Fenghou

Chapter 958 The Zheng Family

In the guest hall, Xu Xiantu briefly told Zheng Quantong what happened in the Imperial Study Room today, and Zheng Quantong said bitterly: "This must be Qin Hui's accusation against me in front of the emperor, and he even said that I was collaborating with the enemy? This is clearly revenge on me, right?" Frustrating his attempt to buy insiders at the newspaper."

Xu Xiantu waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about the "Beijing News". After all, it is a newspaper approved by the emperor. Always brooding."

Zheng Tongquan was stunned for a while and said: "This matter is very secret, how could the emperor know?"

Xu Xiantu said indifferently: "This matter is so secret, let the officials of Quanzhou and Mingzhou investigate it, not to mention which boatmen, you think it is very secret, in fact, the emperor has known it for a long time, he is very angry about it, but I have been holding back and waiting for an opportunity, this time Qin Hui's request to arrest you Zheng family members for the crime of collaborating with the enemy is the long-awaited opportunity for the emperor to clean up the Zheng family."

"What does the emperor want to do to the Zheng family?"

"Kill you for the crime of collaborating with the enemy, and take away all the wealth of the Zheng family, you understand!"

Zheng Tongquan's face turned pale, his legs trembled slightly, "And then?"

"I persuaded the emperor, and the emperor changed his mind."

Without waiting for Zheng Tongquan to thank him, Xu Xiantu waved his hand again and said, "You don't have to thank me. If the emperor wants to kill you, I can't save you even ten of them. In fact, it's not me who keeps you, but I move Chen Qing out. The emperor is scrupulous." Chen Qing will turn his face, so he can only compromise!"

Zheng Tongquan breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Anyway, I would like to thank my husband for his persuasion. Without his persuasion, our whole family would be ruined."

He didn't say this, without Xu Xiantu's persuasion, it is very likely that the emperor Zhao Gou would realize his mistake after he killed Zheng Tongquan, but the man could no longer be resurrected.

Xu Xiantu said again: "In the final analysis, the imperial court's finances are too difficult to support the army, so you have to show something and respond to the emperor's compromise, so that he will really let you go."

"I see, Mr. Xu, please tell me! How much money do I need to donate?"

Xu Xiantu raised a finger and said slowly: "I've thought about it for you in the afternoon, you have to donate at least one million guan, and you have to split it into two, half donated to the imperial court and half to the internal treasury."

"I see, I will arrange it in these two days!"

The two talked a few more words, and Xu Xiantu got up to say goodbye and left.

After sending Xu Xiantu away, Zheng Tongquan immediately ordered his two sons, brother and nephew to be found.

Zheng Tongquan paced back and forth anxiously in the inner hall. Since Empress Dowager Zheng died of illness last year, he has felt that he is gradually in danger.

First of all, the qualification for supplying medicine to the palace was suspended, followed by the renewal of the brewing brand at the beginning of the year, seven of his brewing brands in ten states were cancelled, leaving only the brewing brands of three states, which meant that he lost seven of his brewing brands state wine market.

Because alcohol involves fiscal and tax revenue in various places, you cannot transport alcohol from one state to another state for sale. Once found, you will be imprisoned or beheaded.

All these signs show that the imperial court or the emperor has regarded him as a fat sheep and is ready to be slaughtered. This time the emperor extorted 100 million yuan from him. Although it is nothing in the wealth accumulation of the Zheng family, it is by no means a good one. A sign, once the news spreads, it will definitely attract a pack of wolves to bite the Zheng family. For example, Uncle Wei Guo has taken a fancy to the Zheng Tower by the West Lake.

At this time, Zheng Tongquan's eldest son Zheng Song, second son Zheng Bai, brother Zheng Danian, and nephew Zheng Feng all rushed to the inner hall.

None of Zheng Tongquan's brothers, nephews, or nephews have entered official positions. It's not that there is no opportunity, but that it is meaningless to be a petty official. They control the business and assets of the Zheng family respectively.

