The 12th day of the twelfth lunar month is the Kaiji Festival, which is the anniversary of Taizu's accession to the throne. The meaning is somewhat similar to the National Day a thousand years later. The difference is that on the Kaiji Festival, in addition to the official lanterns and colorful decorations, there are also people in the official Apart from what he expressed, the common people did not have much enthusiasm.
On this day, more than 1,000 kilograms of tea from the Gu family arrived in Jiangning. With the tacit consent of the Seventh Lady and Lin Mengde, the merchant ship carrying the tea goods traveled by water without any accidents. Wu Qi and others also came with the ship.
The Huaishang horse bandits who followed Wu Qi to Shanglin disguised as horse traders, including Wu Qi, totaled seven people. This time four came, and three others stayed in Shanglin, staying with the seventh lady Gu Yingxiu. Although Gu Yingxiu has Gu Wuchen as her support. Lin Tingli, Lin Zonghai, Lin Xuzong and others will not offend her excessively, but they must also be careful of villains who try to do evil things behind the scenes. Besides, the seventh lady Gu Yingxiu also needs helpers.
On the 12th day of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was light and overcast. When Wu Qi and others came over, snowflakes were already falling in the north of the Yangtze River, but there had not been any snow on the south bank of the Yangtze River this winter.
"The day before yesterday, Shen Rong, the prefect of Dongyang, arrived in Shanglinli on an official boat for inspection. He said that he wanted to report to the Xuanfu Envoy to reward Lin Zonghai, the commander of the Shanglinli Township Camp, with a hat of Yunqi Deputy Lieutenant and a seventh-grade military attache..." Wu Qi arrived After Jiang Ning had time to take a sip of tea, he rushed Lin Jingzhong back from the tea shop. He talked about some things that had happened in Shanglin during this period. Some things could not be described in detail in the letter, so someone had to come over to ask them carefully in person.
"Shen Rong has never given up his efforts to integrate the rural camp into the Dongyang Army." Lin Jingzhong shook his head and sighed, "He has done this kind of thing once before..."
"A seventh-grade military attache's hat is useless." Zhao Hu had spent two years in Shanglinli Township Camp and knew what Shanglinli Township Camp was like. He was a little disdainful of Shen Rong's efforts and spoke a little rudely. "The Lin family spent nearly ten thousand taels of silver to support the five hundred warriors of the Shanglinli Township Camp every year. If Shen Rong could spend so much money every year, even if the township camp was forced to be incorporated into the Military and Horse Division, what could the Lin family say? ?If Shen Rong cannot come up with the money to raise troops and insists on integrating the rural camps into the Army and Horses Division, and the Lin family cuts off the salary and support, then it will be a big trouble for Shen Rong."
Although Zhao Hu does not see the problem as carefully as Lin Jingzhong, he understands the simple truth that raising soldiers requires a lot of money.
Lin Fu shook his head and said: "When Lin Ting was training to be in charge, Shen Rong's small tricks were nothing. The key to the problem now is Lin Zonghai - Lin Zonghai is not a disciple of our sect. No matter who it is, it will not be Lin Zonghai's turn in the future. As the head of the Lin family, on the contrary, when someone else becomes the head of the family, the first person to guard against is Lin Zonghai; in addition, the Shanglinli township camp is based on the descendants of the Lin clan as the backbone, and most of the township warriors are the disciples of Shanglin. Generally speaking, Lin Zonghai cannot control the township camp independently from the Lin family - he is afraid that if Shen Rong shows his kindness, Lin Zonghai will do whatever it takes to cater to him..."
"What will the second master's attitude be towards this matter?" Lin Jingzhong asked. Lin Tingli is the general magistrate of Dongyang Mansion, and his status in Dongyang Mansion is second only to Shen Rong. Even if he vetoes Shen Rong's proposal to add the title of military attache to Lin Zonghai, it is still possible. of.
"It's hard to say. If Lin Zonghai was just asked to be given the rank of military attache, it would be difficult for Lin Tingli to object - Shen Rong may not immediately incorporate the Shanglinli Township Camp into the government army. I think this is just a small move on his part. It’s enough to make the situation in Shanglinli more complicated and the Lin family to be more torn apart." Lin Fu said, thinking that Shen Rong should know that he can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry, and he was afraid that he would take advantage of the Lin clan’s internal affairs. Fighting openly and secretly, and slowly trying to figure it out.
Of course, Lin Fu thinks this way not because he is worried about the future of the Lin clan. In any case, the fragmentation of the Lin family is also beneficial to him. The more the Lin clan is united around the main family, the more he will give as a side disciple.
