From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 423

Coming to Guangdong from afar was not a sudden decision, but a decision made after many considerations.

First, Guangdong is a remote place with a long distance to the emperor. Jinyiwei and Nei Tingsi do not have sufficient manpower and a mature system scale here, so it is relatively safe to operate here.

Second, at the beginning of the year, Zhou Yuan was worried about the military pay of the five military camps. At that time, he had the idea of ​​making money, so he started to cooperate with Shanxi merchants and planted many seeds here, which are now taking root and sprouting.

Third, this is the only environment that is currently semi-connected with the world. Although the maritime ban policy is still strict, smuggling among the people has been repeatedly banned, and finally formed a basic pattern of official ban and private flow.

The sprouts of capitalism are developing rapidly here and growing continuously. The rise of private enterprises, the decline of official enterprises, the formation of employment relations and the maturity of the free market have created a lot of business opportunities here.

Zhou Yuan came here this time to expand these things comprehensively and form a long-term, virtuous cycle of making money.

Of course, there is another point, which is also the most critical point. Zhou Yuan has coveted the Portuguese cannon and the firearm for too long. The Shanxi merchants and the Chaozhou merchants have communicated many times but failed to get it. This time Zhou Yuan personally went out to get it.

Without the blessing of the Portuguese cannon and the firearm, it is almost impossible to withstand the pressure of the Eastern Tartars. This is a matter of interlocking things.

On the morning of September 15, Zhou Yuan woke up from the bed and heard the noisy sound outside.

The winter in the south is not cold. He just put on a piece of clothes and came to the deck.

He saw the busy dock, countless workers carrying and unloading goods, and a large number of materials were loaded and unloaded on the ship.

The policy is so tight, but it is so busy here. In fact, it just shows that the strict rules can no longer shackle people's living needs. It is time to change the world.

"It must be collusion between officials and businessmen!"

Zhuang Xuansu was very unhappy and said coldly: "If there is no one above to make the decision, these vendors would not dare to smuggle even if they have ten thousand guts."

"I really don't know how much silver they pay to the superiors every year to be so blatant."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "Master Zhuang is really dedicated. He is still here to share the worries of His Majesty. It's a pity that even if you chop off their heads, you can't stop their desire to get rich."

Zhuang Xuansu snorted heavily and said disdainfully: "That's the problem of the government here. As long as the punishment is in place, who dares to risk losing their heads to get rich?"

Zhou Yuan said lightly: "However, the fundamental purpose of the policy is to implement it. Isn't it for the sake of national prosperity and people's strength? Why not do something that can create benefits? Moreover, this is not the benefit of a few people, but the benefit of the general public. "

Zhuang Xuansu raised his eyebrows and said, "I won't argue with you. I only know that Dajin has banned the sea for many years, and they have violated the law."

"Then change the law!"

Zhou Yuan said, "The law is for people, not people for the law. Of course, you don't understand these words!"

He patted Zhuang Xuansu's thin shoulders and smiled, "Get off the boat, Master Zhuang, let's go around the dock. To be honest, such a prosperous dock has a lot of good things."

He didn't even disguise himself, but walked down with his people.

Zhuang Xuansu followed him closely and whispered, "Aren't you afraid that there are Jinyiwei here too?"

Zhou Yuan said, "The situation in Dajin is so tense, they have things to do everywhere, there is no point in chasing me."

"Killing me may not affect the overall situation."

He walked directly to the loading and unloading area, and asked casually, "Uncle, what are you loading, where are you sending it?"

The old man was wearing a thin sweat shirt, looked up and glanced at Zhou Yuan, and said impatiently, "Why are you asking this? It's not in the way!"

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, almost forgetting that he had to speak Cantonese here, otherwise it would be difficult to do things, especially for people at the lower level.

He took out half a can of copper coins and stuffed it into the old man's hand, narrowing his eyes and saying, "Let's chat!"

The old man's face changed instantly, he put the money away, and laughed, "Tea, silk, a full ship, running east and south."

The export trade here is already very large. The three islands, Ryukyu, Goryeo, Siam, Johor, Java, all are markets, and no matter how much goods there are, they can be eaten up.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "You have to run quickly, right? After a while, there may be no chance."

Hearing this, the old man also became worried, scratched his head hard, and laughed dryly, "Don't dare to talk nonsense..."

Zhuang Xuansu finally couldn't help but said, "What is he talking about?"

Zhou Yuan said, "Oh, hen."

The old man's eyes lit up and gave Zhou Yuan a thumbs up, indicating that it was still authentic.

ZhouYuan continued to walk forward and soon saw the freshest seafood market. The fishermen who went out to sea to fish had returned and put their full goods directly on the dock. The surrounding residents and restaurants came to purchase the freshest seafood.

Seeing these things, Zhuang Xuansu felt uncomfortable all over and couldn't help but said in a low voice: "These fish are good-looking, but can those bugs be eaten?"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "You, I guess you only know fish, shrimp, crabs and sea cucumbers, like oysters, clams, black abalone, squid, etc. I guess you are confused."

"Ah!"

Zhuang Xuansu suddenly screamed and shrank directly behind Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan was also startled, and he pulled her and ran. After running a few steps, he realized that something was wrong.

He stared at Zhuang Xuansu and roared: "What are you calling!"

"Bugs! Such big bugs!"

Zhuang Xuansu's face turned pale.

Damn, I really thought the Jinyiwei was here.

Zhou Yuan looked at the strange looks from the people around him and smiled awkwardly: "Don't be surprised, the northerners have never seen the world."

Then he lowered his voice and said: "Don't be so surprised, you make me feel suspicious. It's a sandworm, it's delicious whether it's fried in a frying pan."

Zhuang Xuansu's face became even uglier. He covered his mouth and looked like he was going to vomit. He gritted his teeth and said: "You eat this kind of thing?"

Zhou Yuan blinked and smiled: "Come on, this is delicious too!"

Zhuang Xuansu was pulled to a stall. He frowned and looked at it for a long time. Suddenly, his face changed, his pale face suddenly turned red, and he stepped hard on Zhou Yuan's instep.

Zhou Yuan groaned, squatted down and covered his feet, sweating.

The owners of several stalls laughed out loud.

Zhou Yuan said: "This is geoduck, a real thing, you can't eat it in the north!"

"How about I buy you two kilograms and let you taste it tonight?"

Zhuang Xuansu was so angry that he stamped his feet and kicked Zhou Yuan to the ground, shouting: "Go to hell, bastard!"

After saying that, he ran away angrily.

The key is to run a few steps and come back obediently.

Zhou Yuan stood up, patted the dust on his body, turned around and saw someone striding towards him in the distance.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and then said to Zhuang Xuansu: "Let's go. We've been on the boat for so long, it's time to rest."

"Where are we going?"

As soon as Zhuang Xuansu finished speaking, his brows furrowed, and he asked in confusion: "Guan Lu?"

Guan Lu came with four or five followers and whispered: "Hello, sir."

Then he smiled and said: "Hello, Master Zhuang."

Zhuang Xuansu said: "Why are you in Huizhou Prefecture? Didn't you go to Zhongnan Mountain?"

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Yuan's face suddenly changed, and his eyes stared at her.

Zhuang Xuansu looked a little unnatural, and lowered her head and said: "I guessed."

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment, then said: "It doesn't matter, Jianjia and the others are indeed in Zhongnan Mountain, Your Majesty should still be able to guess."

"Let's go, Guan Lu, introduce me to the situation over there and the layout here."

"Yes."

The group quickly walked out of the dock and got on the carriage.