Zhu Ying's Black Armor Guards camped outside Suzhou City.

He only brought with him a dozen guards.

Including Zhu Ying, almost everyone was dressed in casual clothes.

"This is my incognito visit."

Looking at the lively scene on the street, Zhu Ying said with a smile.

Suzhou has always been a prosperous place for business, and the Qunying Chamber of Commerce has as many as seven or eight bases here.

The most important thing is that there has already been a Public Security Bureau in Suzhou City.

That was Lan Yu’s nephew Lan Tian.

After stopping at a pier, Zhu Ying carefully looked at the faces of the people in the city.

Most of the people, especially the porters at the dock, were pale and thin.

In many people's impressions, people who do this kind of strenuous work should be relatively strong, but in fact, at first glance, they are all skinny.

The huge sack was carried directly on the shoulders, which made people who were watching a little panicked. The sack seemed to be bigger than the person.

It's like if a gust of wind comes, these porters will be blown down.

However, even though they were carrying heavy objects on their shoulders, these workers seemed to have great strength. They carried them steadily and moved very quickly.

As soon as we finish moving the last item, we have to rush to move the next one.

On the stone pier next to these dock porters, there was an accountant who kept looking up and drawing on paper.

The handling work at the dock has always been calculated by piece. The more you move, the more you get paid.

So everyone is rushing to move more things.

“These workers are very strong.”

After looking at it for a while, Uncle Zhang couldn't help but say with some admiration.

Although Suzhou City is the main base of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, Uncle Zhang has never come here in person and has never been with his boss.

In the past, operations were mainly carried out in the Western Regions, deserts, and grasslands.

There are not many canal docks like this one.

Zhu Ying shook his head: "They are not that strong. They are just poor people. They are just trying their best to support their families."

Seeing the dock workers in this state, Zhu Ying couldn't help but think of the issue of meat.

If you want to develop animal husbandry, you cannot do without feed.

The best quality feed is undoubtedly corn.

Corn kernels are a superior concentrated feed for livestock and poultry, and play a significant role in increasing the yield and quality of pork, milk and egg products.

Corn stalks are also a good feed, especially a high-energy feed for cattle, and can replace part of corn kernels.

The disadvantage of corn straw is that it contains little protein and calcium, so it needs to be supplemented.

Straw silage not only keeps the stems and leaves fresh and juicy, but also produces substances such as lactic acid through the action of microorganisms during the silage process, enhancing its palatability.

Silage can not only be used all year round and is less affected by natural disasters, but also has a long shelf life of about three to five years.

The threshold for silage technology is very low, and basically Zhu Ying can complete it as long as he gives it a simple click.

In this way, more meat from the Ming Dynasty could be served on the tables of ordinary people.

These things cannot be changed in just one or two years, but Zhu Ying has to control his direction and ensure that the Ming Dynasty continues to develop in the right direction.

While thinking, Zhu Ying saw a familiar figure coming over with several guards.

Seeing that person approaching, he prepared to kneel on one knee and bow.

Zhu Ying waved his hand to stop this behavior.

Lantian immediately understood what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant.

He just bowed and saluted, without being too ostentatious.

"Let's find a better restaurant and have a good chat." Zhu Ying said with a smile.

"Yes, sir." Lantian immediately clasped his fists and said.

The prosperity of Suzhou naturally gave rise to many high-end entertainment and consumption venues, such as the restaurant where Zhu Ying was now.

The restaurant in Suzhou has its special advantages. It has three floors in total and a huge open space in the middle.

The private rooms are located next to the corridors on the second and third floors.

You can also close the screen and watch some performances below or other entertainment activities.

At this time in Suzhou City, the most popular thing was naturally the storytellers telling the court reports.

Although there is some time difference due to the distance, the content of the official report from Suzhou is about half a month delayed compared to that from the capital.

"Tell me about it. I have been in Suzhou for quite some time. What are your feelings and what problems have you encountered? I will tell you all about them today."

