C37

In July, Zhaoxiang, Hezhou Lie, and Jiuzhou Furniture Workshop opened their stores at the same time. The fervent sales were beyond imagination! The goods in advance were sold out, so they had to put up signs that were temporarily unsold. The most popular incense, the orders had been placed six months later. Zhang Zhou did not rush to open a branch of Zhaoxiang to the whole country, but Hezhou Lie and Jiuzhou Furniture were optional. They opened branch stores in several nearby prefectures.

According to the sales performance of the capital's main store and the quantity of goods that it could provide, the Nine Prefectures already had a starting price of two hundred thousand taels of silver, while the Southern Ten Prefectures had a starting price of three hundred thousand taels of silver. Almost all the influential merchants in the Great Tang Empire had shops in the capital, so this news quickly attracted the attention of the big merchants. There were also people who wanted to use the imperial government's connections to force their way through and steal from the palace, but they ended up encountering the empress's trusted aide. The head steward of the Palace, Fu Xiang, could only give up and stop causing trouble.

The reason he didn't use such a method was because the current transportation wasn't considered convenient and the cost of transportation was too high. Secondly, the most important thing was that Zhang Zhou wanted to use He Zhenglie as a commercial communication tool. And because the furniture industry was too easy to imitate, it was impossible to monopolize the national market, so there was no need to go through all this trouble!

There were also some well-informed big merchants that went directly to He Zhou to visit the Nine Prefectures' business. They hoped that there would be some accommodation and they would be able to get their management rights in advance. The Wealth Hall was one of them.

It was still a small courtyard in the west of the city. Guan Yu-niang had received her, and she was the big boss of the Nine Regions' business.

It was already good to have a branch hall master that was on the same level as Nine Prefectures. River County's branch hall had once suffered a loss in Hezhou, but what about the result? That reckless Winged Flood Dragon Gang's Branch Division in Hezhou turned into ashes overnight. For this reason, the Winged Flood Dragon Gang's Sect Leader had even personally come to ask for forgiveness. It was a pity that the Hezhou Pier was given to the Nine Prefectures for nothing. At first, he wanted to tidy up the business of the Nine Prefectures, but suddenly, the Chief Hall Master issued an order not only to warn the gang members to not have any conflicts with the other party, but also to warn the heads of the gang to not look down on the business of the Nine Prefectures. This time, it was the Old Hall Master who personally spoke. He asked one of the four shopkeepers, Manager Xu, to come to Hezhou to discuss the power of Zhaoxiang's representative.

Grand Manager Xu looked at Guan Yuniang. Beside her sat a young man in ordinary clothes. He was neither tall nor short, had neither handsome nor ugly features, and carried himself in a leisurely manner. It was unknown who he was. He thought to himself: [This is a small place after all. I don't even know how to treat people. Who would be willing to serve a table in this kind of situation?] He looked down on her in his heart, but his tone was rather polite.

"Boss Guan, you should know the strength of our Rich Hall. With the help of our Rich Hall, your Nine Prefectures' business will develop even more smoothly. This time, we will not bully the weak, we only need the authority to represent the Southern Prefecture! "

Guan Yu-niang politely nodded her head and did not continue the conversation. She said, "Shopkeeper Xu, the land of Hezhou is not rich, and it is far from comparable to the bustling capital. This tea is already the best tea in this junior's house.

Shopkeeper Xu nodded, then took a sip of his tea and said, "Tea, just drinking is fine, business is more important. This old man has been travelling for many years, and has counted as one of the best teas in the world, but I have very little interest in it. But this" Zhaxiang "old man has a very strong interest!"

"Hehe, to be able to enter your eyes, you must be proud of your business!" I, as a woman, have never seen so much of the world. This tea, ah, I know this Yu Guanyin, after tasting it for a long time, I have really gotten used to this unique richness. A few days ago, an assistant brought me some southern tea, but I just feel that it's so tasteless! "

Shopkeeper Xu was already dissatisfied in his heart. If it weren't for the chief hall master's instructions, would I have sat here with a junior and spouted nonsense? You still want to sit with this tea and donkey drinking thing? He felt like he had lost his identity! He glanced at Zhang Zhou, who was sitting there thinking about something. He controlled his temper and continued, "Boss Guan said that habits are hard to change, and business is the same as well. Strength determines the way, and the way can become a habit! I won't beat around the bush. The authority to manage the Southern City is something that the Wealth Hall must have! He hoped that the Great Master would give the rich and powerful man some face! To be honest, some things were useless no matter how hard they tried. They would only end up losing him! "What do you think?"

