Life is always full of surprises, and surprises are not always surprises.
Yin Feng's net worth increased greatly during this period. Through this business with the Tomar, he earned a total of nearly 300 taels of silver from commissions and his own investment. Recently, the Zeng family paid him 100 taels of silver as wages. It is said that there are also
New Year red envelopes are available.
Yazhou is not a treaty port. Even if it is a legal port, Chinese merchants cannot directly buy and sell goods with overseas merchant ships. They must trade indirectly through official Yazhou. As soon as Yin Feng came to Yazhou in the Ming Dynasty, he committed smuggling across the ocean.
However, not only did he have no sense of guilt, government officials like Zeng Qi also encouraged and used him to engage in smuggling business.
When Yin Feng made a desperate move to find the Portuguese, he was still somewhat concerned about the court's laws - he knew the story of the Ming Dynasty's sea ban. But things developed unexpectedly and went surprisingly smoothly. Yin Feng was not only surprised, but also a little worried.
Today, far away from the emperor, the bureaucracy, local gentry, and the wealthy businessmen who collude with them control all the power and resources here. The laws of the court basically have no authority here. The attitude of the governor is also very distinctive:
He basically delegated the power to the subordinates below to do general affairs. As long as they did not go too far, he would not interfere with them. He only wrote poems and lyrics every day, wrote letters to friends from far away, and occasionally visited places to show concern for the people. Zeng Qi and other merchants gave
His "Chengyi" will all be accepted by his steward, and he will never interfere. It seems that in this way, his integrity and self-discipline can be preserved.
It was the New Year's Eve in Hainan, and the weather was very pleasant. That afternoon, Yin Feng walked out of the side door of the Haoxiao store and went to the Zeng family's mansion next to the government office to attend what was probably his dozens of banquets. But this time it was a private banquet for the Zeng family.
So he must go.
Today is not a day for the market, and since it has been closed in recent years, every household is preparing for the New Year, and the streets in the city seem deserted. This small city has a population of more than 10,000, and even the beggars have gone home to prepare for the New Year.
Yin Feng was walking through the streets and alleys when he suddenly felt a chill in his back. It seemed that he was back to the day when the alley was attacked. He quickly turned around and wanted to walk back to the middle street where the academy was where there were relatively many pedestrians. He had just turned.
After crossing the alley, I found a man in black blocking the entrance to the middle street. He was short, with fierce eyes, and was holding something like a short wooden stick in his hand.
Yin Feng turned sideways and went under the eaves of the alley. He quickly looked around and saw that there was only one person. Logically speaking, there should be someone behind him. He was a little puzzled and thought to himself: He is hiding somewhere waiting for me to turn around and go back!
It seems that it can only compete with the previous one.
The man in black grinned and said in a hoarse voice: "Don't look at it, I'm the only one."
Yin Feng smiled bitterly: "What is my brother doing?"
"I need to give you a stick, I need to get my face back."
"Does it have anything to do with you regaining your face?" Yin Feng almost laughed out loud. As long as it wasn't a sword or a short wooden stick, Yin Feng didn't panic. He resisted or dodged the opponent's first blow and stepped forward.
In hand-to-hand combat, Yin Feng was confident that he could throw away this guy who was two heads shorter than himself using his judo skills.
The premise is that the other party is not a martial arts master. However, Yin Feng did not believe that there would be so many martial arts masters.
This guy was vaguely the one who attacked him from the front that day. In this era, Yin Feng thought that he had never offended anyone, and he didn't understand why this guy was so persistent and wanted to attack him again after 3 months.
"We have no enmity, why do you have to give me a stick?"
"What a joke! How can there be no hatred! If it weren't for the connivance of the Fujian guy and Lin Limu, and the protection of Zhizhou, you would have been my prisoner!!" The man in black said angrily, but did not approach, as if he was not here.
The one who attacked Yin Feng came to quarrel.
Yin Feng was even more confused and confused: "I don't know how and when I offended my brother?"
"Bah, don't pretend to be stupid. You can't leave without giving me an explanation!!" He took a step forward and raised the stick high. Yin Feng quickly stepped back sideways, always facing him sideways.
