Overlord's Road to Ancient Emperors

The weather is getting hotter, and the ships that went to Beidi to buy wool arrived in Fujian in mid-June. There were three big ships carrying tens of thousands of catties of wool, and there was a long queue when the trucks were transported to Fujian.

The people along the way are spreading rumors that King Shun brought back a lot of wool from the Northland, and they don't know what it was used for. It can't be food, right?

Lei Yang ran in sweating profusely, and muttered loudly: "My lord, what a happy event, guess what you brought back this time?"

Li Xu got the news and was about to go out when he saw Lei Yang running in, so he stopped and asked someone to pour him a glass of water, and waited for the other party to tell him happily. "These boys are capable. They brought back twenty horses from the Xiongnu. They are all adult males and mares. They can be bred after a period of time."

This is indeed good news, but taking care of horses is not as easy as raising chickens and ducks, especially when these horses are transported back from a long distance, it is not known whether they are sick along the way, and the environment is too surprising, so they may not be able to adapt to South Vietnam life.

But being able to bring it back is a good thing. Back then Lei Yang also brought a boatload of cattle and sheep back, but they ate them all on the way. Even if they didn't eat them, few of them could be brought back alive.

"Let's go and have a look together."

"Here, the boat stopped at the pier. Thanks to you telling them to go by sea, they groped along the coast all the way southward, without any danger, and the speed was much faster."

After leaving the gate, Li Xu went to the next door to call for Kou Xiao, but the war horse was still left to Kou Xiao to raise himself, he was at a loss for spare parts.

As soon as Kou Xiao heard that there was a war horse, he immediately changed into a Hu suit and rode his horse all the way to the pier, leaving Li Xu behind.

Seeing this, Lei Yang carefully peeked at King Shun's face, and explained to Kou Xiao: "The general is a horse lover, so I am very excited to hear that there are war horses, ha ha."

Li Xu was happy to leave him alone, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable being stared at by the other party's fiery eyes, "I understand." He found that the Lei family really supported Kou Xiao. From Lei Ming to Lei Yang, they seemed to regard Kou Xiao Xiao looked at him as his own, and he was in awe.

Although the Lei family is doing business with him now, Li Xu has no doubt that if they were asked to take a position between the two, more than half of them would take Kou Xiao.

Seeing that he was really not angry, Lei Yang felt that the prince was really a broad-minded person. He was worried that Prince Shun and General Kou would get into a deadlock before, but now it seems that he was worrying too much.

"After this batch of wool is transported back, it will be cleaned up first. There is no rush to do it. My king will send someone to modify the spinning wheel. Then we will see if the wool thread can be spun out."

"Wool thread?" Lei Yang has been in the cloth business, so he knows what kind of thing it is after a little deliberation. He laughed, "If wool can be spun into thread, then it can also be woven into cloth. I don't know what kind of cloth this is. Look, it should be very warm in winter!"

"Yes, it is light and warm. It may be difficult to make cloth. It should not be difficult to weave sweaters and scarves after being spun into threads." Li Xu never underestimated the creativity of the people of this era, but he also did not overestimate their level. As long as weaving wool improves A spinning wheel can do it, but when it comes to making wool, it cannot be done by a spinning wheel.

From Minzhou to the port, it only took half an hour by carriage, and the road repaired in the first half was not bumpy at all. When Lei Yang got off the car, he even thought they were just taking a break.

Seeing the vast sea and the busy scene of the port, he muttered, "It's already here." He turned his head to look at Li Xu, and bowed deeply to him, "My lord, you will never forget the great kindness you gave to Nanyue, Lei. "

Li Xu smiled at the corner of his mouth, accepted his worship, looked at the crowd in the distance and said: "It's hard to say whether a big favor is not a big favor, this king is not purely for the people, but just to make my life better. "

Lei Yang followed him to the pier. Minzhou's pier was half completed, and there were more than a dozen large ships docking at the port. Lei Yang could tell at a glance that the cargo ship belonged to Lei's family, and the other ships were newly built seagoing ships. I heard that it has gone to sea for sea trials several times, and it belongs to the Wangfu.

