xymnovel Chapter 280 Get the price
Chapter 280 Get the price
Chapter 280 Get the price
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Shao Shuyi left the Fei residence.
"Let's go back to the ship," Shao Shuyi ordered, waving his hand.
Everyone responded in unison.
In the sweltering heat, with rain threatening but not quite falling, a dozen or so men, clad in leather armor and drenched in sweat, did not take it off. Their discipline was already quite good; they were all men who had endured hardship. Compared to their precarious lives, this bit of heat was nothing.
There's a small street near the Fei residence, and everything is closed now except for one restaurant that still has its lights on.
Upon learning that everyone had only eaten a few bites of dry rations, Shao Shuyi had more than ten meat pies bought and distributed them to everyone as they walked and ate.
When I reached the end of the street, a wide embankment appeared in front of me, but I didn't know whether to call it a river embankment or a sea embankment.
The Vest was parked below the embankment.
It was completely dark when the ship's lights came on. The ship's foreman, Hou Tai, stood at the bow, constantly looking around. When he saw Shao Shuyi and his group, he happily shouted, "Shao She is back!"
The leader, Zang Han'er, personally carried over a plank and placed it between the boat and the stone steps.
There were twenty or thirty boatmen on the dinghy, half of whom were brought by Zang Han'er.
The Shengye and Huangtian trading companies owned many ships, but there were no strict rules about who would operate which ship, because they did not usually maintain waterways and recruited people on a temporary basis. Once the work was done, the people would disperse.
The three Zang brothers, Han Yi, Han Er, and Han San, each had their own trusted boatmen. If there was any work to be done, they could just ask them, and they could quickly get all the necessary manpower for each position on the boat.
The "Ma Jia" was a large ship. Hou Tai didn't have enough men under his command, so he called Zang Han'er, who had just finished his previous job and was resting at home, and together they gathered twenty-seven or twenty-eight boatmen to maneuver the large ship with ease.
"You've worked hard," Shao Shuyi said, patting Zang Han'er on the shoulder.
"It's not hard work," Zang Han'er quickly replied. "The real torment is when there's no work to do."
Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Shengye Trading Company was recruiting a while ago, and your names have been added to the roster. Your position is deputy section chief, and you will receive one ingot of cash per month. Just go to the Shengye Trading Company's accounting office at the beginning of July to put your fingerprints on the document and collect your money."
Zang Han'er was pleasantly surprised and said, "I can receive a tael of paper money in July?"
"Not only that," Shao Shuyi laughed, "I also paid you back for April and May, a total of three ingots."
"I will never forget Shao She's kindness in this lifetime," Zang Han'er said, bowing deeply.
Shao Shuyi helped him up and said, "I also come from a seafaring background. Now that I'm rich, how can I forget my brothers? Go back and tell them to work hard, so they can all earn money in the future."
"Yes, definitely, definitely!" Zang Han'er said repeatedly.
Shao Shuyi nodded and went back to his cabin.
The others walked across the step and boarded the boat one after another.
Zang Han'er stood aside and waited until the last person came aboard before removing the gangplank. Then he ran around, calling on the boatmen to weigh anchor and set sail, working very diligently.
There was some Songjiang printed fabric in the cabin, which was bought from the nearby street. The price wasn't very good, but it didn't matter. The profit margin for the silk shops in Xiazheng when they sold it to the sea merchants was very high, so they didn't care about this little bit.
The Ma Jia departed from Wusongjiang overnight, entered the sea, adjusted its course, turned northwest, and returned to Liujiagang on the morning of June 30, docking at Tianfei Palace Wharf.
As usual, Shao Shuyi made a surprise appearance amidst the astonished gazes of his employees. After conducting a two-day surprise audit of the accounts, he led a team to carefully inventory the warehouse. There were no major problems. After having a batch of inferior cotton cloth supplied, the matter was considered closed.
On the third day of the seventh lunar month, Shao Shuyi took a ship from Shengye Trading Company back to Taicang. He hosted a banquet for Zheng Fan at his residence in Zhangjing and took the opportunity to gather some information.
"I might have to go to the yamen to work soon." After drinking a cup of wine, he said with a wry smile, "Let's continue the business in Jiangxi, and let my son take over. But he's only thirteen this year, so you'll have to help him out."
"Don't worry." Shao Shuyi agreed without hesitation. "What kind of relationship do we have? It's only right that we do it. Are you asking him to stay in Taicang, Liujiagang, or somewhere else?"
"In the past, most of the goods that were transported back were consigned to familiar merchants for sale. But recently, an old friend wanted to quit and planned to transfer the stall to me in Liujiagang. I thought it was a good business, so I took it over. But who knew that my father-in-law wanted me to work as a clerk in the Jiangyin Changshu Thousand-Household Office of the Grand Canal Administration. I couldn't refuse, so I had no choice but to accept this arrangement," Zheng Fan said.
