Ahead is the city gate of Hangzhou Fucheng. Wu Sangui, wearing a cotton silk gown, gritted his teeth secretly.

The burly Wu Sangui, no matter what identity he pretends to be, has a military aura about him. This man who was born into a military family has no way to erase the aura on his body. Therefore, on how Wu Sangui entered the capital of Hangzhou, Lu Faxuan and others

After thinking hard, Wu Sangui was finally able to dress up as a businessman and enter the capital city of Hangzhou.

Lu Faxuan suggested sending several sergeants to Wu Sangui to escort him along the way to Hangzhou City, but Wu Sangui refused.

Starting from Nanjing, Wu Sangui went to Hangzhou Fucheng by land. In fact, he could take a water boat to go directly to Hangzhou. Although Zhejiang was not under the direct control of the imperial court, water boats still traveled between Zhejiang and South Zhili. Businessmen had to eat and make money.

, they don’t care about the differences between regions. Of course, the number of water ships heading to Zhejiang is getting smaller and smaller. The main reason is because the docks along the way in Zhejiang are exploited by sergeants, officials and even gangs.

Neither the ship owner nor the Cao Gang can bear it. It is different when entering Nanzhili. There are no checkpoints along the way. The owner of the ship can sail safely and boldly. The prerequisite is to pay the trade tax, and the trade tax paid by the owner of the ship is

, compared with the money exploited by the military, government and gangs in the past, it is nothing at all.

Nanjing is not very far from Hangzhou. The whole journey is only 600 miles. If Wu Sangui marches at the same speed and does not consume too much energy, he can arrive in about three days. However, Wu Sangui did not rush all the way. According to the information provided by the Intelligence Department

According to the intelligence, Zheng Chenggong led 50,000 sergeants and set off from Fuzhou on February 25th for Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Fuzhou is 1,400 miles away from Hangzhou. Zheng Chenggong could only choose to march by land, which would take at least half a month.

We arrived in Hangzhou around March 10th, so Wu Sangui still had enough time.

Wu Sangui had a relationship with Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo. Both Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo had fought in Liaodong, and they relied on their military exploits in Liaodong to eventually be promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief. However, the friendship between them was not very deep.

.

Wu Sangui was not afraid at all. He had strong support from the court behind him. Even if Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo were unwilling to submit to the Wu court, they would not dare to attack Wu Sangui, otherwise they would die without a burial place. Wu Sangui thought at that moment.

, it is to persuade Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo to surrender, it is to complete this task of persuading them to surrender.

As long as Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo are willing to submit to the imperial court, things will be easy to handle later. When Zheng Chenggong comes to Hangzhou, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo are willing to send troops to help, allowing Zheng Chenggong to lead the army into Huguang to fight head-on with Zhang Xianzhong. As long as Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Xianzhong confront each other.

, the imperial court could completely control the overall situation in Zhejiang and even the south.

The Denglai Navy has already set off from Dengzhou and headed for the waters around Quanzhou. Zheng Chenggong was restrained by Zhang Xianzhong and could not retreat immediately. When the time came, Zheng Zhilong would not be able to recruit so many sergeants in a hurry, so he would fight at sea. The Denglai Navy

Take the initiative.

Therefore, the responsibility Wu Sangui bears is huge.

The sergeant at the door handle was a little lazy.

Wu Sangui held his head high and headed towards the corridor, not even looking at the sergeant guarding the city gate. A sergeant guarding the city gate was about to step forward to question Wu Sangui. The sergeant next to him pulled back and pursed his lips.

With a warning look on his face, the sergeant who was about to step forward looked at Wu Sangui, turned back somewhat unconvinced, and leaned lazily on the city wall.

It was past Chen hour, and there were very few people going in and out of the city gate, and the soldiers guarding the city gate didn't have much to do.

When entering the corridor, Wu Sangui shook his head. These sergeants guarding the city gate were bullying the weak and afraid of the strong. They did not dare to question anyone who saw a well-dressed person or a person with a good temperament. When they met ordinary people, they were fierce and fierce.

Wu Sangui was very familiar with this kind of situation. When he was in Liaodong, he didn't know how many he saw.

Entering the city, Wu Sangui was a little confused when he saw the scattered crowds. In his impression, the prosperity of Zhejiang's trade was even greater than that of South Zhili. During the Zhengde period, Zhejiang had the largest number of merchants. Silk factories were everywhere in Hangzhou.

All in all, during the Wanli and Tianqi years, when the eunuchs in the imperial court were in power, they levied trade taxes in Zhejiang. As a result, Zhejiang merchants fiercely resisted, including members of the Donglin Party at that time, who also rebelled against the eunuchs' collection of trade taxes.

