Liu Baihu, who had paid his dues, was sitting behind his shack with some scraps of silver in his pocket, basking in the sun, planning to go to the city to buy some good goods in a few days with his wife.
His eldest daughter suddenly came and called him: "Dad, Aya and a woman riding a horse are back."
Liu Baihu stood up in surprise and turned to the front of the house. Zheng Haizhu was getting off his horse. He handed the reins to Xu San, who had been sweating from running to find her, and then pulled the woman huddled behind him.
"Master Liu, I didn't expect that this was your daughter Juan. Today my horse heard the sound of firearms and was frightened. It was Aya who saved me."
Liu Baihu was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh: "Are those sailors trying to fire cannons? Oh, I should have warned Zheng Dong's family. There are some big ships in the harbor. Going to North Korea, it is easy for Japanese people to rob them. The sailors are here When in port, I will practice firearms.”
Liu Baihu's daughter-in-law also came over from the backyard and took a look at the sable worn by Zheng Haizhu, and then stared at the Songjiang flare cloth jacket worn by Aya.
Liu Baihu reprimanded: "Silly woman, why don't you show your respects to Dong Zheng's family quickly?"
Only then did the Liu family's wife realize that the pieces of silver she was holding were given by the female goddess of wealth in front of her.
She hurriedly took a girl with one hand, squatted deeply and said thank you.
Liu Baihu saw that although Zheng Haizhu said kindly, "Why are you so polite, sister-in-law?", his eyes were wandering between the two women.
He coughed dryly, touched his nose, and said sarcastically: "Zheng Dong's family, Aya is from the Li Dynasty. My brother from Liaodong saw that she was in trouble, so he sent her to my family to be my concubine. As a couple, we are both hungry. Don’t touch her.”
Zheng Haizhu said calmly: "Oh, she's from North Korea. She's really good at riding horses. If it hadn't been for her just now, I would have fallen into a deep ditch with my horse. Xu San, go to the shop to buy some pairs of cotton shoes when you return to the city. , bring it tomorrow. At this time of year, don’t freeze your toes while wearing straw sandals.”
Xu San responded fawningly.
Liu Baihu, his wife, and their two daughters all wore cotton boots, but Aya had jute straw sandals on her feet.
Liu Baihu is an old cunning man. Why can't he understand the meaning of Zheng Haizhu's words? He curses in his heart: You're a little aunt who can't get married. It's your turn to make irresponsible remarks about my family affairs.
However, he has learned from Cheng Ba's headquarters that Zheng Haizhu and Mao Wenlong are doing business together. Secondly, the most important thing is that they have a special relationship with the Lu Fan clan in the Yanzhou fiefdom and cannot afford to offend him.
Liu Baihu then smiled awkwardly and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Dong Zheng's family is generous to the Bodhisattva. Although Aya is a concubine, she is still my woman. What's more, she has a baby in her belly. How can we, a couple, be frozen?" I'm starving her."
Hearing this, Zheng Haizhu was secretly surprised and looked at Aya's abdomen.
She was so skinny that it was hard to tell she was pregnant.
This pregnant woman did not hesitate to come forward to save people in an emergency.
Zheng Haizhu glanced at Liu Baihu's two daughters again.
The eldest one looks like a girl of 16 or 17 years old, and her second penis has already grown. At their age, they don’t have a younger brother, so it’s probably because the Liu family’s daughter-in-law can’t have a baby.
It seems that what Liu Baihu called "taking in" the North Korean Aya was just to use her as a reproductive tool to give birth to a son.
He doesn't regard her as a human being, and he has no intention of keeping her fed and clothed.
Zheng Haizhu endured her disgust and said harmoniously: "Master Liu, Sister-in-law Liu, and Aya's kindness, I will remember it today. When I return from the boat, I will come to see her again next spring."
Liu Baihu complied, then scolded Aya with a stern face: "Why don't you take off your coat and return it to Zheng Dong's family."
Zheng Haizhu waved his hands, his face even colder: "What else can I give to Aya? Isn't my life worth a coat?"
She bit the word "Aya" very hard, turned around and patted the poor woman on the shoulder: "I will definitely come to see you again."
…
At Shenshi on that day, Wu Bangde, who was at the post station in Dengzhou City, saw Zheng Haizhu coming back and hurriedly went to call the postmaster.
The postmaster came and handed over a letter diligently, saying that it had arrived a few days ago. It was sent from Songjiang Prefecture and took the official mail route. The postmaster was very cautious and must hand it over to me.
Zheng Hai
Zhu opened it and saw that it was written by Huang Zunsu, saying that the piano "meaning between pine and stone" was bought away by an Huizhou merchant for 80,000 taels of silver.
Just a few lines of words made Zheng Haizhu extremely happy.
When she set off from Songjiang, she told Huang Zunsu and others that she planned to rush to Dengzhou during the light snow festival and sail before the freezing port.
It seems that Huang Zunsu knew that she would use Liu Shimin's Xiaokan to share the official post with her along the way, so he tried to send the letter to Dengzhou Post.
Songjiang’s comrades are so awesome!