Shao Shuyi was overjoyed and said, "That's exactly what I wanted."
Zheng Fan was somewhat surprised for some reason.
Shao Shuyi then recounted what Fei Xiong had mentioned.
Zheng Fan smiled upon hearing this and said, "They're just petty people; it's nothing serious."
"It's good that you've come," Shao Shuyi said. "Commander Lu of the Changshu Garrison in Jiangyin has refused my invitation to banquets. Perhaps things will change after you go."
"Alright, staying in Taicang is pretty boring anyway. Besides going to the yamen to sit and listen to gossip, all I do is hunt and watch operas. My body's practically rusting," Zheng Fan said. "I'll go scout things out for you."
"Is there any news from the prefectural government or the grain transport office?" Shao Shuyi stood up, poured Zheng Fan a cup of wine, and asked.
"They talk about the Huashan bandits all day long," Zheng Fan said. "The Crossroads Army has also been mobilized. When they saw them off, everyone cried and begged for their parents' lives, thinking they were going to die. It was almost a joke."
"Oh?" Shao Shuyi said with interest, "The government is also discussing this matter extensively. Aren't they afraid of disgracing the nation?"
"There are many things that have disgraced the nation," Zheng Fan sneered. "Guo Huo, your three hundred men routed tens of thousands of government troops and killed a general. Doesn't that count as disgracing the nation? Doesn't Li Kaiwu's robbery of the grain transport count? What about Wu Dalang's rampage through the Huai River and Shandong transport areas? Oh, right, there were also officials who went to appease Cai the rebels, only to be humiliated instead. Doesn't that count? What national dignity does the court have left!"
Shao Shuyi laughed incessantly and said, "Indeed. What do the officials in the prefectural government think?"
"What can they do? Most people only think about making money; getting them to do anything is extremely difficult, and they don't really care," Zheng Fan said. "Perhaps a few people want to pull themselves together, but given the current situation, what good will it do besides making themselves suffer in the end?"
At this point, Zheng Fan glanced at Shao Shuyi and asked, "Speaking of the Huashan bandits, I heard you fought bandits in Qinwang Mountain in Jiangyin. Did Jiangyin Prefecture look for you?"
Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "I just picked up a letter from Shengye Trading Company today. Jiangyin Prefecture is indeed asking me to head west as soon as possible."
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"Are you going?"
"Let's go back and check things out first," Shao Shuyi said, "and then we'll make a decision."
Zheng Fan nodded and said, "This is a prudent approach."
"Did you hear anything else?" Shao Shuyi asked again.
"The grain transport office crossed out the names of your men and stopped them from transporting grain by sea. There was a man named Jiang Bayue who transported grain once last year and was now destitute. He was released as a commoner."
Is it true or false?
"It's true," Zheng Fan said. "The canal administration has already issued a document, and Songjiang Prefecture has also sent someone to Suzhou. The person in charge is a clerk named Tao Zongyi."
"Tao Zongyi?" Shao Shuyi felt that the name sounded familiar.
"I heard he is from a family of Confucian scholars, a native of Taizhou, and quite famous in Songjiang. Although he works for the government, he does not neglect his studies. This time when he came to Suzhou, he still carried books with him. It is quite amazing."
Shao Shuyi felt the name was increasingly familiar and said, "I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."
Zheng Fan looked at him with surprise and said, "If you really want to know, I'll help you find out."
"Okay," Shao Shuyi nodded.
The two drank until midnight, during which they also discussed going overseas to trade with foreign countries. This was because Shao Shuyi was unsure whether he could raise that much money, so he wanted to bring Zheng Fan along to alleviate the financial pressure.
The next day, Shao Shuyi divided the gifts returned by Fei Xiong into three parts, visited Li Zhuang and Qian Baishi, and met Manager Mo at Huai De Xuan, giving each of them a gift.
He then did not delay any longer and arrived at Huangtian Port on the fifth day of the seventh month, announcing his return.
On the sixth day, Ge Daji, the clerk with a keen sense of smell, arrived to investigate the case.
Upon seeing Shao Shuyi enjoying the cool air and drinking tea by the bamboo grove in the backyard, Cao She was furious and said, "Cao She, you're having a good time, but the Prefect can't eat or drink properly. He asks every two or three days if you've returned yet."
"Didn't I already say to send Zhao Yangui?" Shao Shuyi said, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.
"He's sick." Ge Daji pulled up a chair and sat down next to Shao Shuyi, saying, "He's not faking it, he's really sick and can't go."
"Why did you have to get sick now of all times? Only you would believe that." Shao Shuyi chuckled and said, "I'm going to Wuxi to collect silk, so I'm afraid I won't have time."
