Returning to the temporary station in Zhang Qiuzhen, Shen Yichen first found Wu Dong, the general manager who was currently in charge of collecting grain on the canal.

He was instructed to spread the news of the reopening of Zhang Qiuzhen while dealing with merchants to collect grain. In addition, there will be millions of displaced people who will gather here in the future to build a great cause of river engineering.

Any merchant who is willing to come to Zhangqiu Town to buy shops and warehouses will have priority in obtaining the right to supply materials from the government.

The food, clothing, housing and transportation of millions of displaced people can be called astronomical materials, as long as they can become Shen Yichen's supplier, there is no doubt that they will make a lot of money, and they don't have to worry about sales.

And Shen Yichen collected grain from merchants on the canal during this time, and always implemented the policy of paying money with one hand and delivering goods with one hand, and there has never been a situation of credit, arrears, or default. Compared with the previous style of forced buying and selling of the Ming government, it is simply a child without bullying and a business model!

There is a foundation and reputation for honest transactions, and merchants on the canal are very willing to do business with Shen Yichen, and there is a good beginning of cooperation.

Of course, relying on the small favor of becoming a supplier first, if you want to impress the merchants who come and go in the canal, it is still far from enough to buy the industry in Zhangqiu Town with real money.

So Shen Yichen also prepared a killer feature, that is, salt introduction!

Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, in order to ensure the grain transportation of the northern army, combined the two things of buying salt and transporting grain. If a salt merchant wants to sell salt, he must use salt to pick up the goods, and how does salt lead this thing come from?

The answer is to transport grain to the front line, and the amount of grain that the salt merchant transports can be exchanged for how much salt can be used.

It can be said that this method is the prototype of the Ming Dynasty version of the futures trading system.

Shandong has been a large salt-producing province since ancient times, with 19 large and small salt farms, and a special salt envoy was set up during the Hongwu period to be responsible for the production of salt and the distribution of salt.

Even in the Ming Yingzong period, with the increasing proportion of salt industry taxes, in order to prevent corruption in the local government, the post of salt inspector was institutionalized. Its status and authority are above that of the Metropolitan Salt Envoy, similar to the jurisdictional relationship between the governor and the chief minister, and he is in charge of the inspection of salt affairs.

Shen Yichen, as the imperial history of the capital, under normal circumstances, even if he is a member of the fourth grade, theoretically has no right to interfere with the duty of patrolling the salt imperial history, let alone control the salt field to distribute salt.

However, after the Yellow River burst and flooded, a large area of saline-alkali land appeared on the boundary of Shandong, and it was difficult to grow grain in a short period of time, but salt ponds could be built to extract salt, nitrate and other items, turning harm into benefit.

This method is not a precedent in the Ming Dynasty, Henan Buzheng Si Kaifeng Prefecture area, because of the perennial flooding of the Yellow River, resulting in a large area of saline-alkali land in the northwest of the provincial capital, so simply set up a salt household to boil salt, with an annual output of up to 60,000 stones.

It can not only meet the needs of Kaifeng City, but also export Hebei (North Zhili), Shanxi, Jiangsu and other places in exchange for silver, grain and rice.

The saline-alkali land in Shandong is not as deep as Henan, so it cannot extract so much nitrate, and it cannot support the market opened by Shen Yichen.

Fortunately, there is no end to the road, and this summer's flooding of the levee also washed away several salt works along the coast. Shen Yichen planned to use the name of water control to send troops to forcibly take over the control of these salt works.

Instead of letting the moths in Shandong covet ink, the salt tax should be controlled by itself, at least it can be used on the people.

As for the reaction of the Salt Patrol Imperial History, it is not within the scope of Shen Yichen's consideration, there is no gun in his hand to set off any storms, it is nothing more than going to the court to fight the mouth cannon.

Now that there are more lice, I am not afraid of itching, as long as the work of Hegong is big enough, the more concerns the emperor wants to recall himself.

There are only a few salt farms, and Shen Yichen believes that they are still within the tolerance range of Zhu Qi Town.

After instructing Wu Dong on all matters, Shen Yichen walked out of his residence and went to the reconstruction site in Zhangqiu Town to find Jiang Pei, the county leader.

Now there is a shortage of available manpower around Shen Yichen, so he can only assign many important things to the officials of Yanggu County. Jiang Pei was tasked with rebuilding the streets of the houses on the site destroyed by the flood.

Originally, Shen Yichen's priority in rebuilding was the people's houses, after all, now in the cold winter, the migrant workers and military households are living in shacks and freezing, and the living conditions are indeed difficult.

However, now that there is a shortage of money, rice, and grain, we can only raise the priority of commercial real estate, and first do a good job in the work of "attracting investment" in Zhang Qiuzhen. Otherwise, you won't have anything to eat after running out of food, and even if you can live in the Jinluan Palace, it's useless.

