Cui Jiuming was waiting on the roadside early, followed by dozens of merchants. Merchant was a very humble profession in ancient times, especially after the Qin Dynasty. These guys who did not produce but lived well and lived well were hated by everyone. Even the emperor
This group of people all have a bad face. According to the custom of the Han Dynasty, merchants cannot be officials. Of course, you can wait until you become an official before becoming a merchant, except for that.
Su Ren is a strange person. He entered an official position as a businessman. Not only did he break the tradition that merchants could not be officials, he also made his official positions bigger and bigger. Now he is an official in both the imperial court and the vassal states. This makes him
The merchants around him saw hope, and all of them unconsciously joined him, striving to make their heirs like Su Ren in the future, even if they were just a small official.
"Mr. Su..." A group of people knelt down and saluted with such a spectacular momentum that the people who came and went were confused and dropped what they were doing and stood aside to watch the fun.
Su Ren quickly dismounted and pulled Cui Jiuming up: "Why do you do this false ritual?"
Cui Jiuming smiled and said: "The situation is different. You are a high official and we are merchants. If you don't be polite when we meet, you will be punished." As he spoke, Cui Jiuming looked at Han Qing and Hou Yong.
"It seems that I have never been an official. Except for you, Lao Cui, I was the mayor of Shu County when you first met me. I was still your immediate boss at that time, and I have never seen you salute like you do today."
Shopkeeper He from Azabufang immediately joked: "Listen to what you said, sir, I won't dare to act recklessly when I see him from now on, and I'll have to behave myself!"
"Hahaha……"
"Old He, you are the most unruly. There is no time when you go not during meal time. You just arrive without bringing a gift. You don't leave even if you don't have meal."
After another burst of laughter, Cui Jiuming took Su Ren and others to their temporary residence. The city was still under construction, and the buildings in the city had basically taken shape. As he walked, Cui Jiuming introduced: "According to your instructions, every house in the city
They all face the street, and even the yamen are surrounded by houses facing the street, leaving only one passage in and out. A higher hillside outside the city has been flattened, and a warehouse is being built. The foundation is being laid. You should have seen it when you entered the city.
"
"All the houses have two floors. The lower floor can be used as a shop, and the upper floor is occupied by people. It is divided into several areas according to the types of goods. Some of the shops of our Sichuan Chamber of Commerce have opened semi-colons. There are not many people coming from other places. I
I'm hurrying up to invite you."
"Yeah! Very good, I can rest assured that you can do the work." Su Ren looked at it and nodded: "Can the sewer and water tower be built?"
Cui Jiuming shook his head: "We have already sent people to Chang'an. My father is convincing the craftsmen to come over. It's just a matter of giving money, so it's not a big problem."
"Where are the bridges? Are the bridges and docks on the Huaihe River and Dajiang River that I want under construction?"
"The wharf is under construction, and it is difficult to build a bridge. Especially on a large river, the water surface is wide and there are ships passing by. It is very troublesome to build a bridge. No one has ever built a bridge on a large river in the world."
"We must hurry up and repair the two bridges so that Jiangsu City can truly become a hub for merchants from the north and the south. Only then will more merchants come."
Cui Jiuming nodded: "I will find a way."
Sure enough, as Cui Jiuming said, the temporary government office was surrounded by a circle of buildings. If you want to get in, you have to walk through a narrow alley. There are two-story buildings on both sides. Walking in it feels like a glimpse of the sky.
I feel that the yamen is not very big. There is no courtyard with three entrances and three exits. It is a small courtyard and a three-story building. The first floor is divided into small rooms, and the second floor is the empty lobby. As for the third floor
It should be a place to rest.
This is the first time Han Qing has encountered such a compact layout. The entire city is the Dahang Market divided into streets. Han Qing has seen the East Market and West Market in Chang'an, although here the sheds built on the roadside have been transformed into
When he walked into the building, he could see the market at a glance. Only then did Han Qing understand that Su Ren wanted to completely turn Jiangsu City into a market, a market like a city.
After going up to the second floor, there were no servants coming and going. Newly made wooden chairs were placed neatly in rows in the lobby. In the middle was a huge long table. There were teapots and teapots against the wall.
Tea cup, if you want to drink water, you have to do it yourself. This is not a place for chatting and spanking, it is purely for discussing things.
Su Ren took the seat first, and the rest of the people consciously made space for Han Qing and others, and took their seats one by one.
Su Ren glanced at it: "Oh! Coming here feels like returning to Shu County. When our Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce held its first meeting, you all thought it was strange. It's better now. I did it before I even told you.
I remember that Shopkeeper He’s opposition was the most intense at that time.”
Shopkeeper He patted the handle of the chair: "Sir, why do you only remember the embarrassing things about me, Mr. He, but don't remember that I, Mr. He, was one of the first people to join the Chamber of Commerce?"
Su Ren nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, shopkeeper He is an old man, and he is also the vice president."
After talking and laughing, everyone quickly turned to business. Cui Jiuming reported on the current situation in Jiangsu. Generally speaking, everything was going very smoothly. The resettlement of the Yue people and the recovery of the local people were good, and no major problems occurred.
Question. With the financial support of Liujiazhai, I have no worries about money. I just wait for everything to be built and merchants from all over the place to move in.
