the world is at stake

This situation is in line with historical records, and it is also consistent with the team's current understanding.Zhou Qingfeng discussed with the military team and asked, "If we really do something, the government can't stop us?"

"It depends on the intensity of the action. Unless we capture the county, the local officials will definitely pretend to be deaf and dumb, and will even take the initiative to contact us, so as not to cause more disputes.

If in the eyes of the official, one side is thieves replacing the other.As long as we spend money to clear the way and provide enough tax, money and food, we may be able to buy some officials to do it and completely control the grassroots.

The real enemies are the local gentry, such as salt merchants and cloth merchants and big landowners.In order to do business everywhere, this group must rely on force, and behind them are bandits who are constantly causing trouble.

The bandits must have no discipline, and they have a simple cooperative relationship with the gentry, and they may loot places at any time.I very much doubt that Xinhua Village has been so high-profile recently that it has been targeted by the surrounding evil forces. "

The words of Ming history experts put a lot of pressure on Zhou Qingfeng and the military team.After all, they have only settled down for a short time. Although they can mobilize more than [-] manpower and have technical advantages, there are less than ten real armed personnel.

Zhou Qingfeng discussed countermeasures with the military team, and the entire Qinglong Town was immersed in the silence of the night.Chong'er hid in the soil due to the cold weather, and the farmer's housekeeping dog didn't bark, but huddled in the kennel to avoid the cold wind.

But there is a fishing boat on the Wusong River, with a single lantern hanging on the bow.The boatman's boat moved lightly in the river, and the boat rested on a pier on the bank.

Someone on the shore shouted in the darkness: "But is Wan Gong from Wujiang?"

"It's right below." A person stood out from the cabin and was supported by the boatman ashore.After he stepped on the pier, he looked towards the direction of the river, and saw a bright fire floating in the night sky four or five miles away.

"Is this the hot air balloon of the gang of rebels?" The person who was honored as 'Wan Gong' was about forty or fifty, with a square scarf on his head and cotton clothes, and snorted: "Isn't it just a big Kongming lantern? It has already been done, and the foolish foolish men and women in the country make a fuss."

The people on the shore complimented: "Wan Gong is knowledgeable, and ordinary farmers are naturally inferior. But the rebels in Xinhua Village have made a name for themselves, and the people around them think they are gods."

"It's not uncommon for the villagers to be so ignorant." 'Wan Gong' continued: "But you said in your letter that there are more than [-] rebels in this village?"

People on the shore said: "The number of more than four hundred people was already two days ago. There is a rebel leader named Xiao, who is hypocritical, recruits troops everywhere, hoards food and grass, and spends money to recruit three hundred young men.

Its recruiting is quite selective, not too young, not too old, only fifteen or sixteen years old, strong and smart.Not only were they looking for strong men, but they also recruited hundreds of young women, probably for the purpose of prostitution.

In order to recruit people, Xiao Zeitou issued a notice, agreeing to try it out in March, and after the trial period, he would give him [-] cents of the monthly silver.Relying on this small profit, thousands of fools were coaxed together. "

"Another three hundred? And women? Two cents of the moon and silver?" 'Wan Gong' was quite surprised, "This rebel is so grand, there are only 1000 people in the thief's nest. No wonder you recruited me, this group The thieves' plans are not small, and there must be big moves."

"That's right, that's right." The man on the shore gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "Wan Gong still doesn't know about it, but there have been [-] or [-] murders in Qinglong Town recently.

These murders are all strange.It doesn't matter if a dozen or so green skins die, but even the head of the town's grain leader Niu was beaten to death in broad daylight. "

"Niu Er is dead?" 'Wan Gong' was shocked, "The thief is so bold, dare to kill court officials? Tell me the details."

The people on the shore told about the incident of the "Lei Tian Punishment" outside Qinglong Town, and when they talked about Niu Er's death, they couldn't help showing a little fear, "When Master Niu died, there were two relatives by his side. There were five or six A passerby looked on.

But just hearing a thunderous sound, Master Niu's head exploded.One of the two attendants was frightened and fainted, and the other fled without a trace, and has not been found until now.

