The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

The next day, Pan Yun went to the other side of Sanqing Mountain to see someone off.

Song Dalin led more than 600 brothers to hide in a cave.

Some of them went back home, while others went in the direction of home, but slipped back when they felt that no one was watching them. They have been hiding in the cave for the past two days.

Wang Cong's manager also arrived.

His surname is Ding. He had followed Wang Cong in business for several years. At the end of last year, he stayed to manage a grocery store in Guangxin Prefecture.

With a monthly profit of more than 20 taels of silver, Wang Cong could earn more than 200 taels of silver a year.

He didn't have much money, let alone buying goods, just sending so many people to Quanzhou was a huge expense.

Pan Yun looked at Miao Zhen.

Miaozhen and Tao Yanbai carried in a box, opened it, and found neatly arranged silver ingots inside.

Manager Ding and Song Dalin opened their eyes wide at the same time.

Pan Yun said, "This is the money for you to buy goods. Manager Ding, you are familiar with this area. Take them to buy some cloth, books, tea and porcelain, and send them to Quanzhou Port."

Steward Ding pondered and said, "The quality and price of cloth and tea vary greatly. I wonder what quality Junior Master wants?"

Pan Yun: "Buy a few pieces of brightly colored, high-quality cloth, and the rest should be of medium or lower quality. The same goes for tea and porcelain."

Then this box of silver can buy a lot of things.

Steward Ding understood immediately and bowed, saying, "I'll go right away."

Pan Yun pointed at Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing and said, "These 648 brothers are under their charge. If you have any problems, just go to them. They will all be Cong'er's men from now on, just like the guys under you in the past. If you have any problems, just go to them for consultation."

Manager Ding said he understood.

Pan Yun took out a bundle and handed it to Song Dalin: "This is your indenture and pass."

Song Dalin opened it and looked.

He couldn't read and could only look at Wang Xiaojing.

Wang Xiaojing explained to him: "This is a working contract, which indicates that we work for Wang's company and how much monthly salary we receive. The travel permit is proof that we travel with the company."

Song Dalin: "Our real names?"

Wang Xiaojing flipped through several of them and nodded: "Real name, even the address is the same."

Song Dalin looked at Pan Yun in surprise: "It's only been a few days, and you can get a real pass. Is the magistrate of Yushan County an idiot?"

Pan Yun smiled and said, "We asked friends from the Wulin League to help set up the business. There are too many of you, so half of you asked the Wulin League to get a pass in Guangxin Prefecture, and the other half asked acquaintances in the county government. Don't worry, it's legal and compliant, you can leave without worry."

Song Dalin: "Does Yu Qingtian agree too?"

"Yu Qingtian left."

When the tiger is away, the monkey becomes king.

As soon as Yu Qian left, Cai Sheng received the news that his life was saved.

Because he had made great contributions in recruiting the pacification troops, although he had made mistakes in the past, he was able to make up for his mistakes by recruiting the rebels.

If Yu Qian had not denounced him in his memorial, he might have been able to use his connections to stay on.

Fortunately, at least he saved his life, especially compared to Song Zhang, the Fujian Provincial Governor who was escorted back to Beijing.

Cai Sheng was not escorted. He was dismissed from his post on the spot and sent back home.

Master Wu decided to participate in this year's Enke and is also packing his luggage.

The old county magistrate is about to leave before the new one arrives. The county lieutenant and the chief clerk are now in charge of Yushan County.

The ancestors of both of them were from Yushan County and had served under Akihito for several years. Now that Cai Sheng was gone, they immediately restored the rules and regulations that existed when Akihito was in power, and everything was done as usual.

Yushan County affairs are gradually returning to normal.

They didn't need to worry about the people. After several distributions of disaster relief grain, they had already sorted out the fields. Although they didn't have enough to eat every day, they were not starving to death, and their lives had returned to normal.

Pan Yun asked someone to go to the county government to apply for a travel permit. The county lieutenant just glanced at the list, confirmed that these people were going to Quanzhou and might go to sea, and readily processed it for them.

He was grateful to Pan Yun and believed in Pan Yun. As long as these former rebels did not cause trouble within the Ming Dynasty, he could let them do whatever they wanted.

Rather than keeping these troublemakers in Yushan County, it would be better to send them to Japan.

The county lieutenant didn't even think about whether they were sneaking across the border or whether it was illegal to go out. Anyway, the pass showed that they were going to Quanzhou, and it didn't specify that they were going to Japan.

The county lieutenant stamped their passes and said, "Fortunately, you only brought 300. If there were one more, I wouldn't have dared to stamp it. The number of passes issued by the county government each year is limited."

Pan Yun knew that this was for safety and control, especially since this was a special period and the rebellion in Fujian was in full swing. At this time, it was even more necessary to control the flow of population to Fujian.

Pan Yun gave them the indenture and the pass together to assure them that if one day they didn't want to be with them anymore, this indenture would not be a bond and they could just take it and leave with Song Dalin.

After seeing this, the brothers respected Pan Yun even more and were more willing to stay.

