Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 6905: Pure stance, no morality

If Zhang Zhao had not swindled 60% of the price from Cai Mao, the Jiangdong noble families represented by Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong would have just let it go with the matter of selling feed grain to Chen Xi.

After all, the rice in Southeast Asia is cheap and not tasty. Chen Xi got it just to use it as feed. As a result, the Jiangdong family doesn't eat the rice produced in Southeast Asia directly anymore. They either grind it into rice flour or buy some Liaodong rice when they return from Liaodong after delivering the feed.

To be honest, because of the amazing taste and aroma of Liaodong rice, the Jiangdong families in Southeast Asia reluctantly accepted Chen Xi's statement that the rice produced locally in Southeast Asia is feed grain.

After all, that was Chen Zichuan, who was a foodie who loved finer things. In comparison, it was understandable that he could call it fodder. And with this as a precondition, the Han Dynasty offered an 80% price for purchasing supplies, and the Jiangdong families had to accept it, because at least they were purchasing all types of supplies at an 80% price.

No matter what, being able to purchase all types of supplies with an additional 20% discount is considered a very high-level benefit. I'll just accept it and treat it as a good deal for Chen Zichuan.

As a result, after cheating Cai Mao out of a ridiculous purchase price of 60% of the original price, Zhang Zhao was completely stunned. After all, no matter how hard Zhang Zhao thought about it, he didn't think that the purchase price Cai Mao got would be lower than that of Zhou Yu.

Cai Mao could say 60%, so what would Zhou Yu's purchase price be? 50%? It couldn't be 40%, right? When Zhang Zhao thought of this possibility, he was furious.

Especially when a group of Jiangdong noble families surrounded Cai Mao from behind, confirming that the statement of 60% of the market purchase price was not drunken nonsense, Zhang Zhao and others were all numb!

They even suspected Chen Xi at that time. Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to realize that Chen Xi was probably too lazy to care about such things. After making this judgment, they analyzed Chen Xi's large-scale purchase of feed grains and realized a very fatal point. How could a decent person like Chen Xi not give compensation!

The compensation was eaten by Zhou Yu, and all the Jiangdong families quickly realized this, but they had no evidence because it was impossible for them to get the internal price list. Even just trying to get the price list would be a crime according to the country's legal order.

Some things, though ordinary looking, being able to get them represents a kind of qualification in itself. To steal something like the price list, one only needs to find connections to find out about the Yuan and Cao families and confirm that the proportion of accounts receivable given by the Cao and Yuan families to their subordinates is not as high as theirs, and one will know that there is something else involved.

Having reached this level, there are no fools anymore. Getting this kind of thing from Chen Xi is a qualification in itself. Although Cai Mao relied on luck, he also has some strength. A lot of credit goes to Cai Mao for the Jiangdong Navy not exploding. So at a certain point, Chen Xi handed the internal price list to Cai Mao, which was also a recognition of Cai Mao.

On the other hand, if Chen Xi didn't give it to them, it means they are not qualified.

Similarly, the conversion ratio and amount of Yuan Cao's subordinates are not as good as theirs, which means that Yuan Cao's subordinates must be less valuable than them in some aspects!

Nonsense, what can Yuan Cao sell to Chen Xi now?
Except for gold, other things sent from Yuan and Cao are basically losses. So for the Han Dynasty, Yuan, Cao and the Central Asian families are basically the ones who need Chen Xi's support. Jiangdong has already landed and can support the Han Dynasty.

Feed grain, sugar, fruit, etc. may seem ordinary, but they can all serve as pillar industries and have a positive incentive effect on the development of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Zhou Yu was able to obtain the internal price list and use the thirty-eight cents he earned from selling these things at home to deduct one hundred cents from the internal price list.

The Jiangdong noble family sold these things for eighty coins, which was equivalent to one hundred coins in the internal price list.

As for the other stuff, one hundred coins is one hundred coins. I am giving you an interest-free loan, which is already a support. What else do you want?
This is also the reason why the Jiangdong noble families could accept it when they didn’t know the truth in the early days.

Later, they guessed some things and were unwilling to accept them, but they couldn't find any other buyers, even the Yuan family. Apart from gold and a small amount of core technology, there was basically nothing worth buying for Chen Xi. In this case, being able to give an internal price list was already a favor to Yuan Shu. As for the rest, forget it.

In this case, if Jiangdong Family does not take this path now, can they expect to get their own price list? What a joke, what Lao Cao got was only part of the internal price list. Jiangdong Family, no matter how dissatisfied Zhou Yu was, was equivalent to getting a full set of 20% off price lists.

If one tries to obtain things that do not belong to him/her by force when he/she is not qualified, it will lead to big trouble. They are all from aristocratic families and they naturally know this.

