Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1710 Huainan Trip Part [-]

The sudden torrential rain soon stopped.The city of Yangzhou was washed radiantly and gracefully.

Purple smoke and white pagoda, green, fat, red and thin, river like belt, green grass.

In the countryside, there are thousands of hectares of fertile fields, the color of wheat is golden, and a bumper harvest is in sight.

On the Yangtze River, the sails are dotted, thousands of miles apart, and they return in one day.

When spring comes, the warm breeze intoxicates tourists. It is said that it is this breath that left many romantic poems and romantic legends in Yangzhou.

Jiang Zuo Xingsheng, Guangling Rongle, I don't know how much masculinity was wasted.

Shao Shude has a special feeling for Yangzhou, but he also knows that he can't fill that kind of feeling in this time and space, and all he can find is loss and regret.

As far as the eye can see, there are familiar creeks and green fields, Yancun countryside and ancient painting styles of cocks and dogs, instead of the derricks, docks, ships and tall buildings that have been blurred in his memory.

Actually, that's good too, really good.

He came to the pier.

At that time, the spring was warm and the wind was warm.

A few days ago, someone advised him to come to the pier at night, so that he could see another grand scene.

Shao Shude refused.

He doesn't like the night a little bit now, because when it gets dark, he can think wildly, and his mood becomes unstable.Only during the day can he deal with many things with a more calm mind.

The pier was full of boats, forming two distinct parts.

The first part is the various ports and small rivers connecting the Yangtze River. The river is densely packed with various small boats.

The draft of the boat is very deep, and the side of the boat is not much higher than the river surface.

The cargo was heavy and covered with felt.The spring breeze raised a corner, revealing the colorful silk in the cabin.

Shao Shude boarded a high platform and raised his eyes to look into the distance.

Good guy!At the end of the small river ditch, some faint figures of ships can still be seen.The boatmen shook their oars and came slowly towards the pier.

On the wharf side, one after another small boats drove into the wharf on a first-come, first-served basis, and then unloaded and delivered.

There are those merchants who can't wait, even go through the reeds, wanting to trade directly with the merchants, so that they can hurry home.But it is not easy to calculate taxes outside, so after being advised by the tax police, he can only return to Dockside City unhappy and continue to wait.

The second part is naturally the wharf where sea ships gather.

Dashi merchants, Persian merchants, Brahmin merchants, and Japanese merchants who have become increasingly active and wealthy in recent years are looking around on the deck, sending people off the ship from time to time to ask if the goods they ordered have arrived.

Merchants who deal in meals and drinks row boats, deliver the meals on board, pay for the goods and deliver the goods.

There is a "vulgar" atmosphere of money everywhere, exciting and large-scale transactions everywhere, and happy people who are interested in money everywhere.

The businessmen speak different languages, and sometimes they don't even wait for the interpreter to translate. They talk to each other directly, reach out and gesture, and then laugh and hug, and they can even negotiate a deal.

Shao Shude looked at it from a distance for a long time and laughed out loud.

As I get older, I don't have much fun. Being able to see these scenes of sitcoms today is not in vain.

"It's not enough to have Guangzhou and Yangzhou, and Quanzhou, Mingzhou, and Haizhou have to catch up slowly." Shao Shude was tired from standing, sat back on his chair, and said, "Forget it, I also know it's a delusion, Haha. It would be nice to have two or three big ports, where the business can be centralized and the court can collect taxes conveniently.”

"Grandpa, Yangzhou is second only to Guangzhou, the second largest port in Daxia, and an important sea trade center. Last year, it received more than 80 yuan in tariffs, second only to Guangzhou's [-] yuan." Shiro Shao Guancheng said beside him.

"Have you been overwhelmed these days?" Shao Shude glanced at his son and asked.

Shao Guancheng was a little embarrassed, and said, "I quit those bad habits a long time ago."

Shao Shude snorted, and said: "Stay with Grandpa honestly, don't think about running around."

"Yes."

"Tell me, is there anything that needs to be improved in the Yangzhou Shipping Department?"

"Grandpa, this place still needs to be expanded. It's the end of February now, and Hu merchants can't delay much longer. When the sea breeze turns, they won't even be able to cry." Shao Guancheng said: "It's best to add more trestles. Recruit more laborers, recruit more calculation students, speed up delivery and accounting, so that Hu merchants can leave as soon as possible. In fact, these things are already being done."

"Do you want to praise you for your father?"

"It's okay for father to praise..."

Shao Shude's mood improved inexplicably. If this lazy bastard hadn't been talented and capable of handling things, his leg would have been broken long ago.

"Over at Fanfang, you need to coordinate more with the governor." Shao Shude said: "Daxia is not a den of robbers. You can't do things like killing people and stealing money. I have to face, and Daxia also has to face."

"Yes."

The so-called "Fanfang" is the place where Hu merchants live together.

In fact, they don't want to live together, but since the former Tang Dynasty, they have been required to live together in one place, choose their own representatives, and manage themselves.If there is any conflict, resolve it within yourself without involving others.If it can't be solved, it will be judged by the government.