I even gave them the indenture, how could this still be a lie?
When they go to Japan, they will definitely be able to pick up a lot of silver.

Two days after Pan Yun sent Song Dalin and his companions away, Yu Qian, who was far away in Fujian, received the news.

He was worried about Yushan County, so he left two Jinyiwei to monitor the situation in Yushan County.

"You said they bought cloth, tea and porcelain along the way and came to Fujian?"

"Yes, we disguised ourselves and contacted those people. They said they were now employees of Wang's company and were escorting goods to Quanzhou Port."

Yu Qian laughed out loud: "Quanzhou Port?"

"Yes," the Royal Guard carefully observed Yu Qian's expression and said in a deep voice, "Sir, do they want to go out to sea?"

Yu Qian lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, "Isn't it good?"

Jin Yiwei:......

It’s not bad, it’s just…

"Smuggling... is illegal, right? Besides, they are a bunch of unruly people."

Yu Qian: “That’s why she chose them.”

Yu Qian's eyes flickered, and he thought of something. He clenched his fists and couldn't help but punched his thigh, praising: "Great~~"

Jinyiwei: ...Jinyiwei looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan was also speechless, but he looked up at the sky without saying anything.

Yu Qian lamented, "No wonder Xue Shao keeps talking about Pan Yun. It's really interesting. Why didn't she tell me clearly at that time? Why did they have to go through the Wulin Alliance to arrange such a good idea? It also benefited the corrupt officials..."

It's better to find him and save some money.

Lu Yuan said quietly, "Maybe it's because Lord Yu is Yu Qingtian. Who would have known that Lord Yu would not object to this?"

Yu Qian said: "The Japanese have wicked ambitions, and we must not be lenient to them. Several officials in the court are too kind, and only want to rule them with benevolence and justice, but they don't know that benevolence and justice are only useful for gentlemen and common people, not for jackals."

Yu Qian stroked his beard and said, "Xue Shao's suggestion is good. Yu Waguo, choose a person who takes the overall situation into consideration and is not particular about details. None of the people who proposed it to the emperor are good enough."

Lu Yuan: "Master Yu, do you think Xue Yushi is suitable?"

Yu Qian glanced at him and said with a half-smile: "His talent, ability and means are all suitable, but his status is not enough. Your Majesty is unwilling to lower his status to recruit talents. No matter how suitable he is, if he cannot convince the public, all his advantages will become disadvantages and he will be completely unsuitable."

Yu Qian slowed down his tone and said solemnly: "But even if such a person cannot be used now, his life should be saved. Otherwise, it will be a loss for our Ming Dynasty."

Lu Yuan was in deep thought.

Not long after, Xue Shao, who had been imprisoned in the prison, was released.

His hair was slightly disheveled, and he was wearing a middle-length shirt. His handcuffs and bracelets had just been opened, and he was dressed in tatters. When he walked out of the prison, the sun in the sky was so bright that it seemed to be sprinkling gold. He squinted his eyes and looked up, and saw a golden light leaking diagonally.

Xi Jin had already prepared the mugwort water. When he saw the young master coming out, he immediately ran up with a wooden basin and splashed the water on him: "When the clear spring water drops, all the filth will disappear, all the evil will be extinguished, and the righteousness will last forever..."

Xue Shao waited until he finished reading before patting the water off his body and asked, "Why did you suddenly let me out?"

Xi Jin: "Do you still want to go back to jail?"

Xue Shao smiled and said, "I thought I would be imprisoned until next year at the earliest. They would release me only after the maritime ban is over. Has the issue of the Japanese silver mine been concluded?"

Xi Jin: "I went to inquire about it. There was a lot of confusing news in the court. I don't know which thing touched the emperor's heart. Anyway, he immediately felt guilty and ordered you to be released."

Xue Shao straightened his clothes, took the outer robe handed to him by Xi Jin and put it on, and said with a smile: "Tell me everything."

Xi Jin: "General Liu, who was sent to Fujian to fight the rebels, was defeated and several of his men died. The rebels Deng Maoqi and Ye Zongliu have joined forces and have over 80,000 people. They have captured ten cities. They seem to have heard the news about the Japanese silver mine and are sending rebels to attack Quanzhou Port."

This was something he had not expected. Xue Shao felt a little uneasy and asked, "Who passed this news to them?"

As he followed Xi Jin, he looked around and asked in a low voice, "Pan Yun?"

"I haven't received any news, but there are also rebels in Yushan County. I heard that Taoist Pan returned to Yushan County to help Lord Yu and the magistrate of Yushan County to recruit the rebels. This is a rare good news in Jiangnan."

Xue Shao paused for a moment and asked, "Where did you get the news from? The Wulin Alliance? The Tianshi Mansion? Or Lord Yin?"

Xi Jin looked confused: "None of them. I heard it from the court. It has spread all over the court. They all say that Taoist Priest Pan is a good Taoist priest. The court should reward her."

Xue Shao remained silent.

