Chapter 98 Whose food do you eat, whose clothes do you wear, whose money do you take, whose words do you listen to, and whose sword do you use as a sword?
Time flies slowly, and the years fly by.
Before you knew it, it had been almost a year since Li Yunze sent troops to the southeast.
His reputation in the southeast is so great that just mentioning his name can stop children from crying at night.
In order to compete for maritime trade rights, Li Yunze went on a killing spree.
Almost all the previous sea masters and merchants were wiped out by him, and the remaining ones were all smart people who had keen eyesight and hurriedly took refuge under his command when the wind came.
Li Yunze took over their supply of goods and their channels.
The fleet of armored fishing boats destroyed and blockaded various ports, wiped out the pirates, and sank many disobedient ghost ships, forcing them to carry their gold and silver to do business here at Zhongzuo Station.
The sea trade business was so huge, and the monthly trade gains were so huge that even Xue Biao, who was used to seeing the treasures, felt his hands tremble.
"Do you know what is the most important thing in sea trade in this era?"
Faced with Li Yunze's inquiry, Xue Biao thought for a while and said, "Do you have sufficient capital?"
Li Yunze shook his head, "No."
"adequate supply?"
Li Yunze shook his head again, "No."
"The channel is clear?"
Li Yunze still shook his head, "You always look at problems from a businessman's perspective, and your thinking is limited. From an overall perspective, the most important thing in sea trade is to have a strong fist."
"Without a fleet of ships blocking various ports and attacking opponents and cutting off access to the sea, who would come to Zhongzuo to buy things?"
"Without the Beijing camp to sweep all the powerful sea owners, how can we control the supply channels?"
"Without soldiers and horses at hand, who in the local government will let him go without causing trouble?"
"What the second brother said is true." Xue Biao saluted respectfully, "Xue Biao has learned a lesson."
Li Yunze laughed out loud, "You are much better than you, Xue Pan, and I have nothing to teach you. In a few days, I will lead my troops back to Shenjing. Everything here will be left to you."
Xue Biao paused for a moment, then subconsciously responded, "Second brother, I have little talent and little knowledge."
"Stop talking about this kind of article." Li Yunze waved his hand, "You are capable and you are one of our own. I can rest assured that I will leave this to you. I have something to tell you."
Xue Biao nodded first, then saluted, "I was about to ask my second brother for advice."
"I will leave Jia Lin to lead the troops to assist you. He will soon send a fleet to Fusang to open up trade routes. There is a lot of gold and silver in Fusang, and you have to get it no matter what method you use." Li Yunze looked a little serious, "Military matters
Don't ask too much, just take good care of the money here and send it to Shenjing City regularly to hand it over to me. No matter who asks for it from you, even if it's the emperor's order, ignore it."
The stern-looking Xue Biao was thoughtful at first, and then solemnly said, "I understand."
Talking to smart people is easy. If it were Xue Pan, even if Li Yunze started talking, he probably wouldn't understand.
"Second brother." Xue Biao took out a wooden box, and after opening it, it turned out to be a bottle of perfume. "This is a very rare treasure from the country of France. Please take the second brother to the Shenjing City and give it to my sister."
"I'm interested." Li Yunze didn't say that I have plenty of these things, and your sister Baochai is not short of them.
He accepted the perfume and patted Xue Biao on the shoulder, "Do a good job, and the Xue family will look after you from now on."
Xue Biao lowered his head with a chuckle, but what he was thinking was that in the future, the Xue family's hope could only fall on Sister Baochai.
As most of the Southeast pirates were put down by Li Yunze, the remaining ones could no longer become a threat under the threat of the armored fishing boats. The bandits were subdued and obediently went to Zhongzuo to do legitimate business.
It's time for Li Yunze to return to Shenjing City.
The emperor was already worried about him. Now he was not only leading troops abroad, but also had a large amount of financial resources in his hands. No other emperor would allow him to cultivate his power abroad for a long time.
Li Yunze actually wanted to tell the emperor that you are thinking too much. If I want to cause trouble, I will do it in Shenjing City.
The army broke camp and returned, this time taking the overland route over the mountains of northern Fujian, then crossing Jiangsu and Zhejiang and boarding a ship along the Grand Canal back to Beijing.
After traveling through mountains and rivers for more than a month, we finally returned to Shenjing City.
Unlike the last time when the southwest was pacified, only King Zhongshun came out of the city to welcome him. This time the emperor personally led hundreds of officials out of the city ten miles to welcome the triumphant army.
The reason is very simple. During this period of time, there were constant border troubles in the North, and all the nine borders suffered successive defeats. The Jurchen soldiers and horses in Liao even broke through and caused countless disasters in Beizhili.
As the disaster continued to intensify, the displacement of civil servants became more and more serious. Bandits in various places gradually became a common phenomenon. Repeated campaigns by officers and soldiers ended in failure.
The successive defeats and the loss of cities and territories left the emperor and the court in disgrace.
At this time, Li Yunze's victory on the southeast coast was very important for boosting morale and maintaining face.
Not to mention, Li Yunze also opened up a rich source of wealth for the emperor.
Li Yunze, who often read the Di newspaper, sneered at those defeats.
It’s not that the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou Dynasty cannot be defeated, but the prerequisite is that you have to give them enough money, food and military supplies.
Military pay is in arrears for many years, civilian officials are everywhere, generals are deducted from their pay, and the military resources are full and excellent on the surface, but in fact they are all rubbish, and even rubbish is insufficient.
Soldiers, let alone fighting, don't have enough to eat. Who will work for you?
In this case, even if Wei Huolai leads the army, he will not be able to win.
