After hukou, Zhang Ning walked out of the prefecture yamen. The piece of paper in his hand was as heavy as a pound, but it was also worth a thousand gold. After a look, he carefully put the paper in his arms, and the entourage who had been waiting for a long time quickly came up to meet him.

"Master Lang, where are you going next?"

"Let's go, board the boat immediately and go to Nanchang!"

"Ah? Lord Lang, if you go to Wuchang now, it will be dusk when you get there. If you don't open the city gate if you have a curfew..."

“Back on the ship now.”

After Zhang Ning finished speaking, he rode his horse and headed towards the north of the city. As the leader of the man, he did not need to explain to his followers. Although the other party was right, he knew only limited information after all, and he knew that Nanchang City was open to merchants in Huangzhou.

It is true that Nanchang implements a curfew. Of course, the city gate must be closed at night. However, there is a small village in the north of the city, which provides a place for civil and military officials who cannot enter the city in time. There are soldiers guarding the city outside to make a comprehensive plan. As long as he has the paper in his arms, he can also spend the night in the small village.

When the city gate opens tomorrow morning, he can enter the city to do business, get things done as soon as possible, and take the goods back to Xiyang as soon as possible, and then walk to Nanchang for a while.

Running back and forth between Xiyang and Nanchang, when you go to Nanchang, it saves time and effort. However, it is a bit difficult to return to Xiyang from Nanchang. But it is nothing. It is not that easy for others to go through this journey.

When the King of Xiyang went to war, he did not donate money and materials to the soldiers. At this time, he was not qualified to take the lead!

Walking on the street, next to a ditch, many young and strong people were dredging. Although it was winter, they could still smell foul smells. I don’t know how many years of rotten silt have been dug up.

Zhang Ning's nose moved, and the smell was both familiar and unfamiliar. In Xiyang City, the drainage ditches were dissipated in summer. However, since the King of Xiyang took office and after some rectification, Xiyang City has changed a lot.

Of course, at that time, King Xiyang was still Duke of Xiyang County, and Zhang Ning was just a small merchant at that time. With the obvious changes in Xiyang City, he also changed from a small quarry owner to a rich merchant today.

Huangzhou has projects every year, and it requires a large amount of stone every year, which makes quarries sprout like mushrooms after a rain, while various labor forces that do not require wages maximize the profits of each quarry.

The King of Xiyang became the general manager of Huangzhou, and all the prefectures and counties under his jurisdiction also began to build new water conservancy projects. Each company was only worried that there was not enough manpower and no one wanted the stones. Now, the business has expanded to places outside Huangzhou.

Walking out of the north gate, I came to the riverside wharf, and looked up and saw a busy scene. The newly built wharf was filled with ships, and a large amount of stone was transported down and transported to the riverside embankment construction site nearby.

This is the Yangtze River embankment at the Shangkou. Not long after the government army captured the city, the commander Yuwen Wen ordered the repair of the damaged embankment and the drainage ditches in the city to prevent flooding and waterlogging during the rainy season, resulting in a plague explosion.

Every summer and autumn, the river water rises sharply, and Fengkou City is easily affected by floods. Although the river embankment has been repaired and the governments of all dynasties have been repaired from time to time, it has been damaged after hundreds of years of storms. This repair is actually to remove the unreasonable old embankment and renovate a new embankment.

At the same time, it is necessary to rectify drainage ditches in the city that have been silted for many years. The manpower is required, and it is mobilized from the residents of Fengkou City. There is no wage, but it is managed by two meals a day. The stone materials are naturally provided by Huangzhou. After learning the news, the stone materials merchants in Huangzhou cried with joy.

Especially Zhang Ning, who was well-informed, took the initiative to donate money and materials before the Lingnan Road marched, so he became the first merchant to provide stone. As soon as each large ship full of stone was out, he brought back the signing documents from the Shangkou Yamen, and he could exchange a thick stack of circulation coupons in Xiyang City.

