Friends and business, the relationship between the two is a bit complicated.
Some people think that doing business is to make friends, and buying and selling is not benevolent; In the same way, some people think that business is business, friends are friends, and brothers must settle accounts.
Li Mu believes that the two are not in conflict, doing business and making friends can complement each other, and the cooperative relationship established with friends as a link is obviously stronger than money, but business between friends must also be settled by brothers, so that it can last for a long time.
Of course, this relationship is limited to the cooperation model, and there is no competition between each other, if it is a competitor, then each has its own destiny, and the business field is still a king or a loser, and sympathy for each other only exists in novels.
Li Mu had previously decided not to get involved in the gunpowder industry for the time being, which meant that there was no competition with the American Gunpowder Association led by DuPont, so Henry could be friends with Will.
Negotiations with the American Gunpowder Association went well, and within half an hour, Henry and Will reached a tentative agreement that the Horse Arms Company would authorize the American Gunpowder Association to produce smokeless gunpowder, and that the American Gunpowder Association would pay the Horse Arms Company a penny royalty for every pound of smokeless gunpowder produced.
A pound and a penny may sound like a little little, but if all the black and yellow powder in the United States last year were replaced with smokeless powder, the Horse Arms Company could get $100,000 in royalties a year. 100,000 US dollars, compared with the real value of smokeless gunpowder patents is still a bit small, but the significance of the cooperation between the Horse Arms Company and the American Gunpowder Association is not in money, but in the binding of the interests of both parties.
Speaking of the American Gunpowder Association, this is the second trust enterprise group in the United States, the American Gunpowder Association controls all the production and sales of gunpowder in the United States, and almost all the gunpowder enterprises in the United States have to obey the quota of the American Gunpowder Association, and the American Gunpowder Association determines the production quantity, sales area, sales price, and so on of the gunpowder enterprises in the United States.
The gunpowder factory under the Springfield Arsenal is also a member of the American Gunpowder Association, and the DuPont family is different in that the DuPont family focuses on the production of gunpowder, and the gunpowder factory under the Springfield Arsenal is a subsidiary factory of the Springfield Arsenal Bullet Factory, and the gunpowder produced is only used for the loading of bullets, so although the Springfield Arsenal is the boss of the American military industry, the gunpowder factory under the Springfield Arsenal has no status in the American Gunpowder Association.
Of course, in order to prevent the American Gunpowder Association from putting smokeless gunpowder on hold, Will and Henry agreed that the American Gunpowder Association would guarantee that the Horse Arms Company would receive at least $50,000 a year in royalties, regardless of whether the American gunpowder factory produced smokeless gunpowder.
At the same time, because Burnside played the role of an intermediary in this cooperation, after the signing of this agreement, according to the agreement between Li Mu and Burnside, no matter how much money the American Gunpowder Association paid to the Horse Arms Company, Burnside would receive a 20% share.
This money was not taken into account by the Horse Weapons Company, but was paid by Li Mu personally.
After Li Mu handed over the patent for smokeless gunpowder to the Junma Arms Company, the share quota of the Junma Arms Company changed, and Li Mu's stake in the Junma Arms Company rose to 74.5 percent, with Will accounting for 24 percent and Bresta accounting for 1.5 percent.
The merger of the proceeds from the patent of smokeless gunpowder into the accounts of the Horse Arms Company was the advice given to Li Mu by Li Mu's personal lawyer, Henry, in order to avoid taxes.
In fact, there are many kinds of taxes in the United States, take personal income tax as an example, after Li Mu pays the part that belongs to the federal government, he also has to pay part of Massachusetts, and then there is the part of the Springfield City government.
After the merger into the Horse Arms Company, Li Mu only needs to bear the corporate income tax, and if Li Mu can prove that the money he earns does not go into his private account, but is taken out for expanded reproduction, then Li Mu does not even have to pay a penny of tax.
This is legal tax avoidance, not tax evasion.
Of course, there are hidden dangers in this way, mainly reflected in consumption, in order to avoid taxes to a greater extent, many American businessmen bundle private expenses with factory accounts, so that factory owners have almost no private property, their real estate, transportation, and even personal clothing, all are factory property, so that of course it can avoid taxes to the greatest extent, but once the factory has problems, the factory owner will almost inevitably go bankrupt, and there is no chance to make a comeback.
Li Mu is not afraid of bankruptcy, because Li Mu also has a Junma Investment Company in his hand, and the Junma Weapons Company is only a part of the assets of the Junma Investment Company, even if the Junma Weapons Company goes bankrupt, it will not affect the Junma Investment Company.
The agreement reached between Will and General Henry was only an intention, and more details of the negotiations needed to be completed by professional negotiators, so after reaching an agreement, General Henry immediately left Springfield and returned to Wilmington, Delaware, to arrange the next negotiation work.
