PFC Chapter 59: I'm afraid their ambitions are not small.
Chapter 59: I'm afraid their ambitions are not small.
Chapter 60: I'm afraid their ambitions are not small.
Chapter 059 Chen Ying wanted to use the Embroidered Uniform Guard's channels to send the information he needed to convey back to Shahe. On one hand, on the other hand, he also wanted to use the Embroidered Uniform Guard to tell Emperor Tianqi about the matter of Dalu Island.
In fact, Emperor Tianqi was very clear about the situation of the Dongjiang Army. No matter how dissatisfied Mao Wenlong was, during the Tianqi reign, the Dongjiang Army received a fixed amount of 800,000 taels of silver from the court, which was also the maximum amount that the court could spend.
The problem is that by the time of the Chongzhen Emperor, he believed Mao Wenlong's report that he was embezzling military personnel and exploiting soldiers, and he also believed Yuan Chonghuan's ruling that the actual number of troops was more than 32,000.
The question is whether Mao Wenlong falsely reported the number of troops?
From the court's perspective, the answer is that it was an overstatement, because many soldiers in the Dongjiang Army were teenagers under the age of eighteen, and some were in their fifties or sixties. Most of them were skin and bones and did not meet the court's conscription standards.
Just like Chen Ying now, he doesn't want to see the 20,000 to 30,000 people on Dalu Island starve to death. If Mao Wenlong doesn't care about the lives of the people and only cares about his soldiers, then the Dongjiang Army shouldn't be so weak. This involves a question of principle, just like the line in "1942": Are the soldiers starving to death? Or are the disaster victims starving to death?
It's simply impossible to have the best of both worlds.
When Su Mei received Mao Wenlong's order to go to Dalu Island to serve Chen Ying, she was very happy. As a secret agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, most women like Su Mei were actually temporary workers.
Su Mei was the daughter of Su Yunzhong, a former official in the Ministry of Justice. Her father, Su Yunzhong, submitted a memorial to severely punish Cui Wensheng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Pharmacy and the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Cui Wensheng was later demoted to Nanjing, but Su Yunzhong was retaliated against by Cui Wensheng's accomplices. In April of the second year of the Tianqi reign, Su Yunzhong was dismissed from his post and his family property was confiscated.
Su Mei, along with her mother, younger brother, and others, were exiled to the army. Although military service in the Ming Dynasty was not true military service, but rather forced labor by soldiers stationed on the frontier, many women were ultimately forced into prostitution due to their low social status and lack of protection, leading to a miserable life.
In February of the third year of the Tianqi reign, when Su Mei was exiled to Liaoxi by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, she was targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and recruited as an intelligence agent. Under the arrangement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, she infiltrated among the people rescued by Mao Wenlong and was taken to Guanglu Island by the Dongjiang Army. Because of her good looks, she was sent to Pi Island by Chen Zhong, the then guerrilla general of Guanglu Island.
According to the agreement at the time, Su Mei completed three missions, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard arranged for her younger brother to be transferred to military status and become an ordinary military household. Now that she has completed her mission, if she can become Chen Ying's concubine, it would be the best ending for her in this life.
When Su Mei arrived at the Dalu Island pier, Chen Ying was there with his trusted men, including Chen Daniu, strolling around the pier. Chen Daniu smiled and said, "Commander, is Dalu Island now under your control?"
Chen Ying smiled, but Su Mei came up to him.
"Greetings, Your Excellency. Su Mei is here on Commander Mao's orders to serve you!"
"good!"
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Come with me!"
Su Mei was slightly taken aback. Was she in such a hurry?
"Yes, sir!"
At this time, Dalu Island had become a huge construction site, even though Mao Chengfu believed that Moon Bay on Dalu Island was a natural harbor.
The problem is that Chen Ying dislikes the fact that Moon Bay Port is too small and needs to be expanded. In particular, the dock is natural, and Moon Bay needs to be at least several meters away from the mudflats to dock. Currently, there is only a wooden pier, which not only has few boats docking, but is also unsafe.
A ship carrying 1,000 liters of water, when fully loaded, needs a draft of more than 10 feet and can travel 30 to 40 feet. If a ship carrying 2,000 liters of water is fully loaded, the draft is even deeper, and it can only stop at the seashore at a distance of 10 to 20 feet.
Fortunately, Dalu Island is mainly a rocky island. Currently, a large number of laborers are filling in the beach with gravel and building a pier. Of course, they can't just throw the gravel into the sea; they also need to drive wooden piles into the sea and weigh them down with huge rocks.
In addition to the large-scale construction at the dock, Chen Ying also built a semi-permanent military camp about two or three miles away from the dock. The outermost part was a stone wall built with stones. Several warehouses were built in the camp, and he used the timber sent by Mao Wenlong to build three wooden houses.
Su Mei entered the wooden house and saw dozens of people busy at work, some doing accounts, others organizing documents. The innermost wooden room was empty, containing only a table, a small bed, and a small stove.
