Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 97
As soon as the victory report is written, we will ride as fast as we can to the city of Tokyo Bianliang to report it.

Back in the study, the prefect Cheng Wanli took the letter from Su Wu and read it over and over again...

He was not only looking at the good news in the letter, he was looking at his own future and longing for the future...

For a moment, Cheng Wanli had an inappropriate thought in his mind, a thought that a scholar-official in the Song Dynasty should not have.

I just want to ask, where are the thieves in the world? Where are the big thieves?

There is another group in Liangshanpo, why is there only this one?
Damn it, how could I have such a thought? Peace in the world, peace in the world, I am guilty, I am guilty!

The Tanguts were fighting with the Western Army, and the Liao and Song had signed the Treaty of Chanyuan, and they had not fought for a hundred years, so it was absolutely impossible for them to go to war.

Ugh……

Untimely!

"Father..." The good girl came into the study and also knew the good news. She was full of joy and smiles, but when she came in and saw it, she asked, "Father, why are you still so sad after such a great victory?"

Cheng Wanli looked at the good girl, sighed and said: "I was born at the wrong time... There are thousands of bandits, and only two thousand soldiers can suppress them. After suppressing these bandits, we will suppress Liangshan. After suppressing Liangshan... there will be no report of victory..."

The good girl heard this and laughed: "Father is worried about this..."

"My dear girl, tell me, does your father understand military affairs?" Cheng Wanli did not look sad at all, he was actually smiling.

"Father has worked hard to train 2,000 strong soldiers. Isn't this enough to defeat thousands of bandits? Among all the prefects and governors in the Song Dynasty, how many people can have such achievements?"

Good girls can say that this is the Song Dynasty. Except for a few husbands in the northwest, there is no one to compare with.

It’s not that I’m so outstanding, it’s all because of the comparison with my peers.

Cheng Wanli nodded, and said inexplicably: "Peace in the world is good, peace in the world is good!"

"Father, it's not easy to suppress the bandits in Liangshan. We have the advantage of 800 miles of water, but without warships, how can we suppress them?" The good girl also began to understand military affairs.

Cheng Wanli nodded: "The boat costs money..."

"So, father, you should prepare for a rainy day and write a plan to suppress the bandits and send it to the Privy Council. Let the officials in the Privy Council see what you have in mind. In this way, you can gain their trust, and the issue of money and grain will be much easier to talk about."

"Well, my dear girl, what you said makes sense!" Cheng Wanli looked at her, his smile full of relief and doting. He laughed and said, "My dear girl, stand still."

"Well, father, what's wrong?" The good girl really stood up straighter.

Mr. Cheng said seriously: "My dear daughter of the Cheng family, listen to me. I will appoint you as the number one counselor of Dongping Prefecture! You are comparable to Xiao He, and slightly better than Xun Yu!"

The good girl giggled when she heard this, and said, "Thank you, magistrate, for the reward!"

"Come here, come here..." Cheng Wanli was in a very good mood today. He looked doting on her face and was beckoning with a smile.

The good girl went closer and stood in front of her father. She saw her father reach out and touch her head. She also heard her father say, "It would be great if you gave birth to a boy."

The good girl also lowered her head slightly and said, "Father, just treat me as a man..."

"Alas... What a pity, what a pity that you are not one of them. You cannot pass the imperial examination and become an official. Your elder brother only knows how to drink and listen to music in Bianjing every day. He can't even pass the provincial examination. I asked him to come with me to take up the post, but he refused to come, saying that it is good to study in the capital. But you are willing to come with your father from afar... Alas..."

Cheng Wanli still felt sad because his son was useless and the only useful one was his daughter.

"Father..." The good girl also felt uncomfortable. After all, she was an outsider in family matters. What could she say?

The good girl said: "Father is not too old, he is in good health, he still has a long life ahead of him, and he has a bright future."

Cheng Wanli laughed when he heard this: "Is your father still a young man?"

"Among those scholars, father is certainly not one of them, but in the officialdom, isn't father in his prime?" The good girl said seriously.

"In the prime of life... Great!" Cheng Wanli nodded and felt a surge of strength.

The power that inspires my father to work hard!

Cheng Wanli thought about it seriously and said, "If I really want to submit a plan to suppress the bandits, I will just wait for Su Wu to come back and ask him. Then I can write a brilliant article."

