The combat meeting in the Zhao residence's study lasted until the late night.

Zhao Hao and the members of the command center brainstormed and quickly developed an emergency vote-gathering plan.

Currently, the number of votes on the shipping side is 20. If there is no poaching, three more votes are needed to ensure the majority.

So where do these three votes come from?

First of all, because of Gao Gong, the eleven votes from Henan, Shanxi, and Huguang had to be excluded.

Excluding the six votes from Jiangbei, which are related to the interests of the canal transportation, there are only four votes from Shandong, two votes each from Guangdong and Beizhi that can be tried to win.

But after careful analysis, the hometowns of the two people in Northern Zhili, Damingfu and Cangzhou, also relied on water transport. They did not dare to invest in sea transport either... The court debate was a secret ballot, and if the elders in their hometown knew about it, they would dig up their ancestral graves.

By the same token, the Daqing River in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, is connected to the Grand Canal and is a transportation hub for the Grand Canal in a broad sense. Its rise and fall are in sync with the canal. Therefore, Yin Shidan, the Minister of Rites from Jinan, Shandong, would not vote for sea transportation either.

"So, there is no hope for the officials from Shandong?" Everyone felt a little desperate after hearing the analysis. Now there are only two Guangdong barbarians left, and it would not be enough even if they were all brought over.

Besides, the rampant smuggling in Guangdong far exceeds that in Fujian and ranks first in the country. The greater the interests here, the greater the determination of the two Guangdong barbarians to oppose the shipping in Jiangnan. If they could pull it over, they would have pulled it over long ago. Why wait until now to cram for it?

"That's not the case." Zhao Hao shook his head. Shandong is a populous province that cannot be avoided during sea transportation, and it is also the most economically developed province in the north of the Ming Dynasty. The Jiangnan Group has collected a lot of intelligence on the province.

He looked at Sun Dawu, who understood and rummaged around, then hung up a map of Shandong Province's Provincial Administration Commission.

This map of Shandong is several times larger than the Shandong Province in later generations.

In addition to the well-known Shandong territory, the three northeastern provinces and the area around Sakhalin Island in the Greater Khingan Range were also drawn on the map.

This was not a map expansion, but the Ming Dynasty established the Nurgan Dusi and Liaodong Dusi in the northeast and the Greater Khingan Range to implement its rule. The Nurgan Dusi was under the control of the Liaodong Dusi, and the Liaodong Dusi was under the control of the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission.

But this is not the point at the moment. Zhao Hao used a wooden stick to point at the Grand Canal marked in red in the lower left corner of the huge Shandong map.

"Even if we don't count Liaodong, just Shandong," Young Master Zhao said in a deep voice, "the Grand Canal only brushes past the western part of Shandong, and has little impact on the central and eastern parts of Shandong."

"Because the hills in central Shandong to the east of the Grand Canal block the rich Jiaolai Plain and the possibility of using the Grand Canal." He pointed to the Jiaodong Peninsula and said, "So for the people in this area, the Grand Canal is completely useless. What does life and death have to do with them?"

Everyone couldn't help but cheer up, Master Zhao's idea was indeed on the right track.

"Among the four officials from Shandong, apart from Minister Yin, one is from Laizhou Prefecture, one is from Qingzhou Prefecture, and one is from the military household of Tieling Guard, the Liaodong Military Command." Zhao Hao smiled incomprehensibly and said, "We can strive for the last three."

"But the people from the canal transportation proposed to reopen the Jiaolai River. I'm afraid the two from Laizhou and Qingzhou would support it..." Fatty Tang scratched his head and said, "After all, the Jiaolai Canal passes through their place."

"How long can the Jiaolai River be used after it is repaired?" Zhao Liben sneered and said, "Besides, the canal transport people are just using the Jiaolai River as an emergency chamber pot. Once the Grand Canal is repaired, they will immediately throw it aside. Those two old men from Jiaodong are being fooled by the canal transport people. If they can calm down and think about it, they will know that we are not lying."

"That's right!" Xu Wenbi clapped his hands excitedly and said, "That's too bad for the people in Jiaodong. They mobilized a lot of troops to open the Jiaolai River, but in the end it can only be used for two years! Isn't this a rip-off? If they want the villagers to point fingers at them, just support their plan!"

"That's right, let's go visit these two tomorrow." A famous scholar like Zheng Ruozeng who has no official status is most suitable to be a broker.

Then, he looked at Zhao Hao and said, "But it's not appropriate to go empty-handed, right?"

"If they are willing to vote for us, Jiangnan Group can promise to set up a transit port in Jiaozhou Bay and Laizhou Bay respectively, and carry a cargo quota of no less than 200 ships for them every year." Zhao Hao waved his hand and said generously:

"If their trade volume can exceed two hundred ships, that would be even better. We'll take care of it all!"

Shandong's silk weaving, cotton spinning and porcelain manufacturing industries are among the best in the north, and Master Zhao is eager to get them on board his ship.

"Well, in this case, they should be interested." Zheng Ruozeng felt his confidence increase greatly.

"Mr. Kaiyang, please take care of your health." Zhao Hao looked at Zheng Ruozeng with great concern. Although he had doctors from Jiangnan Hospital accompanying him for health care, and Zheng Ruozeng himself was a famous doctor, he was always worried about this old man who devoted his life to his work.

