My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 698 Jiuzhen Li Family
To the southeast of Thanh Hoa Prefecture in Cochin, there is a port city named Jiuzhen. Due to the development of maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty, Jiuzhen Port was also affected. The port gradually prospered and became a famous and wealthy place in Thanh Hoa Prefecture.

Li Song's hometown is in Jiuzhen Port. The Li family is a wealthy local family. It is said that their ancestors moved here from Guangdong to avoid the war. After several generations of hard work, the Li family has become the largest family in Jiuzhen Port. family.

However, although the Li family is a large local family, because of the large population in the family, there are naturally rich and poor people.

Li Song's family was relatively poor. He only studied in ethnic studies for two years when he was a child. After many twists and turns, he was finally taken to Tianzhu by Zhu Gaoxu, and he made contributions in the military, which enabled him to stand out.

This time Li Song returned to Jiaozhi from the Han Dynasty and claimed to his tribe that he had escaped on the way to Tianzhu and made a fortune at sea. Only then did he return to his hometown in fine clothes.

Moreover, as soon as Li Song returned home, he immediately hosted a banquet for all the clan members and spent money to rebuild the family ancestral hall. This made Li Song's reputation among the Li clan reach its peak. Everyone knew that he had made a fortune overseas. With great wealth, many people fawned over him and wanted him to make a fortune together with his clan members.

For these tribesmen, Li Song also refused to come. In the name of doing business, he bought several shops in Jiuzhen City, arranged for the tribesmen to help him purchase local specialties, and then handed them over to the fleet under his name to transport them. Sell ​​overseas.

Of course, all this money and fleet were arranged for him by the Han Dynasty Jin Yiwei, in order to enhance Li Song's reputation in the family so that he could use the power of the Li family to do something in the future.

Early that morning, Li Song went out to have breakfast as usual. His family had moved to Dahan a few years ago, so he was the only one in Jiaozhi, but in order to show his financial strength , he still bought a house in Jiuzhen City and kept several concubines.

After leaving the house, Li Song was followed by several servants. When pedestrians on the street saw him, they all saluted and looked at him with a bit of awe.

Because just a few days ago, a famous gangster in Jiuzhen City saw that Li Song, an upstart, was a fat sheep, so he went to his shop to cause trouble and blackmail.

This big gangster is not only ruthless, but also has the support of people from the government. Therefore, when he usually bullies and dominates the market in Jiuzhen Port, almost no one dares to mess with him. Even the richest people must obediently pay for it if they encounter such a person. Safety.

Just when everyone thought Li Song was going to be unlucky, they didn't expect that the next night, this big gangster died on the street, and all his brothers had their legs broken. As for the big gangster's The backer didn't even fart.

Everyone who knew Li Song was shocked. Anyone with a brain could guess that there must be a huge power behind Li Song. I am afraid no one in the entire Jiuzhen Port can offend him.

The death of the gangster immediately established Li Song's status in Jiuzhen Port, so now when Li Song goes out, everyone who sees him will be in awe of him unconsciously.

But Li Song didn't seem to have changed at all. He still greeted acquaintances with a smile when he saw him, and still gave money after breakfast. This made many people praise him behind his back, thinking that Li Song was a rare good person.

After breakfast, Li Song walked around a few shops. The shops he ran were very diverse, including those selling silk cloths, soaps, and perfumes. There were also shops that specialized in purchasing local specialties, and each shop The stores seem to be very profitable.

After inspecting the shop under his name, it was almost noon. Li Song originally wanted to go to his usual restaurant for lunch, but suddenly a servant came over and whispered something in his ear.

This made Li Song frown and immediately turned around and returned home.

When he came to the living room, he saw a shirtless, muscular man sitting there with several stab wounds on his chest. A doctor next to him was cleaning his wounds.

"Third brother, what on earth is going on? How did you get hurt?"

When Li Song saw the injured man, he immediately stepped forward and asked.

The injured man's name is Li Xi, his cousin. Because he is the third eldest child in the family, others call him the third child. Some time ago, Li Song sent Li Xi to inquire about some information, but he did not expect that he would bring The injury came back.

"Brother Song, don't worry. I met a few thieves on the way back. They took advantage of the large number of people and wanted to steal money, but I killed two of them and the rest all ran away."

Li Xi said with a big grin, as if he didn't care about the injuries on his body at all.

Li Xi had been practicing martial arts since he was a child and was very skilled in martial arts, so Li Song felt relieved and sent him out to find out the news. However, he did not expect that Li Xi would also be injured due to his ability.

Li Song stepped forward to check Li Xi's wounds in person and found that they were just superficial injuries, and he was relieved.

"As long as it's okay, you should be more cautious in the future. It's so chaotic outside now. If you encounter a strong enemy, just run away if you can. Don't be brave and aggressive!"

Li Song warned again at this time.

