It was noon, Shangguan was still chained to Lanyue Tower, and he wanted to take things and leave, but who knew that Xiao Yan still had a few things to make up his mind about, waiting for him to fall.

"Young master, according to your instructions, I have solved everything that can be cooked, and there are still a few things waiting for you to show at the moment."

"Speak," Shangguan raised his chin and motioned to Xiao Yan, and then said, while he was inspecting the things he had made in the woodcraft shop in the city three days ago.

"Lu Hongshi, who was the rudder of the Cao Gang, wrote that because the imperial court was going to attack Nanzhao, the waterway around the Shenshui area would be closed in a few days to transport soldiers, horses, grain, grass and military supplies, and even the ships of the Cao Gang over there were also requisitioned, so there was no way to transport goods to us. Lord Lu Helm hereby sends a letter to tell you, young master, this is a letter. ”

When Shangguan read the letter, Xiao Yan also peeked at the things he retrieved, and couldn't help but sigh in private-

'I didn't expect the young master to have such a delicate mind, my old man has lived to this age, and it is the first time he has seen this thing, which shows that he is very attentive to that girl! ’

Zhanxin looked at it, in addition to what Xiao Yan said, Lu Hongshi also apologized in the letter for not being able to help Shangguan run the boat. Just because Shangguan is the big patron of their rope water rudder, Lingyun Palace relies on Lu Hongshi's rope water rudder to transport goods in the rope water area, and Lingyun Palace also responds to Lu Hongshi's needs in the affairs of the rivers and lakes.

In addition, he also reminded in the letter that the war was about to begin, and asked Shangguan to keep an eye on his copper and iron ore business in Dali, for fear that it would be affected.

Twisting the letter with one hand, Shangguan said:

"The imperial court was not afraid of thousands of miles in order to conquer Nanzhao, and sent a large army to the south through mountains and rivers, and also wanted to seal the rope water, which shows the determination to recover Nanzhao this time. The war between the two countries is just a struggle for an inch of land, but the bitter thing is still the common people......" At this point, he frowned lightly and put the letter on the table.

Then he said:

"As soon as this Lu Hongshi's ship is requisitioned, I'm afraid there will be no entry for at least a few months."

Tapping the letterhead with your fingertips, I thought:

Every time a war occurs, the various "requisitions" of the imperial court are all laborious and costly, and even if they pay for remuneration, they have to wait until after the war. If you win, you will be rewarded for meritorious deeds, and you will be given a title plaque and the like; If you lose, it is a blessing not to be detained by those traitors who will delay your fighter plane, where can you dare to expect the imperial court to honor the requisition remuneration?

After a while, Shangguan ordered: "Old Xiao ......"

"Childe"

Shangguan didn't know what to find in the stack of account books on the desk, and asked himself: "If I'm not mistaken, the freight we set with Lu Hongshi was three hundred taels a boat?" ”

Xiao Yan helped Shangguan take out an account book, handed it to him to look through, and then replied:

"That's right, five hundred stones for a boat starts at three hundred taels. Every time the goods are transported, the freight is calculated according to the distance and the weight of the goods, but in the past four years, we have also been familiar with Lord Lubang, so he has not delved into the problem of transportation, only counts the weight, more than 500 stones, and every 100 stones added will add an extra 100 taels of silver. ”

Shangguan looked at the freight on the account, and on average, the freight of each ship was about five or six hundred taels, and each batch of goods required four or five sand ships, and at least seven or eight times a season, that is to say, he transported goods from Lu Hongshi, and the monthly freight was at least more than three thousand taels.

Closing the account book, he lightly buttoned the table, and Shaoqing spoke: "In this way, during the war, it is still a thousand taels per month." ”

Shangguan told Xiao Yan.

Shangguan himself also has a maritime fleet, but he has always been handed over to the Cao Gang's rudder in various places to take care of the domestic waterway transportation.

First, the Cao Gang has been boating for many years, and they are well aware of the domestic waterway situation, and they are safe on the way, and no stunned young man will dare to rob the Cao Gang's boat. The first thing to talk about is seniority, the Cao Gang has a long history, hundreds of rudders, more than a thousand ships, shouldering the food and drink of the people in various states and counties, and the disciples in the gang also abide by the rules, regardless of black and white.

Since he became the first crab eater to open the shipping route, why do he have to do that thankless task, and then compete for the canal business maintained by the Cao Gang for a hundred years, so he has always handed over the domestic shipping affairs to the Cao Gang.

Shangguan knows very well - no matter how big his hand is, he can't cover it for a day.

The second is that their own mines often have to deliver goods through Lu Hongshi's fleet, and the Cao Gang does not accept anyone's business, and most of the people who can transport goods to the Cao Gang have a guide, or worship the mountain gate. Besides, Lu Hongshi acted in a real way, and Shangguan didn't want to break off the relationship.

As the saying goes, "there is no buying and selling, benevolence and righteousness are there", and the most taboo in the business field is to cut off the back road.

Sealing the waterway and requisitioning ships is just a temporary battle, and it will definitely not last long, and when the war stops, it will naturally rely on the fleet of his Cao Gang. Although this thousand taels is not much, it is also a heart, and the public, this money maintains the business scene between Lingyun Palace and the Cao Gang; With selfishness, for Lu Hongshi, who is the head of righteousness, if you help him in a moment's embarrassment, he will repay you for your kindness.

The third is that the war between the Central Plains and Nanzhao is imminent, and I am afraid that Dali, which is located in the border area, will not be peaceful, and Shangguan is far away in Wolf Prefecture. But if the rope water is really blocked, it will naturally cut off the connection between Shangguan and the partner, and if Dali's mine is affected by the war, he will have to sit and wait for death.

This thousand taels was given to Lu Hongshi, in fact, he also wanted to ask him to help pay attention to the situation in Dali, after all, the only one who could deliver the news at the moment was the Cao Gang fleet that was requisitioned by the imperial court.

Since Nanzhao was about to fight, Shangguan wrote another letter of resignation, asking Xiao Yan to send someone to Dali immediately to inform the local mine owners who were partnering with him to make preparations as soon as possible.

As long as the war starts, the consumption of weapons is huge, if a delivery is not timely, it must be taken from local materials, so simply let the mine owners in Dali find the right time to open up the sales channels of the local ordnance workshop. In this way, although the business outside the rope water is broken, the copper and iron ore of their own family is still taken over, so as to achieve the purpose of making a steady profit without losing money.