Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 254: Planning to Travel the World

A small courtyard in the north of Shenjing City.

Ever since Emperor Jiazhao issued an imperial decree to register Xiuniang Incense Shop with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and gave it the name Xinchun, this new imperial merchant began to attract people's attention.

Emperor Jiazhao issued another decree to allocate 50,000 taels of silver to Xinchunhao as capital for Xinchunhao to build trade routes.

Xinchun is increasingly coming into the sight of more and more people.

Nowadays, everyone in the business circle of Shenjing knows that the owner of Xinchunhao is the only female imperial merchant in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Although many people knew that the person standing behind her was the famous writer from the Rong state Jia family, it was still her who was registered in the Imperial Household Department.

But no one could have imagined that this upstart Qu Dadang of the Imperial Household Department, the head of the incense business in the southern states of the Great Zhou, actually lived in such an ordinary courtyard.

On the big kang near the window, Jia Cong and Qu Hongxiu were sitting at the kang table, writing and drawing on a piece of paper and chatting from time to time.

All matters related to Xinchunhao's establishment of trade routes in Jiangnan are now being carried out in an orderly manner.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs even specially dispatched several officials to assist Xinchunhao in finding shops, contacting sources of goods, and building trade routes in various places.

This will certainly save a lot of effort in the early development of Xinchunhao.

Moreover, the efficiency of handling matters through the official channels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is still very impressive. At present, the preparations for opening shops in Jinling and Ningbo have been basically completed.

In the beginning, Jia Cong took great pains to get Xinchunhao registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, just to borrow the resources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the protection of the royal background.

However, he did not want Xinchunhao to become a supporter of the Imperial Household Department completely. Xinchunhao must have its own channels for survival and development.

This is a consensus between him and Qu Hongxiu.

For Jia Cong, the huge information washover from later generations and his personal experiences in this life have made him more aware than others of the cruelty and exclusivity of imperial power.

Emperor Jia Zhao gave him the title and benefits of an imperial merchant, so he could do things that were beneficial to the country for the Great Zhou and His Majesty the Emperor.

But it does not mean that he has to sell his life and his background to the emperor without reservation. The necessary trump cards and ways to retreat are indispensable.

Qu Hongxiu's background also determined that she had a deep natural wariness of the royal family.

The unique character of the mastermind also determined that Xinchunhao, a new upstart in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, had a strong independent and self-aware core under the cloak of an imperial merchant.

Therefore, Jia Cong would be outside the trade routes set up by officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Relying on his own connections, Xinchunhao built completely independent trade channels in Jinling, Gusu, Yangzhou and other places.

There are reasons for choosing these places.

There are connections established by the four major families in Jinling, as well as the relationships that Jia Cong made during his time in Jinling.

Lin Ruhai was a top scholar in the imperial examination, a salt inspector in Lianghuai, and came from a family of marquises in Suzhou for five generations. He held an important position in both Yangzhou and Suzhou.

The Lin family is an aristocratic family in the south of the Yangtze River. They have been immersed in the officialdom for generations and have deep roots. In addition to Gusu and Yangzhou, they definitely have influence in other prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River.

These are all resources that Xinchunhao can learn from and deal with in the future.

Once the foundation of this first step is laid firmly, Xinchun's tentacles can be extended to the eight prefectures and one state in the south of the Yangtze River, and the coastal ports and towns of the Maritime Customs.

Going east, you can cross the sea and go overseas; going north, you can manage Liaodong; going south, you can trade with East Guangdong and the countries along the western sea.

What a huge thing Xinchun will be by then. In fact, such aggregates have long been commonplace in later generations.

Of course, such a concept is too grand. If Jia Cong wants to achieve that, he needs matching human and financial resources, a strong information distribution network, and years of hard work.

The most important thing is reliable and trustworthy talents, which is the prerequisite for the implementation of all matters.

Putting people first and at the beginning of everything is the truth that applies to any era.

He has been given an official post in Shenjing and cannot be with Qu Hongxiu all the time. The management of the incense industry in Jiangnan is relying on Qu Hongxiu alone. If this continues, it will be stretched to the limit.

However, he has no trusted personnel at hand at the moment, and even if he has a candidate, it will be difficult to go for the time being. He can only let Qu Hongxiu work hard for a while.

……

Jia Cong said, "For the children in the courtyard, a scholar is teaching them to read and write, and two Western priests are teaching them arithmetic, calendar, and the study of things. We can teach them according to their preferences and let them develop their own strengths.

