Afraid that Shen Mo would not be able to get used to the straw mat called tatami mat, Shen Jing went back to the main house with him, slept on the big bed, and talked all night. The two talked about studying, fighting, and catching birds together when they were children, and those good memories flowed like a clear stream, making the two talk about it so much, as if they were back in that youthful era.

As a result, it was said that the morning was almost dawn before going to sleep, and it was only after a little freshening up that Nanako invited the two to go to the front hall for dinner, and there were honey osmanthus lotus root steamed dumplings, sesame buns, and siu mai fried dumplings, small wontons, and beef vermicelli on the table of the eight immortals, all of which were authentic Jiangnan flavors.

Nanako looked at Shen Mo and tasted a few chopsticks with a nervous face, and only after he showed a satisfied expression did she breathe a sigh of relief and said, "Although I studied very seriously, I was still worried that the taste would not be good and make my uncle angry." ”

Shen Mo praised: "It's already very powerful, and it's much worse than the craftsmanship in the restaurant." He laughed and said, "I thought I would eat rice balls, grilled fish, natto, and miso sauce." ”

"You know those things, too? It's too shoddy. Shen Jing said with a smile: "It is estimated that two thousand years ago, our ancestors ate finer than this. ”

Nanako smiled and didn't answer, and said to Shen Mo: "Mao San has come back and is sleeping in his house, saying that you can wake him up at any time." ”

"Let's finish eating," Shen Mo bowed, "Gao Ling, you and I will meet this ...... Mao Sang. ”

"It's still a thatched house," Shen Jing smiled and said, "Okay." ”

In the afternoon, Shen Mo finally met Wang Zhi's righteous son Mao Haifeng, a man in his thirties who was not tall, with big hands and feet, knotted muscles, and a fierce face.

Tilting his head to look at him for a while, Mao Haifeng sat down opposite Shen Mo loudly, pressed his hands on the table and said, "You are the official sent by Yanjing to open the sea?" ”

Shen Mo didn't answer him, just bowed his head slightly.

The arrogant attitude did not cause Mao Haifeng to be unhappy, because in his opinion, the officials of the imperial court should be like this, and if Shen Mo was too enthusiastic, he would look down on him.

"Why are you so young?" Mao Haifeng pouted and said, "Can you count it if you say it?" ”

"Yes." Shen Mo nodded and spat out a word.

"Really?" Mao Haifeng didn't believe it: "You won't fool me, right?" ”

"My name is Silence." Shen Mo said lightly: "Have you heard of this name?" ”

Mao Haifeng was stunned: "Is that Shen Zhuoyan who is even in the sixth yuan?" ”

"Not bad." Shen Mo bowed slightly: "Do you need to prove that I am not silent?" ”

Mao Haifeng's attitude suddenly took a big turn, and he was a little restrained, and he got up at a loss and said: "No, no, who doesn't know that Shen Liushou is suave and handsome?" Now it's on the number, it's on the right. ”

Shen Mo couldn't imagine that his name was so loud, and he couldn't help but be a little happy, of course, his face would not be revealed, and he pointed to the stool opposite and said, "Sit down and say." ”

"Hey, sit down, sit down." Mao Haifeng nodded hurriedly and sat down, looked at Shen Mo with admiration on his face, and said, "You don't say it earlier, if you know that it's you, I'll go to visit you early in the morning." ”

Shen Mo felt strange at this moment, and asked, "Do you often hear people talk about me?" ”

"Of course," Mao Haifeng said excitedly: "You are the head of the four great talents of the Ming Dynasty, those good friends talk about you all day long, saying that if they can meet you, they would rather pay for it." ”

Silence this sweat...... After making trouble for a long time, it turned out to be a reputation in the Qinglou world, and he looked at this Mao Haifeng quietly, wanting to see if he was pretending to be stupid and looking for his own happiness.

But Mao Haifeng's excited face lit up, and he looked at him with admiration, so that Shen Mo was so deep that he couldn't even figure out the details, and couldn't help muttering secretly: 'Is it wise and foolish? Or is it really like what Hu Zongxian said, a bit two? Looking at Shen Jing, Shen Jing pursed his lips, meaning that this guy has always been so unreliable, just get used to it.

