xymnovel Chapter 86 Formalization
Chapter 86 Formalization
Chapter 86 Formalization (Part 2)
February 14th, the last day before departure.
The Taijia and Taiyi ships, which had finished loading their cargo ahead of schedule, continued to practice boat handling on the river.
Given the difficulty of finding work and earning money, the sixteen sailors on the two ships trained quite diligently.
Shao Shuyi focused on observing how Liang Tai and Gao Daqiang managed their subordinates.
They may be skilled fighters, but their management abilities are of paramount importance—we're only talking about one ship right now, but we can already see some of their qualities from this small example.
His business was bound to grow and expand, and on this point, Shao Shuyi, who had become slightly arrogant after making his fortune, was full of optimism.
As the team grows, he can't possibly manage everything in every detail; he needs a management team centered around him.
In the early stages, you can rely on your courage and bravery to fight back in a fight, but later you need to discover other qualities in your subordinates.
If it exists, it exists; if it doesn't, it doesn't.
Perhaps out of consideration for closeness or distance, we might give those who are close to us more opportunities, or put in a lot of effort to help them improve. But if they really can't be helped, then we can only arrange other positions for them.
After watching the boat handling training, Shao Shuyi returned to the Qingqi Shop and met with Cheng Ji, who had just arrived.
"Here are the flags you wanted." Cheng Ji placed three small flags on the table and said, "There are three colors: blue, red, and black. I don't use them much; they've just been gathering dust in a corner. They're free; you can have them."
After saying that, he looked at Shao Shuyi with some hesitation and asked, "What do you need these flags for?"
Shao Shuyi glanced at it and said, "Give the orders."
Cheng Ji immediately understood and sighed, "I'm getting more and more worried."
Shao Shuyi laughed heartily, pulled Cheng Ji to sit down, personally poured him a bowl of tea, and said, "It's just giving orders, don't overthink it."
It doesn't matter what the tricolor flag did in the past; you can just redefine it.
For example, after the flagship (Zuanfeng Haiqiu) raises a flag of a certain color, the Taijia ships move forward and flank it from the side.
For example, after the flagship raised a triangular flag of a different color, the Taiyi ship broke through the enemy lines and charged straight at the enemy headquarters to cover the main fleet.
There are so many different things.
To put it simply, the banner was created to compensate for the shortcomings in the expressive content of the drums and gongs.
On the battlefield, once formations are set up, it is often impossible to hear left or right, front or back. In addition, with the various noises, drums, and the chaos that arises from the fighting, the limitations of gongs and drums mean that messengers may not be able to reach a unit's location in time to accurately convey orders.
At this point, the flag becomes very important, because as long as you look up, you can see it from afar and understand what your small formation should do, and then carry out the orders.
Naval battles are no different; they also require flags for command—the four characters "golden drums and banners" are often used together, representing the two major command systems of hearing and sight, respectively.
Shao Shuyi now has three boats and dozens of sailors. Considering the special nature of water navigation, shouting may not be heard, and sending messengers on horseback to relay orders as on land is not practical. Therefore, the flag is even more important.
Cheng Ji was a military man, and one of the few who focused his mind on military affairs, so he knew this all too well.
So he was very worried.
"Little Tiger, to be honest, I've never seen a merchant fleet like yours," Cheng Ji sighed. "Even pirates sometimes act chaotically, either rushing in all at once or scattering in all directions. They may have a desperate air about them, but they lack any real discipline. Your behavior is truly appalling."
"Master Cheng, this is a merchant ship," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. "As you know, the situation is chaotic, and there are many bandits."
At this point, he deliberately observed Cheng Ji's expression and, finding no particular reaction, felt relieved and continued, "With more bandits, trade routes are disrupted, causing many inconveniences for the people. For example, the north needs grain and medicinal herbs from the south, the south needs livestock and furs from the north, Jiangsu and Zhejiang need copper and iron from Jiangxi, and Hubei and Hunan need tea from Sichuan and Chongqing, and so on."
However, merchants seek wealth and are unwilling to risk their lives. This is where skilled guards are needed, a situation not uncommon throughout history and across cultures. During the Tang Dynasty, when Sogdian caravans came to the Central Plains, no fewer than 30% of the hundreds of people were guards.
During the standoff between the Song and Jin dynasties, there were also caravans traveling along the border, and there were even more guards.
As for this dynasty, I dare say that from now on, anyone engaged in long-distance trade, whether by land or sea, without a bodyguard skilled in combat, can expect to be robbed.
Cheng Ji was speechless.
Is such a thing possible? Absolutely. He hasn't forgotten how he got the biggest windfall of his life—it was robbery, wasn't it?
"I can't go with you this time." Cheng Ji sighed and said, "Two or three months is too long, it doesn't make sense."
Shao Shuyi was slightly disappointed.
He invited Cheng Ji over today, ostensibly to buy flags, but that was just a pretext. He could make those things himself, define their shape, and make them his own. His real purpose was to get Cheng Ji on board and go to Jiangxi with him.
But as he said, two or three months was too long, and it wouldn't be right to explain it to the Dadu Garrison, even though he had already seen many Dadu Garrison soldiers doing mortar work at the Shen residence's construction site.
