Even though King Zhongshun always treated Ningguo Mansion well, he even had the title of Thirteen Wise Kings in the court.
But Jia Rong knew that King Zhongshun had always been the person who could not tolerate having sand in his eyes. At that time, Xiong Da, a relative of Prince Zhongshun, was punished by the Thirteenth Master. Even the Prince of Beijing County had his family property confiscated and sold off by the Thirteenth Master to pay off his debts.
This is Emperor Xian De's best brother and best assistant. He is quite like Emperor Xian De in many things. After all, Thirteenth was raised by Emperor Xiande's mother and concubine when he was young. It can even be said that Thirteenth was brought up by Xiande. He is not a brother from the same mother, but he is closer than a brother from the same mother. Emperor Xian De's half-brother is the Fourteenth Master. Although this master did not die of sudden illness like Prince Yi Zhong and Prince Yi Yong, he is still under house arrest.
When Jia Rong saw Thirteenth Master's expression, he knew something was going on. He said anxiously: "If Thirteenth Master doesn't believe it, why don't we remove the prince's majesty tomorrow and have all the guards change their uniforms and follow the prince in private on the canal for a private visit. By then, we will be able to clearly understand the current situation of water transportation. What is the situation with health officials?"
King Zhongshun snorted and said, "There are many ways to find out the truth."
King Zhongshun actually didn't know about the corruption situation in the Water Transport Department, but it didn't freeze three feet in a day. Not only did he know it, but Emperor Xiande also knew it. It’s just that the canal is related to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of magistrates and magistrates, so the DPRK and China have no choice but to turn a blind eye when faced with corruption.
But he didn't expect that it would develop to such an extent that it would seriously affect other yamen in the court.
The Thirteenth Master asked: "Based on the current situation, how much money does your Ningguo Mansion need to add every time it transports cement to Yangzhou?"
"It's not a small amount." Brother Rong sighed quietly and said aggrievedly: "According to the current charging standards of the Water Transport Ministry, plus shipping costs, the price of natural products in Ningguo Mansion must at least double. Otherwise, we in Ningguo The government's cement kiln cannot continue to operate, let alone sell natural products to Hedao, the Ministry of Industry and other yamen."
"Twice as much?"
"Thirteenth Master Mingjian, this is still a conservative estimate, and the actual value may be higher. The original four to five hundred yuan and one hundred catties of natural objects, sent from Ping'an Prefecture to Yangzhou, cost at least more than one thousand and one hundred catties of silver, or even one, two, and one hundred taels of silver. Only by weighing a few kilograms can we be able to protect our capital."
"It's so high."
Jia Rong curled her lips and said aggrievedly: "There is really no way. A delivery will cost dozens or hundreds of taels of benefits, and the goods will be damaged by 10% or 20%. Calculated in this way, the damaged goods and the benefits of sending them out can be replenished. Fifty thousand kilograms of cement were exchanged. This time our Jia family also had dozens of cargo ships burned, but we suffered a big loss. I don’t know how much cement we have to send to the court to make back the losses on this trip."
"Don't act like you are wronged. There are no outsiders in the palace." King Zhongshun said with a snort, "This time your Ningguo Mansion suffered a loss. I will ask the Ministry of Water Transport to compensate you. It is more serious to transport the cement to Yangzhou as soon as possible. Matter. The people in the south of the Yangtze River are still waiting for you to build a dam and gate on the Huaihe River. This matter must not be delayed."
"How can I not feel aggrieved?"
Jia Rong looked at King Zhongshun eagerly. She thought that the Thirteenth Master was going to take action on the Ministry of Water Transport, but why did he suddenly go back to the matter of transporting cement as soon as possible.
"The overall situation is the most important, and the grain is related to the country. We will wait until the grain is delivered to the Tongzhou warehouse this year."
Hearing this, Jia Rong felt a chill in his heart. Nangui lowered her head and retorted softly: "The lives of the people in Jiangnan are also life. Controlling flood disasters in Jiangnan is also very important."
Seeing that Jia Rong was in a low mood, King Zhongshun sighed softly and comforted him: "I have already taken the trouble and plan to reform water transportation next year."
The reform of water transport has nothing to do with me, Jia Rong. Brother Rong scratched the sides of his nose and then his ears. Said: "Everything is just a calculation. We still don't know the situation after the reform, and the Jiangnan river project cannot wait. I don't dare to imagine that the Thirteenth Master will make the decision for me. I just ask the prince to consider the safety of millions of people in the south of the Yangtze River and give me Ningguo." The government’s cement is a convenience.”
This is Jia Rong's true words. Those who make the decision or not are all speaking for their own interests. Now the additional cost of cement in Ningguofu is too high, causing the selling price to continue to rise. The impact is that an excessively high selling price will definitely lead to a reduction in target customers. Cement is not only supplied to the Ministry of Industry and rivers, but also sold to the private sector.
If one tael of silver and one hundred catties is given to the court, wouldn't it cost several taels of silver and one hundred catties to be given to the people?
