Chapter 62 Comprehensive business war? Take refuge
The imperial army was defeated and the whole army was wiped out.
The salt merchants spent money to organize an army of ten thousand people, but also suffered heavy losses. Less than a thousand people returned alive, and most of them were mentally disturbed. They were severely stimulated and kept muttering "defeat, defeat". Even those who could speak normally could
Not many.
Even so, the Yangzhou salt merchants knew what happened on the battlefield at the speed of light.
a bolt from the blue.
It was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue.
Inside the Salt Merchant Guild Hall, there was even silence, and you could hear the drop of a needle. The salt merchants who were thinking about how to carve up the wealth of Xujiazhuang a few days ago fell into silence at this moment and could not say a word for a long time.
The sky is falling.
The attack on Harbor City failed miserably, with almost zero losses on the Xujiazhuang side, proving that it could not be shaken by force.
I'm afraid they won't be able to get back the sea salt business, and their foundation for survival will be cut off.
The profiteering business that allowed them to earn countless amounts of money comfortably in the future may be completely lost, and their sky is falling.
"What should I do? What should I do?"
Wang Zengshou, the head of the Wang family, finally couldn't help but said: "Where is the imperial army? Why is there no news about the imperial army? Has Xujiazhuang been captured?"
"There is no trace of the imperial army. Xujiazhuang is safe and sound, so it must have been defeated." Another salt merchant said solemnly.
"This...all failed. Xujiazhuang is so powerful. What should we do? Or agree to Xujiazhuang's conditions and buy their snow salt for 20 Wen per catty, and then sell it at 200 Wen per catty. In this way,
We won't suffer much loss." Voices of compromise began to appear, and hearing such weak and compromising words, many salt merchants present nodded, feeling that it made sense.
"No! You must not give in. Once you succumb to Xujiazhuang, you will have to look at their faces in the future. The price of salt can be raised as much as they want. Life and death are in the hands of Xujiazhuang. You will live like slaves and dogs. In this kind of business, you all
What to do?"
Ma Jiliang stood up suddenly and stared at each salt merchant with red eyes.
In fact, salt merchants like them are money-making dogs raised by noble officials. In the eyes of noble officials, their status is similar to that of servants. They are like cash machines and do not have a high status.
But compared with the high-ranking officials of the imperial court and the nobles of the Ming Dynasty, what does Xujiazhuang mean? What qualifications does it have to be worthy of the kneeling and surrender of salt merchants like them?
Is he worthy of Xujiazhuang?
"Fight, we will continue to fight until Xujiazhuang makes concessions and returns the sea salt business to us!" Ma Jiliang said forcefully.
"We still want to fight? What should we fight with? The imperial army has been defeated. Can we defeat Xujiazhuang?"
Xiao Changwan, the head of the Xiao family, asked. He was a little less confident, and the sea salt business was about to stop. If the situation continued to deteriorate and the salt market was occupied by Xujiazhuang, they would be completely finished. At this moment, he was a little inclined to sue for peace.
"Business war, let's fight a comprehensive business war with Xujiazhuang!"
Ma Jiliang said: "Xujiazhuang has expanded too fast during this period, absorbing too many people, and there will definitely be a food shortage problem. As long as we strictly control food and prohibit the flow into Xujiazhuang, Xujiazhuang will be short of food in a short time.
Now that the food is in our hands, Xujiazhuang won’t be able to get a single grain, and it will be impossible not to compromise by then.”
"Yes, Xujiazhuang has taken away our sea salt business, but what is controlled by our Yangzhou merchants is sea salt? Grain is prohibited from being supplied to Xujiazhuang! Cotton is not allowed to enter Xujiazhuang! There are also timber, coal mines and iron ore.
They are all preventing us from entering the territory controlled by Xujiazhuang. In less than three months, Xujiazhuang will beg for mercy from us, and this is a full-scale commercial war. As long as we unite, we will definitely win in Xujiazhuang!"
Ma Jiliang clenched his fists and said with great enthusiasm.
The response from the businessmen present was not very enthusiastic about his proposal.
It is very possible to engage in an all-out commercial war with Xujiazhuang, and with all their combined energy, it is very possible to completely block Xujiazhuang, and it is indeed not difficult to do.
It's just that among the Yangzhou merchants, too many have business dealings with Xujiazhuang.
The interests involved are too great.
There are even some businessmen who make a living by doing business with Xujiazhuang. How could they be willing to give up their own interests?
If we really want to start a full-scale business war with Xujiazhuang, we must first clean up our own internal affairs, otherwise it will be impossible to completely block it.
As for the group of businessmen, they always talk about their interests, and those who have breasts are mothers, and they even engage in internal intrigues. It is impossible that Ma Jiliang can achieve internal unity by raising his arms and shouting something. Who is he, Ma Jiliang?
So not long after the salt merchants meeting ended, the relevant information was obtained by Xujiazhuang's intelligence department.
There was even a businessman acting as a mole who recorded the meeting with a mini-recorder and quickly placed it on Xu Yuan's desk.
