Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 154
The three guards guarding the consort and the princess were obviously more alert.Moreover, while staring at these two people, they also looked at Zhu Wu and signaled with their eyes.

However, Zhu Wu didn't feel particularly nervous, and he obviously didn't mean anything particularly dangerous.

Before these two people even approached Zhang Yifan, they knelt down with a "pop".

The slightly taller one among them opened his mouth and said to Zhang Yifan: "Sinner Liu Datou... Zhou Heizi is here to meet the Prince Consort and Your Highness the Princess!"

After finishing speaking, the two kowtowed.

Zhang Yifan was a little curious when he saw it, so he looked at Zhu Wu.

When Zhu Wu saw it, he explained: "He said that the two of them are pirates and have important news to report to the prince-in-law."

Perhaps after hearing what he said, the man named Liu Datou, who had kowtowed, raised his head and looked at Zhang Yifan and said, "Both the sinner and he are under Ma Rujiang. We were ordered to go ashore to inquire about news on the shore and prepare for it." To avenge his brother..."

When he heard this, although it was not unexpected, Ma Rujiang would definitely not take it easy, but knowing that these two people turned out to be pirate spies, he also became serious and stared at the two people in front of him.

"...However, after he and I came ashore, we found that the prince-in-law was a good man. Not only did he pardon the low status of people like us, but he also gave us land. The prince-son-in-law even spent so much money, hoping that everyone would recognize him. Words. We have never met in this life. Who would be so generous. So the two of us discussed it and decided to surrender to the son-in-law. We have been in the county for several days, and we are afraid that there are other Ma Rujiangs in the county. The spy didn't find the opportunity until the prince consort left the city today."

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan stared at the two of them and found that they were both sincere, so he said to them: "It's a good thing that you can find your way back. Go to the Baihu Station in front and tell you the specific situation." Talk about it.”

Of course, there will be a hundred households protected here in the salt field.

Even in this wilderness, it's not the place to talk.

So, the group quickly arrived at Baihusuo and asked further questions.

Zhang Yifan was sitting with guards on both sides. The people from Baihusuo did not let them in.

Liu Datou and Zhou Heizi did not show any fear at all, and stood there and continued to report to Zhang Yifan.

"On the island outside, we are actually not the only one... Ma Rujiang, but there are also other pirates who do business and rob passing ships. They can be divided into three factions. We don't obey anyone, and sometimes we will They fight each other, but most of the time, they each have their own territory."

Zhang Yifan knew that outside the Pearl River Estuary, there are the Wanshan Islands, with more than 100 islands of various sizes.The pirates are hiding on these islands. I don’t know where they are. It’s really hard to find them.

Before, we didn’t know the specific information about the pirates, so we couldn’t send the navy to take the initiative to eliminate them.Now that there is news about these two people, there is hope for active eradication.

Therefore, Zhang Yifan listened carefully.

"However, some time ago, half a month ago, Liu Mazi gave in and said that he would listen to Ma Rujiang, and then Ma Rujiang joined forces with Liu Mazi to subdue Shuilidao and the others. Now there are nearly 2000 people who can listen to Ma Rujiang's orders. He Thinking of revenge, we first sent two of us ashore to inquire about the news."

At this point, Liu Datou saw the prince consort frowning and said quickly: "My prince consort, don't worry. There are a lot of pirates like us who were originally desperate because of their low status. Now my prince consort, After abolishing the status of being unworthy, the criminals believe that they will never want to live on the edge of the knife. As long as we go back and talk about it, they will definitely be willing to submit to the imperial court."

Zhang Yifan was not overjoyed immediately after hearing this, but asked them about their specific situation.

Those who are dawdling at sea will certainly not be stable on land. Therefore, no one wants to be a pirate unless they have no choice.

The reason why there are still many pirates is because of some regulations of the Ming Dynasty, such as those with low status, who did not see the hope of living in the Ming Dynasty, so they rebelled.

There were also some who were the subordinates of He Zhen's enemies. When He Zhen surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, it was naturally impossible for them to surrender, so they fled to the sea.

There were the most people of this kind, including Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen's subordinates, many of whom fled to the sea.They are distributed from the Yangtze River estuary to the Fujian side.

After verifying the situation, Zhang Yifan said to them: "Very good. If you are willing to submit, you will atone for your sins. I promise you that I will give you citizenship when you return. In addition, based on your performance during the suppression process, you will also be granted citizenship." There is another reward!"

Hearing this, the two of them were very happy and took the initiative to kneel down and kowtow.

Later, the two also confessed to the distribution of pirates near the Pearl River Estuary.

Zhang Yifan was very happy to get this information.

With more than 2000 pirates, they may not be able to attack a county with a strong wall, but if they come ashore to harass villages and towns, the harm will naturally be great.

