The bleating sheep were herded through the city gate of Fushun Pass. Zhou Qingfeng came down from the top of the city gate and frowned when he saw the sheep. "These sheep are too skinny. Do we really have to eat their bones?"
Wang Kai Fatty Wang wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and ran over happily from outside the pass. He smiled and said, "Lord Baihu, I've negotiated with the Hada Tribe. They'll send another two hundred sheep in a few days."
Zhou Qingfeng was dissatisfied. He pointed at the sheep in front of him and said, "Two hundred is not a lot. If they're all skinny like this, what's the use of them?"
"It's cheap. A sheep only costs three taels of silver. This is already a rare low price." Wang Kai's round face was wrinkled from smiling. He said awkwardly, "The roads in the north are hard to travel on. These sheep came along the way. They'll lose weight after two or three days of walking. They all end up like this in our hands. "
Zhou Qingfeng was dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do. No matter how strong a person was, they still had to eat and poop. No matter how strong a force was, they could not change the natural environment. After settling Li Yongfang, he gained power in Fushun. Settling the money-making treasure allowed him to raise enough funds. However, if he wanted to get a large amount of meat, he could only buy it from the Jurchens and Mongolians in the north.
It was up to him whether he wanted it or not. Sheep were just that skinny.
"Wasn't the Hada Tribe already annexed by Jianzhou?" Zhou Qingfeng asked with a frown.
"But the Hada Tribe also wants tea leaves and cloth." Wang Kai smiled.
"Can you get horses from the Hada Tribe?"
"They said that if you don't give them ironware, they won't give you horses."
F * ck …!
The Han people's land was mostly used to grow crops. There was no extra space for raising horses. The barbarians in the north were poorer. However, they had large grasslands that could provide cheap food for horses. Originally, it was the Han people who used ironware to exchange for horses. However, now that Zhou Qingfeng had imposed a trade blockade, he was determined not to give the enemy ironware. Therefore, the Female Enlightened Master did not give Zhou Qingfeng a horse.
Zhou Qingfeng wanted to turn his forces into horses and mules. Not only did he have to solve the needs of the hundreds of large livestock for the Imperial Guard, but he also had to solve the needs of the other workshops, transportation, farming, and other animal labor.
The carrying capacity of horses and carriages far exceeded that of an individual, so the Administrative Division's preliminary estimate was that roughly two thousand horses were needed to provide sufficient transport capacity for the entire group's southward migration. Otherwise, if they had to walk on foot, a bunch of weak people would die of exhaustion. Even if they died of exhaustion, they wouldn't be able to walk far.
"Has the relationship between Tieling and Northern Pass been smoothed out?" Zhou Qingfeng asked again.
"I've sent people, but Ma Lin, the commander-in-chief of Kaiyuan, demanded half of the goods. Otherwise, he wouldn't let us pass." Wang Kai was also distressed.
The purpose of clearing the Northern Pass was to open up the trade route to the Yehe tribe. Zhou Qingfeng had not contacted He Zhuo and Ice Phoenix recently, so he was not clear about their current situation. Now that he was short of horses, he naturally thought of asking He Zhuo for help. After all, compared to Jianzhou, which was good at fighting on foot, the Yehe tribe, which had been transformed from the Mongolians, was better at raising horses. However, Fushun was too far away from Yehe.
"Ma Lin, this bastard." Zhou Qingfeng cursed in a low voice.
Ma Lin was a typical example of a tiger father and a dog son. His father, Ma Fang, was one of the rare frontier generals of the Ming Dynasty who had a positive sense of attack. In the end, he raised a son who was' good at literature, good at poetry, and had friends with many famous scholars'. A good general had unexpectedly become a scholar. This guy had a lot of strange deeds.
