The Jiang family is a big local family in Changshu. They have stayed here for almost every generation. The Yuan army was stationed. They were the fastest group to kneel. They also got the position of Tongzhi. They are the local emperors of Changshu. Maybe no one knows that Zhizhou is called Sukhbaru, but they must know that this fellow is called Jiang Zheng.
The centuries-old family is as huge as a monster, with in-laws all over Changshu. Most of the families with a little face have female relatives surnamed Jiang. After giving birth to children, they continue to marry the Jiang family, and the next generation will have Half of the blood is flowing from the Jiang family.
Such Jiang Zheng, as a successor, has a very strong appeal once his plan is supported by the family.
They all want to take a gamble. If they win the gamble, the Jiang family will not have to stay in Changshu. If they lose the gamble, the big deal is to accept the court's persuasion to surrender. Now the court wants to be a teacher of benevolence. Before, the imperial court would not completely tear their faces away from them.
The whole family came out in full force. Most of Changshu's little officials and low-level officials had more or less relations with the Jiang family. After Jiang Zheng convinced the family, they naturally still became Jiang Zheng's people.
Jiang Zheng was sitting in the yard now, watching a teenager put Sukhbaru's head on the table in front of him, Jiang Zheng covered his mouth and resisted the desire to vomit.
It's not that he hasn't killed anyone. Although he didn't kill himself, it was the first time he saw a bloody scene.
Either strangled or beaten to death, there is no beheading.
"Throw his head out." Jiang Zheng frowned, unable to drink the tea at hand.
An Lao Si rushed over from the outside, almost trotting all the way to the front of Jiang. After the table was cleaned up, Jiang Zheng finally suppressed his nausea and smiled at An Lao Si: "Brother An, as we expected, this is as expected. Sukhbaru is not a great character either."
Jiang Zheng said complacently: "I made so many arrangements in vain."
An Lao Si naturally wants to flatter him again.
Jiang Zheng is not a smart person. After all, he is young, has limited experience, and has all the problems that young people may have.
Self-esteem is very high, careless, love to listen to flattery.
But he has a family that allows him to make mistakes.
There is always a wise man in a big family.
Jiang Zheng's expression changed, and he said to the man under him, "Tie him up."
An Lao Si's eyes widened. He knew that he couldn't run away now, so he could only be captured obediently. He was pressed on a chair and couldn't move. Jiang was sitting opposite him.
"Did Brother An always think I'm stupid?" Jiang looked at him blankly.
An Lao Si smiled: "Jiang Tongzhi is the smartest person I have ever met."
Jiang Zheng was so angry that he slapped the table and smashed the teacup in his hand.
"Don't say these bastard words!" Jiang Zheng was pacing the place irritably, "I know what you think of me!"
Jiang Zheng grabbed An Lao Si's collar: "Who sent you here?!"
An Lao Si said with a look of fear: "Tongzhi, I am a businessman, and of course it is for money."
Jiang Zheng sneered: "I was almost fooled by you, if it wasn't for me..."
He didn't say it all.
An Laosi lowered his head, he knew that he wanted to escape now would be a fool's dream, and he could only hope that Lin Yuan and the others could enter Changshu as soon as possible. won't kill him.
This is not only to protect Lin Yuan's plan, but also to protect himself.
"You will speak." Jiang Zheng sat back again, and he looked much calmer.
He asked, "This officer can already guess who sent you."
"Yes..." Jiang Zheng was about to say who he had guessed, when An Lao Si suddenly said loudly, "Since Tong Zhi has already guessed it, I won't hide it from you. I'm here this time under orders from the government. , come to persuade fellow knowers to join in the grand event!"
Jiang Zheng frowned, obviously this was completely different from what he had guessed: "Fang Guozhen?"
"Isn't he in Huizhou?" Jiang Zheng obviously didn't believe it.
After all, An Laosi used to belong to Fang Guozhen, and he knew the affairs of Huizhou very well. Although he was not Fang Guozhen's confidant, he could say some insignificant things without hesitation.
