The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Wang Cong scratched his head and said, "Well, it's nothing. It's just that even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Besides, I'm not even a powerful dragon. I'm just a small snake from out of town. I can't suppress the local snake here."

He said, "Our ship was detained as soon as it arrived at Guangzhou Port. The people could leave, but the ship and the cargo on board were gone."

Pan Yun: "The boat is gone, and you're just going to keep hiding it from me?"

Wang Cong said, "If I can't get it back in the end, I will naturally ask my junior uncle for help, but I'm still trying, aren't I?"

Pan Yun: "Have you figured out which road they're from?"

Wang Cong immediately leaned closer to the table and whispered, "After much investigation, I learned that this is the vanguard of the Guangzhou Prefecture Thousand Households, which is the order of the Regional Military Commission. If we want to get the ship back, we will most likely have to get Commander Cao or his trusted confidants to speak up."

Pan Yun: "Where's the goods?"

"Oh my little junior uncle, I'd be a fool to still be thinking about the cargo at a time like this. The cargo on the ship will definitely be handed over to the higher-ups. It would be good enough if we could just keep the ship."

Pan Yun tapped his forehead and said, "Look at you, so cowardly. Your junior uncle is the Imperial Advisor. I'm so brave at sea and in Japan. How come you're so cowardly here? I've never seen you this timid in Jiangnan."

Wang Cong: "I'm just a wise man who knows when to yield. In Jiangnan, the local gentry are the leaders. They either have connections in officialdom themselves or have relatives or friends in the court. Although they are arrogant and domineering, they still have some concerns. Moreover, they are all scholars. Scholars who rebel will not succeed for three years. So they give face to the Imperial Preceptor. But in Lingnan..."

Wang Cong paused, then shook his head and said, "It's not as complicated here as in Jiangnan, but it's even harder to maintain a balance. Whether it's the people or the soldiers, let alone the Imperial Advisor, even His Majesty will harbor some suspicion. If the troublemakers are civil officials, revealing your name will definitely work, because they are afraid of you; but military officials... they don't care about that."

It's not like he's never lit up before.

Pan Yun enjoyed high prestige in the army, but that was only among the northern army and the imperial guards in the capital, as well as the reinforcements from Hebei, Henan, and Shandong who participated in the defense of Datong. They had witnessed Pan Yun's abilities and had received her favors, so her prestige was extremely high in the army north of Jiangnan.

In Jiangnan, she enjoyed high prestige among the people. In addition, she had participated in the battle against Japanese pirates and led people to fight against Japan to avenge the people. Therefore, she had some prestige among the naval forces in Jiangnan and Fujian. However, few soldiers had actually seen her abilities. Most of them had only heard about her through rumors, and most of the soldiers were skeptical.

In Lingnan, however, her name is not very effective.

Although the residents of the seaside village had heard about her, they mostly took it as a rumor, thinking that the exaggerated stories about her outside were actually fabricated with impure motives.

So when the large ship was seized and Wang Cong instinctively revealed Pan Yun's identity, he was immediately beaten up by the bandits.

Of course, he fought back fiercely. He didn't lose out in the fight. Originally, he might have only had some goods confiscated as toll, but later the whole ship and cargo were confiscated. If Wang Cong hadn't made the decisive move to have Wang Xiaojing run out and complain to the prefect, and sent a large sum of money, they would probably still be locked up in prison.

"So, you were just released from prison?"

“It’s not that we just released them; they’ve been out for almost twenty days. Do you see those washing tubs in the backyard? Those are the ones we made in the last twenty days,” Wang Cong said. “I’ve already checked them out. A lot of new dye houses and laundries have opened up in this area of ​​Guangzhou. Leaving aside the dye houses, the so-called laundries are actually just places where the boys go from street to street collecting clothes from various households, then distributing them to the female workers below, who then wash and dry them, and return the clothes to their respective households to earn their hard-earned money. I plan to sell the washing tubs to the dye houses and laundries.”

Pan Yun: "Isn't this stealing other people's business?"

“Wrong!” Wang Cong said, “When we were in prison, there were more than ten people in the cell next door. They were all fishermen who had ventured to Southeast Asia. They heard that the imperial court had lifted the sea ban, so they packed their bags and came back. As a result, they were arrested as pirates as soon as they returned.”

“They grew up here. The female workers learned weaving and dyeing from a young age. They not only knew how to dye cloth, but also how to weave it. However, the textile industry in Guangzhou is far inferior to that in Jiangnan. As a result, the female workers could not find anything to do and had to go from street to street to wash clothes for others.”

