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It was getting dark, and the few people were not interested in enjoying the singing and dancing anymore, so they continued to chat for a while and then went back to rest. Wu Sangui looked at the figure of the second king in the distance, and took a deep breath, although these two people are young, they are both dragons and phoenixes among people. Although in terms of scheming, his son Wu Yingxiong and Geng Jingzhong, the prince of Jingnan, are almost on par with Shang Zhixin, the son of Zhennan Wang, but Wu Yingxiong still lacks some experience after all, unlike Geng Jingzhong and Shang Zhixin, who have already presided over one party.

Especially this Geng Jingzhong, when he first saw this little guy, he was only ten years old, and he was not at all inconspicuous. And now, from his expressions and words, he can analyze what he wants to do, but no one around him reacts. In this regard, Geng Jingzhong is stronger than Zhishang Zhixin. Although he doesn't know much about Guangdong and Fujian, he also knows that Fujian has developed very rapidly in the past two years.

Yang Qilong, who pretended to be the third prince of Zhu, was invited into his residence by Geng Jingzhong's order before. As soon as Geng Jingzhong went back, he went straight to the west hall of the palace, which was the residence arranged for him by Wu Sangui. They were guests from afar, and Wu Sangui had already ordered someone to entertain them. The west hall of this Pingxi Wangfu is more magnificent than Geng Jingzhong's own Jingnan Wang's mansion, although the size of the house is about the same, but it is more magnificent than his own mansion.

Yang Qilong can also be called a hero, and the fact that he was able to talk to the three kings without changing his face in the main hall is enough to show his ability. At the moment, he stayed quietly in his room. Holding a book of information and governance, I read it slowly. He knows it himself. Wu Sangui would never kill him. It's not that you don't dare, but you just won't. Killing him would be harmful to Wu Sangui himself, since it was expected that Wu Sangui would not kill him, Yang Qilong would also follow their arrangements peacefully.

Geng Jingzhong walked to the door of the room where Yang Qilong was being held, this side was the range of several houses in the West Palace, and the surrounding guards were also replaced by the personal guards brought by Geng Jingzhong. When he saw Yang Qilong before, he had been observing carefully. Although he already knew that this Third Prince Zhu was a fake, Yang Qilong was able to polish himself so brilliantly, to the point of being fake, Geng Jingzhong also secretly admired it. Kangxi Dynasty is not acting in the TV series, Kangxi almost died in his hands several times.

"In Xia Geng Jingzhong, I came to visit the third prince, I don't know if the third prince has rested?" Geng Jingzhong stood outside the gate and said politely. The lights inside were still on, Yang Qilong must not have slept, and he was bound to be waiting for him to come.

"Please come in!" Two of Yang Qilong's guards stood at the door of the room. squeaked open the door and invited Geng Jingzhong to come in and talk. Look at this stance. but also put up a panache, this play is really similar.

"Geng Gongzi, please take a seat!" When Yang Qilong saw Geng Jingzhong coming in, he also stood up and said. As if the place belonged to him, there was nothing outside of him.

Geng Jingzhong didn't care about these either, he didn't come to be angry with him. So he smiled and said: "The third prince is sitting peacefully, aren't you afraid that Uncle Wu will be angry and can't control himself and kill Your Excellency?" ”

"Hahaha, why did Geng Gongzi ask knowingly. If you can stop Wu Sangui with words, it means that you are the same smart person as him, what the hell might as well be clear, I like to go straight! The corners of Yang Qilong's mouth lifted and said with a smile.

"Okay, happy. Everyone understands people, so let's make it clear. What Uncle Wu said during the day is not wrong, you are indeed a fake. But I don't care if you're a fake or not, as long as we have the same purpose, we can be allies. You say, yes? Geng Jingzhong raised his head slightly, his eyes slanted slightly and said to Yang Qilong.

"You're good, since you don't recognize me as the third prince, then I have nothing to say. You and I both know Wu Sangui's thoughts, but they don't want to have anything to do with me, but they just want me to fight Kangxi alone in the north. It seems that he still has a glimmer of hope for the imperial court. I'm alone in the north, and it's really difficult to deal with Kangxi, he knows that I may not be able to help Kangxi, and he just wants me to make trouble so that she can be more stable, hum, it's a good idea to fight! Yang Qilong said hatefully.

