Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 398
Episode 398: Small changes. (10)
Meanwhile, Park Sang-wook, who returned to the store, gathered people again.
“What happened?”
“You have received conditional permission.”
Sangwook Park explained ‘conditions’ and ‘discounts’.
Everyone who heard Park Sang-wook’s explanation nodded.
“The conditions are not bad.”
“The issue of conscription is something that the people of Joseon would naturally do, so it is bearable.”
When everyone responded positively, Park Sang-wook shared Lim Hae-sul’s advice. Everyone who heard the advice of the sea magic had a serious look on their faces.
“It’s a good opinion, but…”
“If the government gives the discount as it is now, two units are possible if we add a little more to the funds prepared in advance.”
“Where are you going to add? “The reserve fund is almost all of the funds our company has collected so far!”
“Couldn’t it be something like credit or installment payments?”
“Are you suggesting that a bill be handed over to mediation? “The government will accept it well!”
“Then what are we going to do? Now that no one else is moving is a golden opportunity! “You have to take a big lead now so you can continue to advance in the future!”
“The problem is money! Where can I borrow the funds I don’t have enough? “Are you going to use a loan?”
“That’s it!”
The room, which had been noisy due to an unexpected shout, suddenly became quiet.
The captain who shouted spoke to Park Sang-wook.
“How about talking to the Adventure Capital Treasury?”
“It’s an adventure capital safe….”
Park Sang-wook made a disapproving expression. Among those listening to the story at that time, one of the provincial governors pointed out a problem.
“Adventure Capital Safe is a place that literally supports the start-ups of those who have a low probability of success. Do we qualify?”
“huh?”
“Ah…”
At Taobang’s point, the people’s faces turned serious again.
Although it was inferior to large merchants such as Songsang (Gaeseong Merchant), which boasts the longest history, it was still a large merchant. Thanks to this, we were able to prepare for the cost of building a challenger-class front. And it was pointed out that the reason for disqualification occurred at that very point.
The people gathered in the room, including Park Sang-wook, muttered with slightly bitter faces.
“They say everything in the world is a new one….”
* * *
As I said before, there were significant changes in the commercial world as the Kyungjang progressed.
In their own way, top companies with a history of as little as 30 years and as long as over 100 years disappeared, but there were those who did not miss the good fortune of becoming a Gyeongjang and emerged as emerging powerhouses.
Gyeonggang Merchant (京江商人) was a representative example of the former group that fell like that, and Park Sang-wook’s merchant group was representative of the latter.
In a way, the downfall of Gyeonggang merchants was a natural result.
An important commercial activity of Gyeonggang merchants was transporting the government’s grain (grain offered as a tax) and the rent of noblemen.
Although the fair amount of wages received during this process was considerable, the share earned from the illegal acts committed during the process was also significant.
Stealing part of the grain being transported and then adding water to the remaining grain to adjust its weight; Falsely claiming that an intact ship had sunk; then extorting it; engaging in corruption such as stealing food or losing money. It was a fortune.
It was natural that such injustices caught the attention of the government, which became increasingly sharp as the war progressed.
As these illegal practices were caught, many river merchants were arrested and their properties confiscated.
The final blow that brought down these mortally wounded merchants was the road maintenance carried out by the government.
As roads were built, most of the grain and goods exchanged for the people’s money were transported by land.
Gyeonggang merchants disappeared from history as they were unable to adapt to the changes that followed the progress of Gyeongjang and experienced merchants were captured.
* * *
Although this negative atmosphere prevailed, the captain who first made the proposal did not back down.
“Of course it could be grounds for disqualification! But it’s an ocean voyage too! No one knows what dangers may lurk in the distant sea! “If anything, will the navy also offer a sacrifice to the Dragon King every time they set sail?”
The other captains who heard the story all nodded. Although the danger of pirates and pirates was greatly reduced due to the activities of the Joseon navy, natural disasters were unavoidable. Even now, among the ships traveling between Shandong and Japan, one or two were sinking due to damage.
“That’s true, but… I guess the size of our company won’t be a problem, right? “You can hear that they are borrowing money to avoid losing money.”
