Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Duo'er and her team traveled along this route, dawdling along the way, until the end of April when they finally managed to reach Guanling Mountain Village, located at the intersection of Shaoxing and Zhou'er Road, to rest.

This fortress was first built during the Guangde period of the Tang Dynasty. It was constructed by government troops during their campaign against Yuan Huang and included a post station.

Today, the Tang Dynasty fortresses have long since been destroyed, leaving only a patrol station and post station built on the site of the Tang fortress.

Duo'er's post station received Qian Yanshou, the chief of the state road, as well as Li Daweng, Cai Ersi, and others who had come to the station.

The tea at the post station was terrible, with a strange taste. Duo'er didn't say anything, but his followers, taking advantage of the situation, went to threaten the post station officer. "The post station officer has run away," a simple-minded postman replied. "Guanling Post Station hasn't had an officer for three months, and the money is almost gone. If there's no officer soon, we'll all perish next month."

The attendant was taken aback and asked, "Why haven't we received any official appointments in three months?"

The station keeper replied, "I've checked every wealthy household within a radius of dozens of miles, and they've all been ruined. No one wants to be a station official anymore." The attendant was speechless with anger. After looking the station keeper up and down, he noticed the patchwork of patches on his clothes and had nothing more to say.

Just then, Qian Yanshou gave a signal, and Li Daweng instructed his nephew Huang Jing to take out a pound of Dragon and Phoenix Tea, borrow a tea cauldron from the stationkeeper, and start a fire to brew the tea. A moment later, the tea was ready and served.

Duo'er picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and smiled, praising, "Not bad."

Qian Yanshou and Li Daweng exchanged a glance, secretly thinking that they had taken the right first step.

"If you like it, Councilor, here are two more catties, I'll present them to you as well." Qian Yanshou handed over a gift list and said with a smile, "It's a good way to relieve fatigue and relax after a long day of paperwork."

"How could I accept this?" Duo'er said, but slowly took the gift list. After a quick glance, she gasped for breath. Cai Ersi watched from the side, feeling both gratified and heartbroken.

To this day, he still doesn't know what his brother has been doing in the past year or two, or what their purpose is.

More than half of the wealth obtained from attacking merchant ships at sea and robbing wealthy households on land was used to feed the officials of the prefecture and several Wanhu Prefectures. Now, with the arrival of the Duoerzhiban, most of the wealth has been lost.

As for the ordinary pirates, fishermen, salt producers, and civilians who followed them, they could only get some coarse goods and grain.

What a mess! In the end, the corrupt officials get the most money without contributing anything. If this continues, they might as well raise pirates; that would be a much faster way to make money.

"The chaos isn't entirely beyond redemption." After reading the report, Duo'er's smile widened, and her voice became more amiable. "The Grand Duke has been working tirelessly for the country. You have also contributed to the pacification of the chaos."

"I dare not take credit, I dare not take credit," Li Daweng said with a smile.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

Duo'er smiled and brushed the matter aside, then asked, "Fang Guozhen has committed many treasonous acts. Doesn't he have even the slightest remorse? It's utterly absurd."

"Reporting to the Councilor," Qian Yanshou said from the side, "Fang Guozhen has fled to the sea out of fear of punishment, and even his family has moved away." "Oh? So stubborn?" Although Duoerzhiban was determined to fight against the barbarians, he did not expect Fang Guozhen to be so tactless, not even thinking of bribing him. What else was there to say?

"This scoundrel is truly depraved," Qian Yanshou said. "The Chen family tycoon who recently reported him was the former owner of the Fang family. When the Fang family fell into decline, the Chen family tycoon rented land to them, which was very kind. However, Guozhen was too outrageous, and the Chen family tycoon couldn't stand it anymore. He publicly denounced Guozhen's family for having problems with their conduct, and said that the Fang family father and sons were beasts. He came forward to report their various illegal activities and drew a clear line between them."

"Such a thing has happened! It seems Fang Guozhen has truly gone mad. While the troublemakers may escape punishment, Guozhen cannot." Duo'erzhiban, with an air of righteous indignation, asked, "Where is Fang Guozhen?"

"I heard he fled to Dongzhenshan Island in the Dachen Ocean," Qian Yanshou said. "Before I came here, I heard that the General Administration sent men to the island, but they were captured by Guozhen's troops, tied up, and sent back to the shore. This man is determined not to repent."

Duo'er snorted coldly and said, "If that's the case, then let's not hold back. First, we should cut off Guozhen's allies on the shore, and then we should recruit those among Guozhen's troops who still have a conscience, allowing them to come ashore without punishment. After doing this, the bandits will surely become suspicious of each other. At this time, we can then dispatch the navy and capture them in one battle."

"Your insightful opinion on politics is excellent," Qian Yanshou said immediately.

Duo'er was overjoyed to be flattered like this, thinking to herself that going against the barbarians was definitely the right thing to do. Not only would she gain the palace's favor, but she would also be rolling in money. This trip was definitely worth it.

After spending the night at Guanling Post Station, the group continued south.

This time, there was no delay. We quickened our pace and finally arrived in the prefecture on the seventh day of the fifth month.

At this time, all the local officials in the state, from the governor and darughachi down to the military officers from the commanders and deputy commanders down, were eating lavishly, most of which were generous gifts sent by Cai Luantou who had emptied his savings.

Fang Guozhen's men were also trying to make a last-minute effort to bribe officials, but after a few were arrested, the rest gave up.

The Fang family's residence, farmland, orchards, vegetable plots, mulberry groves, fishponds, shops, and other real estate are all on the shore, and the people are already discussing how to distribute them.

