Ji Tang

Chapter 536 Overseas Notes: Price reduction?impossible!

"Your Majesty, Gu Yanzhi, pays homage to the Marquis!"

After boarding the boat, Gu Yanzhi straightened his clothes and bowed his hands.

Ji Song helped him up with a smile on his face and said: "We are all our own people, so don't do these false courtesy. Come on, sit down!"

Sitting apart from each other, Ji Song pointed to his right hand and said, "This is Mr. Baishan. This time I returned to my hometown to visit relatives. I didn't know where I learned that I was coming to Jiangdong, so I followed him shamelessly."

"It turns out that Mr. Baishan is currently here. Jiangdong Xianda has returned to his hometown. I can be considered a half-landowner. I welcome him on behalf of the people of Mingzhou."

Gu Yan was shocked to hear that it was Mr. Baishan. This was one of the few Confucian classics masters in Jiangdong. He didn't expect to be with Mr. Hou?
Mr. Baishan glanced sideways at Ji Song and said angrily: "Did you see that? You just don't take me seriously."

Ji Song is so busy and has no embarrassment at all!
"Your Majesty is busy with official duties, so you don't need to pay attention to me, an idler in the mountains. I'm also old. If I can still go back to my hometown without a hurry, I don't know if I will have a chance in the future."

Mr. Baishan looked a little depressed, and Gu Yanzhi quickly changed the subject.

"Master Hou, this journey is really secretive to the extreme. If it weren't for your letter, I would still be in the dark!"

"I've been feeling very anxious during this period, and I'm just worried that something will happen."

Then he thought that the person in front of him was the deposed ambassador, and he didn't dare to say the next words.

Ji Song laughed, pointed at Gu Yanzhi and scolded: "Are you worried that the ignorant person will deal with you?"

"You, what can I say to you?"

"As long as you are upright and not afraid of your shadow, no one will dare to do anything to you. What is there to worry about?"

Gu Yanzhi was overjoyed when he heard this. Did the Marquis give him reassurance?
He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for protecting me!"

"Hey, look, are you an old man in the officialdom who already knows how to give me eye drops?"

Pointing at Gu Yanzhi, he said helplessly to Mr. Baishan.

Gu Yanzhi smiled awkwardly and sat without saying anything.

The three of them talked for a while before getting down to business.

"What's the matter with you? There were a lot of people outside just now. I want to save my face for you. I'm not embarrassed to talk to you."

"Welcoming you fifty miles away? If this is reported back to Chang'an, those people won't be able to spray me to death?"

"Although I don't pay attention to them, they are still a bit annoying. You can't do this with your stable temperament. Tell me, who are you trying to use my power to suppress?"

When Gu Yanzhi heard Ji Song's question, he smiled and said, "Someone put rat droppings into the pot of cooked rice. Xiaguan was really disgusted. But the person behind him, Xiaguan, really couldn't afford to offend him, so he could only use the power of the Marquis. , to scare him, but also to have a bad taste in his mouth."

Ji Song chuckled and said angrily: "You still want to scare me? I am not a tiger, what can I do to him?"

Both Gu Yanzhi and Mr. Baishan on the side curled their lips in contempt after hearing this!

Who are you to have no idea at all?

"Okay, let's talk about the situation at Mingzhou Port. This time I came to see Mingzhou Port. Naturally, there will be people patrolling other places, and I will not participate."

When Ji Song saw the two of them, he knew they couldn't continue chatting that day.

Next, Gu Yanzhi focused on the development of Mingzhou Port in recent years.

Although Ji Song had a general idea, how could anyone involved explain it clearly in person?
After hearing this, Ji Song pondered for a moment and said, "Are you saying that the trade in Mingzhou Port has stabilized now? Or that overseas trade has become saturated?"

Gu Yanzhi solemnly said: "Yes, whether it is the overseas merchant ships or the materials traded every year, there is not much surprise in the past two years. So the official guessed that overseas purchasing power has become saturated, so he thought about suggesting to the court whether A way to stimulate it by lowering the price.”

"After all, the number of goods in Datang is increasing every year. If merchants go bankrupt because they cannot trade, it is better to lower the price and sell the goods quickly."

"Otherwise, if you are hoarding it in your hands, and you are hesitant that the price is too high, and the country cannot digest it, you can't just let it go and raise rats, right?"

Mr. Baishan asked curiously: "Can't our Tang Dynasty digest these materials? Even with tens of millions of people?"

Ji Song and Gu Yanzhi shook their heads and smiled bitterly. Ji Song even glanced at Mr. Baishan as if he were an idiot.

