Outside Zhangjiang Gate, on the official ship pier.
Two large luxury ships docked slowly, one with the flag of Suzhou Dyeing and Weaving Bureau, and the other with the flag of Taicang Shipping Department.
This was the big family from the south of the Yangtze River invited by the King of Chu, and Lao Liu even called it the ‘investment inspection team’.
The inspection team was led by Shen Rong, deputy director of the Municipal Shipping Department, and Gu Yuanchen, the special manager of the Dyeing and Weaving Bureau. It was originally planned to bring a ship with no more than a hundred people.
However, there are so many people who want to come, and large businesses in Wuxi, Changzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing and even Hangzhou outside Suzhou are also asking their friends to find connections to get a ferry ticket.
Not because they want to experience being blackmailed by Lao Liu, but because they are covetous of the shipping fleet’s space!
After a year of hard work last year, His Highness the King of Chu has basically calmed the sea. Although it is inevitable that the sea will be cleared, there are still small groups of Japanese pirates and pirates that harass the coast from time to time, but these are all scabies diseases and have nothing to do with the overall situation. .
Without a powerful fleet like Chen Shanghai and Fang Datong, who would dare to think of a commercial fleet with strong ships and powerful guns?
With a safe and stable trade environment, who is not eager for the lucrative maritime trade? Everyone is looking for opportunities to get a share of it!
Therefore, these extremely shrewd Jiangnan wealthy people knew that they would definitely bleed when they came back, but they still flocked to it.
This is because Shen Rong and Gu Yuanchen strictly control the situation and exclude big business owners with poor financial resources or close relationships with Hu Weiyong, the Wu brothers, etc. Otherwise, two ships will not be enough!
~~
Zeng Tai, the newly appointed Chief Minister of Jiangxi Province, personally greeted the distinguished guests from afar at the pier.
Not only because these guests were invited by His Highness, but he himself was fascinated by these Gods of Wealth... Only after taking over the vassal treasury did he realize how poor Jiangxi was.
In the spirit of "no matter how poor you are, you can't poor yourself, no matter how rich you are, you can't enrich the court", Xiong Qitai and his gang regard the court's tax quota as a tool for their own profit, and they all engage in power rent-seeking, so the tax collected will naturally be less. There are very few.
Even if all the homes of Xiong Qitai and his gang were confiscated and their property confiscated, it would only be enough to maintain daily life. It is absolutely impossible for the province to spend huge amounts of money on immigration. We don’t have the ability, understand?
But the court cannot provide this money, and it cannot rely on Huguang, because Huguang is even poorer and has to provide double the land.
Therefore, this money can only fall on the heads of these Gods of Wealth from the south of the Yangtze River.
Seeing the guests getting off the boat, Zeng Tai meditated on His Highness's teachings of 'attracting investment' and 'borrowing chickens to lay eggs', then put on the most sincere smile, cupped his hands and said: "Welcome, welcome to Jiangxi!"
Seeing the dignified chief envoy surrendering in such a difficult manner, Shen Rong, Gu Yuanchen and others did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly bowed in return and paid homage to the lord of Fantai.
"Well, thank you for your hard work." After greeting each other, Zeng Tai cupped his hands towards the Prince Teng's Pavilion not far away and said, "I want to tell you some good news. Your two highnesses have already set up a banquet in the Prince Teng's Pavilion, waiting to welcome you. !”
"Oh, you've been waiting for me!" A group of Jiangnan wealthy people did not expect to receive the highest level of courtesy from this group, and hurriedly kowtowed to the Tengwang Pavilion to express their thanks.
"Hey, you don't have to do this. You'd better say thank you in person." Zeng Tai urged with a smile: "Let's go there quickly, don't keep His Highness waiting."
"Yes, yes." Shen Rong and others hurriedly responded.
In fact, the Tengwang Pavilion that Wang Bo saw was originally the city gate tower on Zhangjiang Gate. After it was destroyed in the war, later generations rebuilt it north of Zhangjiang Gate and on the bank of Ganjiang River.