The Zheng family is mainly engaged in shipping trade, restaurants, shops, pharmacies and other industries, the largest of which is the shipping trade. The Zheng family is the second largest overseas trader in the Song Dynasty, owns [-] large ships, and is the richest third in Lin'an One of the rich merchants, Lin'an's largest spice merchant, the largest medicine merchant, owns Lin'an's third largest restaurant and more than a dozen other restaurants.

Although the Zheng family did not do real estate in Lin'an because the land in Lin'an was basically controlled by the traditional dignitaries, the Zheng family spent huge sums of money to purchase dozens of restaurants, shops, warehouses, commercial banks, houses, etc. in Lin'an over the years. There are so many places to fix wealth on the land.

Of course, the Zheng family has also invested millions in each of Chengdu and Jingzhao, and purchased countless properties, especially the assets purchased in Jingzhao have surpassed Lin'an.

When Zheng Tongquan told his family about today's situation, the brothers, nephews and nephews were immediately overwhelmed, and they all denounced the emperor for being shameless, and at the same time felt deeply anxious.

Zheng Danian said worriedly: "Brother, we must transfer our wealth and family members as soon as possible. Once the news of our forced donation spreads, all the yamen will come to try our best. Donate a little for this, raise a little for that, and if you don't give money, we will clean it up." kill us."

The second son, Zheng Bai, also said: "Uncle Wei Guo came to Zhenglou for dinner again at noon today, and he gave him ten taels of silver as usual. His meal was only a few hundred taels of cash. It is probably rumored in Lin'an that he ate ten meals somewhere. , the restaurant will belong to him, and if it is not given to the government, it will be closed directly."

Zheng Tongquan sighed, "The monks can't run away from the temple. If we withdraw, not only will all the painstaking efforts of more than ten years go to waste, so many of our shops, restaurants, warehouses, businesses, and houses will be gone, as well as the market. Lin'an is the largest spice market, and it earns us millions of dollars in huge profits every year."

At this time, the eldest son Zheng Song said: "Father, we are now in a puzzle and chaos. There are many things that are unclear and unclear. My son thinks that we can seek advice from wise counselors to find the most effective countermeasures." .”

"Conspirator?"

Zheng Tongquan was stunned for a moment, what kind of counselor did he know?

He suddenly thought of someone, and slapped his head hard, it was really wrong, he actually forgot about him.

……

Early the next morning, Zheng Tongquan hurried to the newspaper office and went directly to Wang Mu's room. Wang Mu is Zhang Jun's chief aide, isn't he a very powerful adviser?I actually forgot about him.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw that Wang Mu was frying tea. In the Song Dynasty, drinking tea was mainly ordering tea and frying tea, but ordering tea was skillful and took a lot of time. Once he would go to the teahouse, the tea princess would order tea for himself.

And I usually use sencha, so I don’t need to grind the sencha into tea powder, but directly break the lumps of tea with my hands and fry them together in a pot, which is similar to decocting medicine, but I also pay attention to the heat and water quality.

Zheng Tongquan walked in and took a look at Tuancha tea and said with a smile: "It's actually not bad. Next time, I will give you a few catties of Fengcha. My tea house in Quanzhou secretly makes it. It is usually a tribute, but I can also enjoy it."

Wang Mu smiled and said: "I will remember this, it is best to have another set of Jianyao black lamps, I will be grateful."

"I have, I have several sets! I will give one set to my brother Shaofu later."

Wang Mu hurriedly cupped his hands, "Thank you very much!"

Zheng Tongquan smiled and said nothing, he knew that Wang Mu had misunderstood and thought it was a folk kiln, and the Jianzhan he gave him was a high-quality official kiln, so let him surprise him then!

"I have an important matter, and I want to ask my brother from the Shaofu."

"Master Zheng, please sit down and talk!"

Zheng Tongquan went over to close the door, his expression became serious, he told Wang Mu in detail what happened yesterday, and finally sighed: "The Zheng family is at the point of life and death, I am in a state of confusion, I don't know what to do. It’s good to do it, I implore sir to make up my mind for me, should I withdraw or what should I do?”

Wang Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Proprietor Zheng is really at great risk now. If he can save money and avoid disaster, that's fine, but even if he loses money, he will not be able to avoid disaster. The government's financial gap is getting bigger and bigger, so we will continue to play the Zheng family's ideas."

