The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 167: Returning Home in Wealth (Two in One)

Jingtangzhai is located in the northeast of Jiaying Prefecture, which is slightly northeast of Meixian County in later generations.

Of the two main rivers in Jiaying Prefecture, Shiku Creek comes from the northwest and merges into Mei Creek at Jingtang. Because it is located at the confluence of two rivers, the history of Jingtang is even longer than that of the prefecture.

Jingtangzhai is actually a general term, because there are three villages along the river, all calling themselves Jingtangzhai.

Hundreds of people with the surnames Wen and Ye live in the three villages. For hundreds of years, the two surnames have lived together and have become inseparable, to the point where intermarriage is no longer possible within Jingtang Village.

Because of blood, they are really close.

It was a sunny day today, not too hot or too humid. Uncle San moved a small stool to the door of his house and gently massaged his cold legs.

Then, Uncle San saw a scene that made him collapse.

Several young boys blocked the water at the bend of Mei Creek and caught a huge black carp.

Then, not surprisingly, a conflict arose over the distribution of the spoils. The Wen children, who were older and stronger, immediately beat the Ye children until they screamed in pain.

Jiaying Prefecture is like this, with a large population and limited land, and it seems like there is always a shortage of food.

From babies drinking milk to old men about to be buried, everyone is constantly using all their strength to get a bite of food.

Such a big black carp, if used to make porridge, can feed seven or eight people for several days, so naturally we have to fight for it.

If Uncle San hadn't been unable to snatch it away due to his mobility issues, he would have already flown down to grab it.

Soon, the Ye family children, whose heads were covered with bruises, began to scream and cling to the Wen family children's thighs tightly, waiting for their own adults to arrive.

Then, the moment when Uncle San's vision went dark arrived. The adults of the Ye family had not returned from the fields, but a girl appeared, herding four or five black fat pigs.

She was very tall and ran very fast. Her two long white legs seemed to leave afterimages, and her roar was louder than that of a man.

The young woman dived into Mei Creek and swam to the river bank in a few seconds. Then she gathered her hair and tied it up with a faded red rope, then swung out with the bamboo stick in her hand.

There was a burst of crackling sounds, and three or four children of the Wen family, aged twelve or thirteen, were beaten and burst into tears.

When the Wen family children saw the strong men coming, they also started shouting frantically to get help.

But after a few seconds, the several young men from the Wen family who ran over were all knocked to the ground.

"Hahahaha!" Ye Xiaomei laughed loudly towards the sky, and her white thighs stepped on the chest of the eldest brother of the Wen family.

"You can just take the head of this herring. I'm going to take the belly back to make soup for my father."

After hearing this, Uncle San, who had just felt dizzy, suddenly felt a little better.

But immediately, he almost fainted again.

It turned out that after the girl swam to the other side of the river to "seek justice", the fat pigs he had released were left unattended and were running around happily.

Then, several black dogs suddenly appeared from nowhere, rushed out and bit the hind legs of a little fat pig.

Zhuzhu's screams were like a life-saving signal. Hearing it, Ye Xiaomei reached her hand into the big bluefish's mouth, grabbed its gills, and swam across the river quickly.

Then he pounced on the leading black dog and choked him with a naked choke, causing his legs to twitch.

The other dogs weighing thirty or forty kilograms were so frightened that they fled in panic, fearing that they would anger the tigress.

Uncle San closed his eyes sadly. He was a well-known old scholar in Jingtang Village!

Although he did not pass the examination to become a student, he was very good at teaching and educating people.

Among the children he taught over the past ten years, four passed the imperial examinations and he even taught one to become a juren.

Luo Fangbai of Shishanbao, who has recently become famous in Jiaying Prefecture, was also taught by his third uncle.

Among the children who started education with Uncle San back then, there was also a prominent figure in Jienan Palace like He Tonghua. Therefore, although Uncle San was in a miserable state, he had a great reputation and ambition.

Ye Xiaomei is the daughter that my third uncle had when he was 36 years old. He is extremely precious to her.

Although her family was not well off, her third uncle still let her study and learn calligraphy with him since she was a child. When she grew up, she had a beautiful appearance and was obviously a beauty at first sight.

Uncle San then started to think about educating his daughter well, letting her marry into a scholarly family in the future and give birth to a talented grandson.

In the future, his grandson will be promoted to the top of the Huangjia class by relying on his family background and his own strength, which will be the fulfillment of his uncle's long-cherished wish and a regret for him in this life.

But reality soon gave Uncle San two big slaps.