The meaning is self-evident, except to say: You know nothing!

"you"

Mr. Baishan was so angry that he was about to argue with Ji Song, but was stopped by Gu Yanzhi.

"Mr. Baishan, don't be impatient. Listen to the officer."

"Humph!"

He flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and sat back in his chair.

Gu Yanzhi smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, you don't know. Many of the goods shipped out to sea are the top products of the Tang Dynasty, such as Sichuan brocade, fine silk, exquisite porcelain, and tea, which is gradually beginning to be accepted by foreign countries."

"You have to know that these products are often expensive. How many people can afford them? What's more, which of these people would lack these things?"

"So, in Datang, there is no shortage of those who can afford it, and those who don't can't afford it. What do you think we should do with these goods?"

Mr. Baishan opened his mouth and said: "We can reduce the price for the common people. Wouldn't it make them affordable?"

Gu Yanzhi was speechless and didn't know how to explain it for a while.

Ji Song couldn't bear it anymore and said angrily: "Now I finally know where those idiots in the court came from? It turns out that the roots are here. With such a teacher, how can there be any good students?"

"Jisong! I've worked hard."

After saying that, he threw the tea set in his hand at Ji Song, and Ji Song dodged lightly.

Mr. Baishan was really angry. He even scolded himself and his students. This is unbearable, but what is unbearable!

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Ji Song quickly begged for mercy, not because he was afraid of him, but if he made the old master angry, he would lose his crotch with yellow mud, and he would be shit if not shit.

Will you still have to be stabbed in the spine?

Finally, with Gu Yanzhi's persuasion and Ji Song's plea, Mr. Baishan was able to settle down.

Ji Song breathed a sigh of relief and explained: "You don't know something. There is a saying: cheap goods are not good, and good goods are not cheap. In fact, this is the truth!"

"Expensive prices often mean that the cost of goods is high. How can this mean that the price is reduced? If it is really reduced to the point where the people of the Tang Dynasty can afford it, these merchants will have to lose all their money?"

"Therefore, lowering prices is a last resort. This will not only reduce the income of merchants and the tax revenue of the court, but also may allow those maritime merchants to make further progress."

“It’s easy to lower the price, but it’s difficult to go back to the original price.”

After hearing this, Mr. Baishan was stunned for a long time, and finally sighed: "You are right. If the court were full of scholars like me, I don't know what it would be like."

"Then what should we do now? If we don't lower the price, the goods won't be sold. Isn't it just a loss on our hands?"

Ji Song also pondered for a long time after hearing this. There are some things that he must figure out, otherwise he will be a blind man trying to grasp the elephant, and can only see half of it, but not the whole picture!

"How much do you know about overseas affairs? Have they told you about price cuts? Or are there any other abnormalities with them?"

Gu Yanzhi smiled bitterly and said: "Master Hou, it's not that I don't want to know. It's really that there are too few maritime merchants in the Tang Dynasty now. They can only wander around a few nearby countries. The farther places are really out of reach."

This is indeed the case. Although there are many ships in the Tang Dynasty, they are all for going to the other side. The ships in the shipyard were driven away by Ji Qing and others as soon as they were launched. Others do not have that much manpower and financial resources to build ships.Even if it could be built, it would only be able to move around offshore and never think about it thousands of miles away.

It is estimated that before going very far, the sea breeze will blow back.

Ji Song walked back and forth in the cabin, stroking the short beard on his chin with his hand.

saturation?

It's okay to say this in front of others, but in front of Ji Song, it's just a joke!
Not to mention others, there are at least three countries in the West that are at their peak.

These countries are different from the Tang Dynasty. There are many nobles of all kinds and their wealth is more concentrated.

As for the goods that Datang ships to sea every year, it is estimated that it is not enough to fill their teeth. Is it still saturated?Go ahead and cheat!

This matter definitely has something to do with these maritime merchants who came to Datang to trade. Maybe they joined forces to create an illusion that Datang could not sell.

The purpose is to put pressure on Datang to reduce the price of the goods, so that they can obtain more benefits.

The interests here are too great. With the greed of these people, it is absolutely possible to do such a thing!
"I probably know what's going on in this matter. When you go back, tell them that these are the things. If you don't want them, get out. If you want them, the price will be increased by [-]%."

"Everyone of them just doesn't know how to live or die. Do you think I don't know their situation?"

"Want to put pressure on Datang? You don't want to see what they are like? Are they worthy of bargaining with me?"

Gu Yanzhi was shocked: "Raise the price? Lord Marquis, are you right?"

"But now."

"Do as I say. If nothing else happens, someone will come to discuss with you soon!"

