In the spring of March, the grass grows and the warbler flies.

After a cold winter, this is the time when everything recovers and spring blossoms.

The whole capital has regained its vitality, the pear trees that have been sleeping for a winter have been awakened by the drizzle, and the people who have been recuperating for a winter have begun to get busy.

The peasants began to busily level the fields and prepare them for planting; The merchants began to stock up and prepare to travel north and south; The officials of the imperial court began to be busy preparing plans for the year, and at the same time, they began to be busy with spring ploughing.

As for the construction site in the capital, construction has also begun. Whether it is the house in the city or the new city outside the city, they are all busy. Instead of levying labor, the imperial court began to hire workers to do the work.

This time, the contractor is the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and everything is subject to high standards and strict requirements. The construction team has already driven in, and for a while, the entire construction site is busy.

At the north gate of the capital, a convoy was gathering. Judging by the heads, there should be a few hundred people here; There are also dozens of large and small carriages.

When the sun rose, people began to converge again. There are more people, more vehicles, and more cargo.

In a luxurious carriage, a young man stood on the wheel, holding a folding fan in his hand, standing in the wind.

He wore Zhang Kee's thin-soled mocskin boots on his feet. In addition, the body is wearing the green silk of Jiangnan Zhangji, and the cost can be said to be very high.

If you look at the big coat behind you, you can see that it is a good bear skin. Look at the color, look at the quality of the wool, look at the craftsmanship of the production, all reflected in the sun.

The jade pendant hanging on the waist is the craftsmanship of Linglongfang at a glance; The other hairpins on the top of the head, although it is only a very simple one, but at a glance, you can know that it is a good Hetian jade, and the cost must be expensive.

As for the folding fan in his hand, the value is even higher. There is nothing wrong with the fan, but at a glance the fan surface, you can know that it is Jiangnan Shen Zhou's handwriting.

Just this outfit has scared a lot of people.

Looking at the carriage again, it is a large four-wheeled cart, the axles are all steel, and there are leaf springs like steel plates on them. This is a new thing, it just came out a few years ago, and the cost is called a high.

Look at the horses pulling the cart, the two tall horses are the same color, and you can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary.

As for the one in front of him, I can't find much in the entire capital. Except for those powerful families, no one can afford it at all.

As for the guards around him, they all have big shoulders and round waists, sharp eyes, and they have killed people at a glance.

When such a person goes out to do business, he must have come out to experience. Looking at the dozens of big carts following behind him, as well as the cars that kept coming from all directions, he knew that this must be a big caravan, and it was a great kind when he went out.

As people continued to gather, a team of more than 3,000 people finally gathered.

At sunset, the convoy slowly started and headed straight north.

The people who followed the people who were doing business to the north were also happy to follow behind. With such a convoy to follow, there will certainly be no danger on the road.

In the central cart, Zhu Youxiao sat in it with no expression on his face.

Next to him were Wei Chao and Chen Hong, who were serving him respectfully.

Zhu Youxiao sat in the car, stretched out his hand and opened the curtain, looking at the scenery outside the window, the sun was mild and not dry, and his mood was suddenly good.

To be honest, there really isn't much risk at this time. The grass is dry and yellow, and the snow has not yet melted in some places, leaving the harsh winter material steep, slightly cold and cold.

Being able to go out of the capital, Zhu Youxiao's mood is much better, and there will be a feeling that the sky is high and the emperor is far away, which makes people feel comfortable.

It is estimated that it has been suppressed in the capital for too long.

After a long time, Zhu Youxiao withdrew his gaze, glanced at Chen Hong beside him and asked, "Have you arranged everything?" ”

Hearing this, Chen Hong hurriedly said: "Yes, Emperor, it has been arranged, and it will be very smooth along the way, and there will definitely be no problems." ”

Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's the best." ”

This time, the place where Zhu Youxiao is going is naturally Zhangjiakou.

Although in later generations, Zhangjiakou was an inconspicuous place. Maybe in this era, Zhangjiakou is also inconspicuous, and everyone cares more about the capital.

But now it's different, Zhangjiakou is very important. It is a key node of domestic and foreign trade in the grassland, and the center of grassland smuggling.

In Zhangjiakou, there are a large number of merchants from the Ming and Jin dynasties and the north, most of whom smuggle things from Zhangjiakou to the grassland.

If Zhu Youxiao wants to investigate smuggling, Zhangjiakou is the most suitable place.

Of course, the investigation of smuggling is one thing, and the most important thing is to get money.

This winter, plus the three months of spring, Zhu Youxiao's money burned so fast.

After Bi Maokang made a plan, he reported the list. Under such circumstances, how could Zhu Youxiao endure it?

When you think of those weapons, don't you scratch your ears and cheeks that night? Thinking that he had those weapons, Zhu Youxiao was so excited that he couldn't help himself. Dream Chinese

In such a situation, how can the money be managed?

