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

Chapter 158 Killer
After He Zhen thought about it for a while, he said to his sons: "The Salt Education Division has already reported to the capital quickly. When the emperor knows the situation here, he will not only have orders for the salt industry , Including the fact that the Guangdong Dusi had a decree before sending out a navy to wipe out the pirates. Therefore, before the new decree arrives, the sea side must take action to deal a heavy blow to Xiangshan County, and then hide away One point, just avoid the navy's suppression."

"Then shall I send a message?" He Gui heard this and quickly asked for instructions.

He Zhen nodded and said, "But be careful not to let people find out that we are the ones who sent the message."

At this point, he raised his voice and emphasized: "After these pirates make trouble, they will be punished by the court sooner or later. Unless they escape to Nanyang and never come back. I even doubt that if the prince-in-law becomes angry and persists, even if he escapes to Nanyang, The imperial court will also send navy to pursue us. Therefore, we must not allow anyone to discover that our He family is behind the scenes, otherwise... otherwise this foundation will be lost!"

"Father don't worry, the child knows it well." After hearing this, He Gui quickly assured him.

He Zhen nodded after hearing this, then turned to look at his eldest son He Rong and asked: "Where did the prince-in-law come from so much salt? Have you found out?"

After hearing this, He Rong said with some embarrassment: "The people we sent found that it was the salt from the salt farm in Xiangshan County. However, it was protected by a hundred households and could not get close."

At this point, when he saw his father frowning, he quickly added: "Later, Xiangshan County began to investigate pirates, especially foreigners, and the investigation was very strict. It was not just the government. Damn it, even the common people look at each one of them like thieves, so they can’t go to the salt field."

At this point, He Rong quickly raised his voice and said in a firm tone: "But dad, don't worry, if you give it a little more time, we will find out sooner or later."

After hearing these words, to be honest, He Zhen was a little disappointed, and said to his son: "If we go on, the court envoys will arrive, and they will naturally know what is going on with the salt in Xiangshan County. Think about it for yourself, and in the future What should I do to make things more efficient?"

He Rong felt aggrieved after hearing this. He felt that even the people in Xiangshan County were so tightly guarded. How could outsiders know the truth about the salt production there?
Of course, this is just the self-defense of an incompetent person.

Not to mention others, classmate Zhu Yuanzhang who was far away in the capital already knew Zhang Yifan's method of drying salt.He even knew about the local affairs in Guangdong that were embarrassing Zhang Yifan.

However, he did not take action, just as he said to Prince Zhu Biao: "This kid did these things in Xiangshan County. If it is good, if he wants to use it all over the world, he will still encounter the same resistance. Let's look at it first. Wait, who jumped out? Also, by the way, let’s see if this kid can solve it on his own and how to solve it? This can provide us with a reference for future implementation in the world, understand?”

"Father is still far-sighted!" Zhu Biao was convinced after hearing this.

However, he was still a little worried about his brother-in-law, so he asked again: "Are the two of them in danger?"

"There won't be any danger." After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang said with confidence, "That kid still has a trump card hidden, and he will probably be there soon!"

Zhu Biao was a little confused after hearing this. He didn't know what the trump card was, but he was not stupid, because if Zhu Yuanzhang received the news about Zhang Yifan, he would let Zhu Biao know.

Therefore, after Zhu Biao thought about it for a while, he suddenly realized it.

..............................

At about the same time, at an island pier outside the Pearl River Estuary, a group of pirates had just landed and swarmed toward the island.

Not long after, a pirate returned to the dock. After looking around, he approached another pirate and whispered: "The boss is back and said he is ready to go ashore."

When the man heard this, he turned his head and looked at the person below, and also whispered: "I just found out, Heizi, what should we do?"

Heizi, that is, Zhou Heizi, also looked sad after hearing Liu Datou's question, and said in a low voice: "The Prince Consort said that if you want to go ashore, you must send someone to notify you in advance. But I can't leave. .”

After hearing this, Liu Datou also frowned and said: "Didn't the boss say that we need to find enough people to go ashore together to capture the county and take revenge? There are only 7000 people. I'm afraid it won't be enough? Once a fight breaks out, if we can't If we capture the county seat immediately, the officers and soldiers will arrive quickly."

