prosperous age

"Boss, I'm afraid it's a bit difficult to handle the things that the higher-ups have told us to do."

In a top-notch guest room of an inn in the city of Ava, two people were sitting face to face and talking.

"Yes, now those mines have been divided between Governor Li and Duke Mu. I really don't know what Lord Wei will do and whether he wants to keep these mines."

The two people who were talking, one looked like a middle-aged nobleman, and the other was also middle-aged, but with a slightly darker complexion, obviously having been on the sea for many years.

"Jinlong, now that I think about it, I really shouldn't have volunteered to do this job."

The nobleman said somewhat dejectedly.

The two people in the conversation were Li Jin, the boss of Fujin Chamber of Commerce, and Chen Zhenlong, the shopkeeper of the Chamber of Commerce.

The Fujin Chamber of Commerce was a business firm that conducted trade between the Ming Dynasty and Luzon. However, they were previously commissioned by Deng Zilong to bring back sweet potato vines from Luzon. Not long after they tried to plant them in Fuzhou, people from the Imperial Court's Agricultural Persuasion Department came to inspect them.

Well, although the sweet potatoes had just been planted not long ago, the imperial court seemed to be very concerned about this new crop. Not only did they send people to keep an eye on the planting and production of sweet potatoes, they also took away some sweet potato vines and even dug out some sweet potatoes that had just borne fruit from the ground and brought them back to the capital.

Thanks to his relationship with the South China Sea Navy, Li Jin was able to gain a lot of respect in his hometown of Fuzhou this time. Local officials were all polite to him.

After that, Deng Zilong was stationed in Luzon and could not return to Ming Dynasty at will. Before the Chinese New Year, Deng Zilong entrusted the Fujian Chamber of Commerce, a shipping company, to bring back a batch of Luzon specialties to the capital.

Knowing that Deng Zilong had connections in Beijing, Li Jin took on the job of delivering the goods.

Although Deng Zilong is a military general, it would still be very powerful if he had a civil servant as his backer.

What’s more, they are noblemen in Beijing like Li Jin and Chen Zhenlong, who don’t have many connections in the officialdom.

However, after knowing the families who were going to be sent to the capital, Li Jin became even sadder.

Are you kidding? It's either the home of the prime minister, the minister, the vice minister, or the doctor. Anyone who comes out randomly is not a guest that the Fuzhou prefect can easily treat with disrespect.

So, after receiving the gifts and gift list from Deng Zilong, Li Jin and Chen Zhenlong returned to Fujian. Instead of spending the New Year at home, they set off directly north to deliver the gifts to each household according to the gift list before the New Year.

At the Wei Mansion, they were received by the chief steward Zhang Ji, who presented Deng Zilong's gift as well as their own gifts.

Deng Zilong's gift was mainly a novelty, after all, it was a local specialty of Luzon. However, Li Jin's gift was so generous that even Zhang Ji was a little stunned.

After all, they are maritime merchants. The profits from their business are huge, and they are very generous. They can even compete with salt merchants.

After receiving the gifts, Zhang Ji naturally warmly invited them to have dinner at his house.

During the meal, we chatted and learned that they were the merchants who brought back sweet potato vines from Luzon.

Think about it, when Wei Guangde first persuaded the people from the Agriculture Department to bring it back from Fujian, he specifically asked about it.

Of course, now that the Ming Dynasty has taken root in Luzon, sweet potatoes are no longer a secret. By asking local people, the Ming Dynasty has gained a deep understanding of the cultivation and yield of this crop.

However, after all, Li Jin had put in a lot of effort to complete Deng Zilong's commission and get the sweet potato vines from the barbarians. Even though he had no credit, he did work hard.

As the steward in charge of Wei Mansion's foreign investment, Wei Guangde also invested in Fujin Chamber of Commerce, but not much, only two percent, which was a routine operation of Wei Mansion.

In this way, Li Jin was able to get in touch with Lord Wei.

No matter what, the Fujin Chamber of Commerce has a boat guide, and the fact that they can get this thing in Yuegang shows that the Li family has some influence in Fujian.

Afterwards, the Fujin Chamber of Commerce continued to operate the route from Yuegang to Daimao City. However, Li Jin and Chen Zhenlong also realized that operating only this route had become a bottleneck in the development of the Fujin Chamber of Commerce, and they needed to find a new breakthrough.

The imperial court had no plan to issue additional ship pilots, so the Fujin Chamber of Commerce could not obtain new sea vessels and naturally was unable to expand new routes. But this was not important. Since they had already connected with the Wei family, they could naturally look for other opportunities.

