Song Chu: Dad, if you don't work hard, how can I just lie down and relax?

Chapter 65 The Burmese Model? The Northern Song Model

"Why not let your second brother get involved in the collaboration?"

Wang Jun and Liu Hou'er went to pick up the people, and Wang Lu took the opportunity to ask Zhao Guangmei.

"The Second King is now the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guard, responsible for the rewards and punishments of the entire Palace Guard. Since the military is going to engage in business, cooperating with him is very suitable."

"You just invested today, and you've already kicked out all the people he brought in through connections, and you're not letting him participate in the day-to-day operations of the military's business. Aren't you going to offend him terribly?"

Zhao Guangmei chuckled and said, "Why do you make it sound like my second brother is a petty person?"

Wang Lu: "…………"

"I finally want to do things on my own, why should he interfere? He can be his official, I can do my business, why do we have to get involved?"

"I'm just afraid that the Second King might harbor resentment."

Zhao Guangmei didn't take it to heart, and simply smiled:

"We're brothers, born of the same mother. There's no need for such trouble. Why would my second brother hold a grudge against me? Would he resent me because of those outsiders? Don't worry about it."

Wang Lu: "…………"

This is already too much to say; if he says it again, he'll be seen as an outsider trying to sow discord between brothers.

But on second thought, Zhao Guangyi was a beast with no humanity to begin with. What good was it if Zhao Guangmei had a good relationship with his brother? The key was to have enough power to make him wary and prevent him from getting involved in the factory's affairs. That might be the right thing to do.

[My poor father! He'll probably have a hard time back in the Imperial Guard. But it's alright, he's my father. He can suffer a little for his son; it's a father's responsibility to endure hardship for him.]

As they were talking, Wang Jun also invited Zhang Mei over. After exchanging greetings with Zhao Guangmei, Zhang Mei glanced at Li Shoujie, smiled and nodded. It was unclear whether Li Shoujie recognized her or could guess who she was. Wang Jun simply introduced her as a friend from Hedong who supplied coal and alum.

"What brings Grand Commandant Zhang here?"

"I heard from the Emperor that the Third Prince intends to invest in the workshops and partner with Brother Zhaoyuan to engage in military-merchant activities. As the Minister of the Three Departments of the Imperial Court, it is my duty to oversee salt, iron, and taxation."

Therefore, I have come to inquire about the operational methods of this military-run business. Do they pay taxes to the imperial court? And do these taxes also go through the Salt and Iron Bureau? Ah, these must be the products produced by the workshops.”

As she spoke, Zhang Mei didn't stand on ceremony at all. She quickly went over and picked up the scattered iron pots, shovels, hoes, and other items to examine them one by one, even tapping them with her fingers. She was also greatly surprised.

Although he had informants planted within the factory, they couldn't get their hands on actual production samples. Besides, hearsay was just hearsay; now that he had personally handled these things, it was naturally different. He looked at Zhao Guangmei and said with utmost seriousness:

"Your Majesty, these iron artifacts are the very foundation of our Great Song Dynasty. They are no longer a matter for the Emperor's family. I hope Your Majesty will treat them with utmost care."

To be frank, he was still somewhat worried that Zhao Guangmei was young and inexperienced and unreliable. If Zhao Guangmei could not give him a satisfactory answer today, he would definitely go to Zhao Kuangyin again to advise him that this matter should not be handed over to this child under any circumstances.

This factory, by all accounts, should be handed over to the three companies for management.

Seeing Zhang Mei's serious expression, Zhao Guangmei scratched her head somewhat awkwardly and said, "To be honest, we haven't discussed the specifics yet. Uncle Wang, Second Brother, how can you teach me?"

Zhang Mei looked at Wang Jun, and Zhao Guangmei followed suit. Wang Jun pointed at Wang Lu and said, "I'm only good at making things, not these things. You can ask him."

