Daming Yinghua

Chapter 194
When Zheng Haizhu came out of the county government office, beside the Liaomin youth Huada who was driving her, there was another person——Xu Yilong.

Last year, Zheng Haizhu successfully took Xu Xinsu, the eldest son, out of Fujian. When he returned to Jiangnan, he just heard that after Lu Xiangsheng passed the examination, he did not have a gold list in the examination.

This is consistent with Lu Xiangsheng's fate in history. He did not become a Jinshi until the early years of Tianqi.

According to his promise to Xu Xinsu, Zheng Haizhu sent Xu Yilong to Nanjing to learn crafts from Lu Xiangsheng, hoping that this descendant of pirates who landed on the shore would fulfill his father's wish and embark on the road of becoming a scholar through the imperial examination.

A few months later, Lu Xiangsheng wrote a letter, bluntly stating that Xu Yilong was neither an official nor a scholar.Zheng Haizhu rushed to Nanjing for an interview, and saw that the relationship between the master and the apprentice was gentle and harmonious. Xu Yilong just admitted that he wanted to go out in the rivers and lakes, and Lu Xiangsheng also sincerely persuaded, "Sister, you always need a few more helpers by your side".

So Zheng Haizhu didn't hesitate, and brought Xu Yilong back to Songjiang, first let him replace Zheng Zhilong who went to Japan to get married, and take care of the connection between Haoming Trading Company's Hangzhou headquarters and Songjiang Commercial Road.

But this time, as soon as she arrived in Chongming, Zheng Haizhu encountered the challenge of local snakes, but it was also an opportunity, which made her make timely adjustments to the position of employment—to let Xu Yilong come to Chongming Island.

Seeing Xu Yilong stepping forward quickly, with a look of guilt on his face, he said: "Auntie, I was a day late because I had to collect copper at Wusong Wharf yesterday."

Zheng Haizhu's firearms factory needs copper to imitate large and small artillery.Huang Zunsu was willing to find a supplier for her from the resources of Donglin disciples, but Zheng Haizhu clearly refused.For one thing, it is enough for her to make friends with Huang Zunsu, and she doesn't want to get to know too many Donglin sects early.Second, regardless of the information that Zheng Zhilong brought back from Macau, or the complaints made by Sun Yuanhua and the craftsmen, the quality of copper produced in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is not satisfactory. Everyone suggested that copper imported from overseas should be used.

Now, in the last year of the Wanli Dynasty, the official trade between China and Japan has not yet been conducted directly. The copper bought by Zheng Haizhu was first obtained by Yan Siqi from Hirado to Taiwan, and then traveled northward, and shipped to Songjiang in the name of Fujian merchants.Even so, it is easier than going inland.

At this moment, Zheng Haizhu waved his hand and said warmly: "I reckon that the copper has arrived. This is good news. How can I blame you for being slow."

Xu Yilong looked a little more relaxed, looked meaningfully at Hua Da who was holding a whip, and said with a smile: "The brothers from Liaodong that Auntie recruited are very smart. I went to Zhuangzi this morning, and Mr. Wu said that you came to the county government to do business. I thought about it." Came here to pick up Auntie, just now I asked if this brother is from Mrs. Zheng's Zhuangzi, he acted like he had never heard of this Zhuangzi."

Hua Da blushed, scratched his head and said, "Forgive me, Madam and Young Master, it was Steward Wu who told us to be Madam's driver, and not to chat with strangers."

Xu Yilong said approvingly: "That's right, in the future, when my aunt goes out for a walk, there will be a few more loyal subordinates to follow."

Sitting in the bullock cart, Zheng Haizhu closed his eyes and rested his mind.

Talking with two officials for a long time, even if there is no need to nod and bow now, people are very tired.

Xu Yilong treated Zheng Haizhu with the attitude of an elder, so he could only endure his curiosity, not daring to ask why Zheng Haizhu asked him to come to the island.

It is only five or six miles from Chongming County to Zhenghaizhu, Zhuangzi, which is located in the east of Nansha.When passing by a sea pond, Zheng Haizhu opened his eyes slightly, and saw that Xu Yilong was also looking at the faintly broken tiles and ruins in the depths of the wormwood.

"Yilong, that's the Beiwa camp a hundred years ago."

"Oh," Xu Yilong's face suddenly turned strange, he was silent, and finally laughed at himself softly, "After all, my father was also considered a Japanese pirate when he was at sea."