The problem is that this room has no door, only a partition made of wooden boards. It can't block the sound or even the view. She started to feel nervous. This Chen Ying looks so refined, but he's actually playing such a trick.
"Miss Su!"
Chen Ying picked up two letters from his desk and handed them to her: "Please help me deliver these to Changping through the channels of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Of course, there will be a reward for your efforts—"
Chen Ying sat down behind the desk and began to look through the account books.
"this one?"
"Um!
'
Upon hearing this, Xin Su Mei couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had been hoping that Chen Ying would rush over to her immediately, so that her future would be secured.
pity----
Su Mei bowed and said, "This servant obeys!"
After two days and one night of statistics, Chen Ying had a basic understanding of the detailed situation of the 27,953 people on the island. The island had more than 9,500 skilled workers with various skills, more than 14,300 registered or temporary military households, and only more than 4,100 women and children.
This population ratio is extremely unreasonable. In times of disaster or war, women, children, the elderly, and the infirm are the most vulnerable to death.
Chen Yingming, Chen Jide, and others, utilizing these skilled craftsmen, almost completely replicated the Shahe model, establishing a smelting bureau to oversee steelmaking.
A construction bureau was established to oversee infrastructure development, while a textile bureau and a clothing bureau were set up to provide the women and children on the island with an opportunity to earn a living and support themselves.
The focus of development is shipbuilding. Due to its different geographical location and positioning, Dalu Island is not prepared to build gunpowder, artillery, or munitions bureaus.
Chen Ying was exhausted and drifted off to sleep on the bed. Just as he was drifting off, he heard crying beside him.
When Fu Yingxing opened his eyes, his face was almost covered in tears and snot. This young master Fu, who was usually quite prominent in the capital, had been under house arrest on Pi Island for nearly two months. He was eating coarse grains and salted vegetables every day and sleeping on a straw mat. He was constantly worried that Mao Wenlong would turn on him and kill him.
He went from being a fat man weighing 170 or 180 pounds to finally losing weight. He has lost a lot of weight, his eyes are sunken, and he has lost at least 50 pounds.
"Chen Boying, Lord Chen, I've finally met you!"
Fu Yingxing grabbed Chen Ying's arm, his legs still trembling: "Let's go quickly, back to the capital! I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second!"
"Young Master Fu, you've been wronged. Commander Mao has already made arrangements so that this won't happen again. But right now—"
"Right now, what do you mean 'right now'!"
Fu Yingxing was extremely agitated, practically dragging Chen Ying towards the dock: "We can talk about this back in the capital. This godforsaken place—I don't want to stay here for even a quarter of an hour longer!"
Chen Ying sighed. He knew he couldn't persuade Fu Yingxing. Although Fu Yingxing was by Wei Zhongxian's side and wasn't an important figure, he could cause trouble even if he couldn't accomplish anything.
Chen Ying had already made some simple plans, gave Chen Jide a few brief instructions, and then followed Fu Yingxing onto the ship heading back.
As the ship sailed further away from Dalu Island, Fu Yingxing's emotions gradually calmed down.
He's still a bit stressed, glancing out the window every now and then, as if Mao Wenlong's men might emerge from the sea.
"Boying, we're all out of trouble now, why are you still looking so gloomy?"
Chen Ying shook his head with a wry smile: "Young Master Fu, I came to Pi Island this time at the request of Eunuch Wei to discuss the iron ore with Mao Wenlong. I'm sure you've heard that I led my troops to fight Mao Wenlong on Pi Island. He backed down and entrusted me with the iron ore to be smelted on Dalu Island, and even provided it to more than 20,000 people. But the problem is, he didn't provide any food. Without food, these people will probably starve to death!"
"Aren't those Mao Wenlong's men? Even if they all die, that's Mao Wenlong's problem, what does it have to do with you?"
Fu Yingxing didn't care about the lives of those ordinary people.
Chen Ying explained, "If all the people on the island die, who will smelt iron? Without those people to work, Dalu Island will have no way to make money. How can I explain this to Lord Wei?"
Fu Yingxing burst into laughter: "I thought it was some enormous problem! It's just some grain! Leave it to me!"
Chen Ying looked at him with some suspicion in his eyes.
Chen Ying had already heard Mao Chengfu recount what happened back then. If Mao Wenlong hadn't been pushed to the brink by Fu Yingxing, he wouldn't have taken action. The matter wasn't complicated at all. Even if Mao Wenlong went back on his word, what was the point of arguing with him? Just go back and settle accounts later. A wise man doesn't suffer losses in front of him.
"Boying, you don't believe me?"
Fu Yingxing's纨绔 (playboy/spoiled brat) air returned: "On Pi Island, I was a tiger fallen into the plains; now that I'm in Tianjin, just you wait and see!"
No child cries every day, and no gambler loses every day.
