Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1954 Commercial Group ([-])

"Ah, Chairman Ding is here, please take a seat." Today, the Deshunchang Teahouse in Dinghai County is full of guests. A bunch of businessmen from Ninghai and other places also came, and they all have one thing in common, that is, members of the Ningbo Foreign Trade Merchants Guild, and their president is Ding Ji, the famous former commander of the [-]th Division of the Servant Army.

Ding Ji is also in his fifties this year. Ever since he published in the newspaper that year, announcing his resignation from the position of commander of the [-]th Division, Ding's body has been blown up like a balloon.Up to now, he has weighed close to two hundred catties, and he looks like a wealthy, generous and fat rich man.

As a natural messenger between the Ningbo local business group and the upper-level military and political system, it is not unreasonable for Ding, who runs many industries in Ningbo, to be unanimously elected as the chairman by the members and has served so far.The Southern Pioneering Team needs someone who can work among the merchant groups, and the merchant group also needs someone who can speak to the upper echelons, and Ding Ji, a former commander of the servant army and a current businessman, is a person who is very suitable for all kinds of people. The role that Fang needs, so he has been sitting as the president of the guild for so many years, and no one can replace him.

Today, members from all counties dare not say all of them, but more than two-thirds have come to the old stronghold of Deshunchang Teahouse, and they have reserved an entire floor as a place for conversation. Ding Ji came forward to call it.The reason is actually very simple, that is, the government wanted to build the Shangding Railway, and called everyone to study the cost issue.

In fact, everyone knows how to "study" the issue of expenses. It is nothing more than distributing donations according to the property in each person's name and their respective status.Of course, everyone's property cannot be exposed on the surface, and it must be hidden, but to be honest, it is much better than some mysterious companies with cross-shareholdings in later generations.In this day and age, whoever owns a certain store belongs to that person, and whoever owns a certain store belongs to that person.

For example, Ding Ji Dingwai, who runs an oil shop, a cloth shop, a Nanyang specialty store, and a silk and satin workshop in Dinghai County. He has a store specializing in salt in the port business district. There is also a semi-mechanized rice mill driven by water power, and at the same time, it has invested in a tea farm in Yuyao County, holding half of the shares.

These businesses, except for the silk and satin workshop, seem to be more complicated, but they are all clearly placed on the table, and they can also be estimated.The situation of other people is similar, and because of traditional culture, even if a certain family distributes a large amount of assets under the names of various family members, it will generally still regard these as assets under the name of the family patriarch, that is, who owns the shares That is a legal matter. When the East Coast government raises funds, it only cares about who the actual controllers of these workshops and shops are. As for how you negotiate internally, it is your own business. We only need to receive enough money.

Therefore, under the social background of the East Coast, it is superfluous to engage in a complicated equity structure to hide oneself. It is better to do business honestly and focus on one's own main business.The government has created a relaxed political and business environment for businessmen that has never existed for thousands of years, so that everyone can exert their greatest subjective initiative to create profits, so what is there to complain about?As for charging some money, don't say that the money is used to repair the railway, even if it is used for spending time and money, you have to give it away.Which dynasty and which generation of officials did not ask these businessmen for money?I've been used to it for a long time!

"Everyone—" After sitting down at the main table, Ding Ji clasped his fists and bowed to the surroundings, and said, "Our Ningbo Foreign Trade Merchant Guild has been established for more than ten years. In the past ten years, the members of the Chamber of Commerce have The few people in the group have now turned into more than [-] people who are now gathered together. Everyone is also sincerely united, exchanging information, connecting feelings, and helping each other, which gradually strengthens our group. Needless to say, over the years, we foreign trade merchants After accumulating a lot of wealth through trade, some people were full of enthusiasm for industrialists, and began to purchase machinery and equipment from Heishui and even the local area, hired technical and management personnel, and began to develop into emerging manufacturing industries. Of course, more people are still satisfied with Running the store business, without expanding upstream, each person has his own aspirations, and I am inconvenient to comment, in short, everyone is making a fortune, so I can rest assured."

