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"I just said before that there is no possibility of cooperation between me and you about the matter of Sichuan Yan, but if it is something else, I think the cooperation between us may still be very large."

Zhao Junchen's words showed that there seemed to be room for cooperation between the two sides, but Lin Yunpu and the others did not react very eagerly, but there was a trace of hesitation and caution in their expressions.

Because, they couldn't figure out what other projects could be cooperated between the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang and Zhao Junchen in addition to the rectification of Sichuan Yan.

Moreover, looking at Zhao Junchen's attitude, he was obviously unwilling to become the spokesperson of the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang in the imperial court, and he was quite respectful of the attitude of the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang, for fear that he would be involved and thus arouse the suspicion of Emperor Deqing.

According to the usual experience, the so-called "cooperative relationship" between the court officials and the Hui and Zhejiang merchant gangs on weekdays is often that the court officials give the Hui and Zhejiang merchant gangs some convenience, and then take out a few thousand taels of silver to "buy" a large number of dry shares from them, and then receive dozens of times the dividend income of silver every year, but at the same time, if the direction of the imperial court changes and the Hui and Zhejiang merchant gangs have a crisis, these court officials will get rid of their relationship with the Hui and Zhejiang merchant gangs in the shortest possible time, and they will never have any idea of "sharing hardships". In such a state of cooperation, although the Hui and Zhejiang businessmen will also reap many benefits, but the loss of benefits is also a lot, and there is no long-term sense of security, so they can only take one step at a time.

Could it be that Zhao Junchen also wants such "cooperation"?

If that's the case. Lin Yunpu and the others naturally wouldn't be happy, after all, the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang had already dredged all the joints that should be dredged, even if they took Zhao Junchen's line again. It's just the icing on the cake, it doesn't gain much for them, but it has to share a lot of benefits to Zhao Junchen, which is a deal.

The Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang did want to establish a cooperative relationship with Zhao Junchen, but this cooperative relationship was even closer than the former - Zhao Junchen became the spokesperson of the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang in the imperial court, fighting for the interests of the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang in the center of the temple, and the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang provided Zhao Junchen with help in all aspects. The two sides are mutually beneficial and win-win and become a community of interests, which can not only share wealth and wealth, but also share weal and woe, instead of the Huizhejiang businessmen gang becoming Zhao Junchen's daily ATM. Once something goes wrong, the Hui and Zhejiang Merchant Gang will have to bear it alone -- similar cooperation is enough for the Hui and Zhejiang Merchant Gang.

It was precisely because of such conjecture that they thought that Zhao Junchen just wanted to forcibly buy the dry shares in their firm, so after Lin Yunpu and the others heard Zhao Junchen's words. Not only was there no excitement eagerness. Instead, there was some reluctance and hesitation.

It's just that with Zhao Junchen's current position and influence, if he really wants to forcibly buy the dry shares in their firm, Lin Yunpu and others are inconvenient to refuse, so they can only cut their flesh painfully.

Therefore, after hesitation and caution, Lin Yunpu said tentatively: "But I don't know how you want to cooperate with us, my lord?" The contemptible firm has made money over the years, if you want to take a stake. Contemptible people can give you certain preferential treatments, annual routine dividends. It will also definitely satisfy you. ”

After hearing Lin Yunpu's temptation, Zhao Junchen shook his head and said with a smile: "Boss Lin misunderstood, it's not that I want to force you to buy the dry shares of your firm and take advantage of you...... Well, but I didn't make it clear, to be precise, it's not that I personally want to cooperate with you, but that the household department I represent wants to cooperate with your Huizhejiang businessmen. ”

"Tobe?" Lin Yunpu was slightly stunned, and then faintly felt that the Lord of the Hubu Shangshu in front of him seemed to be going to make some big moves, so Lin Yunpu's expression also became serious, and said: "I'm stupid, I don't understand the deep meaning of the adult, and I hope that the adult can explain one or two in detail." ”

Zhao Junchen nodded and said, "This is just an immature idea of mine, but if nothing else, this idea should be able to get His Majesty's support...... That is, by the Ministry of Households, the formation of a freight ship with the background of the imperial court, specifically responsible for the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, because the treasury of the silver is not abundant, so the cargo ships, manpower, funds, etc., in this shipping company, are provided by your Hui and Zhejiang merchants, and the Ministry of Households is responsible for providing some preferential policies, and stationed supervisors to ensure the normal operation of this shipping company, the shares of this shipping company, will be accounted for by the Ministry of Households, and the rest of the shares will be distributed by the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang...... What do you guys think? ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen say this, Lin Yunpu and the others all subconsciously frowned, only feeling that Zhao Junchen's proposal really did not have any benefits to the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang.

First of all, according to Zhao Junchen's assumption, the cargo ships, manpower, and funds of this ship company are all provided by the Hui and Zhejiang Merchant Gang, and it can be said that the Hui and Zhejiang Merchant Gang provided all the things, and the imperial court did not pay anything, but only gave some policy preferences, and it was necessary to occupy forty percent of the shares, which was not cost-effective.

Secondly, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the most important shipping road and economic artery of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the most prosperous, so it is conceivable that the ships and cargo ships that rely on this canal to make profits are naturally countless, the competitive pressure between the shipping lines is very large, and the profit margin is therefore compressed to the extreme, this business is not difficult to make money, but it is impossible to make a lot of money, the investment is large, the income is low, and it is not a good choice.

Finally, and most importantly, most of the Hui and Zhejiang merchants made their profits by smuggling and smuggling salt, and most of these businesses were carried out through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Therefore, once this shipping company is established, and there are inspectors stationed by the household department, it will bring great inconvenience to the smuggling and salt business of the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang, so that the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang will not only not be able to obtain too much benefit, but will affect their original business, which will naturally be extremely loss-making.

Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu were all shrewd and sophisticated businessmen, so they quickly understood the benefits and losses, and only felt that Zhao Junchen's proposal was whimsical and did not take into account the interests of their Huizhejiang businessmen at all.

As a result, Bai Mingyu, who was the youngest and most vigorous among the three, was going to speak first and reject Zhao Junchen's proposal on behalf of the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang.

However, before Bai Mingyu could speak, he was stopped by Lin Yunpu reaching out.

Lin Yunpu keenly felt that the focus and core of Zhao Junchen's proposal should be the "preferential policy" provided by the imperial court, and before asking what this "preferential policy" was, Lin Yunpu did not intend to rush to reject Zhao Junchen's proposal.

What's more, according to Lin Yunpu's observation, Zhao Junchen's every move, word and deed has deep meaning, and he should never be a whimsical and self-righteous mediocre person.

So, after stopping Bai Mingyu, Lin Yunpu asked cautiously: "I hope that your lordship will tell me what kind of preferential policies the imperial court can provide once this ship company is established?" ”

Seeing that Lin Yunpu finally understood his key point, a trace of appreciation flashed in Zhao Junchen's eyes, and he replied slowly: "The establishment of this shipping company has three purposes, one is to monopolize the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, so as to increase the revenue of the treasury, the second is to suppress the repeated prohibition of smuggling in the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and increase taxes for the imperial court, and the third is to reduce and reduce the indiscriminate tax collection along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to provide convenience for businessmen and the people...... Therefore, the preferential policies provided by the imperial court for this ship company are...... Tax-free! ”

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…… (To be continued......)