Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 58 Flattering

Lin Hai wanted to get to know Shen Tingyang, so he said: "Since Shen Ji Shipyard can buy ready-made new ships, I will go to Chongming to buy them myself, so I won't bother Fifth Master Ren."

Wu Mengren reminded: "The sea route to Chongming is not easy. Brother Lin needs to wait until I find the team leader before going, otherwise something will happen easily."

Lin Hai also knew that the Yangtze River Estuary had complex hydrology and could be called the graveyard of sea ships in the age of sailing. He nodded and said: "Thank you, Lord Ren Wu, for the tip. As long as it is an experienced old man, I am willing to pay double the salary. I don't know, Lord Ren Wu." When can I find someone for me?”

Wu Mengren smiled and said: "Brother Lin is so generous, why can't the gang leaders fight for his head? Wu will definitely finish this matter within three to five days."

Lin Hai cupped his hands in thanks, and after a moment of meditation he said, "Well, this time I want two hundred dans of Qilichun silk. According to the price we agreed on, I will pick up the goods in ten days, and then Mr. Lao Ren will bring the team leader to me." . My ship is currently docked on the coast of Ningbo. I wonder if your government has a private port in Shaoxing?"

Wu Mengren replied: "Linshanwei has a Lihai Qianhu Station, which is near the outlet of the Cao'e River. Brother Lin can just drive the boat over. Wu will be waiting for you at the Lihai Station."

Lin Hai thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid that's inappropriate. The officers and soldiers at Lihai Institute don't know Lin's ship. It will be troublesome if something goes wrong."

"I forgot about this." Wu Mengren patted his forehead and said, "Well, Wu will take Brother Lin to Lihai Institute tomorrow to ask for a flag identifying Lihai Institute's warships. Then Brother Lin will hang the flag on The bow of the ship can't be taken care of."

The next day, Wu Mengren took Lin Hai by boat up the Cao'e River and arrived at Lihaisuo on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay.

This Qianhusuo is only one mile away from the coastline, and the city is far more majestic than that of Feiqu. It has all the urns, turrets, horse faces, and moat walls, but some are in disrepair.Obviously, because it guards the waterway leading to the hinterland of Shaoxing, it receives more attention.

Lin Hai noticed that the trench in front of the trench wall was only three feet wide, and he could jump over it with a standing long jump.After asking Wu Mengren, he found out that the trench had been filled in by military households for growing vegetables, leaving only a small channel wide for irrigation.

Lin Hai secretly shook his head after hearing this. Even a coastal defense stronghold like Lihai was such a piece of cake. The weakness of the rear guard's armament in the middle of the Ming Dynasty was evident.No wonder the great Japanese pirates in Jiajing had been causing trouble for so many years. The dignified master of economics was chased by a group of rabble, which caused a lot of jokes.

The thousand households in Lihai were from the Wu clan. Wu Mengren got Lin Hai a flag to identify the warships. After asking Lin Hai that he was going to Ningbo Fucheng, he decided to go all out and ask the thousand households to send a winter boat to take Lin Hai to Yin County.

Yinxian County is Fuguo County of Ningbo Prefecture. Zhejiang Haidao Deputy Envoy and Ningshao Bingbeidao, Ningbo Magistrate, Ningbo Coastal Defense Tongzhi, Yinxian County Magistrate, Ningbo Wei Zhangyin and other Zhengyin civil and military officials are stationed here.

Lin Hai came to the inn where Shen Yilong was staying and learned that Hong Chengchou had not returned yet, so he went to a bookstore in the city and bought several military books, including Qi Jiguang's "Records of Military Training", "New Book of Jixiao", and Mao Yuanyi's "Military Preparations" , He Rubin's "Bing Lu" and so on.

These books were all bad military books written in the late Ming Dynasty. Lin Hai had heard of them in later generations, and he had even read a little bit of Qi Jiguang's two books, because there were simplified Chinese proofread editions on the Internet.But this time I bought a traditional vertical version of the book, which had no punctuation marks and was a bit of a headache to read. Lin Hai decided to take the time to read "Bing Lu" carefully first.

There was no other reason. Xu Xinsu told him that the current Zhoushan military general was He Rubin, who could be regarded as Lin Hai's current manager in the future.For the current Lin Hai, flattering Shangguan is of course more important than training soldiers.

