I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 151 This is the yellow iron, a specialty of Fujian, given to Lin Chuanfeng (-character chapter)

After staying in Hangzhou for two days, Lin Shisan and his party decided to take the land route to Fujian.

Hu Zongxian was not the governor of Zhejiang for nothing. After defeating Xu Hai, he reached a secret agreement with the pirate king Wang Zhi.

Three months ago, Hu Zongxian gave Wang Zhi permission to trade in several small ports, allowing him to conduct limited trade. Of course, it was only a tacit permission, and this matter could not be made public for the time being.

Governor Hu gave a peach, and the bandit king Wang repaid him with a plum. Since the beginning of summer this year, there has been no large-scale landing of Japanese pirates in the southeast.

Occasionally, Japanese pirates would land and plunder, but they were just scattered soldiers, with at most a few dozen people in a group, and they could not make a big difference.

The Ming army got a chance to catch its breath. Hu Zongxian stepped up the rectification of the army while making a final effort to recruit Wang Zhi.

He is worthy of being a pillar of the country with great strategies and has made preparations for both scenarios.

If Wang Zhi lands successfully and accepts the amnesty, it will be good for you, me and everyone, and the southeast will be peaceful and the Ming Dynasty will be safe.

If Wang Zhi does not accept the amnesty, and the Japanese pirates who are waiting and watching land again to plunder, then we will fight.

The temporary stability in the southeast made Lin Shisan's journey to the south particularly smooth. A month later, he arrived in Fuzhou, the seat of the Fujian governor.

When the young cabinet minister's sworn brother came to Fuzhou, the core member of the Yan Party, Governor Ruan E, naturally gave him a warm welcome.

The living room of the governor's office.

Ruan E attentively took the tea set and made Kung Fu tea for Lin Shisan.

Ruan E smiled and said, "It's hot in Fujian, let's drink green tea today."

"I've prepared three qian of Da Hong Pao for you and one liang for the young minister. You can take them back with you when you return to Beijing."

Li Gao relied on his sister being the concubine of Prince Yu's mansion and spoke without restraint in front of the provincial governor: "Ruan Futai, you are too stingy, aren't you? You only gave me one or two or three cents for tea?"

Ruan E had already known all the details of Lin Shisan's attendants. He knew that Li Gao was from Prince Yu's mansion.

Ruan E smiled and said, "General Li, you don't know. The real Da Hong Pao is actually just six tea trees growing on the hillside of the Jiulongke cliff."

"Four Qidan plants and two Beidou plants only produce eight taels of rice per year."

"I begged the eunuch who looked after the tea trees for five thousand taels of silver for this little tael of tea, which I had obtained by pulling the rug from under the governor of a province."

Li Gao frowned, "Ruan Futai, are you kidding me? The tea eggs in my kitchen are made with Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mountain. How can we produce eight taels a year?"

Lin Shisan said with a smile: "The so-called Da Hong Pao on the market in Beijing is actually just Wuyi Mountain Oolong Tea. Tea merchants use the Da Hong Pao brand to increase sales."

Ruan E poured a cup of green tea for Lin Shisan: "Brother Lin is indeed from Xiyuan, you are well-informed."

"Are you and your brother all right in the capital?"

Lin Shisan replied: "The elder is very good. He is still strong and vigorous as he ages. He is 77 years old, but he looks like he is in his 40s."

"The cabinet affairs are complicated, but the elder has handled them properly. The poems he wrote are still pearls of wisdom, which are very pleasing to the emperor."

"As for my brother, he is a tiger in his prime. Not only does he use a beauty bowl during the day, but he also uses a beauty chair and a flesh screen at night."

"A few days ago, a gentleman gave him a magical little prescription, which is said to be written by Ni Jinxian, the bird-washing censor of the Chenghua Dynasty."

"After my brother used this prescription, he was able to conquer any city and stronghold without any failure."

Ruan E smiled and said, "Young Lord, you still have the same old hobby."

Lin Shisan always called him "brother", but Ruan E always called him "young cabinet minister". It seemed that Lin Shisan was closer to Yan's father and son. Ruan E became a marginal figure in the core circle of Yan's party.

