That morning, Zhang Yuxuan hurriedly took a boat to cross the river, and Chen Qing and Zhou Kuan immediately took a boat to Dangtu County for inspection.
Dangtu County was originally the seat of the government office of Taiping Prefecture. Later, after the Jin soldiers attacked Jiangnan from Wuhu County, the imperial court transferred the government office of Taiping Prefecture to Wuhu County. After a few years, Dangtu County gradually declined.
Dangtu County is about fifty miles away from Wuhu County, and it takes half a day to get there by boat. The Yangtze River has a Jiangxin Island here in Dangtu County, forming two north and south waterways. The south waterway south of Jiangxin Island has become a natural harbor.
A large number of ships can be anchored in the southern waterway without affecting the main channel of the Yangtze River north of Jiangxin Island.
Chen Qing discovered that the pier was actually not small, but that a section was blocked by silt. After hiring workers to clean up the silt, several 10,000-ton ships could be docked at the same time to unload cargo.
This discovery made Chen Qing quite happy, not just in terms of saving money, but in saving at least two months of time.
Several three-thousand-stone ships that Chen Qing was riding slowly docked. The county town was about two miles away from the dock, and there was a flat official road leading directly to the county town.
Chen Qing stepped off the ship and looked at the environment around the dock. Opposite was a row of dilapidated shops, an inn, two restaurants, and a warehouse. It looked very depressed, and behind it was a large vegetable patch.
, Chen Qing is quite satisfied with the place. It is basically empty land. There is no need to demolish the house, just buy the land directly.
At this time, several officials hurried over on horseback. The leading official was Jiang Wenhui, the county magistrate. He was about forty years old and looked very fair and elegant. He received a notification from Zhang Yuxuan early in the morning that King Yong might come to inspect Dangtu County today.
, he sent people to the dock early in the morning to keep an eye on it. If a big ship came, he would report it immediately.
Sure enough, just after noon, he was really waiting for me.
The soldiers stepped forward and stopped several officials. After a while, the soldiers brought Jiang Wenhui, the county magistrate, up. Jiang Wenhui bowed and saluted: "I am Jiang Wenhui, the magistrate of Tu County. I see His Highness King Yong!"
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "Does Magistrate Jiang know that I am coming?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, Zhang Canjun told me that Your Highness may come to inspect Dangtu County today."
Chen Qing nodded and smiled at Zhou Kuan: "This Zhang Yuxuan is really thoughtful."
Zhou Kuan chuckled and said, "Your Highness, he is actually Zhang Jun's butler."
"Jiang Zhixian, is this true?" Chen Qing said with a slight smile.
Jiang Wenhui blushed and nodded, "That's true!"
Chen Qing looked at the county seat and asked: "How big is the county seat and what is its population?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the perimeter of the county is thirty people, and the entire Dangtu County has a population of one hundred thousand."
“The population is not small and the county is quite large, so it’s not bad!”
"Reporting to Your Highness, Dangtu County was originally the seat of Taiping Prefecture's government. Because Wanyan Nianhan came from Wuhu to the south of the Yangtze River a few years ago, the imperial court paid unprecedented attention to Wuhu and moved the prefecture to Wuhu County. In fact, Dangtu County lost a lot of people.
The county can also sail from the Yangtze River to Taihu Lake."
Chen Qing was surprised and said: "Can Dangtu County also do it?"
"There is a river called Gushu River in Dangtu County. It is an extremely beautiful place. Li Bai once wrote a poem: "The waves are turning over the shadows of the dawn clouds, and the banks are covered with the colors of spring mountains."
"Okay, where is the river?"
Jiang Wenhui pointed to the west, "Just a few miles to the west, your Highness may not have noticed that Gushu River connects the Yangtze River and Danyang Lake, and Danyang Lake connects to Lishui. Therefore, if you enter Gushu River from the Yangtze River, you can directly sail there.
In Lishui, many fishermen use this small river to enter the Yangtze River."
Chen Qing smiled lightly and said, "The Gushu River you mentioned is just a small river?"
"If the silt is dredged, there will be no problem for a cargo ship carrying two thousand stones."
Speaking of dredging, Chen Qing remembered something, pointed to the west of the pier and said: "There is a long section of the pier over there where ships cannot dock. Does it also need dredging?"
Jiang Wenhui smiled bitterly and said: "The county government has many plans, but the finances are tight and they can't come up with the money. The superiors are also unwilling to allocate money. There is really nothing we can do."
