Chapter 55: Jiang Xuan's Upbringing Plan

"Stay in Yangzhou for these few days, and take these back to study them well!"

Liu Zheng said.

Zheng Yueru felt a surge of joy in her heart, naturally understanding that this meant Young Master Liu intended to entrust her with a heavy responsibility.

In reality, Liu Zheng thought the same; as far as the current situation went, the only person in this world suitable to be this "company president" was likely Zheng Yueru.

He was still unable to handle everything personally.

And the Chamber of Commerce that Liu Zheng established was not simply a limited liability company either. It was the prototype of a commercial empire. Among those rules, the one that took precedence was the protection of intellectual property rights, that is, the Patent Right! To Liu Zheng, this could be considered of utmost importance. Since this Chamber of Commerce was built based on Yinzhou Prefecture, and Yinzhou Prefecture had military strength to protect intellectual property rights, why not do it? This could also prevent the things he developed from having imitations or knock-offs.

Next was the regulation of prices, the division of regional interests for each investor, and so on and so forth.

The rules were still very complex, so Liu Zheng gave Zheng Yueru a few days to study them.

Seeing that Yangzhou City had gradually stabilized, Liu Zheng then came to the prison of the County Marquis Mansion.

"Let me out!"

"That thief Liu Zheng will ruin our Yangzhou sooner or later!"

"Yangzhou will surely fall into chaos again!"

In the prison, the disheveled Jiang Xuan was in quite good spirits. This was because Liu Zheng had instructed Shen Xing to take good care of this fellow. So, in these few days, Jiang Xuan had actually gained a circle of fat, a far cry from his previous skin-and-bones, sallow-faced appearance, and his shouting could be considered full of vigor.

"That thief Liu..."

The moment Liu Zheng appeared, he gave Jiang Xuan a start. His expression changed several times, and his mouth stammered, but after all, he had the temperament of a youth, and in the end, he still let out a cold snort and sat inside, refusing to look at Liu Zheng.

"How do you feel?"

Liu Zheng chuckled.

Jiang Xuan said anxiously: "Young Master Liu, what crime have I, Jiang Xuan, committed? Just entering Yangzhou, and you are already so arrogant and domineering; who will submit?"

Liu Zheng sneered: "Since Jiang Xuan is also a scholar, how do you not know that trouble comes from the mouth?"

"The chaos in Yangzhou has just been settled; you speak in such an inflammatory way, how can the public mood be calmed?"

"People's hearts desire stability; you are overly extreme, how do the Powerful Clans view this?"

"The Yinzhou Army is temporarily stationed here with force; what do the Yangzhou Army think in their hearts? The situation at that time was so delicate that it only lacked a single spark for Yangzhou to ignite again. Is that the scene you wanted to see?"

Liu Zheng asked three consecutive questions.

Jiang Xuan listened with a livid face, lowering his head and remaining silent.

Liu Zheng shook his head with a smile: "Young man, having spirit is good, but you should also learn to weigh the pros and cons!"

"I, I, I..."

Jiang Xuan stiffened his neck and said: "Although the use of troops is based on benevolence and righteousness, its victory must lie in deception! Can the Young Master deceive his way into Yangzhou, yet not dare to plot for it?"

Liu Zheng smiled. Not dare to plot for Yangzhou?

You must know that your elder here is playing the true Art of War, but you, a kid who has read the Art of War well, have not yet truly realized what changes commerce will bring to society. Of course, this cannot be blamed on him. Huaxia history has been extremely suppressive of commerce since ancient times. And what Liu Zheng wanted to build was a mercantilist empire!

"I do not dare to plot for Yangzhou? I am already plotting for it!"

"I will definitely completely control Yangzhou within two months. Do you believe it?"

Liu Zheng looked at Jiang Xuan and smiled.

"Absolutely impossible!"

Jiang Xuan said decisively: "Liangzhou Prefecture must have already sent a new County Marquis. Once he arrives in Yangzhou, there will definitely be no place for you to stand!"

