Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

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The gentry were very enthusiastic, and the rich contributed money, and the powerful contributed.

For them, if the Japanese pirates are not eliminated, their good days will come to an end.

In the past, they mainly relied on the land to grow crops for a living. Occasionally, they would also run some businesses behind the scenes, such as oil extraction, wine making, and mulberry cultivation.

In fact, the reason why they turned a blind eye to the Japanese pirates was because the silk they produced would often be purchased by some inexplicable people.

According to the news secretly circulated by many people, these people are very likely to be private businessmen.

When the sea ban was strict, it was actually harmful to the gentry.

After all, in this vast ocean, I can't get any benefit.

But when smuggling began to appear, it was more or less beneficial to many gentry, because people found that there was an increased demand for silk and porcelain in the market.

After all, smuggling merchants need to take a large amount of silk and porcelain to sea.

Once these two things are in short supply, the demand for silk and clay will naturally increase in order to make silk and porcelain.

Silk can only be produced by planting mulberry trees. Whoever has more land will have more mulberry trees and have silk in their hands.

The clay is dug out from the mountains, but who owns the mountains?

So in essence, the so-called smuggling is not simply a matter of a few daring smugglers.

This is a hidden chain of interests.

Overseas, a group of Japanese warriors who could not survive, as well as some desperadoes, were recruited. These people are the basis of smuggling and the force guarantee for smuggling ships.

As smuggling activities became more and more rampant, more and more desperadoes and wandering warriors came here to occupy the southeastern islands, forming bonds with each other, and occasionally conflicts broke out due to uneven distribution of spoils. Of course, there are many Japanese pirates who will loot the coast of Daming.

But what about on land? Because of these smuggled merchants, many landlords and gentry have benefited more or less.

As long as someone is willing to buy their own silk and clay, who cares what the other party's background is, what happened to Japanese pirates and private traders? After all, they didn't get in their way, did they?

But it’s different now. For the gentry in Ningbo, selling a little more silk and clay can earn some money. There are mountains of gold and silver in the sea. Move here, this silver is just like the one you picked up.

Let’s just talk about the candle made of whale oil, which is now popular all over the south of the Yangtze River, and everyone is vying for it. The price is twice as high as that of ordinary candles, but the same candle burns several times longer than ordinary candles, and it is brighter. , the supply is still in short supply, after disposing of the whales, I don’t know how many candles are made when I change hands. If I don’t earn the money myself, do I still have a conscience?

The people were outraged, and the news spread from the magistrate's yamen, and the people's sentiments were boiling.

Not only the gentry, but many merchants are also anxious. Although they have no power and power, they can only get a small portion of the profit after investing money, but such a good business, even if it is a small portion, is still considerable.

There are also quite a few people, many people, who originally struggled to farm the land, but they made a living by processing whales, making wax, making clothes, and making canvas and iron anchors. Going to work with the old men, although the life is still bitter haha, it is obviously much better. I can eat enough every month, and I still get a little salary.

It's all right now, but because of the damn Japanese pirates, I don't go to sea anymore.

What to eat without going out to sea?

Everyone was making a fuss, and the scholars began to express their feelings, asking the magistrate's Yamen to suppress the Japanese and keep one side safe.

The gentry asked for money and effort to help suppress the Japanese.

Many strong men organized, carrying sticks, in groups of three or four, and ordered to patrol the coast.

The popular ones stomp their feet and go home to write books for their children in Beijing. The Japanese pirates are harming people. My son is in the court, so I have to be sympathetic to my hometown.

In the middle of the night, in the houya house, Wen Yansheng took a charcoal basin, in which anthracite brought from Beijing was burned, and he happily set up an iron frame on the charcoal basin, and put the already The packed large yellow croaker had its internal organs removed, and after brushing a layer of butter inside and out, it was placed on an iron shelf.

He slowly pretended to move the iron rack, and the yellow croaker gave off an inexplicable fragrance. Wen Yansheng lightly sprinkled salt and his favorite chives on the grilled half-cooked fish.

But the chives are not easy to sprinkle, they have to be chopped into fine pieces, like powder, sprinkle lightly to make it stick to the oil, otherwise, it will easily fall into the charcoal basin.

During the day, Wen Yansheng was very happy to see those gentry looking distraught, so he specially warmed up the wine, and he just grilled fish here to serve the wine.

There are thirty-two ways to eat this big yellow croaker.

But it's still not good.

This grilled fish is the most extravagant, such a good fish, once grilled, it shrinks by half, but this taste, especially after sprinkled with pepper and green onion, tsk tsk...

Of course, Wen Yansheng is a particular person, he purposely made the iron frame higher, so that the fish would not be afraid of being scorched by the flames.

Anyway, I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, so I slowly bake it with a slow fire, which is delicious in the world.