"Especially for the Public Security Department, for the people, it's a question of whether they accept and recognize it, or whether they reject it."

"And how did you connect with the Suzhou government?"

Zhu Ying took a sip of tea and then asked.

When Lantian heard this, he immediately understood that what happened next was extremely important to him.

Strictly speaking, it has a lot to do with one's future.

If what I have done in the Suzhou Security Bureau cannot satisfy His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it may be very difficult for me to make further progress.

It was just that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came too directly. Lantian had no preparation at all and had never even thought about reporting, so they could only tell the story on the spot.

Looking at Lantian's deep thought, Zhu Ying did not urge him, but waited quietly for Lantian to speak.

After thinking for a long time, Lantian finally sorted out his thoughts in his mind and said:

"When I first entered Suzhou City, I was unfamiliar with the functions of the Public Security Department. Fortunately, I got the charter written by Your Highness himself."

"After entering the city, there was no lack of cooperation from the Suzhou prefect, including the Public Security Department, which chose a relatively good location. In all aspects, Suzhou prefect Yang Youwen showed no intention of dragging his feet."

"The only problem we encountered is that the merchants and landlords in this city are first-class. Most of them have united to suppress the people and do not allow people to appeal if there is a case."

"They even secretly mobilized guards, vaguely with the intention of confrontation."

"The first step I will take is to find out the details of the wealthy families in Suzhou City."

"It's embarrassing to say that my brothers have made no achievements in this area. In the end, we had to ask the Heroes Chamber of Commerce for help, and only then did we gain control of the foundations of some big families."

"I am worried about causing a mutiny, and I don't want to do too much at once. So after I understand the contradictions among them, I pull one faction and beat the other, and then slowly start fighting in Suzhou City."

Lantian narrated very clearly how the Public Security Bureau developed step by step here, including the problems encountered and how they were solved.

After these problems are solved, how do we carry out our own duties?

After listening to this, Zhu Ying nodded in approval.

Lantian can be regarded as Zhu Ying's direct troops.

Whether it is the emperor or the crown prince, they all need people to help them manage the country.

Therefore, when selecting talents, the best candidates are those who can correctly implement their own ideas.

And Lantian has done an excellent job in this regard.

It can be said that it is being strictly implemented in accordance with the regulations formulated by Zhu Ying.

Of course, for now, this is just Lantian’s one-sided statement. Whether this is the case or not still needs verification from multiple aspects.

In fact, as far as Suzhou is concerned, whether it is the addition of the Public Security Bureau or the Suzhou government itself, it is a key supervision area of ​​the court.

The main problem did not lie with the government, but with the local wealthy people.

Almost all the big families here are involved in business, and most of the shops on the streets are controlled by these big families.

Even if the land property suffers a great blow, it is difficult to say that it will shake their huge foundation.

Zhu Ying thought for a while and said, "There seems to be some progress on the canal transport side."

The biggest source of profit for Suzhou Prefecture was the grain transport.

This is especially true in Yanguan.

Taking advantage of the waterways, many people sold private salt. For example, Zhang Shicheng was a salt merchant in Suzhou.

Zhu Ying came directly to Suzhou for two purposes.

The first is the assessment of the Public Security Department. So far, the results are good. At least some superficial corruption will be gradually eliminated.

The second goal is to build the Suzhou Shipyard.

In Suzhou, because of the well-developed river system, there are a lot of ships coming and going.

Where there is a demand, there will naturally be a group formed to meet it.

For example, boatmen, these workers who are good at water.

And the most important thing is the boatman.

In the entire Jiangnan area, many large clans control skilled craftsmen who are capable of building ships.

Although river ships and sea ships have different requirements, they achieve the same goal.

After all, the earliest seagoing ships were built by craftsmen who built river ships.

Zhu Ying’s idea was to promote the maritime trade of the entire Ming Dynasty.

If one wanted to open a shipyard, the first thing one could not avoid was the Cao Gang.

The Cao Gang of this period was very different from the Cao Gang of the Qing Dynasty.

