"Long-lasting wealth and status? Your Highness, do you mean to assign hereditary positions and rewards to our brothers of the Heaven and Earth Society?"
Jiao Hong looked expectantly at the opening statement made by Luo Yao Guo and asked inquiringly.
Luo Yao Guo smiled without replying and simply cast his gaze toward a plump middle-aged man among the attendees: "Ru Xiao, tell us, what kind of business is the most profitable in today's world?"
The middle-aged man named "Ru Xiao" was once the "white paper fan" of the General Hall, also under the command of Su San-niang. His surname was Wu, and his full name was Wu Ru Xiao. In addition to being the white paper fan at the General Hall, he was also the accountant at Tongfu Branch of the Thirteen Trades. It was because Tongfu Branch suspended its operations that he went to Guangxi to rebel alongside Big Sister Su San-niang.
Although he had taken up a very promising career as a rebel, Wu Ru Xiao did not forget his original profession. He was well aware of how to make money the best way in the current world.
"The most profitable way is trade!" Wu Ru Xiao gave the answer without hesitation, "Just think about the East India Companies of Guangzhou in the old days. Each of them was wealthy enough to be rich in their own regions, with millions of taels in assets, and several of them had assets exceeding twenty million taels!"
As he spoke, Wu the accountant's face was filled with envy.
"That was in the past, the Thirteen Halls are no more!"
Wu Ru Xiao's words were immediately disputed by a senior member of the Heaven and Earth Society.
Wu Ru Xiao smiled wryly and said, "That's because after the establishment of the Five Ports trade, the foreigners no longer needed to go through the Thirteen Halls in Guangzhou to buy our silk and tea; they could directly import goods from Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River."
Silk and tea produced in the Jiangnan region can be gathered directly in Shanghai by traveling along the Yangtze River, Wujiang River, and the Grand Canal. Once loaded onto the big ships of foreign countries, they can set sail. There is no need for the Thirteen Halls to take a cut in this process. Therefore, it does not mean that the Thirteen Halls' business cannot survive. However, this does not mean there is no profit to be made from trade with foreign countries!"
Luo Yao Guo nodded and smiled, "That's right, Ru Xiao is correct. The reason why the Thirteen Halls fell is not because the trade is difficult to do, but because they could no longer control the silk's source. The best silk comes from Jiangnan, around the Taihu Lake area, called lake silk. How convenient is it to transport lake silk by waterway to Shanghai? How difficult is it by land to Guangzhou? Under a single port policy, foreigners could only buy goods in Guangzhou, which allowed those idiots at the Thirteen Halls to make a fortune."
Now that Shanghai has opened its ports, all the foreigners go there to purchase goods. What is the Thirteen Halls supposed to do? Of course, they have collapsed!
Wu, tell us, if we can take over Hu Zhou and Shanghai, control the source and port of lake silk. Can we replace the Thirteen Halls and foreigners in the lake silk business and make money?"
"That's definitely the case!" Wu Ru Xiao laughed, "We can make even more money than the Thirteen Halls!"
"More than the Thirteen Halls?" Su San-niang blinked her eyes, "How can you be so sure?"
Wu Ru Xiao laughed and said, "The Thirteen Halls buy goods from Jiangnan and transport them thousands of miles to Guangzhou. Along the way, how many costs? And the Thirteen Halls only deal with imports and exports, sitting in Guangzhou waiting for business to come to them. They don't go out to find customers or sources of goods, nor do they set up a business market in Guangzhou. Instead, they earn money from entertaining foreign guests."
"There's more to it!" Luo Yao Guo added, "The Thirteen Halls also don't improve their products or develop new ones. Their business keeps getting smaller. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, China had four top exports that earned silver: porcelain, tea, silk, and sugar. But now only silk is decent, and even tea is becoming less desirable."
Moreover, even the remaining silk is being contested by others!
Really, the Thirteen Halls' business is not very astute! When we take over Hu Zhou and Shanghai, we must not make the same mistake. We must make the best silk in the lake, develop the Shanghai market, and crush our competitors from Japan!
Once we have crushed the Japanese silk, we will become the dominant player in the market, which will give us the power to set prices. With this pricing power, we can ensure a revenue of several million per year. Our brothers in the Heaven and Earth Society will be able to enjoy a prosperous life. How about my business strategy, Your Highness?”
This Luo Angel not only knows the Bible and "Counter-Classics," but also knows "The Business Treatise"!
Delivering food as a freelancer can also be considered a business!
The platform can make money because it has pricing power after eliminating its competitors. It can squeeze both merchants and freelancers.
After the late Qing Dynasty, China's industrialization path was particularly difficult to take, not only because of the sharp internal contradictions and frequent "explosions," but also because it lacked a product that could earn significant foreign exchange.
Chinese porcelain was not competitive with European products, the tea business was taken over by India, and Chinese sugar was beaten by industrialized sugar production. The only remaining lake silk faced fierce competition from Japanese silk. Firstly, China lost its pricing power in silk - it could no longer sell its silk at high prices. Then, Japan silk seized the overseas market for Chinese silk, making it difficult for China to sell its silk.
