Chapter 335: Opening the Port (II)

Xiong Dao's entourage on this business trip was no small affair: a shopkeeper, an accountant, clerks, bodyguards, inner guards, servants — just these alone numbered over forty people. In fact, for the task at hand, this group was merely the advance force.

One must understand that Master Xiong had come this time to open a port. Setting aside the construction of a large-scale modern pier district, knowing the typical habits of transmigrators, commercial and residential zones were sure to follow — in short, a full-scale special zone.

The Shanghai Bund — an adventurer's paradise, trams, arcade buildings, the Xianshi Company, the Yong'an Company... If they didn't recreate the "retro" Nanjing Road so common in TV dramas, could it even be called the Shanghai Bund?

So this time, he not only brought many natives along, but once matters took some shape, more transmigrators would also come over on assignment — Xiong Dao knew nothing about planning and construction; other departments would need to send people.

Master Xiong's team rested that very night at Luo Garden. Luo Shizhi not only set aside half the garden for the guests to rest, but also intended to provide the Old Chief with several serving maids and boy servants.

This offer, however, was politely declined.

As time passed, the internal structure of the Transmigration Nation was continuously refined, so many previously unorthodox practices were now becoming more and more standardized.

People like Xiong Dao, who had casually joined the intelligence system back then as dabblers, later received professional remedial lessons one after another from Deputy Director Ma Yue, filling in the gaps they had missed.

And the close attendants around him, including the inner guards and servants, had all now been replaced with formal employees trained by the Intelligence Bureau at the New Port Training Base. These people were not only responsible for protecting Xiong Dao's safety, but also handled daily espionage tasks such as telegraphy, reconnaissance, and covert assassination.

So when Master Xiong went out now, it was equivalent to an entire intelligence team going out, carrying all sorts of secrets with them — there was no way he could accept the serving maids sent by the Luo Family.

After a simple rest and reorganization that night, starting from the next day, Master Xiong did not attend to official business; instead, he first entered a round of social engagements.

Welcome banquets, music banquets, tea gatherings, pure conversations, secret talks, receiving so-and-so who came bearing gifts, personally going with gifts to so-and-so's residence to request an audience... This entire round of social activity consumed several days of Xiong Dao's time.

This was necessary. Shanghai County was full of wealthy merchants, and quite a few of them had dealt with Master Xiong before. Now that a certain someone intended to make moves here, he naturally had to first feel out the situation and greet the various local powers.

After a round of intensive social engagements, Xiong Dao finally freed his hands to begin the real work.

The first step was site survey. Maps from later generations were not the same as those from 400 years ago; the phrase "seas change into mulberry fields" perfectly described the transformation of the Shanghai Bund: roughly one-fifth of the coastal land on Google Maps was still ocean in the Ming Dynasty. Places like Pudong International Airport and Nanhui New City were, at this moment, entirely the kingdom of fish and turtles.

Xiong Dao first spent several days traveling along the water network near the coastline. After this, he took a sampan and began wandering around the Gaoqiao Town area.

Gaoqiao Town lay 30 li northeast of Shanghai Xiancheng. In the early Tang Dynasty, it was merely an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River. As years passed, the island gradually connected to the mainland, and by the Ming Dynasty, it belonged to the territory of Jiading County.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was no such thing as Outer Gaoqiao; there was only Gaoqiao Town, not far from the coastline and situated at the Yangtze River Estuary. Northwest of Gaoqiao Town was the place where the Huangpu River entered the sea: Wusongkou.

According to the strategic plan transmitted from Dayuan, the future port zone would certainly need to connect river and sea — tracing up the Yangtze River into the interior of the Ming nation was the established strategy.

Therefore, Gaoqiao Town became the key location for Xiong Dao's survey. This place happened to be adjacent to both the Yangtze River Estuary and the mouth of the Huangpu River. Once the port was built, it could not only anchor seagoing vessels and water horses on the Yangtze, but also utilize the Huangpu River's water transport capacity to connect the water trade of the entire Jiangnan region — a superior "Golden Triangle" zone.

So Xiong Dao led his men in a meticulous survey of the vicinity. They not only estimated the land area to be purchased but also took digital photos, inputting the general terrain of 17th-century Gaoqiao into an electronic map, and then sent the USB drive back to Dayuan.

During the days waiting for a reply, Xiong Dao was not idle: the Long March had only completed its first step, and plenty of troublesome matters still lay ahead.

What gave him the biggest headache was the subsequent land acquisition.

One must realize that once the New District began construction, anyone with sense would know that the surrounding land prices were going to rise... Never underestimate the business acumen of the ancients, especially in a place like Jiangnan.

Therefore, to avoid future trouble and prevent the emergence of 17th-century nail households, Xiong Dao had to buy as much land as possible right from the start — enter the village quietly, no gunfire allowed.

After all, in a certain sense, Xiong Dao's funds could be considered limitless, and acquiring land on the Shanghai Bund was hardly a losing business, so buying as much as there was to buy was the true path.

In fact, nail households demanding exorbitant prices were not the most troublesome, since that was still a commercial act, and Xiong, coming from a real estate powerhouse nation, possessed cross-era demolition experience.

What Xiong Dao feared most were those who simply refused to sell their land at all — such as gentry who had no lack of money, and owner-farmers who regarded those few mu of land as their very lifeblood.

After a rough round of planning, Master Xiong returned to Luo Garden; next came the paperwork.

According to the initial plan, the earliest areas — port, cargo yard, residences, commerce — combined, would require at least one square kilometer of land to unfold properly.