Brother Rong doesn't do such things. Not many people can afford such a price. The key is that now both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Industry have obtained the prescription, and they will also be competitors of Ningguo Mansion in the future. The quantity and quality that Jia Rong wants to do will crush the imperial kilns.
King Zhongshun squinted at him and said meaningfully: "What kind of convenience do you want?"
Jia Rong thought for a moment, with a slight hesitation on her face, and said: "I would like to ask the prince to include cement products in the shipping list."
"You want to sell natural products overseas?" King Zhongshun's eyes suddenly shot out two cold lights. A pair of eagle-like eyes stared at Jia Rong, as if Jia Rong would rush up and give him a few blows if he dared to answer the word 'yes'.
"How dare you, kid? It's just for the convenience of transportation." Brother Rong hurriedly replied. Although he didn't know what the imperial court thought of cement now, since this thing could be used for construction, it would definitely not be exported easily.
Explained: "The boy once calculated the distance from Ping'an Prefecture to Yangzhou. Although river transportation is convenient, it is troublesome to pass the various locks and requires a lot of manpower. If we go by sea, one ship can transport 50,000 kilograms. If we go by canal, the 50,000 kilograms will be transported by canal." Each kilogram needs to be divided into eighty ships. Even in terms of time, shipping by sea is faster when there is a lot of goods and heavy cargo."
King Zhongshun did not believe his empty words. He hummed: "How do you know that sea transportation is faster?"
Jia Rong replied: "If we go south with an empty ship, it only takes a few days to travel through the canal from Ping'an Prefecture to Yangzhou. But with multiple ships carrying a heavy load, the short journey will take more than ten days or even a month, and it will also cost a lot of manpower and material resources. But by sea transport, from Ping'an Prefecture to the Huanghuai River and directly to Hongze Lake, it only takes 20 days to arrive."
King Zhongshun stared silently.
Jia Rong added: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted, and he definitely wants to save the people in Jiangnan from the flood disaster as soon as possible. Now that the sea transportation between the DPRK and China has been opened, cement and natural materials can be transported to Jiangnan from the sea. Moreover, the Lingnan places Being hit by storms and waves at sea all year round, it would be more convenient to build seawalls in Lingnan if there is only cement."
King Zhongshun hesitated after hearing this. Asked: "It's windy at sea, how can we ensure that the goods can be delivered safely? Without knowing the conditions of the sea, who knows whether sea transportation is more convenient than river transportation."
"Your Majesty, you can do some experiments and comparisons." Brother Rong was obviously shaken after hearing the Prince's words, and couldn't help but feel secretly happy. He said: "Ningguo Mansion's cement kiln factory in Ping'an Prefecture now has 100,000 jins of natural materials. The prince can send two people there. One person can send 50,000 jins by the canal, and the other can send 50,000 jins by sea. Whichever is more convenient. The trouble saving is clear at a glance.”
After saying this, the hall suddenly became quiet, and neither of them spoke again. Just because King Zhongshun lowered his head and thought secretly, he had to consider not only the advantages and disadvantages of sea transportation and river transportation, but also the reaction of the court and the future development of water transportation.
King Zhongshun looked at Jia Rong deeply, wondering whether it would have any impact on the water transport reform if he agreed to this bastard idea. Is it a good influence or a bad influence?
In the court, nothing is simple.
Otherwise, how could hundreds of officials have been fighting for five or six years over a dispute over sea and canal transportation?
After a long time, King Zhongshun looked up at him. Tuan Tuan said: "You are very ambitious."
When Jia Rong heard this, her heart trembled and her face suddenly turned pale. What did you expose yourself to? He could only hear a heart thumping in his chest, as if he was in a cold wind, and his hands and feet were blown as cold as a knife.
"You are such a good lord, why are you always thinking about making money?" King Zhongshun snorted and said dissatisfied: "Being so dedicated to making money is even more ambitious. Why don't you have any thoughts about other things? "
After hearing this again, Jia Rong slowly exhaled. I was almost frightened to death, and I rolled my eyes secretly with resentment. The Thirteenth Master is right, can I just say words like ambition casually?
He chuckled twice, feeling the temperature of his body return a little, and said with a playful smile: "Master Thirteen knows, kid, I have no big hopes, I just want to live a life of peace and wealth. Ningguo Mansion is different from the past, my family is poor, kid Naturally, we have to make more money. We can’t let the younger generations just look at the lintel and not have half a tael of silver in their hands to live on.”
"Don't say such shameless words. I just want to ask, how do you ensure that the natural products that go to sea will not be secretly sold to overseas countries."
"The Thirteenth Master is aware that natural objects should avoid contact with water. There are frequent storms and waves on the sea. The longer you stay in the sea, the greater the chance of damage to natural objects. Furthermore, every time you go to sea, there is a number, and there is a check when entering the sea. You can't do anything fake." Brother Rong said cautiously.
