The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Li Kang was terrified when he thought about it. How could Brother Gao know that there was a scholar named Hai Han in Qiongzhou Prefecture? Could it be that Brother Gao's hometown was Qiongzhou?

Eh...

Where is Brother Gao's hometown?

Now he realized that he knew very little about Brother Gao, and he didn't even know where his residence was...

"Is there a family with the surname Gao in your village?"

The old scholar shook his head.

If he hadn't eaten the letter, Li Kang would have taken it out to take another look.

Not long after, a frail scholar was brought to the government office.

He was very weak, just like the refugees who were recruited, as if he couldn't afford to eat at home, but his scholar's clothes were washed very cleanly.

The scholar was a little shy when he saw him. "Greetings, Lord Li, and the Imperial Envoy. What do you want to see me for?"

"Can you speak the language of the chieftain?"

"Yes! I am the chieftain..."

Li Kang was overjoyed and said to Li Tingyu: "I will take him back to the camp. The rest will be up to you, Lord Li."

The clerks in the government office are not better than this student? Li Tingyu was puzzled, but still nodded.

Hai Han rode on his horse and followed him away from the city without even packing his luggage. He asked timidly: "Where are you taking me?"

"Back to the Tuntian Camp!"

Half an hour later, they arrived in the deep suburbs of Qiongzhou City.

Hai Han saw that a large piece of land had been reclaimed here, and it was lush and green.

There were also wooden towers around, with tall beacons, and soldiers guarding them.

Xu Jinzhong saw Li Kang bringing back a scholar who was not wearing an official uniform and did not look like someone from the government office. "Why did you bring back a student from the government?"

"This is the Hai Han that Brother Gao mentioned!"

"He is Hai Han?!"

Xu Jinzhong stared at Hai Han.

How did the military supervisor know that there was someone named Hai Han in Qiongzhou Prefecture?

Hai Han asked, "Why did you ask the student to come to the camp?"

The camp here was different from what he thought. Looking around, there were patches of fresh seedlings. Where he stood was a group of newly built barracks, with refugees everywhere, and pairs of hungry eyes, which scared him.

It didn't look like a proper army.

"Come with me and ask those chieftains what they want to do."

Xu Jinzhong took him to the outskirts of the camp. The chieftains' spies had not left yet. From a distance, Hai Han said a few words, and the chieftains responded a few words.

"Sir, they want to see what you are going to plant, and want to ask for seeds and iron tools."

The people of Hainan are mostly salt and egg farmers, and few of them farm.

During the Hongwu period, the imperial court set up six salt fields in Hainan, namely Gratitude, Maniao, Lehui, Lanxin, Xin'an, and Linchuan.

The so-called egg farmers mainly make a living by fishing, and are under the jurisdiction of the River God. There are eleven River Gods in Qiongzhou Prefecture.

The food rations of the people of Hainan mainly rely on foreign grain shipped from Guangdong.

There are not many arable lands on the island, nor are there any extra iron tools, and there is a lack of oxen.

Seeing such a large piece of wasteland reclaimed here, the chieftains will naturally be tempted.

"This is the military farm of the court, tell them to leave." Xu Jinzhong did not want to provoke the chieftain, but just wanted to farm quietly.

Hai Han said a few words, and the chieftain spy left with a curse.

Back in the barracks, Xu Jinzhong looked at Hai Han, "Do you know Lord Yan Chengjin in the court?"

Hai Han shook his head.

Xu Jinzhong suspected that Lord Yan's biological mother might have the surname Hai.

"Then, is there anyone in your clan who married a lady named Yan Kesong?"

Hai Han shook his head again.

It turned out that it was not her, which was strange. How did Lord Yan know Hai Han?

Xu Jinzhong was completely convinced this time.

Hai Han squatted in the field, looking at a green seedling, and then looked up at Xu Jinzhong: "Excuse me, sir, what are these?"

"Corn, Hainan will plant this stuff all over." Xu Jinzhong didn't care: "No one in the camp will negotiate with the chieftain, so I asked you to come. I will follow the order of the court to expand the territory of the Tuntian Camp to the whole of Hainan."

Hai Han hesitated: "Your Excellency doesn't know that there are many chieftains in Hainan, just like many small countries, especially the Hui people. They are a huge chieftain force. If we want to reclaim the wasteland in Hainan, we will inevitably have a confrontation with the chieftains. I don't know how many small countries we have to conquer..."

Alas...

Xu Jinzhong had a headache. When he came to Hainan, he brought very few weapons and horses except iron tools.

There are no horse farms and iron smelters in Hainan.

Most horses and weapons are foreign objects and are extremely scarce.

