The merchant ships left Yangzhou and continued to go north through the Grand Canal, allowing them to see this great project in ancient times, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is 2,665 and a half miles long, from Yangzhou to Linqing, passing through Yangzhou Mansion, Huai'an Mansion, Shandong Gunzhou Mansion and Dongchang Mansion along the way. And the flow direction of each section is different, from Yangzhou to Taierzhuang this section, roughly from north to south, after Nanwang and then to Linqing, and from south to north.

Different from the northern section of the Grand Canal that the two have seen, the Grand Canal from Yangzhou to Linqing makes use of a lot of natural rivers and lakes, starting from Yangzhou not far away, it enters Shaobo Lake, and then Gaoyou Lake, after entering Huai'an, a considerable part of the voyage is in the lake, mainly Hongze Lake and Luoma Lake, there are Weishan Lake and Ansan Lake in Shandong, etc., the use of these natural rivers and lakes reduces a large part of the amount of work when building, and also makes the water source of the canal guaranteed. In these wider waters, merchant ships can also sail with wind power, and only the more rapid counter-current rivers need slender men.

The areas passed along the way are very rich, the customs are different, Chen Tingdong has come and gone to the Grand Canal many times, explaining the customs and sluices of various rivers along the way, so the journey is not boring, when they are free, Chen Xin and Liu Minyou are on the boat to improve their respective plans, Chen Xin has been out for more than a month, and he came out secretly, he plans to change to a horse according to the original plan after arriving in Linqing, as far as possible back to Wendeng.

He urged the shipowner to hire a slender man in the section of the road where there was a slender man, and the shipowner was very familiar with the road, and he was sailing at night on the section of the lake, so that he arrived all the way to Linqing. Chen Xin finally saw the city that was used as the background in "The Golden Vase of Plums".

Linqing Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Dongchang Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty. Although the reputation in later generations is mediocre, in the Ming Dynasty Shandong is more prosperous than Jinan, because of its canal convenience, prosperous commerce, nearly a million people live here, until the eleventh year of Chongzhen, by the braid play in the wise and martial Prince Rui Dolgon turned it into white ground.

Chen Xin calculated, now Chongzhen is three years, and he still has at least eight years to develop, of course, letting the Qing army fight in Shandong is the worst plan. He has a better deployment in mind.

After they landed on the shore, they took a look at the neighborhood at will, and indeed the merchants were like carp crossing the river, and the commerce here mainly communicated the southern part of Beizhili, the hinterland of Shandong and the northern part of Henan. The market potential is huge, and cotton huā from Shandong is piled up in warehouses at various wharves and transported onto ships in a steady stream.

Song Wenxian said to Chen Xin on the side: "Lord Chen can remember what is written in the Golden Bottle Plum >, 'On this Linqing Gate, it is a lively and prosperous wharf place, a place for merchants to come and go, a place for ships to meet, and a place where vehicles converge, there are 32 huā willow alleys and 72 orchestra buildings. Sure enough, it is the most lively place in Shandong. ”

Chen Xin smiled and nodded. Looking at the past all the way, there are a lot of money villages, collapsed houses, and shops on the shore, and all kinds of tooth shops are shuttling among them, taking customers to bargain in various stores, looking at this situation, the competition will definitely be very fierce, but fortunately, there is a Zhou Hongmo here who can help some. Thinking of this, he first went to the nearby shops to inquire about the official office of the Linqing general, and in the northeast corner of the brick city, he searched all the way.

Go to the door of the official office. Chen Xin glanced at the gate and couldn't help but admire, the tall Zhaobi, the military gate, the black antlers on both sides, and the four sentries with bright armor and majestic armor at the door were much stronger than the gate full of in Zhou Hongmo's Wendeng camp back then.

The team in charge of guarding the door is from Linqing. Although he looks tall and majestic, he looks like a ruffian. He hadn't seen Chen Xin, Chen Xin voted for the name post according to the rules, he took the name post and looked at it, it was written that the Wendeng Camp Sailor Guerrilla Song Wenxian, this team officer had heard the name of the Wendeng Camp on weekdays, and also knew that Zhou Hongmo was from there, so his attitude immediately changed, and he hurriedly let a few people into the concierge room and sent someone to inform Zhou Hongmo.

