Taizhou Prefecture governs Linhai County, which is a thousand miles away from Jiankang.
Shen Yi and his party went there by horse carriage. The speed was much slower than riding a horse. They only walked about a hundred miles every day. By the time the party arrived at the gate of Linhai County, Taizhou Prefecture, it was already the morning nine days later.
At this time, there were only four people left in the original team of nearly fifty people. Most of them entered Linhai County and other counties in Taizhou Prefecture in batches, and some people were sent to further places, such as Talk about Guangzhou Prefecture.
The remaining four people were Shen Yi and Li Mu, as well as two generals from the Jin Prince's Palace who were under personal protection.
The four of them were in plain clothes and did not reveal their identities. They were very tired from traveling all the way. After entering the city, they found an inn in the county town to rest.
After washing up and taking a nap, in the evening, the two of them regained enough energy and ordered a table of food and wine in the inn, and talked about things while eating.
At this moment, the two generals were guarding the door, and their conversation would hardly be heard by anyone.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gave Shen Yi a toast. After drinking it, he shook his head and said, "This Wu language is really difficult to understand. After entering the city, I can't understand a few words."
Shen Yi smiled and said: "Tomorrow, I will find a local guide for my brother, so that communication will be smooth."
The two did not identify themselves, so they treated each other as brothers along the way.
Li Mu was stunned for a moment, then smiled hoarsely: "I almost forgot, Ziheng, you are half a landlord."
The Di Newspaper Division in Taizhou Prefecture was established more than two months ago. The person in charge here is Zheng Hu, the leader of the fourth group of the Di News Bureau Intelligence Division.
In more than two months, Di Newspaper Division has accumulated some influence in Taizhou Prefecture. Apart from other things, there is no problem in finding a few locals.
"Who am I to be a landlord?"
Shen Yi smiled and said: "This place is a thousand miles away from Jiankang. The local forces are intricately entangled and it is difficult for external forces to penetrate in a short time. Originally, I thought I would go into the city myself and take a look. Brother, you can wait and see outside. I never thought that my brother would come in with me."
"If anyone finds out about this, I'm afraid we brothers won't be able to get out of this Taizhou capital."
Li Mu smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, Brother Youwei is here to keep you safe."
Seeing his confident look, Shen Yi felt a little relieved.
No matter what, with His Royal Highness here, my life safety is not a big problem.
After the two of them drank a few sips of wine, Li Mu looked at Shen Yi and said, "Speaking of which, Zi Hengqian hasn't told me yet, why should we be the first to go to Taizhou Mansion?"
Li Mu was a little curious: "Because there are big fish in Taizhou Prefecture?"
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and said: "Brother, among the coastal prefectures, the Di Reporting Department has obtained actual evidence of many local big families collaborating with Japanese pirates. However, Taizhou Prefecture alone has a serious Japanese invasion, and Japanese pirates invade every year. , but the Di Newspaper Division has been operating here for more than two months, but it has not been able to obtain any tangible evidence."
"When dealing with large families in these places, the most important thing is not to alert the enemy, so we have to start from the most difficult place."
Li Mu reached out and poured a glass of wine for Shen Yi, and asked with a smile: "Then how should I get it?"
"I have no idea."
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and said, "It is precisely because I have no clue that I have to come to Taizhou first."
As he spoke, Shen Yi took out two pieces of white paper filled with words from his sleeves, placed them in front of Li Mu, and said: "Brother, please look, this is the information of Yuan Yuan, the magistrate of Taizhou, and Deng Quan, the magistrate of Linhai County. They have been compiled as much as possible." It’s very detailed, someone from the Di newspaper department sent it at noon today.”
Li Mu took it and took a look at it, and then said thoughtfully: "This magistrate has been in office for two years, and the other magistrate has only been in office for less than a year. These two people..."
"Will there be any connection with the local family?"
Hearing Li Mu's question, Shen Yi shook his head slightly.
This prince of Jin Dynasty does not mean that he is not capable, nor that he is not smart enough. He was born and raised in Jiankang from childhood to adulthood. He does not understand the survival logic of local officials and gentry, nor does he understand what the lower-level officials are like. .
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly and said: "Brother, let alone one year, within two or three days of the new official's arrival, the big clans in these places will compete to entertain and make friends. If you are determined to go against the local squire family, I'm afraid I will pack up and leave in two or three months."
Li Mu frowned: "It's just the county magistrate, but the same is true for the prefect?"
"all the same."
Shen Yi said helplessly: "Since ancient times, imperial power has not been sent to the countryside. Anyone who wants to be a stable official cannot do without the people in these places. There are only four words for local officialdom."
"Compromise with each other."
Hearing Shen Yi's words, Li Mu was startled at first, and then smiled hoarsely: "Zi Heng, these four words are not only useful when placed in a local context, but also seem to make sense when placed in Jiankang. They are just objects of compromise. It’s just different.”
The two exchanged cups and drank until late at night. The next day it was getting brighter and they got up from the bed. At this time, a young man named Yang Wu was already waiting at the door of the inn.
This man was a native of Taizhou Prefecture, and his official pronunciation was pretty good. He was brought in by the Di Newspaper Division to serve as a guide for Shen Yi and his two men.
With a guide who can speak Mandarin, communication will be much easier. Two people and two generals, a total of five people, walked together in Linhai County.
Linhai County is close to the sea, so there are naturally a lot of seafood sellers. There are a lot of seafood that Jiankang cannot see or eat, which is an eye-opener for two people who have never been to the seaside. After seeing some seafood, Yang on the side Wu saw that the two people were interested, so he asked them about the price in local dialect.
After asking about the price, Yang Wu frowned slightly. He turned back to the two people, lowered his head, and said in Mandarin: "Two young masters, the Japanese pirates have become more and more rampant in recent years. Not only are they causing trouble at sea, but the fishing villages along the coast have also been invaded by them. There have been so many plunders that many fishermen have moved away from the seaside. Now the price of these seafood is 50 to 60% higher than before..."
The Di newspaper secretary told Yang Wu that Shen Yi and the other two people came from the capital to visit Taizhou Prefecture, so he called them young masters.
Shen Yi smiled and said, "You have been here for so many years, did you just find out about the price increase today?"
Yang Wu said with some embarrassment: "Back to the young master, my family is not very well off. Although these seafood are not expensive, I don't buy them very often..."
"Well."
Shen Yi nodded and continued: "Okay, you lead the way to the best restaurant in Linhai."
"I'll treat you to a good meal today."
Yang Wu swallowed his saliva and said: "Yes, you two gentlemen, please come with me..."
He walked in front, walking very fast, and led Shen Yi and two people to the largest restaurant in Linhai County. Then he took the two people to the second floor and carefully ordered the food for them.
After ordering the food, Shen Yi glanced at him and asked with a smile: "Our brothers have just arrived in Linhai and are going to do some business in Linhai. After finishing the meal, we will ask him to take us to places like the dock and port. ."
"Let's see if we can transport some goods from Linhai back to Jiankang and sell them."
"Tough luck."
Yang Wu waved his hand and sighed: "Japanese pirates are so rampant now that merchant ships dare not go to the sea. Only a few big families dare to transport goods to the sea if they can afford escorts. No one else dares to do business on the sea. …”
Li Mu's eyes lit up and he was about to ask which big families they were. Shen Yi pulled his sleeves and said with a smile: "In that case, let's talk after dinner..."
