Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Lu Buwei nodded, and said straight to the point: "Just tell me, what is the reason you came to see me today?"

Zhou Dongzheng smiled slightly, and said to Lu Buwei: "That's right. I heard that I can't recruit people. I'm worried about how to recover the cost of 7 million yuan in the future. I happen to have an idea to solve this problem for the minister."

Lu Buwei smiled and said, "Then tell me your idea."

Today's Ministry of Communications is actually a new state. Lu Buhui, as the Minister of Communications, is a little at a loss. At this point in time, he doesn't mind listening to anyone's opinions, as long as this opinion can help Lu Buwei make political achievements. That's fine.

After all, Lu Buwei's eyes are not only on the position of minister, he also wants to take the position of prime minister.

Zhou Dongzheng nodded with a smile and said: "In fact, it is like this. Our Datong Coal Group has always wanted to open up the market on the Imperial City side. After all, the Imperial City side is the most important market for coal consumption in the entire Han Kingdom. "

Lu Buwei nodded, motioning for the other party to continue talking.

Coal is actually a newly emerging energy source. It was quietly used by Zhao Kuo about ten years ago, from the north of Zhao State, and gradually spread to the whole territory of Zhao State until now.

Originally, coal was only a kind of energy that everyone used to burn in winter and convenient for heating.

Therefore, it is a relatively seasonal thing. It is in great demand in winter, but in other seasons that are not considered cold, the sales of coal are basically no one cares about.

However, with the advent of the steam engine, this situation changed.

As a machine, the steam engine of course needs energy supply, and the energy supply is coal.

With a steady stream of coal, the steam engine can continuously produce energy through combustion.

With the continuous use of various steam engines, the demand for coal in this market has also begun to increase significantly.

It is precisely because of this that the stock price of Datong Coal Group on the stock exchange has also risen all the way recently, and it is known as the most noteworthy star stock this year.

Lu Buwei was an outstanding businessman before, and can even be said to be one of the best businessmen in the world. Now Lu Buwei also runs three groups listed on the stock exchange through the power of his family. Of course he knows these things well.

Zhou Dongzheng continued with a smile: "Recently, the demand for coal in the imperial capital is getting bigger and bigger, but you know, my lord minister, that once the mountains are blocked by heavy snow in winter, the road will be difficult. Therefore, transporting coal has become extremely difficult.

Originally, our Datong Coal Group also had a plan for this, that is, to stock up more coal in the warehouse during autumn and summer.

But in this way, this method is actually only a temporary solution, not a permanent cure.

We urgently need a way to transport coal on a large scale in winter, but there is no such way in the current society. We were already a little desperate, until yesterday I tried to take your majesty's train, and suddenly It was found that that is what our Datong Coal Group urgently needs at present. "

Having said this, Lu Buwei certainly understood what the other party meant, and said in a deep voice, "So you want us to help you carry coal by train, right?"

Zhou Dongzheng smiled and said, "Exactly.

In fact, we store a large amount of coal in Daliang City, because Daliang City is the most convenient place for cargo distribution in the Central Plains south of the Yellow River.

If the railway can be used to transport coal between Daliang City and Imperial Capital City in winter, then this transportation problem can be greatly alleviated. "

At this moment, Lu Buwei felt that he had completely understood the meaning of Datong Coal Group.

Datong is located in the north of the Taihang Mountains, hundreds of miles away from the Central Plains. It is actually quite troublesome to transport coal from there.

So, these Datong Coal Group people are very smart.

Instead of passing through the Central Plains, it passed through the south of the desert from the west, first transported to Jiuyuan County in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and then went down from Jiuyuan County along the Yellow River all the way to Daliang City.

Finally, from Daliang City as a general wholesale market, these commodities are wholesaled to all corners of the Central Plains, so that coal can be transported to all needed markets at the fastest speed.

After thinking for a while, Lu Buwei suddenly asked a question: "If this is the case, then why don't you just transport the ship all the way to the Imperial Capital City?"

You must know that the Imperial Capital City is actually connected to the water network of the Central Plains. If you go down the Yellow River, you can also reach the Imperial Capital City.

Zhou Dongzheng still had the gentle smile of a businessman, and said to Lu Buwei: "It's actually very simple, because the shipping fee for the waterway from Daliang City to Dijing City is too expensive, it is far less than if we transport it to Daliang City first. City, and then transport the coal to the Imperial City through other land transportation methods.”

It was only then that Lu Buwei suddenly realized that in the final analysis, it was still a matter of money.

