"That's not necessarily the case. I see that some places in the empire are prosperous, but they are too far away from our imperial capital and are inconvenient. If not, I would have gone there to have a look." The rat-bearded merchant was a little indifferent. Agreeing with the other party's opinion, he waved the satin folding fan again, "Look at Guanxi, look at Tiannan, and then look at Burma. Damn, the merchants from Jiangnan really have good noses. They swarmed into Tiannan and Guanxi. , and now they are rushing into Burma like hungry dogs. I am afraid that only the west side of the entire empire is still at peace. The remote places that were dismissed in the past have now become the meat and potatoes that everyone is fighting for. The world has really changed. "
"Well, that's true, why don't you take a look at who is in charge in the west? There is a human king named Bai Shenggong sitting there, and whoever wants to cause trouble will not be able to please him, be it the Kaman Butcher or the Devil Machihan. Well, whether it’s the Plague God of the Taiping Cult, who hasn’t capsized under his hand? Now when businessmen from the northwest come to the imperial capital, they are everywhere with their chests puffed out and their arrogance. When asked, they all make noises, their skins are warm, they are from the northwest, What's the matter? Look at that aura, as if he is superior to others, which makes the businessmen from other areas jealous." The yellow-faced businessman looked envious, but lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Mr. Li Wufeng has always been very lenient to businessmen. Businessmen No matter where you are born, you can become an official, and you have also written to officials from other regions asking them to protect merchants in the northwest. When those northwest merchants go out, they carry a letter uniformly issued by the Northwest Economic Development Agency requesting all places within and outside the empire to protect the legitimate rights and interests of northwest merchants. Thoughtful, no matter whether it is useful or not, it is always a thought."
"How could it be useless? A friend of mine from the northwest is an Indian immigrant. He went to his hometown in India from the northwest to discuss business. He was harassed and blackmailed by local officials in Hailum, the capital of Lahore Province in the north of the Tik people. He immediately took out this thing and threatened to go to the local diplomatic official. At that time, he was so frightened that the official did not dare to speak and was busy making convenience. This is proof." The rat-bearded man immediately gave an example to prove, "This is really long. The majesty of our empire."
"Hmph, that's not the majesty of the Chang Empire, it's the majesty of the Chang Northwest. I haven't heard what Master Li is called in India? The Invincible God of War! The Tik people were beaten to a pulp by the Northwest Army. Originally, Master Li He has been staying in Kansai, but those Tike people are far-fetched and insist that Mr. Li personally led the army to the expedition. They clearly want to cover up their defeat. From this, we can also know the reputation of Mr. Li in India. How could those local officials not be afraid? If he really caused trouble, could he afford it?" The yellow-faced businessman said leisurely, "But the Northwest Army also suffered a loss some time ago, and was driven out of Pinglu by the Kaman Butcher. I heard that the battle was fought in darkness, with no light from the sun or the moon, but this made the Kaman Butcher even more arrogant, otherwise why would he occupy Black Mountain and Longquan again?"
"Well, let's just ignore the Kaman people. Anyway, the empire still has hundreds of thousands of troops guarding the west. It's impossible for the Kaman people to attack the imperial capital for a while. What we need to consider now is business. If we don't make a few deals, we It's really a northwest wind. I got news that the indigo production in Tianshui and Longdong has basically resumed. I heard that the production of safflower cakes is still expanding, and those production workshops have increased their production capacity. Now that the situation in Heshuo is in chaos, I don’t dare to go there. How about we go down to Jincheng from Huanggang and then go around Hanzhong. Although the journey is a bit longer, we can finally do business. Now the supply of goods in Heshuo is cut off. It's estimated that the price will go up. The most we can do is add the freight to the cost, and maybe we can earn two more." The rat-bearded merchant finally turned the topic back to the topic. No matter how much he talked about state affairs, it was illusory. But supporting a family is the most realistic thing. If you don't do business and make no money, then people will really starve to death.
"Oh? Where did you get the news? The Taiping Army in Tianshui has just retreated, and it has resumed production so quickly? Is it reliable? If it is not reliable, I would rather go to Yushan. I heard that the situation there has basically recovered. The people of Machi Khan have not done anything excessive. Recently, cinnabar and bluestone are very popular in the imperial capital. If you can't get indigo and safflower cakes, it would be good to get some cinnabar and bluestone." The yellow-faced businessman asked in surprise. Said, he did not expect that his business partner could have such good information.
"Hey, I promise there will be no problem. I heard this in Shuiyue Tower. Last night I happened to meet a friend from Tianshui. He came to the imperial capital to purchase goods. I asked about the situation in Longdong and Tianshui. , he said that the Taiping Army failed to enter the city, Tianshui had little impact, and the food supply there was sufficient, so production resumed quickly, but it had to take a detour to Jincheng." The rat-bearded merchant replied with some embarrassment. .
