Shi Yuangong cupped his hands and said, "I don't know what my husband called me for."
Zhu Mingping dismissed the servants and asked Bai Sheng and Deng Chun to guard the outside. No one was allowed to approach the door ten steps.
Then, Ju Ming closed the door and said: "I have an important task, and I don't know who to entrust it to. After thinking about it, I think you are qualified to handle it."
"But it's according to my husband's orders!" Shi Yuangong knew that the real task was coming. Helping to recruit blacksmiths last year was just a test.
Ju Ming said: "My father is building a paper mill in Yangzhou. You take Deng Chun and Yang Pu with you and go back to Daming Village to form a business brigade. You can carry Yangzhou bamboo paper to Sichuan for sale. When you return, you can bring back some Shu specialties.
That’s all.”
Shi Yuangong asked: "When selling paper, do you have other errands?"
Zhu Ming warned: "Start from Yangzhou, pass through Xingyuan Mansion, then go to Lizhou, and go south from Lizhou to Sichuan. Along the way, outline the mountains and terrain, and inquire about the customs. What are the famous families and corrupt officials along the way?
The size of the Xiang army, the difficulty of the city's defenses, and the poverty of the people must all be recorded in detail."
Shi Yuangong's eyes widened, and then he cupped his hands and said, "Please remember this! It's just..."
"Just what?" Zhu Ming asked.
Shi Yuangong said: "The price of Shu paper is high and it is quite high-quality. Shipping paper from Yangzhou to sell it is like selling iron to Xuzhou. I'm afraid it will be difficult to recover the money. Or should we exchange it for other goods?"
"Otherwise," Zhu Ming shook his head and said, "I wrote to the magistrate of Su County (Su Yuanlao), and he said that Shu people like paper from other places very much. The 'Yun-Jun paper' made by my father can be used as a signboard with Su Dongpo's writings.
The literati and elegant people in Shu will definitely rush to buy it. You went to Yangzhou to select the most exquisite paper and sold it specially to the wealthy people in Shu."
"Yes!" Shi Yuangong said with cupped hands.
Both Fan Chengda of the Southern Song Dynasty and the "Shu Jianpu" of the Yuan Dynasty complained that Shu paper was too thick and thick, and a strong laborer could only carry 500 pieces of paper. It was very expensive to sell Shu paper to other places, purely because of transportation problems.
.When Hui paper, pool paper, and bamboo paper are shipped to central Sichuan, Shu people love their lightness and fineness, and the price is often more than three times that of Shu paper.
Ju Ming said: "Be careful in everything. If you encounter difficulties, just report my name."
Shi Yuangong bowed his head and said goodbye to his newly married wife last year, and then set off with Yang Pu and Deng Chun.
With Ju Ming's letter in hand, he recruited a team of village warriors and more than twenty young men in Daming Village, and then went to Yangzhou to get bamboo paper.
Zhu Guoxiang is rectifying the Suring Palace. The land newly occupied last year was ordered to be returned to the farmers. And the usurious loans owed by the farmers only need to return the principal and low interest.
As for the taxes, corvees, and transfers, Zhu Guoxiang didn't bother to take care of them because the Taoist priests were willing to pay taxes, but the officials didn't dare to collect them.
The Yangzhou metropolis was gentle and gentle. He was resentful by this set of operations, but he could only endure it for the time being. He did not dare to go to court to sue Zhu Guoxiang.
Of the 8,000 guan given by the emperor, 3,000 guan were embezzled by the eunuchs when he left the capital. Zhu Guoxiang gave dozens more guans to the eunuchs who passed the order, and the rest were hacked by our Dean Zhu.
After reading his son's letter, Zhu Guoxiang said to Shi Yuangong: "The first batch of really good paper can only be produced in May, and it will be enough for you to sell it to central Sichuan in June. The bamboo paper produced now is just made of old bamboo.
The quality of the inferior paper is acceptable, so you can take it to Lizhou and sell it first. Once the good paper is produced, it won’t be too late to sell it to central Sichuan.”
Shi Yuangong understood at once that not only Zhu Ming was plotting rebellion, but the Prime Minister Zhu Da also had plans.
