scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 94

(PS: If you don’t ask for a monthly pass for a day, you will be raped again and again on the monthly pass list, so it’s a wordy sentence, ask for a monthly pass!)
The warm and pleasant spring has passed unknowingly, and the scorching hot summer has crawled over. After a few thunderstorms, flowers as bright as flames are blooming in the fields of Qujing Come, graceful and charming, fluttering in the wind, exuding a mysterious and intoxicating fragrance, embellishing the land of Qujing more than 200 years in advance.A few days later, the bright red flowers gradually climbed all over the mountains and plains, forming a sea of ​​flowers, which became more and more splendid and spectacular.

Not only the evil flowers that appeared on the land of Qujing in advance, but also corn, peppers, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc., which were recently introduced to the Central Plains. , Fortunately, with the population flow and cultural exchanges over the years, a small number of people in Qujing have come into contact with or seen these crops, and I heard that these new crops do not occupy mature fields and good land. The world can also be planted, so I tried more or less to plant some, and the resistance and doubts were far less than that kind of evil flowers.

In this way, the prosperity of sweet potatoes or the prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong advocated by later generations, also instigated by the wings of Fatty Lu, appeared in the land of Yunnan in advance.

Of course, Rome cannot be built in a day, nor can seeds take root, germinate, blossom and bear fruit in a day. During this long period of time, Fatty Lu not only has to spare time and energy to deal with his opponent Li Suzu, but also has to bear the pressure from the people. their worried questions.It is also because of this that Li Suzu, who was hated by the poor people, had a little time and opportunity to struggle.

In early April of the seventh year of Kang Mazi, Fatty Lu, who had just returned to Qujing after getting married in Kunming, encountered a major test. , deliberately instigated the Yi people in Zhanyi to seize the land of the Han people in Qujing, and a dispute broke out between the two sides. A son (slave) of Anmin chieftain died mysteriously in the fight, causing An Shiji to lead Campfire (a semi-militarized Yi people under the chieftain's control) Armed organization) came to Qujing City and asked Fatty Lu to hand over the murderer, otherwise he would go into Qujing City to find the murderer himself.

If he had to change to another county magistrate, he would have been paralyzed with fright when he encountered such a scene. He was at a loss, and Li Suzu, the superior, seized the handle and took it away.But what Li Shizu and An Shiji could not have imagined in their dreams was that less than half an hour after An Shiji's men rushed to the city of Qujing, Wu Sangui Youzhen's army rushed to the scene under the leadership of Yunnan Deputy General Wang Jing, and quickly rushed to the scene. The order was maintained, and at the same time, Fatty Lu also sent Li Tianzhi and Fang Shiyu to capture two servants from Li Shizu's mansion, escort them out of the city and hand them over to An Shiji, insisting that these two bastards killed An Shiji's son , and have to go through the formalities with An Shiji, and hand over the two murderers to An Shiji for disposal.

Disgusting Fatty Lu turned into disgusting Li Suzu, of course An Shiji quit, and refused to admit that these two servants of Li Suzu were murderers, but at this moment, An Shiji's father and son The mother's younger brother, An Shixian, stood up and brought a group of children to testify. He insisted that the two servants were the real murderers, and also brought out Zhanyi Yi people to testify, proving that the two servants were present at the time. Suspected of committing the crime—By the way, An Shiji's younger brother An Shixian, Monk Zhixiao, and Geng Juzhong all have a common hobby, that is, they like to fight against their elder brother, and they dream of taking down his elder brother and replacing him.

Moreover, in history, because of this bad temper, An Shixian was also imprisoned in blood (locked up bloody) by An Shiji after he inherited the position of chieftain!
Of course, history is history. Under the influence of the wings of Fatty Lu, An Shiji was really caught off guard by his younger brother this time. In his rage, An Shiji almost wanted to tear An Shixian apart He had his heart, but what caught An Shiji off guard was still behind. In the chaos, An Shiji suddenly discovered that the real murderer who killed the child—and also An Shiji's confidant had mysteriously disappeared!At the same time, Wang Jing also came forward to say hello, and asked An Shiji with a smile if he wanted to continue to make things worse, if he wanted to ask the Pingxi Palace to investigate, and if he wanted to invite An Shiji's father, Anmin, the current chieftain, to assist in the investigation?
Asking with a smile, Wang Jing also quietly showed An Shiji a belt card—the belt card of An Shiji's confidant who was ordered to kill someone. The sweat on An Shiji's forehead also flowed down all of a sudden—Monk Wu Sangui Kexi, Geng Jimao, and Kong Youde are different. They do not engage in massacres against the Han people, but they have always been deadly in dealing with the chieftains. Four years ago, the chieftain Wang Yaozu of eastern Yunnan took advantage of Wu Sangui's campaign against Shuixi to rebel and once threatened Kunming. Wu Sangui quickly returned to the teacher, but he killed Wang Yaozu's entire family!The big and small chieftains who followed Wang Yaozu's rebellion were not spared, and Wu Sangui killed every family, including the baby in the swaddle.

