Chang Baiye led businessmen to buy Annan's wealth, while Shen Yiyuan only bought the main land in Hongjiang.
Why Hongjiang?
Runniang didn't understand it at first, but after carefully looking at the map and going to Hongjiang in person, she realized that this was indeed a place for merchants. To be precise, it was an important place that merchants going to Annan could not avoid.
Hongjiang River is located at the confluence of Yuanshui River and Zhuzhoujiang River (Wushui River).
The Zhuzhou River originates from Chengbu, has a total length of more than 400 miles, and flows into the Yuan River from south to north. The Yuan River is a tributary of the Yangtze River. It leaves Guizhou and enters Dongting Lake at Yuezhou (Yueyang) in Huguang. From Yuezhou to the east, there are Wuchang, Jiujiang, and Anqing. After Anqing, not far away is Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty!
It can be said that you occupy the Hongjiang River, take a boat all the way down the river, and sleep for a few days and nights to reach the capital.
For Chang Baiye and countless other businessmen, the most important thing is Zhuzhou River.
The starting point of the Zhuzhou River is Chengbu, which is in the south of Huguang, close to Guangxi. Two hundred miles to the south is Guilin, the prefecture of Guangxi, and the straight-line distance to Nanning is only eight or nine hundred miles.
Chang Baiye and others were carrying wood, dragging pots and pans in Annan, and carrying a large bag of spices in their waists. If these things traveled by land, it would take at least three months to reach the capital, and they would have to worry about whether they would be attacked along the way. Give the toast a try, but if you choose to take the water route, you can save more than half the time.
Besides, so many treasures cannot be shipped out of Guangxi in a day or two. You always need to find a transfer station and warehouse to go back and continue to pull the goods. For transfer, you need a location to transfer the goods. Guangxi only has warehouses. There is no city that can support merchants' transit.
And Hongjiang is their best choice.
There is a ferry in Chengbu. As long as there is a boat, you can pass the Zhuzhou River and deposit the goods in the Hongjiang River. Whether the workers continue to return to the city and enter Guilin, or whether they are repairing from the Hongjiang River and preparing to return to the capital, they all need to stay in the Hongjiang River.
Runniang looked at the relaxed Shen Yiyuan and asked with a smile: "Aren't you worried that after Chang Baiye and others sweep Annan, Hongjiang will lose its use. By then we will not be able to collect the rent, but we will be in trouble."
Shen Yiyuan smiled and said confidently: "Absolutely not."
The wet nurse was puzzled and asked: "Why?"
Shen Yiyuan pointed to the southwest and said: "Although the area around Hongjiang is poor, there are a large amount of wood, white wax, and tung oil materials, such as nanmu from Huguang, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Although golden nanmu is reserved for the royal family, we also You can attract the capital and sell it to the Ministry of Industry. After all, the emperor will need to build a palace and chairs sooner or later."
"I won't say what the price of golden nanmu is. After all, it's hard to say anything because the Ministry of Industry is pressuring me. But you can definitely get fragrant nanmu and water nanmu. The fragrant nanmu is slightly purple with a fragrance, and the texture is also very beautiful. How many monks say Everyone likes it, and water nanmu is a good wood for making ordinary furniture. At present, whether in the capital or Jiangbei, many officials and wealthy gentry are eager to buy furniture and don't have to worry about selling it."
Runniang nodded repeatedly. Nanmu, camphor, catalpa and eucalyptus are collectively called the four famous trees. Nanmu is also the most famous tree. There is no reason why it cannot be sold.
Shen Yiyuan continued: "Huguang, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and parts of Sichuan and Sichuan are very large areas, but there are not many decent shopping malls. Even Kunming in Yunnan is a weed jungle not far from the city. There are no merchants." A fixed place of habitat and gathering, and Hongjiang can completely become a gathering center.”
Shopkeeper Liao listened with a smile. After so many years of development, the area is still very poor. It seems that it has been stuck in the same place. There are too many toasts and a lot of robberies. The business has not developed much. What can be done? That is to say, the Ancient Tea Horse Road in Yunnan and Chengdu. In addition to these, Kunming in Yunnan, Guilin in Guangxi, and Guiyang in Guizhou are simply not commercially viable.
Shen Yiyuan looked to the south and said seriously: "The most important thing is that Annan is gone. It became Jiaozhi County, the place of the Ming Dynasty. Jiaozhi produces many good things, such as mahogany, agarwood, ironwood, and spices. , the merchants who go there don’t just take the sea route, it takes time to wait for the monsoon, and if they choose to take the land route and then the water route, they will not be able to bypass the Hongjiang River..."
Runniang felt relieved. It didn't matter how many goods and treasures Chang Baiye and others hauled in Jiaozhi County. As long as they guarded the Hongjiang River, they could still make money, and the money they made was higher than the price in the capital.
Standing at Pingxiang Pass, Chang Baiye was very depressed. When he came here, he only wanted to make a fortune and brought so many people into Annan, but he forgot to consider the route back. When he looked back, Hongjiang had been seized by Shen Yiyuan. This damn Hui merchant is so powerful.
Qu Bao looked at the deflated Chang Baiye and laughed loudly: "You are still young, you can think of this, it is already very good to have achieved this step. This time you are tied, but you should think carefully about the future fights."
The so-called tie means that Chang Baiye brought Shanxi merchants to the Taihu Lake area and entered the traditional territory controlled by Huizhou merchants and Zhejiang merchants. But Shen Yiyuan turned around and made a move to seize Hongjiang River.
The interests and values of the two cannot be underestimated, and they can be considered equally matched.
"Uncle Qu, have you heard the news?"
Chang Baiye was a little sad.
Qu Bao nodded calmly: "I heard it. The chief envoy of Huguang, Zhou Zheng, will go to Hongjiang and plans to build Hongjiang into a city dominated by merchants. The chief envoy Si Yamen has already announced to the outside world that the treasures of Annan will be They will gather in the Hongjiang River, and merchants all over the world will take notice. In less than two months, countless merchants will gather there."
Chang Baiye clenched his fists, somewhat unwillingly: "We spent all our efforts and battled wits with the court and finally got something. Unexpectedly, before we could make a profit, Shen Yiyuan gave us a knife. He is really capable. He can actually convince Bu." Such a high-ranking political envoy stands up personally!"
Qu Bao said seriously: "Shen Yiyuan seems to be low-key, not as high-profile as Zhou Dajiang, but you have to understand that Shen Yiyuan is the most successful Huizhou merchant. He has been following Nanyang under the kings of Liao and Min all these years. Although the two kings He has lost power, but is still a vassal king, and the local government will definitely give him face. What's more, the last time he was selected as the top ten prefectures, Huguang had no benefits. This time the chief envoy Yamen will actively cooperate with Shen Yiyuan when he sees the opportunity. "
Chang Baiye gritted his teeth secretly. If no one cooperated and no one secretly supported him, how could Shen Yiyuan summon thousands of people to build a house? Just like myself, who would dare to bring tens of thousands of people to Annan without the permission of the court?
No one spoke behind her, so don't even think about it.
Behind him are the Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of War, and Zhang Fu, but behind Shen Yiyuan there are two vassal kings and the Heroes Chamber of Commerce, whose energy is equally great.
"I feel somewhat unwilling to do so."
Chang Baiye sighed, relieved.
Since Shen Yiyuan wants to compete with Shanxi merchants, then just wait.
"How many more goods are there?"
Chang Baiye looked in the direction of Jiaozhi County.
Qu Bao had a headache after hearing this and said: "It will take at least fifteen days, but Zhang Yan is unreasonable and only gave us ten days. I'm afraid we won't be able to finish this time." Regarding this kind of thing, , Chang Baiye has no choice.
The Shanxi merchants' purchase of Annan seemed to Zhang Yan to be an outrageous act. Although the Shanxi merchants took out the contract, Chang Baiye and others forgot about it. Zhang Yan had strong clerical skills and found loopholes in the contract:
time.
That's right, when the Shanxi merchants signed the contract with Zhang Fu, Tie Xuan and others, they did not specify the specific time. Who knew that Zhang Fu could end the battle so quickly? At that time, it only stipulated that the spoils in the city (non-royal persons) were merchants, and did not say How long does it take from conquering a city to removing the loot?
At first, the merchants planned to move out early and go home early, but the plan could not keep up with the change. Annan Country became Jiaozhi County and their own territory. What else is there to discuss? Slowly converge, slowly find treasures, slowly transportation……
As a result, Zhang Yan came for a while and saw the merchants running around endlessly. He finally got angry and issued an ultimatum. The merchants must move the goods before March 2nd. If they come back in the future, they must trade. Whoever dares to move without permission Something to break the legs. The goods that have not left the Ming Dynasty before two days belong to the Cochin Dusi.
This means that Zhang Yan is going to rob the merchant, and this means that the merchant must have enough personnel to transfer goods, store goods, and transfer goods, and the best place is Hongjiang...
It makes sense for Zhang Yan to do this. Annan Kingdom is gone. This is Jiaozhi County. Whether it’s buildings or minerals, even a piece of wood belongs to the Ming Dynasty. The merchants should stop moving after moving for so long. It's a one-and-done deal, why do you keep hammering and moving?
After everything has been moved, how many years will it take for Cochin to recover? Businessmen should know when enough is enough.
Chang Baiye and Zhang Yan couldn't explain it. The contract was originally signed with Zhang Fu and Tie Xuan. These two guys must have arrived in Jiangxi now. It is probably impossible to catch up with them and pull them over to explain. Now Jiaozhi County It is Zhang Yan who keeps his words. He speaks and must be listened to.
"Let the guys work harder and store the goods in Pingxiang and other places for the time being, and then transport them to Chengbu and head to Hongjiang a few days later."
Chang Baiye is helpless.
Qu Bao nodded, there was no other way, other businessmen did the same.
"Aizhou Port is under construction. Uncle Qu, do we Shanxi merchants want to enter Nanyang?"
Chang Baiye thought about it again and again and asked.
Qu Bao chuckled and waved his hand: "You can't ask me about this matter. If it weren't for your big move, I wouldn't even be able to live in Lingnan. In this life, we will live in the north."
"Uncle Qu is rich in experience. It would be a good idea to give my nephew some advice."
Chang Baiye asked for advice.
Seeing that Chang Baiye was not joking, Qu Bao stopped his smile and said seriously: "Although we are Shanxi merchants, you must also understand that merchants are hometown, but business has no hometown. What merchants want to do is to do business in the world. Whether it is the grasslands and the vast sea in the north, or the huge waves in the South Ocean, merchants only sell goods, and they can go there if it is profitable."
Chang Baiye took a deep breath and could see that Qu Bao supported Shanxi merchants' expedition to Nanyang.
Fortunately, Zheng He made two voyages to Nanyang, the imperial court established a shipping department, and maritime trade had already begun. In this case, Shanxi merchants had no reason to stubbornly stay on the land.
"One Sword Dominates"
PS:
Some of Hong Jiang's information comes from reader Mo Tujing's radish, thank you. Thanks to Acheson for providing Zheng He, America and other materials, which are very valuable. If you have any ideas, you can leave more messages or join me for discussion.
