Chapter 37 Characteristics of Ming Dynasty: Forcing the good to be the Japanese
Chapter 37 Characteristics of the Ming Dynasty: Forcing good people to become Japanese
Author: Fat Bird Goes First
Chapter 37 Characteristics of the Ming Dynasty: Forcing good people to become Japanese
Sure enough, as Su Ze expected, the two guys following Lin Deqing did not intend to take action, but wanted to chase Lin Deqing back to find out his origins.
After being reminded by Little Carrot Head, Lin Deqing deliberately took a long detour and quickly got rid of the two following guys.
After the three of them reunited and made sure that no one was following them, they returned to the guardhouse with lingering fears.
Su Ze also broke out in a cold sweat. He was already very cautious, but he didn't expect that he would be targeted for selling refined salt for the first time.
Su Ze later felt deeply grateful that he was in Changningwei. If he were somewhere else, even if he had a golden finger, he would probably have his bones ripped out and his marrow sucked out.
This encounter in the ghost market made Su Ze remind himself again that these are troubled times, not the peaceful and prosperous times of later generations.
As a result, if you want to exchange the refined salt into silver, you may have to go through a lot of trouble.
When Su Ze thought about it, he probably violated the interests of some people by selling salt this time.
This was Lin Deqing's first time selling salt, and the transaction was smooth. The only people he offended were the people who originally sold salt in the ghost market.
But the ghost market only opens at the end of the Lunar New Year, so how can I find out the background of the salt dealers in the ghost market?
With a sad face on his face, Su Ze returned to his family temple, only to find a familiar face sitting in the family temple.
Frowning, he saw that the person coming was none other than Xiong Wu, the leader of Luohanjiao.
After the last fight with the Beishan Chen family, twelve Arhats were knocked unconscious, and they were all carried back to Changning Guard by Su Ze.
I have to say that these people's lives are really tough. The Xiong Wu in front of me was unconscious for half a day, and he was able to stand up and move around after two days.
However, his left arm was broken and is now tied to a wooden board. It is not known whether he will become disabled.
After these Arhats wake up, they will immediately beg Su Ze for mercy.
However, these guys injured everyone in Changning Guard, how could Su Ze let them go so easily.
So Su Ze invited his grandfather and made an agreement with them to open up wasteland on the mountainside. Only after each person cleared five acres of wasteland could they be released.
The other Arhats worked diligently to open up wasteland every day, but Xiong Wu yelled for a rest after doing farm work for a while, and he always hung out in front of Su Ze.
Unexpectedly, Xiong Wu wandered into the family temple early in the morning. But when he saw Xiong Wu's scarred face, Su Ze asked suddenly:
"Xiong Wu, do you know the ghost market?"
"of course I know."
"Then do you know the salt seller in the ghost market?"
Xiong Wu rolled his eyes and asked, "What do you want to know, little Xianggong?"
"what do you know?"
"I, Xiong Wu, know all the prominent people in the county. I can speak to anyone who lives in the lower ranks."
Su Ze said without changing his expression: "You are now a prisoner of Changning Guard."
Xiong Wu just said with a playful smile: "I only have one request."
Su Ze frowned and asked, "Tell me about it."
"I just want to follow my little husband."
"Why do you want to follow me? Don't you see that I don't even have enough to eat?"
Xiong Wu shook his head and said: "Last year, a fortune teller gave me a fortune telling me that if I can meet the noble person of my life this year, it must be you, my little husband."
Su Ze was quite aware of his own charm, but he didn't think that he could accept a wealthy man like Xiong Wu as his younger brother just by shaking his body.
Xiong Wulai is staying in Changning Guard, maybe he has some evil intentions.
But now Su Ze needed his information, so he pretended to be a snake and said: "First tell me the origin of this salt sale."
Xiong Wu smiled and said:
"The man who sells salt in this ghost market is named Zhu Qi. He was once the kitchen owner of the nearby Putian Salt Farm."
As expected, he was a kitchen owner, so he was able to produce official salt from Putian Salt Farm.
"We were once a kitchen household? Are we no longer a kitchen household?"
According to the rules of Lao Zhu's family, once a certain household registration is obtained, the children and grandchildren will all have this household registration.
