After asking Zhuge Nan to send Xu Wenqing to rest, Wu Chengsi walked through several courtyards, headed north, and exited the Governor's Mansion through another door.
Outside the gate of the mansion is Shuiying.
Looking around, I saw ships lining the water, and many soldiers holding wooden hammers and nails, hammering and erecting planks on the ships.
This is a new water camp. Although it has not been completely built, it has begun to take shape.
Among the crowd, Wang Fangyi and Li Duozuo, Qi Ming, were patrolling.
Shuiying was designed by Wang Fangyi.
The reason why Wu Chengsi chose to take Wang Fangyi with him when he went south this time was not only to subdue him to enhance his influence in the army, but also because he liked his ability in water warfare.
In the Battle of Baijiangkou a few years ago, Wang Fangyi was one of the senior generals who participated in the battle. He was highly praised by Liu Rengui for his extremely brave fighting.
Even Wu Mei was a little wary of his combat abilities and transferred him to the Qianniu Guard to prevent him from continuing to gain power in the army.
When Wang Fangyi saw Wu Chengsi coming, he immediately got on the shore and walked quickly.
"General, I have met Your Highness." He and Li Duozuo behind him shouted in unison.
After Yang Sijian was arrested by Wu Chengsi, more than half of the generals in the Dudu Mansion were replaced, and Wu Chengsi transferred many generals from Qianniuwei and Zuowuwei.
Li Duozuo was the one with the highest official position among them, and was recommended by Wu Chengsi as the captain of the Navy Commandery.
Qi Ming was the first to capture He Lan Minzhi, and was recommended by Wu Chengsi as deputy captain.
"How long will it take for the water camp to be built?" Wu Chengsi asked.
Wang Fangyi replied: "It will be completed in another month."
Wu Chengsi nodded, looked around, and asked doubtfully: "Where is Black Teeth Changzhi?"
Wang Fangyi hesitated for a moment and said: "General Black Tooth took a boat out to sea this morning. He vomited non-stop after he came back. He should rest in the tent now."
Wu Chengsi was slightly startled.
How could a man as fierce as Hei Te Changzhi also get seasick?
To be careless, Wu Chengsi thought that he was born in Baekje, a country near the sea, and his water skills should be good, so he specifically called him here.
Originally, Hei Chi Changzhi and Wang Fangyi were planned to be jointly responsible for training the naval forces as the main generals to attack Japan in the future.
Now it seems that I can't count on him.
Without Black Tooth Changzhi, Wang Fangyi alone would probably be hard-pressed to intimidate Zuo Wuwei's arrogant soldiers.
Among the remaining generals around Wu Chengsi, only Han Cheng was able to command Zuo Wujun.
But Han Cheng also has a task, not only to be responsible for public security in the city, but also to be responsible for his security work.
When he was worried, Wu Chengsi suddenly saw Li Duozuo looking at him with burning eyes.
"Your Highness, let me try it?" Li Duozuo said earnestly.
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while and said: "The officers and men of the Zuowu Army are all arrogant. You were not an officer of the Zuowu Guard before. It will not be easy to control them."
Li Duozuo gritted his teeth, knelt on one knee and said: "Your Highness, I promise that before the naval camp is built, the soldiers of Zuowuwei will be convinced by me. Please give me a chance!"
"There are no jokes in the army." Wu Chengsi stared at him.
"The general is willing to issue a military order!"
"Well, the task of training Zuo Wujun will be left to you!" All his subordinates said so, and Wu Chengsi could only nod in agreement.
Hearing the exchange between the two, Qi Ming's eyes lit up.
In the past, when I was following Yang Sijian, I spent every day either having a good time or drinking, singing operas and listening to music. The ability to flatter people was more important than the ability to fight, and being good at martial arts was not as important as being able to drink a lot.
Seeing the scene in front of him, he felt that he had found someone of the same kind. This is what the military should be like.
