The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

At this moment, the heir of the loyal prince suddenly spoke up, sneering, "The development of Tianjin Port did not cost the imperial court much money; it was basically prospered by merchants!"

"But that huge cargo throughput is only possible because of the support of overseas trade with Goryeo!"

"How can the coastal areas of Shandong compare to Tianjin Port?"

Jia Huan raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "What the young master says is true, but I only have one question: are the forces of our group strong enough?"

The members of the imperial clan looked at each other, not understanding what Jia Huan meant.

"What I mean is, how about we all unite and bypass the imperial court to conduct maritime trade directly?"

"The size and speed of ocean-going ships are far superior to those of the cargo ships in the canals!"

"Why don't we develop several coastal areas of Shandong as transit points for north-south transportation? Wouldn't that easily create a north-south transportation system with a huge cargo throughput?"

"Don't doubt whether this can be done. If the Mongol Yuan dynasty could do it, why can't we?"

"As for possible resistance, what kind of resistance could there be?"

Jia Huan sneered, "We haven't touched the canal transport, nor have we bothered the caravans and merchants who rely on it for business. We've already been very polite!"

"If there are still people who can't stand it, do you think we're all just vegetarians?"

These words left the members of the royal family present looking at each other in bewilderment, but they were quite excited inside.

Jia Huan's words were like opening a door to a new world for them. They had never thought about such things before and thought that it was something the imperial court should deal with.

But now, after being misled by Jia Huan, they suddenly realized that there was actually a possibility of success.

With their combined power, they could completely shield themselves from the attention and pressure from the imperial court and the emperor in a short period of time. Once they reached a certain scale, there would be even less to fear. That would mean control of several cities that were like mountains of gold and seas of silver.

Chapter 314 I Can't Wait Any Longer (Please Subscribe)

"Something feels off to me. I have this feeling that I've been tricked?"

"So you have it too? I feel the same way, but I don't know what's going on?"

"What else could it be? Go home and think about it carefully, and you'll understand!"

"Hmph, that kid Jia Huan is really cunning; he managed to trick us all!"

"..."

After leaving the restaurant where the gathering took place, the invited members of the royal family gathered together and discussed the matter.

It's unclear who started it, but the expressions on the faces of the royal family members present became rather subtle.

On the other hand, Jia Huan was not in a hurry to leave; he had other matters to discuss with Prince Zhongshun.

All that passionate talk before was just to persuade those members of the imperial clan in cooperation with Prince Zhongshun, wasn't it?

Their expansion in the open sea really requires these guys to contribute money and effort; otherwise, it simply won't be fast enough.

"You're quite the smooth talker, kid!"

Prince Zhongshun understood perfectly and chuckled, "In the end, wouldn't the imperial court and the current emperor be the ones who benefit from developing several new port cities in Lu?"

"As it should be!"

Jia Huan dismissed it, saying calmly, "Such a big matter requires mobilizing too many resources and manpower; it's impossible for them not to notice it now!"

"If the current emperor doesn't gain such a huge advantage, do you think Your Highness would turn a blind eye?"

After pondering for a moment, Prince Zhongshun finally had to admit that Jia Huan was right!

"I imagine the Emperor is already annoyed by the sheer number of his brothers, you former emperors!"

Jia Huan showed no sign of stopping, and chuckled, "If you could find another way out, the emperor would definitely tacitly approve. Only a fool would go through the trouble of stopping you!"

"Don't forget, the Emperor Emeritus is still alive!"

"Most of the power in the Beijing Garrison is still firmly in the hands of the Emperor Emeritus!"

"Of course, this is your best chance!"

"Once most of the princes under my current command have come of age and gained some strength, the situation will be different!"

Prince Zhongshun remained silent, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant, but he offered no explanation.

"I felt somewhat displeased!"

After a moment, he couldn't help but chuckle bitterly: "If your plan succeeds, you'll be of immense help to the emperor. You're really letting him off easy!"

"Who told him to be the emperor?"

Jia Huan scoffed, "That's just how it is. There's no need to dwell on these things too much. As long as we can achieve our goal of expanding into the outer seas, we shouldn't worry too much about other things!"

If the coastal areas of Shandong, such as Dengzhou and Jiaozhou, were developed, the boost to Shandong's economy and the overall benefit to the Great Qian Dynasty would be astonishing.

The development and construction of towns and ports alone require hundreds of thousands of young and middle-aged laborers!

