Zhu Gaochi couldn't participate in the major events of the imperial court.

However, according to Zhu Di's attitude, in the end, it is about his own society, whether it is the king of Qin or the king of Jin, they all know it.

Shandong's coal resources are not as good as Shanxi's, and he was worried about the Battle of Jingjing, so Zhu Gaochi also recalled the deacons in Shandong.

The paving of trade routes in Shandong was stopped.

The situation, which was about to get on the right track, suddenly stopped, resulting in a lot of intangible losses, and also making the efforts of several deacons in the outer cabinet for several months go to waste.

It's also a morale.

Zhu Gaochi specially convened the outer cabinet and gave an explanation for the suspension of commercial affairs in Shandong.

"Individuals must serve the interests of the factory, and only when the factory develops well, can individuals have a better future."

"You don't understand the affairs of the imperial court, and you don't need to know, you just need to do a good job in the factory."

"Next, your focus will shift to Shanxi and Shaanxi."

"Although the population of Shanxi is not as good as that of Shandong, Shanxi is a place with better conditions than Shandong."

Zhu Gaochi's words did not win people's approval.

Shandong is the center of coal and iron in the north, and Shandong has a population of more than one million more than Shanxi, and it is close to Yingtianfu.

Yingtianfu has a population of more than 10 million.

Although these deacons have made great strides in business, they do not understand the major affairs of the state.

Moreover, the business atmosphere of the outer cabinet is stronger, resulting in although they are full of momentum, they also pay more attention to profits.

Shanxi's coal resources are better than Shandong's, but this has not happened yet.

Coal wells need to be discovered.

Exploration technology in today's era is not very good, and it is often found in open-pit mines, deep mines are rich in groundwater, and mining and exploration technology is insufficient.

Zhou Shifeng also looked worried.

"The business scale of Ying Tianfu is ten times that of Beiping, and it should be developed to the south, I don't know why the little prince went west."

"As the little prince said, we want to monopolize the industry, and if we don't control it here, I'm afraid we will be blamed for it in the future."

There are many nobles in Tianfu, and the landlord class is powerful.

If we don't take advantage of the blank market to occupy the market now, I am afraid that in a few years, there will be businessmen in Yingtianfu who dare to offend the interests of Yanwangfu.

"We don't care about Ying Tianfu." Zhu Gaochi shook his head.

The coal resources in the south are not good.

"In terms of money, population, and business scale, although Ying Tianfu crushed several northern provinces, it also brought him shortcomings, but he couldn't defeat us."

Zhou Shifeng didn't understand.

What is the rationale for this?

Isn't doing business just whoever has a big plate and who can beat the opponent?

"When we master the coal mines in Shanxi, plus Beiping, we are in an invincible position in the coal industry."

"But what about the rest of the industry?"

Zhou Shifeng, as the big manager of China Heavy Industry, has a better understanding of the business plan of the little nobleman.

It's not just the coal industry in the future.

"Relying on the coal industry, when our business develops, the businessmen of Ying Tianfu are not opponents."

Zhu Gaochi is full of confidence.

When people hold more and more money, luxury habits become more and more popular, and the tax burden becomes heavier.

Then the level of wages of the labor force in this country will inevitably rise correspondingly, and it may be much higher than that of those commercial competitors where the above phenomenon does not exist, and thereafter this country will gradually lose its commercial advantages;

Let's take an analogy.

Isn't that exactly the case with Ying Tianfu?

Currency holdings, luxury in the Jianghuai region, and higher incomes than in the north, etc.

However, with the help of dense population, dense waterways, and mature textile industry, etc., there is indeed no rival in today's world.

But when Beiping opened its industry and entered the coal era, it was completely different.

Beiping relies on a market driven by new fuels, as well as cheaper wages, and a simpler atmosphere than Jianghuai.

The cost of goods will be much lower than that of JAC.

In Beiping, coal is self-sufficient, and if Jianghuai uses coal, it needs to be transported from other places, and the transportation cost is lower than that of Beiping.

If in the coal era, the north has an advantage over the south.

But the southern coast has another advantage, it is closer to the world in the sea lane, and it has more advantages in sea trade.

When we entered the oil and gas era, it was different.

Large quantities of imported oil arrived in China by sea, and in those days, it was the coastal cities that were more advantageous.

In the coal era, if coal-scarce regions want to reverse this disadvantage, they need newer and more advanced technologies to offset this shortcoming.

But who can compare to their understanding of technology?

Therefore, in Zhu Gaochi's eyes, the possible competition in Ying Tianfu in the future is not terrible.

And maybe he will be in charge of Ying Tianfu at that time.

It's all in your own bowl, so you can't talk about competition, and you may be wronged to go down to the coal-producing areas and deliver cheap fuel to the non-coal-producing areas.

Of course, everything has two sides, there are comings and goings, feeding each other, complementing each other's advantages and disadvantages, and forming a virtuous circle, which is the king.

Zhou Shifeng's noble heart had already made up his mind, so he could only turn back and persuade the deacons in the outer cabinet.

