important thing is that once you become a member of the Chamber of Commerce, your heirs with outstanding performance can be recommended by the Chamber of Commerce to serve as officials in the court. The Chamber of Commerce will have three recommended places each year. Their official rank will not be less than eight ranks.
After finishing the four points, Shen Ao looked at Zhao Yuanji and said: "These are just the preliminary four points. In the future, as the chamber of commerce grows stronger, there will be other benefits for members. So it seems that there is a sure profit, so-called The increase in business taxes just sounds scary."
"Oh, it sounds good." Zhao Yuanji's face became more animated.
The first point among the four points elevated the status of a businessman, the second and third points gave practical benefits, but the last point that really moved people's hearts was the recommendation to become an official.
As I said before, the status of businessmen is still a bit low in society, especially the kind of businessmen who grow up from childhood to adulthood. I don’t know how many grievances and looks-downs they have experienced in the process. This is discrimination from social classes. It is very It can be changed through individual efforts.
Unless they have reached the top wealthy families and they can rely on wealth to get through everything, it will still be extremely difficult for the small businessmen below to want their family members to serve as officials. This year, the recommended quota for three officials is the lowest.
Starting as an eighth-rank official is indeed a big temptation for businessmen.
Businessmen attach great importance to profits and fame.
Fame and wealth are often inseparable. Unless you can monopolize a certain industry and become a top wealthy family, otherwise, once you offend an official, it is not impossible for the Wan Guan family fortune to be wiped out in an instant.
If your family has officials who should serve in the court, the result will be completely different. The so-called official, official, and mutual protection refers to this principle.
There should be some businessmen tempted by the offer of quotas recommended by three officials, but in comparison, three quotas are still too few. Fortunately, the Chamber of Commerce has just been established, and as it expands in the future, the quota will probably increase.
Bar.
Also, becoming a member of a chamber of commerce means that everyone's interests are tied together. In this way, they can keep an eye on each other, which is what many businessmen expect. Joining a chamber of commerce means that you have an organization, and I'm afraid the same will apply.
It is one of the wishes of some people.
If Shen Ao can come up with these four points, it must be not impossible to convince some businessmen. But if this happens, the top wealthy families may not be happy. After all, their status cannot be shaken, and they don't have to worry about anyone doing anything bad to them.
, unless someone can replace them in their industry, the cost of moving them will be too high.
For these people, Shen Ao's four temptations might not have any effect. Zhao Yuanji thought of this and told Shen Ao to listen.
"It doesn't matter, it's just that they don't want to join, and I won't pay attention to them. But if they want to stop the general trend, I will definitely have to compete with them. Haha, the Lu family's lessons learned from the past are there, and there must be no
People want to follow in his footsteps." Shen Ao said confidently.
If people respect me a foot, I will return a foot to others. Shen Ao still follows the rules when doing things.
But if someone wants to challenge him, he is naturally unafraid. He has thousands of years of knowledge in the future, and he really wants to see who can be his opponent in business. If he must go against himself, he will be the next one.
Just the Lu family.
Shen Ao had such confidence, what else could Zhao Yuanji say, he could only nod and said: "In this case, if someone needs to do something, Lord Zhongguo just needs to ask."
This is Zhao Yuanji's approval of the Chamber of Commerce. Whether it is sincere or a choice made out of desperation, with the existence of such a supporter, Shen Ao has nothing to worry about, so he said with a smile: "Cousin
, if something bad happens then, I hope you will do this..."
The businessmen have not yet understood the bidding matter, let alone the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce. Because only a few people including Shen Ao and the emperor knew about it, it has been kept secret. At noon on the third day, Xianweiju specially
After a day off, I was dedicated to receiving all kinds of businessmen. Whether they were curious or had fantasies, in short, when the time came, the upper and lower boxes were full of guests. When Shen Ao appeared in the lobby on the first floor