It is said that as the chief negotiator, it should not be this IQ level, but thinking about Wang Zhi's naivety when he was young, he was silent and did not dare to conclude that the other party was cheating, so he had to slowly ask tentatively: "Taifu who has not consulted Brother Mao yet." ”

Mao Haifeng's face showed a moment of sluggishness, and then he suddenly said: "Ask me about the words, right?" Originally, there was no such thing, but later my godfather changed my name to Wang Xuan, and I was called Haitian. ”

"Good name and good words," Shen Mo praised, "There is momentum." ”

"But you still call me Haifeng," Mao Haifeng said shyly: "When others call me Haitian, they always feel that they are calling another person, which is awkward." ”

Shen Mo smiled and said, "Okay, I'll call you Haifeng." He said in a solemn tone: "I am now talking to you as the director of the Department of Lifting of Jiangnan City, and if you have any requirements, please feel free to put them forward." ”

"Okay, okay," Mao Haifeng also hurriedly sat upright, didn't know where to put his hands, and said dryly: "Our old ship owner said that as long as the imperial court is willing to open the sea ban and trade with us, we are willing to join and fully assist the imperial court to eliminate the Japanese invaders." ”

Hearing that the biggest Japanese leader said that he wanted to help fight against the Japanese, Shen Mo felt a little ridiculous, shook his head, dispelled this feeling, and said with a faint smile: "The imperial court sent me, which has already shown our sincerity." Seeing Mao Haifeng nodding, he continued: "There is a way to come and not to be rude, now please show sincerity, let us believe that you are trustworthy friends." ”

"This is as it should be," Mao Haifeng rolled up his sleeves and said, "Say, what do you want me to do?" ”

"Bring the map," Shen commanded.

Shen Jing spread the prepared Zhejiangzhi coastal defense map on the table, and Shen Mo first pointed to Suzhou City: "The future city department will temporarily open a port here." ”

"Why don't you go to the coast?" After Mao Haifeng finished asking, he also sneered and said, "Indeed, this is the safest." ”

Shen Mo said: "The choice of Suzhou is from the consideration of the surname safety, which is needless to say. As he spoke, he drew a line on the Wusong River and said: "At that time, all caravans need to enter the Huangpu River from here, and then go to sea, although the efficiency is not high, but it is easy to manage." He also pointed to the areas of Shengsi, Daishan, and Zhoushan south of the mouth of the Huangpu River: "But there are many pirates entrenched on these islands, and they are very fierce, and we have no ability to deal with their ......."

Before Shen Mo finished speaking, Mao Haifeng jumped up, slapped the table and said, "Please rest assured, I will clear the channel for you by the latest in spring!" ”

"That's great!" Shen Mo smiled and said, "Lord Ministries and I are waiting for your good news!" ”

"Nothing else, right? Then I'll go and gather the brothers. "Mao Haifeng is a person who is in a hurry, and he looks like he can't wait to pick up the guy and take the Zhoushan Islands immediately...... A meeting that was originally thought to be very difficult ended so quickly, which was really beyond the expectation of Shen Mo, and said: "It's okay, put a celebration wine under the bottom, and wait for Brother Haifeng." ”

"Alright, I'm leaving." Mao Haifeng grabbed his hat and walked out, but when he arrived at the door, he turned back and said with a flattering face: "Can you write me a word?" ”

Shen Mo thought that he was going to write a 'letter of guarantee' by himself, and this kind of thing naturally couldn't leave evidence, and he was thinking about how to prevaricate in the past, but he saw Mao Haifeng take out a white fan and said cautiously: "Can you inscribe a word on it?" ”

Silent couldn't help but sigh, happily agreed, waved a poem on it, Mao Haifeng was like a treasure, holding the fan and smiling: "When the time comes, shock them!" As he spoke, he arched his hand and walked away.