Ruan E said quickly: "In addition to the Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao, I also prepared another gift for the young elder."

Lin Shisan asked: "I guess it's a Fujian girl."

Ruan E was surprised: "Brother Lin is so good at predicting things! That's right. I have prepared four Fujian women and four Japanese women for the young minister."

"These four Japanese women all have skills and have given birth to children. They are most suitable for the young master."

"Compared with these four Japanese women, the difference between Datong women is like the difference between a small mule and a tall horse."

Previously, Japanese pirates invaded Fujian and headed straight for Fuzhou. In order to repel the enemy, Ruan E bribed the pirates with huge profits and gave them six warships.

Naturally, he had a way to buy a few skilled Japanese women from the Japanese pirates.

Lin Shisan thought to himself: Ruan E, Ruan E, what's the point of you trying so hard to give gifts to the young cabinet minister? In the eyes of the young cabinet minister, you are already a dead person.

On the surface, he still smiled: "Hey, our Ruan Futai is really thoughtful."

Ruan E sighed: "I was promoted to governor by the young cabinet minister. I will never forget your kindness."

"Oh, by the way, the emperor asked Brother Lin to come to Fujian to find a son-in-law for Mei Shuang. It all depends on me."

"I have informed the officials of the prefectures, states and counties in Fujian and asked them to look for a male cat of the same breed and appearance as Mei Shuang according to her appearance."

In fact, Lin Shisan had already made an agreement with Hu Zongxian to let Tan Lun show his face to Emperor Jiajing by offering him the title of son-in-law.

Ruan E was so concerned, Lin Shisan pretended to say, "Tomcats have barbs on their body. Not only should we look for cats of the same species and appearance, but also those of the same size."

"Otherwise, when the cat consummates the wedding, the eyebrow cream will be in great pain. Remember, choose something that is less than an inch thick."

Ruan E nodded repeatedly: "I know, I know."

After saying this, Ruan E clapped his hands.

Eight soldiers from the governor's office carried up a small box and three boxes in their hands.

Ruan E smiled and said, "Brother Lin and his three attendants have traveled all the way from the capital to Fujian, a journey of nearly 5,000 miles. I naturally want to express my appreciation."

"It's a pity that Fujian doesn't have any other local specialties to show off except Da Hong Pao."

"Yesterday I suddenly remembered that pyrite is found in Xikou Township, Minhou County. So I prepared some for Brother Lin. Bring it back and show it to your family as a curiosity."

After saying this, Ruan E opened the box.

Officials are the best at telling lies with their eyes open. Where is the pyrite in the box? It is clearly a golden ingot.

Ruan E smiled and said, "This box of yellow iron has five hundred taels. It's for Brother Lin."

"This box of yellow iron has two hundred taels. It's for General Li."

"These two boxes of yellow iron each contain one hundred taels. Give them to Mr. Zhang and General Sun."

Lin Shisan quickly shirked his responsibility: "How can I accept a reward without any merit?"

Li Gao imitated his master Lin Shisan and said, "That's right, we didn't do anything for Governor Ruan."

Ruan E said, "If Brother Lin can say a few good words for me in front of the Emperor, and General Li can say a few good words for me in front of Prince Yu, I will benefit from it for the rest of my life."

"You two must not shirk your responsibility."

After saying that, Ruan E took out a silver note from his sleeve, with a face value of 3,500 taels: "Those Jinyiwei brothers who are protecting you have worked really hard. Give each of them 100 taels, go around Fuzhou City, and buy some local specialties to take back."

In order not to alert the enemy, Lin Shisan had no choice but to accept the gold and silver notes with reluctance.

The rest was the same old story. Ruan E treated them to food and drink and invited them to sleep with women. Lin Shisan and his companions spent a full half month in Fuzhou.

Ruan E was very concerned about the task of finding a cat husband. After all, it was an imperial errand. Half a month later, he selected sixteen light blue male cats for Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan was very satisfied after looking at it. After a farewell banquet, Lin Shisan took the male cat, gold, Fujian girl, Japanese girl and Dahongpao and headed north, preparing to go to Hangzhou first, rest for ten days, and then board the official ship in Hangzhou to return to Beijing.

