Chapter 039 The Land of Shandong
"Sir, my subordinates followed the instructions and traveled all over Jinling, and then sent people to nearby Shandong. Finally, there is news."
Chen Cao has been studying muskets with John and others in the military camp recently, and is further developing artillery, so he has somewhat forgotten about the things he had previously arranged.
Zhao Xin said and handed over a document: "This is the news from Tiqi in Shandong. Shandong has suffered from drought in recent years. Except for both sides of the canal, many areas have lost their crops and there are many refugees. Therefore, the fields have been vacant." ”
Chen Cao flipped through the document and then closed it: "Who owns the paddy fields?"
"The palaces of various vassals, retired officials and the Kong family..." Zhao Xin cupped his hands.
"Prince's Mansion?" Chen Cao frowned: "How many are there in the Kong family?"
Zhao Xindao: "The Confucius family has lived in Qufu for generations. All the fields in Qufu belong to the Confucius family and are owned by the surrounding counties, at least more than 500,000 acres. As for the royal palaces, sir, there are many vassal palaces that have been run by the princes for generations, mainly in Yanzhou." The entire Yanzhou Prefecture’s fields are under the name of Prince Lu’s Palace.”
"You mean that as long as the paddy fields and fertile fields are in the hands of these people, it will be difficult to plant the fields left by the refugees?" Chen Cao frowned.
"It's my lord, it's true. Our Tiqi from Shandong was caught by the Kong family when he was exploring fields in Qufu. He was severely injured. Fortunately, his identity was not revealed. Now he has been taken to Jinling to recuperate."
boom...
Chen Cao rarely slapped the table: "Sage Kong's family is really overbearing..."
"Yanshenggong has been a noble man for generations, and all the officials in Qufu are named Kong..." Zhao Xin said enviously.
Chen Cao squinted at him: "Why, do you also want to have all the officials of your Zhao family in a certain place named Zhao one day?"
"My subordinates don't dare," Xin Zhao waved his hands repeatedly, and then said: "Besides, my subordinates don't have that kind of blessing..."
"I can't afford to offend the Kong family now, and I can't afford to offend the feudal kings of Shandong," Chen Cao murmured, then stared at Xin Zhao: "What do Shandong say about those refugees?"
"None of them want..." Xin Zhao said disapprovingly.
"don't want?"
Looking at Chen Cao's unbelievable eyes, Zhao Xin laughed and said: "Sir, all the good fields are in the hands of the rich. Who is stupid enough to take those fields? If you plant them, you will lose. ..”
After saying that, Zhao Xin saw that Chen Cao's eyes and expression were a bit like killing someone, and then he remembered what happened when he went to explore the fields. He immediately clasped his fists and apologized: "I don't know what I said, please forgive me."
"You think I'm stupid and have too much money?"
"My subordinates dare not..."
"You bastard..." Chen Cao kicked Xin Zhao's butt in the old way, and then said, "Tell me carefully."
After being kicked, it meant that Chen Cao was not angry. Xin Zhao laughed again: "The Tianfan Prince's Palace and the Kong family don't want it, so they have been taken back to the local county government. If you want to buy it, you can do it now."
"What's the explanation?"
"Hi..." Zhao Xin waved his hand: "Sir, please think about it, these ownerless fields now belong to the court, but after the refugees come back, they have to return them to others. It is very cheap to buy them now, but you still have to go there in person. .”
"Why?" Chen Cao looked up.
"Although these fields are ownerless, they are all under the control of local officials. If you want these fields, you have to go there in person and talk to these people properly..."
Zhao Xin had something to say. Chen Cao was not a fool and understood immediately: "What do you mean, if I want to buy a field, I have to go to the Kong family and the princes' palaces to say hello?"
"My lord is wise..."
...
After Chen Cao arranged something, he took a group of people to Shandong along the canal on the warship of Jiang Navy.
"The current Duke Yansheng is Kong Yinzhi, who ascended the throne in the first year of Tianqi. Sir, should we go to Yanzhou Fucheng or Qufu County first?"
Chen Cao came back to Shandong to do business. In these days, as long as you have money and power, land business is equivalent to a business without capital. In addition, he has drought-resistant potatoes and sweet potatoes with high yield, so he has no worries. You will lose money.
"Of course the Shandong territorial vassal king is King Lu, followed by King De. Do you think it is appropriate for us to visit Duke Yan Shenggong first and then King Lu?" Chen Cao said disapprovingly.