When his little daughter grew up, she would never bind her feet, even if she was beaten to death. If you dared to bind her feet, she would run away from home.

As for studying literature, like Xiang Yu, he did not seek to understand it deeply, but was very interested in wielding spears and sticks.

She has now trained to the point where men of the same age cannot defeat her unless they risk their lives.

In terms of personality, she doesn't have the slightest bit of a sweet girl. When it comes to quarreling, none of the dozens of middle-aged women in Jingtang Village can defeat her.

She is still pretty, but she is too tall. She is five feet two inches tall at the age of sixteen. Now her uncle is only as tall as his daughter's shoulders. There are few men in the whole Jingtang Village who are taller than her.

Uncle San was in despair. Which scholarly family would want such a Hakka woman with big feet who was full of fighting power, walked briskly, and was taller than a man!

Ye Xiaomei loosened her hand and saw that the big black dog was still twitching with its legs stretched out straight. She patted the dirt off its body with satisfaction.

To subdue such a fierce dog, ordinary sticks are completely ineffective. The best method is to clamp the dog's abdomen and strangle its neck with your arms.

This is the experience summed up by mountain people over thousands of years.

However, Ye Xiaomei was in trouble soon. She heard bursts of shouting and barking of dogs, and a dozen men in black holding bows and knives, along with a dozen dogs, chased after her.

The eldest son of the Wen family, who had just been knocked to the ground by Ye Xiaomei, was extremely smart. He immediately got up and ran into the village.

At a time when the Qing Dynasty was suppressing martial arts among the people, anyone who could hold a bow and a sword was definitely not an ordinary person.

A dozen people came over in a hurry and saw Ye Xiaomei standing there. Although her body was a little dirty, her beauty could not be concealed.

Everyone's eyes lit up. No one would be willing to marry such a tall girl, but she was still quite pleasing to the eye, and no one would refuse to play with her.

"Girl, you're in big trouble. Do you know what kind of dog this is? It's a top-tier Five Black Dog. Mr. Zhou spent a lot of money to buy it.

Hurry up and ask your father to come and compensate you. If he can’t afford it... Hehehe!"

Several lackeys immediately came forward with lewd smiles, their eyes scanning Ye Xiaomei like radar.

Although Ye Xiaomei is fierce, she is just a little girl after all. Several boys can see that the person has bad intentions and come forward to stand in front of Ye Xiaomei.

The tall and thin Master Zhou in the distance was not as arrogant as his subordinates. He often went hunting in the mountains, so he naturally knew how difficult it was to deal with these Gan people. Although this place was close to the provincial capital, the people there were also very tough.

But when he saw his big black dog, which was very useful for hunting, being strangled and urinating, he became angry again.

Moreover, today's game was organized by him, and there were friends from Guangzhou present, so he couldn't afford to lose face.

Sure enough, just when a few ignorant people from Guangzhou surrounded Ye Xiaomei and teased and beat up the young man who was standing in front of Ye Xiaomei.

There was a loud roar, and fifty or sixty people rushed out from the village below Jingtang as if a flood had broken through a dam.

There were men, women, young and old among them, with men in front and women behind. The men held hoes and dung forks in their hands, the women held kitchen knives and wooden sticks, and the boys held sharpened bamboo poles and bamboo spears.

When Ye Xiaomei saw her relatives coming, she suddenly kicked out with a powerful kick.

Suddenly, the man who was closest to him and was looking at her unscrupulously let out a shrill scream, suddenly covered his crotch, and fell to his knees on the ground with a thud. Like the big black dog who was still lying there, he began to twitch synchronously.

This time, it was like a battle horn. Young Master Zhou only heard a voice with an accent that he could not understand at all suddenly sounded, and stones flew all over the sky.

The guards around him turned pale as they looked at the swords in their hands. This thing looked good, but it was still inferior to long weapons like dung forks and harpoons.

Seeing that a big problem was about to happen, Master Zhou didn't care about anything else. He ordered a strong man beside him to rush forward, holding a waist badge and shouting:

"My parents, Lord Zhou and Young Master, are here. Who dares to act rashly?"

It turned out that this Mr. Zhou was the youngest son of Zhou Huaiji, the magistrate of Jiaying Prefecture.

The original policy of the Qing court was not to allow local officials to bring their wives and children to work.

However, Zhou Huaiji was already old and his serious illness relapsed at the beginning of the year. After Li Shiyao reported it, he allowed his son to come and serve him.

The Ye and Wen families who rushed back stopped their charge only when they heard that it was the prefect's son who was there.

