Chapter 591: Expelling Huabu

The spring in Nagasaki is very cool. Compared with the weather in the Nanyang area that has already dried up the road surface, the cherry blossoms are the most beautiful season in Japan.

However, no matter how comfortable the natural environment is, it cannot match the excitement of people. Many people will feel hot all over when they are nervous.

Kojima Maritsu is such a person, "Why is it so hot today..." After wiping the sweat off his forehead, he grabbed a passing employee and asked. "Is the general manager not out yet?"

"The general manager has been in the office all the time." Recognizing that the person who stopped him was Kojima Maritsu, the confidant of General Manager Anda Aida, the stopped employee hurriedly bowed his head and said respectfully. "The general manager is in a good mood today..."

"That's good." It's good to be here, and I can go and show my achievements. It's so hard to complete the task. Kojima Maritsu exhaled lightly and walked quickly to the general manager's office on the second floor. His not-so-light weight crushed the stairs, and the wooden stairs immediately made a creaking sound, as if they were about to be overwhelmed...

"Hey, I bet that Kojima Masatsu's weight is definitely more than three kan..." A traditional Japanese unit of measurement, one kan is about 70 kilograms. The weight of three kan is really not low, but Kojima is not slender, and from a distance he looks like a moving meatball.

This also made Kojima Masatsu a joke in the Nagasaki branch of Sumitomo Corporation. His image is too bad. Glancing at Kojima Masatsu's short and fat figure, a staff member with a bad mouth said softly.

His voice was full of sarcasm, but his eyes were full of stronger unwillingness and envy. This fat pig-like sika deer, somehow, actually won the trust of the general manager, and I...

No one would respond to such a remark without knowing the seriousness of the matter. A 30-year-old old employee glared at the chatterbox clerk sternly, "Nakamura-kun, don't you want this job? How dare you talk about Kojima behind his back..." Even a dog raised by the general manager has a higher status than ordinary employees like them, not to mention that Kojima Shinritsu is the director. If you really want to address him, you have to say "Your Excellency" respectfully.

"I'm just curious, how much food does such a huge body eat every day? And the branch is so idle now..." After hearing the words of his senior, the chatterbox clerk also knew that his behavior just now was obviously seeking death, but what is a chatterbox? This kind of people also generally have a very bad bad habit - they want to save face and are stubborn. So people say that those who can swim will be drowned, and those who are stubborn will be beaten to death. It is not without reason.

But when he heard him say that, the senior staff member's anger disappeared in an instant, as if a sword had been stabbed in the heart. He sighed dejectedly and turned back to his seat.

In the past in Nagasaki, President Ando of Sumitomo Corporation's Nagasaki Branch was a big cargo trader as famous as Mitsubishi's Chairman Sanye, and Sumitomo Corporation's overall strength was absolutely overwhelming Sanye Pingbei at the time. But a hero never mentions his past achievements. Everything changed since the Sino-Japanese conflict.

In the conflict between China and Japan, Kagoshima was destroyed, but the Nagasaki Port, which is not too far away from Kagoshima and is many times more prosperous, was safe and sound. To be honest, many Nagasaki people sincerely thanked the Chinese navy for showing mercy.

However, in this conflict, Sumitomo Corporation's momentum in Japan plummeted. Because General Manager Ando, ​​the former President Ando, ​​made a wrong decision before the danger came. He believed that Nagasaki was bound to be engulfed by war, so he chose to liquidate to quickly recover the funds. However, Chairman Sanye of Mitsubishi took the opportunity to collect all the goods and real estates, and made a decision that was exactly the opposite of Adachi Aida. Facts have proved that Sanye Pingbei's decision was correct.

This rise and fall, in and out, Sumitomo Corporation suffered a lot of losses, and more importantly, its reputation was hurt. Sanye Pingbei not only made a lot of money, but his courage and perseverance also won the praise of countless people.

But this is not the source of the biggest crisis of the Nagasaki branch today. Although the wrong decision was made, the trading company suffered a setback, but with the support of the main family behind it, the Nagasaki branch can still be the top foreign goods merchant in [Nagasaki], Japan. Because a large part of their business is textile trade with China. In addition to the exquisite Chinese high-end silk, there are more cotton cloth, which occupies 50% of the entire Sino-Japanese cotton cloth trade market, and can be called Japan's largest Chinese cloth merchant.

However, Sanye Pingbei only has a small part of his energy involved in cotton cloth trade. Or cotton cloth is just one of the many commodities he deals with, and others include raw silk, satin, books, calligraphy and painting, tea, sugar, porcelain, lacquerware, Chinese medicinal materials, hardware, ironware, steel, etc. Cotton cloth accounts for a very small proportion of Sanno Pingbei's entire foreign trade system.

