Chapter 680: King Pingxi said that you should have a public morality

Early in the morning, the imperial envoy was crowded with people, and they were handed over by famous sects, all of which were the presidents of a chamber of commerce or some big merchants.

The lieutenant was guarding the gatekeeper and said to everyone with a smile: "The prince hasn't gotten up yet. Please stay for a while. When the prince gets up, we will discuss major issues with you. Please follow me to the hall to have tea."

There were more than thirty people coming, and they could be said to be representatives of Quanzhou merchants. All of them were wealthy and famous. They were all figures who were trembling in Quanzhou City. However, on the side of the King of Pingxi, they were extremely respectful. If someone asked them to come and pay homage, they would have to wait for him. I was afraid they would have left long ago. But after hearing these words, they looked proud and did not feel that King of Pingxi was negligent at all.

At this time, the gap in identity was revealed. No matter how noble they were, they were only limited to Quanzhou. After Quanzhou, they were nothing, but who was the King of Pingxi? He was responsible for all the world's foreign affairs, maritime affairs, naval forces, and officials from all over the Quanzhou were all his followers. It can be said that the idea of ​​Shen Ao can determine their life, death, honor and disgrace.

When facing such a person, it would be stupid to act like this. Everyone went to a tea hall with a blushing face and drank tea casually. So many big merchants gathered together but it was hard to get things to do. After all, everyone was busy with their own things, and some were competitors and would not meet easily. So they had to chat a few words and talk about business matters.

It was almost noon, and it was getting late. The merchants became a little impatient. The King of Pingxi got up at this time on weekdays? For these big merchants, staying in bed until this time is simply a sin. A business of a quarter of an hour or hundreds of cents of coins is a matter of money. They all want to eat, drink, and sleep. How could they still kill time like this?

But when I thought about it, I felt relieved that he was the King of Pingxi, so he was naturally different from them.

After another quarter of an hour, Chen Ao finally came, with a pair of panda eyes and yawning sleepily. It was obvious that he had just gotten up and entered the tea hall, and smiled with them, signaling the merchants who were about to stand up and salute to sit down. He did slept too late last night and thought about the matter in the middle of the night. Now his mind was a little swollen, but Chen Ao did not show any need to apologize. He asked them to wait for him as a matter of right. After all, this is the difference in identity.

Shi Shi sat down and a captain came with a cup of tea. Chen Ao blew away the tea foam and drank it gently. His spirit suddenly improved a lot, and said, "Is there any trouble with this sea route business?"

The merchants immediately said: "Thank you, the prince, Hong Fu, the merchant ships are now open and the waters are rising again in Quanzhou, and the business is getting better."

These people are really not polite. The current business is indeed much easier to do than before. In the past, buying a sea boat into the sea was extremely risky. Maybe if you encounter pirates, it would be that they would be ruined by all the ships and goods. In addition, officials and businessmen are dominant, and they are just small businessmen who survive in the cracks. The difficulty is as difficult as possible. Now it is different. The business is gone, and the risks have been reduced to the minimum. In addition, Quanzhou is becoming increasingly prosperous and has more demands. How can this business be difficult?

The people here are led by Wang Bao, president of Quanzhou Chamber of Commerce, and the one who is led by Wen Heng, president of Fuzhou Chamber of Commerce. Wang Bao is an old man who has been dressed in a simple manner. From a distance, he looks like an old scholar. Because he has been running on the sea for many years, the wrinkles on his face are like carved by a knife, and only his eyes are like vertebrae, making him look younger.

As for Wen Heng, he was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a decent silk round neck shirt and a huge agate ring on his hands. He was rich and powerful, and his round face was full of harmony and wealth, which made people a little puzzled.

These two are the top giants in Quanzhou, but two years ago, they were both unknown figures. With the elimination of officials and businessmen, the business of officials and businessmen immediately became vacant. The two talents quickly accumulated, and it only took a year to expand rapidly from small merchants with several sea boats to rich merchants with hundreds of merchants. If the business is not easy to do now, Wang Bao and Wen Heng flatly opposed it, and they are the biggest beneficiaries of the new maritime policy.

Chen Ao smiled faintly and said, "You are busy doing business, but in my opinion, what's the point of doing this business too big? People must do something meaningful. For example, I..." Chen Ao listened to his chest and said boldly: "I often do something meaningful, especially being kind and generous..."

Having said that, no one has to listen to the following words anymore. He is kind and generous. King Pingxi is asking for bribes, so everyone squeezes out my smile. Wang Bao is the most wealthy and said with a smile: "What's the difficulty of the prince? Even if it's just."

"Happy!" Chen Ao slapped the table and said, "I like to deal with people who are happy. In fact, I invite you to come for your own good. If you do business, you will inevitably do something that is harmful to the will of heaven? People... need to accumulate good deeds, otherwise if you have no son in the future, it will be more than worth the loss." This sentence of having no son in the future makes everyone present look a little unfavorable. If you want money, just say it. Why bother to hit a large number of people?

Chen Ao continued, "I have thought of a solution. It is better for everyone to work together to set up a good hall. If you have some spare money, it is better to invest it in this good hall..."

Wang Bao stroked his gray beard and thought to himself that in a year, the King of Pingxi was indeed different from before. It is said that this prince was in Honglu Temple and asked for money. He didn't expect that he still knew that he was still gentle. As expected, he was a man in the officialdom and even pigs could become smoother.

Another person named Wen Heng held a teacup and laughed in his heart. Isn’t Shantang just for the King of Jipingxi? It seems that this prince still understands the principle of long-lasting flow. It is still not enough to receive gifts once, and he wants to come up with a long-term plan.

