Chapter 126: Long River Express
The lord was not in a hurry to return to the territory.
In Changhe Town, Li Ang directly sent out all the remaining troops in his hands.
A part of the soldiers followed Sir Roland to Serenmiss to escort back the lonely elderly people there, who were ready-made population and farmers.
Don't look down on the elderly. When it comes to farming, they are actually more reliable than young and strong people.
The other part, led by Anson, will patrol other small villages in the surrounding area to see if there are other places where similar tragedies have occurred. If so, a kind and honest person like Anson will naturally bring the survivors back to the territory.
Leslie also got a difficult task - to open a transportation company.
Of course, these days, it should be seen as a combination of armed escort and logistics transportation.
In fact, there are already mercenary fleets specializing in the transportation industry in the continent of Pandor, but they are actually mercenaries and can be regarded as small independent car dealerships.
These car dealerships have absolutely no standards for doing things. They usually negotiate prices based on the value of the goods and the distance. Their operation method is more like that of an ancient escort agency.
Most of them provided services for valuable items, such as transporting gold, silver, money, luxury goods, wine, war horses, equipment, and even prisoners and captives.
Occasionally they would transport heavy goods such as grain or ore, but such goods took up too many carriages and had very high transportation costs. The transportation price would far exceed the value of the goods themselves, making it difficult for employers and carriage companies to reach an agreement.
Generally, a deal is only possible when employers are willing to pay no price.
In addition, these fleets are generally small in size, with only a few or dozens of vehicles, making it difficult for them to transport bulk commodities and unable to resist larger-scale bandits.
Perhaps the only advantage is that these teams are professional and rarely embezzle goods. After all, most of them are civilians with families and cannot afford to offend nobles and wealthy merchants.
But there are also temporary caravans that do not follow the rules and turn into bandits at any time - there are such gangs in every place, usually they only cheat foreign businessmen, and most of them belong to the Red Brotherhood.
This is the main reason why the business atmosphere in Pandora is very different from that in Barkley.
The continent of Pendor had previously experienced a massive outbreak of the Red Death, which caused a massive population decline. There were also five coexisting nations, with constant wars and conflicts. The lack of large-scale transportation made the circulation of goods very difficult.
There are not many inland routes in the entire continent that can carry out large-scale water transportation. There are only the Sava River in the south and the Lion Lake inland sea in the north. However, these two waterways face the same problem - two or even three hostile countries have been fighting for control of the waterway. Water transportation has to face the enemy's army at any time, and civilians dare not do it...
There are also horse-drawn carriages that specialize in passenger transport, but these are smaller in scale and are basically run by individual businesses.
The safety of passengers is entirely up to them. If they encounter an attack, the driver is likely to run away or even turn against the driver - in fact, sometimes the driver may also act as a robber.
So transportation in Pande is a big problem, whether it is passenger or freight.
When ordinary noble lords and merchants need to carry out bulk transportation, they can only organize their own fleets, or hire multiple carriage companies to travel together, and they also have to hire mercenaries to protect them all the way - which is equivalent to just renting a carriage from a carriage company, but actually doing the transportation themselves.
Other regular mercenary groups usually only take on bodyguard services, that is, they accompany and protect the safety of merchants, but they are not responsible for whether the goods will be lost or whether they can be transported.
This results in very high transportation costs for goods, so it is normal for the price of goods from the west coast to increase by 20 to 30 times after they are brought to places like Changhe Town in the east.
But this is a huge business opportunity.
The lord has just received more than two hundred draft horses from Baron Leofric, and there will be a steady supply of horses from Brave Shield Castle.
When the lord saw these large animals that were specially used for pulling carts, his first reaction was that logistics and transportation could be improved.
Even passenger transport can be tried.
Moreover, this is also a reliable way to quickly accumulate military forces and population - in this dangerous era, only relatively brave and middle-aged people can engage in the logistics industry.