“Aren’t you going to pay out the amount you borrowed? And even if you cannot borrow money from an adventure investment safe, you must visit the safe.”
“why?”
“We have to hold on to those people in the situation room who are saying, ‘Sewol! New Wol!’”
“aha!”
People’s faces brightened at the captain’s last words.
“Right. “All the rich people in Hanseong are gathered there.”
Park Sang-wook nodded and looked back at the people.
“Let’s make a plan again. “The spinal cord was taken in two pieces.”
“Yes Daebang!”
* * *
Five days later, Park Sang-wook visited the adventure investment safe in the bell tower.
“What’s going on?”
As Park Sang-wook sat across from the desk with a sign saying ‘Investment Consulting’, the manager in charge with a tired face asked a question.
“Yes, this time we are building a ship at Soin’s upper level, so I came here to raise some funds.”
“ship?”
As soon as he heard the word ‘ship’, the official in charge drank the lukewarm black bean tea right next to him in one go and forced himself to come to his senses.
“Ship… Competition is fierce in the shipping industry these days. What products will you handle?”
“We will handle all kinds of products.”
“Then it’s even worse… How about specializing in just one type? “If you wait a moment, I can search for information and recommend appropriate items.”
“I plan to do shipping to and from Alexandria, not to Shandong or Japan.”
“for a moment!”
The official who interrupted Park Sang-wook stood up and headed back. The official went into the tea room installed behind the counter and drank two cups of black bean tea in a row from a kettle to discuss the situation.
“I think it’s the merchant who was rumored not long ago…”
Both the investment safe and the battlefield were affiliated with the Ministry of Finance and Economy. And thanks to its location, the safe and battlefield located in Hanseong were able to obtain information on what was happening in the Ministry of Finance and Economy in almost real time.
match!
The official who hit his cheek with his hand hypnotized himself.
“Come to your senses! Seongsu Choi! “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
Choi Seong-su, who came to his senses, returned to his seat and gestured to Park Sang-wook.
“I don’t think this is something to talk about here, so please move on.”
“yes.”
* * *
Park Sang-wook and Choi Seong-su moved to a separate room on one side of the safe.
“Did you say it was a commercial trip to Alexandria?”
“That’s right.”
“Huh… then it would have to be a fairly large ship?”
“That’s why I’m thinking of getting a ship like the large ship used by the navy.”
“How many ships?”
“Two ships are coming.”
Choi Seong-su’s face became more serious at Park Sang-wook’s answer.
“You will need a considerable amount of money, so do you want to borrow the entire amount?”
In response to Choi Seong-su’s question, Park Seong-su shook his head.
“no. We also have prepared funds and would like to receive a loan to cover the shortfall.”
“So how much do you want?”
“80,000 cat of gold is coming.”
“It’s 80,000 taels of gold….”
In response to Park Sang-wook’s answer, Choi Seong-soo did the math in his head.
‘It’s only been a few months since the safe opened, so not many loans have been made yet… The remaining funds are about 400,000 gold coins… If I do well?’
Choi Seong-su, who thought there was some possibility, unfolded a piece of paper on one side and began to ask questions in more detail.
“When you say the large ship used by the navy, you are referring to the Challenger-class ship. Do you know how much it costs to build that ship?”
“Yes, I know because the Minister of Finance and Economy explained it to me. Including the guns to be mounted, it costs 71,200 taels of gold. But since there are two ships, it costs 142,400 nyang. The amount prepared by Soin’s Company is 110,000 nyang, but if we build two ships and even get the goods to load them, we will be 80,000 nyang short.”
Seongsu Choi, who was nodding his head while writing down the numbers, asked again.
“Then what type of loan do you want? A loan with an annual interest rate of 60%? Or you have to deposit 50% of the equity, but get a loan with an annual interest rate of 30%?”
“There is a loan with an annual interest rate of 60%.”
“Ah… I see…”
‘He is a worn-out merchant as expected.’
Seongsu Choi felt a bit regretful and ate his food. This was because it was more profitable for the treasury to own shares.