He immediately took people to Jintan Village and brought all the bamboo paper in stock. He also took the official ship to Xingyuan Mansion for free with the letter from the Zhu family and his son. He waited in Xingyuan Mansion for a few days and took the official ship up the Han River for free.
And go.
As long as you take the official ship, the goods will not pay toll tax.
The imperial court issued repeated orders to prohibit this kind of behavior, but it was impossible to prohibit it. The Zhu family and his son did not feel guilty because there were too many private cards along the way. The local government had collected taxes indiscriminately before they used their status as officials to avoid taxes.
While waiting for the official ship, Deng Chun was responsible for guarding the cargo, while Shi Yuangong took Yang Pu and others out to inquire about various news every day.
When it was no longer possible to sail on the upper reaches of the Han River, Shi Yuangong and others took the land route and followed the northern end of the Jinniu Road over the mountains and ridges until they reached Lizhou City (Guangyuan). It was already April.
The current magistrate of Lizhou is actually Li Youwen, the former magistrate of Xingyuan, who also sent several iron smelting households to Ju Ming.
The Western Army went to Sichuan to suppress the barbarians. When they returned to Shaanxi, they passed by Hanzhong. Li Youwen failed to provide the army with enough food on time, which caused the Western Army to loot the countryside of Hanzhong. In the end, the trouble came to the court. The Western Army general was fine, but Li Youwen was demoted.
Become the prefect of Lizhou.
Shi Yuangong went to visit as Ju Ming's servant, and Li Youwen warmly greeted him: "How are you doing, dear brother Chenggong?"
"Except for a few minor mishaps, everything went well for my master," Shi Yuangong said.
After chatting for a while, Li Youwen said: "Listening to your conversation, it seems that you have read a book?"
Shi Yuangong replied: "I am a scholar from Puzhou, and I was once elected to the imperial examination. Unfortunately, my family declined, and both my father and brother died. Fortunately, I was taken in by Mr. Zhu, and now I sell paper for Mr. Zhu."
"Xiang Zhu disclosed the papermaking workshop?" Li Youwen asked.
Shi Yuangong asked back: "Has the prefect heard of Yuandang Valley?"
Li You heard this: "Of course I have heard that it is Wen Yuke's secluded place. Both Sansu and his son have been guests there."
Shi Yuangong said: "Xianggong Zhu made paper near Yuandang Valley, and the raw material used was Yuandang bamboo. Due to seasonal reasons, now only old bamboo makes poor paper. In two months, good paper can be made from Hsinchu
.I came to Lizhou, and on the order of my master, I specially presented some to the prefect."
This is nonsense. Ju Ming didn't even know that Li Youwen was transferred to Lizhou. He thought that Li Youwen was in Xingyuan Mansion and could pay a visit when the Shiyuan Highway passed by.
Shi Yuangong took out a pile of bamboo paper. Li Youwen touched it and observed it, and said in surprise: "Compared with leather paper, it naturally seems inferior, but as bamboo paper it is already top-grade. Can Zhu Xianggong make a better one?"
"In June or July, I will do it again and bring good paper to the prefect then." Shi Yuangong said with a smile.
Li Youwen was very happy: "Xiangong Zhu is so polite."
He immediately studied ink and picked up his pen, and wrote a poem on bamboo paper, called "I am so happy to give Yuandang bamboo paper to Mr. Zhu". When the ink was slightly dry, he handed it to Shi Yuangong: "Please pass it on."
Shi Yuangong collected the poems and asked casually: "What aristocratic families are there in Lizhou? How is the sales of bamboo paper?"
Li Youwen said: "The three most prosperous families are the Wang family, the Yang family, and the Wu family, but they have not produced many Jinshis. They are just local big families. If you want to sell bamboo paper, you can sell it to the Li family in Zhoucheng. Although the Li family has not produced any
Jinshi is a local businessman with considerable financial resources."
"Thank you, Grand Administrator, for your advice." Shi Yuangong said with cupped hands.