But after just one night, he decided to read Qi Jiguang's military book carefully first.Just because he asked about He Rubin from the well-informed waiter, he got a more detailed understanding of this late Ming military strategist who had only known his name before.

Although He Rubin was a military general, he was born in a land rich in culture and algae. His family was a hereditary military attache of the Suzhou Guard, and he was tainted with the literary atmosphere of Suzhou since he was a child.Therefore, this person's biggest hobby is not military, but arty. He wrote "Bing Lu" solely for the purpose of publishing a book, because with his literary level, he could not publish other books.Since taking up the post of Zhoushan Counselor General, General He has devoted himself to compiling "Zhoushan Chronicle".According to the Qingke of He Mansion, this local chronicle is almost finished and Zhu Zaoli will be published next year.At present, General He is visiting contemporary literary celebrities, hoping to find a preface to "Zhoushan Chronicles".

After hearing what the waiter said, Lin Hai secretly made a calculation in his heart: The leader of the literary world in this era should be Qian Qianyi. If he could get a preface for "The Water Is Too Cold" for He Rubin, wouldn't that be flattering? A certain level?
It should be noted that there is knowledge in flattering, and it must be done accurately. It is better not to pat the horse's legs than to pat it on the horse's leg.

He thought about it for half a night, and then found Xu Yilong early the next morning and asked, "My dear brother, do you know which famous prostitute Mr. Yu Shan has the deepest friendship with?"

Xu Yilong smiled and said: "Brother Lin is still thinking about the literary society? Mr. Yushan is tabooed by the authorities and would never dare to be so high-profile. I advise Brother Lin not to think about it."

Lin Haidao: "Brother Yu has already given up on this idea after listening to Brother Xian's teaching that day. The main reason why he wanted to find Mr. Yushan was to ask for a preface. I heard that General He Shen of Zhoushan was compiling a book, and Brother Yu's preface was I’m begging for General He.”

Xu Yilong couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Lin Hai was really a fan of officials. He started thinking hard about how to please his superior even before he got out of office.However, in the official circles of the late Ming Dynasty, only such people could get along like a fish in water. Didn't Xu Yilong behave the same way in Fujian on weekdays?

He thought for a while and said: "There is such a person. If we can get this person to speak, it will be easy to ask Mr. Yu Shan for a preface."

Lin Hai thought to himself, as expected, in the arrogant era of the late Ming Dynasty, how could Qian Qianyi, as the leader of the literary world, not have a few well-connected famous prostitutes?But Xu Yilong is definitely not talking about Liu Rushi. Although Qian Qianyi should be in his 50s or [-]s, Liu Rushi is probably still a little kid right now.

He quickly asked: "May I ask my dear brother which one you are talking about?"

Xu Yilong said: "The person I'm talking about lives by the West Lake in Hangzhou, and her name is Wang Wei. She is very close to Chen Jiru, Dong Qichang, Tan Yuanchun and other celebrities in the world, and she also has a good relationship with Mr. Yu Shan. However, I’m afraid it’s a bit difficult to ask her to speak.”

Lin Hai smiled and said: "As long as you work hard and grind the iron pestle into a needle, you can spend more money at most."

"Brother Lin thinks simply." Xu Yilong shook his head, "This Wang Wei is nearly thirty years old. He calls himself Taoist Cao Yi. He hides in the West Lake in a nunnery in Zhu Mao. He lives in plain clothes and eats vegetables every day, participates in meditation, and everyone who interacts with him is He is a celebrity and a wealthy businessman, and it is difficult for an ordinary wealthy businessman to meet him no matter how much money he spends."

Lin Hai had long expected that this matter would not be that simple. Most of the famous prostitutes in the late Ming Dynasty had their own character.Although there are many snobbish people like Mrs. Hengbo among them, there are also many people who are as brave as Liu Rushi and as aloof and arrogant like Dong Xiaowan. This is really different from the entertainment stars of later generations.

However, there is a saying that goes well, as long as the mind does not slip, there are always more solutions than difficulties.Only when it is difficult can it become valuable, and this flattery can be achieved.

Lin Hai had already made plans last night, but he had to wait until he returned home to talk about it.He cupped his hands at Xu Yilong and said with a smile: "Thank you, dear brother, for your advice. How to invite this Taoist in straw clothes? The mountain man has his own clever plan."

Xu Yilong asked him what his clever plan was, but Lin Hai just laughed and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)