xymnovel Chapter 175 Team Building
Chapter 175 Team Building
Chapter 175 Team Building (Part 2)
During the time before the banquet began, apart from Wang Laizi, no one else actually spoke with Shao Shuyi.
He didn't really care; in fact, he was quite happy about it.
Wandering around, looking around, and listening to other people's conversations can broaden your horizons and teach you some secrets. Isn't that a good thing?
For example, some people mentioned that the relationship between Buhua Gong, the Darughachi of Kunshan Prefecture, and his stepmother was terrible, even to the point of being enemies. The reason was that after Buhua Gong's father passed away, this stepmother forcibly married Buhua Gong's biological mother into a commoner's family.
To be honest, she was somewhat similar to the wicked wife of Doctor Tuohuan. After Tuohuan's death, she expelled his illegitimate son Qingshe and married Qingshe's mother off to a slave in the household who couldn't find a wife.
Qingshe's birth mother refused, and the slaves dared not comply. The wicked wife whipped the two of them, threatening them with death if they did not comply. Then she imprisoned the two in a room, forced them to marry, and spied on them through the window to examine their defilement. Only after confirming that the defilement was complete did she release them.
As for Bu Hua Gong, it seems that rumors have spread that his stepmother had an affair with a servant and had a child, but the truth is unknown. Perhaps it is Bu Hua Gong's revenge.
If this was just a scandalous affair, then the events in Tongzhou should serve as a wake-up call for Shao Shuyi.
According to Zheng Guozhang, the newly appointed manager of the boatyard, two officials from Yangzhou Road in Jiangbei arrived in Suzhou. With the assistance of the Censor of the Southern Terrace, they overcame obstacles and investigated the various thousand-household garrisons of the Shizilu Army to see if any soldiers had participated in the assassination of Yu Xixunjian Badu. As a result, they found no salt smugglers, but uncovered a whole host of other unsavory matters, such as the theft and sale of military equipment.
This wouldn't normally be considered a big deal, especially since the theft and sale of military equipment is widespread these days. As the saying goes, "the law doesn't punish everyone," and if you investigate seriously, it would be good enough if the Crossroads Army didn't rebel. So, they had to abandon the idea of punishing this side and instead focus on the other side—the people who bought the weapons. They are currently investigating that.
Zheng Guozhang told this as a joke, but Shao Shuyi felt a chill run down his spine when he heard it.
Everything in this world leaves a trace; it's just a matter of whether others can find it.
He knew exactly how much weaponry he had purchased from Dadu. Those three muskets alone had been invaluable; the rest, such as shields, ring-hilted swords, axes, and bows, amounted to quite a few as well. If they were discovered—
Thinking about this, Shao Shuyi felt somewhat irritated.
Is it easy for me to climb up the ladder? Why are so many people against me?
Even if they don't find fault with me this time, I won't be able to buy weapons from the capital for a while, so I'll have to think of another way.
If all else fails, we can go to Jiangyin Prefecture. Han De, the deputy commander of the Han army, has a shameful secret on his record, which Zhu Ding has secretly noted down. He can use this to establish a relationship with him later, starting with politeness and then resorting to force. He's sure to comply.
As he pondered this, he arrived at another place, where he heard the voice of Ni Guangye, the Assistant Prefect of Kunshan Prefecture: "The imperial court is discussing the repair of the Yellow and Huai Rivers. The personnel have not yet been selected, but the allocation has already been made. When the grain transport ships head north in March, this portion of the grain will be delivered to Yidu Road."
"I think the Yellow River and Huai River cannot be repaired. The Central Secretariat will most likely divert this portion of grain to Jinan, Banyang, Dongchang and other areas for disaster relief."
"Qingyuan is also suffering from famine. Why are you giving relief to the northerners instead of your own people?"
"Alright, that's enough. Be careful what you say. There's still some grain left in Jiangnan, let's just make do and get by day by day."
Shao Shuyi listened for a short while and then left.
He had also heard that there had been an earthquake and famine in Shandong, and the imperial court planned to use public works projects to repair the dikes of the Yellow River and the Huai River. But this project was likely to fall through, or even if it were carried out, it would only be small-scale repairs, not a large-scale overhaul of the Yellow River. The reason was simple: they didn't have the financial resources.
Before leaving, he glanced at Ni Guangye discreetly.
This person is not related to the Zheng family by master or servant, but rather they are old acquaintances. He was probably invited here as an honored guest.
However, Shao Shuyi has now become desensitized to the title of Tongzhi (assistant prefect).
He had already heard what kind of scoundrel Zhu Daocun was. That night, if Wang Huadu hadn't been able to control his greed and had led his men into the gambling den, he might have killed Zhu Daocun with a single blow.
Two years ago, the archers of the patrol office and the yamen runners could force him to flee in a sorry state, but now he could carefully consider how to kill a prefectural magistrate. Shao Shuyi's awe of officials was decreasing day by day.
Shao Shuyi strolled around for a while longer, when he saw Zheng Yonghe and his son Zheng Guozhen appear in the distance.
The crowd gradually stopped talking and looked over.
Zheng Yonghe looked sickly and walked very slowly, but he still mustered his spirits to greet everyone.
Zheng Guozhen supported his father from the side, nodding repeatedly, and paused slightly when his gaze fell on Shao Shuyi.
Shao Shuyi bowed in greeting, and when he looked up, he found that Zheng Guozhen had already started talking to Ni Guangye.
"Why bother with all that?" Zheng Yonghe gave his son a reproachful look and said, "The feast is ready, everyone should take their seats. You've been saying the same old platitudes all year round, haven't you gotten tired of it yet?"
Upon hearing this, Ni Guangye laughed and said, "I am indeed hungry and am about to have a hearty meal."
Zheng Guozhen shook his head and chuckled, then invited everyone to take their seats.
Caizhi Terrace wasn't very big; it could only seat a dozen or twenty people at most, so some people were arranged to sit under the eaves.
When Shao Shuyi sat down under the guidance of his servant, he realized that he was already close to the connecting corridor, far away from Zheng Yonghe and his son, and could not hear what they were saying at all.
Looking around, he was immediately amused to find that there were people of even lower status and sitting further away. Upon inquiring, he discovered that they were Zhang Dawang, the head of Banjing Township in Kunshan Prefecture.
Wang Dianzi sat on the other side, indicating that his status was slightly higher than Shao Shuyi's, but not by much.
"Shao She is only seventeen? He's much better than I was back then." Zhang Dawang came over and greeted him with a smile.
"You jest, sir," Shao Shuyi said. "It was just luck, pure luck."
"That's not right," Zhang Dawang said. "Those who can sit here are no ordinary people. I wonder what kind of business Shao She runs?"
"Trading goods by water," Shao Shuyi replied.
"Shao She, his family is in the livestock business, you can get to know him better," Wang Dianzi said from the side.
"Oh?" Shao Shuyi became interested.
Zhang Dawang waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It's just a small business. We rely on the grain transport department to make a living. Those big merchants trade livestock for thousands at a time. My family can't compare to them."
"But I wonder where Master Zhang's livestock came from?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"They're available in Pingjiang, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Jiangyin."
"Did you rush here?"
Zhang Dawang laughed and said, "That's too much trouble. Livestock, like people, will lose weight on long journeys, and there needs to be pasture along the way for them to fatten up. My family doesn't have the ability to put together such a system. We transport them by boat, with feed prepared in the hold, feeding them as needed until they are transported to the sheep and horse market for slaughter or sale."
"They even sell horses?" Shao Shuyi exclaimed in surprise.
"Few, very few," Zhang Dawang said. "Most of the horses in the south come from Yunnan and Sichuan, and it's not easy to transport them here. There are many horses in the north, and we did bring quite a few over before, but in the last two years, Henan has been in chaos, making land routes impassable, and with the canals blocked, we rarely see horses from the north anymore."
"Why not ship by sea?" Shao Shuyi asked curiously.
Zhang Dawang pondered for a moment and said, "It's true that some people transport horses by sea, but my family has never tried it. We're a small business, and we don't dare to try. If the ship sinks, we'll lose everything."
Shao Shuyi nodded slightly and continued, "There are many wealthy families in Jiangnan, and many of them usually travel by donkey. It's not that they don't like riding horses, but that they can't buy them. Occasionally, a batch of horses appears, but they are quickly snapped up, which shows that this business is very profitable. Since your family has been in the sheep and horse business for many years, it would be a pity to give it up."
Why not try sea transport? It might not be impossible. I remember during the Tang Dynasty, the Heishui Mohe people traded horses by boat to Qingzhou, and some even went as far as Huainan and Jiangnan. This should be feasible.”
Zhang Dawang glanced at Shao Shuyi and laughed, "Shao, you're a born businessman; you never forget about trade, no matter where you go. With all this enthusiasm, are you perhaps trying to help me with my horse trading by sea?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Shao Shuyi said frankly. "I wonder if your family has any connections in the north?"
Zhang Dawang nodded and said, "My father's generation was quite active in horse trading, but it's become more intermittent in my generation. However, I should still have some acquaintances around me."
"You should really give it a try, sir," Shao Shuyi said. "If you really manage to acquire some horses, call me over to take a look; perhaps I can buy a few."
"Galloping on horseback is a joyful thing for young people, no problem, no problem," Zhang Dawang said.
Shao Shuyi raised his wine glass, bowed to Zhang Dawang, and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhang Dawang also picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
After putting down his wine glass, Shao Shuyi pondered silently.
With Henan in chaos and the Grand Canal blocked, it was indeed difficult to transport horses from the north to the south, unless by sea.
But Zhang Dawang's business wasn't very large, so they hadn't considered shipping horses by sea. I gave him a heads-up today, but I don't know if he'll take it to heart. If he ever does manage to bring a batch over, I'll have to sell everything I own to buy some.
This is a strategic resource, but it is also a consumable; the more the better.
In Jiangnan, where no one has horses, if you suddenly field a small cavalry unit, your opponent will likely suffer a great loss if caught off guard—of course, this also applies to your own side.
At this point, Shao Shuyi realized that attending these kinds of gatherings had its advantages, at least he could get to know more people.
A network of personal connections is actually built up little by little.
After several rounds of drinks, as Shao Shuyi was chatting and boasting with Zhang Dawang and Wang Laizi, a servant came over and whispered, "Master Shao, the old master invites you."
Shao Shuyi put down his wine glass, straightened his appearance slightly, and stood up, saying, "Please lead the way."
The two then walked eastward along the covered walkway, one after the other, and soon arrived at Chengjingyuan.
Zheng Yonghe had already left his seat and was now sitting in the Jade Pavilion, quietly enjoying his solitude and the sunlight.
Hearing footsteps, he slightly opened his eyes and looked at the tall, strong young man who was bowing to him.
In a corner of the room, the teapot was bubbling and steaming.
A tall, slender girl in white was brewing tea. Hearing the noise, she quietly glanced towards the door.
>