Lu Ming

Chapter 653 Behind Hexi

The new governor of Huguang, Wang Mengyin, named Shuren, was born in Ningjin County, Zhending Prefecture, Beizhili Province, and was a Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli.

After 16 years of being a poor Beijing official in the court, this time he came out of Fuhuguang with the title of Yushi, the capital of Youqian.The whole process is unremarkable, it is the standard routine of the Beijing official to boil the level and finally to the outside.

In view of this, Governor Wang himself is very talkative, especially when the big bosses in the court send letters with requests, he naturally wants to take care of the unmasked Master Nan Wangnan.It is a normal response plan to give a pair of autographed calligraphy to use as a town house.

A poor Beijing official who can be released must be a poor Beijing official who has a faction and knows how to behave. A poor Beijing official who has no faction and does not know how to behave is a poor Beijing official.

The governor handled it properly, but Xia Koutong sentenced Lord Yuan, it seemed that he overdid it this time.

In the reform and opening up of later generations, it is very common for officials to try their best to attract business and investment, and then participate in the opening ceremony of the enterprise.Most of the leaders will also cut the ribbon and give a speech. This is a supporting service.

But today is the seventeenth century, a feudal bureaucratic society that emphasizes official prestige, official voice, and scholarly style, and reform and opening up are not popular.

So Xia Koutong sentenced Yuan Huochang to Mr. Yuan, this time it really went too far.

Generally speaking, for officials to participate in the opening of "friends and merchants", a famous post is enough, and congratulators will naturally understand the meaning it represents.

If the master insists on coming in person, the most socially acceptable performance is to come quietly with a soft hat in green clothes and a small sedan chair, and congratulate him lightly. This is already the level of my brother-in-law's business.

The above style not only conforms to social expectations, but also conforms to the spirit of Confucianism.More importantly, this move will not leave a notorious and stupid name in the officialdom - the influence brought by the official's personal visit is not much higher than that of a famous post, but there are many sequelae, and it is easy to be caught Go to the handle to attend the class.

However, this time Kebo Pavilion opened, Yuan Tongpan didn't care about all kinds of unspoken rules and follow-up troubles at all.Not only did he come in person, but he also wore official robes, sat down in eight official sedan chairs, and the front and rear officers blared gongs to clear the way, shouting all the way to the place, and he became a trending figure every minute.

This is the beginning.

After getting off the sedan chair in front of Kebo Pavilion, Mr. Yuan, with big ears and three black beards, not only congratulated Mr. Nan who heard the sound, but also chatted with Mr. Nan on the street, speaking loud auspicious words, and included a gift He raised his head and laughed loudly, doing a full trick.

Many onlookers were also completely shocked by what Mr. Yuan said.

So after talking for a long time, who is Yuan Tongpan?
During this period of time, Xiakou (Hankou) Town has already become one of the largest commercial ports in the world.As the officially designated transshipment hub for salt and grain in northern China, the bustling Hankou, Foshan Town, Zhuxian Town, and Jingdezhen are also known as the four famous towns in the world.

However, no matter how great the reputation is, no matter how developed the economy is, it cannot change the fact that Hankou Town is still a county-level administrative unit.

In other words, theoretically, the biggest official in Hankou Town is the county magistrate.

There is no way, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty had a rigid mind, no matter how prosperous it was, it would not upgrade Hankou to a prefecture-level city, nor would it be a county-level city.

Of course, due to the growing industrial and commercial scale of Hankou and the subsequent demand for actual public services, it is impossible for the government to really let it go. After all, a county magistrate cannot handle such a fat and complicated business.

Not to mention the county, the actual GDP of Hankou Town has already surpassed that of many prefecture-level units, and its official business needs have also exceeded the needs of a prefecture.

As a result, Huguang Buzheng Yamen sent Hanyang Mansion Tongpan to Hankou Town to "assistantly handle government affairs" a long time ago: the superior administrative unit of Hankou Town is Hanyang Mansion.

Generally speaking, the position of general judge is a dispensable soy sauce position in some low-level poor mansions.

However, in Hankou, this post of judge is extremely important.This is the highest-level government department that manages the daily administrative affairs of Hankou Town in addition to professional yamen such as salt administration, water transport, and river courses.

Once a routine has been formed in the affairs of the officialdom, it cannot be shaken.Today, the post of general judge in Hankou has already evolved into a fixed position in charge of governing Hankou, which is somewhat similar to a separate city in later generations.

The above are the reasons why the congratulators were so surprised today.

Yuan Huochang, the general judge, has little official power and great power, and is actually the hidden government of Hankou.

