1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 299 Behind the Armed Escort

Since the establishment of business relations with mainland merchants, the commercial department has been committed to building a product distribution network based in Guangzhou and extending to other places. However, in view of the backward traffic conditions and relatively harsh floating population The progress of the business department in this area is very slow, basically relying on the self-operation of local merchants like "Furuifeng", which is very low in efficiency and reliability.Especially for contraband such as arms and private salt, it is even more troublesome to transport them to other places. Even a local snake like "Fu Ruifeng" has to do a lot of cover-up work carefully.

Although the current production capacity of various industrial products of the Crossing Group is far from being able to supply a market as large as the mainland, with the gradual expansion of production capacity, the business department must also open up a wider sales market before the products become unsalable.However, the actual situation is far from the fast and efficient product distribution network expected by the business department. To change this situation, the problem of distribution channels must be solved first.

To establish a specialized logistics transshipment system, the current Guangzhou Office is still unable to do so, so Schneider and others have proposed another compromise but effective method, which is an armed escort agency.

Although there was no real "escort bureau" in this period, civilian security agencies with similar functions were nothing new in this period.An organization called "Daxing" appeared in the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, and it gradually became popular in major cities during the Wanli period.This kind of private security organization with a fist pattern as a logo is openly listed for business. The business content is to provide security protection services for travelers, merchants and wealthy families. The local government also recognizes its existence and operating rules. The escorted valuables can also be sealed by the official, so that the owner can rest assured that no one will open the box privately during the delivery.

As the capital of Guangdong and Guangxi, Guangzhou City naturally has a similar organization, but its scale and organizational structure are still at the level of "amateur players" in the eyes of the Guangzhou Office, which is far from the requirements of the Guangzhou Office, and it is not very cooperative. Or the value of the acquisition.On the contrary, the Li family who took the initiative to come to the door gave the Guangzhou Office a new idea-doesn't the Li family themselves raise a large-scale militia?It's better to let them pull out this militia group, and then set up a new organization to realize the preliminary plan of the Guangzhou Office for the construction of distribution channels.

This idea is undoubtedly very feasible. Since last year, the Li Family Militia has been gradually equipped with the [-]-style matchlock guns purchased from Shengli Port and a full set of individual equipment, and the commanders of the militia are also arriving in batches. Victory Port received unified training, and the training time was even longer than that of the North Vietnamese Confederate Army, and its combat effectiveness was still guaranteed to a certain extent.In addition, this militia group had carried out several escort missions before, and successfully transported tens of tons of smuggled salt to prefectures and cities in Guangdong and Guangxi, which has proved their potential in this regard.As long as some targeted training is done, this militia group can be turned into an armed escort team in a short period of time.

Of course, what the Li family is concerned about is not just the fighting power of their militia, but more importantly, how to turn this fighting power into earning power.The Li family has now invested more than ten thousand taels in this militia. Even if they can't get all of them back, it would be good to be able to earn out the daily maintenance expenses.

The Guangzhou Office has also prepared a set of plans. From now on, the main content of this armed escort agency will be divided into two parts, internal and external. Externally, it will mainly undertake the escort work of valuables including gold and silver. It is the delivery of prohibited items operated by "Furuifeng".

At present, "Furuifeng" is still transporting prohibited items such as arms and smuggled salt from Guangzhou to other places in the name of a caravan. check.After the establishment of an armed escort agency, "Furuifeng" can use the method of sealing the escorted goods to deal with various interrogations that may occur on the way-of course, the seal of the box must be obtained from the government, otherwise Its legality is questionable.As for how to communicate and cooperate with the local government, this kind of trivial matter does not need to be instructed by the Guangzhou Office. The old fritter Li Jifeng naturally knows how to handle it.

The Guangzhou Office made the point of talking about this, and of course the Li family and his son have already realized the tricks.The bodyguard team received the task of escorting one box of goods, and they could take ten boxes of goods on the road. As for the contents of the other nine boxes, no one would tear off the official seal for inspection on the way.From now on, the bodyguard team can blatantly transport all kinds of contraband across the state without worrying about being interrogated.To put it to the extreme, where "Furuifeng" wants to transport goods, it can completely invent a client by itself, and then transport a batch of goods that do not actually exist on the road.

Of course, it will not be easy to achieve this level. First of all, it is necessary to manage all the yamen around Guangzhou. The cost is definitely not a small sum.However, the Guangzhou Office generously stated that the start-up capital for the establishment of this institution can be split [-]-[-] with "Furuifeng". From now on, it will be regarded as a business in which both parties have shares. .

For this proposal, the Li family and his son seem to have no reason to object - if this organization is established, then the goods that go through the dark line must come from Shengli Port, and it is reasonable for the Haihan people to intervene.Moreover, the Haihan people will undoubtedly bear nearly half of the daily maintenance costs of the Lijiamin Group. Regardless of whether the organization can make money in the future, at least it can save a lot of money from here.

