Cui Jiuming waited on the side of the road early in the morning, followed by dozens of businessmen. Shangjia was a very lowly profession in ancient times, especially after the Qin Dynasty, these guys who did not produce but were hated by everyone. Even the emperor did not have a good face for this group of people. According to the practice of the Han Dynasty, the family of a merchant cannot be an official, of course, you will become a merchant when you become an official, except for that.

Su Ren is a strange person, he entered the official with business, not only broke the tradition that businessmen could not be officials, but also made officials bigger and bigger, and now he is not only an official of the imperial court, but also an official of the vassal states. This made the businessmen around him see hope, and they all consciously threw themselves to his side, striving for their heirs to be the same as Su Ren in the future, even if they were a small official.

"Mr. Su......" A group of people knelt on the ground and saluted, with a spectacular momentum, so that the people who came and went did not know why, threw down the work at hand, and stood aside to watch the excitement.

Su Ren hurriedly dismounted and pulled Cui Jiuming up: "Why are you doing this kind of false etiquette?" ”

Cui Jiuming said with a smile: "The situation is different, you are a big official, we are businessmen, and if we don't salute when we meet, we will be questioned." As he spoke, Cui Jiuming glanced at Han Qing and Hou Yong.

"It seems that I have never been an official, except for you Lao Cui, when you first saw me, I was the city of Shu County, and I was your top boss at that time, and I never saw you salute like today."

The shopkeeper of the linen shop immediately quipped: "Listen to what Mr. said, don't dare to come nonsense when you see Mr. in the future, you have to be more disciplined!" ”

"Hahaha......"

"Lao He, you are the most unruly, which time is not the time to eat, you don't bring gifts, you don't leave without eating."

There was another burst of laughter, and Cui Jiuming took Su Ren and the others to their temporary residence. The city is still under construction, and the buildings in the city have basically taken shape, Cui Jiuming introduced while walking: "According to your instructions, every house in the city is facing the street, and even the subordinate government is surrounded by houses facing the street, leaving only a passage in and out, and a higher hillside outside the city has been leveled in a place, ready to build a warehouse, and the foundation is being cleaned up, you should see it when you enter the city." ”

"All the houses are two floors, the lower floor can be used as a shop, the upper floor is lived, according to the type of goods divided into several areas, some of our shops in the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce have opened a branch, there are not many people from other places, I am hurrying to invite."

"Hmmm! Very good, I don't have to worry about you doing things. Su Ren nodded while looking at it: "Can the sewer and water tower be built?" ”

Cui Jiuming shook his head: "I have already sent someone to Chang'an, and my father is persuading those craftsmen to come over, but it's just a matter of giving money, it's not a big problem." ”

"What about the bridge? Are the bridges and wharves on the Huai River and the Great River being built? ”

"The wharf is being built, and the bridge is more difficult, especially in the big river, the water surface is wide, and there are ships coming and going, it is very troublesome to build a bridge, and no one in the world has ever built a bridge on the big river."

"We have to hurry up, the two bridges are repaired, and Jiangsu City can truly become a hub for merchants from the north and south, and then more businessmen will come."

Cui Jiuming nodded: "I'll find a way." ”

Sure enough, as Cui Jiuming said, the temporary subordinate office was really surrounded by a circle of houses, and if you wanted to go in, you had to pass through a narrow alley, with two-story buildings on both sides, and there was a feeling of a glimmer of heaven when you walked inside. It is not big, there is no courtyard with three entrances and three exits, a small courtyard, and a three-story building. The first floor is divided into small rooms, the second floor is the empty lobby, and the third floor is supposed to be a place to rest.

Such a compact pattern, Han Qing met it for the first time. The whole city is a large market divided by streets. Han Qing has seen the East and West markets of Chang'an, although the roadside sheds have been turned into houses, and the market can be seen at a glance. Only then did Han Qing understand that Su Ren wanted to completely turn Jiangsu City into a market, a city-like market.

On the second floor, there were no servants coming and going, and the newly made wooden chairs were neatly arranged in the lobby, and in the middle was a huge table in the shape of a long bar. There are teapots and teacups against the wall, and you have to do it yourself if you want to drink water. It's not a place to chat and fart, it's all about discussing things.

Su Ren sat down, and the rest of the people consciously vacated seats for Han Qing and the others, and sat down one by one.

Su Ren glanced at it: "Oops! Coming here is a feeling of returning to Shu County, when our Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce held a meeting for the first time, you all thought it was strange, but now it's good, I didn't tell you to get it out, I remember that at that time, the shopkeeper was the most fiercely opposed. ”

Shopkeeper He patted the chair handle: "How come Mr. only remembers my old He's troubles, and doesn't remember that my old He is the first batch of people to join the Chamber of Commerce?" ”

Su Ren nodded again and again: "Yes, yes, the shopkeeper He is an old man, and he is still the vice president." ”

After talking and laughing, everyone quickly turned to business. Cui Jiuming reported on the current situation in Jiangsu, and on the whole, everything is going smoothly, the resettlement of the Vietnamese people and the pacification of the local people are good, and there are no major problems. With the support of Liujiazhai's treasures, there are no worries about the money, just waiting for everything to be built and businessmen from all over the country to move in.