If we can take the initiative to eliminate these pirates and restore peace to the Pearl River Estuary, it will be a great blessing to the people along the coast.However, Zhang Yifan did not have a navy in his hands.In order to wipe out the pirates, the navy belonging to Guangdong Dusi must go out.

So, he immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Guangdong Dusi.

After destroying the pirates outside, there will be one less thing to worry about.

Relaxed, Zhang Yifan was still in the mood to go to the salt field and reveal the answer to the mystery to Zhu Jingjing.

"See, this layout is to use the heat of the sun to cook salt." Zhang Yifan pointed to the salt field in front of him and said with a smile, "Our Xiangshan County is located at the southern end, and it is basically hot all year round. With this condition and this method, salt can be obtained on a large scale."

Zhu Jingjing and others were dumbfounded when they heard this. No matter how much they thought about it, they never expected that sunlight was used.

Listening to Zhang Yifan explaining to them how to do it, Zhu Wu said in disbelief: "Consort, doesn't that mean that if you use this method to boil salt, you won't be able to use up the salt in the future? The cost is too low, right? "

"Yes, this method can greatly reduce the cost of salt." Zhang Yifan nodded and said, "Do you still remember the smell of rotten fish and stinky shrimp in Tangjia Village? After the price of salt is greatly reduced in the future, ordinary people can Don’t worry about using salt. You can use salting to preserve some food and improve their lives!”

"So, our source of money in Xiangshan County mainly depends on this salt field?" Zhu Jingjing suddenly realized and asked, pointing to the salt field in front of him.

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan shook his head with a smile and said, "Not only that, but next year, I will make another announcement asking the people of Xiangshan County to plant sugar cane on a large scale, and the government will purchase it, and then sell it as sugar."

At this time, basically all the sugar is made is brown sugar, but Zhang Yifan knows how to simply turn it into white sugar, and the price can be doubled several times.

"Government acquisition, government sale?" Zhu Jingjing asked with some confusion after hearing this.

Isn't this fighting for the interests of the people?Although she thought so in her heart, she still didn't say it.

Zhang Yifan didn't think there was anything wrong, and nodded and said: "Yes, this is called official business, which means that the owner is the government, and the profits can be handed over to the court and local government, and then used to improve people's livelihood. Otherwise, we will do what we did later. Many things cost money. Where does this money come from? It’s better than taxing people or levying labor, right?”

Zhu Jingjing listened but did not agree immediately.In fact, this matter was too new and she hadn't figured it out yet.

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan explained to her: "Look at the things we do, such as running social schools, hiring various workers, building water conservancy projects, etc. These are all good things for the people and must be done by the government. Things. However, if the government has no money, what should we do with these things? In the end, it will fall on the people. And if the government and businessmen do not make money, then the money is actually made by those businessmen, and a large part of it is made by powerful people. They will not use this profit to benefit the people. And if they come to make money, they may have bad intentions. Therefore, the existence of government and businessmen is actually good for the people, the government, and the court."

"Brother Fan is so thoughtful, now I understand!" Zhu Jingjing listened and looked at her husband with admiring eyes.

Zhu Wu and others also nodded repeatedly after hearing this.The prince-consort's thoughts always shocked them. They should have been numb, but they were still shocked.

I really don’t know how the prince consort came up with this?
Zhang Yifan himself did not change his expression at all. This is a state-owned enterprise of later generations, which is the mainstay of the national economy.As long as there are no problems with state-owned enterprises, it is not easy for the country to have problems.

Especially for people's livelihood resources, state-owned enterprises are required to participate, which will be like a magic needle for the sea.

Of course, if there is a problem with a state-owned enterprise, the trouble will become huge.

Today, Xiangshan County is a special zone, so he can do whatever he wants to experiment, but he can't always spend more than his income. Therefore, the matter of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure must also be done.

Liu Datou and Zhou Heizi also followed Zhang Yifan. Hearing what the county magistrate said, they felt that the people of Xiangshan would have better lives in the future, and they were even more excited. They secretly rejoiced that their choice was right.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yifan and Zhu Jingjing wanted to return to the county seat, but Liu Datou and Zhou Heizi were unable to return to the county seat, so they were asked to stay in the Baihu House.After the Guangdong Dusi sent the navy, they would lead them to eliminate the pirates.

Zhang Yifan was in a good mood because he was about to get rid of a worry, no longer had to worry about the hidden worries in Xiangshan County, and successfully wiped out the pirates.

However, Zhang Yifan was a little surprised when the messenger sent to Dusi in Guangdong did not return until the evening.

According to the fast horseback trip, we should be able to make it back in the evening.

Could it be that there was an accident?
In the afternoon of the next day, the messenger finally returned, and Zhang Yifan was really surprised.

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(End of this chapter)