Post by Liu Feng on Mar 12, 2011 20:56:22 GMT
The young mystic Ulayne had been tasked by her Lord to create the capacity to build her Mengchong design in Jian Ye, rather than in the much smaller city of Jian An. The idea behind this project was simple: import the laborers that Ulayne had already trained in Jian An to the much larger city of Jian Ye. On one fateful day, Ulayne set out for Jian An with a few small merchant ships and announced that the trained laborers would be relocated, with their families, to the larger city of Jian Ye. Since this relocation included housing and a pay raise, most of the laborers obliged. The following day they set off for Jian Ye, and Ulayne prayed before the spirits that it would be a fine day to sail. During the prayer, however, an odd gust forced Ulayne to shiver and she began to worry about the short voyage. Halfway across the river, Ulayne's merchant ships encountered a small fleet of larger doujian warships.
“Pirates!,” the laborers screamed in terror, although the larger ships flew the colors of Jian Ye.
From the front of the doujian flagship came a booming voice:
“Jian Ye is the territory of the Xu family. No one outside the Xu family builds ships here. Return from whence you came.”
The Xu family was a powerful merchant family that had a monopoly on shipbuilding in Jian Ye. Though they made almost all of their profits on contracts with merchants, they also previously held all government contracts for military vessels. If the Xu family opposed Ulayne moving over the laborers, she would need actual troops to force them to oblige. For now, she was forced to send the laborers back to Jian An, while the Xu family ships courteously escorted her to Jian Ye.
“We do hope you understand, Admiral Hai,” began the Xu family representative in a very polite tone, “Our family has existed as the shipbuilders of Jian Ye for many generations. We cannot allow upstarts like those from Jian An to force us to go hungry. Besides, our experience will allow us to build much more useful ships for your great navy, Admiral.”
Ulayne looked at the merchant with disdain in her dark eyes.
“Perhaps we can settle this in a mutually beneficial way,” Ulayne began her argument, “I think that perhaps the expertise of the Xu family would be quite helpful in guiding my laborers to create the best quality Mengchong ships here in Jian Ye.”
The Xu family representative looked at Ulayne with some distrust, but at the same time he was listening.
“Here is my offer: The government of Jian Ye will contract with the Xu family for all future Mengchong fleets, but only if your family hires the laborers from Jian An. You will provide them housing and fair wages, however. In that way, rather than lose contract to these new workers, you will gain new contracts associated with them.”
This was actually a better deal for Ulayne, since it saved the government the need to house the imported labor. It benefited the Xu family as well, as they would have increased productive capacity and lower costs, but the representative would still not acquiesce without some incentive. Luckily, Ulayne was prepared to provide that incentive. She approached the merchant and silently passed him a small bag of coins.
Ulayne offered a 40 gold bribe to the merchant representative.
After pocketing the gold, the Xu family representative smiled broadly.
“You drive a very hard bargain, Admiral. The terms are agreeable to the Xu family, however.”
He called in some more family members and they entered the room. When they did so, he straightened his posture and spoke in a forceful tone, as if to impress his employers with his negotiating skill.
“You will owe us in the future for this favor, though, Admiral Hai.”
Ulayne smiled and thanked the Xu family. The next day they escorted the laborers from Jian An to their new homes in Jian Ye. This not only accomplished the primary goal of moving the productive capacity of Mengchong ships from Jian An to Jian Ye, but also created more business for the Jian Ye shipbuilding industry, as the laborers from Jian An greatly contributed to production. The Xu family began building more ships than ever before, and merchants from all of the Wuyue began purchasing the lower-cost ships. All in all, Ulayne was happy with her work, and she didn't even have to pray for any special favors this time.
“Pirates!,” the laborers screamed in terror, although the larger ships flew the colors of Jian Ye.
From the front of the doujian flagship came a booming voice:
“Jian Ye is the territory of the Xu family. No one outside the Xu family builds ships here. Return from whence you came.”
The Xu family was a powerful merchant family that had a monopoly on shipbuilding in Jian Ye. Though they made almost all of their profits on contracts with merchants, they also previously held all government contracts for military vessels. If the Xu family opposed Ulayne moving over the laborers, she would need actual troops to force them to oblige. For now, she was forced to send the laborers back to Jian An, while the Xu family ships courteously escorted her to Jian Ye.
“We do hope you understand, Admiral Hai,” began the Xu family representative in a very polite tone, “Our family has existed as the shipbuilders of Jian Ye for many generations. We cannot allow upstarts like those from Jian An to force us to go hungry. Besides, our experience will allow us to build much more useful ships for your great navy, Admiral.”
Ulayne looked at the merchant with disdain in her dark eyes.
“Perhaps we can settle this in a mutually beneficial way,” Ulayne began her argument, “I think that perhaps the expertise of the Xu family would be quite helpful in guiding my laborers to create the best quality Mengchong ships here in Jian Ye.”
The Xu family representative looked at Ulayne with some distrust, but at the same time he was listening.
“Here is my offer: The government of Jian Ye will contract with the Xu family for all future Mengchong fleets, but only if your family hires the laborers from Jian An. You will provide them housing and fair wages, however. In that way, rather than lose contract to these new workers, you will gain new contracts associated with them.”
This was actually a better deal for Ulayne, since it saved the government the need to house the imported labor. It benefited the Xu family as well, as they would have increased productive capacity and lower costs, but the representative would still not acquiesce without some incentive. Luckily, Ulayne was prepared to provide that incentive. She approached the merchant and silently passed him a small bag of coins.
Ulayne offered a 40 gold bribe to the merchant representative.
After pocketing the gold, the Xu family representative smiled broadly.
“You drive a very hard bargain, Admiral. The terms are agreeable to the Xu family, however.”
He called in some more family members and they entered the room. When they did so, he straightened his posture and spoke in a forceful tone, as if to impress his employers with his negotiating skill.
“You will owe us in the future for this favor, though, Admiral Hai.”
Ulayne smiled and thanked the Xu family. The next day they escorted the laborers from Jian An to their new homes in Jian Ye. This not only accomplished the primary goal of moving the productive capacity of Mengchong ships from Jian An to Jian Ye, but also created more business for the Jian Ye shipbuilding industry, as the laborers from Jian An greatly contributed to production. The Xu family began building more ships than ever before, and merchants from all of the Wuyue began purchasing the lower-cost ships. All in all, Ulayne was happy with her work, and she didn't even have to pray for any special favors this time.
