Of course, Zhu Gui knew that it was nonsense to talk about loyalty to people who had not yet solved the problem of food and clothing. Only money was the most real thing.
So he didn't talk nonsense, but directly used his trump card.
Maybe these people in front of them came here just because they were desperate, but now they don't think so.
Zhu Gui coughed and reminded the palace steward next to him.
"Steward Wang, distribute the money according to the names on the roster."
Butler Wang swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then nodded solemnly.
Under the supervision of the palace guards, these former salt dealers lined up in an orderly manner.
Xu Yingxu walked to Zhu Gui and asked in a low voice: "Dai Wang, what do you want to do?"
What he didn't understand was that even if he made some money selling salt on behalf of the king, there was no need to distribute it to these salt dealers, right?
"As General Xu sees it, I just gave them what they needed. Wouldn't it be more meaningful to spend the money this way?"
Zhu Gui looked at the scene in front of him and smiled.
Xu Yingxu was speechless, not knowing what to say.
As for Xu Miaoqing, who was at the top, she was already angry and left.
Liu Jingming in the restaurant watched this scene with envy. He had never received so much money in a year, but now the acting king distributed it to the salt dealers.
"Gang Leader Hu, I want you to find the expert behind King Dai. I don't need to tell you what to do next, right?"
After Liu Jingming finished speaking, he left angrily.
Hu Shidao touched his chin and looked at the grand occasion in front of the palace, with a playful look on his face.
"This little prince is interesting. If I weren't the leader of the Salt Gang, I might be standing down there."
After saying that, he left with a complicated expression.
The money-sharing activity lasted for more than two hours, and Zhu Gui returned to the study halfway through.
What she didn't expect was that there was someone in the study.
It’s Princess Xu Miaoqing.
"Zhu Gui, what do you mean? Those people kidnapped me and chopped you up, but you gave them money? Are you encouraging them?"
Xu Miaoqing put her hands on her hips and said angrily.
Zhu Gui smiled slightly, walked behind the desk and sat down, saying: "I am the vassal king here, so naturally I have to manage this place well, and these salt dealers are currently the most unstable factor here."
"What's more, what I do is just to make the best use of everything. Everyone has the value of existence."
Xu Miaoqing bit her lip and frowned slightly as she thought about Zhu Gui's words. She was a smart person and quickly understood what he meant.
It's just that she has a stubborn temper. Even if she knows that what the other person said is right, she is unwilling to admit it, let alone that the words came from Zhu Gui's mouth.
So she snorted and left.
Zhu Gui didn't take it seriously either. He was looking at the map around Datong Mansion.
Datong, Shanxi Province, is a source of high-quality coal, but he had already learned after arriving that the mining and utilization of coal here was very limited.
Whether it was to meet the needs of future industrialization or to accommodate the extra salt dealers, he planned to explore a coal mine first.
However, Zhu Gui is not a mining major and is not a native of Shanxi, so this plan will take some time.
In the evening, the money-sharing activity finally came to an end.
The housekeeper found Zhu Gui. There were a total of 1,100 people registered this time.
According to the previous plan, the one hundred people with the best physical condition were selected and would become the private soldiers of the Prince's Palace in the future.
Others were placed outside the city.
Soon after, the families of these salt dealers will also move out of the city and settle around the camp.
After making these arrangements, Zhu Gui left the palace and came to the camp where Xu Yingxu was stationed.
This time he came to ask the other party to train the private soldiers he selected.
Xu Yingxu seemed to have anticipated this incident and reluctantly sent ten captains to deal with it.
Zhu Gui didn't say anything, and sent people to find the owners of blacksmith shops and clothing shops in the city, asking them to tailor weapons and armor for these recruits.
These recruits will become junior officers in Zhu Gui's army in the future, but he is not ready to equip them with flintlocks yet.
First, because a hundred people's firearms require a lot of experience points, and his current experience points are already in short supply in exchange for refined salt.
Secondly, these people have not yet fully gained his trust, and he does not want to be stabbed in the back one day.
The actions of the acting king Zhu Gui in the past two days made the entire Datong Mansion obviously feel the changes.
Except for those salt channel officials who are still anxiously waiting for news, everyone else is happy to see this change.
On the third day, Zhu Gui asked the housekeeper to find several official salt merchants in the city.
Several salt merchants came anxiously, not knowing what the acting king was going to do this time.
Zhu Gui said directly: "I called you here this time because I want to cooperate with you. The market for refined salt in Datong Prefecture has been saturated. I plan to open branches in other counties in Shanxi and form a caravan at the same time."
Several salt merchants looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.
There is nothing wrong with opening a branch. After all, the entire Yunzhou is the vassal territory of this king, and he will provide refined salt in the future.
But things about the caravan are not that simple.
Zhu Gui continued: "The manpower of the caravan will be provided by the Prince's Palace. You only need one representative from each family."
These salt merchants are all prominent figures in Datong Prefecture. It would be a pity not to make use of their local influence and financial resources.
Rather than letting them fight against him secretly, it is better to tie them to his chariot. This is Zhu Gui's idea.
This time, some salt merchants finally couldn't sit still.
A young woman wearing a double-breasted embroidered dress stood up and saluted Zhu Gui and said, "Your Highness, it's okay for each of our families to have a family, but we just don't know how to divide the accounts?"
Everyone else was shocked, talking about money with Dai Wang? Is this Liu family tired of living?
Zhu Gui glanced at the woman in front of him in surprise.
The appearance is quite different from that of Princess Xu Miaoqing, but she is still stunning.
"As the saying goes, we are talking about business, Miss Liu, right? Then I will do the math for you. The people in the caravan belong to me, and the goods belong to me, so I can only give 10% to the five of you present.
Home."
Zhu Gui said lightly.
"10%? Deal." Mrs. Liu lowered her head and pondered for a moment. She agreed directly without consulting other salt merchants, and then sat back down.
"What about you?" Zhu Gui looked at the other four salt merchants.
"We also agree."
So that day, the Datong Chamber of Commerce was established, and its office was located in a courtyard near Dai Wang's Mansion.
By the time Liu Jingming and the Salt Gang received the news, the first operation of the Datong Chamber of Commerce's caravan had already begun. Dozens of people in the group were all former salt dealers.
Liu Jingming stayed up all night that day. As the salt envoy, he was completely ignored. This was even more uncomfortable than killing him.