Chapter 52 Business Talent "Mi Zizhong is here?" Tian Ze, who was sitting in the fields having a heart-to-heart talk with the farmers, felt a little happy when he heard the news. After properly arranging all the affairs, he was free again. In addition to convening meetings regularly to make arrangements, his daily work was to travel around, show up, and get to know the actual conditions in various places. Tian Ze was not in a hurry to go and greet him, but finished his work for the day first, and then set out on the journey back to Xiangping City under Dian Wei's escort. Today, he is no longer the small county magistrate he used to be. He has many advisers under his command and does not need to flatter others as he did in the past. Mi Zhu came here this time for business matters, but more importantly, he wanted to delve deeper into the situation in Liaodong. At this time, the number of refugees in the Central Plains has reached a considerable scale, and Mi Zhu is keenly aware of the hidden dangers. Adhering to the principle of "don't put all your eggs in one basket", Mi Zhu decided to go to Liaodong only after he had learned about the situation in detail from many parties. He did this to investigate and decide whether to transfer part of the industry to Liaodong as a fallback plan. Although Tian Ze had only controlled Liaodong for more than three months at this time, Liaodong had already undergone earth-shaking changes. Mi Zhu was deeply shocked by what he saw and heard along the way. As Tian Ze has developed, he no longer cares much about Mi Zhu's wealth, but he is quite interested in the Mi family's channels and Mi Zhu himself.
If Mi Zhu was just a businessman, Tian Ze would not take him seriously, so what if he was a wealthy man? There were many wealthy businessmen in the world. However, Mi Zhu was not only proficient in the ways of business, but also able to have a profound influence on the history of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms as a businessman. He helped Liu Bei achieve his empire. His wisdom and foresight were among the best in the world at that time. Tian Ze attaches great importance to business. If we want to thoroughly solve problems such as land and productivity, it is imperative to develop industry and commerce. The importance of commerce is self-evident. Everything must be done with a combination of loosening and blocking. With the development of the times, the resurgence of the aristocratic and powerful families is inevitable. What Tian Ze can do is to preserve the most basic interests of the lowest-level people, try his best to open up channels from the bottom up, and establish a more reasonable social resource allocation model. But in this case, the aristocratic families must be given a new goal, liberating them from the land. Only industry and commerce can do this. In fact, Tian Ze himself was not quite sure about his future path. After all, even in his previous life, he was not good at politics. He could only try his best to work towards what he thought was relatively reasonable. At least he could solve the problems he knew about. As for whether new problems would arise in the future, that was not something he could solve. Times have changed, and the future will be the concern of today's people. Although the Ministry of Commerce was temporarily handed over to Jia Xu, he was not good at business affairs despite his expertise. Although all the work was carried out in an orderly manner, there was still a certain gap with Tian Ze's idea. The prototype of money shops and "national merchants" are crucial to the development of Liaodong. It would be most appropriate if the Ministry of Commerce could be handed over to Mi Zhu, who is well versed in business. Mi Zhu, who had just arrived in Xiangping, received an invitation from Tian Ze that evening, inviting him to meet at Yuelai Restaurant the next day. Mi Zhu was surprised and happy, and his heart was filled with emotion. It was hard to imagine that I, a mere businessman, could be valued by the governor of Liaodong. This is not because Mi Zhu was self-deprecating. You should know that in the Han Dynasty, the status of merchants was quite low. Although it was better in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it was because some merchants had squeezed into the ranks of officials and powerful people through various means. People like Mi Zhu, whose ancestors had been engaged in farming for generations, had few roots in the government. Although they were very powerful in the eyes of the common people, in reality, they were not respected by the aristocratic families. Even though he had built his business to nearly 10,000 diners and had assets of over 100 million, he could only get a little attention from those people and was never treated equally. If there were no turbulent times, his status would not even be as high as that of some local tyrants.
