The isolation of the Yangtze River is not absolute.
There is only a separation between the north and south, but the east and west are still unobstructed.
In other words, the New Army only prohibits cross-strait travel, but does not interfere with commercial transportation within Jiangnan.
A fleet of ships came from the west. When they got closer, they saw that the warships were densely packed on the river. It was already too late to turn around.
Seeing the instructions on the ship here and the black muzzles, the fleet could only slowly approach.
Zuo Hua was on the first boat and smiled when he saw the panicked look on his face.
It's okay if he doesn't laugh.
This smile almost scared the other party to death.
If a one-eyed dragon with a fierce face smiles, the scene should not be too scary.
"Where are you from?"
The other party was quite polite when they saw these strangely dressed troops, and managed to calm down.
"We came from Sichuan and passed through Wuhu. We want to go to Jiangnan to do some small business. Please be kind to the military master."
Zuo Hua became interested when he heard that this fleet was actually from Sichuan.
"It's not that close. What exactly are you selling? Can you get your money back by traveling so far?"
The businessman had a smile on his face and tried his best to hide it.
"Haha, it's a small business, just a small business."
As he said this, he took out two silver ingots from his sleeves and thrust them into Zuo Hua's hands, obviously intending to bribe them.
Zuo Hua didn't answer and just asked: "Do you know who we are?"
The other party was sweating and could only shake his head.
I thought it was bad luck this time. I didn't look at the almanac when I went out. It looked like I was going to bleed heavily.
"We are the new Shandong Army and are now taking over the Yangtze River. Any ship passing through this place must obtain our consent."
"Ah, you are against..."
The other party was not stupid at all and quickly changed his words mid-sentence.
"It turns out he is an uncle from Shandong!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Zuo Hua laughed and cursed.
"I am Zuo Hua, Minister of the Navy of Shandong Province. Tell me truthfully, why are you here?"
Seeing the other party stunned, he obviously didn't know what the minister's official position was.
Zuo Hua further explained: "The minister is equivalent to the minister of the imperial court. I am the minister of the navy, just like the minister of war of the imperial court."
Only then did the other party understand and quickly bowed down.
"As a young man, it is truly a blessing to be able to meet Da Sima in Wuhu."
Zuo Hua casually reached out and picked up the short businessman.
"In Shandong, there is no need to kneel down. But you need to honestly explain what kind of business you are doing on this trip. Otherwise, I will search it myself. Once I find something illegal, don't blame me for being unkind.
.”
Seeing that Zuo Huali refused to accept the gift and had a tough attitude, the other party had no choice but to confess.
"The young ones did come from Sichuan to do Shu brocade business."
Zuo Hua didn't know what Shu brocade was, so he ordered: "Bring it to me and see."
The other party had no choice but to ask the servant to fetch two pieces of cloth and come back.
When he really saw the real thing, Zuo Hua's eyes were straightened.
"Such valuable items cannot be handled by ordinary merchants. Who are you?"
The cloth Zuo Hua saw was as bright as spring flowers in full bloom, as soft as a beautiful woman's cream, with magnificent and luxurious patterns, and the weaving method was ingenious.
Even if he doesn't know much about weaving, he still knows that this kind of cloth is rare.
Faced with Zuo Hua's questioning, the other party had to tell everything.
"The younger one's name is Zheng Sangui. His family was originally a cloth merchant in the Prince of Shu's palace, specializing in the cloth business for the Prince of Shu. Because he had the trust of the King of Shu and his connections were clear, he also had some business in his family. This time he came east because he wanted to
Sell some Shu brocade to Jiangnan."
Zuo Hua understood as soon as he heard that Zheng Sangui had obviously obtained good things and made private profits by doing work for the Prince of Shu's palace.
To put it bluntly, this guy is a thief.
But since what he stole was from Prince Shu's palace, Zuo Hua didn't take it seriously.
The vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were not even good people.
Looking at the exquisite Shu Brocade, even he was a little moved.
If this kind of thing is sold to Jiangnan, there will definitely be no worries about sales.
However, this kind of cloth is not available in Shandong, and this business can be done.
He said to Zheng Sangui: "If you want to sell cloth in the south of the Yangtze River, it's best to go to Songjiang Prefecture. Now Songjiang Prefecture is under our jurisdiction in Shandong and treats merchants favorably. You won't be in trouble there, and business will be much easier."
.”
Zheng Sangui couldn't tell whether his words were true or false, so he could only agree wholeheartedly. What he wanted to do was to get away from these strange Qiu Ba quickly, and saving his life was the most important thing.
But Zuo Hua's next words immediately made Zheng Sangui wake up on the spot.
"From here to Songjiang Prefecture, there are no checkpoints along the way, and no one will intercept and collect taxes. When you arrive at Songjiang Prefecture, you only need to pay thirty-one taxes before you can trade by yourself. If you can't find a seller, the local government will also
help."
Zheng Sangui ignored his fear and asked hurriedly: "Master Sima, is it true that we no longer accept money on the river here?"
When going out to do business, the most frustrating thing for Zheng Sangui is that there are many checkpoints along the way and he has to pay fees constantly.
If you can't travel hundreds of miles, you have to pay once, and you have to be blackmailed by evil officials. It costs a lot of money.
Hearing that there was no toll here, Zheng Sangui felt as if he had heard something from heaven.
Zuo Hua blushed and was very unhappy.
"How can I, the dignified Minister of the Navy, deceive you, a small businessman? Now all the river from here to the east is under the jurisdiction of our new army. I said there is no charge, who dares to charge?"
"Yes, yes, Lord Sima came to this world from Wuquxing, and he has always said what he said. I am doing business here, and I am really grateful to have Lord Sima take care of me."
Of course, Zuo Hua didn't talk so much nonsense to a small businessman like him on a temporary basis.
After the navy controlled the Yangtze River east of Wuhu, it also had another important task, which was to promote commercial exchanges.
Shandong's occupation of Songjiang Prefecture did not intend to isolate Songjiang Prefecture from the world and separate it from the Jiangnan region.
The most important thing for a business society is openness.
Zuo Mengeng is confident that with Shandong's support for business, it will definitely have an advantage over other places in the Ming Dynasty.
Businessmen of this era will definitely be able to feel the goodness of Shandong as long as they have visited Shandong once.
And these people will definitely be the helpers when Shandong unifies the world in the future.
That's why Zuo Hua, a high-ranking minister, went to the front line in person, talked with merchants, and guided them to do business in Songjiang Prefecture.
Zheng Sangui is one of them.
After learning about the situation in Songjiang Mansion from Zuo Hua, he gritted his teeth, suppressed his fear, and led the fleet to the east.
Those who dare to do tricks under the eyes of the Prince of Shu are certainly very courageous.
In order to make money, Zheng Sangui chose to take risks.
Five days later, Zheng Sangui and his party arrived at Songjiang Mansion successfully.
And as Zuo Hua said, there were no card charges along the way. The cost savings from this alone are already very gratifying.
Arriving at the mouth of Wusong River, the fleet turned around.
As a result, a mighty fleet also came from the east.
Both sides turned into the Huangpu River at the same time. As they approached, Zheng Sangui finally saw clearly the situation on the other side.
Just one glance made him say "ouch" in fright, and his legs became weak.
I saw a few strange ships on the opposite side, and the people on them were blond, covered with thick hair, and wearing silver-white high-top military helmets, like ghosts.