The Ming Dynasty's Spokesperson

Although the distance from Suzhou to Yangzhou is not very far, the transportation is also very convenient, and it can be reached in six or seven days. But the cost of mobilizing 500 people to go to Yangzhou is still not small.

According to Lin Daguan's estimate, the cost of the operation was at least about a thousand taels of silver, and this money had to be borne by the society.

If Mr. Lin Daguan had been willing to spend this money, he would have bought the Suzhou courtesan Bai Meiren.

However, the nature of the incident and the long-term benefits are different. As the leader of the society, Lin Daguan would rather spend one thousand taels of silver to transfer 500 people to Yangzhou than spend one thousand taels on the oiran.

Because long-distance training and away games are a rare and all-round training opportunity for club members, which can significantly improve the organizational skills of club members and have great benefits in the long run.

Therefore, one thousand taels of funds can be used to train club members, but it is not worth wasting on women. This is the basic quality of a successful club leader.

At night, Gao Changjiang and Yu Gongjing, the chief and deputy leaders of the 500-member group, sat on the bank of the journey, drinking wine and chatting about the future.

After a few glasses of wine, Gao Changjiang said thoughtfully: "Do you think that if you sit in the hall, you have the intention of opening a branch in Yangzhou?"

Yu Gongjing had never thought about this before and asked in surprise: "No way? We are not a government official. How can we build a branch in a foreign country?"

After all, this era was generally a rural society, and the grassroots power in most places was closely linked to the countryside, forming a semi-closed small "plane".

Organizations such as associations are different from business gangs in that they need to seize power at the grassroots level. Therefore, if you think about it with a little thought, you will understand that it is difficult for associations to take root in other places.

Gao Changjiang said: "I studied the customs and customs of Yangzhou before departure, and Yangzhou is different from other places.

In the early years of the Guo Dynasty, Yangzhou was in ruins, with few household registrations and a declining population. It was completely without the prosperity of the previous dynasty and today.

Later, Emperor Taizu Gao migrated a large number of people from Suzhou to the north of the Yangtze River, so many people in the prefectures and counties in Yangzhou Prefecture were originally from Suzhou.

Later, the salt industry was opened to the outside world, and grain could be transported to border towns in exchange for salt. A large number of people from Shanxi and Shaanxi came to Yangzhou in order to supply salt nearby.

Later, with the rise of Huizhou merchants, many Huizhou people moved to Yangzhou, a transportation hub, in order to do business.

Nowadays, the population of Yangzhou City comes from diverse sources, and migration is frequent. The salt industry and commerce are extremely developed, but agriculture, which is closely connected with the local area, is almost meaningless.

Therefore, in today's Yangzhou City, the customs and customs are really different from other places, and the sense of locality is much weaker than elsewhere.

To put it more intuitively, there is no obvious distinction between locals and outsiders in Yangzhou city. It can even be said that the people in the city are all outsiders after a few generations.

After thinking about it this way, do you also feel that it is not impossible to establish a branch church in Yangzhou City? "

Yu Gongjing was taken aback and asked subconsciously: "Sit in the pavilion and go to war and send out 500 people to travel 400 miles. Do you really have this intention?"

Gao Changjiang replied: "It's hard to say. Even if this is just a test, I will now have hundreds of people who know Yangzhou City. Then anything can happen in the future."

Yu Gongjing could only say: "If that's true, the restaurant structure is so big that they even want to expand to other places and open branches."

Gao Changjiang sighed: "I'm afraid you and I can't even imagine how big the restaurant layout is."

Yangzhou City is the northern gateway to the Jiangnan region, the throat of the Grand Canal, a geographically unique transportation hub, and a commercial metropolis where wealth gathers.

If Lin Zuoguan really wants to plant his flag here, it will be tantamount to locking Jiangzuo's throat and economic lifeline. The plan seems to be not small.

Gao Changjiang is a storyteller and is familiar with historical stories.

If placed in the setting of a Sui and Tang Dynasty romance, I feel that Lin Zuoguan must be at least an eighteen-way anti-king character.

Who would think about training five hundred people to fight hundreds of miles without being an anti-king?

To be honest, if there were really 500 core soldiers who could attack for hundreds of miles without breaking up, and a group of blind soldiers, it would not be a big problem to separatize Jiangnan in troubled times.

On the same night, Lin Daguanren and his new local friends Lu Junbi and Zhu Naxia sat on a painted boat and wandered on the Yangzhou City River.

Although the city river is not yet called the Little Qinhuai River at this time, the preliminary scenery has been formed.

The biggest feature of this scenic line is that there are many bridges. Walking for a while on the water, you can see a bridge of different styles, which fits the name of "Twenty-Four Bridges".

From a functional point of view, it would be impossible not to build so many bridges. The "Little Qinhuai River" directly runs through the whole city from the middle. In order to ensure smooth east-west traffic, a large number of bridges must be built.

But Lin Daguan's interest was not in the scenery on the bridge, nor in the thousands of lights on both sides, nor in the singer beside him.

Instead, he kept talking to Lu Junbi, asking for all kinds of anecdotes, such as asking: "Who are you talking about on the streets of Yangzhou City?"

Lu Junbi asked in confusion: "How can anyone explain this?"

Lin Daguan explained simply and clearly: "When there is a disaster and relief is needed or bridges and roads need to be repaired, who will take the lead in organizing?"

Lu Junbi suddenly realized it and replied without thinking: "Those who do such things in Yangzhou are all salt merchants!

There are more than a hundred salt merchants in the city, large and small. If there is anything to be done on the streets, the salt merchants will organize it. "

Lin Tailai sighed subconsciously: "It's a bit tricky."

Lu Junbi didn't understand, "What's the trouble?"

