Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 360 5.42 The business of Xue Zihao is so profitable
Volume [-]

5.42 The business of Xue Zihao is really profitable.
On the tenth day of the eighth month, near the East China Sea.

The blue sea surface stretches as far as the eye can see, as if it is endless, and is connected to the sky in a line; the weather is clear, there is only a slight sea breeze, but the sea surface is like the saying "no wind, three feet of waves", rising from time to time. Fortunately, these waves are not dangerous, and they also add a bit of natural beauty to the sea.

On such a sea, a huge ship that was enough to scare most people in the feudal era was sailing steadily. The bottom of the ship, which was deeply cut into the sea, was like a knife and an axe, and it was "split" on the sea. "A route made the entire ship as stable as the ground. The huge sails followed the southeast wind, pushing the ship towards the north quickly like an arrow off the string.

On both sides of the back of the ship, there is a ship of the same type that is one size smaller, obviously doing "protection" work. Unlike the big ship, the bottoms of the two ships are sharper and the hulls are more slender, but The most prominent feature is that there are square doors on both sides, and the black muzzles have been pushed out of the door, showing majesty and pressure unscrupulously.

"Second uncle, are you finally willing to do this?" On the third floor of the previous big ship, Zhou Yang and Xue Xun sat opposite each other across the small wine table, raising glasses to each other and drinking together with a smile, "My nephew, but Remember, my second uncle never took up the issue, and my nephew thought it was too wasteful of money, so he was reluctant to do so!"

"You kid!" Xue Xun pointed at Zhou Yang with a smile and said angrily, "It's not just a waste of money, it's like throwing money into the water; you're right, I did create these three treasures , only these three are the largest, and the others, even if they are similar in style, are much smaller in size.

The big ship we are on, according to what the island's master craftsman introduced to the Westerners, has a 'displacement' of about [-] materials. It adopts the cut-in bottom that you mentioned earlier. You can also feel the effect, under the waves of more than three feet. , but it didn’t make the hull shake much, and the speed was much faster than the previous Fu Ship. "

"What about those two ships?" Zhou Yang smiled and pointed at the ships behind which were obviously battleships.

"As you can see, the old man made it just in case." Xue Xun stood up proudly, pointed to the two huge warships and said, "The displacement is [-] materials, and the bottom corner of the ship is deeper than ours. The main thing is that there are double-layer gun doors on both sides, and each side is equipped with thirty artillery pieces, twelve of which are twenty-pound heavy cannons that have just been produced."

"Such a level has only just reached the level four battleships of the Westerners." Zhou Yang shook his head helplessly, a little pleased and a little disappointed, "Second uncle, you have to get a bigger battleship, with a displacement of at least To surpass the transport ship we are on, the artillery must reach the thirty-pound standard, otherwise it will not be enough at all."

"What you said is so easy!" ;This is all thanks to the more than [-] refugees you helped Tao'er get a few days ago.

Okay, I'm going to divide my manpower and try my best to get two more ships to coordinate with a dozen smaller and inferior warships. I'll finish the things you mentioned a few days ago first. With only one Miyako Island, it is impossible to make any progress. Only by truly controlling the East China Sea can we completely stabilize our foundation. "

"Oh?" Zhou Yang couldn't help laughing, "That's fine. My nephew believes that as long as my second uncle is willing, sooner or later I will call him 'Prince' when we meet again. But the situation on the big islands in the north, my second uncle But have you heard everything clearly? With only about two thousand troops on the island, can we guarantee the victory?"

"Half of the people are lifting them up." Xue Xun snorted disdainfully, "Compared to these barbarians on the island, the biggest problem is in Jiangnan. I didn't take direct action on Pan'er's incident a few days ago. But except for the Zhen family and the prefect, all the claws that dared to stretch out were broken.

The Zhen family may have forgotten why I was looked at differently by the saintly lady in the first place. You were right to take Pan'er to the capital. Jiangnan has long been run by major forces like an iron barrel. Unless outsiders can directly smash this There is an iron bucket, otherwise whoever dares to jump around will die. Even here, I can only be regarded as a sidekick. "

"Were you warned?" Zhou Yang smiled and looked at Xue Biao, who was sitting on Xue Xun's left hand, because he knew that it was impossible for Xue Xun to enter Jiangnan these days, so Xue Biao could only lead his people to deal with it, "In the end Which family makes my second uncle so cautious?"

"Since Emperor Taizong returned to the capital, although Jinling has not been known as the 'liu capital' like it was in the previous Ming Dynasty, in fact, most of the noble families have maintained influence in Jiangnan, such as the Ningrong Second Mansion and the Jinling Jia Family Of the twenty-fang families, only eight-fang families entered the capital, and twelve families remained in Jinling; the same goes for Hachigong's other six families.

This is still the most famous one, but in fact it is not these people who are the most powerful. Brother Zhou should still remember that the literary style in Jiangnan has been very prosperous since ancient times. Now that the Zhou Dynasty has been established for a hundred years, the power of the gentry has penetrated into all aspects. This time the Zhen family It's just that it's the biggest on the surface, and it's not a family or two who are doing it in private, but most of them are involved. Even the eight families, it's hard to say whether they are honest or not. "Xue Biao said in a cold tone.

