Chapter 1103 Super Smuggling Business Road
With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the inconspicuous West Exit became lively again, and there was an endless stream of caravans coming in and out every day.
There is no need for a special organization, and interests are the best driving force, bringing together business gangs from all over the world.
Although the Russians open their pockets to purchase strategic materials such as grain, livestock, coal, weapons and ammunition, there are always people who want to earn more, and conflicts arise.
Especially after bureaucrats and local snakes joined, the situation became more complicated. Business gangs with weak strength and no background background were the first to be eliminated.
There are three paths in front of them, either get incorporated and pick up some scraps behind the big business gang;
Capital is the most realistic, and capitalists are the easiest to compromise. Counterattack on the top only exists in novels.
In real life, the major business gangs have long been deeply entrenched and formed a large network.
In this chain of interests, there are too many big people sharing the benefits, and they cannot be interrupted at all.
To change this situation, unless the superstructure changes and power is redistributed.
Large-scale power reshuffles usually take hundreds of years to occur, but small-scale reshuffles occur only once in a few years or as many as decades.
Therefore, the business gang is still a business gang, and the replacement is only the leader, and it is all carried out internally.
There's nothing to say, just join if you can't beat it. Picking up some leftovers is better than starving.
As for the third route, giving up the lucrative Xikou trade route is absolutely unacceptable.
As Das Kapital says: "Fifty percent of the profit, it takes the risk.
For the sake of 100% profit, it dares to trample all human laws.
With more than 300 percent profit, it dares to commit any crime, even risking being hanged. "
Although the bulk commodity profit of Xikou Trading is less than 300%, but with hard work, there is still a good chance to get 100% of the profit.
No matter how bad it is, there is still a 50% profit. If the profits are not lucrative, everyone will not risk their lives to cross the prairie that stretches for thousands of miles.
As the largest merchant gang in the north, Shanxi merchants will naturally not be absent from this kind of profitable business.
However, the atmosphere in the Shanxi Merchants Guild at the moment was a little tense. Anyone who knows it knows that it's time to make a decision again.
In order to attack the enemy's transportation lines and obtain materials to meet their own logistical needs, Shanxi merchants, who are local snakes, naturally became the first targets of Japan and Russia to win over.
At the beginning, Japan and Russia did not push too hard, and everyone could get both ways and make a fortune from it.
However, with the war falling into a state of anxiety, the two countries have more and more outside tricks, and the space for everyone to have both sides is getting smaller and smaller.
The Russians pulled Shinra, and the Japanese found Britain. The original game between Japan and Russia became the battlefield of the four countries.
An old man in a robe and jacket sighed: "The court continues to maintain its neutrality, and the situation is getting more and more difficult.
Now Japan and Russia are pressing harder and harder, with the support of Britain and Austria behind them. I am afraid that business will be difficult to do in the future. "
It is impossible to give up the West Exit trade. Heads can be cut off, blood can flow, and business must never stop.
Not to mention the pressure of the Japanese, even if the Far Eastern imperial government ordered it to prohibit it, the business still had to do the same.
However, this is the small and medium-sized businessman below, and the crowd is different. Everyone is the owner of a big family and a big business. The industry is not limited to one place, nor is it limited to one industry.
Although the West Exit trade was hugely profitable, because of the special nature of the war, it was doomed that this business could not last long.
Continuing to send supplies to the Russians will undoubtedly offend Britain and Japan, especially the Japanese.
If Japan is defeated, that's all. According to the feces and urine of the Russians, it will definitely make them hemiplegia.
But once the Japanese won, the situation was completely different. Those of them who are on the wrong team will inevitably be liquidated in the future.
Of course, the people sitting here are not idle people. In their own home field, the Japanese can't help them either. But most of the business within Japan's sphere of influence will not go on.
After listening to the old man's words, the next middle-aged man smoking a dry cigarette slowly stood up, and after walking to the door, he said fiercely, "It's not easy to do, but it must be done.
We don't do it, there are others who do. Once the market has given up, it will be difficult to get it back.
Besides, the Trans-Siberian Railway is about to open to traffic. With the support of the Holy Roman Empire behind it, the Russians have a significantly better chance of winning. "
On the opposite side, a fat man in his 40s echoed: "Old Wang, what Brother Liu said is very true. Don't look at the Japanese people's clamor now, but they are actually strong from outside.
The Russians' contribution to the Far East is at most one-fifth, and even the Japanese can't stand it. Once the Trans-Siberian Railway opened, it was only a matter of time before the Japanese failed.
Once they are defeated, it is unknown whether they can keep their homeland, and how can they still have the ability to retaliate against us.
