The bloodstains in front of Cunxin Hall were brighter and denser than the fireworks that ascended into the sky half an hour ago.
The strong smell of blood also firmly covered up the original strong smell of sulfur.
Halfway through the killing, the first among the gangsters to throw down their weapons and kneel down to surrender appeared.
King Zhu Shouhong of Lu ordered the eunuchs to shout loudly: "Anyone who abandons his sword and returns to his rightful ways will be spared his life. His crime is no worse than that of his parents and his wife."
Calling on the other party to surrender on the spot is not just to reduce the difficulty of subduing them, but to keep them alive for interrogation.
Soon, the second and third surrenderers followed suit.
On the steps, Wu Bondang and a palace guard were tying up the hanging eye ends that had been burned by Zheng Haizhu.
When Wu Bond, who was wearing a helmet, stood up and looked both ways, Zheng Haizhu was nowhere to be seen.
A moment ago, he heard with his own ears that Zhu Yipai asked Zheng Haizhu to avoid him.
At the moment, Zhu Yipai told him in a deep voice: "The situation has been decided, go and protect the princess and his wife."
Wu Bond understood that this was Zhu Yipai fulfilling his previous promise.
Yesterday, Zheng Haizhu pointedly pointed out that if the rioters were really led by the charcoal worker named Zhao, she and Wu Bangdang would not be willing to come out and identify them face to face after they were calmed down.
On the one hand, it is no longer necessary, and on the other hand, I am afraid of retaliation.
At that time, Zhu Yipai did not feel dissatisfied, but said that this is common sense. You are people who often travel to Shandong to do business. If the Wenxiang Sect knows that you are the accusers, they will definitely seek revenge. You are loyal to me, the Lu Mansion. I, the Lu Mansion, must not be unjust to you.
At this time, Wu Bondang quickly found Zheng Haizhu who was joining Guo behind the Cunxin Palace.
After waiting for about half a stick of incense, the military guards and chamberlains also arrived, surrounded by Zhu Shouhong and Zhu Yipai.
Zhang Yaofang was also followed behind. Although his hair was a little messy, his face was full of victory.
Zhu Yipai told the whole story: "The Tanhu leader refused to recruit, so it didn't matter. Several followers were interrogated separately, and the confessions were all correct. They all said that he was a leader of the Wenxiang sect named Hu Congkui, who was arrested by the Dengzhou prefect. , they wanted to kidnap His Royal Highness King Lu and force the court to release him. The lanterns this time were brought from Weifang, and the dancers were also believers. Tanhu’s uncle was found tied up in Tanyuan. He must have been unaware of it and was just negligent. Examining the charcoal bag. The two young students from the charcoal academy are actually their accomplices."
Zhang Yaofang immediately picked up Zhu Yipai's words and said to Lu King Zhu Shouhong: "Your Highness, this Hu Congkui, I have seen it in the newspaper before, saying that he was originally a fellow countryman of Xu Hongru, and he came from Lubei in recent years. In the Denglai area, people were deceived by evil words and roared in the mountains and forests. In the summer and autumn, they killed a magistrate under the rule of Dengzhou and were put down by the troops led by the magistrate of Dengzhou."
Zhu Shouhong asked, "Where is the current prefect of Dengzhou coming from?"
The fiefdom of Lu vassal Yanzhou was separated from Dengzhou, which faced the Yellow Sea, by Qingzhou and Laizhou. Due to his status as a vassal king, Zhu Shouhong was usually taboo about making friends with other local officials in Lu except the governor of Shandong and the magistrate of Yanzhou. It’s not surprising that this Xiaoyao Xian Wang doesn’t know where the current magistrate of Dengzhou is.
As a civil servant within the system, Zhang Yaofang, like many department-level cadres in later generations, was most concerned about all kinds of personnel information from the central to local levels.