"Well, we should ask Su Wu." The good girl agreed with her father's idea.

"Come to think of it...Su Wu actually read some books." Cheng Wanli thought of this again.

"Ah? Really? Has he read any books?" asked the good girl.

"Yes, at least he has read a lot of poetry. Wang Jiangning can also recite it fluently, and Cao Zijian can recite it fluently. When he speaks, he doesn't speak like a rough man. He can also comment on calligraphy. He must have read a lot of books..."

Cheng Wanli nodded and said.

"Well, I also think he doesn't speak rudely, and his thinking is extraordinary...Father, let's try him again later..."

"Yes, in the past, I never thought much about it. I should give him another try. He is different after reading books. In the future, when he meets those officials in the court, he won't be timid and won't be laughed at..."

Cheng Wanli also nodded. It was not about other things, but if he really wanted to meet the gentlemen in the future, the first one he would meet might be Tong Shumi.

Don't underestimate Tong Shumi because of his humble background. He can easily appreciate paintings and calligraphy.

If I really have that good fortune in the future, it is not impossible to meet the emperor. The emperor is proficient in everything, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He is very proficient and can play all kinds of musical instruments and sing. He is not comparable to ordinary scholars...

They are all the future, all the aspirations, we need to think and plan!
What he was thinking about was how to make more appearances in the court and how to please his superiors, and what he was naturally planning for was his future.

Cheng Wanli also knew that the surprising victory report here would not be considered a great achievement when it reached the capital. It was even less significant than the occasional victory report from the Western Army.

It's impossible to get promoted based on this little achievement.

But this matter is also very important, because this is what his benefactor Tong Guan likes, and it is proof that Cheng Wanli is capable and talented in front of his benefactor.

As long as the Prime Minister likes it and knows it in his heart, it is enough. If the Prime Minister is willing to talk about it with others, and even mention it to the emperor, and can gain a favor from the emperor, that would be a great fortune.

Just wait for the day when there is a real opportunity and someone is willing to mention Cheng Wanli again in front of the emperor. The emperor seems to have heard of it and is just waiting for him to nod slightly.

This is the rise of a family.

Therefore, we should spread more good news like this, no matter how big or small, the more the better.

This is the officialdom of the Song Dynasty today. A football player can become a general, and a buyer of flowers and stones can also be favored by the emperor...

Su Wu is great!

It's a pity that there are so few...

Damn!

How can you think like this?

Cheng Wanli was very conflicted...

Li Yunlong didn't bother about it, as he still had a small task to do, so he just went to Meng Niang's store.

First, there was a letter from Su Dujian to Madam Meng. He didn't know the content of the letter, but he knew that he also brought back some things, which were good things given by the Qingzhou prefect to his own eunuch.

This is something that my own eunuch can't use. It is very crystal clear and is called water jade and water green, also known as crystal. It is produced near Qingzhou. There are two big lumps of it. Just send it to me.

Madam Meng was delighted, thinking that Supervisor Su was thinking of her, so she opened the letter and read it immediately.

This look...

Somewhat disappointed...

It is said that this thing is a big business. There is production in Qingzhou and there is also a lot in Dengzhou. In the past, it was used to make some utensils, such as crystal cups.

Su Wu had a novel idea. If Qingzhou and Dengzhou really had a large amount of it, why not use it to make rice cakes?

What is 叆叇? Glasses.

He polished the crystal in the same way as he polished jade to make convex and concave mirrors. Su Wu also drew a sketch in the letter, giving a rough idea of ​​what it would look like.

Myopia glasses, reading glasses.

The Song Dynasty had a very large reading population, especially in major cities, so the demand for myopia glasses and reading glasses must have been huge.

Just let Meng Yulou find some jade craftsmen to try it out according to the sketch. Su Wu obviously thought that there was no need for precise measurement, just make a few thickness regulations, and it would be fine as long as it could be used.

Even if you have more than 500 degrees of myopia, wearing glasses with more than 400 degrees can be of great help. They don't need to be so precise. The same goes for reading glasses.

Let Meng Yulou try first and find craftsmen to grind lenses, make frames, and even magnifying glasses.

In the future, maybe I can consider things like telescopes, but I won’t think about it too much for now.

