Chapter 241 Hesitation and Minister's Heart

Although Cui He advised Zhao and Ju not to be too anxious, and Zhao and Ju also decided to suspend their actions against the Japanese State, but Geluo and Xilan are different from the Wa State and Goryeo, these two countries are small and weak, and Goro is not even a country, and indoctrination in such an area does not require the Great Song Dynasty to consume too much energy.

In the past, the influence of the Great Song Dynasty on these two regions was restricted because of the inconvenience of transportation, but now the Liuqiu Manufacturing Bureau is making full efforts to produce steam and sail dual-purpose ships, and after the industrialization of the Great Song Dynasty, there will be more products that need to be marketed.

In addition, steamships need to be refueled, and although firewood is also available, it is not as good as coal, so it is necessary to set up coal stations at various places along the way, and it is best to find coal mines in the local area.

Meng Xisheng thinks more than Zhao Heju, he also has his own plans, although he has no intention of officialdom, but Zhao Youju has always thought that he is wrong to have no fame. Meng Xisheng's fame is not above the officialdom, since Zhao and Ju taught them that there are five continents and four oceans on the earth, his ideal has been firmly fixed: to do business on five continents, to make the four oceans his merchant fleet. However, he also understands that he is attached to Zhao and Ju, and over the years, Zhao and Ju have treated them as righteous teenagers, and they are also sincere, and they exchange letters on weekdays to ask for warm and earnest teachings, not to mention, Wang Yu was killed by Temujin, and Zhao and Ju tried their best to kill Temujin to avenge him, if purely from a political point of view, Zhao and Ju left Temujin's life to threaten Menghu It would be more beneficial, so although the ministers who killed Temujin were no longer entangled, but there were many criticisms in their hearts, but the righteous boy was not, We all know that the Son of Heaven is really like their own relatives.

Therefore, the loyalty of the righteous boy to Zhao and Ju is still very firm after such a major change.

But for their own future, the young people still have their own plans. After leaving the palace, Meng Xisheng went to the China Merchants Bureau, which was nominally run by Hu Fulang, but in fact it was Ruan Ruolang who presided over the affairs of the China Merchants Bureau.

The office of the steamship China Merchants Bureau is located at the wharf of Wulinfang, which was originally a place where various government and private workshops gathered in Lin'an City, but due to the fierce competition of the Liuqiu factory, these workshops are still inseparable from traditional craftsmen such as ceramics, and most of the rest have been merged or bankrupt in just two years. Their original craftsmen were absorbed and swallowed up by the factories, and the factory sites became new shops - with the further development of Lin'an industry, a large number of shops that provided raw materials or wholesale for these industries sprung up.

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when Meng Xisheng arrived, and there were several guards chatting in front of the China Merchants Bureau, these guards were using guards who begged to be discharged, most of them knew each other, and saluted after seeing them: "Meng Daguan, you don't make a fortune overseas, how can you have time to come to us?" ”

"How are you doing in Lin'an?" Meng Xisheng said with a smile: "I'm here to talk about a deal, so let's talk about it." ”

"If Meng Daguan comes, he must also be able to be able, and the villain will be skinned by Ruan Sishi, and it will be passed on to Li Yanluo's ears, although he is no longer in the army, he will have to come and reprimand." The guards didn't leave, but just smiled: "Go in, go in!" ”

Meng Xisheng smiled and entered the door, and heard someone behind him whispering: "This Meng Daguan is the God of Wealth, don't say that our Ruan Sishi, even Li Hanfan and Li Jingwen are also polite in front of him, but Meng Daguan has a good temper, and he has never seen him angry." ”

Meng Xisheng shook his head, ignored them, and walked straight into the office.

Ruan Ruolang has a baby face, although he is now in charge of himself, and he is also working hard to grow a beard to make himself look older, but his baby face and white skin cannot be changed. Seeing Meng Xisheng, he jumped up, but immediately stopped his steps and pretended to be old-fashioned: "Hey, isn't this Meng Xianyan, how can you have time to come to me......"

"Hugh is posturing in front of me, I don't know the details of your little monkey yet!" Meng Xisheng saw that there were no outsiders left and right, so he was not polite to him: "Take it out quickly!" ”

Ruan Ruolang smiled and took out a bag of candied fruit, when he was studying in the villa, he was famous for his good snacks, Zhao and Ju sent snacks to them every week, and he had to find a way to bring someone else's share. Even after coming out to do work, he always hides snacks, because he is afraid that his subordinates will see him lose the "dignity" of his boss, so he always hides it.

The two sat opposite each other, and Ruan Ruolang said vaguely while chewing on the candied fruit: "Brother Juan Yan, you must have something to do when you come to me, let's hear it." ”

"There is indeed something, how is the coal output in Xuzhou, can you send more coal over there to Lin'an, and I will transfer it away?"