Before the war was settled, the King of Xiyang repaired the Yangtze River embankment in Fengkou. Many people couldn't figure out what was going on. Zhang Ding knew some inside stories: it was to let the people of Fengkou have something to do and not let those with ulterior motives incite trouble.

The so-called "work-for-relief" is that in winter, everyone has no farm work to work, so they use the method of organizing manpower to build river embankments and rectifying drainage channels to allow the people to have a meal and have something to do, and to repair the water conservancy facilities around the Huokou.

The money and grain required were allocated from Curry, Shangkou Prefecture, and then some were spent on the young and strong, while a large part of it finally flowed into the pockets of "suppliers" such as Zhang Ning. This matter sounds a bit weird, but it can withstand the world's comments.

Using the money and food of the state government office, we organize the people to build river embankments. We do things well and the money we earn is clean. Chengkou City is originally an important place for river defense, so it is natural to repair water conservancy facilities and city defense.

It is natural for big money to provide suppliers of Huangzhou who provide stone and other materials for various projects.

But this is just the beginning, and the big head is still behind.

When Zhang Ning arrived at the dock, he was about to be on the verge of the merchant ship, he saw an official summoning an official to explain something. The soldiers beside him guarded the periphery to maintain order. When Zhang Ning approached, he was about to scold him, and stopped the official.

"Zhang Ning, a grass mansion, has met Mingfu."

"Zhang Dongjia, the stones are almost out of service. Can your quarry be OK?"

"Please rest assured in Mingfu. It was the New Year a few days ago, so the quarry progress was delayed a little. Now the quarry is not short of manpower, so we will definitely be able to provide stones to Huokou on time."

Xu Shao nodded after hearing this, talked to Zhang Ning for a few words, turned around and continued to explain the construction of the embankment to his subordinates. After the New Year, he was recruited by Yuwen Wen to the governor of Jiangzhou Prefecture, and was responsible for Xunyang County, which was the acting position of governor of Xunyang County in Jiangzhou.

Xunyang County, Jiangzhou, is no better than Badong County, Huangzhou. It has been a key Jiangfang defense site for hundreds of years, and now it is the logistics transfer center for the Lingnan Road march. All kinds of food and supplies must be transferred from the nearby Hukou.

If Chen Jun invades downstream, he will also organize the military and civilians to defend the city. Now he is in charge of the construction of the river embankment. He has to organize the people to farm in the beginning of spring, so Xu Shao has a heavy responsibility and has no time to chat with his acquaintances.

Zhang Ning met several acquaintances among the officials. These were all officials from the Huangzhou Yamen and the official office. He followed Xu Shao here to deal with various complicated matters. If there was no major problem, he could get rid of his official status and become an official.

No matter how small the officials are, they are officials, and no matter how big the officials are, they are officials. This is a world of difference. Thinking of this, Zhang Ning couldn't help but sigh that the changes in Huangzhou were not only merchants, but also clerks who were hated by people on weekdays, had a good future.

Walking onto his own boat, the manager came forward: "Master, will you go to Nanchang immediately?"

"Yes, go right away and try to arrive in Nanchang before dark. I have to hurry to do business tomorrow. You, stay in Fengkou."

"Mr. Lang, Lao Li and the others will arrive at Fengkou tomorrow, but they are carrying weapons on their bodies. If they want to pass Hukou, they need to be approved by the government to lead the way..."

"I have just reported to the state government office. You stay in the city and ask the official army to check when they dock tomorrow. There will be no problem. Take the Luzhi and ask them to go to Nanchang quickly. The war is tight there!"

The manager lowered his voice and asked, "Master Lang, does the Xigou really want to cause trouble?"

"Don't let the official army hear the name of "creek dog" and other things, and say less in the future." Zhang Ning explained, after all, as a well-informed person, he knew what that person asked.
Chapter completed!