That year, An Shiji's father, Anmin, and mother Lu's chieftain were also lucky. They were afraid of Wu Sangui's military power and did not dare to follow Wang Yaozu to make trouble, so they escaped the disaster of extermination. Otherwise, Wu Sangui would have returned to his teacher from Guizhou On the road in Yunnan, Zhan Yi'an's family and Yiliang Lu's family were the first two targets!It was also because of this that the An family and the Lu family did not dare to provoke Wu Sangui, the murderous god. Under Wu Sangui's despotic power, they trembled and did not even dare to take a breath.

However, compared with the Shuixi chieftains in Guizhou, the chieftains in Yunnan are really much luckier. Under the butcher knife of Wu Sangui, they ruled the southwest for hundreds of years in the Ming Dynasty and once killed Guiyang to the point where there were only more than 200 people left in the city. The chieftains of the West, but they were killed by Wu Sangui for hundreds of years and haven't recovered from it.

The gossip is far away, let's get down to business, An Shiji is not an idiot, after seeing the waist card presented by Wang Jing, An Shiji immediately understood that if the matter continued, not only would he not get any benefit, but he would get angry and kill himself. trapped in.At that moment, An Shiji immediately made a decisive decision and accepted the condition offered by Fatty Lu with a smile on his face, that is, he identified the two servants of Li Suzu's mansion as murderers, demanded that Fatty Lu be severely punished according to the law, and at the same time paid for that child's family from his own pocket. With a little compensation, he led the team to leave Qujing City in despair, leaving his younger brothers An Shixian and Lu Fatty to burn yellow paper in Qujing to worship their brothers. The Han-Yi dispute that Li Suzu had finally provoked also subsided.

Of course, Wang Jing and An Shixian did not help Fatty Lu in vain. When Li Shizu was still wondering why Fatty Lu was able to predict the future, Fatty Lu contributed money and technology, and Wang Jing provided people and places to join forces. Liuli Workshop finally produced the first batch of finished products - 25 glass mirrors the size of washbasins, and more than 60 pieces of glassware.

On the day when the finished product was produced, Fatty Lu deliberately exhibited the product under the most famous small Cuanbei in Qujing City. The whole city of Qujing was a sensation, and the whole of Qujing Mansion was a sensation. Countless soldiers and civilians flocked to visit the small Cuanbei.And when they saw the clear image reflected in the glass mirror made by the mercury-tin method, everyone was dumbfounded, and everyone was full of praise, saying that it was a priceless treasure.It was also a coincidence that several businessmen under the command of Harmony Trumpet in Tibet happened to pass by Qujing. When they saw such a rare treasure, they pooled 6000 taels of silver on the spot and bought a glass mirror and four glasses, which they planned to bring to Tibet as a gift to Harmony Trumpet.The surrounding chieftains of the Lu family, the An family, and the Long family also paid a high price, and bought three glass mirrors and more than a dozen glasses and bottles from Fatty Lu, making Lu Fatty and Wang Jing a lot of money. , got a good start.

The bullies cautiously held the glass mirrors and cups and left happily, but the two big bosses Lu Fatty and Wang Jingye smiled crookedly. Among the two main raw materials for making glass, there is plenty of quartz sand and Qujing. How much, the cost is almost zero, high-purity soda is dried seaweed and burned. At the same time, caustic soda for steamed buns is also available on the market. If it is not possible, it can be extracted from plant ash, and the cost is pitifully low. Fuel costs, Fatty Lu and Wang Jing's huge profits are enough to make everyone in the world jealous.