Chen Ao saw that everyone suddenly realized and looked strange, his face changed, he pressed the Shangfang sword on his waist and said angrily: "What? Who do you think I am? Do you think I am going to extort your money?"

The merchants were startled and squeezed out their smiles and said, "I dare not, I dare not, what is the identity of the prince..."

Chen Ao slapped the table hard, and said with his eyebrows: "I dare not say that I dare, but I said it in my heart!"

Everyone shouted for justice: "I dare not speak, nor dare to speak!"

Chen Ao's face then relaxed a little, and he continued: "This good hall depends entirely on you to raise funds. You are all representatives of the Chamber of Commerce. You each report a number and raise funds once a year. How much do you plan to raise funds this year?"

His hand was still on the hilt of the sword, which was quite robbed. Wen Heng was the first to speak: "Fuzhou Commercial Bank is willing to accept 500,000 trump cards!"

Fuzhou Commercial Bank is also one of the major chambers of commerce in Quanzhou. There are more than 1,000 merchants alone, and it is not difficult to make up 500,000 yuan. Wen Heng had already had his mind and was the first to reveal the number.

When people started, the people behind were rushing to the forefront. Everyone who came here had their own thoughts and had already made plans, so they didn't hesitate for too long. They reported the number and discussed with the merchants in the meeting. Each of them collected several thousand guan, so the money would naturally come.

Dozens of people reported the numbers one after another, and a smile appeared on Chen Ao's face and asked someone to record it. In less than half an hour, nearly five million yuan was recorded. What kind of transaction in the world is more cost-effective than this?

Chen Ao sat down, picked up the teacup, and said leisurely: "That's it, everything is for the accumulation of virtue, right? I will definitely submit to the court for such good deeds in the future. Then I asked the prefect to set up a archway for you to show your achievements." After that, he said seriously: "Although you raised this good hall, I will not move any of the money in it. Five million ounces will be used to build schools and build roads. You all know that craftsmen are now in a tight position, so even if you are here, I am afraid that you will not be able to recruit people, right?"

Wang Bao felt relieved and heard the word recruitment and said with a headache: "The prince said this to the heart of the villain. The villain's business involves a little more. Not to mention the fleet, the skilled sailors and boatmen can't find it, so they can only find some apprentices to replace them. There are also a few iron shops, which almost broke off several times because of the lack of skilled craftsmen. Now Quanzhou is short of iron everywhere, and the naval yamen wants it, and the dock also wants it. Because of this, the villain's hair is so anxious that it is so white."

Many people also had this situation. Wang Bao took the lead in complaining, and everyone said it was a sudden decline, saying that because someone was poaching a kiln manufacturer, production was stopped for a while and the goods were not paid. The buyer paid the deposit again. As a result, he was very convinced and paid a large amount of money to go out, which made people feel angry. Anyone who talked about business, as long as the business was large enough, no matter what the private morality was, there must be an open credit. If someone sued the yamen and couldn't pay the goods, what else would he do?

After all, Quanzhou is still developing too fast, so that manpower and craftsmen cannot be supplemented. Besides, most of the craftsmen hide their own technology and intend to use it for their descendants to make a living. Therefore, ordinary people cannot learn it, and those who have learned it will not be said. The final result is that craftsmen are scarce and everyone is uneasy.

Chen Ao smiled faintly and said, "That's why I want to build a Shan Hall. I plan to build a school with the money inside. The school can not only teach people to learn mathematics, read and write, but also teach people to make iron, pottery, silk, and shipbuilding..."

Build a school to learn this...

Everyone was silent, but after all, they were not restricted people. They immediately understood Chen Ao’s intention and would definitely learn things quickly in school. For example, if you learn iron, just ask some blacksmiths to come, you can immediately cultivate a large number of people. But how can these blacksmiths not hide their own personalities? It is another problem.

Chen Ao saw them suspiciously: "The teachers inside pay all the official salary. If they teach well, they can also give bonuses and give official positions. At the end of the year, the students will have to take the exam. The more students who pass the qualification, the more rewards they will be rewarded. On the contrary, if the fewest ones are, they will be resigned and made public. The merchants of major commercial banks are not allowed to accept the resigned persons, otherwise they will pay a fine every year."

This move is poisonous!

Wen Heng could no longer sit still, thinking to himself, if this is the case, those teachers would still take out their hearts? If they teach well, they would have a bright future. If they don’t teach well, they would even throw away their jobs.

Chen Ao continued: "I plan to build a piece of land in the new city, but I am afraid it will take half a year to complete it. At this time, I will recruit more teachers and raise them. Now the money in Shantang should be enough. The rest will be used to build roads. What do you think?"

Building a school is equivalent to solving the most troublesome things that everyone here has. Building roads is also beneficial to merchants. Although Quanzhou is mainly for maritime trade, loading and unloading goods still have to be in Quanzhou. These goods are transported by trucks. If the road is not smooth, it will take time and consume manpower and animal power. If the road is smooth, everyone will also benefit. So they nodded and said, "What is the prince? We will naturally support it."

Chen Ao let go of his worries. In fact, the Shantang levy was similar to other places. Now the commercial tax in Quanzhou was not given to him, the King of Pingxi, but went directly into the treasury of the court. Many things at present would never be done without money. Chen Ao also had a net worth of tens of millions of yuan, but he was naturally unwilling to pay for it alone, in the style of Chen Yanzi. This would be better if he was entrusted in the name of Shantang, he could first fight many shelves first, and then make up for it with taxes in the future.

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Chapter completed!