Chapter 133 The wind is about to rise and the rain
is falling outside the window. Su Ze is sitting in the classroom of Health Education. The sound of the little carrots reading is mixed with the sound of rain and the sound of frogs outside the window. It feels like "listening to the sound of frogs" A piece of childlike innocence.
Under the calm atmosphere of Changning Guard, the tide of war surged. This could be regarded as the calm before the storm.
It has been four days since Su Ze returned to Changningwei from Nanping County, and with the news of the Japanese pirates landing, the atmosphere in Fujian has become even more tense.
All counties under the Yanping Prefecture have begun to implement strict curfews, and have also strengthened inspections of people entering and leaving the city.
Compared with Baizhi County of Nanping County, Fang Zhifu of Yanping Prefecture is busier.
The magistrate of Nanping only needs to defend Nanping County to keep the black gauze hat on his head. The walls of Nanping County are tall and far from the sea. Last time, only a small number of Japanese pirates arrived at the city. Minzhuang leader Li Hu and his people dispersed them. Japanese pirates.
However, Yanping Prefecture has seven counties under its jurisdiction. If there is a problem in any of the counties, the prefect's life will be difficult.
As the top person in charge of Yanping Prefecture, Magistrate Fang took the risk of Japanese pirates outside the city and began to inspect the remaining counties with his personal guards.
The seven counties under Yanping Prefecture are Nanping County, Youxi County, Jiangle County, Sha County, Shunchang County, Yongan County, and Datian County.
Among them, the one that worries the magistrate the most is Datian County in Yanping Prefecture. Datian County was an independent county from Youxi County only in the 15th year of Jiajing. Datian County also has the lowest city walls. It almost fell during the last Japanese Rebellion. Was attacked by Japanese pirates.
The magistrate Fang began to patrol the county with his guards. The number of merchants traveling between cities became increasingly rare, and the ghost market outside Nanping County was also closed.
At this time, Su Ze wanted to thank the New World again. Thanks to them "sending" a boatload of food, Chang Ningwei no longer needed to worry about food.
Su Ze also sent someone to buy a large amount of gunpowder from the Yujia Gunpowder Bureau outside Nanping City. Then, through Lin Xianyang and Lin Qingyuan's connections in the county government, he bought a large amount of the highest-grade Fujian iron from the government-run iron factory. , now that the situation is no longer safe in Yuegang, Su Ze can only find a way to make firearms on his own.
Bad news from neighboring counties came one after another. Jianyang County was once again invaded by a small group of Japanese pirates. I heard that half of the printing shops outside Jianyang City were burned down.
Jianyang is the center of the Ming Dynasty's publishing industry and the richest city nearby. Jianyang suffered heavy losses during the last Japanese Rebellion. This time, people are even more panicked. I heard that the big families who fled back to the city are driving up the price of rice. Jianyang The price of rice has tripled.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Yan Maoqing, who was still in the Qing army in Fuzhou City, quickly ended the activities of the Qing army, and ordered the Fujian Dusi Yamen to send troops to protect him and send the gold and silver he exploited from Fujian to the capital.
Yan Maoqing was the censor sent by the imperial court, and everyone in Fujian did not dare to neglect him. If something happened to him, all three yamen in Fujian would be in bad luck.
Fuzhou City had no choice but to send 500 people to escort Yan Maoqing back to the capital despite the tight defense force.
The reason why so many people were sent was because Yan Maoqing looted dozens of boxes of gold and silver. No one knew how much money Yan Maoqing looted in Fujian this time.
In such a tense atmosphere, the neighborhood of Changning Guard was surprisingly peaceful.
Beishan Village and several villages near Sun Dianshi's home sent young men and women to Changning Guard for training.
Just hearing the sound of gunshots on the shooting range can bring a sense of security to the people of Changning Guard.
In the past few days, Lin Baihu also sailed out to patrol the sea every other day to inspect the situation in the nearby waters.
There are several uninhabited islands off the coast of Changningwei. Lin Mojun patrols these islands every time he goes to sea to prevent Japanese pirates from landing on these islands, and then uses these islands as a stepping stone to attack Changningwei.
However, at present, King Lu's large force is still in the open sea. The recent bad weather is not suitable for the large fleet to sail, which also leaves time for Fujian to prepare to fight against the Japanese.
"Go back and memorize it carefully today, and leave your math homework to me for correction tomorrow."
Su Ze put away his messy thoughts. Today's class is over. He announced that after school, the little carrot heads dispersed in a hurry.
Su Ze put on his raincoat. It had been raining continuously in the past few days. Su Ze was worried about the water conservancy project of Jianxi. He wanted to go to the village entrance to take a look and inspect the river embankment.