The current army of the Zhou Dynasty is very similar to the Ming army in the late Ming Dynasty.
No one can defeat them if they have no soldiers and horses, and no one can defeat them if they have enough soldiers and horses.
The etiquette department has already made arrangements for the greetings and greetings, and everyone is role-playing.
However, something happened during this period that made everyone pay attention.
It was rare for the emperor to be in a good mood. He saw that Li Yunze's soldiers, horses, and armor were well-equipped and still lined up in order under the scorching sun.
Such a strong army made him feel very good. He stood on his chariot and shouted to the soldiers, "The weather is hot. The soldiers should take off their armor to escape the heat~~~"
The sound was very loud, and could be heard by the surrounding civil and military officials and most of the sergeants.
But a scene that embarrassed the emperor appeared. The soldiers wearing armor and standing under the scorching sun did not move at all after hearing the emperor's order!
When the officials had different expressions, Li Yunze turned around and said calmly, "Remove armor."
"Crash~~~" The officers and soldiers took off their armor as the generals shouted "The general has ordered, take off your armor."
The emperor's face was extremely ugly!
In fact, this is easy to understand. The emperor and the court only paid 30% of the food salary to the soldiers, and they often defaulted on arrears. The food distributed was basically old food. The cloth was eaten by insects and rats, and the salt was mixed with a lot of sediment.
of official salt.
The soldiers can now support their families with sufficient pay, and they can also have enough food and clothing, and often receive rewards, all thanks to the money paid by the general, Li Yunze.
They are all very honest and good-natured people.
Eat Li Yunze's food, wear Li Yunze's clothes, and take Li Yunze's money. Naturally, he listens to Li Yunze's words and acts as Li Yunze's knife!
When going through the follow-up procedures, the emperor had a dark face the whole time.
He did not think about why the soldiers did not listen to the emperor, but listened to Li Yunze.
He just wants to kill Li Yunze!
If he can't be killed now, he will no longer be given the opportunity to expand his power in the army.
The grand triumphal ceremony ended up anticlimactic.
After hurriedly returning to the city, the originally planned banquet at the palace was canceled because the emperor was unwell.
Li Yunze didn't care about this at all, and he returned to Jia's mansion with his guards.
This time, everyone in the Jia family finally learned their lesson.
The middle door opened wide, and Mother Jia led everyone out to greet her.
Wang Xifeng, who eats well, sleeps well and is in a good mood, has obviously gained weight.
Seeing that the sullen old lady didn't say anything, she simply stepped forward and shouted, "Welcome the master of the family back home~~~"
Everyone had no choice but to salute and shout along.
Because my heart is not aligned, my shouting is sparse and lacks momentum.
Li Yunze, who was on horseback, saw Mrs. Wang among the crowd and immediately frowned.
Seeing this scene, Jia Zheng hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brother Lian, your aunt already knows she was wrong. Please forgive me."
Li Yunze didn't speak. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where is the eldest master?"
"Brother's fate is great. The imperial doctor saved his life. But he has been unconscious and can only stay in bed." Jia Zheng sighed repeatedly. "As for Brother Rong, someone has decided to be beheaded after the fall."
The hypocritical Li Yunze raised his hand to wipe the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes, but what he was thinking in his heart was, 'Jia Rong, this waste, your plan to kill two birds with one stone has been turned into half a bird by you, what a useless waste!'
He waved his hand, and Jia Mang led people forward and set up two halberds in front of the gate of Jia's mansion.
This is the halberd that symbolizes the identity of the Wu family. Inserting the halberd into the door represents the Jia family's return to the ranks of the Wu family.
Li Yunze got off his horse, strode forward with his head held high, and entered the house from the middle door.
He first went to the East Road Courtyard, ostensibly to visit Jia She, but actually to confirm whether Jia She really couldn't wake up.
After a short performance, he told the Xing family, who no longer had any prestige because Jia She was in a vegetative state, to take care of the elder's nonsense, and then left.
Afterwards, he discussed with Jia Zheng and others to hold a family banquet in the evening, and then turned around and took the long road to Ningguo Mansion.
"Why didn't you see Baoyu coming to greet you?" Li Yunze asked Sister Feng on the way, "Are you trying to get Qiao from me?"
Hearing Li Yunze mention this name, a look of disgust appeared on Sister Feng's pretty face, "Don't mention him, it's really disgusting."
"What should I say?" Li Yunze raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking thoughtfully, "What happened?"
"He doesn't study well all day long and hangs out with some opera singers. It's really disgusting."
Sister Feng gloated, "He got close to the opera singers in Prince Zhongshun's palace, and the prince came to complain in person, which made the second prince faint from anger."
He raised his handkerchief and covered his mouth with a giggle. "When I woke up, I gave Baoyu a good beating. If the old lady hadn't forced her to die, she would have been beaten to death. Now, she is still lying on the collapse to recover from her injuries.
, where can I get up?"
Li Yunze suppressed a smile, and it was clear in his heart.
Rather than letting Dabao Lian harm those poor girls, it’s better to abolish him and let me do it!
"Husband~~~" Wang Xifeng held his arm, her eyes as charming as silk, "I don't care about anything else, but the first one today must be me!"
To put it bluntly, this journey lasted more than a year.
Li Yunze can occasionally go to the modern world to talk about his life ideals with young ladies who make money and spend time with his younger sister.
But Sister Feng can only endure it.
Now that the Ruyi Golden Cudgel is back, can you still bear it?
Turning to look at Sister Feng, whose big eyes were about to burst out with fire, Li Yunzeji shook his head and murmured.
"Looking at your current state, I'm afraid once is not enough."