Since ancient times, there were many century-old brands. Their family inheritance was far more than three generations. It was very common even for more than ten generations or dozens of generations. They relied on monopolizing technology that was not known to outsiders.
For example, there were old brands in traditional Chinese medicine, snacks, wine, meat, and so on. There were too many old brands, and these old brands were more recognized by people. From then on, they would prosper from generation to generation. They could even grow bigger and let their descendants become richer than them.
In other words, every old brand had a certain monopoly nature. They had some technology and experience that outsiders could not grasp, so that their descendants could benefit infinitely.
For example, as long as the owner of the old brand knew what the ingredients of the snacks were, how to manage it was also the experience passed down from the ancestors. It was not known and understood by outsiders.
Of course, in the atmosphere of ancient times, the most powerful were the scholarly families. That was to say, the ancestors were scholars. That was the most powerful. However, the skill of studying was different from other skills. It did not have much of a monopoly. If the descendants were not good enough and were too stupid, then it would be troublesome. They might not be able to inherit the legacy of the ancestors, causing the decline of the family.
Many old brands were different. For example, the ones who sold roast duck. What kind of raw materials were needed for seasoning and how should they be matched? As long as they remembered it clearly, they should be able to grasp it if they were not fools and hotheads. Therefore, the chances of passing it down were greater.
Li Linfu was very good at being an official, and he also reached the highest official position, but this technology was difficult to maintain for his descendants. He had many sons, but none of them were successful. At most, they could only mix in a small official. His grandchildren were even less talented. It was too difficult to let his descendants always maintain the position of high officials.
On the other hand, it would be a completely different story if he were to give his descendants a technology that no one else could master. His descendants would have a monopolistic business, and they would be able to pass it down from generation to generation. His family would also become more and more prosperous. Therefore, for the sake of his descendants, he had to give it his all.
Li Xiu couldn't persuade his father, so he had to do it according to his father's wishes. Otherwise, if those younger brothers didn't have enough to eat in the future, it would not be good if they came every day to eat and drink. Moreover, once they could really open a workshop, he would also have a share.
It was not difficult to open a workshop. As long as he had the technology provided by Ang Lee, the workshop could be opened. Opening a workshop required someone to manage it. If he opened a few more workshops in different areas, he would need more people to manage it. After the products were produced, they still needed to be sold. One sales point was definitely not enough. It needed to be carried out by multiple sales points together.
As such, different workshops and a large number of sales points needed someone to take care of them. Since Li Linfu had so many incompetent sons, it was quite appropriate for each of them to be in charge of a node. This way, all of his sons would have things to do, and his grandchildren would not have too many problems. As for after three or five generations, he could not care too much. At the very least, the main family's bloodline would be able to continue.
All of these fantasies were considered under the premise that nothing unexpected happened. If something unexpected happened, all of his efforts would be in vain. According to historical records, after Li Linfu died, he was found guilty of a lot of crimes and was punished severely. His descendants were all affected, and many of them were sent to remote areas.
However, Li Linfu was still alive. He definitely did not know that his descendants would be sent away after his death. If he knew about this in advance, he would not be in the mood to think about how to make a living for his descendants.
In many mansions in the capital, the dignitaries were thinking about how to get a share of the pie. They began to consider the possibility of getting the technology by themselves according to their own strength.
The more powerful aristocrats wanted to get into the top three alone, so that they could get the technology by themselves and become a tripartite party. The weaker aristocrats were considering whether they could unite with the other aristocrats and work together to get the technology. Then, the benefits would be distributed according to the amount of investment.
Of course, there were aristocrats with bigger appetites who planned to monopolize the battery technology. For example, they could use all their power to monopolize the top three. In this way, they could get the technology by themselves. Of course, the products produced could be named with three different names so that outsiders would think that there were three different companies. In fact, the aristocrats behind them were the same person.
However, it would not be so easy to monopolize the Great Tang. There were simply too many nobles in the Great Tang, and no one knew just how much bargaining chips the other party had. It was already difficult enough to get into the top three, but to monopolize the top three, just how much wealth would one need? It was too unrealistic.
The smart dignitaries had already begun to plan for the biggest possibility, which was to find the other two families. The three families would work together and each of them would get a spot. In this way, after the three families got into the top three, they would be able to completely monopolize the battery technology. As for how to distribute the benefits, it would be up to the three families. As long as there was no price war, the three families would be able to benefit.
For this reason, the capital had become lively recently. Many aristocrats who did not move around much had begun to move around and test the possibility of cooperation with each other. If there was a possibility of cooperation, they would start negotiations to discuss how to get the technology.
Of course, there were also some who wanted to take advantage of the situation. For example, they went to visit Ang Lee and asked what the base price was and if they could buy the technology secretly.
Ang Lee's attitude towards these opportunistic people was very clear. He did not agree with a single word. Moreover, his rejection was very thorough. There was no room for negotiation at all.
At this moment, although Li An had already developed the battery, if he wanted to carry out low-cost mass production, he still needed to continue practical research and development, and research and development required funds. This time, the public auction of the technology was to raise enough funds to streamline more practical production. In fact, they could even continue to optimize it in the future.
Ang Lee did not like opportunistic people very much. However, there were also some people who came to ask questions sincerely. Ang Lee welcomed such people. As long as he could answer, he would answer.
"Assistant Minister Li, the battery technology is in your hands. You said that you would choose three companies, but if this technology is leaked, the people who spent money to buy it will lose a lot."