After realizing this, the Jiangdong family quickly changed their mindset. Although they didn't know what was going on with Zhou Yu, since Cai Mao's price was more favorable, they didn't have to think about it and just used Cai Mao's price list.

Cai Mao's price list only accepts sago, which is nothing to say. After finding out what sago is, Zhang Zhao and others decisively changed their rice planting to trees. Then they threw the information to Zhou Yu and said that they had found a better economic crop and decided to change their rice planting to trees.

Zhou Yu took a look and decided, okay, let's just plant trees instead of rice, it will take ten years anyway. During these ten years, the rice production will decrease, but it's not a big problem. It will just solve the problem of collecting rice from the major families. Later, they will all plant sago palm trees, and the Wu State will supply them with feed. This will just shut up the guys who will find out about this sooner or later.

That’s right, Zhou Yu knew from the beginning that he would be discovered sooner or later, but he did it without hesitation. After all, he was not from a feudal state, so why would he hesitate?
If there is money to be made, of course we should make money!
Faced with the staunch Prime Minister of Wu who kicked the rulers of other vassal states, Chen Xi was somewhat unsure of how to deal with this matter. How should we explain this matter? From Chen Xi's standpoint, he didn't want to care about Zhou Yu or the Jiangdong family. He just wanted to ensure the subsequent supply of rice.

However, the Jiangdong families received no compensation or benefits, so they had to vote with their feet and follow Cai Mao to grow trees instead of rice, which directly undermined Chen Xi's strategy.

So Chen Xi still has to take care of this matter.

"Well, I'm here on behalf of Chang'an to discuss this matter with you, the Prime Minister of Jiangdong." Chen Xi let out a breath. He felt that he had to make things clear with Zhou Yu.

"No problem, I am indeed the prime minister of Jiangdong." Zhou Yu thought about it and admitted it.

"I don't care whether you are Wu, the Eastern Wu allied country, or Wu and other allied countries. I will give you the target and you must complete it." Chen Xi said to Zhou Yu calmly, "This is an unshakable foundation."

Zhou Yu's expression remained unchanged when he heard this. This is the only request. Doesn't that mean he has no request?

"Then, I require you to charge half the price in the price list to the princes of Jiangdong." Chen Xi said with a sigh. He couldn't talk about legal matters with Zhou Yu. The mess in Jiangdong could not be sorted out at all. He could only give orders. The central government just used a big stick to command the local governments. It was a direct order.

"You are a bit overbearing." Zhou Yu looked unhappy, raised his eyebrows and said with dissatisfaction.

"You said before, 'Give me an indicator and I'll go back and break it down.' Now you don't intend to admit it, right?" Chen Xi said unhappily.

"You have a bigger fist, so you are right, okay." Zhou Yu pondered for a moment and spoke. The arm cannot beat the thigh, what can he say, and he should take all the blame.

"Don't be unconvinced. This subsidy issued by me already includes the portion belonging to the Jiangdong family." Seeing Zhou Yu like this, Chen Xi felt a little relieved.

To be honest, Chen Xi did not want to make things so bad that God would be angry and people would resent him, but if one looked at the matter between Zhou Yu and Jiangdong from Chen Xi's moral point of view, of course Zhou Yu was an asshole. But without mentioning morality and only talking about stance, what Zhou Yu did was justified. The only excessive thing was probably that the profit was increased by 100%.

The problem is that this exclusive channel was negotiated by Zhou Yu personally with Chen Xi, and Chen Xi doesn't care where these things come from. As long as Zhou Yu reviews and signs them, there will be no big problem for him to receive them.

From Zhou Yu's point of view, the major families have sorted out their family properties with Bofu, divided them up, and established their own countries. Even so, I still give you a discount, calculated at 80% of the market price. What else do you want to say?
As for your dissatisfaction and voting with your feet, I did not stop you. This is business and everyone is responsible for their own country. What's wrong with bringing this matter to Chen Zichuan now?
You think I'm reaping the benefits of you? Nonsense, from the first day I sold these supplies, you all knew that I, Zhou Yu, must have made a lot of money!

"You said at the time that you would give me this price and let me manage these noble families with it and complete the targets you gave me!" Zhou Yu said unhappily, "I have completed the targets every year for so many years, and even exceeded them for five consecutive years. Are you negotiating targets, or are you being soft-hearted and wanting to make concessions?"

"I'm afraid that you and the Jiangdong family will become estranged!" Chen Xi said in a low voice.

"I know the Jiangdong noble families better than you do. How can you be disloyal? What a joke! They knew I was taking money from selling fruit, sugar and rice since the first day I started." Zhou Yu said with disdain. "Do you think they will remember your kindness if you give them a profit? They will only think you are easy to bully. History tells us how to deal with the feudal lords of Chu!"

Chen Xi didn't know how to respond to this topic. The lesson of history was that the feudal lords of the Chu State must strengthen the trunk and weaken the branches, control resources, and strengthen the monarch's armed forces.

