1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3927

Regarding cooperation with the special operations division, further contact is needed to gradually negotiate the terms of cooperation. At the same time, it's necessary to gauge the attitudes of the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense to confirm that higher authorities won't suddenly suspend this informal cooperation. These tasks are numerous and complex, and cannot be rushed.

As for the promotion opportunity that Dai Chengrong is striving for, it requires all the major salt merchants to mobilize their own resources and work together, and it will also take a certain amount of time to implement.

After Dai Chengrong and the group of veteran salt merchants agreed on a general strategy, they paused the discussion on this topic and turned to their secret visit to Hangzhou.

The old salt merchants did not come to Hangzhou this time because of Dai Chengrong's matter, but for other important business.

The matter is not complicated. After Haihan took over Jiangxi, the ownership of the local salt business had to be re-planned. The salt merchants group hoped to continue the previous cooperation with the executive committee and take over the management of Jiangxi's salt business.

Yangzhou salt merchants have extensive experience in the salt industry and a well-established transportation and distribution network. After introducing Haihan's advanced salt-making technology several years ago, the bottleneck of production capacity has long been resolved, and the current cost of salt production is almost equivalent to that of the major salt fields on Hainan Island.

Previously, a considerable portion of Jiangxi's salt supply came from the salt-producing areas controlled by Haihan. However, the transport of salt from the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Jiangxi was essentially a cross-border trade. Salt merchant groups could not directly control the local salt industry; they merely acted as suppliers, liaising with the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office of the Ming Dynasty.

Now that Jiangxi has changed hands, this region, which administers thirteen prefectures and seventy-eight counties and has a population of millions, consumes more than ten million kilograms of salt a year. Naturally, this is a lucrative opportunity for salt merchants.

However, how this lucrative market should be divided was not up to Dai Yingda and his group. Moreover, they knew that the Yangzhou salt merchants were not the only ones eyeing this lucrative opportunity.

The salt fields are mainly concentrated in Hainan Island and the Pearl River Estuary area. The South China Sea Salt Industry Group has a strong official background, is known for its large production capacity and low cost, and is very powerful. Even the salt market in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces was once impacted by it.

If the Executive Committee hadn't intentionally divided the salt business by region to control the scale of operations in this special industry, the Yangzhou Salt Merchants Group might have already been swallowed up.

The two major regional governments also sent troops to participate in the battle in Jiangxi. After the battle, it will inevitably open the door for some large capital from the south to enter Jiangxi. The Nanhai Salt Industry Group is very likely to be one of them.

Also eyeing Jiangxi is the Beihai Salt Industry Group, whose main production area is located in the Bohai and Yellow Sea regions. Although its ostensible operator is the Ma family of Dengzhou, it is obvious to everyone that it is backed by Chen Yixin, the current head of the Northern Region—who is also the son-in-law of the Ma family.

The Northern Region did not send troops to participate in the war in Jiangxi, but this does not mean that Beihai Salt Industry Group will not turn a blind eye to the newly emerging Jiangxi market.

Fortunately, the Donghai region controls the waterways into Jiangxi, making it difficult for the Beihai Salt Industry Group to extend its reach into Jiangxi. In the eyes of the old salt merchants, it is not enough to pose a real threat.

Their secret trip to Hangzhou had two purposes: first, to meet with Shi Diwen and seek his support; and second, to compete with the South China Sea Salt Industry Group for the operating rights of Jiangxi Salt Industry under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce.

Before meeting Dai Chengrong at Quyuan, the salt merchants had already visited Shi Diwen, but the result was not as satisfactory as they had hoped. "General Shi did not grant your request?" Dai Chengrong asked tentatively, noticing the serious expressions on the old salt merchants' faces.

Dai Yingda replied, "General Shi promised to support us and give us an advantage in the bidding. But he also put forward a very harsh condition. It's a very important matter, so we didn't agree immediately. Therefore, General Shi gave us a day to consider it. We were just about to meet with you, so we would like to hear your opinion first."

Dai Chengrong pressed further, "What conditions did Commander Shi propose?"

He said...the name "Yangzhou salt merchant" needs to be changed in order to be eligible to participate in this bidding.

Dai Yingda paused, a wry smile on his face, and said, "General Shi said that if we compete under the name of Yangzhou salt merchants, we are likely to lose to the South China Sea Salt Industry Group, so we also need an official signboard."

Upon hearing this, Dai Chengrong naturally understood Shi Diwen's intention—he planned to bring the Yangzhou salt merchants group under official control.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment idea of ​​Shi Diwen. In fact, the government had long intended to take over the salt business of the Yangzhou salt merchants. However, the salt merchants were always sensible and never lacked the taxes and incense they were required to pay. Shi Diwen had also been protecting this major patron, which allowed them to maintain their right to operate independently for many years.

However, as the salt industry in other regions gradually came under state control, with the establishment of the South China Sea Salt Industry Group and the North China Sea Salt Industry Group, it was only a matter of time before the East China Sea region followed suit.

For the past two years, there have been gradual rumors that the government will establish the Donghai Salt Industry Group to unify the management of salt production, supply, and sales channels. Local salt merchants, including those from Yangzhou, will all be incorporated into the government.

Of course, this incorporation does not mean that they are no longer allowed to engage in the salt industry, but rather that by tightening management, more of the profits from the salt industry will be channeled into the national treasury.

From the perspective of the salt merchants, this was undoubtedly the state plundering their personal wealth in a special way. But they were all veterans who had worked in this industry for most of their lives, and they understood where their family's wealth came from—without the operating rights granted by the state, they could not have earned such a huge fortune through the salt industry.

Now that the government is taking back the operating rights, they are unwilling, but they have no choice but to cooperate, so that at least they can keep their current wealth and status.

Moreover, if they have the right attitude, the state will also provide them with certain compensation, such as giving the heads of each link in the production, supply and sales chain an official position, so that these salt merchant families can send a group of people into officialdom without lifting a finger.

As for confrontation, that is absolutely out of the question. These Anhui salt merchants were all witnesses to the fate of the Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants who confronted Haihan back then, and none of them wanted or dared to repeat the same mistakes.

After listening to Dai Yingda's account, Dai Chengrong expressed his understanding of the old salt merchants' choice: "Although they will earn less money in the future, they can get more official positions for our seven major families. It can be considered a win-win situation, and they will not suffer a great loss."

Dai Yingda thought to himself that it was not just a matter of less income. In order for each family to maintain such high income in the future, they could no longer rely on the salt industry for revenue. They had to find ways to expand their business projects and investment targets.