"The grain sent by Denglai this time was not only mixed with sand, but also mixed with a lot of sand." Mao Chenglu said, "The sand can still be picked out, which is a little troublesome at most, but the grain mixed with sand is difficult to Separated from the food, in the end we can only eat the food and the soil together.”
Mao Wenlong asked: "How much of the grain sent by Denglai this time was mixed with sediment?"
"According to people below, at least half of the grain is mixed with sand and soil." Mao Chenglu replied.
Mao Wenlong used the cup lid to stir up the tea in the cup, blew on it again, and then said: "Let these grains mixed with sand be left for the people on the island to eat!"
"My foster father, Denglai is getting more and more excessive. It would be better for my foster father to participate in the performance of the governor of Denglai, which will attract the attention of the court and make them restrain themselves." Mao Chenglu said.
"Then what?" Mao Wenlong asked.
Mao Chenglu was stunned and said, "Even if Denglai can't send enough food to our Pi Island, at least they can't return the food mixed with sediment to us!"
"In the future, I might as well not send food to Pidao, but exchange it all for silver, and even give you a full salary. What will you do then?" Mao Wenlong asked Mao Chenglu.
Mao Chenglu scratched his head and said: "This is a good thing. The child does not ask them to be paid in full, as long as he is paid half the salary."
"Stupid." Mao Wenlong scolded, "Even if I give you money in Pi Island, where will you get food? In a few months, more than half of the people in Pi Island will starve to death on the island."
"This..." Mao Chenglu's face collapsed and he said, "Denglai wouldn't do this, right?"
Mao Wenlong frowned and said: "If I were to impeach Governor Denglai, I don't think they would use such despicable methods on Pidao. By then, they would still be able to claim that they were paid enough. Even if the Holy One knew about it, they would not do it." say what."
Mao Chenglu hesitated for a moment and said, "Isn't there still a Tiger Flag? We can buy food from the Tiger Flag."
Hearing this, Mao Wenlong snorted coldly and said: "Businessmen are looking for profit. If Denglai doesn't send food, the food in Tiger Flag will naturally increase. With the small salary paid by the court, we can't buy a few times of food. We can’t afford to feed so many people on the island.”
"Is there really nothing we can do? Let Denglai deduct the grain and pay it, and use old grain mixed with sediment as inferior quality." Mao Chenglu said with a bitter look on his face.
Mao Wenlong took a sip of tea and said: "Our Pi Island is behind Houjin. We can only rely on Denglai Navy to deliver food and wages. Having these grains mixed with sediment is better than nothing. There are still so many people on the island. Now, if you are really hungry and anxious, something big will happen."
In his eyes, it doesn't matter if the food in Denglai is mixed with sand. As long as the people on Pi Island have something to eat, Pi Island will be stable.
Mao Chenglu said: "Can you ask Mr. Wang to come forward? He is the governor of Liaodong and a member of the Donglin Party. I believe Denglai will give Mr. Wang some face."
"Don't think about it, Mr. Wang will not come forward." Mao Wenlong said, "What Denglai did is normal in the officialdom. It's just that the situation here in Pi Island is special, so food can be sent to the island. If it were replaced in other places, I’m afraid there’s not even food mixed with sediment.”
Mao Chenglu sighed.
He knew that his adoptive father was right. There was nothing they could do about Denglai's matter. If they really angered Denglai's side, the only ones who would suffer in the end would be Pidao.
"Fortunately, the imperial court knew about the difficulties of our Pi Island. Not only did it open a town, but it also allowed the adoptive father to prepare food and wages himself. Otherwise, the people on the island might not be able to survive." Mao Chenglu sighed.
Mao Wenlong picked up the bowl, took a sip of tea, and said: "In the future, the food mixed with sediment sent from Denglai will be stored separately and left for the people on the island to eat. Our people cannot eat these food mixed with sediment." , otherwise the soldiers below will become disloyal."
"I understand," Mao Chenglu said. "Only the food sent by the Tiger Flag ship is new food. The food sent to the island by other merchants is mostly old food."
Mao Wenlong snorted coldly and said: "Every good thing from these merchants will be withheld from all the grain they send in the future. They want to buy Liaodong's specialties cheaply from this general. I really think this general is so easy to deceive."
"Don't worry, my adoptive father, I have already detained the goods of those merchants and asked them to take a message back. Only by sending another batch of goods can I make up for the money owed to them." Mao Chenglu said.
Mao Wenlong nodded and said, "If you keep an eye on this matter, I will rest assured."
"Yes." Mao Chenglu responded and immediately said, "What should we do with the Tiger Character Banner? I heard that they have a close relationship with Wei Wei in the capital. We should not offend them."
"It doesn't matter." Mao Wenlong waved his hand and said, "This general belongs to Mr. Wang. Now that Liaodong is completely controlled by the Donglin Party, even Wei Wei can't help but this general."
Mao Chenglu said: "Wei Eunuch is a person close to the Holy Father after all. If he says something bad about his adoptive father, it may be detrimental to his adoptive father. Moreover, this Tiger Character Banner is different from other businessmen. They mainly want big trees, but they are not interested in those who It’s a specialty of Liaodong, so don’t worry too much about it.”
Mao Wenlong twirled his beard and said: "What you said makes some sense. This tiger-character flag is not easy to offend for the time being, and I, the deputy commander, have not become the commander-in-chief. If Wei Gong speaks ill of this commander around the emperor, , maybe this general, the deputy commander, will have to remain the deputy commander."
In just six months, he was promoted from guerrilla general to deputy commander-in-chief, skipping several levels one after another. Now Pidao was allowed to open a town by the court.
He is not worried that someone will take over as the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town. After all, the soldiers and horses in Dongjiang Town were all promoted by him and are his confidants. At the same time, Dongjiang Town is located behind Houjin, and few generals are willing to take such a risk. Be the commander-in-chief of the place.
"Then... next time the Tiger Flag ship comes, should we detain the goods they brought, so that Tiger Flag can send an extra batch of goods like other merchants." Mao Chenglu asked tentatively.
Mao Wenlong thought for a while and said: "No, the Tiger Character Banner cannot treat other merchants like they do, but things in Dongjiang Town are not that easy to get. When the people from the Tiger Character Flag come again, you will be the one to receive them. Just say that Jurchens often appear. In the old forest, big trees are difficult to deal with, so let them raise the price.”
"There are a lot of big trees here in Liaodong. If the price suddenly rises, will it be too much?" Mao Chenglu looked embarrassed.
Mao Wenlong snorted coldly and said: "Don't worry, as long as the people in the Tiger Flag still want big trees, they will agree to our conditions, and they took away these big trees to build ships and go south to do maritime business with the red-haired barbarians to make money. The money we received is much more than what we asked for."
Tiger Flag used to take away so many large trees from Pidao, and they were all selected to be suitable for shipbuilding. Everyone in Pi Island knew that these large trees taken away by Tiger Flag were used for shipbuilding.