"Why should the third prince be angry! Although we don't recognize you, the third prince, it's okay for the people to approve it. The common people only have to kowtow to the emperor, who cares if the emperor is true or not. It is a matter of time before the imperial court withdraws its feudal domains, so our three feudal feudatories and the imperial court will definitely become fire and water. You need us to help you fight the world, and we also need your righteous name, don't we? Geng Jingzhong took the tea bowl, lifted the kettle and poured himself a cup, took a sip and said.

Yang Qilong smiled proudly and said: "This is natural, once you have an incident in the three feudatories, you will inevitably erect a banner to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, so as to inherit the way of heaven and conform to the will of the people." Who is the bloodline of the Ming Emperor? I, Zhu Cijiong, the third prince of Zhu, at that time, your best choice is to serve me as the emperor and denounce Kangxi as a barbarian, so that you can justifiably seize the world. If not, even if you raise an army, you will be regarded by the people of the world as a thief who betrays the master. ”

"Don't talk about these useless things, to be blunt, I left you, I actually have a deal I want to do with you." Geng Jingzhong waved his hand, not wanting to argue with Yang Qilong anymore, so he turned to the topic.

"Oh? I have heard believers in Shandong say that you Jingnan Wang Shizi is very good at doing business, and Fujian has been engaged in prosperity by you in the past few years, and you have not forgotten to do business until now. However, I envy your ability to accumulate money! Yang Qilong himself is not keen on business, and his wealth is basically raised by believers. Many of the wealthy businessmen and believers he developed were bankrupt and donated to the incense society, so he was not short of money. This is also his short-sightedness, and the world is constantly evolving.

"I know that the third prince is not short of silver, your two million believers are each donating you ten cents, that is 20,000 taels, if each person gives one or two silver, there will be two million taels, and I really admire the third prince's method of gathering wealth. But the third prince has the silver, but do you have enough weapons and armor? You know, war. It's not about grabbing silver to smash people. Geng Jingzhong pursed his lips and said.

This sentence directly hit Yang Qilong's vital point. He didn't have a piece of his own territory at all. Therefore, all activities are carried out in secret. To forge weapons, a large amount of copper and iron is required, and whether it is copper or iron, the imperial court is very strict. Even forging weapons, they are also hidden in the mountains, and there is a lack of manpower and materials, and the weapons are very tight.

"And, your believers. Basically, they are peasants who have not laid down their hoes, do they know how to fight, have they seen what a battlefield is? How many of your men can train? Well, what I'm talking about, are you interested? Geng Jingzhong smiled and continued to add a fire.

"Tell me, how do you want to cooperate!" Yang Qilong was also straightforward and said it without beating around the bush.

"Simple. I need people! ”

"People?" Yang Qilong asked strangely.

"Yes, it's people. I need a large population, at least 100,000 households, a total of no less than 300,000! Geng Jingzhong stared at Yang Qilong tightly and said.

Yang Qilong was also surprised. "I heard you right. 300,000! As far as I know, Fujian is not a rich province. If you are still too busy to take care of yourself, can you ask for another 300,000 people? Besides, can you afford 300,000 people? ”

"You don't care about this, after half a year, I need you to prepare more than 100,000 households, and I have my own arrangements. And my reward is 30,000 broadswords and spears, and 2,000 armors, how about it? "Geng Jingzhong has already made up his mind to take Luzon, but after taking Luzon, the important thing is governance. The total number of indigenous people on the island is only 600,000, and the huge area has not been cultivated, which is really wasteful. Besides, if he takes Luzon, he can't just manage those South Sea monkeys.

In his own Fujian Province, he can relocate more than 100,000 people at that time, plus 300,000 or 400,000 people from Yang Qilong's side, it will be enough. Even if the local natives want to rebel in the future, they will not have an advantage in numbers. Geng Jingzhong was not worried at all about whether Yang Qilong could help him find so many people. Speaking of which, the most demagogic things about time are those church organizations, and their ability to fool people is a must. It is not a problem to go to Fujian in batches and then take a boat from Fujian to Luzon.

Previously, Geng Jingzhong had also thought about whether he would plant someone in the crowd if he asked for someone from Yang Qilong's side, which would be unfavorable to himself in the future. But then he ignored this suspicion, Luzon Island was far away in the South Seas, and after these people were sent up, they could only cultivate and live under the arrangement of his Mawei army, and if anyone had any changes, they could be pulled out and disposed of at any time. Besides, this Luzon Island is far away from the mainland, and Yang Qilong has really planted people, but if he wants to send someone to contact them, it will be extremely difficult.

