Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 328 Brand Effect? ​​Your Majesty, look! There's soap over there!

Emperor Wanli's sudden change of heart nearly strained Zhang Cheng's back, and he said stiffly.

"Then your Majesty means..."

Emperor Wanli touched his nose and said with a slight smile.

"I am not such a foolish person. If I rashly stop it, I will fall into Shi Yuan's trap. If the promotional event makes money, what benefits will I gain?"

Wouldn't I be incredibly embarrassed, becoming Zhang Shiyuan's stepping stone to show off in front of others?

Having read countless vernacular novels, Emperor Wanli was intimately familiar with the methods of displaying divine power in public.

He sometimes even felt that the vernacular novels written under Zhang Shiyuan's guidance were, to some extent, based on Zhang Shiyuan's own writing.

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain how there could be so many similarities.

"This..." Consort Zheng's expression also became somewhat tense. "Does His Majesty intend to ignore this? This is all money!"

She especially emphasized the word "silver".

The Wanli Emperor nodded very seriously: "There is nothing more important in the world than silver. Governing the country and managing the government requires silver, stabilizing the common people requires silver, and even the expenses of the palace require silver."

I must consider not only the interests of the court, but also those of the palace. With the imperial heir about to be born and my younger siblings growing up, I, as the elder brother, will still be in charge of their marriages in the future.

Where is money not needed?

"Your Majesty," Consort Zheng sometimes felt that she seemed to understand Emperor Wanli, yet she also seemed not to understand him.

The Wanli Emperor shook his head and said, "I naturally trust Shiyuan. The Tao Te Ching says, 'The Tao is always inactive, yet nothing is left undone. By not desiring, one remains still, and the world will naturally be at peace.' Now that this matter is settled, we should just wait for the outcome. If I were to interfere unnecessarily, it would only be a bad thing."

He then turned and said with a bitter face.

"However, I really cannot waste my money. There is no other way. If I want to reduce the losses now, I can only buy more goods."

Zhang Cheng had a bad feeling: "Buy more goods? Forgive my ignorance, but what does Your Majesty mean by this?"

The Wanli Emperor stood with his hands on his hips, letting out a loud, grating laugh.

"Isn't the goods at this promotion fair cheap? Not only are there goods from Xishan, but also goods from merchants outside. Zhang Banban, you'll have to work a little harder, take people and money, and buy as many goods as you can."

"If we resell it later, wouldn't that mitigate our losses?"

Zhang Cheng was completely stunned. He never imagined that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would come up with such a method to prevent his subjects from embezzling the imperial treasury.

Emperor Wanli said triumphantly, "In the past, Shiyuan always showed off, but today I will show him that he can use economics, and so can I."

This time, we must make him completely convinced!

"Xishan has a great reputation, and with the publicity in newspapers and posters, as well as word of mouth among the people, it is natural that countless people flock there on New Year's Eve."

With a constant flow of people comes business. Look at the stage, all kinds of great plays are performed in turn, and the people linger there, reluctant to leave.

It was almost noon, and there was no time to go back and cook. This promotional event also had a special catering area, with Xishan Canteen leading the way in providing a variety of meals. They even supported reservations for New Year's Eve banquets, and there was a fireworks display in the square tonight.

It's practically a one-stop service!

In a room on the third floor of the Xishan Theater, Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Xueyan observed the actions below through a telescope via the window.

As Zhang Xueyan looked at the document, he enthusiastically introduced it to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng felt dizzy and disoriented. In a daze, he seemed to see the shadow of his rebellious son Zhang Yunxiu in Zhang Xueyan.

He coughed and continued asking.

"This matter does seem appropriate, but does attracting people guarantee making money? The sales event is selling almost all the goods at half price, which doesn't bother the wealthy Xishan family, but these merchants are joining in the fun?"

Zhang Juzheng added, "This is not in accordance with the principles of economics."

By now, the word "economy" had become completely integrated into the Ming Dynasty court. Officials felt inadequate if they didn't use economic terms and principles when they spoke.

“Your Excellency only knows one side of the story,” Zhang Xueyan patiently explained. “The principles of economics can be studied in the study, but in practice, one cannot simply look at economics alone. Economics is a discipline involving multiple subjects, and it must be studied in conjunction with reality and various other disciplines.”

He pointed to the shops and stalls below.

"Just like these merchants, most of them don't have much knowledge, but they all chose to come to the promotion conference."

Why would they rather lose money than not gain publicity?

Zhang Xueyan answered his own question, saying, "The reason is very simple; it's simply because of the flow of people here."