Although Liuqiu produces coal, because of the development of Liuqiu heavy industry, whether it is metallurgical machinery or other industries, the requirements for coal are more and more, and the restrictions on manpower, especially after the living standards of everyone have improved, there are not many people who are willing to continue to dig coal in the coal shaft, so Meng Xisheng hopes to buy coal from Xuzhou, which is mainly used to provide fuel for steam ships, so the quality requirements will not be so strict.

"What, Liuqiu is short of coal?" Ruan Ruolang heard the string song and knew the elegant meaning.

"There is a shortage of coal for steam engines, and there is another use for self-produced coal."

"Xuzhou coal is not enough, and now Xuzhou's local area, Lin'an industry and people's lives use a lot of coal." Ruan Ruolang's reply disappointed Meng Xisheng.

As Ruan Ruolang said, there is now a coal shortage in the Great Song Dynasty, and there are many places where coal is used, including burning bricks, and in some places coal is also used instead of firewood, while the coal mines in Huaibei can only barely meet the demand, and some factories that use steam engines as power even have to control their production capacity because of this.

In addition to the production capacity, the restriction of coal supply is the transportation capacity, in addition to the steamship China Merchants Bureau, there are now five large and small navigation ships running on the canal, and there are more than 50 steamship merchant ships, all of which are large and medium-sized ships, including a steam ship. The other four have more than 100 ships, and more than hundreds of ships, but they have relatively few large ships, all of which are the original old boats, although the carrying capacity is not bad, but the convenience and flexibility are far worse than the steamship China Merchants Bureau.

There are also people who want to buy steamboats, but now steamships are priceless and marketable, and they can't buy them even if they go through the door of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau - although the ship is built in the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, the steam engine has to be transported from the flow to be installed, and it takes more than three months to build a ship. However, because of industrialization, the shipbuilding of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau is not built one by one, but in batches, so on average, there are about ten large ships launched every month, including eight inland river ships, two sea ships, and one of the sea ships is a war ship.

With the use of steam power, Hu You has been studying how to add iron armor to wooden ships.

Many of these ships were put into the canal and the Yangtze River, and together with the scattered small fleets of a dozen boats, the waterways of the Grand Canal were once again crowded. This congestion has led to congestion in some key locations, and accidents on the river have occurred from time to time due to mixed results, which has further affected the ability to transport coal from the north to the south.

"If that's the case, it looks like I still have to go to Xuzhou." After discussing for a while, Meng Xi said: "The official family transferred Steward Zhao from Keelung to Xuzhou to solve this problem, right?" ”

"I heard that Steward Zhao recognized a very righteous little lady as his daughter." Ruan Ruolang said: "You go to Xuzhou and bring some gifts for me." ”

"Every few days you have a fleet heading north, and you want me to bring something for you?" Meng Xi laughed and said, "Do you want to take advantage of me again?" ”

"You are the money bag of the official family, who will take advantage of you if you don't take advantage of you?" Ruan Ruolang said with a smile: "Jingdong's dates are very sweet, don't forget to bring me some back when the time comes!" ”

"Then you'll have to arrange a boat for me!" Meng Xi said.

"Well, there will be a ship to Xuzhou tomorrow, and I will arrange a ship space for you." Ruan Ruolang squinted his eyes: "But, judge, did you really go to Xuzhou for coal?" If it's just this little thing, your shopkeepers will send one at will, so why do you need to do it yourself? ”

Meng Xisheng laughed: "I haven't been to Xuzhou yet, so I just want to play, I have to let me have some leisure time, right?" ”

Ruan Ruolang smiled but didn't answer, he didn't believe Meng Xisheng's words, Meng Xisheng once had a famous saying that was widely circulated among righteous teenagers: "The son is on the river, and the deceased is money?" ”

He will definitely not be bored to go to Xuzhou to play, he is going, he must have smelled some money-making business.

"Zhongyuan" is the river steamship that Zhixuyang has seen in Bianliang, and it is also the fastest ship on the canal at present. In this way, after Meng Xisheng left Lin'an the next morning, he arrived in Chuzhou on the evening of the third day.

Chuzhou was originally an important town of Lianghuai, the most prosperous place, but the city was destroyed by the war for many years, and when Zhendexiu Town Chuzhou, the whole city added up to only a few thousand. After two years of reconstruction, Chuzhou has gradually regained its vitality, although the ruins of the broken walls can still be seen on both sides of the canal, but after entering the city, it looks vibrant, and the four sides of the business travel converge here.

"It's a pity, it's a pity."

On the morning of the fourth day, the "Zhongyuan" set sail in the sound of the whistle, standing on the deck, looking at the Chuzhou City that was gradually moving away, Meng Xisheng sighed.

"This official, I don't know why I regret it?"

His voice fell, someone behind him asked, listening to the voice was a little familiar, Meng Xisheng turned his head to look at the person, and the person was also stunned when he saw him.

"Li Zhizheng?"

"Meng Xianyan?"

