In September of the first year of the Chinese era, Dengzhou Mansion in Shandong.

Under the scorching sun, the wharf was still full of people, and the cargo ships coming and going almost filled the entire harbor.

Cargo ships flying the word 'Zheng' were particularly busy, with three giant cargo ships squeezing almost half of the dock. Moreover, the entire horse head, most of the porters and boatmen belong to the Zheng family's employment.

The boatmen in short shirts stepped barefoot on the sampan, carrying nearly 100 catties of goods on their backs, nearly 100 steps away, almost one step at a time, directly from the dock to the cabin, from the distance from the restaurant, those boatmen are like ants, tireless, the long line in the scorching sun more than stretched, and at a glance, none of these people are lazy, all of them are sacrificing their lives to transport goods to the ship.

There are a few small cargo ships on the side, scattered, only a few boatmen are carrying goods on the sampan, and they are still full of reluctance, from time to time turn their heads to the cargo ship with the word "Zheng" hanging on the side, casting a longing gaze.

In the restaurant not far from the dock, naturally some diners saw this scene.

"This Zheng Daguan is really a bodhisattva, I heard that the person who works for his cargo ship is not only enough steamed buns and small dishes, but also cold watermelons and cold porridge at noon every day, such means and righteous deeds are really admirable!"

"You don't know, do you?" When his companion heard this, he whispered softly, and then Shi Shiran said: "The reason why this handwriting of Zheng Daguan is so extravagant is because there is a council standing behind it!" ”

"Parliament? Does he Zheng Yiguan have anything to do with the Jinan Provincial Council? Or is he a relative of the president of the Dengju Council? ”

"What Dengzhou Mansion, what Jinan Mansion?" The companion sneered at the two councils, as if he was Zheng Yiguan: "Let you know that when Zheng Yiguan arrived in Dengzhou, the chairman of the Jinan Provincial Council personally greeted him at the dock, and the president of the Dengzhou Provincial Council was far away in the crowd, and he was not even qualified to say hello!" ”

"Such a thing! So what is the origin of his Zheng Yiguan? ”

Seeing that he had already whetted his appetite, his companion spoke: "Behind Zheng Yiguan, standing is the Great Council of the Beijing, and the real proprietor behind Huayuan Commercial Bank is the Archon!" ”

"Hiss!!"

"I heard that Zheng Yiguan was originally a small boatman in Fujian, how did he climb to such a background? I can be an agent of the consul! ”

"It's a step to the sky!"

"The reason for this, listen to me in detail, it is said that the consul turned out to have a younger brother."

In the city of Dengzhou, a luxurious private garden covering an extensive area.

"After the three cargo ships are loaded, they will be able to go to sea, and they will arrive in the Hirado Domain in Japan in seven days at most," Zheng Yiguan and Qiu Tong sat opposite each other, and their own maids served fresh seasonal fruits and pastries to the two.

"The commercial president of the Matsuura family has been visiting for three consecutive days, and the three ships of cargo should hurry up," In more than a year, Qiu Tong's figure has become mellow day by day, and he looks like a rich man, and he no longer has the sassy style of the brocade clothes of the original secret guard.

"One of the ships is actually the cargo of the Tokugawa family, this time I went to sea to Japan, I want to completely open the door of Japan and have a showdown with the Tokugawa family," Zheng Yiguan just picked up the lychee that had been peeled at hand, and put it down gently, with an anxious expression: "Japan's war in Korea has completely failed, and General Cao has returned to Liao half a month ago, and his Tokugawa family no longer has any bargaining chips to negotiate with me!" ”

"Well, the Tokugawa family is the real ruler of the Japanese shogunate, and the ruling lord, the Matsuura clan has always had an attitude towards the Hirado Domain, and if the Tokugawa family can really be leveraged and the Japanese market is completely opened, it will be a great achievement!" Qiu Tong nodded when he heard this, and after thinking about it, he asked, "What do you think about the Hirado Domain's desire to send laborers to work in the country?" ”

Half a month ago, Koji Matsuura of the Hirado Domain sent a letter to him, wanting to send 3,000 Japanese female workers and 10,000 Japanese male workers to the Huaxia factory to learn from experience and work in order to develop his own domestic economy.

Not only Japan, Korea, but also Cochin, Vietnam, India and other places in the south also began to trade with China.

On the other hand, with the proliferation of private factories in Liaodong and Shandong provinces and Nanjing provinces in China, there was a large shortage of labor, so the factories greatly increased the employment cost of workers to attract labor.

The factory owners were also willing to hire cheap foreign laborers with few personal rights – after all, Chinese law protected the Han Chinese, and parliamentary regulations for foreign laborers had not been promulgated for the time being.

"Japan has a small territory, and the people have always had a strong sense of distress, and now our Han people are developing very fast, and their country wants to learn a thing or two, but it's nothing," Zheng Yiguan didn't care about these Japanese laborers, and when they arrived at the Chinese border, what they wanted to do had to be approved by themselves, so in the short term, there would be no threat.

"However, after a long time, contradictions will arise!" After all, Qiu Tong is a member of the parliament, and he is more sensitive to this kind of thing, and suddenly attracts the foreign worker to come in, and in the long run, it will cause a backlog of contradictions between the Han and foreign laborers, which is also a hidden danger: "In this matter, I will write a secret letter to the ruling lord to state the matter."

"The consul is now estimated to be a head, two big!" Zheng Yiguan said, revealing a wicked smile: "Speaking of which, the marriage of Lord Archon to Princess Ningde last month can be regarded as a kind of appeasement to the old nobles of the previous dynasty, right?" There was originally a grassland pearl in the house, and now with the addition of the princess of the previous dynasty, this taste should not be comfortable! ”

"The power of the previous dynasty is not obvious, although under the high pressure of the ruling lord, it is gradually dormant, but the power is still not to be underestimated, and there are many people who are still thinking about the former dynasty in their hearts, so the move of the ruling lord is also to stabilize people's hearts." Qiu Tong forked a cantaloupe with a silver fork and filled it into his mouth, which was extremely sweet.

"Where's the one in the palace?" Zheng Yiguan smiled.

Now it is rumored among the people that the former Empress Dowager Zhang Yan, who is now the honorary vice president of the Beijing Council, frequently appears in the parliament, and it seems that she is also a restless lord.

"Empress Dowager Zhang is admirable, but a woman can't succeed after all. Speaking of which, Zhu Youzhen is too down! Now it seems that even a woman is not as good! ”

Qiu Tong put down his fork and clapped his hands: "I should go to the official office to deal with it, and report the latest loading progress to me tomorrow, and then I will leave for Beijing, and you will go to sea in three days, and my brother will not send it." ”

"Brother Qiu!" Zheng Yiguan got up and arched his hand: "When you see the consul, send a gift on your behalf." ”

"Oh?" Qiu Tong blinked.

"The name of this thing is the flying shuttle," Zheng Yiguan took a box from the waiter's hand: "It was made by a craftsman from a weaving workshop in Nanyang, and it is actually a shuttle with a small wheel installed in the chute, and springs are installed at both ends of the chute, so that the shuttle can travel back and forth very quickly." It can greatly improve the weaving efficiency. ”

"Shuttle?" Qiu Tong took the box and solemnly addressed his subordinates: "I will hand it over to the ruling lord." (End of chapter)