It's just to see if this business can succeed. If it can, I will make a fortune.

Even without mentioning other things, every official in the court must have one, and the group of officials in the Song Dynasty was already extremely large.

It was also Su Wu who suddenly discovered that there were many places in Shandong that produced high-quality crystals, which was something he had never expected before.

Meng Yulou was somewhat disappointed that the gift was not sent to her, but the matter was important, so how could she not take it seriously?
He immediately turned around and got to work, first sending someone to find a jade craftsman.

After finishing the task here, Li Yunlong still had another task, which was to find Dong Huan.

Li Cheng also asked Li Yunlong to bring back a gift, a serious gift, a small jade hairpin. The jade was not a good one, and the craftsmanship was not good either. It was not worth much money.

It was copied from the mountain stronghold and was supposed to be handed in as a trophy, but Li Cheng bought it with his own money.

Just let Li Yunlong bring it back and give it to Dong Huan.

There was no written letter, but there was a verbal message from Li Cheng that Li Yunlong brought back: "The captain said that... he found it by chance, it's a woman's thing, we can't use it, and the captain can't use it either, so we don't know what to do, and we don't know who to send it to, so he asked me to bring it back to you..."

Dong Huan took the jade hairpin, and although his face was red, he said, "I don't know who to give it to, so you gave it to me?"

Li Yunlong nodded: "Yes, that's what the captain said. I don't know who to give it to, so I'll just give it to you."

"Hmph! I don't want it..." Dong Huan blushed, but handed the jade hairpin back in his hand.

"You...you have to take it." Li Yunlong was anxious and said, "If you don't want it, how can I explain it to the captain?"

"Then tell him that next time it happens like this, I won't want it anymore." Dong Huan didn't really return it, and the action of returning it was fake.

"Oh, then I'll tell the captain not to send it next time. You have to accept it this time." Li Yunlong nodded and took note of it.

"You...you soldiers are all fools!" Dong Huan turned and left.

"Ah?" Li Yunlong looked around, puzzled, and then went to sit in the main hall of the store and said to the waiter, "I... I brought a few brothers to have a drink. Bring some good wine. I can afford it."

Just now she was full of vigor and vitality at the gate of the government office, but now she felt a little restrained. She was a good girl from the countryside, and it was her first time to go to the city for big consumption, so she didn't know much.

But he heard Dong Huan's voice from behind: "Ask the kitchen staff to give them more portions...these soldiers eat a lot."

Li Yunlong could hear it and laughed, looking at the soldiers who came back with him. They all looked around excitedly. This was a great restaurant, even the decoration, the chairs, the tables, the dining utensils, everything was good.

"It's okay. I brought back a lot of money. We can afford it." Li Yunlong said.

"Thank you, Deputy Captain."

Everyone bowed to express their gratitude.

Su Wu actually asked around in the city about the crystal production near Qingzhou. If Murong Yanda hadn't given him two pieces of crystal, he really wouldn't have thought of this. He didn't even know that even more than a thousand years ago, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qi had made a fortune from crystal.

Crystal is really a good thing. In this era, glass and colored glaze are not unavailable, but it is difficult to make them pure due to the production process. Su Wu now does not have the ability to slowly study the technology.

I don’t have the capital either.

Therefore, we have to use crystal. Although crystal is expensive, the consumer group is also rich people.

If this business can really make a lot of money, and I have craftsmen and capital in the future, it would be natural to put the development of pure glass on the agenda.

After searching around Qingzhou City for several times, Su Wu went directly to Qin Ming's home as a visitor.

When Su Wu arrived, Qin Ming simply arranged a grand banquet and invited his family members to meet him one by one, as a gesture of friendship between the two families.

At the wine table, Su Wu also talked about business: "Brother Qin Ming, do you know where the Qingzhou water jade and water jade are produced?"

Qin Ming answered casually: "In the west... there are some, in the east too... there are some in Dengzhou, and further east, there seem to be some, anyway, there are many places."

"I have found out all this, but where can I find the specific information?" Su Wu asked again.

Qin Ming shook his head: "I haven't noticed it, brother, why are you asking about this?"

"What if I want to do this business?" Su Wu asked.

