usatvline Chapter 127 Investigation
Chapter 127 Investigation
On the evening of the 13th, the sea bream returned to Lüsi Farm.
Kong Tie, who stayed behind, came up to greet them and said, "In the two days you were gone, some people came to sell salt again. I led them to the seaside and collected about four hundred catties, paying one and a half ingots of paper money."
"Is the cargo loaded?" Shao Shuyi interrupted him and asked.
"It's all installed." Kong Tie stared at him, seemingly understanding.
"Where is Steward Feng?"
"At Dongbinlou."
"Send someone to call him back immediately; we'll leave tonight."
"Okay." Kong Tie did not hesitate and immediately called two boatmen to go to Dongbin Tower together.
After it got dark, Kong Tie and the others returned.
"Shao She, can't you leave tomorrow? Why are you in such a hurry?" Feng Shao said with a smile from afar.
"The blueware shop has important matters to attend to, and we can't delay," Shao Shuyi replied.
"Alright, business is more important." Feng Shao nodded and said, "I've been out for quite a while, I should go back and see my family."
These are the smart people; you don't need to say much to them, those who understand will naturally understand.
In Feng Shao's view, it was perfectly normal for Shao Shuyi and his men to set sail overnight after buying a lot of smuggled salt.
The crowd then stopped talking and immediately brought over two small fishing boats, paid them extra money, and transferred the dozen or so people onto the large boat.
As the moonlight bathed the sea, the three ships departed their anchorage one by one, adjusted their course at sea, and gradually disappeared below the horizon. On the evening of the fourteenth, many men carrying knives and bows suddenly appeared outside the most bustling Dongbinlou restaurant in Lüsi.
They blocked several intersections, trapping everyone in Lüsichang and interrogating them rigorously.
But it's actually not very useful.
Vehicles should use the proper roads, and people should rely on their own two feet; blocking off intersections is pointless. Besides, there aren't enough people to handle everything, so this behavior only shows they're trying to appear like they're still doing something.
Of course, it wasn't without results.
Three notorious bandits were hiding in Lüsichang when they saw dozens of soldiers and able-bodied men rushing towards them, and they immediately panicked.
Without a doubt, they were here to arrest us. Things had come to this point, so we had no choice but to fight. Thus, after a chaotic battle, several more government soldiers were killed or wounded. As night fell, a large fire suddenly broke out in Lüsichang. Fueled by the wind, the fire burned extremely fiercely.
Amid the chaos, several more pirates who were recuperating in civilian homes secretly escaped and headed towards Haimen County.
After the officers and soldiers discovered them, they pursued them relentlessly, ultimately paying the price of one dead and two wounded, to bring the pirates to justice.
If Shao Shuyi knew about this, he would probably laugh his head off, and at the same time, he would be glad that he had made the right judgment. Lüsichang was a mixed bag, with all sorts of people, and the local inspector's caution was justified.
However, since the prefectural judge himself rode over on horseback, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and plow the ground. In the end, they only managed to clear out a few small fry. Chen Xuan, the clerk of the Western Patrol Office, was in a state of redemption and was extremely proactive. Starting from the 15th, he followed the principle of "better to arrest the wrong than let the guilty go free" and arrested people wave after wave, to the point that the patrol office's barracks were used to hold prisoners.
For those suspected but not yet apprehended, the prefectural government should promptly send letters to various local authorities to request their assistance in the arrest. For example, Bian Yuanheng, a resident of Huai'an Road who was highly suspected, was seen by someone in Yudongchang "spreading close ties" with a group of smuggled salt dealers from other places.
As for his father, Bian Shizhen, who was once the commander of the Yudong Saltworks, that's not a problem. Let's eliminate the interference and arrest him first.
The entire Haimen and even Tongzhou were thrown into turmoil, and people were filled with anxiety. There was nothing that could be done; there were fewer and fewer good people in this world, and there were just too many people with dirty laundry.
Earlier on August 15, Kong Tie led a drilling rig and a canal boat to Liujiagang. After being inspected by the navy, they successfully entered the port and began unloading.
Shao Shuyi led the Taijia boat upstream and docked at the western end of Matuosha on the afternoon of the 17th.
He spent a total of about 49 ingots of silver to buy more than 7,000 catties of salted fish and 3,800 catties of smuggled salt, which he wanted to unload here and store temporarily.
Actually, according to the original plan, these goods were to be transported back to Liujiagang and then delivered here when there was time, but the plan was disrupted and there was no other way.
After renting several small boats near Yaqian Port and spending more than a day transporting the goods to the rented dilapidated house, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. By then, it was already evening on the 18th.
Wang Huadu lit a bonfire in the open space, and the group roasted dry, hard flatbreads and cooked salted fish soup while discussing their next steps. "Brother Shao, are we really going back to Liujiagang?" Wang Huadu asked.
"Go back," Shao Shuyi said without hesitation.
Wang Huadu thought for a moment and said, "I don't think the corrupt official will act so quickly. It's good to go back and observe the situation first, but we must be careful. You are the backbone of everyone, and you must not make any mistakes. Without you, we will all have to go our separate ways."
Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement and said, "Didn't Baijianu go back first? I'll wait for his news."
Wang Huadu didn't ask how to send the message, which obviously meant there was a meeting place.
He was simply uncertain about the future, and felt that there was no point in engaging in empty pleasantries with the officials and gentry of Liujiagang. Since he had already killed the officials, he might as well focus on smuggling salt.
"It's a pity we didn't get much salt this time," Wu Heizi said, getting up to serve Shao Shuyi a bowl of fish soup.