Li Mu went to Springfield Railway Station with Will and Burnside to see off General Henry.
Seeing that the train was far away, Li Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief, as long as he could catch up with the American Gunpowder Association, even if he didn't make a penny, Li Mu was willing.
The American Gunpowder Association is a trust that can influence the U.S. federal government, and cooperating with such an organization can maximize Li Mu's influence, which will benefit Li Mu at present.
Out of the gate of the train station, Li Mu asked Will and Burnside to get into the carriage, and he got into the gunners led by Wu Hu and Ford Benjamin to follow the carriage.
Establishing ties with the American Gunpowder Association, followed by the Republic of Cuba, Li Mu did not have much choice on this issue, whether it was the requirements of the US government or the Chinese who fought bloody battles in Cuba, all prompted Li Mu to help the Republic of Cuba.
Of course, Li Mu will not be cheap Cubans, as much as possible from the Cubans is what Li Mu has to consider, money, mineral deposits or something is actually not of much value, Li Mu does not want to be a mine owner, it is best to circle a piece of land in Cuba, so that the Chinese in Cuba can reproduce safely and steadily, this should be the goal that Li Mu wants to pursue.
Thinking of the map of Cuba that he studied in the past two days, Li Mu really has a goal, that is, the island of youth in Cuba.
In these years, the island of youth was not called the island of youth, but the island of pines.
Isla Pines is the second largest island in Cuba with an area of 2,419 square kilometers, named after the pine trees that cover the island, and is said to have served as a warehouse for pirates of the Caribbean to store their gold and silver treasures.
In these years, Pine Island was deserted, there was no permanent population on the island, only a few prisons, it was the "place of exile" where the Spanish colonists exiled and imprisoned Cubans, the island has not yet developed tourism resources, and it seems that there is no value, maybe Li Mu does not need to go through the Republic of Cuba, he can buy Pine Island directly from the Spaniards.
Buy it None of the problems that can be solved with money are problems.
Li Mugang thought of this, and suddenly found that the convoy had stopped.
"Ream, something is wrong," Ford Benjamin looked at the street in front of him with a hesitant expression, bewildered and frightened.
"What's wrong" Li Mu didn't feel anything abnormal.
There is really no abnormality, although there are no people on the street, but considering that it is still winter, it is cold and unusually cold outside, which is understandable, after all, the warmth measures of ordinary people are not very good these years, there are no kinds of furs, and there are no down jackets, and the best way to prevent frostbite in winter is not to go out, so Springfield is similar to a ghost town in winter, and there are few people on the street.
There was nothing unusual in the houses along the street, the doors and windows of the houses were closed, no one could be seen peeping behind the doors and windows, and black smoke was rising from the chimneys on the roof, which was the residents on both sides of the road using fireplaces to keep warm, which was normal in Springfield.
"I don't know, but I don't feel good, it's like a storm is coming, I've experienced it once before, when we were ambushed by the Southerners" Ford Benjamin was already checking his pistol.
"Can you go back" Li Mu chose to believe in Ford Benjamin's sixth sense.
The sixth sense is indescribable, it's almost like superpowers, Li Mu can even accept this kind of thing, and he is even more convinced of the sixth sense.
What is there to doubt, if it is wrong, it is just a matter of delaying a while, but if it is right, it is to save Li Mu's team.
"It's hard to say, get off the horse first, find a house to hide in, and then let's go when it's confirmed that it's safe" Ford Benjamin decisively.
"Get off the horse, get off the horse" Li Mu immediately rolled off the back of the black horse.
At this moment, the ground on the street in front of him suddenly burst open, and the sound was deafening, and the earth and rocks were full of fire, and the sound was terrifying.
"Enemy attack" Ford Benjamin did not hesitate, rolled off the saddle and did not forget to warn.
It was a little late, and the gunshots were already ringing out like firecrackers.
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As soon as the gunshots rang out, Li Mu saw the two gunmen at the front of the team fall from their horses and fall to the ground motionless, William in front of Li Mu was also hit, Mason returned fire with a gun in one hand, and dragged William to the house next to the street with one hand, William who was shot in the chest had a hideous expression, even if he fell to the ground and was dragged away, William was also trying to fight back, although he couldn't see the shadow of the enemy at all.
"Quick, Will, Burnside, come down" Li Mu didn't forget to save people first, and rushed in the direction of the carriage as soon as he got off the horse.
It was obvious that Li Mu was the target of the ambush, and for a moment, Li Mu could almost hear the sound of bullets passing past his ears, just for a moment of stunned effort, Li Mu felt that his shoulder was pushed hard, and he fell to the ground in a hurry.
I was still shot: