After returning to the manor, as soon as Li Yang entered the courtyard, he saw Song Shiting and Hengyan and a few of them were surrounding the stone table in the middle of the courtyard, where the god was so mysterious and mysterious that it seemed to be tinkering with something, out of curiosity, I quietly walked over, I went to them, and no one found out that I was back, what was it that made them so concentrated

Li Yang coughed lightly: Madam, I'm back, where are you doing?

The sudden voice of words startled the two sisters, Xiao Zhou and Xiao Zhuang, and the two sisters put on an unhappy expression: Young master, why don't you make a sound when you walk

Song Shiting grabbed my arm: Why did my husband come back so early today?

Li Yang smiled and patted her little hand: I was busy a while ago and didn't have time to accompany you, it just so happened that I didn't have anything to do in the past two days, so I will accompany you more at home, by the way, what are you guys doing

Song Shiting pushed Li Yang to the chair and sat down: Husband, my sister and I heard this ring just now, and the sound was not very loud, and we have been watching it here for a long time

When Li Yang saw the shape of the Xuanwu egg, he was made to cry and laugh, a square sandalwood was covered with a square quilt, and there was a Xuanwu egg standing in the middle, and it was also draped in a cotton cloak and a red rope on it, and there was a string of white pearl bracelets hanging on the tip of the egg: Madam, these are all made by you

Song Shiting nodded slightly, "Hmm"

A light breeze blew through Li Yang's body, and he shook: It's windy outside, let's go into the house

After speaking, Li Yang lifted the Xuanwu egg with both hands, and Song Shiting dragged the Xuanwu egg out of my hand with an uneasy look: Look at your rough hands or I'll come

Li Yang's face was innocent: Madam, why am I rude

Song Shiting rolled her eyes and didn't smile: You are rude

Li Yang shook his head helplessly: Okay

After entering the house, Song Shiting carefully put the Xuanwu egg on the table: By the way, sister, don't you have something to discuss with your husband, just in time for him to come back early today

Li Yang: What's wrong Hengyan

Hengyan: I see that you are busy outside all day, and you have lost weight recently, I am your wife, and I also want to help you share some of it, so that you don't have to be so tired, my sister has a mine to take care of, only I eat white rice, can you arrange an errand for me to have something to do

Li Yang was a little embarrassed: What kind of errand will I arrange for you, the shops and workshops are now taken care of, if you are asked to lead the troops, it is not a matter for a girl's family to be with the old men all day long

Song Shiting shook Li Yang's arm on the side: Oh, you have to think of a way

Li Yang raised his head and thought for a while: With Hengyan, now that there are more and more materials and money in the family, the guards in the manor will be handed over to you in the future, this is a very important errand, the women in the family belong to you, and you have to protect them for me when I am not at home in the future

Heng Yan nodded: How many guards are there in the manor

Li Yang: About 50-60 people

There was a rush of footsteps outside the house, "Young Master, they're back-they're back" Li Yang heard it and ran out quickly: Who is back

Li Long panted and raised his hand to the outside: According to the report from the Haiphong battalion - General Long Chuan, they have just landed on the coast near the village of Xilan

Li Yang: Did all the 8 warships come back safely?

Li Long nodded: all 8 three-sail warships have returned safely

After hearing the news, the stone that had been hanging in Li Yang's heart for half a month finally landed: Li Long went with me to the beach to have a look

Eight three-sail warships lined up on the shore, rows of soldiers tugging on the cables to tie the warships to the shore, and the fishermen who went out to sea with the warships were all smiling, they were moving baskets of sea fish from the cabin and placing them on the beach, it seemed that the harvest should be good this time

Seeing Long Chuan walking down from the warship, Li Yang quickly greeted him with a smile on his face and arched his hand: The last general has seen General Long, and you are tired of going to sea this time

Long Chuan waved his hand: Li Yang, you and I are both warriors with soldiers, and you don't have to live in these false courtesies, I am older than you, and we will be called brothers, what do you think

Li Yang bowed respectfully: If Brother Long didn't give up, he would have this intention

Long Chuan is also a person with a bold personality, laughing loudly, "Haha, brother, 8 warships, brother, I brought you back safely."

