Phi-Fic Chapter 622 Lü Dai Deceives Mi Wei
Chapter 622 Lü Dai Deceives Mi Wei
Even robbery has to be selective. Lü Dai had no psychological burden when robbing other people, but he was somewhat hesitant to rob the Crown Prince.
After all, His Highness the Crown Prince has the Marquis of Shence, who specializes in coming up with terrible ideas like tomb raiding. If he holds a grudge against him for this and suddenly attacks him, he might not be able to handle it.
Although the Crown Prince had already earned back the 20,000 strings of cash he lost by robbing the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, that was money earned through the Marquis's own abilities and had nothing to do with him. He couldn't refuse to repay the money just because the Marquis had made money elsewhere; that's not how things are done.
Therefore, there is only one way to secure the sugar factory assets and prevent His Highness the Crown Prince from seeking recourse: help Mi Wei rebuild the sugar factory.
However, whether this matter can be accomplished depends on Mi Wei's willingness. If Mi Wei does not agree, then we will have to think of other ways.
Mi Wei quickly replied, "Please enlighten me, Your Excellency."
Lü Dai stroked his beard and said, "We are about to attack Funan, which will soon become Han territory. In that case, General, why don't you rebuild a sugar factory in Funan?"
"I believe that building a factory in Funan is more advantageous than in Jiaozhou. First of all, Funan's terrain is mainly plains. Once you cross the Shiwan Mountains, the land is flat, making it convenient to plant and transport sugarcane."
"Secondly, Funan's climate is more suitable for growing sugarcane than Jiaozhou. With enough sugarcane, you can produce as much sugar as you want, right?"
"Finally, building a factory in Funan doesn't have to comply with the newly promulgated Labor Law of the Imperial Court. Not only are there no restrictions on working hours, but the workers' wages are also low, and it's not a problem if they aren't paid at all. Isn't that a huge saving? Savings are earnings."
After Liu Bei ascended the throne, he issued a special decree to encourage the gentry to build factories. However, building factories was not something that could be done at will, but rather subject to certain conditions and restrictions. First of all, there were restrictions on working hours. The Labor Law stipulated that workers should work four hours a day, and in case of emergency, they could not work more than five hours. They also had to rest for one day every ten days.
Secondly, there are wages. Workers' monthly wages must not be less than 800 baht, depending on the local cost of living. Overtime pay is also required, with double pay on rest days and triple pay on public holidays. Anyone who violates this rule will be fined, and the amount of the fine is enough to make the boss feel the pinch.
This set of "Labor Law" was naturally proposed by that scoundrel Shencehou. The initial draft of the "Labor Law" set seven days as a week, with five working days and two rest days per week, and no more than four hours of work per day. The reason given was that workers also need rest and need to have their own lives.
However, after this first draft was published, it was met with unanimous opposition from the court. Working four hours a day and resting for two days after working five days? Are you kidding me? Am I hiring workers or rich people?
Under the strong arguments of the court officials, Liu Bei had no choice but to compromise, setting ten days as a week with one day off each week. Although the working hours remained four hours a day, the removal of restrictions left a lot of room for maneuver. As a result, those unscrupulous bosses would definitely dare to extend the working hours to six hours or more.
But even with more room for maneuver, it's not as good as not having a Labor Law at all. Without a Labor Law, bosses can exploit you however they want, which would be so great.
Mi Wei was intrigued by this, but hesitated and said, "That's true, but the problem is that my sugar is meant to be sold in the Han Dynasty. If we build a factory in Funan, we'll have to cross the Hundred Thousand Mountains to transport it to the Han Dynasty, which would be too expensive."
In the current poor transportation environment, the biggest cost for businesses is transportation costs, because they not only have to deal with terrible road conditions, but also have to face the constant threat of robbery by bandits. A slight mistake can lead to losses, so the shorter the transportation distance, the better.
Lu Dai continued to persuade him, "General Mi, you are not an ordinary merchant but an official of the Eastern Palace and the heir of the Duke of Yue. How can your vision be limited to business? You need to think long-term and plan for the future."
"Think about it, right now, isn't your company the only one in the sugar-making business? If that's the case, won't all the gentry and merchants of the Han Dynasty come to you to buy sugar?"
Mi Wei nodded and said, "That's true for now, but the future is uncertain."
Lü Dai laughed and said, "Let's just say it's temporary. For now, you, the seller, have the upper hand. You can let your customers come to Funan to pick up the goods themselves. If these customers find the roads difficult to travel, they can pay for road repairs, or donate money to me and I will be responsible for repairing the roads. At that time, you will not only sell white sugar, but also repair the road from Funan to the Great Han, strengthening the court's control over Funan. This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people and will benefit future generations."
The Ten Thousand Mountains are a natural barrier between the Great Han and Funan, and the biggest obstacle for the Great Han to control Funan. The only way to break through this barrier and solve this obstacle is to build a road. But building a road costs money. Who would be willing to spend money to do such a thankless task when there is no profit to be made?
But with the sugar factory, things changed. Road construction went from being a purely charitable endeavor to becoming profitable. With profits to be made, the Han court, local gentry, and even barbarian tribes would flock to it. Moreover, if this road were truly completed, it would be a great achievement for Lü Dai.
Lü Dai racked his brains to securely put Liu Shan's sugar factory assets into his pocket.
Seeing Mi Wei frowning and struggling in thought, Lü Dai continued to coax him, "Building a factory requires manpower, and Funan is not yet pacified and needs troops to protect it. So, I'll make the decision and give you half of the remnants of Shi Hui's army that your second uncle seized. You can do whatever you want in Funan, how about that?"
The remnants of Shi Hui's army are also an important asset, and Mi Fang cannot embezzle them all. At least half of them must be used to support Mi Wei.
No matter what, Mi Wei is Mi Fang's nephew. How could he not help his own nephew?
After thinking it over, Mi Wei said, "It's possible, but I'm out of money. How can we build a sugar factory without even start-up capital?"
After all that talk, we've come full circle back to money. Lü Dai said, "That's easy. Just write a letter to His Highness the Crown Prince and ask for some more money. His Highness has been quite generous lately."
He then recounted to Mi Wei the story of Liu Shan and Guan Xing robbing the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, leaving Mi Wei speechless and exclaiming, "You can do that?"
Lu Dai urged, "Forget about His Highness's affairs, just tell me whether you're going to do it or not."
Mi Wei immediately said, "Let's do as Lord Lü says. I want to build the largest sugar factory in the Han Dynasty in Funan, so that all the red and white sugar in the world will come from me."
Lu Dai patted his shoulder and laughed, "No problem. After we capture Funan and seize the city's wealth, I will lend you five thousand strings of cash as start-up capital for the sugar factory. Remember, it's a loan, so you have to pay me back, and you'll have to pay some interest."
Mi Wei was so angry he almost cursed. "You old bastard, you stole my money and then lent it back to me, and you even want to charge me interest! Have you no shame?"
As it turns out, face is worthless in the face of money.
After finalizing the loan agreement with Mi Wei, Lü Dai returned to camp to rest. After seven days of rest, once the first batch of grain from the district arrived, he immediately led his troops into the heart of Funan.
With King Fan Shiman of Funan captured, the remaining areas naturally offered no resistance. Faced with Lü Dai's military might, the low city walls within Funan, which were not even as good as those in remote counties of the Han Dynasty, were as fragile as paper and could be easily breached. As a result, the various places in Funan were quickly defeated and surrendered without resistance at the mere sight of Lü Dai.
Lü Dai led his army with unstoppable momentum and soon arrived at the city walls of Funan.