Of course, with Godric and the Horn Rangers in Long River Town, the safety of the eastern region will definitely be better guaranteed than before.
Li Ang actually wanted to get involved in the transportation industry for a long time, but he couldn't get started until the entire region was stabilized.
Because the market is obvious - any noble lord and big businessman needs logistics and transportation, the market size is quite large, and bulk logistics can currently be considered a blank market.
As for passenger transportation, it is an even more urgent need. Everyone has the need to travel, especially businessmen and nobles.
Therefore, the Lord entrusted this important task to Leslie.
Leslie was very good at managing long-distance transportation affairs. Her previous business had always been between Wulong City and Changhe Town. She once led a caravan to cover a distance of 2,000 miles within a week, an efficiency that was difficult for other caravans or armies to achieve.
This transport company is named 'Changhe Express' and is a subsidiary of Maixiang International, with two businesses: logistics and passenger transport.
This name was chosen, of course, to make it more familiar to people in the eastern region. After all, the main customer groups in the initial stage were the lords and merchants around Changhe Town.
Leslie was placed by the lord outside the headquarters of the chief military officer of Changhe Town - actually, it was outside the inner castle of Madam Bella, where the Changhe Town garrison had surrounded the inner castle before.
The headquarters of the Chief of Military Affairs chosen by Godric was the inner castle of Changhe Town. That small square has now become the camp of Godric's personal guards.
There is a large area of houses and open space outside the inner castle. It was where Alma had arranged people to keep an eye on Mrs. Bella. Now that they have left, there is just enough land left to accommodate a large number of convoys.
This was the back door that Godric opened for Leon. He actually requisitioned this place as a military service area, and then used the public property for personal purposes and gave it to Leon to start a company - after all, he was a major shareholder of Maixiang International.
Moreover, the place is right next to the central street of Changhe Town. You just need to walk straight along the wide central street from the outer city gate of Changhe Town. It is a very suitable location as the company's headquarters.
The first task that the Lord assigned to Leslie was to buy all the transport fleets that could be purchased in Changhe Town.
That’s right, as long as we can reach an agreement, we will buy both the person and the car.
Li Ang would not think about how to start small and then grow big at this time - he has money now and the ability to raise large amounts of funds quickly, so he can directly adopt the capital logic.
Simply put, it means to quickly monopolize the market at all costs and then set industry standards on your own.
In today's Changhe Town, no other nobles would interfere with this, and this large-scale purchase went quite smoothly.
After all, those engaged in transportation are small fleets or self-employed individuals, all of whom are civilians, and there are basically no nobles who would do such hard work.
Godric had just been appointed Chief of Military Affairs, and Leon was the County Governor. These civilian convoys were eager to climb up such a big tree.
Within five days, the lord used dinars to buy more than 400 carriages and more than 500 strong men - all of whom were armed.
Because convoy transportation often faces risks, basically everyone working in this industry has some martial arts skills, but they are no longer willing to fight for life and death like ordinary mercenaries all year round - in fact, many regular mercenaries will work in the transportation industry after they have a family, and most of them were those mercenaries who had been hanging out in taverns for a long time a few years ago.
In these five days, the lord spent a total of 100,000 dinars - he finally spent all the gold coins in his hand, and now only the silver coins in the warehouse in the territory are left...
Changhe Express, which had just been established for five days, suddenly had more than 500 employees!
There were nearly seven hundred horses, of course, all draft horses and pack horses.
Leslie was a little panicked about this - she had never managed so many people before!
However, the lord had obviously taken this situation into consideration, and he had transferred Eric over to serve as the team leader knight in the past few days - in fact, he was the head of the armed department of Changhe Express Company.
Eric is quick-witted and tactful, but he is also courageous and loyal. Such people often have a bright future, and the lord always thinks of him first.
Besides, the lord did not assign him a knighthood, so he should be compensated.
Being a company executive could significantly increase his salary and dividends. With Eric's income, it would not be a problem for him to support a dozen followers.
