In the courtyard of the East Palace, Zhu Pangpang took a glance and saw the emperor's grandson walking here and there, his head lowered as if he was worried.
"Zhanji, why are you wandering around? It makes me dizzy." Zhu Gaochi said, "I think you are restless."
Zhu Zhanji forced out a slightly stiff smile: "Why am I uneasy? Dad, you are busy with your business, don't worry about me."
Seeing his son's appearance, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi said suspiciously, "What kind of idea are you thinking about?"
"Look at what you said, what can I dare to hide from you?" Zhu Zhanji's heartbeat accelerated.
Zhu Gaochi frowned slightly and said, "Zhanji, I heard someone said that you went to the Ministry of War to find Fang Bin?"
"Nothing, I just asked Fang Shangshu for a small favor." Zhu Zhanji said.
Zhu Gaochi frowned slightly: "This time your fourth uncle is marching to the north, the Ministry of War and I are responsible for supervising the transportation of grain and grass. Don't go to the Ministry of War to cause trouble. I can tell you, this matter concerns your father and my head, you must not give me a What a surprise, I’m afraid I’ll be scared to death.”
Zhu Zhanji said with a calm face: "How can I, the grandson of the emperor who has no real power, have any bad thoughts? Dad, you are suspicious."
…
Tongzhou, Tonghui River
"Are you moved?" Zhu Gaojie looked at Zhu Yong calmly.
Zhu Yong shook his head crazily: "Don't dare to move, don't dare to move."
Zhu Gaojie was seen holding a snow-white sharp sword, and he put the blade on Zhu Yong's neck. It was only 0.01 centimeters away from the throat of Duke Cheng. If he was not careful, he would die.
"Tell me, where is my food and fodder?" Zhu Gaojie took a deep breath, "I told you when we first set out for the expedition to communicate with the capital before we had gone far. You bastard was not very confident at that time. ?"
Zhu Yong was wronged: "No one expected this. The grain boat was about to arrive in Tongzhou, but suddenly a boat jumped out and collided with our grain boat. Both boats capsized and the grain sank in the lake. Your Majesty. If you are still angry, chop off my head and stew me to serve as food for the soldiers."
"I'll chop you down now!" Zhu Gaojie raised his knife and was about to swing it down.
Zhu Yong quickly dodged and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, give me a chance!"
Zhu Gaojie said angrily: "I gave you a chance, but you didn't use it? I gave you a chance, but you didn't use it!"
But the matter has come to this. Only a few people can be fed by stewing Zhu Yong. Zhu Gaojie now wants to feed 30,000 people!
At this time, Zhang Fu hurried over, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, the people of Tongzhou have all fled as soon as they heard that the army was short of food."
Zhu Gaojie was stunned: "Running so fast?"
The simplest way for the army to be short of food is to use local materials and collect grain from local people or landlords. But in actual operation, it can be said to be an open grab. The people are important, but the army is even more important. The people or landlords who resist will most likely be killed on the spot.
So as soon as they heard that the army was out of food, the local people packed up their beds and ran away. The autumn harvest had just passed. If the food was borrowed, the whole family would definitely starve to death. It was better for the army to starve to death than to starve to death themselves.
Zhu Gaojie asked again: "Then borrow grain from the Tongzhou granary and give orders to the Tongzhou magistrate in the name of my king. If he dares to pervert us, he will kill him first and then rob him!"
The lives of 30,000 of his own soldiers were at stake, and Zhu Gaojie could not tolerate mercy, so he could only use special means at special times.
Zhang Fu sighed: "The magistrate of Tongzhou came to report that the granary... was burned down."
Zhu Gaojie: "Are you making me laugh?"
If you don’t have a fever earlier, you won’t have a fever later, but why do you have it at this time?
Zhu Gaojiu didn't think Tongzhou Zhizhou had the guts to lie to him. If he didn't borrow food and delayed the army, he would definitely be executed afterwards. Tongzhou is an important warehousing center and is known as "One Beijing, Two Guards and Three Tongzhou". Even if the granary is gone, Tongzhou Zhizhou will still be pushed out for questioning. Regardless of whether the granary is burned or not, Tongzhou Zhizhou’s head will have to be moved. There is no need to tell lies before death.
"Someone is tampering with this." Zhu Gaojie's eyes were deep. "As soon as we arrived at Shuntian Mansion, the grain ship sank. The locals ran so fast. It was obvious that someone had caused trouble in advance. Otherwise, there would be no such efficiency. Now the grain warehouse It’s also burned, can this be a coincidence?”
"It's no longer important whether it's a coincidence or not. What's important is to get through the current difficulty." Zhang Fu said helplessly, "The food and grass they carried have been exhausted, and the soldiers have been waiting here hungry for a day. If we make more preparations Without food, even if the soldiers rushed to the nearest Shuntian City, half of them would probably starve to death. Half of the soldiers died before they even left Shanhaiguan. How should we fight in the future?"
Zhu Yong cursed loudly: "This move is really dark, it's really stuck in time."