Ji Song interrupted him and said.

Mr. Baishan was confused. Raise the price?Can't it be sold?Why did you raise the price?

Aren't you going crazy because of success or failure?

Gu Yanzhi was stunned for a long time, then suddenly thought of something and said in disbelief: "Could it be them?"

Ji Song nodded and said, "That's probably it. Are they being brave or something? In just a few years, they have brought their country's tricks to the Tang Dynasty?"

"What a pity! The Tang Dynasty is not something they can offend. If we don't show them any shame this time, how do we really think that the Tang Dynasty got its reputation as the 'Land of Etiquette'?"

"You mean, they did it on purpose? It's not that they can't sell it at all, but they want to lower the price? They deceived us because of our lack of understanding of the outside world?"

"Then we sell priceless goods to them at a reduced price, and then they can resell them and get more profits?"

Ji Song nodded, agreeing with his statement.

"boom!"

There was a loud noise, and Ji Song watched distressedly as his favorite tea set was shattered into pieces.

"How dare you, the barbarians?"

The old master was furious and wanted to kill them all.

This is also what he is most satisfied with about this era. As long as he is outside the Tang Dynasty, he can call himself a barbarian without any scruples.

I am also very satisfied that the bloody spirit of scholars in this era has not disappeared. It is not uncommon for scholars to abandon their pens and join the army.

He never lags behind others when he goes into battle to kill the enemy.

"Sir, calm down!"

Gu Yanzhi gritted his teeth and said: "They are looking for death. If I don't teach them a lesson this time, I will have no eggs."

He even cursed, which shows that this incident also made him very angry.

Yes, he, Gu Yanzhi, is simply acting like a monkey!

If he submits a memorial asking for a price reduction, Datang will lose no idea how much it will lose, and the people will also be affected.

He, Gu Yanzhi, was too embarrassed to see anyone, so he could just throw himself into the sea to feed the fish.

"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will go back and detain them all right away."

"Bullshit!"

Ji Song interrupted him and cursed: "Withdraw it? You can't think of it?"

"This is also a conventional business method. If you start to quarrel with me, how can you do business in the future?"

"Believe it or not, if you dare to do this, it would be great if half of these people can come next year."

Gu Yanzhi was dumbfounded and said blankly: "Is there nothing we can do against them?"

Mr. Bai Shan also wondered: "If I don't teach them a lesson, will they really think that I, the Tang Dynasty, are easy to bully?"

Ji Song signaled them to calm down and said, "Who said we won't teach them a lesson?"

"But" Mr. Baishan hesitated to speak.

Ji Song sat down and took a sip of tea, then calmed down and said, "What's the hurry? Since they are following commercial methods, we can't lift the table."

"In this way, you spread the news. Just say that due to local disasters, Datang has a shortage of raw materials for some commodities. This year's goods are only half of last year's."

"Therefore, the price is increased by [-]%, first come first served, no waiting after the expiry date!"

Gu Yanzhi was stunned, but soon understood.

"Master Marquis, are you saying that we treat others the way they treat others? They say the goods cannot be sold, so we say there is a shortage of goods. In this case, if they really want the goods, they must be in a hurry."

"The originally united alliance collapsed in an instant. After all, there are only so many goods. Some people have more people, and some people have less people. They themselves are in chaos?"

As he spoke, he stood up excitedly and walked back and forth. He came to Ji Song, bowed and said, "Your Majesty is so wise, I will bow down to you!"

Ji Song shook his head with a smile and said: "As the saying goes, shopping malls are like battlefields. On the battlefield, this is called psychological warfare. Let them mess up their positions first, and then we will find opportunities to take advantage of them."

Mr. Baishan marveled: "The shopping mall is like a battlefield, and Mr. Hou really learned and used it flexibly. Not only can it cause chaos for them, but we can also sell the goods at a higher price."

Ji Song lamented: "When they come to you, you select a few people and trade the goods to them at the previous year's price. The prices of the others will all increase."

"Let them go dog-eat-dog!"

Gu Yanzhi and Mr. Baishan nodded after hearing this, and laughed and said, "Yes, let them bite the bullet, and in the end we will benefit."

"Barbarians are barbarians, and they forget their loyalty when they see profit. The Tang Dynasty was not kind to them. How dare you do this without giving them any color? Do you really think that there is no one in the Central Plains?"

After the matter was settled, the three people became more interested.

We called for food and drinks, and while they drank and drank, there was a lot of laughter!

The laughter in the cabin also reached Gou Xing's ears. He was anxious, but he was never summoned and could only wait outside!
(End of this chapter)