In the past few days, Lin Mojun was either out patrolling the sea or staying at the school grounds to train. Lin Liangjun was like a wild horse, and he had a lot of fun.
However, in the past few days, every family has restricted their children to go home as soon as possible. Lin Liangjun had no playmates and began to feel empty and bored again.
When he saw that Su Ze was going to inspect Jianxi, he immediately followed him wearing a small raincoat.
Su Ze walked to the edge of Jianxi River at the entrance of Changningwei Village. The effect of water washing away the sand was remarkable, and the entire riverbed was much deeper.
Su Ze was not lazy, and kept asking people to strengthen the river embankment. Seeing that the rushing water of Jianxi River was firmly fixed in the river channel by the river embankment, Su Ze felt relieved.
Next is Su Ze's acres of fields. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are crops that are resistant to cold and afraid of waterlogging. If the water is not released in time, the harvest will be reduced or even lost.
The few acres of Su Ze's fields were on high ground, and drainage ditches had been dug early. Seeing that there were no problems with his crops, Su Ze took Lin Liangjun back to his family temple.
Lin Cainiang has prepared hot meals. Now, in addition to Lin Cainiang, the ninth aunt, eating at the temple, there are also Yao Chun's family and Xiong Wu who print newspapers next to the temple.
After Su Ze came back, everyone started eating.
"Have the new newspapers been printed?"
Yao Chun said immediately: "Go back to my boss' house and have them all printed. We will have them escorted to the county town tomorrow."
Su Ze nodded. Although the situation was tense, he was not prepared to stop the filming of "The Case" Surprise".
At times like this, the news is more important. Su Ze took out a space on the page of "Surprise" to publish the latest news from Yanping Mansion.
The remaining space on page one and page two is used for the serialization of "The Peony Pavilion". Pages three and four publish articles contributed by scholars in Nanping City. This issue is the article "The Female Number One Scholar" and a parody of a ghost story from Liaozhai. .
At this time, Aunt Ninth asked: "Aze, what are we going to do with those Westerners?"
Captain Alfonso and his party were arranged to be quarantined on a small island near Changning Guard. Seven days have passed.
I have to say that these guys are really lucky. They are all alive and kicking, and there is no sign of illness for the time being.
However, Su Ze did not dare to take it lightly. The incubation period of many infectious diseases was very long, and Su Ze did not dare to put them all in Changning Guard.
But it is not a problem to keep them locked up like this forever. Now that the storm is coming, they have to send people to watch them and give them food and water. So the old man asked Aunt Ninth to ask Su Ze what to do with these Xiyi crew members. .
"I will land on the island tomorrow, Auntie. I am going to recruit these crew members to protect Chang Ning Guard."
"Recruitment? Is this possible?"
Auntie Jiu's heart was full of doubts. Some Xiyi looked similar to evil ghost Rakshasa. According to the guards, Their people said that some Westerners have no idea what shame is and often fight naked. Moreover, they were imprisoned by Su Ze for seven days and even robbed things on the ship. Can they serve Su Ze obediently?
Su Ze smiled slightly. In fact, the crew of the New World were themselves a group of mercenaries.
Except for a few Portuguese crew members and the priest who accompanied the ship, the remaining crew members were temporarily recruited by Alfonso before this voyage.
From ancient times to the present, life at sea has been very dangerous and painful.
Sailing on the sea is tantamount to a big gamble. Sailors in this era are basically desperadoes who go to sea to fight for their lives.
After a boat owner purchases a boat, he hires a professional captain and then gives the captain money to hire a crew.
Every captain has a group of skilled crew members. For example, the first mate of the New World is Captain Alfonso's apprentice, and the ship's priest (part-time ship's doctor) has also worked with Captain Alfonso for many years.
However, it is impossible for the captain to be responsible for every crew member. After the key team is established, Captain Alfonso will ask the first mate and second mate to take money to the port terminal to recruit crew members who are willing to sail.
Some historians believe that the earliest corporate structure emerged during navigation.
The shipowner is the investor and chairman. In the Netherlands and the Netherlands today, there is even more than one shipowner, and there may be as many as a hundred investors on a ship. This is the earliest prototype of a joint-stock system.
Every voyage is similar to the most primitive stock investment. Investors bet that the ship can return with full cargo, and they can obtain high returns.
If the ship sinks, the investment will naturally be lost.
The captain is a professional CEO. An experienced captain can get a large profit from a successful ocean voyage, but a failed voyage may directly lead to death.