After Mao Haifeng left, Shen Jing smiled and said, "Let the Japanese go to fight the Japanese Kou, you really can think of it." ”

"Then why not?" Shen Mo smiled and said, "Give him a chance to progress from a Japanese Invader to an anti-Japanese hero, and he will give us a big surprise." ”

"That's right." Shen Jingdao: "The result should be doomed, when the old shipowner came out to be pirates, those boys in Zhoushan were still playing with mud in open crotch pants, it couldn't be an opponent." ”

"I didn't make this request." Shen Mo suddenly lowered his voice and said, "It's Hu Zongxian." ”

"Really?" Shen Jing said with great emotion: "It is really sad that the dignified governor should rely on the Japanese to exterminate the Japanese invaders. ”

"You're thinking about it simply." Shen Mo shook his head slightly and said: "Actually, our sailor has been formed, and with a fierce general like Yu Dayou leading it, it is still possible to recover Zhoushan." The reason why he gave this opportunity to Mao Haifeng was because Hu Butang wanted to give Wang Zhi a bad medicine. ”

"What?" Shen Jing asked.

"As soon as Mao Haifeng launches an attack, the attitude of all the Japanese robbers towards Wang Zhi will change - from now on, in their eyes, Wang Zhi will no longer be their friend." Shen Mo said softly: "Although this will not damage Wang Zhi's strength, there is a way that is 'a thousand miles of embankment, destroyed in an anthill', and it will eventually cause Wang Zhi's forces to split and fight." ”

Shen Jing couldn't help but be creepy: "It turns out that you never thought about peace talks......

"Talk, you have to talk." Shen Mo said slowly: "But not now, now Wang Zhi's strength is much stronger than ours, and Haikou is only his horse's head, and he is living a happy life, why should people negotiate with us?" ”

"Then he still saw us, and sent his own son back to negotiate with us?" Shen Jing was not convinced.

"Wang Zhi has already suffered a loss from the government, and he will not believe us anymore." Shen Mo shook his head and said: "The reason why he negotiated with us is that he wants to paralyze us and let us relax the clamp on him, and on the other hand, it is not ruled out that he will repeat his old tricks, provide us with information about the Japanese Invaders, and borrow the hands of our army to kill competitors such as Xu Hai and Ye Ma for him." ”

"Are you saying that he only wants to use us," this conclusion made Shen Jing, who had been running for the peace talks for nearly two years, very disappointed, and sat across from Shen Mo and said, "There is no sincerity in the peace talks at all?" He was in a terrible mood, he had always felt that he was engaged in a very honorable job, but now he saw that he was being used as a monkey.

"If you can't win on the battlefield, it's useless to talk about it." Shen Mo said lightly.

"But didn't you also say that we can't win?" Shen Jingdao.

"If you can't beat it now, it doesn't mean that you won't be able to beat it in the future," Shen Mo saw his brother's depression, and smiled gently and comforted: "What you are doing now is to help us delay time, so that we have time to grow and strengthen, and then divide ourselves from them." ”

Shen Jingdeng's eyes lit up and said, "That's right, it's called ...... A delaying tactic. ”

"Clever!" Shen Mo praised: "There is a saying that 'those who are good at fighting have no outstanding merits', although we are not as beautiful as generals such as Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang, but the credit is not less than them." ”

Shen Jing finally said happily: "Don't worry, it's okay, I'll do a good job!" ”

"Well done!" Shen Mo smiled: "I will leave for Suzhou today." ”

"How can anyone take office in the first month?" Shen Jing smiled: "Are you confused? "It is customary for new officials to avoid the three months of New Year, May and September. Because according to the five elements of yin and yang, these three months belong to fire, although the official is a shepherd, in the final analysis, he is the emperor's courtier, and the word 'minister' is pronounced 'Shang' in ancient pronunciation, Shang belongs to gold, and fire is gold. So avoid these three months.

Of course, this kind of trickery is often to hide the real dirt - in fact, these months are a good time to collect taxes, and the new officials have to let the outgoing officials get the last handful, that's all.

