vstars Chapter 211 Three Women Travel to Lingao City
Chapter 211 Three Women Travel to Lingao City
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Zheng Zhilong's eyes lit up: "Brother, you mean... Liu Xiang and the Dutch are teaming up against us? Should we fight them together?"
Zheng Zhilong shook his head: "It's not good to make too many enemies. The fact that the Dutch haven't broken ties with us means they have their own concerns. Let's pretend we don't know anything and attack Liu Xiang first."
Zheng Zhihu retorted, "Are we just going to let that red-haired devil go like this?"
"The red-haired devil is playing dumb now, pushing Liu Xiang forward as cannon fodder. Let's take care of Liu Xiang first. Once we're free, we'll naturally take care of the red-haired devil too."
Zheng Zhiwan tentatively asked, "What about the Qiongzhou camp... should we bring them over to fight Liu Xiang and Hong Mao together?" After all, the two sides had reached a verbal alliance, so bringing them over to fight together seemed reasonable.
"No." Zheng Zhilong was very firm. "We'll deal with Liu Xiang alone. We don't need any help. Fujian is our territory, and we can't let others touch it. It's easy to invite a god in, but hard to send him away. Those guys from the Qiongzhou Camp are no pushovers..."
He said to Zheng Zhiwan, "Go to Qiongzhou again and urge them to hurry up with that batch of cannons. We have already paid the deposit in full. We agreed to send the cannons to Fujian in the spring, but it's already the beginning of spring and there's still no sign of them."
Zheng Zhiwan agreed, then asked worriedly, "Won't the Qiongzhou camp take the money and not deliver the goods?"
Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu, who had both been wearing stern faces, burst into laughter upon hearing this. Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "No one has ever dared to embezzle my money, at least not in the waters off Fujian and Guangdong. If the Qiongzhou Camp is truly blinded by greed and dares to steal even our money, I will blockade the port of Lingao and prevent them from going to sea! The Qiongzhou Camp may be strong on land, but at sea, we still call the shots."
Zheng Zhihu licked his lips: "I don't like that group of people, especially that guy surnamed Liu. But their cannons are really good. Just thinking about using them to bombard that son of a bitch Liu Xiang makes me feel all comfortable."
The brothers shared the same sentiment and all laughed together.
In this ambush near Kinmen, the Zheng family suffered heavy losses. Liu Xiang, at the cost of hundreds of lives, seized money and goods worth millions of taels of silver. This attack marked the beginning of a full-scale war between Liu Xiang and the Zheng family.
Because the Zheng family deliberately concealed the truth, the people in Qiongzhou were unaware of all this for the time being.
After the first month of the lunar calendar, a guest arrived in Lingao. It was none other than Duan Mengrou, who had volunteered to manage the money shop for Liu Ye. On her first day in Lingao, Liu Ye was busy arranging tax collection matters for Danzhou and Chengmai counties and was unable to meet with her, so he asked her to wait for a day.
Duan Mengrou didn't come alone; her mother, Aunt Jiang, came along too. It wasn't that Duan Mengrou had suddenly gained power and her entire family had risen to prominence, but rather that Duan Mengrou was worried that Aunt Jiang, being honest and weak-willed, would be bullied by the Gao family members who had been driven out of the mansion if she stayed alone. Without the protection of the Qiongzhou Camp, how could the wives and concubines who had once been favored by Gao Hongtu be willing to let the Gao family's wealth and mansion fall into the hands of the "lowly" Aunt Jiang and her daughter? It would be strange if they didn't cause a huge uproar.
Her "behind-the-scenes expert"—the governor's niece Lin Shiyue—also came along, with a perfectly legitimate reason: she was afraid that her best friend would be taken advantage of by Liu Ye, that lecherous man.
Duan Mengrou couldn't help but smile wryly. This was a military commander who held considerable power and even the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was wary of him. He could crush her like an ant. Why was she worried about being taken advantage of? That was too pretentious. However, the opportunity to turn her fate around was entirely due to Lin Shiyue's guidance, so she couldn't disobey her and allowed her to follow her to Lingao.
Duan Mengrou came to Lingao to report on matters concerning the money exchange. Following Liu Ye's instructions, she closed all branches in Guangdong, laid off many staff, and retained only the head office and a few loyal, shrewd, and capable managers and employees. The money exchange's main business—inter-regional silver remittance and silver coin minting—was temporarily suspended. Without income, the managers' and employees' wages still had to be paid. The money exchange was currently living off its savings, and this situation couldn't continue for long. She needed to consult Liu Ye on the next steps.
However, Liu Ye was unavailable today, so Lin Shiyue encouraged Duan Mengrou and her mother to go for a stroll in the streets. No matter how intelligent or aloof Lin Shiyue was, she was still a young woman in the prime of her life, and she liked the same things as other women her age. Duan Mengrou wasn't particularly interested in shopping, but since they were already there, she figured she might as well make the best of it. The money exchange business was urgent, so she went out with Lin Shiyue.
They had assumed that a remote prefecture like Qiongzhou would be dilapidated, but upon walking the streets of Lingao, Lin Shiyue, Duan Mengrou, and the others found themselves in a completely different world.