So Zhu Youxiao spent money like running water, and went out directly for more than 5 million taels. After removing the expenses for the New Year, Zhu Youxiao's inner treasury will be emptied.

Without money, you can't do anything. For Zhu Youxiao, this is absolutely not allowed.

The point is that it is not enough to spend the money in the inner treasury, and this is the big problem. It's time for Zhu Youxiao to make money.

Last time, I wanted to go to Jiangnan to make money, but I stopped halfway in Shandong and got a chicken and dog jump, and I couldn't go south for the time being. If you go further south, it is estimated that the south will be noisy.

So this time, Zhu Youxiao was ready to change direction and rush directly to the north.

Where can the North go?

It can only be Zhangjiakou, go to Zhangjiakou to catch those smuggling businessmen.

It can be seen from the eight imperial merchants who later established the canonization in the Qing Dynasty how rampant smuggling was in this era.

Jiannu is not so strong yet, and the smuggling of merchants is not all for them.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, it is nothing more than who is in charge of the business.

In fact, the smuggling trade has never stopped. How big was it at that time? How big is it now?

This time, Zhu Youxiao made a move, and I believe that he will have a good harvest, and he will be able to get a large amount of money, and at the same time, he can determine the official trade, and maybe he will be able to make a lot of money when the time comes.

In the words of Qin Shi Huang, that is, "Russian, Russian, all Russian!" ”

As an emperor, how can you do it without such a mind?

So Zhu Youxiao set off.

This huge convoy was organized by Zhu Youxiao, including caravans from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as caravans from other merchants, most of which were cooperative merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which can be said to be very, very grand and huge.

Of course, there are still a lot of Zhu Youxiao's guards hidden here. Some of those carriages carried weapons, such as flintlock pistols, rocket carts, and wheel-gun carts.

The wagons, covered with tarpaulins, were full of bullets, whole boxes and whole boxes of bullets. It can be said that Zhu Youxiao is armed to the teeth this time.

This time I went out, mainly to make money. Of course, bringing weapons is just in case, and at the same time for experimentation.

If there is a fight, take out these weapons and test them to see what kind of effect it will have, and maybe it will make the peoples of the steppe friendly and hospitable, and they can sing and dance.

There really was a day when Zhu Youxiao felt that it was a good thing. At that time, everyone loved each other, Daming poured wine and cooked meat, and the grassland people sang and danced, how beautiful?

The convoy walked slowly, and the whole convoy was talking and laughing, revealing a burst of joy.

Everyone is fantasizing about how much money they can make from this sale. After all, it is the first big deal after the beginning of spring, and there must be a good business to do after all.

The roads in winter were too difficult, the transportation costs were too high, and last year's snow was too heavy, so I didn't do much business in one winter.

The winter on the grassland must be very difficult, and the grassland herdsmen who have held back for a winter must have a hard time at this time. These things will definitely be able to sell for a big price when they are brought over, this is the consensus of everyone.

This time, everyone is very happy and looking forward to making a big profit.

Zhu Youxiao, who was sitting in the carriage, listened expressionlessly as they kept talking about it, and his heart was unmoved.

For Zhu Youxiao, this time it is indeed to make a fortune, but the way to make a fortune is different.

You must know that the distance between Zhangjiakou and the capital is not too far, and the road is also very fast, and it does not take much time to reach Zhangjiakou.

A convoy came to Zhangjiakou, which naturally attracted the attention of many people.

Although Zhangjiakou is a city with a strong commercial atmosphere, there are not many caravans of this scale; Although the smuggling trade is rampant, it is not visible on the surface.

Such a fanfare made the people in Zhangjiakou a little surprised. But judging by the appearance of these caravans, they are not ordinary people. In addition to being interested, there are no people in Zhangjiakou who want to do a vote, and this kind of person who is not easy to mess with is really not easy to mess with.

It was the first time Zhu Youxiao came to Zhangjiakou.

Looking at the city wall in front of him, Zhu Youxiao's face didn't know what the expression was.

In this place, the Ming Dynasty once drove out the Tartars and also fought the Mongols countless times. Later, it gradually became a commercial city, and trade began with each other.

Among them, the rising group is the Jin merchants, who play a very dishonorable role.

These Jin merchants sold iron here, after all, Shanxi and Shaanxi have a lot of iron, and all the iron they smelted was sold to the grassland. In addition, these Jin merchants also betrayed the intelligence of the imperial court, and even acted as the guides, truly achieving a countryless businessman, which can be regarded as a model.

Like the merchants in Jiangnan who colluded with the Japanese invaders, these Jin merchants were also the epitome of this era.

However, Zhu Youxiao felt that these Jin merchants were now his fat sheep, and it was time to eat shabu mutton.