Chapter 153 Lord Ouyang is a good official, Emperor Zhu is a dog emperor! (Please subscribe!!) On the second day of sales of Peking bonds, Baoding bonds and Hejian bonds, the first issue of bonds was basically sold out.
At the same time, the Chief Secretary of North Zhili issued an announcement titled "North Zhili's First Five-Year Plan", which was published on the bulletin board of each state government office in "Yong'an Daily".
As soon as this announcement came out, it immediately caused a storm.
The core of the storm was naturally Yong'an Prefecture, and then continued to spread to surrounding state capitals. Finally, the entire Beizhili began to become lively.
At this moment, many people gathered outside the Yamen of Yong'an Mansion. In addition to the curious people watching, there were also many businessmen.
"The announcement is finally out!"
"As expected, the government wants to build roads throughout the province, as well as new cities, industrial parks, etc. How many people are needed!"
"The announcement also said that there will be hundreds of construction projects in the first round, and these hundreds of construction projects will be held through public bidding to determine the contractors!"
"The contractor requires a registered trading company in Beizhili. The trading company owner must have construction experience, a construction team of at least 500 people, and a deposit of 100 million! These requirements have been raised!"
"This is a provincial project, so the requirements must be raised. Only then can the projects produced in this way be guaranteed."
"I don't have much chance. Let's see if I can make a living with a big boss who can take on contracts."
Zhao Si looked at the announcement and fell into deep thought.
He now has his own trading company and has construction experience, but he only has more than 100 people under his command, and he also needs a deposit of 100 million, which he cannot afford now, which means that he does not meet the requirements for both people and money.
"Can I just give up?"
Zhao Si was very unwilling to miss this opportunity. It would not be easy to wait for such a good opportunity again.
"Boss Zhao!"
At this moment, someone stopped him.
Zhao Si turned around and saw that the people who stopped him were the two foreign businessmen he received that day.
"Boss He/Boss Zheng! You are here too!" Zhao Si said.
"After having a drink with you that day, the two of us made up our minds to make a name for ourselves in Yong'an Mansion. However, apart from buying real estate and buying some stocks, we really haven't seen any suitable projects, so we have been working in the Mansion these days. I was wandering around the yamen gate, wanting to pay the entrance fee to visit Mr. Ouyang, but Mr. Ouyang didn't seem to be in the yamen during this time," the fat boss He said with regret.
"Hey - we can't get a lot of things. You asked us to buy houses in the new district. We went to ask and found that they were sold out. We asked the owners of those houses, but they didn't sell them at all, no matter how much we paid, so we just I was able to buy an old house in the old town of Yong'an Prefecture first. Although it was a little dilapidated and a little small, I finally settled in Yong'an Prefecture. In addition, the bonds are really difficult to grab!" said the tall and thin boss Zheng helplessly.
Hearing this, Zhao Si smiled slightly, "But I didn't make it clear that day. Many things in Yong'an Mansion have to be snatched. If you don't work hard, some good things will really not happen. Just like me, now the government announcement has come out , but I am not qualified enough, so I can only watch the opportunity pass."
"Is it about the construction contractors listed in the announcement? I also read the announcement. The government's requirements for contractors are really strict. Moreover, it is an open bidding. Everything depends on hard power. If you are not strong enough, you will not even be qualified to sign up. "Pangpang Boss He shook his head.
But the tall and lanky Boss Zheng finished laughing and said: "Boss Zhao, Lao He and I happen to have no project investment. If you don't have enough money, we can make an investment!"
"That's right, Boss Zhao's character can be trusted by both of us. If we cooperate, it might be possible! If nothing else, there is no problem for the two of us to invest 50 taels in you!" After hearing this, Fatty Boss He also He nodded repeatedly.
Zhao Si's eyes gradually brightened, "If the two bosses help me, I really have a chance!"
"I should be able to raise 50 yuan by selling iron for frying pans, plus the 50 yuan from the two bosses, and this will be the deposit. After the follow-up project starts, we can take the contract to the bank for a loan, and it's done! "
But soon, Zhao Si thought of another thing, his eyes dimmed suddenly, and he sighed: "The money is enough, but the people are still lacking. Now Yong'an Mansion needs people everywhere, and the Zero-hour Task Department is full of recruitment announcements. It’s not easy to fill the gap of 400 people.”
When Boss He/Boss Zheng heard this, they looked at each other and then said, "Boss Zhao, what if we don't look for it in Yong'an Mansion?"