"I know the reason!" Zhou Heizi listened and said in a low voice, "It seems that Liu Mazi got the news that the prince-in-law made a lot of money from the salt farm, but he also offended many people. There was also the matter of dividing the fields before. Many gentlemen are dissatisfied. But if these matters are brought to the emperor's side, they will probably be resolved quickly. Therefore, if you want to attack Xiangshan County, you don't have much time. After hearing this, the boss decided to attack in advance."

"You really deserve to die!" After hearing this, Liu Datou couldn't help but said bitterly, "Those officials are not happy with things that are beneficial to us ordinary people, so they are thinking of ways to deal with the prince-in-law. We can't let them succeed!"

"Yes, we can't let them succeed!" Zhou Heizi also nodded and said, "Finally, we have a consort. He is really for our own good. Even if we risk our lives, we still have to help him!"

Liu Datou thought for a moment, made a decision in his mind, and said to Zhou Heizi: "Then I won't wait any longer. I'll steal a boat and leave. I have to pass the news to the consort."

"This..." Zhou Heizi was a little shocked after hearing this. He thought for a moment and said, "What about your wife and children? If the boss finds out that you went to tip off the news, your wife and children will be in danger!"

Hearing this, Liu Datou was silent for a while, his expression was a little tangled, but soon he became firm again and said: "The prince-in-law can't have anything happen to him, and he must do it well. Only those of us who belong to the lowly family can do it." There is a future. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must help the prince-in-law no matter what. Don’t say that my wife and children will definitely be in danger, even if there is real danger. I will admit it. "

Zhou Heizi was very shocked after hearing this. He nodded silently and said: "You are right. The prince-in-law is the hope of all of us who originally belonged to the humble family. Not only Xiangshan County, but also other places are waiting for the prince-in-law's matter to be resolved. Come on. For the sake of all those who belong to the humble family, and for the sake of our descendants, if we don’t seize this opportunity and help the prince-in-law, we won’t feel at ease even if we die!”

Having said this, he sincerely said to Liu Datou: "You have a wife and children, and I only have a wife. It's better for me to report it to the consort. You don't have to argue with me."

Before Liu Datou could say anything, he immediately added: "Let me tell you, those people I have agreed with here, if anything happens to them when they go ashore, you can ask them to rebel together and help the prince-in-law."

After finishing speaking, he reported in a low voice the people he had incited to rebel.

Liu Da wanted to interrupt him several times, but Zhou Heizi didn't give him a chance. It was obvious that he had made up his mind.

In the end, Liu Datou grabbed Zhou Heizi's hand and said seriously: "Heizi, don't worry, if they really find out the problem, I will fight to the death to protect your wife."

"Don't be reckless!" Zhou Heizi was a little moved after hearing this, but still advised, "After I leave, the only person who has contacted the prince-in-law is you. You have to lead the big guy to hold them back, you can't It’s missing yours.”

Just like that, after the two discussed for a while, they started to act separately.

However, they didn't know that even if they didn't send the message, Zhang Yifan had already figured it out.No, he summoned Qianhu Qi Xiang, Dian Shi Zhang San and others in the county government hall, and they were talking about this matter.

I only heard him say to a few of his men: "We have a huge sale of salt here, which makes them anxious. They have already sent a letter to the capital immediately. It is estimated that everything in Guangdong will be settled soon. We are delaying sending a navy. It is certainly impossible to delay the matter. In this way, what we have to do is to guard the coastline before the navy finally dispatches, and not allow pirates to come up and cause damage. During this period, we must be vigilant and ready for war at any time! "

After hearing this, Qi Xiang immediately nodded in agreement and said, "What the prince consort said makes sense. During this period, my subordinates will go on more inspections to check for leaks and fill in the gaps. I will definitely do these things well!"

Zhang San, on his side, immediately followed suit and said: "If you lower the officials and mobilize the common people, you will catch as many spies as the pirates come!"

He has already tasted some of the benefits of mobilizing the masses. It not only saves him a lot of energy, but also has good results.

As for some of the suspected spies that have been captured so far, after interrogation, it was found that they were sent by powerful men from various places to harm Xiangshan County.

