Water Margin people

Di Cheng led several cargo ships slowly forward, with the cabins full of soldiers.

Zhang Shun was following with several cargo ships, and the cabins were also full of soldiers.

These are the guards who escorted the emperor on his southern tour.

In the dark night, the women and children returned to their rooms to rest. The excitement of the boat trip had consumed a lot of their energy.

"Your Majesty, Li Ying reported that the situation in Quanzhou is not good. Some foreigners even bought official positions with money and are bullying the local people!"

Zhu Wu looked at Sun Lei and said.

"It's not surprising. Money makes the world go round. The prefect of Quanzhou seemed to have mentioned this before?"

Sun Lei did not read the memorial, but looked at the night outside the boat.

"Yes, the prefect of Quanzhou once thought of using strong means to deal with these things, but almost all industries in Quanzhou are related to port trade, and if the means are too drastic, I am afraid that all the people in Quanzhou will lose their jobs, and relief will be a big problem at that time!"

Zhu Wu said that Qi had just taken over the world, and officials were unwilling to use overly radical measures unless there was rebellion in the local area. At this time, they should focus on stability and appeasement.

“It’s really a bit troublesome!”

Sun Lei thought for a while and said, the prefect's responsibility is to govern an area. If the whole Quanzhou is unemployed and the people riot and rebel, this is not something a prefect can bear.

"Your Majesty, this is not only the case in Quanzhou Port, but also in Guangzhou. The officials sent there are complaining that the orders they issued cannot be implemented and that they cannot be enforced by force."

Zhu Wu said that the first batch of officials sent to the local areas by Qi State were carefully selected. Each of them had received education in Liangshan and had strong abilities, but when they arrived at the local areas they were restricted in every way.

"Tell them to be quiet, the army will be here soon. Also, arrange for the retired soldiers to go there. Let the chaos be. Sometimes, the problem cannot be solved without killing people!"

Sun Lei spoke calmly, if you hesitate, you will be restricted everywhere and can't accomplish anything, it is better to cut the Gordian knot.

"The Song Dynasty has fallen, and these small fish and shrimps still think they can make waves?"

Sun Lei looked at Zhu Wu and said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Wu bowed and said solemnly that officials from all over the country were waiting for this order. Everyone had thought of a solution, but there was no order.

"In addition, Li Ying also mentioned that Fan Shang Pu Kaizong increased the price and exchanged a large number of gold and silver coins."

Zhu Wu said.

"The foreign merchants exchanged for gold and silver coins?"

Sun Lei frowned. Although gold and silver are hard currencies all over the world, Qi's gold coins should be of little use to foreign merchants.

"It is said that the foreign merchants are trying to smuggle our Qi country's gold coins to the Arabs! Our Qi country's gold coins are so exquisite that those foreigners regard them as treasures!"

"Li Ying has already pretended to agree, but he asked the Tibetans to trade in gold and silver, and he lowered the price."

Li Ying said.

"Li Ying is stupid, why are you smuggling gold coins? You are smuggling glass!"

Sun Lei scolded Li Ying for being stupid. He said that he could only make less than 30% profit from smuggling gold coins. Wouldn't it be better to just smuggle glass and make a business with no cost?

"Glass?"

Zhu Wu was stunned. He had almost forgotten about glass. He was already accustomed to glassware. After knowing that these were made of sand, he completely lost interest in glass.

"The people in the Arab world are rich. What they lack are rare and unique things. They will definitely like exquisite glassware!"

  Sun Lei immediately said that whether it was the Silk Road on land or the Silk Road on sea, the main goods were porcelain and silk. Since porcelain could become the main goods, why not the more exquisite glass?

"This...I didn't expect this!"

Zhu Wu said with some self-blame. His mind was full of serious business, and he even forgot about glass, a high-profit item. "Tell Li Ying to go to Quanzhou to test it out!"

Sun Lei looked at Zhu Wu and said.

"Yes!"

Zhu Wu replied quickly.

"That's it, let's go to Yangzhou first. Yang Guang went to Yangzhou three times, I want to go and see it too! It's a pity that there are no magnolia flowers to see in this season!"

After arranging things, Sun Lei said with a smile that magnolias only bloom in spring, and now it is autumn, and the only flowers that can bloom are chrysanthemums.

The fleet of more than a dozen ships is not conspicuous on the canal. The construction of the Grand Canal has indeed boosted the economy. Today, the Grand Canal has become a major north-south waterway, with countless merchant ships traveling back and forth every day.

Ten days later, at dawn, the fleet arrived outside Yangzhou City. The fleet had no way to enter the city and could only look for a place to dock.

"Father!"

The two children pulled Sun Lei's clothes and wanted to get off the boat to play with me. After ten days on the boat, the children's interest had long been exhausted.

"Let's go to Yangzhou and have some morning tea first!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that he had inquired about it a long time ago. At that time, Yangzhou already had a morning tea culture, and this custom evolved from the prosperous nightlife of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was the dynasty with the loosest curfew management. The business in a port city like Yangzhou was even more open all night long, so it was normal to have a night market followed by breakfast.

Sun Lei led a group of people to Yangzhou in a mighty procession. There were both men and women in the group, just like a big family outing.

There is no trace of war smoke in Yangzhou City anymore.

“I didn’t have a good time the last time I came here!”

Sun Lei said with a smile that he had been to Jiangnan twice, but unfortunately both times he was in a hurry.

The guards at the city gate were all locals. Although they thought Sun Lei and his group were strange, they knew there was nothing wrong with their reasoning, and it was issued by Liangshan City, so the guards did not stop them.

The first thing he did after entering the city was to find a hotel for breakfast. Sun Lei was not a country bumpkin like Qianlong. He directly booked the second floor of the restaurant without even looking at the menu. He just ordered delicious food and drinks.

Seeing such a big business, the shop owner dared not neglect it. He quickly called the waiter to greet the customers and instructed the kitchen staff to cheer up and make sure the dishes were well prepared.

Various special snacks were placed on the table, with small steamers, small plates and small cups covering a large area.

The children were already hungry, and when they saw the delicious food, they started to gobble it up.

“It tastes really good, only southerners know how to eat it!”

Li Shishi took a bite of the bun and said in surprise that this was his first time eating southern food.

“It’s just the right amount of salty and sweet, not too greasy or bland, and very delicious!”

Hua Chan was also very pleasantly surprised after eating the instant pastries. She was worried that she would not be able to get used to the southern food, but now she found that southern food is very good.

“It’s just a little bit less!”

Lu Zhishen picked up a few slices of beef and threw them into his mouth. He liked to eat meat in big bites. He finished all the pieces of beef on the delicate little plate with just one chopstick. There was not even enough for him to fill his teeth.

"No wine?"

Wu Song looked at the waiter and asked, he couldn't live without wine, and he had to drink in the morning too.

"Sir, please wait a moment. I'll be right there!"

  The waiter didn't dare to offend everyone, so he immediately went downstairs to get some wine, muttering to himself, "Why do people in the north drink so early in the morning?"

Sun Lei ate his tea while looking at the nearby dock, which was already quite busy at the moment, with Li Fu busy unloading cargo from the ship. (End of this chapter)