"Sir, do you really want King Qin?"
Zhu Guobi, Huang Shu, Zhao Zhilong and others have dispersed. In the Yongchun Pavilion of Dagongfang, Xu Hongji, Xu Yongji and Xu Yunjue began to close their doors for secret business.
When Wei Guogong Xu Hongji heard his son's words, he first sighed, and then rolled his eyes at his son, "Our family has been rich and prosperous in the southeast for more than two hundred years, and the branches of various sects are extremely prosperous. Do you know how much all the land plus one piece is? We all pay it. Are you willing to go out?"
"But, but..."
How could Xu Yunjue be willing to give up? Millions of acres! And most of them are good paddy fields, worth at least tens of millions of taels!
Besides, these lands are not all direct descendants of the Wei government. There are also many hereditary commanders' families, and many scholarly families who have given up on martial arts and literature. Thousands of people are pointing to these lands for rent! You handed them all over and let Wei Guofu use your old life to support so many people? How many old foundations does Wei Guofu have? How many years can it last?
"How to pay!" Xu Yongji gritted his teeth, "The salt profit is gone! Hundreds of shops in Yangzhou City and Huai'an City are gone, and the silver loaned to the four Shanshan Salt General Managers is gone... ...We will lose two million taels a year just from salt profits, shop rents, and interest! If it is spread over the ten rooms of Wei Guofu, the loss for each room will not be less than 200,000 yuan!"
For the Xu family, land is just a "guarantee"; for so many children to really squander it, they have to rely on business.
The focus of the Xu family's commercial territory is Yangzhou, Huai'an and Nanjing. Now the Xu family's properties in Yangzhou and Huai'an have been confiscated, leaving only Nanjing with a lot of business interests. But no matter how much money the shops in Nanjing make, they can't compare with the profits from salt!
If there was no salt and no land, how would the thousands of children in the ten-room Xu family be fed? They are all people who are used to eating.
"But if King Qin's affairs are ruined... it won't be a loss of wealth, but a family annihilation!"
"It can't be smashed!" Xu Yongji said with a smile, "The prince is so complacent that he actually thinks that our southeastern relatives will hand over the land obediently because of his intimidation! If he hadn't put forward such conditions, most of the southeastern relatives would not have He will work with us. With the strength of our family, Zhu Guobi and Zhao Zhilong, we may not be able to defeat the prince."
Xu Hongji nodded: "I have indeed gotten carried away...and we are not the only ones who occupy military camps, official land, and hidden fields. The scholarly families in the southeast occupy more land than we do! Just... There are at least 70 to 80 million hidden fields in southern Zhili, and most of them are occupied by these scholars."
"Brother is absolutely right!" Xu Yongji said, "As long as we can persist in Nanjing for a while, there will definitely be scholars in the southeast who will come forward to support us."
Xu Yunjue just shook his head: "But a letter from the Ministry of History said that the Tatar regent planned to marry his daughter to the crown prince... It seems that the great victory in Dagukou was not blown."
"Huh!" Xu Yongji didn't buy it at all, "We have the strong city of Nanjing to rely on! We have the people of the southeast to rely on, and we also have Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu as foreign aid. There is nothing to be afraid of! Besides, the Tatars can go south at any time... ....The south is really going to be in chaos. Will the Tartar regent Dorgon let go of the opportunity? Since ancient times, the one who conquers the Central Plains has conquered the world. If the Tatars have conquered half of the Central Plains, will they not care about the world and only settle for the Liao Kingdom? situation?"
...
An ordinary large car rumbled through the bustling streets outside Yifengmen in the inner city of Nanjing and turned into an alley next to Jinghai Temple.
Although this alley is located in a busy city, not far away is Longjiangguan Wharf - which is the throat of Nanjing's waterway traffic and a famous port on the Yangtze River! But this small alley very close to Longjiang Pass is extremely quiet. On one side of the alley is the outer wall of the ancient temple Jinghai Temple, and on the other side are many medium-sized, single-family houses built, all of which are properties of Jinghai Temple. The south end of the alley is connected to Yifengmen Street, and the north end ends at Dahongchi. It is a dead end road.
Since this alley is very close to Longjiang Pass and Caojiang Naval Camp, and the houses in the alley are not bad, there are many officials in charge of the Navy or Longjiang Customs who come to this place to find peace in the bustle. Rent a house in a small alley.