It doesn't matter that they have the support of the British, but now that the situation in Europe is tense, and the British are still too busy to take care of themselves, how can they stand up for them. "
Like the original time and space, before the end of the war, no one could believe that the Russian Empire would lose to the Japanese.
Including the sponsors who support the Japanese government, they are all prepared to lose their investment in advance, and everyone's highest expectation is to hit the Russians hard.
What really helped the Japanese government win the war was not
The British, let alone the Americans, are also not the Japanese army and navy, but the Russian Revolutionary Party, which seems to be irrelevant.
If it weren't for the civil strife, and with the tsarist government's iron-clad attributes, the war would not have been delayed for a few years, then there would have been a problem.
Just look at the Russian-Turkish war. It lasted for ten or eight years, which is a common thing.
If you don't have money in your pocket, wait until the funds are raised before continuing the war.
Anyway, the Russian Far East is a blank space, no matter how scourge, the tsarist government will not feel distressed.
Ice and snow weather is the biggest ally, but if the Japanese army dares to go deep, don't even think about retreating.
Not to mention now, Franz's preparations have not yet been launched, and the Vienna government is still strongly supporting the tsarist government.
Britain and Japan had limited power in Russia, and even if they wanted to plan a revolution, they were unable to implement it.
The Russian Empire itself is not in chaos. Before the opening of the Siberian Railway, the battlefield in the Far East fell into a state of anxiety. Normal people are optimistic that the tsarist government can win.
Old Wang waved his hand and said, "Okay, I just sighed, seeing as you are in a hurry, young people just can't hold their breath.
Even if you want to go to the West Exit, you have to negotiate the conditions first. While it was lucrative to carry supplies for the Russians, it was not a long-term business.
The Siberian Railway is about to open to traffic. If we can reach an agreement with the Russians to open up the trade route to Europe, the benefits contained in it are much greater than the transport of arms. "
The representative of the Zhang family on the left objected: "President Wang, the greater the benefits, the greater the risks.
The Russians are not easy to meet, and they have no credibility. Even if an agreement is reached, people say that they will break the contract.
Even if we take a contract to file a lawsuit, and we are on someone else's territory, we don't have the right to speak.
In the past years, the big guys we have been sitting have suffered a lot in this regard. "
What business is the most profitable?
Of course it's a monopoly.
The biggest reason for Shanxi merchants to rise in the barren north is that they monopolized the trade outside Tongguan.
With the advent of the marine age, everyone's trade monopoly in North Korea and Liaodong has been broken.
Just the Mongolian prairie can't afford to support so many chambers of commerce. Some Shanxi merchants chose to go south, and some Shanxi merchants chose to continue north.
The people sitting here are basically the representatives of the Beishang faction. In order to expand the trade line to the Russian Empire, everyone also worked hard.
The results are naturally there, but the majority of the interests have been swallowed up by the Russian bureaucracy and capital, and everyone can only leave a few hard-earned money in their busy schedules.
Pay and return are not proportional, and no one can stand it for a long time. So far, everyone has simply started a transit business.
Ship the goods of the Far Eastern Empire to the border and sell them to Russian merchants; then purchase specialties from Russian merchants and ship them back to the country for sale.
Although the profit is less, the risk is also smaller, and there is no need to worry about being swallowed by the Russian local snakes on the way.
In the eyes of ordinary people, it is acceptable to be able to make some stable money. But in the eyes of businessmen, failure to maximize profits is a failure.
President Wang smiled slightly: "Xingbai, you are still so upright.
But you are right. With our strength alone, we are naturally unable to open up the land trading line to Europe.
But our strength is not enough, we can still find someone to cooperate with! "
"Upright", for businessmen, this is not a compliment, it can even be called irony.
It could be seen that the old man was very dissatisfied with Zhang Xingbai, who questioned him, and his words were full of teasing.
For all this, everyone turned a deaf ear, as if nothing had happened. Including Zhang Xingbai himself, did not say anything.
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Outside is a big river and lake, and inside the chamber of commerce is a small river and lake.
It is because of the interests of everyone that everyone sticks together. When it comes to business competition, no one has ever been soft-hearted. There are definitely not a few contradictions accumulated over a long period of time.
The middle-aged man surnamed Liu said: "Old Wang, Brother Zhang was just a slip of the tongue, you can hold a boat in your old prime minister's stomach, so please bear with me.
It's just that this is looking for someone to cooperate, and I'm really puzzled. In the past years, we are not without partners, but in the end we broke up.
Foreigners have no sense of etiquette, righteousness, integrity, and honor, and Russians are even more alien among foreigners, who completely regard credibility as nothing.
