1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 880 Zhoushan Merchants Association ([-])
Although Wu Huanzhi is from Southern Zhili, he has traveled a lot in Zhejiang in the past, and he is quite familiar with the geographical situation.He noticed that these places in Wenbotou just ran through the entire boundary of Zhejiang from east to west. The westernmost Quzhou Prefecture is the only state capital in Zhejiang that borders on the inland Jiangxi. This perfectly connects the route from Ningbo to Jiangxi. The entire overland passage is probably indispensable for the glassware flowing from Quzhou to Jiangxi in the future.Of course, the economic cost of realizing this kind of plan is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Even a businessman like Wu Huanzhi can only envy and hate him.

After the bidding for the franchise right in Zhejiang was over, Yang Yun on stage drank a few sips of water before announcing the start of the bidding for the Southern Zhili area.Wu Huanzhi secretly made up his mind that if there was no more than 5000 taels in the bidding price, he would fight for it himself, and at worst, he would use all the goods he brought to counter the price.Among the fourteen prefectures and four Zhili prefectures, there may be places that no one cares about. If a really blind cat bumps into a dead mouse, it will be a windfall.

Nanzhili, referred to as Nanzhi for short, was one of the two Beijing areas in the Ming Dynasty, that is, the area directly under Nanjing.However, after Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved his capital to Beijing, Nanzhili was no longer a political area, but just a collective name for Nanjing, nearby prefectures and Zhili Prefecture.Nanzhili itself has no government offices, institutions, or chief executive. Although Nanjing Yingtianfu is the capital, it is only at the same level as other state capitals in the Nanzhili area and has no jurisdiction.For example, in the Suzhou government where Wu Huanzhi lived, the affairs of the household department were managed by the Sichuan department, but the affairs of the criminal department and the supervision and censorship were managed by the Guizhou department, and the jurisdiction was not concentrated in Yingtianfu.However, when Haihan was planning the investment promotion meeting, it still treated the Nanzhili area as a political district. No one cares too much about such details.

Sure enough, as Wu Huanzhi expected, due to geographical and time issues, only a few state capitals near the sea in Nanzhili had more people who got the news, and not many businessmen who could come to Zhoushan Island in time to participate in the investment promotion meeting .Although Wu Huanzhi failed to win the franchise in Suzhou, Yangzhou, Huai'an Prefecture and other affluent areas, he took advantage of the opportunity to snatch the quota of Guangde Prefecture at a price of 500 taels of silver.Although this price is a bit painful to Wu Huanzhi, it should not be to the extent of losing money.

In fact, when he just won the franchise, someone in the back row patted him on the shoulder and asked him if he would like to resell the franchise at a higher price. Insufficient preparation, just not bringing enough money.

It was already noon when the bidding for the franchise rights of glassware in these [-] places in Nanzhili was completed one by one.On the stage, Yang Yun asked everyone if they needed to go out to eat, or to send lunch to the venue to make do with it. As a result, everyone in the meeting chose the latter, and kept urging Yang Yun to carry out the following projects.

Glassware is just one of the nine major items in this fair, and it took only half a day to complete one-third of the bidding. I'm afraid the time will be in the middle of the night.A little delay here is a trivial matter. The key point is that the duration of the investment promotion meeting is only three days, and other projects will start at the same time in another venue starting from the afternoon.Some well-capitalized businessmen originally intended to compete for several more projects, so they naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity because of this, and finished their affairs here early so that they could go to other fields immediately.

Wu Huanzhi didn't have so many ideas. His original intention in coming to Zhoushan was just to sell his own silk, and even grabbing the franchise of this glassware was just a whim, and he was already satisfied if he could get one. For the other two types of glass products, he didn't have much interest in continuing to watch the battle. He planned to go out to have lunch before looking at other content.

After Wu Huanzhi reported his intention to the staff, someone took him out of the venue and went to a nearby yard to go through the franchise registration procedures.Only then did Wu Huanzhi ask the staff if he could use the goods he brought as collateral for the previous bid.

The staff member smiled and said, "This is of course no problem. Even if you don't have enough money, you can still owe us the money first. There is no need for physical guarantee, as long as you can verify your identity."

Wu Huanzhi blurted out, "How much can I borrow?"

