The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 512 Trade Secrets
Merchants from all over the country came with a sour face, but in private they racked their brains to visit the head manager of the merchant house.

"Hey, it's not just foreigners who know how to appreciate things!"

"Look, take the orders for perfumes for example. Last year, we didn't order less than the foreign merchants, did we? Shouldn't we hold a new product launch event to cater to the domestic market as well?"

The head steward said, "No problem, no problem. We've launched eight new scented dews this year. We'll hold the investment promotion meeting for the inland market later."

"Great news! And let's not just focus on finding distributors for perfumes. I've had the pleasure of seeing a foreign company that I work with sign a contract using a gold and jade fountain pen. I must say, it's quite useful, and even if you don't use it, it looks very stylish clipped to your lapel!"

The other merchants nodded in agreement: "Yes! It's unique and elegant!"

In their eyes, a gleaming gold pen is not tacky at all.

That's how simple and unpretentious my appreciation level is.

The head steward wiped the sweat from his brow and expressed his deepest apologies:

"I'm sorry, the craftsmanship of these gold and jade fountain pens is extremely high, and even two years' worth of stock isn't enough to go around! Unlike us, foreigners don't have wolf hair brushes to use!"

The merchants, however, refused to comply:
"They're not the same! How can they be the same? A gold pen is a gold pen, and a wolf hair pen is a wolf hair pen! If there's no stock, does that mean the pen workshop will stop production? We can place orders!"

"We'll take on all of this year's production!"

The head steward repeatedly advised:
"There's really no need to follow this trend. The imperial examinations don't use fountain pens, and the market inside the Great Wall is limited."

I can't persuade them, I simply can't persuade them!
The more they forbid buying, the more enthusiastic those merchants become.

What can the head manager of the business do?
I thought it was a one-off deal, but now I have to do it again!
The number of orders throughout the year is not small, and most of the merchants order the most high-end gold and jade pens.

Just when they had finally finished entertaining these traveling merchants who wanted to buy everything, tea merchants from Sichuan and Chongqing came knocking on their door.

Other provincial administration officials might not be able to use their influence to their business dealings.

It's from Sichuan and Chongqing, because the imperial son-in-law has always been effective.

The heads of several tea shops spoke very modestly:

"I never knew there were so many intricacies to brewing tea! We've been completely out of touch with reality! Could we please learn the art of Gongfu tea from your tea master?"

This is great!

All I want to do is learn how to brew tea, right?
Come on, come on!
Upon seeing the head steward readily agree, another tea merchant said:

"The tea ceremony passed down from our ancestors still needs us to carry it forward! Those foreigners who put sugar in their tea, even if they buy a complete set of tea utensils, will they be able to use them properly?"

"Yes, I've heard there are even tea tables with constantly flowing water. When it comes to elegance, we Han people are the best!"

"Our tea shop's luggage is overloaded and we can't transport the tea tables. Manager, those tea pets that change color when you pour boiling water on them, you should sell me a hundred sets!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Tea pet, why does that golden toad with the big mouth turn pink when it comes into contact with boiling water? Head steward, could you explain the ins and outs in detail?"

Head Steward: What are you saying!

This is a top-level trade secret of the Kansai Trading Company!

How could he, the head steward, not know about this technology, yet he could inform these businessmen?
No wonder the merchants looked so inquisitive and eager to learn.

Even if you crack their heads open, they'll figure out that the color-changing principle of these cute little gadgets is simply the use of thermosensitive resin.

The pure natural resin has been extracted by a max-level wood-type ability, and harmful substances have long been removed. With the addition of various pigments, there are countless shapes that can be created!
But who could have predicted that these tiny gadgets would become a powerful tool for exploiting the wealthy?
In short, the main business of Kansai Trading Company is to have what others don't have, and to be better at what others have, with low investment and high profits!

The autumn trade fair was bustling for almost half a month.

Both buyers and sellers reaped substantial profits.

After the foreign merchants had loaded their trucks full, they left one after another.

The most exciting moment has finally arrived.

The head of the Kansai tax office in Iri worked several nights to finish compiling the accounts.

The twenty-odd minor officials couldn't help but swallow hard as they looked at the final account book. "Thirty-nine million six hundred and twenty thousand taels!"