After he saw Zhu Shouhong asking questions, Zhu Yipai also showed a look of confusion and hurriedly reported: "Returning to Your Highness, the current magistrate of Dengzhou is surnamed Tao and named Langxian. Like Xiaguan, he is also from Zhejiang. He should be ten years old The Jinshi in the former middle school has served in both the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing. He came to Dengzhou four years ago and is an expert in flood control, farming, and disaster relief. He also petitioned the imperial court to lift the maritime ban in Dengzhou."
Um? Lift the maritime ban?
Hearing this last sentence, Zheng Haizhu became very excited.
Zhu Yipai was obviously equally curious.
It should be noted that since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the earliest Japanese real Japanese invaders often invaded, except Lushun in Liaodong, Dengzhou in Shandong.
Among the eighteen guards in Shandong, there were eleven who were subordinate to the commander of Shandong Beiwadu. Although the total strength was about 10,000, they were all elite soldiers. Among them, the Dengzhou camp had the largest number of people and horses.
Although the Japanese sentiments have greatly changed since the early days of the imperial dynasty, the imperial court invited the civil servants who opened the sea to mention Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Ning.
Bo, mentioning Taicang, no one has mentioned Dengzhou opening a sea ban.
"Why did Magistrate Tao petition to open the sea ban in Dengzhou?" Zhu Yipai asked.
Zhang Yaofang recalled for a while and said cautiously: "The official remembers that not long after he took office, he came to Qingzhou to cause a locust plague and failed to harvest anything. He wanted to transport rice from Liaodong to save the victims in Dengzhou."
Zhu Yipai became even more surprised. This time, he looked at Zheng Haizhu and said, "Miss Zheng, didn't you say that you also have business dealings with relatives in Liaodong? Is it possible that Liaodong is also rich in grain and can in turn support our Shandong island?" Already?"
Zheng Haizhu wished that the prince in front of her would give her a chance to preach.
She then said respectfully: "Most of northern Liaoning is covered with lakes, mountains and forests. The Jurchen and Yupi tribes (referring to the Hezhe people) make a living by fishing and hunting. However, the climate in places such as Jinzhouwei and Fuzhouwei in southern Liaoning is relatively The area around Shenyang and Liaoyang is suitable. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, there was a Liaodong Road Transport Department, which transported rice and grain to support Shandong and Hebei during the famine years. The military villages and households in the Ming Dynasty were also very diligent, and the harvests were not necessarily inferior to those in the Gyeonggi area. However, this This situation indeed only existed three or four years ago. In the past two years, the slaves have rebelled, plundered our Liao people, trampled on our fields, and the good times of ripe rice and fragrant wheat in southern Liaoning will probably be hard to come by."
Sure enough, after hearing this, Zhu Yipai frowned and said: "The dangers of Jiannu are far greater than those of the ragtag followers of Wenxiang Sect. I think that Liaodong is originally under the jurisdiction of Shandong. If it is occupied by Jiannu, wouldn't it be like this?" There are tigers and wolves surrounding the couch."
Zheng Haizhu nodded: "Nurhaci, the chief of Jianzhou, became a khan last year and always wants to expand his army. However, the Baishan and Heishui are bitter, cold and poor. They cannot feed so many people just by hunting and fishing, and they will step up their efforts to occupy the wealthier areas. Western Liaoning and Southern Liaoning. The common people speculated whether there were plans to strengthen the defense of Southern Liaoning when Governor Tao asked to open the sea. Or even if it has nothing to do with military defense, it can also benefit maritime trade. After all, the distance between the Liaonan Islands and Dengzhou Port , it can be reached by sailing ship in three days with a favorable wind. It is feasible to transport grain, and it is no problem to transport other goods. Ginseng and mink skins are sold to Shandong, and Shandong specialties can also be sold to Liaodong and even North Korea."
When she talks, she tries to keep her tone calm and not show off, but she also doesn't pretend to be timid.
Zheng Haizhu believed that thanks to these noisy Wenxiang believers, he had played a leading role in protecting the safety of King Lu, which was beyond doubt.
Such opportunities should be seized actively.
The two men from the Zhu family of Lu Fan in front of them, one is powerful and the other is capable.