Thinking about it, Daliang City and Imperial Capital City, these two cities are the largest and most prosperous cities in the Central Plains, so the freight between these two cities must be the most expensive in the entire Han Kingdom and even the entire world.

Lu Buwei collected himself, and said slowly: "Since this is the case, then I want to ask, how much capacity do you need to help you carry this coal?"

Lu Buwei originally thought it was a process of bargaining, but he got an unexpected answer.

Zhou Dongzheng said gently: "I heard that there are only 20 trains now, so I hope to charter all the trains for these 20 trains."

Lu Buwei was taken aback immediately after hearing this.

According to Lu Buwei's initial thoughts, it would be good if the other party could get 5 or 10 cars, but he didn't expect that the other party would open his mouth to buy all 20 cars at once.

Lu Buwei collected himself, and said in a deep voice, "You don't even know how much the shipping fee is, so you're so sure?"

Zhou Dongzheng laughed and said, "That's because I did build that train myself yesterday, and according to my estimation, one carriage can hold at least 50 carriages of goods.

The whole car has a total of 6 carriages, so it can hold 300 carriages at a time. "

Lu Buwei continued to speak: "According to the current schedule, one car can run about five round trips a day, which means that one car alone can hold 5 carriages.

Then 20 wagons can hold the coal of 3 wagons a day.

Are you sure that your Datong Coal Group needs such a huge amount of transportation capacity? "

3 carriages of coal, no matter who it is, it is definitely an astronomical figure.

Zhou Dongzheng laughed again, and he suddenly asked Lu Buwei a question: "Master, do you know how much coal your Lu's mansion burns in winter for heating?"

Lu Buwei froze for a moment, unable to answer for a while.

As a minister, Lu Buwei worries about state affairs every day. Of course, he doesn't have time to understand these low-level things. Those are all purchased by the special stewards in the Lu Buwei family.

Zhou Dongzheng said with a chuckle: "I have the answer to this question. There are hundreds of people in the Lu family's mansion, plus those servants, there are more than a few thousand people.

And these thousands of people need more than 20 cars of coal for heating a day.

In Imperial Capital City, coal is a resource that is demanded by tens of thousands of people in the city at the same time. How big is this market?

In last autumn, the peak time of our coal day was to sell 8000 carriages, and that was not the limit, just because we tried our best, we could only send 8000 carriages of coal to Imperial City in one day That's all.

In other words, the coal of 30000 carriages may not be the limit, because during this year, an unknown number of steam engines have been added to the imperial city.

Minister, when I say this, do you still think the demand of our Datong Coal Group is too alarming? "

Lu Buwei fell silent after listening to Zhou Dongzheng's words.

After a while, Lu Buwei said, "I can give you 18 cars.

According to His Majesty's request, the remaining two cars must be opened to transport guests. "

Zhou Dongzheng didn't have any objection, he just laughed and said, "That's not a problem at all. If the minister doesn't mind, then we'll talk about the freight."

After Lu Buwei heard Zhou Dongzheng's words, he almost instinctively narrowed his eyes.

As a businessman, Lu Buwei knows very well that when it comes to price, that is what really needs to be fought for.

For the next half a day, this office became a battlefield without gunpowder for the two sides to fight with each other.

Finally, when the lanterns came on, Lu Buwei let out a tired breath and said, "Then let's calculate it according to this price. You go back and tell the people behind you. If they have no objections, you can come here tomorrow morning." , we sign a formal contract."

Zhou Dongzheng smiled gently, and his face also showed tiredness that could not be concealed, but it was more excited.

"My lord minister, I believe from the bottom of my heart that this will be the most successful win-win business operation between the Ministry of Communications and our Datong Coal Group that is destined to be recorded in history."

Chapter 1219

On the second day, the train station began to get busy.

This is actually an unimaginable thing for all the staff of the railway station. After all, on the first day, except for the train that His Majesty the Emperor took, the other 1 trains were all good. The others stayed in their respective sites and never moved a step.

But to everyone's surprise, all 2 cars were busy on the second day.

Among them, two vehicles were used to transport passengers on regular schedules, and the other 18 vehicles were all modified.

All the seats in the carriages were removed from these refitted trains, and then they were loaded with coal, and began to be continuously transported from Daliang City to Imperial Capital City.

Due to being filled with heavy coal, the speed of the train has undoubtedly been affected a lot, but overall, it is still within an acceptable range.

The operation of this day is basically in line with Lu Buwei's previous judgment.

So when Lu Buwei saw the freight, even though he had already estimated it in advance, he still trembled uncontrollably.

According to the previous agreement between the two parties, after each train is full, the cost of transporting coal from Imperial City to Daliang City is 3 yuan.

