After Xu Weixue paid homage to Qin Zhongtang, he left Ningbo City, crossed the sea and returned to Shuangyu Island, and then immediately went to see Xu Dong, the leader of Shuangyu Island.
Xu Dong knew about Xu Weixue's trip to Ningbo. In order to avoid Xu Dong's suspicion, Xu Weixue took the initiative to ask for a meeting and report after returning to Shuangyu Island.
"According to what I have learned, Qin Dewei mobilized troops and horses to prepare for a big war, using force as the backing to completely subdue the other forces in Ningbo Prefecture." Xu Weixue said.
Xu Dong didn't think much and followed Xu Weixue's words and asked: "How likely are you that Qin Dewei will succeed?"
It's not that Xu Dong was careless, it was just the inertia of his thinking that made him completely unaware of another possibility.
For many years, the coastal defense of the government and military has basically been to patrol along the coastline. They generally do not go far and have never set out across the sea. Moreover, a large part of the government and military's energy is still to prevent people from the mainland from going to the sea.
It has been almost 20 or 30 years since Shuangyu Island emerged, and the government and military have never taken action against Shuangyu Island.
Therefore, in Xu Dong and Xu Qiye's inertial understanding, the officers and soldiers would only guard the coastline, and only meritorious deeds would be considered, and they did not have much spirit to attack.
Besides, Qin Dewei had a huge quarrel with the local wealthy family in Ningbo Mansion, and his acting was quite similar, but it still didn't arouse Xu Qiye's vigilance, and he just regarded it as a "dog bites dog".
Xu Weixue pretended to think for a while and came to a conclusion: "I think Qin Dewei has an 80% chance of succeeding, at least when he is in power."
Then Xu Weixue reminded him "worryingly": "It's not a big problem now, but if Qin Dewei really pacifies Ningbo Prefecture and monopolizes all smuggling forces, then it will be a big problem in the future!
At that time, all sources of goods and smuggling channels will be in Qin Dewei's hands, and Shuangyu Island will inevitably be controlled by others."
After Xu Dong heard Xu Weixue's worries, he said dismissively: "Then Qin Dewei is just jumping around on land and can't care about things at sea!
Seriously speaking, all goods and coasts should belong to the Ming Dynasty, so what happens now? Are we under the control of the Ming Dynasty?
What does Qin Dewei mean? Can he be more powerful than the Ming Dynasty? A man at sea will never be controlled by land!"
Xu Weixue was a little speechless. After getting in touch with him more, he discovered that Xu Qiye was so crazy inside that he didn't even take Qin Zhongtang seriously.
His success over the years has given him the illusion of omnipotence?
Xu Weixue was not qualified to be as crazy as Xu Dong, and he pretended to be very active in offering suggestions: "On the one hand, Master Qi should secretly support the local wealthy families in Ningbo so that they can support them as much as possible.
On the other hand, we must open up new sea trade channels, and I think Songjiang Prefecture has great potential. Songjiang Prefecture itself is an important place for the weaving industry, it is not very far from Shuangyu Island, and the navigation technology is relatively mature."
Xu Weixue said a lot of random things. Sometimes he didn't even know what he was talking about, but he was just talking nonsense.
He had only one purpose, which was to divert Xu Dong's attention so that Xu Dong could focus elsewhere and stop wondering why Qin Dewei mobilized troops.
Xu Dong was said to be a little impatient, "Whether it's Qin Dewei or the government, they are all short-sighted, self-contained, and idiots without a pattern, so there's nothing to worry about!"
On the other hand, your leader, why did you come to the East China Sea this time?"
It turns out that in Xu Dong's mind, things on land are secondary. The person he cares about most is Wang Zhi, a new maritime power that has emerged in recent years.
Xu Weixue quickly expressed his position: "Our leader Wang is only interested in the sea route between Ming Dynasty and Japan, and has no intention of competing with Qi Ye in the East China Sea!
Leader Wang came to Donghai this time just to see if he could control the Japanese here!
In a few days, Chief Wang will arrive, and Master Qi and Master Li will know each other as soon as they meet!"
Xu Dong nodded and warned: "I'm telling you, Chief Wang, don't try to play tricks."
