"Your Highness, please speak." Hu Zhi quickly adjusted his emotions.
"Are there many maritime trade businesses in Guangzhou? Who are these people? Are there many businessmen like you? Or are most of them from caravans controlled by powerful families?" Li Ke asked.
"Many, almost everyone in Guangzhou is doing business, and there are also many people from the surrounding small countries. However, the number of local residents is not large. There are also many people who have been exiled here in the past dynasties, or who have fled here to avoid war. These people are more or less engaged in business related to maritime trade."
"There are many businessmen like Chen who work alone, but they all have more or less friends with aristocratic families, because almost all the big ones are targeted by aristocratic families."
"Because I don't want to provide food to these wealthy families, I donated a lot of food to the local garrison before, which was appreciated by the local captain. Everything has been fine these years. It's just that last year, the previous captain transferred Leaving Guangzhou, the new captain comes from the Zhu family of Wu County, and I am unable to compete."
"There are about one-third of the solo maritime merchants like Chen in Guangzhou, but most of them are small in strength, and they cannot afford to go to places such as Persia. Most of them trade with Champa, Zhenwa and other countries. Oh, Champa is the country of Linyi."
"Most of the remaining maritime merchants are caravans from aristocratic families. Even if they are not from aristocratic families, they still rely on some aristocratic families to do their work." Hu Zhi quickly answered Li Ke's question.
Li Ke nodded slightly. Wu County was the Jiangnan area in later generations and belonged to Huainan Road. The Zhu family in Wu County was one of the prominent families in Wu County, and was one of the four surnames of Soochow during the Three Kingdoms period.
The four major families of Wujun, Lu, Gu, Zhang, and Zhu are all considered local prominent families and relatively large aristocratic families. For example, the Lu family of Wujun also produced six prime ministers throughout the Tang Dynasty.
"What do you think of Lin Yi and Zhen Wa's strength?" Li Ke thought for a while and asked.
"What is your Highness referring to?" Hu Zhi was stunned for a moment. I didn't know how to answer your question for a while.
"Of course the military aspect."
"Of course it's not comparable to that of the Tang Dynasty. However, the local jungles in Linyi and Zhenwa are dense. There are savages in many jungles. There are even poisonous miasma in some deep mountains and old forests. It will be very difficult to completely eradicate them. And if it is me, If the soldiers from the mainland of the Tang Dynasty go there, they should conduct adaptive training around Zicheng on Lingnan Road." Hu Zhi said quickly.
Zicheng, Li Ke knew, was the Songping County seat where the Jiaozhou General Administration Office of the Tang Dynasty was located. The locals called it Zicheng, which was Hanoi, Vietnam in later generations.
Li Ke glanced at Hu Zhi. The man's attitude changed very quickly. He seemed to have seen Li Ke's character. He began to speak crisply and clearly, and he didn't hide what he was saying. He knew everything. speak out.
"Well, that's good. Do you think there are a lot of trade exchanges between the local area and the Tang Dynasty?" Li Ke asked.
"Many. They have a lot of Chinese medicinal materials locally, and if they cultivate food carefully, they will not be short of food for a year. If the people of Zhenwa and Linyi were as diligent as the people of the Tang Dynasty, I think they would have enough food for a year The output is at least tens of millions of stones." Hu Zhi said seriously.
Li Ke nodded silently. Although the information in his hand showed so, when he heard this number, Li Ke still felt a little baffled. If he didn't get these things back, he would always feel like something was missing.
With the local population, tens of millions of dans of grain cannot be eaten. In other words, if he is willing, Li Ke can even buy back 10 to 20 million dans of grain. What is the concept?
Not to mention the current Zhenguan year, by Li Longji's time, the main annual income of the Tang Dynasty was only about 20 million shi.
"In other words, there is no shortage of food in their area, but if we go to buy it, we may not be able to buy a lot of food?" Li Ke looked at him and asked.
"For now, yes, because many of their local people are very lazy, because their seeds can grow food if they are thrown into the ground, so they will never die of hunger, and it is hot all year round, and there is no shortage of clothing, because even if You can't freeze to death even if you're naked, there are many places in the city where even women don't wear tops." Hu Zhi laughed bitterly.
Hu Zhi was also a little speechless when the unique conditions were turned into this.
Hey, Li Ke is a little helpless. This thing is similar to the third brother next door. The third brother, let alone this period, even in the Ming Dynasty, many people in the third brother made holes in the ground, scattered some seeds, and other farming methods. Kind of, I don’t know.
Although this does not mean that everyone is like that, there are many people like that.
"I understand, but for us, this is still a huge source of food. They do not lack food, but the Tang Dynasty lacks food, and the nobles and ruling classes of these two countries still have material needs for the Tang Dynasty. Very tall, right?" Li Ke asked.
"Yes, the porcelain, tea, silk, etc. of the Tang Dynasty can be sold at very high prices among the local nobles." Hu Zhi said simply.
"The cost is not low either." Li Ke nodded.
"Yes!" Hu Zhi didn't say much. He found that although His Highness King Qin had never been to Guangzhou, he knew their sea trade very well, at least much more than he thought.
"I understand. If you are willing, I have a job here. How much cash do you have in your hand now?" Li Ke looked at him and asked.
"Your Highness, in addition to the money used to purchase the land, I have less than 100,000 yuan left." Hu Zhi hurriedly saluted.
Li Ke nodded. No wonder this man took out most of the money directly. If he just made a normal purchase, it is estimated that he would not be able to arouse Li Ke's idea.
"After you go back to Guangzhou, you can build a school with local donations. The school does not need to be too luxurious. I will ask people to hire some local teachers, and then teach reading and literacy for free to the children around you who are willing to send them to the school. The name of the school Datang Royal Welfare Primary School and Middle School can be established in Guangzhou, while the primary school can be built in each of the surrounding counties."
"These schools teach children to read and read for free. I will provide them with free banknotes and books. I have promised this school before. Since you have read Datang Weekly, you should understand."
"Although the name of the school is Datang Royal Welfare Primary School, your name, Hu Zhi, will be written on the school's history, donors, and creators." Li Ke said with a smile.
Hu Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then his face was full of ecstasy. Even though he had been in the mall for a long time, he could not hide his joy.