The direction of his attack. This short barbarian moved very nimbly and approached the stick attack range several times, but Yin Feng was not slow and could always avoid it. The man in black was very depressed. He did not expect that Yin Feng looked like a literary figure.
He's a big, elegant and stupid guy, but he's very agile. No wonder he'll suffer big losses if he's good at sneak attacks.
After going back and forth for a few times, suddenly there was the sound of chaotic footsteps and noisy voices from the direction of the street entrance, and a group of people walked into the alley.
The man in black immediately stopped and ran away. Before Yin Feng could react, he had already knocked away the group of people and ran out of the street. Everyone was in a panic, being knocked away and scattered, and they all cursed. When Yin Feng caught up, he
At the street entrance, no one was seen.
He sighed in confusion. It was a farce. This person said that he had a grudge against him, but he only threatened him with a short wooden stick. It didn't seem to be a sworn enemy. Why did he persevere?
Yin Feng was puzzled by the attack on him.
By the time he arrived at Zeng Mansion, it was getting late.
This was a veritable family banquet for the Zeng family. Those eating together at the table were all members of the Zeng family, as well as the in-laws, Boss Li—Li Gong, and Boss Li’s son, a fat boy in his 10s. Zeng Yue also
He introduced his son, who was only a hundred days old, to Yin Feng. He was also a chubby boy. He probably inherited the genes from the Li family’s maternal line.
The only person Yin Feng didn't recognize was a young man of medium height, fine features, and a calm expression. He looked younger than Zeng Yue.
"This is the adopted brother of my cousin Zeng Shan, Zeng Jingshan, whose courtesy name is Yueqi." Zeng Yue took the initiative to introduce.
It’s really complicated. What’s the relationship between your cousin’s adopted brother? Yin Feng bowed his hands to Zeng Jingshan and saluted. Jingshan stood up and saluted very respectfully. Yin Feng quickly wanted to stand up, but Zeng Qi on the side held him down. Yin Feng
Looking at him in confusion, Zeng Qi coughed and said, "Mr. Yin, my nephew from Jingshan used to run a business in Fujian. Now let's learn overseas trade from you! You can treat him as your buddy, and do your best.
Teach him."
Yin Feng couldn't figure out what Zeng Qi meant for a moment, but now he could only bow his hands and bow before agreeing.
Then Zeng Qi took the lead. Everyone dipped their middle fingers in the cup, nodded three points on the table, and then raised the cup. Zeng Qi especially said "Please!" to Yin Feng and watched Yin Feng wave the flag.
After drinking a full glass of wine, he only smacked the rim of the glass with his lips. (Note: Order three dots - this is an ancient folk custom, or dip your chopsticks in the wine to order three dots. If it is rice wine,
Usually, some is poured on the ground before drinking. The meaning of this custom is to express gratitude to the God of Houtu for producing grains.)
Zeng Jingshan stood up to propose a toast to Yin Feng, claiming that he would take Yin Feng as his teacher.
In the evening, when Yin Feng was chatting in Zeng Qi's study, he learned that Zeng Jingshan was the adopted son of Zeng Qi's brother, an orphan picked up by the Zeng family when they were doing business in the north. At that time, families engaged in overseas trade in various places along the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong often liked
Adopt an adopted son and let him engage in high-risk overseas trade, while the legitimate son of the first wife operates domestically.
Yin Feng suddenly saw several prints on Zeng Qi's desk. The first page was printed with a large-character title: "The Holy Emperor came to present the prisoners and issued the edict for universal celebration!" Yin Feng, who had been engaged in journalism in his previous life, couldn't help but become curious. This text
It looked like the news lead of a newspaper. He picked up the print, looked at it a few times, and immediately judged that it was "Dichao", a primitive newspaper from the Ming Dynasty. This primitive newspaper was mainly produced by some folk literati in Beijing.
It was edited, printed and published, and its main contents were various memorials and decrees from the imperial court, promotions and transfers of officials, and occasionally market rumors from the capital, etc. Outside the capital, people in the Jiangnan area also reprinted and engraved them, so they spread throughout the country.