Zhao Xin also thought it made sense, so he went down and ordered the sailors to dock at Yanzhou Fucheng.
In Ziyang County, the seat of Yanzhou Prefecture, the west gate is the canal waterway. It is extremely prosperous and the city has high walls. Because it is the fiefdom of the kings of Lu in the past dynasties, this place is also known as "Lu City" in private.
Chen Cao's official ship was parked on the shore, and the soldiers on board were not allowed to disembark. He only took Zhao Xin, Xu Kaixian and a dozen Jin Yiwei in disguise.
After all, it was a private matter, so Chen Cao had to keep a low profile to avoid being caught by others.
"Xin Zhao, take my name card and submit it to Prince Lu's Mansion."
"It's my lord..."
Everyone knows that Prince Lu's palace is the richest in Shandong. This is why in the final stage, he will be able to gain the reputation of being a prisoner of the country. That is a title that is made with money.
Zhu Shouhong was only eight years old when he ascended the throne. Now he has been King of Lu for twenty-two years, and he is exactly thirty years old. The reason why the princes and emperors of the Zhu family did not live long is because they admired elixirs and died from taking drugs. Even after his death, he had no heirs to take over the title. After so many years, he only had three daughters and no sons.
"Your Majesty..." The royal palace chief came to the backyard with Chen Cao's name card, where Zhu Shouhong was playing with his newly adopted concubine in the 19th room: "Your Majesty, Chen Cao, the commander of Jinyiweinan Town Fusi, wants to see you. "
"Jinyiwei?" Zhu Shouhong was a little shocked: "Did our palace cause trouble?"
Chang Shi comforted him: "Your Majesty, you are too worried. The name sticker says visit, not a driving ticket. Besides, they are not from Beizhen Fusi, so don't worry."
"In that case, let's see..." Zhu Shouhong was passed down from the first generation of King Lu. As long as he did not commit any crime, he would not be afraid even if the Jinyi Guards came: "If you have anything to do, go talk to him. I really think this king's How about the mansion being so easy to enter?”
"Wei Chen takes orders..."
The Lu Palace was very large. Because of its wealth and the rewards from successive emperors, the palace city also had eight gates, occupying half of the entire Ziyang County.
There are four hundred-household guards in the royal palace, which are directly commanded by the palace. They are also one of the few guards of the feudal prince's palace. In addition, the Lu palace is very large. In order to guard the safety, hundreds of armed servants are specially trained to protect the palace.
The office of the Palace Chief is in the courtyard to the left of the main gate of the Palace. This courtyard alone is larger than Chen Cao's home. The gorgeous decoration makes Chen Cao feel that his courtyard is like a village that is more than ten years behind the times.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. My prince has been eating fast and chanting Buddha's name recently without seeing any guests. If you have any official business, you can just go down to the official office and discuss it." Chang Shi Wenliang said a little arrogantly.
This is true for high-ranking officials, let alone the palace. Chen Cao said to Wen Liang with a smile on his face: "Wen Changshi is too polite. Since the prince has no visitors, Chen will inform you of his intention." After that, he said: "I have been visiting Shandong recently. Due to the drought, many refugees fled their homeland, leaving a lot of ownerless wasteland. After learning about it, Chen made a special trip here. He wanted to buy some land in Shandong to grow crops, so he came to the palace first to inform King Lu and asked the chief minister to convey it. .”
As he spoke, Chen Cao took out a thousand-tael silver note from his arms and handed it over respectfully.
Money is a good thing. Looking at Qian Cai's face, Wen Changshi gave him a smile, and then said in a businesslike manner: "I know what Mr. Chen means, but the wasteland in Yanzhou is too far away. Just a field..."
Chen Cao had the urge to beat Wen Liang to death. This kind of person was in charge of the foreign affairs of the palace, and it was a pig's nose to stick a green onion in. But he couldn't offend him, so he apologized and said with a smile: "Chen understands, that's why I came to visit the prince, please." Wen Changshi sent a message to the palace. If Chen buys these fields, he will naturally pay filial piety to the palace according to the third field tax."
When Wen Liang heard what Chen Cao said, he was immediately satisfied, and then said: "Okay, Mr. Chen is really knowledgeable and reasonable, and he deserves the name of Jinling Nalan Rongruo."
"Wen Changshi knows Chen?"