The Southern Ten Prefectures were the most prosperous ten prefectures in the Great Tang. It had to be described by Zhang Zhou's summary. The ten prefectures were not big, but they were able to support over seventy percent of the Great Tang Empire's tax revenue!

"Senior Xu, I will tell you this without hiding anything. Ze Xiang has invested a lot, so we just need to use the silver from the Southern Ten Prefectures to make up for it. Moreover, our family background is too weak, and even thousands of people in the Nine Prefectures need to support their families. "And as far as I know, the Wealth Hall is engaged in big businesses and never set foot in these small businesses?"

"As for what the Rich Hall wants to do, you don't need to worry about it!" I just want an answer! "

"The answer is! If there was already a competition, then it would be a fair competition. This junior truly believes that the Wealth Hall has the absolute strength to stand out and smoothly win! "

"It's not wrong to want to earn more money, but one must have the appetite to do so. Even if there was a backer behind him, if he wasn't careful, he would have lost everything! "Remember, this is not a threat from me, but a reminder from senior!"

Guan Yuniang continued to drink her tea calmly, and then continued to speak, "Then thank you very much, Elder Xu! But sometimes, if you don't try, how do you know? "

Shopkeeper Xu kept sneering.

"Hehe, looks like a small place like this really can't cultivate a person with high standards. Shopkeeper Guan should really go out and take a walk to broaden his horizons!"

"Elder Xu, don't worry. There will be a chance to do so!"

They parted on bad terms! Not everyone would encounter such an awkward situation. The two great merchants of the Eastern Region and the Southern Prefecture, relying on the face of Li Jun and Old Master Du, succeeded in obtaining the authority to represent Ze Xiang at a price of two hundred and fifty thousand taels. This made the two old men feel even more honored. Tang Wenxuan and his teacher Cao Yi's family members had also arrived and were in the midst of friendly negotiations.

In the long run, he would not care too much about the current situation. What he cared more about was the situation ten years from now, or even longer, in two lifetimes, and he still had this much in his mind. Besides, commercial conflicts and conflicts of interest were unavoidable. If he were to mess around, he would have to go through all these. Therefore, he didn't reject the idea of fighting against the various factions openly and covertly. However, the experience of the Peace King made him feel insignificant. It also generated a grudge in his heart! He wanted to become stronger as soon as possible and also needed to vent some of his anger.

Regardless of the relationship between the Ping Wang and the Wealthy Class, the first tiger that could obstruct the way in the Nine Prefectures' business expansion was undoubtedly the Wealthy Class! If the Wealthy Class could not pass this step, not to mention how much money the management rights of the Southern Ten Prefectures would lose, just based on their confidence in the development of the Nine Prefectures' businesses, this would be a huge blow to them. Therefore, Zhang Zhou would not choose to back down. Now, with a belly full of anger, there was no place to release it! Zhang Zhou approved of using power to suppress others, but refusing to eat was too embarrassing. The Wealthy Class Hall was not taking advantage of him right now, but was devouring his own right to development! So what if I don't have a shoulder? In the end, everyone was a businessman! You don't even understand the principle of making money through peaceful means and working together to win? The Wealth Hall was powerful, but they lacked the talent to make Zhang Zhou admit defeat.

The Wealth Hall had developed to this day. With such domineering conduct, Zhang Zhou did not believe that he had no enemies or rivals. As long as he could get it to lie down, he believed that countless people would step on it! Right now, Zhang Zhou wasn't thinking about how to resist the oppression of the Wealth Hall. He was thinking about how to take down the Wealth Hall at once and give his opponents a chance to step on it to their heart's content.

Almost all the powerful merchants were stationed in the capital, and since the auction had a long history, it did not take long for them to plan and prepare for the same thing as the Gesun Kingdom and the Gesun Kingdom. Without wasting too much time, the auction would begin as scheduled.

The bid was set to be held at the Water Flask, with a total of twenty-three states operating rights. Some of them had already been ordered away. Even if Zhang Zhou didn't accept it, King Jing, Ning Wang, Princess Linlang, and that Ping Wang, Zhao Qieshen, had all been sold off and given the authority to manage a prefecture, which was something they couldn't afford to offend. Of course, it was also to borrow power and block even more hands of greed. During this period, the Wealth Hall went to find Guan Yuniang twice. Their attitudes were both soft and hard, but they were unable to reach a consensus on the matter.

On the day of the bidding, there were more than two hundred business representatives present, and the hall was already packed. Hiding in a corner of the second floor, Zhang Zhou was listening to Fu Xiang recount the details of this era's Forbes characters. At that moment, he saw Manager Xu and a unfamiliar middle-aged fatty walk in together. When most of the people in the hall saw this, they all stood up to greet him! One could see the status of the Wealth Hall in the martial arts world.