Ge Daji was taken aback and said, "Such a trivial matter, can't we just send someone down?"
"We still need to collect raw silk in Jiangyin and Matuosha," Shao Shuyi added. "Before the end of October, we also need to buy a batch of porcelain. There's a lot to do."
Ge Daji, somewhat helpless, said, "There's plenty of raw silk and brocade. The prefectural government can send people to collect them for you, how about that?"
Shao Shuyi was shocked.
He knew the government was somewhat powerless these days, but he never imagined they'd be this powerless. Help me go out and buy goods? Are you kidding me?
Unexpectedly, Ge Daji was serious. He said, "I'll send someone to the countryside to collect raw silk tomorrow. How much do you need?"
"Two thousand shi," Shao Shuyi said.
"This is easy," Ge Daji said. "How much are you offering?"
"How about credit first?"
Ge Daji frowned slightly, and after a moment said, "It's not difficult. How much silk do you need?"
"Ten thousand horses."
"Does it have to be from Wuxi?"
"That would be best."
Ge Daji nodded and said, "Let me go back and report on this matter."
Shao Shuyi was getting restless; the service was just too good.
"Is there any progress on the armory issue we discussed earlier?" Shao Shuyi asked again.
"The Han army does have iron armor, but not much," Ge Daji said. "After all, they are only lower-ranking officers, and part of their troops are naval forces. They can only lend you a few suits of iron armor at most."
Shao Shuyi lay back down, but fanned himself a little more vigorously with the palm-leaf fan.
That's more like it.
The imperial court protected the prefectures, counties, and districts by preventing the officials and guards directly under their control from having sophisticated equipment, but it couldn't possibly protect even the garrison troops.
"This is a really difficult matter; they're hesitant to take responsibility," Ge Daji said. "However—"
Shao Shuyi didn't say anything, he just casually shooed away the mosquitoes that flew over.
"There might be a workaround," Ge Daji added.
"Tell me about it," Shao Shuyi said.
"In the Jiangnan region, the Suzhou Armor Craftsmen's Office produces the most armor," Ge Daji said. "However, the office is always supervised by the imperial guards selected by the court, and outsiders have no say in the process. Most of the armor produced is transported to the Imperial Household Department in Dadu for storage. The court doesn't trust the southerners, that's how it is."
At the county level, there was a miscellaneous manufacturing bureau that produced all sorts of miscellaneous items. However, the imperial court had decreed that each prefecture should establish a miscellaneous manufacturing bureau, which would supply armor and weapons to the emperor annually, so in reality, very few were retained. But items like flags, bridles, and battle robes were readily available in abundance.
After Ge Daji's explanation, Shao Shuyi roughly understood that the imperial court's defenses against Jiangnan were quite formidable.
Specialized military equipment manufacturing institutions, such as the Hangzhou Military Equipment Administration which manufactured swords, spears, and bows and arrows, the Suzhou Armor Craftsmen Administration which manufactured various types of armor, and the Huzhou Artillery Craftsmen and Armorers Administration which manufactured guns and cannons, mostly transported north to the Dadu Military Equipment Temple for storage.
Unprofessional "general manufacturing organizations," such as miscellaneous manufacturing bureaus established only at the road level, basically manufacture all sorts of things, but "armor and weapons" (armor and weapons) must be offered as tribute; you can't just intercept them if you want, you need to apply.
A governor's office would only provide you with ten sets of bows and arrows. During the Dade era, the archers in the patrol office didn't even have weapons and had to catch thieves bare-handed. Later, they were provided with three sets of bows and plenty of swords and spears.
As for the military equipment production institutions, they were basically controlled by the Kheshig (imperial guards) sent from Dadu (Beijing), and the censors visited them frequently.
It wasn't easy for the Crossroads Army and the Han Chinese interpreters to resell military equipment; they had to save every penny they could.
"When craftsmen from the Miscellaneous Workshops go out to do work, the Kheshig (imperial guards) usually turn a blind eye, as long as they pay tribute to them," Ge Daji said. "If all else fails, we can try to find a way to hire a few craftsmen to go out on the Changzhou Road—"
Shao Shuyi stopped fanning himself and sat up abruptly.
Seeing his anxious look, Ge Daji's eyelids twitched.
"Go find the person first, I'll talk to you when I see them," Shao Shuyi said.
"You go first."
"You should find someone first."
Shao Shuyi stopped talking and lay back down.
Ge Daji sighed and said, "I'll go back and ask first."
Shao Shuyi waved his palm-leaf fan, indicating that he would not see him out.
Ge Daji glanced at him, hesitated, and finally said nothing. He cupped his hands in greeting and left helplessly.