Xi Jin: "Lord Yu has submitted three memorials in a row praising Taoist Master Pan. By the way, His Majesty has ordered the reconstruction of the Quanzhou Maritime Customs Office, and let Cao Jixiang manage it, with the royal family assisting."

Xue Shao paused: "Cao Jixiang? Who will take care of the emperor?"

Xi Jin came close to Xue Shao and whispered, "I heard that it was Wang Zhen who suggested that he let the eunuch Mao Gui replace Cao Jixiang."

Xue Shao lowered his eyes.

Xi Jin was extremely worried and whispered, "As an inner court official, the only way to have a future is to be by the emperor's side, right? Isn't it said that Cao Jixiang is Wang Zhen's accomplice? It seems to me that they are about to fight."

Xue Shao asked: "Who followed Cao Jixiangnan to Quanzhou?"

Xi Jin scratched his head and said, "It seems to be an eunuch named Wang Changsui. In addition to them, there is also an official from the Ministry of Revenue named Chen Guan who went south with them."

Xue Shao: "It's very well protected."

"Ah?" Xi Jin looked puzzled.

"For an eunuch, being by the emperor's side is indeed more important, but Cao Jixiang is different." Xue Shao said, "Cao Jixiang knows how to use troops. He has commanded several battles. His ability is not inferior to that of the military commanders in the Ministry of War. Moreover, he is honest and upright. His going to Quanzhou will be a good opportunity to defeat Japan."

Xijin's eyes lit up: "Isn't that a good thing?"

"But Wang Changsui and Chen Guan are both Wang Zhen's men," Xue Shao said, "Cao Jixiang is indeed attached to Wang Zhen, but he is not completely on the same page with Wang Zhen. Since the Xue Pan case was redressed, there has been a rift between Your Majesty and Wang Zhen. Although I haven't seen him for only half a year, this time when I returned to Beijing, I could feel that Your Majesty relied on Cao Jixiang more than half a year ago."

"Obviously, Wang Zhen was anxious. He had driven Cao Jixiang out of the capital, so he had to feed him the fat piece of Japanese silver mine, but he was reluctant to give it all to Cao Jixiang, so he sent Wang Changsui and Chen Guan to go with him. He wanted to have the best of both worlds."

Xi Jin: "Then we..."

"We?" Xue Shao tapped his forehead and said with a smile, "We are the innocent victims, the pawns that were picked up at random. It's just that we are still useful, and the parties are reluctant to let me die like this. I also have to thank Lord Yu for his plea and Taoist Pan for his foresight."

Xi Jin was confused: "Huh?"

Xue Shao smiled and said, "If Pan Yun hadn't spread the news of the Japanese silver mine as soon as he landed, how would the rebels know about it? I'm afraid someone must have whispered something in Deng Maoqi's ear, so he wanted to attack Quanzhou, forcing the court to make a decision as soon as possible."

Wang Zhen, Cao Jixiang, officials from the south and the north, nobles and royal families, as well as the officials from the south who were backed by the wealthy families from the south, formed a pot of hot oil. At this time, Pan Yun, the spark, jumped in, and Yu Qian fanned the fire. The oil exploded instantly, and the emperor holding the oil pan had to make a decision immediately.

Xue Shao emerged from such a gap.

Sure enough, as soon as Xue Shao returned to the post station, Cao Jixiang's adopted son Cao Qin came to the door first and said, "My adopted father said that Lord Xue was a good official when he was in office and a righteous man as a person. He should not waste time in prison, so before leaving the capital, he said all the good things about him in front of His Majesty..."

Xue Shao looked grateful, and then asked, "Is there anything I can do for Lord Cao?"

Of course there are, Cao Qin said, Cao Jixiang wanted to know more about Japan and the silver mines. Of course, it would be even better if Xue Shao was willing to go to Quanzhou in person and have a face-to-face meeting with Cao Jixiang.

By the way, Xue Shao has been dismissed from office now, and will be driven out of the capital soon. He is now a free man.

He is now like his uncle Xue Xuan, and is not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial decree.

To put it bluntly, Cao Jixiang wanted to hire Xue Shao as his aide.

If it were before, Xue Shao would not have agreed. How nice it would be for him to be free. If he couldn't be an official, he would just continue traveling around the world.

But thinking of the three ships that Pan Yun still had floating on the sea, he thought about it and nodded in agreement.

Cao Qin was overjoyed and said, "I will wait for Master Xue outside the city in two days."

Xue Shao: "I have been dismissed from office. My courtesy name is Wen Shao. Master Cao can just call me by my courtesy name."

Cao Qin agreed with a smile.

Just after Cao Qin left, someone from the Ministry of Revenue came to visit. As soon as he sat down, he sighed and said, "Prime Minister Yang and Minister Chen have been lobbying for many times and finally persuaded His Majesty to release you. The maritime ban has been in place for a long time, and many people in the court think it should be lifted..."

Xue Shao was touched and asked, "I wonder if Shao can serve Prime Minister Yang and Minister Chen?" (End of this chapter)