Both sides are top Japanese merchants, but the types of industries involved are not very conflicting. Before, Ando Aida and Sanno Pingbei were even good friends.

However, don't forget that in addition to being a big merchant, Sanno Pingbei is also the controller of Mitsubishi Textile Company, Japan's largest textile company. Since the end of last year, Mitsubishi Textile Company's products have begun to appear on the market, and then in a short period of time, Sanno Pingbei's company was successfully listed, and then Mitsubishi Corporation was established, and he became the real chairman.

Just because the Mitsubishi Textile Factory, which had exploded with productivity, produced Mitsubishi cotton cloth, which was sold in Japan at a price that was not higher than that of Huabu, Mitsubishi cloth quickly entered the entire Japanese market, and they raised the banner of "supporting domestic products" in a high-profile manner, which was almost responded to by everyone.

The contradictions and conflicts between China and Japan were resolved, but the deep shame felt by the Japanese did not completely dissipate.

At this time, Mitsubishi Textile launched the slogan of "supporting domestic products and driving out Huabu", which completely touched the sensitive nerves of the Japanese. Whether it was official support or the inversion of public opinion, Mitsubishi Corporation soared in just one spring. It became the synonym of Japanese pride and self-esteem.

Sumitomo Corporation almost monopolized more than half of the cotton cloth trade with China and was the well-deserved boss among Japanese foreign companies. However, since Mitsubishi Textile emerged, Sumitomo Corporation's reputation has really plummeted. Because they wanted to "drive away" Huabu, some merchants who sold Huabu became "Japanese traitors" in the mouths of many people. Coupled with the overt or covert instigation of some foreign companies, Ando Aida, a famous figure in Nagasaki Port in the past, became a symbol of Japan.

If it was just the condemnation in public opinion, it would be fine. The most important thing is that the actual profits are also declining rapidly. At least in the past two months.

Of course, the entire Nagasaki branch knows that this is just a difficult "road", but as long as you walk through it, there is still a wide road waiting for the Nagasaki branch. Because the Japanese cannot do without China's low-priced cotton cloth, Mitsubishi's production is not enough to supply the whole country. Their second phase of the project is still a long way off, and the first phase of the project has just started production.

Moreover, Sumitomo Corporation has already contacted China. By next year, I believe that the textile factory belonging to the Sumitomo family will also appear on Japanese soil. Although Sumitomo Corporation is a step slower, the future is bright.

Because of this relationship, the people of the Nagasaki branch have very complicated feelings towards Sanno Pingbei. Sometimes they hated him and regarded him as their lifelong enemy; sometimes they admired him and regarded him as a hero of Japan.

However...

Although they were severely suppressed by Sanno Pingbei, and even the reputation of the General Association was damaged. But now the most hated by the Nagasaki branch is not the newly rising Mitsubishi Corporation, but those guys who chose to add insult to injury when the Nagasaki branch and even Sumitomo Corporation were in trouble, and officially obstructed the Sumitomo family from seeking help from the shogunate, and fanned the flames among the people. If it weren't for these people, the Nagasaki branch and the Sumitomo Corporation behind them would not have fallen so hard recently...

The most unacceptable thing for the Nagasaki branch is that the "expel Huabu" movement has clearly broken out in Japan, but in fact, the sales of Huabu in Japan have not dropped significantly in the past two months. The only unlucky one is the Nagasaki branch, which was previously a well-known industry leader.

They became a target, a prominent target. Under the promotion of those who care and the criticism of public opinion, it has become a "channel" for the Japanese people to vent their emotions. In fact, there has been no major change in the sales of Chinese cloth in Japan.

Recently, the business scale of the Nagasaki branch has declined significantly, and the most notable one is the cotton cloth industry. However, after these market shares said goodbye to the Nagasaki branch due to the pressure of public opinion, they themselves did not transform into the domestic handmade cotton spinning economy in Japan, but were also eaten up by other unknown small merchants.

After the Nagasaki branch was in trouble, the small foreign companies that were originally silent in front of them also became arrogant.

For many people in the Nagasaki branch, what they hate most is not the enemies who caused them to end up miserably, because those enemies are strong enemies that they have to take seriously, and since they are strong enemies, they must be treated seriously. This is like Luo Quezi and Xi Yuan Shou. Although they regard each other as one of their mortal enemies, if you say who they really hate in their hearts, it is definitely not the other party. The people in the Nagasaki branch hate those who used to be obedient to them and followed them around, but when they got into trouble, they took the opportunity to snatch their interests and showed off in front of them...

Recently, the energy of the Nagasaki branch has almost been focused on how to calm the pressure of public opinion, and there is no time to pay attention to these jumping clowns. But this does not mean that they will not take revenge!

