When Liang Jushi smiled, he grinned widely, revealing some sharp molars on both sides, giving people a fierce and unusual feeling.
In his early years, he was a Zao householder in Binzhou. Because the imperial court was demanding more and more money, sometimes it would increase salt consumption, sometimes it would leave salt to be promoted to an official position, and then there would be new tricks such as a share of money, etc., the kitchen owner could no longer do it, so he changed his profession and ran a canal ship for two years. But the gangsters in the Water Transport Department were also evil wolves, and he became a ruthless robber for a while.
At the end of the Taihe period, the armies from the Southern Expedition were returning one after another, and the imperial court intended to clear out bandits in various places, so he quickly ran to the sea again.
In three years, he became a well-known leader at sea, hooked up with Nipangu Chala, a crony sent by King Kui in Zhigu Village, and became his capable subordinate.
Later, when the Zhongdu Incident occurred, Nipangu Zala angered Wang Shixian and was killed by Wang Shixian. Liang Jushi followed various fleets and came under the control of Ding Haijun.
On that day, Guo Ning asked for two rewards from the court for his meritorious service in killing Hu Shahu. One is the position of Laizhou's naval governor, and the other is the fleet that was originally in the hands of the kings of Zhongdu and used for smuggling trade with the Southern Dynasty.
The emperor was quite hesitant about appointing the military governor of the navy, because a Changzhou regular soldier rose from the rank of third-rank military governor. Even with the support of his disciple Shan Yi, it was really sensational.
But for the fleet, the emperor and his ministers didn't take it seriously. Everyone felt that this was a request made by Guo Ning in order to facilitate the transportation of troops to Laizhou. Probably, this guy also wanted to make some money by the way.
Even those who are as clear and decisive as Tu Shanyi think so.
Because although he is a prime minister, he is not on the same page as the kings. The nobles of the Wanyan family have always regarded their wealth as bigger than the sky and hidden it deeper than the sea. No matter what, Tu Danyi never expected that the nobles of the Wanyan family would be so happy to dig into the corner of Dajin, and the smuggling trade on the sea It has reached this scale.
Until now, the court may not have fully understood how powerful this inadvertent decision gave Guo Ning.
In the past decades, no matter how prosperous the smuggling trade was, it was clearly not tolerated by the imperial court. At various strategic passes, the imperial court set up multiple gates, appointed field officials and prosecutors to detain and investigate, and used the criminal department to conduct investigations.
However, after Guo Ning used the ports of the three states of Denglai as his base and the military force of Dinghai Navy as his support, and openly and thoroughly launched trade, a reliable and stable link was gradually formed between Zhongdu, Shandong, and the many ports of the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. Maritime trade routes.
As Yang An'er raised troops to block Shandong's land routes, Guo Ning became more and more important by relying on the maritime trade routes built by 400 Tongzhou-style ships.
And when Guo Ning won the battle in Liaodong, he also had the huge resources of the Jinyuan hinterland, and he also invested in this reliable and stable maritime trade route.
As for whether this trade route is safe or reliable, to some extent, it will change with the needs of the military government.
Sometimes, a certain ship travels smoothly and the ship owner makes a lot of money; sometimes, a certain ship reaches the sea and encounters pirates and is robbed after just a few days of sailing, or encounters wind and waves during the voyage. sank, or somehow ran aground on the rocks.
No one can guarantee the absolute safety of ships at sea, but if Xu Canjun of the Recording Department gives an order, Liang Jushi can guarantee that a certain ship is absolutely unsafe. Many times, the entire ship is safe, but someone on the ship is unsafe.
Of course, this time Guo Ning led his army across the sea for an expedition. The fleet led by Liang Jushi was very safe and fast, and was highly praised by the generals and commanders of various ministries. Therefore, he got the opportunity to go to Laizhou with Old Man Hu and others.
The day before yesterday, he sent someone to attack Chu Cai and told Liang Jushi privately: When the commander-in-chief is in Laizhou, there will be a ceremony to review the troops, and rewards will be awarded on the spot at the ceremony. You, Liang, will be among the rewarded people. When the time comes, cheer up and perform well in front of the commander.
