Wusong River, on a luxurious ship.

Young Master Zhao was still dressed like a boy in a straw hat, but the two kings just thought that he was unconventional and had the demeanor of a celebrity, and did not think it was rude at all.

There is no other way. People who are rich and powerful can have beauty functions built-in.

What's more, although Zhao Hao was dressed in vulgar clothes, his demeanor and tone were still as elegant as before.

"I am extremely grateful that you two agree with my willfulness." He was referring to what Zhao Shouzheng had just announced to the people of the entire county, that remuneration would be paid for the second phase of the project.

"What are you saying, sir? We have already earned so much, it is only right that we share some of it with the people." After all, Wang Shimao was from the Wang family of Langya, so his words were very classy.

I just don't know whether it was what he really thought or just for show.

After all, compared to the little money spent, it is less worthwhile to upset Mr. Zhao.

"Yes, sir." Wang Mengxiang also smiled generously: "The company is going to take root in Kunshan. Let the people benefit a little, and we will get more benefits!"

"Uncle, you have a good idea!" Zhao Hao gave a thumbs up and praised him. He asked Xu Weizhi, who was on duty today, to bring the map.

Then Zhao Hao drew a triangle with Hangzhou, Shanghai and Jiangyin as the three points, and explained to the two men: "Please look, this triangle in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River includes the six prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou. These six prefectures together contribute one-third of the taxes of the Ming Dynasty, which can be said to be the richest place in the world."

"Yes." The two listened to Master Zhao talking about macro-strategy, and they leaned forward and listened attentively, fearing that they would miss a single word and miss the opportunity to improve themselves.

"These six prefectures are the Jiangnan region in a narrow sense. Not only are they the richest, they are also highly interconnected and integrated. I call them the 'Yangtze River Delta' - the golden triangle area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River!"

"Yangtze River Delta?" The two Wangs widened their eyes. This was indeed a fresh perspective they had never thought of.

"Whoever controls the Yangtze River Delta will control the lifeline of the Ming Dynasty's economy." Zhao Hao said calmly, "This is also the company's long-term goal."

"Hiss..." The second king gasped. Wang Mengxiang slapped his thigh and said with wide eyes, "Young Master named the company 'Jiangnan Company'. So this is what he meant."

"What a grand ambition!" Wang Shimao suddenly felt that this was much more interesting than being an official.

Seeing the two people's restless looks, Zhao Hao thought, I haven't even talked about 'the economic base determines the superstructure' yet...

Of course, he would never say it out loud for at least ten years.

~~

On the big ship, Zhao Hao revealed Jiangnan Company's ambitions to the two directors for the first time.

In fact, the way he set up Jiangnan Company was very different from Xishan Company.

When establishing Xishan Company, Zhao Hao first proposed the concept of "company" and meticulously formulated the "Articles of Association". He also publicly raised shares, held shareholders' meetings, elected the board of directors and the board of supervisors, and appointed the management.

The daily operation of the company is also required to be meticulously followed in accordance with the Articles of Association, and to hold regular board meetings to discuss major company matters. The Board of Supervisors supervises the board of directors and management at all times to prevent malfeasance and corruption.

It can be said that he ran Xishan Company in full accordance with the company system that was perfected in later generations.

When I arrived at Jiangnan Company, I thought that the system should be more perfect and the decision-making should be more transparent.

However, on the contrary, this time Mr. Zhao took a big step backwards and completely threw the modern corporate system behind his back. He totally ignored the opinions of small shareholders and openly practiced one-man rule, which was no different from the traditional businesses at that time.

The reason was very simple - Zhao Hao knew that he would not be based in Beijing permanently, so he wanted Xishan Company to be institutionalized and formalized as soon as possible, and embark on the path of a self-developed and self-disciplined public company. Only in this way could the interests of him, a major shareholder far away in Jiangnan, be guaranteed to the greatest extent.

Zhao Hao has set Jiangnan as his future base camp, and plans to work hard here personally. Naturally, he has to ensure that his power will not be boycotted for a long period of time, so that he can devote himself to the cause.

For this reason, he had no plan to publicly issue shares of Jiangnan Company. The shareholders he brought in were all natural allies with close relationships, and their role was to act as an umbrella for the company in its early stages to prevent it from being coveted by others.

But Zhao Hao absolutely did not want them to interfere with his absolute right to speak, and for this reason he even resorted to mysticism to promote shareholders' personal worship of him...

To put it bluntly, he wanted Xishan Company to have many different voices, so he adopted the "Xishan Model". He wanted Jiangnan Company to have only one voice, so he changed to the "Jiangnan Model", that's all.

People always choose the way that is beneficial to themselves, not the most advanced way.

This makes perfect sense.

~~

"As the saying goes, 'make plans before you act, and know when to stop before you gain success'. If we want to conquer this area, we must first study it carefully, understand it clearly, and then designate a feasible plan and execute it step by step."

Zhao Hao said to the second king in a deep voice: "This region has characteristics different from the rest of the country. Traditional agriculture has taken a back seat in the Yangtze River Delta. People are planting less and less rice in their fields, and are replacing them with more and more mulberry trees and cotton. This is because the prosperity of the silk and cotton textile industries in the Yangtze River Delta has allowed people to get higher returns by planting cash crops."

"At the same time, the serious mergers in Jiangnan caused more than 90% of the people to lose their land. These farmers who left their land continued to pour into the cities and became practitioners of industry and commerce, promoting the further prosperity of the industry. When industry and commerce developed to a certain extent, division of labor emerged. In fact, the entire Yangtze River Delta region has completed the primary division of labor, which is why I regard it as a whole."

"Yes." Wang Mengxiang agreed and said, "What you said is true, the silk weaving industry in Suzhou and Hangzhou, the cotton spinning industry in Songjiang, and the silk reeling industry in Jiaxing and Huzhou provide raw silk for the silk weaving industry, and Changzhou is a distribution center for grain."

"Therefore, the Jiangnan region needs a commercial center to provide a platform for trade for all prefectures and counties." Zhao Hao pointed to the center of the triangle and said:

"And Suzhou is located in the center of the Yangtze River Delta, so it is natural that it has become the center of Jiangnan and the most prosperous city in the Ming Dynasty!"

He sighed and said, "But precisely because of this, Suzhou City is not suitable as the base camp of Jiangnan Company."

"Why is this?" Wang Shimao was a little puzzled. If one wants to control a place, shouldn't one control the most prosperous city?"

"Because Suzhou City is too prosperous, there are too many constraints, and the space left for us is too small." Zhao Hao said with a faint smile: "So I chose to avoid Suzhou City and buy the bottom in Kunshan County!"

"Buying the bottom in Kunshan?" Wang Mengxiang savored it carefully, his eyes gradually brightened and he said, "What a great idea! 'Buying the bottom', wonderful! Sir, you have a brilliant idea. Our Jiangnan Company has the best timing, location and people. How can it not prosper?"

ps. Sorry everyone, I rested my eyes today and started working in the afternoon. I have only written two chapters so far, and I started crying again...not because I was moved.