Weihaiwei, in the territory of Wendeng County, Ninghai Prefecture, Dengzhou Prefecture, 320 miles away from Dengzhou, set up in Hongwu 31 years, the northeast offshore place of Xinwangdu Sanli in Wendeng County is demarcated, take the meaning of "Weizhen Haijiang", get the name Weihai, it is a late batch of guards, under the jurisdiction of three thousand households before and after the left, only more than 3,000 people, far less than the 5,600 people of the general guards, the first year of Yongle built the Acropolis, the city is 18 steps in Saturday, three zhang high, two zhang wide, the moat is one zhang five feet wide, eight feet deep, and the specifications are much smaller than Jizhou and Tianjin.

A fortune boat and a vermilion ship bypassed Qingdao and Heidao, docked at the dock outside the Weihai Acropolis, Song Wenxian, Chen Xin, Liu Minyou and others got off the ship and passed through the battle, swaggered into the city, the soldiers seen all the way were almost not called soldiers, none of them were dressed neatly, the beggars of later generations were better dressed than them, crookedly took a tassel gun or boring palladium, shrunk their hands and feet to hide in the leeward place of the city gate, there are some shops on the street, there are few pedestrians, and they look deserted. After entering the city, Liu Minyou took a few soldiers to buy food as rations in the development stage. Chen Xin and Song Wenxian went directly to Weihaiwei to command the embassy

Because it is now to the guard under the jurisdiction of the governor of Denglai, Song Wenxian holds the governor's codex, and he is the leader when he comes down, so Chen Xin can only temporarily act as a subordinate, half a step behind Song Wenxian, and arrives at the Weihaiwei Commander's Office on East Street.

A guard with a dirty nose came up to interrogate, Song Wenxian picked up the shelf, and didn't look at the guard: "I am the deputy capital of the Imperial Palace, the governor of Denglai Dongjiang, and the subordinate of Lord Sun, and I have important official business here, so I ask you to command it." ”

When the snot soldier heard that it was the personal entourage of the governor of Denglai, he opened his mouth in shock, and the two tubes of snot almost slipped into his mouth, he immediately sucked hard, recycled the snot into his nasal cavity, and then stumbled into the official office, and soon called out a middle-aged businessman-like person. As soon as he saw Song Wenxian, he bowed and saluted.

"Isn't this Mr. Song, Mr. still remembers the lower official, the lower official is Wang Yuanzheng, the commander of Weihaiwei, who went to visit Master Li two years ago, and was approached by Mr."

Song Wenxian watched it for a long time, but didn't think that there were too many officials in these guards, and some of them only came once in a few years, so he said casually: "It turned out to be Lord Wang." ”

Wang Yuanzheng hurriedly let the two in, and after entering the second hall, he invited Song Wenxian to sit on the top seat, and diligently arranged for someone to bring tea, Chen Xin knew the rules of officialdom, although he had a backstage, but Wang Yuanzheng was the same acquaintance after all, several levels higher than himself, and sat down on the right side.

After Song Wenxian took a sip of tea, he asked Wang Yuanzheng: "Lord Wang, I have a handwritten letter from Lord Sun here, and I want to hand it over to Commander Yang in person, I don't know where Lord Yang is." ”

As soon as Wang Yuanzheng heard the handwritten letter from the governor, he hurriedly said: "I have already sent someone to invite you, Lord Yang has been unwell for the past few days and has been pranayama. ”

These guards don't have many things to do on weekdays, and it's normal not to come to work, even this Wang Yuanzheng is also wearing a regular uniform, which shows how casual he is on weekdays, according to Song Wenxian's inquiry, Weihaiwei is actually taught, in addition to the palm print command Yang Yunnong, there are two Tongzhi and four commanders, who are in charge of Tuntian, army inspection, camp drills, patrol and capture, Cao Yun, preparation, outpost, guard, garrison, military weapons and other miscellaneous affairs, and perform their duties on weekdays, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the battalion and garrison have long been stopped, and the military households are all farmers.

