That night, the Black Pearl set sail, this time it was smooth, and the Black Pearl went down the river and arrived in Hankou overnight, and Li Jing and others were tired of playing these days. They all had a good night's sleep.

In the morning, Shi Jian boarded the boat to see Li Jing and reported on his recent work, and most of the ships have been rented. Li Jing arranged for him to stay here and wait for the army of Qin Liangyu and others, and told him to rent enough ships and prepare supplies. At the same time, he was instructed to buy a piece of real estate in Hankou as a place to stay, and at the same time bought thirty cyborgs and soldiers on the light curtain for him, and was responsible for recruiting 500 strong men here in the name of the horse gang and starting training.

After that, Shi Jian got off the ship with the funds given by Li Jing. The Black Pearl continued to set sail down the river.

Arrive at Tongling the next day. The purpose of Li Jing's trip is very accurate, that is, Tongguan Mountain, there is no Tongling in this era, this is a wasteland under a subordinate of Chizhou Mansion, Li Jing and others came here, Tongguan Mountain is now just a chaishan in the home of a rich man surnamed Wang. Li Jing went to visit the old squire as the general town government of Fujian and Guangdong, the land here is not good, and the crops are not very grown, Li Jing used the price of one acre of Zhongtian to buy an acre of wasteland, and bought a long strip of land by the Yangtze River to Tongguan Mountain to build roads, and at the same time bought Tongguan Mountain as an attached land, and went to Chizhou Mansion the next day to make a change in the title deed. Li Jing knew the specific location of the mine cave in later generations, and when the time came, it would be enough to build a wall at the entrance of the mine and build a Wu Fort.

After the initial selection of copper ore here, it will be transported to Ma'anshan, where a metallurgical town will be built.

Li Weier and the others followed around, and found that they were all barren mountains and mountains, and there was nothing interesting about them, so they went to Chizhou the next day to have a good stroll. After doing this, we continued to set sail and came to Ma'anshan the next day.

This place is now called Taiping Mansion, and Li Jing did not take the six women off the ship, but directly led people to buy them directly according to the iron ore distribution map, and went to the government to change the procedures. These iron ores are deposits that have not yet been discovered in this era. In a place suitable for a wharf on the Yangtze River, Li Jing directly bought ten square kilometers of wasteland. These wastelands belonged to the local government, and they directly sent 3,000 taels of silver tickets to the prefect, and bought them for 5,000 taels of silver. The land by the river will be used by Li Jing to build the first steel industrial base of the Ming Dynasty. In the feudal era, the two industries that were ultimately and the most profitable were salt and iron. If you want to get involved in the salt industry, you have to fight with the largest Jin merchants and Hui merchants in the world, and grab food in people's mouths. With the current strength of the Li family, this is no different from looking for death, so Li Jing chose the steel industry to strengthen himself.

The next day, we crossed the river and came to Hanshan County on the west side of the Yangtze River. There is a small coal mine with reserves of two million tons. Find the location of the mine hole mined in the later generations on the light curtain, and buy this hill directly. and hundreds of acres of wasteland in front of the mountain. A small coal mine will be built here to make steel from the iron ore mines in Ma'anshan. In addition to being used for coal stacking, a coking plant will be built to produce coke.

In the future, the copper ore of Tongling, the iron ore of Ma'anshan and the coal mines of Hanshan County will be an important support for Li Jing's new construction of Ma'anshan metallurgical town.

After doing this, the time has reached the thirteenth day of the first month, and Li Jing should also return to Jinling. He is still preparing to spend the fifteenth day of the first month in Jinling, and see the prosperity of the fifteenth day of the first month of the ten-mile Qinhuai River. At present, he has no one at hand, and he still needs to transfer some people from the family, and these still have to be discussed with his grandfather, so he can't be in a hurry for the time being.

On the night of the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the Black Pearl finally arrived at the Xiaguan Wharf in Jinling, just in time to advance to the city at the gate of Guancheng. After entering the city, go directly to the inner city, the own industry in the West Water Pass.

Li Jingcai met the second uncle who came out of the gate of his mansion when he arrived at the gate, both of them were taken aback, and the second uncle grabbed Li Jing and said: "You kid, you are still going out to play during the Chinese New Year, and the family is crazy to find you." ”

Li Weier and Li Yue'er didn't expect their father to come, so they were so frightened that they hurriedly hid behind Li Jing, the second uncle glared at them and ignored them, pulled Li Jing and said, "Quick, go with me to see the old lady"

"Grandpa is also here, is there something big in the family?"