"By the way, I found a problem when I came." Su Ren waited for Cui Jiuming to finish speaking, and then said: "Our Jiangsu city is only more than 200,000 people, even if the population increases in the future, it will not be too much, since we are ready to build Jiangsu City into a big market, with more than 200,000 people, I am afraid that we will not be able to consume the world's goods, so Jiangsu City can not only serve the surrounding people, but also build the throat of north-south trade." ”

"Since you have to make a throat, you have to unblock, there are many merchants from the south to the north, and the goods need to go in and out, but our road is really not very good, and when the city is built, it is imperative to build the road! I don't care about other places, if the road of our Jiangsu boundary is the best in the world, the blue brick paving is unrealistic, the stone road is still okay, the road should be wide and straight, no matter where the merchants come from after entering our Jiangsu, they should make him feel that it is most convenient to trade here. ”

"My suggestion is that four parallel roads must be built in the north and south, east and west, at least four carriages in parallel, all paved with stone slabs, from the southernmost to the northernmost, from the easternmost to the westernmost, of course, Jiangsu City must be a stop on these roads, what do you think?"

Cui Jiuming frowned: "That will cost a lot." ”

"Not only the road, but also shipbuilding, since the Huai River and the river, water transport must not be less, land and waterway parallel, and the scenery along the way is good, so that the merchants who come to our Jiangsu can not only do business, but also have a good mood, so that they will come often, and we will collect more business taxes."

"Oh! Speaking of commercial taxes, we have to draw up a standard as soon as possible, what kind of goods and how to collect taxes must be done in advance, and it will be too late to think about it then, Lao Cui, this matter must also be grasped quickly, and the city can be built around June next year at the latest, and maybe there will be merchants coming sooner, and people can't make people laugh. ”

Cui Jiuming nodded: "I understand, I will personally supervise this matter." ”

Han Qing didn't say a word, he kept listening to the side. With his temperament, he doesn't want to deal with these businessmen, but he is already Su Ren's staff, so he knows more about everything around Su Ren. After listening to it for an afternoon, Han Qing was shocked by what Su Ren thought and planned. Su Ren wanted Jianghuai not to settle the Yue people for the imperial court, but to lay the foundation for his Shang Jia empire.

Jiangsu is just one of them, listening to the meaning of Su Ren's words, in the future, Shuzhong, Chang'an, Luoyang, Yecheng and other places will have Su Ren's territory, and he will be able to connect these points. At that time, Su Ren could proudly say that he was the richest in the Han Dynasty, and it was by no means an empty phrase that he was rich enough to rival the country. As long as Su Ren makes a slight move, maybe the entire Han will suffer. The more Han Qing thought about it, the more he didn't dare to think about it, he wanted to reposition Su Ren. Su Ren's ambition is much greater than he imagined.

Knock on the edge of the bowl with chopsticks: "Mr. Han, what do you want?" ”

Han Qing hurriedly shook his head and lowered his head to eat.

"Thinking so distractedly, the expression on his face changes a lot, don't you think something is wrong?"

Han Qing looked at Su Ren for a while, took a deep breath, got up and saluted Su Ren: "Sir, can you tell me what your ultimate goal is?" ”

Su Ren was stunned: "What is the ultimate goal?" ”

"In the afternoon, Mr. said that Jiangsu is only one of them, and in the future there will be more malls like Jiangsu in various places, and after thinking about it for a long time, I feel that in the end Mr. only has one way to rebel, even if Mr. does not want to rebel, control the world's merchants, and almost control half of the Han Dynasty, at that time His Majesty may not let Mr. go."

"Rebellion?" Su Ren shook his head: "I never thought about it. Su Ren beckoned to Han Qing and smiled mysteriously: "Do you know how much money Your Majesty has invested in my Jiangsu?" ”

"Your Majesty?!"

Su Ren didn't continue, and motioned for Han Qing to sit down and eat. At this time, how could Han Qing still eat, he seemed to have caught something, but he felt that Su Ren's words were not convincing, and looked at Su Ren directly.

Su Ren said helplessly: "Forget it, tell you everything!" Half of this Jiangsu City is His Majesty's, me and others only account for half, Your Majesty is the largest shareholder, even if you will control the world's businessmen in the future, it is Your Majesty, we are just an errand runner at best, understand? ”

Seeing that Han Qing was still at a loss, Su Ren then explained: "It costs money to use troops against the Xiongnu; It costs money to deter the princes; To appease the people, it costs money, after the second emperor Wenjing, although the court has some savings, it can't sit and eat empty, right? I paid attention to Your Majesty, I don't know if Mr. Han has heard of the matter of Chang'an Taixue? ”

Han Qingmu nodded.

"That's an attempt, Jiangsu is the real thing, now you understand, right?"

Han Qing stood there stunned, the surprise in his heart made him unable to move. Su Ren didn't pay attention to him, and just lowered his head to eat. Putting the last bite of food into his mouth, Su Ren cleaned up his dishes, and when he was about to go out, he suddenly stopped, turned his head to Han Qing and said, "This matter is currently known to me and Your Majesty, you are the third person, understand?" ”