Those few ships are really big, the three ships of Lei Mansion look a little pitiful in the middle, he said excitedly: "My lord, there are so many big ships that are enough to transport our goods to the north."

"These ships are intended to be used in the navy, and you will be able to see the difference if you take a closer look."

The two of them stepped forward, and the boat of Lei's family was unloading. Dozens of porters were gathered. Bags of wool were carried off the boat and loaded onto hand trucks, and then transported back to the city by these workers. There is also a lot of money earned.

This team of porters was built by Lei Luo. At first, it was just to carry goods for his own business. Later, when there were more ships on the dock, he saw a business opportunity and specialized in unloading goods for others.

Li Xu bought iron wood from Wang Yonglian back then, and later Master Wang not only refunded his money, but also gave him a generous gift, asking Li Xu to let his family's boat stay at the pier.

Li Xu's original intention of building the port was to facilitate transportation, and it was naturally open to everyone, but other people didn't know it, thinking it was King Shun's private property, and they had to pay for it if they wanted to borrow it.

This is also very good. At this time, there is no concept of the government serving the people. When the government builds a road, they all think that the government will use it to collect fees. Li Xu did not correct it. Building a port is also a large expenditure. How could he do it if someone sent money to invest? reject.

Lei Luo saw the prince and his father from afar, striding over, showing his white teeth when he smiled. "My lord, you are here. Half of the wool has been unloaded, and it will take two days to transport it all back to the city."

"You haven't been home for several days, you've been hiding here." Lei Yang asked with a straight face.

Lei Luo was not afraid of his father at all, and said with a smile: "Did father miss his son? These days, my son and a few cousins ​​have bought some seafood from the seaside, and are going to take them to the Northland for sale when the ship returns."

Lei Yang used to bring seafood to the Northlands. These sea foods have salt content, and they can be eaten after steaming and boiling. There is no need to add salt. Therefore, many people will buy some and store them at home. It is just the smell of seafood The taste is too strong, not everyone can accept it.

Li Xu was very interested in this, and asked him: "What kind of goods have you bought? If there is space on the ship, I will send a batch of goods there first."

"My lord was joking. The few of us are just earning a small amount of money. We don't have much. It's probably enough to build a boat."

Li Xu stroked his chin and thought for a while, then called Lei Luo to him, whispered a few words into his ear, and then said, "You can't get much money by transporting food, you still have to sell luxury goods."

Lei Luo nodded in agreement, but their juniors don't have much private money and can't afford luxury goods. The prince asked him to go to the glass factory to deliver the goods tomorrow, but he didn't say what it was. He only told him to keep it secret. I don't know what kind of rare treasure .

What Li Xu wants to sell this time is of course glass products, more than half of them are glass cups, and there are also some glass decorations. Among them is a set of jugs and wine glasses with the least flaws, which he plans to give to the Hu merchant who sold iron last time.

"Who is going this time?" It took more than half a year for South Vietnam to go back and forth to the North, and not everyone could bear it.

"It's my second brother, and a cousin, what do you think?" Lei Luo glanced at his father, saw that he was frowning and wanted to speak, so he quickly stopped him, "Father, you are too old to travel far."

Li Xu patted Lei Yang on the shoulder, "Lei Luo is right, but the weight of the two young people is too light, we still have to find a middle-aged steward to support the facade." As for the candidates, he didn't know for a while. Think about who is right for you.

The available stewards around me are all arranged in various factories, and they lack a little courage when they are sent out to do business, and those who have the courage are still out of town and haven't come back.

"No hurry, it will take a few days before we can leave, I will look for it later."

After a while, Li Xu saw Kou Xiao leading a group of people over, each of them was holding a horse, and he himself was holding a maroon horse.

Lei Luo's eyes lit up when he saw the horse, "After two years, the villain will go to the Northland himself, and bring back a rare horse for himself."

Lei Yang knew how difficult it is to keep these northern BMWs, so he cursed: "You still want to tame the rare horses, but did your little dog ride well?"

When Kou Xiao walked in front of him, Li Xu saw clearly that the horse he was holding was trying to run away impatiently, but Kou Xiao held him tight so he couldn't run away. Except for this horse, the rest of the horses were a little bit embarrassed.