Xu Weixue then went to Lieyu and waited for the arrival of Wang Zhi, the leader of the group.
A few days later, I saw several giant ships appearing on the northeastern horizon. When they got closer, they hoisted Wang Zhi's flag again.
Lieyu had already emptied all other ships and was waiting for Wang Zhi's arrival.
Xu Weixue greeted him at the pier and watched the ship slowly dock. He also saw Chief Wang appearing on the bow of the ship, pointing with a folding fan in his hand.
The leader, Wang Zhiwang, was in his thirties and dressed like a scholar. This was also an important reason for his success in Japan.
The names of other leaders are Qiye, Baldhead, etc., but Wang Zhi's name is Wufeng, which doesn't sound much different from the name of a scholar.
Xu Weixue had always thought that Leader Wang was very classy, but since he had dealt with Qin Zhongtang, who was known as the star descended from the earth, he felt that Leader Wang looked like a local chicken in comparison, and he was afraid of comparisons in everything.
After Wang Zhi got off the boat, Xu Weixue reported: "Xu Dong and Baldy Li have already decided to meet the leader at Lieyu."
But Wang Zhi asked: "Can I meet Qin Dewei first?"
Xu Weixue couldn't help but asked: "I wonder why the leader wants to see Qin Dewei first?"
For an important subordinate like Xu Weixue, Wang Zhi could not say anything, so he replied: "I want to see the attitude of Qin Dewei and the court before deciding how to treat Xu Dong and Baldy Li."
Xu Weixue finally figured it out. Although Wang Zhi and Xu Dong were both big boss figures, they seemed to be two extremes.
Xu Dong was indifferent to the court and the government, while Wang Zhi was extremely concerned about the court and the government.
If it hadn't been for Wang Zhi's request, he, Xu Weixue, would not have gone to Jingkou Station to arrest people last year in order to inquire about the court's movements; now that Wang Zhi has come in person, he wants to see Qin Zhongtang again.
If there is nothing else, it is not impossible to facilitate the meeting, but now Qin Zhongtang is in a state of imminence, just waiting to attack Shuangyu Island, and he really has no time to waste time with Leader Wang.
Seeing Xu Weixue in a daze, Wang Zhi asked: "What's the problem? Didn't you claim to have established a line with the shogunate?"
Xu Weixue bit the bullet and persuaded: "If we want to meet with Qin Dewei, there will be many troubles. Coordination will be very time-consuming. I don't know how long it will take to arrange it. It is better to meet the two big leaders of Shuangyu Island first."
Wang Zhi replied nonchalantly: "I will be in the East China Sea for half a year before the trade wind changes direction, so I am not in a hurry and can definitely afford to wait."
Xu Weixue said helplessly: "Qin Dewei is currently busy cleaning up the local wealthy families in Ningbo, so I'm afraid he won't have time to meet him."
Wang Zhi still didn't think this was a problem, "I can land ashore and go to Ningbo City to meet him in person. It doesn't require Qin Dewei to spare too much time."
Then he scolded Xu Weixue and said, "Look at your hesitation. What are you struggling with?"
Seeing that Xu Weixue still couldn't shirk it, he could only be cruel and gritted his teeth and said: "But you don't know something, leader. That Qin Dewei is an arrogant person who thinks very highly of himself and disdains ordinary people!
But you, the leader, are not well-known in the government and your reputation is not great. Qin Dewei only knows about the Xu brothers, Baldy Li and others, but he doesn’t know about you, the leader!
So Qin Dewei may not have contact with an unknown person at all, and that is the problem."
These few words hit Wang Zhi hard and made Wang Zhi, who was in the limelight, feel very unhappy.
But after thinking about it carefully, I found that what Xu Weixue said was not unreasonable.
His name, Wang Zhi, has only spread in the maritime trade (Kou), but he has not completely left the circle, and it is very likely that outsiders still don't know about it.
Seeing that Wang Zhi had listened to what Xu Weixue said, he immediately struck while the iron was hot and said: "So I suggest that the leader first meet with Xu Dong and Baldy Li from Shuangyu Island, and find a way to establish the brand in the East China Sea. After gaining fame and status,
, think about meeting Qin Dewei again!"
