Chapter 3138 Begins
Zhou Silang moved into the villa, asked someone to sort out the goods, and then took everyone to see the sea.
Standing on the beach, feeling the fierce sea breeze, the waves rushed up again and again and hit the rocks on the shore. The moment the tide receded, a strange wind came from nowhere and blew their hair back and forth, and it hit their faces with a bang.
Zhou Silang struggled to push his hair away from his face, then closed his gaping mouth. "Is the wind always this strong? How can we sail?"
Liu Gui said, "No, it's not usually this big." He paused and then said, "But sometimes there are waves that are bigger than this."
Zhou Silang swallowed nervously when he heard this, "If the boat capsizes in the sea..."
Liu Gui said with a sad face: "Then he will most likely not survive."
Zhou Silang: ...
The sea is indeed much more dangerous than the land.
There were several boats parked outside Longchi Wharf. Three of them were given by Laizhou, and the other two were taken away from Laizhou Wharf by Bai Shan under unknown conditions.
The rest are official ships.
Liu Gui took Zhou Silang to look at the docks, then wandered over to the Maritime Department. He then whispered to him, "There are three official ships. The Crown Prince dispatched them from Qingzhou to you, my dear. They mainly go north to Cangzhou and Pingzhou, and south to Chaozhou. So if you want to go to Jiangnan, you'll have to find a merchant ship."
“Is the fare expensive?”
"It depends on the goods and people you bring. The larger the space you occupy, the higher the price will be." Liu Gui had already come to Longchi from Qingzhou and handed over the shop in Qingzhou to his subordinates. Although he was not doing business outside now, he planned to use the shop bought by Bai Shan, so he had inquired about this aspect.
He reported to Zhou Silang the prices of each company, the destinations they were going to, and the time it would take.
Zhou Silang simply saved himself the trouble of making inquiries.
"If you calculate it this way, going by sea is indeed cheaper than going by land."
"That's right," Liu Gui said with a smile, "Not only is it cheaper, it's also faster, and on the boat you save money on hotels along the way. Taking all the expenses into account, it's still half the price to go by sea to Jiangnan."
Liu Gui asked, "Fourth Uncle, have you decided where to go?"
Zhou Silang looked conflicted. "With Bai Shan and Man Bao's relationship, it would be best to take the official ship, but... I want to go to Jiangnan to take a look."
I heard that Jiangnan is very prosperous, second only to the Central Plains. He has seen the prosperity of the Central Plains, but has not seen that of Jiangnan.
I also heard that the silk and brocade there are different from those used here, and have a unique style.
Liu Gui smiled and said, "That's nothing. If you're fast, you can go in and out twice a year. You can go by merchant ship first, and then by government ship later."
Zhou Silang then remembered to ask, "Does the official ship carry official business?"
Liu Gui shook his head and smiled, "I don't know about that. I only know that the official ship must obey the orders of the Langzhu. Merchants who are qualified to board the official ship need the Langzhu's personal approval, but I think Fourth Uncle should have no problem."
It’s not because of Zhou Silang’s ability, but because of his natural attributes. They are in the same group.
The merchant caravan on the official ship must be made up of his own people, otherwise, Bai Shan would rather not earn that extra money.
So far, Bai Shan has not found any merchants to cooperate with, but he is not in a hurry because there is plenty of space on the ship.
They needed to ship out a lot of salt.
Spring is here, flowers are blooming, and the earth is back. The busy spring season has begun, and it is the time when people need to work hard. The next six months will be a time of high salt consumption.
At this time, Jiangnan told the government offices from all over the country that the salt fields in Jiangnan had a poor harvest and could not provide the salt they needed for the time being without any warning.
When the news spread back to various places, the local government offices became somewhat anxious. They could only write letters to the purchasing officials, asking them to try their best to mediate, and at the same time write letters to the court to impeach the official salt and salt administration of Jiangnan.
The Censorate read the memorial and handed it to the Secretariat, which then suppressed it and handed it to the emperor.
The emperor sneered, handed it to the prince, and said, "Let Bai Shan leave the boat."
"yes."
The emperor warned, "This matter must be kept secret. No word can be leaked before the salt arrives."
The prince agreed and wrote a secret letter to Bai Shan, which he put inside the gift for Mingda.
The emperor then remembered, "Why haven't Mingda and the Prince Consort returned yet?"
The prince said calmly, "The child is only two months old, so young, how can he travel on the road? I think we should let him stay in Qingzhou."
It would also help Bai Shan suppress the evil spirits.
The emperor frowned. "Once the salt from Beihai County is shipped out, Bai Shan will probably become a thorn in the side of many people. What if they get accidentally injured there?"
The Crown Prince thought for a moment and said, "Should Lord Yin send some more imperial guards? Yin Huo is also there. After all, he is Lord Yin's only son, so he must be quite worried."
The emperor thought about it and finally sighed, thinking that the child had grown up and would fly away from home as soon as his wings were strong enough.
It would have been fine if it was his son, but he had to go to the vassal state. If he stayed in the capital, he was afraid that the court officials would gossip about him. Now he can't even keep his daughter.
The emperor hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.
However, the prince did not have the power to dispatch the imperial guards, so the emperor had to speak to Lord Yin himself.
The letter was quickly delivered to Beihai County. Bai Shan, who had been preparing during this period, immediately went to Dadawa after receiving the letter.
Because his wife was not around, Zhou Liwei looked even tidier than he was three months ago. He didn't even shave and looked very wild. When he saw his brother-in-law, he touched his face embarrassedly.
Bai Shan twitched his eyes, feeling that it was too painful, and waved his hand, saying, "Go and wash up quickly, and have someone start loading the car. We will set off tomorrow."
Zhou Liwei immediately agreed.
One car after another was towed out, taken to the warehouse, and loaded by the soldiers themselves.
When all the four-wheeled carts were full, the soldiers also pushed out a number of wheelbarrows, loaded them with salt and tied them up...
The next morning, they set out from Dajiawa and headed towards Longchi in a mighty procession. They took a road that had been built during the conscription last year. This road could save a lot of time, but because it diverted from the official road, not many people walked on it. Except for villagers from a few villages along the way, there was basically no one else on it at other times.
Bai Shan and General Nie personally led the team. They walked for a whole day, stopping to rest in the afternoon, and continued walking after dark. Finally, they arrived at Longchi in the dark in the early morning.
The people in Longchi had received the news and were ready. When they saw the fire coming, County Magistrate Fang led his men to greet them. "Sir, the official ship is waiting outside."
Bai Shan nodded slightly, looked around and asked, "Didn't it alarm anyone?"
"No, in the past few months, we have followed the master's instructions. We have to rest and wake up when the bell rings. If we move around at other times, we will be treated as thieves."
(End of this chapter)
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