Wang Tongzhi's attitude was respectful, and Song Wenxian had to wait, he was idle and had nothing to do, and asked Wang Yuanzheng: "It's been two years since I last met, and I don't know what Lord Tongzhi is doing in Weihaiwei now." ”

Wang Yuanzheng stood up and replied: "Xiaguan is in charge of Tuntian and Caoyun. ”

"Well, there are not many grain ships from the sea right now, and the main business of Lord Wang is Tuntian."

"Mr. Song Mingjian, there are indeed not many foreign boats from the south of the Yangtze River, but they do not transport more than 30,000 stones every year, and they generally do not dock in Weihai. However, the affairs of Tuntian are complicated, and the lower officials are entangled in this kind of affairs every day, so they have less time to visit the adults in Dengzhou. ”

Song Wenxian glanced at Chen Xin, Chen Xin nodded slightly to him, Song Wenxian understood and introduced to Wang Yuanzheng: "Lord Wang, this Chen Xin is the military household of the last battlement, the battle of Ningjin intercepted and killed Jiannu, and was promoted to a hundred households because of his merits, and the governor appreciated it very much, and let him accept the rank of a thousand households, and he will be placed in Weihaiwei in the future." "Song Wenxian now represents the governor's yamen, and he doesn't say that he wants Wang Yuanzheng to take care of him, he has the governor's handwriting, and if he raises Chen Xin a little higher in his words, Wang Yuanzheng will know what to do.

Weihaiwei has issued Chen Xin's acceptance-level documents, Wang Yuanzheng knows that this person is placed by Zhong Daotai, and now the governor has also written a handwritten letter, and the background is very strong, he also disregarded the officialdom, stood up and bowed to Chen Xinyi and said: "It turned out to be Chen Qianhu, if there are any difficulties in the Tuntian in the future, just open your mouth, and the lower officials will do their best to raise it." ”

Chen Xin still knelt down and said to Wang Yuanzheng according to the rules of officialdom: "Why did the lower officials come when they first came, there are many unclear places, and I ask Lord Wang for more guidance." ”

Wang Yuanzheng saw that Chen Xin was not putting up a shelf because he had a backstage, and he put his mind at ease, there were a lot of mothers-in-law above Weihaiwei, all of whom could not afford to offend, many people had relatives doing business here, and the trouble on weekdays also gave them a headache for these petty officials.

Wang Yuanzheng personally helped Chen Xin up and said politely: "How many people do Chen Qianhu need to be resettled here?" ”

"Xia Guan brought more than 100 people, mostly strong men and women, and wanted to gather them all into military households, and asked the adults to divide some land, so that they could start tuning fields as soon as possible."

Wang Yuanzheng looked embarrassed, he didn't expect that this actual grant of 100 households actually brought more than 100 people, according to the order of the early Ming Dynasty, each household is 50 acres, and 100 people is 5,000 acres, but the better fields of the guard have already been embezzled, and he himself occupies more than 1,000 acres, and most of the military households have become tenants of various officials.

Song Wenxian reminded on the side: "What Lord Sun meant, Chen Qianhu has intercepted and killed Jiannu at sea, and he will also have to do a sea patrol near here in the future, and he needs to place a bunker by the sea." ”

As soon as he lifted Lord Sun out, Wang Yuanzheng's heart tightened, so he had to say: "The lower officials will do their best, and when Commander Yang arrives, the lower officials will discuss with Lord Yang again, and they will allocate some land no matter what." ”

Chen Xin knew that he had to take advantage of this opportunity to ask for more things, otherwise as soon as Song Wenxian left in a few days, these people would have to find countless reasons to push themselves, and he still wanted some land, and he could always collect some food subsidies.

At this moment, a fat man wearing a red military attache uniform turned out of the back hall, a leopard-shaped complement on his chest, his head was round, and the official uniform on his body was also round, like a small ball on top of a big ball, without the appearance of poverty and thinness of a military household.