If Lin Tingxun is marginalized, the resources of the Lin family will be less utilized. If Lin Tingxun could manage the affairs of the Lin family well, it would be a dream for him to transport the Gu family tea to Jiangning with the help of the Seventh Lady and Lin Mengde.
"Alas..." Lin Jingzhong sighed softly. The concept he had instilled in him since he was a child is that the Lin Clan comes first in everything. Thinking of the bleak and unclear future of the Lin Clan, he is naturally a little worried.
"It's useless to think too much about these things," Lin Fu thought, thinking that Lin Tingxun, who had suffered a stroke and was lying in bed, was the biggest uncertainty. It was useless to worry too much. He could only take one step at a time in Linli and lay the foundation as soon as possible in Jiangning.
First of all, he said to Lin Jingzhong, "The tea shop is short of a coachman. I will send someone over there and send two horses over. The man will drive the car. Don't let Gu Tianqiao and the others notice anything strange..."
"Okay," Lin Jingzhong already knew the identities of Zhou Pu and others as well as Lin Fu's plan to establish a foothold in Jiangning. When he was in Shanglinli, he would naturally be panicked and not know what to do. After arriving in Jiangning, his whole
His mood changed a lot. He who was cautious by nature also developed a somewhat heroic temperament under the influence of Lin Fu. What if he didn't think so? According to Zhao Hu, he had already boarded the pirate ship. He looked at the skinny heel pointed by Lin Fu.
The man who looked like a farmer asked, "What's your last name, brother?"
"Master Lin Wu, you are the steward of Jiyun Club, you can just call me blind man Zhou." The man said, his left eye was covered with an ugly scar, which looked shocking at first glance.
Lin Fu pointed at Blind Zhou's eyes and said to Lin Jingzhong: "Blind Zhou's left eye was injured by an arrow. In order to cover up the injury, he cut open the upper and lower skin of his left eye with a knife..."
Lin Jingzhong heard the two eggs below him twitching slightly, thinking that these rogue bandits were so cruel to him, no wonder they had been able to roam the Huaihe River for nearly ten years. Compared with these real desperadoes, those gangsters in Jiangning City were really
It was too childish, but he didn't understand what Lin Fu wanted to do by putting such a powerful person in a tea shop as a coachman.
"Now we are walking on steel in Jiangning City..." Lin Fu continued. He wanted to say "steel rope" but was afraid that Lin Jingzhong and the others would not understand what a steel rope was, so he changed the word, "We want to open up the situation in Jiangning as soon as possible, everywhere.
When taking risks, like walking on a suspended thread, you never know when you will encounter unimaginable dangers. I placed Blind Zhou and the two fast horses by the tea shop as a backup strategy just in case.
Unless you encounter something particularly difficult, don’t let Mr. Zhou do anything other than being a carriage driver..."
Blind Zhou smiled and said, "I'm also a good driver."
Lin Jingzhong nodded, feeling that Lin Fu's consideration was more prudent. He said to Lin Fu: "I will lead him over and say that he is your distant relative. He has a very dull temperament and is not easy to get close to..."
"Let Blind Zhou lead the horse to the tea shop by himself," Lin Fu said, "You follow us out of the city."
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Wu Qi and the others brought a lot of horses with the boat this time. They rode the horses on the icy and solid dirt road. Lin Fu raised his head and looked at the hazy sky, wondering if it was going to snow on the south bank too?
He reined in his horse and walked slowly, waiting for Lin Jingzhong and others to catch up from behind.
"The tea shop here in Jiangning has been opened. The next step we have to do is to open a tea shop in Chongzhou. In this way, the trade route from Shanglin to Jiangning and then to Chongzhou will have a prototype," Lin Fu said
, "The next step is to build a warehouse in Jiangning. Bulk goods will be transferred from Jiangning to Chongzhou. Before transferring from the inland river to Chongzhou County, the ship will stop in the middle of the river to distribute the goods. It will be easy to transport the required materials without anyone noticing.
Go to Changshan Island..."
Wu Qi lightly clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and Zhou Pu followed from behind, laughing and saying: "It's a pity that Mr. Lin has not been planning for us rogue bandits in the past ten years, otherwise we wouldn't have to be like this today."
"It's easier said than done. We must have an excuse to stop the ship in the middle of the river to distribute the cargo." Lin Fu said.
"Of course the ship is too big, and I am afraid that it will be shallow when it enters the inland river, so I have to stop in the middle of the river and load it in small boats..." Wu Qi said with a smile.