Lin Daguan laughed and said: "When it comes to the most developed commercial towns in Jiangzuo, Suzhou, Nanjing and Yangzhou are the most famous, but these three are different from each other.

The characteristic of Nanjing City is that it is dominated by the government, Suzhou City is dominated by various industry offices that are semi-official and semi-private, and Yangzhou City is dominated by various salt merchants that are completely private. "

The Lianghuai salt production accounts for half of the world's total, with an annual output of 140 million jins according to official figures. Among them, Huaibei has 40 million jins and Huainan has 100 million jins, which contains millions of profits.

Yangzhou City prospered again because of the salt industry. The main commercial activities in the city basically revolved around these more than 100 salt merchants.

Each salt merchant is not just a merchant, but a group.

Each group includes all aspects of business including acquisition, transportation, and sales, as well as auxiliary industries such as pawns, escort agencies, and houses.

Of course, under the current system, the core asset of each group is the "shareholding", which can be understood as the "salt industry purchase and sales qualification certificate."

Without a nest, they are not even qualified to pay money to receive salt. Moreover, the nest can be inherited from generation to generation.

If you want to obtain the qualification to enter the market, that is, the nest capital, you must first pay a huge amount of silver to the government, which is commonly known as "accounting for the nest."

For example, if you want to obtain a "purchase and sales qualification certificate" for one thousand taels of salt per year, you can't even think about it without spending tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Therefore, the salt industry is also a capital-intensive industry. Without sufficient capital, it is impossible to even obtain entry qualifications, let alone maintain the operation of the group.

Thinking of this, Mr. Lin shook his head and said casually: "The influence of various families in Yangzhou City is scattered and they are not exclusive, so it is easy to grab a share of the territory in Yangzhou City.

But it is difficult to become a hegemon, at least at present it is impossible, because the foundation of the salt merchants cannot be touched, and no one has the strength to influence the salt industry system. "

Lu Junbi: "."

Grabbing territory? overlord?

Friend Wang, what on earth did you come to Yangzhou City for? Don’t you claim to be traveling to study and visit great masters?

Lin Daguan had to explain: "My family has always been half Confucian and half businessman. I am an adult and independent, and I also want to find ways to make a living while studying.

I found that Yangzhou City is very suitable for doing business and wanted to develop in Yangzhou, so I thought more about it. "

Half Confucian and half businessman? Wang family? Lu Junbi suddenly thought of something and exclaimed: "Could it be that you are a descendant of the Wang family in Dongshan, Suzhou?"

The most famous half-Confucian and half-business family in Suzhou City is of course the famous Dongshan Wang family.

Even Lu Junbi, who was far away in Yangzhou, had heard about this wealthy and noble family who had been an official for three generations after Enyin.

It can be said that all businessmen want to live like the Dongshan Wang family.

No wonder this friend Wang was confident that he would come to Yangzhou to settle relations. He was indeed confident.

Lin Daguan then responded: "Friend Lu, don't ask! I have accomplished nothing now, and I won't tell anyone about my family to avoid bringing shame on my family."

Lu Junbi smiled and said, "I understand, I understand, my friend Wang wants to keep a low profile."

Then he immediately said: "If my friend Wang wants to do business and establish a business in Yangzhou, I have an easy way."

Although Lin Daguan didn't need anyone's guidance, he still asked out of curiosity: "What's the way?"

Lu Junbi whispered: "I know a big salt merchant named Wang who has no children but an only daughter.

Friend Wang is probably not married yet. If he can marry the Wang family, why worry about not being able to start a business in Yangzhou? "

Lin Tailai: "."

My heart skipped a beat, but I pressed it again.

His marriage ambition is to be the eldest daughter of an official family, how could he be tempted by a rich man?

Lu Junbi added: "Even if the Wang family's financial resources are compared with Zheng Zhiyan's, they are not far behind."

Lin Tailai resisted the urge to agree and said in denial: "Forget it, forget it, it's up to a man to settle down and live his life, how can he rely on the woman?"

Lu Junbi advised: "Why should my friend Wang be so pedantic? If I didn't think it was appropriate, I wouldn't have brought it up.

I can tell you that the financial resources of the Wang family will never disgrace your identity, friend Wang.

And I sincerely think that this is the best of both worlds, and the Wang family will happily agree to it. "

If there is a marriage with the famous Dongshan Wang family, there is no reason why the salt merchant Wang family should not agree.

All salt merchants who have made a lot of money, without exception, are working hard to develop their career, literary world, reputation and other aspects.

Otherwise, why would Zheng Zhiyan spend so much effort to rebuild Pingshan Hall and hold a poetry competition?

Lin Tailai didn't expect that making friends casually would cause such a thing.

She refused and said: "The Wang family has a large business, and since they only have one daughter, it would be best to find a son-in-law.

Just like our Mr. Taishi from the Xu family in Huqiu, Suzhou, he recruited a scholar named Fan Yunlin as his son-in-law.

And I, Wang Yusheng, have no intention of becoming a son-in-law, so it is not suitable. "

Lu Junbi did not continue to persuade, but he kept making calculations in his heart.

He is quite familiar with the Wang family, and they have some kind of kinship relationship.

After sending Wang Yusheng's friend back to his residence, he had to visit Wang's family overnight.

If the Wang family is really interested in getting married, they should take action as soon as possible and strike first, even if it means using some means!

He is an unmarried young son of the Wang family in Dongshan, and he is also a quasi-talented high-quality stock. He is likely to belong to Wang Hao's branch, which is a rare opportunity!

Even if you spend a few thousand taels in exchange for a marriage with the Wang family in Dongshan, Suzhou, it will be a worthwhile gain.