1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3184
As the main sponsors of the welcome banquet, the salt merchants in Yangzhou were not in a hurry to make friends with the big figures of the executive committee, but waited patiently for most of the people who were qualified to toast at the main table to complete the process before they panicked He stepped forward leisurely, and Shi Diwen personally introduced them to everyone.

Among the seven most prestigious salt merchant families in Yangzhou, except for Dai Yingda who had met outside the city earlier, the heads of the other six families of Yang, Ji, Ma, Xu, Cui, and Guo were also present.

It is no exaggeration to say that these few families are as rich as an enemy.To them, the reception banquet that hundreds of people were invited to attend was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

It is a very good deal for them to get a chance to be interviewed by the executive committee.

According to Shi Diwen, the projects funded by Yangzhou salt merchants are far more than just this banquet. Many large-scale infrastructure projects in the capital relocation plan also have Yangzhou salt merchants actively participating in various ways.

These Huizhou salt merchants who are known for their shrewdness are so enthusiastic and proactive, of course it is not because of their kindness. Although most of the money they pay is in the name of sponsorship, there is no doubt that they regard it as a long-term investment, and it is not completely unreasonable. Ask for something in return.

Everyone in the executive committee naturally understands this truth.The other party went to great lengths to ask Shi Diwen to arrange a meeting, but of course it wasn't just to show groveling in front of the executive committee.

As a representative of the salt merchant, Dai Yingda stated his intentions straight to the point: "I came from Yangzhou. In addition to meeting with the executive committee members, I also prepared some business plans. I hope to get the approval and support of the executive committee."

Since it is a matter in the commercial field, it is natural that Schneider, who is in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, stepped forward.

Schneider said: "Boss Dai might as well briefly talk about what kind of plans you have. To save time, you don't need to talk about small projects here."

Dai Yingda quickly responded: "That villain just said it straight, we intend to invest in and expand the inland waterway shipping business by targeting the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River, and hope to get the support of the Executive Committee."

Schneider responded with a half-smile: "Boss Dai has a good vision, but the two areas you mentioned are not so simple!"

Dai Yingda said: "If there is no difficulty, I will not come here to bother the adults of the executive committee."

The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River mentioned by Dai Yingda are both extremely important inland waterways. One runs north-south and the other runs east-west, connecting many provinces with rich resources.

For Haihan, who has always attached great importance to shipping, the value of these two inland waterways is naturally needless to say. If there is a suitable opportunity, they must be taken down.

But the problem is that the territory currently controlled by Haihan cannot cover these two inland waterways, and only a small part is under Haihan's control.

The north-south Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, most of the section from Hangzhou to Yangzhou is controlled by Haihan.From Jiangsu to Shandong to the north of Yangzhou, and then to Hebei, the river section basically still belongs to the territory of Ming Dynasty.

As for the Yangtze River, which flows from east to west, the part currently controlled by Haihan is limited to the lower reaches of Zhenjiang to the mouth of the sea.If you want to go further upstream, although according to the trade treaty signed with Ming Dynasty, theoretically, Shanghai Han's merchant ships can also go to the cities in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, but those places are of course not within Haihan's sphere of influence.

The inland waterway shipping business is of course a big piece of fat, but Haihan's shipping companies want to enter the area controlled by Daming, and they will inevitably be subject to various restrictions, both open and secret.Many places will still ban Haihan's ships on some voyages for military restricted areas or other reasons.

With the background of a salt merchant in Yangzhou, if he just wanted to open a few boats and buy dozens of boats for transportation, then he would not have to spend so much trouble to ask the executive committee for favors.

What they want to do is probably the same as operating the salt industry in the past, forming a monopoly in this industry, and then using it to grab considerable profits.

In terms of financial resources, the wealthy Yangzhou salt merchants naturally have the capital to implement such a plan.But as early as 20 years ago, they chose to take refuge in Haihan, and of course they would not receive any preferential treatment when they went to Daming to do business, and they might even become fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered in the eyes of others.

The large and small organizations on the Yangtze River that rely on water for their food, and the governor's water transportation department office that has been in charge of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal for more than 200 years, are not easy to deal with.The past practice of Yangzhou salt merchants relying on money to get through the joints may not be easy to use in these special fields.

Therefore, what Dai Yingda said about "seeking the support of the executive committee" is obviously not as simple as verbal support, but that the executive committee should take substantive measures to support the Yangzhou salt merchants.

These measures may be political, diplomatic, or even military, but no matter which one they belong to, they are probably not to the extent that Schneider can operate independently.

Schneider looked at everyone present and said, "What do you guys say?"

Tao Dong took a look at Shi Diwen, nodded and said: "The bosses in Yangzhou are so enterprising, I think this is a good thing. If you have a detailed plan, you might as well submit one first."

Dai Yingda quickly responded: "Yes, yes, the villain has prepared a plan and will send it to the places where the adults are staying later."

Dai Yingda has dealt with Haihan for so many years, and his family is also an official in Haihan, so he naturally knows the process of the government.If he can't come up with a decent charter, people will just treat him as empty talk and won't take it seriously at all.

So before coming to Hangzhou, he called six other salt merchants to agree on a plan, and he also specially found a few masters with outstanding calligraphy to write a written plan.

However, Dai Yingda also knew that the smooth progress of this stage was not due to the greatness of the plan he had proposed, but also thanks to the sufficient foreshadowing in the early stage, and Shi Diwen's introduction in the middle, these executive committee members Only the great people in the meeting will give themselves a chance.

If they also think it is feasible after reading the plan, there will probably be one or several interviews. At that time, they will inevitably have to deal with various questions raised by senior officials. That is the really difficult stage.

But no matter what, it was a good start, and Dai Yingda was quite satisfied with it.

And looking at the guests at the banquet, the salt merchants had been interviewed for a relatively long time.

The magistrates also from Yangzhou are only qualified to stand in a row at the table and toast.In contrast, if they can have a few words with the senior officials of the Executive Committee, their treatment is quite good.

As for whether the proposed plan will interest the executive committee, Dai Yingda is [-]% sure, because not only salt merchants like them, but also big figures in the government are involved in the formulation of the plan, and the purpose of the plan is not only It is to obtain commercial interests, and the official will is implemented in it.

(End of this chapter)