"Shandong is also close to South Zhili. Who doesn't know Nalan Rongruo?" Wen Liang said and added: "I wonder if Mr. Chen can give me a copy of your new one... Hehe, it's the same as that of Bai Mengsheng." That book we wrote together?”
Chen Cao frowned, and immediately realized that this guy wanted a pornographic book, so he nodded with a smile and said: "This is easy to say, I will order someone to send it to Chang Shi when I get back, and ask Chang Shi to help Chen buy the land. "
Wen Liang stroked his palm with great satisfaction, and then said: "Don't worry, Mr. Chen, we will issue the document from the palace. You can just go to the west of Yanzhou Mansion to buy it."
Chen Cao felt that there was a reason why King Lu was unfavorable in supervising the country. A long history official could be so corrupt. He didn't know what other royal officials were like.
"Sir, how are you?" Zhao Xin followed Chen Cao and left in the car.
"That old dog Chang Shi Wenliang is greedy. Buying a field is a trivial matter for the palace. They don't want the field. After I buy it, I have to give them 20% profit for every acre of the field." Chen Cao said and revealed A murderous look.
"There are vacancies in six counties to the west of Jining Prefecture, at least 100,000 acres. These fields are not paddy fields. According to the Tiqi newspaper over there, according to the price of Yanzhou Prefecture, the price of dry fields per mu is two cents of silver. If it is paddy fields, it will be two cents. Seven coins, one tael and six cents for fertile land, and 20,000 taels for 100,000 acres. If you add the prince's two cents of profit, it will be four thousand taels of silver; this does not include the up and down management of buying land in the local county government. These ten Ten thousand acres of land will cost you 30,000 taels of silver."
Chen Cao frowned and looked at Zhao Xin and said, "You kid is pretty good at math."
"Sir, what is mathematics?"
"Thirty thousand taels is not much to me, but if it is a benefit, those local county governments must have gotten a lot. Prince Lu's family has a big business. He doesn't care about our land, but I don't know what Qufu said." Chen Cao said, a little worried.
"Sir, Qufu is very xenophobic. If you go to check the land, you will definitely be driven away. But if you don't buy the land in Qufu, but cooperate with him, I believe Yan Shenggong's family will definitely be willing." Zhao Xin continued.
"Nonsense..." Chen Cao rolled his eyes at him: "These people must be very slanderous, unlike Wen Liang who just gave away a few thousand taels."
Chen Cao booked a room in Lixianglou, the largest brothel in the city, and drank there with Zhao Xin and Xu Kaixian, preparing to eat and drink enough to play with women.
"Sir..." A captain gently opened the door: "Someone wants to see you."
Chen Cao compares himself to a dragon who has crossed the river and knows how not to cause trouble. He came to Yanzhou in civilian clothes, so the person who knows his identity must be an official: "Let him in."
The visitor was in his thirties, elegant, and held a young master's fan in his hand. After entering the room, he stared at Chen Cao and others arrogantly, then tilted his hands toward Chen Cao and said, "I am Kong Tianxi, the third steward of Yanshenggong Mansion." , I came here today to pay a visit to Mr. Chen Cao, the Fusi Secretary of Jinyiweinan Town, Mr. Chen, I don’t know which one is Mr. Chen.”
Chen Cao came to ask for help. Although he was unhappy with Kong Tianxi's appearance, he still stood up and cupped his hands and said: "I am Chen Cao, Manager Kong. It's a pleasure to meet you..."
Kong Tian was pleased to see Chen Cao being so polite, so he also put away some of his arrogance, and then sat directly opposite Chen Cao: "I don't want to be polite to Mr. Chen anymore. I wonder what business Mr. Chen has in Yanzhou this time?"
Chen Cao probably understood a little bit. The last time Jinyiwei went to Qufu to see the fields, he must have attracted the attention of the Kong family. This largest family in the world has some power and thought it was the imperial court's intention: "Don't worry, Manager Kong, this time Chen Cao When I came to Yanzhou, I actually came to buy land."
"Buy farmland?" Kong Tianxi frowned: "There are so many fertile fields in South Zhili and Zhejiang, but you don't want to buy them, so you come to Shandong to buy them. Does Mr. Chen not know that Shandong has been suffering from drought in recent years?"
Dare to be brave is doubting yourself
Chen Cao smiled and said: "Steward Kong misunderstood. The land in Nanzhili is too expensive. Chen's family can't afford it, so he can only come to nearby Shandong to have a look. This time he really came to buy land, so he is preparing to buy it tomorrow." Go to Qufu to visit Duke Yan, and ask Duke Yan to facilitate Chen’s purchase of some unclaimed wasteland east of Yanzhou Prefecture and plant some crops.”