Fu Xiang knew that there was a conflict between him and the Wealthy Class, so he explained it in more detail.

That person is the young master of the Wealth Hall, Zhou Yiliang. It should be said that among all the silkpants in the Wealth Hall, he is one of the more advanced ones. His father is old, and his health is not very good either.

"So, this person has two tricks up his sleeve?"

"You can say that, after all the Wealth Hall forces are there and you have the face of his father. With the solid foundation that you have built over the past hundred years, not many people in the Tang Dynasty are like you, not giving any face at all!" Since the Wealth Hall could only operate for such a long period of time, it naturally had its own unique properties! However, Zhou Yanyang's ambitions were a bit too high. His relationship with the Crown Prince was too close! In this aspect, he is inferior to his father. He knows what should and should not be touched! "

"He is close to the crown prince? Then why did the Ping Wang … "

Zhang Zhou immediately stopped talking. In his impression, there were many contradictions between the competitors on the throne, and it would be very difficult for them to be compatible with each other. However, saying such things seemed to be a taboo! However, Fu Xiang didn't blame him. He explained, "What's so strange about this?" Businesses paid attention to the subtlety of things, and made money out of money through peaceful means! The Wealth Hall had some connections with the imperial family of the entire dynasty, which was also why they had been standing tall for so many years! No matter who gained power in the future, there would always be a burning passion. He was close to the crown prince, and yet he dared to not give him face? If that was the case, he would have been killed long ago! However, there was no need to use such a power! "You can be at ease with it!"

Zhang Zhou suddenly understood, and Fu Xiang pointed to another person, who was in his fifties, tall and straight, dressed in a white robe, with a scholarly air, and said: "This is the Second Leader of Gold Silver Lane. He is a low-key person, and the fact that Gold Silver Lane has such a person today is all because of his methods and plans.

This made Zhang Zhou very interested! Up till now, he had never met any of the Four Great Grandmasters. He was looking forward to meeting them!

"That old man with a face full of wrinkles, the senior figure of the Guild Leader, the uncle of the current Sect Leader. People in the martial world call him Old Gold Oil, he's just an old fox."

Zhang Zhou took note of the details. The family was established by silk, and Xinglong was established by mining. Zhang Zhou thought to himself, "I wonder how many of these people will be my partners or my opponents in the future."

There was a person in the hall who attracted Zhang Zhou's attention. He greeted him in all directions and constantly made way for the newcomers to sit in front of him. He was originally the first one to arrive, but now that he was sitting in the last row, he was busy sweating profusely.

"Uncle, who is this person?"

"This person is called Yang Jiu, he is the owner of a shipping line and works very hard, he originally inherited a large family business, but unfortunately, this kid is not good at managing, and his business hasn't been doing well for the past few years. I'm guessing he won't be able to last much longer!"

A boat was a boat's construction!

"Our Tang Dynasty has developed water resources, how could our ship business be bad?"

The Tang Empire, especially the south, the six rivers and three lakes formed a complex and rich water system. It was also the fact that water travel went in all directions, resulting in the prosperity of the Southern Ten Prefectures today.

"Hehe, this Yang Jiu Ancestor went to build a ship!"

Zhang Zhou finally understood that Tang Dynasty had ordered a few years ago to forbid the sea. After all, the sea was too long, and it was difficult to supervise the sea. So, it was a heavy crime to build a ship from the shipbuilding company. Therefore, the Yang family had lost the most basic source of business overnight. When they went back to competing with their peers for the inland river business, they had already lost the advantage of resources and technology.

No matter how easy it was for Zhang Zhou, he still knew how important maritime transport was to a country. Because of the difference in region from his previous life, Zhang Zhou was unable to ascertain the situation overseas, but if there was a chance, he would definitely come into contact with it.

Today's auction was not too complicated, it was just raising the board, the highest bidder won, deposit was paid on the spot, signing the contract.

Finally, everyone had arrived. It was also time for someone to announce the start of Ze Xiang's auction. The order of the auction was from south to north, west to east, and finally, the ten prefectures of south Beijing.

Zhang Zhou looked at the gesticulating auctioneer on the stage and felt it was funny. This young fellow was none other than the "Big Brother Xiaolong" whom he had dated back when he was still a criminal arrest. His real name was Tang Long. Not to mention anything else, this fellow's ability to read words, observe the situation, and control the emotions on the spot was extremely good. His eloquence was also not bad. After the incident with the King of Great North River, this unlucky fellow was saved by Zhang Zhou and left behind in the mansion to run errands for himself due to his friendship with the arrested officials, overseers, and slaves. Zhang Zhou didn't expect that this guy had read some books. When he had decided to bid, Zhang Zhou had thought of him. After a period of training and polishing, he had become a qualified "auctioneer"! Tang Long's performance today made Zhang Zhou very satisfied. Not only was it very easy to control the atmosphere of the auction, but it also promoted the prospects of the Nine Regions' business. Zhang Zhou thought to himself, "I can f * * king fool you!" "F * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * cking f * ckers!"

