On the Pingjiang.

After Hu Shouren finished speaking, he squeezed his eyes at Zhao Hao and smiled: "Need me to introduce Lao Wang to the head snake?" ”

"That couldn't be better." Zhao Hao slapped his palms and smiled: "Brother Hu is really careful, and the little brother's mind can't hide from you at all." ”

"Hahaha!" Hu Shouren laughed proudly: "If you just want to escort the eldest princess, you still need to bring dozens of boats of grain to the north?" ”

"You can't run for nothing." Zhao Gongzi said with a smile.

"Then you should sell silk." Hu Shouren said with a smile: "Besides, with Zhao Gongzi's current family business, can you afford this little business?" ”

"This is my godmother's compassion for the people, and she specially brought it to the people of the capital to frighten them." Zhao Hao smiled and said, "You have the right to believe it." ”

"Good! Lao Hu believed it. Hu Shouren smiled and leaned back and said: "The son is still as funny as back then, and Lao Hu likes it very much." In the future, if you are also stripped of this skin by the imperial court, you must take in Lao Hu. ”

"Then you have to meet you upside down, let Brother Jin put your seat down immediately." Zhao Hao was also flattered and smiled. It's a pity that Hu Shouren is just a set, he is different from Jin Ke and Wang Rulong. Those three people were originally ordinary people recruited by Qi Jiguang in Shaoxing, and after they were dismissed, they had nothing.

Hu Shouren is a hereditary horseman and a commanding officer, and he has been a high-ranking official for generations, so how could he get off his horse and go to the sea?

~~

The two talked happily, and time flew by unconsciously. Hu Shouren escorted the eldest princess, of course, he couldn't always play and disappear.

Zhao Hao asked Hu Shouren to bring a letter to Qi Dashuai, and the two ended the conversation and went their separate ways.

Hu Shouren went to stand guard outside the eldest princess's cabin in person, while Zhao Gongzi 'accidentally' met Cao Ke of Tianjin Bingbei Dao on the foredeck, and then naturally invited him to tea.

Tianjin Bingbei Road is a relatively special military preparation road. In general, the military preparation road is mainly based on supervision. Tianjin Bingbei Road is a pro-people official who manages everything.

Because there are only three Davids in Tianjin, and there are no administrative institutions such as prefectures and counties, in addition to performing the duties of general military armament, Tianjin Bingbei Dao must also assume the civil and criminal responsibilities of state and county officials.

In addition, because Tianjin is located in the Haihe River and the gateway of Gyeonggi, and is the intersection of the South Canal and the North Canal, so the Bingbei Road also has two important responsibilities of post delivery and river, and the proportion in its daily work is not low.

In short, its power is much greater than that of ordinary military preparation. On the ground in Tianjin, there is no danger of decentralization and constraints, and this Cao Bingxian alone has the final say in all aspects. Of course, under the nose of the Son of Heaven, he didn't dare to mess around too much.

And this Cao Bingxian is also very cautious, and he constantly compliments Zhao Hao politely, but he doesn't say a word about his heart.

Fortunately, Zhao Hao didn't plan to talk to others, everyone got to know each other, and it was almost familiar with each other. Anyway, the shipping of grain is a great thing for Tianjin, which will become the most prosperous city outside the capital in the north of the Ming Dynasty. Cao Ke shouldn't have a reason not to cooperate, right?

If you don't cooperate, don't be afraid, just replace it.

With the current power of Zhao Gongzi and the Jiangnan Group, it is difficult to move the ministry to supervise and appover, and it is still possible to change the four-grade military preparation.

~~

The next day, the fleet reached the mouth of the Sancha River, where it joined the Grand Canal. Cao Ke and Hu Shouren got off the boat and bid farewell to Her Royal Highness the eldest princess.

The eldest princess of Ning'an changed to a sand boat with 400 materials and continued to sail towards Tongzhou. As for the Pingjiang, carrying Wang Rulong's coast guard, sailed back to Dagukou to wait for the fleet to return from the capital.

After separation, the fleet went 200 miles north along the Grand Canal to reach Tongzhou.

Probably because the transportation was cut off, the boats were blocked south of the Yellow River. The Grand Canal, which used to be busy and congested, has become extremely smooth. More than half of the boats on the river have been reduced, and none of the boats heading north have disappeared.

The eldest princess's car enjoyed the highest right of way, and it only took two days to arrive in Tongzhou.

It was the second half of the night when they arrived in Tongzhou, and everyone didn't bother to get off the boat again. The flotilla, guided by the escort on the road, traveled west along the Datong River overnight and arrived in Beijing early the next morning.

~~

At this time, in March, the flowers on both sides of the moat are red and willow green. The blue sky, clear water and clear river are the most beautiful time of the year in Beijing.

On the river, there are cruise boats everywhere that come out to enjoy the spring, and the princes, kings, grandsons, and official ladies are intoxicated by this thriving boundless spring. The female ladies played the pipa and sang spring songs in a low voice.

These people who have no worries about food and clothing will not know that it is now the most difficult spring famine season for ordinary people. Last year's grain stocks have been exhausted, and it is still early for the new grain to come down. They have to work hard in the spring ploughing, and they can't do their work without enough food!

The elderly and children in the family can only eat thin, and every day they carry baskets everywhere to dig up camellia and raise elm money to go back to satisfy their hunger. Even the willow buds were blanched and eaten with elm money.

Beijing has a population of one million, how can it be fed by wild vegetables?