After three days of exhibition, he sold two glass mirrors and seven or eight glass cups and glass bottles to the chieftains at sky-high prices. Fatty Lu left five glass mirrors and five glass products, and the remaining fourteen glass mirrors And other glass products were all handed over to Fatty Lu's uncle Qin Chuanwu, and the Daheng firm founded by Qin Chuanwu would be shipped to other places for sale.Among the remaining things, four glasses and a glass bottle were all given to An Shixian by Fatty Lu to repay his kindness of selling his brother. Xie, leaving happily, also laid the foundation for the decades-long alliance between Fatty Lu and An Shixian.

After sending An Shixian away, Fatty Lu began to distribute the remaining five glass mirrors. Among them, the dragon-shaped mirror was specially ordered-processed by thermal cutting, and of course it had to be sent to Beijing to get rid of Xiao Mazi, and the two tiger-shaped mirrors had one It is gratifying to send it to Wu Sangui, and at the same time send Liu Xu to dismiss the old man, so as to ease the relationship between Weng and his son-in-law.As for the last two round glass mirrors, one was jointly given to Wang Fuchen by Fatty Lu and Wang Jing to appease the hungry wolf whose eyes were shooting green light. Fortunately, Fatty Lu and Wang Jing had already prepared for this, and agreed to give Wang Fuchen a dry share on the spot, and tied Wang Fuchen to their own chariot of interests. helpless.

There is only the last one of the five gift glazed mirrors left, and all the wolves, large and small, in the Pingxi Palace are also eyeing the last glazed mirror. Wu Yingqi wrote to ask if Fatty Lu’s glazed workshop can help, saying that no matter the manpower , land and raw materials, as long as Fatty Lu asks, Wu Yingqi can do his best to help!Ma Bao, who was stationed in Chuxiong, sent his brother Ma Jun over to greet him and asked if Fatty Lu had been bullied in Qujing. If so, General Ma immediately brought his brothers over to kill people!Brother Hu Guozhu and Aunt Xia Guoxiang were even worse, so they simply found an excuse and went directly to Qujing City to invite Fatty Lu to dinner.There are also two general soldiers Liu Wenjin, Di Sanpin, and a garrison Xie Chun in the Qujing Mansion also came here hypocritically to inquire about the health and make friends with Fatty Lu—fortunately, Fatty Lu fell out with Li Shizu as soon as he took office, otherwise he would be blackmailed There will definitely be one more.

In fact, Lin Tianqing, the governor of Yunnan, Bian Sanyuan, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and Cui Zhiying, the governor of Yunnan, and Li Yingyuan, the governor of Yunnan, were also the ones who wanted to make the last glass mirror, but Fatty Lu was fighting with Li Suzu. Even if Fatty Lu gave it to them, they didn't dare to take it, so they could only honestly suppress the itching in their hearts, and wait for the limelight to pass before discussing it with Fatty Lu slowly.But even so, with so many hungry wolves staring at the only glass mirror, Fatty Lu was still overwhelmed, his head was battered and he couldn't laugh or cry, and Wang Jing was also in a dilemma, not knowing who to please and who to offend.

In desperation, Fatty Lu and Wang Jing had no choice but to spend a lot of money and let the craftsmen rush to work day and night to produce a batch of glassware with relatively simple craftsmanship, which was used to drive away these hungry wolves, temporarily appease them, and at the same time ensure that the next batch of glassware will be ready. After the mirror was produced, they were absolutely indispensable, and these hungry wolves left contentedly.And the last glass mirror was also given by Fatty Lu to Wu Sangui's godson, Wu Guogui, to repay him for his protection and care some time ago - of course, Fatty Lu's move has absolutely nothing to do with Wu Guogui's beautiful daughter Wu Xiaotu, no matter you Believe it or not, I believe it anyway.

The production of glass mirrors is so lucrative that Lieutenant General Wang Jingwang, who is so profitable that he can't even close his mouth with a smile, was overjoyed. In addition to forcing Fatty Lu to burn yellow paper to worship his brothers, he also asked Fatty Lu to discuss how to expand Production scale and increase capacity.Originally, what Wang Jing meant was that, taking advantage of the high price now, he quickly made more silver and sold it as much as he could, and when he earned more silver than he could eat and use in his lifetime, he could stop and enjoy the blessings.