As a commoner, she should boldly state her knowledge and opinions when they are more grateful to her, so that they can add appreciation and trust to their gratitude, and then turn to business cooperation matters.
Seeing that Zhu Yipai didn't show any signs of being absent-minded or impatient while listening to the lecture, it more or less showed that there was something going on.
However, Zhu Yipai quickly restrained his talk and returned to the main purpose of the night.
He said to King Lu and Princess Lu: "The evil plan of the bandit sect has been defeated and its arrogance has been destroyed. Although everything is under the control of your two highnesses tonight, there will be some twists and turns after all. Your two highnesses should go back to the palace to rest first. Nephew Zhang Changshi and I will handle the affairs in front of the palace, send the remaining bandits to the Yanzhou government office for detention, appease all the clan members, and report to your two highnesses tomorrow."
After this calamity, King Lu became more and more satisfied with his loyal, wise and brave nephew, and nodded happily.
He also did not forget to reward Zheng Haizhu and Wu Bond. While praising Zhang Yaofang for being good at making good friends, he personally checked the burns on the palms of the only civil servant who participated in the battle, and told the eunuch to quickly send the doctor on duty to apply the medicine.
The next day, the palace servant delivered a reward of one hundred taels of gold to the official post, and the invitation from the Zhenguo General's Palace arrived shortly after.
At the family banquet hosted by Zhu Yipai and the Guo family, Zheng Haizhu revealed two things.
The first one was to reveal that Wu Bangde's origin was indeed not the shopkeeper he hired, but the adopted son of Qi Jin, the commander-in-chief of Zhenjiang, South Zhili, who had partnered with him to do business, mainly to maintain Qi Jin's expenses for raising his family.
The second one is to show his intention to cooperate with Lu Fan to dig coal. What he could contribute on his side was to recruit a large number of miners from Liaodong through Mao Wenlong, and to sell some of the coal through the canal to the firearms workshops in Jiangnan for his own use. At the same time, he relied on Haoming Trading Company to help sell the remaining coal. Of course, Haoming Trading Company also
It can help market Lu Fan's other products, such as velvet antlers and cotton in the fiefdom. Lu Fan can airborne his own accounting room and come to Haoming Trading Company to keep an eye on the money in and out.
No matter how smart and ambitious Zhu Yipai was, he was just the son of a county prince in his early twenties. He had never left Lu from his birth to his teenage years. Four or five years ago, in the name of congratulating Emperor Wanli on his birthday, he followed his uncle to the capital.
It was that time when he saw in the capital that millions of people were burning something completely different from charcoal and firewood.
This time, from Zheng Haizhu's mouth, he learned that under his family's firewood mountain, there was buried this kind of fuel that nobles might not look down on, but had unlimited business opportunities in civilian daily use and military smelting. Naturally, he was surprised and delighted.
"Miss Zheng, do you think there are coal mines in Liaodong just like Xishan in the capital?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Zheng Haizhu replied firmly, "My Uncle Mao said that east of Liaoyang, where he was guarding, there were small coal mines around a place called Dongningwei. There is a lot of frost there every year. The output per acre is only one-tenth of that in southern Liaoning, so local people have to dig and transport coal in exchange for food."
The Dongningwei mentioned by Zheng Haizhu is the Benxi of Liaoning in later generations. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, although agriculture in Liaodong could not keep up, coal from Benxi and iron from Tieling had begun to be mined in an orderly manner. Geng Zhongming, Mao Wenlong's general during the Apocalypse and forced to surrender after Mao Wenlong was killed, was a miner.
Zhu Yipai was extremely smart and understood that if large-scale coal mining was really carried out in Lufan, local farmers and transit refugees would not be able to turn into miners.
Shipping miners from Liaodong is indeed the safest option.
Zheng Haizhu continued to add fuel to the fire in Zhu Yipai's heart: "Your Highness, many of those Liao people are no longer military households. As the population grows, they will either starve to death or be taken captive by the Jian slaves in the east. Become slaves. They are definitely willing to come to Shandong to work as miners to earn money. Although they are foreigners, if they reach a certain number, they will eat the food rewarded by His Highness and His Majesty the Younger Highness, and they will be loyal to the Lu Mansion. Together with Lu Fan's defenders, we will protect Yanzhou's safety."