Of course, the Guangzhou Office does not have too much money and no place to invest. There are still conditions in exchange for this business with "Furuifeng". Second, Haihan has the right to send personnel to accompany the escort team to participate in the entire process of escorting, and Haihan will also send personnel to branch offices in other places in the future.

The purpose of these two requirements is quite clear. The second requirement is simply a copy of He Xi's original words. The mainland intelligence network affiliated to Haihan was gradually established.

He Xi has been in Guangzhou for half a year, but the establishment of the intelligence network has been limited to Guangzhou, and it is difficult to have a suitable opportunity to expand to other places.And this joint venture escort agency undoubtedly provided a good opportunity. In the future, as long as the escort team can go, Haihan's intelligence network can also be extended quickly, and can be armed to a certain extent in a legal form.

When Tao Dong came to Guangzhou, the Guangzhou Office had already talked with Li's family at length, and basically reached a consensus on cooperation.After hearing the face-to-face report of the Guangzhou Office, Tao Donglai also believed that this is a relatively feasible plan-the progress in the commodity distribution network may not be as large as expected by the Guangzhou Office, but for the The role of promoting the establishment of the intelligence system in the mainland is incomparable.For this alone, Tao Donglai felt that the money was well spent.

The actual cost of the Traveling Group is actually far less than the figures in the two agreements. This is because the Traveling Group's investment is mostly discounted by equipment and professional training courses, and the cash is really not much.Calculated on the basis of the 200 members of the Li family's militia, the investment amount of the Traveling Group is only two to three thousand taels of silver per year, and it will be returned after selling an extra twenty or thirty tons of salt.Even if the scale of the Li family militia expands in the future, it is actually within the ability of the Traveling Group. Compared with the activity funds approved by the executive committee to the intelligence department of the Guangzhou Office, this amount is really just a small number.

Of course, such weapons as muskets must not be publicly equipped by armed escort agencies. At most, such things can only be packed in boxes, and it is absolutely impossible to swagger through the market with muskets on their backs in broad daylight.However, this problem should be resolved within this year. The military industry department of Victory Port is already developing a short version of the musket. Although the range will be shortened, the power will be further increased. Its purpose is mainly to provide to Qian Tiandun on the North Vietnamese side. It is used by special warfare companies to facilitate their carrying in the mountain jungle environment.

In addition, there is a less powerful police version that will be equipped to the soon-to-be-established police department. Now that there is such a demand here in Guangzhou, it can be downgraded to another level on this basis, and a short-barreled version with weaker performance can be equipped. Li family group.As for the matchlock guns originally used by the Li Family Militia, they could be sold to the Fujian side. If they were operated well, they could even make a small profit—Xu Xinsu was selling weapons with money waiting for someone.The Li Family Militia is expected to become the first armed force equipped with flintlock weapons outside Victory Port.

After the Li family was settled, the Guangzhou Office immediately used its business relationship to start looking for customers for the armed escort organization that was still planned, and planned to promote the armed escort business as a subsidiary business of the bank.At present, these out-of-town businessmen who have accounts in the "Haihan Development Bank" and have a huge amount of money have become the focus of attention of Schneider and others.Although the amount of money exchanged by the "Haifeng" is not one of the best, it has a strong regularity. Almost at the beginning of every month, Wang Qin, the business director of the "Haifeng" in Guangzhou, will go to the Guangzhou Office to pick up the money. The amount of cash ranging from [-] to [-] was transported back to the head office in Huizhou by other means.

It just so happened that Tao Donglai also planned to ask a client to find out about the operation of the bank, so Schneider came forward and invited Wang Qin to the inner courtyard for an interview.Sure enough, after asking, Wang Qin was very interested in this matter, and Schneider seized the opportunity to introduce the planned business to him.

After hearing this, Wang Qin asked back: "Since it is the escort team organized by your side, I am naturally relieved, but there is one thing I don't understand. Why is your escort fee lower than other companies? ' Two words, but I have never heard of cheap goods."

Schneider smiled and said: "The price is high or low, which is linked to the scarcity of the product. The price of our Haihan product is high, in fact, it is just because there are too many people who want to buy it and our production capacity is very limited. When the production capacity increases, the price will naturally increase. It will be lowered. But this escort business is not the same as commodities, we don’t want to make a lot of money from this business, but just want to use this business to expand business routes.”

Wang Qin nodded thoughtfully, not knowing whether he believed it or not.

Naturally, Schneider didn't say anything. The low quotation for the escort is not entirely the reason he just said, but part of it is the profit from transporting his own private goods along the way. In addition, he also expanded this armed escort team into a logistics company. The plan to reduce the cost of a single waybill by increasing the amount.Even with a slight loss in the early stage, in the long run, Schneider is still full of confidence in this business.