Jiang Zheng found that there was no flaw in what An Lao Si said, and he was dubious.
Just when An Laosi was sweating on his forehead and didn't know what else to talk about, there was a loud noise outside, and An Laosi even felt like the ground was shaking.
Jiang Zheng was also startled and almost slipped off his chair. He shouted, "What happened outside? What happened?"
The people in Jiang Zheng's house were in chaos, and it took nearly a quarter of an hour for someone to report.
"My lord! Someone is attacking the city outside! They have trebuchets!"
Trebuchet!
Everyone has heard of this thing and knows someone has used it, but it is a very huge tool, and it cannot be carried over long distances. for a long time.
Are these people already outside the city
impossible! He only sent people to chase Sukhbaru two days ago. If there were people in the vicinity, there would be so many people and troops that they could not be unaware.
Jiang Zheng looked at An Lao Si, gritted his teeth and said, "Who is it?"
At this point, An Lao Si can not hide it: "Gaoyou."
Jiang Zheng raised his fist, as if he wanted to hit An Lao Si's face, An Lao Si said with a smile: "Tongzhi, I advise you to think carefully before you start, now that the army is under the city, I am in your hands, maybe you will still be there when the city is broken. If you can save your life, if you kill me or hurt me, then your life will be difficult."
Jiang Zheng: "Do you think I will believe you?"
The boulders began to be thrown outside again, Jiang Zheng held on to the table, An Lao Si fell to the ground with the chair attached, and he looked quite complacent: "If you had found out earlier, maybe the situation today would have been reversed. "
Jiang Zheng: "Isn't that guy in Gaoyou who pretends to be a ghost? He is very kind? Use a catapult? The common people in Changshu are not common people?"
"My lord," said An Lao Si loudly, "it's useless for you to say that to me!"
"The people under Nan Bodhisattva's rule are his people. When he takes Changshu, he will naturally love the people like a son."
Jiang Zheng laughed: "Love the people like a son?"
An Lao Si: "You don't believe it? I didn't believe it at first."
"Master Tongzhi, let's watch."
—
Luo Guanzhong was in the tent that was set up at this time. The furnishings were simple, and it was good to have a table.
A total of three catapults were brought. The carpenters tried their best to make the assembly easier after disassembly according to Lin Yuan’s request. Today, a catapult only needs ten big men to assemble, and it only takes three hours. That's six hours.
Although it still seems to take a lot of time, it saves more than half of the original time.
Sometimes efficiency is also important.
Although Luo Guanzhong had read a lot of military books and admitted that he knew a lot about trebuchets, it was the first time he had seen a real trebuchet, like three giants standing above the ground. He spread out the map of Changshu and discussed with Zhu Yuanzhang and the others.
This time, Lin Yuan did not come with him.
This made Luo Guanzhong a little disappointed when he breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it won't be too nervous, it's a pity that Lin Yuan couldn't see the victory scene with his own eyes.
"These stones alone will make him scare half to death." Brother Dao slapped his thigh and said very proudly, "I have never seen this battle before, it is more powerful than that explosive."
It took a lot of manpower to make the boulders, so they could only use local materials. They set up camp last night, searched for the boulders overnight, and had to find a way to bring them back, which took a lot of time.
But the results are also amazing.
Changshu is now in chaos, and the city walls are crumbling. In addition to the boulders, there are many scattered stones, and throwing them out can also cause riots within a certain range.
After Luo Guanzhong discussed with them, Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Bo'an and Li Congrong each led a team out.
Now the soldiers in Gaoyou have changed their faces. The arrival of businessmen has brought a better life, more money and military equipment - they always have their own way and means.
These Lin Jiajun wear helmets.
And the most astounding thing is that Lin Yuan finally cultivated a team of cavalry.
One cavalry is enough money to support three infantry.
The consumption of horses is very high.
But the combat capability of the cavalry is also worthy of these expenses.
The Mongols were conquered by cavalry, and they even went on expeditions to Europe and became the famous whip of God.
