Beitang is not far from the capital. Ye Yongjia only rode a horse and arrived not long after leaving. As expected, the church is located outside the city, on a hill to the west of the port. It is very different from the surrounding scenery and is very conspicuous.
He went up the mountain and saw that the slope was a little steep, so he dismounted and walked gradually to the door of the church. Compared with the one in the capital, this place is more magnificent, with a several-story marble tower standing in the center, and a large courtyard surrounding it like a Buddhist temple, with much more people coming and going.
I saw two priests dressed in black guarding the door, questioning the believers who came to worship, and there was a huge crowd. Ye Yongjia was still watching with relish, when suddenly his shoulder was bumped, but it was an old man who clasped his hands and ran to the front, muttering: "Amitabha..." which caused a burst of laughter.
When Ye Yongjia heard the laughter coming from behind, he turned around and saw an old farmer leaning under the locust tree with his load on, still smiling at the crowd.
He was curious, so he walked up and asked, "Old man, why are you laughing at others?"
The old farmer rolled up his sleeves, pointed at him and said, "He is an old fool who doesn't understand. You are young, don't you know?"
Ye Yongjia pretended to be puzzled: "I am stupid late in life, so I still ask the elderly for advice."
"You are still a late child, and you are too tired to read!" The old farmer said with a smile, "I see that you are still a stranger, so I will tell you the origin of these people. The one in red, Wu Si Jing, is the leader. He arrived a few years ago. After building this temple, he started to say some strange things, but no one paid attention to him and the temple was deserted, so he asked a few people to shave their heads and used Buddhist tricks to bluff people, claiming to be the "host". He established a Dharma title and said that our religion and Buddhism had the same origin and that they both focused on Buddhism. Gradually, some people believed in it. Later, they asked believers to use money to "worship Buddha" to ensure their safety. Wu Sijing made a lot of money. He Taking advantage of this, he opened a jewelry shop in the city, and traded the licensed goods with the maritime merchants. After going back and forth, he heard that they all became familiar with each other. After that, he opened more than a dozen shops in the county, sometimes relying on the reputation of being a missionary. Go cover up maritime merchants and do illegal business secretly.”
Ye Yongjia was shocked after hearing this, and only murmured: "What Mr. Jian said is true, this person is not simple..."
"What did you say?" The old farmer patted his arm.
"Oh, it's nothing. You know so much, I understand everything." After that, Ye Yongjia stopped lingering, took his horse away, and walked into the church.
"Are you Jian Wensheng's friend?" Wu Sixing sat on a sandalwood Taishi chair and looked up.
Ye Yongjia walked into this small house and saw that he was wearing a black robe with purple edges, his hands were almost covered with gold rings, his face had a pale color, and there was a hint of cunning in his eyes.
"Mr. Jane is older than me, so we can't be friends. I just respect him."
"No matter who you are, as long as Brother Jian speaks, I will help you out of consideration for his friendship." His language is much fluent than Jian Wensheng's, "I don't like to beat around the bush, if you have anything to say, just say it bluntly." .”
"That's it. I would like to ask you to ask the merchants at sea if there are any firearms dealers? Preferably muskets." Ye Yongjia sat down slowly.
"It is true that some caravans traveled to Southeast Asia and East Asia for sales, but never reached the Celestial Empire. If you have a way to get the imperial court to contact you, it is still possible."
"About how many rods can I buy at one time?"
"I asked a few people, and they said that many countries are rushing to buy shotguns. The inventory is not sufficient, with only more than 200 guns left."
Ye Yongjia felt a headache: "How many taels is one shot?"
"It's very precious, thirty-one taels."
"Thirty-one taels!" Ye Yongjia almost jumped up. This number alone has caught up with the planned five thousand taels. Even if the shipping fee, which is most taboo by the Ministry of Revenue, is added, it cannot compare with such a terrifying figure.
Wu Sijing saw his reaction was so intense and asked quickly: "It seems you want to buy a lot."
"Yes, the Ministry of Finance will definitely not agree to this."
"Haven't you ever thought about making your own firearms?"
"After thinking about it, it only costs 5,000 taels. Unfortunately, Mr. Chen from the Ministry of Civil Affairs insists that transporting materials is difficult and dangerous, and the cost will suddenly increase. Moreover, this move will disturb people's livelihood and seriously interfere with national affairs, so he opposes it."
"Then Wu has an idea." Wu Sijing's eyes lit up and he rubbed his palms a few times, "I heard from Fan Shang that the big businessmen from several gun and artillery factories in Nanyang want to set up factories in China, but unfortunately the law strictly prohibits them. I'm deeply sorry. If Mr. Ye wants to buy these thousand shotguns, he can go to the court and let merchants set up factories in the country. He can then lure them with long-term interests and urge them to build them one by one and use cheap guns. All the prices are paid for. And the raw materials are delivered by merchant ships from Fujian, Guangdong and Nanyang, and there is no need to worry about freight. In the long run, the Celestial Empire will be able to have countless guns and cannons without any effort. In the future, when all the nations come to the DPRK, wouldn’t it be a blessing to the Celestial Empire? Great thing!"
Wu Sijing's words were so exciting that he even got into Ye Yongjia's trap, causing the latter to cheer loudly: "Okay, what a good plan!"
"So..." His eyes glanced briefly, "If you want me to ask them for you, it's best to put an official seal here to convince those merchants."
Ye Yongjia touched his arms and found a jade seal. Without thinking, he showed it to Wu Sixing. Wu Sijing immediately held out a piece of paper with a smile, making Ye Yongjia put a deep mark on it.
Ye Yongjia didn't feel anything was wrong. After finishing the matter, he chatted with him for a while and was very happy to be flattered by him non-stop.
Seeing that it was getting late, Wu Sijing excused himself from teaching matters, so that several priests sent him out in a good mood. Ye Yongjia also took the horse and said goodbye.
After leaving the church, he was naturally beaming with joy and looked at the surrounding scenery attentively.
"Are you the scholar from before? Why are you so happy?"
Ye Yongjia stopped quickly and saw the old farmer still sitting under the locust tree, waving to him.
"Yes, I have settled a major matter in my heart, and I have hope for the future!" Ye Yongjia couldn't hide his joy as he stroked the horse's mane.
"Hey, that Wu Sijing is quite deceptive. You won't fall into his trap, right?"
"He..." Before Ye Yongjia could say anything, his face suddenly changed, his eyes stagnated, and he suddenly slapped his head, sweating all over his body. He thought anxiously: 'I shouldn't hand over the seal so easily! These merchants are illegal in Southeast Asia and almost control their countries. If they take the opportunity to enter our dynasty and plot evil, wouldn't I make a big mistake? When the time comes, no matter how hard you argue, I’m afraid I won’t be able to clear myself of this crime! '
After thinking about it, he jumped on his horse in fear, whipped up his whip, and said goodbye to the old man in a hurry: "Thank you for waking me up!" Then he galloped down the mountain and headed towards the capital.
