Chapter 353. Zhao Family's Future Development Direction (Part 2).
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Although Zhao Deqing had just spoken, Zhao Junchen had already guessed what Zhao Deqing was going to say based on the information previously provided by Xiao Wenxuan and Su Xiqing.
But Zhao Deqing did not notice the change in Zhao Junchen's expression. Instead, he kept talking. The content was naturally about the cooperation between the Yangzhou Zhao family and the Huizhe salt merchants, and told Zhao Junchen in detail the various benefits of the cooperation.
I have described it once, and there are many exaggerations in the content.
&nb》;According to Zhao Deqing, he has now established a relationship with Lin Yunpu, the president of the Yangzhou Salt Merchant Association. Lin Yunpu is willing to run a private salt business with the Zhao family out of "respect for Zhao Junchen in his heart."
Once the Zhao family gets involved in the private salt business, they can earn nearly one million taels of silver every year.
Of course, according to Zhao Deqing's statement, most of the proceeds from the nearly one million taels of silver will belong to Zhao Junchen in the future - this is Zhao Deqing's last resort to regain Zhao Junchen's trust.
However, after listening to Zhao Deqing's story, Zhao Junchen sighed secretly in his heart.
Although Zhao Junchen admired Zhao Deqing's attitude of never giving up on failure, such advantages could not cover up Zhao Deqing's short-sighted disadvantage.
Zhao Junchen and Xiao Wenxuan's position on the Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants is that they can use the 14 ministries to offer soles and even accept bribes, but it is absolutely impossible to join forces to run a private salt business.br/>
After all, as mentioned above, the imperial court's attitude towards Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants was like fattening pigs, turning a blind eye to their tax evasion and slaughtering them only when they were "fat" enough.
At that time, the wealth of Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants was naturally returned to the national treasury.
Therefore, the profits and returns of the private salt business are huge. Although it is a well-known fact, it is rare for senior court officials to personally intervene in this business. This is because senior court officials are afraid that the court will "slaughter the fat pigs."
He was unable to escape and was implicated.
However, even after being reminded by Xiao Wenxuan and Su Xiqing, Zhao Deqing still could not understand this, and even regarded this matter as his trump card to regain Zhao Junchen's trust, which was a bit ridiculous.
So, after sighing secretly, Zhao Junchen wanted to explain the pros and cons of this matter to Zhao Deqing in detail, completely extinguishing Zhao Deqing's ridiculous delusions.
However, before Zhao Junchen could speak, his heart suddenly moved and he thought of another possibility.
The financial resources, connections, and influence of the Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants cannot be underestimated. They are also the forces that Zhao Junchen must unite with next. Zhao Junchen himself has been planning for this for a long time and has prepared many means to bribe the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants.
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However, after the two parties joined forces, Zhao Junchen lacked effective supervision methods for the Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants. After all, the headquarters of the Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants was Nanzhili. When Zhao Junchen returned to the capital, he was thousands of miles away and beyond reach. In addition, the merchants'
Due to their speculative nature, if Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants betrayed Zhao Junchen out of their own interests in the future, Zhao Junchen would inevitably suffer great losses.
This situation is actually because Zhao Junchen has no spokesperson among Hui and Zhejiang businessmen.
Since there isn't one, why not build one?
Zhao Junchen had actually had this idea for a long time. But firstly, he could not find a suitable candidate, and secondly, he could not find a suitable opportunity.
But now, since Lin Yunpu, the president of the Yangzhou Salt Merchant Association, is willing to arrange for Zhao Deqing to join the Salt Merchant Association and help Zhao Deqing get involved in the private salt business, Zhao Junchen finally found the right opportunity and candidate!
Of course, due to their status as court officials, it is not convenient for Zhao Junchen and his relatives to directly intervene in the business of the Hui-Zhe merchant gang, but what if Zhao Deqing is "kicked out" of the Zhao family in Yangzhou?
Taking this opportunity, we will first draw a clear line between Zhao Deqing and the Zhao family in Yangzhou, and then arrange for Zhao Deqing to join the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang, making Zhao Deqing the spokesperson and supervisor of Zhao Junchen in the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang. In this way
First of all, it has many benefits for Zhao Junchen.
First of all, Zhao Junchen has a spokesperson among the Huizhou and Zhejiang salt merchants, who can more or less exert some influence. Even if he cannot control the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchant gangs, he can at least let Zhao Junchen understand the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants in detail.