Ding Ji's words caused everyone to burst into laughter.Foreign trade merchants are also divided into three, six, and nine grades. The guys who occupy the top of the pyramid of the Ningbo merchant group, of course, the best ones start to invest in upstream industries after accumulating large sums of money through foreign trade, especially those encouraged by the government. In the eyes of the government, they purchase machines, set up new factories, and become "enlightened businessmen"; secondly, those who continue to engage in the original industry after earning money, they are full of doubts about entering the industrial field, and continue to engage in dental work Foreign trade of the nature of compradors and compradors, and sometimes engaged in private financial businesses such as lending and pawning. In short, in the eyes of the government, it is quite satisfactory, neither good nor bad; People who buy real estate or simply melt money into silver melons and hide them. These people are probably the most hated by the government, because they are artificially creating deflation. How can this be tolerated?

But as Ding Ji said, everyone has his own ambitions.The foreign trade of the Bank of Taiwan still needs the full assistance of these businessmen, because the Bank of Taiwan is just a platform, and it depends on these businessmen whether or not the business can be done and what kind of business it is. The Bank of Taiwan is only responsible for centralized delivery and settlement every year.As long as these businessmen pay their taxes on time, and the government can "pluck a dime for the benefit of the world" when it distributes donations, then this is completely tolerable.You know, just a few decades ago, it was simply impossible for the Ming government to ask these merchants to collect taxes, let alone distribute donations from time to time.Those businessmen spend their days, eating, drinking and having fun, who cares about your government's lack of money for defense expenditures!So, they are already "well-behaved" enough in front of people from the east coast, and they can make those officials stare out their eyes, so what else do you ask for?

"This time, the old man called you together for such a meeting. There is no other meaning. In fact, it is for the construction of the Shangding Railway." After finishing his opening remarks, Ding Ji scanned his surroundings, and then got to the point , I just heard him say: "Shangding railway costs a lot. If everything is purchased and transported locally, it will cost nearly 400 million yuan before and after. It is difficult for the government to come up with this money, so we still have to Our chamber of commerce will help us figure out a solution."

"At present, the preliminary opinion of the upper management is to set up the board of directors of Shangding Railway Company. The board of directors will have one general director and ten sub-directors. Among them, the general director will be appointed by the Southern Railway Company, and will be fully responsible for the daily operation of Shangding Railway Company, with one-vote veto power. At the same time, railways can be requisitioned to transport military supplies and personnel during wartime; the ten are divided into directors, and each of the transportation bureau stations of Shangyu, Yuyao, Yinxian, and Dinghai counties has one seat, which is four seats, and the remaining six seats are said to be The Bank of Taiwan will contribute, so one seat will also be taken up, leaving five seats..." When he said this, Ding Ji paused and successfully whetted everyone's appetite.

The members of the guild are no strangers to things like railways, and many of them have even traveled to Shandong to ride them.The distance between Yantai and Qingdao is so long, if you take the special train without stopping in the middle, it will take almost two days to arrive, which is simply unbelievable!Because of this inference, from Shangyu County on the banks of the Cao'e River to Dinghai Port, if you leave in the morning, you can arrive in the evening. What is the concept?If there is such a sharp weapon, then many things become possible. It is simply a subversive stimulus for the promotion of local businesses and personnel exchanges, and the pace of society will be greatly accelerated by this, which will eventually promote the development of productivity in turn.

All in all, you can't simply regard the railway as a means of transportation, because it has many other positive impacts, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a metronome that promotes social development.Therefore, the construction of the Shangding Railway, the first railway in the Ningshao area, must have attracted the attention of more than 300 million local businessmen. Therefore, if anyone joins the board of directors of this railway as a sub-director, it will be a great joy for the ancestors , is a sign of a significant increase in social status!Not to mention, this railway will definitely be able to make money, and there will be a lot of dividends every year, which is even more worth fighting for!

