Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 79 Chung-hsien really knows how to make money (Part 2)

Bi Maoliang was also considering how to make money.

He can't hold the position of Minister of Commerce in the Inner Court for nothing.

He has witnessed the speed at which the inner court spends money. Expanding the new city, building factories, and even purchasing materials, the money is flowing like water, amounting to millions of taels a month.

If he doesn't find a way to make money, his coffers will probably run out very soon.

The problem is that, like Zhu Jue, he can't think of a way to make money quickly and in large amounts. The only businesses he can think of can only earn tens of thousands of taels a month, which is a drop in the ocean compared to his monthly expenses of several million taels.

Moreover, no business is a matter of a single sentence; to make money, you have to invest costs and consume human and material resources.

Would court officials be willing to go to great lengths for a business worth tens of thousands of taels of silver a month?

He was just considering whether to discuss with the current emperor about making some money first, when the emperor happened to summon him.

There's no need to think about it anymore.

He hurriedly went to the main hall of Yuxi Palace, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said solemnly, "Shi Gao, Zhong Xian has thought of a way to make money. What do you think? Zhong Xian, you should talk to Shi Gao about it."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian immediately began to describe it with great enthusiasm.

This guy was talking with such enthusiasm, he was practically gesturing wildly.

Upon hearing this, Bi Maoliang was dumbfounded and stood there speechless.

That's the kind of thuggish tricks you use!

He was stunned for a long time before gently reminding him, "Your Majesty, what Duke Wei described are tricks of the lowly, the lowest of the low."

I know this.

Zhu Jue said earnestly, "Shi Gao, think about it. Isn't our struggle against those traitors who collude with the enemy just like a battle on the battlefield? The more they gain, the more the Jurchens will help them. The more we gain, the stronger the Ming Dynasty will become."

Therefore, the marketplace is a battlefield. To deal with those traitors who collude with the enemy and betray their country, we must use any means necessary. Don't worry about their lowly status; as long as we can defeat them and gain profits, that's all that matters.

Well, you make a lot of sense.

Bi Maoliang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I understand."

Fortunately, you are not like those self-righteous scholars who are obsessed with saving face. If you were like those self-righteous scholars, I would have to reconsider whether to use you or not.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "I just discussed it with Zhongxian. We will open our own shop and sell the stolen goods ourselves. This way, we can make an extra 20% or 30% profit."

However, there is a problem with doing this: those traitors who collude with the enemy can easily tell that the people who open shops to sell those things are in cahoots with the people who steal their goods.

We don't need to worry about Zhongxian, but we do need to be careful not to let those traitors who collude with the enemy find out that those shops have connections with the inner court.

Therefore, I have summoned you to discuss what kind of people we should hire to open the shop, and where we should locate it.

This means that Wei Zhongxian can take the blame, but the emperor cannot be implicated. The emperor still needs to maintain his dignity and cannot openly resort to despicable means like a thug. At the very least, he cannot let people see it.

Bi Maoliang nodded slowly, then thought about it carefully, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said: "Your Majesty, we can actually open more shops in Jinling City. We can take all the goods we robbed to Jinling City to sell."

There are even more wealthy people in Southern Zhili, so this amount of goods is nothing. In addition, this way, our shops in the capital will not be exposed. We will not sell the looted goods in the shops in the capital, so those people will naturally not be able to tell.

Your humble servant was thinking that we could order the grain transport ships to bring back valuable goods such as dried fruits and delicacies from the mountains and seas to sell. Jinling City is rich in resources, and dried fruits and delicacies from the mountains and seas are much cheaper than in the capital. As long as we can bring them over and sell them, the profit will be quite considerable.

The key is that doing this business requires investment of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. Acquiring shops and purchasing goods both cost a lot of money, and there are also transportation issues. We also have to regularly send cargo ships to pick up goods.

If we only dealt in dried fruits and delicacies brought from Southern Zhili, we'd be lucky to earn a few hundred thousand taels a month. But now, with ginseng, sable fur, and the like, we can earn even more. Your Majesty, do you think this business is viable?

That's a great idea!

I was just thinking of opening a shop to sell valuable goods; it's easier to make money off the rich.