Master Zhou and his men quickly snatched back the two young masters of wealthy merchants from Guangzhou. In just a short while, they had been beaten to the point of having bloody heads and bruises on their faces.

"Damn it, you troublemakers, how dare you hurt people without even asking?
You're so brave, Ah Si! Go and transfer the brothers from the left camp over here to rebel against them."

It was not only Master Zhou who felt humiliated, but also his new younger brother, the eldest son of Huang Youji, the guerrilla commander of the Left Camp of Chaozhou Town, the Green Camp.

Jiaying Prefecture is under the military jurisdiction of Chaozhou Town of the Green Camp, so this Mr. Huang can be regarded as a local big boss.

As the saying goes, people do not fight against officials, let alone this is the current official in charge. The Ye and Wen families looked at each other with panic expressions on their faces.

When Master Zhou saw these unruly people, he was frightened and could no longer suppress his anger.

The two wealthy merchants from Guangzhou who were beaten were his purses, and they were the ones who paid for his daily food, clothing, and expenses.

Now that I've been beaten like this, if I can't vent my anger, people will think I'm incompetent in the future. How can they still worship me like this?

"Captain Li, call over Tu Lao here, and have Inspector Zhao from the East Wing Fort bring over the archers and sharpshooters from the Inspection Office. Arrest all the troublemakers who assaulted anyone."

After saying this, Master Zhou pointed at Ye Xiaomei in the crowd and said, "This woman is the main culprit. She will be taken directly to the state jail!"

Ye Xiaomei's face turned pale in the crowd. It was the first time she had experienced such a scene, and the villagers in Jingtangxia Village around her were also frightened.

They were indeed fierce, but they were still very afraid of facing the real power of the government. This was not yet the chaotic time of the later Red Army Uprising.

Uncle San came crawling over with his old, cold legs, trying to gain some face by using his reputation as a scholar.

But Master Zhou, who had lost face, had his guards beat him aside without any hesitation.

Soon, the archers from the patrol station of Wan'an Du's East Wing Fort and the Green Camp soldiers from the town's left camp arrived.

At this time, the status of military personnel was extremely low. Whether they were regular Green Camp soldiers or patrol officers who supplemented the Green Camp and were similar to the armed police in later generations, they had to obey the orders of the county chief to a large extent and kowtowed when they met him. Therefore, at the command of the prefect, they came quickly and enthusiastically.

. . . .

More than ten people were detained in Jingtangxiazhai. All of them took off their shirts and knelt on the ground. Ye Xiaomei was also blocked in the house.

Two young men from Guangzhou with bloody heads and a big black dog that still couldn't stand up and run around, one man and three dogs were blocking the door.

The archers and Green Camp soldiers of the Inspection Office were very excited. This was a rare opportunity to catch these unruly people. Once they arrived, not only the people in the village would suffer, but the entire Jingtang Village would suffer.

These people don't have many opportunities to bully the people on a daily basis, but once they are out of the cage, they are like vicious dogs.

They don't despise the melons and two dates of the poor people who are looked down upon by the young masters.

For a while, Jingtang Village was in chaos. Tu Lao, who was in charge of Jingtang Village, bowed and kowtowed everywhere, but Master Zhou and the son of Huang Youji didn't even look at him.

The two young men from Guangzhou were howling loudly, but their eyes were fixed on the room where Ye Xiaomei was.

Ye Xianyang, Ye Laoliu and others looked at the scene in amazement. It was not that the prefect was outrageous, but Ye Xiaomei's performance just now that made them feel outrageous.

Ye Laoliu recalled the sturdy figure of Ye Xiaomei in his mind, and felt that his brain was almost not enough.

How did the younger sister of my third uncle change from a well-known beauty to what she is now?

When I was in Nanyang, I wanted to rush in, carry my little sister and run away. If I really did that, I would be like that big black dog, being strangled and rolling my eyes.

"Brother, this little sister is too fierce. Let's change someone." Ye Laoliu kept shaking his big head. He felt that she was unreliable.

But Ye Xianyang didn't think so. He chuckled and said, "I think my younger sister is a good fit. Longtou is such a hero, and it's the early days of his business. He has to fight all over the country. How can a woman who never leaves the house be able to serve such a hero?

Besides, in the hot and humid South Seas, where there are malaria epidemics, women with bound feet cannot stand the strong winds and waves, so how can they survive there?"

It has to be said that although Ye Xianyang had only been with Mo Zibu for a short time, he still had a clear idea of Mo Zibu's preferences in women.