"What if I succeed by luck?"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily.

Jiang Xuan stammered, not knowing how to respond.

Liu Zheng said: "Then you shall stay by my side and watch how I plot for this Yangzhou. If I succeed, Jiang Xuan will be used by me in the future!"

Jiang Xuan looked bewildered. Only then did he realize that this Young Master Liu had no malice toward him, so he hurriedly cupped his hands in delight and agreed.

Sure enough.

The news that Liu Zheng had decided on and named the "Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce" spread, and everyone's reactions were different.

The three Powerful Clans here in Yinzhou were naturally unhappy. The sales rights for several types of commodities that had just been taken and could make a fortune were now to be handed over to others? They naturally grumbled incessantly about this "fickle" approach of Liu Zheng.

And the Powerful Clans of Yangzhou were also discussing this new concept together.

Chamber of Commerce?

Wasn't every one of their families a business firm? Some Yangzhou Powerful Clans even went to find Cheng Dai one after another, sternly asking if this was the great profit that Young Master Liu had promised? Now it seemed they had fallen for Liu Zheng's trick!

"Everyone, everyone, stop arguing first!"

"Let us go and listen to how Young Master Liu explains it!"

"Good!"

A group of Powerful Clans arrived aggressively at the newly repaired Yangzhou County Marquis Mansion, intending to hold him accountable.

Who knew that Liu Zheng had long been waiting here. Beside him were Zheng Yueru and several old masters of the Powerful Clans from Yinzhou. And today, Jiang Xuan, who was dressed up and looked slightly handsome, also stood behind Liu Zheng, curiously watching the group of aggressive old masters, his eyes still carrying some mockery. It was as if he were saying, let's see how you, Young Master Liu, handle this! Counting on these money-grubbing old masters who would eat people without spitting out the bones to help you rule Yangzhou is simply a pipe dream!

"Young Master Liu, what is the meaning of this?"

"What is a Chamber of Commerce?"

"Young Master Liu, we welcomed you into Yangzhou, is this how you bully us?"

Some wealthy men were already speaking without thinking. Even when Lu Zhengyi was in Yangzhou, he never dared to bully the Powerful Clans like this. Now, in their view, this Young Master Liu was truly going too far!

Liu Zheng chuckled and said: "Everyone, please sit down. If there is anything to discuss, let us talk about it slowly."

Cheng Dai was the first to say angrily: "Hmph, Young Master Liu, what is so special about this Chamber of Commerce? We want the sales rights for those commodities from the Shen Gong Workshop!"

"Exactly!"

"Yes!"

"Are you just fobbing us off like this?"

The Yangzhou merchants were all filled with righteous indignation.

The few Powerful Clans of Yinzhou would not yield either; they glared with fury and retorted. Their meaning was that these Sales Rights originally belonged to them, so by what right did you people interfere? For a time, the County Marquis Mansion was in an uproar.

Jiang Xuan watched and nearly covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

Who would have thought that a single sentence from Liu Zheng would make everyone shut their mouths.

He looked at Cheng Dai with a chuckle and asked, "Mere Sales Rights, why even mention them? That soap and perfume not yet on the market, those various fine wines that have already opened up the market—your Cheng Family can also produce them, how about that?"

The crowd was shocked to hear this, and the clamor ceased abruptly.

Cheng Dai, in particular, nearly fell onto the floor, his face full of horror as he said, "Young Master, Young Master, what did you say?"

Zheng Yueru laughed from the side, "Everyone, the Patent Right in the Chamber of Commerce regulations stipulates that as long as one purchases the Patent Right under the operation of the Chamber of Commerce, one may engage in production, but one must pay dividends to the Chamber of Commerce and bear the Chamber of Commerce trademark!"

Zheng Yueru specifically explained these few new terms.

This matter immediately caused the scene to explode.

Produce it themselves?

This was even more impressive than any Sales Right! The profits were higher!

