Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 554 Persimmon Tree Kitten Knife
The next day, it drizzled.

Zheng Chunshou walked out of the house with mixed feelings, muttering to himself:
Goodbye, Dabie Mountains!

This would be the last time he looked at his familiar home.

There are two trees planted in the yard, one is a persimmon tree and the other is also a persimmon tree.

Heavy persimmons hang on the branches, most of the fruits have green and yellow skin, and a few are slightly red.

Maturity is imminent.

but,

I won’t have the chance to taste the sweet persimmons of this season.

He did not forget his adoptive father's last words, and after settling in Jinzhai, he transplanted two persimmon trees in his own yard.

……

Persimmon tree is drought and heat tolerant.

It can grow in the south and the north, in mountains and plains, in fertile soil and poor land, and has extremely tenacious vitality.

It is very productive and one tree can produce over a thousand kilograms of fruit.

The tree is more than 300 years old, longer than the life of a glorious dynasty.

What’s even more valuable is that there is almost no need for service.

It doesn't eat grass, but it produces milk.

Persimmon is a fruit, but also a grain.

In good years, thrifty owners would dry the dried persimmons into cakes and store them away for use in times of famine.

In bad years, persimmons, which are rich in sugar and vitamins, are a staple food.

hard to imagine,

There are such magical "hardcore crops exclusively for the poor" in the world.

A plant with strong vitality, high yield, long life, and nutrition, which produces large amounts of output without requiring any investment.

Persimmons can save the lives of the poor.

……

He didn't lock the door when he left.

You can't lock the door when no one is at home. It's better to open it and welcome guests from all directions.

"Xiaoju, let's go."

Zheng Chunshou patted the pockets in the car, signaling the pet squatting under the eaves to come up quickly.

"Meow~"

The huge orange cat nimbly jumped onto the cart.

The cart shook instantly.

The donkey pulling the cart looked up in confusion, not knowing what had just happened.

It was drizzling and everyone walked in silence.

The orange cat seemed to realize that this was a journey away from home and not a chance to play, so it suddenly stood up, raised its head, and looked around.

After a moment, it jumped out of the car and ran back to its familiar nest.

Leaving a string of shallow plum blossom footprints on the muddy ground~
……

"Xiaoju, let's go."

however,
The usually obedient pet did not intend to follow its owner's orders this time. It squatted on the wall with its huge body and its eyes wide open.

It doesn't want to leave.

An old man advised:

"Chun Shou, let's go."

"There is no shortage of food and drink in the Dabie Mountains. Cats can survive on their own, and they may live more comfortably than us."

Zheng Chunshou wiped the rain off his face, turned around and caught up with the team.

When leaving the village and about to turn the corner.

He couldn't help but turn his head and look.

I saw cats growing all over the fence of my house. All the cats in the village came, squatted in a row, and quietly watched their owner leave.
Behind him are two bright red persimmon trees.

From today on, Jinzhai Village belongs to the cats.

……

Lu'an Prefecture, Huoshan County,

Several yamen runners were walking towards the city gate from afar.

The Green Camp commander in charge of the city gate took a few glances and frowned:
“It doesn’t seem to be from our county.”

Another soldier: "Maybe he came from the state capital."

Zheng Chunshou, accompanied by two young men in black clothes with their hands on the hilts of their swords, walked with their heads held high and without looking around, walked straight past the stunned captain and walked into the city gate.

"Do it."

The soldiers who were caught off guard were chopped down.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the general jumped into the moat and escaped.

far away,

Hundreds of people holding swords and guns and shouting rushed towards Huoshan County.

……

There were more than 200 soldiers in Huoshan City, as well as 100 archers and yamen runners. They were defeated one by one before they had time to assemble.

The people of Jinzhai Village successfully took control of the county town after killing only twenty or so enemies.

Zheng Chunshou was relatively calm:
"You guys, take control of the granary."

"You two families are responsible for collecting the weapons, especially the firearms."

"Tell the people in the city not to panic. We are the righteous army. We will only kill corrupt officials, not innocent people."

……

In the county government office,
Everyone wolfed down the food while listening to his instructions.

"The captured muskets were distributed to the women and children."

"Chun Shou, no one in the village can use it."

"I will. From now on, we are the army. Everyone must learn to obey orders and learn how to deploy troops."

"Chun Shou, what banner should we fly?"

"White Lotus Volunteer Army. The army is too small at the moment, so we need to send people out of the city to recruit soldiers. But don't look for acquaintances in the same village, and don't recruit too many soldiers, 100 is enough. Tell them that they will be paid if they join the army."

"Row."

The meeting lasted for half an hour and everyone left in a mess.

……

Zheng Chunshou had seen soldiers fighting. They first bombarded with cannons, then fought in formation with muskets, and finally fought with cold weapons.

He gathered the women and children together and showed them how to fire a matchlock, teaching a few clever ones first and then letting them teach the others.

