Hearing about the battle between Tang and Lu, Zhao Ming felt very disappointed, but he was helpless.He had long known that these people were unreliable, but when he heard it, he was still annoyed.But he can't do anything, and he can only hope that real people with lofty ideals, like-minded people, can grow rapidly.Leaving the place where the discussion was held, Zhao Ming called Wang Deshun and Liu Si, asked the two to rebuild the Taiping camp, not to waste training, and prepared to set off for Taihu Lake, contact Wu Yi, ask for a batch of money and grain for Jintang Island, and discuss with Wu Yi to see if he has a relationship to write to Lu Jianguo, inform the Duoduo army of the danger of going south, and let Lu Jianguo give Fujian a soft face and tide over the current crisis.Although it is very unlikely that Lu Jianguo will be convinced, Zhao Ming feels that he should still try.After these two things were done, Zhao Ming was ready to go to Fujian, help Zheng Sen, hug Zheng Sen's thick legs, and ask Zheng Sen to borrow some money and food from the soldiers.After all, time is urgent, relying on one's own development, just money and food will have to worry to death, I'm afraid I won't be able to make a name for myself in a few years.A day later, Zhao Ming and Cheng Bi said goodbye to everyone on the island and went to Zhoushan Island with more than 200 stones of grain to exchange money.Liegang, on the dock built by Zhao Ming himself, Yan Yingyuan led everyone to say goodbye, "Bo'an, Cheng Yuanwai, this trip is a smooth journey, I look forward to your early return!"
”Zhao Ming and Cheng Bi hugged their fists in return, drank a bowl of tea, and jumped onto a small fortune boat.The ship hoisted its sails and anchored, the sailors used bamboo poles to support the shore, the hard sails blown by the sea breeze puffed up, and the lucky ship slowly left the dock.Zhao Ming stood at the bow of the boat, saw the wharf, waved goodbye to everyone, and suddenly saw that not far from the wharf, on a hill at the exit of Liegang, a woman was waving her arms vigorously, and her heart suddenly felt sad."
Amorous parting since ancient times!"
Cheng Bi on the side seemed to have insight into everything, he smiled at Zhao Ming, turned around and entered the cabin.Zhao Ming looked at the figure on the mountain, and suddenly shouted, "Wait for me to come back!"
”Li Zhizhi burst into tears on the mountain, and Li Langzhong, who was collecting medicine on the side, sighed and shook his head.~~~~~~ Jintang Island is not far from Zhoushan, and the Fu boat walked for half a day to reach Zhoushan.At this time, there were many more refugees gathered on Zhoushan, and the people on the island gathered, which was very difficult, and there were often robberies, and the officials and soldiers did not care much.Cheng Bi went to find someone to trade, Zhao Ming inquired about the situation near the dock, chatted with the newcomers to the island, and arranged for a brother to appoint him as the helmsman of the Zhoushan branch of the Tiandihui, and stayed in Zhoushan to inquire about the news and develop the downline.At dusk, Cheng Bi hurried back to the dock to negotiate a deal with someone.When it was dark, a wealthy gentleman came with dozens of men, brought three wooden boxes, and moved two hundred stone of grain.Zhao Ming opened the box and saw that it was filled with fifty taels of silver ingots, each box was estimated to be more than two hundred catties, and he was a little surprised.Although money is not very valuable during the war, Zhao Ming also has some understanding of the value of silver, and knows that the purchasing power of silver is still very strong, Qi Jiguang's soldiers, only one or two silver a month, if inflation is counted, it may be equal to more than a thousand yuan in later generations.Cheng Bi saw Zhao Ming's surprise and sighed: "A few years ago, when the price of grain in Jiangnan was cheap, it was difficult to exceed two taels per stone when it was expensive, but now it has risen to five or six taels in eastern Zhejiang, and thirty taels in Zhoushan. ”Cheng Bi found a rich gentleman on the island and sold it to the gentleman who fled from Songjiang to Zhoushan at a price of 30 taels per stone, and got 6,000 taels of silver.In the past, the price of grain in Jiangnan, most of the time, would not exceed two taels per stone, but now the war has risen to five or six taels per stone, and Zhoushan because of the gathering of people, and the families who can afford to flee to the island are mostly gentry and rich people, so the price of grain has risen to thirty taels."
With such a high price of grain, the people must not be able to afford it, and the government doesn't care?"
Zhao Ming frowned, less than 40,000 catties of grain were sold for 6 million, and the people had at most one or two taels of silver in their hands, mainly using copper coins, how could they have money to buy grain to eat.Cheng Bi said in a deep voice: "I can't manage it, I can't manage it, the government has no food in its hands, if the government suppresses it, it will only be more short of food."
Now the only way to do this is to let the price of grain skyrocket, and induce merchants to transport grain to the island, and when there is more grain, it will slowly come down. ”As soon as Zhao Ming heard what he said, he immediately understood that the island had limited grain, and if the government lowered the price, the smugglers on land would not come, which would only aggravate the grain shortage in Zhoushan.Zhao Ming glanced at the yellow-skinned refugees on the side of the dock, there were so many people, he wanted to help and save, but he couldn't help at all.Cheng Bi sighed and changed the subject: "I just heard a news that Lu Jianguo is preparing to attack Yuhang, and Zhejiang may be going to war.I'm going to recruit some men, buy another boat, and leave for eastern Zhejiang at once, so as not to make it difficult to buy food and supplies after the war!
”Zhao Ming's face was distorted, at this time, King Lu actually wanted to attack Yuhang, he really couldn't figure it out.Cheng Bi was born as a businessman and has a strong ability to act, and he will immediately take action when he sees an opportunity, and he will soon act on what he decides.After a short time, he used eight stones of grain to buy a small fortune boat at the wharf, and then recruited more than 30 sailors, two down-and-out scholars, gave each of them more than 40 catties of grain as a settlement fee, and signed a contract with them and recruited them into the team.There are many refugees on the island, many of whom are still scholars, as long as they have money and food, it is easy to recruit people, and those who are selected are grateful, which means that they have a chance to live, and those who are not selected can only fend for themselves.Most of the people who fled to the island were people who cherished their homeland and resisted the Qing soldiers, but Zhao Ming was unable to help them.In the early morning of the next day, as soon as the day dawned, the two lucky ships left Fuzhou, and the sailors sailed on the sea with hard bamboo sails, and within a day, they arrived in Dinghai County, Ningbo Prefecture, and the fleet hid in a harbor near Shark Mountain, where there were many ships, and there were many warehouses built by merchants next to the bay.At this time, Cheng Bi, who was standing at the bow of the ship, said: "This is an important seaport for the smuggling trade of maritime merchants in eastern Zhejiang, surrounded by the private property of the big families in eastern Zhejiang, and they have a close relationship with local officials, so the government also turns a blind eye to smuggling." ”Zhao Ming couldn't help but be a little shocked as he watched the ships coming in and out of the harbor, and there were actually Western merchant ships with slender hulls and white cloth sails.Cheng Bi continued: "Hall Master Zhao, I will buy goods directly here, after you enter the mainland, be careful. ”The smuggling trade network is meticulously divided, with merchants on land transporting goods to the bay, and merchants at sea taking money directly to buy goods, instead of using ships to stop at sea, and entering the interior to buy goods themselves.At this time, the lucky boat docked, and Zhao Ming solemnly hugged his fist to Chen Bi, "Outside the Cheng Yuan, there will be a period later." ”Cheng Bi solemnly clenched his fists, "Hall Master Zhao, cherish!"
”Zhao Ming carried a burden on his back, took a hat, flew off the boat, and slowly walked away under the gaze of Cheng Bi and others.()