The first Kui Prefecture, the border small prefecture, was auctioned off for two hundred and twenty thousand silver taels. Such a remote area, with such a price, was absolutely ideal. The Xinglong Society's mines were mainly located in the south, which seemed to make sense. Jinzhou and Qilang Prefecture were bought by the local merchants of the prefectural city. Chen Prefecture was bought at a certain time while Nanping Prefecture was bought by the Sima family. The price was still not lower than two hundred and fifty thousand silver taels. The closer they got to the Central Plains, the higher the prices became. Gan and Nan Prefectures on the southeast coast had already bid more than 300,000 silver and obtained the rights to manage Liangzhou. Then it would be the Southern State. Zhang Zhou's eyes widened as the corners of his mouth slightly curled up: the main show was about to begin!

Southland: De, Gui, Su, Hui, Tong, Ying, Zhang, Wu, Qing, phoenix cry!

The most prosperous place in the world, where all the powerful families gather!

Tang Long, who was in charge of bidding, looked at the card in his hand and calmed himself down. The boss was just looking at him.

"Various rich families, leaders, business celebrities, this is the start of the main show. Among the ten prefectures, there is a saying, 'Before the tenth continent, one would not know the wealth of the world!' If not for Su Hui, he wouldn't even know the beauty of the world! Everyone here has good eyes. There is no need to talk about the sensational effects that Ze Xiang will cause in the Southern Prefecture. "I will not waste any of the old masters' time. The auction starts now, the starting price is five hundred thousand silver!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a snapping sound was heard, attracting everyone's attention. Only the people close by were able to see the situation clearly. That sound was made by the Wealthy Class Tang's junior master, who crushed the teacup in his hand!

He had underestimated his opponent! Zhou Yanxiang's original plan was to bid 300,000 gold together. If the Wealth Hall called out a price, then none of the merchants in the Southern Ten Prefectures would dare to bid again. The Wealth Hall had this kind of confidence! He would also let the Nine Regions know whether or not they were giving him face. The business of the ten prefectures could be decided by a single word from the Wealth Hall! Even if the merchants were unwilling, they still greeted them one after another. At that time, he would get up and clasp his hands together as he said, "Thank you for your gratitude!" He would be completely alive!

The reason that Zhou Yanxiang had personally come to the auction venue was because he wanted to awe everyone! He wanted to let the people of the Southern Prefecture see the attitude of the Wealth Hall. But Zhou Yanxiang didn't expect that the Nine Regions business would not abide by the rules! It suddenly amounted to five hundred thousand silver taels! Don't shoot? According to the rules, one could find a business partner in the Nine Regions, and when the time came, would he dare to block the door and stop it from opening? One had to know that the Zerom was related to the Queen's reputation! The Wealth Hall had a hundred years of foundation, but they never disgraced the royal family! Shoot? A price of five hundred thousand taels was not a loss of money, but it was a loss of face! Who knew how many people were waiting to see him make a fool of himself! He had promised that noble person that he would be safe! Zhou Yanxiang's face darkened. There was no sign of blood dripping down from his palms! Quickly weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and said, "Slap!" The hatred in his heart surged to the heavens. Sooner or later, he would have to pay back the silver taels!

Shopkeeper Xu was even more embarrassed. From the time he was sent out until now, it had been a complete failure!

Five million and ten states? Sorry, that's too idealistic! After the two prefectures, it became five hundred and fifty thousand silver taels! After four prefectures, six hundred thousand taels of silver and seven hundred thousand taels of silver, in the end, Su Huizhou's starting bid price was actually eight hundred thousand taels of silver! However, after the Wealth Hall obtained Huizhou, they gave up on Suzhou. It was not because Zhou Yanxiang was awake, but because he could not afford to bet on that anger! Five million five hundred thousand and five hundred thousand silver had been taken down from nine provinces. Not to mention spending three million more than the plan, it had also cost Tang Dynasty's richest management authority in the Suzhou region! Reason? The silver in his pocket was not enough to pay the deposit. It was just that he didn't have enough preparation. Could he be borrowing money from various big merchants here? He couldn't afford to lose face. Zhou Yanyang's face was dark. After he pressed down the handprint on the auction contract, he did not care about the tax official's face at all. He took out the deposit banknotes and threw them on the table, ignoring Shopkeeper Xu as he flicked his sleeves and left.