Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 17 Canal Business Opportunities

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Luokou Wharf, on the northern outskirts of Jinan Prefecture.

This is the confluence of the Xiaoqing River and the Grand Canal, the busiest passage in Shandong. Yet at this moment, this passage seems to be choked by a huge bone, almost suffocating people.

The wide river was densely packed with countless boats. There were grain transport boats flying the flag of the Ministry of Revenue, military ships flying the flag of the Ministry of War, merchant ships loaded with goods from the south, and even small sampans carrying families fleeing for their lives, blocking the waterway completely.

Masts stood like a forest, sails blotted out the sky. Bows pressed against sterns, gangplanks upon gangplanks. Shouts, cries, and the heavy chants of the boatmen, mixed with the fishy smell of the river and the nauseating stench of excrement, formed the backdrop of this chaotic world.

Lu Yan, along with Zhao Changying and Hu Jingshui, stood on a high hill on the shore, overlooking the despairing traffic jam.

"This...this is too chaotic." Hu Jingshui held an old handkerchief to her nose, her brows furrowed. "I heard from the brokers that the Dezhou section ahead is so badly silted up due to the Yellow River breach that large ships can't get through at all. Some cargo ships have been stuck here for half a month, and their hulls are almost covered with barnacles."

"Half a month?" Zhao Changying crossed her arms and snorted coldly. "Do those officials really think they can wait? Things are already really urgent in Liaodong."

"They really can't afford to wait." Lu Yan raised his eyes, his gaze icy cold. "The Sarhu defeat has just occurred, and the imperial court is frantically transferring grain and military supplies from the south to stabilize the Guan-Ning defense line. For the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War right now, time is of the essence. Whoever can get the supplies moving is their 'father'."

He pointed to the messy dock below: "Old Hu, look at how they do their work!"

Hu Jingshui looked in the direction of the finger.

Beside a grain transport ship bearing the flag of the Ministry of War, a group of ragged, emaciated porters crawled like ants. Without any aids, they relied entirely on their shoulders to carry the hundred-pound grain sacks, trembling as they stepped off the swaying gangplank.

"Snapped!"

With a sharp crack, a bailiff who looked like a foreman lashed a porter's back with his whip: "Hurry up! Haven't you eaten? If you're late, I'll skin you alive!"

The porter's legs gave way, and he and the grain sacks fell into the muddy water. The grain sacks ripped open, spilling white rice all over the ground. The surrounding refugees instantly pounced on them like mad dogs, creating utter chaos.

"Too inefficient, too costly," Lu Yan commented coldly. "This is our opportunity."

"Master, you mean..." Hu Jingshui seemed to have guessed something, but she wasn't sure.

"The canal is blocked, so boats can't pass, but goods can." Lu Yan turned around and pointed to the main road behind him. "Unload the goods, transport them by carts and horses through this ten-mile-long silted-up section, and then load them onto boats in the deeper waters downstream. This is 'overloading,' which is the 'last ten miles' in logistics."

"But..." Hu Jingshui quickly manipulated the abacus in his hands, his professional instincts telling him to start calculating the risks. "This Luokou Wharf is the territory of the 'Weishui Gang.' I've heard of those people; their leader, Master Ma, is a local tyrant in Jinan. If we go and try to take their territory, will they allow it?"

"Stealing food?" Lu Yan's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Old Hu, you still haven't figured it out. What does the Weishui Gang rely on? They rely on monopoly and violence. They control the docks, taking as much as they want, whenever they want. They are bloodsucking leeches."

"What we need to do is to use a dimensional reduction attack."

Lu Yan turned around and looked at the row of soldiers behind him who were fully prepared to go.

One hundred and eighty men from Group A, dressed in uniform gray coarse cloth short jackets, had not yet gained much weight, but after several days of drill training, their posture already resembled that of soldiers.

The most eye-catching thing was the fifty specially made wheelbarrows they were pushing.

"Changying, get the brothers ready." Lu Yan straightened his blue scholar's robe, which was his bargaining chip for today's negotiations. "We're going to meet that overwhelmed canal transport official."

……

In front of the dock's official hall, Wang Gui, the ambassador of the Jinan Prefecture's Canal Transport Administration, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

His green official robe, belonging to a ninth-rank official, was soaked with sweat. The ship in front of him, loaded with military provisions, had been docked for two days. According to the Ministry of War's assessment, if it hadn't passed Dezhou by tomorrow, he could forget about his official post.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" Wang Gui smashed his teacup to pieces, pointed at the several brokers kneeling on the ground, and cursed them, "I don't care what methods you use, you must unload and transport these three hundred shi of grain today! Otherwise, I will chop you all up!"

"Sir, we're innocent!" a burly foreman cried out, his face contorted with distress. "It's not that we weren't working hard enough, it's just that we don't have enough manpower! This boat is drafted too deep; it would take at least three days to unload everything by hand. Besides, the road ahead is blocked; vehicles can't get through!"