For Wang Jing's short-sightedness, the ambitious Lu Fatty of course scoffed, and said, "Second Brother Wang, have you ever heard of the principle that scarcity is the most valuable thing? What is the price of grain in a famine year, and what is the price of grain in a good year?" , you should know this, right? It is easy for us to make more colored glazed mirrors, but the price of colored glazed mirrors has dropped. To show off, you have made a lot, every household has it, and they bought dry balls at a high price?"

Wang Jing was reliable in war, and he was still loyal to his friends, but he was far behind in economics, so it took him half a stick of incense to think about it before Wang Jing understood the meaning of Fatty Lu's words. He nodded and said, "Brother Lu is right. We can't make too many of these things, so what do you think we should do?"

"There are two steps. The first step is to strictly limit the output of glazed mirrors." Fatty Lu raised two fingers and said, "We must not make more glazed mirrors. We only make 3000 mirrors every two months. One side counts as one." If we buy 6 taels, we can earn 36 taels every two months, or [-] taels a year. But we can freely manufacture ordinary glass cups and glass bottles, and we can also teach the technology to local people in Qujing. Let them follow suit, one is to earn more money, and the other is to let the people and craftsmen in Qujing follow suit, let them make a small fortune, think of us, and prevent them from leaking their technology and cutting off our wealth. road."

"Brother Lu is worthy of being a scholar. It makes sense and makes sense, so let's do it this way." Wang Jing nodded repeatedly, and asked again: "Then what about the second step?"

"Of course the second step is to improve the technology." Fatty Lu took out a scrap of tin-mercury glass mirror, and said plausibly, "Second brother Wang, please look, in fact, our first batch of glass mirrors is just rare, and the quality is not good. It is particularly good, the glass is not transparent enough, the portrait in the mirror is not clear enough, the mercury and tin behind it are not strong enough, it will fall off after a few years of use, and it is not much different from the ones imported from Western feudal vassals. They can only be sold in the Qing Dynasty. Domestically, if you can’t sell Xiyang, of course you won’t be able to earn money from those local rich men in Xiyang.”

"Then what should we do?" Wang Jing asked nervously.

"Brother, I studied Western culture and found a better way to make glazed mirrors, but it takes time to experiment slowly." Fatty Lu said seriously: "The mirrors made by this method are not only better in quality, but also lower in cost. , the construction period is even shorter, if we can successfully test this method, then the new glazed mirrors produced will not only be impossible for others to learn, but will be sold at a higher price in the Qing Dynasty, and they can also be sold to foreign feudal vassals to earn money from Western bumpkins. Earn money from Fusang bumpkins and Koryo bumpkins, and earn money from all over the world! At that time, Brother Wang, you said that we brothers and our children and grandchildren, can we spend all the money?"

"That's right, let's do it like this!" Wang Jing was very excited, and pressed Fatty Lu's shoulder, "My good brother, the second brother will listen to you, and you can do whatever you want. You can make a new glazed mirror." What else do you need? Just ask, even if it is the footwashing water used by the Queen Mother, I will dig a hole in the mountain and find it, second brother!"

"Don't worry, this matter can't be rushed, you have to test slowly, wait slowly." Fatty Lu smiled wryly, and said, "Well, Brother Wang, I know that there is an unowned barren mountain in the southwest of Sanchakou Castle. Quartz stone can’t be planted. It’s close to the coal mine and has a water source. It’s a good place to build a glass workshop. First, you need to bring some people to set up a camp there. Move all the stoves and tools there, and prepare enough raw materials for the glass workshop. All the artisans live there, you can let them bring their families, but they are not allowed to leave casually, wait for me to recruit some apprentices in Qujing, and then we will start working."

"Success, within three days, I'll take care of everything for you!" Wang Jing agreed without hesitation.

"There's no need to be in such a hurry." Fatty Lu shook his head and said, "Take your time, brother, I have to concentrate on preparing for the imperial court's imperial envoys in the last few days. I'll clean up that old thing of Li Suzu first, otherwise I won't be able to find time to go there. Get a new glazed mirror."

"Damn it, why hasn't Li Suzu died yet?" Wang Jing cursed and said, "Brother Lu, why not do this, brother, I will arrange some people to dress up as Miaozi or Yizi, and wait for Li Suzu to die." When you were out of the city, cut him down with a knife, so as not to keep him from making trouble for you."