Eric was a mercenary and now has the official status of a knight. He is in charge of managing those rough guys, and the people from the car dealership will not have any objection.
In fact, even if Eric was given a great knight, he would definitely not be happy to change - he can now manage 500 soldiers responsible for armed transportation, which is much cooler than ordinary knights. There are not many nobles in the whole kingdom who can have so many subordinates...
With Eric in charge of these people, Leslie can be freed up to focus on business operations and transportation coordination, doing what she does best.
Changhe Express was forced to operate like this.
In fact, this is not a regular transportation company - after purchasing most of the fleet in Changhe Town, the lord changed their original operating ideas.
He asked Leslie to recruit a large number of people who could drive to serve as grooms, or temporary workers, so that these combat-capable armed personnel would no longer have to do hard labor.
The newly recruited temporary grooms are responsible for handling and driving. They will use the company's vehicles, obey the company's unified management, and be paid once for each order delivered.
The armed men from the convoy were also divided into two groups.
Those who are not strong in combat but smart in mind will be responsible for reception and order distribution. There are about 40 people in this department, managed by Leslie.
Most of the rest will be converted into pure armed escorts, close to five hundred people, who will be managed by Eric.
At the same time, the lord has standardized the prices directly based on distance and number of vehicles in each county over the past few days, and even made a table for public display.
And the pricing is very low.
For example, if you transport a truckload of goods from Changhe Town to Bailubao, no matter what the goods are, the freight is only 10 dinars.
From Changhe Town to Wulong City, the fare per car is only 80 dinars - it's based on the distance anyway.
The dispatched personnel are also standardized, with each vehicle equipped with a driver and an armed escort.
The reason for standardization is to make it easier to take orders and calculate payments, which will also be more convenient for customers.
The drivers are not considered formal employees, they are only paid on a per-order basis. For an order with a total freight of 10 dinars, they can get 2 dinars.
The reward is actually very high. After all, the drivers don’t provide any equipment or supplies, and they don’t need to fight.
2 dinars are enough to buy more than 100 kilograms of wheat, enough to feed a family for a month.
If doing other jobs, an ordinary worker would need at least half a month to earn that much.
But now, it only takes a week at most - driving from Changhe Town to Bailubao and back only takes a week at most.
A round trip to Fog City would take them a month, even if they couldn't achieve the same level as Leslie, but they could earn 16 dinars a month, which was a high salary they had never been able to get before.
The purpose of operating in this way is of course to reduce labor costs and free up personnel capable of fighting - many of the nobles' hired farmers are good at driving carriages, but they had nothing else to do before, and now they can come out and drive for a while during the slack season and earn some extra income.
This will attract a large number of part-time workers in a short period of time.
Of course, even if they are not formal employees, they cannot drive sports cars at will.
The driver must first register with Leslie to verify his identity to avoid attracting robbers.
Then the driver has to wait in Changhe Town for the assignment and decide for himself whether to accept the order. If he is not on the scene, he will definitely not be assigned...
Just like the extras on the set.
The armed escorts are all regular employees. They are responsible for the safety of the vehicles and roads, and will also keep an eye on the drivers to prevent them from doing anything rash. Their remuneration is also higher, and they can get more than 40% of a single order.
The reason why it is 'above' is that there will be subsidies for businesses that need to leave the eastern region, because the farther away, the more dangerous it is.
When transporting goods, the escort is responsible for delivering the goods to the recipient designated by the customer, and can only receive his salary after receiving the receipt - if he fails to deliver the goods, he will not get any money.
The remaining nearly 40% is the company's income. But this is not net income, because it is necessary to pay basic wages to regular employees, so there may be no profit in the early stage, and there may even be a loss.
Since the basic salary is paid, Eric will also train these men. Of course, other people will also come to help with the training when they are free, such as Sir Roland or Klose...
Anyway, the salaries are paid by the big boss Li Ang.
