Lu Ming

I don't want to be at the moment when the atmosphere is warm, but there is a message outside the door: "Report~~~There is an Annan county magistrate outside asking to see him!"

"What? The county magistrate?" Shao Qiang was a little surprised, and then he explained with strange smiles from left to right: "My lords don't know something, but a few days ago, the Annan government sent two small officials to harass me, and I kicked them out. I don’t want to leave sesame seeds and mung beans again.”

After thinking about it for a while, Shao Qiang decided to meet the magistrate Annan: "Then let the Annan people come in... Thanks to the presence of the adults today, you can count as supporting me."

"Master Shao is just a fun-loving, mere magistrate of Annan County, an ant-like character..."

Chapter 575 Ruan Chuntang and Messi

Ruan Xuantang tremblingly walked on the newly built road in Fort Hon Ki.

Although there are many things in Ha Long Bay that scare him, the county official, Ruan Chuntang himself did not expect that what scares him the most is the speed at which this city is built!

Ruan Chuntang is from the Anjing tribe.As an aboriginal clan living in the Thang Long Mansion of the capital, the Ruan family has grasped the knack of political speculation well and survived the chaotic regime change in Annan.

This is also the reason why Ruan Chuntang was able to get a county magistrate position in a frontier county.In the past few years when Marshal Zheng Bing (zhuang) of the imperial capital came to power, in order to stabilize the capital and win over allies, he gave the Ruan family a small vacancy for an expatriate county magistrate: Hengpu County, Guang'an Province, where Hongji City, Guangning Province is located later.

Although it is a small vacancy far away from the capital, it is still very important to Ruan Chuntang. After all, this position was obtained by the Zheng family who stood in line with the family.That is to say, the Ruan family chose rights and powerful ministers in the current court situation, and abandoned the emperor, orthodoxy and morality... the price is not small.

Because of this, the young Ruan Chuntang, as the leading generation of the clan, is also conscientious in the daily county affairs of Hengpu County, and dare not make the slightest mistake.After several years of hard work, Ruan Xuantang's "diligence" ability has gradually been hyped up by the tribe to the Thang Long Mansion.Just half a year ago, it was reported that Marshal Zheng Bing had heard his name, which made Ruan Chuntang favored by the clan for a time.

The good mood lasted until the day ten months ago.

Ruan Xuantang knew that trouble was coming when the yamen servant hurriedly came to report that there were a large number of ships near Xialongkou and that the pirates were landing in large numbers day and night.

Not to mention Ming Dynasty these days, the coast of Annan is also full of bandits.It is common for a large group of pirates to gather and land ashore to earn a ticket, so Ruan Chuntang did not doubt the accuracy of the information at all at first.

But when Ruan County Magistrate gathered the people in Hengpu County and prepared to meet the enemy with strong walls and clear fields, he was confused by the continuous information that followed-the pirates set up camp in Xialongkou, the pirates built a fortress in Xialongkou, The pirates went to the countryside to send condolences to the villagers, and the villagers all went to the pirates...

The confusing and contradictory information made Ruan Chuntang at a loss.In the end, after a generous reward was offered, some of his subordinates risked their lives to go to the seaside to inquire in person, and then sent back accurate information: they were not pirates, they seemed to be genuine officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

Ruan Chuntang: "...".

Nervous and generally sent people to "negotiate in the enemy's camp" continuously, until the identity of the visitor was confirmed, the county magistrate Ruan Da finally knew why the coastal fishermen defected to the "pirates".

The frightened county magistrate Ruan urgently sent someone to Thang Long Mansion to deliver a letter, and at the same time made preparations to come to ask OR to see the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. When the army of Shenglong Mansion arrived, as a local official, if he couldn't even explain the reason why the Ming people landed, he would lose his head.

So Ruan Xuantang came today.He was dressed in official robes and guards of honor. He half-lyed on a lifting pole with a canopy, posing as a magistrate, and was carried by his subordinates to solemnly negotiate with the Ming army.

However, when he came to Halong Bay, he was so surprised that he didn’t fall off the lifting pole: In just a short time, a city had already been raised on the deserted beach in the past, and a brick fort with thick walls suddenly appeared in Ruan Xuantang. In front of him, it seemed that the gods had thrown it down.

