Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 340, Business Company

"I heard you established a mutual aid society in Nanjing?"

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Fang Yong opened a file and asked with a smile.

With a thud, Shen Tu below knelt down on the ground.

"Your Highness, I am guilty!"

Fang Yong put down the file and asked:
"What are you guilty of?"

Shen Tu kowtowed and said:
"Your subordinate has committed the crimes of negligence, embezzlement, and most seriously, disobeying the king's orders and forming a private society!"

Shen Tu was a talent selected by Fang Yongyong through practical examinations in Huaizhou in the past.

Shen Tu came from a very ordinary background, just an apprentice in a shop. Later, he obtained a batch of supplies during the war and started trading. Eventually, he passed the practical examination and joined Fang Yong's service.

At that time, Fang Yong was short of talent. Shen Tu stood out among the candidates who had passed the practical examination. He was first noticed by Xue Da Quezi and then recommended to Fang Yong by Xue Da Quezi.

During his first meeting with Fang Yong, Shen Tu proposed the idea of ​​a "National Chamber of Commerce".

This is a very subversive idea.

It is somewhat similar to a capital pool.

In short, the idea was to have Fang Yong use Huaizhou as his base, attract merchants from all over the country, promise them status and benefits, and establish a huge chamber of commerce.

At that time, the rule of Dae Hee was based on aristocratic families, which was basically a hereditary structure. There was no place for merchants, who were at the bottom of the profit chain.

Shen Tu's proposed chamber of commerce structure is based on capital and money, which greatly enhances the rights of merchants. As a result, merchants from all over the world will flock to support Fang Yong in defeating Da Xi.

Army, provisions, weapons, armor, warhorses—Fang Yong need not worry about any of these things. The Chamber of Commerce will gather all its resources and provide everything it can to help Fang Yong reach the top.

However, Fang Yong could also see that if he defeated Da Xi in this way, he would inevitably be controlled by the Chamber of Commerce after the defeat, and he would need to put in more effort to eliminate the influence of the Chamber of Commerce afterwards.

Taking all this into consideration, Fang Yong did not accept this strategy at the time, but instead chose to develop his own power little by little and use the power he developed to seize the world.

The latter is undoubtedly more difficult, but since the power is in one's own hands, it is more reassuring to use it.

Although the strategy proposed by Shen Tu was not adopted, he is undoubtedly a talented person.

The idea proposed by the other party is very advanced and already has some of the prototypes of a modern society. Although there are great hidden dangers, if Fang Yong did not have a system, he might really consider this strategy.

Therefore, Fang Yong subsequently valued Shen Tu highly.

After capturing Nanjing, Fang Yong appointed Guo Yu to be in charge of Nanjing's administration and Shen Tu to be in charge of Nanjing's commerce.

Shen Tu was later appointed as the army's transport commissioner, responsible for escorting the army's provisions and supplies.

Shen Tu did not disappoint Fang Yong.

Not only did they perform their escort duties exceptionally well, but they also made significant contributions during the attack on Chuzhou.

In Jinling, he also performed his duties very well in cooperation with Guo Yu. He formulated many policies to stabilize commerce, worked with Zhai Xun to eliminate bandits in Jinling, attracted many merchants to trade in Jinling, and quickly restored Jinling from ruin.

If things continue like this, the other party will truly become a fine piece of jade.

just.

About six months ago, around the time Tian Tianrui started his uprising in Henan, some things happened.

It's not actually a bad thing.

According to the investigation of the case files, Nanjing had basically recovered its former prosperity. Thanks to Fang Yong's miracle of a double harvest, the people were very wealthy, and the commercial market was larger than ever before.

However, as businesses are newly revived, it is inevitable that some competition and conflict will arise when they develop to a certain extent.

As the ancients said, the marketplace is like a battlefield. This is a very vivid description.

Stealing someone's job is like killing their parents.

So-called business competition is not about stealing trade secrets, creating business barriers, or manipulating public opinion—it's not about benevolent tactics.

Real competition is often extremely brutal and ruthless.

For example, one could directly hire skilled martial artists to infiltrate the opponent's home and wipe out the entire family.

Or set fire to the opponent's warehouses or workshops, causing the opponent to go bankrupt.

At the very least, it could cripple the opponent, making it difficult for them to compete.

Especially given the ongoing war and the chaotic state of the world at the time, these struggles were even more brutal.

Against this backdrop, Shen Tu first wrote a letter to Fang Yong, proposing once again the establishment of a national chamber of commerce.

The goal is to manage this chaotic business competition and pool resources to help Fang Yong expand his territory.

This time, Shen Tu prepared in greater detail, outlining the general structure and basic operating rules of the National Chamber of Commerce.

In Shen Tu's vision, Fang Yong will become the supreme ruler of the National Chamber of Commerce, using his vast assets and military to exert absolute control over the Chamber.

Other merchants who join will gain corresponding status in the guild based on their assets and contributions. Each rank has different powers. This will be a huge collection, and if used properly, it can avoid unnecessary competition and make the most of resources.

Unfortunately, Fang Yong still rejected the proposal.

With the development of the times, national assets will rise sooner or later and gain social rights.

This is an inevitable process of development, and Fang Yong does not want to stop it.

He agreed to allow national assets to develop.

However, this should be a common process.

While national assets develop, the overall quality and education level of ordinary people should also be improved accordingly.

Both sides should develop together, rather than only developing assets and abandoning the people.

According to Shen Tu's plan, assets will indeed develop rapidly, avoiding unnecessary competition and making the greatest use of resources, but the people will be like puppets to be manipulated.

The consequence of this is that rapidly developing capital will leave ordinary people far behind, occupy all levels of society, form a monopoly, and the people will be arbitrarily exploited without any power to resist.

Fang Yong himself was part of this monopoly, even the largest part. Even he couldn't help him because he couldn't betray his class and destroy himself.

Shen Tu subsequently submitted several more letters, refining his ideas.

Unfortunately, Fang Yong rejected them all.

He didn't know that Fang Yong rejected his idea not because it was flawed, but because it was too perfect, so much so that according to his plan, assets would grow too fast and the people wouldn't be able to keep up.

Fang Yong wanted to allow the people time to develop, at least until they had a certain level of education and awareness of their rights before the plan could be passed.

Shen Tu's proposal was revised several times but failed to pass.

In the end, I had to give up.

In his reply, Fang Yong clearly stated that this idea was premature and could not be implemented at present.

Nanjing's commerce only requires simple regulation and guidance.

(End of this chapter)