"Don't worry, the background and backing of Li Shizu's old man are not simple, so you can't be tough." Fatty Lu shook his head and said, "If this method worked, the prince would have used it a long time ago. To deal with Li Shizu's skinny man The old dog can only follow the rules of the imperial court, use the court's methods to fight him down, and let him die without a place to bury him. Otherwise, he will only cause trouble for himself and himself."

"Damn it, old man, I'll kill your whole family sooner or later!" Wang Jing cursed again, but he didn't dare to mess around with Li Suzu, so he could only say, "Okay then, listen to Brother Lu's arrangement." , Don’t be tough on him. Brother Lu, if you need help with him, just ask, brother, I will do my best to help.”

Of course Fatty Lu believed Wang Jing's words—now that Fatty Lu's interests were completely bound up with Wang Jing's, of course Wang Jing would not just sit back and watch Fatty Lu be brought down by Li Shizu.But asking a vulgar martial artist like Wang Jing to help him in official battles really made it a little harder for him, so Fatty Lu thought about it, and then said: "Well, how about this, Second Brother Wang, you let the army take care of the big and small Keep an eye on Guankou to see if there are any unusual characters coming in and out, especially those foreigners who speak with a capital accent, if you find out, keep an eye on me, investigate his every move, and notify me if there is any abnormality."

"Success, brother, I've been stationed in Qujing for so many years, and I'm considered a local snake. This matter must be handled beautifully for you." Wang Jing agreed immediately, and then asked curiously: "But, brother Lu, why are you looking into this?" ?”

"Just today, Prince Pingxi sent me a letter in six hundred miles." Fatty Lu said with a gloomy face: "After Li Suzu's bitch wife came to Beijing, she successfully persuaded Prince Kang to come forward. His majesty sued me in front of him, he was furious, and sent an imperial envoy south to Qujing to investigate the case of my brother and Li Suzu's dispute."

"Who is the imperial envoy?" Wang Jing was a little nervous, and said, "Why don't we let Liuli Workshop hurry up and make a glazed mirror, which is specially used to send him away. As long as he is willing to accept it, Brother Lu, you can relax."

"I don't know what the hell this imperial envoy is doing. He actually asked the emperor not to announce his name and official position in the court newspaper and the archives of the Ministry of Rites." Fatty Lu said distressedly: "In this way, brother, I will be much more passive. If this imperial envoy is on the side of Li Suzu, or he is the one who is in Zhengbaiqi, I am completely passive. So I have no choice but to ask you to help me find this imperial envoy as soon as possible. "

"Oh, so that's how it is." Wang Jing suddenly realized, patted his forehead again and said, "Wait, no wonder Wang Jizhen, the son of Boss Wang, took the initiative to ask for orders to go to Shengjing Pass today. If you are full, could it be that he also helped Li Suzu find this imperial envoy?"

"Is there such a thing?" Fatty Lu was stunned, and said in surprise: "Could it be that Li Suzu doesn't know who this imperial envoy is? What is this imperial envoy planning to do? How can he hide his identity from me and Li Suzu's backers? "

………………

When Fatty Lu and Li Shizu were both puzzled by the identity of this mysterious imperial envoy, at the same time, at the Yuping Pass, the only way from Hunan to Guizhou, a team of more than ten people suddenly came. One was in his thirties, with an ordinary appearance and a friendly attitude, and he personally showed the customs clearance certificate to the guards.But unfortunately, today the guards at Yuping Pass do not know a single character, but the seal on the battlement for customs clearance is very large, and it is still a very noble cinnabar seal, which obviously does not seem to be the customs clearance route opened by the local government. Yin, it seems that the origin is extraordinary, so the sentry officer hurriedly saluted, and asked respectfully: "My lord, don't blame me, I can't read, may I ask your name, where are you from? Where are you going?" ?”

"My name is Yu Chenglong, a member of the Han army with a yellow banner." The middle-aged man smiled and replied: "I came from the capital and went to Yunnan to do some business."

"Yu Chenglong? I seem to have heard that name somewhere?" The sentry officer scratched his head and suddenly exclaimed: "Yu Chenglong? My lord, are you the famous and upright official Yu Chenglong Yu Qingtian?"

"Master Jun misunderstood." The middle-aged man smiled and said: "The one who is located in Mr. Jackie Chan Yu is my brother of the same clan. He is now the magistrate of Hezhou, Sichuan. I am just an ordinary censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Because I and He is of the same family, and unfortunately he has the same name, so many people call me smaller than Jackie Chan."

(End of this chapter)