In fact, it is illegal to copy the imperial newspaper. The "Ming Huidian" clearly stipulates that "those who inquire about the news reported by the title of the deputy seal shall be interrogated by the imperial envoys of the Yamen City Patrol and beheaded in public." However, in the Ming Dynasty,
Zeng Qi, the local magistrate of Yazhou, placed such illegal publications without any scruples.
The Di newspaper that Yin Feng saw was published in about May. It publicized the fact that Emperor Wanli participated in the prisoner presentation ceremony after his victory in the Eastern Campaign against Korea. It also published the full text of the emperor's edict: "Belong to Dongyi
The clown Hideyoshi Taira (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) was ruthless in his subordinates and dared to cause trouble... (North Korea) The monarch and his ministers were destroyed, and the people were scattered. He was in urgent need and asked for troops to come to his aid... Yu Xi! Our country is full of benevolence and benevolence, and those who are obedient
No help will be given when there is no difficulty; righteousness and martial arts will be vigorous, and those who jump from the beam will be killed no matter how strong they are."
"Oh, the Di newspaper said that the Battle of Korea has ended and the monkey is dead." Yin Feng is not sure about the specific time when this period of history happened. He only knows that it was the 26th year of Wanli. Now he finally knows that the war ended at the end of last year.
, the official armistice and the return of the troops to the DPRK to present prisoners took place in May of this year.
His words made Zeng Qi confused for a moment. He blurted out and asked: "Do you know this is the Di Bao? Monkey, what does it mean?"
Yin Feng secretly gritted his teeth and shouted in his heart: "I betrayed the gang again!!"
As a businessman who has just returned from overseas, how do you know about Di Bao, an illegal publication that has a limited range of circulation and is only circulated among the bureaucratic gentry class? What a monkey! I am really stupider than a monkey. I will make mistakes if I talk too much.
!!!
Zeng Qi is a shrewd bureaucrat, and it is impossible to deal with it. Yin Feng secretly gritted his teeth again and said with a smile: "Before I returned to China, I was doing business in Malacca. There were many businessmen from China and Japan there. It was rumored that Japan's Guan Baihei Hideyoshi was nicknamed
It’s a monkey, which describes its small stature and ugly appearance.”
"So there is such a thing, haha." Zeng Qi laughed: "I heard that the Japanese pirates are short, even their king is the same!"
Yin Feng was not interested in correcting his mistake, and continued: "I saw the Di Bao from Mr. Zhizhou, and heard the reason from Master Wan."
He thought to himself: It shouldn't be unusual for Zhizhou to see the Di newspaper. You wouldn't go to Master Zhizhou to inquire, right?
From the next day, Zeng Jingshan was like a follower, often appearing behind Yin Feng. In a few days, it would be the New Year, and the streets and alleys began to have a New Year atmosphere.
On this day, Zeng Yue went to Wanzhou to collect a payment and would not be able to come back until two days later. Boss Li also went to Sanya Port Shuishizhai to collect the outstanding debt. Only Yin Feng and Zeng Jingshan were left in charge of the good business firm. Yin Feng was still writing as usual.
Regarding his overseas travels, Zeng Jingshan was busy outside.
At noon, just after lunch, a servant of the Zeng family stumbled into the business and cried: "The second young master has been kidnapped!!"
Half an hour later, Yin Feng and other relevant personnel gathered in Zeng Qi's government office. Zeng Qi was still giving orders to the clerks: "Take my handwritten letter and go to Sanya Shuizhai immediately; you, go to Qianqi."
Mr. Husolobayashi's place..."
He looked at Yin Feng, Zeng Jingshan, and Lin Songtao, a dark-skinned Cantonese from Honshu's official position, and sighed: "What a disaster!" He knocked on a crumpled paper on the desk.
The paper read: "You, the rich men of the Zeng family, know that your second son, Zeng Yue, the eldest son of the Zeng family, is here. Just because you are rich and unkind, and everyone hates you, we have come to ask you for 500 taels of silver and 100 shi of wheat."