Kong Tianxi thought for a while and then said: "Let's put it this way, you can buy it if you want. There are at least 200,000 acres of dry land. The price per mu is one tael, plus five cents of land profit. If Mr. Chen is willing, I will go back and give it to Yan The Holy Duke reports.”
"You are too dark..." Zhao Xin became anxious immediately.
Chen Cao waved his hand to stop Xin Zhao, then smiled and said, "Can it be cheaper?"
Kong Tianxi opened the folding fan and shook his head: "The price is now. If Mr. Chen is not willing to come back in the future, the price will probably increase."
"Okay," Chen Cao also made up his mind: "You can keep Tian Tian to bury people. I don't want to buy it. Come and see the guests off..."
"You..." Kong Tianxi looked at Chen Cao angrily, then stood up and sneered: "Master Chen has a good temper, hahaha..."
Kong Tianxi shook his fan and left angrily. Chen Cao sat on the bench with a piece of beef. After thinking for a long time, he felt something was inappropriate and said, "Go find the local detective in Qufu and check this guy out."
"I can't go..." Xin Zhao looked embarrassed.
Chen Cao raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"
Zhao Xindao: "Since the attack of Duke Yan Shenggong, there have been no Jinyiwei spies in Qufu. There are only Fucheng in the entire Yanzhou. As soon as you go to Qufu, you will be followed by the local people. Sir, you have forgotten the last time our Tiqi was captured." Was it a serious injury?"
"Don't the feudal princes' palaces have guards and spies watching over them?" Chen Cao frowned.
Zhao Xin felt that Chen Cao was a little stupid, but he didn't dare to say it. His expression said: "There is no vassal king in Qufu..."
"Huh..." Chen Cao breathed a long sigh of relief: "You are such a good guy..."
Zhao Xin didn't understand what he meant, thinking that Chen Cao was praising him: "Hey, Sir, Yan Shenggong is the benchmark for the corporal scholars of tomorrow. If you offend him, it will be more serious than offending the vassal king."
Chen Cao put down his chopsticks: "Go and find the detective in the city and find out the address of that guy. You can go and disgust him in person tonight."
Xin Zhao said carefully: "My lord, this time I am disgusting, should I throw the feces or carry it out?"
"random..."
The next morning, when Chen Cao came downstairs from upstairs, he heard Mr. Turtle and the Old Madam next to him laughing: "Second mother, you don't know that the third housekeeper of Kong Sheng's family was drugged last night. On the edge of the Changle Street overpass, he was only wearing a loincloth and had excrement splashed all over his body. That guy stinked...hahaha..."
The old madam also laughed: "Quickly, tell me carefully, what is the crotch cloth?"
Gui Gong said: "It's the kind with a rope around the waist and only a piece of white cloth at the front and back. When the housekeeper woke up, he was laughed at by the people passing by. When he ran, the piece of cloth floated and he could even see his butt clearly..."
"Hahaha..."
Chen Cao couldn't help it anymore, and then interjected: "This old man, is your butt white?"
Mr. Turtle raised his hand to Chen Cao: "I'm objective and knowledgeable. That butt is so white..."
"Hahaha..." The three of them laughed in unison.
"The Changle Street Overpass is the busiest passing place in Fucheng. Now he is famous..." The old madam covered her mouth and leaned forward and back in laughter.
After the turtle laughed, he became serious: "I don't know which hero did this kind of thing. Although it is very satisfying, but... ah..."
Chen Cao raised his hand and said, "Brother, what do you mean?"
"That's a member of Duke Yansheng's family. How dare you offend such a person?"
...
"grown ups..."
Zhao Xin ran into the room and was about to report the news to Chen Cao. Chen Cao waved his hand: "I understand. You just carried the person out and poured excrement on him."
Xin Zhao smiled and touched his head: "Didn't you say it's optional..."
There was laughter here, and there was a noise downstairs, and then there was screaming.
Xu Kaixian walked into the room: "Sir, a group of officials have come in and are coming upstairs. It seems they are aiming for us."
