Genius remembers in a second [Aishang Novel Network biquge.info] to provide you with wonderful novels to read.

At the gate of Chongwen, Beijing, there are boats coming and going, and this is the only waterway for the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to enter Beijing.

The government officials were personally ordering the cargo of the ships and collecting taxes, and the backlog of ships was already lined up, and the captain of the ship was cursing loudly. A row of more than 30 river transport boats directly entered the Chongwen Gate, ignoring the officials who were inspecting, and the flag of the Caoyun Governor's Mansion was hung on the boats.

Half an hour later, the flotilla arrived at the canal docks.

Outside the dock was full of people, most of the coolies were shirtless, and a few were covered with a few rags, and they rushed towards the river, and another fleet of ships arrived. The soldiers of the Governor's Mansion at the wharf held leather whips and shouted loudly: "Don't crowd, line up." ”

The coolies only cared about stepping forward, how dare they retreat. If we couldn't get a job as a porter, we might not have the food for the family today. The fleet of these ships is not large, and I am afraid that only a small half of the coolies can grab the work.

The city of Beijing is the center of the Ming Dynasty, where imperial relatives, officials, and business travelers gather innumerable, and the daily consumption of materials is incalculable. Every year, more than 2 million stones of rice are transported from the southeast to Beijing through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, as well as other cloth, porcelain, tea, silk and other items.

Millions of people in the capital let the canal not dare to be abandoned for a day.

Liu Quan walked up to the bow of the boat and stretched, looking at the crowded dock from afar.

On the way back, he was already used to it, and when he went down to Jiangnan in March, he bumped and vomited all the way, and it was not relieved until Hangzhou.

This time, the caravan went back and forth to the south of the Yangtze River to take the imperial court's Cao transport fleet, which cost a lot of money, but had two benefits. First, safety, the imperial court is a matter of importance, there are soldiers along the way, and the water invaders dare not invade; Second, Liu Quan also wanted to use this to dredge up the relationship between the Caoyun Governor's Palace.

The fattest official positions of the Ming Dynasty, the governor of Caoyun is one of them.

There are thousands of ships in Caoyun, traveling from Beijing to Suzhou and Hangzhou, and they are the most prosperous areas of Daming along the way. In the past, the imperial court only allowed the Cao transport fleet to carry merchant goods when returning to the southeast from the back of Beijing, but this rule has long since become a dead letter. There are a large number of vacant spaces to and from each ship to and fro, and freight is operated along the way. This also led to the reduction of the rice transported into Beijing from 4 million stone in the early Ming Dynasty to 2 million stone now, and the price of rice in the north has been at a high level.

When Li Sancai, the leader of the Donglin Party, served as the governor of Caoyun, he was rich in the world, and he used gold and silver to fund scholars, and was known as a business wizard. Of course, Liu Quan knew that there were any business wizards in the Ming Dynasty, either using the power in his hands to make a profit, or risking his own life. Just like him now, if he doesn't climb up to Zhai Zhe outside the Saiwai, no matter how big his ability is, he can only operate on a small scale, and if the Han Department loses power one day, the business alliance will face the bankruptcy crisis.

Wooden boats swayed to the shore.

The soldiers on the ship took their positions, put on two thick planks and went ashore, put the coolies in a row to carry the rice bags in turn, and disembarked from the other side. The barefoot big feet stepped on the ground and "snapped", the rude man lowered his head and let out a heavy pant, beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead, and the skin on his shoulders was tanned red, and there was already a layer of calluses on it.

In the golden autumn of September, the autumn tigers are ravaging in the past few days.

The Caoyun Governor's Office, who escorted the ship, walked out of the cabin, greeted Liu Quan, raised his hand to block the sun, and said, "When the goods are finished, you can go to the dock and find a Cao Gang to help you deliver the goods." ”

The Cao Gang is a gang of coolies at the docks, and the scale is not large. Individual coolies often could not get work, and some of the villagers gathered together to huddle with each other, so that the transportation capacity increased, and the merchants who came and went were willing to hire them. The Cao Gang can sometimes even deal with the soldiers of the Cao Yun Mansion, making it easier to survive.

Liu Quan walked the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal for the first time, and there were many things he didn't understand, and the handle of the escort ship along the way was always very large\u6

1ooo

5b9, these men gave him a lot of advice.

