Chapter 581 If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach?
(Thanks to Shuangluofenglinzui for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
A day later, Li Shiyue received a reply from Yan Jiuniang.
The letter was very long.
Yan Jiuniang first gave a detailed reply about the situation in Jiangnan.
"...Your concerns in October were absolutely correct; chaos has indeed begun to appear in Jiangnan."
Not only grain prices, but also the prices of cloth, medicine and even ironware have been rising steadily.
The area along the Kyoto Canal was far from peaceful, with bandits gradually emerging.
Local powerful families seem to be keeping slaves and expanding their guardhouses, which the government is unable to control.
The celestial signs still indicate a severe drought, and there is a risk of famine next year.
The matter of 'Yongning'...
Then, Yan Jiuniang readily agreed to Li Shiyue's request in her letter.
[...intending to borrow ships to annihilate the bandits, how magnificent!]
Although I am a merchant, I know the principle that if the skin is gone, what will the hair cling to?
Apart from the small boats necessary for maintaining short-distance freight along the coast, I have a total of eighteen ocean-going vessels of various sizes, all of which are available for you to rent!
Skilled crew members can also accompany the ship; they are all familiar with the sea conditions and may be of assistance to you.
I hope that in October we will make good use of it, to spread the glory of our Han people at sea, and to ensure the safety of our fleet.
The rent will be as you stated, in Haiyan...
At the end of the letter, Yan Jiuniang solemnly reminded everyone again: "Chaos is coming, and food is the lifeline."
In October in Jian'an, we must spare no effort to stockpile grain, train elite troops, and firmly grasp our swords; only then can we secure our survival!
After reading the letter, Li Shiyue felt reassured, and a surge of pride welled up within her.
Eighteen ocean-going ships!
With the two ships that the garrison already has, she can borrow ten or eight more from the wealthy families in Jian'an City and quickly build a fleet of more than thirty ships!
Although her core combat force still consists of the three "Wavebreakers" she acquired through trading from the system, the carrying capacity and deterrent power of these thirty-odd seagoing vessels are now vastly different from what they were before!
"Sun Xiaoliu! Chen Yong!" Li Shiyue gave the order in a loud voice.
"Your subordinate is here!" Sun Xiaoliu and Chen Yong responded and entered.
"The Yan family's fleet will arrive in Jian'an soon."
Issue the order: The entire army must intensify its training! Especially the soldiers' swimming skills, archery accuracy, and boarding maneuvers!
We will continue to recruit fishermen familiar with the seas as guides and sailors. Once selected, each person will receive five taels of silver as an initial payment!
At this point, Li Shiyue looked down at the huge nautical chart, then looked up at Sun Xiaoliu: "Xiaoliu, you are in charge of receiving the Yan family's fleet and properly settling the skilled men who came with the ships."
These ships will be incorporated into our military fleet for necessary maintenance and combat readiness modifications!
"Chen Yong, select some more skilled swimmers, bold and meticulous men from the Xuanjia Army and Zhenjun Army, and assign them to the newly arrived Fujian ships to form the assault vanguard!"
We must achieve combat readiness as quickly as possible!
"Yes!" The two men accepted the order, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
They knew that Li Shiyue was about to make a big move!
The entire Jian'an naval port, like a giant war machine, began to operate at high speed under Li Shiyue's orders.
Li Shiyue sent people to the eleven wealthy merchants in Jian'an City to ask to borrow their boats, and not a single one of them said "no" on the spot.
After all, Zhou Deyong, the first person to try to escape after Cai Hua's death, couldn't even get out of his own back door before being stopped by Sun Xiaoliu.
Now is not the time for these wealthy merchants to say "no"; they can only obediently comply.
Meanwhile, Li Shiyue's "salt drying method" truly produced warehouse after warehouse of pure white sea salt on the beach.
In fact, the first batch of sea salt sold to Yan Jiuniang has already been received.
All merchants are after is money.
Li Shiyue had soldiers under his command, was bold, and could even lead them to make money;
At the same time, as long as you obediently listen to Li Shiyue, you won't die;
As long as you don't provoke Li Shiyue, you can live!
Not only can they survive, they can live well!