Li Yang: Brother Long, why did he use it for so many days to go to sea this time

Long Chuan: My brothers and I encountered a storm on the ocean, and we had no choice but to dock our warship on a desert island to escape the storm, but the storm lasted for five days and delayed our return trip

Li Long: General Long, your delay in returning can make our brother anxious, but this time, you have returned safely, and the stone in everyone's heart can be regarded as landing

Just as we were talking, a group of fishermen came over, and out of this group came an old man, he was wearing an old cloth coat with a few patches on it, and his face looked a little sallow, which should be caused by long-term malnutrition, and he bowed respectfully to us: We have all unloaded the sea fish loaded on the ship of several officials, and we have unloaded all the sea fish, do you see if the wages of the sea can be settled

Li Yang: Old man, calculate how much it is, and I'll give it to you

The old man picked his fingers and calculated: a total of 26 silver coins

Li Yang muttered: Everyone has worked hard this time to go to sea, and the salary will be calculated according to 30 silver coins, and many of you will take it to buy some wine and food to have a good meal

But when you touch it, it's embarrassing: Old man, I didn't bring any money with me in a hurry, do you see you go back to the manor with me to get it, and when you go back, I will send a carriage to send you back to see it

The old man nodded and then turned to the fishermen: "You go back first, I will go with this official to get the money, and I will send you one by one when the wages are up."

The old man looked at Li Yang: Can the official ask the big guy to take some sea fish back to improve it for the family

Li Yang: Of course you can take it, Brother Long, let's go back to the manor, the big guy has to have a good drink today

Hengqi, Ze Nuo and the others got down from the boat, and as soon as they saw Li Yang, they waved and shouted: Hey, Li Yang, we are back

Li Yang hurriedly greeted him: Uncle brother and you brothers have tired you

Hengqi patted Li Yang on the shoulder with both hands: It's all his brother who says that he is tired or not

Li Yang: Let's go back to the manor, and today you brothers have to have a good drink

Hengqi: Then what are we waiting for, let's leave quickly

After returning to the manor, Xiaozhuang and Xiaozhou sisters made a table of sumptuous dishes, the most conspicuous is steamed lobster and flying crab abalone, the fragrance of the dishes alone makes everyone swallow their mouths, and the taste of the wine makes people's stomachs growl

Everyone took the wine jar and poured their respective wine glasses, and Li Yang raised his hand and made a gesture of please: Brother Long is the largest official in your seat today, and this first glass of wine should be brought up by you

Long Chuan: Hey, brother, I am in your house today, and you should mention this first glass of wine

Li Yang: Brother Long, don't postpone it, you are the oldest among us in terms of official position, and you are a few years older than all of us, so this first cup should be mentioned by you

Long Chuan looked embarrassed: How can this be so conscious

Gao Yuan is on the side: General Long, don't postpone it, if you two are postponing it, the big guy really can't help but eat

After everyone heard this, they laughed loudly, and Long Chuan no longer postponed: Long Mou is here to thank you for your love, so I'm not welcome to this first glass of wine, Long Mou is a rough man with soldiers, unlike those who read a lot of flowers, not to mention that everything is in the wine, Long Mou did it first as a respect

As soon as the words fell, Long Chuan drank all the wine in the wine glass, and Yuan Kui and the others applauded in unison when they saw this: General Long has a lot

Motohiro: General Long looks like a man of temperament, so everyone should put up their wine glasses

Everyone picked up the wine glass, when the wine glass was put to his mouth, Li Yang smelled the taste of wine, and his body couldn't help but shudder, seeing these people in front of him drinking like drinking water, so I held my breath and drank the wine, after a few rounds of drinking, Li Yang was slightly drunk, and he was very happy to see everyone talking and laughing at the wine table

Long Chuan raised his hand and patted Li Yang on the shoulder: Brother, I found that there are several deficiencies in the warships of the coastal defense battalion that need to be improved, there are too few cables, the warships are not easy to manipulate, the size of the canvas is too small, and the boats are not fast enough

Li Yang: Brother Longchuan, I will ask Master Xu and Master Cao to find you tomorrow, that piece needs to be improved, you can tell the two masters, and the matter of the warship depends on the old brother, you will take care of it for me, by the way, brother, I have customized two more three-sail warships, and it will be delivered to the coastal defense battalion in about two or three months