The foremen from the county took Master Niu's body back and put the broken skull back together.I went to see it myself and found a huge hole in the skull.

From this, Wu Zuo asserted that Master Niu was beaten with a bird gun from a distance, and it was definitely not a thunderbolt.It's just that the blunderbuss is so powerful that it sounds like thunder.

It's just that the bird gun is not unusual, it's cumbersome to use, and it can't be accurate at a distance, it can only be scary.How to smash Master Niu's head in one go is really puzzling. "

Listening to this detailed explanation, 'Wan Gong' nodded again and again, "The bird gun is just a plaything, filled with gunpowder and iron sand, and can only shoot birds. If this is deliberately done by the rebels, it is really amazing.

Right now, the squires in Qinglong Town are being killed one by one, the local corruption is inevitable, and a catastrophe is imminent.Scholars of my generation can't sit idly by, we must help each other and defend our hometown. "

"Alas... it's more than rotten!" The man on the shore stomped his feet again, and said bitterly: "This group of rebels are not only fierce, but also very good at bewitching people.

Among the anti-thief leaders is a sorceress surnamed Li who likes to wear white clothes and pretends to be a Bodhisattva. She practices medicine and dispenses medicine everywhere. "

'Wan Gong' didn't care, "This large Kongming lantern is displayed as auspicious, and the method of drawing symbols is just a means of rebellion, which is common and not uncommon."

"Tolerance Wan. A farmer in my village suffered from intestinal carbuncle. He was in pain for several days and wailed endlessly. He had lost his human form. It was useless to hire a doctor from the county after exhausting his family's wealth.

Witch Li brought a few thieves here, and said that she had done some kind of "surgery", she just opened the lower abdomen of the patient with a knife, took out the "unfinished end", and then sewed up the wound.

A few days later, the sick guy came back to life, could eat some liquid food, and walk around.Such a miracle is really amazing.

If it wasn't for the fact that the farmer was a tenant farmer that I knew everything about, and I had seen it with my own eyes when he was sick, otherwise he would have regarded the 'surgery' as a quack trick, a trick to deceive people.

But this Witch Li's methods are really amazing, and the story of opening her belly to save people is getting more and more amazing, but I can't figure out why.

In recent days, Witch Li has treated hundreds of people, and many intractable diseases have been solved one by one by her.She also delivered two women with dystocia, keeping the mother and child safe.

With such supernatural medical skills, Witch Li didn't charge any money, but instead administered medicine one after another.How could the poor ghosts in the nearby villages not be grateful to Dade and die for him?

I wanted to expose it, but I didn't know how to do it, and I was deceived by her for a long time.Until the rebels in Xinhua Village made another evil move, we felt that their minds were weird and definitely not good. "

Speaking of this, the person on the shore took out a silver coin from his pocket, and said solemnly: "Wan Gong, you have a wide range of blogs and memorabilia, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Can you recognize this thing?"

In the dark night, the boatman brought the oil lamp from the bow of the boat and held it up high.

Wan Gong took the silver coins and carefully identified them by the light.I saw that the face of the coin was exquisite, with a 'corner' on the front and an 'orchid' on the back.Its edges are floating, and its sides have gear teeth, which are detailed.

There is still a half circle of small characters on the top of the 'corner'.Look carefully, it says 'Chinese people are very good'.Each character is only half a grain of rice square, but every detail is clearly visible.

"What's the meaning of this?" 'Wan Gong' watched for a long time, apart from being amazed at the essence of the silver coin, he tried to decipher the six-character 'esoteric meaning' - what do you mean by 'the Chinese people are very good'?

"There are more." The man on the shore took out several other silver coins and copper coins.

One is 'five horns' on the front and 'plum blossom' on the back; the other is 'one yuan' on the front and 'peony' on the back.'Chinese people are awesome' printed on the top of the pentagon, and 'Chinese people are super strong' printed on the top of the one yuan.

Copper coins are "one cent", "two cents" and "five cents", with similar patterns.

