After the banquet, Li Nai invited Yan Mingjun and Li Jin to his home as guests. The other alternate officials, their families, subordinates, and servants were confined to temporary accommodation arranged for them by the local port authority, which the Haihan people called guest houses. Yan Mingjun also went to see the place where he lived in the afternoon, although it was only a two-story wooden inn in poor condition, but it was clean and tidy, and the living environment was much better than that on the ship.

However, their fleet, which temporarily stayed overnight at the Lijiazhuang wharf, was limited to the vicinity of the wharf, and even Lijiazhuang, which was a mile away, could not go casually. When Yan Mingjun and Li Jin followed Li Nai out of the dock area, they found that there were red and white warning lines on the ground at the entrances and exits here, and there were armed militiamen on duty. It seems that the activity area that Li Jiang said on the boat before is not fictional, but the rules that are actually being implemented.

Beyond this line is a much larger area of activity, including a migrant camp that can accommodate thousands of people, and Lijiazhuang, which now has more than 1,300 residents. Outside of this large activity area, that is the scope that really belongs to the jurisdiction of Panyu County, Guangzhou Prefecture, Daming.

After encountering the bandit rebellion that almost destroyed Lijiazhuang three years ago, the Li clan learned a lesson and specially asked the Haihan Construction Department and the military to redesign the outer defense system of Lijiazhuang, and built a circle of fortress-like defensive walls around the outside of the village, which was similar in shape to Sanya's Shengli Fort, with walls as high as one zhang and two or three, concealed forts arranged at intervals, deep trenches outside the fortifications, and the introduction of Pearl River water to strengthen the defense.

According to the design standards, in the condition of weapons, ammunition and combat personnel, the defense of the Lijiazhuang fortress is not something that can be broken by a small armed force, even if the regular army of the Ming Dynasty comes, it must take the head to consume the ammunition of the defenders in order to have any hope of capturing here. Once the personnel stationed in Guangzhou find that the situation is not good, they can first withdraw from the Guangzhou Office here, and then rely on the local defense facilities to hold on until reinforcements arrive.

Li Jin is naturally a knowledgeable person, although it is already a little dark at this time, but then Twilight can still see the general appearance of this castle. Although Li Jin didn't quite understand the meaning of this strangely shaped exterior wall, he recognized the fort facilities on the wall. At the moment, he didn't care about the abruptness, so he opened his mouth and asked Li Nai: "May I ask Young Master Li, can you go up to this wall?"

Li Nai smiled and rejected his request: "I'm afraid this is difficult to obey, the fortress of Lijiazhuang was designed and supervised by the Haihan people, and the Haihan people do not want their ability to build fortifications to be learned by others, especially the method of building this fortress, but I signed a confidentiality agreement with them at the beginning, and paid a lot of money to help me build this fortification in Lijiazhuang." Except for the militia and clan elders, no one else is allowed to go above without permission. ”

Li Jin muttered: "It's so ghostly, it's really so powerful?"

Li Nai just smiled at this and didn't answer, he had seen with his own eyes how powerful Haihan's artillery was. Ordinary bandits and rogues are just that, not worth mentioning at all, even if it is the regular army of the Ming Dynasty, it will not take advantage of this Lijiazhuang militia that Haihan provided arms and personally drilled. Now the Panyu County Ya does not dare to meddle in the affairs of this area of Lijiazhuang, and it is also because the civilian armed forces here are actually far superior to the official, plus the Li family is now a number of wealthy people in Guangdong, and they can get silver every year with a blind eye, who wants to meddle in affairs.

Yan Mingjun had been a magistrate for many years earlier, and he had a more personal understanding of the situation of these civilian armed forces. In fact, civilian armed forces exist everywhere, but there are only differences in the number of differences. And Lijiazhuang here is indeed the ultimate that Yan Mingjun has seen, the militia soldiers here are almost all issued with Haihan arquebuses, and the gray military uniforms they wear are the same as those of the Haihan militia, but the military uniforms of the Haihan militia have a badge representing the military rank on the collar and chest, while the Lijiazhuang militia only has a white Li character emblem sewn on the chest.