Zhu Jue thought it over carefully, then decisively said, "Then let's send cargo ships to haul them away. Perfect timing, the new glass factory is about to start production. The glass and mirror business in the capital will eventually reach saturation. We can also haul half of the glass and mirrors to Nanzhili to sell, and bring over some valuable goods from Nanzhili as well. This way, the cargo ships won't make empty trips to Nanzhili, and we can make money from both sides." This wouldn't be a small business of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of taels a month. If we could do both, it would be possible to earn millions of taels a month.

Bi Maoliang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. If we can open more shops in the capital and Jinling City and expand our business, we can earn millions of taels a month just by selling these valuable goods."

To grow a business, you have to destroy your competitors and create a monopoly.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Zhongxian, do you know how many shops in the capital deal in these valuable goods?"

I've already checked that, of course.

Without hesitation, Wei Zhongxian replied, "There are roughly thirty or forty businesses doing this in the entire capital."

so much?
Zhu Jue asked with some confusion, "There are thirty or forty shops here, and the Xinglonghao branch only has a few hundred thousand taels of inventory. If we take into account the time it takes for them to purchase and transport the goods, then these goods are probably at least two or three months' worth of inventory. How can so many shops sell hundreds of thousands of taels of goods in two or three months?"
These valuable goods seem to have a high cost basis, with a gross profit margin of only 20-30%. Even if they sell other goods, their monthly gross profit is only a few thousand taels.

That's not the case.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. It is already quite good for these retail merchants to earn a few thousand taels of gross profit a month. In fact, they don't earn much money because those shops don't belong to them. They have to pay rent every month and even hand over a certain amount of profit."

They were similar to tenant farmers, who barely managed to make a living. The land didn't belong to them, and they had to hand over most of their produce. Sometimes they couldn't even feed themselves.

Have the vested interest groups in the Ming Dynasty controlled their interests to this extent that they don't even let go of the small profits of retailers!
Since you're all so frantically grabbing profits, do I still need to be polite to you?
Zhu Jue frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "Zhongxian, is it alright for you to take over all these shops and their goods?"

This is simply a matter of someone taking the blame.

I've taken the blame too many times, one more won't make a difference.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem. Those merchants certainly won't dare to say anything. We'll just buy their goods, give them some money, and let them get lost."

As for the corrupt officials and nobles behind those shops, if they come to me demanding money, I will throw them into the imperial prison to hand over their ill-gotten gains. Your Majesty, what do you think?

I think you're a real piece of shit.

But it's good that it's fucked up!
It's just a few dozen shops. So what if I let Wei Zhongxian rob you?

You have used your power to seize the interests of the Ming Dynasty, so I will deal with you!

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's fine to throw corrupt officials into prison and have them confiscated, but you should warn the nobles and high-ranking officials first. If they don't listen, you don't need to be polite."

Hehe, another job is coming up.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant understands. This servant can take over these dozens of shops within two days. Tomorrow, this servant can make all those merchants get out of here. Your Majesty can just send someone to take over."

Don't cut off those merchants' livelihoods.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "Zhongxian, I have already said that it is fine for you to deal with corrupt officials and even nobles. They should be dealt with because they have obtained ill-gotten gains. But ordinary people are innocent, and those merchants are innocent too. You cannot cut off their livelihoods."

And if you cut off their livelihood like this, they might go around telling everyone. If the people from Xinglonghao find out, it won't be so easy for us to get their money and goods.

Here's what we'll do: in addition to the payment for the goods, give each merchant an extra 100 taels of silver. Also, tell them that we'll arrange similar shops for them in Jinling City so they can help us with our business.

Tomorrow I will arrange for a ship to take them to Jinling City to open shops. They've been in this business for a long time and are naturally more familiar with it than other merchants. We can take advantage of them to build up our business in Jinling City.”

This makes the merchants even less likely to utter a single word.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, this servant understands."

Bi Maoliang cautiously reminded him, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Duke Wei can't manage things in Jinling City. We still have to pay rent for the shops there, and we also have to pay for the goods. We can't give this money directly to those merchants. How about I take some money over there and open the shops?"

You are the Minister of Commerce in the Inner Court; how could I possibly let you personally engage in business?

Besides, as the Minister of the Inner Court, you have no power whatsoever in the Outer Court, and the officials of Jinling City are not afraid of you.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Summon Grandfather Zhou to come and pay his respects."

(End of this chapter)