"Wan Gong, do you know this thing?" The people on the shore asked.

I haven't seen it before, only ghosts know this thing.The people behind the scenes are pure pranks.If he hadn't acted recklessly, it would be impossible to print these thoughtless lines.

'Wan Gong' didn't want to admit that he didn't know it, but said contemptuously: "It's just a privately minted silver coin and copper coin. It's a flowery flower, and it's like a talisman. It's not worth mentioning."

"Wan Gong is ridiculous, this thing is extremely vicious!" The man on the shore beat his chest and stamped his feet, "Do you know how much this 'one yuan' is worth in silver?"

"How many?"

Wan Gong weighed the silver coin in his hand and reckoned: "Although this silver coin is fine, the rebels thought it cost a lot of money. But it weighs less than half a tael, so it's great to exchange for half a tael of Xuehua official silver."

The people on the shore mourned and sighed: "The rebels in Xinhua Village are very black-hearted. Exchange this 'one yuan' for one tael of snowflake silver."

Ah... Wan Gong exclaimed: "This half of the silver coin, which is less than two taels, is exchanged for one tael of snowflake silver? How domineering the rebels are, and how deep the exploitation is, it's too despicable."

The people on the shore said angrily: "The rebels want to stockpile grain. I sold fifty shi of grain and tried to make friends with them. They used this bad money to fool me. Naturally, I wouldn't sell it.

But the rebel didn't care at all.

Foolish men and women in the country were bewitched by the temptress Li, saying that 'silver coins are exquisite, reliable in anti-counterfeiting, wear-resistant and dirt-resistant, and will not rust'. One yuan is exchanged for one tael, which is very fair.

He also said that broken silver and bad money are tricks for people, and adding lead and iron is the work of profiteers.Silver coins and copper coins have a stable currency value and are easy to exchange for change, so they should replace silver taels.

Wang Gong, listen to it, listen to it, is this a human language?I have been in business for more than [-] years, and my business has spread all over the south of the Yangtze River. I have never seen the reason for anyone to exchange half a tael of silver for me.

But the money is just in circulation.The anti-thief collected two silver coins and paid out silver coins, making a lot of money for nothing.

Many farmers use these silver coins and copper coins to buy and sell things in Xinhua Village.Many hawkers in the market also said that the denominations of silver coins and copper coins are accurate, and the patterned floating-point gear teeth can also prevent counterfeiting, and they are comfortable to use.

What's more, Xinhua Village also sells some fine things that are not available elsewhere. They have to use silver coins and copper coins, but they don't sell them with other coins.This is really the anti-thief among the anti-thieves, subverting the foundation of my Ming Dynasty, extremely vicious! "

Wan Gong frowned and remained silent.

The face value of the rebel's silver coins can be seen at a glance, and it must be more convenient to use than the silver coins that need to be weighed at any time.The fineness of its patterns is beyond imagination, and the craftsmanship of Jiangnan craftsmen is the best in Ming Dynasty. It is not difficult to copy one or two, but it is a dream to circulate in large quantities.

Currency is based on credit.Silver can't be eaten, it all depends on whether the society can accept it.If this silver coin is really used, the common people will definitely like it.If you can still buy enough things in Xinhua Village...

"No, it's impossible." Wan Gong thought deeply, but laughed and shook his head, "How can one village supply the needs of thousands of households? The amount of silver coins is too small, and at most a dozen people in the countryside of Qinglong Town can be deceived." The fools of the village.

The anti-thieves are greedy, thinking they have a plan, and want to use less than half a tael of "one yuan for one tael" to make money.

If there are too many people to use it, if you can't buy goods with silver coins, the foolish people will naturally retaliate. "

what……?

The people on the shore were stunned and said in a low voice: "Wan Gong thinks the rebels are wrong?"

"Of course it's wrong, it's a big mistake." Wan Gong seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "A thief is a thief, and he only talks about small profits in the immediate future and has no long-term plans.