At this time, Wang Fangyi suddenly said: "Your Highness, our navy currently has a big problem that needs to be solved."
"what is the problem?"
"The number of warships is insufficient!" Wang Fangyi said slowly: "If we only fight pirates, the warships are enough, but if we want to start a war with the Japanese country, the warships are not enough."
"How many warships are there in the army currently?"
"There are four large-scale building ships, six sea swan ships, sixteen medium-sized fighting ships, and fifty-one small-sized warships." Wang Fangyi counted them all.
"Moreover, large ships are suitable for river warfare, offshore warfare, and ocean warfare and are prone to capsizing." He added.
Wu Chengsi thought for a while and said: "All the ships and ships will be transferred to offshore counties to strengthen maritime defense capabilities. After they leave, they will only be used as reconnaissance ships and will not participate in combat."
Qi Ming was taken aback and said: "Your Highness, in close combat at sea, walking boats can protect large ships very well. I think it is better to keep them."
Wang Fangyi and Li Duozuo both glanced at him, raised their hands together and said, "Take your orders!"
Qi Ming was shocked. When he saw Wu Chengsi looking at him, he hurriedly followed: "The last general takes orders."
The military orders were overwhelming. This was no longer Yang Sijian's Navy Commander's Mansion. He almost forgot this.
Wu Chengsi withdrew his gaze and continued: "In the future, the main ships in the army will be sea falcons and fighting ships."
The three of them said in unison: "Yes."
"How many soldiers can sea swans and fighting ships accommodate?"
Wang Fangyi said: "The sea falcon ship can accommodate eight hundred soldiers, and the fighting ship can accommodate three hundred soldiers."
"That is to say, the current number of ships, even if added up, can carry less than 10,000 soldiers, right?"
Wang Fangyi said: "Yes."
"Since you mentioned the shortage of warships, do you have a solution?"
Wang Fangyi said in a deep voice: "The general thought that we could recruit ships from the three major shipyards in Yangzhou."
"This is not a time of war. Will direct recruitment make them dissatisfied?" Wu Chengsi frowned.
Wang Fangyi explained: "Due to the influence of piracy over the years, maritime trade has decreased a lot, and the business of shippers has also been affected. If we can help them eliminate pirates, it will be good for them, and I believe they will not refuse."
Wu Chengsi thought for a while and said: "If we don't recruit people, how much will it cost to buy them directly?"
Wang Fangyi showed a thoughtful expression and seemed to be calculating.
Qi Ming on the side couldn't help but said: "Your Highness, the imperial court's allocation to the Navy Governor's Mansion is decreasing every year. I'm afraid the money in the public treasury can't even buy a Sea Falcon ship."
Wu Chengsi raised his hand to signal him not to speak.
At this time, Wang Fangyi finished thinking and said: "It will cost about four thousand guan."
Wu Chengsi said: "General Li Lang, if I remember correctly, the property we seized from Huofeng Society is about three thousand guan."
"Yes, but Your Highness, wouldn't it be inappropriate if we use this money directly to buy a boat?"
Wu Chengsi looked at the barefoot soldiers busy in the distance, shook his head, and said: "There is nothing inappropriate. I remember there is a rule in the court that when the navy goes to sea to suppress thieves, the property seized can be directly rushed into the public treasury.
.”
Li Duozuo nodded. This was precisely the reason why the imperial court allocated very little money to the navy.
"When we first attacked Changye Island, we deployed soldiers from Zhechong Mansion in Taizhou. Zhechong Mansion was under the management of the Governor's Mansion. In other words, the property captured should belong to the Governor's Mansion."
Li Duozuo no longer had any doubts, he held up his hands and said: "You are right, the governor's office can use this money to buy ships."
"As for the remaining one thousand guan." Wu Chengsi turned to look at Wang Fangyi and said, "Tell those ship dealers that after wiping out the pirates, you can give them the remaining money after the property is seized."