So what if Zhou Qingfeng was strong? He couldn't possibly run to Kaiyuan and hammer Ma Lin to death. At present, in order to get enough horses, he could only compromise with Ma Lin. So he told Wang Kai, "Give Ma Lin money and let him put the goods over. He doesn't want the horses, he just wants the money. You don't need to run away, let Mr. Zeng go. "
Zhou Qingfeng looked back at the old man who had previously reported to him. The old man whispered 'yes' and no longer spoke. Wang Kai saw that the old man's face was twitching. He was obviously smiling, but it couldn't hide the anger in his heart.
This Mr. Zeng's full name was Zeng Shiqi. He used to be Wang Kai's housekeeper. When Li Yongfang set a trap for Zhou Qingfeng, this Fushun native took the initiative to find Zhou Qingfeng and report the situation. He wanted Zhou Qingfeng to save the people of the city and not let Li Yongfang and Wang Kai mess around.
Not long ago, Wang Kai returned to Fushun from Shenyang and took over the position of chief of the Department of Commerce and Trade of the Administrative Department. Steward Zeng, who had caused all of his schemes to fail on the verge of success, became the spy that Zhou Qingfeng had placed in the Department of Commerce and Trade — he was a hundred times more worried about this slippery fellow, Wang Kai. But with Wang Kai's connections and ability, it would be a pity not to use this person.
Looking at Wang Kai's angry face, Zhou Qingfeng coldly said, "Wang Yuanwai, I'll say it again. Today is different from the past. Liaodong is about to be in chaos. Smart people should rely on real powerful forces. Now that I'm in charge of Fushun, I'll make it clear that Mr. Zeng is my man in the Department of Commerce and Trade. If something happens to him, I'll hold you responsible. "
Most of the people in the Department of Commerce and Trade were Wang Kai's men. If he secretly caused trouble for Zhou Qingfeng, it would be too easy. In order to contain him, Zhou Qingfeng specially cultivated Old Zeng's power. In any case, the two were like fire and water, and they were particularly familiar with each other. It was convenient for Zhou Qingfeng to control them.
Wang Kai could only smile, but his heart was also sullen. Some time ago, he received a letter from Zhou Qingfeng and rushed back to Fushun in half a day. Zhou Qingfeng met him immediately and returned all the assets in the city. But Zhou Qingfeng forcibly placed Steward Zeng, who had betrayed him, into the department. This was too disgusting.
But Wang Kai could only accept his fate. Putting aside the matter of Steward Zeng, Zhou Qingfeng was in charge of Fushun, which was very good for business. The officials did not dare to casually eat and drink, and the filial piety given to the officials was all withdrawn. In order to attract merchants, Zhou Qingfeng did not even collect taxes. He sold fairly and everyone praised him.
Zhou Qingfeng, who had raised five hundred thousand taels of silver, was like a black hole, constantly devouring all kinds of goods. Wang Kai was in charge of the Department of Commerce and Trade, and Zhou Qingfeng's needs were taken care of by him. He was both an official and a businessman, making money very well. Out of the five hundred thousand taels of silver, he would earn at least one hundred thousand taels.
"Wang Kai, go and talk to the Perfected Lady of the Northern Lands. Other than the various livestock, I also want fur. Ask them to send me as much as they have. The price can be raised by twenty percent. "Zhou Qingfeng began to place orders again." Also send as many medicinal herbs from the Northern Lands as you can, the more the better. It's best to deliver the goods within this month. "
Wang Kai nodded and left to carry out the order.
The Deputy Chief of the Department of Commerce, Ceng Shiqi, reminded him in a low voice, "Sir Baihu, Wang Kai has recently given all the goods you want to buy to his own shop. I'm afraid it's not appropriate if you wait too long."
Zhou Qingfeng chuckled, "You also know that Nurhachi could attack at any time. At this time, is money more important or goods more important? Right now, I can't wait to spend all the money I have in exchange for various goods. As for Wang Kai, as long as he can quickly purchase the goods and let him earn some money, it's not a big deal. In the future …, it won't be so easy to earn money. "
Hearing Zhou Qingfeng's words, Ceng Shiqi was completely relieved. After all, as an enemy of Zhou Qingfeng, he had carefully studied him. He knew that although this young man in front of him looked frivolous and frivolous, he rarely made mistakes in his calculations.