Li Nai has already married and has his own house in Lijiazhuang. After the Li family cooperated with Haihan, Li Nai, as an avid Haihan culture lover, renovated his house in accordance with the style of the Guangzhou Office. If you include the cost of freight and installation and construction, the value of his house is much more expensive than the villa he bought in Sanya.

There are many wealthy households in the entire Pearl River Delta region who have more or less installed all kinds of living facilities produced by Haihan in their homes, but it is still extremely rare for Li Nai to completely renovate their own residences, and the cost is one aspect, and on the other hand, it is also because many things that need to be customized cannot be solved with silver. If it is not for the close relationship with Haihan, it is difficult for the production workshop to send personnel to make these customized small batches or even individual products.

And these special customized products are really remarkable in the eyes of outsiders. After entering the courtyard, he saw the cement path in the courtyard, Yan Mingjun had also seen it when he was in Luodingzhou, but when he went to the study to see the one-foot-square flat glass inlaid wooden frame glass windows and floor-to-ceiling inlaid glass doors, he was really frightened. After entering the house, when he saw all kinds of Haihan glass stationery on the bookcase, Yan Mingjun's eyes were firmly absorbed.

The glass stationery launched by the Haihan people, of course, he also has a few collections. Of course, he didn't buy it out of his own pocket, and naturally some people would send these popular objects in the current cultural circle as gifts. Yan Mingjun is also very fond of this kind of crystal clear study four treasures, and has also moved the mind of long-term collection, but after he inquired about the price of the advanced version of Haihan glass stationery, he could only reluctantly give up this plan - the high-end custom version is often a few hundred taels of silver, and his annual income is at most two or three sets of purchases, and it is gone, and he really can't play.

However, these collections in Li Nai's study room really opened Yan Mingjun's eyes. Although he couldn't afford to buy the real thing, he had seen the illustrated book, and almost all of those limited editions could be found in this study.

"Brother Jun Gu also likes these Haihan glass stationery?" Li Nai's eyes lit up when he saw Yan Mingjun enter the study, and he naturally knew what he cared about, so he took the initiative to ask immediately.

Yan Mingjun sighed: "Don't hide it from Brother Rong, although I have a preference in this area, but the money is tight, so I can only buy some cheap goods to collect." Like Brother Chuanrong's high-end suit, it is impossible to afford it below. ”

Li Nai said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, if Brother Jun Gu likes which set, he will give it to Brother Jun Gu as a gift." ”

"How can this be done!" Yan Mingjun hurriedly excused himself.

Li Nai waved his hand, signaling that there was no need to debate this matter anymore, invited the two to sit down, and then asked the next person to pour tea and bring pastries.

"This glass stationery or something, I Li Jin can't understand it as a rough person, but the doors and windows of Li Gongzi's study are chic, I'm afraid the price is expensive, right?" Li Jin's attention was still on the flat glass inlaid doors and windows, in his opinion, this thing was much more practical than those glass furnishings.

"Naturally, the prices in the market are very expensive. Li Nai nodded and responded: "However, after dealing with the Haihan people for several years, I still have a little friendship, and the price they supply me is naturally much lower than that of the market." Like these two sandalwood frame inlaid glass doors, it is estimated that they are about 1,000 taels on the market, but they will be won for about 300 taels of silver. After the two of you went to Qiongzhou Island, if you want to buy real estate and add these novelties from Haihan, you can ask the local 'Fu Ruifeng' trading house to purchase them on your behalf, and the price must be cheaper than you buying them from Haihan people yourself. ”

Yan Mingjun smiled bitterly and said: "It costs a few hundred taels of silver to buy a door, and it doesn't cost tens of thousands of taels to buy a courtyard?"

Li Nai Zhengse said: "I heard that the two of you are going to Danzhou to take up their posts, and the housing prices in that place have not yet risen, and two or three thousand taels of silver should be able to buy a good courtyard." However, in another year or two, this price will catch up with Sanya, if you plan to buy a property, you might as well do your best to sell it after you arrive in the local area. ”

"Sanya? Isn't that the old nest of the Haihan people?

"The courtyard of the two entrances, the starting price is 5,000 taels, and it does not include any supporting facilities, if you want to buy all of them, the price will almost double. Li Nai explained.