Wang Fangyi nodded yes.
"Let's talk about the warship. The reason why I just said to cancel the warship is because the imperial court is researching a new type of weapon. As long as the research is successful, it will greatly improve our naval combat capabilities."
"This kind of weapon is very large and cannot be installed on the walking boat. This is why I moved the walking boat out of the main warship."
Hearing Wu Chengsi mention new weapons, Wang Fangyi and Li Duozuo immediately thought of the gunpowder in the Shenhuo Workshop.
Although Qi Ming was in Yangzhou, he had been paying attention to major events in the DPRK, especially the Battle of Liaodong.
In that battle, Wu Chengsi used a new type of weapon "gunpowder" to blow up the Korean city wall, and later built the Shenhuofang by himself, so naturally he heard about it.
Therefore, he quickly believed Wu Chengsi's words and was full of expectations for the new weapons he mentioned.
At this time, Wu Chengsi suddenly said: "By the way, I want to ask you something. Is one of the three major ship merchants named Luo?"
Qi Ming nodded and said: "Yes, the Luo family is best at building dragon boats. The largest dragon boat in the country was built by their family. I heard that their dragon boat will also transport sacrifices to Mount Tai for this year's Zen Ceremony."
When Wu Chengsi heard the word "Feng Chan", he was shocked for no reason.
He mentioned the Luo family because he suddenly remembered that when Gao Jun rescued Lu Wei, he mentioned that a woman from the Luo family had complained to him about her grievances. That woman was from the ship merchant's family.
At that time, Wu Chengsi was preoccupied with many things and didn't think much about it. Now that he heard that the Luo family was actually related to Feng Chan, he couldn't help but become vigilant.
In particular, it was Huofeng She who kidnapped the Luo family women.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Wang Fangyi asked.
"I heard that the head of the Luo family was imprisoned. Is this true?" Wu Chengsi asked in a deep voice.
Neither Wang Fangyi nor Li Duozuo knew about it, but Qi Ming knew about it and nodded: "It is indeed true. He was released a few days ago."
"Okay, I understand, you can go and do your work." Wu Chengsi waved his hand and returned to the study of the Governor's Mansion.
After pacing back and forth in the study for a while, Wu Chengsi suddenly thought of many things.
I remember Yuan Shutong said that when Xu Yuanju was framed, it was because the Yan family donated money to the government in the hope of cracking down on pirates.
As a result, when Xu Yuanju used the money to buy a boat from the Luo family, he was falsely accused, saying that the money he used to buy the boat was money donated by the King of Han to the governor's office for road construction.
Yan Mingde also stood up and denied it, saying that he had never donated money to the government.
A member of the Luo family also appeared in this incident, who was also a shipbuilder.
There is no doubt that this Luo family is the Luo family where the woman belongs. No wonder she said that her father was framed.
In this incident, Xu Yuanju and the head of the Luo family were both victims!
Then why did the Fire Phoenix Club arrest the Luo family girl?
What was the reason why the King of Yue framed the Luo family? Was it because he unintentionally implicated this person when dealing with Xu Yuanju? Or was it done intentionally and to achieve what purpose?
Wu Chengsi had a vague feeling that these things were related to the stone tablet built by Huofeng Society.
A line appeared in his mind. The source of the line was the stone tablet. From the stone tablet, three hundred stonemasons were led, and from the stonemason, Zhang Gou was led.
Zhang Gou's father was also kidnapped by the King of Yue, and his father, Xu Yuanju, and the general eunuch Yang Wulian were brothers in the same school.
Then Zhang Gou is connected with Xu Yuanju.
In other words, the King of Yue dealt with Xu Yuanju not just because he was a member of the Wu family, nor just to win over him, but probably for other reasons.
Now that Xu Yuanju is connected with the Luo family again, it seems that the Luo family is also involved in this matter.
