It is better to be humiliated for a while than to have no success in your life. Besides, if you become the son-in-law of Duke Lu, everyone will have to curry favor with him, and no one will dare to lose face for him.
Chai Shibo slumped his shoulders. "What a pity for my eighth brother, such a good man! I really hope Wan Qi'er can't get married."
There are many people who also don't wish Wan Qier well.
Yili asked Chai Shijing if he wanted to take a step on it. Chai Shijing smiled and shook his head. He would just watch from the sidelines, and his good second brother would take action.
Chai Shilun did not disappoint Chai Shijing and was discussing countermeasures with his aide Lu Gang.
"Duke Lu has revealed the evidence. You'd be a fool not to take it. Lu Gang, what do you think we should do?"
"Of course we should take advantage of his weakness to kill him! Duke Lu loves Wan Qi'er so much, so let's help Wan Qi'er find a 'good husband'."
Chai Shilun is good at martial arts, and his favorite Lu Gang is also good at martial arts. Of course, Lu Gang is also smart enough to be a staff member.
He laughed wickedly and suggested, "Your Majesty, what do you think of Lu Fang?"
"Lu Fang is a good man... Duke Lu will definitely not agree."
"Wan Qi'er can pounce on men, and Lu Fang can pounce on women too. The prince has people keep an eye on Duke Lu's mansion. Whenever Wan Qi'er goes out, Lu Fang will find an opportunity to pounce on her.
If the Lu family comes to propose marriage again, humph! Wan Qi'er has been embraced by two men in succession. Let's see if Duke Lu will marry his daughter off. "
Chai Shilun clapped his hands in approval, "This is a great idea! The Lu family is all my people. When Wan Qi'er marries into the Lu family, I will ask my father to let me go to the southwest to train in the army. With Wan Qi'er as a hostage, Duke Lu will definitely not dare to make trouble for me."
"Your Highness is wise! While you are training in the southwest, Your Highness should recruit some more generals, and then..."
Before he could finish his words, Lu Gang and Chai Shilun burst into laughter in tacit understanding.
Although Chai Shilun had never been on the battlefield, he was very good at riding and shooting, so he always regarded himself as a military general.
He was obsessed with bringing down Duke Lu. He believed that if Duke Lu was finished, he would be the only military commander among all the princes, and the military forces in the southwest would definitely have to be handed over to him.
Without Duke Lu, Chai Shirong was just a figurehead. When Emperor Jianning died, he had the army in his hands and the throne was within his grasp.
The bustle in the capital city continues, and something big also happens here at Kang Yueran's place.
He Yifan delivered the ten cargo ships she ordered!
Looking at a row of new ships, there is a big "Kang" character on each ship.
Kang Yueran's heart was pounding with excitement. "This is all mine!"
He Yifan nodded, "Yes, these are all yours!"
Zuo Bai was also there. "I have a batch of timber to be shipped from the south. Yue Ran, how about you let me handle this first business?"
Meng Dechang deliberately squeezed Zuo Bai, "I have a batch of medicinal herbs to be shipped to the south, this first business should be mine!"
It was indeed impossible to go with an empty boat. Zuo Bai pretended to be angry, "Old Meng, why do you like to be in the spotlight so much?"
Kang Yueran knew they weren't really angry, and she was grateful for everyone's willingness to help her. "You have to wait while I go to the Ou family first. I have a boat, but I'm not familiar with the route. Mr. Ou has a fleet, I'll ask him for help."
Zuo Bai was very worried and reminded her, "The Ou family has a dock, and we also built a dock; the Ou family has cargo ships; and you also formed a fleet. Yueran, can Ou Laokou help you?"
Kang Yueran smiled and said, "That depends on how we negotiate! In fact, in the long run, my building a dock and forming a fleet will benefit the Ou family more than it will harm them."
"Old Ou may not listen to what you say! However, since you helped the Ou family last time, Old Ou should give you some face."
Kang Yueran looked at the river in the distance and said, "I don't want face. I want Mr. Ou to understand that people in the same industry are not necessarily enemies. If all merchants in the same industry can unite as one, it will not be easy for others to break it apart."
Meng Dechang laughed and said, "Your ideas are always different from those of ordinary people!"
It wasn't that her ideas were unusual; it was that the ancients were too conservative. However, modern times have patent protection, something the ancients didn't. They could only cling to their secret recipes, which, over time, engendered a sense of self-preservation. "Wait and see how I convince Master Ou."
The next day, Kang Yueran went to the Ou family with gifts.
Ou Jiuyan already knew about her boat purchase and was not very enthusiastic about her.
Kang Yueran didn't get angry and asked, "Master Ou, I bought ten cargo ships and plan to do canal transportation business, but I'm not familiar with the routes. I want to ask Master Ou to borrow someone to teach me. Is that okay?"
She actually also needed an old boatman, but Ou Jiuyan was always stingy, so she didn't dare to mention it.
Ou Jiuyan was surprised at Kang Yueran's straightforwardness. He was already stingy enough, but Kang Yueran was even more calculating than him.
"Master Kang, isn't your request a bit excessive? My Ou family owes you a favor, but you can't keep stealing my business."
"Did I steal business? Did the Ou family's wharf lose money?"
Kang Yueran smiled and continued, "As far as I know, no! Ever since Heshun Wharf allowed cargo ships to dock, business at Oujia Wharf was a bit slow in the first one or two months. Isn't business very good now?"
"That's because my Oujia Wharf has a good reputation."
"No! That's because Anzhou has two docks. People who used to be reluctant to queue at Oujia Dock have now come to Heshun Dock. There are more merchant ships coming than before, so business is good at both docks.
Mr. Ou, if you look through the dock's account books, you'll know if I'm right."
Ou Jiuyan had already looked at the dock's account books, and there were indeed many new merchant ships arriving at the dock that had never been there before. "Let's not talk about the dock first, how did you get into the canal shipping business?"
Kang Yueran chuckled, "Because I'm very optimistic about the canal shipping business. Maritime transport is very profitable, so many merchant ships in Anzhou prefer to use it. But in the long run, increasing the flow of goods between the north and the south will benefit both the country and the people."
"Oh, don't talk to me about benefiting the country and the people. I'm just a businessman, not a court official." It was because of Kang Yueran that he had to raise the wages of his men.
Kang Yueran put away his smile, deciding not to expand the scope and only talk about interests. "To be honest, I still think the ships are not enough. I will add more ships in another year or two.
I want people in the south to think of Anzhou’s docks when they mention the northern docks. Goods from the south must be unloaded at Anzhou and then distributed to various provincial capitals.
The northern provinces that wanted to transport goods by water would first think of the Anzhou wharf. The goods would be loaded onto ships in Anzhou and then transported to various places in Dayong.
Among the several states nearby, only Anzhou has the largest dock, capable of berthing large ships. As long as Anzhou has many cargo ships and large carriages and inns, it won't be difficult to make a name for yourself!
Ou Jiuyan was so shocked that he was speechless. After a long while, he spoke, "You are exaggerating." He never thought so far ahead.
"I'm not exaggerating at all. Several states near us are relatively wealthy, so increasing the transportation of goods between the north and the south is very necessary."
After the opening of Heshun Wharf, business at Oujia Wharf did not decrease. New merchant ships arrived at the wharf with cargo, quickly sold their goods, and then left with goods imported from Anzhou.
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