Then, seeing the master of Futai supporting someone so recklessly today, the congratulators present were surprised, and their hearts suddenly became more vigilant: "The county magistrate who broke the family and the family-destroyer Ling Yin, and this Master Nan, in the future It’s better to have a good relationship.”

Next, as expected, the judge generously participated in the opening ceremony.

During the banquet, Mr. Yuan showed a cheerful face. He not only communicated cordially with the guests, but also chatted and laughed happily throughout the drink, which can be said to have given Mr. Nan enough face.

The big businessmen at the same table, on the contrary, restrained their appearance this time, and did not inquire about the relationship between Master Yuan and Master Nan like a fool - Master Yuan's "crazy" performance today has far exceeded the traditional sense. Government-business cooperation.

No matter what ulterior secrets there are between the two parties, in the current situation, the people present have already smelled the danger.Before finding out the beginning and end of the matter, these old fritters who have experienced the world, no one dares to act rashly anymore.

In the end, a unique opening ceremony that exceeded the expectations of all the congratulators came to an end amidst the farewell sounds of each person's thoughts.

After this incident, Mr. Nan, who came from Shanghai to the port, and his Keboge grocery store established a firm foothold in Xiakou (Hankou) town overnight.

Regardless of whether they are white or black, in front of this mysterious businessman who has opened up the world, they all put away their minions and become polite and amiable. Everyone is friendly and makes money.

After Master Nan revealed his means, he didn't do anything surprising.

In the following time, apart from settling down his business, his other activities were the usual ones, which were very low-key: attending chambers of commerce, visiting friends and merchants, chatting with people about business and drinking tea in teahouses and so on.

In his spare time, Master Nan mostly stays at home, studying the Four Books and Five Classics, without losing his true qualities as a scholar.

In this way, seven days later, Master Nan's second cargo ship from Shanghai arrived at the port.

This newly arrived cargo ship obviously set off ahead of time by telegram before, and now it is just in time.

The reason why it is just right is that Master Geinnan's firm opened, and the business is still good.

Although most of the wholesalers are common groceries, they cannot hold back the prosperity of Xiakou.Furthermore, quite a few local merchants were willing to buy some of Mr. Nan's goods to make a good relationship, so a lot of the first shipment of goods had already been sold.

However, what was loaded on the second ship was not all ordinary groceries.There are not only 50 barrels of cement on board, but also an engineering team, which includes engineering and technical personnel, accountants and experienced craftsmen.

It was night, and Yuan Tongpan, who Wenxin came here in person, was really inconspicuous this time.And when Master Yuan disembarked to check the cargo in person, he urged Cong Ren even more loudly: "Hurry up, hurry up, I unloaded them overnight, and they all went into the official warehouse of Jiazi!"

"Follow your orders!"

Looking at Master Yuan's panicked eyes, it seemed as if he was afraid that Mr. Nan, who was standing on the bow of the boat and admiring the moon, would regret it.

The next moment, Master Yuan came out of the cabin, made two steps in three steps, and bowed to Master Nan to the end: "Mr. is so trustworthy, and the students are deeply impressed. This room is on behalf of thousands of people. Thank you, Mr. and all your lords. "

Hearing this, Nanwang hurriedly stepped forward to help him up: "My lord, you don't have to be so ignorant. You should know that this cement is the first batch of goods, and there will be a long time to come! Hehe."

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There is nothing new under the sun.Although the traverser possesses advanced technology and knowledge, but in the final analysis, it is nothing more than the most real power and money if he wants to get a magistrate thousands of miles away from his old nest.

It depends on power to settle the governor, but Yuan Tong's judgment here is money.

About Yuan Huochang, the only trace of this ordinary Ming Dynasty official left in history is a project: embankment repair.

In real history, it was precisely in this year, 1635 AD, that Yuan Huochang, the general judge of Hankou, presided over the construction of a river embankment, which started from Qiaokou in the west and ended in Dongdi Street in Jianghan District in the east.

It is because of this embankment that Hanzheng Street will not be invaded by the river tide in the next few hundred years.

To commemorate Yuan Tongsan, later generations called this embankment Yuan Gong embankment.

Although after the Republic of China, Yuan Gong Dike gradually disappeared on the banks of the Yangtze River due to urban reconstruction, but history has remembered this dike, and Yuan Huochang's name has thus remained in the local chronicles and government chronicles.

Building bridges and roads, no matter which dynasty they are in, will always be a noble choice.

Compared with Zhang Liang and Xiao He, who are famous in the history of the minority and occupy the vast majority of ordinary officials, if they want to leave their names in the annals of history, then building bridges and roads is basically the only route these officials can choose.

Numerous striking examples illustrate the possibility of this route.

