Tianshangrenjian Tianzi Room
Mr. Cui Sanye never thought that after such a huge business confrontation, Li Xiang would actually invite him to this place. Although this is the best entertainment venue in Chang'an City, Mr. Cui Sanye is not very fond of women, so he felt uncomfortable when he came here. But then again, staying in such a place will prevent others from eavesdropping, after all, there are ears everywhere in Chang'an City.
"Don't worry, Third Master. I didn't let anyone else into the room except the two of us. I know what Third Master is thinking, so I asked them to leave. The food and wine here are also very good. Let's eat and chat."
Mr. Cui Sanye is not interested in women. Apart from his wife and two concubines, there has never been any news that Mr. Cui Sanye has any other women outside. Li Xiang naturally would not have any contact with prostitutes. It's just that this place is relatively secluded. If he moved to some other place, it would inevitably attract attention.
"Only His Highness could find such a place. People outside would probably rack their brains to find out. I don't think they would know we are holding talks here. This is His Highness's territory, so there is no need to worry about safety. But I can't delay for too long. There have been too many urgent reports from various places recently."
Mr. Cui Sanye sighed. Although they survived and suffered no losses in this catastrophe, all the major families regarded the Cui family as their enemy. Some of the projects they cooperated with the Cui family were all torn up, which also brought certain losses to the Cui family. However, compared with the large amount of grain in Li Xiang's hands, those losses were probably insignificant. Even if the Cui family turned against the major families, they would not dare to turn against Li Xiang.
"I know Third Master has suffered heavy losses recently, so I'm going to give him some compensation. My food will be arriving soon. If Third Master is willing, just name a price and I won't bargain. As long as I can make a small profit, we can continue doing business."
Although Li Xiang also started to open grain stores across the country, compared with the Cui family, it was nothing after all. Even if you open one, there probably won't be many customers. So selling grain to the Cui family and letting the Cui family distribute it all over the country is the biggest profit. Of course, the price must be low, otherwise the other family has a lot of land, why would they sell your grain?
Li Xiang did this to reassure Mr. Cui Sanye. Ever since he left that day, Mr. Cui Sanye would think about where Li Xiang's grain would be sold every night when he closed his eyes. No matter where in the country it was put on the market, it would have a certain impact on the Cui family's grain. Now that Li Xiang was going to be handed over to him, it would also give him a reassurance that he was a man of his words.
"Thank you very much, Your Highness. I will purchase this batch of grain at the market price and have my subordinates take care of the delivery. I can also ship it to various countries overseas, including some tribes on the grasslands. I can distribute them."
Master Cui Sanye is also gradually showing his strength. In this era, grain is hard currency. It is very important within the Tang Dynasty and even more important outside the Tang Dynasty. After all, the surrounding countries have less land to grow grain, so they need to buy a lot of grain every year.
"It's settled now. I have to return the salt market to Master San. After all, I only borrowed it for a little while. I can't just stand here and not leave."
After this turmoil, the national salt market was almost in the hands of Li Xiang. Other major families still had some in their hands, but they no longer had much competitiveness. However, Li Xiang also knew that he could not eat the whole cake. After dividing it with Li Shimin, Li Xiang had to give a piece to the Cui family.
"Your Highness, please speak directly."
Ever since Mr. Cui Sanye met Li Xiang, this guy has always taken things from his own home. When will he ever share his belongings with others? Especially since this is a salt market.
In Mr. Cui Sanye's eyes, everything Li Xiang did had a purpose. Before finding out the purpose, we cannot take anything from him. If you are greedy for money, sooner or later this money will burn your hands.
"I can't take it all by myself. Even if I could, it would attract too much attention. I might as well give up half of the market in exchange for other industries in your hands, such as transportation and shipping."
After hearing what Li Xiang said, Mr. Cui San finally understood what was going on. The business layout of a large family must be diversified. You can have an advantageous position in an industry, but you cannot monopolize this industry. Once you monopolize it, your profit will certainly be the highest, but the risk will also become the highest. Once there is any disturbance in this industry, the Taiyuan Wang family will be your role model.
What Li Xiang needs to do now is to diversify his investments, take out a part of the salt market, and then exchange it for other industries. The Cui family is involved in many industries, and this exchange involves complex exchanges. As long as the two people establish a goal, the rest of the things will be left to the people below.
"Your Highness is so far-sighted. No wonder you can ride on the necks of old men like us. If I had your vision back then, the Cui family might be even more powerful now. But unfortunately, I don't. So I can only passively cooperate with Your Highness. As I said just now, let the steward below handle the handover. Neither of us will suffer any loss."
Master Cui Sanye said with a wry smile that although Li Xiang spoke in a negotiating tone, he had no right to refuse. The grain in Li Xiang's hand was like a giant sword, always hanging over the Cui family's head. Unless the Cui family gave up the grain trade, otherwise, this giant sword would threaten them all the time. The grain trade was also the business that the Cui family started with and the business they depended on for survival. How could they give it up?
"Now that we've finished talking about all the serious stuff, how about we have a drink together?"
Li Xiang said happily that the salt market in his hands was too big, and exchanging it for some other markets would be very healthy for Li Xiang's business empire. If he kept holding on to it, Li Shimin might take action against him. After all, Li Xiang was now the second salt merchant besides the court.
Now that a third salt merchant of similar character has been separated, the imperial court can breathe a sigh of relief. The more complex the industry involved, the more difficult it will be for the imperial court to deal with Zhidaobao's business layout...