Yunxi set out from the capital on the 10th day of the ninth month, because the speed of the flat-bottomed Fu ship was extremely slow, so it sailed on the Yangtze River at the speed of one house a day. On September 11, it passed through Zhenjiang, on September 12 through Changzhou, on September 13 through Suzhou, and on September 14 it came to the Shanghai City Bosi located in Songjiang Prefecture. Since the sea is beyond Songjiang Mansion, the fleet escorting Yun Xi has to rest in Songjiang Mansion for a day to overhaul all the ships - especially the lucky boat that Yun Xi is on, in case there are problems with the ships after going to sea.

Because he had to overhaul the ship completely, Yun Xi also got off the ship and lived in the Yamen of the Shanghai City Shipping Division where he had lived for a few days.

Since he came to Shanghai City, Yun Xi will of course care about the situation here by the way. He called Zhang Jian, the promoter of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau, to him in the evening of the same day and asked about the current situation.

"Your Majesty, as of the end of August this year, the Shanghai City has received a total of 2,573,369 yuan in tariffs, which is about the same as last year." Zhang Jian said with a little apprehension.

"It's normal." Yun Xi smiled at him and said: "At the beginning of last year, the Bao'an City Shipping Division was established, and many merchants who did business in Nanyang will definitely go there, and it is normal for the merchants who come to Shanghai City to do business have decreased. It is not easy for the number of tariffs in Shanghai to be reduced, and I have to appreciate you. ”

Zhang Jian and the officials of the city department knew very well that their job duty was to increase tariffs for the Ming Dynasty, so they were very panicked when the tariffs did not increase. Yun Xi also understood this matter in an instant, so he immediately comforted him to prevent him from thinking wildly.

Zhang Jian really breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Yun Xi's words, and his expression was much more relaxed.

After that, Yunxi asked a few more things, and Zhang Jian answered them one by one. But the last question Yun Xi asked surprised him.

"I remember the last time I came to Shanghai City, there was a merchant selling raw silk and silk in Suzhou, called the Li family, and several other merchants partnered with several other merchants to account for more than half of the silk and satin shops here?" Yoon-hee asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Jian still remembers that two years ago, he accompanied the emperor, who was pretending to be a member of the Qipin House, to wander around the city, and the emperor had a few words with one of his partners, and later caused the Nanyang merchants who were now giving him a headache to transport grain to sell. So it is not surprising that His Majesty remembers them.

But Yoon-hee's next words were very strange. "I remember that one of their partners was surnamed Xiao, and his name was Xiao Zhuo. I later sent someone to investigate this person, although he is indeed from Jiaxing Mansion in Zhejiang, and he is still a child, but his identity is not ordinary, and he is not an ordinary merchant. This person is now available in Shanghai City? ”

"Your Majesty, this person is still in the Shanghai market." Zhang Jian agreed. Although Xiao Zhuo is not ordinary-he has also investigated Xiao Zhuo after his tenure in Shanghai, although he has not investigated too many things, he also knows that he is not ordinary. But even so, how can a businessman be worthy of the emperor's attention?

"Send for him, I will see him early tomorrow morning." Yun Xi commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty." No matter how strange it felt, Zhang Jian didn't dare to disobey Yun Xi's words.

After that, Yun Xi didn't have anything to say, and Zhang Jian bowed and retreated.

Yun Xi stretched his waist and went to the temporarily arranged dormitory to rest.

But before the break, Yun Xi asked Li Sha'er: "When you were here in Shanghai City, did you know a businessman named Xiao Zhuo?" ”

"Know, why don't you know? He and several other people partnered to occupy more than half of the silk and satin shops in Shanghai, and the business was very large. And he had been at sea for a few years before, and his brother had dealt with him when he was a pirate. Li Sha'er said.

"What did he do at sea?" Yun Xi suddenly became a little interested in this and asked.

"Do everything, the main thing is to smuggle goods, smuggle all kinds of goods from Daming overseas, and smuggle overseas goods to Daming. At present, most of the businessmen in the Shanghai market are such businessmen. Li Sha'er said. She knew that Yun Xi had no intention of pursuing this, so she said truthfully.

Yun Xi didn't know what to think, and said, "I want to see Xiao Zhuo tomorrow, and you can help me ask him something on the side." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Sha'er had no doubt and immediately agreed.

"What was your life like at sea? I haven't heard you talk about it yet. Yun Xi said again.

Li Sha'er was very reluctant to tell Yun Xi about her life with her brother when they were adrift at sea before, and Yun Xi also knew about it, so she only asked about some general things. But now that Yunxi asked, she didn't dare not say it, and picked what she could say.

"Your Majesty, life at sea is of course not easy, in the past, there were Ming sailors in the near sea, once they were caught, the ship was wrecked and people died, and the sailors of the Ming Dynasty were rarely willing to capture pirates; The Far Sea Master didn't go, but there were other merchants who were more dangerous than the Ming Seaman. At sea, pirates and maritime merchants are not clear ,......"

Yun Xi listened for a long time, and finally hugged Li Sha'er and said: "It's okay, now you are my concubine, and your brother is also a military general registered in the Ming Dynasty, and your precarious days have completely passed." ”

"Your Majesty, the concubine also knows that the concubine is very satisfied with her current life." Li Sha'er said with a smile.

……

……

Before dawn on September 15, Xiao Zhuo was waiting in Shanghai City. He was in the lobby at this time, restlessly waiting for an audience from a high-ranking official, who was said to be very high.

Xiao Zhuo was very puzzled by this, he was an 'honest and duty' businessman, how could there be a high-ranking official who wanted to meet him. Although the Ming Dynasty has now reduced the restrictions on merchants, in essence, the status of merchants is still inferior, different from ordinary people. On weekdays, except for the officials of the Shanghai City, even the people in Songjiang Mansion don't deal with them, what does a big official do when he sees him?

His doubts did not last long, and soon an unpopular official from the Shanghai City came over and took him to meet this 'big official'. But Xiao Zhuo was more and more puzzled, because he had already walked out of the Yamen of the Shanghai City, walked into the dock, and finally walked to a big ship.

"Liu Cheng, the official who wants to meet me is the official who came to Shanghai with the emperor?" Xiao Zhuo asked the familiar official in front of him in surprise.

But the official, Liu Cheng, did not answer. He didn't know who was going to meet Xiao Zhuo, so he could only remain silent.

"But that makes sense. Recently, apart from His Majesty's entourage, I have not heard of any high-ranking officials coming to Shanghai, so only the officials brought by His Majesty are likely to receive me. Could it be that His Majesty is interested in us businessmen, so he asked an official next to him to ask questions? Without hearing Liu Cheng's answer, Xiao Zhuo was not annoyed, and muttered to himself.

Immediately got off the boat, said a few words to Liu Cheng, looked Xiao Zhuo up and down a few times, and said, "Come up with us." ”

Xiao Zhuo felt that his gaze, voice, and self-claim were strange, but he didn't think much of it and followed him onto the boat.

After that, Xiao Zhuo waited on the boat for a long time, from the time the sun had just risen until the dazzling sun shone on the earth, until he wanted to sleep, and the man who led him up to the boat came over again and said, "Come, follow us to meet the master." ”