Change the strategy of going south to the strategy of going west. It's certainly not cost-effective in terms of profits, but it's cost-effective politically.

How to control Shanxi's coal industry?

Zhu Gaochi is not in a hurry.

Although Shanxi's coal resources are abundant, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty is weak, and it still takes time to accumulate and lay a foundation.

And with the existence of the Jin Palace, he can't be like Beiping.

What can be started is honeycomb coal.

It's time to cultivate a group of middle-strength businessmen to seize the honeycomb coal market in Shanxi.

Through the merchants of Beiping, they controlled the coal industry in Shanxi.

Soon after.

The outer cabinet sent several deacons to investigate the current situation of the honeycomb coal workshop in Beiping, and then gathered them in a notebook and handed them over to the shopkeeper.

Gao Zhen came to Zhu Gaochi's office, handed the booklet to Zhu Gaochi, and reported it to him.

"Nearly seventy percent of the coal workshops still maintain the family workshop model and do not recruit outside workers."

Gao Zhen said with a smile: "These people are afraid that people outside will learn their own business, so even if they know that the more workers they receive, the more honeycomb coal they produce, and the more profits they will get, they are still stubbornly unwilling to change." ”

This is the problem of human perception.

There will be many such people in the Hereafter.

People are used to the status quo, and it is difficult for them to muster up the courage to go to an unfamiliar environment, and they dare not step out and try it, even if it does not cost them.

"There are 37 companies with less than 10 employees."

"There are 12 companies with more than 10 employees and less than 20 employees."

"There are six companies with more than 20 employees, and one of them has more than 50 employees."

"Fifty?" Zhu Gaochi asked in surprise.

Fifty is not a lot.

"The model of this honeycomb coal workshop is a little different from others, except for the workers in the workshop, there are more than 40 workers who sell honeycomb coal."

"The honeycomb coal workshop, and these workers who sell honeycomb coal, take four or six points, the workers get four, and the workshop gets six."

"The sales volume of this honeycomb coal mill is the sum of the other five."

"This person has some ability and courage."

Forty or sixty percent is a lot.

The workshop also has raw materials, the cost of workers, which means that the proprietor earns less than the workers who sell honeycomb coal.

Because of Zhu Gaochi's reasons at the beginning, honeycomb coal has long been designated as a livelihood industry like firewood.

The attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards the people's livelihood industry was not very careful.

For example, Beiping, that is, the future Shuntianfu.

When the forest was exhausted, the imperial court reacted and wanted to start meddling in the coal industry, only to find that there were more than 100 coal kilns in the entire Shuntian Mansion, and there was only one official kiln.

Moreover, this official kiln is not market-oriented, but only provides coal for the palaces of the yamen, which is organized by the government and produced regularly every year.

Therefore, for employment, it is not a problem in Daming.

This kind of workshop also absorbs a large number of hermits.

There is no field, and it is not a craftsman and a soldier, so it is naturally not in the statistics of the government, but the textile industry of Jianghuai, because it is too dazzling, it is under the semi-control of the government.

"In the next post, please invite these workshop owners to come to the factory."

"You come forward and have a meeting with them."

"What's the meeting?" Gao Zhen asked.

"Since they want to increase the scale, they must have ambitions, they have mature technology, skilled experience, and a certain amount of capital."

"I don't know if any of them are more courageous and willing to open up new huge markets."

Honeycomb coal cannot be monopolized.

Although the market is large, it is also a business that is directly oriented to the people.

Honeycomb coal has a low technical threshold, too low a price, and its model, even in a state capital, must be dispersed.

It is destined to be fiercely competitive.

This kind of relatively scattered, unable to form centralized production, fierce competition, and low profits in the industry, is not suitable for the control of the royal government.

Steam engine plants, coke refineries, and iron-smelting plants are different.

The technical threshold is high, the capital is large, and there are certain requirements for social relations, so Zhu Gaochi wants to monopolize it.

The coal industry should also be in control.

However, the risk of mining in the coal industry is too high, especially in the Ming Dynasty, and the safety aspect is really not enough.

Therefore, Zhu Gaochi wants to change the mode of control, that is, the association model that is being planned, to transfer the risk to the merchants, and the palace only needs to take care of the interests of the miners, which is the best means.

Gao Zhen understood what the little prince meant.

While asking people to go down the post, organize the meeting charter.

Zhu Gaochi called back several times and asked him to revise it again, and the day before the meeting, Gao Zhen's idea was approved.

More than 60 small bosses of honeycomb coal came to China Heavy Industry with trepidation.

The size of the factory made them even more embarrassed.

How big a plate they are, how can they afford to be invited by China Heavy Industries, they don't seem to be qualified, and no one has confidence.

Only a middle-aged man with a short beard and round eyes asked a lot of questions from the reception staff with great concern.

Inquire whether it is the meaning of the little nobleman, or just the idea of the outer cabinet of China Heavy Industries.

After learning that although the organizer was Gao Zhen's shopkeeper, it was indeed the idea of a little nobleman, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up.

(End of chapter)