Although the layout of Yazhou officialdom has not yet been fully realized, the influence of the crossing group in the Yazhou area, especially in the dozens of miles around Shengli Port, has been incomparably greater. (Baidu search update is the fastest and most stable) (.) The affairs of the military, politics and business, the Yazhou government basically has no chance to intervene, and more often it turns a blind eye to some of the behavior of crossing the group.

This ostrich mentality is not entirely the fear of the Yazhou government, the key is that it can't find any reason to intervene. The Haihan people did not rebel in Shengli Port, and second, they did not kill people and set fires, and there were patrol and inspection departments stationed by the Yazhou government, as well as border troops stationed in Yazhou Shuizhai, plus the Haihan people's own militia groups, and the public security situation was better than that in the capital. Although the local government has implemented a tax-free policy for foreign merchants, the income obtained by the Yazhou side is much higher than in previous years, and the "rental" of the prisoners in the Yazhou Prison to the crossing group as laborers is not a small amount of money saved and labor fees earned here.

If "Qiong Lianfa" wants to carry out large-scale development in Yazhou, it can be said that it will basically not encounter much resistance from the local government. One possible scenario is that the Yazhou government will escort the development project of "Qiong Lianfa" in terms of policy, because it means that the local government will get a new "policy subsidy" from the hands of the crossing group.

From the beginning of the land certificate in the Shengli Port area, the Yazhou government will often receive various "subsidies" from Shengli Port, and there must be festival subsidies for fixed annual festivals, and there are also office subsidies for handling affairs. For example, the Yazhou government announced three months ago that the local people would no longer bear the taxes separately after moving to Shengli Port, but would be paid by the crossing group. This decree completely dismantled the concerns of some people and promoted the speed of migration from Yazhou to Shengli Port. After the announcement of this decree, the Yazhou government immediately received a thousand taels of silver from the Yazhou Office as a "policy subsidy", of course, how much of this money went into the official treasury and how much went into private pockets, then only the parties know.

Similar to such a subsidy, the Yazhou government has collected at least 10,000 taels of silver in the past year, from the bottom of the government to the top of the Zhizhou, Tongzhi, it can be said that everyone has more or less taken the benefits of crossing the group. The vast majority of officials serving in Yazhou have gradually formed a consensus in their hearts, the more money the Haihan people make, the more benefits they can get, and whoever can't get along with the Haihan people is having trouble with their own money.

A handful of clear-headed officials, wary and hostile to the Crossing Syndicate, were soon annihilated by this one-sided money offensive. After nearly a year of purging in the entire Yazhou officialdom, it can be said that there are basically not many people left who are willing to go against the crossing group, and even the two spy agencies of Jinyiwei and Dongchang, the personnel stationed in Yazhou have been bought. Gong Zongqi of Jinyiwei was transferred to Qiongzhou Mansion a few years ago, and the Ya Office also specially sent 200 taels of silver as a congratulatory gift. The personnel of these secret agencies do not have much oil and water to fish in the remote place of Yazhou, and the vast Haihan people are simply like the gods of wealth to them, so naturally there is no need to be embarrassed.

Schneider's speech to the audience was not blindly bragging, in fact, if the area is limited to Yazhou, what "Qiong Lianfa" can do can even be described as "doing whatever he wants". Some of the projects that "Qiong Lianfa" will implement at the beginning of its establishment are basically concentrated in the Yazhou area, and after the control of the group in Yazhou is relatively stable, it will gradually expand its business scope.

Schneider's speech certainly aroused the enthusiasm of some businessmen, but there were also cautious people in the audience who questioned: "Mr. Shi, there is no doubt about your influence in Yazhou, but if the pressure in the future comes from Qiongzhou or even Guangzhou, how should you deal with it?"

Schneider smiled and asked: "How did we gain our influence in Yazhou? Did we simply rely on money to buy or build strong ships and guns? Actually, no, the reason why we were able to operate Shengli Port to the current Cheng Dù within one year of settling down in Yazhou is still due to our advanced system and pattern. ”

"Our advantage is not only applicable to Yazhou, but also to Qiongzhou and Guangzhou after a period of time, and you can wait and see. Schneider paused and said: "I know that some bosses still have doubts, so 'Qiong Lianfa' will implement a strict entry and wide exit policy, and everyone can join with confidence." The so-called 'strict entry' is to raise the threshold of entry, and 'wide exit' is to give shareholders the freedom to withdraw. Any shareholder who wants to quit 'Qiong Lianfa' at any time will not be embarrassed, and we will not ask you the real reason for your withdrawal, but please remember that there is only one chance to join 'Qiong Lianfa', and once you quit, you will never have the opportunity to enter this circle again!"

Some of the businessmen here calculated that this circle basically covers eighty percent of the wealthy businessmen in the business district near Guangzhou, and the agency "Qiong Lianfa" is actually a small circle of top wealthy businessmen, and I don't know how many people want to squeeze into this circle when they break their heads.