Someone asked.
Li An smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about that. Although the battery technology isn't too complicated, it's not that simple either. As long as I don't say anything and the person who bought the technology doesn't say anything, ordinary people won't be able to get their hands on it. Besides, even if they get their hands on it, it'll be useless. As long as the Imperial Court decides on the three companies, they'll give them the manufacturing rights in the name of the Imperial Court. If anyone else were to manufacture batteries without permission, it'd be considered a violation of the law and they'd have to go to jail. Of course, the most important point is the problem of cost. Although the manufacturing of batteries isn't difficult, it can only be done on a large scale. If someone were to steal the technology and set up a small processing workshop at home, the cost of producing batteries would be several times that of a large workshop. In that case, how would they have a competitive advantage?
After saying that, he looked at the doubtful crowd.
After listening to Ang Lee's explanation, everyone was relieved. In this way, they could fight for this important technology that could bring them benefits without any scruples.
Of course, there would not be many successful people among them. After all, there were only three places. The opportunity was really hard to come by.
"Assistant Minister Li, what if we can't learn this technology after buying it? Will you teach us how to do it personally?"
Someone asked.
Ang Lee shook his head and said, "I will write the overall technology on paper. As for the specific technology, I have already handed it to different subordinates. They will teach your craftsmen separately. In this way, each craftsman can only learn a part of the technology and have no idea how to manufacture the battery. Unless all the craftsmen betray you, then the problem of the technology leaking will occur. I believe that you all have good taste in choosing people and will not choose people who betray you. Of course, as I said, the main problem is the cost and compliance with the law. So, as long as you manage it well, there won't be too big of a problem."
"Assistant Minister Li, I have another question. How much can this business make in a year? If we can't break even in ten years, wouldn't it be a big loss? "
Someone asked again.
Li An smiled and said, "I can't answer that question. I'm not sure how much money it will make. It depends on the market demand, so it's not easy to determine. As for the cost, it's not easy to calculate. After all, the highest bidder will get it. Whoever offers the highest price will get it."
"Assistant Minister Li, is this the first or the last time you sell the battery technology? Will other technologies be sold to individuals in the future? For example, will the technology of cars be sold to individuals to be responsible for the production?"
Someone asked again.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and replied, "It's not up to me to decide. It depends on the imperial court. It depends on the imperial court!"
Obviously, these people hoped that the imperial court could sell more technology to individuals. If the imperial court was responsible for everything, the effect would not be very good. The efficiency would be too low, and it would be easy to breed corruption. All kinds of bad inefficiencies would constantly appear, which was a headache for the emperor and the ministers.
As for why such a thing happened, it was because many officials and petty officials thought that since they were spending the imperial court's money, there was nothing wrong with wasting a little. In the Tang dynasty, the imperial court had plenty of money, so there was no loss at all.
The imperial court of each era would choose to crack down on these ugly phenomena. However, the effect was not ideal. A large number of these ugly phenomena existed in each era, which became the chronic disease of the imperial court of each era. It even caused large-scale peasant uprisings until the rule of the entire dynasty was overturned and the next dynasty was entered.
For example, in the later period of many dynasties, there were often strange phenomena that tens of thousands of soldiers could not defeat hundreds of rebels. In addition to the lack of training, there was another very important reason, which was that the actual number of soldiers in the army was far less than what was reported. The actual number of soldiers in the army was very likely to be only two or three thousand. Moreover, among these two or three thousand soldiers, many were old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers who had no fighting power at all. However, the army's pay was based on ten thousand soldiers, and in the end, all of it went into the pockets of the generals. The most direct consequence of the generals' corruption was that the army had no fighting power. Therefore, they naturally did not have the strength to protect the safety of the dynasty.
The same situation existed in other imperial departments. Moreover, the closer it was to the later period of the dynasty, the more common it was. The collapse of the imperial court was inevitable, and no one had the ability to save such an imperial court. The Han, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, all collapsed because of the accumulation in the later period. Many people described it as the end of the dynasty.
In the Tang dynasty, the imperial court handed over the new battery technology to private individuals to manage in order to reduce the burden of the imperial court and to reduce all kinds of unreasonable problems.
These people asked a lot of questions, and after receiving serious answers from Ang Lee, they all left satisfied. Perhaps they already had a plan in mind! They had to seriously consider how to choose.
The battery technology was only the first breakthrough. In the future, there might be better and more profitable technologies to be sold to private individuals. If they lost too much money in the first competition, when there were better technologies in the future, they would have no money to invest. In this way, the losses would be too great. Aristocrats and businessmen valued profits the most. How could they tolerate losing their own profits? They had to do everything possible to avoid it.
This kind of conflicted emotion was like the people who bought houses in the future. When the price of a house was slowly rising, they wanted to buy it, but they were worried that the price of a house would fall after they bought it. At the same time, they were worried that if they did not buy it, the price of a house would rise even higher. In that case, they would have to spend more money to afford it. Should they buy it or wait for a while before buying it? Such a conflicted question was indeed very uncomfortable.
The battery technology was openly sold by the imperial court. Whether it made money or lost money, they could only accept it. This was their own choice, and they had no chance to regret it. Whoever dared to challenge the imperial court was simply tired of living.
Therefore, these businessmen had to consider it again and again because there was no medicine for regret. They had to be prepared to judge how much profit this technology could bring to them. They even had to consider whether there would be more affordable technologies to sell to businessmen in the future.
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