The location of the Nagasaki branch is a three-story building. Such buildings are rarely seen in pure Japanese cities. But this is Nagasaki.

"Your Excellency..." Kojima Mata said softly after knocking on the door a few times when he walked to the office of Ando Aida.

Not long after, the voice of Ando Aida was heard in the room.

"Is it Kojima-kun? Come in..." Ando Aida is still very kind to his confidant and beloved general.

With Ando's permission, Kojima Mata pushed open the door of the office.

Compared with the general manager of Sumitomo Corporation's Nagasaki branch last year, Adachi Aida now looks much older and haggard. He is only 40 years old, but he has visible white hair on his head...

"Sir..." Kojima Maritsu bowed his head and said respectfully when he walked in front of Adachi Aida.

Adachi Aida's face was very serious, "Kojima-kun, have you found out what I asked you to find out..."

"Yes, sir. I have found out clearly..." Nodding, Kojima Maritsu took out a document from his lapel. "These are all the actions of Mitsubishi Boiler in Nagasaki in recent times..."

The first phase of the Mitsubishi Textile Factory in Sanno Pingbei was built in Nagasaki.

After taking the information and flipping through it, Ando Sanada's face was filled with a sincere smile. It turned out that he was his capable subordinate, "Kojima-kun, you did a good job..."

"This hard work is far less than your Excellency's." When saying this, Kojima Masato's eyes were full of 100% sincerity. Others don't know how hard Ando Sanada has worked during this period, but he knows it.

After the "disaster" broke out, for two or three months, no one knew that Ando Sanada had "escaped" and used the people in his hands to establish another new foreign company that had nothing to do with Sumitomo Corporation in name. Although this process took a lot of precious time, and sent people to China to quickly contact Chinese trading partners, they successfully persuaded the other party to make a series of "preferential" promises in the face of the "threat" of woven fabrics appearing in Japan when summer came.

For example, the new foreign company can give discounts, and the losses caused by this "discount" will be borne by both sides, not just Sumitomo. The Chinese are also wary of the new cotton textile industry in Japan, led by Mitsubishi Bosho.

In order to save the situation of the branch, Ando Aida almost exhausted his wisdom and worked hard. And soon, the harvest day will come. The summer sale will begin. On this day when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

Kojima Masatsu sincerely believes that this will recover the losses for the Sumitomo family. And relying on the advantageous price, the soaring Mitsubishi Bosho will fall into a big fall.

Kojima Masatsu doesn't believe that millions of Japanese citizens will not be tempted by the Chinese cloth that is obviously lower than the local cloth?

Moreover, many Chinese cloths will appear in cotton cloth stores that seem to have nothing to do with Sumitomo Corporation as Japanese local cloths, and then "fall in price" as Japanese local cloths.

This is a war of competing for capital.

Kojima Masatsu doesn't believe that Mitsubishi, which has a shallow foundation, will be a rival of the Sumitomo family, not to mention that the Sumitomo family has Chinese partners, and Mitsubishi's biggest ally, the Mitsui family, is also a good friend of Sumitomo.

Behind the desk, Ando Aida was carefully reading the document.

Like many employees of the Nagasaki branch, Ando Aida hated not Sanno Pingbei the most. On the contrary, he admired Sanno Pingbei and praised him for his long-term vision beyond ordinary people. Because the decline of Japan's traditional cotton textile industry is inevitable, only by taking the same large-scale factory-based approach as the Chinese and using advanced machines can it be rejuvenated.

And Sanno Pingbei obviously took a big step ahead.

Another one is Nagasaki Port.

It is obvious that Sanno Pingbei made a big gamble in the Sino-Japanese War. He bet that the Chinese were unwilling to go to war with Japan completely, so the Chinese could destroy Kagoshima but not Nagasaki. He won!

Ando Sanada hated those betrayers who took advantage of the situation. When the Sumitomo family suffered a crisis of public opinion, these people not only did not lend a helping hand, but went with the flow. You must know that many of them were second-tier businessmen of the Sumitomo family before. But now they are rushing over like a pack of mad dogs to divide up the interests of the Sumitomo family.

As an old servant of the Sumitomo family and the son-in-law of the Sumitomo family, Ando Sanada hates these people to the core.

But he will not waste too much time on these people, because it is not worth it. When the crisis is over, the Sumitomo family can punish them more easily. Now all Ando Sanada has to do is remember their names. While Ando Sanada is preparing another team, his rest of his attention is all on Mitsubishi...

The soaring Mitsubishi Textile is the biggest enemy of the Sumitomo family, which has already determined to enter the cotton textile industry.