"Where is the new market going to be opened?" Wu Haogu pondered his words, "Who are you going to hand over to operate?" ”

Of course he understands Ma Zhi's thoughts, but what he doesn't know is whether the Ma family plans to use this newly opened commercial market as their own foundation to operate?

"Now there is a Jiehe commercial market in Nanjing Road, and there is nowhere to open another one, so the new commercial market is ready to open on the ground of Tokyo Road or Nakakyo Road."

Ma Zhi smiled and winked at Wu Haogu, "Where is it, my uncle hasn't figured it out yet...... But this place must be a place where it can be used as a base for business and in the future. ”

"In the future?" Wu Haogu laughed, "Is this what you mean, Second Brother Ma, or is it Ma Xianggong's idea?" ”

"Hehe, what's the difference?" Ma Zhi said, "The general trend of the Liao State is not as good as a year, and the current emperor seems to be inferior to his grandfather, who has been an emperor for two years, and knows how to avenge his father." The others don't have the slightest cheer up, and they can't compare to the male lord of the Great Song Dynasty at all! ”

The Great Song Hero?

Wu Haogu just smiled: "If the Ma family wants a place to build a foundation, then the most suitable place is naturally the territory outside the Anfu Army Pass in Suzhou." ”

The Suzhou Anfu Army was the Dalian of later generations, where the Liao people built a short "Great Wall" to separate the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula from the rest of the peninsula and called it the land outside the Guan.

"It's good to do a business there," Ma Zhi said, "but can it prosper as a commercial market?" If you can't pay 20,000 or 30,000 yuan a year, Yelu Yanxi is afraid that it will be difficult to speak, right? ”

"Yes!" Wu Hao Ancient Road, "The Great Song Dynasty is recently preparing a Jingdong City Bo Division, preparing to open a new commercial market in Penglai Town, Dengzhou, isn't Suzhou Anfu Army just opposite Penglai?" In addition, I also asked the official family for Salmon Island. When the time comes, Suzhou Foreign Business City, Shamen Island, and Penglai City will be connected, and you are afraid that you will not be able to make money? ”

In fact, Wu Haogu was fooling Ma Zhi, and how much trade volume was there between Song and Liao in a year? With such a prosperous Jiehe commercial market, how can there be a chance for "Dalian City"?

In addition, the commercial value of Penglai City and Salmon Island is not too high. If there is no Jiehe Commercial Market, it can still be made, and now that there is Jiehe Commercial Market, the commercial value of those two places is chicken ribs.

However, Wu Haogu still planned to take Salmon Island - he didn't want his money anyway, and the prisoners there could use it to see the territory.

As for the Penglai commercial market, Wu Haogu actually wants to take it, but now there seems to be a commercial market fever in the Great Song Dynasty, and I don't know if Penglai City will be speculated to sky-high prices? So he plans to take a look first, if there is a big boss who wants to take over at a high price, then let them do it first, and when the loss is unbearable, it is not too late to be a receiver himself.

In fact, for Wu Haogu, the top priority now is not to expand, but to consolidate the existing "territory".

Ma Zhi then said: "If Suzhou Guanwai can really do it, then my uncle wants the Ma family to take the lead...... After all, the Liao country is different from the Great Song Dynasty! It's always a few big families who have the final say. ”

His brows furrowed again, "Actually, my uncle is still a little worried that if he can't restrain a few big clans, this business market will be difficult to do." ”

Wu Haogu smiled: "There is nothing to do in the commercial market!" Isn't our Jiehe Commercial Market also troublesome? ”

"What's wrong?" Ma Zhi looked at Wu Haogu, "Is it that the Khitans are asking for too many taxes?" ”

Wu Haogu shook his head, "Seventy thousand horses of silk is not very low, but don't say that I agreed right away...... It dragged on for a few months, and it seemed a little tougher. ”

"Yes," Ma Zhi snorted, "or he'll have to get a footage again."

Dalang, what trouble is your business market going on? ”

"The big city is hard to govern!" Wu Haogu said with a smile, "When the commercial market was created, everything was careless, but now it is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more rules and regulations to be established." ”

"Oh." Ma Zhi nodded, "You do have a lot of things here, the rules and regulations, can't you make a decision?" What is the Senate meeting? And there are still people who oppose it, which is really unusual. ”

Regarding Ma Zhi's remarks, Wu Haogu just smiled bitterly. Jiehe Shang City has never been Wu Haogu's Yiyantang, although he has been the mayor and chief elder since the establishment of Shang City. But the power of the Shang City belongs to the Senate - the Senate of the Jiehe Shang City has never been a wooden stamp.

Although this commercial market has developed and grown under the leadership of Wu Haogu, how can the commercial market develop smoothly without the support of those bullish shareholders?

Moreover, Wu Haogu, the mayor, has too many things, and he is always lacking in skills, and he is not in Jiehe Commercial City for at least half of the time every year. The operation of the commercial market is not a problem, and the municipal team composed of Zhang Xizai, Huang Zhisheng, Lin Chong and others can always cope with the situation.

However, the responsibility for supervising the municipal team fell entirely on the shoulders of the Senate, which consisted of thirty-three people (Wu Haogu's absence, his position as senator could be deputized).

And in the Senate of Jiehe Shang City, there has always been an opposition to Wu Haogu!