"By the way, I discovered a problem when I came here." Su Ren waited for Cui Jiuming to finish speaking and then said: "Our Jiangsu city only has more than 200,000 people. Even if the population increases in the future, it will not be too much. Since we
We plan to build Jiangsu City into a large market. With more than 200,000 people, we may not be able to consume the world’s goods, so Jiangsu City cannot only serve the surrounding people, but must be built as a throat for trade between the north and the south."
"Since we have to make a throat, it must be smooth. There are many merchants traveling from north to south, and goods need to come in and out. But our roads are really not that good. After the city is built, road construction is imperative! Other places
I don’t care, if the road in our Jiangsu boundary is the best in the world, it is unrealistic to pave it with blue bricks. Stone road is still possible. The road must be wide and straight. No matter where the merchants come from, they must enter our Jiangsu.
Let him find it most convenient to trade here."
"My suggestion is that four parallel roads must be built in the north, south, and east and west. At least four carriages must be driven in parallel, all paved with stone slabs. From the south to the north, from the east to the west, of course Jiangsu City must be on these roads.
A site, what do you think?"
Cui Jiuming frowned: "That would cost a lot."
"Not just roads, but also shipbuilding. Since we are close to the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River, water transportation must not be missing. The land and water roads run parallel, and the scenery along the way is good. We want the merchants who come to Jiangsu to not only do business, but also
You have to be in a good mood, so they will come more often and we will collect more business taxes."
"Oh! Speaking of commercial tax, we need to work out a standard as soon as possible. What kind of goods will be taxed must be done in advance. It will be too late to think about it by then. Lao Cui, we must hurry up on this matter. We will see the situation by June next year at the latest.
The city can be built in about a month, and perhaps merchants will come earlier, so we can’t let others laugh at us.”
Cui Jiuming nodded: "I understand, I will personally supervise this matter."
Han Qing didn't say a word and kept listening. With his nature, he didn't want to deal with these businessmen, but he was already Su Ren's staff, so he had to know more about everything around Su Ren. He listened enough.
One afternoon, Han Qing was shocked by Su Ren's plans. Su Ren wanted Jianghuai not to settle Yue people for the imperial court, but to lay the foundation for his merchant empire.
Jiangsu is just one of them. Listening to Su Ren's words, in the future Shuzhong, Chang'an, Luoyang, Yecheng and other places will have Su Ren's territory, and he will be able to connect these dots. At that time, Su Ren can be proud to say
The fact that he was the richest in the Han Dynasty and that he was as rich as the country was by no means empty talk. As long as Su Ren made a slight move, maybe the entire Han Dynasty would suffer. The more Han Qing thought about it, the less he dared to think about it. He wanted to reposition Su Ren. Su Ren.
Man's ambition is much greater than he imagines.
He tapped the edge of the bowl with his chopsticks: "Mr. Han, what are you thinking about?"
Han Qing quickly shook his head and lowered his head to eat.
"You are so lost in thought that the expressions on your face change so much. Do you feel something is wrong?"
Han Qing looked at Su Ren for a while, took a deep breath, stood up and saluted Su Ren: "Sir, can you tell me what your ultimate goal is?"
Su Ren was stunned: "What is the ultimate goal?"
"In the afternoon, my husband said that Jiangsu is just one of them. In the future, more shopping malls like Jiangsu will be built in various places. After thinking about it for a long time, I felt that in the end, my only choice was to rebel. Even if I didn't want to rebel, I would almost control the world's merchants.
Having controlled half of the sky of the Han Dynasty, your Majesty will probably not let you go by then."
"Rebellion?" Su Ren shook his head: "I never thought about it." Su Ren waved to Han Qing and smiled mysteriously: "Do you know how much money your Majesty invested in my Jiangsu?"
"His Majesty?!"
Su Ren did not continue, and motioned Han Qing to sit down and eat. How could Han Qing continue to eat at this time? He seemed to have caught something, but he felt that Su Ren's words were not convincing, and he looked directly at Su Ren.
Su Ren said helplessly: "Forget it, let me tell you! Half of this Jiangsu city belongs to your majesty, and I and others only occupy half. Your majesty is the largest shareholder. Even if you control the world's merchants in the future, it will be your majesty.
We are just errand boys at best, do you understand?"
Seeing that Han Qing still looked confused, Su Ren continued to explain: "It costs money to use troops against the Huns; it costs money to frighten the princes; it also costs money to appease the people. After the two emperors Wen and Jing, although the court had some savings, it still cost money."
You can't sit back and settle for nothing, right? I'll put it to your Majesty's attention. I wonder if Mr. Han has heard about the Chang'an Imperial Academy?"
Han Qing nodded dully.
"That's just an attempt. Jiangsu is the one who is serious about it. Do you understand now?"
Han Qing stood there in a daze, the surprise in his heart made him unable to move. Su Ren ignored him and just lowered his head to eat. Putting the last mouthful of rice into his mouth, Su Ren packed up his dishes. Suddenly, when he was leaving,
He stopped, turned to Han Qing and said: "Your Majesty and I are the only ones who know about this matter at the moment. You are the third person, do you understand?" (To be continued)