The other party responded: "We have a list here. Merchants on this list can borrow up to 1 taels of silver. If they are not on the list, they can only borrow up to 3000 taels."

Wu Huanzhi is also a smart person, and Xindao's list probably includes those big businessmen who received invitations from Haihan.For these wealthy businessmen who spend a lot of money, it is really not an exaggeration to borrow 1 taels of silver based on their reputation.However, for a stranger like himself who was dealing with him for the first time, Haihan dared to borrow 3000 taels without mortgage. This really surprised Wu Huanzhi, but he figured out the mystery immediately.

It is true that Haihan borrowed money, but the borrowed money probably cannot be taken out of Zhoushan Island, and it may not even be able to be taken from his own hands.Foreign merchants have no other place to spend money on the island, and the money spent is basically in the pockets of the Haihan people. The so-called borrowing is probably just a paper IOU instead of cash delivery at the time of settlement. For the Han people, it's just going from the left pocket to the right pocket, and the risk has been minimized.

As for whether there will be someone who refuses to repay the debt, Wu Huanzhi feels that the possibility is quite low. With Haihan's business reputation that can quickly make hundreds of thousands of money with a single signboard, if they come forward to declare that XX borrowed money Also, I'm afraid it will be difficult for this person to get along in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang business circles.What's more, the Haihan people are so tyrannical by force, no one can stop them if they really want to use armed forces to collect debts.

Wu Huanzhi inquired about the detailed rules of the loan with the mood of giving it a try. As expected, the borrowed money can only be used to pay for the deal with Haihan, and the real loaned money is not even a copper coin. There will be.However, since Wu Huanzhi didn't have enough cash and needed to mortgage the goods, the staff asked Wu Huanzhi to go to eat first, wait for the goods to be inspected and counted on the wharf, and after the value of the goods was calculated, the franchise agreement was signed. Wu Huanzhi was naturally sympathetic to this no disagreement.

Wu Huanzhi took his entourage to find a nearby restaurant. He originally wanted to order more food and wine to celebrate the victory, but he never thought that the waiter in the shop said that the China Merchants Association will supply drinks according to the number of diners these days, and they don’t just sell them for money. They want to drink more Not at all.

Wu Huanzhi didn't care much about these details, so he immediately asked Xiao Er to make arrangements quickly, so that he could go and see what was going on in the afternoon show if he had time after eating.He wondered if there was still a loan line of 3000 taels available, whether he would think of a way to get some other franchise later.

When he came to Zhoushan Island, Wu Huanzhi was assimilated by the crazy investment atmosphere here without knowing it. Seeing that there are so many rich and powerful businessmen who are richer and more powerful than himself pouring money into it, it is hard not to feel like following the trend. thoughts.He just heard the discussion of merchants in the front row at the venue, saying that when Fuguang bid for regional franchise rights in the past, the merchants who obtained the agency qualification basically earned back the franchise fee within a year, and they could It is said that it is a business that can make a profit without losing money, so it is no wonder that so many merchants came to participate in this investment promotion meeting.

Wu Huanzhi was glad that he came at the right time, otherwise he would have missed such a great business opportunity, but he was also very upset that he didn't have the courage to bring more money, otherwise he might be able to grab a few more regional franchises.

Halfway through the meal, suddenly a group of Haihan soldiers with live ammunition came from the street, and immediately blocked the shop door.Wu Huanzhi was more cautious, and quickly asked his followers not to get up, so as not to cause misunderstanding.At this time, the Haihan people had the final say on Zhoushan Island, if they were injured by these Haihan soldiers for no reason, there would be no reason to do so.

But his silence doesn't mean he's fine. Those who followed the soldiers into the store, as well as the venue staff who had just checked in for him, pointed at his table and said, "That's the few of them."

Wu Huanzhi's heart skipped a beat, and he thought, I didn't provoke anyone, so why did I get into trouble?Could it be that he offended someone by fighting for the franchise right of Guangde Prefecture just now?This doesn't make sense, but for the matter of four or five thousand taels of silver, I'm afraid this amount of money is not enough for the Haihan people to come forward to arrest people, right?
"Don't panic, everyone. We are just ordered to ask these guests to go back and cooperate with the investigation, not to arrest criminals." The leading officer immediately stood up to appease the restlessness of everyone in the store.