Even the government can default and go bankrupt in order to avoid debts. If I cooperate with them in depth, I am afraid that I will be trapped to death. "
The Russians in the early 20th century were already notorious. With the tsarist government's debt defaults one after another, the world has deeply doubted the credibility of the Russians.
Not to mention everyone present, many of them suffered losses in cooperation. In the face of an unruly partner, the perfect contract is useless.
Glancing at everyone, seeing that everyone's interest was not high, President Wang didn't dare to continue to sell things. Without the cooperation of everyone, his family alone would have to be choked to death.
"I can understand everyone's doubts. To tell you the truth, in the past decades of trade with Russia, I have not stepped on the pit.
Our advantage is that we have connections and funds in China, but our disadvantage is that we lack a network of connections in the Russian Empire, which cannot deter the wolves and leopards.
Even with the Russian elite, those people see us as pigs and sheep. If you get fat and kill, there is no credibility at all.
In the final analysis, it is the power imbalance between the two sides. In cooperation, our voice is almost non-existent.
After thinking about it, I found that the key to solving this problem is to find a partner that is not too strong.
It is best to be able to deter the wolves, jackals, tigers and leopards along the way, and lack of local foundation, and we have to rely on us for specific business. "
Everyone understands this explanation. It's similar to how everyone usually bribes officials, giving a share of dry shares and paying a protection fee, and the specific business is still up to you.
If you have a local network, you can naturally play like this. When it comes to the Russian Empire, it will not work. The Russian bureaucracy is mainly aristocratic, and everyone who can collude has colluded. There is simply no room for them outsiders.
The man surnamed Liu shook his head in disappointment: "Old Wang, in theory, it's true. But in practice, we can't find such a partner at all, and it may even be implicated in political struggles."
No wonder he is nervous. In recent decades, they have invested the most in opening trade lines with Russia.
The Liu family's caravan even traveled from the Far East to central Europe via Siberia.
It sounds like a great deal, but in fact it has earned a lot of loneliness. Not only is the traffic in Siberia crumbling, but the layers of exploitation by the Russian bureaucracy are even more shocking.
President Wang said without changing his face: "Rusong, you are right. Under normal circumstances, we really can't find such a partner.
But now it's different, the partners themselves come to the door. Compared to a few days ago, everyone has been in contact with the Austrians.
Don't look at them as arms dealers on the surface, their real identities are definitely not simple. Anyway, I have never seen arms dealers escorted by warships.
In particular, the leader is still a nobleman, and he is not an ordinary nobleman.
I have sent someone to inquire, that Sir Louis is a member of the Holy Roman Empire. Although he is only a distant branch, he is enough to lead the way.
He came to the Far East this time to expand his family business, and this arms trade was just incidental.
Everyone must have heard of the reputation of the Habsburg family. Whether politically or economically, they are basically positive reviews.
If we can cooperate with them, we can directly open up trade lines with Europe, whether by land or sea.
The only uncertainty is Shinra's struggle for supremacy with Britain, but that doesn't hurt either.
The Royal Navy could not go ashore, and even if it failed in the struggle for supremacy, the Holy Roman Empire was still one of the leading powers in the world.
It's a rare opportunity. If they didn't need us to deliver strategic supplies for the Russians, I'm afraid they wouldn't have the qualifications to contact them. "
There is no difference between cooperation and cooperation. The most common business cooperation is simple buying and selling, and there is no human relationship between the two parties.
In-depth cooperation is different. This is not only a question of money, but also needs to consider complementary resources.
In the face of the Shinra royal family, the resources in the hands of Shanxi merchants are too few. Even their proud network of contacts is worthless in each other's eyes.
After the shock, everyone quickly reacted. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as you get on this line, it is not a problem to open up the Russian trade route.
With the participation of the Shinra Royal Family and cooperation with Russian dignitaries, it can only follow the rules. All play within the scope of the rules, and everyone is still not cowardly.
The man surnamed Liu asked, "Lao Wang and Sir Louis have talked?"
The old man smiled awkwardly: "It's just a preliminary contact, and I didn't go into details. After all, Sir Louis not only asked us to transport arms for the Russians, but also to help the Russians raise strategic materials.
Without everyone's participation, the royal family alone would not be able to raise enough supplies for the Russians.
However, everyone can rest assured that Sir Louis assured that: the price will not let everyone suffer, all go according to the market price of the trading area, and he will urge the Russians to pay on time.
They will be responsible for dealing with official troubles caused by raising strategic materials and will not leave hidden dangers to everyone. "
Interest is always the best bond. As long as the money is sufficient, it is not a problem to raise strategic materials.
Before this, although everyone was also going to the West Exit, the materials delivered each time were not many. In addition to worrying about bandits and bandits, he was more afraid of being hacked by the Russians.