Everyone rode on their horses, chatting as they headed north.

Zhang Bo said, "That Governor Ruan is really generous. He gave 900 taels of gold and 3,500 taels of silver. In addition, there are red robes worth several thousand taels." Lin Shisan said, "This gold is too hot to handle. Why not give it to Minister Hu as military pay?"

Zhang Bo said, "You are wrong! Giving the gold to Hu Zongxian as military pay is likely to cause trouble!"

"The emperor's close ministers gave nine hundred taels of gold to the governors as military pay? What was their intention?"

Lin Shisan nodded: "Yes, the last time I went south, I gave the money I collected along the way to Madam Wa as military pay, and Hu Butang returned it to me."

Zhang Bo said, "I know that you are afraid that Ruan E will make random accusations after he is convicted and tell others about the gold he sent you, and you will be the one to suffer the consequences."

"Don't worry. The Yan family, Lu Bing, and the emperor have reached a tacit understanding. They won't give Ruan E any chance to make random comments."

Lin Shisan said: "Then it would be disrespectful to refuse it?"

Zhang Bo nodded: "It would be disrespectful to refuse."

Li Gao laughed and said, "That's right, if you have gold and don't take it, you're a bastard."

Zhang Bo said meaningfully, "Thirteen, you see that Master Li is not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

The implication is that the people in Prince Yu's mansion also took the money. Even if Ruan E talked nonsense after being taken to the capital, and the Xu party officials learned about it, they would not dare to do anything.

The Xu party censors' impeachment of you is equivalent to impeaching the people of Prince Yu's palace. Those censors are not so stupid.

Lin Shisan remained silent, which was considered as his tacit agreement to put the gold into his pocket.

Li Gao laughed and said, "Those four Fujian women are just average, nothing special. But the four Japanese women are really tempting."

Lin Shisan said: "If you like them, just pick one to sleep with you tonight."

Li Gao rubbed his hands on the horse: "This is not good, right? It was sent by Governor Ruan to the young minister."

Lin Shisan said, "You don't know this. My brother likes girls who are left over from other people's play, and preferably those who have had children."

Li Gao was puzzled: "Why is this?"

Lin Shisan answered with two words: "Slippery."

By the time we rushed back to Hangzhou, it was already late autumn.

Lin Shisan encountered a very spectacular event. Wang Zhi entered Hangzhou!
That’s right, Hu Zongxian almost succeeded in recruiting Wang Zhi.

Wang Zhi had a simple view that "not returning home when rich and powerful is like walking in fine clothes at night."

He had saved tens of millions of silver from maritime trade, but in his opinion, what was the point of earning so much silver?
Only if you return home with money in your arms, your life will not have been lived in vain.

Hu Zongxian took advantage of Wang Zhi's psychology. On the one hand, he promised Wang Zhi that if he went ashore and accepted the amnesty, the court would grant him an official position.

On the other hand, Hu Zongxian secretly petitioned the Emperor Jiajing and promised to grant Wang Zhi the privilege of trading in the three major ports of Taizhou, Songjiang and Fuzhou. The trade volume was open, and he could do as much business as he wanted.

Even though Wang Zhi had 40,000 to 50,000 Japanese pirates working for him, he also had hundreds of warships, thousands of cannons, and tens of thousands of muskets.

But he is still a businessman at heart.

Isn't it much safer to be able to do business with the Ming Dynasty in an open and aboveboard manner than to be a pirate leader with your head hanging on your belt?

Hu Zongxian even discussed with Wang Zhi how to place his subordinates.

Fourteen thousand fake Japanese Han followed Wang Zhi to land. The government allocated official fields for them to cultivate, and Wang Zhi also gave them money to allow them to marry and have children on land.

Wang Zhi would give generous military pay to the 30,000 Japanese, and send them to a dozen feudal lords and daimyo, and make three rules for them: they were not allowed to invade the Ming Dynasty, otherwise his would cut off their supply of firearms.

The Japanese had been fighting against the villagers for many years, and the lords and daimyo of each domain were happy to divide up an elite naval force.

In this way, the Japanese threat in the southeast can be basically quelled.

