Zheng Haizhu rode Chi Ruyi to the east. The ten-mile journey was quickly completed. On the flat coast in front of him, a group of large and small wooden boats appeared in the harbor.
Looking further towards the land, there are groups of low shacks and fields during winter leisure.
It was still early and the daylight was bright. Zheng Haizhu raised his eyes to recognize it and rode his horse towards the only bungalow covered with tiles.
Still a hundred steps away, a few men holding forks and sticks appeared sporadically on the roadside. Their clothes were in tatters and their bodies looked as thin as the mangy dogs lying beside them, but they neither looked like farmers nor beggars.
Facing their curious eyes rather than vigilant looks, Zheng Haizhu simply reined in his horse and said, "Fellow, is this the room where the boss is being fucked?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a strong man with big arms, round waist, and beard came striding forward. He had a net scarf on his head and a relatively decent knife hanging on his waist.
"You lazy idiots don't get up to stop people when you see them. I might as well keep you as a dog, and the dog even knows how to bark twice."
The men lying on the ground were scolded by this man, and most of them still looked dull and dull. Only one of the older men did not stop catching lice in his hands, and he finally replied: "Master Liu, you are a woman, so I am afraid." .”
Zheng Haizhu did not dismount, but only bowed his hand to the bearded man and said, "I have met Mr. Liu Jun."
She had planned to ride a horse today, so she wore ordinary quilted clothes and trousers, but the outer cover was the sable armor awarded by Prince Lu's Palace. The maroon horse under her crotch was even more fat and strong. At first glance, she did not belong to a small family. It can be fed.
When the bearded man surnamed Liu saw Zheng Haizhu still sitting on the horse, he was already very angry. However, when he took a closer look, he saw that from clothes to mounts, he could buy several of his titles. He couldn't help but groan in his heart. Mr. Haido's family came to see General Manager Cheng?
He had no choice but to suppress his show of force and said angrily: "I am a member of the 100 households in Jindao Village. What do you want to do with Mr. Cheng?"
Hundreds of households and thousands of households are both concepts of hereditary military households. When military camps were established in the founding of the People's Republic of China, military households were all good at fighting and farming. Nowadays, many military households in military camps in the Ming Dynasty are almost like ordinary farmers. , no fighting power.
Generally speaking, those in the "war barracks" are counted as the recruiting system and are the local combat readiness forces.
Therefore, after Zheng Haizhu came to see it in person and combined with Xu San's previous explanation, he had an idea.
This place looks like a military settlement, but in fact it is the private harbor of the officials in charge of Haiphong Road in Tengzhou.
In the words of later generations, Mr. Cheng stationed here was the white glove of the Haiphong Road officials, and Liu Baihu in front of him was Mr. Cheng's white glove.
A mix of professional soldiers and hereditary hoarders, the war barracks and the local guard station jointly took advantage of Dengzhou's unique seaport conditions to engage in smuggling.
In the last years of Wanli, the governor of Denglai, who had overall military and political power in the area, had not yet been established. Tao Langxian, who was just the governor of Dengzhou, could not control this place.
Just like a mayor, he has no control over the local military district.
Therefore, when Xu San came to report with a grimace yesterday, saying that the boss of the private harbor had been replaced and the blackmail was taken to the sky, Zheng Haizhu understood that going to Magistrate Tao was not only a mistake to trouble Shangguan, but the key point was, It's useless.
Wu Bondang heard that the camp soldiers came out to engage in smuggling and collect benefits. He actually mentioned whether he wanted to accompany him and use Qi Jin's name to build relationships, but Zheng Haizhu clearly refused.
"The prerequisite for building a relationship is that Zhenjiang General Soldier and Dengzhou Haidao are on the same boat. I am afraid that the only time in this life when fighting Japanese pirates is that they can talk about helping each other in the same boat. Now Dengzhou Haidao earns his own money and mentions the commanders of other battalions. It will only be self-defeating.”
Zheng Haizhu said this, and added: "You are the head of our intelligence agency. The closer you are to Liaohai, the less likely you are to show up."
At this moment, when Liu Baihu's arrogance was lowered, Zheng Haizhu got off the horse and said harmoniously: "My surname is Zheng. I used to have some goods here to get some convenience. Yesterday, I heard my man came back and said that there is a new guy here. Sir. I am coming to visit you today."
As she said this, Shi Shiran led the horse forward. When Liu Baihu came up, he stuffed a piece of silver into his hand.
When Liu Baihu took the money, he was more suspicious than happy.
He asked, "Is that Xu San who brought the cakes and rice dumplings to you early in the morning?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded: "That's my guy."
"Ah?" Liu Baihu was shocked, "Zheng Dong's family, your home is in Liaodong. It was Mao Shouwei who contacted you, right?"
"Exactly."