With this one rule alone, everyone from Yangzhou was beaming with joy. And the Powerful Clans here in Yinzhou were equally shocked. Previously, they had thought that holding the Sales Rights in their hands was already a great stroke of luck; they had not expected that they could actually produce the goods themselves!

"But Young Master, doing so will inevitably lead to mutual attrition among us. If malicious competition arises, what should we do?"

Cheng Dai asked.

Zheng Yueru smiled and said, "Member Cheng, there is no need to worry about this. Everyone who joins the Chamber of Commerce is a member of our own. We prosper together and suffer together. The money your Cheng Family earns will also be shared with my Zheng Family; likewise, if your Cheng Family suffers a loss, everyone will help you share the burden!"

The crowd clicked their tongues in wonder.

They had truly never encountered this kind of model before.

Zheng Yueru continued, "We will allocate shares and dividends based on the contribution made by each shareholder! For example, the Cheng Family caravan travels to Jiangdong more often, so you can receive the majority of the earnings from the Jiangdong region! As for the Wang Family and Cao Family, they both travel to Jiannan, so those two families can share the dividends in Jiannan! As for the producers, there are also rules to calculate earnings; Yue Ru will specifically establish a department to be responsible for this matter!"

The concept of a company was instilled into these Powerful Clans in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

This brand-new concept made these people incredibly excited.

Because everyone present was a business expert, who didn't know that the establishment of such an institution would surely allow their businesses to reach across the land? And with the Yinzhou Army as a backer, they wouldn't even fear those highwaymen if they thought further ahead!

"Alright, distribute the agreements to everyone; go back and study them carefully!"

"For the time being, the Chamber of Commerce is only considering accepting Powerful Clans and landlords from the two regions; those investing over a thousand taels. As for commoners investing, we shall discuss that later."

Liu Zheng did not keep them any longer and had Zheng Yueru distribute an investment agreement to each person. He believed that as long as they weren't stupid, these Powerful Clans should know how to choose.

After those Powerful Clans left, Jiang Xuan, who was on the side, was already listening with an expression of disbelief.

"Young Master, commoners can also invest?"

"Of course!"

Liu Zheng chuckled, "It is just that the Chamber of Commerce is newly established, so we are not considering them for now. Once everything is running normally, we will certainly let the Farmer Households participate!"

Jiang Xuan trembled all over as he listened.

Only then did he realize what this Young Master Liu was actually trying to do!

He wanted to control the economic lifeline of this Yangzhou and hollow out the County Marquis Mansion!

This scheme was truly vicious...

However... he had also included the commoners in his plan, which was a deed of Great Good!

Was this Young Master Liu a Buddha, or a demon?

Jiang Xuan could no longer understand.

Sure enough.

After the Yangzhou Powerful Clans returned, they held large-scale discussions and conducted a deep analysis of the spirit of this meeting. Most of the Powerful Clans felt that this Chamber of Commerce had potential! Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce regulations clearly stated that the amount of investment depended on one's own wishes. That is to say, you could invest one hundred thousand taels, but you could also invest ten thousand taels, or even one hundred taels!

This, to a great extent, made the risks controllable and allowed the risks to be shared!

And what worried these people was the lack of transparency in profit distribution.

But this point was also resolved by the endorsement of the Yinzhou Prefecture, which eased their concerns.

More importantly, the accounts were to be made public! Three sets of accounts: one for the Profit and Loss Account, one for the Balance Sheet, and one for the Cash Flow Statement. The disclosure of these three sets of accounts was what truly gave the Powerful Clans peace of mind!

For a time, the concept of the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce spread throughout all of Yangzhou, and even back to Yinzhou.

It was the talk of the town, and the commoners felt even more curious when they heard they might be able to invest later on.

And at this time, the new County Marquis sent by the Liangzhou Prefecture also arrived fashionably late.

To Liu Zheng's surprise, the person who arrived was an acquaintance.

【Author's Note】

I hope for more requests for updates so I can add more chapters!