There were a few soldiers wearing mandarin duck jackets at the entrance of the alley, standing and squatting lazily, and they didn't know if they were looking at the gate for the official who lived here? When he saw the carriage coming in, he immediately got up and stepped forward to stop it - usually the people who came in such carriages were businessmen who came to visit. If a soldier came up to stop him, he could get a few small coins. But this time it was an exception. When the coachman saw them, he took out a guard sign from his arms and waved it. Several soldiers were immediately frightened and quickly knelt down to salute.
The coachman spoke with a crisp Beijing accent: "Is Zuo Yushi at home?"
"Here, there... Zuo Yushi's mother is dead. She is packing her things at home and preparing to return to Dingyou."
The coachman then took out a handful of coins, threw it on the ground, and said, "This is for you!"
"Thank you sir for the reward!"
Making money is not a worthless piece of money. Four to five hundred pieces can be exchanged for one tael of silver! No matter how large a handful was, it was still enough for the few soldiers here to eat a few good meals. They naturally thanked the reward and went to pick up the money happily.
The carriage continued to move forward and soon stopped at the entrance of a simple little courtyard. The coachman opened the curtain, and a tall and imposing middle-aged man walked out. It was Nanjing guard Zhao Zhilong.
Zhao Zhilong was not wearing official uniform, but was dressed as a Confucian scholar. After getting off the carriage, he strode forward and patted the gate of the small courtyard. After a few pats, the door opened a crack, and an old man poked out, squinting his eyes and looking at Zhao Zhilong.
"you are......"
Zhao Zhilong took out the post and handed it over: "Old man, I am a friend of Zuo Yushi, and I came here to express my condolences."
Zuo Yushi was the famous Zuo Maodi in history. He was the Yushi who patrolled the Yangtze River, and he was the Yushi who was in charge of the navy and Jiang defense together with Admiral Cao Jiang. Although he was an official in the southeast, he made his home in Beijing. His mother, Chen, lives in Beijing and is looked after by Zuo Maotai, Zuo Maodi's cousin. Originally, Zuo Maotai could have kept the Chen family and escaped together, but Zuo Maotai became the second minister and also left the Chen family in Beijing. Later, when the Qing soldiers came, Zuo Maotai surrendered happily and became the third minister. However, the Chen family refused to eat Qing millet and died on a hunger strike!
The news of Chen's death on hunger strike was brought to Shandong by Sun Zhixian and Jin Zhijun, and Gao Hongtu wrote to Zuo Maodi. So Zuo Maodi was heartbroken and acted as a filial son at home. He even handed a memorial to Ding You asking to return home. The memorial was handed to Xingzai. Zhu Cihong approved it and ordered Zuo Maodi to go to Yangzhou.
So when Zhao Zhilong came to visit, Zuo Xiaozi, who was wearing sackcloth and wearing filial piety, was packing his things, preparing to go to Yangzhou to face the saint, and then return to his hometown to be a dutiful son...
"Zongrong Zhao, what are you..."
Zuo Xiaozi was stunned when he saw Zhao Zhilong's dress. Why not wear official uniform?
Zhao Zhilong said: "Luo Shi, let's find a quiet place to talk."
"Oh, oh, please come quickly, please come quickly." Zuo Maodi knew something in his mind. Zhao Zhilong must have asked him to take the opportunity of traveling north to Shandong to contact Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu.
Although news has been circulating in Nanjing recently that Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu betrayed Qin Wang Xungui, Zuo Maodi did not believe it.
In his view, if King Qin's mission is to succeed, it must combine forces from all aspects, including of course the strengths of Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu.
Sure enough, as soon as he sat down in the study, Zhao Zhilong took out an envelope and handed it to Zuo Maodi with both hands.
"Who is this for?" Zuo Maodi asked.
"For Prince Chitose!"
What? Give the prince a thousand years?
Zuo Maodi looked at Zhao Zhilong, "Are you going to..."
Zhao Zhilong stopped hiding anything and gritted his teeth and said: "The nobles here in the capital are all crazy. They actually want to resist His Highness the Crown Prince's heavenly soldiers! I have been favored by the emperor and must expose them!"
You villain! Zuo Maodi took the envelope, nodded and said: "Okay, I will definitely pass your secret envelope to Master Qiantose!"