"There is no way, the business of Xue brand has been too profitable in the past two years." Zhou Yang was also helpless about this, "As for the families of the South Branch of Bagong, they have actually been released in the fifth server like those in Beijing. Except for the same surname, The other relations are not big, so you don’t have to worry too much; but as for the gentry, I don’t have any good ideas here.”

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the power of the Jiangnan gentry was extremely large. Even at the peak of these two dynasties, it was difficult to say how much control the imperial court had. The most exaggerated one was the famous "Southeast Mutual Protection" in the late Qing Dynasty. After the Republic of China, not much changed, except for the reputation. The famous Kong Yi Ge who became the "Jiang-Zhejiang Consortium" relied on their power from the beginning.Although the Zhou Dynasty is very different from the real history, there are also many things in common. When this feudal dynasty went through four emperors and lasted for nearly a hundred years, the so-called "dynasty cycle rate" inevitably played a role. , at least these problems in Jiangnan, Zhou Yang will not be able to solve them for a while.

"It doesn't matter, I'm going to deliberately open a few holes and find a few chickens for the gangsters behind to take a look at." Xue Xun now has a strong gun in his hand and speaks much more forcefully, "We'll have a look at that time to see what these are. If a person's mouth is tough enough, it's because of my iron sand, or because they can really be 'mighty and unyielding'."

"Don't leave any clues, and don't use too much power." Zhou Yang said with a smile, "It's best to only attack those small families and show off their methods; wait until the second uncle has really wiped out the East China Sea, and then When you go to Beijing and get your status, things become a lot easier. Although the Jiangnan gentry is indeed capable, they are also notoriously easy to deal with."

"It used to be steel knives, but now it's firearms. It just lets them see blood." Even my sister-in-law and Pan'er are coming to Beijing with you, so many things will be inconvenient once you arrive."

"What's the inconvenience? I'm afraid my second uncle will have to bear all the troubles in Jiangnan from now on." Zhou Yang smiled and handed over the business of 10 taels in a few words, "In this way, little brother My nephew is in the capital, and my second uncle is in the south of the Yangtze River, and the scorpion brothers are inevitably running back and forth between them, so it will be a little troublesome at best."

"That's fine." Xue Xun nodded with a smile, "Ziyang remembers to send someone to pick up the business in Jinmen, but he forgot to be careful on the pier, and there must be a place to pass the news anyway; Should Ziyang discuss the matter with everyone in Beijing to settle the matter in Jiangnan?"

"I can't write two characters of Jia in one stroke, and the same goes for other families." Zhou Yangke has never trusted these people. "They can only help with words at most, but if you expect them to solve the problem, I'm afraid they are really thinking too much. In the end, I am afraid that the 'assistance' of firearms is indispensable. It is difficult for such a big business to truly stand firm without bloodshed."

"I know this very well. It's just like the business at sea. Ever since the two ships followed me around Nanyang, any business under the name Xue has never seen any trouble unless it goes ashore." Xue Xun smiled coldly, turned to look at Xue Pan who was kneeling behind Zhou Yang and said, "What do Pan'er think?"

"It's up to the second uncle and brother-in-law to decide!" Xue Pan had obviously been kneeling for a long time, and almost cried when he spoke, "My nephew doesn't understand business matters, and he won't..."

"Second uncle, Brother Wenlong is still..." Zhou Yang begged kindly.

"Get up!" Xue Xun glared at him coldly, turned his head and winked at Xue Biao, watched the two of them help each other and left before continuing, "Pan'er worked hard for Ziyang to watch, don't forget Bao Bao As for Qin, since this girl entered the capital, she has almost lost all interest in having fun."

"Second Uncle is talking about Sister Qin's marriage?" Zhou Yang asked with a smile.

"A piece of trash that hasn't been touched since entering the Hanlin Academy, how can it be qualified to marry the old man's daughter." Xue Xun showed disdain, "A few days ago, the servants of the Mei family came to the mansion again to make faces, and the old man killed only Go back and report next, I believe the Hanlin Master understands the meaning; after Ziyang returns to Beijing, I hope that Girl Qin will not encounter any trouble."

"No problem!" Zhou Yang nodded without hesitation. Not mentioning that he was now related to the interests of the second wife of the Xue family, even if he only considered the "Twelve Hairpins" complex in the modern era, he would never allow the Mei family to do this again. Such an ungrateful thing causes trouble, "I guarantee that the Hanlin of the Mei family, or the eldest son of the Mei family, will never cause any trouble to Sister Qin."

"That's good." If you go later, you won't miss anything; also, I have already prepared half of the flintlock rifles and infantry cannons you need, and I guarantee that the rest will be available by the end of the year."

"The arsenal on the island already has such a large production capacity?" Zhou Yang asked, stunned.

"It's just a part of the original reserves. With the latter two warships, no one in the entire East China Sea dares to pay attention to Miyakojima. There were several factions with bad relations in Xuezi before, but now they are gone. "Xue Xun smiled, but his tone was extremely cold, "Especially after the old man showed the [-]-jin heavy artillery on the battleship, all the major forces sent peace money."

"Congratulations, uncle!"

(End of this chapter)