After Wang Zhi made up his mind, he slapped the case and said: "That's the only thing! Let's meet the people from Shuangyu Island first, and the time is set in three days!"
Xu Weixue felt relieved and persuaded Wang Zhihou that Qin Zhongtang's plan could continue to advance.
The time when Wang Zhi met with the two leaders of Shuangyu Island was the time when Qin Zhongtang dispatched the navy to attack Shuangyu Island!
I don’t know how Su Qin and Zhang Yi did it when they traveled around various countries and manipulated people purely by talking. I was dealing with two or three people now, and I couldn’t stand it anymore.
In these two days, the officials of the four major families in Ningbo City jointly went to the shogunate headquarters to ask for an audience with Qin Zhongtang.
I came three times, but was turned away by Qin Zhongtang the first two times, and only the third time I was able to enter the room and see Qin Zhongtang himself.
Even after entering, there was not even a courtesy seat. He just stood and talked to Qin Zhongtang, as if he was being interrogated.
Qin Dewei said sarcastically: "You gentlemen are really rare guests. We can't even invite you. It's really flattering that they all show up today."
The four of them had no choice. Qin Zhongtang had no bottom line in doing things, and he couldn't get peace even if he tried to escape.
On the one hand, a firearms team was brought out for drills every day, and they also searched for places where the four major families lived together, destroying the houses at every turn, causing people to panic, and the major families lost face and became a joke.
On the other hand, he threatened to make a fuss about the college and science examinations and directly destroy a generation of the four major families, which is especially unbearable.
The reason why the four major families were able to run rampant in the countryside was largely due to their ability in the imperial examination. The imperial examination cycle lasted three years. If Qin Dewei pinched them, they would be completely wasted for at least a few years.
The four of them had originally prepared a bunch of rhetoric, but when they really faced Qin Dewei, they found that any words were feeble.
Seeing that the four people were silent, Qin Dewei continued to sarcastically say: "Did you realize that there is nothing you can do?
Want to use force? With just your three-legged cat soldiers, you can bully merchants and defeat thousands of officers and soldiers?
Want to find a dead soldier to assassinate me? I am protected by five hundred elites when I come in and out, and my own food is cooked by my own people. What chance do you have?
If you want to use official power, will you find that the sky is not responding and the earth is not working? Are you unable to find anyone who can suppress me? I found a pair of censors to impeach me, but is it useless?
Want to incite so-called public opinion? But I don’t care about this at all, so what effect can it have?
And have you discovered that many small ship owners and small traders have turned away from you? Have the Three Sea Guards also completely abandoned you?"
Hearing these words in the ears of the four people was very irritating.
If anyone were to be the governor, and they dared to treat wealthy families like them like this, they could use the upper-level power and grassroots forces to push the governor into a desperate situation.
But Qin Dewei, a truly lawless freak, left them with nowhere to start.
Yang Meihuang, an old squire of the Yang family, asked: "What exactly does Qin Zhongtang want to explain?"
Qin Dewei said very coldly: "I don't want to explain anything, I just want to tell you that this church and you blood-sucking cancers are incompatible with each other, and there is no room for negotiation! Please come back!"
Yang Meihuang said again: "After all, what can you do to me?"
Qin Dewei was very surprised and said: "I have done it so obviously, but you still can't see it? First, cut off your path to the imperial examination; second, dismantle your smuggling business; third, eliminate your influence in the officialdom
power."
Zhang Shixing, the steward of the Zhang family, said angrily: "Qin Zhongtang treats us as thieves?"
Qin Dewei said unceremoniously: "In the eyes of this Central Hall, your wealthy families in coastal counties are more hateful than bandits! If we don't clean up you, there will eventually be disaster along the southeast coast!"
The four of them were trembling with anger, wishing they could join forces and strangle the man named Qin to death on the spot.
At this time, a soldier came in and handed Qin Dewei a secret letter.
After Qin Dewei opened it and looked at it, he ordered: "Send me an order to hold the college examination in three days!"
The four of them looked at each other in understanding. Maybe the talent promotion ceremony was an opportunity to cause trouble?
Even though I'm not in good condition, I'm still typing on Christmas Eve. I'm so dedicated. I'm almost touched by myself.