……

Ji Sheng, who is fifty-one years old this year, put down the ledger in his hand, lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. I saw that my convoy had arrived at a lively street, the street was full, and there were business faces everywhere, all of which were hung with the flags of the old Ji family's store. One of the gates is on the face, and there is a gold-lettered signboard on it, "Jijia Old Store Jiehe General Number".

It seems that this is the industry of the Pingjiang Ji family in Jiehe Business City - although Ji Yi and Wu Haogu have not been allies for a long time, this does not affect the development and growth of the Ji family's industry in Jiehe!

And the Ji family's industries in Jiehe are all managed by Ji Sheng, the boss of Ji Yi's generation, and he is also the elder of the business market on behalf of the Ji family.

More than a dozen members of the Ji family, who looked at it and listened to it, got off the carriage and stood neatly at the door. A gorgeously dressed middle-aged man walked out of the door quickly, and bowed his hand to the big shopkeeper of the Ji family's old store Jiehe in the carriage: "Da Langjun, you can come back, Zhang Dianzhi and Xiang Yuanwai have been here for a while." ”

Zhang Dianzhi's name is Zhang Kexiang, he is Zhang Shuye's brother, and he has an official position of the right class Dianzhi, but he has no real position. So he was sent to Jiehe Commercial Market by Uncle Zhang as the elder of the commercial market assigned by the Zhang family.

Among the thirty-three elders of Jiehe Shang City, Ji Sheng and Zhang Kexiang have always existed as opponents of Wu Haogu. And Xiang An, who represents the daimyo Xiang family, originally supported Wu Haogu, but in Wu Haogu's "Wenqu Xing", he became the vanguard in the abolition of Empress Meng, and his position also changed, and he formed an alliance with Ji Sheng and Zhang Kexiang.

Three opposition factions seem nothing relative to the senators of the Senate, who have a total of thirty-three people. But Wu Haogu did not master the remaining thirty elders, and now only Ximen Anguo, Murong Wangwu, Pan Qi, Su Anli, Lin Wancheng (on behalf of Gao Yu), Lin Chong (on behalf of Zhao Zhongge), Zhang Xizai, Hua Mangu, Ma Zhi, Hao Sui (internal servant, on behalf of Zhao Ji), Lu Zhisheng, Ren Daoxing, Wan Baolu, Wu Yanzhao, Huang Zhisheng (recommended by Fang Lou) and other fifteen veterans must be with Wu Haogu, plus Wu Haogu, the head, a total of sixteen seats in the Senate, one seat away from half.

Of course, this difference in the table will not be able to defeat Wu Haogu no matter what. After all, among the remaining dozen or so patriarchs, the position is in the middle, and it is impossible for all of them to be co-opted by Ji Sheng, Zhang Kexiang and Xiang An.

However, these three people had another way to deal with Wu Haogu.

"Brother Cheng, have you received Ji Yizhi's letter?"

After Ji Sheng sat down with the two allies in an inn in the depths of the Ji family's business, Zhang Kexiang of the Zhang family went straight to the topic.

"Roger!" Ji Sheng said with a smile, "He asked us to expose Du Wenzhong's bribery." ”

Du Wenzhong is Du Wenyu's elder brother, originally opened a calligraphy and painting shop here in Jiehe Commercial City, and later because of his sister's relationship, he found an errand in the government office of Jiehe Commercial City to do tax - this is a fat gap under the financial office, specifically responsible for the collection of taxes, the so-called taxes are commercial taxes. Wu Haogu came up with a method to apportion the commercial tax of the Jiehe commercial market to the various guilds, and the merchant market and the guild negotiated to collect the taxes.

This "negotiation" is naturally indispensable for behind-the-scenes transactions! Therefore, the problem of corruption in "taxation" has been a major difficulty in the governance of the commercial market in the past two years.

"What's the use of that?" Zhang Kexiang said, "It's not that the Senate has not impeached the tax ...... At most, it's a fine for money, and you can cut off your brain? ”

"At most, the commercial court sentenced them to hard labor, and except for the crime of killing people and stealing goods, everything else can be redeemed with money." Xiang An said, "And Du Wenzhong's sister-in-law is a woman of Wu Haogu, do you still expect him not to cover up his own people?" ”

Jiehe Commercial City is a city of chambers of commerce, seeking wealth rather than life, and has no interest in cutting off people's brains. Therefore, the criminal law passed by the Senate of Shang City is very lethal, and most of the punishments can be atonement for the crime with money - isn't the money handed over to the profit of the Chamber of Commerce? As a result, the law of the Jiehe commercial market is relatively relaxed, and the public officials of the commercial market lack strict supervision, and corruption and fraud cases are not uncommon.

Of course, the regulatory efficiency of the commercial senate is not low! The patriarchs are the representatives of the shareholders and are much more responsible than the parliamentarians of the capitalist countries in later generations...... Commercial officials are equivalent to employees hired by the company, and corruption and bribery are not the money of black shareholders? Therefore, although there are many cases of fraud in Jiehe Commercial Market, it is not particularly corrupt.

"Let him cover up," Ji Sheng smiled, "We didn't want that dog's life in the first place." ”

"And what do we want?"

"Reform!" Ji Sheng said, "We want to reform the commercial market!" ”

"What's changed?" Xiang Ann asked.

"Reform the method of tax collection," Ji Sheng said, "and we must not let the government office control it, but we must openly discuss the tax collection...... There had to be a place similar to the Senate, and the guild could push people to consult with the government office and the Senate. ”