Chapter 141 The Difficulty of Being the Master, Partnering to Start a Big Business As Qin Zhen made a plan, organized the refugees, and decided on the location of the workshop, Liu Bei's army officially entered a period of development. For the policy of work-for-relief, Qin Zhen set the remuneration at two meals a day and two five-zhu coins. This approach naturally caused Liu Bei's confusion. After all, in Huainan now, grain is hard currency. Even if the money is distributed to the people, they have no use for it. It is better to keep it in their hands and use it to buy supplies elsewhere. But Qin Zhen’s explanation was that the food can be eaten for free, but the house cannot be used for free! They are building a workshop now and will have to recruit workers in the future. If they are not paid, they will not be able to motivate them. If these people return to farming next year after the natural disaster, they will have trained a group of skilled workers in vain. Therefore, from now on, we must formulate a good strategy for employing people, hire people to build houses, and let the people rent them with money. It's just a matter of changing hands, and the money will eventually flow into their hands. Moreover, according to his calculations, there are only a few able-bodied men and women among these refugees who can earn money. Even if the total number reaches hundreds of thousands, and half of them are employed, they can only make a few hundred thousand dollars a day. At most, it would cost about 10 or 20 million yuan a month, and if you are a little more frugal, even 10 million yuan would be enough.

All of these wouldn't be able to buy much if used to buy supplies, so it would be better to let them idle and build the most basic economic order. Liu Bei naturally didn't understand these principles, but out of trust in Qin Zhen, he didn't ask too many questions. However, Liu Bei did not ask, but Mi Zhu, the chief steward, came to see Qin Zhen several times. The reason is naturally very simple, mainly because they are worried that there will not be enough money and food. Because the reward Qin Zhen offered was too "high", the money and grain in their treasury might not be able to support it. In response to this, Qin Zhen looked at Mi Zhu with a puzzled look and said: "How much money and grain is left in the palace? How come 10 or 20 million is not enough for expenses?" Mi Zhu saw this and cried out in pain; "The military advisor really doesn't know how hard it is to be the boss!" "If it's 10 or 20 million, not to mention the money in the treasury, even I can take it out." "But if the military advisor wants to open this textile workshop, he will need a large amount of raw silk. Silk like this must be purchased from Jiangdong at a high price." "Not to mention whether we can buy raw silk, even if these peasant women weave silk, I'm afraid they won't be able to sell it for a high price!" "With such a scale, how long can our army hold out?" After listening to Mi Zhu's words, Qin Zhen immediately knew what this guy was worried about. It's not that the money in the treasury can't sustain it, but that they are afraid that he won't be able to earn back the money. Seeing this, he smiled at Mi Zhu and said: "Zi Zhong, don't you think that Zhen would do such a loss-making business?" "Since it is textile, it should be mainly hemp and kudzu. Find a small number of skilled women to weave Wu silk for sale to ensure that the refugees can survive this winter." "Next year is the time to make money!" Things like hemp and kudzu are made from some herbs and are not very expensive. They buy semi-finished products, which are much cheaper than finished products.

This is also Qin Zhen’s initial plan. Industries such as textiles and glass require large initial investments and long payback periods. Therefore, he planned to make money from the paper mill first, let the textile mill be responsible for its own profits and losses, and get the machines and factory buildings ready first. As for glass, it would probably take some time to develop it, so he didn't hold out hope. In the early stages, he used the refugees to build a furnace and conduct research. It was far from being as terrible as Mi Zhu had imagined. When Mi Zhu heard that Qin Zhen was not going to spend lavishly, he breathed a sigh of relief. But then he became worried again: "Although we are purchasing hemp and other things, these are cheap things. No one except the common people will use them." "When we make money next year, we will have to buy a lot of raw silk!" "It's not like we have to plant mulberry trees again next year and wait for the silkworms to start producing silk again." As he comes from a merchant family, he is more familiar with these things than Liu Bei. It would not be easy for Qin Zhen to fool him. However, Qin Zhen had no intention of fooling him, and immediately said with a smile: "I know what Zi Zhong is worried about, but purchasing raw silk is just a matter of interest. If our army wants to use it, we should switch to growing something else." "I wonder if Brother Zizhong knows that there is something called white silk?" "This thing may have another name, but I don't know it, but there should be a lot of it in Jiaozhou and Yizhou. It can produce cotton wool, similar to silk, and can be used to weave cloth." "Growing this is the way for our army to make money!" The so-called white cotton is the ancient name for cotton, but Qin Zhen doesn’t know what it is called now. But he was sure of one thing, that cotton had been introduced into the country during the Qin and Han dynasties. However, the route of cotton's spread was quite tortuous, divided into two routes, north and south. The first was introduced from India and other Southeast Asian countries, and its spread was limited to Jiaozhou and the south of Yizhou. The second route was from the Hexi Corridor, through the present-day Western Regions, and was used as an ornamental plant by scholars in the Central Plains during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was not until the Song Dynasty that it began to be used on a large scale. Therefore, if you want to get cotton in this era, you need to look for it in the south. As a businessman, Mi Zhu certainly has this way. But when Mi Zhu heard this, he frowned: "I have never heard of this thing, but is it really profitable?" It’s not that he didn’t believe in Qin Zhen, but the name Bai Lian was too unfamiliar and he was not sure whether he could make money. "Of course there is. Why would I lie to Zi Zhong?" Qin Zhen looked at Mi Zhu with a smile on his face and said: "Based on the current yield of mulberry fields, one mu of mulberry trees can only produce 50 to 60 kilograms of silk." "But one acre of this white cotton can produce two to three hundred kilograms!" "With such a multiple difference, how can you say there is no profit?" The jin he mentioned was naturally the Han jin, which was only about half a jin in modern times. In fact, the output of cotton is much higher than this figure. Even now when there is no chemical fertilizer, its economic benefits are far higher than silk. This is also the reason why he wants to build a textile workshop.