Yang Qilong was silent, did not answer for a long time, and did not know whether he was dissatisfied with the remuneration or had other ideas. But the two guards guarding the side were the joy in Annai's heart, so many weapons were enough to arm all his subordinates!

"Plus five hundred crossbows, one hundred thousand arrows! Plus, I'll send some more people to help you train your team. My conditions are generous enough, if I don't agree, then I won't disturb the third prince's rest. Saying that, Geng Jingzhong stood up and was about to leave.

"Hey, there's something to say!" Yang Qilong immediately stood up and said with a smile. When he heard the conditions given by Geng Jingzhong, he was already moved, but he had to think carefully before doing anything, but unfortunately he couldn't think of what Geng Jingzhong wanted so many people for! "Geng Gongzi's conditions, I fully agree. I don't know what you're going to do with that many people, but it's good for both sides, so why wouldn't I? ”

"That's good, in the final analysis, we are standing on the united front, and if the third prince can make a big move in the capital, it will be beneficial to us. The best thing is to kill Kangxi directly, so that we can have a greater grasp and make the third prince go to the next level! Geng Jingzhong narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a smile. Well, it's getting late, and I should go back too. What we are discussing, I will send someone to Gulou West Street to find you. The third prince will go back tomorrow, don't come to Yunnan again, Uncle Wu doesn't welcome you! After speaking, Geng Jingzhong strode away.

Yang Qilong heard the West Street of Gulou, and was shocked, how could his nest in the capital be known by Geng Jingzhong. Just now, I almost couldn't help but want to take Geng Jingzhong down with my hands, and asked carefully. But thinking that this is not my own territory, I still endure it. In this way, he looked up even more highly at the prince of Jingnan just now. I want to come and communicate and cooperate with this prince of Jingnan in the future. It shouldn't hurt

Stayed in Yunnan for a week. Geng Jingzhong couldn't sit still. The things that should be discussed have also been discussed, and the scenery of Kunming has been seen a lot, and it is time to go back. So Geng Jingzhong resigned to Wu Sangui and returned to Fujian. And Shang Zhixin went back to Guangzhou three days ago, firstly, because he came earlier and stayed the longest, and secondly, Shang Zhixin did not want to go the same way with Geng Jingzhong. The two didn't know each other well, and they didn't have much to say. The two teams walked together with a big goal, after all, they were secretly going to Yunnan.

On the way back, Geng Jingzhong and his entourage were not so anxious. Geng Jingzhong himself and thirty guards mounted their horses and hurried towards Fuzhou unhurriedly. This trip is no longer to follow the original old road, no need to take a shortcut to go to Beihai in Guangzhou, and then take a sea boat directly to Fuzhou. This time, I rode a horse and went straight overland, passing through Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and then arriving in Fuzhou. Along the way, you can just take a look at the customs and customs of various places. See for yourself what's going on everywhere.

I heard that Wu Sangui's forces had influence in several provinces south of the Yangtze River, especially Yunnan, Guichuan, and Sichuan. Even Jiangxi and Guangxi have Wu Sangui's cronies. The people of the government here don't recognize the imperial court, they only know the Pingxi Palace, and they don't know if it's true or not! Take this opportunity to get to know yourself well.

It was a long journey and a lot of investigations, but it was all done in secret, and there was no need to alarm anyone. Along the way, the cards set up in various places, and the fees charged are really everything. Geng Jingzhong has a deep understanding of the practices of these local officials. This local official's ability to make money is really a race and a strong, dealing with the common people, starting with a ruthless, paying rent on errands, paying tribute and paying taxes, etc., is dizzying, in short, just two words, ask for money!

These are other people's territory, and it is not their turn to take care of it, so they can only sulk from the sidelines. However, there are times today when others do not pass. The thirty or so people were a caravan pretending to be more than half a month before they reached the boundary of Guilin, Guangxi. Guilin is the capital of Guangxi, and it is obviously much more prosperous than other prefectures and counties. Geng Jingzhong and others have basically unloaded and sold the goods in one place along the way, bought a new batch of goods, and hit the road again. The crowd rested in the inn, and Geng Jingzhong took a few personal guards to the lobby to eat and drink, and listened to the people's words by the way.