He knew that Mo Dalongtou liked healthy, strong and heroic women, and he hated foot binding. It just so happened that most Hakka women had big feet, so Xiaomei was just right.

Moreover, Ye Xianyang pointed at what was happening in Jingtang Village and said, "You and I, brothers, were worried about not being able to make a splash when we returned home. Now, isn't this a godsend? It will solve the problem of Jingtang Village and make us famous."

After saying that, Ye Xianyang gently kicked his horse's belly, and walked straight to the gate of the village with a few brothers from the tribe, carrying swords and knives.

"Where did this noble man come from? Why is he so angry? Is there a civil uprising?"

Master Zhou turned around and saw that several men on yellow horses were riding towards him slowly and in a swaggering manner.

It is obvious that this yellow horse is not a draft horse used to pull a cart, but a real horse used for transportation. Moreover, there are long steel knives hanging on both sides of the yellow horse.

The pupils of Huang Youji's son shrank. He was a connoisseur of the goods. He immediately came to Mr. Zhou and whispered a reminder:

"Brother Zhou, the Guangdong Green Camp has no cavalry. All war horses are controlled by the garrisoned bannermen.

These horses don't look like ordinary horses. The ones on the market aren't this tall or this strong. They look more like the horses that the bannermen steed."

When he heard that they were Bannermen, Master Zhou was stunned, but then he realized that the Bannermen could not even leave the city of Guangzhou, let alone come to Jiaying Prefecture. These people must have obtained the Bannermen's war horses from some channel.

However, being able to get war horses from the bannermen, even if it doesn't mean he has connections, he must be from a very prominent background.

But not everyone has such keen eyesight. The inspector specially transferred from the outer capital by Master Zhou rode his mule and went to meet them with a few soldiers.

The inspector had no psychological burden as he could please the prefect's son without harming his fellow villagers.

But when he drew out his sword, a flintlock pistol with a butt made of fine pearwood and a barrel made of fine steel was pressed against his forehead.

"When did the people from Dongxiang Fort dare to interfere in the affairs of our Bingcun Fort?

You're just an inspector, yet you dare leave your defense zone without a transfer order? Don't you want to keep your head?"

The inspector was stunned for a moment, and then cold sweat broke out.

It is indeed an iron rule that inspectors cannot leave their station without permission, but how many people abide by it now? Besides, with the prefect's son here, the inspectors did not think there was any problem before.

However, if the person on the other side was also an official, and the truth was revealed, it would be enough to make him, a small inspector, suffer a lot.

The inspector suddenly felt a little dizzy. With the flintlock pistol pointing at his head, he didn't dare to move. He could only grin and force an ugly smile.

"I don't know where you are from, sir. Master Zhou of this state is here. Please give me some respect."

When Master Zhou behind heard this, his cheeks twitched with anger. He was the son of the prefect, not the prefect.

Such a big fuss has been made today. If it was just to punish a few ordinary people, it would be fine. But if an official really came, the matter could be big or small. How can we easily report his name?

Master Zhou shrank back and signaled Huang Youzi's son to come forward with his eyes.

But he was overthinking it. There would be no fool who could be in the Green Camp in a place like Guangdong.

When Huang Youju's son saw the soldiers and horses coming out of the city from the opposite side, he saw that they had flintlock muskets that were worth a fortune and that the imperial court did not allow the Green Camp to have.

He immediately thought that it was a big shot from the Eight Banners stationed there on official business, so he didn't dare to go forward and completely ignored the look in Zhou Gongzi's eyes.

It has been almost four months since Ye Xianyang came back, but he did not return directly to Jiaying Prefecture. This was Mo Zibu's instruction.

They can only return home after Lin Tong opens up the way to the highest level and allows Li Shiyao to feel at ease and cooperate with He Xian.

Otherwise, there is no need to go home and take care of a few small things. If you want to do something, you have to take advantage of the time when Li Shiyao or even Qianlong asks Hexian for help and make a big one.

At least tens of thousands of people will be mobilized to go to Southeast Asia this year.

So during these four months, seven or eight people were sent back to recruit people, first following Lin Tong and then following Wu Shiying.

Lin Tong and Wu Shiying met important figures such as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, the Governor of Guangdong, the General of Guangdong, and the leader of the Thirteen Hongs.

They saw that their advisors, attendants, and Goshaha had finally found a way out.

They only started to act when they heard the news that Emperor Qianlong had rewarded Ou Tianci.

"I haven't been back home for a long time, and I've heard that Zhou's parents are great officials. Young Master Zhou, aren't you afraid that the adults will find out about this?"

