The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 393: World Situation (Continued)

The Daxing River (today's Brisbane River) originates from Xuanxiao Mountain (today's Brisbane-Couillard Mountains), and has two main tributaries, the Meihua River (Stanley River) and the Lanling River (Bremer River). It is nearly 350 kilometers long, flows southeast, and finally turns northeast to flow into the Daxing Bay. The Daxing River is like a bright ribbon, slowly floating down from the mountains and the sky, flowing through the red and green fields, winding and twisting, making a few turns in the city, and then disappearing into the distant valley.

In the 1701th year of Shaoning (), a dam was built in the upper river valley more than kilometers away from the Daxing River in order to retain the abundant water inland and also to regulate flooding in the downstream during the flood season.

After the construction of this dam was completed, a vast lake was formed in the river valley. It was named Heshan Lake and is the main source of water for Daxing City and several surrounding cities.

Heshan Lake is a picturesque place with mountains and waters connected together. It is an excellent holiday resort. The lake is clear and turquoise under the sun, and there are many beautiful manors and villas scattered on the hillsides or flat areas of the lakeside, which are scattered in an orderly manner and set off against the green vegetation in the mountains.

On the meadow beside the lake, flowers, grass and green grass compete for beauty, creating a poetic and picturesque rural scenery.

"Brother Shao, how come you are alone here? ... Is there anything difficult?"

In a manor by the lake, Luo Yuanxing and his eldest son Luo Shiqi slowly walked up to Shao Zhengli, the fourth in command of the "Taishunxing" of the Qin Dynasty, and greeted him with a smile.

"Alas, I received a letter from my brother yesterday, saying that the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office asked my Taishun Bank to donate 100,000 silver dollars for local flood prevention and disaster relief. Tell me, will this never end? It's not even halfway through this year, and my Taishun Bank has already paid more than 800,000 silver dollars to the court and local government offices." Shao Zhengli smiled bitterly, "The Great Qin court has already treated my Shao family as a hen that can lay eggs at any time. Whenever they want, they will come to ask for it without hesitation. In the long run, even if my Shao family has a gold mountain, it will be emptied by the court sooner or later!"

"... Oh, why is it so?" Luo Yuanxing laughed dryly, and then said comfortingly: "Your Shao's Taishun is the leading trading company in Daqin. Even if the court demands too much, it may not hurt you in the slightest. However, the local government is so greedy, it is... it is a bit ugly. In this case, why not gradually transfer your Shao's business to the territory of Qi, perhaps you can completely avoid such troubles."

"It's difficult!" Shao Zhengli sighed, shook his head and said, "It has taken more than 60 years for Taishun to reach its current size. Our main business is also in Daqin. How can we easily transfer here? Just hold on. At least the court and the local government haven't forced us too much, and we still have a chance to make a living. Ha, speaking of this, I have to admire Shopkeeper Luo. More than a decade ago, he came to Qi alone, and through his own hard work, he actually created such a large industry. It's really admirable!"

"Brother Shao, please don't make fun of me here." Luo Yuanxing smiled awkwardly and waved his hands, "Compared to your Shao's Taishun business, my business pales in comparison. ... Haha, it's insignificant, insignificant!"

What a joke! Your Shaw Group's Taishun Bank is a giant with businesses all over the Qin State. It has also invested in countless large trading companies, banks, insurance companies, shipping companies and mines in Qi State. It has established more than 40 plantations in the South China Sea islands. Just a stomp of its feet can cause a huge stir in the business circles of both Qi and Qin States.

As for the claim that the industry cannot be transferred, that is absolutely a lie. Over the past decade or so, your Shao family has transferred nearly half of Taishun Bank's assets to Qi State. Dozens of Shao family members, including you, the fourth in command, have also become citizens of Qi State.

It can be said that if the Qin court finds an excuse to confiscate your Shao family's Taishunxing one day, you will be able to rank among the top ten richest families in Qi State with the numerous assets and wealth transferred to Qi State.

Oh, as for the "Luo Ji" trading company founded by our Luo family in Qi State, it may be quite large and well-known in Chengde County of Daxing Prefecture (now Ipswich, Australia), but compared with Taishunxing, it is not at all comparable.

Over the past decade, relying on his father's political resources and complex relationships in Daqin, the "Luo Ji" trading company has thrived in import and export trade, made a lot of money, and quickly accumulated a huge fortune.

He also knew that the reason why "Luo Ji" could grow to such a scale in the fiercely competitive Qi market and gain the favor of many investors was not because he had extraordinary talent or great power, but because he had a father who was quite powerful in Qin.