However, Sangwook Park wanted a loan that would allow him to protect his shares even though the interest rate was high. This was because he had heard rumors about Alexandria.
‘Once you go and come back, you can get at least 10 to 20 times the amount!’
If he made a few successful voyages, he could repay not only the interest but also the principal, but he couldn’t hand over his share of the top prize, which he had raised through blood and sweat.
After that, Seongsu Choi, who had conducted some more consultations, put away the papers and stood up.
“Let’s organize what you said and proceed with the review.”
“Then when will we know the results?”
“You will know the results in at least five days, and I will give you a message when the results come out.”
In response to Choi Seong-su’s answer, Park Sang-wook bent down and made a request.
“Please take care of me.”
“I do my best.”
* * *
Five days later, Seongsu Choi informed Sangwook Park of the results.
“I am sorry. “The result was impossible.”
“Can you tell me why?”
“Adventure capital is intended to help those without capital start businesses, but we have concluded that Daebang’s upper level is not suitable for this. “In particular, we concluded that it was impossible to raise funds to build two ships when we already had the cost to build one ship.”
“Ah…”
Choi Seong-su continued as Park Sang-wook could not hide his sadness.
“I am sorry. “I think it would be best to start with one ship.”
“yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
Park Sang-wook stood up and asked Choi Seong-su.
“Can I stop by the situation room for a moment?”
“Situation room? ah! “Do you want to persuade the rich people there?”
“That’s right.”
Choi Seong-su thought about Park Sang-wook’s words for a moment and then nodded.
“It will be fine as long as it doesn’t cause too much of a fuss. “I’ll say it again, I’m sorry.”
“No.”
Park Sang-wook said goodbye to Choi Seong-su and entered the situation room.
‘These are the wealthiest people in Hanseong!’
When Park Sang-wook saw the rich people sitting together in the situation room chatting or leafing through information sheets, he came to his senses and raised his voice.
“How are you all? My name is Park Ga-ra, who is leading the Little People Park Clan! “I have a moment of opportunity to speak to you!”
As Park Sang-wook introduced himself, the attention of rich people focused on him.
* * *
After Park Sang-wook’s explanation, the rich people began to exchange opinions alone or in groups of two or three.
“80,000 taels of gold… Isn’t that a small amount?”
“That’s right. For 80,000 taels of gold, rice… Even if it is Icheonmi or Najumi, which are famous for being the most expensive…”
The rich people spread out a piece of paper and did a quick calculation.
As the restoration progressed and the people’s income improved, the price of rice continued to rise. The adjustment was to prevent it from rising too much, but it was still rising steadily.
Looking at recent market prices, the average price of ordinary white rice was about 40 won, or 1 nyang per sum, and the average price of Icheon rice or Naju rice, which were famous for their good taste, was 2 nyang per sum.
In that case, 80,000 nyang of gold was equivalent to 400,000 Icheonmi or Najumi.
400,000 islands was a lot of money that a decent person would need to save in his entire life, or even for three generations.
“But…”
But the results of Park Sang-wook’s plan were too sweet to be rejected right away.
-If you do it correctly, you will be left with at least 10 times more benefit. Even if you don’t receive interest, you still have a lot left over just by calculating the dividends!
In the end, the rich people gathered in the situation room accepted Park Sang-wook’s proposal. The rich received a share of the amount they had agreed to bet.
It was the birth of a rudimentary stock company.
* * *
Author’s note.
hello?
This is Gukppong, who is serializing ‘Black Corporate Joseon’.
Sorry for the hiatus yesterday.
To explain, a confirmed case was confirmed in the officetel where my studio is located the afternoon before yesterday.
So I got tested yesterday.
I was tested safely, but I couldn’t go to work because I couldn’t shake my worries.
It’s not just my problem, it’s because of my family members. As readers know, some people went into a serious condition last year, and other family members all have underlying respiratory diseases.
Because of this, I couldn’t sleep well all night and was stuck in the studio.
Fortunately, I received a call today saying it was negative.
We will work hard and pay more attention to quarantine in the future.