Chen Qing nodded, pointed to the buildings and vegetable fields around the pier and asked, "Who owns this large piece of land around the pier?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, this is government land, which is leased to farmers for growing vegetables. The inns and restaurants over there are also owned by the government."
"That's just right. Zhang Yuxuan said yesterday that Wei's Trading Company is going to buy all the land around the dock and the dock. The county will have a lot of revenue, so you can have money to dredge the port and rivers."
"But if all the piers are bought, what will happen to the people traveling?"
"There will definitely be a pier left for people to travel, so you don't have to worry."
Jiang Wenhui knew very well that for Wei's trading company, it must be King Yong who wants to buy land. Needless to say, King Yong made a deal with the commander, and Dangtu County will become King Yong's territory.
Although he understood in his heart, he couldn't say that he was Zhang Jun's man. If the news leaked out, Zhang Jun would be the first to spare him.
“Buying land is very convenient and can be done at any time.”
Chen Qing ordered Fa Cao Feng Qianming and dozens of his men to leave behind to measure the land and handle land purchase matters. He also deposited 30,000 guan in Baoji Cabinet in Wuhu County for the purpose of purchasing land, repairing docks, building warehouses, etc.
At the same time, Wang Qing was appointed as the patrol envoy for the eastern section of the Yangtze River, and his 3,000 men were changed to the commander of the Shaking Army and stationed in Dangtu County.
Soon, Zhang Jun also appointed Wang Qing as the Yangtze River Patrol Envoy of the Shaking Army, leading hundreds of large ships to patrol the Yangtze River. This was a typical team with two brands. The entire Taiping Prefecture was Zhang Jun's defense line. Zhang Jun
Under his jurisdiction, even if someone in the county discovered the clues, there was no evidence, and no one dared to report the matter.
But what Chen Qing didn't expect was that Zhang Jun was on the north bank of the Yangtze River opposite Wuhu, riding a three thousand stone passenger ship, waiting for news about Zhang Yuxuan.
At the same time that Chen Qing arrived in Dangtu County for inspection, Zhang Yuxuan also boarded the passenger ship and met Commander Zhang Jun.
Zhang Jun motioned to his nephew to sit down and asked with a smile: "How is it?"
"My nephew met King Yong yesterday."
"King Yong?"
Zhang Jun sighed softly, "Will he become King Yong after leading an army of 100,000 to Lin'an? The imperial court really obeys the strong rather than the soft! No wonder Liu Guangshi also wants to separate the empire."
Sighing, Zhang Jun is now more concerned about his transaction with Chen Qing. He is now too dependent on kerosene. In fact, he still has 20,000 barrels of inventory, but he still wants to maintain an inventory of 30,000 barrels to give him peace of mind.
a little.
Moreover, Chen Qing sent crude oil, which he had to remove impurities and purify into fire oil before it could be ignited and used. Ten thousand barrels would have to be reduced by at least 20%.
He looked at the agreement signed by both parties and smiled: "Did he still choose Dangtu County?"
"My nephew estimates that he has taken a fancy to Jiangxin Island and can garrison troops there."
"It's up to him. I promised that if he chooses Dangtu County, he can garrison 3,000 troops."
"My nephew is a little worried about what will happen if someone reports him."
Zhang Jun sneered, "Those three thousand troops are my Heaven-Shaking Army. Who dares to talk nonsense? At most, Chen Qing rented Dangtu Pier as a transit. This is for civilian use, and it is two different things from the army. It is completely different in nature."
Zhang Yuxuan said ashamedly: "My nephew thinks too much."
Zhang Jun glanced at him and said calmly: "Do you think I really need those 10,000 barrels of kerosene?"
Zhang Yuxuan was shocked, "Ah! Isn't it?"
"You're still a little too young."
Zhang Jun snorted and said: "I was actually looking for an opportunity to form a good relationship with Chen Qing. I let him garrison and took the risk for him, so he owed me a favor. If I didn't take the risk, where would the favor come from?
?”
Zhang Yuxuan suddenly realized, he said! My uncle never does loss-making business. This time he took such a big risk for 10,000 barrels of kerosene. It was tantamount to giving up Dangtu County to Chen Qing without telling the court. Once he was
If someone reports it, the consequences will be disastrous.
This is not in line with my uncle's style of doing things. It turns out that my uncle is not doing business at all, but just to establish a relationship with Chen Qing.