At this moment, Fu Yingxing felt like he had arrived on his home turf. When he went to Pi Island, he met Gan Yanshou, the commander of Tianjin Wei.
Gan Yanshou was from Miyun. His ancestors followed Emperor Chengzu on the Northern Expedition and made meritorious contributions. They inherited the position of Vice Commander of Tianjin Garrison. When it came to Gan Yanshou's generation, his biggest headache was that his two sons were both useless, neither good at literature nor at martial arts. He wanted his sons to inherit this fourth-rank official position, but neither of his sons could pass the military selection examination.
If the Gan family couldn't successfully inherit the military post, they would be finished in Tianjin. Their accumulated wealth would be swallowed up by other families. They finally met Fu Yingxing and fawned over him, hoping to use Wei Zhongxian's power to bypass the Military Selection Department and successfully inherit the military post.
Three days later, the ship arrived in Tianjin.
Tianjin Weicheng was built along the coast, with high city walls and a forest of gun emplacements at its docks. The harbor was filled with grain ships arriving from the south, cloth ships transporting goods from the north, and merchants loading their cargo.
The noise from the unloading workers could be heard for miles around.
Fu Yingxing disembarked and waved to flag down a carriage: "Boying, wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."
Chen Ying wanted to follow, worried that this guy would cause trouble again, but Fu Yingxing stopped him: "Why bother Boying with such a trivial matter? You can rest at the dockside teahouse and wait for my news."
Chen Ying arrived at the teahouse, but an hour passed and Fu Yingxing did not return.
Two hours passed, and there was still no sign of him. Three hours passed, and he still hadn't returned. At this point, Chen Ying was getting a little anxious. The thought process of a spoiled brat is completely different from that of a normal person.
Just as Chen Ying was feeling anxious, he left the teahouse, preparing to go to Tianjin to check on the situation. If something happened to Fu Yingxing, he really wouldn't be able to explain it to Wei Zhongxian.
"Bo Ying————"
Fu Yingxing stood on the carriage and waved from afar: "The matter is settled!"
Chen Ying breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're back. Let's rest for the night and head back to Beijing tomorrow morning!"
"Boying, you don't believe me?"
"I don't believe you for a second!"
Fu Yingxing stepped down from the carriage, followed by a fat man in his fifties or sixties, dressed in casual clothes.
"Gan Yanshou, the Vice Commander of Tianjin Garrison, has met with Commander Chen!"
In terms of official rank alone, Gan Yanshou was a fourth-rank commander, while Chen Ying was a fifth-rank commander of the Shahe Garrison. However, Gan Yanshou acted as if Chen Ying was his superior, adopting a very humble posture.
"Greetings, Commander Gan!"
"Master Fu has already said so!"
Gan Yanshou lowered his voice and pulled out an account book from his robes: "Thirty thousand shi of miscellaneous grains, five thousand bolts of coarse cloth, two thousand jin of cotton wadding. And—"
There were 643 households in the Tianjin garrison whose members were skilled in iron smelting and forging, including their families. These people would be idle in the garrison anyway, so it would be better to send them to Commander Chen to serve on Dalu Island.
Chen Ying stared at Gan Yanshou in shock. Even if 30,000 shi of miscellaneous grains were worthless, they were still worth more than 20,000 taels of silver. Of course, military rations were not easy to convert into cash if there was no market for them.
The crux of the matter is that Fu Yingxing didn't contribute any money. Five thousand bolts of coarse cloth were worth four or five thousand taels of silver, plus cotton wadding, which was equivalent to a full thirty thousand taels of silver. Fu Yingxing really had a lot of influence.
"Such a generous gift, I, Chen, am truly—"
"Commander Chen, you don't need to be so polite."
Gan Yanshou smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits: "Master Fu is my godfather, and you are someone Master Fu values. We are all on the same side. Tianjin Wei may not have much else, but there is still some old grain in the granaries, and there are many unemployed artisans in the garrison. It would be my honor to be able to help."
"Holy crap—"
Chen Ying didn't know what to say. Fu Yingxing was too young to be Gan Yanshou's son, but he actually became Gan Yanshou's godfather. Gan Yanshou really went all out to curry favor with Wei Zhongxian.
"Lord Chen, I have prepared a small feast; I humbly request your presence!"
"I'm sorry to bother you!"
Chen Ying did indeed need food, but this free food was not easy to obtain. Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to figure out Gan Yanshou's intentions.
Gan Yanshou waved his hand, and a carriage drove up from not far away. Chen Ying boarded the carriage and followed Gan Yanshou to a luxurious courtyard. Sure enough, red lanterns were hung high, and a group of beautiful women, about a hundred people, stood in the middle of the courtyard.
"Lord Chen, please—"
Chen Ying reluctantly went inside.
Chen Ying became secretly wary. He knew very well that what was free was the most expensive. Gan Yanshou was being very generous, sending both grain and people; he probably had something bigger in mind.