Zheng Tongquan was stunned, "Then there is no other way?"

Wang Mu smiled slightly: "Since the proprietor came to ask me for advice, of course I have to find a way for the proprietor."

"any solution?"

"There are two ways to go. First, transfer the family, gold and silver and other wealth to Quanzhou, and turn Quanzhou into the foundation of the Zheng family. After all, Quanzhou is in the hands of King Yong and can protect the Zheng family. help!"

"Will it be useful to ask King Yong for help? He is so far away!"

Wang Mu said indifferently: "Why did the Son of Heaven compromise in the end? Isn't it because he was worried about tearing up his face with King Yong? Since even the Son of Heaven is afraid of King Yong, don't others? Member, does he still dare to come to eat?"

For a moment, Zheng Tongquan was like a dream, he seemed to wake up, but he was still in a daze.

Chapter 959 Explosion-proof

On the special military wharf to the north of Lin'an City, thousands of civilians were loading large boxes onto the boat. The boxes were full of various firearms and barrels of gunpowder.

Although Liu Qiren, the military supervisory officer, was very reluctant, he still did not dare to disobey the holy will. The emperor approved Zhang Jun's request. Liu Qiren had to follow Zhang Jun's request and deliver the amount of firearms and gunpowder applied for to the designated place within the specified time. place.

On the pier, Liu Qiren asked: "Why did Xuanfu envoy send the firearms and gunpowder to Dangtu County? Can't I just send them to Luzhou?"

Zhang Jun laughed dryly. This was Chen Qing's request. Of course he could only send it to Dangtu County. Chen Qing offered to exchange 15 barrels of kerosene for [-] catties of gunpowder. Zhang Jun agreed without hesitation. But he attaches great importance to kerosene. If he hadn't used kerosene to defend Hefei City last year, he really couldn't report his duties yesterday.

Zhang Jun had no choice but to say vaguely: "Liu Jianling doesn't know something. My military warehouse is undergoing a large-scale inspection to confirm the real objects and improve the account books. Therefore, this batch of firearms and gunpowder cannot be sent to be mixed together. They can only be temporarily stored." In Dangtu County, if there is an urgent need for the army, they can go through the formalities in Dangtu County to take it away."

"I remember that the original Dangtu County was very dilapidated, but since last year, I heard that there was a lot of construction work there, and it was built into a big river port and a big warehouse. The business has become very prosperous. Zhang Xuanfu made a big deal!"

Zhang Jun said with a dry smile: "The main reason is that the strategic location of Wuhu Port is too important. Every time the enemy troops enter the hinterland of the south of the Yangtze River from Wuhukou, there are a large number of enemy spies there, and they basically use commerce as a cover, so I decided to Turning Wuhu Port into a military port, not allowing civilian ships to dock, and then using Dangtu Port not far away as a docking place for civilian ships, since it does not affect commercial transportation, it also protects the military security of Wuhu Port, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

"This idea is very good. No wonder the emperor also praised the envoy for being flexible."

Zhang Jun squinted his eyes and said with a smile: "Thank you! Thank you!"

Liu Qiren knew very well that Dangtu spent so much money dredging the port, building wharves, building warehouses, and laying roads. Where did the money come from? Zhang Jun must have paid for it himself. He built Dangtu County into his own private wharf , and under the pretext of military security, all the merchant ships from Wuhu were driven to Dangtu County, wouldn't the wealth just flow in?

In fact, Liu Qiren really did not wrong Zhang Jun. Although the money invested by Dangtu County came from Chen Qing's pocket, the Dangzhang family also got [-]% of the land and warehouses, and made a lot of money by using the port of Dangtu County.

This does not conflict with the interests of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Sichuan and Shaanxi use Dangtu County as a transit warehouse to continuously purchase materials and send them to Jiangling and Bashu, while the Zhang family opens inns, restaurants, brothels, and shops, and then provides storage and supplies. Resupply, also provide fleet transportation, rely on port services to make a fortune, it can be said that both parties get what they need and develop together.

