Jiang Zhen had been doing business with Toyo all the time, but recently, this business has been cut off.
Not only that, he also sent some people to patrol the waters near Hexing Mansion, and once they saw pirates, they would arrest them.
The weather is getting colder and colder, but those pirates are getting more and more rampant, because they suddenly discovered that the people of Daqi are really easy to rob, and most of them, even after seeing them, only know to beg for mercy, and they can't fight back. force.
And until now, whether they are from the East or Daqi, all the pirates are collectively called Japanese pirates by the common people and the government.
The Japanese epidemic has become more and more serious, and many people along the coast have suffered, but the life of the people along the coast of Hexing Prefecture is no different from before.
Those Japanese pirates did not dare to come to the Hexing Mansion to make trouble.
This is a good thing for the people of Hexing Mansion, but for some people, it makes them sleepless.
When winter turned to spring, and the peach tree gave birth to another tree of flowers and bones, a boat went all the way south along the coastline of Daqi, and finally stopped at the pier of Yabian Village. Soon after, a stern face came off the boat. middle-aged man.
The person guarding Yabian Village was Jiang Ming. Seeing that person, Jiang Ming was a little surprised: "Master Hou?"
The person who came was the one who had asked Jiang Zhen to help buy food and grass all these years, Lord Qi Qing Qi.
It was Luo Tianci who brought this man to Jiangnan and brought him to see Jiang Zhen. He didn't tell Jiang Zhen his identity at first, but after cooperation, Jiang Zhen knew that this person was still a clan.
Daqi lasted for more than 300 years. At the beginning, there were only a few members of the royal family. Now, there are already tens of thousands. The relationship between Qi Qing and the royal family has been a little far away, but it has not declined. Qi Qing is a bit of a skill, and now he has inherited the title, becoming a marquis and a general of the Liaodong Iron Cavalry.
"I want to see Jiang Zhen." Qi Qing said.
Jiang Ming quickly brought this person to Jiang Zhen.
"What is the matter with Mr. Qi looking for me?" Jiang Zhen looked at Qi Qing with some puzzlement.
"Jiang Zhen, in the previous winter, the Rongmen acted frequently and burned down one of our granaries. Our Liaodong Iron Cavalry also recruited troops... Now there is a shortage of grain and grass. I hope you can buy another batch of grain and grass and send it to Liaodong." Qi Qing looked When he arrived at Jiang Zhen, he immediately said.
"It's just this? It's just like this, you don't need Master Qi to make a special trip, right?" Jiang Zhen looked at Qi Qing with some puzzlement.
"Jiang Zhen, I came here in person because Liaodong can't get the money right now. If you can, I hope you can pay in advance." Qi Qing said.
Jiang Zhen believed that the Liaodong Iron Cavalry could not get any money.
Even though Jiangnan is very prosperous, except for the fact that there are Japanese pirates along the coast, and the people's life is relatively difficult, everyone else is living well. From the perspective of the whole Daqi, it has not been very peaceful.
For example, in the year he followed Zheng Yi to Beijing, a part of the way was hit by drought, and in the past few years, there were floods, not to mention that the Rong people were still just around the corner...
Coupled with the fact that there are many officials, clans, and armies, the expenses in all aspects are very large, and the imperial court often cannot make ends meet. It is said that sometimes officials owe their salaries.
Although the imperial court has always attached great importance to the Liaodong iron cavalry and did not treat them badly, it is impossible to provide enough food and wages.
"You can default on a part of the debt, but before the next time, you must settle the silver tael." Jiang Zhendao.
"Okay." Qi Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
Because the people in the Jiangnan area are more willing to grow mulberry trees or cotton than to grow grain, and then weave cloth and sell it for money, the price of grain in Jiangnan is not cheap, and it is not easy to buy.
Of course, no matter how expensive it is, it is cheaper than the north.
It took Jiang Zhen some time to buy some food and grass, and at the urging of Qi Qing, he sent a fleet to send the food and grass to the northwest.
The fleet left, but Qi Qing did not leave, intending to stay behind to buy more food.
Jiang Zhen is not surprised by what he did. This is ancient times. It is not certain when a natural disaster occurs, and the people will have no harvest. Therefore, almost everyone likes to store grain. It is more normal for the Liaodong Tieqi to store grain.
On this day, after having dinner with Qi Qing, Jiang Zhen went back to his residence in Yabian Village and slept.
As a result, in the second half of the night, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of horns and shouts of killing.
Someone attacked Yabian Village, and that's fine. The people who attacked were still officers and soldiers.
If you are an ordinary businessman, and the local officials arbitrarily accuse him of a crime, he may be thrown into prison, and his family property will be seized.
But if the power in his hands is too great... With Cheng Yongzhen's lessons learned, Jiang Zhen knows very well that it will definitely make people jealous.
It's just that Jiang Zhen didn't expect the court's actions to come out so unexpectedly.
There was someone in the Zheng family in the court, and he always asked Zheng Yi to help him look at it, but this time, Zheng Yi didn't spread the news to him at all!