Every year there is a spring famine, and this year is particularly difficult.

Because since the news of the Yellow River bursting its banks and the severance of Cao transportation reached Beijing, the price of grain, which was already about to move, suddenly rose to the sky.

It's only been less than a month, and it has risen from one tael of silver and one stone of rice to two taels and five!

This price is also fatal in Suzhou. The income of the people in the capital is only half of that of the citizens of Suzhou, so how can they live?!

~~

The Datong River is the end point of Cao Yun and the distribution center of grain trading in the entire capital. There are hundreds of grain shops on both sides of the river.

Originally, it was all the grain merchants and rice stores in the city who came here to wholesale. But recently, the common people would rather run more than ten miles, and when they go back, they have to carry heavy grain on their backs, and they also have to run here to buy rice.

The picture shows that it can be cheaper than the city for a penny and a half.

It's a pity that the price is rising every day.

At this time, the people who were queuing up to buy rice saw in despair that on the wooden sign hung out after the grain store removed the door panel, the price of grain today had become 2271 stones!

"Why is it going up again?!" The common people have been driven to collapse by the rising food prices. Any little rise can stimulate them to scream.

"Yesterday it was still two or two, and this night has risen by two cents of silver!"

"Just grab it!"

Listening to the people's complaints, the men lowered their heads and did not speak, but only carried the table to the door of the store, set up the big pole scale at the door, and waited for the owner to come out and sell it.

This arrangement is the intention of the proprietor. Now the price of grain has risen so much that the common people are red-eyed and dare not let them into the store. It's safer to let them line up outside the door.

After a while, the shopkeeper wearing a robe, a six-fold hat, and a mustache came out.

As soon as they saw him, the voices of the common people suddenly rose an octave higher.

"Third Master Ju, you're too dark, why are the prices going up again!"

"It's just that you don't make enough, we're all going to starve to death!"

"Aren't you afraid of having a son?!" The words of the common people are becoming more and more vulgar day by day.

Fortunately, the third master is used to it. Since he decided to raise the price, he has sacrificed his ancestors and mothers to let them scold. Anyway, there will be no shortage of meat, so let's take the opportunity to earn more benefits.

It's a big deal, go back and burn more paper for your ancestors, and make up for it.

"Our store is already running out of stock, and the replenishment is far away. If it weren't for you starving ghosts shouting outside, I wouldn't have opened the door. The third master snorted and said: "If you shout again, you won't sell it today, and tomorrow it will rise to three taels!" ”

"Don't don't don't ......" The common people have long known that all the grain stores in Datong Bridge are colluding. The price is the same every day, and no one will be cheaper.

"Hurry up and sell your grain!" At this time, it is difficult to work together, and there are always people who want to buy it quickly, so they can't make a fuss.

After all, this is the foot of the long-tamed Son of Heaven, not the troublesome city of Suzhou. Don't look at the people's mouths, they are actually very cowardly.

It is precisely because of their weakness that the bosses of the grain bank will unscrupulously raise prices.

Seeing this, the giant boss made persistent efforts to hit them and said: "How many times have I said it, the canal is broken, and it can't be repaired in one or two years." If the grain from Jiangnan and Huguang can't be delivered, you always don't believe it. ”

"Hey, how can you be so unlucky......" The common people were full of sorrow, and they completely lost their temper.

Some people still couldn't accept this cruel reality, and shouted loudly: "Over the years, Caoyun has not been broken once or twice, which time has it not been repaired in a few months?" ”

"That is, if you don't transport grain, hundreds of thousands of workers, what will tens of thousands of Caoding eat?" People love to believe opinions that are beneficial to them, and this is true throughout the ages. "The imperial court doesn't care about anything else, and it will repair the canal first."

"If you say you can fix it?" The giant boss sneered with contempt on his face: "Let me tell you, this time it's not where the silt is blocked, where the embankment is broken." It's that the entire six-hundred-mile river is out of water, and the entire Huanghuai is in a mess, and it can't be repaired in one or two years! ”

"You talk nonsense!" The people were terrified, angry, pitiful, and helpless.

"Hey, I'll dare to leave it here!" The giant boss was unforgiving, and said more and more arrogantly: "Within half a year, if there is a shipload of Jiangnan rice transported, I will write my surname upside down!" ”

"That's still a giant ......" the literate sneered, "You said this as if you didn't say it!" ”

"I'm not done yet." The giant boss also came to that momentum, and sneered: "I'll press another tael of silver and a stone of rice, and sell it open for three days, how about it?!" ”

"......" Now the common people have nothing to say, and the giant boss dares to make this kind of bet, obviously there will be no grain ship to arrive in Beijing in a short time.

So they lined up in despair, waiting to buy his family's sky-high price of rice.

Seeing that the situation was completely suppressed by himself, the giant boss waved his hand triumphantly with the attitude of a winner, and shouted loudly: "Start selling!" ”

Before the words fell, I saw a commotion at the end of the team. Then I heard someone shouting on the Chase Bridge: "Look, the fleet of grain is coming!" ”

With the sound of "Wow......", the crowd was in an uproar, and the people didn't care about queuing up, and rushed to both sides of the river like a tide.

Sure enough, I saw a team of sand boats slowly approaching from the west. The sailors on the ship uncovered the reed shed, revealing a full load of Jiangnan rice!

"There is no endless road!" There was an old man crying and kneeling on the bridge.

ps. The third update, ask for a monthly pass!