Zheng Haizhu said lightly: "Your father regards himself as a pirate, and he expects you to return to Daming to be an official. I have never had a child, but there are juniors like Shou Kuan who are better than their own sons. I can understand your father. However, being an official is divided into civil and military, and if you don’t like to follow the civil, you can also do military work.”

Xu Yilong immediately regained his spirits: "Yes, auntie, my father won't let me be Mr. Yu's battalion, saying that if I become a warrior, I might be harmed by those civil servants in the court one day. But I will follow you, auntie, Seeing Mr. Huang from Songjiang Mansion and Mr. Lu, they are either already civil servants or will be civil servants, they are not evil people."

Zheng Haizhu nodded: "Not only is he not a villain, but your master Lu is also a man of both civil and military skills. Isn't it more interesting for you to learn Lu's sword skills from him than to read the Four Books and Five Classics?"

Xu Yilong said: "That's natural. Now I hope that brother Yiguan will return to Daming soon and compete with him. When he was in Xiamen, he used Yan's sword technique to beat me several times."

Zheng Haizhu joked: "When I was playing red hair in Xiamen, I just saw that you hit it off with an official. Let's be a son and daughter in-laws in the future."

Now Xu Yilong, who doesn't even know where his wife is flying, actually became serious: "Auntie, I think so too, because I'm afraid that the Yiguan brothers will look down on our Xu family. He fell in love with Yan Xuanfu's daughter and said that he would marry her." Yan Xuanfu is an in-law, so he is anxious to have a baby with that Japanese woman."

Zheng Haizhu laughed and said: "I didn't even know he had this idea, and I never heard Brother Yan mention it. As an official, he is the closest to you kid, so he tells you everything he thinks."

Xu Yilong smacked, felt that it made sense, and couldn't help but feel joyful in his eyes.

Zheng Haizhu's expression calmed down.

"Yilong, when your father handed you over to me, you also called out to me as a aunt. I have to be as concerned about your future as I am with my nephew. I want to find an official for you." Body and text are not enough, so let's use martial arts. Auntie asked you and an official to lead a battalion and serve as a general on Chongming Island, how about it?"

When Xu Yilong heard the words, he was shocked first and then delighted, and nodded repeatedly.

Since he was a child, he has been familiar with the brave scenes of sailors fighting against the sky and sea against the enemy. When he arrived in Xiamen with his father, he was reluctant to do business, let alone go into business. He only wanted to join Yu Zigao's navy.Helplessly, his father was worried that Yu Zigao would take advantage of the entire Xu family, so he had to find an excuse to send him, the Xu family's son, out of Fujian.

When he arrived in Nanjing, he begged Lu Xiangsheng, who was only two or three years older than himself, as his teacher. If the future jade-faced God of War hadn't taught him sword skills at the same time, he couldn't bear Lu Xiangsheng's initiative to ask him to go back to Songjiang.

Fortunately, Aunt Zheng was considerate and understood the martial spirit of young people better than her own father. She took him around for only half a year, and then sent him back to the original vision.

"Auntie, Chongming County allows us to raise soldiers?" Xu Yilong couldn't help asking doubtfully after getting excited.

Zheng Haizhu then told him the ins and outs of the incident in detail.

At the end, he cheered him up and said: "I have an imperial order, and Chongming is the gateway to the East China Sea. From Jiubian to Fujian and Guangdong, and then to Sichuan, Sichuan and Yunnan, there are many battalions and military households who live in the same place. They can support their families. Why can’t I keep a battalion soldier like Ding who has done my part to beat the Tartars and red hairs for Daming? If you talk about the body of a woman, isn’t Shi Jie’s Qin Liangyu also a woman? If you talk about whether she can dance Spears are sticks, all the civil servants in the imperial court who lead soldiers, can they all use big swords like you, Master Lu?"

Xu Yilong was very excited when he heard this, he clasped his hands together and said: "Yes, Auntie is here on Chongming Island, so he should bring a Zheng family army. Yilong is willing to lead the army for Auntie! There is also an official brother. Auntie, Yiguan brother is in Liuluo How beautiful Wan is! After he comes back from Japan, Auntie should let him go to the island too!"

"Well, it should be like this. You all ran across the big wharf and went through the big battle at a young age. Auntie can't rely on you to lead the troops, who else can I rely on? Mr. Wu, he will go back and help me manage the north. of earning a living."

With the future as he wished, Xu Yilong only felt that his heart suddenly became brighter and full of energy, and he talked to Zheng Haizhu a lot about watching Yu Zigao practice battalion soldiers in Xiamen and how to select new recruits.

(End of this chapter)