Weddell saw Han Lin and understood that Han Lin was the supreme governor here, so he immediately sent a translator to negotiate.

"We come from the great British Empire, and we have come to trade with the Ming at the behest of the noble queen, and not only do you not accept my kindness, but you also fire at us and destroy our ships, do you want to declare war on the British? Are you up to the task? The translator righteously accused.

"Heh," Han Lin sneered, "I'm afraid you didn't think so when you changed the trade flag to the military flag, right?" ”

"You, how do you know?" The translator was stunned, this was obviously the first time to deal with Daming, how could the other party know the meaning of the flag.

"I know more, even if your colonies are all over the world, they are not our opponents of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that there is the Netherlands in the way, and even if the Dutch come to trade, they will have to pay protection money to our Ming people." Han Lin didn't want to entangle with them more, the two countries were far away, and no one could threaten anyone at present, and his country's foreign trade could not bypass Britain, so he said: "Compensation of three thousand taels of silver, in addition, I will dismantle the cannons on your ships, leave two for each ship, and half of the muskets, if you agree, take the money and follow him to complete your trade, if you don't agree, stay here forever!" At the same time, he pointed to Qianjiang.

"This...", the translation turned to Weddell, which only the latter could decide.

Weddell was shocked and angry when he learned the contents of the negotiation, and his face changed for a while before he agreed, and the man had to bow his head under the eaves.

Next, Han Lin received compensation from the British, and asked Qianjiang to take them everywhere to buy goods such as silk, tea, and porcelain, and sent sailors to salvage the destroyed British ships, and the equipment on them could not be wasted.

……

In the blink of an eye, another half a year passed, and Han Duan accepted Han Lin's suggestion and carried out reforms in the entire Guangdong Eleven Guards except for the four guards in Guangzhou. The 4th Guards of Guangzhou were organized into 1st to 4th Regiments, and the remaining 11th Guards were organized into 5th to 15th Regiments, with a total strength of nearly 40,000, but the latter's training time was short, and the supply of firearms was not enough, so its combat effectiveness was far from being comparable with the former, but compared with the peasant army that rebelled everywhere, it was already much stronger.

"Lin'er, you really have to leave, it's too dangerous outside now." In Han Duan's study, Zhao Yu looked worried.

"Mother, don't worry, I'm not going to fight the rebels alone, now Zhang Xianzhong and many others have been recruited by the imperial court, but I think they will soon make a comeback, so I plan to go out and have a look." Han Lin patiently tried to convince Zhao Yu.

"Husband, hurry up and persuade Lin'er."

"What is there to persuade, how can the male son of my Han family be greedy for life and afraid of death," Han Duan looked at Han Lin, who was already eighteen years old and was as tall as himself unconsciously, and his tiger eyes still showed tenderness after all, "When will you come back?" ”

"A year ago!"

After packing up his money, clothes, short swords, muskets and other personal weapons, Han Lin took a dragon and a tiger, plus a squad of ten people, disguised as an ordinary caravan, and set off north with two truckloads of goods. An important stop is Huguang Xiangyang Mansion Gucheng, Zhang Xianzhong's Quartet is stationed around Gucheng, not only does not accept the imperial court adaptation, but also recruits troops everywhere, and he will revolt again next year in history. However, Han Lin first had to go to Hengzhou Mansion, where there was a thinker named Wang Fuzhi, of course, he was just a young man now.

Seven days later, Han Lin and others came to Wang Yaping in the south of Hengzhou Mansion and inquired about the location of Wang's family. The Wang family is a family of intellectuals who have not landed on the ground, but there are still some points in the family. Han Lin showed his intention to the doorman, and the latter saw that Han Lin was dignified and there were attendants following, so he didn't dare to slack off, and immediately went inside to report.

In Wangfu's room, when he was studying, he heard the report of his subordinates, and couldn't help but wonder: I am in Hengzhou, I have not been examined for fame, and I have done something, and it is really strange that someone came to visit me from Guangzhou in the south, and I want to see why this person came. Wang Fuzhi said to the doorman, "Bring them in." ”

After Wang Fuzhi saw Han Lin, he got straight to the point: "I don't know what Your Excellency is called, and why do you want to visit you?" ”

"My surname is Han, and my single name is a Linzi, you can just call me Han Lin, I know that you are one year older than me, I don't know if I can call you Brother Wang?" As soon as Han Lin came up, he first set a close, "As for the reason for the visit, my father is the commander of the capital of Guangdong, I know that Brother Wang has great ambitions and extraordinary talents, and I hereby invite you to achieve great things with me!" "It is impossible for Han Lin to say that I know that you are one of the three great thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and you have already thought of a reason.

"Together?" Wang Fuzhi stared at Han Lin, the meaning of this important event was rich.

"I wonder what Brother Wang thinks about the situation in the world? Please speak up and don't hide it. Han Lin changed the topic and wanted to convince Wang Fuzhi.

"Opinion?" At this time, Wang Fuzhi was only nineteen years old, and he had never seen all kinds of folk diseases and social phenomena with his own eyes, but the imperial examination still occupied a great position in his heart, and he would go to Wuchang to participate in the township examination and win the examination four years later. After being silent for a long time, Wang Fuzhi said: "When the situation is turbulent today, there are rebel armies raging inside, and Qing soldiers are watching outside, if you are not careful, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty that Emperor Taizu has laid down will be destroyed in an instant." ”

"Then Brother Wang thinks who will sit in this country after the Ming Dynasty falls?" Han Lin continued to ask, this seemed to outsiders to be a big rebellion.