Therefore, to some extent, Fanfang is a "rich district".Therefore, there are many people who covet their wealth.What Shao Shude meant was to strengthen public security management and deter Xiaoxiao.

"Are there Hu merchants who buy tea?" After talking about public security, Shao Shude mentioned another matter.

"Have."

"How is it compared to previous years?"

"This year, it has increased by more than [-]%."

"Why the increase?" Shao Shude asked, "Is there any investigation?"

"When I heard about it, I also felt a little strange. Although the sales of tea have been increasing these years, it is really slow, and in some years it will even decline." Shao Guancheng said: "I asked a familiar Hu businessman, and their The answer is more interesting..."

"Shouldn't you be keeping secrets with grandpa?" Shao Shude said after glaring at him.

Shao Guancheng sneered, and said: "A Persian Hu merchant mentioned that the king's master fought fiercely with the Saman dynasty for several years, and he won many battles. It is rumored that he drank tea, so he has infinite strength and sharp ears. Although it is nonsense, But many people became interested in tea, so they bought more and went back to sell it.”

"There are also Dashi merchants who think this is a very good medicinal material, which is unique to Daxia and is very precious. I don't know what they think, I feel like they are in a daze."

"The third type of people is because of their admiration for Huafeng. After hearing that the officials and dignitaries love to drink tea, they buy it in large quantities and return it to the nobles, officials and even the king."

"There is also a group of people who have lived in Daxia for a long time. They themselves love to drink tea. Based on their preference, they plan to go back to China to promote it. At least they have to let their relatives and friends taste it."

Shao Guancheng listed four categories, and Shao Shude nodded his head after listening to it, expressing his approval.

He knows that things in the world often have quite complicated factors.

To put it bluntly, the influence of the country has increased.

If there is no such nonsense legend as drinking tea with infinite power, if there is no victory on the battlefield of the Great Xia Imperial Army, and if it spreads to all the "fan towns" in Dashi territory, would such a thing happen?

The greater your influence and strength, the easier it is for others to accept your things.

If the empire he built can continue to maintain a strong civilization and expanding influence, tea sales will only get better and better.

In fact, not only tea, but also other commodities.

Shao Shude has known for a long time that some Hu merchants like to buy handicrafts with Chinese characteristics to take back and sell them at high prices.Just like Central Plains also buys exotic armor and handicrafts, everyone is curious about the outside world and willing to learn about each other's culture. If the family has spare money, they don't mind buying some to come back to appreciate and play with.

In this process, the party with a stronger culture buys less.

The party with a weak culture buys more.

If the culture is extremely weak, then you can't wait to imitate the other party's way of life.

Influence, also called soft power, is an important part of national power.If used well, it has the power to turn decay into magic.

According to Shao Shude's understanding, Great Xia is still very strong in this regard.

For example, a Dashi businessman specially went to the place where the porcelain was produced, talked with the porcelain merchant and the kiln owner alone, and customized a batch of porcelain with Chinese elements and relatively in line with Dashi’s aesthetics according to his personal requirements—mainly reflected in the pattern.

Of course, some people also order specifically the porcelain of the creator element, these are the directions that have risen in recent years.

It is a well-known fact that handicrafts are easy to sell and the profits are insanely high.

But how to sell the handicrafts at a high price is the skill.

This requires the cooperation of national influence.

Once the country weakens, these transactions will inevitably be affected.

Therefore, weakness must be all-round weakness, there is no doubt about it.

"For the tea business, you should think of a way." Shao Shude urged: "You can't ruin your reputation. If this business lasts for a long time, it will be a big deal, and there will be big profits in it. Not only the market will benefit, but also the various tea farms. Big gain."

"Yes." Shao Guancheng replied.

He knew that some Hu merchants were as cunning as ghosts. They bought the worst tea and sold it as the top tea when they returned home, which simply ruined the reputation of Daxia Tea.But this matter is not easy to manage, because you don't know who it is sold to.

The only solution is to continuously increase the sales of tea and sell all kinds of tea. Over time, there will be fewer deceptions.

"Yangzhou is a good place." Shao Shude stood up and looked into the distance.

The blue sky, without a cloud, the bright sun shines on this ancient city.

Once upon a time, there were repeated wars and fires here, and there were endless chaos.

When Cai thief Sun Ru occupied Yangzhou, he even sold human flesh on the street.

After Cai Zeiping was destroyed, Yangzhou took a difficult step and retook the development mileage.

The tide of the river rises and falls. After 30 years, Yangzhou has taken on a completely new look.

Zooming in to the entire long river of history, the land of China has experienced vicissitudes, the heaven and the earth have traveled against each other, and generations have passed by.After all the dust has settled, the people living on this land are still so tenacious.

I'm just a passerby.

Shao Shude felt emotional in his heart, but he would try his best to leave his mark.

(There are more things tonight, the chapter in the early morning will be updated tomorrow)

(End of this chapter)