bullyxtreme Chapter 266 Anger
Chapter 266 Anger
Chapter 266 Anger
March 22, 1346 (the sixth year of the Zhizheng era), sunny.
In the spring, the flowers in the courtyard of the Yidu Road General Administration are in full bloom, vying for beauty.
In the center of the hall stood two grand chairs, facing south. To the right sat Manzi, the envoy of the Imperial Academy, and to the left sat Li Xian, the Minister of War.
The barbarian was dressed in a gray-blue Zhisun outfit, a narrow-sleeved long robe, a leather belt with a gold-embroidered lion around his waist, and black leather boots.
Well, a typical Mongolian nobleman.
However, he also wore a semi-transparent gauze overcoat, which was quite popular among the literati in Jiangnan.
Looking into his hand, he wasn't carrying his usual prayer beads or waist knife, but rather a folding fan.
With such a mixed and eclectic style, it's no wonder he's called "Barbarian".
Li Xian was dressed in standard Han-style official attire: a turban with legs spread, a scarlet official robe, and a silver belt, except that the buckle on the belt had a faint floral pattern, giving it a touch of northern style.
Between the two men was a pot of tea and several plates of snacks, as if they were treating the steward's mansion as their own private residence.
Just as they were chatting and laughing, a servant came to report: Wang Cheng, the chief steward of Yidu Road, Li Wensi, the assistant prefect, and Hudulu, the registrar of the clerk.
Clerk Tian Qi, Yidu County Darughachi Tuolie Temur, and County Magistrate Chang Jingshu were waiting outside the gate.
The barbarian looked up at Li Xian, who nodded slightly.
It doesn't matter that Yidu Ludaru Huachi Anduci didn't come.
This man was too upright, and he was both stubborn and incorruptible. He dared to confront even the Pacification Commissioner and the Prince of Yi, who criticized his illegal activities. No one wanted to pay him any attention. Yidu was a city with high walls and deep moats. In addition to the Yidu Road General Administration Office, the Records Office, and the Yidu County Government Office attached to the city, there was also the Shandong East and West Circuit Pacification Commissioner Office (which managed Jinan, Yidu, Banyang Roads and Ninghai Prefecture) and the Prince of Yi's Mansion (which sold slaves).
The Pacification Commissioner and Prince Yi have already met privately; today's meeting is with officials from the circuit and county levels.
"Let them in," the barbarian said, looking at his servant.
The hall doors opened wide, and a group of people filed in, bowed to each other, and took their seats in turn.
The barbarian stood up, returned the greeting, and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities. Minister Li and I are on an imperial tour, mainly to observe the customs of the people and examine the governance of the officials. Yidu is a famous prefecture in the coastal region, so I hope you will speak frankly."
After saying that, he gave a couple more instructions to his servant.
The servants understood and quickly brought out clear tea and salty milk tea, the former for the Han officials and the latter for the Mongol and Semu officials.
Everyone expressed their gratitude.
The barbarian flicked his folding fan and said, "Let's get down to business. This inspection tour is of great importance. What I care about is not who comes from which background, but who has the people in their heart."
Upon hearing this, the officials in the hall were initially taken aback, then nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Absolutely, absolutely."
The barbarian carefully observed everyone's expressions and was quite satisfied with what he saw. Just as he was about to say something more, the servant who had just left hurriedly entered again, came straight to his side, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Almost simultaneously, officials from the General Manager's office peered anxiously from outside the gate.
Chief Steward Wang Cheng was taken aback and gestured for him to calm down while closely observing the barbarian's expression.
The barbarian's expression was indeed varied, first surprise, then embarrassment and annoyance, and finally anger.
He slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly, and stared intently at the steward, Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't know what had happened.
"Chief Steward Wang, is it possible to mobilize troops from the vicinity of Yidu?" the barbarian asked, his face ashen.
"This matter must be addressed to the provincial governors—" Wang Cheng stammered, "Last August, the emperor dismissed all the armies from their posts, and the local governors have no right to interfere in military affairs."
The barbarian was taken aback, then remembered what had happened.
He was a reasonable person, so he nodded and said, "That's true."
Originally, the chief officials at the prefecture and state level were capable of mobilizing troops, especially the chief administrator of the Jiangbei prefecture, who was also the local garrison commander of Oro. He was responsible for managing military registers, conscripting soldiers, issuing military household registrations, raising provisions, handling disputes among military households, and taking care of the families of soldiers who were mobilized or sent to war. His power largely overlapped with that of the Wanhu prefecture, and he had a great influence.
Last August, because military households were being exploited by both the Wanhu government and local officials to an unbearable degree, the imperial court abolished the military system, thus depriving local officials of their power to interfere with the army.
To mobilize troops now, you need to contact the provincial government, or perhaps the Shandong-Hebei Mongol Military Governor's Office stationed in Puyang.
It manages and dispatches six 10,000-household units and two directly subordinate 1,000-household units, including Mongol, tammachi, Hui soldiers and some Han soldiers.
"May I ask, sir, why are you mobilizing troops?" Wang Cheng asked cautiously.
Although he just said that the local governor could no longer interfere in military affairs, there is a scout commander of a thousand men near Yidu. If he really wanted to move him, although it would be against the rules, it would actually be a matter of just a word.
Upon hearing this, the barbarian glanced at Wang Cheng and said, "Let's discuss this matter again."
Wang Cheng seemed to be deep in thought.
As another imperial envoy, Minister of War Li Xianze said to the crowd, "We have business to attend to today, so please leave here for now."
Wang Cheng and the others exchanged glances, then stood up, bowed, and took their leave.
After everyone had left, Li Xian stood up and went to the barbarian's side, asking in a low voice, "What is it?"
The barbarian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Thieves have breached the Taoluo market of the Shandong Transport Bureau and hurled insults at us."