He and Li Xi grew up together, and their relationship was very deep, so after coming back this time, Li Song immediately found Li Xi and several other cousins, and introduced them as confidants to help him do some things. "Hehe, I was thinking about escaping at the time, but when I saw the opponent drawing his sword, I rushed forward as soon as my mind got hot. As a result, they were a group of defeated soldiers, and I was able to kill them easily."

Li Xi said with a simple smile.

"How is it over there in Qinghua Mansion? There are so many defeated soldiers on the road. It seems that this rebellion is really quite big!"

Li Song immediately asked.

"Qinghua Fucheng is okay, there are officers and soldiers guarding it, and there is no trouble for the time being. However, the outskirts of Fucheng have turned into a mess, with dead bodies, refugees, and rebels running around everywhere..."

Li Xi also showed a solemn expression at this time and told everything he saw and heard.

This time, the rebellion in Jiaozhi became more and more intense, and the Ming Dynasty's army was about to be unable to suppress it. As a result, rebels were running around, causing everyone in the prefectures of Jiaozhi to be in danger.

Now the Ming Dynasty's military strength has been reduced to the main cities of various state capitals. As for the areas below the county seat, it is completely left alone. Of course, they can't control it even if they want to. Some county officials have been assassinated.

"Brother Song, I have sent your letter to that person. This is his reply!"

After Li Xi finished talking about what he saw on the road, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Li Songdao.

Previously, Li Song sent Li Xi to Qinghua Prefecture, firstly to inquire about information, and secondly to send a secret letter to a person. This person was Sun Xin, the magistrate of Qinghua Prefecture. This Sun Xin, like Li Song and others, was from Jiaozhi. The local Han people were appointed prefects because they took refuge in the Ming Dynasty.

When Zhu Gaoxu was in Qinghua Mansion, Sun Xin followed Zhu Gaoxu's orders and assisted Yang Shiqi in many things. After Zhu Gaoxu went to Tianzhu, he still maintained contact with some officials of the Han Dynasty.

Li Song had previously written a letter to Sun Xin in the name of Han Dynasty Jinyiwei, hoping to win over Sun Xin.

So Li Song immediately opened the letter. Sun Xin's reply was very long, but most of it was pleasantries, and in the end he did not give any substantive commitments.

However, after Li Song read it, a smile appeared on his lips, because although Sun Xin did not give a clear commitment in the letter, he did not explicitly reject it either. This shows that Sun Xin no longer regards the Ming Dynasty as his only hope. Instead, prepare to find another backer.

In fact, Sun Xin's current situation is also very difficult. He is a local Han in Jiaozhi. He betrayed the Li Dynasty and joined the Ming Dynasty. He was reused and held great power in the government.

But if the Ming army is defeated, Sun Xin has only two options. One is to follow the Ming army and withdraw to the Ming Dynasty. But Sun Xin's family roots are in Jiaozhi. If he goes to the Ming Dynasty, not only will he have to give up all his family property in Jiaozhi, but he himself may be afraid He will only be assigned a sinecure, and he will have to spend the rest of his life living and waiting to die.

As for the other way, it is to risk staying in Jiaozhi, but with Sun Xin's identity, no matter which rebel group finally wins the power of Jiaozhi, I am afraid they will not let him go, and may even wipe out their entire family. Therefore, this is not possible at all. It's a dead end.

Now Li Song contacted Sun Xin in the name of Dahan, giving him a third way, but Sun Xin didn't dare to make a choice yet, because the Ming Dynasty had been defeated, and he doubted what Dahan could do in Jiaozhi.

Therefore, Li Song knew very well that if he wanted Sun Xin to make a clear statement, he must show his strength in the chaos in Jiaozhi. Only in this way, Sun Xin would trust him with confidence, otherwise the other party might as well take the risk and defect to others.

"Brother Song, on my way back, I heard that the rebels in Jianping Prefecture are so powerful that they have captured Fenghua Prefecture and Jianchang Prefecture. If they continue like this, they will probably reach Jiaozhou Prefecture!"

When Li Xi spoke to the end, he couldn't help but show an anxious expression.

Jiaozhou is the seat of Jiaozhi. If the rebels from Jianping Prefecture arrive in Jiaozhou, it will be equivalent to occupying the original royal capital of Annan and Dayi. By then, don't even think about taking advantage of the chaos to raise troops. It will be too late.

Li Song seemed very calm. He thought for a moment after listening, and then shook his head and said: "Don't worry, although the rebels in Jianping Mansion are powerful, the Ming Dynasty's garrison is still there and there is no retreat." Meaning, it is even possible to pick a few leaders to scare the monkeys, so now is not the time to show off!"

Li Song had confessed to several brothers a long time ago. Now that there are rebels in Jiaozhi, it is the time for men to make contributions, and as the Li family is a wealthy family in Jiuzhen Port, they cannot just sit back and watch whether it is for self-protection or expansion of power. They must Participate in this chaos in Cochin.

Therefore, Li Song had been quietly accumulating strength long before, and when the time came, they would raise the flag of righteousness and participate in this vigorous Jiaozhi competition.

(End of this chapter)