"Master, that blue-robed civil servant is named Huang Zunsu. It was he who came up with the idea with my second uncle, saying that if he wanted to avoid me from being imprisoned, he would do something ridiculous. My second uncle was eager to kill me. When I got farther, I was sent to Liaodong to be a concubine for that bad old man Qiao Yiqi."
Outside Wusong Pier, in front of an inconspicuous ox cart beside the reeds, Han Xiying said bitterly.
The person she calls "Master" is also a woman, about thirty, with a face like a pancake, single eyelids, and a fairly well-proportioned facial structure, except for the teeth that are a little chipped, and the cheekbones to the lower jaw are covered with thick powder. Covered up a lot of pitfalls.
The woman's name is Tong Xiyu, she is the sister of Tong Yangxing, the owner of Tongjiazhuang in Fushun, Liaodong. She married the Tong family's business partner in Shandong in her early years. She didn't want her husband to die early, Tong Xiyu had no children, and her husband's family didn't like her due to her stubborn temperament, so she simply turned back to her hometown in the northeast, Tongjiazhuang, to help Tong raise his sex and make money.
Two years ago, the Tatars were defeated in Fushun. Tong Yangxing, who originally thought that Nurhachi would definitely be able to occupy Fushun, was afraid that his alliance with the chieftain would be exposed, so he burned Zhuangzi and took dozens of people to defect to Nurhachi.
Nurhaci took a fancy to Tong Yangxing, a traitorous family who had traveled all over the Ming Dynasty doing business. Without saying a word, he gave one of his granddaughters to Tong Yangxing as his wife, and gave Tong Xiyu land and slaves.
Last year, Nurhaci, who had recovered slightly, did not dare to attack Fushun again, which was already guarded by Zou Chuxian, so he went north to attack Ye He's tribe in an attempt to unify the entire Northeast Jurchen.
No miracle happened to the Ye He tribe in this time and space, and they were wiped out by Nurhaci in one fell swoop. Buyangu, the leader of the Yehe Tribe, surrendered after receiving Nurhachi's promise not to kill him, but he was still killed by the old chief who had no credibility.
The victorious Hou Jin army regained their arrogance, detoured to a Ming army fortress near Kaiyuan, and suddenly launched a night attack. They actually got a big advantage and killed the guerrilla general Qiao Yiqi who was passing through Kaiyuan and resting in the fort. He also robbed several female relatives of the Qiao family, including Han Xiying.
Han Xiying had half of her face burned in the war, and she didn't speak Manchu like the women of the Yehe tribe. When Nurhachi returned to the royal city and distributed the spoils and women, not to mention the banner owners, even Niu Lu'e really couldn't see it. Fuck her.
Tong Xiyu, who was about to be given a coat as a fertility tool, came to watch the fun and heard that she was crying in Chinese. When she asked curious questions, she immediately asked the Jin people to become a domestic servant.
In the Asura Hell, Han Xiying met a Han woman who didn't look like a devil. She suddenly turned from extreme fear to extreme dependence. She told Tong Xiyu where she came from and expressed her hatred for the Songjiang family and a woman named Zheng Haizhu.
At that time, Jurchen spies at the border came to inquire one after another. They found out that the Thunder God iron lumps at the head of Fushun City were transported from Songjiang. They heard that the Ming Dynasty was smelting this Vulcan weapon there. The scheming brother and sister Tong Yangxin immediately proposed a bold strategy to Nurhaci. Tong Xiyu took his servants who could speak Shandong dialect to Songjiang, and asked the servants to pretend to be recruited laborers and secretly learn the skills of making firearms. Han Xiying, who has been completely changed and should not be recognized, can serve as a guide to familiarize Songjiang with the local conditions, and can also teach the spies to understand Songjiang dialect along the way.
Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Songjiang, Tong and Han discovered that the artillery factory belonged to Zheng Haizhu.
Neither Nurhaci nor the Tong family knew that Zheng Haizhu played such a big planning role in the defense of Fushun, but Tong Xiyu still ignited the fire of hatred towards this woman.
Tong Xiyu firmly believed that if this woman hadn't brought cannons and muskets to the north, Jianzhou Jinlu could have conquered Fushun even without Li Yongfang's internal support. The old Tong family would not have to leave Tongjiazhuang in a hurry, and they might even be able to get more support from Fushun. More acres of land as a reward.
At this moment, Tong Xiyu watched several sand boats with bamboo sails raised and slowly sailed away from the river. She turned back and stared at Han Xiying and said: "The bitch named Zheng seems to be having a good time in your hometown. Even Songjiang Mansion The second master came to see her troops off."
Han Xiying echoed: "My master is right. It is this woman's despicable demeanor that has attracted these men who have never seen the world to do her bidding. However, she was not thinking about it from the beginning. She was the aunt of my second uncle, so she joined our Han family. When the master saw Huang Zunsu, it was impossible to say that he had ever thought about accepting her into the house, and how could she like it? What she wants is probably this kind of power that can move the wind and rain. You have to be strong."