As soon as he saw Song Wenxian, his face was full of affection, he piled up a fat face, and arched his hands as he walked and said: "Mr. Song, the department is full of enthusiasm, why didn't you notify the lower officials earlier, and you can greet you at the dock in person, but the tired gentleman waited here for a long time, and it was rude and rude." ”

Chen Xin looked at this fat man, the military attache of the third grade, and saw that he didn't greet Wang Yuanzheng first, most likely he should be the commander of the palm print.

Sure enough, Song Wenxian didn't take the shelf anymore, stood up and returned the salute, and said with a smile: "Lord Yang has a wide heart and a fat body, and he is more rich than last time. ”

This person is Yang Yunnong, the commander of Weihaiwei's palm print, looking at his appearance, there should be a lot of oil and water on weekdays, after all, this is the head of Yiwei, Chen Xin has a background, and he must respect this current manager, and immediately knelt down to salute.

Yang Yunnong took three steps and made one step, and lifted Chen Xin's arms at a speed that did not fit his body type: "Hurry up, please get up, this should be Chen Qianhu who bravely captured the slaves, it is really better to meet than to be famous, look at this majestic state, if you want to say how the governor is the governor, this look at people is not comparable to us." ”

He said a few words, not only praised the governor, but also praised Song Wenxian and Chen Xin, no matter whether the leader was present or not, he had to seize an opportunity to pat himself on the back, this person seems to have a deep understanding of officialdom, and he has a very good memory, Chen Xin has defined him as an old fritter in officialdom in his heart.

The palm print command of the guard is selected from the commander, the same knowledge, and the commander of all the qualifications of the guard, and the performance is re-evaluated every five years, which was originally the assessment of the Shandong Metropolitan Division, and now it is the governor of Denglai and Haiphong Road, and the performance appraisal is also an important source of income for them.

Song Wenxian smiled and returned a sycophant: "Needless to say, Lord Sun's vision is naturally very important, and he also attaches great importance to Commander Yang, which shows that Lord Yang is also a rare national talent." ”

The two laughed at the same time, and after praising each other for a few more sentences, Song Wenxian returned to the truth, took out the codex and letter of Governor Sun and Zhong Daotai, and handed it to Yang Yunnong.

Chen Xin naturally knew that the letter was nothing more than praise for himself, and then asked Yang Yunnong to place it as appropriate, although he would not say anything preferential, but he wrote a letter specifically to show his attitude. Yang Yunnong read the letter respectfully, and there was no special expression on his face.

He carefully packed the letter, put his hands on the coffee table, and then looked up at Song Wenxian, "The two adults unanimously praised Chen Qianhu in the letter, and the lower officials are really grateful in their hearts, the two adults can send such a strong tiger general to Weihaiwei, it is really a blessing for the lower officials." ”

Chen Xin hurriedly said politely, this Shangguan didn't seem to be easy to deal with, the letters and oral messages were brought, he was full of praise, and there was no useful word. Chen Xin is not good at talking, of course Song Wenxian does not allow this adult to play haha, and goes straight to the topic: "I also told Lord Wang that Chen Qianhu and his subordinates are all heroes on the sea, and the two adults placed Chen Qianhu here, not because they have any selfish intentions, but really to prevent Jiannu from floating in the sea and making waves in the hinterland of my Ming Dynasty, which means that Lord Yang should understand." How to settle Chen Qianhu and his subordinates is related to the effectiveness of this sea patrol. ”

"Or Mr. Song said it thoroughly, the lower officials must be settled." Yang Yunnong's small eyes rolled a few times, he actually didn't understand the intention of the two adults to install Chen Xin, the reason for catching Jiannu was just to deceive the children, this Weihaiwei has to be a place, and now the small islands along the coast of Liaodong are under the control of Dongjiang Town, Jiannu is not full to support, what are you doing in Weihai, he finally estimated that there are too many entrainments of the Jiangnan sea grain ship, and the two adults want to get a piece of the pie.

That Wang Yuanzheng took the opportunity to come over and talk about Chen Xin's situation, but Yang Yunnong still had a calm expression and couldn't see any thoughts.