"It's alright," Shao Shuyi forced a smile. "I've heard that there's a cannon in Dadu, but I don't know if it's for sale, or how much it would cost."
Cheng Ji was startled and said helplessly, "Originally there were three cannons, but now there's only one left. Losing it would be too conspicuous. However, I heard that Huzhou will send several cannons this year, but I don't know when they will arrive. Maybe then we'll have a chance, but not now. Besides, we can forget about swords, spears, bows, and halberds. We can't decide on a cannon. No one dares to sell it without the commander's approval."
"I see." Shao Shuyi nodded, then asked, "Do you know Commander Song Tong?"
"Song Tong from Guangping Garrison? His family has held the hereditary title of commander of a thousand households for three generations." Cheng Ji asked疑惑地, "Why are you asking about him?"
"He is Shen Wansan's son-in-law," Shao Shuyi said. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm leaving tomorrow, and we'll have a good drink together when I get back. If you have time, please keep an eye on the small courtyard for me."
"Okay." Cheng Ji agreed without hesitation: "I'll go take a look whenever I have free time."
"I've entrusted the land purchase to Dog Slave. If he comes back to collect the money, it might not be safe for him to travel with so much paper money. Please keep an eye on him."
"OK."
"if----"
Shao Shuyi then mentioned a few more things, and Cheng Jixu, feeling guilty for not being able to go to Jiangxi together, readily agreed.
After giving these instructions, Shao Shuyi did not delay any longer. On the morning of the 15th, he picked up Zheng Fan and his party, set sail, left Liujiagang, and headed upstream towards Jiangxi.
******
The so-called "going upstream" is actually going against the current.
Considering it was early spring, February, and the wind direction was not right, they could only rely on manual rowing to travel west.
It took Shao Shuyi and his party of three ships seven or eight days to finally arrive at their first stop, Longwan City, at noon on the 22nd.
Even so, it was thanks to a change in wind direction midway through the journey, with a rare easterly wind blowing across the river, that it might have taken about ten days.
Longwan City, judging from its name, is clearly a commercial town, given that it ends with the suffix "city".
In fact, this place developed during the Southern Song Dynasty. After the Yuan Dynasty was established, commerce in Jiangnan further developed on the basis of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Longwan City ushered in its golden age.
As a major commercial town near Jiangning, the seat of the Jiqing Road government, Longwan's biggest business was the trade of grain and rice.
When Shao Shuyi and the others came ashore, they saw a bustling scene of grain being transported.
"This year's Spring Festival travel rush is in May, there's no summer travel rush, it's been changed to autumn travel rush, probably around July or August." Zheng Fan, dressed in a white robe, stood on the river embankment, pointing to the tall, thick wall in the distance, and said, "That's not a city, it's actually a transshipment warehouse. Tax grain from Huguang and Jiangxi is transported here, waiting for ships from the Changshu and Jiangyin Thousand-Household Garrison to come and load it. Last year there was a drought in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the Central Secretariat, out of compassion, transferred 500,000 shi of tax grain from Huguang and Jiangxi to supplement it."
"But this is a blessing for the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang," Shao Shuyi said.
In ancient times, due to logistical constraints, much tax revenue was not sent to the central government but was stored locally in granaries. Sichuan was a prime example; once tax grain was collected, it was very difficult to transport it out. Going east required crossing the Three Gorges, which wasn't easy, and going north was even more difficult. Even Zhuge Liang struggled with logistics; how could they possibly transport it?
Transportation to Huguang and Jiangxi is relatively convenient, but they generally don't transport grain out of the province unless there's a problem; instead, it's allocated and used locally. However, with Jiangsu and Zhejiang "shutting down" their grain production, they have to step up. Huguang used 84 shi of tax grain a year, and Jiangxi used 115 million shi, but now 50 shi are being transported out, almost a quarter of that has been diverted.
"Although Master Zheng is not a merchant, he knows more than we do," praised Mo Bei, the manager representing the Shen family on the ship.
"When I'm bored, I go to the yamen to sit and meet old friends, so I know a lot," Zheng Fan laughed and said, "but compared to my thirteenth brother, I'm far inferior. He's always reading and works much harder than I do."
"You're too modest, sir," Mo Bei said with a smile. "Years ago, I worked with Rongfu in the grain and oil trade. In this Longwan City, I was overwhelmed by ship after ship of Jiangxi goods. This transshipment warehouse can store a million shi of grain. Usually, the warehouse is empty, mostly rented to grain merchants, many of whom are from Jiangxi. Even today, there are still many people from Jiangxi trading grain and oil on Jiqing Road. I don't know why their grain is so cheap."
Why? Because prices and labor costs are low. Even considering the transportation costs along the Yangtze River, the cost of grain production in Jiangxi is still lower than in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Shao Shuyi quickly understood this and gained a considerable understanding of Jiangxi's grain production potential.
You might not know this information while sitting at home.
Merchants who travel all over the country have penetrated into every capillary of this society. Individually, they may not have enough information, but when they are collected, it is quite considerable.
"Let's go, Little Tiger." Zheng Fan waved and said, "It's been ten days. We're probably running low on the dry rations we prepared earlier. Let's go buy some. There's a—hmm, Liu's Grain Shop over there, let's go check it out."