The standard knows how to conquer the world, but does not know how to sit in the world.
Just like Li Zicheng, but Li Zicheng was even more unlucky and became emperor for 42 days.
There are also very superstitious rumors among the people.
It is said that there was an old saying at that time, "Eat meat every day and celebrate the New Year every day."
People can only eat meat once a year.
The fortune teller told Li Zicheng that he could be the emperor for forty-two years.
As a result, Li Zicheng ate meat every day after he became emperor, so forty-two years became forty-two days.
This rumor is more of a joke.
But you can imagine how miserable Li Zicheng is.
He ended the rule of the Ming Dynasty and was also an excellent leader of the peasant uprising, but in the end he lost his original people's hearts because of his arrogance and extravagance.
It became a stepping stone for the Qing government to settle in the Central Plains.
In contrast, the Yuan Dynasty still lived for ninety-eight years.
It's lucky.
The chaos in Changshu turned into a pot of porridge. The people fled in all directions, but did not know where to flee. The soldiers had never seen this battle. They were at a loss and could only walk up the city wall with weapons.
The archer had just raised the bow, but the other party had already set up the crossbow.
Whether it is experience, combat ability, or physical fitness, the Lin family army is much stronger than them.
It was a one-sided fight.
An Laosi was completely relieved now, he rushed to Jiang Zheng, who was standing aside and dared not go out, and said: "Tongzhi, surrender, although Nan Bodhisattva has a good heart, if you don't surrender, once you are captured, you will not be able to escape death. Surrender now, and with me in your hands, you will definitely save your life."
Jiang Zheng was completely panicked now.
He ran out trembling.
He had to ask his uncle and his family, what should they do now
Is it to stand up or surrender... or ask the court for help
Jiang Zheng clenched his fists, and all he thought about was: I can't die, I can't die.
Either ask the court for help, or surrender, or find a way to escape.
There are only three ways.
All three paths are accompanied by huge risks.
They have to find a way that is best for them.
—
At this time, Lin Yuan was looking at the ledger that Song Shizhao gave him. The method of bookkeeping was taught to Song Shizhao by Lin Yuan. The ledger left by Gaoyou and Taizhou in the past was a mess, and it was very troublesome to organize. Lin Yuan had no choice but to do so. Take the time to teach Song Shizhao how to keep accounts, and then let Song Shizhao teach you how to organize the account book.
Form accounting, different expenditures are recorded in different books, and it is also convenient to check.
This year, most of Gaoyou's expenditures are still on the common people. At the beginning, Lin Yuan used all the grain stored in Gaoyou and Taizhou to support the common people, as well as the influx of refugees. Then there is the salary of the officials.
Song Shizhao said to Lin Yuan, "My boss, there is no money left."
Lin Yuan: "Has the salt in Taizhou not been sold yet?"
Song Shizhao nodded: "It has never been sold."
Lin Yuan stood up from the chair: "Call the merchants here, it's time to sell."
If you don't sell it, you will die of poverty.
Bidding is used to sell salt. The big businessman bids all the salt at one price, and then he sells the price himself.
Lin Yuan was too lazy to sell it, it was too much trouble.
The businessmen were also very excited that they were finally able to do something big.
Some people also tried their best to inquire about other people's bids. Lin Yuan set the lowest bid price. If the price did not exceed Lin Yuan's price by then, the bid would be void. Next time, the operation of merchants joining forces to lower the price would be stopped.
Small merchants want to bid together, big merchants do their own thing.
Zhou Fu prepared the money for the bidding, and felt that apart from himself, only Xie Zichang was left with the ability to compete with him. He spent a lot of money trying to pry Xie Zichang away from people's mouths, but it was a pity that the meat buns beat the dogs. The money was received, but although there was a lot of money revealed, it was obviously impossible for Xie Zichang to set the price. It was obviously nonsense, just to fool him.
"Master!" the servant stood at the door. "The carriage is ready."
Zhou Fu opened the door: "Why are you still stuck, let's go!"