Yang Yunnong looked at Chen Xin and asked: "Since Chen Qianhu is patrolling at sea, then he must be placed by the sea in order to moor ships, I have several good harbors in Weihaiwei, two facing the Liaohai Sea and two facing the East China Sea, see where Chen Qianhu is willing to choose?" ”

"The duty of the subordinate is to patrol the sea and defend against slaves, so it will be good to go to the Liaohai side." The Weihai Acropolis faces the East China Sea, if it is not very convenient in this vicinity, the northern coast is a little farther away from the Acropolis, and there are two mountains in the middle, the location is better. In addition, the shelter performance of the anchorage in front of the Weihai Acropolis is average, although there is Liugong Island as a barrier, but the easterly and northeast winds from the two natural waterways in the north and south cannot be avoided, and are greatly affected by the waves of the East China Sea. Therefore, Chen Xin chose an anchorage facing the Liaohai side.

After discussing with Wang Yuanzheng, Yang Yunnong said to Chen Xin: "There are two good ports in the Liaohai Sea, one is called Shidao Port and the other is called Mazi Port, which is about ten miles away from the Acropolis. It's just that this residence and the land ......" Yang Yunnong also showed a look of embarrassment, and the land was really not superfluous.

Song Wenxian frowned: "Chen Qianhu is actually given to 100 households, Lord Sun has repeatedly told you not to chill the hearts of the righteous people in the world, Yang Commander Envoy must allocate some population no matter what, and if there is no residence and arable land, how can these more than 100 people live in peace." ”

Yang Yunnong hurriedly explained: "Mr. Song, there are a lot of military households fleeing at the moment, after the last time I did the acceptance paperwork, I moved in many ways, and I can only divide twenty households, and the land near the two ports in the north produces very little, but it can also divide one or two thousand acres, but I am afraid that the harvest will be less, and it is not as good as Chen Qianhu's intentions, but these two places go to sea, and the fish are quite profitable." ”

"Oh." Song Wenxian's brows stretched slightly, and he was almost done, he and Chen Xin looked at each other, "Since it is limited by conditions, it is no wonder that Lord Yang, the residence can be built by himself, but there is a lack of field harvest here, and I also ask Lord Yang to reduce some distribution as appropriate." ”

Yang Yunnong knew what Song Wenxian meant, and he was almost able to get this thing done, anyway, these people were redundant, and he had such a strong backstage, he didn't want to get much benefit from Chen Xin, "If the lower officials are saved, then the spring tax and autumn grain will not come to disturb Chen Qianhu." ”

Song Wenxian added: "Brother Chen is not manpowered, and the squad in this spring and autumn season is ......."

Commander Yang said briskly: "Don't disturb Chen Qianhu either." Shandong is in the interior, it has never been a nine-sided town system, there are few soldiers, but the imperial court does not intend to let Shandong have nothing to do, every spring and autumn, it is necessary for the guards in Shandong to send the squad to Jizhen, these people can't beat the cane, mainly to do miscellaneous, the Ningjin defense line to repair the turtle shell Those coolies are basically these squad troops, the salary is very small, and the food on the road has to be responsible for themselves, which is a heavy burden on the guards in Shandong. Song Wenxian, an old sparrow, blocked himself with the field, not only had to give up the 100 people, but also had to go into 20 households.

Song Wenxian and Chen Xinlai discussed before they came, Chen Xin's current official position is low, there are few people, he can get some land, he can plant, if he doesn't have land, he will reduce the burden, and he can have more time to train troops and engage in maritime trade, especially this squad of troops, must be pushed away, how can the people who have been recruited with great difficulty be used to do coolies.

Song Wenxian saw that the matter was so over, which was not bad, and immediately smiled and said: "Then please ask Lord Yang to send the field deed as soon as possible, allocate some cattle farming tools, and these people will be at ease." ”

Yang Yunnong knew that he couldn't hide, these farm tools were not his personal anyway, and it didn't hurt to give some, so he turned his head and pushed the matter to Wang Yuanzheng, and ordered loudly: "Lord Wang, you divide the tuntian, Chen Qianhu needs cattle seed farming tools, you have to go all out to raise them, don't mistake them for farming." ”

"This ...... The subordinate obeyed. ”