, 100 shi of miscellaneous grains. Within three days and within five days of you, collect all the money and grains and send them to the southeast of Yulingang for delivery. If you are delayed, your house will be burned, your people will be killed, and your chickens and dogs will not be left behind!
"There was a signature at the end: "Li Mao". All the characters were written in a very sloppy way. It took Yin Feng a lot of effort to recognize them.
"Li Mao? Who is this?" Although Yin Feng is familiar with the history of Japanese pirates, he doesn't know much about local pirates in Hainan Island. After all, compared with those big thieves during the Jiajing Japanese pirate period, the influence of local pirates such as Li Mao is much weaker.
Except for the local chronicles of Hainan, there are no records in general history books.
"The local bandits in Hainan during the Jiajing period and the early Wanli period were wiped out by the court more than 20 years ago. Li Mao, Chen Liangde and other thieves' heads were also beheaded in public." This is Lin Limu introducing the situation: "I guess this is
The next time it must be Li Mao and Chen Liangde's remnants..." At this point, he looked at Yin Feng and then at the state magistrate Zeng Qi, but stopped talking.
"Haha, no matter what, the most important thing is to keep the talents first!" Zeng Qi took over and said: "The most urgent thing is that someone has to go to Yulingang."
Local pirates? Many pirates at that time were both traders and thieves. Since they were making a living on the island, they most likely had some business dispute with the Zeng family, the largest merchant in Yazhou, right? Yin Feng's mind turned around and he immediately understood the Zeng family.
In this embarrassing situation, the redemption of people must not be made public.
He immediately said: "Let me go. The pirates have come specifically to deal with the Zeng family. The Zeng family may have gone to give them more hostages. But this group of pirates probably only want money, so it will be no problem for me to go."
…
Zeng Jingshan wanted to follow Yin Feng life and death, but Yin Feng had no choice but to take him, along with ten carts and dozens of coolies, to the trading location two days later.
They arrived at noon. The beach was surrounded by rocks and was not suitable for ships to dock. They did not see any large ships passing by, only some small fishing boats operating on the sea.
Yin Feng brought the revolver this time and loaded it with gunpowder and projectiles - the gunpowder was taken out from the Yazhou arsenal, and the projectiles were homemade lead bullets. Except for the fishermen who led the way, the other carts
The coolies were all dressed as servants of the Zeng family and did not carry any weapons.
Everyone waited boredly on the rocks at the beach for a whole afternoon, with no clue. Yin Feng calmed down and looked at the blue sea in front of him without making a sound. Zeng Jingshan was anxious: "Master Yin, this pirate probably won't come.
It’s almost dark now.”
The fishing boats on the sea have all returned home, and a few seabirds are flying on the vast sea. The sun gradually sets at the edge of the horizon, reflecting half of the sea red.
Yin Feng stood up and asked the fisherman leading the way: "How far is the nearest village?"
"Two miles away, in Fandi Village, there are about 20 households."
"Tonight, we will go there to rest. The group of pirates who kidnapped people will probably come to us," Yin Feng said.
He estimated that the pirates kidnapped people for money, and with the Zeng family's local power, the pirates must be relatively secretive. Before coming here, he inquired along the way and found that the fishermen on the beach didn't even know that pirates were attacking. Of course.
, it is also possible that these fishermen and pirates have something to do with each other, and they are all knowing but not reporting it.
In this case, you can only act according to circumstances.
Yin Feng was awakened by the sound of a noisy fight that night. He and Zeng Jingshan lived in the ancestral hall in the village, and the rest of the gang could only sleep outside around the cart. At this time, the whole village was boiling, and there seemed to be countless people.
During the fight, Fandi Village is close to the sea and is located on a gentle slope facing the sea. The sea can be clearly seen from the stone steps of the ancestral hall.
Tonight, the moon is high, the wind is clear, and there are many stars. Under the dim skylight, on the dark sea, you can see two lucky ship-shaped two-masted sailboats. The rigid sails made of strips and the tall bows appear and disappear in the faint skylight. At the same time,
There were at least nearly a hundred torches flashing around the village, and shadows swaying in the crowded places.