A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 827 The ambitions of the Wu brothers

Xuanyangfang.

The Duke's Mansion of Jin State.

It has been decided that all the wives and concubines will go to Lingnan with Alang with their children, and no one will stay. Wu Huaiyu did not force everyone to follow, but they followed their own free will, but no one was willing to stay.

They are all still young, who wants to stay alone in an empty house for a long time, and I heard that Lingnan is not bad now. Going to Lingnan and living in Guangzhou is not too barbaric and backward.

The day of departure is getting closer and everyone is busy packing.

"Alang said that Guangzhou has everything, so you don't need to bring too many things," the female steward had warned her before, but no one took it to heart.

"You must bring things for wearing, especially cosmetics and jewelry,"

Women have a lot of these things. They bring a lot of dowry with them when they get married, and they buy too many more every year after they marry. Who would be willing to stay in Chang'an.

What's more, there are many things that I'm afraid I won't be able to buy even if I have money in Guangzhou.

These women are not willing to lose themselves,

It's dusk again in the busy time,

Since Alang was at home, the family had another dinner together as usual.

A group of wives, concubines and their children gathered in the big restaurant. It was very lively, especially when there were more children, the laughing and crying became more and more noisy.

When Huaiyu was not at home, except for the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, each house actually had separate meals. The wife, concubine, and concubine all had their own courtyards. Each courtyard had its own small kitchen, and the large kitchen would cook according to standards. , each room has what they want to eat, you can pay to have the big kitchen cook extra, or you can just cook it in the small kitchen yourself.

Anyway, there are many slaves and servants in each courtyard.

It is convenient for each hospital to eat by itself, but when Wu Huaiyu is at home, they must eat together. At least dinner must be a family dinner.

It is said to be a dinner party, but in fact it is also the dining system of the aristocrats. It is just a long table, and then everyone has a set meal in front of them. Everyone eats his own meal, which is clean and hygienic.

There are four large long tables of about ten meters. The main table is occupied by Huaiyu Xuanfu and several concubines, and the remaining three long tables are occupied by concubines and waiters.

As for the maid and waiter Ji, they have no formal status and can only serve while standing at the dining table. Shu Ying, brought by the eldest sister's family, is standing behind Xuan Fu, helping him to sleep when he is tired. Shibaro is sitting there.

"When Runniang and Er Pei arrived in Guangzhou, I don't know if they are used to it, and the three little girls don't know if they are accustomed to the soil and water of Lingnan."

Xuan Fu talked about the three concubines who went south before.

"They had a smooth journey along the way. Most of the journey was by water and they walked relatively quickly. After passing Meiling, my brother sent someone to pick them up and take them to Guangzhou.

When I arrived in Guangzhou, Forresta and Aliu were there to take care of me. They sent me several letters and said that I was getting used to it quite well. "Huaiyu said to his wife.

Li Qing said from the side, "I also received a letter from Run Niang, saying that Guangzhou is very good and there is nothing acclimated to it. Within a few days of arriving in Guangzhou, I even went to see the sea."

"Is Guangzhou City by the sea?" Princess Yang Muyun of Huainan asked.

"The city of Guangzhou is in Panyu. It is actually on the Pearl River, but not far from the sea. Guangzhou is a big port. The starting point of the Maritime Silk Road is the Guangzhou Tongyi Sea Channel. The outer port is Fuxugang. It is on the northern edge of Drunken Bay in Guangzhou. The front and rear channels of the Pearl River are at After converging with Drowning Valley, it goes south along the Shishiyang Ocean, directly through Humen and into the South China Sea."

"The inner harbor is at the Western Australia Pier further upstream. The water area there is wide and it is a wharf area where thousands of ships gather. It is also where many foreign merchant ships berth. There are also many fanfangs where Hu merchants live nearby." Huaiyu said, while also directly He asked people to bring paper and pen, and talked to the wives and concubines while drawing. He drew a map of Guangzhou City, the Pearl River, the Lion Ocean, the South China Sea, and the inner and outer harbors of Guangzhou for them to see.

With this map, it is much more intuitive.

Most people still think that Guangzhou City is built on the seaside.