Kou Xiao's face was radiant, and he grinned when he saw Li Xu, "My lord, these ponies are the last ones, my Xiaobai is too old to run anymore."

"You have to ask Master Lei Si about the horse his people brought back."

Before Kou Xiao could speak, Lei Yang hurriedly said: "You're joking, these horses are naturally to be handed in, the general can take them away if he likes them, and take away the others as well, I have no ability to raise these horses well."

"Then thank you, Mr. Lei, I owe you the money first, and I will pay you back when I have money."

Lei Yang shied away, waited for Kou Xiao to stare at him before shutting his mouth, thinking: Why can't this gift be sent out?

In fact, he bought these horses specially on behalf of the steward. Although he was not sure if he could bring them back alive, he knew that General Kou liked them.

Kou Xiao led the horse away, and Li Xu went to the boat to look at the wool. The wool piled up in the cabin had been retting for a month, and the smell was very unpleasant. Yinzi, "Thank you for your hard work, go back and rest, someone will take care of the rest."

The steward who was in charge won the prince's hard work, tears filled his eyes with the five taels of silver reward, and even the real master left with joy without even saying a word of greeting.

"My lord, let's go back too, as long as there is a mistress here."

Li Xu's mouth twitched when he heard him address Lei Luo, "I'm at ease with Lei Luo, but this is just unloading, there's no need for him to watch, the king has other things to tell him."

Lei Yang called his son over, and Li Xu glanced at this energetic young man, and ordered, "You help me run a trip, and send the eight ships from the shipyard to the Zhangyi Naval Base and hand them over to Vice Admiral Jia. "

This matter sounds simple, but it is definitely a heavy responsibility. Lei Luo was overjoyed, "I will deliver it as ordered."

"Then send a letter to Director Liu and Vice Admiral Jia for the king, and tell them that from the end of this month to the end of August, all sea trips will be suspended for two months. Summer is the season of typhoons, so let them stay away."

People who are used to typhoons at the seaside know that Lei Luo knows the importance of the matter, and immediately went to find someone to hand over the ship.

Li Xu called him to stop, "From Minzhou to Zhangyi, it takes only one day to travel by sea. You wait for the wool to be unloaded, take this ship, and return by sea, which is faster."

"Here."

Li Xu took Lei Yang up to the warship and walked around. He had been on this ship for the first time on its trial voyage. Even as a modern person, he was used to all kinds of luxury cruise ships, but he was shocked by the ship under his feet. arrive.

This ship is all wooden, with a huge shape, a wide top, a raised bow and tail, and guard plates on both sides. It is very similar to the warships in the movies and TV dramas that Li Xu has seen.

Mr. Qin was by his side, and every time someone came, he couldn't help boasting: "This ship can accommodate about a hundred people, and it has three floors. The upper floor is used as a terrace for soldiers to arrange troops. The first floor is the dormitories of the soldiers, and the bottom floor is the warehouse. The hull is wide and strong. I dare not say that it is not afraid of wind and waves, but it will never turn over in small winds and waves. There are also sails like shutters, which were suggested by the prince last time. It is indeed easier to use than canvas after being modified, this is the first one built under your feet, and some improvements have been made in the details of the subsequent ones.”

Lei Yang was dumbfounded. He always knew that King Shun wanted to develop shipping, and he was also a person who had tasted the sweetness of shipping. But he didn't expect that the shipyard would be able to build such a big ship in a short time. Looking at this ship from a distance, he felt It is big. When I got on the boat, I found that besides being big, it is also extremely exquisite. There is even a cute little lion standing on each railing. No wonder the prince attaches great importance to craftsmen, which is really impressive.

Seeing him staring at the carvings on the fence, Elder Qin coughed awkwardly, "This is the unintentional work of a few craftsmen, and later ships don't have these decorations."

It's no wonder that he built the boat so beautifully at the beginning. The prince hired him to build the boat. He thought it was a boat used by the royal family. Naturally, the more beautiful the better, the decorative painting on the boat alone cost hundreds of carpenters. After half a month of meticulous work, he was scolded by Shun Wang and half a month's bonus was deducted.