The two called out each other's names in unison, and then laughed, Meng Xi said: "It's really a place where you don't meet in life, you are not with Zhao Manqing now?" ”

"I won't be with him for a long time, let's not talk about the old days, Meng Xianyan, wait for me to introduce you to a respected elder." Li Shimin turned sideways while smiling, and then retracted his smile and said solemnly: "This is the Huainan Governor Zhengong Dexiu." ”

Meng Xisheng looked up and saw a man about fifty years old behind Li Shimin, of medium height, wearing ordinary clothes, holding his beard in one hand and behind his back in the other, smiling at him.

"Meng Xianyan has seen the real manager."

When Meng Xisheng saw them dressed like this, he knew that they didn't want to be known, so his voice was very small when he saluted.

"Zhengong, this is the Meng Xisheng character review mentioned by the student." Li Shimin said to Zhendexiu.

"Hanging Island Meng's judgment?" After hearing this, Zhen Dexiu didn't dare to be too arrogant, and returned the salute slightly: "I have heard of the name earlier, Wei Heshan said in the letter that it is better to meet than to be famous." ”

Wei Heshan is Wei Liaoweng, he is called Mr. Heshan, and Meng Xisheng has dealt with him a lot when he escorted him to ask for money and food.

"Don't dare, don't dare, ...... is this," Meng Xisheng asked with some curiosity.

Zhen Dexiu is the governor of Lianghuai and knows Chuzhou, and the great politics of the hundred lives in this neighborhood are related to him, although with the implementation of the policy of judicial independence by the Son of Heaven, the government affairs of the local administrator have been reduced a lot, but there are still many things to deal with in a position like Zhen Dexiu. He came out in such a small suit and took a steamship to Xuzhou and Jinguo, Meng Xisheng would inevitably be curious.

"Ahem......" Zhen Dexiu's face was slightly red, but he didn't speak, but said it left and right: "Meng Xianyan, what did you just say about pity?" ”

Meng Xisheng also felt that his face was hot, and he said bad things behind his back, but he was arrested. He said with a smile: "Seeing those houses destroyed by fire, I think of the prosperity of Jianghuai in the book, so it is a pity." ”

He was originally a pity because of the traffic in Chuzhou, if he came to govern, it would inevitably be several times more prosperous than now, Zhendexiu was a heavy farmer, although the Son of Heaven gave him many preferential policies, he didn't use it, so the development was far less fast than Meng Xisheng expected. It's just that he thought about it in his heart, and said it in front of Zhen Dexiu, but he was not so straightforward.

I don't know how he doesn't mean it, but he doesn't want to say it, so he can't force anything to say. The three of them looked at the vastness of the smoke and chatted for a while, Meng Xisheng wanted to say goodbye and return to the cabin, but Zhen Dexiu called him.

"Meng Xianyan, Wei Hua's father once praised you in a letter, saying that whether it is you, Yelu Jinqing, or Chen Bohan, they are all confident. Threesome, there must be my teacher, the old man has been ruling Chuzhou for two years, can you give the old man some advice? ”

Zhen Dexiu's words were extremely sincere, Meng Xisheng felt strange in his heart, because of Zhao and Ju, he didn't have much affection for this master of science who always sang against the official family, he only felt that he was pedantic and stubborn, although he was not a wicked person, but he was not a practical person.

With a slight scruple in his heart, he hesitated for a while, but Zhen Dexiu bowed his hand deeply: "Please don't hesitate to teach." ”

Meng Xisheng hurriedly avoided it, and was even more suspicious in his heart, the name of Zhendexiu is known to the world, and he salutes such a hairy boy and a businessman like him, this is going to be spread, but I am afraid that no one will believe it.

"The younger generation only stayed in Xuzhou for one night, and after a cursory look for a while, he only knew the general...... If it's wrong, don't be surprised. ”

Seeing that he was about fifty years old, but staring at him like a studious child, Meng Xisheng hesitated for a while, and finally decided to talk about it a little.

"I heard that Zhengong Jiading was a messenger during the years, through the land of Jianghuai, after returning to Beijing to the first emperor said, the disadvantages of Jianghuai are that 'the field is not cleared, the ditch is not cured, the sinister is not strangled, Ding Zhuang does not practice, the heroic and brave do not clean up', the true prince has ruled Huainan for two years, and now the wasteland is turned into fertile land, the ditch dredging is not afraid of water and drought, the dangerous places are stationed with elite soldiers, the people of Ding Zhuang often practice battles, the heroic warriors, the learned Confucians have come to the true prince's staff, and the true father's former ambition has been extended."

Listening to him boast of his political achievements, Zhen Dexiu was not a little happy, judging from Meng Xisheng's original words quoted by him, Meng Xisheng's understanding of the land of Jianghuai is not just a general as he said.

Note 1: In the sixth year of Jiading, Zhendexiu sent an envoy to the Jin State, and heard that the Jin civil strife returned, and passed through Jianghuai on the way.