Wang Cong said, "How much money can you make washing clothes? With their skills and abilities, it's a waste for them to just wash clothes. I've already planned it out. Once I sell this batch of washing tubs, I'll hire them to weave and dye cloth for me, and then sell their cloth to Southeast Asia, or even further afield. Oh, and Jiangnan is also an option."

Wang Cong spoke excitedly about his business, clenching his fist and saying, "I've seen them all. The fabrics they weave and dye are different from the silk and cloth of Jiangnan. They have bright colors, unique patterns, and are very distinctive."

Pan Jun listened quietly. Seeing that he had ideas and plans, she stopped questioning him and asked, "You're being targeted, yet you still dare to do business here?"

Wang Cong beamed: "What's there to be afraid of? I still need to get the ship back, go to Southeast Asia and the West, make money to support the mountain, and support you and your fellow disciples, right? What's this little bit of targeting?"

"I'm now friends with Magistrate Wei, and everything's been taken care of. Military and political affairs are separated. With him around, even the Regional Military Commission can't directly interfere in local affairs. At most, they'll try to trip me up in secret."

“It’s incredibly difficult to do something well, but it’s very easy to ruin it. If even one link in the chain goes wrong, all your previous efforts will be wasted,” Pan Yun asked. “Are you sure you can do it?”

Wang Cong gritted his teeth: "We have to do it! Guangzhou Port is reopening. It's the closest port to Southeast Asia. There will be many Southeast Asian caravans coming here. We can't just ship from Quanzhou. So I must open up this port!"

"Good!" Pan Yun slapped him on the shoulder and said loudly, "I support you."

Wang Cong was slapped so hard by her that he fell face down on the table with a groan. Pan Yun ripped open his clothes and noticed the bruises on his shoulder, which made her frown.

Wang Cong quickly closed his clothes: "Junior Uncle, please don't misunderstand. Their injuries have long since healed. They were accidentally injured while making the washing tub."

Pan Yun snorted and asked, "When will you start selling your washing tubs?"

"Let's wait a while. I'd like to choose an auspicious day."

"Stop choosing, we'll start selling in the next couple of days."

“But…” Wang Cong paused and then said, “I haven’t even paved the way yet.”

Pan Yun smiled at him: "Don't worry, they won't have time to deal with you during this period."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt the talisman she had placed in the crack of the door move. She sneered, "Especially after today."

"Huh?" Wang Cong's eyes darted around, and he leaned closer to ask, "Junior Uncle, what brings you to Guangzhou Prefecture? Did these barbarian soldiers offend you?"

Pan Yun: "It's not that they offended me, it's that they offended the people."

"people?"

"Literally, especially for military households and people."

Wang Cong instantly understood and began to gloat; it seemed those people were really going to be in trouble.

Hmph, let's see how arrogant they are now!

After dinner, the group happily sang songs and walked home arm in arm.

When Pan Yun arrived, everyone felt they had a powerful backer. Even the composed Song Dalin couldn't help but let out a couple of joyful shouts.

Upon entering the alley, they saw the front door open, with half of the door hanging crookedly. Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they rushed inside.

The courtyard was a mess, with torn clothes everywhere. Not far away, several naked people lay face down on the ground, their bodies tanned darker than bronze, except for their white buttocks. Wang Xiaojing rushed over to help them up, but accidentally grabbed one of their buttocks. It was slippery and he couldn't grab it, but the buttocks bounced a couple of times.

"Ah—" The person lying on the ground screamed in fright, jumped up, pushed Wang Xiaojing away, and scrambled towards the wall.

Startled and pushed, Wang Xiaojing fell to the ground with a thud. Pan Jun's eyes widened, then everything went black as Wang Cong tightly covered her face.

"What are you all standing there for? Check if the rest of them are dead or alive, and quickly put clothes on them."

Before they even had a chance to approach, after the first person screamed and scrambled onto the wall, the others followed suit, jumping up and down, clutching their groins, yelling and shoving their way through the crowd as they rushed out.

Some people rushed out through the collapsed gate, while others jumped off the wall.

"Hahaha, there's always a way out! The ghost wall is gone! Run!"

The five people covered their front, or one hand in front and the other in back, and ran away screaming.

The men immediately gave chase, peering through the doors and walls, watching with barely suppressed rage as they ran out of the alley and onto the main street…

The streets were filled with screams and curses, the noise reaching the sky.

The men looked at each other for a long time, then burst into laughter.

After laughing for a moment, Song Dalin remembered something and ran to the backyard first.

Seeing this, the others also rushed to the backyard.