Not long after the Spring Festival, it is understandable that business is not so prosperous, but the situation in Hangzhou feels too deserted, which is hard to understand. Could it be that all the merchants in Zhejiang have closed down their businesses.

With such doubts, Wu Sangui called a carriage and ordered the carriage to go to the most lively place in Hangzhou, and not to go too fast along the way.

The curtains were always open, and Wu Sangui stared at everything outside. He believed that the prosperous area must be in a relatively lively place in Hangzhou.

As time went by, Wu Sangui saw more and more houses, but the population was always small, and there was no bustling scene. No matter where it was, it always gave people a slightly deserted feeling.

Wu Sangui couldn't help it any longer and spoke to the carriage driver in front of him.

"Man, when I talked about the most lively places in Hangzhou, the places you visited didn't look very lively..."

The coachman didn't turn his head and spoke directly.

"Sir, this is your first time in Hangzhou. The most lively place in Hangzhou is right here..."

Wu Sangui was a little annoyed and spoke.

"Man, don't kid me. Who doesn't know that Hangzhou is the most lively place? I have heard before that Hangzhou is more lively than Yangzhou and Suzhou in South Zhili. There are many merchants. Just after hearing these rumors,

I just came to Hangzhou to have a look..."

The guy still didn't look back.

"Master, what you are talking about is all in the past. Many merchants in Hangzhou have gone to Nanzhili. Doing business in Nanzhili is much better than here..."

Perhaps feeling that he had said too much, the coachman quickly changed the subject.

"Master, I was talking nonsense just now, don't mind it, just pretend that I didn't say anything..."

After saying this, the coachman stopped talking, no matter how Wu Sangui asked.

Although the coachman stopped talking, Wu Sangui already understood.

Wu Sangui has always been a military general and rarely pays attention to people's livelihood matters. If he hadn't entered the martial arts hall of the Denglai New Army to study, he still would not have considered people's livelihood matters. In his opinion, soldiers only fight, and other things do not need to be dealt with.

He didn't have much to worry about, but after attending a lot of courses at the Jiangwu Hall, he began to pay attention to people's livelihood. There is a truth that Wu Sangui completely understood. Without strong economic strength and sufficient financial support, there would be no success.

The construction of an extremely powerful army and military fields requires the support of money, but for the army, money is not everything, faith is the core.

Wu Sangui had always believed that the imperial court's imposition of trade taxes and the vigorous implementation of the policy of officials and gentry working as errands and paying taxes would most likely cause a large number of scholar-bureaucrats and merchants to flee Southern Zhili and go to Zhejiang, Fujian and other places. Therefore, the emperor and the imperial court were in the process of conquering the south.

When the time comes, he will be extra cautious. Now it seems that his understanding is still wrong.

"Master, where are you planning to go..."

The coachman finally couldn't help but speak.

Wu Sangui smiled.

"Man, I finally spoke. Didn't you just say nothing? In fact, you don't have to worry. I'm just here for the first time and I don't know the situation in Hangzhou, so I asked you about it. Just say it. That's it. I also

I won’t let you talk in vain, as long as you tell the truth about the situation of the merchants in Hangzhou, I will give you five taels of silver, what do you think..."

The coachman suddenly pulled the reins and turned to look at Wu Sangui.

The coachman watched very carefully and waited for about a minute before speaking.

"Master, what you said is true. You are just talking nonsense. Don't you blame me?"

"Look at what you said, why should I blame you? I am a businessman. If I don't know the actual situation in Hangzhou, I will lose money when doing business. Who would do such a loss-making business?"

The coachman nodded, lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then spoke when he raised his head.

"Master, to tell you the truth, at the beginning of the new year, many people came to Hangzhou, but not long after, many people left. I don't know the specific situation, but I heard that it is very difficult in the city.

Many merchants were unable to maintain their business and went back to Nanzhili. I heard that it was easy to do business in Nanzhili. As long as you paid the taxes, everything would be fine."

Having said this, the coachman showed an envious look on his face, which made Wu Sangui feel strange.

"Man, what's wrong with you? Why didn't you say anything?"

The coachman sighed.

"Sir, I've said all that needs to be said about small business. It's not peaceful for small businesses. We coachmen are also under the supervision of someone. We have to hand over half of our daily income, otherwise we don't have to do anything.

.”

Wu Sangui frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and spoke again.

"Brother, tell the truth, is Liu Zeqing, the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang Province, also exploiting businessmen..."

Before Wu Sangui finished speaking, the carriage driver's expression changed drastically.

"Master, please don't say this. I didn't hear anything. If you say this, if I know and don't report it, I will be beheaded. I don't want your money. I don't want anything."

have no idea..."

Watching Wu Sangui get off the carriage, the coachman drove the carriage and left quickly...
Chapter completed!