As for the salt fields on Wen'er Road, they were highly sought after. Officials couldn't manage them themselves, but there were always speculators willing to take the gamble, sharing profits with the officials and acting as their agents. Of course, most powerful local tycoons were still observing and waiting for the situation to become clearer before they would enter the market.

Dorjee keenly sensed what everyone was thinking, but he didn't care; he was there to join them...

Dongzhenshan Island is not completely isolated from outside information.

In fact, Fang Guozhen had been operating in Wenzhou for several years and had quite a few spies hidden in various prefectures and counties. Moreover, the coastline here was very long and the terrain was very complex, so it was not difficult to use small boats to send messages and transport supplies back and forth.

On the tenth day of the fifth month, he received news from the city: Duerzhiban, the Vice Minister of the Jiangzhe Province, had arrived in the city and ordered the pacification of Cai Luantou, promising him to repent and return to the right path.

All his subordinates were also pardoned and allowed to return home, to be placed under the management of the local wards and townships, and to make a living on their own and not to cause trouble again—but they had to be available for government summons at any time, which was also a major condition.

In this way, Cai's gang of bandits, who had been ravaging the coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang for nearly two years, and the government each took a step back. In name, it was an offer of amnesty, but in reality, it was a reconciliation, just like Li Daweng back then.

The people gathered on Dongzhenshan Island were not too discouraged upon hearing this; in fact, they felt it was a viable alternative.

That's all the government can do. If you beat them badly, they'll end up having to find a way to get under your control.

However, he would still have to suffer some losses in the end.

The contracted salt fields will most likely be sold off, and even if they can be taken back in the future, it will take time.

The officials have swallowed up the fields, houses, and shops; can they possibly return them? It's highly unlikely.

The war resulted in casualties, and compensation payments were necessary, which was no small sum. In short, it was a huge financial drain, and hopefully, some of the losses could be recouped through looting.

In this process, the biggest beneficiaries are none other than the corrupt officials!

However, they are far too confident!

Do you really think I'm a kind and easy-going businessman who makes money easily, unlike the infamous Cai Luan Tou?

If Cai can rebel, why can't I?

Fang Guozhen's face grew increasingly angry. He walked down the cliff in a huff and went to the village to visit his father.

His patience was almost completely worn out.

My father had been pampered since childhood, but the family fortunes declined in middle age, forcing him to take on heavy responsibilities, renting land and raising his five brothers. This caused him to develop health problems, and his condition deteriorated rapidly after this shock.

Previously, someone gossiped that someone from the shore came over and mentioned that while Chen Tong had filed a lawsuit against the Fang family, he also fabricated stories about Fang Boqi being dishonest when he was renting their land, stealing chickens and dogs, slandering others, and being hated by gods and ghosts.

Somehow, her father found out about it, and he was so angry that he vomited blood and became bedridden, seemingly with little time left. This was also a major reason why Fang Guozhen had been in a bad mood recently.

After a few quick steps back to the mountain stronghold, his second brother, Fang Guozhang, came to greet him and whispered, "Father is... he's about to die..."

Fang Guozhen's expression changed, and she rushed into the house, squatting down in front of her father's bed.

Fang Boqi had already fallen into a coma, without any movement, only a faint breath remained.

The Fang brothers gathered around. Fang Guozhang was alright, but Guoying and Guomin's eyes were red and they were on the verge of tears.

Fang Guozhen gradually calmed down. He knew that he was still the one who had to take charge of the family.

"Don't go anywhere these next few days." After taking a deep breath, Fang Guozhen slowly stood up, looked at his three brothers, and said, "Make sure your men are well-coordinated with them, and don't let anyone become an inside agent for the government."

Fang Guozhang responded.

"Send someone to Wenzhou and call all the men and boats over," Fang Guozhen continued. "Send people to Ninghai and Shitang as well. Don't hide them. Bring your boats, equipment, and provisions, and gather here to await orders."

As Fang Guozhang responded, he couldn't help but ask, "Third brother, have you really made up your mind?"

When asked this question, Fang Guozhen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let's gather everyone here first."

"Yes," Fang Guozhang replied.

At the same time, he was also very clear that even though he had been forced to this point, even though his father was almost driven to death by anger, and even though many people suggested that they might as well rebel, his third brother still left room for maneuver. He wanted to reconcile with the government, wanted the government to deal with Shao Shuyi in western Zhejiang first, wanted to develop peacefully, and made full preparations before making any further plans—clearly, this plan did not include rebellion. Even if they did rebel, it would be to negotiate for amnesty, including this time. He knew his younger brother too well.

Of course, he didn't object to doing so. Judging from the situation in Jiangnan, even if they rebelled, they could only defeat the government troops and wouldn't be able to occupy much territory. At best, they could quickly enter and exit, grab a quick loot after breaching the city, and leave.

On May 15th, Fang Boqi breathed his last and passed away on the island.

Fang Guozhen continued to gather ships and people, and by that day, the number had reached more than 200 ships and nearly 2,000 people.

On May 16, Fang Guozhen, wearing a mourning cap, ordered a reward to be offered for the heads of Chen Tong and Li Daweng, with a reward of a thousand ingots of silver for whoever brought them to justice.

At the same time, ships were dispatched to sail upstream along the Chengjiang River, causing great alarm in Huangyan Prefecture and Linhai County, who all claimed that the "sea spirits" had rebelled.

Even now, Fang Guozhen has not openly raised the banner of rebellion, but almost everyone believes he has rebelled...