During the Qing Dynasty, it was a real gang organization.

The people who control the Cao Gang now are all the big clans.

Hearing His Royal Highness talking about the grain transport, Lantian could only clasp his fists and say helplessly: "Reporting to Your Highness, I have not yet had any contact with the grain transport."

Zhu Ying nodded when he heard this, without any intention of blaming anyone.

The fact that Lantian has reached its current state has already exceeded Zhu Ying's expectations.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that Lantian himself has always been in the military camp and is relatively honest.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Ying put down the teacup in his hand and said, "Uncle Zhang, notify the Chamber of Commerce in Suzhou and tell them that it is my idea to open the Suzhou Shipyard in Suzhou Prefecture."

"All the ships built are used for maritime trade."

At this point, Zhu Ying smiled slightly and said, "If you want to spread the news, just say that 40% of the shares of Suzhou Shipyard will be distributed to the public. Anyone with a Ming Dynasty household registration can buy shares."

What Zhu Ying wanted to do was not to defeat all the businessmen in Suzhou.

This is an unrealistic idea.

Moreover, the money required for a large factory like a shipyard is an astronomical figure.

As far as the current situation is concerned, the funds of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce have actually reached a very embarrassing state.

Among these, one is the drag of paper mills and printing factories.

While pursuing social benefits on a larger scale, economic benefits are naturally declining.

The placement of advertisements in the official gazette has not been officially opened yet, so it is equivalent to constantly doing business at a loss.

The dumping of foreign gazettes can actually make up for this difference.

But there is also a derivative problem, which is time.

It often took several months to transport a batch of official reports from the capital of the Ming Dynasty to the border areas. The number transported each year was also very limited, and the cycle was long.

According to current estimates, it will take at least a year and a half to stabilize and make up for the current losses.

There is also the collection of Baochao, which is like using money to buy money, and constantly making up for the previous losses of Baochao.

In addition, there is the construction of the North-South Cement Highway, investment in cement plants across the country, and expenditures from other industries.

If you want to spend a large amount of money to build a higher-end shipyard, it would be difficult to do so.

Selling 40% of the shares is very important.

One is to attract and screen many businessmen and big players.

Second, while sharing the risks, you no longer need to look for excellent craftsmen yourself.

In the name of the Crown Prince, people who want to invest will continue to come.

The next day, it was only half a day.

News about Suzhou Shipyard has spread throughout the city of Suzhou.

There has never been a shortage of businessmen with a keen sense of smell in Suzhou City, and they immediately realized that this was a huge opportunity.

Groups of businessmen, big and small, immediately began to unite and discuss matters concerning the shipyard.

"Selling 40% of the shares is a big deal, but I don't know how much each share costs."

"Don't think too much. Didn't you see the notice? This is to build a sea-going ship, not a river ship like ours. Any one of them would probably cost thousands of coins."

"I heard from the grapevine that the ships built by the shipyard this time are to be sold to the public, rather than used by the court itself."

"How is that possible? Suzhou is not on the coast. What use can I have?"

"Don't forget, His Majesty has issued an edict to lift the maritime ban, which means we can also take sea vessels and do business overseas."

"I heard that overseas places are full of treasures, such as spices and ivory, which are first-class good things. Our Ming Dynasty's tea and porcelain are in great demand overseas, and there is no need to worry about not having a market."

"That's great, then why does the prince want us in Suzhou to also engage in maritime trade?"

"Silly, who were the people doing the maritime trade before? They were just the people on the coast. His Royal Highness must want to support us and compete with those people doing maritime trade along the coast."

"That's great, but I don't know how to get the shares of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The intention that Zhu Ying conveyed this time was so obvious that it was almost as if he had said it explicitly.

However, Zhu Ying, who knew the candidate well, knew that saying it out loud would not have such a sensational effect.

If it is 'leaked' from the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, it will be more likely to attract attention.

After waiting for a day or two, when the news spreads from Suzhou City to Suzhou Prefecture, Zhu Ying can sell shares and prepare for the shipyard.