Zhou Xiang, the deputy general manager of Quanzhou Shipping Department, came quickly and bowed deeply: "Wei Tiju, Bu Fang, the chief steward of the Bu family, is here."
Wei Hong raised his eyebrows slightly: "Please come quickly."
Bu Fang walked vigorously, smiled calmly, faced Wei Hong and said with a calm smile: "Wei Tiju, you look good."
Wei Hong observed the situation and saw that the fortune teller was so calm, so he knew that the matter was not at an unsolvable level yet, so he did not dare to offend him: "The chief steward is coming in person, and it would be rude of Wei not to greet him from a distance."
Bu Fang kept saying that he didn't dare, and after a few words of greeting, he said bluntly: "Now that Magistrate Gu is causing chaos in Jinjiang City, and Gao Shenzhen has left due to the incident of Marquis Jinghai, the Bu family has to temporarily avoid his influence. Tonight, Mr. Bu Shou I will take people to the port and go out to sea at night to live a peaceful life for a few days. After Gao Shenzheng pays his condolences to Marquis Jinghai, he will come back to take charge of the overall situation."
Wei Hong was secretly surprised.
They were surprised by Gu Zhengchen's strength, which actually forced the Bu family to retreat. I was also surprised that the Bu family used Gao Hui's political participation in such a high-profile way.
Obviously, the Bu family is also beating and warning themselves not to act recklessly, otherwise Gao Huigao will be involved in politics and change his mind, which will be his death!
Wei Hong agreed without hesitation: "The Bu family has treated me well over the years. I, Wei Hong, can sit in the position promoted by the Chief of Shipping, all because of Mr. Bu's respect. But I will obey all orders."
Bu Fang nodded with satisfaction, looked towards the port, and asked: "The navy's ship is not in the port?"
Wei Hong shook his head and said seriously: "The navy seems to have received the news in advance that Marquis Jinghai was unwell. Chu Xing led the fleet to Fuzhou and has not come back yet. It is inconvenient for Chu Xing to return at this time. At least he needs to wait. Wait."
Bu Fang thought about it for a while. The navy commander had left, and the navy generals had to see him off. He was so sad that he probably didn't have the heart to go back to Quanzhou so soon to see the sea.
Baogai Mountain stands alone in the sky, peering into the quiet Quanzhou Port.
Lin Baifan climbed up to the top of the mountain, pointed to the stone tower not far away and said to Gu Zhengchen: "This is the Wanshou Tower, also called the Guansuo Tower. In the early years, I heard the old man nagging, saying, 'The Guansuo Shuikou Town Tower is also high in the clouds. "You can watch merchant ships coming and going by climbing it," but the local people often call this tower the Sister-in-law Tower."
Gu Zhengchen looked at the hollow stone tower in front of him that looked like a pavilion, and asked curiously: "Why is it called Sister-in-law Tower?"
Lin Baifan thought for a while and said: "It is said that one year there was a drought in southern Fujian and no crops were harvested. A poor man named Haisheng was unable to pay the rich man's land rent and was forced to leave his newlywed wife and beloved sister and go away. Nanyang, agreed to come back in three years to repay the debt..."
"After Haisheng went to sea, his sister-in-law and her sister-in-law climbed up Baogai Mountain every day to look at the sea and return to the boat, hoping to reunite with their relatives. Three years later, Haisheng returned by boat. When he was about to reach the shore, there was a sudden strong wind and rough seas. The boat overturned and Haisheng was buried in the sea. The sister-in-law jumped into the sea to save her, but they were also swallowed by the sea in the end..."
Gu Zhengchen frowned, this is a sad story.
Xiao Cheng set up a pergola and looked at Quanzhou Port, shaking his head: "This is impossible. If you can see the other party's face clearly from here, it means that the other party is not too far away, not to mention at the sea, even at the foot of the mountain. It's impossible to see the appearance clearly, how can this sister-in-law determine that the person coming is Hai Sheng?"
Lin Baifan was stunned: "This..."
Xiao Cheng continued: "Jumping into the sea after seeing a capsized boat is a purely suicidal act. What can be moved? They say there is a strong wind in Quanzhou Port, but look at it, so what if there is a strong wind in Quanzhou Port in front of you?"
Gu Zhengchen glanced at Xiao Cheng and said with a smile: "I don't realize that you have such a careful side. This Quanzhou Port is indeed not easy to capsize."
The entire Quanzhou Port is a natural semi-enclosed bay, with mostly calm days throughout the year. The harbor is wide and the water is deep, and the shore is relatively flat. Whether it is a port or a pier, it is relatively easy to build. Quanzhou Port is connected to the Jinjiang River and can be transported by river and sea. If the almost abandoned Houzhu Port is taken into account, the Luoyang River can also be included in the voyage port circle.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Quanzhou Port, saw the blue waves rippling, the sea and the sky met, and always felt his heart surge.
This is the ocean related to the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty and the national destiny of China!
If we can't open the sea, we can't open people's eyes to see the world. If we can't accumulate wealth through voyages and trade, we can't talk about business development. Without business to bring a steady stream of business taxes, the Ming Dynasty's finances will remain the same for two hundred years. It's so pitiful that it's sad. .
Thoughts, wealth, and reforms are all closely related to the sea.
This step must be taken!
Huang Fei and Liang Hua went up the mountain and saluted Gu Zhengchen.
Gu Zhengchen waved his hand and asked, "Have you found anything?"
Huang Fei motioned to Liang Hua and said, but Liang Hua was not polite and opened his mouth: "Yesterday afternoon to evening, a batch of goods was indeed transported to the ship. Early this morning, Bu Fang, the chief steward of the Bu family, also arrived at the port and met Tiju Wei. Hong, the two had a very pleasant conversation. The current investigation shows that there are at least six boats in the port with multiple boatmen on board. They have food and accommodation on board and may sail at any time."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Xiao Cheng and others and said with a smile: "I'm afraid six ships cannot carry the Bu family's many worries in Quanzhou Prefecture."