"It's so expensive!" Li Jin was so frightened that he almost bounced up from his chair: "The courtyard in Guangzhou City can't be sold at this price, and the place where Sanya is located is so remote, it can be sold at such a high price, could it be that the Haihan people are suspected of buying and selling?"

"Forced to buy and sell?" Li Nai shook his head with a smile and said, "Now it's not a question of whether it's expensive or not, it's a question of whether you can buy it." Even if you buy it with cash, you have to wait in line for the housing management office of the Ministry of Construction of Haihan to sell it. At present, the merchants who have done big business in the two Guangxi provinces have purchased real estate in Sanya in seven or eight out of ten, and all of them have brought their own money to buy them, and there is no situation of forced buying and selling. ”

"The local housing prices are so scary, why do businessmen still flock to them?" Yan Mingjun asked puzzled.

"It's very simple, for the convenience of doing business. Li Nai continued: "The two ports in Sanya are now far more prosperous than the Pearl River Wharf in Guangzhou, and comparable to the big ports in Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. Moreover, almost all merchant ships going to trade in the South Seas will use Sanya as a transit point, and the prosperity of local commerce may not be imagined by the two of them now. Although it costs a lot of money to buy a house, considering that there are all kinds of big businesses living around, it is also very convenient to talk about business, and this money can be earned back in a year or two. Being able to afford the best homes in the area is also a sign of financial power, and for businessmen, buying a property in Sanya is a good investment. ”

"Even if it's a house of two or three thousand taels, I'm afraid I can't afford it!" Yan Mingjun shook his head helplessly. In order to seize the opportunity to be transferred to Qiongzhou Island, he spent almost all his savings to open up various joints, where can he still have money to buy real estate, and most of them can only live in the yamen after he goes.

"Brother Jun Gu doesn't need to worry about this, if you want a house, the Haihan people will prepare it for you. Li Nai began to give Yan Mingjun and Li Jin the first medicine: "Get a good courtyard in Danzhou City, help you take care of everything, and you can move in directly with your luggage." ”

Yan Mingjun is not a fool, he naturally knows that there will be no pie falling in the sky, so he immediately asked: "Then what conditions will the Haihan people have?"

"The conditions should be very simple, at most let you cooperate in the handling of local government and military affairs. Li Nai avoided the importance and said lightly: "Brother Jungu, you can rest assured, I will never ask you to do anything embarrassing." ”

As for what is called embarrassment, whether it is turning a blind eye to local affairs, or betraying the Ming court, Li Nai did not explain. As long as these two people reach out and take the benefits sent by Haihan at that time, many things will no longer be decided by themselves. Of course, if possible, Li Nai hopes to convince them to voluntarily serve Haihan.

"I'm not in a hurry about this matter, let's wait until I go to Qiongzhou Island and see the local environment before making a decision!" Yan Mingjun is not a hairy guy, so he will not be taken out of rhythm by Li Nai's words as soon as he is flickered, and he is not in a hurry to express his position at the moment.

At this time, the servants also brought hot tea and pastries, so Li Nai changed the topic and talked with the two about his various experiences in Sanya. For people living in the environment of Daming, Sanya's Qiē is a completely different world, and Yan Mingjun and Li Jin are no exception. What Li Nai talked about was completely new to them, the giant iron ship that could float on the sea, the heavy iron car that could gallop like flying, and all kinds of unheard of new things kept coming out of Li Nai's mouth, making them all dumbfounded.

The two would interrupt Li Nai's narration from time to time and ask questions about the points they were interested in, and Li Nai was also very patient to answer them one by one. However, there are also many questions that Li Nai himself doesn't quite understand, so he can only use excuses such as "the secret art of the sea and the Han dynasty must not be leaked" to perfunctory the past first. The purpose he wanted to achieve was not to popularize the knowledge of Haihan to the two incoming officials, but to arouse their curiosity enough, which was also one of the strategies that Ning Qi taught him at the beginning.

As long as outsiders are interested in the miracles of Haihan, it is very likely that they will be constantly brainwashed in the process of contacting Haihan culture and business circles. After a long period of repeated brainwashing, even Ming officials with official status can no longer continue to maintain loyalty to the Ming Dynasty.