Schneider looked around at everyone, and saw that no one continued to ask questions, so he continued to follow the process: "Then I will tell you about the company's articles of association, please pay attention to it, the next content is linked to your vital interests." ”

Schneider personally drafted the Articles of Association of Qionglianfa Company, which focuses on the way of shareholders' capital contribution, the rights and obligations of shareholders, the method of transferring equity, the company's structure and its formation method, powers and rules of procedure, as well as the most important financial management, profit distribution method and labor and employment system. There are too many things involved, and there will be more than 40 articles in the detailed rules alone, each of which must be explained to shareholders separately. Schneider spoke from two o'clock in the afternoon until it was dark, and he was only halfway through his talk.

Since most of the people had to rush back to Guangzhou, the course had to be left for the next day. Early the next morning, the wealthy businessmen rushed to the Guangzhou Office to meet again, and Schneider was very pleased that none of the wealthy businessmen who participated in the symposium on the previous day were absent, which means that so far, no one in these big bosses has decided to quit the game.

Today, the rich businessmen obviously asked much more questions than the first day, and often have a strong target, it seems that these people have also made a lot of effort to ponder the company's articles of association after going back last night, maybe many people have also held a think tank meeting overnight to discuss this matter, which can be seen from the two bloodshot red eyes of many people.

Due to the increase in questions, Schneider's explanation this morning was slower than the day before, and at noon, after eating the "secret seafood dinner" arranged by the Guangzhou Office, everyone resumed the discussion.

However, after the discussion on the second day, two merchants chose to withdraw, and the number of participants was reduced from 15 to 13. But Schneider was not discouraged at all, and the merchants who were willing to join after fully understanding the company's articles of association were the partners that the group really needed. Those who are unwilling to accept this charter for their own selfish interests are likely to become hidden dangers for the company's business in the future.

By the third day of the symposium, the merchants had basically reached an agreement on the business mode and direction of "Qiong Lianfa", but there were still many details of the disagreement with the Haihan side. Tao Donglai did not attend the day's discussion as an observer, because a visitor from the Guangzhou Office had come to him, and he had to temporarily divert his attention from the affairs of "Qiong Lianfa".

When this visitor arrived at the Guangzhou Office, he didn't even get out of the soft sedan chair, but even entered the gate of the Guangzhou Office with a sedan chair. The reason for this cover-up is that the visitor does not want to show up in the office in Guangzhou.

Accompanying this visitor was the third young master of "Fu Ruifeng", and Li Nai, the chief shopkeeper of the "Golden Shield Security". After Tao Donglai received the news of the two men's visit, he immediately came to the study to meet them.

"Mr. Tao, this is the messenger of the Buddha Franc from the mirror. Li Nai introduced to Tao Donglai.

The mirror is the Macao of later generations, and at this time, Macao has become the main supply port for the Portuguese to trade with China. It has been 70 years since the Portuguese were granted residency in Macao in 1557, and the number of Portuguese living in Macao is now in the thousands. However, for the Ming people, their understanding of the "Franco-Robot Man" is very vague, and they don't even understand the difference between these Portuguese in Macau and the Spaniards in Manila.

In the "History of the Ming Dynasty", it is recorded in the "Foreign Biography": "The Buddha Lang machine, near Manchuria. In Zhengde, according to the land of Manraka, chase its king. "During this period, the Ming Dynasty officials regarded the Franc Machine as a neighbor of Manraka, and changed the Franc Machine from Europe to Malacca in South Asia. In fact, Portugal became an independent kingdom as early as 1143, but was annexed by neighboring Spain a few decades before it became a vassal state.

As a big local businessman in Guangzhou, "Fu Ruifeng" has not been dealing with the Portuguese in Macao for a day or two. Regarding the sudden appearance of Haihan's goods in the Guangzhou market, Portugal, which is good at buying and selling, has naturally noticed it a long time ago, but limited to news channels, they have not been able to catch up with Haihan's side. It was not until recently that through various channels, "Fu Ruifeng" finally agreed to introduce them to the Haihan people, of course, the attitude of "Fu Ruifeng" is actually the attitude of Haihan, and without the nod of the Guangzhou Office, this meeting would not have been possible.

"Dear Mr. Tao, please allow João Enrique Bardaq Thomas to extend his most sincere greetings to you!" Standing in front of Tao Donglai is a standard European, wearing a baroque style of flashy clothing, the collar cuffs and trousers are covered with lace and ribbon decorations similar to **, while the lower body is loose and fat, flowing pleated culottes, which is very in line with the popular "male peacock" clothing style in Europe during this period.

However, this guy with a long name speaks Chinese with a slight taste of Cantonese official, and it seems that the time he has lived in Daming has not been short.

"Hello, Mr. Thomas. Tao Donglai nodded in acknowledgement.