At this time, the steward stepped forward to salute and said: "Report to the supervisor's order, all firearms and gunpowder have been boarded!"

Liu Qiren nodded and said to Zhang Jun: "Since it is the ship arranged by the Xuan Fu envoy, it has nothing to do with me when I get on the ship, please sign it!"

Zhang Jun took a pen to sign and seal, and Liu Qiren left with a group of officials.

Zhang Jun walked to the pier, handed a list to Dong Qun, and said indifferently: "I will leave the rest to you. I hope you can deliver the kerosene as quickly as I do!"

"Please don't worry, the Xuanfu envoy. My Highness said that we have a long-term cooperation with the Xuanfu envoy. They are mutually beneficial and will definitely deliver the goods in time!"

Zhang Jun nodded, "One more free message to your Highness, the imperial court is very interested in Jingnan South Road, Li Gang and Yue Fei have already entered Beijing by order!"

Zhang Jun and Yue Fei have been feuding for a long time. If the Sichuan-Shanxi Army can be used to attack Yue Fei's army, he must be very happy to see it.

……

There is a military city in Ba, called Ba City, with a circumference of about ten miles. The city wall is tall and strong, and there is a moat around it. Various defensive weapons are installed on it, which can be described as easy to defend but difficult to attack.

This Bacheng is actually a training city, and soldiers are trained to attack and defend the city in the way of actual combat. This is also a training that the soldiers are very excited about, but a little scared, because this is actual combat training, and it is normal for wounded and dead people to die.

For example, if you fall from the siege ladder and the city wall, you must be flexible. If you fall into the moat, you will be fine, but if you fall on the dirt, it is normal to break your arms and legs.

But the overall casualty ratio is not high, about 1/[-]. If [-] people train, there will be [-] casualties, mostly injured.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The drums sounded like thunder, and the Huben Battalion was training to attack and defend the city on the east wall. The top of the city was two miles long, and Lu Gui led 6000 people to defend the city.

The attacking party was [-] troops led by Yan Jun, carrying siege ladders and holding shields, rushing in like a tide.

From the beginning of the year, Yan Jun no longer served as the commander of Chen Qing's personal army, and transferred to the commander of the Huben battalion, commanding an army of [-].

The command is also divided into three levels. The deputy commander can lead 3 troops, the commander can lead 3 troops, the superior commander is qualified to lead [-] troops, and the next level is the deputy capital commander, who can lead [-] troops. It can lead [-] troops, and the Shangjun Dutong can only lead [-], and [-] is the upper limit.

But if he is both in command of the upper army and at the same time a Jiedu envoy, he can lead [-] troops.

Zheng Ping was the commander of the capital of the Shangjun and served as the Jiedu Envoy of the Yongxing Army, so he was qualified to command an army of [-].

Yang Zaixing is also in command of the upper army, but he does not have the title of Jiedushi, so he can only command an army of [-].

The subject of today's training is gunpowder keg defense. After the gunpowder was exchanged from Zhang Jun, the Western Army turned all the remaining kerosene into powder kegs to strengthen defense training.

Ten thousand troops charged forward, two hundred steps away from the city wall, Lu Gui shouted: "Launch!"

Forty large trebuchets were launched at the same time, and forty burning powder kegs were thrown at the crowd. "Avoid!" The general shouted, and the soldiers fell down, covering their heads and bodies with their shields.

The gunpowder barrels fell on the ground and exploded one after another. The power of the wooden barrel gunpowder barrel itself is not great, unless it falls on the side of the body and explodes, it will indeed kill people, but if you lie down, the shock wave will hardly hurt you people.

But the real lethality of the gunpowder barrel is the thousands of poisonous nails mixed in it. Once it is shot into the body, it will be poisoned, and the lightest one will lose its combat effectiveness. But if it is serious, if the treatment is not timely, it is almost impossible to escape death.

Of course, it's actual combat training now, although iron nails will be mixed in, but they won't quench the poison, even if they shoot through the leather armor, it's still a flesh wound, and the impact is very small.