"We're only 360,000 taels short of 40 million taels in tax revenue!"

"This is just the tariff for one season. If we include the tax revenue from the Kansai textile industry, the tax revenue that Kansai will contribute to the imperial court this year will exceed 50 million taels!"

"My God! Who can compare to this achievement?"

"."

No one can compare!
Even if Gan Mingfu took over the Jiangnan Provincial Administration Commission and brought the salt tax back to the level of the previous dynasty, plus the contributions of the other fourteen provincial administration commissions to the court, it still couldn't compare to Guanzhong!

The officials in the imperial court were in an uproar:

"It's only been two years since the Kansai region started trading with foreigners, right? How did they manage to collect forty million taels of tax silver?"

Clearly, the majority of people do not believe this number.

Xiong Zhen immediately launched into a tirade:
"Where did this come from? Of the forty million taels of tax revenue, the Guanzhong Trading Company alone accounted for one-third! The General Who Protects the Nation ordered that the tax on several of the trading company's flagship products be increased to 50%! This means that for every bottle of perfume the trading company sells, half of the silver goes into the Ministry of Revenue's coffers!"

"hiss"

Which of the powerful and wealthy in Shangdu doesn't love the fragrant dew from Kansai?

Especially the civil servants!

They knew all too well the price of those perfumes; a small bottle could easily cost tens or hundreds of taels of silver.

The thought that half of this silver went into the national treasury made his expression indescribably strange.

Feeling distressed?
It's not right to contribute to the national treasury!
Don't you feel bad?
Waaah! Paying half the taxes and still making a profit, you can only imagine how much these perfumes cost!

After being shocked by the 40 million taels of tax revenue, most people quickly turned their attention to the lucrative opportunity of trading with foreigners.

The Yongtai Dynasty, with only 50,000 naval troops, had previously maintained a state of maritime prohibition.

According to Emperor Qianwu, opening up the seas would do more harm than good until China had the strength to rival foreigners.

As a result, coastal merchants could only transport goods through maritime merchants from southern Vietnam.

But now, the civil officials who are closely connected with Jiangnan are not happy.

The Jiangnan region has the advantage of natural harbors.

Once the ban is lifted, how much silver can be earned compared to that small pass in Guanzhong?

Their eyes were red as they argued their case forcefully:

"Your Majesty, we cannot allow the merchants of Nanyue to earn the silver that rightfully belongs to us, and ultimately turn the beautiful Jiangnan region into a production supplier for these merchants, can we?"

"With the Jiangnan maritime trade gaining momentum, the tax revenue that the Ministry of Revenue can collect will certainly not be less than that of Guanzhong! With this tax revenue, will we still have to worry about the lack of funds to repair the river embankments on both sides of the Zhuohe River? The asphalt roads in each provincial administration can also be paved more quickly!"

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue also stepped in, and with another Kansai in the process, they no longer had to be stingy when faced with problems!
Minister of War Xiong Zhen strongly opposed it:
"Jiangnan cannot be compared with Guanxi. Not to mention that Guanxi currently has 150,000 troops stationed there, equipped with the latest firearms, if foreigners dare to run wild on Guanxi's territory, they will surely not return."

With so many ports in Jiangnan where one can land, and tens of thousands of Japanese pirates and other piracy recently raiding the area, how can a mere 50,000 naval troops possibly defend such a vast sea area once the maritime ban is lifted?

The civil servants expressed their dissatisfaction:
"We can expand the army! Fifty thousand naval troops are not enough. Just like in Kansai, we can expand to 150,000! As long as there is a steady stream of tax revenue, supporting these naval troops will be no problem."

The military officers presented the facts and reasoned with the people:
“Naval forces are different from cavalry; they cannot be expanded in a day or two. Moreover, the naval battlefield mainly relies on ships. A large ship that can carry a thousand soldiers requires three thousand shipwrights to build for two years!”

Yes!

We need warships!

The warships currently used by the Jiangnan navy have proven to be inferior to those of their adversaries in actual combat.

It would take several years to build a formidable navy, and the investment in warships alone would amount to tens of millions of taels of silver.