The 18 trains can run an average of two round trips per day, in other words, it is equivalent to 36 round trips per day.

Based on the calculation of 3 yuan for each round trip, then one day is a full 108 million yuan.

If calculated according to 30 days in a month, then this figure will become 3,024 million yuan in one month.

Can earn 3,000 million in a month?

Lu Buwei's hands trembled involuntarily.

You must know that this is only a short 300-mile railway from the Daliang City Road to the Imperial Capital City.

Of course, Lu Buwei also knows that there is such a commercial route between Daliang City and Dijun City, but the two most prosperous cities in the entire Han Kingdom. Otherwise, His Majesty the Emperor would not have chosen to build the first road between these two cities. railway.

But the problem is that this first railway can achieve such an astonishing income in only the first month of its opening, which is very impressive to Lu Buwei.

In the future, there will be a steady stream of trains put into the operation of this railway, so the income of this railway will definitely continue to rise.

Even if calculated with the figure of 3,000 million, there is a full annual income of 3 million, which means that Zhao Kuo invested more than 6,000 million, even without any increase in the number of trains, only two Years will be able to recover it all.

When Lu Buwei thought of this, his mouth became more parched.

But immediately this dry mouth turned into a very happy one.

We must know that for such a huge benefit generated by this railway, in the final analysis, the credit should be credited to Lu Buwei.

So this time Lu Buwei made a great contribution.

Thinking of this, Lu Buwei immediately stood up very excitedly, and hurriedly walked towards the door.

He couldn't wait to report this exciting news to Zhao Kuo, and then listen to the appreciation from His Majesty the Emperor.

Half a day later, when Zhao Kuo heard the report from Li Bowei, he was also quite surprised.

"Is the shipping fee so high?

Can Datong Coal Group make money? "

Zhao Kuo couldn't help asking.

Lu Buwei smiled slightly, obviously he had already thought about this question in his heart and came up with the answer, so when he answered Zhao Kuo, he was also very calm.

"Avoiding that according to this freight rate, Datong Coal Group does not have much profit, but the problem is that this part of our train capacity is completely equal to increased profits out of thin air for Datong Coal Group.

With such a large amount of coal, after we help Datong Coal Group to enter the city, it will be difficult for other coal groups to compete with Datong Coal Group. "

As soon as Zhao Kuo heard this, he understood immediately: "In other words, Datong Coal Group is actually using our transportation capacity to compete for the market, and wants to control the pricing rights in its own hands, right?"

Lu Buwei nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise, that's exactly the case."

Zhao Kuo nodded slightly, but did not speak for a while.

Zhao Kuo is no stranger to this strategy of Datong Coal Group.

In modern times, there are also many Internet giants who use subsidies to lower prices to occupy the market. Datong Coal Group actually took this path, but because of the particularity of the railway this time, it is said that Datong Coal Group subsidized The target is actually the Ministry of Communications.

As long as the transportation capacity of these trains of the Ministry of Communications is under full control, Datong Coal Group will be able to obtain the largest market share in the coal market in Imperial City, thereby squeezing out other sellers.

I have to say that this is indeed a very good business method.

Zhao Kuo reached out and knocked on the table, and asked Lu Buwei a question.

"How do you think this matter should be resolved?"

This sentence sounded a little out of the blue, but Lu Buwei still answered quickly.

"It is not a good thing for a group to occupy the share of the Imperial Capital City for a long time, so I think that the next new trains should consider other coal groups."

Zhao Kuo nodded in satisfaction, and said: "If there is no second coal group to appear for a while, it is not unacceptable to give the newly added shifts to this Datong Coal Group for the time being. What we need to set is an example. Let everyone know what our trains can do."

After listening to Zhao Kuo's words, Lu Buwei naturally took orders to leave.

Not long after leaving the palace, Lu Buwei was suddenly stopped.

It was none other than the prime ministers Xu Li and Pang Nuan who stopped him.

"Minister Lu is in a hurry, where are you going?"

Xu Li smiled and said to Lu Buwei.

Xu Li was also the founder of the Nightingale system back then, so he naturally had a good impression of Lu Buwei. After all, Lu Buwei was one of the earliest members of the Nightingale.

Lu Buwei thought for a while, but he didn't hide anything from the two prime ministers, so he said directly: "Return to the two prime ministers, I just came down to report the train to His Majesty, and I am preparing to go back now."

After hearing this, Xu Li and the two suddenly showed curious expressions on their faces.

Pang Nuan couldn't help asking: "How is the train doing now?