When Mi Zhu heard this, he was shocked and couldn't help but think that Qin Zhen was really knowledgeable. He, a businessman, had never heard of a plant like white silk, so where did Qin Zhen hear about it? If they could really produce two or three hundred kilograms of silk, they would naturally be able to make a lot of money. Even if they cannot seize the high-end market like Wu Juan and Shu Jin, they can still make a lot of money just by seizing the mid-range market. So after thinking for a moment, he nodded and said: "If there really is such a thing, I can help the military advisor find it." "But I still hope that the military advisor can be more frugal, otherwise our army will not be able to sustain itself financially." Qin Zhen was surprised to see him giving such a warning: "I still don't know how much money and food our army has left." "Why is Brother Zizhong so worried?" When Mi Zhu saw that he took the initiative to ask about money and grain, he started to settle the accounts with Qin Zhen. It turned out that since he had stored grain at Qin Zhen's request, he had spent a lot of money to store grain everywhere, and had pre-purchased a batch of old grain in Jingzhou, thus incurring a large amount of debt for Liu Bei. Afterwards, they captured Xincai and took out 8,000 jin of gold and more than 500 million five-zhu coins from Yuan Shu's treasury. Together with the money they already had in the army, the total was nearly 700 million coins. As a result, before he could even warm the money, Xuzhou started to demand payment. Mi Zhu had no choice but to take out more than 200 million yuan from the treasury to pay off the debt. Following Liu Bei's order, he took out 150 million yuan to hand over to Lu Bu. Half of it was used up in a blink of an eye. Liu Bei had to reward his troops and appease the surrendered generals. Each of the meritorious officials like Qin Zhen and Zhang Fei had to receive millions of dollars. In addition, there was the placement of disabled soldiers, the payment of salaries, and the purchase of various supplies, which cost nearly 200 million yuan in a short period of time. As a result, in such a huge city like Huainan, there is only a little over 100 million left in the treasury. This is the case when Mi Zhu did not withdraw his own capital. If he had been ruthless enough to withdraw the money he had used to store grain, their treasury would probably be empty right now. This is also the reason why Mi Zhu came to find Qin Zhen now. Seeing that there was still more than half a year left without any result, and now Qin Zhen was working on a project here, he felt quite uneasy. Don’t let it get to the point where he can’t even pay the salaries of his officials, because then he’ll be really helpless. So after he finished speaking, he looked at Qin Zhen and said: "Right now, the food and grass from Jingzhou have not yet arrived. If our army wants to cultivate land next year, we will still be short of a large number of oxen and farm tools. How can I not be worried?" In response to Mi Zhu's story, Qin Zhen sighed slightly. I thought to myself that one who doesn’t manage the household doesn’t know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are. He thought the money and food would be enough to support him for a while, but he didn't expect the financial situation to be so bad. However, after Mi Zhu roughly explained it, he had a general idea in his mind and couldn't help but smile: "So, Zi Zhong is now supporting our military finances with the strength of his family!"