So, Li Jin made a special trip to the capital. It happened that Wei Guangde was planning to do business in Myanmar, and Li Jin volunteered to grab this business.

"Boss, how about sending someone to deliver a message to the capital and see what Elder Wei says?"

Chen Zhenlong suggested at this time.

Li Jin thought for a long time, shook his head and said: “We have not even tried yet and we are sending news to the capital, which makes us seem so incompetent.

No matter what, we have to try first to see what Li Chengliang and Duke Mu think, and then we can pass the message to the capital."

"Emperor Wei, you have written a letter to your boss. If you don't, take the letter to Li Chengliang tomorrow and try.

If he doesn't want to, as the local boss here, we really can't do anything, unless the nobles in the capital take action."

Chen Zhenlong thought about it and it made sense. If there was nothing, what was the point of reporting it to the capital?

"In fact, there may still be a chance with Li Chengliang, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to pass the test of the Duke."

Li Jin frowned and said, "You may not be unaware, but I heard that Governor Li was able to get this job because of the intervention of Lord Wei.

With this kind of friendship, I think even if Governor Li wants to make money, he will not ignore the face of the capital.

It’s hard to say about the Duke, he’s a hereditary noble, and he’s one of the top ones, so it’s hard to tell what he’ll do.”

"Is that so? Regardless of what is said, at least we can get a share of the mine from Governor Li. At least it will be an explanation to the capital.

Boss, I think we should go over there as soon as possible to clarify and settle the matter so that we can pass on the message to the capital this morning.

This time, among the participants, there is not only Lord Wei, but also another noble person, so maybe there is still hope."

Chen Zhenlong thought for a moment and then said.

"Okay, go and prepare a generous gift, and we will go visit Governor Li tomorrow.

Bring the mine catalog as well, and see what he says, at least there will be an explanation."

Although Li Jin was somewhat afraid of this kind of military commander, he thought about the people behind him and felt that nothing should happen.

However, the decision to abandon the boat and land this time seemed a bit hasty, as they came here recklessly without knowing anything about Myanmar.

The most important point in doing business is something I have completely forgotten: don't do it if you are not familiar with it.

The next morning, Chen Zhenlong prepared a carriage and took a cart full of gifts to Li Chengliang's mansion in Ava City.

Although the Ming army had occupied most of Myanmar, Li Chengliang did not move his base from Ava to Toungoo.

After all, he had looked at the map of Myanmar and found that the location of Ava City was actually the key to controlling Myanmar.

The city of Ava is bordered by the northern Myanmar mountains to the north and the southern Myanmar plains to the south, with a wide terrain.

The army can effectively control the four directions of southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest of Myanmar from here, which is very convenient.

Moreover, this is a big city with at least three highways leading to the Ming Dynasty, which can be said to have a great geographical advantage.

If southern Myanmar was not the main economic zone of Myanmar, the location of Ava City would be truly unique.

In those days, maritime trade had just begun to emerge, and the concept of coastal economic belt had not yet been coined, so Li Chengliang's view was actually not wrong.

In later times, when the Industrial Revolution promoted explosive growth in productivity, transportation became increasingly important, which further highlighted the superiority of Yangon's location.

However, that was all brought about by convenient maritime trade.

But from this era, it was still in the stage of colonial plunder. It was not safe to choose a capital on the coast, and it was very vulnerable to attack. With Wei Guangde's post, Li Jin and Chen Zhenlong soon met Li Chengliang. After all, Wei Guangde was also Li Chengliang's father-in-law and a supporter in the capital.

In fact, when Li Chengliang heard that a merchant from the Ming Dynasty came to pay him a visit and brought a letter from the Wei Mansion in the capital, Li Chengliang was very surprised.

However, after meeting each other and getting down to business after a round of greetings, Li Chengliang frowned slightly.

He and Mu Changzuo had already divided up the mines in Myanmar as their own, but many mines were still in the process of resuming production. After all, he was a military commander and did not have many business talents.

In the past, he also had businesses in Liaodong, but most of them were dry shares, and he had very little actual investment.

These people naturally had their own families and did not follow him, who had been dismissed from his post as the general of Liaodong, south.

The merchants who came from the Ming Dynasty were mostly from chambers of commerce in the southwest, and their relationship with Mu Changzuo was obviously much closer than his.

As for local businessmen, not many of them could gain Li Chengliang's trust.

Therefore, in the past two months, many of Mu Changzuo's mines have resumed production in full swing, while the mines in his hands are still in the recovery stage and there is no question of "production" at all.

"Mr. Li, do you mean that Lord Wei wants to acquire a stake in the mine in Myanmar?"

