Chapter 112 Where to stay?
Zhou Yunshu and her group left Luzhou and headed for Haizhou, passing through Tingzhou on the way.
If you walk eastward through half of Tingzhou, you will reach Haizhou, which is on the coast.
Although Tingzhou was also affected by the drought, it was not as serious as Luzhou. Except for the fact that there were a lot of victims when we first entered Tingzhou, the further we went into Tingzhou, the fewer victims there were and the more smiles we saw on the people.
In fact, the people are very easy to satisfy. As long as you can keep them alive and keep them well fed and clothed, they will be more obedient than anyone else.
As soon as we entered Haizhou, we were struck by the tough folk customs that were completely different from those in Tingzhou.
Of course, this toughness is only relative to the people in inland areas such as Tingzhou. In Zhou Yunshu's eyes, their toughness only means that they are more independent, self-reliant, and opinionated than ordinary people.
After all, in Haizhou where the government is unreliable and there are too many local tyrants, it would be difficult to survive on this land if you are not tough.
After Zhou Yunshu and his group entered Haizhou, they temporarily settled in Hehua County.
Hehua County is located on the westernmost side of Haizhou, and it takes about half a month by horseback to reach the easternmost coastline.
They settled here temporarily to discuss where to go next and where to settle in Haizhou.
On the round table in the upper room of the inn, there was a map outlining the general topography of Haizhou as well as cities, towns and villages.
Zhou Yunshu spent two hundred taels of silver to buy this map from a escort team in Haizhou.
This map was produced by their escort team after traveling all over Haizhou for twenty years. It even shows inhabited islands on the east coast that are relatively close to Haizhou.
This map is said to be a family heirloom of this escort agency. If their chief manager had not been injured and saved by Doctor Xue, the agency would not have sold the map for 500 taels, let alone 200 taels.
Even if it was sold to Zhou Yunshu, he repeatedly warned her not to tell anyone else about it, otherwise it would definitely attract the attention of the government and be snatched away by the local tyrants in Haizhou.
There is no grabbing without any reward.
In modern terms, whoever owns the map has a God's perspective.
"The five cities in northern Haizhou are the most controlled by the government, but they are not the safest."
Uncle He pointed to the six cities under government control and said, "Yizhong, Yibei, Yinan, Kai'an, Huishui, and Jiangzhong, under the He family, are the most populous and economically developed in Haizhou, especially Jiangzhong."
Uncle He pointed to the river closest to the sea on the map, then to the red dot in it. "There's a Xinyue Port in the middle of the river. It has now almost replaced the Longyue Port controlled by the government in northern Haizhou and become the largest port in Haizhou."
"It can be said that the He family is the largest and richest local tyrant in the entire Haizhou."
Zhou Yunshu, hearing this familiar surname and Uncle He's talk about the He family, asked the common question in the minds of the others around the table: "Uncle He, is this He family your family?"
When they met He Wenyuan, he was working as an accountant for the Red Lotus Sect in Wolong Mountain. He said that both his parents had passed away and he had no relatives at home. But when they heard him talk about the He family of Haizhou, they always felt that there was some connection between them.
"Out of the fifth generation of mourning, I am no longer considered a member of the He family."
After Uncle He finished saying this, the people around him showed an expression of "as expected".
"Because I'm quite familiar with the He family, I suggest that if you simply want to find a place to settle down and live as an honest citizen, then you can survive in the area controlled by the He family, even if it's a bit hard."
But Uncle He knew that this was not what Zhou Yunshu wanted, so he continued: "But if you want to develop your own power and gain a foothold in Haizhou, I suggest you go here."
Uncle He moved his finger to the southernmost part of Haizhou.
He drew a circle in the void, which could be said to be the largest circle in Haizhou, occupying almost one-third of Haizhou.
"There's no big leader here. There are plenty of local tyrants, but they're all weak." Uncle He pointed at the He family's sphere of influence and the lowest part of Haizhou and said, "If it weren't for the intense internal strife within the He family in recent years, they would definitely have found a way to take over this area."
Zhou Yunshu didn't express her opinion immediately. She pointed to two areas in the heart of Haizhou that Uncle He hadn't pointed out and said, "I heard that the two biggest local tyrants on these two sides are named Jiang and Wu."
Uncle He nodded. "The Jiang family has the support of the King of Huainan. Although they own Haizhou, they never interfere in Haizhou's affairs. The Wu family is a bandit family, making a living by robbing and pillaging. Although their reputation is bad, they are very effective. They will do anything for money, and of course they can turn their backs on you in the blink of an eye for money."
After listening to Uncle He's words, Zhou Yunshu looked towards the large area in the southernmost part. "Do you know anything about the local tyrants here?"
"Those local tyrants I knew three years ago may not still be the same people now. That's why I recommended you go to the south. There are more forces mixed together, and there's plenty of time for us to grow."
What Uncle He said was from the bottom of his heart, but words from the heart may not be listened to by anyone.
He just told what he knew. As for whether Zhou Yunshu would adopt it or not, that was up to him. But he had a hunch that Zhou Yunshu would choose the place he recommended.
"What do you think?" Zhou Yunshu asked the others at the table.
"I'll listen to the boss!" Hu Zi was confused, but he knew it was right to listen to Zhou Yunshu.
Shopkeeper Liang's eyes were fixed on the Crescent Harbor beside the river. He said, "I think whether we settle in the He family's sphere of influence or on the south side of Haizhou, it's best to be close to the harbor."
"The existence of a port means there is trade. There are many fleets coming and going, many merchants, and many people." It will be convenient to do business here in the future.
Yan Shilei pointed to the Yuling Mountains on the south side of Haizhou and said, "Beichuan's location is also good. It's close to the mountains. Whether it's a year of disaster or famine, you'll never starve to death with the mountains behind you."
Just like their previous village was backed by Anshan Mountain, people in other places could not survive, but they could always survive by going into the mountains.
"Besides, there is the Yudai River on the left and the Chuan River on the right. There is plenty of water and there will be no water shortage." The more Yan Shilei spoke, the more he felt it was suitable.
Zhou Yunshu nodded.
Feng Xujie looked at Zhou Yunshu, then at the map on the table. After thinking for a while, he said, "Third sister, although the location we choose doesn't have to be by the sea, wouldn't it be better if it's closer to the sea?"
If his third sister wanted to help him take back the fleet, he definitely couldn't stay too far away from the fleet.
Zhou Yunshu looked at the map on the table, and after looking around, she finally locked onto a place.
She pointed her finger at the map on the table and said to the people around her, "Let's go here, Dongchuan."
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