"If you want to do it, you can do it. I will just go and inquire for you. If you have the capital, I will just send someone to help you collect it." Qin Ming took the responsibility.

Su Wu thought seriously and said, "Brother, how about this? You should first ask around, where is the best jadeite in the surrounding area? Where is the jadeite produced? Who is mining it? If it is easy to negotiate, you can directly ask him how much the mine sells..."

"Buy the mine directly?" Qin Ming was a little stunned. This was not a small business.

"Well, buying a mine is a big business. Maybe we can make a fortune. I'll buy it and you can help me keep an eye on it. If you want to make some money, you can also join in. How about that?"

Su Wu asked.

"I trust you, brother. Your business is not bad. I will pay for it myself and let me find out. I will take care of it..."

Qin Ming patted his chest.

"Thank you, brother!" Su Wu raised his cup.

"How dare I thank you? It's just a small favor. I toast to you, brother!" Qin Ming drank it all in one gulp. If it weren't for Su Wu, he would never have been involved in business in his life.

"When I really want to buy the mine, I will definitely make a profit." Su Wu said.

"I'll accept the loss even if it means I'm with my brother!" Qin Ming has such a temper.

"In normal times, you can collect more of those clear and pure crystals and transport them to Dongping Prefecture for me. I will leave some money for you." Su Wu still had rules. He wanted to do it step by step and get the叆叆 out first.

"Okay, I promise I won't take a penny more from you, brother. Please!" Qin Ming toasted again.

After drinking, Su Wu returned to the camp.

Today, we have eliminated more than 200 bandits in our camp. There is a huge pile of corpses, and we need to find a place to transport them and bury them far away. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, so searching the mountains is not easy. We must catch all the bandits in Qingzhou in one fell swoop and bring peace to Qingzhou.

Song Jiang, originally known as Hu Baoyi of Shandong and the timely rain of Yuncheng, now has another name, called "Xiaoyi Black Sanlang".

How to be filial?

There was a man named Shi Yong, who was originally from Daming Prefecture. He was a commoner in the market. He had a pair of big fists and made a living by lending small money in casinos. He was accidentally beaten to death by a gambler.

He ran to Chai Jin's house to hide for a few months, but perhaps he was not happy there. He knew Song Jiang's name, so he wanted to find Song Jiang to take him in. However, when he arrived at Song Jiang's hometown, Song Jiang himself had committed a murder and ran away, so he only saw Song Jiang's old father.

Song Jiang's father gave Shi Yong a letter and asked Shi Yong to bring it to him when he found Song Jiang.

So, on the way, Shi Yong met Song Jiang, who had just been defeated in Qingzhou and was fleeing to Liangshan. A letter was delivered to him, saying that his father had passed away and asked Song Jiang to return home quickly to attend the funeral.

Song Jiang is such a noble person, how could he not go back to attend the funeral?

While Su Wu was still suppressing bandits in Qingzhou, Song Jiang had already passed Dongping Prefecture and returned to Yuncheng. This time Song Jiang was in trouble again. Although his father was not dead, he himself accidentally leaked the news in his hometown and was caught. It would not be long before he was exiled to Jiangzhou.

In this way, Hu Baoyi of Shandong, the timely rain of Yuncheng, was also known as the filial and righteous Black Sanlang. Once this incident spread across the world, his reputation would be even greater!

Along the way to Jiangzhou, there are many heroes. Song Jiang will meet many people, including Mu Hong, Mu Chun, Dai Zong, Li Kui, and many others. Which of these people would not bow down to Song Jiang? This is also a major source of power for Liangshan in the future.

Not long after that, Liangshan united many heroes to save Song Jiang's life in Jiangzhou. From then on, Song Jiang gave up the idea of ​​waiting for the emperor to grant amnesty and went straight back to Liangshan to join the gang. Liangshan's strength then greatly increased.

Song Jiang was determined to be a thief, and if he was going to be a thief, he wanted to be a big thief, a big thief that the court was helpless to deal with, so he was determined to seek amnesty.

Su Wu knew all this, but he was too lazy to care and just focused on suppressing the bandits in Qingzhou.

He couldn't take care of it either. Jiangzhou was too far away, and Su Wu was too busy to handle it. At this moment, there were too many things to do.

Just wait to meet Song Jiang again in Dongping Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)