Chapter 57: Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce

Qian Buqun tumbled off the carriage; his terrified appearance was utterly comical.

The commoners could not hold back and burst into belly-aching laughter one after another.

"Who, who is it?"

The few soldiers from Liangzhou responsible for protecting Qian Buqun on his way to take office drew their blades and shouted angrily.

Cheng Dai also ran out, helped Qian Buqun up, and shouted, "Who is causing trouble? Seize them for me and interrogate them with torture!"

Qian Buqun was also exasperated: "Unruly mob, unruly mob!"

Liu Zheng rode up slowly on his horse and smiled playfully: "Master Cheng, as a mere merchant, what right do you have to use torture?"

Seeing Liu Zheng, Qian Buqun's expression changed instantly, and he laughed mockingly: "I wondered who it was, so it's my worthy nephew! Aren't you and Liu Dahao in that godforsaken place of Yinzhou? What are you doing in my Yangzhou? Hahahaha!"

Liu Zheng looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The bystanders also wore expressions as if looking at a fool.

By this point, Liu Zheng understood that Qian Buqun had likely been swindled into taking this post by that old fox Chen Ping. He had absolutely no understanding of the affairs in Yangzhou. Hmm, this was quite consistent with the style of that old scoundrel Chen Ping.

"Uncle Qian, I have come to take over Yangzhou from you!"

Liu Zheng smiled faintly and shouted: "Where is the Yinzhou Army?"

Thousands of men behind him responded in unison: "Here!"

"Why haven't you helped the County Marquis onto his horse yet?"

"Yes!"

Before Qian Buqun could react, several Yinzhou soldiers had already rushed over, grabbed the struggling Qian Buqun without a word, and tossed him onto a horse.

"Audacious!"

"How dare you..."

The group from Liangzhou shouted in anger.

Liu Zheng looked at them coldly and said indifferently: "You failed to protect the Yangzhou County Marquis, causing the County Marquis to tumble; there must be spies and traitors among you. Guards!"

"Here!"

Qin Zhangfeng said excitedly.

"Drag them all away, interrogate them one by one with torture, and find the mastermind!"

"Yes!"

Those few Liangzhou soldiers were terrified on the spot. Qin Zhangfeng led a troop of Cavalry and disarmed them directly. Not only that, but the people dressed in red and green were also taken away by the Heavy Cavalry here. In an instant, the lively welcome scene from just a moment ago was left in a complete mess.

"You, you, you, how dare you!"

Qian Buqun glared at Liu Zheng, both shocked and furious.

Liu Zheng smiled coldly: "Uncle Qian, I wonder if you prepared a coffin for yourself before coming to Yangzhou to take office?"

As soon as these words were spoken, thousands of Yinzhou soldiers shouted in unison: "Prepare the coffin!"

Qian Buqun trembled all over, only then realizing that the person before him, once the number one playboy of Liangzhou, was no longer the simpleton of the past. The document said he was to take over Yangzhou—so it was with him?

"This, this, this..."

Cheng Dai was even more flustered at this moment.

He had put all his effort into currying favor with this new County Marquis today, bringing his hundreds of servants to stand on the street to welcome him, sparing no effort in beating drums and shouting cheers. But who could have imagined that Liu Zheng would be so overbearing and not give Qian Buqun the slightest bit of face.

This made him feel somewhat awkward.

"Welcome the County Marquis!"

Liu Zheng smiled, and without dismounting, he held the reins of the horse carrying Qian Buqun with one hand while shouting loudly.

Qian Buqun was so scared he hugged the horse's neck tightly, wanting to cry but having no tears, terrified that if his three-hundred-plus pounds fell off, he would be dead or at least crippled!

"Welcome the County Marquis!"

The voices of thousands of Yinzhou soldiers shook the sky, and they laughed incessantly.

The commoners also joined in the commotion.

Qian Buqun, who had imagined a majestic entry into Yangzhou, had long since closed his eyes tightly, unable to bear the humiliation.

This was likely the most pathetic entry of a County Marquis into a city in history.

Upon reaching the County Marquis Mansion, Qian Buqun saw Liu Zheng leave and finally flew into a rage: "Unreasonable, simply unreasonable! This scoundrel has bullied me too much!"

"Where is the Garrison?"

He slapped the table and shouted angrily.

If he did not avenge this insult, he swore he would not be a man!

However, only a few scattered people ran over; these Garrison soldiers looked to be fifty or sixty years old.

"Where is the Yangzhou Garrison? Is it just you few?"

Qian Buqun was about to vomit blood.

"My Lord, don't you know? Hey, the Garrison have all run off to the Chamber of Commerce to subscribe for shares!"

"What subscription, what the hell?"

"Never mind, My Lord, we have to go too! By the way, what did you call us for?"

Qian Buqun waved his hand powerlessly: "Nothing, nothing."

The few old soldiers all ran off. Not only that, but Qian Buqun discovered that the Counselors and Executives of the County Marquis Mansion had not appeared before him because of his arrival!

He even began to doubt himself.

Was he here to be an official?

Prefect, that is not what you said! You told me to look at Liu Dahao, who donated money to buy a County Marquis title and is now rolling in wealth; in this era, a noble title is still the most profitable thing... And so, you swindled me into buying a Yangzhou County Marquis title for two million silver.

Just this?

And look at Liu Mansion at this moment.

Today it is exceptionally lively; the threshold of the vast manor has been trampled flat.

Liu Zheng had long ago instructed the servants to prepare pastries, tea, and wine, and to distribute the written agreements. This was the first time in this era that a company had been established, so he had to make these people see clearly. Zheng Yue Ru also moved among the crowd, patiently explaining things to the people.