If the rebel's silver coins are worth two catties, I will be a little afraid of it, and even admire its lofty ambitions.But they played tricks like this before they made a fortune, it's another 'White Lotus Sect'. "

"Is that so?" The people on the shore were dubious, but they actually felt that Wan Gong might be wrong.After all, his family minted copper coins privately, and the silver coins and copper coins in Xinhua Village forcibly affected the interests.

"By the way, Lord Wan. The rebels in Xinhua Village not only privately mint silver and copper coins, but also lend money to make money. The annual interest is only one cent, which has already attracted many farmers to borrow money to repay the loan."

The people on the shore talked for a long time, but Wan Gong who came by boat looked at each other indifferently.But when it comes to the loan interest is only one cent, he immediately jumped up and cursed:

"The anti-thieves are bold! How dare they change the rules of interest and money set by thousands of gentry in our six prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River? Isn't it going to stir up chaos in the whole south of the Yangtze River with such a low interest rate?

This must be another act of demagoguery and buying fame.

Hateful, hateful, I will quickly report to Fucheng tomorrow and invite officers and soldiers to suppress it!

No, no, the officers and soldiers are incompetent, and the deployment of troops is slow, so they can't suppress such bandits and murderers.I immediately wrote a letter and asked my friends at sea to help, and I must get rid of it as soon as possible. "

Wan Gong's speech speed suddenly accelerated, and he also stomped his feet.

The people on the shore complimented him for a long time, but at this moment he said with disdain in his heart: "Sure enough, those who put 'sharp money' just don't see anyone grabbing business."

Chapter 10 The Fool

The closest to Xinhua Village is Nanwan Village across the river.The population is two to three hundred, and all of them work in agriculture.

According to the interview and investigation, the land of 'Nanwan' belongs to a censor who has served for many years in Fucheng.Every year during the autumn harvest, the accountant of the main family will bring more than a dozen long followers over to watch the harvest.

How much grain has been harvested is accurately weighed, and the land rent is not to be missed at all.

Some landlords only need money to collect land rent, not grain.The tenants were forced to sell the hard-earned grain at a low price when the harvest was good, and exchanged it for money to pay rent.Grain merchants everywhere will inevitably lower prices during the autumn harvest, and farmers will suffer even more.

The 'Holy Light' team wants to break this predicament and has made various efforts for this.

On this day, Zhou Qingfeng led a team across the Wusong River by boat and arrived at Nanwan Village.A dozen or so dirty children were crowded on the embankment by the village, and they looked strange all day long.

Since the construction of Xinhua Village began, mills, balloons, sawmills and so on have appeared one after another, and people and cars are more lively than the New Year.If the water was not too cold in winter, the children in Nanwan Village would have to take off their clothes and jump into the river to have a look.

But there is another strange thing in this place. The masters of the opposite village plan to build a bridge to connect "Xinhua" and "Nanwan", use the rivers on both sides to build hydraulic machinery, and expand the site.

This is bound to use the land of Nanwan Village.

The elders in the village didn't dare to disagree, so they only sent someone to remind the old man of Xinhua Village that the land along the river in 'Nanwan' is owned by the owner, and it is best to ask the owner's consent.

Zhou Qingfeng came here just for this matter.Accompanying him were two members of the construction team. After crossing the river, he directed the survey and made plans for the transportation and construction on both sides of the company.

Two dozen newly hired apprentices worked hard on the river bank to drive piles for the bridge.They work during the day and study at night, and they are making rapid progress—recently, Xinhua Village purchased a large number of oil lamps to ensure that they can be used for a few hours at night.

The elders from the 'Nanwan' village greeted him on the shore. Seeing Zhou Qingfeng's tall body and plump face, he felt that he had met a nobleman, so he knelt tremblingly.

Rural people, aged 30 or [-], have old faces, calloused hands, and loose teeth. How can they compare with the "modern people" in Xinhua Village?Self-consciousness is inevitable.

"Please get up, old man, and I'll come over and have a talk." Zhou Qingfeng took the wooden stool handed over by the villagers and sat down in the grain drying field of Nanwan Village.

The weather is fine today, and it is rare that the warm sun in winter makes everyone comfortable. It is a good weather for talking about things.