"Let's go in and talk"

Li Jing and the second uncle walked into the middle hall of the main room and saw that the grandfather was sitting on the Taishi chair, and there were parents, second aunts, and some other big housekeepers and others standing on both sides. Li Jing was taken aback, what the hell was going on, making such a big fuss, grandpa came to Jinling in person, and even brought his parents.

After Li Jing and the second uncle gave a salute to their grandfather, they stood aside, and the second uncle looked at the second daughter wearing a ferret cloak, snorted, and scolded, You two lose money and goods, do you want to be angry with me, don't kneel down.

The second daughter was so frightened that her face turned pale, she quickly knelt down, and said in unison: "My daughter is not filial, and she makes her father angry, please punish her father, please don't be angry." ”

The second uncle looked at this pair of twin daughters who were like flowers and jade, and the temperament of the second woman set off by a snow-white mink fur was dusty, and she was more delicate than flowers. I couldn't help but sigh heavily and said, "From today on, I am no longer your father"

The second daughter didn't react at first, thinking that she was going to be beaten, after all, her grandfather was here. My sister pried open the window and fled, and it was a great rebellion to say that this era was also a great rebellion. But I never expected that my father would say such a thing, and he didn't want to be himself. It's like a bolt from the blue. Immediately he began to cry. He kowtowed to his father vigorously, crying and shouting, please give her father a beating, and her daughter will not dare anymore.

Seeing that Li Jing didn't feel good in his heart, he didn't know why the second uncle was so angry. I was trying to persuade when I saw that the second aunt also turned around with red eyes and shed tears.

Li Jing was completely stupid, what kind of trouble did this family make.

At this time, Li Jing's grandfather coughed and spoke slowly.

"The new emperor ascended the throne, just 16 years old this year, according to the rules of our dynasty, the emperor was married at the age of sixteen, and the queen mother decreed that five thousand beautiful women from the national gentry and businessmen were selected to enter Beijing for alternatives. I didn't expect that there would be no family, but since the top has come down, there is no way, the four girls in the long house are already married, and the clan has discussed the two daughters of the second child to pass on to the long house. Represent my Li family in the draft. ”

"Grandpa, as soon as you enter the palace, it is as deep as the sea, but there is a way to push it off, the second uncle has no children, and I was going to find a son-in-law to inherit the incense, this time the two sisters enter Beijing, wouldn't it be too unfortunate for the second uncle and aunt."

"I generally don't choose the official eunuch house to prevent my relatives from sitting on politics, and your second uncle made you up to the town guard of Nanao Town before, but unfortunately, it still didn't push it off. Cheng Township Master Sect is also afraid of falling on their heads, hmph, if there is a way, how can I not feel sorry for the second child?"

The second aunt wiped away her tears and said to Li Jing: "Brother Jing, you have been close to your two sisters since you were a child, and they will be your sisters from now on." The second aunt and the second uncle will hand them over to you. The clan has changed the family tree, and will pass on a son to support us in the old age. You don't have to worry about us. ”

After speaking, the second aunt and the two sisters hugged their heads and cried. I saw Li Jing's heart like a knife. However, he also understood that this era was an era when the power of the clan was greater than the sky, and this kind of clan decision on personal destiny was not something he could change.

"When are you going to the capital?" asked Li Jing. "I'll send them there myself"

"The court said that the first month of the first month gathered in Beijing, the family can't find you, are a little anxious, the above requires the biological parents to accompany them, this time grandpa is also going to Beijing to meet some old friends, your parents, two uncles and aunts are going together. The real general election is not expected until around March. Half a month of our carriage ride is enough to get to the capital.

Li Jing thought about it, after all, grandpa is old, and the weather gets colder the further north he goes, and said: "Grandpa, I have a gunboat here with a Francophone man, the conditions are better, and it is better to take a boat to go if Tianjin can go ashore." If Tianjin Haikou is frozen, go to Qinhuangdao, which is an ice-free port, and there will be a lot of entry from where to the capital. It just so happened that the army of General Qin Liangyu of Shizhu also entrusted Sun Er to go to Liaodong by sea, and they could go together in formation. It's also very safe. ”

"Qin Liangyu, why did you get involved with her." Grandpa asked in surprise.