Xiao Cheng, Lin Baifan and others laughed.
Indeed, people in Quanzhou Port may not know that the Bu family's Jingming Villa has been raided, but the Bu family is definitely aware of it. Yu Siye has not yet clarified the value of all the goods in the Villa. He does not consider the value of gold, silver and copper coins and only estimates. The value of treasures, silks, ceramics, spices and other goods is no less than 40,000 guan.
Without such a large amount of wealth, the Bu family must be in great pain, right?
Qin Song thought of something and whispered: "Some time ago, Li Zongfeng asked Li Zongfeng to select a group of people who are good at water and boating. What should we do now?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled bitterly and put his hands behind his back: "Let's wait until we talk to him."
"coming!"
Mei Hong pointed to the sea.
When the sun went down, the Bu family's motorcade finally entered Quanzhou Port.
From early morning to dusk, for a whole day, I traveled nearly a hundred miles in circles, just to arrive at Quanzhou Port, ten miles outside Jinjiang City.
Bu Shou let some people go along the way, and even Bu Zhongsheng also left on the way.
Bu Shou believed that within the safe field of vision, no one could track these people who left, and these people would change their names and hide in other places.
Along the way, people have become lonely.
When Bu Shou arrived at Quanzhou Port, Wei Hong and his deputy Zhou Xiang greeted him respectfully.
Wei Hong didn't see Bu Zhongsheng or Bu Suanzi, so he couldn't help but ask where they were going.
Bu Shou was as calm as ever, with a smile on his old face: "Boy Wei, of course they need to stay in Quanzhou Mansion. Magistrate Gu is now watching the old man and me. As long as I leave, the Bu family will turn the corner. In less than seven days, Quanzhou Mansion will still be the Bu family's home. It has the final say! If you want to bring down the Bu family, just one Gu Zhengchen is not enough!"
Wei Hong felt Bu Shou's strong self-confidence and nodded repeatedly: "The old man is right. Although Magistrate Gu is acting vigorously and with great glory, he may die here at any time. Public beheading of officials without the emperor's approval, Wei has never heard of anyone dying a good death."
Bu Shou laughed loudly and said with a strong cane: "If he dares to attack with the tip of a knife at a young age, he doesn't know how sharp the knife is. Wei Hong, you are not young, you should know, right?"
Wei Hong trembled and looked at Bu Shou without knowing why.
Bu Shou suddenly changed his face, with a murderous look on his face: "I heard that you saw the decline of the Bu family and were suppressed by Magistrate Gu to the point where you couldn't hold your head up. It was just that the Bu family wanted you to use a few boats, but you dared to open your mouth and ask for a lot of things. , it’s not enough to give you a lot of benefits, you actually want to get the Bu family’s property! Now that I’m here, tell me, how much of the Bu family’s property do you want?”
Wei Hong shuddered and bowed quickly: "Mr. Bu, I didn't dare to do this. I was just joking. Besides, I didn't get a penny from the Bu family's belongings when they arrived on the ship. The chief steward Bu Fang can testify to this. "
Bu Shou snorted: "That's because the real treasure hasn't been on the ship yet, and you don't like these goods! I admire greedy people, because the Bu family can feed him, and he can do things for the Bu family. But I don't I like people who are greedy and excessive. If the Bu family is not fed enough, he will become a hungry wolf and bite his master! Wei Hong, your fangs are exposed!"
Wei Hong's face turned pale. He originally thought that the fortune-telling family had lost its prestige and that he could bully and bully himself after becoming the Tiger of Pingyang. But who would have thought that fortune-telling was still so strong!
It seems that the Bu family is very strong and will not collapse for a while.
Wei Hong broke out in a cold sweat and eagerly expressed his loyalty: "I, Wei Hong, was promoted by the old man, otherwise I would not have taken over Zhao Yihui's squad to control the Quanzhou Ship Division. In this life, I have only followed the lead of the old man, and I will never let him down."
Bu Shou stared at Wei Hong: "Really?"
“Heaven and earth can be used as lessons!”
"It's not like I just got on the boat and you turned around and informed Magistrate Gu of my whereabouts, right?"
"Absolutely not!"
Bu Shou nodded slightly and said: "Send me on the boat. After I leave, you can go to Jingming Villa and ask for Bu Yuanhai to take away five thousand coins. In addition, you can pick two of the beautiful women there." "
Wei Hong's eyes sparkled and he shouted, "Thank you, old man!"
Bu Shou smiled and got on the boat under Wei Hong's guidance. The boatman walked out and used the oars to shore.
The ship slowly leaves the shore.
Bu Fang stood next to Bu Shou and looked at the pier cautiously. There were no bright lights and no sounds of killing. It was as quiet as usual. He said softly: "Is it possible that Prefect Gu didn't discover the Shibo Division line?"
Bu Shou shook his head: "If the matter of folded silk is exposed, it is impossible for the Shipping Department to hide it, not to mention that Wu Kang, Qin Xin and others must have confessed something before they died, and the Jingming Villa was raided , with Gu Zhengchen’s intelligence, he would not have missed Shibo Division.”
Bu Fang pointed to the shore: "But he didn't come."
There was a hint of doubt in Bu Shou's eyes.
There were soldiers checking at the city gate. It was no secret that he left Jinjiang City. What did Gu Zhengchen think? Such slow movements were inconsistent with his past fast and furious style.
Could it be that Gu Zhengchen couldn't see the Shipping Department and Quanzhou Port because he was overthinking it?
