Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 270 News from the West

Chapter 270 News from the West

After setting up the "office", Shao Shuyi did not delay any longer. Considering that he had been lingering on Yuzhou Island for several days, he purchased 20,000 catties of dried seafood and prepared to set sail.

By this time, the seven boats had been loaded with more than 500,000 catties of Huai salt, more than 20,000 catties of dried seafood, and seventy or eighty people who wanted to join the group—including some fish farmers and salt farmers recruited from Yuzhou Island.

On March 29, the fleet landed near Xinxingchang and obtained more than 200,000 catties of salt.

On the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, they landed at Liuzhuangchang again. Whether the other side had made preparations in advance or not, they only obtained tens of thousands of catties of salt, and one worker died and two others were injured.

At this point, Shao Shuyi decided to retreat and quit.

If we continue down this path, the marginal returns will decrease indefinitely, we won't get much, and the costs will rise sharply. More importantly, it will easily attract the hatred of the government, even though they have already attracted a lot.

It is worth mentioning that Shao Shuyi waited for a day or two near each of the two salt fields, but no one came to make contact.

Perhaps they were unwilling, or perhaps they hadn't realized it yet, but it didn't matter anymore. Everything should be done slowly and patiently. The important thing was to hurry home and digest the fruits of this victory, and share some of the spoils left behind by Zhu Chen after his death.

As for the consequences and dangers of this "stocking" operation, we'll just have to bear them. What doesn't involve risk? We should be good at solving problems as they develop. As the situation evolves, many problems may cease to be problems; big troubles will become small troubles, and small troubles may simply disappear altogether.

On the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, when the fleet was sailing near Haimen County in Tongzhou, the wind was high and the waves were rough, so they took refuge in the port.

Unexpectedly, after only two days inside, the patrol officers came to drive you away. They didn't bother to check your identity and just kept telling you to leave because the Spring Festival travel rush was about to begin and various ports were not accepting suspicious vessels.

This is a routine operation during the Spring Festival travel rush. Fortunately, the wind and waves had subsided and the sea was no longer so dangerous. The seven ships left Haimen, turned into the Yangtze River, and sailed upstream, quietly approaching Matuosha on the night of April 12.

Without a doubt, this was another "night of revelry" for men, women, and children of all ages.

When Wu Heizi, who was in charge of guarding the house, arrived after receiving the news, he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.

"You guys have really messed things up." That was his first sentence.

The second sentence is, "This isn't enough to hold everything."

But no one paid him any attention; everyone was immersed in joy. Even the men who had gone to battle, who had already talked about it enthusiastically on the way, couldn't help but laugh again when they saw the happy faces of their families and neighbors.

People need affirmation, and they are bursting with confidence right now.

"Brother Shao."

"Brother Shao is here."

In the hazy darkness of the night, Shao Shuyi disembarked from the newly acquired large ship, and everyone automatically made way for him.

Tie Niu and the others stood guard closely at his side, each with their heads held high and chests out, full of vigor and high spirits.

"Store them quickly," Shao Shuyi said. "Make full use of all the available meditation rooms at Chong Sheng Temple, and distribute the rest to your own homes. Each of you should take some back and borrow a place to store them for now."

If that's still not enough, send some more to Xiapu and Huangtiangang tomorrow.

After speaking, he paused and said, "Everyone who comes to move goods today, regardless of age or gender, will receive five strings of cash. Those who participate in the battle, from the lowest rank down, will receive different rewards."

Upon hearing this, cheers erupted incessantly, almost piercing the night sky.

Shao Shuyi laughed heartily; this was exactly the feeling he wanted.

He then pulled Wu Heizi aside and whispered, "These thirty Taicang seafarers recruited this time are all old men from Zhangjing and Banjing, and can be trusted. But on the way back, remind them not to be too ostentatious. If they can't control their mouths, they won't get a chance next time. Not only will they not get the reward, but they won't be able to work in the future. If something really happens, they'll hold him accountable."

Wu Heizi nodded, then asked, "Will this work?"

"It's somewhat useful," Shao Shuyi said. "Speaking is better than saying nothing. If we can scare one person, great; if not, there's nothing we can do."

"If it gets leaked—" Wu Heizi said hesitantly.

"It was only a matter of time." Shao Shuyi laughed nonchalantly and said, "But so what? When we robbed Zhou Ziliang of his three boats back then, did anyone investigate? The Red-Headed Girl went to the salt fields in Liangzhe to collect salt, that was so long ago, did no one really spread the word? Back then, they hadn't even brought horses to carry sand yet. Besides, regarding the salt collection in Tongzhou, can you guarantee that no one has mentioned it?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Heizi felt a chill run down his spine.

He was involved in quite a bit of all of this. Just because he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything doesn't mean others didn't.

"Scared?" Shao Shuyi asked with a smile.

Wu Heizi nodded and said, "I'm a little scared afterward."

"But you're still perfectly fine, aren't you?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Wu Heizi was stunned.

Shao Shuyi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Whenever you do something big, there are many people talking, and it's inevitable that people will find out. What have those people from the Incense Society done? Does the government really know nothing about it? As long as they don't rebel, the government is too lazy to care. But once they start to rebel, the government might take action against them. They'll lure the leader over and kill him first."

Wu Heizi's expression hardened, and he subconsciously looked at Shao Shuyi.

Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Some things are just a muddled mess, don't try to figure them out so clearly. I'm telling you this so you won't be suspicious and fearful all the time, but don't be too ostentatious either, so the authorities can't pretend they don't see it."

Wu Heizi seemed to understand something.

Shao Shuyi patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave.

Things were certainly not as easy as he made them out to be. In fact, he was walking a tightrope, a path that every smuggler had to take to rise in the ranks.