"In my opinion, it is very likely that it is Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang." Wang Fuzhi thought for a while and replied.

"Why didn't Brother Wang say that he would be a Qing man? The Qing soldiers were well-trained, fierce in battle, and even the artillery equipment had surpassed our Ming officers and troops, occupying an advantage, and Li Zicheng's peasant army could not compete with them at all. ”

Wang Fuzhi did not answer, subconsciously Han intellectuals like him are very repulsive to foreigners, but there are few who really have backbone.

"At the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprisings, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was the Yellow Turban Army, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was the Yellow Nest, and Emperor Taizu also participated in the rebel army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty to conquer the world. The dynasty is collapsing quickly! Han Lin stared at Wang Fuzhi's eyes, "Mencius said: 'The people are precious, the society is secondary, and the monarch is light', this world is the world of the people of the world!" However, the rulers of all dynasties are all high, the emperor's rights are unlimited, there is no check and balance, and the corruption of officials is rampant, and it is inevitable that the people will not be able to make a living, and the people will not be able to live, how can they not rise up? If you want to achieve a thousand years of success, you must carry out a big change, do you understand what I mean? ”

Wang Fuzhi stopped talking, and Han Lin's words had a great impact on him.

"I know that Brother Wang is difficult to make a decision for a while, why don't you walk thousands of miles with me to see what has become of this world?" Han Lin chuckled.

"Good!" Wang Fuzhi hesitated again and again, and finally agreed.

On the morning of five days later, Han Lin and the others came to the outskirts of Gucheng and saw the military camp of Zhang Xianzhong's department from a distance, those peasant troops had a high fighting spirit at the current stage, and the discipline was not too bad, and they often trained, but Han Lin knew that once they had a status and settled down, the speed of corruption was not ordinarily fast, so they needed to avoid the edge for the time being.

In the era of war and chaos, there were homeless people everywhere, and the measures of the imperial court to control the floating population had long been useless, so Han Lin and the others went directly into the city to find an ordinary inn to live in.

At noon, Han Lin and others went to the inn lobby for lunch. As soon as the meal was served, Han Lin heard the conversation at the next table, and put down the chopsticks he picked up.

At the next table sat three young men in Confucian robes, one tall and thin, one of medium build, and one of the youngest, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

I only heard the medium-sized Confucian speak first: "The thief Zhang Xianzhong has finally been appeased, and hundreds of people can live in peace again, it is really a blessing for the country and a blessing for the people!" It's a pity that there are many thieves such as Li Zicheng. ”

"Humph!" The tall and thin Confucian didn't see it that way, "As far as I can see, that Zhang Xianzhong is a wolf's ambition, this time it's just a fraud, he has garrisoned more than 10,000 troops around our valley city, not only resisting the orders of the imperial court, but also absorbing untouchables from nearby to join the rebellious army, and we are now all turtles in the urn!" The armies of the imperial court should destroy them at once. ”

"What a turtle in an urn!" The middle-sized Confucian obviously felt that this word was an insult to him, "The rebellious army is just a rabble, and the court's willingness to recruit an is already the emperor's grace!" ”

When Han Lin heard this, he couldn't help but shake his head.

At this time, the youngest Confucian student slowly spoke: "Why doesn't the imperial court want to completely exterminate the rebel army, but outside the Shanhai Pass, the Qing soldiers are eyeing each other, and that is our great enemy of the Ming Dynasty!" Eat well and don't let others see the jokes. He noticed Han Lin and the others.

When the three Confucian students finished eating and left, Han Lin looked at Wang Fuzhi: "What does Brother Wang think of Zhang Xianzhong?" ”

Wang Fuzhi thought for a moment and replied: "I think that Zhang Xianzhong is not an ordinary person, the peasant army outside the city is not even stronger than many of my officers and soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, and when it really comes to that time, there may be a place for him in this world." ”

"Haha," Han Lin thought to himself: This Wang Fuzhi is worthy of being a famous person in history, "Brother Wang has a good opinion, eat first." ”

In the afternoon, Han Lin first asked Yilong Yihu and others to buy a lot of easy-to-preserve food to bring, and then invited Wang Fuyi to go out and walk around. As he walked, the scenery in front of him became more and more dilapidated, and Wang Fuzhi couldn't help asking, "Brother Han, where are you going?" ”

Han Lin smiled mysteriously: "Actually, I don't know, this is my first time in Gucheng, just walk around, but it should be there soon." ”

After a while, a few people turned a corner, and an alley appeared in front of them, at the end of the alley was a ruined temple, and on both sides of the alley were some thatched houses that had been abandoned for an unknown period of time, and dozens or hundreds of people lived in them. All of them were scrawny, yellow-skinned, and many of them were lying on the ground and dying. They saw Han Lin and a few other "rare guests" dressed up and appeared here, some of their eyes still did not fluctuate in the slightest, like a pool of stagnant water, but some immediately pounced, and kept begging: "My lord, it's good, give me something to eat, give me some......"

"This..."Wang Fuzhi has no worries about food and clothing since he was a child, and he was busy hurrying along the way, and after entering the city and settling down, he usually rested in the inn, and occasionally saw that the homeless people were also small or even individual, how could he have seen so many people miserable. Looking at the refugees in front of him, he was speechless.