The company's system, responsibilities, obligations, dividend models, investment shares, and so on and so forth...

How much one invests, what kind of patents one can obtain, and what kind of status one can achieve—these are, of course, different.

And in order to attract these people, Liu Zheng even promised that as long as the investment reached a certain amount, the patents of the Shen Gong Workshop would be shared in the future.

"Young Master Liu, may this old man ask a question? What exactly is a patent? And what use does this patent have?"

An old man asked.

Others also nodded one after another.

"That's right, it probably wouldn't be hard for others to imitate it, right?"

"And how are we supposed to protect it?"

Liu Zheng was quite understanding of such questions; in this era, there was almost no concept of Intellectual Property Right.

He chuckled and said: "This is simple. As long as it is fine wine produced by our Chamber of Commerce, it will all be paired with our Glass vessels; our Soap will all be stamped with our trademark! Our Perfume will be the same!"

This was yet another marketing concept!

Branding!

To truly achieve branding, one must master core technologies, such as the manufacturing of Glass, a technology that Liu Zheng would absolutely never allow to leak out. Then the matter becomes simple: if others do not have Glass, even if they imitate it, it will not be the true "Drunk Yinzhou"! Gradually, in people's hearts, establish the concept of a brand, especially among the flower houses and scholars in various places; one must make them feel that if they are not drinking authentic Drunk Yinzhou, then they are a loser!

Liu Zheng would even think of ways regarding the trademark, for example, like Jiang Xiaobai in later generations, adding some copy? Poetry? This is another unique branding method that can deeply touch people's hearts!

Although the crowd still listened with confusion, they could accept it.

"Young Master, what is this Soap?"

Someone else asked.

Liu Zheng said: "Something for bathing, a hundred times better than Pig Pancreas Soap!"

That person continued: "Young Master, forgive my presumption, but this Soap will definitely not sell as well as fine wine! You must know that in Liangzhou, most people cannot even bathe a few times a year!"

The crowd nodded one after another, deeply agreeing.

Zheng Yue Ru also looked toward Liu Zheng.

It was true; in this era, even Pig Pancreas Soap was something only wealthy families could afford. Ordinary commoners could only wash in the river during the summer; where would they have this concept of bathing?

She really wanted to know how Liu Zheng would respond.

Liu Zheng smiled gently: "Therefore, this is the purpose of our establishing the Chamber of Commerce!"

"We must not only produce goods and sell goods, but also learn to use the company to open up the market!"

His eyes burned as he scanned the circle: "Since the public does not understand what use Soap has or what bathing is, then we tell them. If they don't bathe, we will instill in them the concepts of body odor and bad breath! Let them know that they are reeking every day, and see if they bathe or not!"

The crowd burst into laughter, yet they felt deeply shocked inside.

Although these sounded like very simple principles, they knew that no one had ever truly treated this as a career to pursue!

And Liu Zheng then explained to them the most direct benefit they could perceive after joining the Chamber of Commerce.

Monopoly rights, franchise rights!

"My Zheng Family pledges five hundred thousand!"

Seeing that this first "theoretical knowledge lecture" was about over, Zheng Yue Ru stood up first.

Those wealthy merchants looked at each other, and soon someone followed: "Wang Family, two hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"Cao Family, two hundred thousand!"

"Luo Family, one hundred thousand!"

"I, one thousand taels!"

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became intense.

What shocked Liu Zheng immensely was that in just one day, his Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce had raised a full three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver! And there were also resource channel merchant caravans investing, workshops investing, craftsmen investing, and so on and so forth...

This was the first time since coming to this world that he possessed so much money.

But at the same time, looking at the trust, nervousness, excitement, and fear in the eyes of those wealthy merchants, Liu Zheng also felt that the responsibility was heavy and the mission glorious.

He needed to take this money to build a true commercial Empire.

Next, Liu Zheng announced the appointments for the Chamber of Commerce.

Zheng Yue Ru, having unhesitatingly brought out five hundred thousand, was elected as the "Chairman" of the Chamber of Commerce without question; Liu Zheng named it Chief Manager, meaning President.

Regarding Zheng Yue Ru, these people had no objections; after all, her commercial talent was well-known.

But next, Liu Zheng appointed Jiang Xuan as the Assistant to the Chief Manager, which left people unable to understand. But since it was only an assistant, others said nothing.

Then, there was Zheng Yue Ru, temporarily serving concurrently as the Chief Supervisor of the Chamber of Commerce's Marketing Department.

Cao Zhen served as the Chief Supervisor of the Workshop Department.

Wang Bo served as the Chief Supervisor of the Transportation Department...

As for Liu Zheng, he was naturally the President.

Subsequent personnel adjustments would be made as things developed.

On this day, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce was established.

People at this time could not yet realize what kind of era this Chamber of Commerce would lead in the Longyang Dynasty, and even globally, in the future.

Here, the grand banquet was in full swing, with wine flowing freely.

Jiang Xuan, who had been harboring emotions, downed a few cups of wine, slammed the table with a bang, and looked at Liu Zheng indignantly: "Young Master, if you want to drive Jiang Xuan away, just say so. Why insult me?"

The whole room was startled, and there was much discussion.

Liu Zheng looked at him with a chuckle: "Insult you?"

Jiang Xuan slammed the table and said angrily: "Could it not be? Jiang Xuan is obsessed with the Art of War all his life; for the Young Master to make me associate with such peddlers and merchants, I would rather die!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically.

Liu Zheng's gaze also turned cold.