The more Zhu Yipai listened, the better he felt.
As for the migration of Liao people to Yanzhou to mine coal, he estimated that there would be little resistance from the government.
Zheng Haizhu's analysis of the current situation, especially his concern about the young men of Liaodong being kidnapped by the newly emerged Jurchen rebels, inspired him.
Zhu Yipai even thought about the wording of the memorial.
He had to make it clear to the court that the people he wanted to bring to Lu Fan from Liaodong were households who had no land to farm and could not mine safely, so that they could release their labor force in Yanzhou, and then use the coal underground in Yanzhou to exchange for Some of the silver was donated to the imperial court for military pay, and for mobilizing and moving soldiers from various places to deal with the military operations of establishing slaves.
Zheng Haizhu listened to his thoughts and bluntly reminded: "Your Highness's words are like a direct promise to the court that he is willing to pay the tax on bamboo and wood. Every vassal country has its own products. They saw that Lu Fan was here If they do, will they attack in groups?"
Zhu Yipai understood what Zheng Haizhu meant. He looked sideways at his wife Guo, pursed his lips, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, my wife and I both think you are a good businessman. I want to ask, what will you do in the future?" When doing business, will you lose your conscience because you are afraid that a group of female businessmen will attack you?"
Hearing this, Zheng Haizhu praised in her heart "Good" and said firmly: "Yes, if you and the female businessman Shang Heguang are in the same dust because of cowardice, when the sky falls, everyone will be crushed together, and they will really be crushed into dust. If Liaodong is in chaos, Shandong will surely be affected. It is not only righteous but also wise for Lu Fan to step forward and pay taxes to the imperial court at such an early date."
Zhu Yipai nodded and continued to talk about the practical details: "According to what Miss Zheng said, the suitable miner Dingkou is east of Liaoyang, not north of Lushunkou, and our Yanzhou Prefecture is still thousands of miles away from Dengzhou. Why do those miners come in through Dengzhou instead of overland via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal?"
After Zheng Haizhu got to know the situation of Lu Fan in the past few days, he had decided to locate the future Liaohai situation intelligence center in Yanzhou, so he naturally wanted to recommend Wu Bondang.
She then smiled and said, "Master Wu has learned a lesson from wandering around Ji Liao."
Wu Bondang understood and said in a cautious tone: "If you want to return to your highness, if you take the land route, not to mention the cumbersome customs clearance procedures at Shanhaiguan, after entering the customs, you will go to Shuntian Mansion."
Boarding a canal boat involves many twists and turns along the way. How about staying under Shandong's control throughout the entire journey? "
The implication is very simple: don’t transport people and do things through other people’s territory, and try to operate in a closed loop on your own territory in Shandong.
Zheng Haizhu took advantage of the situation and added a more direct sentence: "In the future, if the cotton cloth of Lu Fan is transported to Liaodong and Korea for sale, and the ginseng and mink skins from there are brought to Yanzhou, it will be more convenient to take the Liaohai Road. "
Zhu Yipai smiled, looked at his wife Guo and said, "Miss Zheng really cannot do without the word silver in her three sentences. She is quite similar to you and me."
But Guo didn't smile: "Miss Zheng needs money more than us. She wants to buy our coal to make her own firearms, no, she wants to make firearms for the imperial court."
Zhu Yipai was startled, then waved his hand: "I will go and report to King Lu that we will give some of the coal we dug out in Yanzhou to Miss Zheng."
Zheng Haizhu said: "That's not necessary. Songjiang Firearms Factory may be able to obtain funds from the imperial court in the future. Now it has been agreed that I will donate funds for trial production. It is a great blessing for the imperial court to allow it. Your Highness and Madam, if you think I am worthy Why don’t we ask King Lu to give our Haoming Trading Company some shares from the coal mine?”