The rebuilt building is less than a hundred feet away from Zhangjiang Gate and can be reached easily. So instead of taking a bus, everyone walked directly along the beautiful Ganjiang River.
"It is indeed a place of natural treasures where 'the setting clouds and solitary owls fly together, and the autumn water makes the sky one color'," the guests all quoted Wang Bo's famous saying with emotion: "The mountains, beautiful waters, and charming scenery are no less than those in our Jiangnan area." .”
"Actually, Jiangxi can also be considered as Jiangnan." Zeng Tai couldn't help but start arguing again.
"Ah, yes, yes." Of course the guests would not disagree with him and hurriedly agreed: "The red flowers and green willows, the clear water and the green mountains are indeed no different from those in the south of the Yangtze River."
"That's right, look at the quality of the soil. It looks like fine purple sand mud." A wealthy family from Yixing walked out of the stone official road, bent down to grab a handful of soil, and studied it carefully: "Tsk, it's a bit like the fine black soil in our Huanglong Mountain. Star, but the color is more purple, it will definitely look good when cooked in a pot."
"Really, then Mr. Boxiang should open a kiln here." A group of Jiangnan big businessmen also joined in the fun.
The receptionist had a weird look on his face and didn't want to talk to him.
"What? Is there any taboo here?" Duke Boxiang asked carefully.
"Yes, it's a bit taboo." Zeng Tai laughed dryly, fearing that if he mentioned the taboo, they wouldn't even be able to eat. He resisted the urge to start a fight and said:
"It's a long story, you'll find out later."
As he spoke, he pointed ahead to the pavilion standing on the high platform and said: "Look, your two highnesses are already waiting for us!"
"Yes, yes." All the wealthy people hurriedly adjusted their clothes, quickened their pace, and stepped forward to pay homage to the King of Yan, King of Chu and His Highness the King of Hai.
~~
Zhu Zhen and Zhu Di stood side by side on the high platform, and laughed loudly to the wealthy people kneeling under the stage: "Everyone, please come upstairs quickly."
"Thank you, Your Highness." After thanking him, a group of big businessmen, led by Zeng Tai, lined up on the high platform.
Because there were a lot of guests, the reception banquet was held on a high platform.
The high platform in front of the building is very wide, and more than 20 Eight Immortals tables are arranged neatly without any pressure.
After the guests were seated, the waiter stopped looking at the dishes and began to serve the dishes. The plates served were smaller and more limited than those served by Xiong Qitai...
Four dishes and one soup were put on the table, and the Eight Immortals table was almost full.
But when His Royal Highness the King of Chu is treating guests, he certainly can't hide himself like Xiong Qitai and put four dishes on one plate. Lao Liu's plate only has one dish, but the portion of the dishes is just a little bit bigger.
For example, the roasted whole lamb dish is a whole golden-red roasted lamb, kneeling on a square wooden plate, served whole, and it is considered a dish...
The other three dishes and one soup were all the same, and the portions were surprisingly large.
It not only allows the guests to feel the host's hospitality, but also does not violate Boss Zhu's rules. No one can say that Lao Liu is cheating.
Xiong Qitai and his gang would not have thought of such a simple method.
But they insist on doing that kind of tricks, not just for the sake of stuttering, but more to show that there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. By challenging the regulations of the court, they prove that their privileges are not affected.
When the food and wine were served, Zhu Zhen stood up with a wine glass and said:
"Among you, some are old faces, and some are new faces we met for the first time. But it doesn't matter, those who can come all the way to Nanchang just because of my Zhu Zhen's words are all my Zhu Zhen's good friends!"
"Your Highness is serious." All the guests were flattered and expressed their disdain. Those wealthy people outside Suzhou quickly said that as citizens of His Highness's vassal country, it was an infinite honor to come to see him.
"There's nothing to be afraid of! Come, let's drink this cup and welcome everyone to Changchang!" Zhu Zhen raised his wine glass high.
"Do it!" Everyone quickly stood up and raised their glasses to drink with their two highnesses.