"Right, does Wang Kai have a caravan with a lot of people in his hands?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.
Ceng Shiqi responded with a 'yes' and explained in detail, "Wang Kai made his fortune with caravans. In the past, there were only a few carriages and horses that used fixed trade routes. Wang Kai put in a lot of effort to build a caravan with thousands of people. He has warehouses all over Liaodong. When people find out that he can transport goods quickly and cheaply, Wang Kai's business will naturally flourish. "
"Amazing, amazing." Zhou Qingfeng was not stingy with his praise, "Wang Yuanwai has long understood the principle of channels being king. Do you think it's possible for me to take in Wang Kai's caravan? "
Ceng Shiqi shook his head, "Lord Baihu, you shouldn't force him too much. Wang Kai would rather give up his business, but he will never give up his caravan. As long as he has a caravan, he can prosper again. "
"Then, do you know how to operate a caravan?" Zhou Qingfeng asked Ceng Shiqi with a smile.
Wang Kai's housekeeper smiled bitterly. Since Zhou Qingfeng asked this, he definitely couldn't say that he didn't know. But this would make him and Wang Kai even more at odds, and the two families would probably fight for the rest of their lives.
"You can be another Officer Zeng." Zhou Qingfeng said frankly, "I don't have anyone on hand to do business, so I forced you to make up the numbers. Once I train my subordinates, I will naturally let you go. By then, if the Zeng family doesn't have some power, won't they be bullied to death by the Wang family? Now, I will provide the money and manpower, and you will manage the caravan. How about it? "
Since things had come to this, Ceng Shiqi hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Lord Baihu is so kind, how can I not follow your orders?"
"First, send someone to the Yehe tribe, and think of a way to get Commander Ma Lin to let us buy the horses. In addition, send someone to Lu Shun, and find a way to Lu Shun. I sent someone before, but they never came back. I don't know what happened on the road. "Zhou Qingfeng said.
Ceng Shiqi could roughly guess that Zhou Qingfeng wanted to move, so he immediately reminded him, "If you want to go to Lu Shun, why don't you take the water route? From the Hun River to the Liao River, from the Liao River to the sea, then to Lu Shun. The water route is much faster and safer than the land route. "
On a long journey, a person could only carry 20 to 30 kilograms of supplies at most. This included food and water, so they could not carry much at all. A horse could carry a hundred kilograms, and a two-wheeled carriage could carry half a ton. But an ordinary cargo ship could carry at least a few tons, or even tens of tons.
Ships could use the power of the water to greatly reduce physical exertion. Ancient cities were often built next to a river, and the convenience of the water route could bring great benefits.
Zhou Qingfeng said in distress, "I also thought of taking the water route, but I couldn't get a ship. And I couldn't find a sailor who could sail. "
"Wang Kai has one."
"Damn …. This guy even has a fleet? How does he have everything? "
"It's not a fleet, it's a cargo ship with two hundred tons of materials. If Lord asked him for this cargo ship, he would probably agree. "
Two hundred tons of materials? 'Material' was the unit of load for ships in ancient China, one material was about ninety kilograms. Two hundred tons of materials was not even ten tons. This was a very small boat. But the transport capacity of such a small boat was equivalent to a fleet of twenty to thirty carriages. The advantage of shipping was very obvious.
Ceng Shiqi continued, "This boat was bought by Wang Kai, and the crew was hired from the Dengzhou Navy. If Lord wants the boat or the crew, just spend money to hire them from Dengzhou. The poor soldiers of the Dengzhou Navy are also bitter, as long as you give them enough money, everything is negotiable. The only worry is that the navy is also a pirate. If you want to have a safe journey on the boat, you have to use some tricks. "
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