Merchants set up stalls here to sell their goods at even lower prices, earning meager profits and sometimes even having to pay out of pocket.

But if we can use the name of Xishan to let more people see our shop and signboard, wouldn't it be much easier to do business in the capital in the future?
This is due to the brand effect!

"Brand effect?" Zhang Juzheng's lips twitched, his head tilted, and his eyes became uneven.

"It's not just about brand effect."

Zhang Xueyan said excitedly.

"Many merchants followed the Jiangnan aristocratic families in hoarding goods and speculating on prices, and ended up losing everything. Their warehouses were piled high with goods, but they didn't know how to sell them."

Even with price reductions, it's difficult to sell them all in a short time, as the required warehousing costs are enormous.

But promotional events make all the difference; people flock here, more people can see the discounts, and information barriers are broken down.

By increasing sales volume in a short period, even if profits are lower, it's still better than before. Even merchants who don't make a profit can sell off excess goods, recoup some capital, and gain a good reputation among the people. Wouldn't that make future business easier?

Zhang Xueyan took a deep breath and concluded.

"Merchants have relieved their pressure, the common people have benefited, the imperial court has more tax revenue, and the entire market has been revitalized. This is a win-win-win situation!"

Zhang Juzheng was quite capable of comprehension. After frowning and thinking for a while, he wrote down a few keywords on a piece of paper and quickly figured out the solution.

Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng had an exceptional learning ability; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to keep up with the other party's line of thought.

Zhang Xueyan, the Minister of Revenue, is now quite like a disciple of Zhang Yunxiu. Even if Zhang Yunxiu himself were present, he would probably be just as good.

Zhang Juzheng let out a heavy sigh and said, "Did you come up with all of this yourself, or did that brat Zhang Shiyuan teach you to say it?"

Zhang Xueyan answered truthfully.

"To be honest, Your Excellency, these days Zhang Zhangwei has been frequently giving lectures at the Ministry of Revenue. I thought that how could the officials of the Ministry of Revenue not understand the principles of economics? So I invited Zhang Zhangwei to give lectures to the officials of the Ministry of Revenue."

There are a whole host of theories about brand effect, all of which are mentioned in economics courses; I'm merely picking up where others left off.

Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly and did not ask any further questions. In fact, these theories were all reflected in Zhang Yunxiu's economics books.

Even if it is written out clearly, very few people can understand it.

“However,” Zhang Xueyan hesitated for a moment before saying, “whether this matter will succeed is still uncertain. For now, the situation seems good. I have communicated with Zhang Zhangwei, and he will definitely intervene if any problems arise.”

Overall, it's still good for the people.

Regardless, even without the aforementioned benefits, the people still received discounts once these goods were sold. For the Ming Dynasty, a slightly weaker economy was not a big deal; the most important thing was to ensure that the people had a livelihood. They didn't need to be rich, but they certainly needed to survive.

Otherwise, with the rise of a massive influx of refugees, even the most diligent efforts of the imperial court would be in vain.

Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, without saying a word.

After peering out the window for a while, he sensed something was wrong and immediately called over his fourth son, Zhang Jianxiu.

"Father, you were looking for me?"

Zhang Jianxiu was tall and strong, and his muscles were becoming increasingly muscular.

For some reason, Zhang Juzheng didn't feel very happy looking at his fourth son's increasingly robust appearance. On the contrary, looking at his simple and honest expression, he felt as if he were looking at a fool.

Zhang Juzheng sighed and said, "When dealing with matters of the court, address people by their official titles."

Zhang Jianxiu quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Your son almost forgot, Your son pays his respects to the Grand Secretary!"

Zhang Juzheng: "."

He shook his head, deciding not to be harsh on the four sons anymore, and instead asked them softly.

"Regarding Shi Yuan's handling of the promotional event, are you in charge of directing the Imperial Guards in the capital?"

Zhang Jianxiu smiled and nodded, saying, "The Grand Secretary should know that this promotional event is crowded and chaotic, and there are bound to be all sorts of shady characters who sneak in. Although the petty scoundrels in the capital have been eliminated, there will inevitably be some with bad intentions."

"I have already instructed the lower-ranking officers to increase vigilance to prevent any accidents from occurring."

Zhang Juzheng asked in a deep voice, "Have you noticed anything unusual?"

He turned his gaze to a group of people inside the promotional event.

Zhang Jianxiu glanced at it and immediately realized what it meant.

"Are you referring to His Majesty?"

His expression was strange.

