Yangzhou City is located at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. It can be said to be an important transportation hub in the world. There are many foreigners passing through or staying temporarily.
Therefore, the house rental industry in Yangzhou City is very developed. It is normal for Lu Junbi's family to have two spare courtyards dedicated to renting out.
But bringing this group of brave-looking people to live in front of me made my friend Lu feel a little nervous.
He couldn't help but think of an incident that happened the year before last. Several bandits from other places fled to Yangzhou City and rented a courtyard as a base.
Immediately, these robbers committed several crimes in the city. Finally, before being traced, they abandoned the rental compound and fled.
So Lu Junbi got a little entangled, wondering if he was too Menglang.
Although Lin Daguan carries a lot of money, he is not afraid of finding a place to live.
But there were some clues from the conversation just now, that Lu Junbi should have something to do with the Zheng family.
Otherwise, the Zheng family had just renovated Pingshan Hall and it had not been officially opened to the public. How could Lu Junbi take people to visit it?
So Lin Daguan said generously, "Thank you, my friend Lu Gao Yi! I will be the host tonight!"
Lu Junbi couldn't save face, so he could only take Lin Tailai and his party to Dongguan Street first.
On the way, Lu Junbi no longer gossiped about the great master, but talked with Lin Tailai about the Four Books and Five Classics, writing articles, and poetry.
Lin Daguan responded casually and even improvised. He wrote a poem on the spot and gave it to Lu Junbi.
So Lu Junbi felt relieved again. A person with such cultural literacy as my friend Wang would definitely not be a strongman who would fight and kill.
He brought a few tough followers with him, probably for personal safety when he went out.
Moreover, those few followers all addressed Mr. Wang as "Ziguan". If you were not an educated person, you would never think of using such a teacher-like title.
When they arrived at the place, Lu Junbi sent Lin Tailai to the hospital, handed over the key, and then said: "Friend Wang, please settle down first. I will go and arrange things for the evening first, and I will come to invite you in the evening."
After Lu Junbi and Zhu Naxia left temporarily, Zhang Wen, who was previously responsible for going to the streets to inquire about news, immediately reported:
"There are many teahouses along the streets in Yangzhou. I visited several of them to inquire about information, and indeed learned some information.
I heard that after Bai Ji was brought back to Yangzhou by Zheng Zhiyan, she was specially placed in a villa outside Dadongmen.
I also heard that Zheng Zhiyan bought Bai Ji not for his own benefit, but to use the name of Suzhou Courtesan as a gimmick to do something to increase his reputation."
Bai Meiren is not only a sentimental person, but also the face and prestige of the best man in Suzhou City.
Everyone in Suzhou knows that Lin Daguan covets the No. 1 Scholar Bai. If the No. 1 Scholar Bai ends up falling into the hands of an outsider, it will be a blow to Lin Daguan's prestige.
Lin Tailai sighed: "If we were in Suzhou City, this matter would be easier to handle."
Zhang Wen also said: "If we were in Suzhou, we could break in and rob people directly.
But in Yangzhou guest land, we can't force it for the time being, otherwise we will either be trapped in the city or trapped in the government."
Then Zhang Wen analyzed: "The main reason is that in Yangzhou city, we lack official support, or we lack the ability to solve official problems."
Lin Daguan was very happy and said: "You can realize this, and you have made progress!"
Zhang Wen continued: “So the top priority is to seek official support.
Without this kind of support, it would be difficult to let go, just like Wang Shishi's support for sitting in the palace at the beginning.
Speaking of which, there are many yamen in Yangzhou city, including the government yamen, the salt transportation department, the salt inspection censor's office, and the office of the governor of Fengyang and the governor of Hecao. You can get through any of them."
Lin Tailai asked again: "Do you think it is possible for Zheng Zhiyan to give in to us?"
"Of course it's impossible!" It was Zhang Wu who answered this time. He was a little unconvinced. His brother was becoming more and more intelligent, but he was still a thug.
Lin Tailai encouraged: "Tell me your reasons."
Zhang Wu replied based on his own experience: "Based on the information gathered from both sides, Zheng Zhiyan, a salt merchant, has great ambitions and has a strong desire to further his career.
So he was trying his best to improve his reputation and complete his promotion from salt merchant to rural celebrity.
His current state reminds me of my time a year ago. It was impossible to compromise on the issue of face and reputation!
Moreover, Zheng Zhiyan is rich enough, so there is no point in trying to bribe him, and sitting in the office cannot give Zheng Zhiyan the benefits he wants, so there is even less chance that he will give in."
Lin Tailai asked: "What should we do now?"
Zhang Wu replied: "I have also said that even if you are in the literary world, you must have the backing of force.
A big salt merchant like the Zheng family must have a lot of servants and guards. With just a few of us, it would be difficult to make an enemy, so the top priority right now is to gather manpower.
Fortunately, Yangzhou and Suzhou are not too far away. I am willing to travel day and night back to Suzhou to mobilize a group of people to support!"
Zhang Wen smiled and said: "You can think of problems, but you can't think of them when you are sitting in the restaurant?
If you are like you and think of it now, it will be too late!
Don’t even think about it, what season is February?”
Water transportation, which is related to the lifeline of the imperial court, starts in spring every year in February, and tens of thousands of water ships begin to slowly appear on the Grand Canal.
After the Xuande Dynasty, the main force in water transportation changed from civilian households to officers and soldiers at the guard stations along the way. Therefore, the Cao Army was called the Cao Army. The most important Cao Army was the Yangzhou Guard and Fengyang Guard.
The same goes for Suzhou, which started transporting grain to the north in February, and the main force of transportation was the Suzhou Guards Army.
Of course, the county can also recruit civilians to assist in water transportation.
In fact, under the water transportation system in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, most of the grain was not transported directly from the south of the Yangtze River to the northern capital.
Such a journey is too far, and there are too many unexpected factors that may be encountered. Moreover, the journey cycle is too long, which is not conducive to scheduling, and is very unscientific in all aspects.
Therefore, since the Xuande Dynasty, a number of secondary water warehouses have been set up along the canal for transfer, using a relay transportation method.
Grains traveling north from the south of the Yangtze River often only need to be sent to designated water storage warehouses.
For example, there are many grains in Suzhou, which are designated to be transported to the Shui Cang warehouse in Yangzhou and Huai'an.
The white paper fan of Lin's Society is high up the Yangtze River, and Yu Gongjing, one of the Four Vajras, is standing on the bow of the boat.
The two of them are the chief and deputy leaders of the "civilians" who assist in water transportation in Wu County. They are leading five hundred "civilians" to Yangzhou with a road guide surveyed by the government.
It is said that after crossing the Yangtze River, the terrain becomes higher and higher from south to north, so it is difficult to sail northward and requires the help of civilians.
Among these five hundred "civilians", 300 were members of the society, and the remaining 200 were recruited from the territory to serve.
But the two types of people are mixed together, advancing and retreating together.
Gao Yangjiang, who was on the bow of the boat, was looking forward to Zixiong in high spirits. How many people in the world can have the experience of leading five hundred people on an expedition?
I was so busy in meetings, but everything is finally over, and I can type with peace of mind. I will start adding updates tomorrow to the end of the month!