Ruan county magistrate was furious and grabbed his subordinate's collar: "Idiot, this is not a fort, it is obviously a city! Why didn't you tell me the day before yesterday?"

The subordinate was also dumbfounded, stuttering and unable to straighten his tongue: "Master, master, it has never been so fast! The little one came here the day before yesterday, and the city wall is still there!?"

No wonder the people in Annan were amazed. The power of technology is something that most people in this era do not understand.For the city wall built by the traversers, the most laborious thing is actually how to excavate and level the foundation.

As for the city walls, the existence of standard red bricks first of all omits the necessary process of "grinding bricks and joints", a necessary process when ancient craftsmen built buildings.Secondly, the existence of cement also greatly shortens the construction time. These black technologies are the key to the sudden rise of the city wall.

After carefully looking at the panic-stricken subordinates, Ruan Chuntang confirmed that the confidant brought out from the clan did not lie, and his face immediately sank: Ming people had premeditated, so it must be the plan.

Standing in the distance, and observing the harbor next to the city and more than ten large ships in the bay, Ruan Chuntang and his party came to the gate of Fort Hongji.

Not long after, when Grandpa Ruan was put into the fort, he stepped on the trail in Hongji Fort, but stopped for a while.

At the foot of Ruan Xuantang is a red brick walkway that is too extravagant to describe.You must know that even in the Thang Long Mansion, the inner courtyard of the imperial palace and the walls of some wealthy mansions are made of red bricks.Where can such labor-intensive and time-consuming things be laid under your feet?

But at this moment, what appeared in front of him were two red brick roads wide enough to run a horse.Although it has not yet been completed, the extension trajectory of the two brick roads is already obvious: the cross shape runs through the inner fort.

Standing on the dry red brick road, Ruan Xuantang stomped a few times: it is the best red brick.

At this moment, Ruan Chuntang first looked up at the bamboo and wood canopy built above, and then looked down at the craftsmen who were concentrating on paving the road.Then he turned around and took a deep look at the outer wall of Hongji Fort, which was also made of red bricks...and the cannons shining blue on the top of the city.

When entering the city gate before, Ruan Chuntang still couldn't believe his eyes: In this era, even the city walls of the northern and southern capitals of Ming Dynasty are all made of loess as the core and covered with stone bricks. There has never been a city wall in the world It is purely made of red bricks.

But just now, when Ruan Chuntang entered the door, he did see the section of the city wall: it was completely made of red bricks.

Now that the trail has been verified, the last trace of doubt in Ruan Chuntang's heart is gone: "What a villain! But when did the Ming Kingdom become so rich? Didn't it mean that there was also civil strife?"

With deep confusion and deep anxiety, Ruan Chuntang finally came to the door of the big red brick house in the middle of the city.

After handing over the name card and printing letter, Ruan Chuntang tried to calm down the uneasy things in his heart.Not long after, Magistrate Ruan was led into the house by himself under the guidance of the strangely dressed guard in front of the door.

To Ruan Chuntang's expectation, the inside of the big house was very bright, surrounded by seven or eight kerosene lamps emitting bright light, which made the county magistrate who was used to the dark palace a little uncomfortable.

Soon, after seeing clearly the man in the middle of the hall wearing the official robe of a Ming military general, Ruan Chuntang ignored the people around him, stepped forward squarely, bent down and saluted: "Xiaguan, An Ruan Chuntang, magistrate of Hengpu County in the Southern Kingdom, pays homage to all the lords of the Ming Kingdom."

Like all the small countries around the Ming Dynasty in this era, although the Annan people regarded the Ming people as their enemies, the upper class still spoke Chinese and wrote Chinese characters—the Vietnamese characters of later generations, and the Latinized alphabetic writing was not implemented until 1884 during the French colonial period.

In fact, before Ruan Chuntang entered the door, it was Shao Qiang who was in casual clothes who presided over the reception speech.Unexpectedly, after entering the door, this little official from Annan, who was dressed in a fake Daming robe, took Sha Zhengming, who was dressed like a general, as the rightful master.

But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter who comes to send a small Annan official.So Sha Zhengming waved his hands carelessly: "Well, no courtesy, let's sit down."

Although Annan was a vassal state in the Ming Dynasty, they called themselves "Dayue Kingdom" internally, and they called Annan externally.