Zhang Mei was quite surprised to see this, since he had only dealt with Wang Jun and had never met Wang Lu. Zhao Guangmei, on the other hand, was much more at ease and naturally turned to Wang Lu for advice.

Wang Lu: "Come inside, have some tea, and let's chat while we drink."

Wang Lu led everyone into the house. Han Ling'er, Pan Wu, and the others knew they were about to discuss important matters, so they wisely refrained from following. Only Li Shouzhen shamelessly followed behind and entered the house together.

Zhang Mei glanced back at him with some surprise, wondering why a supplier from Hedong would follow her. Li Shouzhen lowered his head, pretending to be shameless, and without even looking at Zhang Mei, he forced his way into the office and even found himself a seat.

Zhao Guangmei picked up a rabbit hat from the table and laughed, "This hat looks really cute! What kind of fur is it? Is it really rabbit fur?"

"It's made of fox fur. The two pendants hanging down have air sacs inside. If you squeeze them, the rabbit's ears will move."

Zhao Guangmei tried pinching it, and sure enough, the ear moved. She was overjoyed: "Interesting, interesting! Did Sister Ling'er make this?"

"This was made by Sister Ling'er herself. My dad and I rarely come here, so this office is for Sister Ling'er to use. It's her only hobby. My dad designed this airbag-eared rabbit hat for her."

"Our Song Dynasty rabbits have short fur, so I specially asked someone to get this. It's a top-quality silver fox fur, a tribute from the Jurchens, for Sister Ling'er to play with. If you like it, brother, take this hat with you, so they won't be showing off their love in front of me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guangmei quickly put the hat back and said with a smile, "Since it's your parents' personal item, I wouldn't dare take it."

Wang Lu rolled his eyes at him, knowing that the word "mother" was a joke, and said, "Let's get down to business. Come, Grand Commandant, Brother Li, have some tea."

As he spoke, Wang Lu personally poured tea for Zhang Mei and Li Shouzhen, and even added a flower on top. Having been in this world for so long, he had already learned the basics of tea preparation.

"What about mine? What about mine?" Zhao Guangmei leaned over and sat down.

"Pour it yourself," Wang Lu said, pushing the teapot towards him.

"Hehe." Zhao Guangmei continued to laugh, pouring herself tea without even offering any flowers. She picked it up and drank it in large gulps, finishing it in one go. Then she exclaimed, "Tell me quickly, how do you use the army for business?"

Wang Lu: "Actually, there are four types of military business, which are not completely isolated from each other. How to do it specifically depends on you and the government to discuss."

Which four?

"The first type is the model of individual soldiers engaging in scattered business, which I call the Burmese model."

"What a lousy name."

"It's just a name, and it's easy to remember."

"Whether you listen to me or not, I'll just call you that, I like it."

"Fine, fine, call me whatever you want."

"The so-called Burmese model is to have soldiers set up stalls to sell goods, run short-distance transport, act as bodyguards or day laborers for wealthy people, or work in taverns and teahouses when they are not training. Most of the money they earn is for themselves, and a small portion is given to officers as tribute."

"The biggest advantage of this model is that it saves military spending; it even allows us to not pay the soldiers' salaries."

The military camp was essentially a large guild, and the officers were like the guild leaders, making it easier for them to compete with ordinary civilians without military status for jobs, and also making it convenient for the military to help them collect their wages.

"If things develop well, officers can also lease out soldiers as laborers to merchants, powerful families, and wealthy households, and the officers can directly collect rent or brokerage fees."

Zhao Guangmei frowned and said, "How can soldiers like these fight a war?"

"It saves money! You haven't even spent money to maintain the army, and you expect them to be able to fight? As long as they're a little stronger than ordinary local militia, that's fine."

"That's true, but our Great Song Dynasty doesn't need soldiers like that, nor is it willing to save money on them. Tell me the second option."

"hehe."

Wang Lu just smiled and didn't say anything.

Actually, calling this model the Burmese model isn't quite accurate; calling it the Northern Song model would be more appropriate.