The group was overwhelmed by the wide, smooth cement road, the towering buildings on both sides, and the bustling streets. They didn't know where to look first. Duan Mengrou murmured, "Is this still a county town of the Ming Dynasty? How come all these buildings are so tall? Three stories, four stories... and even five stories?" The highest brick houses with bamboo-reinforced concrete structures could only be built to five stories; any higher would be unsafe. However, they were enough to shock these women who were used to seeing flat-roofed houses with blue tiles.
Although Aunt Jiang was a mother, she was as innocent as a young girl. She stomped her foot on the ground and said to her daughter with delight, "Daughter, look, this stone ground is flat and solid, even better than the bluestone pavement in Guangzhou!"
Lin Shiyue examined it carefully, then shook her head and said, "Aunt Jiang, this is probably not a stone—how could a stone be so solid, with no gaps along the entire path?"
Aunt Jiang, holding her daughter's hand, replied with a smile, "Whether it's stone or not, as long as the road is nice and easy to walk on, it's fine. Otherwise, Mingdang will get my new embroidered shoes dirty..." Although the main streets in Guangzhou are paved with bluestone and are relatively smooth, there are always some loose spots that have been neglected for years. After it rains, if you accidentally step on one, the stone slab will lift up, and the splashed mud will dirty your shoes, socks, and clothes.
Duan Mengrou looked at her mother with affection, and Aunt Jiang returned a happy smile. Lin Shiyue, who was standing to the side, saw this and couldn't help but smile: This mother and daughter were quite interesting. The mother was in her thirties but still had the heart of a charming young girl, innocent and without any guile. The daughter, on the other hand, was mature beyond her years and quite shrewd. It turned out that the daughter took care of her mother more often.
The three of them walked to a crowded place and stopped to look around curiously. In front of them was a very large building with doors on all four sides. It was more like a large shed than a house. The towering beams supported the roof, providing shelter from the wind and rain.
The place was bustling with people, most of whom went in empty-handed, but most of those who came out were carrying large bags and small packages, as if they had just bought something. Duan Mengrou looked up at the sign above the gate and whispered, "Lingao Grand Market."
After visiting the Lingao Grand Market, on the way back to Nanyuan, Duan Mengrou excitedly said, "Shiyue, did you know? It turns out that Master Liu is not only good at fighting, but also incredibly skilled in business. The Wuliangye liquor that's sold out in Guangzhou is all under his name. It seems that the money exchange will also prosper under his control, perhaps even more so than under the Gao family..."
Lin Shiyue was secretly surprised. She only knew that Wuliangye came from Qiongzhou Prefecture, but she didn't know that it was all Liu Ye's business. Coupled with the "glorious history" of bombarding Guangzhou and defeating the government troops, in a sense, this "lecher" could be considered both scholarly and martial. However, while she thought this, she replied with a lie: "It was just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse."
Duan Mengrou looked at her, smiled, and didn't continue speaking.
Aunt Jiang, however, said with great interest, "This Master Liu is not only kind-hearted, but also good at making money and fighting. What kind of woman could be worthy of such a perfect man?" She looked at her daughter and shook her head, "Mengrou probably won't do. Her face isn't pretty enough. He's definitely surrounded by beautiful vixens. You can't compete with them..."
Duan Mengrou was both amused and exasperated: "Mother, what are you saying? I may not be as pretty as you, but you can't belittle your own daughter like that. I'm not good enough for someone as powerful as Master Liu—I can't say these things when we get to his house later. If someone hears us, how will I ever face anyone again?"
Lin Shiyue couldn't help but say, "Aunt Jiang, you're praising this Liu guy too much. Mengrou is such a beautiful girl, I feel sorry for her, how could she not be good enough for him?"
Aunt Jiang turned her head and stared at Xie Wenjun, looking her up and down, seemingly not hearing her rebuttal.
Feeling uncomfortable being stared at, Lin Shiyue covered her face with her hand, turned her head away, and said reproachfully, "Aunt Jiang, what are you looking at?"
Aunt Jiang clicked her tongue and said, "I didn't realize it before, but looking at her closely today, Miss Lin's appearance is so beautiful and elegant, yet she has a dignified air. With a full forehead and a square jaw, she has the face of great wealth and nobility, definitely destined to be the empress! If anyone is worthy of Master Liu, among all the people I know, only Miss Lin is worthy. Only someone with your destiny can bear such blessings. My Mengrou, at best, is destined to be a concubine..."
Upon hearing this, Duan Mengrou blushed deeply.
Lin Shiyue calmed herself down and said lightly, "Aunt Jiang, you are an elder, please stop talking nonsense and making fun of us younger generation. I would never look at a lecherous man like Liu." As she said this, a strange emotion arose in her heart.
From a young age, she was like a proud princess, growing up in a privileged family and pampered by her parents. She looked down on men her own age—those who were her equals were either studying hard at home to achieve academic success or content to be playboys. A young talent like Liu Ye, who had built his empire from scratch, was unique. Regardless of her inner repulsion, in terms of looks, wealth, and status, Liu Ye was the most suitable match in her eyes—at least in her parents' eyes.
Joking and laughing all the way, the three of them quickly returned to Nanyuan. Before stepping through the gate, Lin Shiyue stopped, took a few deep breaths, and made sure her cheeks and ears weren't burning before entering.
Tang Yu led her people to greet them and said softly, "Miss Duan, the master has instructed that he is unavailable today and will summon you again tomorrow. Please stay at the South Garden for the night. The guest rooms have been cleaned. Please follow me."