Carving these decorative paintings on sea ships is not only easy to accumulate dust and waste wood, but also easy to cause accidental injuries. If you have that kind of thought, it is better to think about how to make the ship bigger and more stable.

Li Xu didn't stay at the pier for a long time. After watching the ship, he went to the shipyard. The number of craftsmen here has increased to 150, and there are nearly a hundred apprentices and more than 100 workers. In just a few months, there were eight majestic and majestic sea ships.

After a routine inspection and a few words of encouragement, the good eloquence Li Xu had cultivated when he was doing business in the past was also reflected at this time. A few words inspired the fighting spirit of the craftsmen, and it was guaranteed that a ship would be built for a long-distance voyage by the end of the year. The ship is coming.

It was already dark when we returned to the city from the pier. As soon as we entered the city, we encountered three thieves who were being arrested by patrolling government officials and were about to be taken to prison for interrogation.

Sitting on the carriage, Li Xu opened the curtains and glanced casually, his eyes suddenly changed, "Stop!"

Wu Jin hastily tightened the reins, and Lei Yang bumped his head in the carriage. Before asking what happened, Li Xu opened the door curtain and jumped out of the carriage.

He was about to go down, saw a few strangers outside the window, hesitated for a while and thought it was unnecessary, the lord has not been in South Vietnam for a long time, it must be a private matter if he encounters urgent matters, it is better for him to hear less and see less.

Wu Jin drove the carriage to the side of the road and stopped. Seeing that He Zun was following closely behind the prince, he didn't go forward either.

"Boss Wu." Lei Yang got out of the carriage, sat outside the door with Wu Jin, and chatted with the young boy.

He had met Wu Jin on the road back then, the young boy was taciturn, and he often hid in the corner with another boy of a different race, did not grab food, and was always crowded in the crowd when he was on the road. Who would have thought that it was only half a year, and his The stature and temperament have undergone earth-shaking changes.

In terms of training people, the prince is still the best, so Lei Yang sent his three sons to Li Xu with great confidence. After a few years, the achievements of his three sons will definitely be as good as him.

"Master Lei." Wu Jin knew the importance of Lei Yang to King Shun. It can be said that King Shun's business started with Lei Yang, so no one dared to underestimate this businessman.

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"Stop." Li Xu walked up to the group of yamen servants and blocked their way.

Li Xu is now recognized by everyone in Minzhou, the yamen servants naturally recognized him at a glance, and hurriedly knelt down to salute.

Li Xu said, "Excuse me." Walking into the crowd, he lifted the chin of one of the thieves, stared at his dark green eyes, and asked, "Ge Jiu, why are you here?"

It turned out that when Li Xu raised the curtains, he saw that one of the three thieves was unusually tall, his hair was not black, and he could recognize him as a foreigner just by looking at his side face, and it was Ge Jiu who he had bought back then. .

He thought that the Ge Jiu brothers and sisters either drowned after falling into the water, or took the opportunity to escape. He didn't expect to see him again in Minzhou. To be honest, at this moment, Li Xu hoped that he came to find him, which meant that he I didn't buy the wrong person in the first place.

"My lord... my lord." Ge Jiu was obviously taken aback. He had lost a lot of weight, his face was weathered from hard work, and his back was a little hunched. He hadn't seen him for half a year, and the once handsome young man looked a little embarrassed.

Li Xu didn't look at him anymore, but asked the leading yamen servant: "What happened to these three people?"

The yamen servant replied respectfully: "When the subordinates passed the Fulai Restaurant just now, they saw the three of them turn out from the window of the back kitchen, and each of them had food in their hands. The staff of the restaurant also confirmed that they stole Take the food."

As soon as Li Xu saw the three people lowering their heads, he knew it was true. He must be extremely hungry to steal food, otherwise ordinary thieves would also go for money.

"Give the people to the king first, and let them take them to the Yamen to serve their sentences tomorrow."

"You're serious. You just stole a few dishes. If it weren't for this foreigner, I would have released him just because I wanted to do a few tricks. Since you know him, you can just take it away."