"It's useless. Now the whole of Beizhili is short of people." As a core member of the trading company, Zhao Si is very aware of the current employment situation, and because of this, he is very pessimistic.
"No, what we mean is to go out to other provinces in Beizhili to look for him." Boss He said solemnly: "Beizhili is a poor place, but the provinces surrounding Beizhili are not bad!"
Boss Zheng also followed: "Now is the slack time for farming, and the men in other provinces and villages are idle. If you give them a job that makes money, someone will definitely take it!"
Zhao Si frowned, "Is this okay? Outside the province, it is not a place under the jurisdiction of Mr. Ouyang. If something goes wrong, then..."
"What's the problem with this? We can find a place close to Beizhili. It's just a few steps or a climb up the mountain. We can just let them go back after they finish their work. We only recruit 400 people. For several provinces, it is just like filling a glass of water in the river. As long as we are careful, there will be no problems." Boss Zheng said unconcernedly.
"That's right, our Ming Dynasty loses a lot of people inexplicably every year, and there is no government investigation. I also think Lao Zheng's method is feasible." Boss He continued: "Boss Zhao, if you decide, the two of us will accompany you to the surrounding areas." Save yourself a trip and take the shortest road. The round trip does not take more than ten days. By then we will have the people/money, and we will be able to legitimately become a contractor for government projects!"
To be honest, Zhao Si was moved.
The opportunity is right in front of you. If you don't seize it, you may never have such an opportunity again in the future.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Si immediately made a decision and nodded, "Okay, let's do it. Let's go, get in my carriage. My carriage is fast and stable. Let's set off now!"
As a result, Zhao Si/Boss Zheng/Boss He took a carriage and headed towards the other provinces.
"Boss Zhao, your carriage is so stable. Even if it is driving on a dirt road, it is still very comfortable. This is simply the most comfortable carriage I have ever ridden."
"This is the 'Hongqi' carriage. It is produced by a trading company in Yong'an Prefecture that turns to produce carriages. Lord Ouyang and almost all officials in Beizhili use this carriage. However, mine is the entry-level low-end version of the Hongqi generation. Lord Ouyang rides on it. The luxurious top-end version of the Hongqi [-]th Generation!”
"The carriage even Mr. Ouyang rides in must be a good carriage. I will buy one when I go back."
"I'll buy it too."
"If you want to buy a red flag carriage, it's not enough just to have money. You have to make a contribution to Yong'an Mansion. For example, if you pay taxes of 20 yuan, donate [-] yuan, or make major contributions, the government will give you a quota. My tax quota is actually not enough. But when we were building the cement road, I and my men fought hard to get the road opened to traffic ahead of schedule, and I was praised by the government and rewarded me with this quota."
"I see, it seems we have to work harder and contribute to Yong'an Mansion."
"The more I hear Boss Zhao say this, the more I want to have my own Hongqi carriage. This is such an honor!"
Soon, Zhao Si and three others went all the way south, entered Shandong, and came to a mountain village named Fuping.
Fuping Village is relatively remote, far away from the county seat, and no one usually comes here.
When the villagers saw a luxuriously decorated carriage with a red flag badge hanging around the horse's neck entering the village, they immediately surrounded it.
Zhao Si and three others walked out of the carriage.
"Dear fellow villagers, we are businessmen from Beizhili. Now Beizhili needs to build a lot of things and needs a lot of workers. Anyone with strong labor force can follow us and make a lot of money!" "Yes!" Go ahead and sign up here!"
Hearing this, the villagers frowned and looked at Zhao Si and the three of them with great vigilance.
The atmosphere at the scene was somewhat awkward.
After a while, someone in the crowd spoke.
"Why should we trust you? What if you are liars?"
"Please rest assured about this." Zhao Si pointed to the carriage at his feet, "This is called the red flag carriage. It is unique to Yong'an Mansion in Beizhili. Moreover, I am also a member of the Yong'an Chamber of Commerce. I will never lie to you."
"As long as you are willing to follow me, I promise to give you a monthly salary of four taels of silver, and when you leave, I will advance one month's salary of yours as settlement expenses!"
As soon as these words came out, the villagers became quiet again.
"I have been to Yong'an Mansion once. That is indeed the red flag carriage of Yong'an Mansion. It is said that those who can ride the red flag carriage are either rich or noble. There is no need for such people to come all the way to lie to us!"
Among the villagers there was a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar, like a teacher in the village. "Prefect Ouyang of Yong'an Prefecture is a good official and does not cheat the poor. If you want to make money, you can go with them."