"For some reason, His Majesty became temperamental and wandered around the sales fair with a group of palace servants. He didn't cause any trouble, but he spent money like water, scouring and buying goods everywhere. He seemed to be blinded by greed."

"When did the palace become so short of goods?"

Zhang Juzheng's face immediately froze. There was a huge crowd below, and he could only vaguely find the group of people. They were swaggering around, and he thought it was some noble family coming out to disrupt the market. He never expected it to be the Wanli Emperor.
Zhang Juzheng remained silent, but his expression betrayed his anger; he was clearly somewhat furious and even felt a slight urge to act.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that the Wanli Emperor was no longer the obedient student he was as a child.

Back when the Wanli Emperor was young, Zhang Juzheng acted as a "strict father" in order to cultivate a wise ruler.

Of course, there would be no fighting, but Zhang Juzheng's "advice" often silenced the emperor.

As time passed, Emperor Wanli was no longer the child he once was, and Zhang Juzheng began to reflect on whether his past actions were correct.

Zhang Juzheng clenched his fist tightly, then unconsciously relaxed it.

He couldn't even control his own children, let alone an emperor.

Finally, Zhang Juzheng said leisurely.

"Then let His Majesty go. Send a team of men to protect him, and make sure nothing goes wrong with His Majesty."

"Hey! Butler Zhang, please help me book this shop! Everything is half price, it's such a bargain!"

"What? A bolt of brocade only costs ten taels of silver? Steward Zhang, what have you been doing all day? How come all the things in your house are so expensive? Buy them all! Buy them all for me!"

"You also have bamboo paper from Qianshan? Guanshan paper, Bailu paper, and Maobian paper! I want them all!"

"Hey! How can there be women from the brothel here? This is utterly indecent! Guards, take them all away!"

Seeing that Emperor Wanli had gone mad and was even about to bring the women from the Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment venue) into the palace, Consort Zheng finally found a glimmer of hope in this critical moment. She suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted to Emperor Wanli.

"Your Majesty, look! There's a new object over there. Many people are gathering around it. Let's go take a look too. It seems quite novel!"

At this moment, Emperor Wanli had already begun to "select his generals".

"This woman is quite good; she could play the role of Lady Jinhua."

"Hey! Isn't this just like a fairy maiden!"

"This one is a bit old, but playing the role of the Old Mother of Lishan must be quite an experience!"

He couldn't help but feel annoyed when he heard Consort Zheng calling him.

"What are you doing, my lady? I'm doing something important."

Seeing that she couldn't stop it, Consort Zheng quickly pointed into the crowd and said.

"Sir, please look, there's Zhang Shiyuan over there, holding something up as if he's trying to sell some novelty. Don't you want to go and take a look?"

Emperor Wanli hesitated for a moment, then turned his head to look and found that Zhang Yunxiu was indeed in the crowd.

At this moment, Zhang Yunxiu stood on a high platform in the center of the square. He was dressed in a blue Taoist robe and looked very energetic. Around him were various boxes of colorful cubes.

Yu Xiangdou stood to the side, also looking very happy, and shouted into the crowd through a megaphone.

"Dear fellow villagers, uncles and aunts! Good news! Great news!"

"Xishan Daily Chemical Products Workshop is officially open! Grand opening promotion: Spend one tael of silver at the promotion today and you can receive a sample of soap."

"This soap is truly top-notch. Just wet it a little, rub it, and the filth on your clothes will be instantly removed. The washed clothes will be even brighter than brand new ones!"

"Our soap is so much better than soapberry; it saves both effort and water!"

"It's not just for washing clothes, but this soap is also unique in the world, far superior to soapberry."

Ladies and gentlemen, as well as those with wives at home, may all purchase one to take home.

"After using this soap, my whole body smells wonderful, like I've been soaked in flower juice, after bathing and changing. I don't even need face powder anymore. My skin is so soft and moisturized after washing; even my husband wants more."

Zhang Yunxiu kicked Yu Xiangdou, stopping the kid from making a lewd joke in public. He then smiled innocently and cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this soap is an extremely convenient product. However, due to the limited technology of Xishan, it is still in limited supply and the price is quite high."

If sales are good in the future, large-scale production will definitely bring down prices.

Today, everyone should act according to their abilities.

“Of course,” Zhang Yunxiu said, pointing to the basin of water beside him. “We also offer trial services. If you are interested, you are welcome to come up and wash your hands with the water to try it out.”

Zhang Yunxiu spoke casually and comfortably, but in the hearts of the people present, a storm was brewing!

(End of this chapter)