Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

During the Zhou Dynasty, the Cao Gang had become the largest gang monopolizing water transportation. Unfortunately, no one from the Cao Gang showed up in Dingzhou, but the Shangjing Cao Gang had set up a branch here.

After Zhao Sheng received the letter from the princess, he knew what they were planning. It seemed that the situation in the Great Zhou was about to change, but he didn't know whether Zhao Hui could turn the tide.

When he traveled into the original owner's body, he did not have many of the original owner's memories. Many of them were memories that temporarily emerged in his mind.

Take Li Fu for example. If you think about him carefully, it’s as if he doesn’t exist. Only when you meet him will you know what kind of person he is.

Therefore, he was completely unaware of the personalities and moral qualities of many people in the court, and he needed someone to tell him about these things so that he could make a correct analysis.

As for whether to go and meet Zhao Hui, Zhao Sheng was a little confused. It was not realistic not to see him for such a long time, but it was also difficult to predict what the outcome would be if they met.

One thing he was certain of: Zhao Hui was definitely not Zhao Wei's man at the moment, and was actually in opposition to Zhao Wei. Since he wanted to form an offensive and defensive alliance with Zhao Hui, he might as well develop this business in Yanzhou.

After some discussion, it was decided that the business to be done in Yanzhou would be to open restaurants, department stores and the like, and the people sent would be members of the Zhao family in Zhao County.

Zhao Hui did not object, as this would also help revitalize Yanzhou's economy.

Go to the capital.

Zhao Heng was worried that Li Shiyuan would fall victim to Zhao Wei's evil hands. After discussing with Li Jun, he arranged for Li Shiyuan to move to a newly purchased house. He did not allow her to show up in public on weekdays, and she had maids and servants to serve her when she went out to buy things.

As for Li Shiyuan's father, Li Gang ordered his men to release him after he returned. When he rushed to Shangjing City and found Li Jun's residence, he learned that his daughter was now hidden, and he felt much more at ease.

He wanted to go and visit her, but Li Jun told him that there were spies around the house who were always trying to find out where Li Shiyuan was, so it would be best not to cause any trouble.

When Zhao Heng was researching his fiefdom of Chuzhou, he discovered that there were a large number of Cao Gang members there, reportedly numbering as many as one million.

The organizational structure of the Cao Gang was extremely strict. A large number of sailors, trackers, and helmsmen gathered in these dock areas to make a living. The social network here gradually became more and more complex, and the Cao Gang, a special gray area, gradually formed in it.

There is a branch in Shangjing, and the leader is named Liu Yihui. He has a strong personality, but is good at making friends and is also a man of loyalty.

Since there are several major branches of the grain transport industry, Chuzhou is one of the largest branches, because there are not only people from the grain transport gang, but also people from the salt gang.

The people from the Salt Gang need to travel by water and are unwilling to cooperate with the people from the Water Transport Gang. After all, who would be willing to hand over such a big business?

This year, a conflict broke out between the Cao Gang and the Salt Gang in Chuzhou, resulting in thousands of casualties on both sides. As a result, Cao Gangs from Songjiang Prefecture in the south to Yanzhou in the north had to send people to Chuzhou.

Of course, as the Shangjing branch, people also needed to be sent there, which led to temporary shipping tensions in Shangjing.

Zhao Heng never participated in court discussions. To put it bluntly, he was not qualified to participate. However, this incident involved the stability of Chuzhou, and the emperor intended to inform him of it.

In the imperial study, after listening to Zhao Hengzhen's story, Zhao Heng said with an embarrassed look on his face, "Father, I think this major event can be called a civil uprising. Although it is not directed at the court, allowing it to develop will be detrimental to the court."

Zhao Hengzhen thought, "How could I not know about this? I just came here to see your attitude."

Zhao Heng probably realized that he had said something nonsense, so he changed his mind and said, "Chuzhou has many government offices, and the court has a large number of troops guarding it. Why not send someone to mediate this matter? To put it bluntly, it's all about profit."