"Don't worry, sir. I've been in very good health recently." Zheng Ruozeng felt warm in his heart. He could feel the extraordinary concern of Young Master Zhao for him.

"What about the one from Tieling, Liaodong?" Everyone turned their eyes to the nameplate of 'Huang Xuehai, Left Censor of Engineering'.

Liaodong is outside the Great Wall, what does it have to do with the Grand Canal? No matter how Huang Jijian is chosen, he will not be complained by his fellow villagers. Moreover, he is a censor of the Six Departments, and the governor of Shandong does not dare to put pressure on him.

If it weren't for the fact that Master Zhao had a big grudge against the censors, it would have been easier to persuade this person.

"It's a coincidence that Huang Jijian and He Xiancheng of our Kunshan County are from the same hometown and the same exam. Although he later became a Jinshi, our old He failed in the exams and had to come to Kunshan. However, there are not many officials from Liaodong, so they have always kept in touch."

"Before coming here, Lao He wrote a letter and asked me to give it to him. I'll ask Secretary Ma to find it later." Zhao Hao scratched his head and said, "We can also follow Jiaolai's example and guarantee their annual shipping volume of 200 ships, so that the Northeastern friends can also sell some mountain products to improve their living standards."

As he searched on the map, the stick pointed to the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula and said, "As for the location, it's Jinzhouwei. They can choose Lushun or Dalian."

"Okay." Everyone responded excitedly. The situation seemed hopeless and a mess, but after Mr. Zhao unraveled it, everything became clear.

Zhao Hao also formulated different action plans for the two Guangdong officials and formed five attack teams, with each person present leading a team to attack the five officials separately.

As for Mr. Zhao, he is still young and his face is too tender. These five officials are not shareholders of Xishan Company and have no relationship with him. He is not suitable to be a lobbyist. It is better for him to stay at home and deal with the situation.

It was not until the first crow of the rooster that Zhao Hao completed all the arrangements.

In the study, Master Zhao's decisive voice resounded: "There are still three days until the court meeting. In three days, these five people must be taken down. This Master will not accept failure!"

"We must also be careful about being poached by others," Zhao Liben added.

"Understood!" Everyone responded and left. The next three days would be busy and intense.

After seeing everyone off, Zhao Hao and Zhao Liben sat down in the yard and looked up at the morning star in the sky.

The old man could finally light up a cigarette and puff away the smoke happily.

"I guess Lao Xi'er will send someone to have a chat in the next two days." Zhao Liben had had enough fun and said, "In fact, Yang Yupo is a very good person. I guess he didn't expect that you would react so quickly this time."

"If I hadn't suffered two setbacks today, my grandson would still be in the dark." Zhao Hao put his elbows on the steps, looked at the Changgeng star in the east sky and said, "Now that I think about it, Mr. Zhang went to Changping, most likely to remind me that it was Lao Xier who schemed against me, not him."

"Hehe, almost." Zhao Liben couldn't help but laugh and said, "This Zhang Taiyue is a bit interesting, as if he is afraid of offending you. What's the matter, could it be that he has a crush on you?"

The old man touched his chin and said, "Well, his girl is pretty good. But I still firmly support Xue Ying."

"Ahem..." Young Master Zhao couldn't help but feel embarrassed, and said in a helpless tone, "Grandpa, let's talk about business."

"I'm talking about serious matters." Zhao Liben smiled and patted his head, then let his grandson go and said, "Lao Xier sent someone here, do you want to see him or not?"

"No." Zhao Hao shook his head.

"Why, are you really angry?" The old man looked at Zhao Hao strangely.

"It's basically just an act for my own people to see." Zhao Hao said without blushing, "I really want to make this deal with Lao Xier. We can both get what we need and there's no deception."

"But we really can't sign a humiliating treaty." He then said sternly, "Whether we bow our heads or not is secondary. The key is that even if we want to reinstate Gao Gong, we must do this favor to Gao Huzi! If we don't negotiate a non-aggression treaty with Gao Huzi, how can we let him come back without any worries?"

"Yes, my dear grandson is very clear-headed." Zhao Liben took a puff of cigarette with satisfaction, exhaled a string of smoke rings and said, "Should Gao Huzi owe us a favor or owe Lao Xier a favor? There is a huge difference here."

The old man chuckled and said, "There is actually a very simple way. Go find Li Chunfang again and tell him that you can either support shipping or agree to Lao Xier's decision to close the door and let Gao Gong go. I think Prime Minister Li will most likely change his attitude."

"That's right, Li Shoufu Shu has always been very self-respecting." Zhao Hao responded, but secretly rolled his eyes, thinking what kind of bad idea is this? Not only will it offend Li Chunfang, but it will also offend Lao Xier and Gao Huzi. I'm afraid that even Zhang Juzheng will be offended.

"I was just teasing you, don't really go looking for him." Zhao Liben knocked out the ash on the steps, pressed Zhao Hao's head and stood up and said, "Go to sleep quickly, or it will be dawn."

"It's already dawn." Zhao Hao smiled bitterly, straightened his hair, then stood up and helped his grandfather into the bedroom.

Originally, Ye lived in the mansion, but after Zhao Xian got married, she didn't want to embarrass the bride, so she moved out. As a result, the old man had to stay alone in the empty room.

Fortunately, there are four big maids to serve me, so my feet won’t get cold at night.