Huai'an, located over three hundred li from Nanjing, serves as the northern gateway to the city. During the Great Ming Dynasty, the Governor-General of Grain Transport was primarily responsible for shipping southern grain to the north, supplying both the Capital and the frontier armies. After the early methods of branch transport and exchange transport were phased out, the long-distance transport system became the standard. Simply put, this meant that after farmers harvested their crops, they only needed to pile the grain in their fields, and the soldiers in charge of transport would proactively come to collect it. Once collected, the grain was transported to canal wharves and shipped via the Grand Canal to Beijing.
As the Governor-General of Grain Transport, Zhu Guobi commanded several thousand soldiers. If one included the transport teams and laborers, the total number of personnel exceeded ten thousand.
Upon learning that Zhu Gui was a messenger for the Governor-General of Grain Transport, Zhu Guobi, Liu Kongzhao’s brow unfurled into a wide smile. "So, you are a messenger for the Marquis of Funing. A pleasure to meet you."
Chapter 339