Jiang Zhen took people out of his residence and saw Qi Qing who was protected by some soldiers. When Qi Qing saw him, he said loudly, "Jiang Zhen, you surrender early, and I will report to the sage Ming to give you a way out."
Because of the chaos around him, Jiang Zhen didn't hear Qi Qing's words very clearly, but he also heard a general idea, and even more clearly understood the word "Sacred Lord".
It is the saint, not the queen mother.
It was also at this time that he finally understood why all this happened so suddenly and without warning.
When he followed Zheng Yi to Beijing seven or eight years ago, the queen mother was covering the sky with one hand in the court, but now seven or eight years have passed, and the little emperor at that time has grown up.
Now that he has grown up, he will naturally start to seize power, and the Zheng family, although they have been courting the little emperor in recent years, will definitely not be able to gain the little emperor's trust.
Under such circumstances, Zheng Yi didn't get any news at all, which was normal.
"Qi Qing, I have worked hard for the Liaodong Iron Cavalry for several years. Is this how you treat me?" Jiang Zhen sneered.
This Qi Qing is a decent gentleman, he really did not expect that this person would suddenly attack him.
Qi Qing frowned slightly, his face not very good-looking.
He came to Jiangnan for the first time three years ago, and when he saw Jin Zhen's escort, he already knew that Jin Zhen's escort was not easy, but at that time, everything was still controllable, and he didn't do anything.
But three years later, this Jin Zhen escort has become stronger and stronger.
If you are a little careless, another Cheng Yongzhen may come out!
Of course, he suddenly shot Jiang Zhen, and the reason was not the only one.
His allegiance is His Majesty, and most of the power in the court is still in the hands of the Queen Mother... This Jiang Zhen, if I really want to say it, is still from the Queen Mother's side!
Jin Zhen Escort Bureau must not be kept, and this is also the first time His Majesty has shown himself to the Queen Mother as a test.
"Jiang Zhen, you ask your subordinates to put down their weapons and surrender, we will never kill innocent people indiscriminately." Qi Qing said again.
Jiang Zhen sneered.
He is not Cheng Yongzhen, and he will not easily hand his life into the hands of others.
"After surrendering, these people will only chop our heads to lead the army! If you fight with me, there may be a way to survive!" Jiang Zhen said loudly.
If Jiang Zhen, like Cheng Yongzhen, never had any other thoughts, he would definitely be cornered at this moment.
But he has never been the same as the vast majority of people at this time.
He had already prepared a retreat, and never intended to be loyal to the monarch and patriotic enough to sacrifice his life willingly.
He will not kill indiscriminately, and he has no intention of rebelling, but he can choose to leave.
And Jiang Zhen's subordinates are also different from ordinary people in Daqi.
Nowadays, most of the people around Jiang Zhen are people from the Hongjiang Salt Works. These people do not particularly trust the imperial court, not to mention that when Jiang Zhen trained them over the years, he also consciously did some brainwashing.
That night, officers and soldiers raided Yabian Village. After that, Jiang Zhen, like Cheng Yongzhen, chose to leave.
He really... Surrounded by countless officers and soldiers, he left with his subordinates!
When he got on the boat and left, Jiang Zhen was very silent.
He didn't want to start any wars, and he didn't want to confront the officers and soldiers, but this was the way it was in this era.
Qi Qing made a lot of preparations to arrest Jiang Zhen this time. He first used the pretext of letting Jiang Zhen send food and grass to Liaodong to divert many of Jiang Zhen's men, and then let Sun Qiyun lead his troops to secretly surround Jiang Zhen. Not only that, he also sent people to the city of Hexing to arrest Zhao Jinge.
At the beginning, before Cheng Yongzhen fled to Ryukyu to become king, his family was caught in prison. They didn't think that they would not be able to catch the Zhao family.
But they haven't caught Zhao Jinge yet.
Jiang Zhen will never hide anything from Zhao Jinge. For so many years, he has been cultivating Zhao Jinge, and Zhao Jinge is no longer the villager he used to be.
What's more, the intelligence work of the Jin Zhen Escort Bureau has been done very well.
Zhao Jinge didn't know that the court's navy wanted to sneak up on Yabian Village, but he found someone sneaking around near his home, and he quickly realized that maybe someone was going against him.
This group of people… there are many more! There are even people from the imperial court!
After Zhao Jinge discovered this, he chose the same path as Jiang Zhen - leaving.
This is what Jiang Zhen explained long ago. At that time, he didn't know why Jiang Zhen said this, but now he understands it.
He didn't want to die, and he couldn't implicate Jiang Zhen. That being the case, if he was in danger, he naturally had to run away as soon as possible.
Those who were ambushed near Zhao's house and wanted to attack Zhao Jinge were finally solved by Jin Zhen's guards. Not only that, Zhao Jinge brought Zhao Liu's couple, two children, and many people from Jinzhen's guards. , got on the boat and left Hexing House.
The big ship left the river in Hexing House and entered the ocean.
Many people in the Jin Zhen Escort Bureau, especially the family members of He Chunsheng and others, are actually very at a loss. a command.