In fact, since the Annan people defeated the Ming Dynasty occupation army and established the Le Dynasty 200 years ago, their citizens have long regarded the Ming people as enemies in their subconscious, so the Ruan Da county magistrate cannot lower his momentum today... This is a diplomatic incident. with.

So the next moment, in the middle of the main room, County Magistrate Ruan Da took his seat safely, and faintly confronted the many Ming people who were seated in a semicircle on the opposite side.

……

Since the atmosphere on the court was not good, the two sides didn't have much politeness. After a few words, the conversation quickly touched on the core issue of Ruan County Magistrate's visit: Why did the Ming people come?

The negotiators sent by Ruan Chuntang also asked about this question before, but the person's level was too low, so they were dismissed by this side without getting a definite answer.

Today, since Ruan Chuntang, the magistrate of Zhengyin County, came here and officially represented the Annan government, the traversers no longer shirk their excuses, and justly stated the reason for coming here: to receive the land.

Receive whose land?

The Franji merchants who lost in the Macau War took out Annan's land for ransom.

When Ruan Chuntang heard this, he showed a mixed expression of confusion + disbelief, as expected by the observers.After a while, after finally digesting Sha Zhengming's words, he asked in disbelief: "Even if you take over some farmland, there is no need to build a city on my land in Annan, right?"

"It's a joke, don't you guys know? Not to mention that there are bandits everywhere in Annan, and you are not a good person in the court. Now that we men are under the emperor's order, we have to go to this land where birds don't shit, so we don't have to build a small fortress." Settle down?"

When Ruan Chuntang heard this, he was already powerless to complain: As far as the regulations of this city are concerned, he is ashamed to say "Little Fortress?"

Fortunately, County Magistrate Ruan could see at this moment that this Ming army general was probably a rough man who was not very reasonable.So he shook his head slightly, and asked the next question: "Since the land is sold by Francier businessman, is there a title deed?"

"Isn't this nonsense? How can there be no title deed?"

Sha Zhengming waved his hand impatiently when he heard the words, turned his head and shouted to the side door: "Officer Zhao, are you done? Hurry up and get the land deed of the Franji people."

"My lord, immediately!"

After a while, a young man in a double-breasted jacket hurried out from the back room, holding a stack of papers in his hand.

Seeing this, Sha Zhengming waved his hand confidently: "Show him the land deed."

"Yes!"

Ruan Chuntang also took over the land deeds with full confidence: he was sure to find out the problems from these land deeds, because as a local county magistrate, he knew very well that it was impossible for the county government to approve such a large area of ​​land that was large enough to build the city and port. What kind of Lao Shizi Franc machine businessman.

The next moment, Ruan Chuntang looked down at the land deeds carefully.

At first glance, the printed paper of these land deeds is exquisite, and the official seal and charge on it seem to be complete.

On the top one, the original owner of the land was a French businessman named Leo Messi.Not to mention the truth or falsehood, the number of acres marked on this title deed is already extremely astonishing: a full 5000 acres of contiguous land, the location is just here in the city of Halong Bay, and a detailed map is attached.

The original owner of the next one is Nelson Semedo.

Down below is Serge Samper.

The last one is called Ter Stegen, who seems to be a Prussian businessman.

There are quite a few title deeds, 23 in total.

At the next moment, County Magistrate Ruan Da opened his mouth wide and stared wide-eyed. He dipped his middle finger on the land deed of businessman Macy, and then made an insulting gesture in front of General Shashen. Douyin asked, "Is the ink still available?" Didn't do it?"

Chapter 576 The end of the first half

Facing the impolite questioning of the little official from Annan in front of him, Comrade Sha Zhengming, the general of the Great Ming Dynasty, smiled and showed an expression of "not being as knowledgeable as a person with low scientific level": "Isn't this nonsense, of course the ink is wet. With regard to Annan's horrible weather, it rains every day, how can the secretary do anything?"

Ruan Chuntang was helpless when he heard the words: Once the ink falls off the paper, it will dry out in a moment, so what has it to do with the rain?In this way, in the whole world, where there is rain, it is impossible to preserve copybooks? ……absurd!

