Bernie stood up and bowed to Mo Qian and said, "Thank you very much, Lord Governor, for liking our country's artillery, but artillery is military equipment, and Cooper and I are both missionaries.

And I don't know if the Governor of Macao has been replaced, so I beg my pardon for not being able to make a promise to you, Your Excellency, on this matter. ”

"It's okay, you can do your best, of course, ask the two missionaries to help, naturally you can't help in vain, the governor has his own thanks, come!"

Mo Qian clapped his palms, and two servants walked up with a wooden plate covered with a red cloth.

Mo Qian stretched out his hand to lift the red cloth, revealing the gold ingots on the plate.

"Two, this is two hundred taels of gold, if you can help me buy artillery muskets from the Governor of Macao, the Governor also has five hundred taels of gold as a gift, I wonder if you two are willing to do this?"

Cooper and Bernie's eyes lit up when they saw a few glittering gold ingots on their plates.

The two of them eagerly reached out and grabbed the gold in the tray, and Cooper even took the gold to his mouth and bit it, and then said in surprise: "Bernie, this is real gold!" ”

"Well, it's gold, it's gold!"

Looking at the greedy and surprised eyes of the two, Mo Qian knew that the matter of buying artillery was basically half done.

"Two, this is the ..... about buying artillery."

"Your Excellency the Governor, rest assured, this matter is on the two of us, and I don't know when Your Excellency the Governor plans to send someone to Macao."

"Of course, the sooner the better, so that the date of the trip is set for three days later, what do you think?"

"No problem!" Bernie slipped the gold into his clothes without moving.

......

Three days later, outside the Wuchang Wharf, Mo Qian personally came to see him off.

This time he went south to Macao to buy arms, Mo Qian sent Wang Zhongyi, who had been in contact with Western studies, Wang Zhongyi had been in contact with a missionary, and was a believer in the thinker Li Zhen, who was open-minded and knew how to be flexible more than others, and sent him to Macao, which was really the most suitable candidate.

Wang Zhongyi stood on the dock and said to Mo Qian: "Rest assured, my lord, Zhongyi will not disgrace his mission and will definitely promote this transaction." ”

"I believe you, after you arrive in Guangdong, in addition to discussing the arms deal with the governor of Macao, you also have to investigate the folk customs and customs in Guangdong, and whether the common people are doing well.

There are many skilled craftsmen along the coast, some craftsmen are good at making plate armor, you can secretly investigate, if the conditions permit, you can write back at any time, I will immediately lead the troops to the south, first occupy Guangdong, open the sea to trade. ”

"What the lord said is very true, Guangdong is near the sea, and there are not many Western ships passing by in the South Sea, if we can open the sea to trade, we will definitely have a lot of money, and we will not worry about running out of money to spend."

"That's it, okay, it's not early, start early, I'm waiting for your good news!"

"Yes!"

After boarding the ship, Wang Zhongyi went to the cabin where Bernie and Cooper lived.

After staying in the Governor's Palace for three days, the two men were in a much better spirit, and their complexions were not bad.

When the two saw Wang Zhongyi coming in, they also learned to bow their hands.

"Lord Wang, please be seated!"

"Mr. Bernie is really getting more and more proficient in Chinese!"

"Everywhere, we have been in China for more than ten years, and we will only speak this little bit of Chinese."

"Mr. Bernie is too modest, he is from Portugal, I don't know what Portugal is, is it the same as us?"

"That's a long story.....

The passenger boat went down the river, came to Jiujiang, and after arriving at Jiujiang, it turned south again, entered Poyang Lake and entered the Ganjiang River, opened its sails, and went upstream.

The territory of Jiangxi is the world of the righteous army, and it is very peaceful.

After five days of sailing, the passenger ship arrived in Taihe County, Ji'an Prefecture, and the south of Taihe County was no longer under the jurisdiction of the rebels, and if you wanted to go further south, you had to be careful.

There are 2,000 righteous troops stationed in Taihe County, and the main general is Xiao Zhaohong, the general of the third brigade of the new fifth battalion, whose surname is the surname of Luling, and Xiao Zhaohong is a collateral descendant of the Xiao clan.

Since Mo Qian occupied Ji'an, the big family Xiao family has been divided into many households, the patriarch is the big landlord of the Xiao family, and their family has borne the brunt of the confiscation of land.

Although Xiao Zhaohong is also a child surnamed Xiao, his family is poor, and his family only has one acre of thin land, and it is not enough to feed the whole family of five.

Seeing the recruitment flag erected by Mo Qian, Xiao Zhaohong joined the rebel army without thinking about it.

Not to mention the military salary of one or two or five dollars of silver a month, the family can also receive a bucket of food every month, and there are rewards for military merits, this soldier deserves it!

Xiao Zhaohong has the strength to fight, and he is not afraid of death, and he was soon promoted to even chief, after several major battles, he was able to make meritorious contributions every time, and was promoted every time.