Tao Donglai then turned the topic back to the bank's business, persuading Wang Qin to try out the bearer small-value bank notes that "Haihan Development Bank" will soon launch.In addition to being able to use this kind of banknote in Shengli Port, several local merchants in Guangzhou, such as "Furuifeng", "Yongfeng Buxing", and "Haihan Bookstore", will also begin to accept this kind of banknote.In addition, "Chenghai Bank" in Chaozhou Prefecture, and Xu's Commercial Bank in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, Fujian Province, have already negotiated an agreement with the Guangzhou Office on the use of such small-value banknotes, and within this year, "Haihan Development Bank" will open The semicolon will be opened in Zhangzhou, and merchants in Fujian will also be able to enjoy the service of universal deposit and withdrawal at the local semicolon.

The "Haifeng" to which Wang Qin belongs is headquartered in Huizhou, which is just across Chaozhou Prefecture from Zhangzhou, and has many business contacts with Fujian. This news makes him very tempted.After getting used to the universal deposit and withdrawal service provided by "Haihan Development Bank" in Guangzhou, Wang Qin really felt the convenience. If Zhangzhou can also provide such a service, then his own business will traffic it from Zhangzhou in the future. When commodities arrive in Guangzhou, the delivery in silver is much more convenient.

Immediately, Wang Qin readily agreed, and asked Schneider to transfer 500 taels from his account immediately and exchange it for this kind of unregistered small bank note.After Schneider gave the order, Yu Xiaobao came in with a tray in a short while.On the tray was a stack of new-style banknotes with denominations of ten taels, 50 taels and 100 taels, with a small brocade box on top.

"A small gift is not a respect, Boss Wang, don't dislike it!" Schneider pushed the tray in front of Wang Qin with a smile.

Wang Qin opened the small brocade box and saw that it was a one-inch-square glass seal. ! President Shi is too polite!"

Insufficient production capacity coupled with conscious hype, Haihan's glass products have always remained high in Guangdong and Guangxi, and custom-made products that are only sold to a small number of collectors are even rarer.Before that, Wang Qin asked Guangzhou Office to customize a set of glass stationery for a wealthy businessman in Huizhou. The price was doubled just because the owner's name and two poems were engraved on it.There is a clear price tag on the product catalog of the Guangzhou Office, and the engraved price of glass custom-made products is ten taels per character, and an additional fee will be charged if the size exceeds five cents.For custom-made products such as glass seals, the minimum starting price is more than 80 taels, and with engraved characters, the market price is well over a hundred taels. Wang Qin is not pretending to be so polite.

Schneider said: "In the future, if Boss Wang needs anything, just write a letter, stamp it with this seal, and send someone to the Guangzhou Office. We will send someone to handle the business at your door, saving Boss Wang the trouble of running around."

Wang Qin closed the lid of the box and replied with a smile: "That's not possible. If I don't come, how can I get advice from Mr. Shi from time to time?"

Schneider said: "Speaking of this, I have an idea recently. I don't know if Boss Wang is interested in participating in it."

"If it's a good thing, Mr. Shi, don't forget to count it as your subordinate!" Wang Qin was in a good mood at this time, and began to speak casually.

Schneider explained: "That's it, our Guangzhou Office intends to establish a new organization with businessmen from Fuzhou and Guangzhou who have business dealings with us..."

"Chamber of Commerce?" Wang Qin asked without waiting for Schneider to finish.

Schneider shook his head and said: "It's not just a traditional chamber of commerce. The target of this organization is merchants who are willing to cooperate with us and make a fortune together. It is not limited by region or business scale. This is because the business we want to do is relatively large, and a single company The combined strength of the two is far from enough.”

Wang Qin was stunned and said: "As far as I know, there are at least twenty or thirty merchants in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces that have business dealings with you. What kind of business requires so many merchants to unite to do business?"

Schneider smiled and said nothing, Tao Donglai took over the conversation and said, "Has Boss Wang ever been to Victory Port?"

Wang Qin nodded and said, "I was fortunate enough to go there once a month ago, but I went there in a hurry and didn't have time to pay a visit to Mr. Shi."

Tao Donglai said, "What does Boss Wang think of Shengli Port?"

Wang Qin thought for a while before answering: "When I first arrived in Xia, it was hard to imagine that the local area was just a new port that had been open for less than a year. Whether it is the port facilities or the local environment, it can be regarded as one of the best among the ports I have been to! I heard that your side is good at engineering construction a long time ago, and it was only after I went to Shengli Port that I saw the indescribable power of the rumors. I also heard some sayings at the time that the Yazhou government intends to hand over some of the wasteland under its rule to To develop for you."

"It's true, but we didn't have so much energy to manage areas other than Shengli Port." Tao Donglai nodded in affirmation of Wang Qin's statement: "If there is a new opportunity now, create a second one." , the third Victory Port, will Boss Wang be interested in participating?"

Wang Qin's eyes lit up: "Mr. Tao is not joking, is he? Are you really planning to open a new port? Can you reveal the details?"

"Of course." Tao Donglai nodded and said, "The new organization we mentioned just now is prepared for this."

(End of this chapter)