The ship was parked on the river, its flags waving.
A merchant ship had "Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce" written on it. Mr. He and several members of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce were standing on the bow.
Yangzhou is some distance away from the capital, and they only heard about it more than ten days ago that Mrs. Sui had been captured and that the imperial court was recruiting troops to go west to rescue her.
In the past, if they heard that there was going to be a war, they would definitely feel panic. Apart from the panic, they would also think of ways to hoard more food to wait until the war breaks out... It's not that they are struggling to make money for the country, but that's how businessmen are. This is their nature and a habit passed down from generation to generation...
But this time, there was a subtle change in their minds.
In the past few years, their Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce has made a lot of money due to the promotion of crayfish. This year, Madam Sui even allowed them to breed it themselves. Once the breeding is allowed, the future profits will be immeasurable... They benefited from Madam Sui , naturally also know a lot about Mrs. Sui, and know her great talent, her great power, and her great kindness.
Those who had been poisoned by crayfish in Yangzhou City, led by Mr. Zeng who deeply loved the delicacy of crayfish, donated money and food one after another.
Their chamber of commerce has a better relationship with Mrs. Sui, so how can they lag behind?
Therefore, Mr. He ordered people to buy a large amount of grain overnight, but no longer hoarded it, but loaded it all on merchant ships and transported it to the capital.
Who said that businessmen do not know the hatred of losing their country? Who said that businessmen's interests come first? They are also willing to dedicate themselves to the honor and disgrace of Dayu...
Ahem, of course, the main reason is to save Mrs. Sui... When others are arrested, they will donate some, but they will never donate so much.
On top of the merchant ship was one million kilograms of grain, which almost emptied the city of Yangzhou.
Behind the Yangzhou merchant ship is the merchant ship from Nanyang.
The Chamber of Commerce in Nanyang is not as rich as the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, and there was a flood two years ago. The local people have just recovered from this, so naturally they cannot donate too many things, but their lives were saved by Mrs. Sui, and now they finally have something. Seeing the opportunity to repay, they took out everything they could, raising a total of 400,000 jins of grain, 200,000 jins of cotton, and 3 million jins of dry firewood...
There are many other smaller ships from Jizhou, Qingzhou, Quanzhou... The ships are basically loaded with grain.
The most eye-catching thing is the row of huge merchant ships at the end, with the flag above reading: "Cao Family Merchant Ships."
Cao Defu stood on the bow of the boat, and the person next to him was Zhao Lizheng, the former Dahe Village, who is now Zhao County Cheng of Dahe Town.
"We're finally here." Zhao Xiancheng stroked his beard, "Thanks to your Cao family this time, otherwise there would be no way so many people could have arrived in the capital in time."
"It's serious when the county magistrate says this." Cao Defu said sternly, "Don't say that my Cao family and my mother-in-law are one family. Even if they are unrelated people, after hearing that my mother-in-law has been arrested, they will definitely mobilize everyone. Merchant ships are coming!”
Zhao Xiancheng looked at the people on the boat. Yes, there were many people on the boat who had never even seen Dashaniang. But after learning about the imperial conscription, they came spontaneously one by one...
In Dahe Town, each family only had one male left, and all the remaining men of the same age were on this ship, all for the purpose of joining the army.
Not only Dahe Town, but also Chengjia Village, Guihua Village, Lijiagou, Wangjiadun... these villages adjacent to Dahe Town, each family arranges for a strong man to board the boat...
Baiyun County, Fenghuang County, and Hekou County near Pingan County...the local county magistrates have encouraged young people to come to the capital to join the army...
Immediately afterwards, the magistrate of Huzhou issued a decree overnight. In just three days, they gathered 30,000 people in Huzhou. They all piled onto the merchant ship of the Cao family and arrived in the capital together.
"It's not yet time for us to disembark, and everyone still has a chance to regret it." Zhao Xiancheng said, "You are all young people, the oldest is only forty years old. You know better than me what it means to go to the battlefield... Everyone wants to live, it is wise to regret at this time, everyone should think carefully!"
"Grandpa, what's there to think about!" Zhao Tiezhu clenched his fists, "Our Dahe Village can become Dahe Town, and so many of us can live a good life, it's all because of Aunt Zhao. I heard that Aunt Zhao was taken away , we are all anxious to death, but we can’t do anything! Now it finally has a place to use, and I will never regret it!”
Zhao County Cheng's eyes were hot.
Tie Zhu was his proudest grandson. How could he let Tie Zhu die on the battlefield, but he had to do it.
Not only Tie Zhu, but his two sons, Zhao Anjiang and Zhao Anhe, also came. Their family only left one Tie Shuan... If everyone died, at least there would be Tie Shuan to inherit their family's incense...
Zhao Youyin stood beside the county magistrate. He, who was always clumsy and tongue-tied, looked at the crowd and said: "Our sister-in-law's life is life, and everyone's life is also life. No one is nobler than the other! Our Dahe Town has changed because of our sister-in-law. It has become like this, so the people of Dahe Town are willing to use their lives to save others, but there are many of you who are not from Dahe Town, so there is no need..."
"Although I am not from Dahe Town, I am living a good life because of Dahe Town. I am willing to go to the battlefield!"
"Dashan Niang led us all to make our lives more prosperous. Without Dashan Niang, I would have starved to death hundreds of times. I have to repay my kindness."
"I heard that joining the army also comes with military pay. It's a lot of money a month. If you die, you'll get a pension. No matter what, we won't lose. You people in Dahe Town should stop being so fussy."
"That's right, after you come to the capital, you will never go back. Let us country bumpkins see the prosperity of the capital!"
"Let's go, it's time for us to disembark!"
"Don't crowd one by one. Register first before getting off the boat. Don't wander around!"
"..."
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou on the boat never spoke, but their eyes were so red that they had to raise their heads to hold back the tears.
In this generation of their Zhao family, only Xuanxuan, the youngest, is left at home. If grandpa hadn’t been older, he would definitely come...
"Okay, don't cry." Zhao Youcai patted the two of them on the shoulders, "San Niu and Si Dan are younger than you two and are under more pressure. You go to them first to ask for news. Your second uncle and I will Follow the county magistrate and the imperial court to discuss joining the army..."
Zhao Dawang, Zhao Erwang, and Ah Fu crowded over: "What about us?"
"Please help count the number of people, so that no one gets lost before we even go to the battlefield." Zhao Youcai handed over the roster, "Time is tight, so do things quickly."
People on the boat were busy.
The situation at the dock was quickly reported to the court by the officials stationed here.
A booklet recording data was handed to the emperor's case.
Chambers of commerce in all provinces and states have sent donations, totaling 12 million jins of grain, 390,000 taels of silver, 410,000 jins of cotton, and 7.9 million jins of dry firewood...
Apart from these supplies, what is even more eye-catching is the 30,000 soldiers who came from Huzhou to join the army.
You know, since the decree to join the army was issued, although it caused a huge sensation among the people, not as many people actually took action as imagined.
Beijing has the largest population, but only more than 13,000 people have signed up.
In nearby Jizhou and other places, even fewer people signed up, with only two to three thousand people signing up in the entire state.
Based on this data, it is estimated that the total number of troops recruited across the country can only reach 100,000.
Nowadays, the army has no worries about pay, there is sufficient food and grass, and weapons and gunpowder are being forged urgently. However, the military strength is still slightly lacking...
The emperor knocked on the table and said, "I'm here to see the Prime Minister of Zhao County, Dahe Town, Xuanhu Prefecture!"