At this moment, Liang Jushi was chatting with Old Man Hu, joking with Old Man Hu's grandson, and was about to go to the rear convoy to visit the wild Jurchens who had diarrhea. Suddenly there was the sound of horseshoes in front, and two knights galloped towards them: "There is Liang Jushi, Liang Gangshou, are they in this team?"
"I am Liang Jushi."
"Come with us, Commander Ji has called you."
The knight casually threw a rein to Liang Jushi, reined in the horse and left.
Liang Jushi was taken aback, quickly took the reins and climbed onto the horse.
In the past few years, his energy has been at sea, and his riding skills are really poor. As soon as he gets on the horse, he is swinging back and forth, and the horse neighs repeatedly, unable to pick up the speed. He quickly said: "The two generals will take charge of themselves first, and the villain will follow."
When he followed the knight from a distance and arrived at his destination, he saw Guo Ning leading several of his subordinates, chatting on a grassy hillside.
Liang Jushi dismounted and walked a few steps. When he was about to kneel down and pay his respects, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
The person blocking the way was Li Ting, one of the few important generals in the Ding Navy.
"Ahem..." Liang Jushi bowed his head and saluted, and said respectfully: "General Li, please give way. The commander-in-chief in front of me has summoned me, and I have to go and see him."
Li Ting sighed: "No hurry! Don't go yet!"
"this……"
Li Ting looked at Liang Jushi and said, "I can't believe that my future in the capital, Li Erlang, will be ruined in your hands?"
How do you say this? When did I offend this ruthless man?
Liang Jushi was startled, and his legs instantly became weak. But he is an athlete at sea and has a bit of a stubborn streak. He doesn't want to lose face in front of Guo Ning. So he took a sharp breath and stood up straight again, and said again: "General Li, the commander-in-chief has called you, I have to go and pay him a visit!"
Li Ting sneered repeatedly.
At this time, Guo Ning, who was at a high place, pointed in the direction of the two of them and said something. The subordinates nearby burst into laughter. Someone shouted: "Li Jiedu, don't take it out on others, come back quickly!"
Li Ting immediately turned around, jumped to his feet and yelled: "Jiedu is a fart! That dog, dog... that dog wants to sow discord!"
As soon as he turned around, Liang Jushi quickly ran past him.
When they arrived in front of Guo Ning, they bowed politely and met Yelu Chucai, Xu Jin, Jing Anmin and others again.
Guo Ning nodded slightly to Xu Jin, who took a step forward and showed Liang Jushi a piece of paper.
There are only a few lines on the document, which introduces the name and appearance of a close attendant, Fengyu, and states when he will leave Zhongdu City and when he will arrive at Zhigu Village to look for a boat.
"This is?"
"The imperial court sent people to deliver the decree to us. But we don't need this decree." Xu Jin said succinctly: "Old Liang, please take a hard trip and let him die in the sea."
It's a small thing. Liang Jushi folded the documents, stuffed them into his sleeves, and asked in a low voice with some worry: "Just now, General Li said..."
Guo Ning, who was at the top, suppressed his laughter and said repeatedly: "Old Liang, please don't worry about his nonsense and go do the work. You will understand when you get there. This matter is important. After it is done, please don't make it public. I will thank you specifically."
Liang Jushi responded solemnly, turned around and left.
Li Ting looked at his back and sighed sadly.
"Li Jiedu? Li Jiedu?" Several people shouted from behind Li Ting: "You've had enough daydreaming, just wake up!"
Li Ting turned around angrily and continued muttering.
Now that Liang Jushi was far away, he had no scruples. It turned out that the words he repeatedly cursed were "dog emperor".
After scolding for a while, he still couldn't get over his anger. His face turned red and the veins on his forehead popped out: "Master Huifeng can't do it? Can't Lao Wang do it? Do you have to pick me to become an official and make a wish? This guy, with all his power, Why do you think I’m stupid?”
Then came a series of vulgar words, which made everyone laugh.
(End of chapter)