Liu Quan arched his hand and said, "Thank you for your advice!" ”

"The docks are messy, you have to be careful!" Always kind to remind.

Liu Quan smiled and nodded, and said, "When I return to Beijing this time, I am fortunate enough to know you, and there are many places to rely on you in the future." "He brought more than twenty guards, and he was not afraid of someone causing trouble.

Shangmeng went to Jiangnan for the second time, which took more than half a year. He stayed in Hangzhou for nearly three months, established a branch of the Shang League, and inspected several prefectures along the canal - Yangzhou, Suzhou, Songjiang, etc., all of which were the richest cities in the Ming Dynasty. After the first time, there is no need to make such a big move to buy goods from Jiangnan in the future, and I made friends with the people of the Caoyun Governor's Mansion and helped take care of them along the way, although it cost more money but it is much more convenient, and more importantly, the safety is guaranteed.

The general manager replied: "Being able to know Liu Dongjia is also fate, and if you have a useful place, just open your mouth." ”

It took nearly half a day for Caoyun's goods to be transported ashore and put into storage, and then Liu Quan found a Shanxi Cao Gang to transport the goods of Shangmeng ashore. He was the largest merchant in the fleet, and he loaded several ships of tea, cloth, and rice until it was dark, and then transported them to the warehouse of the Beijing branch of the Shangmeng.

Pointing all the way, although he didn't stretch out his hand, Liu Quan was still busy sweating profusely.

Once the shopkeeper of Dexiang Pavilion was carefully served, after the growth of the business alliance, his status rose, and now he is the big shopkeeper of the Beijing branch.

Liu Quan asked people to fetch water, wiped a handful of sweat, and then came to his senses and asked, "How is Datong doing?" He also heard the news of the Jurchen invasion of Datong in Jiangnan, and his heart was uneasy along the way.

"Some time ago, there was news from Fan Dongjia and Ning's shopkeeper that Datong Mansion should be fine, Youyu is not very clear, and it seems that I haven't heard of the Jurchens invading Youyu."

Liu Quan was a little relieved and asked, "Does Shangmeng have any losses?"

"It's no big deal, the Jurchens didn't attack the city, it's just that the Xikou trade route is cut off, and they can't make ends meet!"

Most of the fur goods in the past have been sold, and the business of the firm is light these days, and the shopkeeper Wang has some heart\u71

f5b

26。

Liu Quan pondered for a moment and said, "There is always a time when the Jurchens will retreat, and they will reduce the salaries of their men first in the past few months. As long as the goods sold back this time are sent to the grassland, there will be money to be made. ”

The branch of Shangmeng is located outside Xuanwu Gate in the southern urban area of Beijing, which is not a top prosperous area. Liu Quan chose this place because Shangmeng just wanted to use Beijing as a transit place for goods from north to south, which was cheap and convenient, and just acquired some courtyards as warehouses.

When it was approaching, after it got dark, there were few pedestrians on the streets, and the Jurchen army in Xuanda Town still had some impact on the capital to a greater or lesser extent.

Watching the goods enter the warehouse, Liu Quan arranged for the guards to guard again, and then put his mind at ease and prepared to rest.

At this moment, a person walked up the street, and he entered the door of the business without saying hello.

The man hurriedly stepped forward to stop him and said, "It's closed, come back tomorrow." ”

The man arched his hand and said, "I heard that your name Liu Dongjia has returned from Jiangnan, right?"

Liu Quan heard it at the door, and was taken aback, he had just arrived on his front foot, why did someone come to him. He turned around, and the man he looked at, big and intimidating, said, "I am, is there something wrong?" ”

"The proprietor asked me to give you a message, please be in the Moon Tower for a while at noon tomorrow."

"Who's your owner?"

"What you know, you know when you see it." After the man finished speaking, he hurried away and disappeared in the dark streets.

Moon Tower is a famous restaurant in the south district of Beijing, famous for operating roast duck, many people will come here to taste after the business travel from the north and south to Beijing City, and has been praised as "the best food in Beijing, wonderful in duck, especially in the flames." ”

Liu Quan secretly wondered, under the fatigue of the journey, his body was tired, and he didn't think too much, and soon fell asleep.