Valley Emperor

People who are engaged in finance in the empire are beaten by everyone, and those who are engaged in trade are actually not much better. Although they also play the role of economic lubricants, in people's minds, they are just a group of speculators.

The social status is honestly not good!

Well, except for the more than 30 overseas trading companies that still exist in the current empire!

In the early years of the empire, there were more than 100 overseas trading companies, because the establishment of new trading companies was never approved. Later, it also hindered the adequacy of trading companies and the introduction of investors, which led to the slow reduction of the number of overseas trading companies.

Why do these overseas trading companies have a high status, because what they do is not ordinary business!

These overseas trading companies with their own armed merchant ships, armed caravans, and doing business in the indigenous control area can be regarded as unofficial and official representatives to some extent. Behind them is the empire, which is responsible for the empire's business in some indigenous areas. Missions for diplomacy, expansion, localization, etc.

However, the West Sea Trading Company is obviously not included in this list. They do not have an overseas trade license. Without this license, it means that they cannot form armed merchant ships, armed caravans and indigenous countries, and the tribes deal directly.

In fact, this is also the reason why there are many people who started out in trade and turned to other industries after they became big. A few of Zuo Chengsheng's previous partners, didn't it mean that three of them all rushed to join the industry.

After arriving in Shanghai, Zuo Chengsheng also tried to contact them. Unfortunately, only one was contacted. As for the other two, one was bankrupt and jumped into the river, the other was said to be frustrated and immigrated to the Americas. A trade that went to India also didn't come to an end.

Hearing the fate of his former partner also made Zuo Chengsheng sigh.

This business is very dangerous.

I don't know if I can go all the way smoothly.

Zuo Chengsheng is actually a little worried about entering the oil refining industry this time. This oil refining industry is different from ordinary industries. Its investment is not much, and it is restricted by upstream oil companies and the Ministry of Commerce.

This industry is potentially lucrative, but it is also very restrictive, and if you are not careful, you will get into big trouble.

Ordinary businessmen can't do it at all.

Zuo Chengsheng has been in the kerosene business for a long time and became familiar with the industry, and then he joined the Royal Oil Company and the Imperial Oil Company.

The West Sea Refinery Company is wholly owned by the West Sea Trading Company, and in the West Sea Trading Company, he actually holds only 30% of the shares, while the Royal Oil Company and the Imperial Oil Company each hold 40% of the shares. .

That is to say, Zuo Chengsheng is no longer able to control the West Sea Trading Company, but this does not affect his becoming the general manager of the company, because the two oil companies still trust him and are willing to support him in taking charge of the West Sea Trading Company. .

With the help of these two oil companies, many other obstacles that are insurmountable for ordinary businessmen are not a problem for Xihai Oil Refining Company.

For example, the procurement of oil refining equipment.

Today, there are only a few companies that can produce complete sets of oil refining in China and have relevant patented technologies, all of which are subsidiaries of Royal Petroleum Corporation!

Of course, other oil companies can also purchase these equipment, but there are so many orders now that they can only wait slowly.

However, Xihai Refinery's oil refining equipment orders are given priority to supply.

Zuo Chengsheng just arrived in Shanghai, and the factory in Ningbo has not yet been established. The machinery company sent a telegram saying that the first set of oil refining equipment had already been sent, and they were asked to carry out preliminary assembly tests, etc. .

This kind of convenience, but other new oil refiners do not have.

After receiving this kind of good news, Zuo Chengsheng rushed to Ningbo without stopping, urging the construction company to speed up the construction progress of the workshop, and don't wait for the equipment to arrive without even a workshop.

When Zuo Chengsheng was busy with his oil refining business, in August of the 36th year of Xuanping, the second page of the Datang Chaobao also reported a news that attracted the attention of many people.

That is the decree of the Son of Heaven, the Minister of Commerce, and Chen Lifu, who walks in the imperial study, enters the imperial study and is on duty!

After the news was widely distributed in the Tang Dynasty newspaper, it immediately caused a sensation in the world!

This kind of sensation is not only because of the changes in the personnel of the ministers on duty in the imperial study. In fact, over the years, in fact, every one or two years, there are people who quit the imperial study as a power center because of various reasons. Someone enters, so every one or two years someone becomes the new minister on duty in the imperial study.

Although the personnel changes of the ministers on duty in the imperial study have a great impact, they have come every one or two years over the years, and sometimes there are even multiple people entering at the same time, so most people are used to it.

But Chen Lifu is different!

He was the first traditional official to become the minister on duty in the imperial study!

Before Chen Lifu, there were generally three types of ministers on duty in the imperial study of the Tang Empire~www.wuxiaspot.com~ One is military generals, needless to say.

The other is the founding veterans, such as Liu Bagou and Qian Mengjiu, who were the earliest civil servants from Long.

The third type is during the rise of the empire, from the officials of the dragon and the talents trained by the empire after the unification of China.

The above three types of people have a common feature, that is, they are not from a traditional gentry or an aristocratic family, regardless of whether they are military generals or Liu Bagou or others, most of them have nothing to do with traditional gentry, but A new generation of dignitaries who rose with the rise of empires.

But as for Chen Lifu, everyone knows that he is from a scholarly family, a former Ming jinshi!

Even in the former Ming Dynasty, when it comes to a three-class scholar, many people will immediately think of the Jinling East Chen family in their minds.

Chen Lifu went from the place of the dragon, because of his status as a gentry, he turned around and ran to do taxation, and he did it very hard, and won the reputation of a Chen Rentu. At that time, his reputation was in the gentry class, especially in Jiangnan. It stinks in the gentry class.

At one point, even his former teachers, classmates, friends, and even relatives broke up with him, and even his eldest son was returned the marriage certificate.

However, Chen Lifu acted on his own accord, and the more he was afraid, the higher he became. Later, no one would scold him, and more and more people came to fawn over him.

When he became the governor of Guangdong, and then was promoted to the left servant of the Ministry of Commerce, this infamy would naturally disappear. Instead, many people began to hope that Chen Lifu would go further and speak out for the traditional gentry.

Unfortunately, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Many traditional gentry hoped that Chen Lifu would speak up for the traditional gentry, but Chen Lifu basically ignored them.

Focus on business affairs and develop business.

In the end, the traditional gentry also completely despaired of him.