If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 56 Raising Funds
Can businessmen build docks at will?It's really hard to say.

If someone is willing to pay and then approach the county government or state government office, local officials are usually happy to see the result.

This kind of thing can be regarded as a political achievement of local officials. Under normal circumstances, local officials will be happy to see it happen. After all, someone is building bridges and paving roads, which is indeed a good thing for the local area.

And building docks is even more so. This kind of thing that facilitates transportation and promotes local development is a political achievement.

You must know that local officials in the feudal era did not have much "municipal budget" on their hands. If they wanted to build a road or something, they had to report to the court to see when the Ministry of Household Affairs would approve it, or they would ask local wealthy households for donations.

Therefore, if a businessman is willing to pay this amount, even if it is to build a dock for his own use, the government will generally not care about it.

But to say that businessmen can build wharves at will is not necessarily the case.

At least, building docks in important places like military camps, shipyards and city gates like Zhu Zhanjuan's would not be approved by ordinary local officials.

Apart from anything else, this is the gate of Nanjing City. If you want to break ground here, you will directly alert the court.

But for Zhu Zhancheng, this is not a problem.

With his status as the emperor's grandson, his mission to train troops according to the order, his official position as the commander of the new guard post, and the power of the emperor to grant him a gold medal to act cheaply, it can be said that as long as Zhu Zhanquan didn't want to rebel, no one would stop him from doing anything he wanted to do.

At most, it's just like when he wanted to build a canal, some people thought it would cost too much and didn't want to pay for it, leaving him to figure it out on his own.

Therefore, when Zhu Zhanquan asked Yang Pu to release the news that he wanted to raise funds to build a dock outside Dinghuai Gate, a large group of businessmen came to the door.

Hui merchants from Lianghuai, Fujian merchants from Fujian, Longyou merchant gang, Jiangyou merchant gang... It can be said that as long as they got the news, they were all very interested in this matter.

For these businessmen, it would undoubtedly be much more convenient if there was a dock here in Dinghuaimen where goods could be transported from the Yangtze River waterway and unloaded here.

Whether it is transshipment by land or sent to the city, it is a great convenience to have a transfer terminal here. If more warehouses and shops can be built, this place will soon prosper.

These businessmen have undoubtedly been able to see this a long time ago, and it is not that no one has ever thought of building a dock here.

However, the status of merchants in the Ming Dynasty was low. In the early Ming Dynasty, merchants had almost the lowest social status in the Ming Dynasty because of Zhu Yuanzhang. Dinghuaimen also had the Longjiang Shipyard. The court did not build a dock here, so it was difficult for merchants to build it here. The dock.

Therefore, these businessmen were undoubtedly moved when they learned that Zhu Zhanquan wanted to build a pier and hoped that someone would pay for it.

Not to mention the convenience they would gain from building the pier, just to be able to take the line of the nobles of the East Palace, even if it was just a donation, they were willing.

It's just that it is of course impossible for mere merchants to go to the East Palace to ask for an audience with the emperor's grandson. They can only find Yang Pu, who was put on the bright side by Zhu Zhankun.

In addition to the normal visits and gifts, these businessmen also held banquets to entertain Yang Pu.

This kind of welcome does not cost a lot of money. If Yang Pu can say a few good words in front of Zhu Zhanquan, the emperor's grandson, it will be worth the price, so these businessmen are very willing to spend money. .Chartering a flower boat directly on the Qinhuai River, inviting the best oiran, all kinds of delicacies, and the warm fragrance of soft jade really made Yang Pu a little overwhelmed.

For Yang Pu, this kind of entertainment was something he had never experienced before.

The salaries given to officials in the Ming Dynasty were very low, and a considerable part of them were in kind and treasure notes, which depreciated very quickly.

Coupled with Zhu Yuanzhang's deep hatred of corruption, it was difficult to make a living as an official in the early Ming Dynasty.

Senior officials may be better off, but many lower-level officials even have to borrow money to survive. Officials like Yang Pu, who are subordinate to the prince, are expected to have people who always show filial piety.

However, because Zhu Gaochi held the position of supervising the country, he had very strict requirements for the officials in the East Palace and strictly prohibited them from accepting filial piety and gifts.

In addition, Yang Pu himself is relatively clean. Although his life is relatively good, he is generally relatively poor. This kind of private banquet on the Qinhuai River with a flower boat and an oiran is not something Yang Pu can afford.

This made Yang Pu look at the table full of delicacies and couldn't help but sigh. If this were placed in the Hongwu Dynasty, one meal would be enough to lose his head.

But Yang Pu also knew the purpose of his visit and why these businessmen entertained him.

He didn't want to get too entangled with these businessmen, so after eating a few bites of food and drinking a few glasses of wine, Yang Pu hinted that it was time for these businessmen to get straight to the point.

"Master Yang, is it true that His Highness the Second Emperor Sun wants to build a dock outside Dinghuai Gate?" After receiving Yang Pu's hint, these businessmen really didn't talk nonsense, and one of the leaders asked directly their biggest concern.

Yang Pu did not hide anything about this, and nodded affirmatively and said: "It is indeed true. The imperial court ordered His Highness the Second Emperor to train troops outside Dinghuai Gate. A new military camp was needed. His Highness felt that transporting materials from Nanjing City would be necessary every day. It was too troublesome to pass through the Dinghuai Gate, so it was decided to build a dock along the Yangtze River and the outer Qinhuai River to facilitate the transportation of materials for building military camps directly to the construction site.

It's just that the budget allocated by the imperial court is limited. His Highness the Second Emperor Sun wrote to the imperial court, but the imperial court asked him to raise money and food by himself. This really made it very difficult for His Highness the Second Emperor Sun, so he ordered me to find a way to raise some money so that the dock could be used. Build it up. "

When Yang Pu said this, he looked at these businessmen.

If there are no accidents, the next step will be for these businessmen to surrender and bribe Yang Pu with money.

But it is obvious that even if they want to be effective, these businessmen also want to sell themselves at a good price, at least they want to get benefits from the money.

Being able to use Zhu Zhanchun's name to provide themselves with protection can only be regarded as the most basic goal for these businessmen.

The next best thing is to be able to take advantage of Zhu Zhanchun's line. It is also acceptable to them. It is undoubtedly better for these businessmen to get the right to use the wharf through the construction of the wharf.

So the representative of the merchants asked Yang Pu: "Master Yang, I wonder how large the dock His Highness the Second Emperor Sun wants to build? How much silver will it cost? Are there any regulations?"

"His Royal Highness the Second Emperor Sun said that if you have more money, you can practice the law, and if you have less money, you can practice the law. If you can raise 5 taels of silver, then His Highness will renovate the outer Qinhuai River section outside Dinghuai Gate. , build the river bank and part of the Yangtze River bank into a wharf." Yang Pu explained the construction plan that Zhu Zhankun told him. In just a few words, the eyes of the businessmen present shone with light. He knew that it had been done, but he still He continued: "If you only have a few thousand taels of silver, you can just build a wharf to stop ships and unload cargo, so there is no need to worry about that."

(End of this chapter)