Li Chengliang repeated the question, but in fact Li Jin had already made it very clear.

"Yes, Lord Li, the reason I came here is because I was entrusted by Lord Wei to acquire the mines in Myanmar.

However, when we searched for the original owners of these mines, we found out that most of them were nobles from various tribes in Myanmar. They had been arrested and sent to the capital.

So, these mines should have been taken over by the imperial court, so I took the liberty of coming here to visit you and want to know how the imperial court plans to deal with these mines."

The Ming Dynasty's intervention in Myanmar naturally led to a major reshuffle of the power here.

Most of Myanmar’s mining resources belong to the leaders of various tribes. Now most of these people have fallen into the hands of the Ming army and become prisoners of war. This is also the reason why the Ming army can take over these mines.

Confiscated.

It's that simple and straightforward.

However, these mines were not included in the Ming army’s spoils of war account books because the owners of these mines had changed. It was no longer the captives, but a group of white gloves.

As for the local businessmen who were originally involved in these mines, they voluntarily gave up their shares, otherwise they would have fled to the territory controlled by the remnant forces in western Myanmar.

Neither Li Chengliang nor Mu Changzuo would keep them.

"I wonder if Lord Wei intends to take full control of these mines or..."

Li Chengliang asked cautiously.

Opposite us is Wei Guangde’s representative, so in fact, we are all family.

However, the topics being discussed were too sensitive and he had already regarded them as his own property.

"Sir Li, we have actually arrived here for some time and we know the current situation.

Wei Gelao and another nobleman from the capital are determined to acquire the mines in Burma. Of course, since they sent us here, it is naturally to make money through harmony."

Li Jin began to tell what he knew, and Li Chengliang's expression did not change as he listened to his words.

If this was Liaodong, even if the man in front of him was sent by Wei Guangde, Li Chengliang would not mind letting him have an accident.

The generals of the border troops are so strong and courageous.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case here now.

“Nowadays, some mines in Myanmar have resumed production and produced a lot of copper ingots, gold and silver, while others are still under repair. So, I came here this time with the purpose of cooperating with Lord Li.

If we cooperate according to the conditions I proposed before, Lord Li's mines will be able to resume production in the shortest possible time, allowing Lord Li to see tangible benefits."

Finally, Li Jin told the method he and Chen Zhenlong used last night.

We already know that Myanmar was divided between Li Chengliang and Mu Changzuo, so we should defeat each of them based on their situations.

Li Chengliang's mines were obviously recovering very slowly due to the lack of business talent.

Many of the people they brought with them were old shop owners, some of whom were involved in mining in the southeast and were very familiar with mining.

This is their strength, they can cooperate with Li Chengliang.

"You provide the necessary expenses, and you are also responsible for production and sales. We only take care of the dividends.

This is a good idea, but giving me two components is a bit too little."

According to Li Jin's calculations, since the Fujin Chamber of Commerce provided money to help the mine resume production as soon as possible, it would naturally take the lion's share.

As for the capital, according to Zhang Ji's suggestion, it also needs to be 30%. So even if Li Jin repeatedly calculates the costs and benefits, the Chamber of Commerce must earn at least 50% of the money it puts out in order to make a profit.

After 50% is distributed to the capital, Li Chengliang will only have 2% left.

Of course, these 50% of the shares were actually given away for free, and all the investment was made by the Fujin Chamber of Commerce.

However, mining in this era is a business that makes huge profits with no investment.

Even if you only take 50%, you can almost get your money back in six or seven years.

In fact, mining in the Ming Dynasty, whether openly or privately, was pretty much like this.

Government officials at all levels also need to be taken care of, so it is impossible to have less.

This time, the main reason is that the capital city wants a little too much.

Without doing anything, 30% of the money will be gone. It really shows that you have a big appetite.

Now Li Chengliang thought it was too little, Li Jin hurriedly smiled and said: "Master Li, you don't know that the operation of these mines would be difficult to maintain without the support of the capital.

In fact, the three groups include not only Lord Wei, but also another nobleman in the capital. The silver they get can naturally ensure that these mines can be mined for a long time without any interference.

This is a long-term business, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it can be passed down for generations."

"Oh, who else in the capital is involved?"

Li Chengliang's heart moved and he couldn't help asking.

Several names kept flashing in Li Chengliang's mind. There were only a handful of people in the capital who could cooperate with Wei Guangde.

"Butler Zhang never told me this. He just said that he was very powerful."

Li Jin smiled.

"Mr. Li, what do you plan to do with Lord Mu? As far as I know, he has already started to invest money."

Li Chengliang smiled jokingly.

Li Chengliang accepted the extortion. (End of this chapter)