After solemnly fumigating, bathing and changing clothes, Mi Zhu arrived at the Yuelai Restaurant mentioned by Tian Ze early at noon the next day. Looking at the five-story Yuelai Restaurant with extremely luxurious decorations, Mi Zhu's eyes narrowed slightly. He had seen Yuelai Restaurant in many places, but this was the first time he had seen one of such a grand scale. Even the one in Luoyang could not compare with it. Is it... Mi Zhu vaguely guessed that the person behind it was Tian Ze. In fact, Tian Ze no longer has any intention of hiding it. The reason for concealing the fact before was because of his low status and he was afraid that if it was exposed, he would not be able to protect so many industries and would be targeted. Now that I have become a local governor, I don't have to worry too much anymore. Moreover, as his power grew, his industries became more active, and no matter how well they were hidden, they could not be hidden from the eyes of those who were interested. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion was about to break out, these industries were gradually being sold and collected. Under the guidance of the waiter, Mi Zhu came to the top floor of the restaurant. There is only a small pavilion here, with a table and four stools placed inside. The surroundings are open and the scenery of Xiangping City can be seen in full view. Mi Zhu did not dare to sit down rashly, but stood in the pavilion, looking around. Looking at the hustle and bustle and traffic in the city, he could not help but sigh at the prosperity of Xiangping City. Because he came too early, Tian Ze arrived about an incense stick of time later. Tian Ze used the vision technique to look at Mi Zhu and smiled. This is another buried pearl. It is a pity that such a talent as Mi Zhu is serving under Liu Bei. Although his investment yielded rich returns, Mi Zhu achieved almost nothing in his life and his talent was wasted. "Mi Zizhong from the East Sea, I pay my respects to the governor!" "Please stand up! Please stand up!" Tian Ze helped Mi Zhu up with both hands. "I never thought that the world-famous Mi Bancheng would come to Liaodong in person. It seems that Liaodong is indeed developing well." The Mi family was the richest family in Xuzhou and was said to own nearly half of Xuzhou's wealth, so people nicknamed them "Mi Half the City". "I don't deserve it! I don't deserve it! Your Excellency, you are too kind. Mi Zhu is just a businessman. I don't deserve such a title!" Mi Zhu hurriedly waved his hands with a bitter look on his face. The tree catches the wind. This name was definitely not a good thing for Mi Zhu. Instead, it easily attracted the covetousness of others, and he spent a lot of money on it. Every time he heard others make fun of him, he was terrified and felt like he was being robbed again. "Haha! Zi Zhong is really a wonderful person!" Tian Ze laughed. He admired Mi Zhu very much because the two had similar personalities and styles. They both liked to keep a low profile and hide their abilities, and they both knew their positions clearly. Mi Zhu did not compete for merit or power under Liu Bei, but was content to be a boy who distributed money and a mascot. The same is true for Tian Ze. He was well aware of his own abilities. Traveling through time, growing up, and practicing Taoism did not change the nature of his mediocre talents. He does not get involved in military strategies, but he holds the military power; he does not get involved in government affairs, but he holds the direction. He usually slacks off and tries to improve his reputation. He recruits a few more "Guan Zhong" and "Yue Yi" and can just be a Duke Huan of Qi with peace of mind.
Mi Zhu also smiled slightly. He knew countless people, and with just these few words, combined with Tian Ze's performance, he had already understood Tian Ze's character. He is a kind, free-spirited and sociable person. After the two of them sat down, Tian Ze pointed in the direction of the east and west markets and asked: "Zi Zhong, you are well-informed. What do you think of the business situation in Xiangping City?" Mi Zhu said sincerely: "Compared with some of the large counties in the Central Plains, it is not inferior, and it is more vibrant. Envoy Tian is indeed a capable minister who governs the country, and he also has great military talents. It is a blessing for the people of Liaodong to have a hero like you here!" "Zi Zhong, you are overpraising me. It is all because of my advisers who made good suggestions and my soldiers who were brave. I am just a name with an empty reputation." Hearing Mi Zhu's praise, even though he knew there was some flattery in it, Tian Ze still couldn't help but be happy. No wonder leaders like people who are good at speaking. Although they are equally talented, Mi Zhu looks much more pleasing to the eye than Tian Feng, who has a bad temper and a stubborn temper. Of course, Tian Ze knew Tian Feng's value. Although he despised him, his appreciation and admiration for him were real. It was rare to find someone with such a stubborn temper, so he should be put in charge of the discipline department to clean up those tumors. "Zi Zhong, you and I hit it off right away, so I'll just tell you straight." Tian Ze said, taking a look at the green dot representing Mi Zhu on the "mini map". "I know your talent very well, and I know the importance of business even better. The world emphasizes agriculture over commerce, but my people emphasize both agriculture and industry. In terms of business, we need a person with outstanding ability to take charge. Every profession has its own specialty, and I think you are the best candidate. You may wish to consider it." "Although I can only grant you the position of Jin Cao at present, all the commerce and merchants in Liaodong will be under your management. In the future, if I can make further progress, no matter what position, you will be the first choice for the position of Commercial Manager." If you do things like making big promises more often, you will naturally become skilled at it. Before you know it, Tian Ze has become the person he once hated. However, he still has some integrity and can basically deliver on his promises. As for official positions, although the political affairs of Liaodong have been reorganized and planned, and twelve political departments have been set up, Tian Ze has not made any adjustments to the official positions. After all, the Han Dynasty had not yet fallen, and he did not want to be criticized for such a small matter. It was nothing more than a nominal official position. The salaries of Liaodong officials were paid by Tian Ze, not the court, and no one cared about the size of the official position. Therefore, the official positions of Liaodong officials were still the same on the surface, but in fact, their titles and status and treatment had formed their own system. A scholar dies for a confidant! Tian Ze's words might not have had much impact on a scholar from an aristocratic family, but to Mi Zhu, it was like a bolt from the blue. Everyone coveted his wealth, what they wanted was his family fortune, but only Tian Ze valued his talent! His talent as a businessman! Recalling the contempt, sarcasm and greedy looks like hungry wolves he had suffered from officials from all over the country since he was a child, Mi Zhu looked at Tian Ze's sincere eyes, his eyes slightly reddened, his expression serious, and he bowed solemnly. "Thanks to the trust and love of the lord, I dare not disobey your orders! I am willing to serve the lord with all my heart and soul and serve him at my utmost!" (End of this chapter)