Zhang Yifan listened, nodded, and then said to Zhang Liu, the salt official: "You have to sell more as soon as possible. When the decree comes down from the capital, it will not be easy to sell."

"Don't worry, Prince Consort, my subordinates have already sent people to spread the various uses of salt. I believe more and more people will buy it." After hearing this, Zhang Liu immediately replied.

Zhang Yifan nodded again when he heard this, and then ordered: "For coarse salt, we sold it so hard in the early stage, so it is probably almost done. For refined salt, it is time to start selling it. You sell it hard for me. Anyway, it is the price of coarse salt before. It’s also low enough.”

Zhang Liuyi was overjoyed and quickly agreed.

After giving these instructions, Zhang Yifan thought about it for a moment, and then said: "Cement has begun to be produced, and salt is making a lot of money. I plan to recruit young people from other counties to build water conservancy projects. If the pirates don't come ashore, forget it. , if you really want to go ashore, organize these young men and issue a reward, they will also be an auxiliary force!"

The county government also has to pay for the cement output.Of course, the price must be cheaper than Liujiacun cement.Zhang Yifan told Zhu Yuanzhang about this method. Now I don’t know what method Zhu Yuanzhang used in other places, but in Xiangshan County, which is a special zone anyway, he did it according to his own ideas.

Later, the profits from the cement workshops can be handed over to the local government and the court, so that Zhu Yuanzhang can see the effect of this economic cycle.

After hearing this, Qi Xiang immediately promised to prepare some simple weapons for these young men, such as sticks and spears. If necessary, he could immediately distribute them to arm them.

On Zhang San's side, he immediately started to organize, posted notices, and went to the neighboring counties to recruit people.

In the past, these tasks were levied by the local government and were classified as labor. Now they are hired with money, and there is no fear that no one will come.

Just like that, with an order, Xiangshan County began to become popular again.

Originally, many people did not want to buy the high-priced salt in their own county, so they came to Xiangshan County to buy salt.Then I heard that we were recruiting people to build water conservancy projects here. It happened to be winter and there was no farming work, so we all wanted to make money here and go home to celebrate the New Year.

They even hurriedly sent messages back and called friends to make money.

At any time, farmers can dig something out of the ground to eat and stay hungry, but they cannot dig out money from the ground.And money is indispensable, so you need to exchange for something.Therefore, there is an opportunity to make money, and no one will cherish it.

By the way, the news that Xiangshan County does not engage in recruitment but hires people to work has spread again, making people in other counties very envious.

Even the people in Panyu County next door felt that their county magistrate was not good after a comparison!

Of course, there are still rumors that pirates will attack Xiangshan County and it will be dangerous to come here.

However, the anti-theft work in Xiangshan County is done in an orderly manner, which makes many people confident.In addition, Zhang San is arresting those who deliberately spread these words. Generally speaking, the situation in Xiangshan County is still prosperous.

The Chinese New Year will be here in about a month, and we need to make some preparations for next year.

Zhang Yifan issued an announcement. There was no coercion, but he called on the people in Xiangshan County and surrounding areas to plant sugar cane next year. They could not occupy grain fields. The government would purchase it at a reasonable price and harvest as much as they could.

Once this news is announced, it will give ordinary people an opportunity to make stable money.

As long as you plant sugar cane on the ground, your income is guaranteed.After the people knew the news, they were all very happy.

Even the magistrate of Panyu County, Daotong, heard this and rushed over to see Zhang Yifan and asked if he could guarantee that all the sugar cane in Panyu County would be collected?

Zhang Yifan readily answered in the affirmative, which made Daotong very grateful and felt that the pressure was much less.

Right next door to Xiangshan County, as Xiangshan County is booming, he is really stressed.

No matter what, now that the people of Panyu County have been provided with a source of income, they can breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he also promised that if pirates really came to attack Xiangshan County, as long as he reported the news, he would personally lead the people of Panyu County to help.

Throw a peach in return for a plum!
Of course, Zhang Yifan was very happy about this.Originally he had a good impression of good officials who thought about the people, but now he is even more happy, and decided that if possible, he should join forces to prevent him from being killed by Yongjia Hou in history.

After sending Dao Tong away, he suddenly reported that someone was coming from Guangzhou and wanted to see him secretly.

　Ask for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)