Tong Xiyu pursed her lips and said with a smile: "Ah Ying, master, I can't stand to be a blessing for the Belles. I feel so comfortable now. Only men listen to me inside and outside the room, and I don't listen to men."
Han Xiying, who was once the daughter of the Songjiang family, is now used to Tong Xiyu's unrestrained speech. The man Tong Xiyu was talking about inside and outside the room was her Shandong-born boss Li Desheng. She was afraid that before her husband died of illness, he became her concubine and came south this time, pretending to be a businessman to lure her away. On the certificate, it was Li Desheng who came forward to leave his name.
Han Xiying was possessed and flattered: "Master is naturally much smarter than the one named Zheng."
Tong Xiyu said sadly: "She loves to show off so much. When we finish the matter later, we will drag her to Hetuala to taste the northwest wind of Liaodong."
"What the master said is that with the master's ability, it would be difficult to kill her with one knife in Songjiang? But it was too easy for her."
Tong Xiyu held Han Xiying's hand and got on the bullock cart. Facing Han Xiying, who was lowering her head to adjust her skirt, she said softly: "Do you want to go and see your mother's grave? It's clear now."
"Thank you, Master. I won't go. I'm afraid of complications, and I don't want to be distracted."
"Okay, I have long seen that you are a kind girl. You should think of a way as soon as possible to let Li Desheng's men enter the artillery factory."
…
The sand boat traveled up the vast Yangtze River for two hours and anchored at the southern end of Dongsha Island, where the Chongming County Government is located.
Zheng Haizhu's name has become known to Zhejiang officials in recent years. She now wears the imperial edict of "Mrs. Anyuan". The Chongming County Magistrate will not neglect her and orders the County Magistrate to greet her at Dongsha Wharf.
"Mrs. Zheng," the county magistrate said with a polite face, "I told my nephew when I came to inspect the artillery factory before that the number of hoarding households that Madam brought was around 150. The precedent in the country was 50 per household. acres, but our Chongming and Taicang Songjiang are not comparable, many are sandbanks and salt fields, and the sandfields are not evenly distributed. Madam, let’s see, how about giving each household 30 acres of mature land first?”
Zheng Haizhu thanked her hurriedly. She is the wife of the emperor. The tenants in Zhuangzi do not have to pay taxes. Each household has thirty acres of mature land. It is not a big problem to initially support these small households.
He winked at Wu Bondang again.
Wu Bangdang understood, stepped forward and said respectfully to the county magistrate: "Second Master, we have brought some earthen rituals from the north. Could you please send a subordinate to lead the way for the common people?"
The county magistrate glanced at the big mules that came with the boat, and said in a feint of anger: "Mrs. Zheng's etiquette is too strict."
Then he ordered two servants to come over and warned, "Go to the lord's house first."
Wu Bangdang drove the mules and followed them. The county magistrate personally led the way and led Zheng Haizhu and the Liao residents for two miles to a thatched house.
"Mrs. Zheng, please take a look. This is where a sand bank has just been transformed into a sand field in recent years. There is a pond among the acres of land, but it is no longer salt water. You can raise geese and ducks. Half a mile to the east, you can see the small farm built during the reign of Lord Jiajing. The pier can still be used. I will send a few fishermen over later to teach the households how to go fishing."
Zheng Haizhu pointed politely to the west and said happily: "That small slope is also very good for herding sheep. It's really a good job for the first and second masters to take care of it!"
Behind her, surprise appeared on the faces of the Liao people who were tired and exhausted.
They originally thought that when they arrived on Chongming Island, they would cut down trees and build a shack by themselves, but they didn't expect that they already had a house and farm tools laid out in front of the door.
However, a man's cry suddenly came from the crowd.
"What's wrong with this brother?" Zheng Haizhu asked the leaders standing in the front row.
The young man came up while crying: "I, when I saw such good fields and the abundant water here, I thought, if the land in my hometown was like this, my parents, daughter-in-law, and children would not be able to bear it. will die."
"Oh, tsk, tsk," Chongming County Magistrate showed a look of unbearability and muttered to Zheng Haizhu softly, "All their family members starved to death?"
Zheng Haizhu shook his head: "He didn't starve to death, he was killed by the Tatars. After Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, abandoned the Six Fortresses outside the Pass, Nurhaci occupied it. Many people in the Ming Dynasty have been farming there since their ancestors. Fleeing back. In order to support their troops, the Tatars pressed for more and more grain. Droughts often occurred in the six forts outside the pass and the grain harvest failed. The Tatars thought that the Han people deliberately hid grain and refused to pay. The Tatars made a rule that if the Han people paid less For one dou of grain, the Jurchen Tatar grain rush officer will kill one person."
Hearing this, the Chongming County Magistrate opened his mouth and was speechless for a long time.
(End of chapter)
