When Zhang Wenhe heard what Xu Tongchangsui said, his heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly said: "Sir, maybe Master Huang came in too hastily and forgot to bring it with him. Why don't we ask him to make up for it next time?"
Xu Tong said coldly: "He has been an official for many years, doesn't he know the rules? Could it be that without him in Lingqiu, I will not be able to clean up the Tiger Flag?"
Zhang Wenhe, who had been with Xu Tong for many years, heard this and knew that Huang An was finished. Xu Tong would never take action in Huang An's matter. It would be nice if he could not step on him.
At this time, he also hated Huang An for being ignorant. If he wanted the Ministry of War to do something, it was impossible without spending money, even if the governor Xu Tong came forward.
Although the Minister of the Ministry of War is also a civil servant of the second rank, the same rank as the governor of Datong, there is a big gap between the two. One is the Minister of the Sixth Grade, and the next step is the Pavilion Elder. Although the governor of the second rank is also a Beijing official, he is far inferior to him. It is not as important as the six ministerial books.
Thinking of the wealth of the Tiger Flag, which is as rich as gold and silver, Zhang Wenhe couldn't help but advise: "Sir, why don't you ask the students to give Mr. Huang a warning."
"No need." Xu Tong waved his hand and said, "He is just a fourth-grade general. It is not worth offending Zhang Huai for such a person."
Zhang Wenhe opened his mouth, and finally turned into a sigh, understanding that Huang An had been given up by Xu Tong.
Xu Tong then said to his attendant: "If this person comes again from now on, just blow him away."
"Yes." Chang Sui bowed and agreed.
Zhang Wenhe said: "Sir, we have collected money from bandit suppression for several months. Should we send troops to suppress the bandits once? The students are worried that if the bandits are not suppressed, the civil and military officials will impeach you again."
"Well, this is really a troublesome matter." Xu Tong frowned.
He was impeached by Datong officials before, but it was thanks to his favor in Beijing that he was able to settle the matter. At the same time, he also got a lot of money, and sooner or later, this favor will be used up. ,
"Sir," Zhang Wenhe said, "Daliang Mountain has always been the most serious place with banditry in Datong. We might as well let the East Road Commander go to Daliang Mountain to suppress the bandits. In this way, those who paid the money to suppress the bandits will also be accounted for."
Xu Tong nodded slightly and immediately asked: "If I give the order directly, do you think the General Military Mansion will cooperate with me to suppress the bandits?"
Hearing this, Zhang Wenhe understood that Xu Tong did not want to use the money to suppress the bandits, so he advised: "Sir, at this time, the priority is still to suppress the bandits. Is it better to use some money to buy your stability?" worth it."
Xu Tong frowned.
Naturally, he was unwilling to take out the money he had obtained.
Zhang Wenhe continued: "The whole of Datong knows that you have received the money to suppress the bandits. If you want the East Road General to suppress the bandits, if you don't spend real money, the other party may not send troops to Daliang Mountain to suppress the bandits."
Xu Tong snorted coldly and said: "These generals are raised by the imperial court to ensure the stability of the place. Nowadays, Datong is plagued by banditry. It is the time for them to serve the imperial court, but they are all self-respecting soldiers and do not want to be loyal to the country." , only thinking about how to gain benefits, it’s really hateful.”
Zhang Wenhe pursed his lips and did not answer.
Their governor, who reaps the benefits, is more sinister than anyone else.
Xu Tong picked up the tureen on the table, took a sip of tea, and then said: "Take five thousand taels and send them to the General Military Mansion. I want to see the East Road Commander immediately to send troops to suppress the bandits."
"Student understands." Zhang Wenhe bowed and gave a salute.
At Dagukou, a convoy with a tiger-shaped flag appeared at the port.
The convoy was parked on the street outside a shop in the port, and some men were carrying goods inside.
In the main room in the backyard of the shop, Xu Xuewu and shopkeeper Zhang were both inside.