The reason why women and children are allowed to use firearms is to make the best use of their abilities.

The biggest advantage of the matchlock gun is that it requires very little physical strength from the user.

At the beginning,

European knights were indignant:

With a musket, a lowly dwarf can kill a noble, brave and skilled knight.

The women in Dabie Mountains are tenacious, like wild grass and she-wolves. Their rough hands can sew shoe soles, hold hoes, and even guns.

They gladly accepted, familiarized themselves with the loading procedures, and had no objection to fighting alongside their men.

There are no crying women in Dabie Mountains.

……

Smoke and fire were billowing at the door of the granary.

A group of people were busy making dry rations. The aroma of fried rice with the addition of oil, salt and sugar filled the air, making it perfect as dry rations for the march.

Compared to uncooked rice, carrying dry food can save space, time, and fuel.

Zheng Chunshou also sent people to rob a cloth shop and find a tailor to make dry food bags, and each person carried 5 kilograms of fried rice.

In the city's parade ground, they practiced battle formations.

On one side were men lined up with spears.

"Kill, kill, kill."

Everyone shouted and moved forward.

On one side is musket shooting training.

The women and children tried shooting for the first time and made holes in the wall.

Watching it, I feel excited.

When you are in a group, courage is contagious.

A simple mountain armed force is slowly transforming after obtaining its valuable first pot of gold.

……

A young boy watching enviously said:

"Brother Zheng, you really acted like a general just now."

A middle-aged man asked:

"Shou Wa Zi, did you learn all this when you were making trouble for Bai Lian?"

Zheng Chunshou nodded.

He had followed his adoptive father to join the most elite guards under the command of Master Hong, and all his knowledge of marching and fighting came from the guidance of Zhang Liyong, a former general of the Hubei Green Camp.

Although they are a rebel army, they learned everything from the regular army.

He also rounded up all the livestock in the city.

At first, the guards of the religion rode two horses.

With a long sword and a hard bow, he can advance and retreat like a mountain.

Zheng Chunshou really wanted to have such an army.

……

The country was in chaos, and many heroes emerged. Jinzhai Village was just a microcosm.

The smoke of war spread across Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui, and big brothers appeared one after another, either killing officials and rebelling, or being killed by officials and soldiers.

Beheading is just like the wind blowing the ground~
This is a vibrant land where the spirit of "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born with different races?" will last for thousands of years.

Liu Qian, director of the Intelligence Bureau, was stationed in Yangzhou and transferred a large number of elite subordinates to infiltrate the Central Plains for observation.

at the same time,

Jiangpu Town, which had remained silent for a long time, is no longer silent.

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Hu Zhihuang cut off his braids in public and shouted:

"Heaven and earth are cruel, and the people have no way to survive. Such a court is better off gone. I, Hu Zhihuang, want to seek justice for the people of the Central Plains."

"Carry out justice on behalf of heaven and punish the evil officials."

Thousands of people raised their swords and guns and shouted, cutting their braids on the spot.

……

"My dear son-in-law, tell me the truth. Are you from that side~"

Hu Zhihuang smiled and whispered:
"Don't worry, Taishan. I have been a member of the Wu court for a long time, and I am a close friend of His Majesty the Emperor Wu."

"Oh my, yes, that's great."

Mr. Dong was ecstatic and his face turned red.

"Ahem, but I still have to ask you to keep it secret. His Majesty said it's about the national financial policy and is related to the Sihai Piaohao. Anyway, I don't really understand it, so just keep it secret."

"understand."

Sihai Piaohao has already crossed the river and opened branches in Yangzhou and Anqing.

No one knows what His Majesty is up to, except Liu Jinxin and Yu Min, the heads of the banks.

……

The Piaohao industry in the Qing Dynasty was originally dominated by Shanxi merchants.

A few years ago, Li Yu speculated on the concept of maritime trade and bankrupted the Shanxi Piaohao, which had heavily stockpiled tea and silk.

later,

The Qing government once again killed the goose that laid the golden eggs, leading to the demise of Shanxi's Piaohao industry.

but,

Princes, Beile, Heshen, Yu Min and others all seized some of the corpses of the banknote houses, and then used their corpses to revive and start their own businesses.

The general pattern is:

The ticket number was changed to a new name. All previous deposits would not be recognized, and previous loans must be recovered.

Not convinced?

The whole family went to Ningguta.

……

Therefore, there are now two dominant banks in the north.

One is called "Zhongsheng" and the other is called "Wanhe".

At the same time, a rumor gradually spread among the customer group.

Wu Ting's Sihai Piaohao entered the north. All people, regardless of whether they were Manchus or Han, officials or civilians, could deposit money there and receive protection.

Seems absurd~
However, the officials and gentry with a keen sense of smell still inquired about the inside story very seriously. At their level, they would never sneer at sensitive rumors, but would seriously ponder and trace the source.

War is war, and business is business.

Today's enemy may not be tomorrow's friend.

