Zhang Youfu had already been waiting outside the main hall to greet the marquis. He was also an old acquaintance of Xi Yazhou. Every time the county came into contact with the Chuan Chuan Group, he was the one who came forward. Among all the landowners and gentlemen in the county, he had the most favorable impression of the Chuan Chuan Group.
I am a person who has made a lot of money in the past few months.
Welcoming into the main room, there were bright candles inside, and the Eight Immortals table was lifted up and a banquet was set up. A middle-aged Confucian scholar in the main room saw Wen Desi and others come in, stood up and bowed his hands in greeting, smiling all over his face, greeting them
When I sat down, my expression was extremely warm, without any of the formality of the first meeting. Everyone knew that this was the real host of today's banquet.
The person who came was none other than Wu Mingjin's master, Wang Zhaomin. Xiong Buyou had seen the whole process clearly while hiding behind the screen, and he read the letter several times afterwards.
He has been around for many years and has experienced a lot. The purpose of the time traveler's group training for joint defense is clear. He estimated that this group of thieves with unknown origins had the same calculation as Zheng Zhilong, who had recently been recruited by the imperial court: he did not want to fight with
The government is an enemy, but he hopes to occupy a piece of land in the coastal area to do maritime trade business. Similar to Zheng Zhilong's occupation of Zhongzuo.
No matter how smart Wang Zhaomin is and how experienced he is, he would never have thought that the real purpose of this group of people is to replace the Ming Dynasty. In his opinion, not attacking the county seat is the thieves showing to the government that they will not step out of the bottom line -
―In contrast, Zheng Zhilong also occupied the central left city of the imperial court.
Based on this premise, the conditions proposed by the thieves were not too exaggerated. After Wang Zhaomin thought about it again and again, he thought that he could talk to the thieves about the price and conditions. After all, the other party sent more than a hundred genuine pirates.
Giving a head as a greeting gift shows sincerity.
Wu Mingjin was helpless, he was unwilling to do anything, but he was unable to do anything about the current situation, so he had no choice but to ignore the situation. He sent Wang Zhaomin out to negotiate.
If the banquet dishes at Landlord Zhang's house were placed in another time and space, it would be simply a shabby experience for people who have traveled across the sea. However, for these people who have been eating fish and vegetables for several months, whole chickens, whole ducks, and big chickens are all delicious.
Pieces of stewed meat, and a whole roasted suckling pig with crispy and brown skin. This thing alone made the traversers who were short of oil and water salivate at a faster rate.
Naturally, there are also some fresh vegetables and other things, and there are also a lot of drinks, which are local grilled products. However, "raw seafood" and other things are not on the table - there are too many local products, and they are not valuable at all.
Out of the need to put on airs, the eight traveling companions who were accompanying them as bodyguards were not allowed to join the banquet. Only Xi Yazhou and Wen Desi took part in the banquet despite everyone's resentment.
Everyone was squatting in the main room outside. There was a table here, but it was just a virtuous chicken and a few bowls of vegetables. There was a bowl of meat slices piled high on top of the hill. After one person picked off a piece, there was a table below.
It's just fried sweet potatoes, and there are only 8 slices of meat - I only made it after calculating the head count.
However, no one dared to eat anything - after being threatened by several doctors from the health department with the parasite problem, they were still wary of locally cooked food, and at the same time, they were also wary of the possibility of being poisonous. Two people took control at the moment.
There are two people guarding the side of the gate.
Everyone said a few polite words and drank a few rounds of wine as usual. After the two committee members ate a few bites of roasted suckling pig, the topic got down to business. Zhang Youfu was the first to speak. He once again tested the executive committee's request for each village to go to Baidu. Regarding the meeting in Rencheng, he also expressed that the gentry in the county were willing to provide food and salary to the executive committee. As long as a number was set, it would be delivered on time, and they would not have to organize any groups to practice joint defense.
Wen Desi asked bluntly: "Is this the intention of the Ming government or the intention of the gentry in the county?"
Zhang Youfu was speechless for a moment and glanced at Wang Zhaomin in embarrassment. These words were actually asked by Wang Zhaomin, the county magistrate's master. As far as the gentry was concerned, they were not opposed to organizing groups to practice joint defense - the northern part of Lingao has always been very hard to be invaded by pirates. , many bandits in the countryside colluded with pirates to block roads, rob people, and extort ransom. The gentry and tenants suffered a lot. The gentry had somewhat lost confidence in the county government. If there was such a powerful group willing to take the lead in organizing, they would be happy. .
Wang Zhaomin said: "Of course it is the intention of the gentry."
Xi Yazhou sneered slightly: "What do the gentry mean?" He tapped the table with his fingers, "On December 17, what did Wu Ya say to the village elders in Meitong Village? On December 20, Fu Bowen went What did you say about the three villages in Da Da, Mei Yang, and the United States? Just the day before yesterday, your classics went to Bowen Village and said, 'When the heavenly soldiers arrive, they will turn into ashes', right?"
Wang Zhaomin had a sudden heart attack. He didn't expect that these thieves knew everything about the county's actions. He forced a smile and said, "It's normal for county officials to go to the countryside for inspections—"
"We can't control those who don't patrol. It's the adults' responsibility." Xi Yazhou said, "Recently, the county is in a hurry to go to the countryside to catch up with the autumn grain. Maybe there is not enough food?"
"Collecting the imperial grain and national taxes is a matter of course, so why not?"