Shen Mo has been in the officialdom for many years, and he naturally knows these bad habits, and said: "I don't take a pomp and circumstance first, but take a few people to Suzhou, so that I can better understand the situation...... Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, can you not be defeated in a hundred battles? ”

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Shen Jing reluctantly said, "Don't stay for two days anymore?" ”

"I won't disturb the world of the two of you." Shen Mo joked and smiled, and when he saw Shen Jing's depressed face, he said seriously: "No kidding." I have a task of two million taels of silver this year, but everything has not yet begun, and my head sinks when I think about it, so I don't hurry up to feel the situation and see what to do. ”

"Didn't the ministry say that you were already in the chest?" Shen Jing was surprised.

"I'm just talking on paper, and I still have a long way to go if I want to put it into practice." Shen Mo shook his head, looked at his brother fixedly, and said, "The road ahead is bumpy, let's do it ourselves!" ”

"Do it yourself!" Shen Jing hugged his fist and said, "Success." ”

When he came out of Shen Jing, Shen Mo did not wear the eye-catching official uniform, but wore a scholar's scarf, a royal blue cotton robe, and black flour cotton boots.

Iron Pillar and Three Feet disguised themselves as his henchmen, carrying their bags and following behind, while the rest of the guards pretended to be a group of dart walkers, who 'coincidentally' traveled with the three of them.

Hangzhou to Suzhou is nearly 600 miles apart, it is really not close, such a distance is the most suitable to take a boat, Shen Mo They also took a boat at first, but he wanted to see his own jurisdiction with his own eyes, so after arriving in Wujiang, he got off the boat and changed to a land route...... The Suzhou Mansion under his jurisdiction is subordinate to Nanzhili, east to the coast, southeast to Songjiang Mansion, south to Zhejiang Jiaxing Mansion, southwest to Zhejiang Huzhou Mansion, northwest to South Zhili Changzhou Mansion, north across the river to South Zhili Yangzhou Mansion. From Fucheng to Nanjing 560 miles, to Beijing 2,950 miles. It has jurisdiction over six counties and one prefecture, including Wu County, Changzhou County, Changshu County, Wujiang County, Kunshan County, Jiading County and Taicang Prefecture, of which Wu County and Changzhou County are attached to Guo County...... Just like Huiji and Sanyin, they are in the same city. The rest of the counties are all in the northeast of the city, and only Wujiang County is in the south, so Shen Mo set foot in the capital from Hangzhou, and the first one to enter was Wujiang.

Along the way, I felt extremely shocked. In the impression of silence, since the Song Dynasty, there has been a saying of 'Su Changshu, the world is full', whether it is Suzhou or Changshu, are within his jurisdiction, so he has always felt that Suzhou Mansion, as the granary of the country, should be full of rice fields, but only to see the city and countryside, mountains and fields, are large mulberry tree planting. Even in the fields, there are needles and needles planted with mulberry, and the planting area is far more than that of rice and wheat and other food crops.

No wonder they all say now that 'the lake is ripe, the world is full', and Shen Mo couldn't help but sigh: 'It turns out that Suzhou doesn't grow much grain, and it's time to play with cash crops.' This mulberry tree can neither be eaten nor worn, but the people of Wuzhong are fanatical in planting, and it must be profitable. Shen Mo couldn't help but sigh secretly: "I have always heard that when the Japanese robbers, they like raw silk more than gold and silver, and it seems that this kind of thing is indeed a big market." ’

Of course, he saw that there were more than 30 workshops in just one Wujiang County, and even ordinary people basically had a few women and a few looms. As for the men, they all went to work in the silk reeling and silk weaving factories opened by large households. Shen Mo asked the reason, and it was said that on the one hand, because the factory did not accept women, and on the other hand, because small households were limited by the number of raw silk, a few looms were enough, and there was no need for men to be at home.

Shen Mo was indeed shocked, and repeatedly said to himself: 'This is the fabled germ of capitalism, right?' 'Can I take care of it as it grows?' Or can't change the fate of it never growing?

All the way to the north, he saw scenes that made him unforgettable, and the sense of responsibility in his heart was increasing little by little - if he had been struggling to find a way to change history, then now, he finally stood in front of that door, and really felt that a new force was emerging, although it was difficult to predict the danger of the future, but at the bottom, he saw hope and found the direction.

(To be continued)