Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 336 Inside Stories of the High-Level Officials

Dinner was served in the study because Zheng Yonghe disliked the hassle of having to start a fire in the kitchen or flower hall.

Shao Shuyi noticed this and felt that Zheng Yonghe was becoming more and more casual in front of him, which was not a bad thing.

Two servants carried in a square table and placed it in the middle of the room. Then someone brought in bowls and plates and set them out one by one.

Shao Shuyi glanced at it and found that it was four dishes and a soup: a steamed sea bass, a pot of stewed meat, a plate of cabbage, a plate of lotus root slices, and a pot of hot chicken soup in the middle.

The dishes were few, but exquisitely prepared. The fish was scored, the pieces of meat were uniformly sized, and a few red dates floated on the chicken soup; it looked quite appetizing. Zheng Yonghe was old and had a small appetite. After eating for a while, he put down his chopsticks and instructed the maid to give Shao Shuyi, Yu Yuan, and Wang Xing more rice. Tie Niu, on the other hand, remained standing there, showing no sign of relaxation.

A moment later, Shao Shuyi also put down his chopsticks.

Zheng Yonghe stood up, slowly strolled to the door, and stood under the porch, with Shao Shuyi following closely behind.

"I will be going to Dadu to supervise grain transport in the second half of next year," Zheng Yonghe suddenly said in the cold wind.

Shao Shuyi was taken aback, but quickly understood.

The four deputy commanders were all required to supervise grain transport to Dadu (Beijing), carrying it twice a year, in spring and autumn, essentially completing a cycle every two years.

He glanced at Zheng Yonghe's complexion and felt that if he really went to sea to supervise grain next year, even if he could come back, it would be difficult.

With Zheng Yonghe gone, who in the Zheng family can shoulder the responsibility?

Zheng Guozhen had been serving as the commander of the Qingshao Garrison for less than a year, so it was impossible for him to be promoted so quickly. At most, the court would give Zheng Guozhen some preferential treatment out of consideration for his years of hard work and meritorious service, but it would be very limited.

"After I return, I'll probably have to retire," Zheng Yonghe sighed. "The court will likely grant me a promotion, allowing me to retire with a fief of ten thousand households, but that's about it. From now on, this vast grain transport office will be irrelevant to me."

"Although you have resigned, your connections remain. Countless people are still trying to curry favor with you," Shao Shuyi said.

"The saying 'out of sight, out of mind' is an ironclad rule in officialdom." Zheng Yonghe shook his head, pointed to Fu Jian, Fu Yong, and the others standing in the courtyard, and asked, "Little Tiger, how many soldiers like these do you have?"

"Two hundred," Shao Shuyi replied.

"Everyone has armor?"

"Most of them do."

"In the past, pirates were rampant, and the imperial court forbade seafarers from carrying weapons when they went to sea, fearing that they would fight with the local people when they landed. So they could only send land troops to escort the ships. One year, three thousand men were sent, and coincidentally, twenty of them came aboard the ship I was on," Zheng Yonghe said. "Of those twenty men, only forty percent were armored, but that was many years ago. Xiao Hu, your soldiers are really good, even better than the garrison troops I saw back then." "They're not soldiers, just shopkeepers from a merchant guild," Shao Shuyi said.

Zheng Yonghe seemed not to hear him and asked again, "How much is the annual cost of supporting one soldier?"

"Sixteen or seventeen ingots."

"Why are there so many?" Zheng Yonghe frowned and asked.

"Supporting a soldier is not just about supporting the soldier himself, but also his entire family," Shao Shuyi said. "Only when parents, wives, and children are free from worries about food and clothing can soldiers focus wholeheartedly on honing their skills. I have very high expectations for them. Everyone must be proficient in swords, spears, and bows. In addition to these three, each person must choose another weapon, such as a shield, a long-handled axe, a mace, a hook-and-sickle spear, or a two-handed greatsword, etc. These are all very difficult to master, and most people are not yet proficient enough and need to continue practicing."

"Wouldn't that mean training for several years?"

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Three to five years is necessary."

Zheng Yonghe exclaimed in surprise, "If a soldier has to train for a full five years to be considered qualified, that's too much of a price to pay."

Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement.

After the advent of the firearms era, it was a thankless task to spend huge sums of money to train such elite soldiers who were fully equipped for three battles.

The end of the Yuan Dynasty may have been the last glorious moment for the flower teams.

After this period, pure infantry will inevitably dominate, with pure infantry spearmen, pure infantry musketeers, and pure infantry artillerymen. Even cavalrymen will choose lightweight mounted combat weapons and become more like pure infantry, mainly because they are cheap and quick to train.