The salt was placed on the ground in baskets. These salts were ground very finely and were very high-quality fine salt. When the salt people brought the salt over, they were shocked. They obviously felt that it was easier than before. More, why the salt has not become less? Not only did it not get less, but it got better
Businessmen sit in chairs, they can bid openly, and everyone is given a small wooden placard in their hands, and the price will be raised once the peg is raised.
Lin Yuan watched from the side.
He wants to see what the current price of salt is.
It turned out that Zhou Fu finally won the bid. He and Xie Zichang simply increased the price, scaring the small businessmen next to them.
The financial resources of big businessmen are almost unimaginable to ordinary people.
After the auction ended, Lin Yuan also found time to meet Zhou Fu.
"South Bodhisattva." Zhou Fu smiled.
Lin Yuan let him sit down first, and then asked strangely: "President Zhou spends such a big price, and there is still money to earn?"
Although the current salt price is high, Xinghua is not the only producer of salt.
Zhou Fu sighed: "Nan Bodhisattva doesn't know the price of official salt now."
During the financial crisis of the Yuan Dynasty, the price of salt doubled several times, and now the families of the little rich are almost unable to eat salt.
Zhou Fu said: "I can sell this batch of salt before Gaoyou comes out."
Small businessmen can only buy from Zhou Fu, and naturally Xie Zichang can only buy from Zhou Fu.
Not only did he make money, he made a lot of money.
Other merchants can't afford such a huge amount, but they can buy it in bulk.
Lin Yuan nodded and said to Zhou Fu, "It's hard work."
Zhou Fu quickly waved his hand: "It's not hard, it's not hard."
"It's Nan Bodhisattva, it's really hard to take care of so many things."
Lin Yuan looked at him with a smile, thinking in his heart: If I can't catch the strong man, do you think I want to take care of it
In this era, reading and recognizing characters is not something that can be accomplished in a month or two. Lin Yuan stipulated that as long as you learn 300 characters, even if you are semi-literate, if you learn 800 characters, you will be out of the illiterate ranks.
Now the newly added people who have left the illiterate ranks are less than 1,000 people from Taizhou and Gaoyou combined.
Among these thousand people, most of them are children with strong learning ability, most of them are less than fifteen years old.
Lin Yuan, who is over ten years old, has already let them do things.
Under the age of ten... Lin Yuan can only let them continue literacy for his little friends.
Lin Yuan is now very much looking for where there is an academy, and then leads the troops to fight over and arrest all the scholars.
But just think about it this way.
Lin Yuan didn't want to offend the scholar, sometimes the pen of the scholar is more ruthless than the knife, especially the ancients.
Different from modern times, the things most people in modern times come into contact with not only come from books, but also from the Internet. The acquisition of justification information allows modern people to accept a variety of ideas.
In the ancients, most of the truths came from books. Books established their three views, and they also inherited the ideas in books.
Therefore, whenever the dynasty changes, the scholar is always the last to kneel.
Loyalty to the monarch and patriotism is also the education received by scholars.
I just don't know if the current readers love the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhou Fu suddenly said: "I have an idea."
Lin Yuan said quickly, "Chairman Zhou is here."
Zhou Fu smiled and said, "Since Nan Bodhisattva is short of scholars, why doesn't he issue an order to seek merit?"
Lin Yuan frowned: "The court over there..."
The Red Turban Army is slowly gaining momentum now, attracting most of the Yuan army's firepower, but Lin Yuan still doesn't want to face the Yuan army now.
Zhou Fu: "If Nan Bodhisattva can trust me, I will let me handle this matter, and it will be done properly and beautifully."
Lin Yuan looked at Zhou Fu, he didn't believe him.
Zhou Fu also knew that it was the best time to show his loyalty, so he quickly knelt down: "I'm a businessman, and I don't live in a fixed place. My parents and brothers should have received Gaoyou early, and I will guarantee the life of the whole family. This matter will be handled by Nan Bodhisattva. it is good!"