Finally, due to the continuous payment of war reparations and the deficit in trade, silver constantly flowed out of China, and the silver price also collapsed gradually. The exchange rate between silver and gold fell from more than ten to one to dozens to one or even lower - this was equivalent to wiping out the accumulation of several hundred years of trade surplus.
Without the trade surplus and the centuries of accumulated wealth, the most crucial "capital" of capitalism, which is wealth, no longer exists.
Without the "capital", it would be too difficult to achieve industrialization!
It is essential to seize more capital required for industrialization. The source and outlet of lake silk must be controlled.
The only ones who can help Luo Yao Guo accomplish these two major tasks are the members of the "Green and Red Associations."
Wang Yan and Zhu Bai, who are poor farmers turned wealthy, cannot do this. They belong to the bottom of the rural areas. In the late Qing Dynasty, the industries of transportation and business were actually controlled by "green and red" associations, such as those who are members of gangs.
The Heaven and Earth Society belongs to the "Red Helm" of the "Green and Red Associations", that is, the Hongmen. The "Green Helm", also known as the transport association, is a powerful force that dominates the transportation along the Grand Canal.
"Good!" Wu Ru Xiao, the white paper fan of the General Hall, had already cheered, "Not to mention the substantial profits from the export of lake silk, the regions of Su, Hu, and Song alone are rich as oil. During the Ming Dynasty, there was a saying that Su and Song accounted for half of the country's wealth! If we can hold on to these regions of Su, Hu, and Song and control Shanghai's port as well as the trade in lake silk, then we will be prosperous indeed!"
"Not only will we be rich," Luo Yao Guo smiled and continued, "But we can also arrange many other jobs there. There are five prefectures and one county in that area: Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Huzhou Prefecture, Jiaxing Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture, and Taicang Prefecture. Shanghai is a port with great potential. We can establish customs offices and foreign affairs offices there, as well as rely on the financial resources of these five prefectures and one county to build a navy. With a navy, we can also conquer Taiwan Prefecture and the Ryukyu Kingdom by water."
Moreover, the foreign affairs office can dispatch ambassadors and consuls to foreign countries, while the Pai Tu (Baptist) Association can establish branches in Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea through Shanghai's port. How many tasks can be allocated?
Although all of you have hereditary positions in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, these positions are actually titles of nobility. Without actual appointments, in the future, you would merely be supported with a few tens or hundreds of taels of silver per year, which is not as enjoyable as controlling six prefectures and one county and a country, handling foreign affairs, establishing a navy, and spreading the Bai Tu (Baptist) faith."
Luo Yao Guo's dream is truly vast and beautiful, he is almost portraying himself as an "Angel of the Westernization Movement" in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, as well as the Minister of South Sea Trade.
"Angel Highness," asked Jiao Hong, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society in Hunan, "What can we provide for our brothers at this time? There are still many miners in Chenzhou who want to join us. Additionally, given that we are responsible for diplomacy and naval affairs for these five prefectures, one county, and a nation, when will these plans be realized?"
Su San-niang took over the conversation, smiling as she said, "It's not very interesting to distribute land to the Heaven and Earth Society members in Hunan, since they have all joined. Who wants to go back to farming? Instead, let's give everyone a deed for real estate in Shanghai's market. How about giving each person half an acre of residential land?"
Wu Ru Xiao nodded in agreement, "Although Shanghai is just starting to develop, its future prospects are not inferior to those of Guangzhou! If there is a half-acre plot of land near the Tianzimiao Wharf in Guangzhou, it would be better than having hundreds of acres of good farmland in the countryside!"
Jiao Hong, Xu Yue Li, Xu Xiang Li, and other leaders of the Heaven and Earth Society have seen the world and understand that the dozens of acres of land in the countryside can only generate a maximum of dozens of taels of rent per year. However, even a small shop near Guangzhou's Tianzimiao Wharf can generate dozens of taels in revenue effortlessly.
Moreover, owning a rental property in Guangzhou or Shanghai doesn't require much effort to manage. The owner can still hold a government post and earn an additional income, which is very convenient and profitable!
However, this is still a dream!
Seeing that Jiao Hong, Xu Yue Li, and Xu Xiang Li were silent, Luo Yao Guo extended his three fingers and smiled: "Brothers who participated in the battle of Daozhou will each receive three taels of silver in rewards. This silver can be distributed today!"
As for the brothers who join in Chenzhou or Changsha in the future, they will also get this amount! If you want more, I'm afraid I won't be able to provide it.
Regarding the hereditary positions in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the land in Shanghai, and the southeastern duties, we will calculate them later. I swear before God that everyone will have their share. How is that?”
There are both current benefits, future promises, and an oath made with full sincerity!
"Okay!" Jiao Hong smiled satisfactorily, "With your promise, I can reassure my subordinates."
Xu Yue Li also smiled and said, "The leaders in Chenzhou and Changsha, I and Brother Jiao have something to say. Angel Highness, when will you march on Chenzhou and Changsha? We can rally the Heaven and Earth Society members as inside informants!"
Luo Yao Guo said solemnly, "In two months, the upper army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be fully prepared and ready to launch an offensive!"