Coming to the southwest corner of Zhangqiu Town, Jiang Pei was coordinating the transportation of civilian materials with a hoarse voice. After several days of rushing to work, he was covered in dust and unkempt, and he couldn't see the shadow of many officials and literati.

"Jiang Xiancheng, it's been hard these days."

Suddenly hearing Shen Yichen's condolence voice, Jiang Pei was stunned for a moment, and then reacted and hurriedly saluted: "You are polite, this is the matter within the scope of the lower official as a pro-people official." ”

"Yes, how does Jiang Xiancheng feel?"

Looking at the surging smile on Shen Yichen's face, Jiang Pei suddenly had mixed feelings in his heart.

In the past, under Meng Anwei's hands, if he worked so hard, maybe Jiang Pei would have secretly scolded his mother.

But now, for some reason, he doesn't have that kind of resentment and dissatisfaction, but every day he looks at the houses that are beginning to take shape, and looks at the heartfelt smiles of the people under his rule, Jiang Pei can't help but feel a sense of motivation.

Maybe when you put on this official uniform, the enthusiasm for the benefit of one party will be reawakened.

"The lower officials are ashamed, if they hadn't had such a corpse vegetarian meal in the past, the people would not have suffered so much."

"As an official, you really didn't carry the responsibilities on your shoulders."

"But it's not too late to make amends, and you will be a good official for the country and the people in the future."

"The lower officials should remember the teachings of the Constitution!"

After chatting a few words, Shen Yichen began to get down to business: "Jiang Xiancheng, this official came here this time to temporarily transfer the labor to build the dwellings, and give priority to rebuilding the damaged Zhangqiu Town Wharf, and this matter is still left to you to be responsible." ”

Rebuilding the docks?

Hearing that Shen Yichen suddenly changed the focus of construction, Jiang Pei was a little incomprehensible.

"Huxian, there have been a few light snows since the beginning of winter, and according to the experience of previous years, Yanggu County will soon have heavy snowfall. Makeshift shacks cannot withstand such severe cold, and the suspension of residential construction may cause many people to be unable to withstand this cold winter. ”

"I know."

Shen Yichen nodded solemnly.

In later generations, the average temperature in Shandong in winter was about a few degrees below zero, and if there was a cold wave, the minimum temperature might reach minus 15 degrees.

The Ming Dynasty did not have the greenhouse effect of later generations, coupled with the influence of the Xiaoice period, the lowest temperature in Shandong in this era, and even the chance of a terrifying cold of more than minus 20 degrees.

This kind of low-temperature simple shack cannot resist it, and many of them will not survive the cold winter, as well as the sick and infirm, the elderly, children, women and children.

Shen Yichen's choice to prioritize the construction of the dock means that he will abandon this group of people!

But Shen Yichen had no choice, the control of the water conservancy silver requisitioned by the imperial court Hegongyin and the Shandong Buzheng Department was actually not in his hands.

If the money, rice, and grain are not in place before the end of the month, in the face of the surge of displaced people in the three provinces and eight prefectures, it may not only be those who are infirm who cannot withstand the severe cold.

Once the displaced people feel that they have been deceived and riot, they will set off a great uprising in Central China in advance, just like the great peasant uprising in the southeast in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and there will be countless dead and wounded by then!

Today's Shen Yichen has more and more understanding of the eight words "mercy is not in charge of soldiers, and kindness is not an official". With limited manpower, he can't do it all!

"You Xian, is there a problem with the money?"

Looking at the uncomfortable feeling that couldn't be concealed in the corner of Shen Yichen's eyes, Jiang Pei immediately guessed what the problem was.

"Hmm."

"Xia Guan understands, and he must rebuild the dock as soon as possible!"

Jiang Pei gave up his hand.

Now he has been with Shen Yichen for almost a month, and Jiang Pei knows very well what the other party's character is. If it weren't for the lack of choice, Shen Yichen would never give up on any of the victims, and the elderly, weak, women and children were no exception.

In this case, what I can do is to rebuild the pier as soon as possible, so that the houses can be rebuilt as soon as possible.

"It's not just the wharf, you're going to have to build the warehouses and the shops along the canal."

"And shops?"

Jiang Pei can understand that the transportation of goods to and from Zhang Qiuzhen requires the dock of Zhang Qiuzhen.

And to build shops, Jiang Pei can't understand this, now that Zhangqiu Town is in ruins, what is the point of building shops?

"That's right, and shops."

"Yes, the subordinate obeys."

Even if he was puzzled in his heart, Jiang Pei did not question it again this time, many times people's hearts are like this, Shen Yichen has unconsciously won the trust of everyone and even blindly obeyed.

After explaining to Jiang Pei, Shen Yichen returned to his residence again and began to draw a plan for Zhang Qiuzhen on the table.

In the past, Zhangqiu Town had nine gates, nine gates, seventy-two streets, and eighty-two alleys. It seems to be very prosperous and lively, with many streets and alleys, but it seems very cramped in terms of road area.