After saying that, he sighed and carefully explained the situation.
Li Xian was also somewhat surprised after hearing this.
The incident involving the hijacking of 300 ships by Li Kaiwu is still ongoing, and now another incident has occurred at Taoluochang. This inspection trip is certainly not going to be peaceful.
Moreover, both of these things are quite serious.
Li Kaiwu's merchant ships weren't all owned by merchants; some were also owned by the imperial court and hired by it, transporting goods between Henan and Jiangbei.
Tax grain from parts of the interior was transported to Beijing—this was crucial for food security.
The official salt fields of Taoluo were robbed, resulting in equally heavy losses, as salt tax had become the most important source of revenue for the imperial court, which was related to the use of money.
It's hard to say whether these two matters are of equal importance.
"What is your intention, sir?" Li Xian asked.
The barbarian hesitated for a moment, then said somewhat angrily, "Go find the Pacification Commissioner's Office."
"The Pacification Commissioner of Shandong East and West Circuits did not hold the title of Grand Marshal," Li Xian reminded him.
The barbarian was taken aback, then became even angrier, saying, "And yet, with the world in turmoil, the court is still tightening its grip on military power. I really don't know what they're thinking."
Li Xian was speechless.
This is the difference in perspective. In the eyes of the emperor, he may not necessarily feel that "the world is in turmoil." Perhaps he thinks that with a fresh start and a renewed effort, things can be salvaged. Hmm, that's a bit disrespectful.
Given this mindset, tightening military control is quite normal.
"How should we deal with what happened today?" Li Xian asked quietly after gathering his thoughts.
The barbarian thought for a moment, but still couldn't swallow his anger, and said, "I will write a letter and send it to Dadu, asking the Empress to take charge and mobilize troops. The cases of Li Kaiwu's robbery of the grain transport and Taoluo Saltworks should be thoroughly investigated together."
Li Xian nodded slowly, offering no objection.
They were ordered to conduct inspections, and they had the authority to manage all local issues, which was not considered overstepping their authority.
At that moment, an absurd thought suddenly popped into his mind: the matter of Li Kaiwu's robbery of the grain transport had already been left unresolved, but now that it was really being investigated, those forty bandits were somewhat "wronged."
******
March 23rd, Yuzhou Island.
Shao Shuyi looked left and right and felt that this place was likely Lianyungang in later generations. However, by then it had already been connected to the mainland, but at this time it was still an island in the sea. Thanks to the "blessing" of the Yellow River diverting into the Huai River and flowing into the sea, the coastal areas of Jiangsu in later generations really had a lot more land.
Xudupu Saltworks is located in the northwest of the island, and two seagoing vessels are anchored in the slightly deeper waters near the saltworks.
There were a few people left on the ship, but when they saw the "pirates" attacking, they ran away and disappeared without a trace.
Shao Shuyi sent men to seize the two ships, which was essentially just a convenient way to steal them.
However, if it were someone else, they might not be able to lead this "sheep" away. Sailing is a technical skill, not something a landlubber can handle. Unfortunately, many of his men are seafarers. Although they usually drive grain transport ships, they can easily navigate these two seagoing vessels by analogy.
The two ships were identical in design. Shao Shuyi made a rough estimate and found that the ship was over thirty meters long, about ten meters wide, with three gun muskets and thirteen watertight compartments.
After inspecting the ships, Hou Tai, the chief steward of Pingjia Ships, concluded that the two ships must have been built in Fujian and later sold to merchants here.
These ships were generally used for overseas trade. When fully loaded, their draft would exceed 3 meters (over 10 feet). They couldn't navigate just any river, but they could manage on the Yangtze or Loujiang Rivers, though it was somewhat wasteful, as this was a 4,000-liao seagoing vessel. The precise dimensions are: length 34.55 meters, width 9.9 meters, full-load draft 3 meters, displacement 374 tons, and carrying capacity approximately 200 tons.
ton.
Most importantly, this is a pointed-bottom, high-stern boat, completely different from a flat-bottomed boat like the Zheyang Shallow Boat. Sailing on the long beach is actually a bit dangerous because it is easy to run aground.
Therefore, it is best to head to deeper waters on the return trip to avoid getting stranded due to unfamiliarity with the water conditions, which would be a great pity.
"Shao She, a ship like this needs at least a dozen people, preferably no less than twenty," Hou Tai said, tapping on the gunwale. "If we're not carrying cargo, this ship can carry 150 people, and if we squeeze in, we can fit 200. I've heard that there are smuggled salt ships in Wenzhou and Taizhou, carrying anywhere from a hundred to a thousand 'yin' (400,000 catties), much larger than our ships. Now that we have these two ships, perhaps we can start smuggling salt at sea."
Shao Shuyi nodded repeatedly as he listened.
He has ordered that all the looted salt be stored on the two ships, so that the five shallow-hulled boats can "travel lightly".
In this way, he can once again entertain the corrupt officials of the Yuan Dynasty.
As for the official naval forces, at least in the north, there was only one "Mongol Huihui Naval Ten Thousand Household Office," which had long been defunct. So much so that in earlier years, when the grain transport was underway, the transport office complained about pirates appearing near Shandong, and the court preferred to select a thousand land troops to escort the ships rather than send out ships from the Mongol Huihui Naval Ten Thousand Household Office to patrol—it probably only existed on paper.
As long as there is no obstruction from the government naval forces, he can choose any location to land.
Along the coast, his fleet's mobility even far surpassed that of a cavalry unit consisting of one man and three horses.
On March 25, just as Shao Shuyi was preparing to set sail again to purchase goods, a small fishing boat suddenly appeared from the opposite shore, carrying an official from Xiongshan County who said he wanted to meet the hero and had important matters to discuss.