"Then we need to buy a five-masted ship to transport goods," Lin Fu asked. "We can't just say that the three-masted ship is too big and is afraid of entering the inland river."
"Well, we need a five-masted ship," Wu Qi nodded and added, "In addition, Chongzhou should use as many people as possible who are not related to Jiangning, so as to avoid being exposed when distributing the goods..."
"It's entirely up to you to take charge of Chongzhou," Lin Fu said, reining in his horse and stopping on the field edge beside the official road. "I don't have time to go to Chongzhou again. Jiangning's official department has already sent a document to summon me.
I'll go there tomorrow and ask questions. After becoming a prison officer, Jiang Ning will be unable to escape easily - and Chongzhou, either you, Mr. Crow, will go there personally or send two people to take care of it..."
"I'd better stay in Jiangning. Mr. Lin, you need more manpower," Wu Qi thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, Mr. Qin and the others are close to Chongzhou. Although Mr. Qin didn't send anyone to look for us during this period, I think they will."
We should send people ashore in Chongzhou. I just need to send someone to contact and bring all the plans to Mr. Qin and the others..."
"Yeah!" Lin Fu nodded. He only had Zhou Pu and Zhao Hu beside him. He always felt that there were not enough manpower. Blind Zhou couldn't make a secret move. With Wu Qi and Wu Qi, he would have more space to do what he wanted to do.
At this time, hundreds of knights at the front came over with five or six carriages. The two leading riders at the front of the team carried two red banners. The flags were wrapped in the wind and did not unfold, and it was impossible to tell who was riding in the carriage. Look at this
The momentum was quite impressive. Lin Fu and the others dismounted their horses and led their horses aside to make way for those entering the city.
The carriage and the cavalry were approaching when a gust of north wind blew and the flag was unfolded. Lin Fu was surprised when he saw that the flag read "Jin'an Marquis Mansion Jiangning Envoy" in two columns of embroidered characters of different sizes.
Unexpectedly, in addition to the Qingfeng trip, the She family actually sent people to Jiangning. You must know that the imperial court's document to designate the She family as the hereditary Marquis of Jin'an arrived in Jiangning only two days ago, and it has not been officially announced to the outside world.
The nature of Jinzouyuan is similar to that of the office in Beijing in later generations. It is the liaison place in Beijing for the three governmental offices of each county (Xuanfu Envoys' Department, Jiancao Envoys' Department, and Admiral's Office). All three governmental offices of each county have their offices in Jinzouyuan.
Jinzou envoys are responsible for reporting the military and civilian information of the county to the court, and submitting the county's official documents. They are also responsible for conveying any imperial edicts and documents to the county.
The Marquis of Jin'an was the only real title in the dynasty who had the power to split the soil and support the army. His status was not lower than that of the three divisions in the counties, so he naturally had the power to send troops to Jinzouyuan.
This dynasty established Jinzou Yuan in Yanjing and Jiangning. However, Jiangning was far away from the center, and the officials guarding the mausoleum were all out of power. Jiangning Jinzou Yuan had been an empty shell since it moved to the capital. There was no Sansi Yamen meeting in any county.
After eating enough, he went to Jiangning to send an envoy.
Unprecedented, but not unprecedented, the She family, which had just surrendered to the imperial court and was granted the title of Marquis, sent an envoy to Jiangning. How could Lin Fu not be surprised: What exactly did the She family want?
As the team passed by slowly, the guarding knights stared vigilantly at Lin Fu and the others, who were armed with swords on the roadside. However, the people in the carriage didn't care at all. Lin Fu listened to a woman's voice coming from the second carriage: "Listen, Uncle Zhong.
It is said that the second brother met a beautiful woman when he secretly came to Jiangning last time and has been obsessed with it ever since. I don’t know what the second brother did. Anyway, he was scolded by his father. The sister-in-law encouraged the second brother to come to Jiangning as an envoy, so she is not afraid.
Second brother, is he going to find that woman again?"
The voice was really clear and pleasant, but Lin Fu frowned slightly.
"Men are always greedy. You will know when you get married. How can I worry about this? He can marry as many wives as he likes. Anyway, don't come over to compete with me for the position of boss..." Another one sounded soft.
A lazy but sharp woman's voice came out.
At this time, the people in the car wanted to take a breath. They opened the car curtain and looked outside, revealing two beautiful faces squeezed together. They wanted to see the scenery outside the car, but their eyes met Lin Fu's.