Water Margin people

Because the Port of Guangzhou was burned down, all merchant ships traveling there and back diverted to the Port of Quanzhou.

Looking at the densely packed ships of all kinds in the port, Sun Lei was very satisfied.

Another gain from this war is these ships. Although these ships are of different styles, they are still good as merchant ships. More than 300 ships are a huge fortune.

"Chai Jin, Li Ying, Hu Cheng, these ships are now in your hands. Now we have a fleet for the long voyage, right?"

Sun Lei looked at the three people around him and said, if Qi State wants to transport by sea, it must have a fleet, but Qi State now only has warships and not enough merchant ships for long-distance voyages, and the merchant ships sent by these foreign merchants and pirates just solve this urgent problem.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Chai Jin, Li Ying and Hu Cheng were overjoyed. These three hundred large ships were enough to form several merchant caravans.

"It's up to you guys from now on."

Sun Lei looked at the three of them and said that if they encountered problems overseas, they would have to face them on their own. Even if Qi State wanted to help, there would be serious lags in the way.

"We will not bring disgrace to the reputation of Qi!"

The three of them knelt down and said in unison.

Sun Lei nodded, patted the three people on the shoulders and returned to Guangzhou Prefecture. The port was now a bustling construction site with nothing to see.

Sun Lei did not stay in Guangzhou Prefecture any longer. After arranging things, he led his men north, preparing to enter Jinghu South Road, then Jinghu North Road, and then enter Central Plains.

"Your Majesty, there is news from Liangzhe Road. Those profiteers have been arrested. The evidence is irrefutable. Their properties have been confiscated and more than 80 million strings of cash have been seized!"

Zhu Wu said excitedly that this time he was really eye-opening. For other emperors, going out on inspection tours was the most painful thing in the world. Wherever the emperor passed, the people in the localities suffered as if there was a natural disaster. Therefore, in previous dynasties, if the emperor wanted to go on an inspection tour, there would be ministers who would write letters to advise him.

But Sun Lei set a precedent. The emperor's trips to local areas did not put pressure on the local people. Instead, they brought prosperity to the local areas, rectified some local chronic diseases, greatly benefited the people, and brought countless money to fill the national treasury. The gains from this trip far exceeded the annual tax revenue of Zhao Song.

“I have money again!”

Sun Lei had a smile on his face. The wealth of Jiangnan really opened his eyes. Those merchants could actually squeeze out so much money. The key point was that this was only a part of it.

Now that he has money, Sun Lei is thinking about how to spend it. Money is needed, but it cannot be hoarded. Money needs to circulate so that it can bring him more money.

"Aren't riverbanks everywhere destroyed? Let's take advantage of the dry winter to have riverbanks built. I don't want to see news of floods again next year!"

"Also, the official roads in various places are a bit dilapidated and need to be repaired. Look at this carriage, even with shock absorbers it's still uncomfortable to sit in!"

Sun Lei thought about it before speaking. The easiest way to spend money is to build infrastructure, and river affairs and roads are the most urgent, especially river affairs. Floods are more troublesome than droughts.

Drought means that there is no harvest. All we need to do is spend enough money and food to provide relief. Drought is only temporary.

But floods are different. Not only will they destroy crops, they will also destroy a large number of houses in villages, causing terrible casualties, and may also be accompanied by plagues.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Wu bowed and said.

When they reached the intersection of Guangnan East Road and Jingzhou South Road, Xu Guanzhong arrived.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

Xu Guanzhong saluted to Sun Lei.

"It's getting late, let's set up camp here today!"

Sun Lei said to his bodyguards.

Upon receiving the order, the bodyguards began to build tents and temporary camps, and some went out hunting.

"Mr. Xu, you should know what's going on!" Sun Lei asked Xu Guanzhong.

"Your Majesty's trip to the south has become a legend, and many places have even made it into a play called "The Secret Visits of the Great Sage"!"

Xu Guanzhong said with a smile.

"Haha, it spread so fast?"

Sun Lei was a little surprised. Information should spread very slowly in this era.

"Your Majesty has been doing great things from Yangzhou to Hangzhou, and then to Quanzhou and Guangzhou. Now people in many places are eagerly waiting for Your Majesty to go to their places."

"What's even more interesting is that the gentry and wealthy people in various places have become unusually honest. They keep their tails between their legs and dare not bully others any more!"

"It is said that the best-selling book now is the Law of Qi. The gentry and wealthy people study it diligently every day, fearing that they will violate the law."

"Ordinary people also bought a lot. Those who could read read carefully, thinking about protecting their own interests, while those who could not read directly offered them as sacrifices, saying that it also had an effect."

Xu Guanzhong said with a smile.

"Haha, interesting!"

Sun Lei laughed. This was an unexpected gain. The legal education had some effect. As for the loopholes in the law, Sun Lei was not worried. Everything has loopholes, but this law was written by Pei Xuan. He had read it too. It was as rigorous as his nickname, Iron-Faced Face.

"Mr. Xu, I have a mission. Are you willing to take it?"

Sun Lei looked at Xu Guanzhong and asked.

"I am willing!"

Xu Guanzhong did not hesitate at all. He would not refuse the emperor's order.

"I plan to develop the south, including Guangnan East Road, Guangnan West Road, and Kuizhou Road! And I also want to pacify Dali, destroy the Li Dynasty and Champa. So I plan to appoint you as the governor of the southwest to lead the government affairs of the three states."

Sun Lei looked at Xu Guanzhong and said that these three places have many mountains and rivers, and are also gathering places for ethnic minorities. Xu Guanzhong should be able to handle things here more easily.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Xu Guanzhong immediately bowed and accepted the order. In fact, he had guessed some of it, but he did not expect that he would be directly appointed as the governor-general of three routes.

"Jiangnan has gained a lot this time, so I will allocate 20 million strings of cash to you first! In addition, I will leave 10,000 elite soldiers, who will be expanded into a large army. The initial plan is to have 100,000 people, who will be responsible for fighting and maintaining public security."

Sun Lei continued to talk about his own plans. If he wanted to develop the south, he could not be stingy, whether it was money or people.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Xu Guanzhong's face lit up with joy. With these, he was confident. With money and people, what could not be solved?

Next, Xu Guanzhong shared some of his ideas, and Sun Lei gave some pointers based on his own knowledge from later life. Xu Guanzhong looked at Sun Lei in disbelief. He did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor would have such a detailed plan. This could not be thought up in a day or two. It required sufficient understanding of the terrain and customs of the three routes.

Lu Zhishen and Wu Song came back with their men at this time. Wu Song was carrying a black bear, and Lu Zhishen was looking at a huge wild boar, whose fangs were almost as big as elephant tusks.

"Are you guys going on a raid?"

Sun Lei looked at the rabbits, pheasants and other things hanging on the soldiers and was speechless. The weather was not cool at all and the meat would go bad if it was not eaten up.

"Hehe, what a coincidence! I've never seen such a big wild boar before. This guy is really powerful!"

Lu Zhishen laughed and patted the wild boar king, which must have weighed 500 kilograms. (End of this chapter)