Because it was a privately developed project, the government could not recruit laborers; they had to hire people privately by spending money and grain.

Such a large-scale project deserves all the praise it can give to boost the private economy.

It is estimated that by then, the abundant labor force in Lu alone will not be enough to meet such a massive demand.

It could even unilaterally increase labor costs for tenant farmers and landless farmers in Lu.

No number of migrant workers are enough to meet the labor needs of these coastal towns!

Once the newly established port towns have reached a certain scale and order, and can serve as transit points for goods between the north and south, they can develop rapidly by relying solely on Jia Huan, Prince Zhongshun, and a group of royal family members.

Not to mention those astute businessmen, who will likely create several new commercial centers.

The capacity to accommodate young and middle-aged people and their families alone is in the hundreds of thousands!

If the key points of the canals in Lu are connected, new commercial transportation channels can be formed, and how many people can live and depend on them?

It can be said that if Jia Huan's blueprint is followed, several new port cities can be built in a short period of time, which can easily attract millions of able-bodied people.

The affected population is at least over ten million, and the upstream and downstream industrial chains are countless!

To put it simply, once those port cities are developed and built, the overall national strength of the Great Qian will rise to a new level, and it will also reduce or prolong the outbreak of many conflicts.

Take the Grand Canal for example. It certainly won't be abandoned, but it's unlikely to become the lifeline of the Great Qian Dynasty as it used to be.

When dealing with the many complexities of the Grand Canal transport, the imperial court was not so cautious or hesitant.

This has resulted in the transfer of enormous profits to rent-seekers who are dependent on the Grand Canal for their own benefit.

It can be said that the plan proposed by Jia Huan is absolutely a great thing that benefits the country and its people!

The key point is that by bypassing the imperial court and operating independently, they avoided a great deal of unnecessary losses.

With such significant benefits, even if he discovers his brothers' underhanded tactics, he can only turn a blind eye. If he continues to make trouble, he'll be leaving his brothers no way out.

With several port cities in Lu as their base, Jia Huan and Prince Zhongshun were able to better expand into the open seas, truly a win-win situation.

Actually, the reasoning and logic here are very simple. It just depends on whether Prince Zhongshun and his relatives can understand it.

After all, if you're doing something like this and haven't even gained any benefit yourself yet, you have to give the people who are currently doing it a favor first.

"You're right, what can you do when he's the emperor?"

Prince Zhongshun gave a wry smile and changed the subject, asking, "What else is there for you to do here, boy?"

"Does Your Highness know that the Emperor is intentionally instigating the Prince of Nan'an to cause trouble in the southwest?"

Without wasting any words, Jia Huan asked directly, "This matter could have a significant impact on the Xun Gui Group. If things go wrong, it could even cause the Xun Gui Group to collapse!"

"Is that so? I have never heard of it!"

Prince Zhongshun was taken aback and frowned, saying, "No word of it got out. How did you know?"

Jia Huan then briefly recounted what he knew, as well as some publicly available information from within the Xun Gui Group.

Finally, he said, "All signs indicate that the Prince of Nan'an is already somewhat restless!"

"Is he crazy?"

Prince Zhongshun exclaimed in surprise, "Why would you give up being the King of the Southwest and take such a risk?"

"I am not sure as well!"

Jia Huan said unhappily, "If the southwestern border wasn't so far from the capital, I would really like to go and ask the Prince of Nan'an what he's thinking."

"Unfortunately, this man is the backbone of the Xun Gui Group!"

Jia Huan said unhappily, "If something happens to him, the entire Xun Gui Group will be greatly affected!"

"At that time, the nobility group lost the capital to barely contend with the current situation and could only be slaughtered at its mercy!"

At this point, Jia Huan glanced at Prince Zhongshun and said bluntly, "At that time, in order to protect themselves, the Ning and Rong mansions had no choice but to quickly withdraw their forces, and their cooperation with the prince was likely to end!"

"How?"

Prince Zhongshun's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Jia Jieyuan, aren't you being too pessimistic?"

"You must understand, the Prince of Nan'an has an army of 100,000 under his command, and the local government troops in the various prefectures and counties in the southwest also number in the hundreds of thousands. That's no joke!"

"Even if the Prince of Nan'an wanted to take action against a neighboring country, it would be unlikely that a victor would be determined in a short period of time!"

"Perhaps, he fell for it because we promised him some benefits!"

"If we realize something's wrong then, we can react quickly, and it won't be too late!"