Zhu Chen had killed officials in the past and even openly fought against government troops, but he eventually transformed himself and rose to power, leaving the old mess behind.

This process is fraught with risk and also depends on luck. Perhaps if a different official with a different personality and perspective had been in office, Zhu and Chen would have had a completely different outcome.

The biggest source of risk for this leak is the thirty boatmen from Taicang who were recruited. Shao Shuyi is preparing to persuade these people to move their homes to Ma Tuo Sha. Some may agree, but there will definitely be others who disagree, and the latter are the source of danger.

Fortunately, they were of low status, so when they spoke out, others were too lazy to believe them, or even if they did believe them, the stories only circulated among the lower classes. Occasionally, the stories would reach higher levels, and the government, lacking evidence, would not dare to take any rash actions.

Yes, for people like Shao Shuyi, the government now needs to rely on evidence. They can't just arbitrarily convict someone and make a hasty judgment, because he really has the ability to resist.

Anyway, I won't attend meetings, I won't accept rewards, I'll stay home and avoid going out unless absolutely necessary, and I'll see how things go first.

Upon returning to her residence, Liu was awakened by the noise.

Her lower abdomen was swollen, and she was due to give birth no later than next month. After seeing Shao Shuyi, she spoke a few words in Wenzhou dialect and asked the two maids to leave.

"You're back?" she asked softly.

"I'm back."

Tell me about it.

Shao Shuyi sat down on the edge of the bed, gently helped Liu Shi sit up, and then recounted his trip to purchase goods.

"You're too ambitious." After listening, Madam Liu glared at Shao Shuyi and said, "Are you planning a rebellion now? The five words 'Barbarian Lord, no need to escort' are completely unnecessary. The only benefit is that it has given you some fame in Yidu, making more people aware of the name Wu Dalang. But Yidu isn't your base, so why are you making such a fuss?"

Shao Shuyi bowed his head in resignation and smiled, "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I'm not someone who's always so composed and as calm as a dead man. Besides, I might have to go to Shandong a few more times in the future."

Liu was somewhat puzzled.

"I come from a family of seafarers, so naturally I should make good use of this advantage," Shao Shuyi said. "The Grand Canal transports one to two million shi of grain to the imperial court every year, using more than a thousand canal boats. What incredible transport capacity that is! If someone knows how to use it, they can definitely take us by surprise and gain a great advantage. Yidu and Jiangyin may seem to be a thousand miles apart, but in my eyes, it's only a few days' journey."

For someone living inland, this statement might be a bit beyond his usual way of thinking, but the Liu family, being from a pirate family, understood it immediately and was very familiar with it.

Is Shandong far from Jiangnan? It is indeed very far by land.

The distance from Liujiagang to Dadu was twice that from Jiangnan to Shandong, but it only took half a month for the grain transported by the Caofu (Grain Transport Office) to arrive.

This is the difference between maritime thinking and continental thinking.

When you really want to start a rebellion, you don't need to conquer Huainan from Jiangnan and then attack Shandong. In fact, you can attack Shandong directly, as long as you can control a large number of seafarers under the jurisdiction of the Caofu.

They could transport over 1.5 million shi of grain to Dadu twice a year, in spring and autumn, and they could also transport a large number of soldiers.

Weapons and provisions arrived in Shandong.

If we can control a few coastal towns and docks, these seemingly isolated cities will actually receive continuous external support, thus providing a forward base.

However, since these matters involved rebellion, he would not tell Liu Shi, even though she had already vaguely guessed some of it.

"With so much salt looted, your business can certainly continue." Madam Liu adjusted her posture slightly, placing her hand on her lower abdomen, and said, "What are your plans for dealing with Changzhou? The Wang family caused trouble before, and it hasn't been completely quelled yet."

"It's been a month, and it still hasn't subsided?" Shao Shuyi asked, somewhat surprised.

"You've been gone for over a month, and there's been a lot going on." Liu glanced at him and said, "Liu Jinbao and Xu Dafeng wrote a letter mentioning that Zhu Dingbo's remaining followers were hiding in Yidao Palace on Maoshan Mountain. When they came down the mountain to plunder, their hideout was discovered. At that time, the government didn't know who occupied Yidao Palace, nor how many people were there. The county mobilized archers from the patrol office to go up the mountain to suppress them, but they were defeated and the county darughachi was killed in battle."

Shao Shuyi was stunned.

The officials on Jiqing Road have exposed their true colors time and time again, to the point that people are numb to it all.

"And then?" he asked.

"Jiangning and Shangyuan counties mobilized archers and a number of able-bodied men, gathering several hundred, or some say over a thousand," Liu said. "After the campaign, they suffered another major defeat, and the Darughachi of Jiangning County also died. It was only then that they realized that the one occupying the Yidao Palace was Zhu Mantun, a remnant of Zhu Dingbo's faction."

"We still have to continue the encirclement and suppression; things are getting bigger and bigger." After thinking for a moment, Shao Shuyi concluded, "The Yidu New Army will definitely be mobilized. If they also return empty-handed, the government army will lose all face. Everyone is watching; this is not a small skirmish in Nanjing, but a major event."

Madam Liu hummed in agreement and said, "Liu Jinbao couldn't stay in the city any longer. He closed his shop and ran off to the countryside in Jiangning County. He said a lot of soldiers have come to the city, and they're like beggars. If we lose again this time, I really don't know how bad things will get."

"It's not a bad thing," Shao Shuyi laughed. "The bigger the commotion, the more people will know. Every single one of them—commoners, powerful families, scholars, and officials—will come and see what kind of people the Jiangnan government troops are. They can decide for themselves what their future holds."

After saying that, he took off his shoes and boots, climbed onto the bed, gently embraced Liu, and laughed, "Anyway, it's none of my business, just watch for fun."

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