The road of the farmer's fortune and the imperial examination

Chapter 1054 Conditions for Joining the Chamber of Commerce
Needless to say, the benefits of the chamber of commerce are not without disadvantages.Yet would he tell them now?Of course not.

In order to control the price of grain, this chamber of commerce must be established as soon as possible.

"Master Gu, what you're talking about is the benefits of establishing a chamber of commerce. What about the disadvantages? Isn't there no such thing? You can't just avoid the important things!"

Xia Hongji is not stupid either, he saw that Gu Chengyu only talked about the benefits of the chamber of commerce, and he thought that Gu Chengyu must have concealed the disadvantages.The purpose of Gu Chengyu's establishment of the Chamber of Commerce must be to control the rise in rice prices.

He sneered, if the imperial court really had a ban to curb the rise in rice prices, how could Gu Chengyu not take it out?After going around such a big circle, it can be regarded as exhausted.

Gu Chengyu raised his eyebrows and looked over, and found that Xia Hongji was looking at him proudly, he couldn't help but sneered.

"Master Xia's words are true. Establishing a chamber of commerce will naturally have disadvantages. Because as long as you join the chamber of commerce, you can't arbitrarily raise the price of goods. Of course, the court will not care about raising it appropriately. But if it is too outrageous, the court will inevitably It will intervene. The difference is that before, officials were sent to prohibit it. After the establishment of the chamber of commerce, there will be a chamber of commerce to warn in advance. If you really don’t listen, then report it to the court.”

"In fact, the chamber of commerce is quite free. Members are bound by the chamber of commerce on weekdays, and most of the imperial court doesn't care about it. This is all for your convenience. You can think carefully about such a malpractice that is not considered a malpractice. This official thinks that The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages."

Gu Chengyu felt a little sleepy, but he was actually a little tired.

However, there was too much information today, and he was afraid that these people would not be able to bear it, so he planned to postpone this matter.

Because he had to discuss this with the emperor in advance before starting to implement it.

As for the disadvantages, in fact, it is far more than this one.There are more rich merchants in the chamber of commerce, and the officials of the imperial court will find ways to win over the rich merchants and make them their own forces.

Especially those princes who are far away in the fiefdom, even though they are not in the capital, they can still remotely control them, because someone else will do it for them!
At that time, the Chamber of Commerce will become another Vanity Fair, and it is absolutely impossible to prevent such incidents from happening.

We can only think of ways to keep such things within the control of the chamber of commerce as much as possible.

As for the establishment of the chamber of commerce, according to the usual practice, the emperor would not entrust this matter to himself.

He was the one who came up with the idea, and other officials would naturally do it when it was implemented.

Therefore, after Gu Chengyu planned to establish the chamber of commerce, he had to retreat completely. This chamber of commerce was really out of reach.

And scholars, agriculture, industry and commerce, and businessmen are at the bottom.If a chamber of commerce is established, the status of this businessman in the court will be improved a lot invisibly.

This is a threat to the status of officials in the DPRK and China. If there are more members in the chamber of commerce, it is enough to shake the entire dynasty.

Gu Chengyu naturally couldn't let this happen, he had already thought of a countermeasure.

"The business of the Chamber of Commerce cannot be done overnight. But the price of rice and grain remains high, and even keeps rising. This official will never allow it. I would like to advise everyone, don't lose the big because of the small, and don't talk about your own at that time. The official turned his face and refused to recognize anyone. Before I came to Jiangnan, the emperor also gave Shang Fang a sword and a gold medal. If you don’t listen to my advice, it is also ordered to kill first and then play."

Gu Chengyu slightly hooked the corners of his lips, and there was a sneer on his face.

Upon hearing Shang Fang's sword and gold medal, all the officials present looked envious, but the rich businessmen were not so calm.

Among them, Mr. Ning was the most disturbed. He was fidgeting, thinking in his heart that there was still so much grain in the granary, should he sell it at a low price now?

But if it was really sold, would he be so distressed?
Xia Hongji's face turned pale immediately, he had collected a lot of rice.Are they all sold at a low price?No way!
This matter should be reported to the patriarch earlier, Gu Chengyu is an imperial envoy after all, so he will inevitably be restrained in doing things.We can only ask the patriarch to write a letter to Mr. Shoufu, asking him to transfer Gu Chengyu back to the capital.

Thinking of this, he suddenly thought of Min Feng.

Min Feng is Xia Shoufu's young disciple, but why didn't he see Min Feng at the banquet this time?This is so strange.

Even though I can't understand this man with a foreign surname who has usurped the family's resources, the other party is Xia Qing's closed disciple after all.

Now that there is no one at the banquet, he has to ask a question out of emotion and reason.

Suddenly, he had an idea.Min Feng is in Jiangnan, why should he leave the opportunity to the patriarch?
It's better to make friends with Min Feng and ask Min Feng to speak kindly for him in front of Xia Shoufu after he returns.

Li Yuhuan on the side didn't care about the price increase of rice at this time, but he was very tempted to join the chamber of commerce.

"Master Gu, our Li's Commercial Bank has not stockpiled rice grains and will not increase the price of grains any more. Please rest assured, Mr. Li. It's just that there is still one thing that is unclear about the grassroots. Are there any conditions for becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce?"

Li Yuhuan's voice attracted everyone's attention.

They also want to know the conditions for entering the chamber of commerce. In their opinion, there are many benefits to becoming a member, far more than what Gu Chengyu said.

Gu Chengyu cast an approving look, a child can be taught!

It's just that he just asked these people for money today, wouldn't it be too good to ask for money now?
That's right, Gu Chengyu's ultimate goal is to better manage these merchants, so as not to raise prices again.

The second is for money. Of course, the revenue of the Chamber of Commerce will not be much at the beginning.But as more people join the chamber of commerce, the money will follow.

"Everyone also knows that if anyone is eligible to join the chamber of commerce, wouldn't the members of the chamber of commerce be uneven and mixed? Several conditions must be met at the same time to join the chamber of commerce. I have to report this matter to the majesty. After it is drawn up, I will explain it to you. Don’t worry, the Chamber of Commerce will not be established in a day or two, just wait patiently.”

The most important condition, of course, is to have money.

Gu Chengyu's plan is that those who join the Chamber of Commerce must pay an annual membership fee of 2000 taels of silver, which is still the lowest level, and secondly, they must pay a deposit of 5000 taels of silver.

Twenty percent of the membership fee is used to maintain the expenses and operation of the Chamber of Commerce, and the rest is handed over to the imperial court, which becomes another income of the imperial court.

After all, although the chamber of commerce is almost always controlled by the merchants themselves, it also needs the restraint and deterrence of the imperial court, doesn't it?
The imperial court spent a lot of energy on the Chamber of Commerce, so the money was taken for granted.

As for whether these people are willing to pay money, Gu Chengyu is not worried at all.

At that time, think of some gimmicks and stir up the membership level, I am not afraid that these people will not want to spend money.

It is still not enough to meet these two conditions, and it has to go through the inspection of the chamber of commerce.

If the reputation and word of mouth are not good, then the chamber of commerce will also reject this person's membership.

Anyway, Gu Chengyu gave a lot of examples in the past two days, but it is not yet the time to bring them out.

(End of this chapter)