Shopkeeper Zhang held a letter in his hand. After reading it, he frowned slightly and said, "We are running out of time. It will take a long time to send the news to Da Yuan Island and transfer the ship from Da Yuan Island. "
"It can't take too long." Xu Xuewu shook his head and said, "If we wait until Mao Wenlong has established a foothold in Pi Island, we can make friends. Without this time, we can provide help in times of need."
Shopkeeper Zhang looked thoughtful and said after a long time: "There should be one of our ships coming to Dagukou in the next few days. It is originally loaded with iron cargo. If you are in a hurry to use it, I will take you to Pi Island first and wait until we come back from Pi Island." Go to Hirado.”
"That's fine." Xu Xuewu nodded and immediately asked, "How long will it take for the ship from Da Yuan Island to arrive?"
"It's hard to say." Shopkeeper Zhang said, "If there are storms at sea, it will delay a lot of time. If there are no accidents, we can arrive at the port in a few days. If the weather at sea is bad, we will have to come back later, and we have just returned. Ships in the port need to be sent to the shipyard for maintenance before they can go to sea again."
"It takes so long?" Xu Xuewu frowned.
Shopkeeper Zhang said: "The sea is rough and the waves are strong. Every time the ship comes back from Hirado, there will be some problems. If left unchecked, the ship will easily be destroyed and people will be killed next time it goes to sea."
Xu Xuewu nodded.
He doesn't understand things at sea, but he knows that professional things should be left to professionals, and he won't point fingers at random.
At this moment, a waiter from the shop came into the room and said to shopkeeper Zhang: "Shopkeeper, the ship to Hirado has returned and is unloading the goods at the port."
Shopkeeper Zhang turned his head and said to Xu Xuewu: "It seems that the journey back from Hirado has been smoother. We have arrived in Hong Kong early."
Every time a ship leaves from Dagukou to Hirado, there will be accurate records of how long it takes and how long it takes to return. If the ship has not returned by the time it arrives, it means that something happened to the ship at sea.
Because of the care of Li Dan, a large sea merchant, ordinary pirates would not touch the ships with the tiger flag, so for so long, the ships with the tiger flag have never had any major problems.
"Let's go, come with me to the port to see our ships." Xu Xuewu suggested.
He has stayed by Liu Heng's side. This is his first time in Dagokou. He has never seen a sea ship. He has only heard others mention it. He has always been curious and wanted to see it.
Shopkeeper Zhang said with a smile: "The ship we returned this time was not built by ourselves, but the ship we bought from Zheng Qianhu. It is slightly smaller than the ship we built."
"Then I want to take a look." Xu Xuewu stood up from his seat.
Soon, Xu Xuewu and Shopkeeper Zhang arrived at the port with a few people.
"Is this our ship?" Xu Xuewu was stunned for a moment when he saw the ship on the port for the first time.
The size of the big ship in front of him was beyond his expectation. He had never expected that a sea-going ship could be so big. It was many times bigger than the ships he had seen before.
Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "Would you like to go up and have a look?"
"Listen to Shopkeeper Zhang, let's go up and have a look."
Standing under such a large ship, Xu Xuewu naturally wanted to go up and take a look. Now that shopkeeper Zhang took the initiative, it suited his wish, so he agreed.
When he got on the ship, he immediately saw the cannon on the bow.
The cannon in front of him was much thicker than the cannon he had seen in Lingqiu. There was no such big cannon found in the entire Ming Dynasty.
After Shopkeeper Zhang noticed it, he introduced with a smile: "This is a ten-pound cannon. It was bought from the Franjiren Cannon Factory. Currently, every one of our seagoing ships has such a cannon installed on it."
"With such a thick muzzle, if one shot is fired, it will probably bring down the city. I never thought we could use such a thick cannon." Xu Xuewu touched the barrel of the cannon with his hand excitedly.
Shopkeeper Zhang said: "This kind of gun is too clumsy and not suitable for use on land. It can only be used on ships, but it has a long range and can still bombard the coast." 11