Wu Huanzhi got up and clasped his fists and said, "This military lord, since he landed on the island, he has asked himself that he has not done anything illegal. Is there some misunderstanding?"

The officer glanced at Wu Huan, and responded flatly: "We didn't say you did anything illegal, but we just need you to cooperate with our investigation. Boss Wu, please?"

Wu Huanzhi wanted to argue a few words, but the officer lowered his voice and continued: "Boss Wu, we are treating each other with courtesy now, I hope you can cooperate, don't make things difficult for us!"

Now Wu Huanzhi didn't dare to do it again, if the other party turned his back on him and sent him to the Yamen, even if it was found out afterwards that it was a misunderstanding, it would be difficult to clear his reputation.This island is full of people from the business circles in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If the reputation is ruined, it will be difficult to do well in the future.Immediately, Wu Huanzhi, together with a few followers, went out of the shop honestly and went with this group of Hai Han soldiers.

Haihan soldiers led them into a courtyard, and then took away several followers, leaving only Wu Huan in an empty room.After a while, a middle-aged man came in, holding a notebook in his hand, walked to the seat opposite him and sat down.

"Wu Huanzhi, male, from Taicang, Suzhou, 37 years old, mainly engaged in silk trading." The man on the opposite side buried his head while flipping through his book and said: "I arrived at Dinghai Port in Zhoushan by boat yesterday afternoon, and participated in the first monopoly this morning. Right to bid, all the things I said are correct?"

Wu Huanzhi couldn't figure out the background and intention of the other party for a while, so he didn't dare to speak up immediately, so he could only nod his head in agreement.

"The boat you came to Zhoushan on is your own boat or a chartered boat?"

"I rented it at Ningbo Yongjiang Wharf a few days ago." From the other party's question, Wu Huanzhi faintly sensed something bad.

"The boss of the ship and the sailors on the ship, have you known each other before? Have you ever worked together?"

"No, no, I didn't know each other before. The owner of the boat claimed that he had just returned from Wenzhou and had no work to do, so I rented their boat. As for the sailors on board, I didn't even know any of them." Wu Huanzhi quickly defended himself , but I was wondering in my heart that something happened to the people on this ship at the pier.Before he left, he also reminded them not to cause trouble, but he never expected that in less than a day, all the Haihan people would be brought in to interrogate him.When it comes time to settle the ship's fare later, you have to talk about it.

The man on the opposite side continued: "I'll ask you a question next, you should think about it before answering. If we find out that what you said is not true, then we probably won't let you leave Zhoushan easily. Your followers are also there Accept our interrogation elsewhere, don't try to hide anything, maybe someone else will spit you out. Got it?"

Wu Huanzhi insisted: "I have nothing wrong with you, just ask!"

"Before this, did you have any form of contact with the Zhoushan Ship Gang, or did you know any of its members?"

Wu Huanzhi shook his head and said: "Before, my business was handed over to middlemen for resale. Although some goods were given to Zhoushan Ship Gang, I had no direct contact with them."

"Really? Then you have people from the Zhoushan Ship Gang on your ship, how do you explain it?" the other party looked at Wu Huanzhi mockingly and asked.

Wu Huanzhi almost jumped out of his chair. He also knew about the fact that the Haihan people offered rewards for the arrest of the Zhoushan Ship Gang in Ningbo Mansion.I saw the notice on the Yongjiang Wharf that day, among which the reward for the leader Wang Jialin was as high as a thousand taels of silver.At that time, Wu Huanzhi looked at it as gossip, but he never thought that the Zhoushan Boat Gang would have something to do with him.

"I don't know the identities of the sailors on the ship. I just rented a boat. It's impossible to go to the government to check whether their backgrounds are innocent, right?" Wu Huanzhi could only complain to himself.He was thankful that he was able to rent a boat at that time, and there was no time to check whether the identity of the crew was innocent.Moreover, the people on board were old and young, and they didn't look like a gang of pirates.

"Then after you disembarked at the pier yesterday, have you had any contact with these people on board again?" The other party continued to ask.

"No." Wu Huanzhi shook his head without thinking.

(End of this chapter)