In the early Ming Dynasty, maritime smuggling was strictly prohibited by the imperial court. Businessmen involved in smuggling not only had to face the harsh natural environment at sea, but also had to be careful to avoid the imperial navy. If they were not careful, they could lose their wealth and life. So even if everything

Everyone knows that smuggling is extremely profitable, but those who dared to participate in smuggling in the early days were all daring desperadoes.

To complete smuggling, it is not possible to rely on smuggling merchants alone. Someone must supply these smugglers with goods and purchase the smuggled goods, so suppliers and purchasers have emerged, but these two types of merchants are worried about being smuggled.

Therefore, in the beginning, their contacts with smugglers were very secretive, and many people even deliberately concealed their true identities, just in case those smugglers were caught, so that they would not be implicated.

It is precisely because of this situation that the smuggling industry has gradually formed a situation where smuggling merchants, suppliers, and purchasers are clearly separated. Among them, suppliers and purchasers are indirectly involved in smuggling, and they bear the least risk. Therefore,

The dividends shared from smuggling are also the least, and smugglers bear most of the risks in the smuggling process, so they share the largest dividends from smuggling.

Originally, the above situation had lasted for hundreds of years, but by the time of Emperor Xiaozong, the sea ban had been completely relaxed. Smuggling merchants used money to open roads and bribe officials in coastal states. At the same time, the forces behind them were also intricately linked.

After all, officials at all levels turned a blind eye to the smuggling under their control, and even the seaside guardhouses collaborated with the smuggling merchants to provide various conveniences for smuggling. The smuggling was almost done in a semi-open way.

The situation is prevailing, and smugglers are not much different from ordinary merchants except for taking risks at sea.

It is precisely with the reduction of smuggling risks and the huge rewards of smuggling that more and more people want to participate in smuggling, especially those suppliers and purchasers who are originally related to smuggling.

They invested money to buy ships and recruit people, and personally participated in smuggling.

But smuggling is not something everyone can do. Especially the old smugglers, after years of development, have already carved up some traditional sea routes. For example, like the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, they mainly take southern routes such as Nanyang and Ryukyu.

, are also very familiar with these routes, and even some indigenous officials in Nanyang and Ryukyu have been bribed by them. It can be said that they have formed their own fixed chain of interests, so it is simply a piece of cake for the newly joined smugglers to compete with them.

It’s something that’s hard to achieve.

For example, Li Mo, who is now in front of Zhou Zhong, invested a large amount of money to build a smuggling fleet many years ago, intending to take the Japanese route. However, the Japanese route has been divided between the Ming Dynasty and Japanese smugglers, and he just happened to leave.

The route conflicted with the interests of a group of Japanese people. In the end, not only did they fail to compete head-on, but they were also secretly robbed several times by this group of Japanese people. In the end, they couldn't survive and had to go back and make sacrifices honestly.

Merchant.

It can be said that since Xiaozong, situations like Li Mo's were very common. Many people were tempted by the huge profits of smuggling, and ended up building ships rashly and going to sea. Because they were not familiar with the situation, most people lost everything. With these

As a result, many people later gave up the idea of ​​smuggling.

After Zhou Zhong learned about the above situation and the fact that the Chamber of Commerce really lacked funds to restore its strength, he made the decision to let others take shares, and he was not worried that He Xian and others would refuse. After all, they had long wanted to participate.

Smuggling, but it is painful and has no way out. Now that I offer them such an opportunity, I am afraid only a fool will refuse.

"Yes! Of course I do!" As expected, Hu Lei reacted at this moment, slammed the table and shouted excitedly, "I didn't expect my nephew to be so generous and willing to offer the Chamber of Commerce to let everyone buy in. I, Old Hu, have nothing else to do.

If it’s more, it’s just more wood and more money. Don’t worry about anything else, as long as you buy shares, I’ll cover all the wood from the chamber of commerce!”

Seeing Hu Lei being the first to speak, Xu Yan and Chen Wufa next to them also reacted and loudly expressed their agreement. The oldest He Xian and Li Mo thought for a moment, and finally couldn't stand it.

Finally, he slowly nodded his head at the huge profits he brought.

Seeing that the five people unanimously approved, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but smile proudly. But at this moment, Li Mo, who had always been very steady, suddenly said: "Xiannephew, since you want to recruit us to invest in the Chamber of Commerce, we naturally want it, but it's just

I would like to ask one more question, how should we invest in it?"