If you think about it carefully, this is what Zhou Yu is doing now.

"They thought Cai Degui was a good person, so they followed him. I didn't stop them. I even told you before that I had planned that one day, the State of Wu itself would be responsible for the transportation of these materials." Zhou Yu said indifferently.

"No, I just think you have low morals." Chen Xi was silent for a while and told the truth.

Zhou Yu was completely speechless. What was going on? Why were you suddenly making personal attacks?

"I told you to complete this target, manage the Jiangdong family well, and stop causing trouble. This way, everyone can make some money and it will be stable." Chen Xi said after recalling the situation.

"That's about it. I said I would go back to repair the mudflats in Sumatra and build some water conservancy and water networks. I estimate it will be done within 20 years." Zhou Yu nodded and said.

"You really are stubborn!" Chen Xi's face showed a look of admiration.

"I hinted to you at that time that I wanted you to make 30% profit and give the Jiangdong family half price. After all, the price I paid for those things was indeed a bit lower." Chen Xi said speechlessly.

"Wait, if I give the Jiangdong family half price, how can I make 30%? I have taken into account the logistics, manpower and cost expenditures. You said you would give me 42 wen, but in fact it takes me about 3 wen to equal 30 wen. If I give them half price, how can I make a % profit?" Zhou Yu expressed his dissatisfaction.

"You can transfer all your logistics, manpower, and connections to the family." Chen Xi said with a dark face, "It's already half price, why should I ship it back to you? You can do it yourself!"

"So that's how it is. It can be done this way." Zhou Yu was quite moved when he heard this.

"Stop sighing. You can't do it now." Chen Xi said unhappily, "Forget it, Gongjin, give me a definite answer. Now that I know about this matter, you can forget about your 100% profit. You must implement a half-price universal price list for Jiangdong Family! You can think of Jiangdong Family and Wu State as being divided, but from my perspective, you only have one boss, the Marquis of Wu."

"This is really arrogant." Zhou Yu said to Chen Xi.

"You can divide it however you want. There is only one legal lineage. The Golden Book and Jade Book only record the Marquis of Wu." Chen Xi said unhappily, "So no matter what you do among yourselves, I will look at it as a whole. I can ignore what Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong and others say, but on the other hand, since we are a whole, at least there must be fair treatment."

“My understanding and knowledge of Jiangdong is definitely not as good as yours, but I can stand here and order you to carry out your orders, so I am definitely better than you in the overall situation. Gongjin, I don’t want to force you to do something that you are not happy about, so we can sit down and talk about your ideas. If they are not excessive, I can make the decision and approve them directly.” Chen Xi pulled the chair to the side and sat opposite Zhou Yu.

Those guys out there who already have plenty of reasons can really only wait for the results.

"Do we have to give a 50% discount to the Jiangdong family?" Zhou Yu asked again.

"This is necessary. It is the foundation for stability." Chen Xi nodded and said, "The channel is given to Mr. Wu and you, but the efforts made by the Jiangdong family before are not non-existent. Even if you get the fiefdom and fulfill your promise, and no longer owe us anything, from my point of view, you are also a force."

When Britain was at its most powerful, did it care that India was a place made up of 300 princely states? No, Britain believed that they were one, and they had to be one.

"Although it is distributed to you two, it is because you two are the leaders of Jiangdong." Chen Xi said very seriously, "You can gain your own benefits from it, but you can't really slaughter the Jiangdong family like pigs. 100% of the profit is directly skinning them!"

Things have come to this point, and Chen Xi has really tried to persuade Zhou Yu earnestly, if Zhou Yu doesn't back down, it would be a bit ungrateful.

"Okay, now that we've come to this point, just give me some as you see fit." Zhou Yu also realized that Chen Xi had said everything he could say, and if he didn't know what was good for him, he might end up getting hit by Chen Xi.

"To be honest, I have some doubts that you and Zhang Zhao are setting up a trap to defraud me." Chen Xi was somewhat relieved to see Zhou Yu admit it, but after a moment's thought, he realized other possibilities.

"Given the current situation, everyone is ready to run away with Cai Degui. What do you think?" Zhou Yu's expression remained almost unchanged, but his squinting eyes made him look like he was looking at a fool.

"It turns out that you are the one who is taking advantage of the situation." Chen Xi pulled out the chair and glared at Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu was stunned for a moment and instantly realized what went wrong.

"Forget it, you're a smart move." Chen Xi lowered his head and thought for a while, "Through your channels, the materials exported to the Han Dynasty will be worth 38 wen for 105 wen. This is the biggest concession I can make, but you have to give the Jiangdong family half of the market price, and you have to handle all the problems yourself."