"Comprehensive commercial war? If this big move is really adopted, Xujiazhuang's current dependence on a variety of raw materials will really have a considerable negative impact,"
Xu Yuan took a breath and actually felt a certain threat. Even if his Xujiazhuang was highly self-sufficient and relied on modern society, even so, he could not say "Xujiazhuang is not afraid of the blockade at all" because
Xinghua County has few underground mines and limited cultivated land, so its dependence on external sources is quite high.
"Master Zhuangzhu, Ma Jiliang's plan is impossible. He is not the only one in Yangzhou's business community, and he cannot provide profits to compensate for everyone's losses. Except for a few salt merchants, who will follow his words?"
Luo Houping, a chubby businessman, treated Xu Yuandao with a flattering smile. From the day he was willing to become the mole of the salt merchant, he took risks and provided multiple pieces of high-value information. Although he experienced several days of worry and anxiety,
But at this moment, he is the happiest, because he is on the side of the winner. Not only does he not become a loser, it will also bring him huge benefits.
"You did a great job."
Xu Yuan looked at Luo Houping with admiration, feeling that his fat face was very pleasing to the eye, and said to him: "From now on, you will be the priority agent of Harbor City Snow Salt, and unlimited quantities of Snow Salt will be wholesaled to you.
In a few days, you will be the new number one salt merchant in Yangzhou. In addition, you also have the qualification to be an agent for Xujiazhuang’s overseas goods. All overseas markets will be left to you to develop and act as an agent! As a reward for your initiative to join Xujiazhuang
.”
"Thank you, owner! Thank you, owner!"
Luo Houping, whose wish was finally realized, knelt down on the spot in excitement and kowtowed. He even wanted to recognize Xu Yuan as his godfather, regardless of his age.
This lack of moral integrity was so shattered that it made Xu Yuan feel helpless and grateful at the same time. Fortunately, merchants were such a group of people who had no moral integrity and were only interested in profit. Just like the eight Shanxi merchants who transported grain and grass to the Qing Dynasty, as long as there were enough profits,
, the rope that hangs oneself can be sold, and there is no sense of family and country justice. Because of this, how can the "all-out commercial war" strategy of Ma Jiliang, the first salt merchant in Yangzhou, get unanimous support from businessmen.
…
April 23rd.
In Yangzhou, when Ma Jiliang was still trying his best to win over other businessmen, he called for a complete blockade of Xujiazhuang and an all-out commercial war.
The Luo family's transport caravan brought hundreds of carloads of snow salt from Harbor City and put it on the sea salt trading market for public sale. The wholesale price of the high-quality snow salt was 20 yuan per catty, with only a markup.
It can reach 35 Wen per pound, and it is sold in unlimited quantities, so anyone can buy it.
Buzz.
This batch of snow salt was frantically bought and sold out in a short time. The brand of Harbor City Snow Salt became an instant hit.
"Haigang City Xueyan has entered Yangzhou! The Luo family betrayed us and has defected to Xujiazhuang!"
Hearing the news that quickly spread throughout Yangzhou City, Ma Jiliang, who was discussing with a group of businessmen on how to deal with Xujiazhuang, suddenly saw a black eye, as if he had been hit by a sap, his throat was fishy and sweet, and he almost spit out a mouthful of blood.
"The Luo family, damn the Luo family, they are willing to be Xujiazhuang's dogs!"
Ma Jiliang got rid of his anger, stood up and said to the merchants: "Everyone, please come with me to attack the Luo family. Today we and the Luo family are at odds with each other!"
"Okay! Traitors like the Luo family are a shame to our Yangzhou salt merchants. We will never tolerate such black sheep!"
"Drive the Luo family out of Yangzhou!"
"Let's go and destroy the Luo family together!"
The businessmen were furious and prepared to go to Luo's house to seek an explanation.
But halfway through, these businessmen suddenly turned a corner and headed towards the east city gate, in the opposite direction to Luo's house.
"We're going wrong, you're going wrong. The Luo family is in the west of the city. Why did you go east?" Ma Jiliang said quickly, even holding a businessman's hand and telling him not to go in the wrong direction.
"You are not mistaken. If you don't go to Xujiazhuang quickly to discuss the qualifications to represent snow salt, I won't be able to get the goods!" said the businessman.
"puff!"
Ma Jiliang looked up to the sky and spat out a mouthful of blood and fell down. He could no longer see any hope.
…
The other side.
Nanjing, Wei Guogong Mansion, in the living room of a side room.
"My lord, the strength of Xujiazhuang is unfathomable and cannot be eradicated without an army of 100,000! It is better to value peace and cooperate to make money. The owner of Xujiazhuang said that as long as he no longer causes trouble for Xujiazhuang in the future, Xujiazhuang will help cover up this defeat.
All the prisoners will be released as if it never happened... Your Excellency, I think this is acceptable."
Sun Guangde, who was standing at the bottom and had been released, said to Wei Guogong Xu Hongji, who was sitting at the top.