By the time Mo Qian conquered Nanchang, he was already a thousand presidents.

coincided with the formation of the new Fifth Battalion, lacking senior officers, and Xiao Zhaohong, who was brave and good at fighting, was taken by Yi Chenggui, and directly mentioned that the Fifth Battalion was the general of the Third Brigade, and the garrison was located in Taihe County.

Xiao Zhaohong is very satisfied with this position, he is a native of Luling, the whole family is in the countryside of Luling, Taihe County is very close to Luling, Xiao Zhaohong is very convenient to take care of the family.

After Wang Zhongyi entered Taihe County, the first thing he did was to meet Xiao Zhaohong, the Taihe guard.

When Xiao Zhaohong heard that the director of the Criminal Law Department was coming, he didn't dare to hold it up at the moment, and immediately opened the door to greet him.

Wang Zhongyi didn't say much when he saw Xiao Zhaohong, and went straight to the point: "I was ordered to go to Guangdong, can General Xiao know which road is safe?" ”

When Xiao Zhaohong heard that Wang Zhongyi was going to Guangdong, he couldn't help but start thinking in his heart.

He said: "Director Wang, now Nanjiang is not peaceful, the general manager of Yama, the general knife general, the general manager of Fantian, the general manager of Zhu Po, and the general maid are all in the mountains of Nangan now, and Pan Zenghong, the governor of Southern Jiangxi, has failed to encircle and suppress several times.

If you pass through Ganzhou, I'm afraid the road will not be smooth! ”

"Then besides Ganzhou, is there any other way?"

Xiao Zhaohong shook his head and said: "No, to Guangdong, there is only this one way, to the east is Fujian, if you want to enter Fujian, you have to cross Wuyi Mountain, Wuyi Mountain is high and dangerous, and there are tigers infested among them.

To the west is Xiangnan, Xiangnan is not very peaceful, there are many bandits, and the mountains and mountains are lofty, go to Guangdong, unless you go by sea, you can only pass through Ganzhou. ”

"It's not proper at sea, the sea is a hundred times more dangerous than on land, I went to Guangdong on the orders of the lord to have important things to do, and General Xiao has to help me find a way."

"Director Wang, don't worry, stay in Taihe for a few days first, let me make arrangements!"

"Okay, then there will be General Lao Xiao."

Ganzhou is not the territory of the rebels, and before he understands the situation in Ganzhou, Wang Zhongyi does not dare to enter at will, in case he is caught by officers and soldiers or bandits, it will be dangerous.

Gu Wang Zhongyi had no choice but to take two missionaries and a few retinues to live in Taihe first.

Yu Wenshuo of Taihe County learned that the director of the Criminal Law Department was in the city, and hurriedly brought people to greet him, along with the three directors of Taihe County who were responsible for criminal punishment.

The Director of the Sentencing Department, Chung Qiwen, the Director of the Arrest Department, Quan Yuefeng, and the Director of the Inspection and Inspection Department, Zhou Shengliang.

The three are responsible for all criminal and civil litigation in the county.

According to Mo Qian's arrangement, the yamen of the Criminal Law Department is called the bureau at the county level, the court level is called the court, and the provincial level is the department.

When the three of them saw that the director general was here, they naturally didn't dare to hold it up, so they hurriedly saluted.

"Subordinate Zhong Qiwen."

"Subordinate Quanyue Peak."

"Subordinate Zhou Shengliang."

"I've seen the Director-General!"

"The three of you don't have to be polite, I'm just passing by, but although I'm passing by, I also have to examine your political achievements, since taking office, have there been unjust, false and wrongful cases in Taihe County?"

Zhong Qiwen, who was in charge of the trial, stood up and replied: "Director General, since the beginning of this year, Taihe County has handled a total of 37 cases, including 36 cases of people's livelihood disputes, 1 homide case, and 37 cases, all of which were impartially pronounced. ”

"Well, do a good job, as a law enforcer, what you hold in your hands is the right to decide the life and death of others, remember not to arbitrarily judge the case, you must go more, watch more, listen more, and make sure that there are no unjust cases."

"Yes!"

The three of them were admonished by Wang Zhongyi and withdrew.

Three days later, Xiao Zhaohong found Wang Zhongyi and said that he had found a way south.

Xiao Zhaohong said: "Director Wang, tomorrow there will be a caravan from Taihe south to Guangzhou, and the director can mix in with the caravan and go together." ”

"Okay, that's it!"

Early the next morning, Wang Zhongyi mixed into the caravan with two foreigners and three servants, in order not to make people suspicious, Wang Zhongyi even gave up the ship he was on, and instead got on the caravan's cargo ship, mixed with the caravan, and went south together.

The caravan departed from Nanchang, and although Mo Qian already accounted for three-quarters of Jiangxi, Nanchang and Ganzhou still had commercial contacts.

Ganzhou is mountainous and does not produce much grain, resulting in a much higher price of rice than Nanchang.