"Oh, Wu Na Xu San, you just told me that their boss from the south is here this time, and his surname is Zheng. But I didn't expect that it's this person, this person..."
Zheng Haizhu smiled calmly: "Master Liu didn't expect that she was a woman. How can I not keep an eye on Uncle Mao's business whenever I have time?"
Liu Baihu no longer dwelled on the strange news about the woman running a business, but quickly turned his face solemnly: "Dr. Zheng, I can't take your money. I have two brothers across the sea, and one has died* Mao Shoubei has it in **'s hands. We know that Mao Shoubei dared to fight ***, so we would take care of Mao Shoubei's goods before. But now that the general manager has been replaced with a new one, the amount charged is a big one, and there is nothing we can do about it. .”
Zheng Haizhu showed an expression of "I also know your difficulties."
In fact, on this trip to the north, because Zheng Haizhu personally led the team, Xu San had already reported to her that the person smuggled to Mao Wenlong at the seaport was a householder from Jindao Tun, named Liu.
Just now, Zheng Haizhu didn't explain his origins clearly when he came up. He just wanted to weigh Liu Baihu.
At this time, Zheng Haizhu sincerely pushed back Liu Baihu's hand that handed over the money: "It's not for Master Liu. I don't know what kind of headdress Sister-in-law Liu and her two eldest nieces like, so I don't dare to buy it blindly." If Mr. Liu doesn't accept it, I can only ask the few at the back where Mr. Liu lives and send it over myself."
When Liu Baihu heard this, he found out that the other party even knew about his two daughters. It was obvious that Xu San, the clerk, had reported this to him, so he respectfully put the money into his lapel and slowed down his pace.
"Dong Zheng's family, let me tell you something. Boss Cheng, like the previous boss, he was not promoted based on military merit. The first one was transferred to another place because of his good career in the background. Cheng The new president is here, and he must give a good performance to the men of Haiphong Road. Who would have thought that a while ago, the imperial court came to patrol the eight provinces, wandering back and forth in the Liaohai area, and many private ports were afraid to leave the ship. . Now Liaohai is about to freeze. If we don’t give you a quick blow, the old men will not have a comfortable life this year. From General Cheng to our military households, no one can even think about living in peace."
Zheng Haizhu knew that the inspector Liu Baihu mentioned was Wang Yaliang.
It seems that the sea water defense engineer is also very afraid of the patrolling censor. Once the censor comes, he will not dare to engage in vigorous smuggling activities.
She then expressed her gratitude and said, "Thank you, Brother Liu, for the tip."
Liu Baihu pointed to the front: "Mr. Cheng has been on duty every day these days. Look, the person sitting at the door is Xu San, isn't he?"
Zheng Haizhu saw that he was saying goodbye, but his steps were stagnant, so he smiled and said, "Brother, please stay, you don't have to accompany me in."
…
Cheng Xin put the hand warmer close to the breast of his chest and lowered his head to take a nap.
But even though his eyes were closed, he was too cold to sleep.
Damn it, the boss in front of me is said to have been guarding this private port for three or four years. Isn't it that he has never encountered cold weather and winter months? He doesn't know how to repair this dilapidated house with air leakage from all sides.
It's coming soon. If we wait a few more days, the Liaohai Sea will freeze over. No matter how much money we pay, all the ships will not be able to leave the port. I will be able to go back to the city and sleep on a hot bed.
Thinking of this, Cheng Xin couldn't help but sigh. He was a dignified seventh-grade military attaché with a mighty and majestic Biao embroidered on his belly. However, the good life he had longed for turned out to be just about not getting cold.
Cheng Xin was originally just a descendant of a run-down military family in the Fushan Guard Station. He rose through the ranks and became the commander-in-chief of the camp purely because of his looks.
Cheng Xin's father-in-law was a wealthy businessman in Dengzhou. He missed his old relationship and chose the poorest but best-looking young man among his poor nephews from the same hometown as his son-in-law. Although the daughter he married was as beautiful as Zhong Wu. It's pretty, but one thousand taels of silver bought the robe of a seventh-grade military general as compensation, which is considered very sincere.
After putting on the robe, Cheng Xin realized that his father-in-law not only expected him to be a stallion, but also wanted him to actually plow the fields.
Cheng Xin has to give it to his father-in-law
I befriended Mr. Dengzhou Haidao, who guarded the private port and collected tolls.
"Mr. Cheng."
A female voice made Cheng Xin, who had closed his eyes to repose, suddenly open his eyes.
Zheng Haizhu, who followed Xu San in, quickly looked at the boss in the light.
His skin was white and greasy, and his body was slumped. He approached so quietly, but the other party actually shivered when he heard the shout. Sure enough, this soldier's rank was not achieved with real swords and guns.
Cheng Xin made a show, sat up straight, looked at Zheng Haizhu, and then at Xu San, who had come to deal with him before.
