The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Pan Yun said: "Cai Sheng will definitely not be the county magistrate, but no one knows what the next county magistrate will be like. But I don't think you will be punished later. I am just afraid that the government will cause trouble for you.

At least 400 of you are on their list, but they definitely don't know who the remaining 1,000 or so are. Just in case, you should also tell Song Dalin and remind everyone to behave well when you go back, control your temper, and don't get violent and end up hurting your brothers."

Wang Xiaojing agreed and asked, "What about the brothers on the list?"

Pan Yun: "Either you stay here quietly and pray that God will give you two good county magistrates in a row. Then, time will make everything fade away. After five or six years, everything will be over. Or you can move away to another place."

Wang Xiaojing: “Neither is realistic.”

"The last solution is for you rebels to leave. If you don't go home, you will be considered dead. After a long time, they will naturally regard you as separate and no longer a family."

Wang Xiaojing immediately said: "We want to leave too!"

Pan Jun raised his eyebrows.

Wang Xiaojing leaned close to her and whispered, "Uncle Junior, the brothers went to work in the mine just to make money. There is not enough land at home to farm, so we have to find other work when we go back."

Wang Xiaojing's family used to be considered rich peasants, but they didn't have much land. They raised a cow, and their grandparents and parents could all work in the fields, so if they squeezed in, they could save two laborers.

That's why he went out with his second uncle to learn skills.

The situation of others was much worse than his, as most of their families rented the land.

Wang Xiaojing said: "... After working so hard for a year, you still don't earn enough to eat. You go hungry every other day. Not to mention getting married, your parents and brothers and sisters-in-law look down on you. That's why everyone comes out to make a living."

Pan Jun seemed to be thinking: "They are all the second son and the youngest son?"

Wang Xiaojing nodded. "As long as the family keeps one son to take care of them in old age, they will only let the eldest son marry and raise children. Daughters can be married and asked for betrothal gifts. As for the other sons, they are left to fend for themselves. This is not only the case in Jiangxi, but also in the Jiangnan area. I heard that it is even worse in Fujian, so we have to find a way to survive on our own."

Pan Yun: "What kind of life do you want to find?"

Wang Xiaojing's eyes lit up, and he whispered, "Uncle Junior, what can you do? Just tell us. If there is anything we can do for you, just tell us. You saved our lives, and we are willing to go through fire and water for you!"

Pan Jun raised her eyebrows and looked him up and down: "It's okay for other people, but you are the only son in the family now."

Wang Xiaojing: "I also have a younger sister."

Pan Yun said nothing.

Wang Xiaojing gritted his teeth and said, "My parents are still young. When I return, I will ask them to go to the mountain temple to pray for a child and have another one."

Pan Yun: "...You are good at finding trouble for me."

Wang Xiaojing: "I am the second in command. I cannot stay at home. Otherwise, the county government will come to cause trouble every few days. How can my family bear it? It is better to go with my brothers. Maybe I can find a way to survive outside."

Pan Yun lowered his eyes, and after a moment's silence, he said, "I do have a way."

Wang Xiaojing asked anxiously: "Is it Haimao?"

Pan Yun couldn't help but laugh: "Did Song Dalin ask you to come and test me?"

Wang Xiaojing lowered his head and smiled embarrassedly.

Pan Yun nodded and said, "It's sea trade. I have three sea vessels."

Wang Xiaojing scratched his head and said, "But, isn't it said that the imperial court has banned the sea, even fishermen can't go to sea, but merchant ships can go to sea?"

"Others may not be able to do this, but I can," Pan Yun said, "I have one and a half ports in Japan. I can cooperate with the navy and travel between the two places openly."

Wang Xiaojing was stunned: "You, you still have a port in Japan?"

"Yes, go ask Song Dalin if they are willing to follow me... to work with Cong'er." Wang Xiaojing's eyes lit up: "Are they working with Brother Wang Cong?"

Pan Yun nodded: "You know, these mundane affairs of our Sanqing Mountain are usually managed by Cong'er."

Wang Xiaojing said without thinking: "Let's follow!"

"You haven't asked Song Dalin yet."

Wang Xiaojing jumped up: "I'll go ask right away."

Song Dalin agreed, but he was puzzled: "That's not right. Just because there is a port in Japan, the navy cooperated with Taoist Pan and allowed her to travel freely between the two countries?"

Wang Xiaojing nodded stupidly: "Yes."

Song Dalin frowned, "It doesn't feel right. What does Japan having a port have to do with the Ming Dynasty? Didn't the imperial court ban the sea because they didn't want others to do maritime trade? Why would we agree to Master Pan's request just because she has a port in Japan?"

Wang Xiaojing was stunned: "Isn't it because of the Japanese pirates that the court banned the sea?"

Song Dalin glanced at him and said, "Now that the sea is banned, I don't think there are any fewer Japanese pirates."

Wang Xiaojing scratched his head in confusion.

Song Dalin waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Regardless of all this, I trust Taoist Pan. Tell Taoist Pan that we will follow her, even if it means climbing mountains of swords or diving into seas of fire. As long as she can give us brothers something to eat!"

Wang Xiaojing asked quietly, "More than 400 people, should we take them all with us?"

"We can't force it. After Taoist Pan leaves, you can call the brothers over and we can talk. Those who want to go can go, and those who want to follow us can follow us." Song Dalin said, "After all, the sea is very risky, especially since none of us have been to sea before and most of us are not good at swimming. I heard that living on the sea for a long time will make you sick."

Wang Xiaojing nodded.

"Go ask Taoist Priest Pan if she can take in as many of us as we want. There are three boats, so one boat won't take that many people, right?"

However, Pan Yun wanted to build up his own power in Japan. The imperial court has not yet made up its mind about the silver mountain. Alas, the efficiency of the government is as slow as ever.

But they delayed, and she didn't want to delay.

No matter what they do later, she must keep Nanao Port and half of Onsenzumachi Port firmly in her hands. She can just mine the silver mine herself first!
So no matter how many people come, she can eat them all!
If she recruited from the civilian population, she was afraid that they would cause instability, but if she selected people from the rebels who had to leave their homes, she could recruit as many as they came.

This is also one of the reasons why she was unwilling to have Yu Qian registered on the list.

If the statistics are really recorded, how can she take the people away?
Sure enough, when Song Dalin made a count, he found that all the 300-plus people in the mine chose to follow him. In addition, two-thirds of the people who had been visited by the yamen runners and knew that they were on the list also chose to follow Song Dalin.

Among the more than a thousand people who were not on the list, more than a hundred chose to follow Song Dalin.

They are all people who could not stay at home and had to find other ways to make a living.

At noon the next day, the list Song Dalin finally handed in had 648 names.

Pan Yun accepted the order and said to Miao Zhen, "You go with the money and grain, and have them go directly to the east side of Sanqing Mountain tomorrow. There are large caves and water sources there. Let them stay there for two days. After Deng Qian leaves, I will send them off."

Miaozhen agreed.

Pan Yun wrote another letter and gave it to Tao Yanbai, saying, "Send it to Guangxin Prefecture and give it to Cong'er's steward, and ask him to bring his men here immediately."

Tao Yanbai agreed.

Miao He stepped forward and asked anxiously, "What about me? What about me, Junior Master, what should I do?"

Pan Yun tapped her nose and said with a smile, "Come with me to the county government office to count the relief grain subsidized by the court." (End of this chapter)