In recent days, both the King of Yue and the King of Han have kept a low profile, allowing Wu Chengsi to take control of Yangzhou step by step.
When this situation arises, there are only two possibilities. Either they have admitted defeat and plan to become idle Prince Taiping in the future.
This possibility can be ruled out.
If they were really such people, they would never have been able to firmly control Jianghuai for so many years and keep Wu Mei's outstretched hand out of Jianghuai.
Then there is only one other possibility left. They have other plans, so they are deliberately showing weakness now.
Wu Chengsi had a hunch that what they were planning must be related to this line.
At this moment, a personal guard suddenly entered the study, cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, a letter from Hangzhou."
Wu Chengsi took it and saw that it was a letter from Wang Ji, the governor of Hangzhou.
After quickly reading the letter, Wu Chengsi took a deep breath.
When he was in Hangzhou, Wang Ji mentioned something, saying that a warship was ordered to go to Yangzhou for business. When it came back, all the sergeants on the ship were killed.
Killed by Chief Shi Qian Deguang.
At that time, Wu Chengsi asked Wang Ji to investigate the matter, but he did not expect that he actually came up with a result.
Although all the people related to this matter were silenced by Qian Deguang, Wang Ji still discovered something strange.
If you take the waterway from Hangzhou to Yangzhou, you can get there in four days.
However, Wang Ji discovered that the warship had traveled eight days from Hangzhou to Yangzhou without stopping anywhere on the way.
When I came back, the speed returned to normal, and I arrived in four days.
Wang Ji also gave his own guess. He suspected that there was a large amount of copper coins on the warship, which weighed down the ship, causing it to move slowly.
Those sergeants were probably silenced because of the discovery of the money.
However, Wu Chengsi knew that the truth was not the case. The warship did haul something, but that thing was not copper coins.
Wu Chengsi put the letter on the desk, strode out of the study, called Zhuge Sanyuan and Zhuge Nan, took a group of sergeants, and went straight to Heicang Wharf.
The place where the warship docked in Yangzhou was Heicang Wharf!
When we arrived at Heicang Wharf, we saw no one on the wharf. It looked like an abandoned wharf.
Walking on the pier planks, there was no creaking sound.
This shows that the wooden planks under the feet are still very strong and have not rotted. This pier should not have been built for a long time.
There is a row of wooden houses to the west of the pier, and these houses are connected to each other.
When I entered the house, I looked around and saw that there was no one inside. It was as empty as a gymnasium.
Zhugenan wiped his fingers on the ground and blew out a cloud of dust.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid that after Brother Gao rescued the people, everyone here evacuated and probably never came back."
Wu Chengsi didn't say anything, just walked out of the house and looked towards the river.
Although the pier was empty, the lights on the river were brightly lit, illuminating the river very brightly.
The number of ships was more than expected. There was a fork on the river. This wharf was built at the fork. An artificial river intersected with the Yangtze River at the fork.
Looking across the river, I saw lights soaring into the sky, and bursts of rough and noisy sounds drifting over in the autumn wind.
There is also a pier opposite, which is different from the deserted Heicang Pier, and has a lively scene.
After Wu Chengsi looked around the river, his eyes stopped on the smaller artificial river and asked: "Where does that river lead to?"
Zhugenan came to Yangzhou for the first time, so naturally he couldn't answer the question and looked at his adoptive father.
Zhuge Sanyuan squinted his eyes for a while and said, "Your Highness, that should be Hangou."
Wu Chengsi's heart moved. Hangou is a section of the artificial river connecting the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River in the Sui and Tang Dynasty Grand Canal. After Hangou, it is the Bianhe River, which is directly connected to the Yellow River.
"You can go directly to Mount Tai Palace from here," Wu Chengsi said leisurely.
Zhuge Sanyuan smiled and said: "Yes, it only takes eight days by water from here to the Taishan Palace."
Wu Chengsi looked at the river silently, his chest heaving violently, his eyes shining with a deep light.
