Ming Zuo

Chapter 291 Chamber of Commerce 【Seeking Monthly Pass】

"Within two years, cotton from Shandong can be transported to Songjiang Prefecture by sea instead of the canal."

In the reception hall, Zuo Menggeng asked Fu Yusun to hang up a big map and expressed his thoughts.

What he said was very plain, but the impact on everyone in Songjiang Mansion was turbulent.

No one thought that he would abandon the Grand Canal and choose to provide cotton to Songjiang Mansion by sea.

But looking at the route on the map, everyone suddenly found that if they went south along the coastline from Shandong, the distance to Songjiang Mansion would be much shorter than the Grand Canal.

Not only that, everyone knows that the volume of freight transported by sea is not comparable to that of the canal.

The most important thing is that there is no need to worry about congestion in sea transportation, and there are no checkpoint charges along the way.

If this is done, the cost of cotton can really be kept down.

But for this ambitious plan, everyone present was trembling with trepidation.

Chen Jiru kept wiping off his cold sweat, hoping Zuo Menggeng could wake up a bit.

"General Zuo doesn't know something, the court strictly prohibits going to sea. Anyone who violates it will be a serious crime."

Others sighed and said yes.

Everyone knows the benefits of shipping by sea.But in the face of the court's severe punishment and harsh laws, everyone is very afraid.

Zuo Menggeng was fearless.

"Although there are strict orders from the imperial court, pirates are rampant. What can I do? Even if the imperial court wants to strictly investigate the sea ban, even the decadent soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River will not be able to resist the power of pirates."

Everyone's expressions changed, and when they looked at him again, they were all terrified and weird.

God riding pirates!

What a perfect reason.

Everyone suddenly discovered that this reason is really good.

The imperial court's decrees were only aimed at the common people of Ming Dynasty, but pirates were already lawless, so naturally they would not abide by the laws of Ming Dynasty.

So isn't it normal for pirates to smuggle cotton?

what?
You said the imperial court would arrest pirates?
Haha, it depends on the force value of both sides.

Today's Ming court can't even beat real pirates.

If you meet a pirate in uniform...

Zuo Menggeng smiled slightly, and said casually: "Seniors don't know, just thirty years ago, there was a queen in the English country of Europa, named Elizabeth I. When she was on the throne, because of the relationship with Portugal, Spain, France China, the Netherlands and other countries competed for supremacy at sea. In order to gain an advantage, they acquiesced in their own navy to become pirates, plundered innumerable wealth, and at the same time attacked the maritime trade of these enemy countries. So, in this vast sea, Come on, who can tell?"

He was just stating a fact, but everyone in Songjiang Mansion was dumbfounded.

This is the first time I found out that Haimao can still play like this?

How did they know that in this barbaric era of great voyages, there are even more absurd things.

Li Wancai from Qinglong Town was very worried.

"If the court finds out about this..."

Zuo Menggeng glanced sideways, with scrutiny in his eyes.

"The sea is no better than the land. Whoever has the bigger fist is the one. The imperial court is unable to go to the sea now. We have the world in our hearts. How can we let the seas of thousands of miles be handed over to others?"

Underneath the high-sounding appearance is a naked threat of force.

But Xu Ji knew that these people in the Songjiang Mansion didn't know Zuo Menggeng's strength, and Zuo Menggeng was far away from the emperor, so he might not be able to resolve the danger in time.

"Zhongheng, you just go ahead and do it. As long as the cotton is sent to Songjiang Mansion, regardless of the route, it is a good deed."

This is to remind Zuo Menggeng that everyone will board the boat only when they see the benefits.

Zuo Menggeng woke up and knew that he was in a hurry.

As for shipping, just do it silently.

Do these people in front of them really dare not violate the laws of Ming Dynasty?

They just haven't seen the real benefits, and they won't end easily.

When the cotton transported by sea is delivered to Songjiang Prefecture, which is cheaper than transported by canal, these people will immediately change their positions.

Anyway, I can't count on these people for shipping matters, and no matter how much I talk to them, it's just a waste of time.

But another thing, Zuo Menggeng was not going to let these people go.

"It's not easy for the seniors to do business, and the gains are limited. The younger generation sees it in their eyes and empathizes with it. What's more, from now on, the younger generation's cotton needs to be supplied to everyone, so naturally we have to work together. The younger generation suggests that the cloth merchants in Songjiang Prefecture should unite Get up, set up a unified chamber of commerce, and advance and retreat together.”

All the people present were discussing in low voices, not knowing the meaning of the chamber of commerce for a moment.

Qu Ye was familiar with Zuo Menggeng, and asked, "What is the difference between the chamber of commerce Zhongheng mentioned and the current guild hall?"

Zuo Menggeng introduced the benefits of the chamber of commerce.

"The chamber of commerce is an industry alliance. All members of the chamber of commerce must abide by the articles of association of the chamber of commerce, and at the same time get support and help from the chamber of commerce. For example, if someone has a dispute, the chamber of commerce will come forward to mediate and provide assistance. Once bullied by outsiders , then everyone will share the same hatred and unite with the outside world.”