After turning the iron frame a few times, Wen Yansheng took the hot rice wine on the side, took a sip, took a breath, then shook his head and began to hum a tune: "Dang Lie Dang, Dang Lie Dang, Dang Lie Dang Every time, every time... let’s talk about Wu Erlang, a good man from Shandong, he passed by Jingyanggang on his way home, Jingyanggang, oh Jingyanggang..."

What he sang was Shandong Kuaishu, but he used a Henan accent, which was a bit vague in many places.

Anyway, he doesn't do entertaining, he just wants to have fun.

After singing a few words, he took a sip of rice wine, and his stomach burned a little, his blood boiled all over his body, and his whole body felt comfortable.

Next, go ahead and grill the fish.

What he enjoyed was the process, and of course, he also looked forward to the result.

But at this moment, someone hurried in: "Master, Mr. Chen, please see me."

"What?" Wen Yansheng smiled slightly, although his tone was unbelievable, but there was a half-smile in his eyes: "He talked so much during the day, why did he come here at night? Are you grilling fish?"

"He said it was important."

Regrettably, Wen Yansheng took the oil brush and oiled the fish first, before saying, "Call in."

After a while, Mr. Chen came trembling slightly.

Wen Yansheng was serious about grilling the fish.

Chen Taigong pulled his face down: "Prefect Wen, the enemy is at hand, how can Prefect Wen still grill fish in the middle of the night?"

"Hungry." Wen Yansheng replied casually.

"..."

This reason is indeed very powerful.

"Come on, Mr. Chen please sit down, Mr. Chen, do you want to drink?"

"I'm old." Chen Taigong sighed: "I can't eat, I'm not feeling well."

Wen Yansheng breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that he was too old to drink alcohol, so he probably shouldn't eat this grilled fish indiscriminately, as long as it doesn't cause accidents.

"Mr. Chen is here, what can I teach you?"

Grandpa Chen wanted to show his teeth when he saw that Wen Yansheng happily took chopped green onions and sprinkled them patiently on top of the fish, but he still suppressed the anger in his stomach: "The old man came here and wanted to suddenly think of something. The Japanese pirates are rampant, but on land, there is no guarantee that there will be no one who colludes with the Japanese pirates, otherwise, what kind of situation can a group of Japanese pirates become."

"Hmm..." Wen Yansheng hurriedly nodded and nodded: "That makes sense." But he was in a hurry and turned the iron rack, for fear that the fish would be burnt.

Grandpa Chen patiently said: "Old man is thinking again, can there be such thieves in our Ningbo mansion? I feel uncomfortable when I think of Japanese pirates raging in the village. We are all the family of scholars and officials in Ming Dynasty. It should be reported to the imperial court, and the common people should be safe, this is the righteousness that a gentleman should have."

Wen Yansheng raised her thumb to Grandpa Chen: "Mr. Chen's words are for the country, I admire it."

Chen Taigong thought for a while: "I have been in Ningbo for a long time, but I think there is a family that is very suspicious. He has been buying silk or finished silk for many years in Ningbo. He almost never talks about how much he has and how much he wants. The price, after receiving it, I don’t know where the silk and silk go. Of course, the old man didn’t mean to accuse him of being a Japanese party, they are all from the folks in the village... right?”

"Yes, yes, yes, what else is suspicious?"

"Another time, when his son got married, the old man was invited. He sat on the top seat, but he couldn't drink. So, he was carried to the back room to rest, but guess what?"

"There must be a lot of overseas treasures that you have never seen before, so dazzling?"

Grandpa Chen slapped his thigh: "Prefect Wen is right, it really is like this, I saw a lot of rhino horns, and there are many strange things. I used to see him as a scholar. For generations, he has accumulated good deeds. People, after Zhongliang, logically speaking, should not have colluded with Japanese pirates, so I didn't think about it deeply, but after thinking about it, I feel more and more suspicious."

"Oh..." Seeing that the fish was cooked, Wen Yansheng anxiously took the grilled fish off, but because he accidentally touched the red-hot iron, grinning his teeth so hot, he took the fish off with pain, and said with a face full of pain: "Mr. Chen Sir, I said earlier that this family is suspicious, and if you check it, you will know that if it is a private business, you will definitely find something."

Chen Taigong smiled and said: "Yes, if you turn his house upside down, you will understand everything. The so-called extraordinary times, doing extraordinary things. Oh, this man's surname is Zhang, and he is from Laotang, Yin County. The old man is tired. Hey, I'm getting old and prone to drowsiness, so I have to go back and rest, Governor Wen, the soldiers and civilians in Ningbo, have all entrusted to Governor Wen."

After mentioning the place name and surname, Wen Yansheng knew it all.

Wen Yansheng said: "Mr. Chen's reporting of private businessmen is really a feat. In the future... the government will ask for credit for Mr. Chen."

Chen Taigong was a little embarrassed, and quickly shook his head: "Don't dare, don't dare, this is all thanks to the prefect Wen, and they are all local people, ahem... If it weren't for the Japanese pirates rampaging and slaughtering our people, I would really be offended It's better for Prefect Wen to keep this mouth a secret."

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