Wang Cong only breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his hand from covering Pan Yun's eyes after the five naked men had all run away.

He wasn't worried about the laundry tub in the backyard. Wasn't the reason his junior uncle left Pan Xiaohei behind to guard the house?

Judging from the appearance of those five people, they didn't gain any advantage at all.

He looked around and asked, "Where's Xiao Hei?"

Pan Xiaohei was squatting on the eaves of the backyard. When it saw Song Dalin and the others rush in, it scurried across the rooftop to the front yard. It squatted on the eaves and meowed at the two people below.

Seeing the two people look up, it proudly sat up straight, lowered its eyes, and looked down at them.

Pan Yun smiled and waved at it: "Come down, I brought you something delicious."

Pan Xiaohei meowed and condescended to jump down towards her.

Pan Jun caught it, hugged it tightly, and rubbed it before taking it into the living room. She then took out the food they had packed: "The fish was specially made for you. It was steamed, with little oil and salt, just right for your taste."

Pan Xiaohei jumped onto the table, tasted each one, nodded slightly, and spoke in human language: "Not bad."

Pan Jun knew that he needed to praise it so that he could order it to do things next time, so he praised it lavishly from then on.

The cat was so flattered it almost floated on air.

Wang Cong originally had many words of praise to offer, but at this moment he couldn't help but shudder, feeling that it was too cheesy.

Pan Xiaohei glanced at him sideways, and Pan Yun said, "What are you still standing there for? Go sweep the yard."

Wang Cong: "Alright, Junior Uncle, you can serve Xiao Hei his meal."

Before Pan Yun could make a move, he quickly ran away.

They tidied up the yard and even took out tools to repair the gate. The five people who ran away didn't dare to come back to settle scores with them, and even the sentries who had been watching them quietly withdrew.

Soon, rumors spread throughout the city that the courtyard they lived in was haunted, by a lustful female ghost who would pluck men's clothes.

The reason Wang Cong and his group were able to live safely in the courtyard was because they were all men, and there were dozens of men, who could take turns satisfying the lustful woman, which is why nothing happened.

The landlord was so frightened that he came to the door that afternoon and evening: "This house has never been haunted before I rented it to you, I'm not lying to you..."

Wang Cong stated that the courtyard was not haunted, and that the five people were thieves who, feeling guilty, fabricated lies to scare people.

Seeing that the landlord's face was pale and he looked doubtful, Wang Cong kindly suggested, "If you don't trust your own house, why don't you stay for the night?"

"No, no, no," the landlord hurriedly waved his hand in refusal, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "This house is haunted because it was rented to you. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to rent it out again. What will I do after you've rented it for two months?"

Wang Cong raised an eyebrow and tentatively asked, "Shall we buy it?"

The landlord readily agreed, adding, "I can offer a discount."

Wang Cong then asked in a friendly manner, "How much is the landlord asking for?"

The two negotiated back and forth for nearly half an hour, and finally settled on a price that was acceptable to both parties.

Song Dalin and the others watched the whole scene, just sitting there blankly watching.

After arranging to go to the county government office to transfer the property and pay the rent with the landlord the next day, Wang Cong saw them off at the door. As soon as he turned around, everyone looked at him expectantly: "Boss, did your junior uncle bring you money? Is it enough to buy a house?"

They were unaware that Wang Cong still had a considerable amount of money on him, assuming that it had all been used to bribe the prefect and county officials to get them released, and that the money they were using now was the money Wang Cong had used as collateral.

Wang Cong said, "Please remove the 'ma' character. Brothers, our ship will be back soon, and the goods will be back too. Once we sell the washing tubs and open the weaving and dyeing workshop, we'll go out to sea!"

Everyone cheered.

“I still prefer going to sea. Although it’s hard work, it’s exhilarating to fight pirates and the elements. But when I come back, I have to fight the officials. If I win, it’s considered treason; if I lose, I’m dead. It’s no fun at all.”

"Yes, I don't like Guangzhou either. Boss, how about we head straight to Quanzhou instead? Although Quanzhou is a bit far from Southeast Asia, we can endure hardship!"

“If you can endure hardship, then you should endure hardship,” Wang Cong said. “The imperial court opened the port of Guangzhou to make it more convenient for us merchants who went to Southeast Asia. It can also boost the local economy and allow ordinary people to benefit from the opening of the sea. We don’t need to worry about those corrupt officials. Their tails won’t last long. They will all be cut off soon. When that time comes, this place will be as bright and clear as Quanzhou.”

"Really?"

Wang Cong nodded firmly: "Really!" (End of Chapter)