Land parcels in the 17th century were different from later generations. On them were not only forests, wetlands, large streams, lakes, barren beaches, and reed ponds, but also farmland, mulberry gardens, villages, private ports, and so on. In short, the terrain was complex, and land ownership was equally complex.

Xiong Dao's task now was to work with his shopkeepers to first mark the favored plots on the map. Which piece was barren beach, which piece was cotton field — only after tallying all these could the next step be targeted.

That night, facing the large map hung on the wall, Master Xiong, holding up a kerosene lamp, could not help but furrow his brow more and more as he looked: the road ahead was fraught with peril! Truly worthy of being developed Jiangnan land cultivated for centuries — within the one square kilometer area he had his eye on, aside from some natural rivers, lakes, forests, and beaches, the land on the map with owners actually exceeded 70%!

This meant Xiong Dao would have to expend far more energy and mobilize far more resources to complete the mission...

"Ah, one step at a time," Xiong Dao had by now settled his mind, intending to fight a protracted war.

Early the next morning, Master Xiong, accompanied by his shopkeeper and accountant, along with a seasoned local land broker introduced by Luo Shizhi, went together to Jiading Xiancheng.

Ancient counties were very large in area. Although later-era Jiading was merely one of Shanghai's 16 districts, in this era, vast territories including Baoshan, Putuo, Yangpu, Hongkou, Jing'an, and Pudong all actually fell under the jurisdiction of Jiading County.

Entering the circular Jiading Xiancheng, Master Xiong's party abandoned their boat for sedan chairs and soon arrived at the County Yamen. Today was not a Complaint Day, so after Master Xiong's visiting card and gift list were sent in, he received an audience with the County Magistrate before long.

Being promptly received by the County Magistrate was, of course, not because Xiong Dao, a commoner of no rank, was handsome, but because he came under the banner of the Luo Family — and, let's not forget, there was also the gift list.

The County Magistrate was in his thirties, bore the rather unusual surname Lai, and was named Lai Fangwei. He hailed from the prominent Lai Family of Xiaoshan.

Lai Fangwei had placed 60th in the Metropolitan Examination of the 5th year of the Tianqi reign and had just arrived at this county to take up his post the previous year. As a Third Class Metropolitan Graduate, he naturally had no chance at the Hanlin Academy, so provincial posting was a certainty. Historically, this man successively served as Magistrate of Fujian Houguan County, Magistrate of Jiangsu Jiading County, Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel, and other posts. His official reputation was quite good, and the locals respectfully called him "Magistrate Lai."

Upon meeting the County Magistrate in the backyard Flower Hall, Xiong Dao hurriedly put on a smiling face, brought out his merchant's nature, and lavished praise on the great Magistrate Lai, whom he had never met before, building a connection.

Magistrate Lai, for his part, did not make things difficult, smilingly playing along with Master Xiong's boasting. A good official reputation did not mean he was ignorant of worldly ways. He was quite fond of merchants like this who came seeking favors: as long as it wasn't a major crime, ordinary help could be given — it neither damaged his official reputation nor brought in gifts. Why not? Being a county magistrate came with great expenses!

After chatting a few sentences, Xiong Dao, sensing the atmosphere was about right, stated his purpose: he wanted to check the Red and White Deeds records in the Household Office's Archive Repository.

The Household Office was the department within the County Yamen specifically managing taxes, land, and grain levies. So if someone wanted to check the county's land records, the Household Office was the right place.

Hearing this, Magistrate Lai could not help but laugh heartily: "This matter is easy. Master Xiong, go find Clerical Staff Yu, and that will be that."

Thus, Xiong Dao easily obtained the County Magistrate's approval.

Of course, Xiong Dao knew in his heart that this was merely the first hurdle; the real difficulty still lay at the Household Office, which was why the County Magistrate could agree so lightly.

In theory, commoners actually had the right to consult the County Yamen's records. But this theory was divorced from reality: what ordinary commoner would dare go to the Yamen to make trouble? Even if they went, would the clerical staff of the Household Office honestly let you examine the deeds?

So, what is easy for the capable is hard for the incapable. It was very simple for gentry and great households to learn about a situation, but not for ordinary commoners.

The managing clerical staff of the Jiading County Household Office was called Yu Bende.

Someone who could reach this position in a wealthy, large Jiangnan county was, in later terms, a hidden tycoon with backing above. A petty official like Yu Bende was someone who truly held the power of a county; county magistrates rotated in and out, but petty officials passed the trade from father to son, amassing vast family fortunes over just a few generations.

So when Xiong Dao met Yu Bende, even though the other party's attitude appeared respectful, he still steeled his nerves and dealt with him cautiously.

And Yu Bende was equally on guard: he was not afraid of this Master Xiong checking records to buy land; what he feared was that after bringing out the files, the other party might find some flaw in them and stab him with it — that would be disastrous.

One must know that doctoring files, altering records, and presenting fake dossiers to superiors were all common tricks of petty officials. Sometimes it was for shady personal gain, sometimes to put a superior in his place. In short, if he could not win over the clerical staff, Xiong Dao would certainly not be able to find the information he wanted today.

At this juncture, the local land broker Xiong Dao had brought along came in handy.

The land broker was an effective communication channel. Everyone here was an acquaintance making a living from real estate. After a round of exchanges, Yu Bende finally lowered his guard. Of course, the large sum of silver Xiong Dao's side promised was the decisive factor that ultimately made Yu Bende put on a smiling face and actively cooperate.