However, the standardized service of Changhe Express does not guarantee the safety of the goods. The company only promises to refund the freight if the goods are not delivered - after all, only one armed person is assigned to each vehicle, and the safety of the goods cannot be guaranteed.
If customers want to ensure the safety of goods, they can use customized services. If the goods are lost, the company will not only refund the freight, but also compensate according to the market price.
But the price of the customized service needs to be discussed in detail with the person sent by Leslie.
As long as enough money is paid, Changhe Express can have 500 armed personnel escorting at the same time - in the continent of Pande, basically no one dares to rob a security force of this size.
If we follow the traditional way of the fleet, we first need to see what the goods are. If it is a high-value commodity, then we will charge more. If it is low-value, then we may not accept it...
Moreover, the safety of the goods cannot be guaranteed. After all, a fleet has only a few dozen people at most. No matter how high the price is, it is only a few dozen people.
In comparison, Changhe Express's new standardized operation mode will naturally have great advantages. At least for conventional transportation, customers can clearly understand the transportation costs, and Changhe Express will definitely accept the order.
In the eastern region, the safety of companies under Maixiang International is also guaranteed and the possibility of accidents is low.
If they were really robbed, Barons Godric and Leofric would definitely send troops to hunt down the robbers thousands of miles away - they are shareholders of the parent company, Mai Xiang International, and they want dividends.
So merchants would think that the cost would be much lower than transporting it by themselves - in fact, it is indeed much lower, because just hiring a mercenary to escort them from Changhe Town to Bailu Castle would cost more than ten dinars.
In such a comparison, Changhe Express’s cost-effectiveness will appear to be quite high.
But in fact, this is because the Lord has changed the concept of those car dealerships...
Originally, the staff of the carriage shop were only regarded as grooms or carriage owners by their employers - and this was indeed the case.
Now, these people are 'professional armed security personnel', professional fighters.
They may even be regarded by merchants as warriors who are more trustworthy than ordinary mercenaries. After all, they are now Baron Leon's men, and at least they will not suddenly become gangsters.
In this way, the cost-effectiveness is immediately improved - in addition to the driver, each vehicle is equipped with a professional armed security personnel as standard. Doesn't it mean that the cargo transportation job is free?
In fact, the people are still the same people...but after they were reorganized into a regular army, the effect is completely different!
In this way, merchants will naturally take the initiative to generate a large number of orders - the prices are completely standard, and as long as they determine their own needs, they can generate orders. There is no need for negotiation, and they just need to go to the company headquarters in Changhe Town to pay and sign the order.
You can even wait for the Changhe Express Company's vehicle to come to your door to pick up the goods - of course, the door-to-door pickup is also charged according to the distance and number of vehicles.
Merchants are the group that is most likely to consider comprehensive costs. They also have a good relationship and trust with Maixiang Company. After careful consideration, they will definitely take the initiative to control operating costs again - this will prompt them to no longer support their own transport vehicles and drivers.
So where will the fired coachmen and the carriages no longer needed by merchants go? Where else can they go? Join Changhe Express!
A positive cycle will soon be formed, and as merchants no longer maintain their own fleets, more orders will be generated.
A large number of orders means that the brothers who join Changhe Express will always have sustainable business.
Small fleets used to be idle most of the time because of business negotiations, waiting, various communications and arrangements, inability to find suitable business, industry competition, etc., and could only do two or three high-priced businesses a year. In fact, most practitioners are insecure, and the average income is not that high.
After becoming an employee of Changhe Express, you will have a fixed basic salary every month, commission for each order, and it is very likely that there will always be work to do, which is of course more stable.
Moreover, they don't have to do hard labor and can focus on security work, which is very attractive to them - they used to be mercenaries, and no one would be willing to do hard labor if they were not forced by life.
In addition, the company is large enough to undertake bulk logistics. Being able to undertake bulk logistics can ensure long-term business.
In fact, they were busy from the beginning.