Of course, Ye Xianyang also investigated Zhou Huaiji, the magistrate of Jiaying Prefecture. Although he was still a little far from being an upright official, he was indeed a relatively clean official.

At this time in the Qing Dynasty, Heshen had not yet come to power. Although the administration of officials had begun to deteriorate rapidly, it was still barely holding up in key provinces such as Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Master Zhou's face turned cold. This was exactly what he feared the most. If this got to his father's ears, it would be disastrous.

Ye Xianyang retracted his flintlock pistol and slapped the inspector in front of him aside.

Then he took the barrel of the pistol and handed it to the son of Huang Youji under the watchful eyes of dozens of soldiers.

"Ye Moufang has just returned from the provincial capital and hasn't had time to pay a visit to Mr. Huang. This Western English Haskins self-fired musket is a gift to you.

The next day, I would like to invite your father to come to Plum Tower to show his respect."

At that time, this flintlock pistol was not cheap on the mainland and could even be seen as a symbol of status. Without certain financial resources and channels, it was impossible to buy it.

Meilou is the best restaurant in Jiaying Prefecture. A good meal here would cost at least five taels of silver, which is enough for a poor family of five to live frugally for a year.

When Huang Youzhi's son saw this move and heard Meilou's words, he accurately realized that this uninvited guest must have something to do and wanted to get through the hands of these Green Camp soldiers, so he immediately ignored Master Zhou.

Before, you had to curry favor with him because he was the prefect's son and now he is in charge.

Now that a powerful person has come, who would still support such a young girl from Jiangnan?

"Okay, okay. I won't bother you anymore. I'll go back and tell my father."

After saying this, Master Huang Youji clapped his hands. Twenty or so Green Camp soldiers were reluctant but also reluctant to part with the property they had just obtained.

When Ye Xianyang saw it, he casually swung his hand, and a silver ingot worth five taels flew out and landed accurately in the hands of the Green Camp captain.

"I'm sorry for the slow treatment today. I'll give you some money for tea and wine."

The Green Camp soldiers were all grinning from ear to ear, saying auspicious words one after another, and quickly put down the sheep they were holding, the pigs they were holding, the chickens, ducks, bacon, etc. they were carrying, and walked away with smiles on their faces.

As soon as these people left, Master Zhou was at a loss.

He was a foreigner who had only been in Jiaying Prefecture for half a year. Now that the Green Camp soldiers had left, the inspector, having been slapped in the face, obviously did not dare to step forward.

Master Zhou suddenly felt that his title as the prefect was not so useful.

Ye Xianyang walked over slowly, passing by the chiefs and dignitaries who had followed Mo Zibu to defeat the Sultan of Kelantan, became a member of the Zhaogong Council in Pattani, and met many dignitaries in Guangzhou City whom he had never thought of before.

In addition, this person is very martial arts-savvy. He went to Southeast Asia and saw a lot of fighting and killing. His momentum has risen. It should not be too easy for him to control a half-baked person like Mr. Zhou.

He walked over and pushed away Li Bantou, who was pretending to stop him, and said, "Mr. Zhou, I heard that the prefect has been ill, and the court has specially sympathized with you and asked you to come to his knees to show your filial piety.

Great! Is this how you show filial piety?
Do you think that today's incident only reached the ears of the prefect, and you were just scolded by your father?

No, no, no! You're going out hunting when your father is seriously ill. You're being unfilial, extremely unfilial.

I guess, if this matter gets out, Governor Li will definitely send someone to greet you.

He reported you as a filial son. If you are unfilial, wouldn't it mean that the governor doesn't know how to judge people?"

Li Bantou, who was standing next to Master Zhou, suddenly felt his legs go weak and he fell to the ground.

Master Zhou was covered in cold sweat and his body began to tremble slightly.

At this time, he was doomed to be labeled as an unfilial son.

"Hahahaha!" Ye Xianyang laughed loudly towards the sky. What a pleasant surprise!

Zhou Huaiji, the magistrate of Jiaying Prefecture, was honest and old-fashioned, and bribery was simply not an option for him. Now this Mr. Zhou had personally handed the evidence to him, and it was really effortless for him to get it.

Uncle San, who was kneeling on the ground and begging with tears just now, looked up in surprise. He looked at the strong man who was laughing towards the sky and felt that he seemed very familiar.

It seems that he is the second eldest brother of the small clan in Caotang. Didn’t he go to Southeast Asia to seek food? How come he seems to have become a big shot?

(End of this chapter)