"The world has been bad recently, and there are many pirates and bandits. We want to have a team training and joint defense, but the adults don't allow it." Xi Yazhou showed a sinister smile, "There is no guarantee that something will happen to the food transport team on the way -"
Wang Zhaomin shrank: He wouldn't be afraid if the other party threatened to attack the city - he would have attacked the city long ago, so why come here to negotiate? It must be just a false threat. But robbing the grain transport team is beneficial to the thieves. , for Magistrate Wu, his life was at stake.
He smiled hurriedly and said: "You are all good citizens of the imperial court. You want to organize group training for the sake of the local people. This matter can be discussed."
Wen Desi took another bite of the crispy suckling pig - the taste was indeed more mellow than what he had eaten in later generations. He said: "Mr. Wang, please open the skylight and speak frankly. Wu Mingfu is always the parent official of this county. As law-abiding citizens like us who uphold the purpose of 'protecting the environment and the people', we will definitely not make things difficult for him. Not only that, we also wish him a 'prosperous future'."
Wang Zhaomin nodded, his calculations settled in his mind, and he winked at Zhang Youfu. Zhang Youfu hurriedly stood up, found an excuse and went out.
Both sides lowered their voices and began to discuss secretly.
At first, Wang Zhaomin only promised that the county government would take a tacit attitude on this matter, but Wen Desi firmly refused. In his opinion, acquiescence and rejection are the same thing. From the experience of another time and space, acquiescence is for the future.
The prohibition leaves a foreshadowing. Although this does not hinder the crossing party itself, each village will have certain concerns.
In the end, the two sides reached an agreement: the crossing party organized a team to practice joint defense, and the county would no longer obstruct it. However, the leader could not be in the name of the crossing party, and had to be the security chief of a certain village. This was not difficult. Wen Desi proposed that Damei should be the leader.
The village proposed to take the lead. After the submission was submitted, the county approved it with a seal.
The crossing party promises: to be responsible for the county's defense against pirates, organize the suppression of bandits, and maintain peace in the four townships. At the same time, it will not interfere with the county government's execution of its daily administrative affairs. If necessary, it will also assist the county government in certain tasks, such as autumn grain collection. If the county government
If the summer and autumn crops cannot be paid in due time, the crossing party will provide assistance - the method of assistance will be discussed later.
The crossing party will continue to pay the salt tax and various miscellaneous amounts at Ma Niao Salt Farm, and an "extra" one hundred taels will be paid every year as miscellaneous expenses for the county. Dongmen City pays miscellaneous taxes of ten taels each year, which is paid by the county.
The government issued a "tooth sticker" to Dongmen City, recognizing Dongmen City's market status.
The two parties agreed that all the heads obtained by the crossing group in suppressing bandits and resisting pirates will belong to the county government, and the same applies to the seized seals, symbols, flags, and documents. Other trophies will belong to the crossing party.
If Fu Bowen is willing to return to Bopu to serve as his inspector, the crossing party will agree to his return. They will also build him another yamen and provide him with twelve archers. The traveling party will bear the miscellaneous expenses.
The county government will provide the crossing party with all conveniences within the scope of the law, such as capturing escaped slaves, recovering debt-ridden tenants, transferring properties and fields, etc. Because there is no Ming Dynasty household registration in the crossing party, Wang Zhaomin suggested setting up a Bairen Village in Bairen City.
Just go to the county and compile household registrations for seven or eight households. In this way, the crossing party will have a legal entity, otherwise all kinds of documents and contracts will not be able to be written.
Finally, it was natural to discuss personal interests. Wang Zhaomin was extremely concerned about this. Not only was he very active in fighting for himself, but he also worked hard to increase the bargaining chip for Dong Weng.
After some haggling, Wen Desi agreed to give Mr. Wang 300 taels of silver and Magistrate Wu 1,000 taels of silver. The two parties also reached a partnership agreement to sell salt in Lingao County and 14 markets across Lingao.
The traveling party is responsible for supplying the goods. As for the procedures and sales of the private change of official position, Mr. Wang will handle it, and the two parties will split the money 50-50.
In order to avoid suspicion, the two parties agreed to use Zhang Youfu as the contact person to deliver the news. If an interview was necessary, the meeting place would be at Zhang Youfu's home.
Finally, Wang Zhaomin also persuaded Wen Desi and others that if they want to move around the county in the future, it is best to wear their short hair and short clothes so as not to be too eye-catching. Wen Desi laughed it off, but then thought about it, maybe it was necessary.
In the future, there will be a lot of things to do to make friends with the gentry and peasants, making our side too special and unfavorable for reaching the masses.
The matter was settled, and the burden on both parties was lightened. The wine was also drunk much more happily. When the wine was intoxicating, Wen Desi presented the prepared gift again. The one given to Magistrate Wu was a goose egg glass.
A mirror was given to Mr. Wang, and a glass cup was given to Master Wang. Each of the other officials in the county was given a freshwater pearl bracelet, the kind sold at the pearl wholesale market for five yuan a piece. According to the information reported by the Guangzhou Advance Station:
The freshwater cultured pearls they brought are very popular in Guangzhou.
Master Wang was naturally overjoyed, these thieves really knew their stuff.
Because it was already dark and the city gate was closed, Master Wang naturally could not return to the city, so he rested at Zhang Youfu's house. Wen Desi finished the work, but was in no hurry to leave. They still had to have a good talk with Zhang Youfu, their contact person.