The rice merchants in Nanchang asked Mo Qian for permission to sell rice from Nanchang to Ganzhou for sale, and after thinking about it, Mo Qian agreed to the merchants' request, but they strictly controlled the quantity of rice and the merchants who sold the rice, and only three rice shops in Nanchang were qualified to transport rice to the south for sale.

Moreover, Mo Qian demanded that the rice shipped out of Nanchang by each family should not be higher than 3,000 stone every month.

Although the rice merchants knew the amount of 3,000 stones, they had to agree in order to make money.

A stone of rice is sold from Nanchang to Ganzhou, and each stone can earn more than one or two pieces of silver, and three thousand stones can earn three thousand taels a month, although it is not much, but it is also a lot.

This time the rice went south is Xiong Kailin of the Xiong family in Nanchang, Xiong Kailin's family is a big family in Nanchang, the family's field has been collected, and now it is his own rice line that depends on his survival.

In order to be able to make money to support his family, Xiong Kailin spent a lot of energy to get a license to sell rice in the Governor's Palace.

Although it is only 3,000 stone per month, it is enough for the family's expenses.

Xiong Kailin, who was passing through Taihe County, heard that someone wanted to take their boat to Ganzhou, so he immediately agreed, because it was Xiao Zhaohong, the Taihe guard, who asked him to take people.

Xiong Kailin knows very well that the people do not fight with the officials, and Xiao Zhaohong, the Taihe guard, has great power, and if he is offended, I am afraid that the cargo ships will not be able to cross the Gan River in the future.

This time, Xiong Kailin brought 1,000 stone of rice, which was shipped on ten cargo ships.

When the cargo ship left Nanchang City, it had already paid a commercial tax, and the commercial tax was not much, only one hundred taels of silver, which was much less than the eunuchs sent by the imperial court.

In the past, Xiong Kailin brought 1,000 stone of rice to Ganzhou, and he had to pay at least 300 taels of tax before he could leave.

By the time 1,000 stone of rice arrived in Ganzhou, the toll alone would be almost 1,000 taels of silver.

As a result, the price of rice in Ganzhou has been high, and the price of rice remains high, and the people can't afford to eat rice, and there is no rice to eat, can the people of Ganzhou not rebel?

Therefore, since Ganzhou fought the Zhengde Dynasty, this rebellion has become a norm.

During the Zhengde Dynasty, there was also a sage Wang Yangming who was able to suppress bandits, but with the death of Wang Yangming, the bandits in Ganzhou began to make trouble again.

From Wanli to the present, Nanjiang has always been the hardest hit area of banditry, and the people can be said to be living in dire straits.

Wang Zhongyi followed the fleet out of Taihe County, went up the Ganjiang River, and the fleet came to Wan'an County.

Wan'an Zhixian is still in front of Jiang Wenyun, Jiang Wenyun has completely given up now, he dismissed all those townspeople, as for why they were dismissed, two words: no money.

Since beating Mo Qian and defeating Taihe, Jiang Wenyun has not slept well, and every day he dreams that the rebels are coming.

This dream has been done for more than a year, Mo Qian has been the governor of Jiangnan in Wuchang, and he Jiang Wenyun is still in Wan'an as a magistrate.

Those squires have already withdrawn their investment, and now everyone is avoiding him Jiang Wenyun, for fear that he will come to the door again to ask for money and food.

And now Wan'an is not peaceful, and the people know that the people of Taihe County, not far from the north, have been allocated fields.

The people of Wan'an County are not stopping now, they want to rebel when they have nothing to do, and they also want to learn from King Mo to divide some land for their own family.

Now the landlords and squires of Wan'an are worried all day long, for fear that one day their house will be burned down by a group of peasants.

Jiang Wenyun also knew that Wan'an would fall into the hands of the rebels sooner or later, so he simply didn't bother to defend it, every day the city gate was opened, just waiting for when the rebels would attack, so he raised his hand and surrendered directly.

Jiang Wen's calculation is clear, the Ming Dynasty is afraid that it will be over, the Central Plains Li Zicheng is high, there is a Mo King in Jiangnan, and there is a Huang Taiji outside the Guan.

Whichever of these three forces is dispatched, the Ming Dynasty will have to break its muscles and bones.

Since Mo Qian captured Wuchang and was canonized as the governor of Jiangnan by the imperial court, Jiang Wenyun knew that the imperial court had no choice but to use the method of Zhao'an to stabilize him.

Seeing this situation, Jiang Wenyun simply gave up, and waited for the rebels to come, so he surrendered directly, and maybe he could continue to be an official.

The cargo ship entered Wan'an County without stopping, and continued directly to the south.

Along the way, Xiong Kailin kept urging the boatman to row hard, Wang Zhongyi sat on the bow of the boat, and couldn't help but ask him curiously: "Young Master Xiong, why are you so anxious?" ”

"This gentleman doesn't know, there are bandits in Youzhen, we must enter Ganzhou City before dark, otherwise it is very likely to be robbed by bandits in the wild!"

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