However, even if he was clear in his heart, even if there were countless old documents in the county government office, Ruan Chuntang could not refute the other party's words at this moment - the county magistrate could see that this person was deliberately fooling around.That being the case, given the current situation, it is naturally impossible for him, a civil servant, to argue with this Ming general.

Fortunately, Ruan Chuntang knew clearly what his family was going to do this time: it was enough to find out the origin and attitude of the other party, and the rest of the work was not his job as a small county magistrate.

Shaking his head helplessly, County Magistrate Ruan asked the next key question: "The owner of the land lease, Franji businessman... Mei, um, where is the Mei family?"

"Oh, you're talking about Messi, well, I'm an old acquaintance. When Franji City was broken, he used his own legs and feet to run around in the chaos, but his leg was broken. He will be recuperating in Macau."

Ruan County Magistrate also laughed when he heard the words, showing a "sure enough" expression: "In this way, Haishangte...well, the Ter Stegen family is probably not here?"

Sha Zhengming's face was full of memories: "Oh, that guy is a Prussian hero. It's a pity that he insisted on guarding the gate when the city was broken, and now his leg has been broken. If County Magistrate Ruan wants to find someone, he can send his men to visit the city of Macau." , presumably this group of sea merchants is still there."

Ruan Chuntang laughed angrily: "My lord general has no certificates, and no official certificates. He only borrowed these scraps of paper with wet ink, and sent troops to set up camp in the country... Huh, the seals are all wrong. Has the county ever had such an official seal?"

Sha Zhengming smiled when he heard the words: "This general was ordered by my commander in chief to take over the land. He acted according to military law and recognized military orders. As for the official seal on the hand of you, a small Annan official... Poor place, maybe It is carved from wood, and the lines are blurred, who has the patience to compare it?"

Hearing such outrageous and unreasonable words, Ruan Chuntang felt that his family had completely figured out the intention of the other party.

The next moment, County Magistrate Ruan slowly got up from his seat, put one hand behind his back, and shook the stack of land deeds with the other: "Dare to ask, the general's trip, the whole court of your country, the Emperor Chongzhen knows?"

General Sha raised his head and laughed, stretched out his arms triumphantly and drew a circle: "I want you to know that all those present here today are nobles of the Ming Dynasty, the humerus of the imperial court. Your Majesty... Hmph, you native has no eyes. Seeing this father-in-law Is it true, it is the emperor's most important factory minister, Mr. Du."

Ruan Chuntang was born in a wealthy family, and he was a high-level intellectual who was able to read classics.When he just sat down, he had already had a panoramic view of everyone in the room, he knew that this generation was dressed in an extraordinary manner, and he knew that what Sha Zhengming said was probably true.

This situation made Annan County Magistrate even more gloomy.

The endorsement of the upper-level political group, combined with the crazy construction of the city outside, such a large-scale national investment behavior does not require high analytical ability Ruan Chuntang, he realized that this time the Ming people are playing for real, "The whole country is coming to commit crimes. "Are.

As a local official on the front line of the conflict, Ruan Xuantang's view of the future is extremely bad.He already vaguely felt that he was about to face great danger, both internally and externally.

Stretching out the sleeves of his robe, he patted the dust on his legs that did not exist before. The county magistrate Ruan lightly waved his hand and threw the beautifully printed waste paper on the ground: "So, I will bid you farewell!"

"No delivery."

After hastily bowing his hands and saluting, Ruan Xuantang slowly turned around and walked towards the door under the gaze of many eyes.

When he was about to step on the threshold, Ruan Xuantang failed to suppress his patriotic sentiment in his heart.The next moment, he turned around, with a sarcastic look on his face: "Everyone offending Annan this time is about imitating the story of Emperor Yongle 300 years ago."

"Since he is a nobleman from the Ming Dynasty, he must have read a lot of history books. You know that 200 years ago, the Chief Secretary of the Jiaozhi disappeared overnight.

"Hmph... If you want to imitate the absurd actions of your predecessors, I dare to ask you, is there a decisive way to die as a guest?"

After Ruan Chuntang finished these few words, he looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back and his chest straightened out, ready to kill with his neck.

However, things are not as he imagined.

Originally thought that he had stabbed Mingren's lungs, and he was probably going to be pulled out and chopped up.However, after waiting for a while, Ruan Chuntang found that the room was abnormally quiet, and Mingren didn't seem to be furious.

