Water Margin people

Chapter 1694 Business War (Part )

"Yes, Governor, why should we let merchants make this money!"

Once someone takes the initiative, someone will agree. According to the emperor's intention, a portion of the 70% profit will be given to their troops stationed outside.

"What are you arguing about? Who are you? Businessmen? Do you forget who you are when you see money?"

Lin Chong immediately shouted angrily to stop everyone from talking.

All the generals lowered their heads immediately and dared not speak anymore.

"You are soldiers. Your duty is to defend the country, expand the territory, and conquer the city of sand! You are not peasants who haggle over a few taels of silver! If you don't want to be a soldier anymore, you can go and do business!"

Lin Chong looked at the crowd and continued to scold them. These generals were becoming more and more presumptuous. They were even blinded by money and wanted to do business.

"Governor, that's not what we mean. I can ask the navy brothers to help transport some goods. It's a convenient thing."

Someone spoke fearfully.

"Humph, if you transport a little today and a whole ship tomorrow, will it all become cargo the day after tomorrow? When the enemy comes to kill you, will you go up empty-handed?"

"And if you are so focused on business, how much attention can you pay to fighting? By then, you will be bloated, unable to lift a sword or ride a horse. What's the difference between you and trash?"

"It seems that His Majesty is right. You people are used to the comfort of the army. His Majesty has protected you too well, making you forget the dangers of the battlefield and the responsibilities of a soldier."

Lin Chong looked at the generals. The emperor loved his soldiers too much. The soldiers, who were armed to the teeth, were unwilling to fight. He used all kinds of equipment to create excellent opportunities and fought a crushing battle.

Under such circumstances, it is easy for the army to become lax and think that war is nothing special and they can be more casual.

"Governor, we know we were wrong."

The generals immediately bowed and admitted their mistakes.

"Your Majesty has issued an order. For the military retirement system, all serving soldiers will be evaluated every five years. Those who are not suitable will be discharged. Those who cannot be promoted to officers within ten years and have no special contributions will also be retired! Generals in the army are also among those to be evaluated!"

Lin Chong took out an imperial edict and placed it on the table. He didn't want to take it out so early, fearing that it would affect morale, but now it seems that he has to take some drastic measures.

"Discharge!"

All the generals were shocked. They had never thought about retiring. They were all generals and wanted to stay in the army for the rest of their lives.

"Since you are so undisciplined, it would be a good idea for you to become businessmen after you retire. It will free up positions for us. We don't want people who just sit there doing nothing in our army!"

Lin Chong looked at the generals and said, then he waved his sleeves and left.

Watching Lin Chong leave, all the generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

"General Cao, is Governor Lin really angry?"

Everyone looked at Cao Zheng. They all knew that Cao Zheng was Lin Chong's disciple. This was a special relationship, so his words should be useful.

"Don't look at me, that's the will of His Majesty, we can only obey it. But then again, there's nothing wrong with retiring. Didn't all the former soldiers want to go home?" Cao Zheng said. In the past, the old soldiers of Zhao Song all wanted to go home, but the army wouldn't let them go, so they had to endure the hardship.

"This is a different time. The Qi army is so good, who would be willing to leave? There is a small test every five years and a big test every ten years. What can we do?"

The generals no longer thought about making money from business at this time. No matter how much money they made, it was all hard-earned money and depended on their moods. If they jumped on the bandwagon, they would be the ones to suffer.

Moreover, now they can get that 10% profit without doing anything, plus military pay and rewards, and there is no risk at all. This is definitely better than going into business.

Lin Chong returned to his military tent and immediately began to write a military report. He wanted to report the situation in the army back. The army needed to see blood and a certain amount of casualties to make them feel a sense of crisis, otherwise they would become ignorant young soldiers in the long run.

Unlike Lin Chong's boredom, the merchants who returned to the port were extremely excited. The goods they brought were easily sold at a good price. What could be more exciting than this?

"I didn't expect the business here to be so good. I think I can sell a hundred more ships!"

One person spoke excitedly, and at this moment they realized the vast business opportunities outside the domain.

"Don't be too happy, we still have a lot of things to do! How did we get so much money? It's useless to take the money back. We have to exchange it for goods, valuable goods!
The leading merchant spoke.

"But those people are too unsophisticated and have nothing. I can't really buy their wives!"

A young merchant said that the only valuable goods they exchanged this time were cattle, sheep, horses and camels, but they did not dare to ask for more. These live animals would suffer great losses during sea transportation and would die at any time. Moreover, the Central Plains had already conquered the entire northern grassland and had no shortage of these animals.

"Yes, I don't want any of those camels and cattle today. If we transport them back, there won't be more than three to five hundred of them alive. The dead ones can only be thrown into the sea. That's a loss!"

"Why not just transport the money back?"

"The quality of this silver is also poor, and I will have to pay a discount when I return..."

The merchants soon began to complain. It was good business, but there were many problems. The goods were not equal and the money was of poor quality, which reduced their profits.

"Just like in India, we need all kinds of spices, medicinal herbs, gold, silver, jewelry, and the like. We should also bring back some local specialties to see which ones we can buy. We can bring more next time."

The leading merchant hesitated for a moment before speaking, saying that he needed to figure out the demands of both markets.

The next day, a group of merchants found Cao Zheng. They wanted Cao Zheng to help them open a chamber of commerce so that they could discuss goods orders with foreign merchants, so that they could trade more conveniently.

Cao Zheng thought about it and agreed. After all, the Chamber of Commerce was established by the military, so he was not afraid of these businessmen doing anything wrong.

At Cao Zheng's invitation, merchants from both sides met each other soon. People who do business have a characteristic in mind, that is, they are very friendly. The merchants from the Central Plains called each other "good brothers" and the merchants from other ethnic groups called each other "good friends", as if they were good friends who had not seen each other for many years.

After some simple courtesies, they got straight to the point. The foreign merchants had big appetites and accepted all goods from the Central Plains, such as tea, silk, porcelain, glass, etc. Some even placed an order for a whole shipload.

Merchants from the Central Plains were delighted to receive these big customers, but according to the rules, a deposit must be paid.

Although the foreign merchants were somewhat worried, they paid the money readily and set a deadline for the sake of the military's face.

"Besides, I also want to buy some spices, medicinal herbs, animal skins, animal horns, gold, silver, gems, etc. before I go back."

The merchants from the Central Plains put forward their own requirements. They were unfamiliar with everything here. Such a large amount of goods would definitely need to be purchased by locals. It would be a sheer waste of time to buy them bit by bit on their own.