"How many war horses do we have?" Zhu Gaojie suddenly asked.
"There are two thousand cavalrymen with two horses each. Including the cavalry of the palace guard, the total is not enough to reach seven thousand." Zhang Fu asked in shock, "Do you want to kill the horses?"
"If we starve to death here, no matter how many horses we have, it will be useless." Zhu Gaojie looked solemn, "Let's wait a little longer, wait until the soldiers reach their limit before killing the horses."
Killing war horses for food would definitely be able to support these 30,000 elites as they walked to Shuntianfu City.
But Zhu Gaojie really didn't want to kill the war horse if it was not necessary. After killing the war horses, the palace guards were fine. They were all musketeers. At most, they had poor pursuit ability and had little impact. But the two thousand elite cavalrymen under his command, drawn from the three thousand battalions, were useless. This was his sharpest sword. Without the horses, what kind of cavalry would they be?
"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" Zhang Fu said in a deep voice, "Why don't we just kill the horse? If the horse dies, it can be tamed again, but if the soldier dies, then it is really gone."
Zhu Gaojie frowned and looked at the wide, sparkling river. His eyes suddenly became clear: "What do you think, how about we become water bandits for a time?"
Zhu Di designated Peiping as Beijing and prepared to move the capital to the north. In view of the fact that the safety of maritime transportation was not guaranteed, in order to solve the problem of grain supply in Shuntian after the capital was moved, he decided to reopen the meeting and connect the river.
In the ninth year of Yongle, he ordered Song Li, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, to take charge of the construction, and recruited 300,000 civilians from Shandong, Xuzhou, Yingtian, Zhenjiang and other places to serve. The main projects include improving the water distribution hub, dredging the transportation road, rectifying the dam gate, and adding water tanks, etc., which have been basically completed so far.
This project not only facilitated the construction of Suncheon Palace, but also facilitated water transportation for merchants from the north and south.
Zhu Gaojie gave the order without hesitation: "Deploy two thousand people who are good at water skills and follow me to the Tongzhou Water Transport Terminal!"
Zhang Fu probably knew what King Qi was thinking when he heard this.
…
When it comes to water transportation, we have to mention canals.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs from north to south, and water transport merchants flourished. It starts from Tongzhou in the north, meanders south, and reaches Hangzhou. Green waves hit the beaches of Beijing and Tianjin, cross the Hebei-Shandong Plain, and sweep through the green fields of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It connects to the Haihe River, crosses the Yellow River, crosses the Yuhe River, crosses the river, and then connects with Qiantang. It is three meters long. More than 1,500 miles. The grandeur of the project, the spectacular scale, and the long history were the highest in the world at that time.
On the wharf, there is a Dendrobium Hall with a green glazed tile roof and a windlass well house with a small blue tile roof. Looking south, there stands the eight-sided Buddha Relic Pagoda.
Two thousand "violent bandits" crossed the street like locusts, armed with sharp weapons and menacing.
"Send the order to recruit ships!"
Zhu Gaojie gave the order unceremoniously, and his two thousand soldiers rushed to the dock with great force, selected the largest ship, and threw off the civilians and merchants on board.
"Oh shit! You're a bandit, you're robbing me!"
The merchant leader fell to the ground. He had never seen such a scene before. I had only heard that you could encounter water bandits when you were on the water. I didn't expect that there would be ship robberies at the water transport terminal.
Zhu Gaojie walked up to the merchant leader and asked, "What's your name?"
When the merchant leader met the "bandit leader", he weakly held up his hands and said: "Li Zhe is on the right side of the lower river."
"It turned out to be from the Jiangyou Shang Gang." Zhu Gaojie understood clearly.
The main activities of Jiangxi merchants are in the Huguang area, including Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang. There are many merchants in Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, all of whom are engaged in trade. Jiangxi merchants visiting Wuhan are like visiting a court. Salt, beans, rice, wood, medicinal materials, and flower cloth are all six major industries in Hankou, all operated by Jiangxi businessmen. Especially in the medicinal materials industry in Hankou, merchants from Linqing, Jiangxi Province almost monopolized this industry.
Changsha, Hengyang, and Xiangtan in Hunan are all places where Jiangxi people live together. Most of the residents of Yuezhou Prefecture in Dongting Lake make a living by fishing, and the profit from fishing in rivers and lakes is also monopolized by Jiangxi businessmen. There has been a popular saying in Huguang area that "there is no market without Jiangxi people".
Although the main area of activity is in Huguang, the power of the Jiangyou Business Gang cannot be underestimated in Beizhili. It is one of the first business gangs to have a guild hall in Shuntian Prefecture.
Zhu Gaojie thought for a while, took off a jade pendant and threw it to Li Zhe: "Take this jade pendant to Prince Qi's Mansion in the capital, and you can exchange it for three thousand taels of silver. I'm not robbing your ship, I'm recruiting you."
As soon as Li Zhe heard "Prince Qi's Mansion", he immediately became energetic and asked cautiously: "Who is your Excellency?"
"King Qi, Zhu Gaojie."