He knew that the more someone was about to agree, the more careful he had to be when speaking. But just because you say a word, all the previous efforts will be in vain.
King Zhongshun nodded and said: "I have agreed to this, so there is no need to bother comparing sea and canal transportation. Later, I will draft a letter and you can send it to the Ping'an Prefecture Kiln Factory. After you get the letter, you can Those who can can transport it by sea. Just remember one thing. If there is any negligence or delay that affects the Jiangnan river project, I will definitely hold you accountable."
Jia Rong was overjoyed when he heard this, and he had gained something today.
Then I heard King Zhongshun say: "I will reprimand the Governor of Water Transport, so that your Ningguo Mansion will not be wronged. The Ministry of Water Transport should accompany you, but you should not let the lion speak loudly, and just accept it when it is good."
"Provincial, provincial, natural, natural."
Brother Rong was even more happy. King Zhongshun wrote a letter to reprimand him, so it was no longer a matter of one or two thousand taels.
This wave is not a loss.
Jia Rong said: "Please also ask Thirteenth Master to leave an extra letter to the boy. If there is a windy day at sea, the cement from Ping'an Prefecture will have to be delivered through the canal. If then, we will encounter difficulties in canal transportation again. If we delay the delivery time, You have also destroyed natural objects, and I, the Ningguo Mansion, will not recognize you."
King Zhongshun glanced at him and hummed: "You are the only one with the most clever ideas. Don't worry, Tianwu will also be included in the emergency list for water transportation in the future. Multiple inspections will be avoided and priority will be released. If there are any more greedy and filial piety, just send a letter. , I will take care of it."
This is a direct channel. Let’s see who from the Ministry of Water Transport dares to cause trouble again this time.
Brother Rong was overjoyed, and his mood was even more surging. The evil even thought that it would be better if the Ministry of Water Transport caused trouble again.
It's a pity that King Zhongshun is not in a mood to calm down Tang Fufang for the time being. They are all at great harm to the overall situation. I don’t know how big and heavy Tang Fufang’s situation is, and whether he can fit two corn cobs into it.
However, he also knew that by the time the grain was delivered to the Tongzhou warehouse, the governor of water transportation would not have many good days.
Jia Rong received the letter from King Zhongshun that day and was hurriedly driven out of the Lema Lake Palace. The Thirteenth Master was still thinking about the river project.
"You really don't give me any time to rest." Brother Rong lamented, "I don't believe you want to be lazy at all."
This bastard got a benefit, his mood improved, and he gave more money to reward his fellow travelers.
He also asked someone to send King Zhongshun's letter to the kiln factory in Ping'an Prefecture, and he slowly took a boat south.
"How should I explain to Duan Yu?"
Headache.
Jia Rong muttered that Shangguan Duan Yu was still waiting in Hongze Lake for him to supervise the delivery of Tianwu Cement. As a result, the person who asked for the Holy Religion was set on fire. This time, the cement will not be delivered for another month at the earliest.
Trouble.
I hope Shangguan Duan Yu won't get angry with him.
"It's all the fault of Governor Tang Fufang of Water Transport." This was the first thing Jia Rong said after seeing Duan Yu. He looked bitter and looked aggrieved. Pulling Duan Yu's sleeves, he complained: "When I arrived in Taoyuan County, Huai'an Prefecture, I heard that all the natural objects sent from Ping'an Prefecture were destroyed. They were all destroyed."
"Ah? This" Duan Yu said with a look of disbelief, "How dare he?"
"Is there anything else that Tang Fufang doesn't dare to do?" Jia Rong asked bitterly, "Thinking about the money that the Water Transport Ministry has spent over the years, there is nothing that they can't do. Tang Fufang is very bold. , I don’t know if I offended him somewhere, or if our Jia family has a grudge against him.”
"Damn Tang Fufang." Duan Yu gritted his teeth and snorted. "Let's ask him for an explanation."
Brother Rong shook his head and said: "Tang Fufang is a high official in the court and the governor of the Ministry of Water Transport. His official position is higher than that of you and my brothers. Even the governor of the river must bow respectfully when seeing him. How can we ask for an explanation? Alas, it is just pitiful. For the sake of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, Tang Fufang will just hate me, so why do you want to destroy heaven and earth?"
"It must be because the opening of rivers and fields has damaged the interests of water transportation." Duan Yu found a reason. This was the biggest conflict between the Ministry of Water Transport and the Water Conservancy and Field Administration. "The water from the main trunk and tributaries of the Huanghuai Canal is used for farming. There is less water in the canal, and water transportation becomes even more inconvenient. The money their water transportation department can earn is also much less. He hates it because of this. It’s us.”
"Is there such a thing?"
Jia Rong pretended to be stupid and said blankly.
Duan Yu snorted: "Damn Tang Fufang, we will not spare him for hindering my achievements. What will the prince say about him? If the prince doesn't come forward, our family will have to pay a lot of money to the palace, so we don't believe that we will kill him." "
