weaving

On August 23, the Earl of Yongning returned to Zhuxian Town.

He first went to the dock to inspect it, and saw a row of boats of all sizes moored on the Shahe River. Zhuxian Town, one of the four famous towns in the world, has regained its former prosperity after more than half a month of restoration.

The chants of the boatmen pulling the boats and the dockworkers echoed each other, rising and falling as if there were no end in sight.

Occasionally, one can see soldiers patrolling back and forth, and the large "military" character on the boxes of goods constantly reminds everyone that these are military supplies of the Brave and Resolute Army, not civilian funds or property.

Along the Shahe River in Zhuxian Town, there are as many as thirty or forty wharves of varying sizes. Some of these wharves are dedicated to people, while others are dedicated to goods, truly achieving the separation of people and goods.

Goods here are categorized and go through their respective wharves. For example, coal and charcoal go through the charcoal wharf, iron, lead, and copper materials go through the iron wharf, cloth and fabrics go through the cloth wharf, and dried fruit and dried meat also have their own dedicated wharves.

Even more remarkably, some of the original Shanxi Guild Hall, Jiangsu-Zhejiang Guild Hall, and Sichuan Guild Hall had their own shipping docks specifically for loading and unloading goods coming and going from their own guild halls.

These guild halls had their own docks, which, while also loading and unloading goods for outside merchants, gave priority and other preferential treatment to merchants within their own guilds. Their own warehouses and storage facilities were also mainly for internal use.

Now, due to the impact of the bandits, the various chambers of commerce are basically defunct, with only a few employees and servants guarding the guild halls and warehouses, while the wealthy merchants have all fled.

After Zhuxian Town was recaptured, although representatives from various chambers of commerce arrived one after another, they were ultimately a step too late, as many docks and warehouses had already been taken over by the Yongyi Army.

Although the various chambers of commerce were reluctant, with the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce taking the lead in supporting and responding, they could no longer jump out to oppose the Yongning Earl's major policies.

Currently, the wharves at both the north and south ends of the Shahe River outside Zhuxian Town have been requisitioned by the Yongyi Army, and a customs post has been set up on the river to inspect and verify passing ships. Although commercial taxes have not yet been levied, it is unknown how long this situation can be maintained.

After a brief look around the dock, Yongningbo went ashore and returned to Zhuxian Town.

…………

Today is the auspicious day for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the "Xuan Da Business Association Henan Headquarters", and it is for this event that Earl Yongning Zhang Cheng rushed over from Chenzhou.

General Li Fuming of Shanxi and General Chen Yongfu of Henan stood side by side, accompanied by Sun Shixiang, Hu Yiwen, Liu Chengzhu and others. Behind them were Chen Zhong, He Zhenxiong, Hu Zichen, Lin Fangping, Xu Jinyong, Xiang Jinbao and other brave and resolute army generals.

The Henan branch of Xuanda Chamber of Commerce is located next to the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce in a prime location in Zhuxian Town. Although it occupies a small area, it is quite large and is no less impressive than other major chambers of commerce.

What attracts the most attention to the Henan headquarters of Xuanda Commercial Group is not its location, nor the number of novel and sought-after products it has, but its strong military background.

Those who can open businesses in Zhuxian Town are no pushovers; every single one of them is a shrewd and capable individual.

Especially those traveling merchants, who travel all over the Ming Dynasty year-round, what kind of things haven't they seen?
For them, the relationship between officials and businessmen is commonplace, so commonplace that it's almost unheard of.

This was the first time they had ever seen someone so blatantly using the military's name to conduct business. They were all talking about it privately—"The Earl of Yongning is too bold. Isn't he afraid that the Emperor will find out and have the court investigate him?"
Moreover, people are even more worried that Xuanda Trading Company will force them to buy and sell, or even extend credit to them. Many people are already weighing how much loss they can bear.

…………

The reason why Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, decided to establish the Henan headquarters in Zhuxian Town was not only because he valued the town's convenient transportation and prosperous trade, but also because he had his own ulterior motives—to distance himself from the local civil service system of Lifeng and establish his own local military and political base. He wanted to make Zhuxian Town his base for managing Henan!

The headquarters of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng, who was in charge of military affairs in seven towns including Baoding and in charge of all military affairs in the Central Plains, was set up in Zhuxian Town. He also built barracks and workshops in three abandoned villages outside Zhuxian Town.

Of course, the workshops set up here mainly manufacture military supplies, such as cannonballs and pellet gunpowder, which are consumables that are convenient for replenishing supplies on the battlefield. Compared with transporting them from Xuanfu, this not only saves a lot of transportation costs, but also saves a lot of time.

In addition to manufacturing these battlefield consumables, the three workshops around Zhuxian Town also had the important task of maintenance and repair.

After several major battles, many cannons, muskets, armor, swords, and spears were damaged to varying degrees, but most of them could still be used after maintenance and repair.

Therefore, this is one of the main reasons why the Earl of Yongning wanted to establish a workshop in Zhuxian Town.

It can be said that under the efforts of the Earl of Yongning, Zhuxian Town has become the main base of the Yongyi Army and a distribution center for military supplies in the entire Henan Province.

At the same time, Zhuxian Town will soon become the headquarters of the Henan anti-bandit campaign, the most important military town in Henan Province, and thus the military, trade and commercial center of Henan.

It's not entirely impossible that it could even evolve into the political center of Henan!

…………

A high platform had already been built in front of the Henan headquarters of the Xuanda Trading Company. Yongning Earl, surrounded by his officials and generals, slowly ascended the platform.

He looked down at the vast, dark crowd below, nodded in satisfaction, and then waved for people to stop talking. Only after the noise subsided did he slowly begin to speak.

"Dear fellow villagers and business associates, I would like to express my gratitude for your presence today."

The Earl of Yongning clasped his hands in a fist salute to the audience below and continued, "Today, I have booked the entire Qingbin Restaurant. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, let's all go to Qingbin Restaurant for drinks and meat."

"Bravo!" A chorus of cheers erupted from the audience.

"Gentlemen, looking at all these soldiers around you, you're probably wondering if my Xuanda Trading Company will try to force you to buy or sell, or even extend credit..."

When Yongning Bo finished speaking, he paused for a moment, and his sharp gaze swept over the crowd below the stage before continuing, "Xuanda Trading Company is not something that just started today. It has existed in Xuanfu Town, Datong, and Shanxi for a long time. For the past three years, Xuanda Trading Company has always operated with integrity, and has never bullied its customers or defaulted on payments."

"I know that no matter how much I say to you today, it won't make any difference. So I'll keep it short and ask you all to wait and see whether Xuanda Trading Company truly operates with integrity. It's not up to me to say..."

The Marquis of Yongning stopped again, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd below the stage. Suddenly, he raised his voice and said, "This... is up to you... everyone present to judge."

"Alright, enough of the nonsense." The Earl of Yongning waved his hand and shouted, "Let's go! Qingbin Restaurant, let's go have some wine!" (End of Chapter)