Li Mo's question was what the other four people were most concerned about, so when they heard this, they all turned their attention to Zhou Zhong. Zhou Zhong saw that Zhou Zhong had already had a plan in mind and said: "You uncles must also know that not everyone can smuggle."

We, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, have been operating in the Nanyang area for many years. Not only are we familiar with the routes there, but we also have a wide range of local contacts. These are things that others do not have, and they are also the biggest resources of our Chamber of Commerce."

When he said this, Zhou Zhong paused and then continued: "Of course, everyone knows the situation of our Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Because my father had an accident before, the Chamber of Commerce's fleet strength was greatly damaged and funds were very scarce, so my nephew

After careful consideration, we decided to take out 40% of the shares of the Chamber of Commerce, with each share priced at 20,000 taels. Share holders can check the accounts of the Chamber of Commerce, but cannot interfere with the operations of the Chamber of Commerce. As for how the 40% of the shares should be distributed, it depends on you.

How much money are your uncles willing to pay?"

Seeing Zhou Zhong finish his words with a smile, Li Mo and He Xian were both surprised. 10% of the shares cost 20,000 taels, and they could only divide the money and not interfere in the management of the chamber of commerce. This was really a sky-high price.

However, considering the huge profits brought by smuggling and the previous scale of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, this price is barely acceptable.

"No more words. I, Old Hu, will pay 20,000 taels for 10% of the shares of the Chamber of Commerce!" Hu Lei was the first to speak. Despite his rude appearance, he is actually a shrewd and decisive person.

, otherwise the timber business would not be so big.

"Hey, Brother Hu has already paid 20,000 yuan. Naturally, my younger brother can't be second to others. I am also willing to pay 20,000 yuan to buy 10% of the shares." At this time, Xu Su, the youngest among the five and with the most extensive channels, said.

.

"Tsk tsk! You two brothers are so generous. In just a moment, you took away 20% of the shares. Although I really want to buy more shares, there are still Brother Li and Brother He. It's just that

I wonder how many shares the two brothers are willing to buy?" At this time, Chen Wufa, the most wealthy among the four, said, but now there are only 20% of the shares left, but there are still three of them, so he wants to solicit them first

The opinions of Li Mo and He Xian.

After hearing this, Li Mo and He Xian first looked at each other, then talked in low voices for a few times, and finally said: "We can't compare with Brother Chen in terms of financial resources. In addition, we are older and have no

You young people are full of energy, so the two of us can each contribute 10,000 taels and each have half of the shares!"

Chen Wufa also knew that Li Mo and He Xian were giving in to him, so after hearing this, he immediately raised his hands to them and said: "Thank you two brothers for giving in. I'm not polite. I want the last 10% of the shares."

!”

In just a few moments, the 40% of the shares of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce that Zhou Zhong gave up were divided up. At the same time, the 80,000 taels of silver were about to be obtained. With this money, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce would definitely be able to regain its strength in the shortest possible time.

Coupled with a major reform he tailored for smuggling, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce will definitely soar into the sky. A mere Shuangyu Port cannot accommodate the development of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. There will definitely be a broader stage in the future.

Next, Zhou Zhong discussed with Chen Wufa and others the specific matters of the investment, such as the payment method of silver and how to check the accounts in the future. It is worth mentioning that among the five, only Hu Lei does not need to pay cash because

Now the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce needs to build large-scale sea ships, so he just converts the silver into wood of equivalent value and transports it over.

However, at the last moment, the shrewd Xu Su suddenly raised a very sensitive question: "Brother Zhou, after a while we can sign the document and pay the share capital. Even if we officially become shareholders of the Chamber of Commerce, it will just

I would like to ask again, as shareholders of the Chamber of Commerce, will the Chamber of Commerce purchase our goods or sell goods to us in the future, will there be any preferential treatment?"

As soon as Xu Suo's question came up, it immediately attracted the attention of Chen Wufa and others. They were either suppliers of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce or purchasers of the Chamber of Commerce. The volume of transactions with the Chamber of Commerce was huge every time. If they could take advantage of

If you get some price concessions as a shareholder of the Chamber of Commerce, then the accumulation in one year may not be a small amount.

"Brother Xu, this is a good question. In fact, even if you don't ask, I happen to have something to discuss with you. This matter is related to the future operating model of the Chamber of Commerce. As for the discounts you want, it also has something to do with this matter.

Related!" Zhou Zhong said with a smile. Before, he had always placed himself in the position of a junior, but this Xu Yan has been matched with his peers several times. In addition, the other party is indeed not very old, so Zhou Zhong simply followed her.

If so, call the other person "big brother".
Chapter completed!