The head clerk of the Kaifeng branch of Zhongsheng Bank received an invitation to meet him at the restaurant.

……

The chief servant and the nobleman's steward were drinking.

Since our identities match, we can have a more in-depth conversation.

After three rounds of drinking,

The butler asked:
"There are recent rumors that the Sihai Piaohao in the south is moving into Kaifeng? Is that true?"

The big fellow is mysterious.
Start showing off:
"Si Hai Piao Hao is the property of Wu Huanghuang, and it has a special nature. They said they would open a business of withdrawing money from other places in the north. For example, we can deposit money in Kaifeng and withdraw money in Suzhou."

The butler nodded and took the initiative to pour wine for the waiter.

Asked again:
"The governor doesn't care about it? This is enemy property."

The big man drank the yellow wine in his empty cup proudly and asked:
"How to care?"

"Have they put up a sign? Have they opened a shop?"

"No. To put it bluntly, it's a shadow organization. No one can see it, but it does exist."

The butler returned to the mansion with a heavy heart.

The master remained silent after listening to this. After thinking for a long time, he picked up his pen and wrote a letter to ask his friend in the capital.

……

Wu Ting kept leaking information to the outside world through the Zhongsheng Bank controlled by Yu Minzhong.

Deposit silver in the north and withdraw silver in the south.

The handling fee is 1%.

If you are not optimistic about the Qing Dynasty, you should consider Sihai Piaohao.

of course,

Such behavior carries great risks, but high risk means high reward.

The clerks of Zhongsheng Bank could introduce their own customers to Sihai Bank and collect a small commission from them.

Even if it's exposed.

"Tong Wu" is the personal behavior of the clerk, and has nothing to do with the ticket office.

……

The North is large and has a large population.

But Li Yu’s target group is very concentrated.

The city was carefully planned in cities such as Yanjing, Tianjin, Jinan, Kaifeng, Baoding, Xi'an and Taiyuan.

Using Zhongsheng Banknote Exchange and some pawnshop and antique dealers developed by the Intelligence Bureau as intermediaries, information is accurately disseminated to target groups.

The target customer group are all extremely wealthy and intelligent people. They may be skeptical and wait and see, but no one will go to the government to report and take the initiative to expose Wu Ting's conspiracy.

the reason is simple,
No benefits, maybe some disadvantages.

If Wu Ting wins, his behavior will lead to bloody revenge.
The only thing that didn't go smoothly was in Xi'an, where something went wrong. The local officials and gentry were stubborn enough to report it to the government and they arrested a few people.

This also indirectly shows that the officials and gentry in Xi'an were very confident and had great hatred towards Wu Ting.

……

The northern gentry and aristocratic families were extremely disgusted and dissatisfied with Wu Ting's unorthodox behavior of abandoning the imperial examination.

Wu Ting's reputation for doing things also spread to the north.

In particular, the practice of treating the gentry in the city differently based on whether they resisted or not was a matter of law, and the northern gentry were still frightened.

Under the current situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Qing court is still in internal strife and is gradually at a disadvantage.

In this situation, everyone should choose to remain silent.

But they couldn't help but complain privately:
"People in Jiangnan are petty."

They believed that Emperor Wu was petty and vindictive.

Sihai Piaohao is a royal property and a tool for Emperor Wu to make money. Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. There is no need to offend Emperor Wu for such a small matter.

If you have the energy, you can recruit more private soldiers and build more forts. No matter what the future holds, having soldiers and food in your hands will serve as bargaining chips.

Surrender depends on the chips.

Surrender depends on the value of the battle.

We are all smart people, and few of them are stubbornly loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

before?

The Eight Bannermen’s swords are sharp, so no one dares to be disloyal.

Things are different now. The imperial court is in decline, the north is out of control, and the power of local gentry is rising. Of course, everyone is "respectful at first and arrogant later."

……

In fact, the reactions of the northern gentry were all within Li Yu's expectations.

That's human nature.

It is instinctive to seek benefits and avoid harm.

Those who can make it to the elite class of the empire are extremely rational and calm. They never act on impulse, and they are not just one person, but a huge family.

Just like the Shi family of Jinghaihou,
To be honest, I started my rebellion by stepping on the corpse of a member of the Shi family.

But so what?

Now, the Shi family who have come to join them will not have any hatred.

On the contrary, Shi Lingyang consciously put all the people in that family into hiding, sending them to his own tea house in Wuyi Mountain to live a low-key life, away from officialdom.

Save yourself from feeling uncomfortable~
Li Yu even speculated maliciously that if the rumors about the "Si Hai Piao Hao" were widely spread and known to everyone in the society, there would definitely be enthusiastic people and loyal scholars who would take the initiative to report it to the government.

This is a very interesting phenomenon.

Anyway,

The Emperor Wu, who was well versed in human nature, had woven a large net for the northern officials and gentry. No matter how hard he tried, the prey would eventually be caught.

(End of this chapter)