Tatsukawa: That's a good thing, I'll take the time to look at the problems that the previous warships were willing to have, and discuss with the shipwrights to see if there is anything that can be improved

Li Yang: Then there is Brother Lao in the coastal defense battalion, if there is anything you need, just give me orders

Long Chuan thought for a moment: It's not a problem for warships to always stop on the coast like this, so we have to hurry up and build a coastal defense camp and a dock for docking warships

Li Yang: What my brother said is yes, even if you don't say this, I have already had this intention, but in a month or two I am afraid that it will be too late in winter, and we will start this matter as soon as the spring of next year begins, brother, you are well-informed, I want to build a dock that can be both military and commercial, and please help me think about it

By the way, brother, I'll introduce you to you, this is the head of the mountain view, he is proficient in building and building a wharf, and the matter of building a wharf will be handed over to him, as for how to build a wharf, I hope that brother, you can help give an idea

Guanshan got up and arched his hand: Poor Dao Guanshan has seen General Long

Longchuan returned the gift: Guanshan Dao Chang is too outside, by the way, my brother went to sea this time I found that many sailors have no experience at all, and there is no war so-so can still say the past, but once you encounter a naval battle, the key to determining the outcome is to operate the warship, and it is difficult to train decent sailors without three or five years

Li Yang: Do you have any good solutions, brother?

Long Chuan: Don't hide that my brother in Taizhou still has some of my subordinates in the naval division back then, and later the salaries of the brothers who died in name only in Taizhou were also cut off, and in order to make a living, my subordinates have left the naval division, if these people can be recruited to the coastal defense battalion, why is it a hundred long, I guarantee that it will not be long before all the brothers in the coastal defense battalion can become top sailors

After listening to Long Chuan's words, the smile on Li Yang's face dissipated a little, and Gao Yuan and the others in the conversation and laughter also quieted down, and they all looked at Long Chuan, everyone knew in their hearts that once these people went to the coastal defense battalion to serve as grassroots officers, it would not be long before they could grasp the control of the coastal defense battalion, the subtlety of the coastal defense battalion is that the government wants to build a naval division and really has no money, and the Li family does not want to hand over control to the Taizhou government when they pay for the construction of the coastal defense battalion

Just when Li Yang was in a dilemma and didn't know what to do, Gao Yuan said a sentence that diverted the topic: Hey, why didn't the patriarch see Li Song today

Li Yang: Oh, he took someone to transport sea fish, and I guess he should be back soon

Yuan Kui: The sea fish that General Longchuan brought back from his trip to sea this time is really a rainy time for Alan County, and I will toast you when I come to General Longchuan

Long Chuan has been mixed in the officialdom for so many years, and the caution of Li Yang and Gao Yuan and others has long been seen through by him: Don't divert the topic, brother, to be honest, are you worried that I will seize the military power of the coastal defense battalion

Li Yang: Brother, to be honest, brother, I have never thought about it this way, brother, do you know that now the soldiers receive half salary, and they will not be able to pay full salaries until after the autumn harvest next year, will this wronged my brother's subordinates?

Long Chuan raised his hand and patted Li Yang: Brother, it doesn't matter if you think about it or not, it is my long-cherished wish to be able to build a Taizhou water master, as for the matter of salary, you don't have to be embarrassed, I will persuade my subordinates

Long Chuan has said this, if I refuse, I can't say it: Brother Long's coastal defense battalion will bother you a lot

Long Chuan was happy when he heard it, and picked up his wine glass: Come on, let's drink

The lively atmosphere on the wine table returned to just now, and after a few rounds of drinking, Li Song walked in sweating profusely

Li Yang: Second brother, you came back just in time for this lobster, which is reserved for you

Li Songle ran over and sat down on the chair, grabbed the lobster with both hands and picked up the shell and ate it, Li Yang picked up the teapot and gave Li Song a glass of water: Don't worry, don't worry, don't choke

Li Hu: When I look at the second child, I am hungry

When everyone saw that Li Song was eating so deliciously, they reached out and grabbed the lobsters and crabs on the table and began to make them

