After hearing Ai Qian’s suggestion, Ma Xiangdong was not excited at all. As an old bureaucrat, he knew very well that there was no free lunch in the world, and that was even more so between countries. If a country suddenly had kindness to you and was willing to worry about what you were anxious about, and when they thought about what you were thinking, then they would definitely want much more than they would pay.

He looked at Ai Qian alertly.

"I wonder what advice Mr. Ai has?"

Ai Qian smiled and said, "There are many good things in Chu State, such as your silk, tea, porcelain, and these things, and we don't have many of them, nor are they as good as Chu State. Chu State can use these things to pay the bill. Master Chief, you buy them in the name of the country and then sell them to us. There must be a difference in the price between them. Chu State can also make a profit from small and medium-sized products. Are you right?"

Hearing Ai Qian say this, Ma Xiangdong immediately understood that this was to ask Chu State to step forward in the name of the country to buy these things from those merchants. The price would naturally be minimized, and even be able to make a white strip and then hand it over to the Ming people. This seemed to be a way. After all, doing so would be much better than doing it nakedly to increase taxes. Even if the Chu people could not get the money for the time being, there was still hope.

"This is a feasible way," he pondered.

"There is also salt!" Ai Qian said again: "To be honest, the salt in our Ming Dynasty is really expensive and unpalatable, but Chu salt is unique. If the Chu court can get our Ming Dynasty Business Department an unlimited piece of salt to sell salt to the Ming Dynasty, then we are willing to pay for it. Of course, at this price, we have to discuss it carefully."

Ma Xiangdong took a breath and became a little excited: "This can be available." Salt itself is sold by the state. The Ming Dynasty is willing to buy the salt of Chu with real money and silver, so it is naturally undesirable.

"However, the difference between these and our previous transactions is still very big. But Master Zhongjiao, we have a Changlong Bank in the Ming Dynasty, do you know?" After laying a series of preparatory preparations, Ai Qian finally slowly showed his sharp claws.

"Changlong Bank? I naturally know that it is a money house. I heard that it was jointly run by dozens of major merchants in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, it can compete with the Taiping Bank opened by the imperial court." Ma Xiangdong nodded.

"By the way, it's them." Ai Qian said with a smile: "Actually, this time I came here. Their boss came to me specifically. I was not afraid that the Master Ma knew. They gave me some benefits and wanted to ask me to do something. When I heard that this matter was very helpful to my job, I boldly agreed."

"I wonder what it is?" Ma Xiangdong asked.

"They want to open a branch in Chu State, hoping to get the support of the Chu State court." Ai Qian said.

"A money house wants to open a semicolon, which is not a big deal. Our Da Chu and Da Ming are in-laws and are now in the same state, so if they want to open a branch, there is no problem." Ma Xiangdong agreed generously, "But then again, what benefits can they bring to open a branch?"

"They can provide loans to your Chu court!" Ai Qian said with a smile: "Aren't you not rich? But Changlong Bank has money. They are willing to lend you money, and the interest rate is easy to discuss. It will definitely not be higher than the interest rate placed by the money shops in your country. I can guarantee that it is only lower or not."

"Is there such a good thing?" Ma Xiangdong was a little puzzled.

"Of course, they need guarantees to lend to the Great Chu court. The most trustworthy thing in Chu is the national treasury. Therefore, they demanded that Chu must use a part of the annual tax as a guarantee, and when paying the principal and interest every year, they will directly allocate money from the state's taxes. Of course, they will have special people to talk to experts on these business matters. As long as the prime minister agrees to this matter, they will be willing to lend to the Chu State, and the money is enough for you to afford our weapons." Ai Qian continued to put on the trap without hesitation.

"If this is the case, Ma can definitely make the decision." Ma Xiangdong thought for a long time, but he really didn't think there was anything shameful about it, so he agreed immediately.

"That's great!" Ai Qian said with joy. "In this way, your country has obtained weapons and can effectively resist Qi's attack. I have completed this task and have gained something from learning."

He deliberately showed a greedy look, as if he was complacent about getting the benefits of Changlong Bank.

Ma Xiangdong has seen too much about the officials who take advantage of the opportunity to make money by doing business, so he doesn't think it's a surprise. Instead, he thinks it is the norm in the officialdom. Who doesn't find any chance to get some benefits for himself? It turns out that the country is extremely strict in the management of officials. Ai Qian takes advantage of this opportunity to become a special envoy to get some benefits for himself, but I am afraid that the country will not be able to find out at all. When he thinks of this, Ma Xiangdong feels it is appropriate.