The captain uses money to hire crew members, which is equivalent to sharing the risk. Everyone only needs to be responsible for themselves. Everyone uses money to do things. Going out to sea is a big gamble that everyone participates in. If anyone dies, no one should blame others.
After all, mercenaries are paid to do things, and they are all part-time workers. Su Ze believes that as long as sufficient conditions are offered, there will definitely be someone willing to work for Chang Ning Wei.
It finally stopped raining the next day. Su Ze took the guard's boat and landed on the island where the crew of the New World was imprisoned.
Captain Alfonso has been in a bad mood lately.
He had seen greedy Ming officials, but he had never seen Su Ze so greedy.
From the moment he was driven to this island and the New World was towed back to Changningwei dock, Alfonso knew that this Ming officer wanted to take away the ship as well!
Alfonso regretted so much why he persisted in sailing despite the storm. Now that he had even lost the ship, even if he returned to Manila by chance, this failed voyage would ruin his reputation.
But it happens that my life is still in the hands of others.
Captain Alfonso has not never encountered such a bad situation. His ship once ran aground in India, but with good communication skills, Captain Alfonso fooled the local Indian prince into helping him repair the ship.
Alfonso discovered that this princely state occupied a very good port. He reported this to the Portuguese governor of Goa. When he came next time, the Indian prince who had helped him had been driven away. The port became a trading post for the Portuguese.
But obviously, this Ming Dynasty officer was not so easy to fool.
Alfonso's voyage to the Far East was also influenced by Marco Polo's travels.
This great Italian adventurer introduced this rich ancient oriental country with great praise. When Marco Polo arrived in China, it was still the Yuan Dynasty. His travel notes also inspired European adventurers to search for routes to the Far East.
Alfonso now also knows that the Ming Dynasty is not a paradise full of gold, and the Ming Dynasty is not as friendly as Marco Polo wrote, but Alfonso also knows that the Ming Dynasty is a powerful empire, not those bumpkin princes in India.
These days, Alfonso has been thinking about how to communicate with the young officer in Daming and whether he can let him return to Manila.
While Alfonso was thinking, there was movement outside the thatched house. Su Ze led people to the island.
The excited crew members originally wanted to gather around Su Ze and ask for an explanation. However, after seeing the black muzzles of the musketry team guarding Su Ze, these crew members immediately became more honest.
Su Ze went directly to Captain Alfonso's thatched hut. Captain Alfonso thought about countless opening remarks, but in the end he couldn't help but asked: "When can I
return to Manila! Your Excellency Su Ze! You can imprison my crew members as you like, but you can't help but ask." This is not what civilized people do!"
Su Ze said with a smile: "Occupying Macau without permission is also not what civilized people do."
When he heard about Macau, Alfonso was stunned. Why did Su Ze also know this news?
Alfonso judged that Su Ze was just an ordinary grassroots Ming Dynasty officer, and the dilapidated facilities of Changning Guard could also verify his guess.
But based on Alfonso's understanding of the Ming Dynasty officers, it was impossible for those unruly and greedy Ming Dynasty officers to learn other languages.
They were as proud of their language as Pierre was of French.
But this Su Ze can speak French, even Portuguese, and can even speak a few words in Spanish and the indigenous Malacca dialect.
It's crazy. Su Ze just talked to a few people and found out the details of his ship.
The Portuguese occupation of Macau was still a secret that few people knew at this time. Su Ze actually knew about it!
In the 32nd year of Jiajing, when the Portuguese were preparing to land in Macau, they asked for land to dry out on the pretext that the merchant ship was cracked by wind and waves and the cargo ship was wet. They bribed Wang Bai, deputy envoy of the Guangdong Sea Route, and thus landed in Macau and obtained temporary residence and permission. The right to trade.
Being able to open a trade opening in the strict Ming Dynasty, this breakthrough was the Portuguese's biggest gain in the Far East in recent years. However, this news was also strictly confidential, and not many people in Malacca knew about it.
In fact, until this year, the Portuguese were still not allowed to stay overnight in Macau. After they finished doing business during the day, they had to return to the boat to live at night. However, not many people have enforced this ban.
However, the matter of Macau was still a confidential matter in the Ming Dynasty. Only "ones" like Alfonso knew more about this important port in Macau.
Su Ze, a grassroots officer in the Ming Dynasty, actually knew!
What is his origin!
At the beginning of a new volume, I have something to explain, which is a bit long-winded.
This chapter will take us from Nanping County to Yanping Mansion, but the map of Nanping will still be useful.
However, the protagonist will be involved in the complicated situation on the southeast coast. This volume is expected to be longer than the previous volumes, about 400,000 words.
Thank you for your support!
(End of chapter)