"That's enough," Shao Shuyi said. "Once this busy period is over, I'll go to Shanghai to take a look. I can't go to Tongzhou anymore."
"Inspector Yu Xi has only himself to blame; he's courting death." Wang Huadu broke the cake into pieces and added them one by one to the fish soup, saying, "Just because we didn't offer tribute, they're coming to arrest us? But we don't even know them, how can we offer tribute?"
Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Whether we offer tribute or not doesn't really matter. You dog slave, I used to see you complaining about this and that when you were training the troops, how are you doing today?"
Wang Huadu wasn't embarrassed at all. He nodded straightforwardly and said, "It's much better than fighting alone. When you're in danger while fighting with bandits, having a spear thrust out from behind can force your opponent to slow down and save your life."
"That thieving official from yesterday, if we fought him one-on-one, it would have taken a lot of effort to deal with him, and I might even have been injured," Gao Daqiang said from a distance. "But once he formed a battle formation, every step he took was met with attacks from all sides. In his confusion, he finally fell into the mud. Battle formations are indeed very effective and useful."
Shao Shuyi nodded.
The essence of military formations is coordination, creating a situation where a numerical advantage is achieved in a localized area, which is certainly incomparable to scattered soldiers.
After all, not everyone is like Ma Lin or Li Siyuan.
"So, you should familiarize yourself with the military formations here some more." Shao Shuyi pointed to the surrounding houses filled with salted fish and contraband salt, and said, "Look at these things, and in your spare time, think about the techniques and tactics."
"Huh?" Wang Huadu was somewhat surprised. "I'm staying? Then what about you?"
"Daqiang will come back with me, taking Sandou's belongings with him," Shao Shuyi said. "You stay here. Sanbao and Li Fu are injured, so it won't be convenient for them to go back. They'll rest here for a while. Xiao Er and Xiao San will also stay. I've already spoken to them. With the five of you here, you should be fine. Remember, this place is remote and desolate. As long as you don't do anything reckless, you'll be alright."
At this point, his gaze swept over the five men one by one, and he said, "I'll leave you ten days' worth of dry rations, and you can eat as much fish as you want. That should last you for more than ten days. After I get back, I'll start recruiting some familiar seafarers and have them come here to salt fish. It'll be quick, won't take too long. Understand?"
"Understood," the group replied immediately.
Surprisingly, the responses were remarkably uniform, indicating that everyone answered immediately, unlike the previous inconsistent responses.
"Okay, it's settled then." Shao Shuyi nodded.
Shao Shuyi and his group of seven left that evening.
The Taijia ship sailed downstream at high speed and arrived at a fishing village on the evening of the 19th. It was the place where Shao Shuyi and Madam Liu first met, and also the place where he was promised to seek refuge when he was being pursued by the government.
After getting ashore, Shao Shuyi was suddenly surprised to find that there was a group of outsiders in the village besides them.
"They're from Wenzhou." The old man who greeted them sighed, "At the beginning of last month, Wenzhou was hit by an earthquake, a hurricane, and a flood all at the same time. It destroyed many houses and farmlands, and swept away many people and boats. Life was tough. My mother sent someone back with a letter, and they recruited a large group of people. In the end, she selected more than a dozen."
Shao Shuyi understood.
Earthquakes have been happening frequently in various places in recent years, almost every year, and often more than once.
Those with a keen eye would likely wonder if the Mandate of Heaven for the Great Yuan Dynasty had been compromised.
Furthermore, it seems that Madam Liu heeded his advice and returned to Wenzhou to recruit some people. I just took a look from afar, and they're not exactly good people; most of them are just members of the Liu clan, relatives by marriage, or neighbors.
That's fine too. If things come to light someday, he and Liu, these two people who can't stand the light of day, can still stick together for warmth.
"May I ask, sir, has anyone come looking for me these past two days?" Shao Shuyi walked up to the old man and asked softly.
The old man glanced at him, grinned, and asked, "Did you do something big?"
Shao Shuyi smiled but remained silent.
The old man laughed and said, "Back in the day, the men of Wenzhou and Taizhou dared to intercept even grain transport ships. Once on board, if they found a grain inspector, they would slit their throats and throw them into the sea. You guys are just smuggling some salt, what's the big deal?"
Wow! This old man has quite a story to tell. While surprised, Shao Shuyi secretly complained that the Yuan Dynasty government's understanding and management of the people under its rule was a complete mess.
Thinking of this, his tense nerves relaxed a little.
We can return to Taicang; there shouldn't be any major issues for now.
The old man left quickly. Before he left, he even had someone bring him food.
It wasn't anything fancy, just simple food and vegetables from the fields, but it still made Shao Shuyi and the others, who had been eating dry rations for many days, very happy. He gave the old man two ingots of paper money to cover his food and lodging expenses.
The latter didn't refuse, and as he was leaving, he turned back and asked, "Do you still want fish?"
"Of course we should," Shao Shuyi said.
The old man nodded and said, "The fresh fish we catch each day will be sold locally, and only the leftovers will be pickled. If you want some, I'll have my children keep some for you. They're all smoked or sun-dried, and there's not much salt in them. You can take them home and pickle them yourselves."
"Okay," Shao Shuyi readily agreed, "I'll definitely give you a good price."
The old man waved his hand and said, "I'm old and can't do anything big anymore. Now I just want to peacefully tend the fields and pass them on to my children and grandchildren. My aunt said she could sell you fish, which would be less of a burden, and I thought it was a good idea. From now on, I'll send someone to deliver fish to you every day. You can pay as you see fit." With that, he turned and left.
Shao Shuyi, Wu Heizi, Gao Daqiang and the others exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and settled down there, waiting for Kong Tie to come and deliver the message.