"How much do you earn in a year doing business?" Zheng Yonghe asked again.

"No less than ten thousand ingots."

Zheng Yonghe paused for a moment, looking at Shao Shuyi with a complicated expression. He wasn't quite sure if it was true or false, but selling smuggled salt must have been an extremely profitable business; otherwise, they wouldn't have killed officials and attacked salt fields.

If it's true, then 10,000 ingots of paper money should be enough to support even more soldiers; the power Shao Shuyi could wield was beyond his imagination.

Although this amount of money is not enough to compare with the imperial court or even the truly wealthy, it is enough for a salt smuggler who has only risen to prominence in the past four years to be proud of his peers.

"What are your plans for the future?" Zheng Yonghe continued to ask.

"I'm afraid this is the only way we can go for now," Shao Shuyi said. "Next year, we should try to do some other business. If we can make more money, that would be even better."

After a moment of silence, Zheng Yonghe nodded slightly and said, "It's quite good that you have this understanding. The matter of killing an official can be a big deal or a small one. There have been many officials who died mysteriously in the Yuan Dynasty over the years, and not every case can be verified. I can help by relaying a message and mediating, but whether it will be useful, and how useful it will be, is hard to say. But you don't need to worry too much."

At this point, Zheng Yonghe frowned and pondered for a while, then said, "There are many rumors that the Left Chancellor of Jiangzhe Province, Duo'er, is likely to enter the court as an official, probably next year."

"Oh?" Shao Shuyi's spirits lifted, and he asked, "What official position will I hold in the court?"

"It's hard to say." Zheng Yonghe shook his head. "Whether he will enter the court is still uncertain; it's all just rumors. As it stands, the most likely candidate is the Grand Censor. He and the current Grand Censor, Bierqiebuhua, are at odds. If he enters the court, he will be taking Bierqiebuhua's position, and a struggle is inevitable."

"Does Duo'er only know that she has to go to court?"

"It's just a rumor, no one can say for sure," Zheng Yonghe sighed. "But he just quelled the rebellion of Luo Tianlin in Tingzhou and made a contribution, so the possibility is not small. The current emperor doesn't really like harmony among his ministers. After promoting someone, he always supports another person to fight against him. This is the art of emperors, but too much of a good thing can be bad."

Shao Shuyi seemed to understand something.

This news is so valuable; if Zheng Yonghe hadn't told him, where would he have found out?

If Duo'er is only confident of entering the court and getting promoted, then he won't care much about everything in Jiangzhe. He's already made contributions, so there's no need to cause any more trouble. If Duo'er isn't confident, then he might need to make some more contributions and gain more favor with the emperor. Would that give him an opportunity to use against him? It's hard to say.

Which possibility it is remains to be seen, and the situation should become clearer over time.

Thinking of this, Shao Shuyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If he's still a petty thug or a small gang leader, then just keep a close eye on the local officials.

But he is not. Having reached this point, he has already made his name known in the province and has developed a strong thirst for information from higher levels, because this can truly determine his life or death.

Duo'er is only the head of a province, and even a single wrong decision by him can have a huge impact on his career.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir." Shao Shuyi bowed deeply and said sincerely.

Zheng Yonghe smiled and said, "These are all minor matters. In another two months, the situation should become clearer. However..."

He looked at Shao Shuyi.

Shao Shuyi bowed again and said, "Please enlighten me, sir."

"Even if Duo'er is gone, the newcomers will still keep an eye on you. More people know about you now," Zheng Yonghe said. "Zhu Chen is dead, Cai Luantou rebelled, and the Huashan bandits were wiped out. Now you're the most conspicuous person in the entire western Zhejiang. You'd better be more discreet next year and try not to let Duo'er or anyone else think of you. That way, you might be able to turn the tide."

"Yes." Shao Shuyi accepted the instruction sincerely, then asked, "Isn't there a man named Fang Guozhen in eastern Zhejiang? Hasn't the province noticed him?" Zheng Yonghe squinted and thought for a moment, then said, "I vaguely remember hearing that name."

Shao Shuyi thought to himself, "Oh no." Old Fang, why are you being so low-key?

You quietly contracted most of the salt fields in Wenzhou and Zhouzhou, making a fortune every day. You also recruited outlaws, built ships, and sold smuggled salt in the coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang and even parts of Fujian. You are quite powerful, so why didn't the government notice you?

No, we need to send someone from Hangzhou to inspect Fang Guozhen's territory, so that Duo'er only knows about Brother Fang's absolute power on Wen'er Road. "You know Fang Guozhen?" Zheng Yonghe asked Shao Shuyi.