"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?" Zhugenan asked doubtfully.
Wu Chengsi shook his head: "Nothing, let's go back."
Returning to the Governor's Mansion, Wu Chengsi kicked out all his guards and stayed alone in the study.
All night long, the lights in the study room of the Dudu Mansion were not extinguished.
Early the next morning, Wu Chengsi handed two letters to Wei Heng, the captain of the personal guard, and ordered him to deliver the letters to the prince's palace and the princess's palace.
Then I took a shower and ate two large bowls of meat porridge, and my fatigue was instantly gone.
In the study, Wu Chengsi summoned Han Cheng and asked, "General Han, how are you doing in cleaning up the governor's office these days?"
Han Chengdao: "Back to Your Highness, although with the help of Miss Xu, my subordinates have cleared out a group of Yuan Shutong's cronies, I'm afraid there are still some who have slipped through the net."
Wu Chengsi raised his hand and said: "You don't have to do this for now, I will let Zhuge Si Cheng handle it."
"Yes." Han Cheng never asked more questions about Wu Chengsi's orders.
"Now I want to find a credible official of the Governor's Office to question. Who do you think is more suitable?"
Han Cheng thought for a while and said: "Xu Hui, a Hu Cao, should be able to join the army. This man is Xu Changshi's deputy, and Miss Xu also knows him. After hearing that Xu Changshi had been wronged, he wanted to file a lawsuit against the emperor, but Yuan Shutong dissuaded him.
.”
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Very good, ask Xu Hucao to come see me immediately."
An hour later, Wu Chengsi looked at the man in front of him and saw that he was about in his early thirties, with thinning hair, pale face, buck teeth and rat eyes, and a stooped back.
"Your Majesty, Xu Hui, has met His Royal Highness Prince Changping."
Wu Chengsi withdrew his gaze from Xu Hui and went directly to the topic.
"Xu Hucao, there is something I don't understand, and I want to ask you to find out."
Xu Hui bowed and said, "Yes."
Wu Chengsi said: "I looked through the documents and files in the government office and found that during the few years Xu Changshi was in Yangzhou, he not only improved farm tools and formulated more reasonable business policies, but also many roads and bridges were built by him.
Design it yourself.”
Hearing these words, Xu Hui's waist suddenly straightened and his eyes became bright.
"Indeed, it can be said that no one has contributed more to the growth of Yangzhou's tax revenue in recent years than Xu Changshi."
"Then it's strange, why Xu Changshi's reputation among the people is not good, and the people don't seem to know these things?" Wu Chengsi asked again.
For a moment, Xu Hui seemed to be deflated, bent back again, and said with a wry smile:
"You don't know that there are twenty-four teahouses and fifteen taverns in Yangzhou City. These teahouses and taverns have always controlled all the news in Yangzhou City."
"As soon as Xu Changshi finished a good deed, several rumors about Xu Changshi appeared. Moreover, those teahouses were spreading the news about the achievements of the King of Yue every day. Even many of the things Xu Changshi had done became
The achievements of the King of Yue."
Wu Chengsi nodded secretly. In this era, teahouses and taverns were equivalent to the media. By controlling the media, the King of Yue controlled the mouthpiece of Yangzhou City.
After being brainwashed for a long time, it is no wonder that the people love him so much.
Wu Chengsi immediately asked his personal guards to call Zhugenan to the study, and asked Xu Hui to repeat what he just said.
After Zhuge Nan heard this, he stared and said, "I asked you why every time I go to the teahouse to drink tea, the people in the teahouse are always praising the King of Yue. So that's what happened!"
Wu Chengsi said: "If you want to restore the Qingming Dynasty to Yangzhou, you must first bring order to the chaos. Zhuge Si Cheng, I will give you three days to remove these cancers and give Xu Changshi justice. Can you do it?"
Zhuge Nan said loudly: "Your Highness, just wait!"