While the two dye merchants were arguing about their business, several people in the private room on the third floor above them were also pacing anxiously, as if waiting for someone.
"Why aren't you here? Didn't you agree on this time?" A strong man in his thirties picked up the tea cup and put it down impatiently.
"Third brother, don't be so arrogant. If you want to get things done, you have to be patient. Although there is chaos in the imperial capital, the people in the internal affairs department are still very conscientious and conscientious. The other party doesn't want the internal affairs department to find out. We are also here. I had no choice but to take this step, and to be honest, I didn't know what to do." The middle-aged man sitting next to him had shining eyes and bulging temples, but his face was calm and relaxed, a bit like everyone else.
"Hmph, you can't blame us. Since His Highness gave the Du family the waterway route to Luyang and Pengcheng, it is obvious that he does not regard our boat gang as his own family. Then why should we work for him again? Just based on this The waterway from Jinzhong to the Imperial Capital is now so shallow that even large ships cannot travel, so how can we still feed people?" Another young man said angrily, "Now more and more people are coming from the hometowns of the brothers in the gang. They are all poor people who can’t afford to eat. Don’t accept them. It’s unjustifiable because of emotions and reasons. Accept them. Now it’s difficult for our boat gang to even feed ourselves, how can we afford to accept them?”
The middle-aged man sitting aside said nothing, but he was carefully evaluating what this meeting would bring to the Boat Gang. He originally thought that since His Highness had taken over the entire East China Sea, the Boat Gang would originally control a considerable part of the people from Jinzhong. If the waterway transportation business from the imperial capital to Luyang can be brought over to Pengcheng and even Jinling, then the boat gang's life will be much more prosperous. Even now due to the severe drought, many children from the hometown have come to work, and they can still work casually. I agreed, but I didn’t expect that His Highness would abandon his group and hand over the water transportation concession from Luyang to Pengcheng to Jinling to the Du family of Donghai. This is simply an insult. His group worked hard for him. Liang Cheng couldn't bear the tone of having worked so hard but ended up like this. Even if he could bear it, the gang accepted so many children from his hometown in Jinzhong, and the business not only did not expand, but shrank. How could he live like this?
Now that there is no hope for the water transport business in the east, the boat gangs who live on the Shanjiang waterway can only develop towards the upper reaches of the Shanjiang River. However, the Heshuo area in the upper reaches is in chaos. I'm afraid it's not easy to establish a foothold with Tianshui, so he thought of finding another backer. Heshuo has been in chaos. It is obvious that the rule of the Taiping Sect here cannot be maintained for a long time. Especially in this era of famine, the Taiping Sect, which has no foundation in the first place, is even less likely to be able to secure this territory. . The Kaman people don't even seem to have much interest in Longquan and Heishan, otherwise they wouldn't take such extreme measures. Although the Boat Gang is a Jianghu gang, it is impossible to join the foreigners. The only hope is to the west.
Seeing that his eldest brother was deep in thought, several people standing aside fell silent for a while, not daring to disturb his eldest brother's thoughts. It was not easy for the Boat Gang to get to this point, and making a choice also requires caution, especially when This kind of choice that will determine the fate of the entire gang requires careful thinking before making.
"Brother, what if the other party agrees to us today? What about the Alliance? I'm afraid it won't take long for the Sunset Sect to notice something unusual, and Fu Jian won't just sit idly by." Another thin, middle-aged man sat in the corner and smoked. Cigarette bag, while opening his mouth.
"Second brother, why do you care about that broken alliance? Damn it, the Sunset Sect has the support of His Highness and is a popular and popular drinker. How has it ever cared about our life and death? It doesn't matter that we don't join this alliance. It didn't give us a ship anyway. The gang has brought so many benefits. Apart from working for it for nothing, I don’t think the Laushizi Alliance is of much help to our boat gang. You can’t have brothers who don’t even have to eat and still have to cheer for them, right?” The young man huffed angrily. gritted his teeth and said.
"You can't say that. Now His Highness is very powerful and has this advantage in Jiangnan. I'm sure he will be the current emperor. We have to go all the way. Once the weather changes, then we really have nothing to do. We have a long way to go." The little middle-aged man called Second Brother said with a sullen face and puffed out a smoke ring.
"No matter who becomes the emperor, more than a thousand brothers in our boat gang have to make a living. Now His Highness is clearly going to sacrifice the interests of our boat gang to please the Du family in the East China Sea. We can't let all the brothers starve to death, right?" Another young man also said Interface Road.
"The fourth brother is right. We have so many brothers who have to live. His Highness did this because he couldn't forgive us first, so don't blame us for finding another branch. If he wants to please the Du family, let him please the good ones. Let’s see how much benefit the Du family can bring to him, our boat gang will part ways with him!” Another young man said in a low voice.