"Well, tell me where the benefits are?" The emperor was a little angry and didn't get to the point after talking for a long time.

"The Cao Gang has always relied on water transport for its livelihood. Now that the Salt Gang has become wealthy and powerful, they want to monopolize both land and water transport. This has disrupted the balance, and the Salt Gang's actions are also illegal."

"Laws?" Zhao Hengzhen repeated, "What kind of laws do you think can restrain them?"

"This is what I think. The salt industry is a government-run industry. Currently, there are two modes of transportation: water and land. So, no matter who transports the salt, they need a salt permit. Of the salt permits issued by the court each year, how many are used for water and land transportation?"

Zhao Heng was at a loss for words when asked this question so suddenly. He thought to himself, "Isn't it said that Old Five is frail and often ill, and doesn't usually care about national affairs? Why is he asking me such a difficult question right away? Could it be that this guy is hiding his incompetence and actually always caring about national affairs?"

"Ahem..." Zhao Hengzhen coughed twice and said, "According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the annual salt permits issued can reach 20 million dan."

Zhao Heng actually knew this number, but he pretended to calculate it in his mind and said in surprise, "Father, have you noticed a problem? There are only two salt-producing areas in our Great Zhou. One is the salt field by the sea, and the other is Fourth Brother's Yuezhou."

"And how many people are there in the Great Zhou? Can we even produce 20 million dan of salt permits? And where is all this salt shipped to?"

"Yes, even with so much salt, many people in my Great Zhou still can't afford it. Where does all the salt go?"

Zhao Hengzhen had to think about this problem, and he found that after carefully studying the problem, there seemed to be a huge chain of interests behind it.

In fact, Zhao Heng had already investigated it a long time ago. The Salt Gang and the salt merchants in the counties under Chuzhou were basically controlled by Zhao Wei's forces. Each person didn't ask for much, but there were too many people doing business in this area.

Therefore, a large amount of money flows into Zhao Wei's small treasury every year.

At this time, it was almost impossible for anyone to go to Chuzhou to peacefully resolve the dispute between the Salt Gang and the Water Transport Gang. Moreover, the salt officials privately used the power of the court to suppress the Water Transport Gang.

Zhao Heng also wanted to deal with this matter and take back his fiefdom at the same time, but he didn't have the strength to do so, so it would be useless if he went.

Zhao Hengzhen also realized that this matter involved too many aspects and it was not enough to rely on Zhao Heng alone. But if Zhao Heng went out to be a vassal, would it change the current situation in the palace?

To put it bluntly, the crown prince is now imprisoned in the palace, and the only one assisting in the administration is the second prince Zhao Wei. If the fifth prince is sent out at this time, he really wants to see what will happen to the second prince.

In fact, Zhao Hengzhen has more than just these sons. The others are still young and were born to other concubines, so they don’t have enough power behind them.

So this kind of thing was not what the concubines thought at all.

It seems that the only person who can turn the situation around is the third prince Zhao Hui.

Zhao Hengzhen thought of this and said to Zhao Heng, "Heng'er, you are not a child anymore. Do you plan to become a vassal in Chuzhou and govern your fiefdom well?"

Zhao Heng thought to himself, "I've been waiting for this opportunity," so he pretended to be reluctant and said, "Father, I know I should share the country's worries. However, I still don't have my own personal guards. If I go to Chuzhou, which general will listen to me?"

This made the emperor feel uneasy, as it meant that he would have no say in Chuzhou and might not be able to command the army.

"Humph! Chuzhou is the heartland of my Great Zhou, and the garrison there is nothing more than the local government troops. If you want military authority, I will assign you another 5,000 imperial guards to lead. When the situation is stabilized, you can return them to me."

Zhao Heng was overjoyed when he heard this. With such a group of people going together, the small Chu Palace could still be saved.