Chen Cao stopped smiling, then frowned and waited. Sure enough, a dozen police officers with water and fire sticks came to Chen Cao's door. There were more than a dozen school lieutenants standing outside the door, all in civilian clothes. The leading police officer He walked out with his head astride the knife and shouted sternly: "Which family are you servants, or are you a wealthy businessman passing by? This arrest has received a report. When a crowd gathers to commit trouble, call your leader out and follow us back to the Yamen for questioning."
Xin Zhao opened the door, and Chen Cao sat facing the door, then crossed his legs and whistled: "I'm right here, what do you want to do?"
The captains outside were all wearing embroidered spring knives. They thought they were the escort servants of some wealthy businessman. Seeing that this group of people was not simple, they said again: "Okay, everyone is holding a knife, they must not be." What's the best way? If anyone comes, go to the Yamen and report the news quickly, and ask the Inspection Department to send troops."
A policeman ran quickly with a knife on his back. Chen Cao waved to the policeman: "Come in if you have the guts, otherwise you will go back and have your breakfast."
Although the catcher didn't know the goods, he knew the current affairs. Seeing that everyone on Chen Cao's side had a sword and was not afraid of official duties, he believed that there was help behind him. Let me make you crazy, you will know later."
After a while, the noise outside the building became even louder, and more and more people were watching. Li Tong, the inspector of the Ziyang County Inspection Department, led soldiers No. 50 and 60 aggressively into the Lixiang Building, and went straight upstairs to Chen Cao in front of the door.
There was a confrontation between the two sides. Before they could say anything, the old bustard came and sneered: "I don't care what your background is, but you have to pay attention. If you destroy my Lixiang Tower, the price will be very high. I, Lixiang Behind the building is Prince Lu’s Mansion.”
After saying that, he left. The head catcher looked at the inspector who came over and said, "Mr. Li, that guy inside was armed to make trouble and resisted arrest. The county magistrate came to arrest him, but now he's stopped at the police station." Got here."
"Come here, capture these people and put their swords on them. If they dare to resist, they will be killed on the spot as thieves..." Li Tong looked arrogant.
Bang bang bang...
A dozen captains immediately drew out their embroidered spring knives and held them horizontally in front of the soldiers, frightening the group to take a few steps back.
Xiao Qi, the next person who had seen the world, approached Li Tong and said, "Sir, I'm afraid they are Jin Yiwei..."
Li Tong's body jumped, then lowered his head and said, "How do you know."
The Xiao Qi replied: "The last time I had a drink, I had a drink with the local Jin Yiwei sitting detectives in the city. I saw their sabers. The Xiuchun Dao is exactly the same as the one they are holding now."
"Seriously?" Li Tong's brows twitched. If the person in front of him was a Jin Yiwei, then what he encountered this time was a tough fight. The key was that no one told him that the other person was a Jin Yiwei before he came.
"Sir, why don't we ask about the situation first? If they are really the Jin Yiwei, we will take the lead to defeat the Jin Yiwei. I'm afraid we will die."
Xiaoqi's words completely awakened Li Tong, and he immediately put back the waist knife, and then raised his hand towards Chen Cao who was sipping tea: "I am inspecting Li Tong in Ziyang County, Yanzhou Prefecture. I don't know which of the adults is in front of you?"
Chen Cao would not talk to such a small character. Xin Zhao stepped forward, put his hands on his hips and said, "Inspector Li, do you know how to read?"
"The official is literate..." Li Tong was asked by Xin Zhao, and he immediately knew that the group of people in front of him were really not a good person.
Xin Zhao immediately handed over his badge.
The waist badges of Nanzhen Fushi were all gold-plated. Li Tong took them with both hands. What caught his eyes were the three characters "Jinyiwei". He was so frightened that his hands went weak. The reverse side of the card was even engraved with "Nanzhen Fushi". The word Zhao'.
"Da...Da Da...I have met you, sir..." Li said in a somewhat awkward tone during the call.
When the head catcher saw this, he immediately knew that he was up against a tough nut this time. As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer. This time, he would definitely be used as a punching bag: "Young man, I've seen you before."
"My lord, this low-ranking official is blind to Mount Tai, please forgive me..." Li Tong said and knelt down.
"After all, the inspection department inspector is an officer from the ninth rank. It's a pity that you are a military commander..." Chen Cao put down his teacup and said coldly: "I'll give you two ways. First, tell who asked you to come. Second, come with us back to the Zhenfusi Yamen."
Li Tong's legs were weak and his whole body was trembling. Only now did he realize that he had made a big mistake: "Sir, have mercy on me... have mercy on me..."