Originally, it was more appropriate for Schneider to appear on this occasion, after all, he was a mixed-race man with a European face, and he had lived in Europe and the United States for a long time, and there was no big communication barrier in the language, so it might be easier for him to communicate with the Portuguese envoys. However, because Schneider was busy dealing with the affairs related to the establishment of "Qiong Lianfa", and at this juncture, it was obvious that "Qiong Lianfa" was more important than the visit of the Portuguese, so only Tao Donglai personally came forward for this meeting.

"If you can, please call me Enrique, that's what my relatives and friends call me. This Portuguese is a familiar man, and he immediately started a relationship with Tao Donglai.

"Okay Enrique. Tao Donglai responded and invited the two to sit down.

This Enrique is obviously also well versed in the way of communication between the Ming people, and after sitting down, he did not rush to express his intentions, until a servant brought hot tea, Enrique took the initiative to bring up the matter: "I had the good fortune to see some glassware made by Haihan a few months ago, and it can be said that the quality is not inferior to that of the craftsmen of Venice.

"Of course not. Tao Donglai immediately flatly denied this statement: "This is our Haihan's unique craft. As you may have noticed, our glassware is completely different from Venetian goods in terms of appearance and style, and we have many products that have never been made by the Venetians. ”

"You're right, at least the stationery used by the Ming literati, the Venetians never thought of using glass to make zuò. Enrique did not continue to delve into Tao Donglai's denial, as if the question just now came from another person's mouth: "I also saw a seal carved in glass on Li Gongzi's mansion, which is really a very beautiful work of art." ”

"Thank you for the compliment, but I think we're going to meet here today, and it's not like you're going to buy glasswork from us, right?" Tao Dong came to see that this guy was going around and around without getting to the point, so he took the initiative.

Enrique smiled and said, "If I could, I would prefer to hire Haihan craftsmen directly, but I know that this wish is probably impossible to achieve." ”

Tao Donglai smiled and didn't answer, the European glassmakers of the same era were completely treasures who were tightly covered by various chambers of commerce, and it was impossible for them to have any contact with outsiders, this Enrique probably thought that Haihan was in the same situation. Although the crossing group also has technical secrecy measures, it does not confine craftsmen like the Europeans, because for the crossing group, the glass making process is not too high-tech, and Haihan is not the only one who has mastered this technology, and it is not of much practical significance to want to keep it secret.

The advantage of crossing the group in this industry is not the height of technology, but the combination of industrialized production methods and market-oriented product research and development means, compared with the difference in production technology, this operating mechanism is several centuries ahead of the competitors of the same era, even if the crossing group will announce all the glass production processes, it is difficult for others in Asia to organize the industrial production mode, the real competitive threat to Haihan glass products. And this advantage is often not appreciated by outsiders, who only see the popularity of Haihan goods, but do not understand the real reason behind it. Although Enrique is somewhat knowledgeable, he is still unable to recognize the true advantages of the Crossing Group with his limited vision of this era.

Enrique continued: "As far as I know, there are many varieties of Haihan goods, and glass is only one of them, and our merchants are very interested in other goods, such as matches, soaps, ceramic toilets that can be pumped, and even guns that you make, and if you are willing to sell, our merchants will be happy to buy them." ”

Tao Donglai listened to the first half of the sentence, and when he heard the "guns", his eyes couldn't help but turn to the fact that Li Nai crossed the group and was able to make guns on his own, although it was no secret for a long time, but there were only a few two or three customers who exported guns. In order to cut off the possibility of buying arms with absolute hands, Xu Xinsu of Fujian was eager to hide the secret of the source of arms as deep as possible, and the North Vietnamese regime and the southern Nguyen regime, which was most likely supported by the Portuguese, were beaten to death, and it was impossible for them to take the initiative to leak this secret.

Of course, Li Nai felt the doubt in Tao Donglai's eyes, and quickly coughed dryly: "Mr. Enrique, where did you hear this gun?"

Enrique said: "It's no secret, last month our merchants transported timber from Hue province in Annam to Jing, and I heard that the Trung army in the north was equipped with a large number of muskets and artillery, and it was the Hai Han militia that cooperated with them in the battle. Obviously, there could not have been craftsmen who made muskets and artillery on the territory controlled by the Zheng clan, and the ingenious Haihan craftsmen were probably the real makers. It is reported that the new North Vietnamese army that appeared on the battlefield was trained by you for the Trung clan. ”

Tao Donglai sighed secretly, he originally thought that these things could be hidden for a while longer, but obviously he underestimated the speed of information transmission in this era. It was an open matter for the Haihan militia to go to Vietnam to participate in the war, and it was not difficult for those who were interested to get accurate information as long as they made a little inquiry, after all, there were still thousands of South Vietnamese coolies imprisoned in Victory Port, and it was impossible to hide it at all. The South Vietnamese regime, which had been severely attacked, probably learned the real reason for its defeat soon afterward, and the Western forces behind the South Vietnamese regime naturally turned their attention to the Hai Han, who provided military support to North Vietnam