Xu San said respectfully: "Master, this is our Zheng Dong's family."
Boss? female?
Cheng Xin was startled, but his father-in-law's daily training made him know what it means to be "calm".
"Well, my boss came with three hundred taels of silver and a flag."
Cheng Xin patted a pile of cloth on the right side of his head and said coldly.
Zheng Haizhu saw the black letters on the silver background and the pale yellow rim, and knew that it was the flag of the Dengzhou Sea Road. After the merchant ship paid the toll, if it encountered a navy patrol ship in the Liaohai Sea, it would raise the flag. After returning, Then return to Haiphong Road.
The Navy will pick out the private ships they see and randomly check whether they are false flags. But if the flag is not hoisted, even if it is a familiar ferry in Dengzhou Port, the navy will ask for the flag to be picked up and then charge a heavy fee.
Zheng Haizhu smiled and said respectfully: "Yesterday, my fellow was stupid and didn't bring enough money to pay for the flag. Early this morning, I should have come to apologize to the general, but I didn't want the general's wife to ask me to accompany me on the Danya Mountain tour. We just arrived at this time.”
As she spoke, she placed a three hundred tael silver note squarely in front of Cheng Xin.
Cheng Xin looked at the amount on the banknote, but what he was thinking about in his mind was no longer the money, but the words "General's wife".
"Well, um, Mr. Zheng's family is so polite. The snacks your little boy brought are pretty good. Mr. Zheng's family can have a piece too?"
"Thank you sir, I won't eat. I have to rush back to the city to accompany my wife to the theater."
Cheng Xin hurriedly took the flag, stood up, walked to Zheng Haizhu, handed the flag to her, and asked casually: "From the accent of Zheng Dong's family, I am not a local, which general in Dengzhou has your official certificate?" Good friends?"
Zheng Haizhu said with a hint of joking: "The general's family is not from Dengzhou. He is the general who governs the country from Prince Lu's Mansion in Yanzhou."
Cheng Xin took a breath of air.
He came out of a remote village and followed his wealthy father-in-law to deal with officials. He had already been told the true meaning of various official ranks in the Ming Empire.
General Zhenguo is the same as him, the boss he bought with money. He is not a serious general, but he is a serious relative of the emperor.
When he reacted, Zheng Haizhu had already gathered up the flag that cost hundreds of taels to hang once. He said softly, "I won't bother you anymore, sir," and called Xu San to go out the door.
"Hey, Dong Zheng's family..."
Cheng Xin followed them to the threshold, but saw Zheng Haizhu turning around again, patting the horse beside him, and said apologetically: "Can you please give me some bean cakes for the grassroots? This horse also belongs to the General's Mansion, just now I was in a hurry and lost my grain bag."
Cheng Xin saw clearly a bright hot stamp with a monogram on the butt of the horse that Zheng Haizhu was patting. Although he didn't recognize the pattern, he had seen good horses from various government offices and wealthy families in Dengzhou, and there was a hot stamp on the butt. .
Besides, this horse is fat and strong. It looks better than the horses in Dengzhou War Camp. How can ordinary people afford to keep it?
Cheng Xin quickly called to the sergeant outside to get the horse feed bag.
He put on a smile and said, "This horse is really energetic."
Zheng Haizhu said: "Your Highness loves hunting, and the horses in the mansion are extraordinary horses."
After a pause, Zheng Haizhu seemed to remember something, and turned his eyes from the horse's butt back to the face of the little boy in front of him: "By the way, sir, I have to find a big boat at Lushun later. I will definitely need help from now on." His Highness and his wife are choosing horses in Liaodong. However, I heard that the Haixi Jurchens are also bad, and the horses sent to the horse market are not as good as before."
Cheng Xinxin said, I know, I know, aunt,
You don't need to hint any more.
In just a few rounds, he had figured out that he should return the banknote to the woman first. They had come out of Hong Kong before, and they didn't just shoot the bandits who moved to another place. Did she make up a lie to deceive herself? She could just send one of her men back to Dengzhou City to ask if any nobles from Lu Fan were coming.
But if the banknote is not refunded today, look at this woman's bad smile, and if she really goes to complain to the royal relatives, the consequences will be unpredictable.
Cheng Xin then sighed softly: "Mr. Zheng, it's really hard for you to do business across the sea. It's not easy to make money."
With that said, he stuffed the three hundred taels of silver notes back to Xu San very naturally.
Xu San pretended to be panicked and did not dare to answer. He looked at Zheng Haizhu anxiously.
Zheng Haizhu's expression did not change: "Xu San, the boss is considerate and we must not ignore the rules. The boss has given us an opening, but we can pay less for the flag, but we have to pay it."
Xu San made an expression as if he finally understood. He took the banknote handed over by Cheng Xin with both hands, took out another one hundred tael banknote, walked into the room awkwardly, and placed it on Cheng Xin's head.