You know, after a businessman has made a lot of money, isn’t the further pursuit to gain greater social influence and even political capital?The positions of president and vice president of this industry association already represent considerable social status and influence, and many people are fighting for their heads. This board of directors, which decides such a fresh and fashionable business as the railway, should be What kind of heaven and earth?At this time, there was no need for Ding Ji to say any more. The top few members of the Foreign Trade Merchants Guild had already straightened their backs, looking at Ding Ji with piercing eyes, to see what he would say next.

"For the remaining five seats, in principle, 60 yuan will be subscribed for one seat to raise 300 million yuan in railway construction funds. Commander Liu of Yin County has given me the details, and he can give us two seats in the guild, which is 120 million yuan." The subscription amount is RMB [-]. Well, you can subscribe with individual funds or in the name of the guild.” Ding Ji said unhurriedly: “Besides, there is always a process in the construction of railways, and we will not be asked to pay for it all at once. If you have so much money, you only need to spend the money within three to four years, so the pressure will be much less.”

Ding Ji's words made everyone calm down a little. Even if the cash of 120 million yuan is divided into four years, it will cost 30 yuan a year.You know, more than half of the people on this floor are worth less than 30 yuan, which is definitely a shocking astronomical figure!In the pre-Ming Dynasty, a few 10 taels of silver were considered super rich even in Jiangnan. After several decades, although a lot of silver flowed into Ningbo, the currency has depreciated compared to the actual value at the end of the Ming Dynasty. , but 30 yuan is really still a huge number.

In this case, then the only way is to subscribe for seats in the name of the guild by joining hands and paying money. This is the only way.As for the matter of giving up the subscription, let’s not say that the railway will definitely be profitable, and it shouldn’t be a problem to pay back. Just say that once the guild successfully subscribes for seats and enters the board of directors, it will definitely have its own say in railway transportation in the future. .At that time, there will be room for manoeuvrability, whoever's belongings are shipped, whose belongings are not shipped, whose belongings are shipped first, and whose belongings are shipped last!And if you give up this opportunity and allow others to raise money and successfully enter the board of directors, then when you need to use the railway to transport goods in the future, you may be at the mercy of others, which is very likely to happen , have to guard against.

Therefore, by subscribing for a seat on the railway board of directors, you can not only obtain long-term dividends in the future, but also obtain additional benefits in cargo transportation, and at the same time seek a more decent social status and higher influence for yourself (this This is especially important), so it has become inevitable, and the method is probably nothing more than everyone raising money together, and then entering the board of directors in the name of the guild to seek two sub-director seats.As for who will represent these two seats, it depends on how well they negotiate internally. It is estimated that in the end it will inevitably be more money than anyone else.

The behavior of the businessmen on the east coast actually shows from one side that after decades of accumulation, they are now more and more inclined to find a backer for themselves politically, or simply enter the system by themselves. , While ensuring the safety of your own property, you can also seek greater benefits for your own business empire.Just like what is lacking in traditional Chinese culture, businessmen have money but lack political power, so they start to use their brains in this regard. They support and sponsor promising students in the front, hoping that they will enter the system and advance step by step in the future. There are also marriages and marriages with new political leaders, also in order to increase the right to speak in politics, and now they plan to directly enter the system through the scheduled railway, and hope to meet more big shots through this epoch-making thing like railways.

After all, they all have tens of millions of wealth, and most of their businesses have stabilized. It can be said that they have no worries about food and clothing. Many people's life is not necessarily worse than that of the chairman of the local executive committee on the east coast, but they don't have the power of the chairman. How sad?The fundraising for the construction of the Shangding Railway this time is an excellent opportunity to increase the voice and influence of their merchant group. Anyone who gives up will be a fool!

Isn't it 120 million yuan in cash?Only 40 to [-] a year is enough. With so many members in the guild, each person can pay [-] to [-], which is almost all raised. It's like playing, what a big deal!

(End of this chapter)