Zhou Hongmo rushed to the gate after a while, he really thought it was Song Wenxian, and he was wondering when Song Wenxian became a guerrilla of the sailor, this time he saw Chen Xin, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood, laughed and patted Chen Xin's shoulder again and again, or in Wendeng Camp.

Both of them are generals, and now there are no superiors and subordinates, Chen Xin looked at Zhou Hongmo's radiant appearance, and arched his hand: "Brother Zhou is pampered here, but he is more blessed than when he was in Wendeng." ”

Zhou Hongmo touched his face and said, "It's still your blessing to my brother." He then greeted Song Wenxian, Liu Minyou and others he knew, and then walked in with Chen Xin's shoulders, with a smile on his face, and asked in a low voice as he walked: "Brother Chen, if the generals leave the letter without an order, they will be involved." He shook his head again and said, "But your brother Chen is not afraid, now who doesn't know that you are a red person in front of the emperor and in the military department, but let's be careful." ”

Chen Xin said with a smile: "Where am I leaving without an order, the imperial court didn't set up a water camp in Weihai, I took them to the sea to practice, those sailors are all newcomers, who can tell the things at sea clearly, but I got lost for a while, and I arrived in Tianjin after turning around, I thought that I had arrived in Tianjin, and Linqing was only a few days, so I had to come to see the eldest brother." ”

Zhou Hongmo pointed at Chen Xin with his finger in understanding, and laughed a few words, he immediately said: "It's rare that Brother Chen can still remember the elder brother, it just so happens that you are here, and my brother also wants you to be tight, we are a rough man, but we understand the gratitude, if it weren't for the military exploits of Laiyang and the Battle of the Four Cities, my brother would not be able to be this general anyway, this is Brother Chen's head and Tartar fight, this time we must reward Brother Chen." ”

Chen Xin hurriedly said a few words of humility, although this Zhou Hongmo is not in shape, afraid of death and loves money, but he is still a straightforward person. Zhou Hongmo took them into the rear house, which was very spacious, and Zhou Hongmo arranged for a master to accompany Chen Xin's entourage, and he took Chen Xin into the study.

Chen Xin went in to take a look, there were some books on the bookshelf inside, and a thin layer of dust had fallen, and he smiled secretly in his heart, Zhou Hongmo didn't even know a few words, so he had to pretend.

Zhou Hongmo invited Chen Xin to sit down, he knew that Chen Xin didn't know how to come to see him, so he asked with a smile: "Brother Chen is in Linqing, do you need my help?" ”

Chen Xindao: "I made a special trip to see Brother Zhou and also told Brother Zhou. I'll keep all the shops in your Wendeng camp for you. Let your relatives do it with peace of mind, but since you're here, let's take a look at the southern goods business by the way. ”

"Southern goods business?" Zhou Hongmo repeated, as if he thought about it for a while, he was distracted, and stepped on the chair with one foot, revealing his martial arts nature. Zhou Hongmo looked at Chen Xin seriously, he leaned over and said in a low voice: "Brother and brother can help with this, but those civil officials are not easy to get along with." ”

Chen Xin was waiting for his words, seeing that he was unequivocal. also put his mind at ease, and said to him with a smile: "Nan Goods and Qian Zhuang have to do it, please Brother Zhou to take care of it." ”

"My brother has just arrived, and he doesn't eat too much. The blue-handed ruffian brother can deal with it, but those officials hate it, in short, the brother does his best. However, Brother Chen can be very generous, it is clear that it is your shop, and my brother doesn't believe that there are still people who dare to make a mistake. ”

Chen Xin thought about it, didn't he fight for life and death just to earn a reputation, nodded and was about to agree, Zhou Hongmo said again: "These officials by the canal, there is too much silver to count, and his mother's protégés are old and old, and their fellow villagers are everywhere in the same year." I never look at our generals, Lao Tzu has to kneel down to see a civil official of five or six grades, we have to deal with them, and we have to accompany the smiling face all the time. ”

Chen Xin has Wen Tiren to take care of him, he is not afraid of ordinary civil officials, but he can't always go to Wen Tiren for help in big and small things, these local problems can only be solved by himself, and he has been thinking about how to deal with civil officials and gentry in various places and find a force that can be used nearby.