His father Luo Renjing rose from the governor of Henan to the governor of Fujian, the governor-general of Shandong, and then to the minister of war. He finally entered the cabinet as an assistant and was promoted to the position of Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace and Second Assistant of the Cabinet, the highest position a minister in the country could hold.

This greatly facilitated the import and export trade that Luo Ji Trading Company engaged in between Qi and Qin, and the countless restricted commodities it represented could openly enter the Qin market at extremely low import tariffs.

At the same time, "Luo Ji" also obtained a reliable and stable supply channel for tea, medicinal materials, tung oil, bristles, ramie and other commodities from the Qin State at prices far exceeding those of its counterparts in the Qi State. It could make extremely astonishing profits just by reselling them.

Taishunhang is one of the most important partners of "Luo Ji" in Qin State, and the trade volume between the two parties exceeds 500,000 yuan.

However, in the past six months or so, Shaw's Taishun Bank has gradually reduced its cooperation with Luo's Trading Company. Many of the price discounts and purchasing priority rights that they had previously obtained are no longer available, which makes Luo Yuanxing very anxious.

You know, before this, "Luo Ji" had attracted the attention of many local capitals due to its advantageous trade position in Qin State. Many local capitals cooperated with it and established many joint-venture trading companies, and then used the name of "Luo Ji" to expand their import and export trade business.

But if "Luo Ji" no longer has an advantageous trading position, those capital forces will abandon it without hesitation, and the painstakingly managed "Luo Ji" business will go downhill and lose its glory.

The reason why Taishunxing had such a change was that Luo Yuanxing's father, Luo Renjing, the deputy minister of the Qin Cabinet, the Prince's guardian, and the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, had an unexpected stroke half a year ago!
Although the old man was saved by the skilled doctor, he was left with hemiplegia. Not only could he not walk or sit, he even needed servants to feed him carefully when he ate or drank.

Under such circumstances, he naturally could not continue to serve as a cabinet minister. After Emperor Qianyuan issued an imperial edict to praise and encourage him, Luo Renjing sadly resigned and returned to his hometown to retire.

In other words, the political backing that the Luo Ji Trading Company relied on in Daqin suddenly collapsed. Although the once extensive network of relationships was not immediately broken, its influence was more or less severely weakened.

Before this, when Luo Yuanxing's father was still in the cabinet, Taishunhang was so attentive and respectful to "Luo Ji". All the purchase lists they listed were provided to the company and its corresponding partners with the best quality, lowest price and fastest speed.

As for the payment of goods, it is very common to delay payment for two or three years.

However, a few months ago, telegrams were sent from the trading stations in Shanghai and Guangzhou saying that Taishunhang had suddenly stopped cooperating with Luoji Trading Company and some of its purchase requests were rejected, claiming that all previous payments had to be paid before they would provide new sources of goods.

Soon after, bad news came from the Maritime Customs Offices in Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Penglai and other places. The local Maritime Customs officials required that the "Luo Ji" Company must pay full taxes on the goods imported in strict accordance with the import tax rate.

Obviously, this is the sequelae of his father's departure!
It is even possible that my father's political opponents will retaliate further by cracking down on and liquidating the Luoji Company's business in Daqin.

This means that the days of making money by relying on his father's power in the Qin Dynasty are over!

These days, while dealing with questions and doubts from his partners, he kept sending telegrams to Daqin, asking his father for help, hoping to gain the network of relationships he had built to maintain his current business dealings.

But the situation was not optimistic, which disappointed him greatly.

If his father had just retired normally and was not paralyzed by a stroke, perhaps his father's former colleagues and subordinates would have taken care of the Luo family's relatives and property.

However, after his father suffered a stroke, it was obvious that his father's health was deteriorating day by day and he might pass away at any time.

Under such circumstances, my father's former colleagues and subordinates naturally had to cling to new bosses and join new political forces. As for what is the "Luo Ji" business? What is your identity, Luo Yuanxing?
Don't forget that his father was promoted all the way to the position of cabinet minister and palace minister. In addition to recruiting many fellow villagers and peers along the way, he naturally made countless enemies and offended many other political forces or factions.

Now that he has suffered a stroke and is paralyzed and has been dismissed from his post, will the other party take advantage of this and retaliate against him? !
During the early Ming Dynasty, Yan Song and Zhang Juzheng were so powerful in the court, but once they lost power, they were like monkeys scattered when the tree fell, and their families were destroyed. Their ending was extremely miserable.