It was only then that Lin Yuan realized that he had been so dizzy recently that he didn't even read the reports of the businessmen's family members.
Zhou Fu's parents and brothers are all in Gaoyou, and he recently married a local wife in Gaoyou, who is four months pregnant.
"Then it's all up to President Zhou." Lin Yuan helped Zhou Fu up with a smile on his face, "If this happens, there will be a reward."
Zhou Fu breathed a sigh of relief.
"There is one more thing." Lin Yuan said.
Zhou Fu hurriedly bowed: "South Bodhisattva, please speak."
Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "I want to know the strength of Qishui."
Zhou Fu suddenly realized: "Never let the adults entrust you."
Today's Qishui is being occupied by Xu Shouhui. Xu Shouhui revolted against the Yuan in August last year, occupied Qishui, established himself as an emperor, and played the banner of the Red Turban Army.
The reason why Lin Yuan paid attention to him was that in the fifteenth year of Zhizheng, Xu Shouhui would have more generals in his hands.
The name of that general will remain in the annals of history forever - Chen Youliang.
Lin Yuan thought about whether Chen Youliang would appear if he sent troops to attack Qishui.
But he hasn't made a decision yet.
If he doesn't care about Xu Shouhui, then he will at least know what Chen Youliang will do in the future.
If he manages it and thinks for the best, Chen Youliang might not participate in the uprising - Lin Yuan thinks this is unlikely, Chen Youliang was not forced, he was an official and has family background, he chose the path by himself.
Even if there is no Xu Shouhui, and there is no Ni Wenjun under Xu Shouhui, Chen Youliang will still revolt and become the leader of the separatist side.
Or, he had to wait until the fifteenth year of Zhizheng, until Chen Youliang revolted in Huang Peng.
Then he killed Chen Youliang on the battlefield.
Lin Yuan asked Zhou Fu to be sent away, and he sat at the table drinking tea.
He was a little restless, and since he knew about Xu Shouhui's uprising, this restless feeling became stronger.
Compared with Fang Guozhen, Liu Futong, and Lin Yuan, it is Chen Youliang who cares more.
Chen Youliang's military intuition and sensitivity to war are not comparable to ordinary people. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang won him, he had to say that there was some element of luck.
Moreover, he is ruthless enough and has almost no weaknesses. Lin Yuan felt that he had reason to believe that if he had to kill his family to gain the throne, Chen Youliang would not blink his eyes. He is a natural creature with a desire for power. Almost morbid, so he is a single husband, and no one can allow anyone to question him against him and disagree with him.
Lin Yuan took a sip of tea.
He could only wait, and three years later, Chen Youliang's name was born.
"Am I too nervous?" Lin Yuan held his forehead and said to himself.
Erliang poured tea for Lin Yuan again.
Looking at Lin Yuan's headache, he asked in a low voice, "Master, do you want to take a break?"
Lin Yuan looked at Erliang and asked Erliang, "Erliang, how have you been recently?"
Erliang had a smile on her face: "I live with my parents now, and I'm doing well."
Erliang also lowered her head and said, "My mother showed me a daughter-in-law."
Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Have we talked about it?"
Erliang smiled and said, "You know it too, it's Xiao Yao."
Xiaoyao is also the son of Lin Yuan's family. Both parents are domestic servants. Compared with the servants who were bought later, the status of family sons is much higher.
Therefore, when choosing a marriage partner, most of them also choose to have children at home.
Erliang also said to Lin Yuan, "My mother and her mother have discussed it. When the battle in Changshu is over, we will get married."
Lin Yuan said blankly, "Congratulations."
Twenty-two smirked.
Lin Yuan thought for a while: "I won't go when that time comes."
Erliang breathed a sigh of relief, and he did not dare to invite Lin Yuan to go, otherwise no one would let go.
Lin Yuan patted Erliang on the shoulder: "Strive to hold Erliang for three years."
Both faces turned red.
In Changshu at this time, Jiang Zheng's face also turned red, but it was not because he was shy.