After one more year of teaching, these teenagers can work in the shop with Liu Ping and his colleagues and become familiar with the methods of shop management and calculation.

In three to five years, it may take time to train a shopkeeper or chief shopkeeper.

In the south of the Yangtze River, culture and education flourished far more than in the north. Even in poor families, there were many literate sons.

In recent years, natural disasters have continued in the south of the Yangtze River, land annexation, and oppression by the powerful, causing the common people to sell their wives and children and flee in all directions.

After Xinchunhao established itself in Jiangnan, it could purchase these civilian boys, provide them with food and clothing, and, following the method of Shenjing, establish schools, even girls' schools, to cultivate talents.

In the future, the methods of investigating things and the ways of commerce will surely prevail in the world, corruption will be replaced and new wisdom will finally emerge!

Students in the academy do not have to spend their whole lives studying classics and only pursue a career in the imperial examinations. Throughout their lives, there is a broad world and much to be accomplished... "

Qu Hongxiu listened quietly to Jia Cong's talk with a smile on her face. She was already used to Jia Cong's wild and imaginative ideas.

After years of getting along, she has been able to understand some of the things that people say. Gradually, many of her thoughts and ideas have become different from those of people today.

Coupled with the courage and intelligence honed from walking on the edge of a knife in her early years, years of running-in have made her the person who is closest to Jia Cong in terms of thoughts and behaviors.

But some of the things Jia Cong said still left her confused and puzzled.

But every time he talked about these things, Qu Hongxiu noticed a light in his eyes, as if full of nostalgia and yearning.

He is obviously a few years younger than me, but sometimes he gives me a strong illusion that he has seen the world and experienced many vicissitudes of life.

……

Guizhi Lane, Qin Mansion.

Ever since Keqing returned home, Qin Ye was really angry for several days. His daughter was so stupid.

She gave up her role as the eldest daughter-in-law of a prominent family and took it upon herself to divorce and return home, making the Qin family a laughing stock.

To Qin Ye, the Ningguo Mansion had been confiscated and his title stripped, which was irreversible, but his wife and children were not involved in the crime, so Keqing was still the eldest lady of the Jia family.

Moreover, Madam Rongguo has arranged for her to move to Rongguo Mansion. She has all the wealth and power she deserves, and she is still a great help to the Qin family.

But this rebellious girl was so blinded by greed that she threw away all this wealth and dignity.

The father and daughter argued several times over this matter, and it was a bit out of place. Fortunately, Mrs. Qin loved her daughter and came out to mediate, and the matter was finally settled.

In fact, Qin Ye also knew that no matter how unwilling he was, the matter was already done. Keqing had already left the Jia family, and the divorce was known to everyone.

Just when he was feeling frustrated and depressed, something unexpected happened.

The chief historian of Prince Beijing's mansion suddenly came to visit and said that the prince had heard that the daughter of the prince's family had returned to the mansion to treat her with great respect, and he admired her beauty and character, so he wanted to marry her into the palace as a concubine.

After all, Qin Ye had some knowledge and knew that the so-called etiquette for a concubine did not mean to be hired as a concubine. A concubine of a prince had to be adopted and registered by the Ministry of Clan Affairs.

Keqing was a divorced woman and no longer had such qualifications. If she was forced to be a concubine, the royal palace would be held accountable by the clan affairs office. The etiquette, laws and clan rules could not be violated.

The so-called etiquette for a concubine is just a nice word, except that the gift money and etiquette are more solemn. In fact, it is the concubine in the palace.

But for the old man Qin Ye, it was already a huge surprise. Keqing was a divorced woman, so even if she remarried, she could not be the principal wife, but only a concubine.

In Qin Ye's eyes, being the concubine of Prince Beijing was no worse than being the living widow of the eldest son of the Jia family, because Prince Beijing was a prince after all, and his power was even greater than that of the Jia family.

Although he found it a little unbelievable that Prince Beijing suddenly fell in love with his daughter, it seemed reasonable that his daughter was so beautiful that people would admire and be attracted to her.

He has been working as a mechanic for many years and is almost getting moldy.

When he went to Nanjing to build the Da Ci'en Temple, he worked hard and accomplished his mission, but received no reward.

On the contrary, Jia Cong, who went to Jinling with him and participated in all the affairs of Da Ci'en Temple, was promoted twice and was also granted an imperial decree by his mother. This little bastard even seduced his Keqing.

How unfair!

(End of this chapter)