Then something that surprised Ruan Xuantang happened.Sha Zhengming, who was sitting at the top, thought for a while, instead of getting angry, he nodded slowly, and said word by word: "Mr. Ruan is right, Emperor Yongle was too hasty back then. In the end, he couldn't overcome it, and in the end he lost a lot, and Annan was spit out again."

"Well, it's different this time."

Sha Zhengming smiled when he said this, and leaned on the armrest: "We are history students, so we have learned our lessons. This time, let's take our time, step by step, and start from Hongji Port."

Ruan Xuantang finally walked out of the gate of Hongji Fort safely.This time he successfully completed the task of investigating the enemy's situation, and he gained more than he expected: Mingren revealed his intentions without hesitation, and he didn't even bother to cover up, let alone embarrass him, an official from Annan.

The rest of the matter is beyond the hands of County Magistrate Ruan. His remaining job is to report everything he hears to Shenglong Mansion.As for the future direction of the relationship between the two countries, it is something that the big figures above need to plan carefully, and it has nothing to do with him, a small official.

……

Speaking of planning, when Ruan Chuntang walked out of Fort Hongji, Sha Zhengming and Shao Qiang were also doing market analysis for investors.

Originally, they planned to wait for the guests to rest for two days before talking about it.I never thought that an Annan official would come, and the two sides had something to say in this line-up.Since this is the case, we have no choice but to strike while the iron is hot and give Amway to investors.

So Shao Sha and the two started to fool around.

"The name of this place is Hongji, and the mining area is hundreds of miles away. It is rich in anthracite and thermal coal. The stratum here is shallow, and there is no need for miners to drill wells. You only need to peel off a layer of soil to mine... Thermal coal is specially used to burn boilers. coal... boilers... boilers, you don't need to study carefully, in short, it's right that this place is rich in coal."

"With charcoal, everyone, all of our early expenses will be paid out. Note that all charcoal does not exist in the official business, whoever digs it out will own it, and we will buy it unlimitedly here! You only need to 'please' some When the natives come here, they can sit on the ground and make money.”

"What, the title deed? What kind of title deed is needed at this time. The big guys will go out to enclose the land early tomorrow morning, race horses, run around, and circle as much as they can. After the deed is completed, my master will print and distribute it in a unified way! Don't forget To leave a big one for the emperor!"

"Annan people? Annan people don't need to think about it!"

Having said this, Sha Zhengming went to the wall and pulled out a large-scale military map: "It is the rainy season, which is not conducive to the movement of the army, and the Annan people can't move. Let's dig mines in Hongji Xiuzi with peace of mind. Wait until 10 After a month..."

Sha Zhengming showed a lewd smile on his face at this moment, and drew a circle on the picture with a pointer: "Have you seen the Zhenman when it came? You don't need to trouble the Annan people to come here, I will lead the shore bombardment fleet by myself." Take a walk around Shenglong Mansion, fire a few rounds of cannonballs, talk to that living Cao Cao, and ask whether my land deed works or not!"

"At that time, don't talk about rice, everyone can go to Zhuangzi in the surrounding area to grow lychees. Let's build a cannery on the ground and sell them directly to the capital to earn a lot of money!"

Hearing what Sha Zhengming said, among the investors, the eyes of a few people from the south of the Yangtze River shone with excitement—they were all witnesses to the grand occasion when a certain ship bombarded the Xu family in Shanghai that day. The Annan people were going to be bombarded again, and the melon eaters suddenly became excited.

Although there were some speculations before coming here, today the Sha and Shao two revealed their hole cards so nakedly.So far, investors who have just arrived have completely learned a lesson of the jungle.

However, the more this is the case, the more investors have confidence in this Annan strategy.

First of all, there are so many ready-made examples of Yizhou, which has long been a paradise/big granary, and the wealth-generating industries under Cao's hands.Therefore, in terms of making money from development, the original investors still have confidence in the Cao family's plan.In this case, it will be a gold medal trust fund in later generations.

Secondly, those who can sit here today are all meat-eaters who drink blood and knock bones for a living.In Daming, it seems that they have to be more careful, but now they have come to Annan to reclaim wasteland. To be honest, if Sha Zhengming and the others are not ruthless, evil, or tough, the big guy will not agree.