The Suzhou-Hangzhou Grand Canal, from Hangzhou in the south to Tongzhou in the north, is more than 1,000 meters long, the longest canal in the world.

This huge canal originated from the military needs of transporting the army, and later the Sui Dynasty officially built this canal in order to strengthen its rule, and now it has become the most important channel for the transportation of the Ming Dynasty.

Every year, grain is collected from the six provinces of Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Henan and Shandong, reaching 6.74 million stone at the peak, and now it is about 2 million stone.

Cao grain went north through this canal and was transported to the capital through the Cao Yun army, which met the needs of the capital court, the Zongren Palace, civil and military officials and the army, and was also one of the important sources of national finance.

The flotilla, after entering the canal waterway, sailed north.

Only one day and one night arrived at the Suzhou city of "Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City", and after a few days, it entered the boundary of Nanzhili, and passed through the Yangzhou City of "fireworks in March to Yangzhou".

It's just that the fleet has not stopped and chose to continue north. The majesty of the tribute boat is placed here, and the journey can be described as unimpeded, and the food and accommodation are excellent.

After Xu Wei's reminder, when the ship passed through Huai'an, Lin Haoran knew that this was the residence of the Caoyun Commander's Mansion and the Caoyun Governor's Mansion, and it was also the place owned by the commander-in-chief of tens of thousands of Caoyun troops.

Wenzun and Wuhumility, this is a portrayal of the times. The status of the Governor of Caoyun is far above that of the Caoyun General Army, so the actual leader of these tens of thousands of Caoyun soldiers is the Governor of Caoyun, and his authority is quite large.

Every year, he handles 2 million stone of grain, which is converted into about 1.4 million taels of silver, and the oil and water of the Caoyun Governor's Yamen can be imagined, so many officials want to squeeze into this yamen.

Xu Wei is a know-it-all, especially Wu Zongxian's staff, so he is extremely familiar with the affairs of the imperial court. And he is still an angry young man, which makes Lin Haoran's ears calloused, and at the same time, he also knows many shortcomings of Cao Yun.

For example, the disadvantages of Cao Yun, such as the suffering of Cao soldiers, and the greed of the government.

The greed of the government is certain, according to the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty today, there are really few yamen who are greedy. It was only thanks to Xu Wei's accusation that Lin Haoran knew that Cao Bing was indeed having a hard time.

They didn't have a farm, so they lived on military salaries, and of course there were some other means of livelihood.

It's just that at the beginning of the promotion, they needed a certificate from the Cao Yuan, and they got the state and county to receive the grain book, which required two dozen silver points.

In addition, there are quite a few "toll booths" on this Grand Canal - river locks.

There are many locks on this Grand Canal, and there is one lockman and 30 lockmen who cannot enter the stream. If the boat wants to pass through the river lock, it needs to give money, which is called "water money".

At first, Lin Haoran didn't know why it was called "water money", but when the official boat he was riding passed through a river lock, he realized that the words were very appropriate.

The official ship marched to the gate, and the stone gate was opened with an iron winch. When the official ship enters the gate, the gate behind it closes, the front gate opens, and the boat follows the water and leaves.

Of course, these gate officials who did not enter the stream gave him ten guts, and they did not dare to ask the official ship for "water money".

Maybe Lin Haoran has a different thinking from this era, Xu Wei saw more of Cao Bing's suffering, but he saw the word "consumption".

In order to transport these two million stone grains, the state has invested a lot.

The construction and maintenance of this Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal requires a lot of labor and money every year, and even costs millions of taels at every turn. Not only did it have to feed tens of thousands of soldiers, but it also had to invest a large number of boats.

The boat is actually a small boat with a reinforcing board, and it does not even have a roof to block the sun. Due to the harsh navigation conditions of the river, the life expectancy is far inferior to that of sea vessels, and even two or three years have to be reimbursed.

According to some data, the cost of transporting these 2 million stone grains alone is as high as eighty percent.

For example, in order to collect money, the local government requisitioned labor in the name of building the canal, and at the same time, carried out a pleasant greed for ink; In order to be greedy for ink, the shipyard also cut corners; For their own interests, the Cao soldiers dismantled the important parts of the Cao ship and sold them for money.

It is precisely because of this that Lin Haoran feels that the suffering of the Cao soldiers is secondary, and there are too many moths that are nourished here.

In fact, this river has already deteriorated, so it is better to give up and build a big ship directly by sea. Not only does it not need to build ships every day, there is no need to allocate funds to build canals every year, but it also reduces the layers of exploitation by the local government.

Of course, his opinion cannot be adopted by those in power, nor can it be expressed.

Nowadays, this Cao Yun has also derived a profit of two or three hundred thousand taels every year, and I am afraid that a huge profit group has already been formed, and they will inevitably use their power to hinder shipping.

History has long proven that if you want to profit from the cheese of the group, it is simply equivalent to murder, and you will inevitably be counterattacked by them, unless you are the highest authority.

Can I be in power?

Lin Haoran looked at the river gate that was gradually moving away, and suddenly laughed at himself. He is now just a small move to go to Beijing to take the exam, but he is suddenly so ambitious, he can't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

Although the dynasty was full of abscesses, he was smart and handsome and had a lot of valid advice. But he clearly knows that some suggestions cannot be said, and the most important thing now is to be named on the gold list.

"What are you thinking?" Xu Wei came to Lin Haoran with two jars of wine and handed him one jar. Although there is a gap in age between the two, after this period of contact, they dare not despise this Xie Yuanlang, and there is a faint meaning of intersection.

"Gold List Title!" Lin Haoran took the wine jar, opened the wine stopper and said honestly.

"And then?" Xu Wei nodded approvingly, and then asked.

"What, then?" Lin Haoran took a sip of wine and looked at him in confusion.

"Like me! I'm going to kill all these corrupt officials! Xu Wei's chin was slightly raised, and he gestured with a hand knife.

"I've been killing since ancient times, can I finish killing?" Lin Haoran wiped the wine that overflowed the corners of his mouth with his sleeve and asked with a smile.

"If you can't kill it, you still have to kill, this thing is always right!" Xu Wei put away the knife and said stubbornly.

"That's the right thing to do, come on!" Lin Haoran didn't want to hit him, so he encouraged.

"What about you?" Xu Wei took a sip of wine, looked at him curiously and asked.

Lin Haoran looked up at the west, but the sunset seemed to be rising, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes, but he turned his head to look at Xu Wei and said, "I don't want anything, I just want a gold list title!" ”

"Okay!" Xu Wei took another sip of wine, knowing that this was indeed much more pragmatic than some bullshit ideal.

After the fleet entered the boundary of Shandong, the river locks increased, and the sailing speed slowed down. When they reached Texas City, the fleet stopped.

The thirty-sixth year of Jiajing has passed, and the time has quietly come to the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing.

This Spring Festival, he couldn't spend it with Hu Niu, but it was Feng San and Xu Wei who accompanied him, and the three of them drank all night.

After a brief Spring Festival, the fleet quickly completed the last leg of the road - the Huitong River.

After the Lantern Festival salute, he finally came to Tongzhou.