"What food did they steal?" Li Xu always dealt with business, and Ge Jiu was not considered close to him, so he wouldn't make an exception for him.

Several yamen servants showed dumbfounding expressions on their faces, and the leader said with a smile: "Fulai Restaurant will send the leftover dishes to the Salesian Bureau every day, and the back kitchen is full of preparations for tomorrow's use." Vegetables, and a pot of Buddha jumping over the wall simmered in a simmering fire, which Master Lei ordered tomorrow, they ate half of the pot, and put a bowl in a bowl, and the others stole a few eggs."

Li Xu's eyelids twitched a few times when he thought of the price of the Buddha jumping over the wall. These three people were unlucky enough. What's wrong with stealing food? If you want to eat such expensive food, the crime of stealing in the law is calculated according to the amount.

The yamen servants thought in their hearts that a few poor people could steal the legendary Buddha jumping over the wall and make a lot of money.

"Okay, I know, I'll send it to the yamen tomorrow." After finishing speaking, He Zun pressed the three of them to leave.

When he got home, Li Xu asked He Zun to interrogate Ge Jiu and the three of them separately. He went to take a shower first, changed his clothes and read a book in the study before seeing He Zun come in to answer.

"Are you clear?" he asked.

He Zun nodded, "They didn't intend to hide it, they were ordinary tramps who fled from Yangzhou Mansion together. Ge Jiu was rescued after falling into the water. His sister disappeared at that time, so he stayed nearby and searched for two. A few months later, someone told him that he had seen a girl with a similar appearance being abducted, and he chased after her. It was not until two months ago that he found her sister, who was said to have been sold to a high-ranking official's house as a slave. The senior official fell in love with her, and planned to keep her as a concubine for a few years, but Ge Jiu had no money to redeem her, so he had to steal her out and run away.

The subordinates felt that he might not have wanted to come to South Vietnam in the first place, but that this place is remote, and most people would not come here, and you are also here, and you can have someone to take refuge in.The other two were homeless men he met on the road, each committed a crime, his subordinates asked carefully, they were all forced to go south when they had nowhere to go, and then they met Ge Jiu and went on the road together, they just entered Minzhou City For two days, I came out to steal something to eat when I was really hungry. "

"Did he look for this king in the past two days?"

"I said that I went to the palace a few times, but seeing the people coming and going, I knew that you couldn't live there, and I was afraid that I would be arrested as a gangster if I asked, so I didn't dare to ask anyone. I guess it was the truth. A person's appearance, if you come to the door with a lot of fanfare, you will probably be arrested."

Li Xu shook his head and smiled wryly, "I'm so hungry that I want to steal something to eat, it's better to be arrested, at least someone will come to this king to ask, why did I get to this point today."

He Zun thought about it too, but thinking about it from another angle, if it was him, he probably wouldn't have the face to come to him.

"Do you think he is useful?" Ge Jiu's contract of sale is still in his hands. If Li Xu doesn't want to use this person, he can resell him, or tear up the contract of sale and let him go.

He believed that after leaving the palace, Ge Jiu's life would not be much better than it is now.

When I came to Minzhou City, I would still steal food because I was hungry. You must know that there are job recruitment projects everywhere in the city and outside the city. As long as you are willing to sell your labor, you will have no problem eating. This Ge Jiu was too defensive. Inquire about these, or just don't want to.

"An unfaithful person is useless to ask for it." No matter how strong Ge Jiu is, just the fact that he abandoned the prince is enough to be sentenced to death.

"Where's his sister?"

"In a ruined temple outside the city, people have been sent to pick them up. How do you plan to arrange them?"

Li Xu didn't think much about it at all, and said: "Take the three of them to the yamen tomorrow, and serve as long as they should for the crime of theft, and tell them that those who are willing to work after serving hard labor can arrange jobs for them, and those who don't want to do it themselves , As for Ge Jiu's younger sister, she will be sent to the Salesian Bureau to help with laundry and cooking, and she will be sent back to Ge Jiu after serving her sentence."

He Zun understood that it was because the prince was not going to use Ge Jiu again. Speaking of which, the prince was kind enough to not pursue him for the crime of running away from a slave.