Ai Qian smiled happily and took out a thick stack of files from his arms: "Ma Shoufu, this is the contract for all the content I just mentioned. Please check it. If there is no problem, we can sign the contract officially. Then, all kinds of weapons and equipment that have been loaded in Baoqing Port of Daming will be shipped to Quanzhou, and then sent to Jinghu and handed over to Cheng Shuai."

"Leave it to Cheng Wuben? This won't work." Ma Xiangdong blurted out.

"Mashou, the first priority of Chu State is to resist the attack of Qi, so these first batch of weapons should naturally be delivered to Cheng Wuben. As for future weapons, wherever you want to send them, we will naturally send them, and that's not our business." Ai Qian said seriously: "If Cheng Wuben cannot resist the attack of Qi in Jinghu, then Chu State will probably no longer exist. Where can we still have business to do? Do you think this is the reason?"

Ma Xiangdong was silent for a while, and finally nodded: "You are right. I will fight for this from His Majesty the Emperor. The first batch of weapons and equipment will be given to Cheng Wuben."

"That's great." Ai Qian nodded.

At night, Ai Qian walked out of the Prime Minister's residence with a smile. This trip was so perfect. It seemed that this Prime Minister was not a little worse than the governor of Changyang Ma County in the Ming Dynasty. He wanted to play with these tricks in front of Ma Xiangnan, but he was afraid that he would be sprayed with his face.

The Ming Dynasty is now preparing to start a large-scale maritime trade, while the silk, tea, and porcelain of Chu are the most profitable things overseas, but these things are not produced, but the Ming Dynasty does not. Even some of them cannot compete with them in terms of quality compared to the Chu State. Now, with this contract with the Chu State, the Ming Dynasty can get a large amount of goods at an extremely low price and then transport them overseas to make huge profits.

There is another side effect of this matter, that is, in order to obtain more silk, tea, porcelain, etc., the Chu State will inevitably increase its exploitation of these production areas and places. These places are the most prosperous places in Chu State. Excessive exploitation will make these places disinterested. As the basic foundation of Chu State, once these places are shaken, the foundation of Chu State's rule will begin to shake.

Salt is related to the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty. His Majesty the Emperor is ready to rectify the salt affairs, and once it starts, the domestic salt prices will inevitably fluctuate significantly. Although salt seems inconspicuous, it is something that everyone needs to eat every day. Seeing that everyone is using very little, the whole number is a very terrifying number. Getting low-priced salt from Chu State and putting it on the market at the appropriate time to stabilize the salt prices in the Ming Dynasty will make the rectification of domestic salt affairs less affected.

As a senior official of the Commerce Department, Ai Qian knew that His Majesty the Emperor had decided to take the salt affairs to the court and prohibit private reselling. The one who took over the salt affairs stall would be the Commerce Department. Next, the Commerce Department would become a brand new department, specializing in managing salt, and take all the profits to the court. Of course, the local government will also get a share of it.

The big show of this negotiation is naturally that Changlong Bank can enter Chu State and start operating. This is an important beginning for the Ming Dynasty to pass through Chu State. The reason why Taiping Bank is not used is because Taiping Bank's state-owned background is too eye-catching, and Changlong Bank, as a private share, is not so conspicuous.

Changlong will take away part of the taxes of Chu State every year with the guarantee of the Chu State's financial affairs. This is just an introduction. When the real money and silver of Chu State are transported into Changlong every year, Changlong's status in Chu State will be above any other private money house, and Chu State does not have a state-owned money house. This is a kind of credit, an endorsement that can reassure the people.

Changlong issued paper money from Ming Dynasty in Chu.

In other words, what was transported in was white silver and yellow gold, but what Changlong took out was colorful paper.

The real purpose of this business is to allow the Ming Dynasty banknotes to circulate openly in Chu State, and thus let the wealth of Chu State flow continuously to the Ming Dynasty without any hesitation.

Of course, selling weapons does make money. Moreover, although these special products produced by the Ming Dynasty specifically for export are very useful, their quality is much worse than those used by themselves. The master craftsmen of Taipingfang are very terrible. Some of the weapons they made such as crossbows can go through two or three battles, some may be reimbursed for just one battle, while others will be used longer, which will make the Chu people not pay attention to the quality problems. When they are used to using these weapons from the Ming Dynasty, they will ask for continuous purchase of the same weapons.
Chapter completed!