"Plop!"
Li Zhe couldn't control himself and knelt down on the spot. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately kowtowed to Zhu Gaojie, "I am short-sighted and disrespectful in front of Prince Qi. Please forgive me!"
For the crime of impersonating a prince, one or two people would definitely not die. All the nine tribes would have to join in the fun.
Therefore, Li Zhe did not suspect that it was fake, so he paid his respects directly.
"No need to be polite. There is no need to be polite here." Zhu Gaojie raised his hand to signal.
Only then did Li Zhe dare to stand up and return the jade pendant with both hands: "Since it is the prince who conscripted the jade pendant, it is too late for the common people to be happy. This is a great blessing and an honor for the common people. Please take the jade pendant back, the prince. The common people would never dare to accept it." Down."
Zhu Gaojie frowned slightly: "You can keep it if I ask you to keep it. I think the cost of your boat is only three thousand taels. I am not robbing you. I will return it to you when it is used up. This jade pendant can make up for your loss." .”
Li Zhe said in fear: "The common people don't dare!"
He had only heard of the name of King Qi. This was an immortal figure who could defeat the King of Han in the capital and overpower the prince to inherit the throne. What Li Zhe was thinking about now was not to climb up the vines to get involved, but because he was afraid of offending King Qi.
If that were the case, Li Zhe would have no place to cry. Anyone who has anything to do with such a top-notch big shot will either have a meteoric rise or become a member of the nine clans.
Li Zhe didn't know what kind of character King Qi was, but he would rather suffer the loss and hope to send the giant Buddha away soon. If he loses some money, just lose some money. It is better than playing the happy songs of the nine ethnic groups in the execution ground.
"I told you to keep it." Zhu Gaojiao frowned slightly, "Three thousand taels are just a drop in the bucket for me, but if your reputation is ruined because of these three thousand taels, it is not the matter of three thousand taels. Don't worry. Holding this jade pendant is good for you and good for me."
Li Zhe suddenly realized that King Qi was worried about his reputation.
I think this Prince Qi is also the one who is vying for the throne. To compete for the throne, you have to cherish feathers. If the story of Prince Qi grabbing a ship at the canal terminal spreads, it will definitely have a huge negative impact.
Three thousand taels is nothing to Prince Qi's Mansion!
After the imperial court took over Kongshan, Prince Qi's annual dividends from Kongshan amounted to hundreds of thousands of taels. If his reputation was ruined because he was reluctant to part with these three thousand taels, Zhu Gaojie would regret it. The prince is not a good person, so he will definitely not miss this opportunity.
Details determine success or failure. When Li Zhe took the three thousand taels, it was not a robbery, but a purchase. No matter how big the fuss was, Zhu Gaojie was sure of it.
"The common people are stupid and have wasted Prince Qi's time. Please forgive me."
Li Zhe suddenly felt that the Prince Qi in front of him was actually not that vicious. On the contrary, Prince Qi was very gentle in his actions. He seemed to be rampant but was actually rough and detailed. He took care of things very comprehensively and did not leave any excuses for others. Even if he eats meat himself, he doesn't forget to give soup to others. This kind of big man is the favorite of businessmen.
What businessmen are really afraid of are those unreasonable big shots. They will eat your bones alive if they target you, and will not let go of any profit. But if you want to take out a penny from his money bag, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky. Just like the head Pixiu, he just eats but doesn't eat anything.
"I have no time to talk nonsense with you. You wait here. When I finish my work, I will return here to return the ship. Don't worry, I won't delay you for a few hours. If you believe me, just wait here. If you don't believe me, then I will wait here." You won’t lose anything if you take that jade pendant to the capital.”
After Zhu Gaojie finished speaking, he took his two thousand "robbers" on board the boat and left the shore, like giant beasts on the river, patrolling his territory with eager eyes.
The peasants who were kicked off the boat came to Li Zhe and asked, "Master, what should we do now? The boat is gone and we can't buy goods. Are we going back to Jiangxi now?"
"No, wait."
Li Zhe shook his head and looked at the water splashing against the stone bridge on the river bank. "I believe that Prince Qi will come back. I have a hunch that this will be a great opportunity."
…
"Ugh~~"
Chirong lay down in front of the handrail of the deck and vomited wildly into the river. Although the Mongolian man was brave immediately, he became seasick when he reached the water.
Zhu Gaojie said helplessly: "I told you not to follow me, but you have to follow me."
Chirong wiped his mouth and said stiffly: "It doesn't matter, it's just seasickness. I'm fine, I'm not dead... vomit~~I'm going to die~~vomit~~"
After vomiting for a long time and almost vomiting out all the bitter bile, Chirong changed the subject and asked: "Your Majesty, why are we robbing this broken ship? This ship does not lead to Liaodong."
Zhu Gaojie smiled: "As a water bandit, I hope that I can use this boat to steal enough food and grass for 30,000 soldiers."
"Water bandits??" Chi Rong was a little confused.
Is it crazy for a prince to become a water bandit?