Therefore, the merchants were able to borrow the ship very easily.
Furthermore, wealthy merchants like Li Yu, who were optimistic about Li Shiyue, secretly sent boxes of silver to the governor's mansion!
When Zhou Deyong, who was sitting at home sighing and complaining, heard the news, he was so angry that he slammed his hand on the high table next to him, making the teacups on the table rattle loudly.
Zhou Deyong's chest heaved, and it took him a long time to catch his breath.
He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Li Yu, that old fox!"
They are adept at changing their stance depending on the wind and flattering others!
He had gotten close to Cai Hua when he was in power, and now that he saw that the female demon was powerful, he rushed to give her money again!
This has truly disgraced the merchants of Jian'an!"
Zhou Deyong cursed fiercely, but his face was full of anxiety and helplessness.
After pacing back and forth in his study for a while, thinking it over and over in his mind, Zhou Deyong finally stopped, let out a long sigh, and left.
Circumstances are beyond our control!
Cai Hua's head is still hanging at the town's military gate as a warning, and Huang Wanchang even sacrificed the lives of his entire family of over thirty people.
Not to mention Zhao Liangfu, who had provoked Li Shiyue earlier, and died that very day.
Li Shiyue held military power and acted ruthlessly and decisively.
But then they came up with that ridiculous "salt drying method," which has put a strain on everyone's wallets.
With the support of the Prince of Zhenbei... Jian'an is no longer something that these local bullies can control.
"That's enough, that's enough!"
Zhou Deyong seemed to have all his strength drained away, and slumped back into his chair. He weakly waved his hand at the butler who stood by with his hands at his sides, "Go, open my private treasury, count...count the cash, and pack two chests of it..."
No, pack three boxes!
"Hurry! While it's getting dark, get him to the governor's mansion!"
The steward was taken aback, and hesitated before saying, "My lord, didn't we already..."
"What do you know!"
Zhou Deyong interrupted the butler impatiently, "If Li Yu has given it, the Wang and Zhang families will definitely receive their share too!"
If we don't send any gifts, or send too few, what will that female demon think of us?
Wouldn't that make her think that my Zhou family is dissatisfied with her?
She's desperately short of money right now, so she's probably just using my Zhou family to establish her authority!
"Am I to let my Zhou family's vast fortune be ruined by such a small amount of money?"
The more Zhou Deyong spoke, the more convinced he became of it, and his tone grew urgent: "Go quickly!"
Prepare another gift list, and be respectful in your words. Say...say that I, Zhou Deyong, am deeply grateful to General Li for his hard work in suppressing bandits and defending against invaders for the people of Jian'an, and therefore offer some of my family's wealth to help with military expenses, as a token of my sincere gratitude!
Seeing that Zhou Deyong had made up his mind, the steward dared not say anything more and quickly bowed and withdrew to make arrangements.
The study fell silent again. Zhou Deyong stood alone, gazing at the setting sun outside the window, his expression complex.
He was certainly afraid, and of course he didn't want to spend money for nothing. He had no choice but to do this, and it was all for the sake of the Zhou family.
But Zhou Deyong calmed down and thought it over carefully. Since Li Shiyue came to Jian'an, although he used ruthless methods, he had wiped out corrupt officials like Huang Wanchang and Cai Hua who colluded with Japanese pirates and sold innocent people.
But everything Li Shiyue did was for the sake of Jian'an.
Today, the port is busier than ever, and fishermen dare to go out to sea with peace of mind. The salt fields yield a bountiful harvest, bringing in countless sums of money...
More importantly, once the mound of kyō (a type of Japanese pyramid) was erected on Tsushima Island, the Japanese pirates indeed dared not approach the shore to plunder for a long time.
The Zhou family's merchant ships have been operating much more steadily lately.
"If she could really use this money to raise an army, kill a few more Japanese pirates, and bring complete peace to this sea route..."
Zhou Deyong sat in his chair and muttered to himself, a complex expectation rising within him, "Perhaps... this money wasn't wasted."
Zhou Deyong thought to himself—at least, this money is much better than feeding it to Cai Hua, that stupid fool who only knows how to embezzle and exploit!
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