To put it simply, it is very similar to some old towns in later generations, the roads are old and narrow, even if they extend in all directions, the traffic efficiency is not high, and it is impossible to undertake the logistics and transportation of commercial ports.

What Shen Yichen wants to do is to completely rebuild the ruins of Zhangqiu Town according to the urban layout planning thinking of later generations. Maybe at the beginning of the construction, these things did not feel much difference, but as time goes by, it will definitely make the merchants on the canal feel a smooth and convenient.

Just like the Tongzhou section of the canal, the loading and unloading efficiency of the wharf is extremely low, and it will be blocked for a long time during the busy period.

On the contrary, if the merchant ships dock in Zhangqiu Town, there is no congestion waiting time, that is, stop and go, you can load and unload goods whenever you want, which will definitely attract more merchants to come here to operate.

As long as commerce flourishes, it can drive the development of the local economy, and at the same time, it will still collect commercial taxes.

It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish, what Shen Yichen is doing now is in addition to "attracting investment" for disaster relief and water control. It is also considered that the salinization of the land and the low grain yield are not high, so as to seek another business outlet for the affected people in Yanggu County.

Shen Yichen was writing and drawing on rice paper, and before he knew it, night was slowly falling, and Wu Dong hurriedly came outside the house at this time.

"Hello Xian, there is something important to tell you about your humble position."

"Say."

Shen Yichen's attention was still on the planning map, and he didn't even raise his head.

"I received the news of the return boat on the canal, and the water and silver allocated by the imperial court are on the way, and it should soon arrive at Zhang Qiu Town along the river."

Hearing the news, Shen Yichen hurriedly put down the pen and ink in his hand, raised his head and asked Wu Dong, "When will you arrive?" ”

It can be said that now this water conservancy silver is Shen Yichen's life-saving money, with this silver, he does not need to be in such a hurry, and he will mobilize people to repair docks, shops and other facilities first, so that more victims can survive this cold winter.

"The water conservancy silver is also escorted by the returning boat, and the speed of the river is very fast, and it will arrive tomorrow morning without accident."

"Good!"

Shen Yichen couldn't help but applaud, with a look of excitement on his face.

After staying up for so many days, I finally waited for the food and salary of the imperial court!

"Mr. Wu, how is the matter of contacting the merchants who asked you to contact today?"

Calming down, Shen Yichen asked about the things he explained in the morning, the imperial court water conservancy silver estimated that it could only solve the urgent need, the current project is too big, and after all, it has to rely on land sales to maintain the follow-up.

"Merchants on the canal are very interested. However, if he wants to use salt to open the way, he suggests that he can try to contact the salt merchants of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, or the merchants of Hui, most of whom have a lot of money. ”

Wu Dong is a grain transport army, begging for a living on the canal all the year round, and has heard a lot about several major merchants.

At present, there were three major merchant gangs in the Ming Dynasty, namely the salt merchants led by Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Hui merchants who monopolized pen, ink and lacquer porcelain in Anhui, and the Jin merchants in the northwest who relied on the transportation of tea and salt during the Hongwu period.

At present, the business scope of Jin merchants and Shen Yichen has no intersection, and they mainly rely on land transportation in the northwest. The Hui merchants and the salt merchants of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, most of them traded on the canal.

In particular, the salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were very interested in the salt introduced by Shen Yichen.

It's just that the business reputation of the Ming government has always been bad, and Shen Yichen's reputation and integrity are no problem, but he rashly got involved in the matter of salt introduction, which made the big salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang suspicious, and they were not sure if he could come up with enough salt in his hands.

Wu Dong is a small general manager, it is difficult to say that it is a real big businessman, and if you want to make a big deal, you have to come forward with Shen Yichen.

At the same time, Wu Dong still has a small concern in his heart, that is, the status of agriculture and industry in Daming is obvious, and whether a big man in a scarlet robe like Bai Xian is willing to meet the salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?

"No problem, you immediately contact the salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang!"

What Wu Dong didn't expect was that Shen Yichen didn't even hesitate at all, and immediately agreed.

You must know that now Shen Yichen is full of thoughts about how to make money, the identity of a businessman is a humble fart, haven't you heard the saying that rich is an uncle?

As long as the other party is willing to take the money out now, let alone let Shen Yichen meet them, even if they come to visit them in person?

"Humble positions need the seal of the constitution to make the other party trust."

"Okay."

Shen Yichen also understands that Wu Dong is a military commander, and his official rank is really too low, and if he wants to gain the trust of the other party, he must provide proof himself.

So after he responded, he immediately wrote a seal letter on the table and handed it to Wu Dong, asking him to hurry up and contact him.

"Retire from your duties!"

After receiving the letter, Wu Dong also felt Shen Yichen's eagerness, and turned around and left without saying a word.

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Thank you for the tips from the big brothers these days