The imperial court could rely on Wang Zhi's maritime trade network to export Ming Dynasty silk, tea, and porcelain to Southeast Asia and the West.

Wang Zhi could make clean money; the common people no longer had to suffer from the Japanese pirates; Hu Zongxian was rewarded with great merit for pacifying the Japanese pirates; the national treasury had a stable and huge source of income; even Emperor Jiajing's private treasury would have an additional big income.

It seems that everyone is doing well, but there is only one party that is not doing well, and that is the wealthy and powerful families in the south of the Yangtze River.

Without the Japanese pirates, there would be no smuggling trade, and without the smuggling trade, the wealthy and powerful would lose their huge profits.

How much oil can be squeezed out just by exploiting the hard-working hired farmers?
Behind the gentry stood the civil service group, who were so bold that they dared to kill even the emperor for their own interests.

Lin Shisan and his companions entered the city. Hangzhou was bustling with activity.

Wang Zhi brought several hundred of his men into the city, and this group of people was extremely wealthy.

After entering the city, they rushed to buy up all the good stuff in the shops. Although the word "grab" was mentioned, they paid for it.

The boat girls on West Lake also made a fortune. Lanterns were sold out every night, and the overnight fee increased threefold, but the boats were still crowded.

Even the beggars in Hangzhou city became rich.

Wang Zhi felt that since they had just arrived in Hangzhou, they should show their kindness, so he ordered his men to give money to beggars whenever they saw them.

These pirates were generous and would give a small silver ingot to a beggar.

Wang Zhi lived in the Governor-General's Mansion of Zhejiang Province. Tea merchants, silk merchants, and porcelain merchants from Jiangnan vied with each other to pay him a visit.

People in the business world have sharp ears and eyes. The merchants already knew that it would not be long before the emperor issued an edict granting Wang Zhi the privilege of trading with the mainland.

When will it be better not to fawn over now?
The study room of the Governor's Palace.

Lin Shisan said with a smile: "Brother Hu, your Governor's Mansion is almost becoming a brokerage house or guild hall for merchants."

Hu Zongxian had a smile on his face: "This is a good thing. With the prosperity of maritime trade, the court will have a great source of income, and the people will also be able to benefit from it."

“Above all, trade is peace.”

"Once the imperial edict granting Wang Zhi the right to trade arrives, he will leave Hangzhou and return to his old lairs in Hirado Island and Matsuura. He will properly place the 40,000 to 50,000 Japanese pirates under his command."

"By then, the Japanese threat in the southeast will be completely quelled."

"Sugar and camphor from Southeast Asia, silver and firearms from the West will be shipped to the Ming Dynasty in shiploads. Silk, porcelain and tea from the Ming Dynasty will be shipped to the sea in shiploads."

When Hu Zongxian imagined the future, his voice trembled with excitement.

Lin Shisan cupped his hands and said, "I congratulate Brother Hu in advance for pacifying the southeast and making an unprecedented contribution."

At this moment, Zhejiang Governor Zheng Michang and Provincial Governor He Maocai hurried into the study. Both of them were staunch members of the Yan Party.

Zheng Michang bowed to Hu Zongxian and said, "Minister Hu. Oh? Lin Chuanfeng is here too. Something big has happened."

He Maocai was impatient. He shouted, "Hu Butang, Chun'an, Jiande and other eleven counties are experiencing autumn floods. The floods have submerged countless fertile fields."

Hu Zongxian was surprised: "What? What is the purpose of the river supervision office? This year I allocated so much money to the prefectures and counties below to manage the river, how come there is an autumn flood?"

"He Maocai, you said countless acres of fertile land were flooded. How many acres were there? How many victims were there?"

He Maocai was speechless: "Well, I haven't figured out the total number yet."

Hu Zongxian said: "You must follow me out of the city immediately to the affected counties. Disaster relief is like putting out a fire!"

He turned to Lin Shisan and said, "Stay in Hangzhou for a few more days and let Baiqi entertain you. I have to go to the disaster-stricken county immediately."

A wise man will make a mistake every time he thinks.

Hu Zongxian thought that the Japanese invasion in the southeast had been mostly resolved. The most important thing at the moment was disaster relief.

If he leaves, things will go badly!
(End of this chapter)