A Zao household is a salt worker who cooks salt. Is it possible that a Zao household can still deregister?
Xiong Wu continued: "Yes, now Zhu Qi leads a group of Zao households and becomes Japanese pirates at sea."
Sure enough, it was a Japanese pirate. Su Ze sighed, he had traveled through time for so long, it was time to meet a Japanese pirate.
"Then was Zhu Qi kidnapped by Japanese pirates, or did he become a Japanese pirate himself?"
Xiong Wu laughed and said, "Xiong can't tell for sure. Please tell me by yourself after hearing it."
Xiong Wu didn’t show off and said directly:
"This Zhu Qi was originally a kitchen owner at the Putian Saltworks. Although he said his life was very tight, he didn't want to be a Japanese pirate."
"But the Putian Saltworks suffered a disaster last year and was robbed by a group of Japanese pirates."
Su Ze asked doubtfully: "Isn't it normal for the southeastern provinces to be robbed by Japanese pirates? Just because the Japanese pirates robbed them, they turned into bandits?"
Xiong Wu chuckled lightly and said: "My dear husband, listen to me slowly. It is common for the salt field to be robbed. It is a pity that the Putian salt field was robbed at the wrong time."
"Last year, Eunuch Cao, the eunuch guarding the Fujian Shipping Division, had just taken office. He took two thousand salt yin from the imperial court and wanted to go to Putian Salt Farm to pick up the salt. At that time, the Putian Salt Farm said that the salt yin was stagnant and could not produce two thousand yin.
of salt, but a month later the Putian Saltworks was robbed of a thousand tons of salt.”
Su Ze understood immediately.
Please note that in the Ming Dynasty, many eunuchs and the emperor's favored ministers would ask the emperor for a salt guide before they were sent to other places. This salt guide was the bill of lading for carrying salt. After these eunuchs and favored ministers took office, they would go to the salt field to pick up salt.
The Yan Yin stagnation was a situation in the middle of the Ming Dynasty when too much salt was distributed indiscriminately, resulting in the inability to lift salt with the Yan Yin.
The Yan Yin stagnation was a common excuse used in the salt field. During the Jiajing years, the eunuchs from other towns were often rotated. Maybe one day Eunuch Cao would be transferred, and the Yan Yin matter would be postponed.
For Eunuch Cao, a popular person in front of the emperor, before he was transferred, someone would naturally pay to take over his job as Yanyin.
But the bad thing is that just after using "salt to induce stagnation" to frustrate Eunuch Cao, the Japanese pirates robbed Eunuch Cao of a thousand salt in the blink of an eye. Isn't this a slap in Eunuch Cao's face?
Although the eunuchs from other towns in the Ming Dynasty were not as arrogant and domineering as in the Zhengde period under the suppression of civil servants, the eunuch guarding Bosi in Fujian City was also a high-ranking eunuch, so naturally this matter could not be prevaricated like this.
Xiong Wu saw Su Ze's face and immediately said:
"Young Master is really smart and saves Xiong a lot of words. In short, Eunuch Cao has been humiliated, and the Salt Transfer Department can no longer do nothing, so he ordered the Putian Salt Farm to collect Eunuch Cao's two thousand salt within two months.
It also has to be refined salt.”
One large yin is 400 kilograms, and two thousand yin is 800,000 kilograms of refined salt!
This is a huge sum, and Putian Saltworks has suffered a lot.
Xiong Wu's tone gradually became colder and he said:
"Eunuch Cao still refused to give up and sent people to supervise the work in the salt field. It is said that he ordered the salt workers to work in the kitchen day and night. Thirty salt workers died of exhaustion, and several people were too tired when boiling salt and fell into the pot alive.
Cooked to death."
"Eunuch Cao also said that if he can't pay two thousand tons of refined salt in two months, he will charge Putian Salt Farm with Japanese pirates."
"Zhu Qi had always been prestigious among the salt workers. Seeing that he couldn't pay for the two thousand dollars of refined salt, he simply killed the eunuch who oversaw the work and went to sea to become a Japanese pirate."
"Xiao Xianggong, do you think Zhu Qi became a Japanese pirate? Is he a thief of his own free will, or is he a Japanese pirate?"