In the blink of an eye, Li Song easily killed a lobster by himself, and he leaned back on the chair and burped a full "uh"

Li Yang smiled: The second fish on the shore have been transported back

Li Song: The boss caught as many as 300,000 catties of marine fish this time, and some of them have been brought back, and some of them are still being transported back one after another, striving to transport all 300,000 catties of marine fish back today

Guanshan: Oh, where to put these 300,000 catties of sea fish, there is really no place in the manor

Han Juzheng: Brother Li, I think it would be better to distribute these sea fish from house to house, so that the residents can keep them for the winter

Gao Yuan: That's a solution

Li Yang nodded: The second child picked out the 100,000 catties of sea fish sent to Taizhou Mansion, and the remaining 200,000 catties of sea fish were distributed by each thousand households

There is a big food shortage in Alan County, Longchuan, and you can see if you can go out to sea a few times before the sea freezes, and the sea fish caught back can relieve the pressure of lack of food

Long Chuan: There is nothing wrong with this, why do you want to send 100,000 catties of sea fish to Taizhou City?

Li Yang: Isn't there still 30,000 victims in Taizhou City, not only that I am short of food here, but also Lord Sun, these sea fish sent to Taizhou City can relieve the pressure on Lord Sun

Long Chuan: So that's the case, how can I look at this stubble, I have to go back before it's too early, and my wife and children are still waiting for me to go back at home

Li Yang: Brother, let's have the last drink today

Li Yang leaned over to Li Song and whispered a few words, Li Song nodded slightly and got up to leave, and after a while, Li Song came back and sat next to me and stuffed a small cloth bag into my hand

Long Chuan staggered up after drinking and was about to leave, Li Yang hurriedly stuffed the small cloth bag into his hand quietly: Brother, please smile at a little heart

Long Chuan opened the small cloth bag and saw that it contained a pair of gold bracelets, and weighed it with his hand, about a catty: Brother, what are you doing here, hurry up and take it back

Li Yang: Brother, this is for your sister-in-law and children, don't postpone it, if my brother is postponing it, then he won't treat us as brothers

Long Chuanhan smiled: Then I thank my wife and the child here, and you take your wife to my house another day, and I will have a drink with my brother

Li Yang: Okay, let's make up our minds, I'll send you when you go, brother

Long Chuan waved his hand: Don't send it, stay here

Li Yang: Li Long arranged a carriage to take my brother back to his house

After Long Chuan left, everyone returned to the wine table: Is the second coin minted?

Li Song: I have already sent the silver to the prefect's yamen, and it is estimated that the 30,000 silver coins will be minted by tomorrow night

Li Yang: Second child, tomorrow you and I will send 100,000 catties of sea fish to Taizhou City, Li Long-Li Hu and your brothers will bring 300 people into the city with us, and escort the silver coins back when you come back

As soon as the sky dawned, the rooster crowed as usual, hundreds of carriages full of sea fish were rushing to Taizhou City, Li Yang sat in the carriage with his eyes and dozed off, Li Long and Li Hu wore iron armor and rode horses to guard on the left and right sides with long knives in their hands, and Li Song was driving the carriage with a weed in his mouth

After arriving at the yamen of the state capital, Li Song shouted softly into the carriage: Boss, we have arrived

Li Yang stretched out his hand to lift the curtain of the car and jumped off the horse, raised his hands and stretched his waist lazy, the state government yamen came more often, and the officials also knew me, and when I stepped forward to greet the officials, he turned around and went in to report, and after a while, the officials led me to the inner hall, Sun Yuanwu was not as busy as usual today, he was sitting on the chair and sipping tea comfortably

Li Yang bowed respectfully: The last general has seen the prefect

Sun Yuanwu looked at the official and waved his hand at Li Yang: Oh, you are here, there are no outsiders here, you don't have to be polite to come and sit

Li Yang walked up to Sun Yuanwu and sat down: My lord, I'm so excited today

Sun Yuanwu smiled: A friend of mine sent some new tea today, and you came just in time to taste this year's new tea

