"Your Majesty, the time has come, it's time to set off!"
The Fang family knocked on the door and called softly twice. Chongzhen did not wake up from his deep sleep, but instead woke up Queen Zhou beside him.
A quarter of an hour later, Chongzhen, dressed as a merchant, left the room and went on the deck.
The sky was bright and clear, and one could see twenty or thirty meters away. Even further away, one could vaguely see fishing fires in the hazy dawn.
"Your Majesty, breakfast is ready."
The Fang family brought a bowl of porridge to Chongzhen. On the table was a bowl of porridge, a stack of meat buns, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks, two small plates of pickles, a scrambled egg, and a green onion mixed with tofu.
It is hard to imagine that this is the breakfast meal of a king of a country.
He prefers this to the big dishes such as stir-fried mutton, stir-fried pork with yellow vegetables, steamed pig's trotters, double-cooked pan-fried fresh fish and other dishes made in the palace's kitchen.
Chongzhen took a bite of the fish fillet porridge and his eyes lit up. If this fish was caught in the rivers of later generations, it would smell like gasoline.
"This fish is really delicious and tender!"
"Your Majesty, this fish was caught by the 'water ghosts' in the river last night during their investigation. It's very fresh!"
"I'll make some for the Queen and the others later!"
"Slave, let's make arrangements now!"
After the Fang family left, Chongzhen didn't have to worry about his image when he ate. In just a quarter of an hour, he finished his breakfast.
Just as he was eating, the fish belly was already turning white in the east. Only then did he see clearly that there were three four- to five-foot-long clippers alongside the yellow boat.
When Li Ruolian saw Chongzhen coming out, he immediately stepped forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged and you can set off at any time!"
"Then let's go!"
Chongzhen nodded, and then looked at Cao Wenzhao: "Cao Aiqing, the queen's safety is in your hands. Anyone who dares to covet the yellow ship will be killed!"
"I understand!"
Chongzhen waved his hand, the rope of the clipper was untied, and it separated from the yellow boat along the river.
The three forces of river water, sails, and manpower were combined into one. Although it could not reach the speed of returning a thousand miles of Jiangling in one day, the trees on both sides of the river were also retreating rapidly.
Although it was hot in June, the morning on the canal was still very comfortable.
Standing on the bow of the boat, the steamy breeze blew against his face. Chongzhen, who had released his energy on the girls last night, had eaten and drank enough, and now he felt even more comfortable and refreshed.
"Mo Daojun will leave early, and there will be more early travelers!"
After a while, there were more and more ships on the canal, and Chongzhen sighed.
The journey on the road is very boring, the waterway is more comfortable, and although the land route is a horse-drawn carriage, the bones will fall apart.
"This road is so broken!"
"I don't know how Wang Zheng's steam engine is progressing!"
In the carriage, Chongzhen was full of thoughts.
The principle of making cement is not difficult, but the production process is extremely difficult. There are several steps that require crushing and grinding. Without a steam engine as power, mass production of cement is unthinkable.
"If it doesn't work, then follow the example of Qin Zhidao and use Sanhe soil to build main roads leading to the provinces. The cost will be high, but it is not unaffordable."
"If you want to get rich, build roads first. You won't be able to save this money!"
"Or consider contracting and businessmen to step in..."
In Chongzhen's thoughts, carriages and clippers alternated with each other. Thirteen days later, three ordinary merchant ships docked more than ten miles away from the Suzhou Water Transport Terminal.
Because there is... a ship jam ahead.
It cannot be said that there is a boat blockage. On the more than 60-meter-wide river, there is about 20-meter-wide water surface on the west side. From time to time, a large ship breaks away from the queue of large ships and enters the empty river. Chongzhen looked very strange. .
Li Ruolian whispered: "My boss, those big ships have to be paid separately. Only those who have obtained a pass can leave. Anyone who enters the west river without a pass will be severely punished."
"I...isn't this the same as Xuanfu City last year? The caravans who paid the money can line up first to enter the city? Is this a private act of the Suzhou government?"
"Yes, and also wrong!"
Li Ruolian nodded first, and then shook his head: "My boss, there is a saying about the Grand Canal. It is rich in Qi County, prosperous in both capitals, Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south, and Linzhang in the north. It refers to the four parts of the Grand Canal. distribution center city,
Linzhang refers to Linqing and Zhangqiu in Shandong Province, and Suhang refers to Suzhou and Hangzhou. Among the four, Suzhou ranks first.
As the saying goes: All rare goods from all over the world are hard to come by, and all kinds of goods are abundant in Suzhou, which shows how busy Suzhou is.
Because of this reason, the canal is already overwhelmed. Suzhou has adopted such a policy, but the difference is that it is different from Xuanfu.
There is only one way into the city in Xuanfu, you have to wait or pay, and there are restrictions on the exchange. If you miss it, you have to wait for a month.
In order not to be delayed, the merchants could only hand over money. They said it was voluntary, but in fact they were forced to pay.
But Suzhou Wharf is different. There is a third way, which is to transfer from a wharf upstream and take the land route. It can be entered through the eight city gates, and it can also be dispersed to various counties under Suzhou Prefecture.
In fact, most of the people who paid the money were foreign merchants, and the local ones cooperated with the government and took a commission directly.
If it’s coal, groceries, leather goods, etc. that are durable, it doesn’t matter if you wait.
If it is perishable items such as melons and fruits, the merchants can only pay the money, otherwise they will be stuck for five or six days and lose all their money. "
Hearing this, the chill in Chongzhen's eyes slowly gathered.
It's so shameless to use the resources of the imperial court to satisfy his own selfish desires and claim it is for the good of the people.
"Li...Chengfu, this matter is not as simple as you said. There is a canal transport office and Suzhou Mansion here in the south of the Yangtze River, and the capital is a few hundred miles away. It is impossible not to know about this disadvantage."
Li Ruolian looked around and whispered: "Master, what I just said was superficial, the water here is very deep and very muddy!
Things here can be traced back to the Chengzu period, when Chengzu personally conquered Mongolia. In order to ensure logistics, he relied on the guards to absorb the population and refugees around the canal to form a 100,000-year-old canal army. This was the beginning of the formation of the water transport system.
When Chengzu was in power, the Cao Army played an indelible role, but after the Tumubao Incident, the imperial court's control over the land south of the Yangtze River became much weaker.
Coupled with financial difficulties and the inability to pay wages, etc., this resulted in a large loss of Cao troops.
As the saying goes: Far from the temple, there are rivers and lakes, and dragons gather to form gangs. These people who broke away formed gangs, and the Cao Gang and the Boat Gang appeared.
The Caobang people are responsible for the Suzhou Wharf Canal Pass.
However, according to my investigation, behind the Cao Gang are the eight Jiangnan prefectures, the Caoyun Yamen, the local health office, and officials who stayed in Nanjing, the capital, in collusion with each other.
In my boss’s…”
"Wait a moment!"
Chongzhen interrupted Li Ruolian, frowned and said, "The Cao Gang and the Boat Gang you just mentioned are the same gang, right? What do they do specifically?"