"Get out! All of you get out!" Wang Gui was so angry that his vision went black.

Just then, a clear voice pierced through the noise.

"If Lord Wang trusts me, I can transport these three hundred bushels of grain for you within an hour."

Wang Gui suddenly looked up. He saw a young scholar approaching with his hands behind his back, followed by an accountant and a burly man. The scholar wore a square cap and had a composed demeanor; he was clearly a scholar with official rank.

"Who are you?" Wang Gui subconsciously suppressed his anger.

"Lu Yan of Ziyang has been selected as a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial examination) in the year of Yiwei." Lu Yan bowed slightly, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Upon hearing the words "Juren" (a degree in the imperial examination system), Wang Gui's back instantly bent low. In the Ming Dynasty, a ninth-rank official was nothing more than a slightly higher-ranking servant in front of a Juren.

"So it's Lu Xiaolian! My apologies for not recognizing you sooner!" Wang Gui quickly offered him a seat, but his eyes held a hint of suspicion. "You just said... an hour?"

"Not bad." Lu Yan didn't sit down, but walked to the riverbank and pointed to the grain ship. "Not only can it unload the grain, but it can also help you transport it across the silted-up section of Shili Pu and put it directly onto the transfer boat."

"This...how is this possible?" Wang Gui's eyes widened. "Those hundred laborers worked all day and haven't even finished unloading 20%!"

"Because they use their shoulders, I use my brain." Lu Yan smiled and held up two fingers. "Lord Wang, I don't mince words. The government pays porters thirty coins per stone, right? I only need twenty. But I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Wang Gui's heart skipped a beat. Twenty coins? With this profit and loss, he could earn ten coins per shi (a unit of dry measure), which would amount to three taels of silver for three hundred shi! And the key was that it was fast!

"From now on, any urgent shipments or military rations that pass through this Luokou Wharf, as long as you can decide, should be given priority to my 'Lu's Carriage and Horse Shop'." Lu Yan stared into Wang Gui's eyes. "Furthermore, I need a travel permit that allows me to travel freely along the canal."

Wang Gui hesitated for a moment. Obtaining the permit was easy, but did this "Lu Ji" really have that kind of ability?

"Lu Xiaolian, military rations are a matter of utmost importance. If anything goes wrong..."

"If it exceeds one hour, we will not charge a penny, and will compensate double the amount," Lu Yan said decisively.

Wang Gui gritted his teeth: "Fine! If you can really do it, I'll personally open this gate for you!"

Lu Yan turned around and waved to Zhao Changying in the distance.

The next hour became a spectacle at Luokou Wharf.

The people from Lu's shop didn't swarm in like flies. They had a clear division of labor:

The first group of twenty people used simple pulleys and booms on the boat to lower the grain bags in groups of four.

The second group of twenty people received the goods under the plank and placed them directly on the wheelbarrow without touching the ground.

The third group of 140 people, two people per cart, pushed the strange carts that could carry 400 pounds, walking briskly along the wooden plank road that Lu Yan had already arranged.

"One, two! Let's go!"

The chants were uniform, without any cursing or whipping, only the smooth operation like an assembly line.

Hu Jingshui stood to the side, holding an hourglass in his hand, muttering to himself, "Sixty shi in a quarter of an hour... one hundred and twenty shi in half an hour... Boss, this speed is more than five times faster than the Weishui Gang!"

The porters, foremen, and merchants around them were dumbfounded. They had never seen this way of working before. The oppressive feeling brought about by industrialization made them instinctively fearful—it wasn't just about speed; it was about taking away their livelihoods.

It only took seven quarters of an hour.

All three hundred bushels of military rations were transferred and neatly stacked beside the docking boat ten miles away.

Wang Gui stared at the empty cabin, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg. After a long silence, he excitedly grasped Lu Yan's hand: "Amazing! Truly amazing! Lu Xiaolian is a man of great talent! I will open the gate right now!"

Lu Yan smiled as he accepted the document bearing the bright red seal and handed it to Hu Jingshui behind him.

"Keep it safe, Lao Hu," Lu Yan said in a low voice. "This is not just a piece of paper; it's our 'protective charm,' and also our ticket to navigate this chaotic world."

Hu Jingshui held the travel permit, his hands trembling. He had spent his whole life doing accounting, and for the first time, he realized that making money could be done this way—not through deception or fraud, not through falsifying accounts, but through efficiency that was irresistible.

However, just as they turned to leave, several cold gazes shot out from the crowd.

They were several men dressed in short black silk jackets, their breast hair exposed. The one in the lead was a minor leader of the Weishui Gang, who was currently touching the iron ruler at his waist, his eyes like those of a venomous snake eyeing its prey.

Lu Yan sensed the killing intent, but he did not turn around.

Having entered this hellish place, I never thought I could leave cleanly.

"Changying," he called softly, "tell the brothers to be alert tonight. Some dogs will come running as soon as they smell meat."

Zhao Changying grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth: "Brother, my knife has been sharpened for a long time."