Zhu Bai was secretly funny: It's exactly the same as what I said when I slapped Lao Zhu's sycophant.

He raised his chin to the first fat man on his left who looked blessed: "Come, Master Wang, you talk about it first." ”

This person is amazing, a native of Shanxi, the leader of the local Jin merchant gang, and the younger brother of Wang Qianhu.

Nine times out of ten, Changzhou's medicinal materials and wood were all in his hands. The profit is thousands of taels a year.

This is the undoubted richest man in Changzhou.

Sun Yong didn't even call him just now, hehe.

Master Wang wiped his sweat: "Your Highness, the official tooth bureau is fair and strict, the fees are reasonable, and the grass people have no opinions." ”

Wang Qianhu confessed a few days ago, saying that Zhu Bai was coming, let him hide at home, and if he couldn't come out, he wouldn't come out, so as not to get into trouble.

As a result, he didn't expect that even if he hid at home, Zhu Bai would find him out.

He didn't know if Zhu Bai knew about his relationship with Wang Qianhu, and he didn't dare to see his brother.

Zhu Bai nodded lightly and asked, "Dare to ask whether the goods in your store are transported by land or water." ”

Master Wang hurriedly said, "By land." ”

The canal was used to transport official food. Even if he used it secretly, he couldn't say it.

Zhu Bai asked again: "Do you think it is fast by land or by water?" Which saves money. ”

Master Wang's heart trembled: How to answer the question of dying?

Although the answer is there.

He wiped his sweat and whispered, "Probably, probably, it should be water transport." ”

It must have been transported by water!!

A large ship carries more than ten wagons, and if it is not for the strong wind, the river does not freeze, and it flows downstream, the speed is largely unaffected by the weather and the season.

Land transportation is different, the mountain roads are rough, and people and horses are prone to injury and fatigue.

If the weather is bad, it is very slow and very costly.

Zhu Bai asked the next one: "What do you say?" ”

This person is even more powerful. He is a distant relative of Li Shanchang's family, a native of Anhui, also surnamed Li, and is the head of the local Hui merchant gang. Nine times out of ten, Changzhou's grain and salt were bought and sold by him. The profit is also several thousand taels of silver a year.

Master Li also wiped his sweat and replied: "Naturally, the water is fast." ”

Zhu Bai tilted his head and said, "Well, then the king doesn't understand." Since we all know that water transportation is fast, why do we all use land transportation? ”

Then the whole seat fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone knows why, but no one dares to say.

The water is fast, but the canal is clogged.

If you want to transport water, you need to dredge the river.

The canal was dredged, and the government first used it to transport official grain, and where did it turn to get them to transport ordinary goods.

To put it bluntly, it is a lot of effort, a small return, and a thankless effort.

Zhu Bai said: "This king understands your worries. He also told the horses to run and not give them grazing, and this kind of thing was never done by the king. The king has a suggestion, you pay someone to dredge the canal from Changzhou to Suzhou. According to the amount of money, determine the amount of goods that you are allowed to use in the future. The official tooth bureau also needs to use Caoyun, so the official tooth bureau also has to pay silver. What do you guys think? ”

If the government can talk the talk, of course, it is a good thing.

If the official tooth bureau wants to use the canal, it will definitely be able to use it.

But they don't, so they end up working in vain.

The wealthy businessmen present exchanged complicated eyes and shouted wildly in their hearts, but no one made a sound.

Zhu Bai said to Master Wang: "Come, you speak first." ”

Master Wang was helpless, and whispered: "If Your Highness can call the shots, this is naturally the best way." ”

In fact, he wanted to say: If you can't be the master, what's the use of saying so much?

Zhu Bai looked at Master Li and the others.

The others hurriedly said, "We think the same as Master Wang." ”

Zhu Bai nodded lightly, slowly took out a holy decree, and handed it to Fugui: "Read." ”

Fugui thought: "Fengtian carries the emperor's edict." ”

Everyone fell to their knees.

The gist of this holy decree is to appoint Zhu Bai as the superintendent of Caoyun, whether it is the director of the Caoyun Department of Yingtian, the history of Caoyun, or the superintendent of the coastal Caoyun Division. If necessary, officials from the prefectures, prefectures and counties along the route must cooperate. Violators will be killed.

Lao Zhu added a sentence at the end: "Boy, the sign of 'Ru I am coming' is used." Don't be cowardly. ”

Zhu Bai unhurriedly put away the holy decree and said, "The two of you take a step to speak. ”

These two people not only have money, but there are people behind them, and there are people in key families who hold the position of supervising the transportation of the Cao Yun Division.

As long as the two of them nodded, the others would be fine.

Master Wang and Master Li followed Zhu Bai out and stood in the corridor with their hands bowed.

Although he is two heads taller than Zhu Bai, his momentum is as if he is kneeling in front of Zhu Bai.

Zhu Bai said: "This king knows that you Jin merchants and Hui merchants are all businessmen with great ambitions, and you want to use Cao Yun to do business all over the country, and this strategy is not wrong. However, there is a pay, there is a gain. ”

Master Wang and Master Li nodded and bowed: "Your Highness is wise." ”

"Your Highness, you really have excellent eyesight."

Zhu Bai: "The original intention of this king to open the official tooth bureau is actually the same as yours. ”

Master Wang and Master Li glanced up at Zhu Bai in surprise.

Zhu Bai smiled and said, "People don't destroy heaven and earth for themselves. If this king wants to say that it is only for the court and not for himself, isn't that clearly treating others as fools? ”

Master Wang said cautiously: "What does Your Highness mean." ”

Zhu Bai: "It's better to be raw than cooked, and it would be best if the Guanya Bureau had a capable and ambitious fixed partner like you." Now this king is the supervisor of Caoyun, and he can give you a promise, as long as you are willing to contribute money and efforts to do a good job of dredging the canal this time, and this king still has this right, the official tooth bureau and Caoyun will open the door for you to conveniently. ”

Master Wang and Master Li quickly calculated in their hearts.

Lao Zhu's love for Zhu Bai is obvious to all, and he is simply responsive.

They just said a few words to Zhu Bai, and they had already seen how powerful Zhu Bai was.

Zhu Bai will stay by Lao Zhu's side for at least seven or eight years.

If they can really hug Zhu Bai's thigh, these seven or eight years will be enough for them to expand their business along the Yangtze River.

Master Wang gave his hand first: "In this way, the small people are sent by His Royal Highness the King of Xiang." ”

Then Master Li also gave his hand: "His Royal Highness the King of Xiang is the first to look forward." ”

Zhu Bai nodded: "The two of them are really people who do great things, and they will understand as soon as they say it." ”

Then, after he entered, he said lightly, "What the king told you about it." Have you figured it out? ”

Master Li and Master Wang said together: "We are willing to contribute money and efforts to dredge the canal." ”

When the others saw that these two old fritters were willing, they also hurriedly followed and said, "I am willing to do my best." ”

Sun Yong has been listening silently, his mood has risen and fallen, and his beard has been torn off several times under the excitement.

The benefits of this matter to him are obvious.

Every year, Cao Yun is his biggest headache, which is time-consuming and time-consuming. The court still hasn't allocated the money, so it's all up to him to figure it out on his own.

As long as the canal is dredged, the cost of water transportation will be reduced by more than half.