The old man is hunched over and has missing teeth, but he is a rare person with some social experience in the village.The other villagers were too foolish, and when they heard that the master from another village was coming, they would either stay behind closed doors or hide behind the old man.

On weekdays, when conducting social investigations, Ming history experts lead the team; when negotiating procurement, it is Cai Xuebin, who manages the grain store; if he wants to win people's hearts, Academician Li's medical team is the best choice;

But people at the bottom have their own way of thinking about their own interests, they take advantage of advantages, and push them away when they are in trouble.Jinshen felt that the poor ghost was grateful to Dade for taking refuge in Xinhua Village, but in fact he was more of a wait-and-see.

The appearance of Zhou Qingfeng meant that the top management of the team was impatient.He sat down and shouted to the elder and the villagers behind him: "Don't be afraid, Mr. Zhou is not a man-eating tiger, let alone a rampant robber. I am speaking the truth."

The old man nodded habitually, sat on the wooden bench with his back arched, and looked at the ground with cloudy eyes.The other villagers were so numb that they could only droop their heads and wander their eyes, and they didn't even have the courage to look at Zhou Qingfeng directly.

But at this time, a cannon rang out at the construction site of the bridge, and the ground shook.The sound of thunder spread, making people's ears buzz within 300 meters, and terrified inside [-] meters away.

The onlookers had been dispersed 50 meters away, and the members of the construction team firing the guns were more than [-] meters away—construction in winter, and there was no construction machinery, and the hard ground could not be dealt with without some explosives.

The 'Holy Light' team brought [-] kilograms of black powder with them. After crossing, the chemical engineering team granulated it and cast it into cylinders or blocks, transforming it into slow-burning propellants and fast-burning explosives.

The black powder after particle die-casting can burn more evenly and fully, and its power is several times greater than that in bulk.

The last time Niu Er was hunted outside Qinglong Town, in order to create a sufficient deterrent effect, he used a special muzzle-loading flintlock gun with die-cast gunpowder, and the headshot was shot 50 meters away, and the gunshot was very loud.

A large hot air balloon was set up in the village as a spectacle, and a large amount of pine oil was burned every day.

After a long time, the common people also felt that it was the same.But today's cannonball scared the surrounding villagers out of their wits.

The children who watched the excitement originally probed their brains, pressing one down and two popping up like groundhogs.After the cannon went off, they turned around and ran away. Several of them cried loudly and turned to look for their parents.

But the children's parents are also unbearable, and the shit is everywhere.

The old man of 'Nanwan' fell to the ground with a bang, his face was extremely frightened, and there was a hooting sound in his mouth, as if he couldn't breathe.The villagers watching from behind fainted or ran away, while those who stayed where they were were frightened and did not dare to move.

Zhou Qingfeng pulled the old man up and patted his back slightly to let the old man breathe a sigh of relief.The old man was gasping for breath at first, and then he calmed down after a minute or two, but he refused to sit still and insisted on kneeling to talk.

"Get up and sit down." Zhou Qingfeng was tired of communicating with these Wu dialect-speaking villagers, so he could only drink loudly. "I want to take over the affairs of your village, what's your opinion?"

The old man was trembling all the time, and he only got half of his buttocks when he finally sat on the stool.He was shouted loudly by Zhou Qingfeng again, and he kowtowed again and shouted: "Master's magic power is boundless, I just obey my orders, and I will obey everything."

The elders who took the lead kowtowed like pounding garlic, and the other villagers even more so, knocking on the hard ground with a loud bang.

Bah... Zhou Qingfeng didn't believe it.These villagers kowtow every time they receive favor or deterrence, but after kowtow, they are both snakes and rats, afraid of taking responsibility.

After shouting several times, the villagers didn't respond. Zhou Qingfeng lowered his tone again, and gently persuaded: "Old man, get up. I don't have any mana, I just want to seek mutual help, and I hope you can help me."

Hearing that he could be asked for something, the kneeling old man breathed a sigh of relief and raised his head, "What orders does the master have?"