"There's no way to solve it." Zhou Yu shook his head and said, so many resources had been stolen to develop the Wu State, and now it has been discovered, there is no way to solve it.

"As for the tacit understanding between you and Zhang Zhao, huh." Chen Xi said unhappily, then walked directly outside and stretched out his hand to pull open the door of the conference room.

"From now on, if you purchase goods on account, we will split it in half." Chen Xi directly informed Zhang Zhao and others of the result.

"Is it the same with sago?" Zhang Zhao asked. Although Chen Xi had negotiated a staggering price of half the market price, everyone, who had suffered a loss at the hands of Zhou Yu, still felt that they had to leave a way out. Besides, the information and evidence they had produced before were not false. The advantages of sago palm trees were obvious.

"Then you might as well kill me!" Cai Mao went berserk on the spot.

Cai Mao's account ratio is 4% higher than Zhou Yu's, that is to say, without any other fees, the price he can get is actually 42% of the market price. Taking into account other cost links, Cai Mao's bottom line must be maintained at 46-47%. In this case, Zhang Zhao wants 50%, leaving 3 points for Cai Mao. What the hell can Cai Mao do!
There is a possibility of capsizing in maritime trade. With a profit margin of only three points, if a ship sinks, not only will you not make any profit, you will also lose money.

"Mr. Zhou is only responsible for the transportation of goods to the Central Plains and will not be responsible for the subsequent transportation of purchased materials back to Southeast Asia. That's all." Chen Xi looked at Zhang Zhao and spoke, and Zhang Zhao nodded expressionlessly.

Chen Xi glanced at it twice more, but still couldn't find any trace of collusion with Zhou Yu. Taking into account the previous tests, Chen Xi was basically sure that although the matter started with Cai Mao leaking the secret, Zhang Zhao might have colluded with Zhou Yu in the subsequent events, or at least they should have known about it tacitly.

At least the two of them cooperated with each other. The Jiangdong family achieved their needs, and Zhou Yu did not lose anything. As for Chen Xi, it doesn't matter if he earns less. The target can be achieved, and at least he made a lot of money in the overall strategic situation. That's it. There is no need to understand everything thoroughly.

"Thank you, Lord Chen, for your understanding." Gu Yong and the others all bowed. The answer given by Chen Xi had exceeded their expectations, so why would they be dissatisfied with it?

"Nothing. After all, this time, there are problems with our stance, so we can only start from the moral level." Chen Xi explained calmly, "But I have to make one thing clear. I have negotiated the conditions for you from Zhou Gongjin. If there is a problem with the feed grain I want to collect, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"We will first slow down the pace of converting rice to trees, and in the next five years, we will try our best to expand the scale of rice and coconut palm trees at the same time." Zhuge Jin said sincerely.

As I said, 100% profit was indeed too outrageous. Even Sun Ce's ministers like Zhuge Jin and Pang Tong felt that it was too abnormal after receiving the news, so they came together.

"Okay, then you guys can have more fun in Chang'an. I still have some things to take care of." Chen Xi nodded to a few people, then took Zhuge Liang and others back to the meeting room.

"Is it solved?" Zhuge Liang frowned. He didn't think it was that simple. "It's hard to answer the question of each party's position. Even if it's solved now, there will still be problems in the future. This time, it's really a question of each party's position."

From Chen Xi's perspective, let's not talk about morality. You can love whoever you want, as long as the three or five targets must be completed, you can do whatever you want with the rest.

From Zhou Yu's perspective, I have an exclusive channel. After these bastards separated from Bofu, it's already good enough that I can give them a 20% discount. What else do they want?

From the perspective of the Jiangdong family, most of the money I earned through hard work was taken away by Zhou. Because of the lack of transparency in information, I have to pay the price for five years. Fuck! I’m going to sue him!

"It doesn't involve our five-year plan. What they do has nothing to do with me." Chen Xi waved his hand and said, "This time I will press Zhou Gongjin and make him give up 50%. In addition to moral factors, the expansion of Sanwu's animal husbandry is also an important reason."

"This doesn't seem like your way of solving problems." Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang frowned slightly and said with a somewhat strange look.

"The essence of establishing a feudal state is to set an example for the Han Dynasty so that the local countries that are on the verge of collapse will have the opportunity to learn from it. So essentially speaking, what is happening in Southeast Asia now is the result that Chen Zichuan expects." Zhou Yu answered loudly.

"I'm not that bad." Chen Xi complained to Zhou Yu, then turned to Zhuge Liang and said, "The reason why this happened is more because a group of people represented by Zhou Gongjin in front of you stirred up reality for some reason."

"Isn't this what you wanted to see?" Zhou Yu teased.

"What I want to see is when the stars of humanity shine, not when the stars of human beings shine." Chen Xi looked at Zhou Yu with contempt and said with a sneer.

It's April now, those who have tickets please vote, sigh