Then, he revealed his true purpose.

"In addition, the Chamber of Commerce can also unite everyone's strength to seek benefits for the entire industry. For example, the export of Songjiang cotton cloth has always been suppressed by those big businessmen. With the Chamber of Commerce, from now on, the Chamber of Commerce will come forward to negotiate prices. The Chamber of Commerce represents the entire Songjiang cotton spinning industry, so the weight of speech is naturally different."

Everyone thought carefully and gradually figured out the way of the chamber of commerce.

But for the second benefit mentioned by Zuo Menggeng, everyone still thinks it is unrealistic.

Kang Xilin from Qianmentang sighed: "There are cotton spinning everywhere in Songjiang. Even if our people here have established a chamber of commerce, there are still so many who don't participate. At that time, others will still buy cotton cloth at a low price. What can I do?"

Another important reason why Songjiang Cotton Spinning has been kept under price is that there are too many practitioners, and they are not single-minded, so it is easy to be broken by outsiders one by one.

However, this problem is nothing to Zuo Menggeng.

He said murderously: "Another meaning of the younger generation is that from now on, non-members of this chamber of commerce will not be supplied with cotton. Shandong cotton will only be supplied to members of this chamber of commerce."

The scene turned cold for an instant, and everyone was frightened. They didn't expect that he would actually pull the trigger.

It was only after Zuo Menggeng came to Songjiang Mansion that he realized that he actually possessed such an important strategic resource as cotton.

With cotton alone, [-]% of the cotton spinning industry in the entire Ming Dynasty can be controlled.

That being the case, if we don't take this opportunity to wantonly merge Songjiang Cotton Textile Industry, when will we wait?

It doesn't matter who's technology is good, who's weaving cloth is more excellent.If I don't give you cotton, you are also a clever woman who can't cook without rice.

Based on this, Zuo Menggeng can shape the Songjiang cotton textile industry according to his own ideas and play its due role.

His threat hung over the heads of everyone in Songjiang Mansion like a butcher's knife.

Regarding his proposal to establish a chamber of commerce, quite a few of the people present were resistant.

They are all shrewd people, and they can feel that Zuo Menggeng seems to be ambitious, for fear of being implicated.

But now, it is no longer a question of whether they are willing or not.

What Zuo Menggeng said was very straightforward, the only thing they could choose was life or death.

If you don't listen to him, you will be eliminated by the cotton spinning industry in a short time.

As a matter of vital interest, these cloth merchants hardly hesitated for too long, and all of them chose Congxin.

"Songjiang Cotton Spinning Chamber of Commerce is related to the well-being of everyone. The younger generation suggested that we should recruit talents and strive to win everyone's support for our chamber of commerce. In addition to our big families, highly skilled people in the industry should also become members. "

Hearing that Zuo Menggeng wanted to recruit craftsmen, everyone was a little reluctant.

The industry model of Songjiang Cotton Spinning is actually relatively primitive.In the eyes of these families, although artisans are valued, they are despised in terms of status.

Now that Zuo Menggeng wants to bring in the craftsmen, wouldn't he be on an equal footing with them?
After finding out the attitude of everyone, Zuo Menggeng gave a serious warning.

"Everyone, don't underestimate the craftsmen. Whether the cotton cloth of your family is popular or not depends on the craftsmanship of the craftsman? To put it bluntly, what is a craftsman? He is your God of Wealth. If you don't give the craftsman enough respect and status, how can we weave Better cotton cloth? Why has the market been monopolized?"

He still said slightly threateningly: "If you still don't take craftsmen seriously, this junior thinks this is a good opportunity. I don't know how many craftsmen will change jobs if this junior pays twenty taels a month?"

There was a sound of gasping in the hall, causing everyone to be terrified and uneasy.

Nowadays, the best craftsmen in Songjiang Mansion earn only five taels a month.

If it was true what Zuo Menggeng said, he paid twenty taels of silver as wages, and everyone could imagine that it would be strange if the craftsmen didn't run away.

But without those skilled craftsmen, can the cotton spinning of each family still maintain the standard?
"Seniors, don't think that the juniors are making trouble out of nothing. Improving the status of craftsmen will actually help us to formulate the standards of the cotton spinning industry. From now on, what is good and what is not good in cotton spinning in the world will be determined by me and others. Sure. What do you think, can this deal be done?"

Zuo Menggeng is not a business genius, but he still understands the reason why first-class companies sell standards, second-class companies sell brands, and third-class companies sell products.

As the largest cotton cloth supplier in the world today, Songjiang Cotton Spinning has no reason not to hold the power to formulate standards in its hands.

But to do this, technical support is bound to be needed.

Can it be done without giving full play to the subjective initiative of the craftsmen?

　Newhappy can win the championship, can that motorcycle be the MVP?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)