Li Bing, the prefect of Shu County.Thousands of years later, no one knows what other achievements he has. However, by building Dujiangyan, the prefect has been extolled from the Qin Dynasty to the textbooks of the Ming Dynasty and even later generations. The prefect Li Bing and his Dujiangyan are important. knowledge points.

The ancients understood this all too well, especially officials who had read history books.

Of course, large-scale projects are not so easy to do.In ancient times, there were floods everywhere, and the water conservancy projects that could be successfully built were rare compared to the vast number of officials.

If the host wants to complete this kind of project, he must not only have great perseverance and perseverance, but also have strong social coordination and financing capabilities.

Yuan Tongpan is one of the best.This gentleman does not love money, but only fame.So since he took office, he planned to build a embankment to make a name for himself.

And just when Master Yuan had made a lot of preparations and planned to give it a go this year, Master Nan, who had never been seen before in history, came to his door.

For those people who have already regarded Damingxia as their own territory, investing in the construction of dikes in Wuhan City is to build dikes for themselves. After the dikes are repaired, they will not run away. build.

Now that the project is launched, not only can it stabilize a large number of poor people who are on the verge of death, but it can also win over local factions by the way, so as to build underground forces, which is beneficial and harmless.

As for Yuan Huochang, who was standing in front of the stage, gained the reputation from this, and now Master Chuangui is the owner of the ball. Naturally, he doesn't care about that little reputation, as it belongs to others, it belongs to others.

In this regard, Travelers has a wealth of experience.As early as a few years ago, some people invested in embankment repairs to win over Fang Yuegong, the prefect of Songjiang who wanted to be famous in history, and he was a veteran driver.

But this time Master Nan came to the door and stated that besides contracting the project, the various benefits proposed by Master Yuan were indeed irresistible: Master Nan not only promised 10 taels of cash, but also promised 10 catties of cement.

In addition, Master Nan also promised to build wider, thicker and longer embankment originally planned by Master Yuan.

There are also craftsmen: a team of craftsmen who have been "recruited" from Shanghai and other places and have experience in building the Songjiang Embankment with cement.

In fact, Yuan Tongpan, who was astonished at the first interview with Mr. Nan who came to the door suddenly and proposed to give money away, did not quite believe him: "Could it be that he is a charlatan who has heard about his family?"

However, after Yuan Tongsan read the letter that Master Nan took out and the first 5000 taels of project money left on the spot, Master Yuan believed it if he didn't believe it.

The letter of introduction was written by Luo Lishi, a tycoon in the capital who had been promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

Luo Lishi was from Jiading Prefecture, and his younger brother Luo Shizhi was one of the first building materials dealers who dealt with the crossing people.

Now, with the support and matching of the time-traveling forces, Luo Lishi has not only been promoted to be the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, but the Luo family has become the best friend of the court and the Chinese government.

As for Yuan Huochang's side, since he has the intention to repair the embankment, he must have started the preparatory work early on, and it is natural to have an autumn wind with the Ministry of Industry during this period.

And this aspect of the relationship is actually where Yuan Tong's confidence lies: as early as when Luo Shilang was still a doctor of the Ministry of Industry and Repairs, the two parties knew each other and had a very close relationship.

Strictly speaking, in fact, what Yuan Tong judged was a peripheral member of the Wen family.

Therefore, when Yuan Tongpan read the letter from the capital and understood the meaning of a few hidden words in it, he immediately became the only person in Hankou who guessed Master Nan's background.

At this moment, Yuan Tongpan finally understood why Nan Wang came all the way to give such a big gift: we are actually a family.

The above is the reason why Yuan Tongpan desperately went to support Mr. Nan.It was also the reason why Mr. Yuan had to add the words "sirs" in the bow of the boat to thank him just now.

Everyone is in the same faction, this is the first, and sending huge sums of money to leave the name of the old master Qingshi is the second.

In the face of the words of leaving a name in history, a full set of ceremonial guards to support merchants is nothing.

Of course, the most important thing is real money.

Although Hankou is rich, Mr. Yuan can probably raise money for building embankments.But there is a saying that it is hard to give up good fortune. Mr. Yuan has not started construction for such a long time. The biggest problem that you can think of with your toes is that it is difficult to raise funds.

This is also the rarest place to do engineering since ancient times.Local officials want to keep their name, and they can't raise money if they don't take off a few layers of skin, even in the wealthy Hankou.

Next, after the delivery of the goods by craftsmen is clear, Master Yuan can start the preliminary project.With the personnel funds funded by Master Nan, Yuan Tongjuan's fundraising pressure will be greatly reduced after that, and the entire project will be carried out in accordance with the engineering standards of the time-traveling forces.

And from this moment on, the preparatory work for Wuhan Station can be regarded as officially come to an end.

The next step is to get down to business.

(End of this chapter)