The Pearl River is wide and the waves are strong, and ships anchored in the Pearl River are easily threatened by typhoons. Therefore, two inner harbors, Xi'ao and Dong'ao, are dredged in the south of Guangzhou. They are mainly used for ships to take shelter from the wind and have also become important inner harbor waterway terminals in Guangzhou. .

Especially for Western Australia, this is the development direction Wu Huaiyu pointed out to Huaiyi after he was transferred to the governor of Guangzhou, vigorously dredging the two inner harbors, strengthening Guangzhou's inner harbor, and contributing to the Maritime Silk Road trade of Guangzhou's Tongyi Seaway.

Guangzhou is positioned as the policy, military, economic and even cultural center of Lingnan. In particular, the trading port here must be vigorously developed.

It's already doing quite well now.

Guangzhou, Guangzhou and then Guangzhou. The development of maritime trade in the two major ports has become the two engines of Lingnan's economic development. But generally speaking, Guangzhou's advantages are more obvious, so it is also the main recommendation.

The Guangzhou Shipping Department, also known as Datang Guangzhou Customs, is now stationed at the Western Australia Wharf.

The Wu Huaiyu Project, chaired by Wu Huaiyi, excavated Nanhao running from north to south, leading directly to the Western Australia Pier. Water from four large canals in the city flowed into Nanhao. A giant sluice was built at Haokou on the Pearl River in the south to control the water flow. During typhoons, ships could enter Australia is no longer afraid of wind and waves, and the Western Australia Terminal also has four waterways leading to the city, making cargo loading and unloading more convenient.

This project is the most important water conservancy and urban construction project in Guangzhou since the Sui and Tang Dynasties. With the strong support of Wu Huaiyu, Wu Huaiyu presided over the construction and it is quite good. The water from various canals in the city reaches the sea, and ships can use Nanhao to enter and exit.

Nanhao can not only provide shelter from the wind, but also provide navigation and transportation. It can also prevent urban waterlogging and even prevent fires. Once a fire breaks out in the city, the nearby Hao water can be used to extinguish the fire.

Focusing on dredging Nanhao, rebuilding the Dong'ao and Xi'ao piers, and dredging the four major water canals in the city, after Wu Huaiyi, the governor of Guangzhou, took office, he actually re-planned and built the entire city of Guangzhou.

The old city has been renovated, many new urban areas have been expanded, Hu Shangfanfang has been built, a dock trading and storage area has been built, and even the streets and markets in the city have been renovated.

This is almost like recreating the city of Guangzhou.

The city of Guangzhou was turned upside down, and the Wu family contributed the most money and efforts. Of course, the benefits they received were huge. Moreover, the Guangzhou Dudufu and the yamen of Guangzhou and Panyu counties also benefited greatly from the city's business transformation.

This is actually Wu Huaiyu’s idea of ​​running Chang’an City before.

It’s even more hassle-free to do it in Guangzhou.

This renovation plan has not yet been completed. The initial renovation plan was for five years, and it is now the second year. When the five-year plan is completed, there should be greater changes.

The desilting and dredging operations in Western Australia have been expanded and upgraded to a ten-foot-wide waterway.

In the plan, not only will the three cities of Yacheng, Zicheng and Luocheng be rebuilt, but the east and west cities will also be built to form a new three cities in Guangzhou.

When the West City is built, Western Australia will become the inner city south of the West City.

Western Australia, the inner port of Guangzhou, will become the busiest trading port in the entire southeast. Sugar, tea, wine, silk and cotton from the Wu family, as well as porcelain, medicinal materials, paper, etc. from the mainland, will be shipped here. , shipped to Southeast Asia, and even directly to Tianzhu, Dashi and the Mediterranean.

Hu merchants would also bring shiploads of spices, agates, pearls, ivory, rhinoceros horns, slaves, etc. to Guangzhou Port for trade.

Huaiyu looked at the map he drew and felt very proud. Many nobles in Chang'an felt that Lingnan was a barbaric place full of miasma.

Little did they know that it was a treasure land flowing with gold and silver. Just the renovation and expansion of Guangzhou and the construction of a Guangzhou trade port would bring huge business opportunities and wealth there.

Anyway, if Wu Huaiyi, the governor of Guangzhou, is asked to leave now, he will definitely not be willing to give him a promotion. The upright Wu Dalang is no longer what he used to be.

The port of Guangzhou made his mouth full of oil.

(End of this chapter)