After speaking, Sun Yuanwu picked up the teapot and arrived at a cup of tea, Li Yang picked up the teacup with both hands and blew lightly for a while and took a sip: Well, good tea-good tea, adults don't know where this is produced, the tea tastes so authentic, although it is a little bitter when it is swallowed, there is indeed a strong fragrance left in the mouth, which is a bit like the ups and downs of life

Sun Yuanwu was surprised: Hey, I didn't see it, your kid is quite knowledgeable, this tea is the famous Baihua tea in Zhejiang

In fact, Li Yang doesn't know what kind of tea this play should be drunk in the mouth, but I can't say that your tea is really hard to drink, so after that, Lord Sun, he won't take care of me, believe it or not, so I can only pick a good one and say that patting sycophants is also a profound knowledge

Li Yang was stunned: My lord, Zhejiang still produces tea

Sun Yuanwu: What's so surprising that Hangzhou Mansion-Jinhua Mansion-Yanzhou Mansion all produce tea, by the way, what is the matter with you coming to me today?

Li Yang: Your Excellency, General Longchuan has returned from leading the coastal defense battalion to the sea, and he will bring 100,000 catties of sea fish to deliver to you

Sun Yuanwu was happy when he heard it: Good Benfu, this will let people put sea fish ginseng in rice porridge, the victims have oil and water in their stomachs to fight hunger, and a lot of food will be reduced

After saying that, Sun Yuanwu went to the house to change his clothes, the two sat in the carriage and wandered around in Taizhou City, there was no longer the usual lively scene on the street, there were people begging along the street everywhere, Sun Yuanwu saw this scene The smile on his face disappeared, and the carriage happened to pass by a rice shop, Li Yang shouted softly: Second stop, let's go to this rice shop to have a look

Sun Yuanwu: Why do you want to buy grain?

Li Yang: My lord, the grain in Alan County can last for three or four months, but this year there has been a drought in many places, and I estimate that the grain price will rise after the winter, so I want to stock up some grain in the end

Sun Yuanwu nodded: Well, it's okay to have some food, go to the mansion and accompany you to go in and have a look

As soon as he entered the rice shop, a guy greeted him with a smile on his face: several guest officers wanted to buy something

Sun Yuanwu stretched out his hand and grabbed a handful of rice from the frame to take a closer look, and the white rice grains were full: This rice is good

Li Yang nodded: Man, how did you sell this rice

Man: The guest officer has good eyesight, and this rice is 7 copper coins a catty

Sun Yuanwu heard it: Why is your rice so expensive?

Man: The guest officer's food is all at this price right now

Li Yang: Man, go and call the shopkeeper, I have a big business to talk to him

The guy looked up and down, and saw that these people should be dressed by big families: the big shopkeeper has a distinguished guest

A fatter middle-aged man came out of the store: A few guest officers here, please

The shopkeeper led Master Sun, Li Yang and others to the house and sat down, and then respectfully gave each of us a cup of tea: I don't know how much rice you want to buy, guest officer

Li Yang: The shopkeeper depends on how much cheaper you can get

Shopkeeper: If you don't say how many catties you buy, I don't know if it fits

Li Yang stretched out his five fingers, and the shopkeeper looked at it with great strength: You want to buy 50,000 catties

Li Yang shook his head and waved his five fingers again

Shopkeeper leakage happy color: 500,000 catties

Li Yang: 5 million catties

When the shopkeeper heard this, he was frightened and sat down on the ground: This little shop does not have so much grain now, please allow me to make up enough for you in a few days

Li Yang raised his hand: Don't worry, shopkeeper, let's talk about the price first

Shopkeeper: This lord can see that you are noble from the first time I saw you, so I will give you 6 copper coins per catty of rice

Li Yang shook his head: It's too expensive, it's too expensive, so if the shopkeeper is 5 copper coins a catty, then we will make a deal

Shopkeeper: I really can't match the price you gave, if you gave this price a few days ago, but in the past few days, a group of grain merchants have come to the country, and they have taken away all the grain in Taizhou City at the price of 5 copper coins per catty of grain

To tell you the truth, I just want to buy rice at the price of 7 copper coins a catty, and the entire Taizhou government may not be able to give you enough food for 5 million catties

Sun Yuanwu frowned when he heard this: There is still such a thing