Various dynamics of the gang, and if there is any change in the Hui-Zhe merchant gang in the future, it cannot be hidden from Zhao Junchen's eyes.
Secondly, although Zhao Junchen was inconvenient to directly intervene in the business of the Huizhe merchant gang due to his status as a court official, there would be no problems after Zhao Deqing left the Zhao family in Yangzhou. Not only would he have no obvious relationship with Zhao Junchen
relationship, on the contrary, he and Zhao Junchen were somewhat hostile on the surface. Even if there were problems in the future, Zhao Junchen would not be implicated at all.
Then, the current new head of the Zhao family, Zhao Deshun, is a man without his own opinions and is easily influenced and manipulated by others. As the former head of the Zhao family, and Zhao Deshun's brother, if Zhao Deqing is allowed to continue to stay in Yangzhou Zhao
family, then Zhao Deshun may be controlled by Zhao Deqing, and the future development direction of the Yangzhou Zhao family will inevitably deviate from Zhao Junchen's expectations. Taking this opportunity to let Zhao Deqing leave the Yangzhou Zhao family, Zhao Junchen
The control of the Zhao family in Yangzhou can also be further improved.
Finally, many of Zhao Junchen's plans require strong financial support. Although Zhao Junchen has not yet felt the pressure, no one can say for sure what will happen in the future. After arranging Zhao Deqing to join the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang, Zhao Junchen can earn extra money every year.
Earning a large amount of income can be considered as a way to prepare for a rainy day.
Of course, this matter is not without its hidden dangers and flaws, the most obvious of which are two.
First, Zhao Deqing is short-sighted and easily blinded by immediate interests. If he joins the Hui-Zhejiang merchant gang, he may be manipulated by the cunning Hui-Zhe salt merchants in the future. When the time comes, he, as Zhao
Junchen's spokesperson and supervisor are also in name only, no different from decorations.
Secondly, after Zhao Deqing left the Zhao family in Yangzhou and joined the Anhui-Zhejiang merchant gang, would he still be willing to work for Zhao Junchen? If Zhao Deqing, the spokesperson and the supervisor, finally had different intentions, then Zhao Junchen's relationship with Zhao Deqing would be
Isn’t the investment wasted?
Of course, there are ways to solve these two hidden dangers.
If Zhao Deqing is short-sighted, then he should arrange for Zhao Deqing to have a few sharp and experienced staff to assist him; if Zhao Deqing's loyalty cannot be guaranteed, then he should be closely bound to Zhao Junchen's interests and help Zhao Deqing make a fortune.
While getting rich, you can also secretly sideline Zhao Deqing.
In this way, Zhao Deqing is just a sign, a stepping stone for Zhao Junchen to intervene in the Anhui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang. Once the situation stabilizes, even if Zhao Deqing is taken advantage of or has other intentions, it will have no impact.
Of course, this is just a temporary plan that popped up in Zhao Junchen's mind. Whether it is feasible and how it should be implemented requires Zhao Junchen's careful and detailed planning and deduction. With Zhao Junchen's cautious character, he will never do it all at once.
Making hasty decisions just by patting your head.
Without careful preparation and detailed deduction, there is no difference between the so-called "flash of inspiration" and "taking it for granted".
Therefore, after Zhao Deqing finished explaining his plan, although Zhao Junchen did not deny it directly, he did not agree with it and just remained silent.
After pondering for a long time, while Zhao Deqing waited anxiously, Zhao Junchen finally said slowly: "This matter has pros and cons. I need to think about it carefully, but you don't have to worry. I will give it a try after I think it through."
I will reply to you as soon as possible... In the meantime, you can continue to keep in touch with those Yangzhou salt merchants. These relationships will always be useful in the future, but they cannot be wasted."
Hearing Zhao Junchen's reply, Zhao Deqing couldn't help but be a little disappointed, but since Zhao Junchen had already expressed his stance, he did not dare to force anything.
Then, although Zhao Deqing wanted to talk to Zhao Junchen about something, he saw that Zhao Junchen looked thoughtful and a little absent-minded, so he did not dare to continue to pester him and left knowingly.
After Zhao Deqing left, Zhao Junchen was still sitting quietly in the study, continuing to deduce his new plan. During the calculation, time passed very quickly. In just a blink of an eye, nearly half an hour had passed.
Then, Xiao Wenxuan came to report again, saying that the new head of the Zhao family, Zhao Deshun, wanted to see him.