After bidding farewell to Zhizhou, Shi Yuangong stayed at an inn. The next day he visited the Li family and sold all the bamboo paper he had brought.
Including the travel expenses, I only made a small profit. If I hadn't taken the official ship for free, I would have lost money.
Of course, you can sell Lizhou specialties on your return trip.
Buying goods while inquiring about news.
Lizhou was originally the capital of Lizhou Road, and officials moved to Xingyuan Prefecture one after another. However, the garrison here still existed, with thousands of Xiang troops stationed at the throat of Chuchuan to prevent rebels from the Shu area from going north.
Shi Yuangong made an insinuation and learned that the Lizhou Xiang army had been destroyed.
Most of the Xiang army were engaged in various errands. The remaining Xiang army and horse army were not full, not to mention their pay, and there were not even a few horses left.
Shi Yuangong also went to take a peek outside the school grounds and found that there was not a single soldier inside, who usually did not participate in training at all.
Yang Pu inquired about the addresses of several Xiang Army officers, quietly observed them for two days, and reported back: "The Xiang Army generals here don't even bring weapons with them when they go out. When fighting, they are afraid that they will not be as good as the archers of Puzhou. Lizhou
There are not many soldiers at the top of the city, so they hide away from people when the sun shines brightly."
Shi Yuangong recorded on paper: Lizhou is the throat of Sichuan and a place where military strategists must pass. However, the Xiang army here has been idle for a long time and has not drilled once a year. As a rule, soldiers are not allowed to carry armor, and all ordnance is stored in
Arms depot. The city is sparsely defended and can be attacked by surprise, thereby controlling Sichuan and Shu.
After waiting for more than half a month, Shi Yuangong looked everywhere and finally returned with Lizhou local specialties.
After returning to Yangzhou, he threw the goods to the Zheng family and handed the records along the way to Zhu Guoxiang for safekeeping. After resting for a few days, Shi Yuangong took the Hsinchu good paper and headed south along the Jinniu Road again.
This time I really went to Sichuan, and I also asked for news along the way.
After passing Lizhou, there is Jianzhou Jiangge and Cuiwei, but the defense is still empty.
There hasn't been a war here for a long time, and the officers and soldiers didn't take it seriously at all.
The soldiers guarding the gate were lazy and not very strong. They were deprived of their pay, and their number of soldiers was not enough all year round. Their usual food and pay were often in arrears, and it was difficult to live a hungry and full life.
The taxes paid by passing merchants had nothing to do with the soldiers, and were all collected by the tax collectors.
On the contrary, the patrol soldiers nearby seem to have stronger combat effectiveness. They are responsible for inspecting smuggling all year round.
Shi Yuangong recorded: The sword pavilion is dangerous and cannot be defeated, so it must be defeated wisely. There are less than two hundred soldiers guarding the pass and their bodies are weak. Only the patrol soldiers are capable of fighting. These soldiers hunt for thieves and smugglers and travel all year round in the Shu Mountains.
However, if he is greedy for money, he can be deceived and bribed in advance.
It also records the famous families: the Huang family and the Yu family in Jianzhou...
Information about the local wealthy families comes from hearsay, and is written down as many people agree. It may not necessarily be consistent with the real situation, but it won't be too far off.
Let’s record the sentiments of the people: The prefect of Jianzhou brutally abused the people, official corruption was rampant, the people fled every time, and there were many bandits in the mountains. There was a big bandit named Huang Er, a branch of the Huang family, who gathered hundreds of people to plunder the place. The government could not suppress it.
, and after suppressing them, they fled into the mountains. This bandit had a reputation for being just and righteous. He only robbed large households and merchants and did not bother the poor at all. He could be recruited and accepted.
Shi Yuangong was so slow to advance, no matter how expensive the Yuandang paper was sold, he probably wouldn't make much money, and all his money was used to find out the news.
He also paid special attention to private salt dealers. Among the Sichuan Gorge smuggling teams, in addition to smuggling tea, private salt dealers were the most rampant and secretly interacted with the patrol soldiers.
Shi Yuangong suggested that if they marched into Sichuan, they could recruit private salt dealers along the way.