After a while, the shopkeeper brought steaming mutton-stuffed brain dumplings. This is Geng Jingzhong's own order, there are not many dumplings in the south, but even if he is a northerner before he crossed over, he still likes to eat dumplings the most. Coincidentally, the owner of this shop came from Shandong, and originally went to relatives due to famine, but later opened some business here and became bigger and bigger. This brain dumpling is a kind of medicinal food, take out the dumplings, pour the yam, brown sugar, carrots, tofu, green vegetables, vermicelli made of decoction, and then add the old wine after the bowl, it has the effect of dispelling cold, invigorating blood, and strengthening the stomach. Geng Jingzhong ate it, and immediately felt that the fatigue on his body was swept away, and it was warm.

Just eating, Geng Jingzhong and the others heard the table next to them talking about this year's tax collection. It is said that the prefect of Guilin ordered the collection of taxes, and several families have been forced to die. Geng Jingzhong was a little strange, so he turned his head to the table next to him and asked, "Brother Tai, please!" The younger brother came from other places to do business, and when he heard that a few people were talking about the collection of taxes here, the younger brother wanted to inquire about it, so as not to violate the ban here and cause trouble! ”

When the two people on the table next to him heard Geng Jingzhong's words, they also turned their heads, looked at Geng Jingzhong, and replied, who was about thirty-five or sixteen years old and slightly fatter sitting on the left-hand side: "I advise my brother to not inquire, it is the best policy to leave this place as soon as possible, you want to do business here, but you have chosen the wrong place, just the government collects taxes, you will be forced to stand it, and it will be the result of losing money at that time!" ”

"No, is the official so unreasonable? I don't provoke them! But I don't know what the name of the prefect that Brother Tai just said, is he really so greedy? Geng Jingzhong pretended to be surprised and said.

The other side did not directly answer Geng Jingzhong's question, but just pouted and said: "Since ancient times, which official is not greedy, and the small people have also recognized it. But this prefect is not only greedy, but also black-hearted! ”

As soon as these words came out, the slightly thinner and older ones sitting on the side couldn't hold their breath, pulled the sleeves of their companions and interjected: "A few of them are from other places, and they don't know what we are suffering here." This Taizun's surname is Wu, and his name is Wu Pingfeng. I heard that he is a member of the clan of the prince of Pingxi, although he is a distant relative, but he still climbed the big tree of the king of Pingxi, so he was selected to be the prefect of our Guilin Mansion. Alas! It is also our people here who should be unlucky, and they are unlucky to meet the western election official of the prince of Pingxi. Everyone thinks, in a year, there will be so much grain in the field, and after paying the rent and paying the errand, you will have to pay taxes and tribute to the prince of Pingxi. This Mrs. Wu sat on the coffin and sold the spirit flag - he asked for money for death. He endlessly urged donations, and there were so many names that he was like an impermanent ghost asking for his life. Alas, I can't do it! ”

Geng Jingzhong pretended to be surprised and asked, "Hey, isn't it, how can there be so many donations?" It seems that from the second year of Kangxi to the present, Guangxi has been exempted from money and grain three times. A few months ago, a typhoon swept through the south, and the imperial court also exempted the taxes of several prefectures in Guilin, Guangxi. Geng Jingzhong is also telling the truth, Kangxi is doing this well, and he can buy people's hearts the most, but unfortunately it was all destroyed by local officials.

"Brother Tai is talking about the grace of the court, but it is not like that. Let's just say that this fire consumes silver, the court stipulates that it is four and three cents, and the common people do not have to work hard, but Wu Futai suddenly increased to two dollars and three, and this alone has eaten up the emperor's grace. The elder said with a sigh.

Geng Jingzhong also knows about this "fire consumes silver", which is a major drawback since ancient times. Because the taxes and silver paid by the people were scattered, after the magistrate collected it, it had to be recast into large ingots before it could be handed over to the treasury, and once it was put into the furnace, it would naturally have to be lost. That's why it's called "fire consumption." "But this loss has always been offset by the share handed over. In order to make profits, the magistrates put the loss of this "fire consumption" on the taxpayers, and they themselves profited from it, which became a means and way of embezzlement.

encountered those black-hearted corrupt officials and cool officials, and arbitrarily increased the amount of fire consumption, like this Wu prefect, increased the fire consumption to two dollars and three, and asked the people to pay one or two or two dollars and three dollars for one or two taxes and silver, so can the people stand it! "Hmm, this Wu Futai is a little ruthless!" (To be continued......)