It is impossible to equip a well-equipped army to attack the chieftains.

"I don't know how to march and fight, so I'll leave the matter of expanding the territory to Captain Xu." Li Kang looked at the vast countryside: "The land here is fertile, but the chieftain doesn't know how to farm. It's a pity."

In winter, rice can still grow seedlings, which is amazing!

The refugees reclaimed 5,000 acres of wasteland here and planted a lot of food.

Xu Jinzhong held his forehead, how could it be so easy to fight the chieftain?

It was agreed that he would only cultivate the land and not fight. He finally adapted to the life of a farmer, and he was niang...

But there are also advantages. The chieftain's horses and weapons are also scarce, and there are no cavalry and magic machines.

The terrain of Hainan is flatter than that of Yunnan and Guizhou.

There are no dense forests and cliffs. If you go to war with the chieftain, you don't have to worry about them hiding.

It's easier to fight than the chieftain in Guizhou.

Xu Jinzhong suddenly asked: "Is there any letter from Lord Yan to this captain?"

"Wait a minute, let me take a look."

Li Kang returned to the camp and opened the letters from Yan Chengjin. There was actually one that read: Fight against the chieftain

When I opened it, I saw that there were also very few words, only four words: combine vertically and connect horizontally.

Also made a cross.

He couldn't understand Yan Chengjin's deep meaning, so he quickly showed it to Xu Jinzhong.

Xu Jinzhong has some culture, has read military books, and knows the profound meaning of Yan Chengjin.

I heard Li Tingyu say that the chieftains in Hainan are like small countries, and they also have disputes with each other. If they unite the small chieftains to fight against the big chieftains...

You can also fight.

"Assemble! Starting today, the soldiers of the Tuntian camp will practice Coach Wang's mandarin duck formation!" Xu Jinzhong shouted.

The soldiers brought a map of Hainan.

Qiongzhou Prefecture is a small piece of Hainan, and the countryside where they are located is also a small piece of Qiongzhou Prefecture.

Xu Jinzhong painted the areas they had reclaimed, and the remaining uncolored areas were all waiting to be reclaimed.

"First, connect with the little chieftains around Hengqiongzhou Prefecture."

…

In the capital, white snow fell on the roof of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

The north wind blew, making my face hurt.

Dai Shan stood in front of the door and sighed:

"It's snowing heavily again. I don't know how much food is stored in the warehouses of various states and counties."

When I walked into the duty room, I saw that everyone was holding a "pillow".

"Gongqian, what...are you holding in your arms?"

The censor on the side smiled flatteringly: "This is called a hot water bladder. Cover your belly and it will keep you warm! It is much more comfortable than Tang Pozi!"

Dai Shan's heart moved and she took it.

So comfortable!

The outside is made of soft cotton wool, which is extremely warm when pinched. I hold it in my arms and cannot bear to put it down.

"It's so comfortable!"

He Gongqian watched helplessly as his hot water bladder was being ravaged by Dai Shan.

"Sir, it's time to go to court!"

"You don't need it to keep the room warm, so I can lend it to you for a while."

Dai Shan happily went to Dongnuang Pavilion holding the hot water bag. It was extremely comfortable to hold it on her stomach.

He originally wanted to show off to the other Jiuqing, but when he walked to Zuoyemen, he found that many people were carrying this thing.

"Where...where did you buy this?"

"There is a shop in Liangxiang that sells hot water bladders, called the Hot Water Bladder Flagship Store."

"What a profound name, who came up with it?"

"have no idea."

The Zhang brothers only bought a hot water bladder.

Ever since, the two brothers stood face to face, with both hands inserted into a hot water bladder...

"Brother, it's so warm."

"If you sell this thing to the capital, you will definitely make money."

The Zhang brothers made up their minds, and after going to court, they sent people to the shops in Liangxiang to purchase.

In later generations, a hot water bottle cost just a few yuan per person, but in the Ming Dynasty, it became a recreational item only for the gentry.

Yan Chengjin didn't cover the hot water bottle, and it leaked accidentally. It was too dangerous.

The family slaughtered a sheep, ate the mutton, and scraped off the wool, which was just in time for Chunxiao and Qianjin to knit a pair of woolen gloves.

He put it on his hand and it was extremely warm.

Dang!

The bell rings.

After closing the door on both sides, the ministers lined up and walked across the Jinshui Bridge to the Dongnuan Pavilion. Once in the main hall, it was no longer cold.

After entering the main hall, the gatekeeper closed the door. Emperor Hongzhi frowned slightly. The two fools from the Zhang family stood face to face. What kind of posture was this?

"Marquis Shouning, Uncle Jianchang! What are you two doing?"