Eighty thousand taels!
At that time, Emperor Longqing bought rouge, gouache, and silk ribbons for the entire harem, but he only asked the Ministry of Household Affairs for one hundred thousand taels, but he still didn't get it.
Although Huang Zunsu's letter was very concise, only talking about the results and not describing the process in a sentence, Zheng Haizhu could certainly imagine that even the piano used by Su Dongpo could be exchanged for such a big one in just two months. The money, from Huang Zunsu to Wang Yuesheng, to Lu Xiangsheng, must have been painstaking.
That night, at the banquet hosted by Tao Langxian, the prefect of Dengzhou, for the general Zhu Yipai, Zheng Haizhu was in high spirits when he was rich. He enthusiastically introduced to Tao Langxian that he was making an invitation to the court through several gentlemen. Approved artillery casting plan.
As Zhang Yaofang said, Mr. Tao Lang was not a person who ate nothing but a corpse.
However, with his current official position, he could not intervene in the coastal defense of Dengliao, and the soldiers recruited to suppress the Wenxiang Sect also used cold weapons. He was not as exposed to Western learning as Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua, so he was not familiar with firearms offense and defense.
But after hearing Zheng Haizhu talk about the naval battle experience of Spanish ship-based guns, and that the French people in Hao border had begun to cast cannons to arm Macao in preparation for the Dutch intrusion, Tao Langxian immediately thought of reporting to the court, from Shandong The governor came forward and led the Dengzhou magistrate and Denglai Haiphong Road to work together to renovate Dengzhou Water City and add forts.
Zheng Haizhu took advantage of the situation and put forward specific suggestions such as relying on Danya Mountain to deploy crossfire and building a new fortress-style hollow fort outside the breakwater.
Tao Langxian originally heard from Zhu Yipai that a businesswoman from the south of the Yangtze River had played a leading role in smashing the Wenxiang Cult's kidnapping plan. He was still a little confused. He met the real person during the dinner and listened to Jun's talk, and then he believed that the other party really had the plan. After holding two brushes, he said cheerfully: "Miss Zheng, if I really get money from the court, I will definitely ask your firearms shop to buy cannons."
Zheng Haizhu said with a smile: "The common people have promised Wang Yushi that the first few shipments will not be collected. Thanks to the favor of Magistrate Tao, our own artillery instructors and artillerymen will be given a few tile-roofed houses to live in and a few taels to be distributed. Spend the money and it will be done."
Tao Lang agreed immediately, and then asked Zheng Haizhu about the return date for Zhu Yipai to recruit miners. It would be in March or April after the Liaohai Sea freezes next year. He then assured Zhu Yipai that he would arrange the miners at Dengzhou. Easy to contact.
…
Early the next day, Zheng Haizhu and his party said goodbye to Zhu Yipai and his wife, loaded up the goods at Jindaotun Private Harbor, and set sail northward.
In the near winter, the waves in the Liaohai Sea are calm, and the white silhouettes of seagulls pass by from time to time on the blue water.
Not long after, the sailors discovered that the big island they had just passed was Changshan Island. Even if the wind was not favorable, the ship would be able to reach Lushunkou at noon the day after tomorrow.
This made Zheng Haizhu experience it on the spot. No wonder the Ming Dynasty administratively placed Liaodong under the jurisdiction of Shandong.
In an era without steam power, the voyage between Deng and Liao could be so short with sails alone.
So what exactly did Gui Daming do?
If we insist on strategically managing Dongjiang Town (Pi Island) and Lushun, station strong troops like the Zhejiang Army or the Sichuan Army in Lushun, keep supplying military supplies from Dengzhou and Laizhou, and at the same time support the Liao generals represented by Mao Wenlong in Dongjiang Town. . Jiannu only needs to lead his troops to plunder the wealthy western Liaoning, and Liaonan will send out troops to attack their home base of Hetuala, burn supplies and take back Dingkou. How can Jiannu continue to fight westward in one go?
From Fushun to Qinghe, from Kaiyuan to Tieling, from Liaoyang to Shenyang, the vast Liaodong jurisdiction of the Huanghuang Empire was eroded bit by bit by the slave military tribes coming out of the deep mountains and forests, bit by bit every fortress and barrier, and every bit of the city was ravaged. rural.
During this period, there were all kinds of annoying details such as using the wrong people, going to the wrong place, fighting in the nest, holding back, killing good generals, and destroying the three views. Later TV series could have a hundred episodes, and each episode would not have the same flaws.
Zheng Haizhu exhaled from the bow of the boat, closed his eyes, and meditated in the sunshine and sea breeze on the big event that was going to happen in Fushun next April.
Suddenly I heard Mu Zaohua's cry from below the deck.
"Master Wu, Li Daniu, why is there someone hiding in the warehouse?"
Zheng Haizhu suddenly opened his eyes, walked to the cabin, and looked around.
But Wu Bang Bang and three others, escorting a thin woman, appeared beside the wooden ladder.
The woman raised her head.
Zheng Haizhu was shocked: "Aya, why is it you?"