Luo Yuanxing naturally understood the consequences, and was filled with fear and anxiety.

After trying to pay part of the overdue payment for goods from Taishun Bank, he wanted to find Shaw Brothers, hoping that the other party would continue to provide corresponding goods at preferential prices due to their long-term cooperation.

Of course, if Shaw feels that the price is too disadvantageous, it is not a big deal. The normal supply price is not unacceptable, but it is better to stabilize the supply and ensure the quality.

After all, the tung oil, pig bristles, ramie and various medicinal materials exported by the Qin Dynasty could be considered as essential commodities for the Qi State, and the annual import volume was extremely large.

As a company mainly engaged in import and export trade, it would be difficult to survive if it could not obtain a stable supply of the above-mentioned commodities.

Why do you think so many local capitals and businessmen in Hanzhou insist on cooperating with you?

It’s because they are attracted by the Qin resources behind “Luo Ji”!

However, Luo Yuanxing visited Shaw Brothers' spokesperson in Hanzhou, Shao Zhengli, several times, but was turned away and was avoided by the latter.

This attitude says it all.

Without his father's background as a cabinet minister, Luo Yuanxing would be just an ordinary "rich second generation" and no one would take him seriously anymore.

When he was at a loss, he looked for classmates he met during his study in Qi State to see if there was any way to open up new connections and try to maintain his current business.

It just so happened that the classmate's father received an invitation from Dan King Qi Weining, inviting many celebrities and business elites to go hunting in Heshan Lake Manor and discuss the final draft of "The World Records - Shenzhou Volume" compiled by him.

Well, that is to attract investment and sponsor the publication of the new book.

At that time, Shao Zhengli, the fourth head of the Shaw Brothers, will also be invited to attend, which will provide Luo Yuanxing with an opportunity for a direct interview.

Luo Yuanxing immediately expressed his willingness to invest 3,000 yuan to support His Royal Highness the King of Dan in publishing this latest manuscript, and then he received an invitation.

Whether or not to meet Shao Zhengli is secondary. What is important is to be able to curry favor with His Royal Highness the King of Dan, which will have far-reaching significance for himself and the "Luoji" Company.

It is said that this prince has a very close relationship with Emperor Yonglong, and many of the powerful people in Qi State have to curry favor with him. If he can have a say in front of him and establish connections with him, he will be able to continue to make a name for himself in Qi State even without his father's power in Daqin.

However, in half a day of hustle and bustle, he only said three words to the King of Dan before being pushed aside by many dignitaries and celebrities, and he no longer had the chance to join in the fun.

Three thousand yuan!

Converted into Daqin silver dollars, it is equivalent to 10,000 yuan!

The result was that I went up and recognized his face!

Luo Yuanxing was very depressed, so he walked to the pavilion outside the manor, and happened to see Shao Zhengli, the fourth head of Taishunxing, sitting on a soft chair, facing the lake, thinking deeply.

So, he shamelessly came over to talk to the other party and test his attitude.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Shao Zhengli opened his mouth, he complained that Taishunhang was extorted and forced to pay donations by the Qin court and local government, and lamented that business was not doing well. His words seemed to remind him to pay the remaining outstanding payment for the goods as soon as possible.

This made him want to ask for continued cooperation, but he couldn't say the words for a while.

The problem is that although all the unpaid payments for goods are blamed on "Luo Ji", most of them are owed by its own "partners" who are difficult to offend.

You wouldn't use your own money to advance the payment for the goods, right?
Even if you put all your wealth into it, it wouldn't be able to fill such a big hole.

But the Shao family is not to be trifled with. They have invested in and held shares in countless enterprises and trading companies within Qi State, are intertwined with Qi State's capital, and have extensive connections. Moreover, they donated a sum of 200,000 yuan to the Royal Science Fund several years ago and were awarded titles and honors by the royal family.

During the morning tea party, His Royal Highness the Prince of Dan also chatted and laughed with Shao Zhengli, and was very cordial.

What should I do if the other party takes advantage of the situation and forces "Luo Ji" to repay the debt?

"Brother Luo, our Taishun Bank will invest in your Luoji Commercial Bank. What do you think?"

"Huh?..." Luo Yuanxing looked at the other party in surprise.

He was not surprised by the loud address of "Brother Luo", but by the fact that the other party wanted to "inject capital and invest" in Luo's Trading Company.

What does this mean?
Could it be that after losing his father's support, the other party also wanted to take a bite! ?

(End of this chapter)