Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

"That won't work. You have to pay. Let's give it at the price of ten guan per person." Li Wei said softly.

"Ah? Isn't this too much?" Jiang Quan was surprised.

"Not much, not too much, only ten guan. An ordinary vendor in the capital can still earn more than 20 guan a year. Building a city is such a hard work, and ten guan is already very little!"

Li Wei said lightly that he felt that ten guans were few, but Jiang Quan didn't think so. Ten guans per person and 10,000 soldiers were mobilized, which would be 100,000 guans, which was far more than the total cost he calculated.

"Your Excellency is kind to the people, and the lower officials also admire it, but corvee service is what it should be, and we don't need to spend so much money at all!"

Jiang Quan earnestly advised that corvee service was a tax levied by the court, and being able to take care of it was already a blessing from the court. Giving money was simply unbelievable, not to mention that Li Wei gave so much back!

"It doesn't matter, we have money!"

Li Weicai said arrogantly, he had prepared more than 500,000 yuan this time, and due to the active contributions of the Yue and Gu families, it basically cost nothing to buy the land. Now that the funds are sufficient, there is no need to pay more wages to the people. pressure.

"..."

When Jiang Quan heard this, he was choked and speechless. The cost of building the city this time was paid for by Li Wei's Chamber of Commerce and had nothing to do with the court. He had so much money, so he really couldn't find any reason to stop it.

Just thinking about spending so much money, even though it was not his own, he still felt a little distressed. He hesitated and persuaded: "Sir, we estimate that our city construction will be completed in about half a year. Even if it goes according to your words, I think I will give you two or three dollars." One guan is enough, you don’t need ten!”

Li Wei thought about it and thought it was the same. Sometimes it is not a good thing to give too much money. People can earn far more than a year of farming in half a year. I am afraid that they will no longer be willing to work hard to open up wasteland and farm land in the future. Now the Ming Dynasty is still Agriculture should be the main focus and labor should not be overabsorbed into construction.

"Then give it five strings."

Since it is half a year, Li Wei will pay in half.

According to the price he and Yang Laosan promised to buy the land, the common people could earn about ten guan in almost a year by clearing wasteland. Now they can earn 5 guan in half a year after building the city, which is about the same as they would by themselves by clearing wasteland and farming, and they also have to take care of the food.

When Jiang Quan heard what he said, she was still a little dissatisfied, but she didn't persuade him any more.

Li Wei walked slowly along the canal and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang placed the Salt Transport Department in Yangzhou, commerce here flourished rapidly. Merchant ships passed by on the canal from time to time, and most of the people who lived in the east of the city were merchants.

However, the salt merchants at this time were not as powerful as in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. They had no foundation when they first arrived, and they were incomparable to local tycoons like the Yue family and the Gu family in Yangzhou. They were also extremely honest during the land expropriation. They took whatever the officials gave them. Even if they donate it for free, there is no complaint. After all, they don't lack the money.

Walking to the east, Li Wei couldn't help but think: "Let's build more gates on the east wall along the river to facilitate the passage of merchant ships."

Yangzhou's location has great potential for development. Since it is going to be built as a city, it is necessary to think more about the future.

"Okay... okay."

Jiang Quan had no choice but to agree, and she complained in her heart that building a city gate was much more expensive than building a section of city wall. Li Wei's simple words had increased the cost by thousands of dollars.

Li Wei looked at the ships passing by on the canal and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Yangzhou is a good place, but the land is a bit too small, not much bigger than the county seat.

In larger prefectural cities like Suzhou, the outer city is surrounded by the inner city, and the capital is four or five stories inside and outside. The city defense of this kind of city is far better than that of a single-story small county town, and of course the cost of construction has doubled.

However, Yangzhou's terrain is limited, so this is the only way to go. Fortunately, there are natural barriers to the canal, and with the city's Hao, the city defense is not much weaker. Li Wei and Jiang Quan were in front, followed by other officials from the Ministry of Industry, discussing a few words from time to time. Behind them, Wu Yong also led a group of guards to follow closely.

On the canal, a fleet of two or three merchant ships sailed slowly. They looked no different from other merchant ships passing by, and Li Wei and others did not pay attention.

However, as the distance got closer, the people on the merchant ship at the head pointed to Li Wei and others and said something to their companions beside them.

Wu Yong noticed this detail and immediately became vigilant, staring closely at the leading merchant ship.

After the two people on the bow talked for a few words, one of them entered the cabin. A moment later, a man wearing a steel helmet and simple armor walked out. There was also a strange tattoo on this man's helmet. of horns.

And closely behind them were a group of bald, barefooted, black-clad men wearing shorts and shorts. These men were ugly and ferocious, and they looked like they were not good people at first glance!

After Wu Yong saw the appearance of these people clearly, he immediately shouted in shock: "Japanese pirates!"

Li Wei and others who were walking in front stopped immediately when they heard the movement and looked back.

"What? Why are there Japanese pirates here?" Li Wei asked in surprise when he saw the ships in front of him.

This is Yangzhou, not the coast!

Jiang Quan and other officials also saw clearly the Japanese pirates approaching quickly, and suddenly panicked.

"Don't worry so much, sir, please leave quickly!" Wu Yong yelled in a rough voice.

There seemed to be a large number of these Japanese pirates, but he only had a dozen or so guards. Li Wei's safety was at stake, and he must not take any chances!

However, Li Wei looked up at the rapidly approaching ship, but he did not rush to retreat. Instead, he took out a blunderbuss from his body, took a quick look and pulled the trigger.

boom!

There was a gunshot, and one of the Japanese pirates on the boat in the distance fell to the ground. Unfortunately, it was not the leader who was hit.

Seeing that their companions were killed, these Japanese pirates suddenly screamed, drew out their sabers and waved them, and the ships accelerated.

"Beautiful!" Li Wei blew the muzzle of his gun. He didn't expect that he would have a chance to kill a little devil in his life!

When Wu Yong saw that he not only refused to leave, but also fired a shot, he suddenly became anxious and said, "Sir, please leave quickly!"

"Yes, sir, let's leave quickly! Go back to the city and inform the officers and soldiers of Yangzhou Guard so that they can wipe out these Japanese pirates as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Quan and others also followed suit. They were only civil servants, and they certainly could not take the lead in fighting these Japanese pirates.

As the ship approached, Wu Yong ignored the persuasion and shouted directly: "Come here, escort the Lord back to the city quickly!"

"Okay, okay, let's go now!"

After Li Wei fired his shot, he didn't waste any more time. There were hundreds of Japanese pirates on these ships. With just his little guard, they definitely couldn't stop them. It wouldn't be too late to call the garrison at the garrison to destroy these Japanese pirates when he got back.

Seeing this, Wu Yong also breathed a sigh of relief. Before the Japanese pirates landed, he quickly protected Li Wei and rushed to the nearest East City Gate! (End of chapter)