While chatting, the two walked into the hall, the banquet had been placed, Xu Jingzong invited Li Hong to take a seat, he sat next to Li Hong, and the two chatted while eating, and they were happy.

When he was full of wine and food, Li Hong said, "Xu Xiang, let's go to the study to talk?" ”

Xu Jingzong was very shrewd, so he naturally heard the overtones from Li Hong's words, so he invited Li Hong to his study. Xu Jingzong is also a well-educated person, the study design is very elegant, and there are many books, which makes Li Hong like it very much.

"Xu Xiang, what do you think about doing business?" Li Hong asked after sitting down.

"The world is bustling, all for profit; The world is crowded, all for profit. It is in the nature of businessmen to seek profit. However, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were national merchants and righteous merchants, and it can be seen that merchants also have merits, so it depends on how to use them to do business. Xu Jingzong thought for a moment and then spoke.

Li Hong agrees with Xu Jingzong's point of view, it is true that businessmen pursue profits, but only when commerce is developed can a country's production level be improved, Li Hong wants to realize his ideals and plans in Datang, and it is difficult to achieve it in Datang with agriculture as the main focus, so vigorously developing commerce is his goal. And the answer Xu Jingzong gave him, echoing his understanding of business, smiled slightly, "Xu Xiang's views coincide with Gu, it seems that Gu and Xu Xiang still have common interests!" ”

Xu Jingzong was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "What does Your Highness mean?" ”

"Doing business in partnership." Li Hong said lightly.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid this is inappropriate!" Xu Jingzong hesitated.

Li Hong is the crown prince, let the dignified prince go into business, if this reaches the ears of Gaozong and Empress Wu, he will not be able to cut off even ten heads.

"Xu Xiang, ordinary trading is not good, and you can't do it at the expense of others and yourself, what's wrong?" Li Hong asked, seeing that Xu Jingzong continued to be silent, he spoke again, "Besides, Xu Xiang doesn't look at what business Gu wants to do with you, you just retreat like this, don't you look down on Gu too much." ”

"Don't dare, the old minister doesn't dare!" Xu Jingzong hurriedly asked for sin.

"Xu Xiang, do you know what kind of business is the most profitable in Datang?" Li Hong asked.

"Salt and iron." Xu Jingzong replied.

Li Hong nodded slightly and continued to ask, "Who is running the salt and iron now?" ”

"The salt is operated by the Fanyang Lu clan, and the iron is mined by the Qinghe Cui clan and the Taiyuan Wang clan." Xu Jingzong replied, and then he was taken aback, "Could it be that His Highness means that he wants to engage in salt and iron trading?" ”

"Salt, Lone doesn't have the ability to snatch this piece of meat from Fan Yang Lu's mouth, but when it comes to mining iron ore, Lone has some ideas." Li Hong said. took out a piece of paper from his words, handed it to Xu Jingzong and said, "Xu Xiang will take a look at this first." ”

"What is this?" Xu Jingzong took the paper, read the content on it, and asked very puzzled, "Please also ask Your Highness to make it clear." ”

"These are several iron mines distributed in Datang, and Gu means that he wants to partner with you to mine these iron mines." Li Hong said.

Xu Jingzong gasped, there are eight places marked on it, if you really want to mine it as the prince said, you must not force the Taiyuan Wang clan and the Qinghe Cui clan to death! However, Xu Jingzong not only thought of this, he also saw that if he really wanted what the prince said, if he could mine iron ore, how profitable would the iron ore on these eight mountains be? It is estimated that it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a rich country!

At this moment, Xu Jingzong was tempted, it would be a fool not to make money if he had money, not to mention making money with the prince, wouldn't this be equivalent to making money with the future emperor? What else is there to worry about?

Xu Jingzong suppressed the joy in his heart, put the paper on the table, and asked, "The old minister wants to hear what His Highness means." ”

"Alone with this list as capital shares, you pay the money, we will partner to open a chamber of commerce, mine these eight iron mines together, and then share the profits with their respective stock prices." Li Hong said what he thought in his heart, "But in the Chamber of Commerce formed, Lone will not come forward, the management and operation are all operated by you, and all the mined iron ore will be handed over to the Ordnance Supervisor and the General as a supervisor, and this matter can be done by Lone." ”

Li Hong's idea of doing this was very simple, that is, to use the strength of himself and Xu Jingzong to vigorously mine iron ore, and then after smelting, hand over the iron to the ordnance supervisor and the general as a supervisor, with the intention of forging weapons and weapons in his plan.

Of course, if all these eight iron mines are mined, if they want to supply only Datang, I am afraid that Datang will not be able to eat so much iron, so some of the iron will be sold to neighboring countries.

However, this is a later story, and there will definitely not be an oversupply situation in the early stage.

"Your Highness's method is good, and the old minister is also very excited, but I don't know how to divide this share?" When it comes to money, Xu Jingzong is a bargain and never gives in.

Li Hong likes Xu Jingzong like this, although Xu Jingzong is a bit of a villain, he is much stronger than a hypocrite like Li Ji.

"Xu Xiang gets two percent, and the lonely one gets seventy percent." Li Hong said.

Xu Jingzong nodded slightly, very satisfied with Li Hong's benefit distribution, the twenty percent of the eight iron mines, this is already a lot, he is well versed in the way of officialdom, and naturally knows very well that if he does not have enough strength, he will not be able to keep the wealth of the rich country, so it is already his limit to be able to get two percent, and if it is more, even if Li Hong wants to give, he does not dare to ask for it.

"Then what is the rest of His Highness Issei going to use it for?" Xu Jingzong asked.

"The two of us have joined forces, and it is not difficult to snatch the money from the Taiyuan Wang clan and the Qinghe Cui clan, but can we come forward with this kind of thing? It can only be handed over to others, but if they want other efforts and don't give them some benefits, how can they sell their lives? Li Hong said with a smile, "The remaining ten percent of the shares will be divided into ten, and they will be distributed to the ministers of Chang'an City who are willing to cooperate with us!" ”

"Your Royal Highness's talent, the old minister admires it!" Xu Jingzong exclaimed.

"So, Xu Xiang agreed?" Li Hong asked.

"His Royal Highness is the blessing of the old minister, how can the old minister not agree?" Xu Jingzong said with a smile, "I don't know the name of the Chamber of Commerce, has Your Highness already thought about it?" ”

"I have a good name in my heart." Li Hong said, groaning slightly, he continued to speak, "Let's call it the New England Chamber of Commerce!" What does Xu Xiang think? ”

"New England Chamber of Commerce?" Xu Jingzong read in a low voice, he was very puzzled why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would choose such a name that was not easy to pronounce and had no elegant meaning. But the name of the prince's marriage, can he say it badly? He could only nod slightly, "The old minister thinks it's good, this name is simple and generous, and it's very practical." ”

The reason why Li Hong chose such a name is that he has high hopes for the New England Chamber of Commerce.

Because he knows very well that in a certain dynasty, hundreds of millions of Chinese people and millions of troops were beaten by a group of mercenaries without dignity, and this history of humiliation has affected more than ten generations of this nation. Therefore, since he has the power to change all this, he will not leave this hidden danger behind. And the New England Chamber of Commerce has both a warning to him not to forget this humiliating history, and a role for him to remember what he should do.

The New England Chamber of Commerce, to put it bluntly, is a grand goal of Li Hong, one day, he wants to develop the Chamber of Commerce to England; One day, he wanted the merchants of the Tang Dynasty to set foot on that vast land, so that the people of the country could erect the dignity of the Tang people.