"I admire this noble act very much!" Mi Zhu saw this and sighed: "This is what we should do when serving our lord!" He knew that he was on a pirate ship, and Liu Bei was his brother-in-law, so he could only grit his teeth and endure. But as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen laughed again: "But Zizhong's method is not advisable, although the current situation in Huainan is indeed difficult." "But I won't bankrupt Zi Zhong. I will pay back all the money I borrowed from him before!" Hearing Qin Zhen's words, Mi Zhu suddenly became anxious, wondering why this guy was acting so cute after getting the advantage. It turns out that he was wrong not to withdraw his own money! Is it correct to empty the treasury? So when he heard it, he said unhappily: "If you follow what the military advisor says, I will go back and take out the money, and then tell the lord that the treasury is empty, what do you think?" "Of course this won't work!" Seeing that Mi Zhu was unhappy, Qin Zhen put his hands behind his back and smiled: "What I said is not that I blame Zi Zhong for helping me, but I am afraid that Zi Zhong's good deeds will be misunderstood by others!" "Although Zi Zhong is related to the Lord, and supports our army so vigorously." "But the distinction between public and private must be clear, and they cannot be mixed." "For example, the government is short of money and grain now. Brother Zizhong should have raised the capital at the very beginning." "The treasury will be empty, but we don't know this now!" "If we knew about it sooner, we could solve the problem sooner, and Zi Zhong wouldn't have to bear such a heavy burden." "Now, my lord and I know that most of the money and grain in the treasury belongs to Zizhong, but in the eyes of others, it is public property." "Not to mention now, even if Zi Zhong takes it out in the future, it will cause misunderstanding." "Zi Zhong is an important official and a relative of the lord, so he must pay attention to this matter and not get mixed up!" "Lest our army be harmed by villains again after we succeed in the future!" In fact, this is where the bad things about the Mi brothers come from. They cannot distinguish between public and private, and always think that making sacrifices is a good thing. In the early days, Mi Zhu was determined to help Liu Bei succeed, so he put his entire fortune on the line. Liu Bei also trusted him quite a bit and put Mi Zhu in charge of all matters concerning money and grain. When the scale was small and Mi Zhu was the only financial backer, this kind of management was naturally feasible. Now, with more and more resources in the government, if we continue to fail to distinguish between public and private affairs, big problems will easily arise. After all, the position of managing the treasury is a very special one, and it is extremely easy to cause conflicts of interest. If you don't make the distinction now, when your power grows stronger in the future and you take money from the treasury again, you will be easily criticized. In the original story, the reason why Mi Fang surrendered to the State of Wu was probably because he secretly sold military supplies and equipment and was afraid of being blamed by Guan Yu.

But if the Mi family could preserve their strength, it wouldn't have to come to that point. Now he has a pretty good relationship with Mi Zhu, so seeing him suffer such a loss, he naturally has to say something. When Mi Zhu heard this, he knew that Qin Zhen had good intentions, and he sighed: "Military Advisor, what you said is not wrong. It is Mr. Zhu who is worried. But now that things have come to this, what can we do?" After giving Liu Bei some food as a reward this time, he finally emptied the Mi family. Now that he couldn't pull it out, he naturally felt uncomfortable. Seeing him asking this question, Qin Zhen lowered his head and smiled: "I wonder if Brother Zizhong still remembers that a few months ago I said I would do something good for you by the end of the year?" When Mi Zhu heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he remembered that it seemed to be true. But at that time he just thought that it was just empty talk from Qin Zhen, and since there was no follow-up news, he didn't care much about it. I didn't expect Qin Zhen to bring it up at this time. Could it be that he could return his money to him? Thinking of this, he felt a glimmer of hope and nodded quickly: "Of course I remember, but it's not the end of the year yet, so it's hard to ask!" "I don't know what mission the military advisor is talking about. Can you tell me directly?" "What a coincidence! I was planning to wait until next year to use it!" Qin Zhen said to Mi Zhu with a mysterious look on his face: "But now that Brother Zizhong has lost all his money, I can't bear it." "How about this? I'll be the boss and use Zi Zhong's capital as shares, and we can start a big business together!" Mi Zhu thought Qin Zhen was going to say something good, but when he heard this, he said bitterly: "Military Advisor, are you deceiving me? Even if I become a shareholder, how much can I earn from selling paper and cloth?" He thought Qin Zhen wanted him to invest in the workshop, so he had no interest. But as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Qin Zhen approaching him and whispered: "I have a method for drying salt. We can use seawater to make salt. Zizhong wants to invest in it and split the profits with my army 30:70. What do you think?" Hearing this, Mi Zhu's body suddenly stiffened, and he looked at Qin Zhen in disbelief and said: "What did you say, military advisor? Do you have a method for drying sea salt?" This time, even though he was once a wealthy man, he couldn't help but be stunned on the spot. (End of this chapter)