"Since sir, they have spoken, they must not be liars."
"Forty taels of silver per month, I can't earn that much in a year!"
"If I go with you, will I really be paid for my settlement?"
Zhao Si and the other three were ecstatic and nodded quickly, "Of course! And we can also ask the village chief to be a witness. We sign a contract and write it in black and white on the paper!"
"Then I'll go!"
"Count me in!"
"And I!"
The villagers raised their hands.
Fuping Village is a big village, and now is the slack season. Four hundred strong laborers were quickly recruited, and in the end even 100 more people were recruited!
Zhao Si signed a contract with the villagers, paid the settlement allowance, and returned to Yong'an Mansion with 500 people.
With the financial support of Boss Zheng/Boss He, and with a staff of 600 workers, Zhao Si's 'Zhao's Construction' trading company was successfully selected into the list of contractors in Beizhili.
Zhao Si's success quickly attracted the attention of many people. After all, the Yong'an Mansion construction circle is so large and they all know each other quite well. According to normal strength, it is impossible for Zhao Si to become a contractor. It was initially rumored that Zhao Si Si's prospective father-in-law, the boss of Kaiping Construction, a leading construction trading company, helped him go through the back door. However, the boss personally came out to refute the rumors. After that, everyone continued to research, and only then did they discover the secret of Zhao Si's success.
This gave many bosses who were still short of workers enough to become contractors to see hope, so they started to follow suit.
Now it's all a mess.
"What? Go to work in Yong'an Mansion and get four taels of silver a month?"
"This is still the least!"
"Then why did the government ask us to go to Yong'an Mansion to do corvee work before and didn't give us a penny? We still had to pay out of our own pockets?"
"My brother was arranged by the government to work as a corvee in Yong'an Mansion, and he didn't get a penny!"
"This is too deceptive. The court regards us as a tool to make money."
"No, we have to go to Yong'an Mansion to work!"
"Yes, we can't let the court earn us money in vain. We have to earn the money ourselves."
"Master Ouyang is a good official, and Emperor Zhu is a dog emperor!"
"Shh, be careful and don't let the officials know."
"If Zhu Yuanzhang dares to do something, is he still afraid of being scolded by us common people? Zhu Yuanzhang must have forgotten that he himself was once a common man!"
There was a storm of public opinion.
Infrastructure construction in Kaiping County will affect at most one county or Yong'an Prefecture.
When infrastructure construction is carried out in Yong'an Prefecture, most of the impact will be in the territory of Beizhili.
But when the whole of Beizhili was in action, it would be the huge Ming Dynasty that would be affected.
For a time, the news spread like wildfire about the widely varying prices of imperial corvee labor and workmanship in Yong'an Mansion. People in several provinces around Beizhili began to talk about it.
Many poor people even began to leave their villages en masse and headed towards Beizhili.
Originally there were only a few hundred people, whether in a village, a township, or a county. As long as they were taken care of, everyone turned a blind eye and passed by.
But when the migrant population reaches tens of thousands, officials in surrounding counties/prefectures panic.
The law of the Ming Dynasty prohibits people from leaving their place of residence at will. Now people gather in groups and leave collectively, which is a bit like when a natural disaster strikes, people drag their families with them to escape.
Officials sent out one after another to persuade the villagers to return, but to no avail. The people knew that life would be better in Beizhili, and there were good officials like Ouyang Lun, so they were determined to go, and even had conflicts with the officials who persuaded them to return. .
The situation becomes increasingly difficult to control. The capital, the imperial palace.
As the business/stamp duty/investment in the ocean fleet with Yong'an Mansion continues to produce benefits, now the Ming Dynasty treasury/Zhu Yuanzhang's internal funds are abundant, and people will become easier when they have money, and the same is true for Ming Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang.
In addition, news of Xu Da's victory in Beiyuan's expedition continued to spread. Ouyang Lun destroyed the Japanese pirates and completely recovered the Bohai Sea. Coastal defense construction was also under the auspices of Tang He. It can be said that there is good news recently! After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his breakfast, he came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony with his hands behind his back and humming a little tune. He had dealt with the memorials in the past two days and there was nothing major. He could go to his sister's Kunning Palace to sit down later. He hadn't been intimate with her for a long time. .
Just as he was thinking about it, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just stepped into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, found that the Dragon Table was piled with memorials! ! Are our eyes dazzled? ? ? ! !
(End of this chapter)