The key is to learn how to defend against it. Golden soldiers are not welcome. They will definitely use poisoned iron nails. The gunpowder barrel explodes, and the poisonous nails are shot upwards at an oblique angle. As long as you lie down in time, you can basically avoid the damage of the poisonous nails. .

Chen Qing was watching the battle from the top of the city. He saw gunpowder kegs explode in the crowd, but all the soldiers got down quickly. When the round of explosions ended, the soldiers got up one after another and continued to charge forward with their shields held high.

"Are there any wounded soldiers?" Guan Shigu asked aside.

"There seem to be several!"

Chen Qing saw a soldier lying on the battlefield unable to get up, and waved to the distance. Immediately, a medical soldier came running with a stretcher. It should be that the gunpowder barrel exploded nearby and was injured.

At this time, the second round of gunpowder barrels was fired, and [-] soldiers quickly fell down again. Another forty gunpowder exploded in the crowd. It was a little too early and was trampled by the soldiers behind.

After the second round of explosions, [-] soldiers climbed up again, screaming loudly, and rushed towards the moat. A wooden plank was built on the moat. The soldiers rushed over and put a siege ladder on the city wall.

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" The bell rang, and the first anti-explosion training was over. Today, no siege practice was practiced, but only defense against explosions. The soldiers stepped back another [-] steps, and then restarted the second anti-explosion training.

Not long after, Yan Jun came to report. He knelt down on one knee and cupped his fists and said, "This is typical. After the first round of explosion-proof training, our army injured seven people, including one who was seriously injured. He fell down too early, and his left leg bone was caught by his heel. The coming siege ladder was broken, and the other six people suffered flesh and blood injuries. According to preliminary statistics, 21 people were shot by iron nails."

Chen Qing nodded, "Continue training!"

"Follow the order!"

Yan Jun went back and was about to start the second round of training. Today there will be a total of five rounds of training before the end.

Guan Shigu praised: "Eighty gunpowder barrels exploded in two rounds, and at least 21 iron nails flew out, but only [-] people were hit. The defense training was very successful!"

Chen Qing shook his head, "This is just the beginning, and I don't have enough experience. I hope that after the final training, no more than five people will be hit by iron nails in each game."

9 Chapter Sixty Reminders

After returning to Jingzhao, Chen Qing went to Prince Yong's Mansion again. He went to Bashang before dawn. After returning, he had to go to the official room to see if there was anything important.

When I arrived at the official room, it was already dusk, and the officials all went back. The official who was on duty late today was Cai Wenhuan, one of the many court officials who came to join him some time ago, a native of Quanzhou, a Jinshi Tanhua in the second year of Shaoxing, about 30 years old In the early stage, it was also because he was unwilling to abandon his wife, so he had no backstage background and strong financial resources, and he was weak in promotion. In addition, he was upright. He wrote to the emperor to criticize Qin Hui for betraying the country, and was retaliated by Qin Hui. make.

Cai Wenhuan's calligraphy is excellent, his articles are clear, and he has a thorough understanding of the problem. Jiang Yanxian recommended him to Chen Qing. Chen Qing used him to serve as a recorder for Xiban and joined the army, and he was named Zheng Liupin Chaofenglang.

The eastern class is in charge of documents, and the western class is in charge of intelligence. Currently, Zhang Xuan is the military officer in the eastern class, and Zhang Xuan is also transferred from the western class. Zhang Xuan's successor.

As for Chao Qing, although Chen Qing valued him, he was too young, only 22 years old. Although he had outstanding talents and learning, his qualifications were not enough to convince the public.

Chen Qing entered the official room and saw that Cai Wenhuan was still sorting out the paperwork, so he asked with a smile, "Is Cai Canjun on duty today?"

"Exactly!"

Cai Wenhuan took a copy of the pigeon letter in a red envelope, "It was delivered this afternoon, from Lin'an, there are two pigeon letters in total, and I copied it into one copy."

Chen Qing returned to his official room, took out the pigeon letter and read it carefully. It was sent by Hu Yun. There were two main things. One was that Zhang Jun hinted that the imperial court might use Li Gang and Yue Fei to attack South Jing South Road, and the other was that Zheng Tongquan was killed. A pack of wolves is waiting around, asking for help.