"I know, he's the biggest salt merchant in eastern Zhejiang." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Before, there was Cai Luantou who competed with him for the salt fields. Later, in a chaotic battle, Luantou attacked and killed Guozhen's elder brother, Guoxin, and gained the upper hand. But he was forced to rebel by the court and went to sea. As a result, no one could control Fang Guozhen. He swept through the salt fields of the entire Wen'er Road and raised a large number of desperados under his command, which was quite terrifying."

Zheng Yonghe nodded slightly, realizing there was such an inside story.

At this moment, he also looked at Shao Shuyi with admonishing eyes and said, "There are living examples right in front of you. Acting impulsively will only bring trouble upon yourself. Remember that."

Shao Shuyi bowed and accepted the instruction.

The Fang family was originally not much of a match for a ruthless man like Cai Luantou, lacking both financial resources and power. But by a twist of fate, the prefecture unexpectedly summoned Cai Luantou to the governor's mansion for questioning, which forced him into rebellion.

Cai Luantou's rebellion was driven by passion; much of his wealth remained untransferred, many properties unsold, and many people unnoticed. Now, entangled with the government at sea, the situation is dire, and he's even resorting to plundering his hometown for supplies, severely damaging his reputation. Fang Guozhen, on the other hand, did nothing. First, his elder brother died, the gang's leadership fell right in his lap; then, Cai Luantou's forces withdrew completely from the contracted salt fields, and a fortune fell into his lap—everything went smoothly for him, he was ecstatic.

If you were to break ties with the government at this point and start a fight, you would certainly suffer huge losses, and might end up like Cai Luantou. The government might not be able to wipe you out, but your manpower, financial resources, and material resources would slowly diminish, and you would end up doing all the work for someone else.

This is what Zheng Yonghe meant, and it makes sense.

"Are you going back to Taicang for the Chinese New Year this year?" Zheng Yonghe suddenly asked.

"I'm not going back," Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "I'll stay in Jiangyin."

Zheng Yonghe nodded and said, "Take care of yourself."

The two didn't say anything more after that, and Shao Shuyi quickly took his leave.

At the beginning of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), before he had even slowly left Ganzeyuan, two figures, master and servant, quietly appeared.

Shi Liu deliberately lagged behind a few steps, giving up space.

Zheng Ning glanced at Shao Shuyi, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she lowered her head.

"Originally," Shao Shuyi carefully considered his words before saying, "I was originally going to Huguang this year, but I've been too busy with other things. I have too many men under my command, and every day when I open my eyes, I have to take responsibility for the livelihood of their families. I really can't find the time."

Zheng Ning hummed in agreement and asked in a low voice, "Is doing business very hard?"

"It's very tough."

"Does it cost a lot of money to go to Huguang?"

"Not really," Shao Shuyi said, then paused, stunned.

Zheng Ning quietly took out a jewelry box and said, "I know I've troubled you a lot and spent a lot of money these past two years. But I... I don't have much money either, just a few pieces of gold, jade, and pearls. I'm giving them all to you."

Shao Shuyi, who was used to lying, was momentarily speechless.

All those old-fashioned military strategies were useless at this moment; they suffered a complete and utter defeat.

He gently took the jewelry box, placed it inside his sheepskin coat, and put it against the bronze mirror.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Ning blushed slightly and said, "I...I have to go. If...if someone sees me, I'm finished."

After saying that, he hurriedly tried to slip away.

Shao Shuyi slowly recovered and asked softly, "Have you heard any rumors lately?"

Zheng Ning paused, then shook her head slightly: "I've been staying home reading and practicing calligraphy, sometimes playing the zither, and... I also secretly practice dancing, but I'm afraid people will say I don't practice enough."

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "You like dancing? Then go ahead and dance, it's no big deal."

Zheng Ning hummed in agreement and said, "I'm leaving."

"I'll write you a letter," Shao Shuyi said again.

Zheng Ning quickened his pace and disappeared with Shi Liu behind a few wintersweet trees.

Shao Shuyi watched quietly for a long time.

"Brother, everyone's inside," Tie Niu reminded him.

"You blockhead," Shao Shuyi said with a laugh.

Tie Niu lowered his head slightly and said, "Madam Zheng is inexperienced and kind-hearted. She believes whatever you say. What if..."

Shao Shuyi waved his hand irritably and said, "What do you know? Let's go home for the New Year."

"Which family?" Tie Niu asked.

Shao Shuyi punched him in anger and said, "My home in Jiangyin."