He didn't think about it for a while, so he asked Zhou Hongmo: "Brother Zhou has been here for a few months. I don't know what I know about doing business here? ”

"What can we know, isn't it just to open some shops, I said Brother Chen, if you want to do business, why do you want to do any southern goods. Like my brother, I opened two more gambling stalls and secret doors, and the silver was the same. "This week, Hong Mo is still the same as when he was in Wendeng Camp. Open up some crooked things, but the money comes really quickly, especially in a metropolis like Linqing.

Chen Xin also immediately agreed, this kind of place Zhou Hongmo is better cared for, it can not only make money, but also serve as an intelligence base, and count it in one fell swoop, but the person who runs it is not suitable yet.

He then asked Zhou Hongmo about Linqing's legitimate business, Zhou Hongmo scratched his head, shouted a few times outside, and a person who looked like a master followed him into the study.

Zhou Hongmo said to Chen Xin: "Brother, let's be a rough one, I don't understand, Lao Jiang is from Linqing, he said." ”

The master asked the question, and said respectfully to Chen Xin: "Linqing here gathers goods from the north and south, basically the Beijing division Nanjing has, there are all here, if you say that Linqing produces things, cotton huā is the first bulk of cotton, Dongchang Mansion is the most cotton in Shandong, most of the cotton huā is collected in Linqing, one is sent to the south of the Yangtze River, this left near the countryside also makes cotton cloth, marketing all over the north. In addition, there are furs and iron tools, which are also major items in the Linqing Dynasty, and the wool felt of Dongchang has long been famous, and most of the iron tools are agricultural tools......"

Zhou Hongmo interrupted: "That wool felt is a fart, my brother makes southern goods, you tell me how well the southern goods sell." ”

"Linqing sells southern goods, most of them are Hui merchants, sugar, tea, cotton, silk are still good sales, if the son wants to do it, it depends on the price."

"Hui Shang?" Chen Xin asked, Xu Xinsu is a giant among the Hui merchants, and with him to supply, he is not afraid of these Hui merchants.

"Yes, these Hui businessmen are all worth a lot of money, some of them have been in business for a long time, and they are very familiar with the masters of the Yamen, so it is very convenient to do things."

Zhou Hongmo patted his thigh and said: "I can think of ideas there, there is a master who is already familiar with me, the river and the state city, let's think slowly." ”

Chen Xin thanked him again, Zhou Hongmo, the general of the Linqing Dynasty, was actually in charge of Caoyun soldiers and horses, and he had a closer relationship with the banknotes, and it was estimated that he was indeed difficult to do in the state city.

The master continued: "If the prince sells southern goods, he must make a good deal with these few lines of tooth trade, otherwise there will be a lot of trouble, and if the official face is cleared again, he can still make a lot of silver." During the Wanli period, the customs tariff of Linqing banknotes was three times that of Yangzhou, and in some years, the commercial tax subscribed by the tooth bank was 20,000 taels, accounting for more than three percent of the annual commercial tax in the world, and the son could know the prosperity of Linqing commerce. ”

Chen Xin was a little moved and said, "So much. ”

Zhou Hongmo laughed and said: "Thirty taxes and one, there are so many, besides, Brother Chen, you know that the business tax is a bit of a, this is 20,000 taels, and the back is into the money bags of the adults, more than 200,000." ”

In this way, the annual transaction volume of Linqing is indeed amazing, this is the strategic place of commerce that he must seize in Shandong, Chen Xin remembered the energy of the officials and gentry that he had heard all the way, and felt that it was not easy, and he couldn't help but envy those rogues in his heart, and he didn't care about it. (To be continued.)