Di Ming

Chapter 173 Old Friends from Liaodong
As the autumn wind rises, yellow leaves fly; wild geese fly south, and those who have departed return.

The summer heat is fading, and autumn is gradually approaching.

The horse-drawn carriage traveled through the countryside, its bells ringing like music and its wheels clattering like shuttles.

Inside the swaying carriage, Black Tiger dozed at Zhu Yin's feet. Zhu Yin lifted the curtain and saw sparse trees and drifting clouds and water, as if time had lingered and life was peaceful.

He spent ten days at the examination hall, and seeing this scene on his return home this time felt especially heartwarming.

The rice has already been harvested. Tall haystacks line the fields, like graves for the rice.

Children chased and played among the haystacks, laughing and frolicking. Flocks of sparrows chirped and chattered as they searched for stray grains of rice.

The fragrance of osmanthus blends with the scent of the fields, as rich and intoxicating as aged wine.

The waterwheel pounding rice moved slowly up and down, the donkeys in the mill brayed incessantly, and the water buffalo floated across the valley by their noses. The cicadas were still chirping in the willow trees, and the frogs in the pond hadn't quieted down yet.

On the road, there were people carrying loads, pushing wooden carts, carrying gifts to visit relatives, going back to their mothers' homes, herding boars to mate, collecting accounts with abacuses, collecting taxes in the countryside... all sorts of people, an endless stream.

In the farmhouse, the men were drying grain, and the women were spinning yarn. But they weren't in a hurry, working slowly and leisurely. The grain had already been harvested; that was about it for the year. The rapeseed to be planted in autumn and winter wouldn't fetch much money either.

The villagers by the roadside, seeing the luxurious carriage bearing the plum blossom mark, knew it belonged to the head of the Zhu family and all stood up to pay their respects.

On the Lishui River, a fisherwoman sings a Wu song:
"Who is it that licked my window until it was broken, flirting and sending secret glances..."

"My darling, where have you been all this time? I can't help but miss you. You've smeared sugar on my nose, I can't lick it, but it smells so wonderful..."

Black Tiger suddenly woke up, its dog ears perked up, and then it looked at the snake in Ning Qingchen's hand that was spitting out its tongue.

Zhu Yin listened to the Wu songs, clapped his hands and laughed, "Wu women have always been bold. Their songs are quite straightforward. No wonder later scholars said that Wu songs are lewd and obscene."

The Ming Dynasty was the golden age of Wu songs. In the countryside, Wu people sang Wu songs while farming, fishing, logging, and picking lotus, which was known as "Wu Cai Ode".

Ning Caiwei laughed and said, "I'm used to it. Gu Hongxiu used to sing something like 'Sisters suffer from lovesickness, I never believed it. But now it's my turn,' haha."

Zhu Yin suddenly sighed, "It sounds like a paradise, but after paying taxes and rent, there's not much food left. It's just making the best of a bad year.

"As soon as some grain was harvested, people started collecting debts, taxes, and rent."

"When will ordinary people be able to truly live a good life? This has never happened, neither in ancient times nor in later generations."

Ning Caiwei said, "Suzhou suffered a major epidemic, resulting in a poor harvest and many deaths from disease and starvation. It's fortunate that you warned us beforehand, otherwise it would have definitely spread to Nanjing by now. Little Tiger, for this alone you are a living Buddha to thousands of families."

"There are many things we can only do our best to do, and as long as we have a clear conscience, that's enough."

Zhu Yin asked, "How is the situation with the drugs we produce now?"

Ning Caiwei said, "The net profit is already several thousand taels. By next spring, the net profit from medicine will be about thirty thousand taels of silver."

Zhu Yin was a little speechless. "I didn't explain myself clearly. What I meant was how effective the drug was. I don't care how much money we made."

Ning Caiwei couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Uh... the effect is very good. It's the medicine researched by Little Divine Doctor Ning. It's effective. Our medicine is of great help in the fight against the epidemic."

As the two were talking, the third person in the carriage seemed not to hear them at all.

The young healer Ning sat on a small stool, his head bowed, stroking the beautiful snake Ah Jin in his hand.

She was fascinated by every single pattern on the snake's body.

Ning Caiwei couldn't stand it and couldn't help but frown and say:
"Isn't a snake creepy? Aren't you afraid it'll bite you? Do you know the risks? What kind of girl keeps a snake as a pet? You kept spiders before, and now you're keeping snakes. You just want to be different, don't you?"

When Ning Qingchen heard her sister mention the giant spider, her face immediately darkened. "You still bring this up! Don't you ever realize how much you've hurt me!"

"Hmph, let me make this clear this time: you're not allowed to hurt Ajin again! If you try anything with it, I won't forgive you."

"What do you know? This kind of snake can live for decades but never grows big, making it a great pet. What do you know besides making money in business and capital operations? Your life is so boring, I pity you."

"Heh." Ning Caiwei chuckled. "You pity me? Me, pity me? Fine, I'll pity you then."

Ning Qingchen ignored her older sister and instead looked at Zhu Yin, saying in a childish voice, "Little Tiger, thank you for the gift, I like it very much."

Zhu Yin could only chuckle and say in agreement, "It was caught for you anyway. I'm glad you like it."

Is this what you call a gift? Even if it is a gift, I never intended to give it to you. Didn't you ask for it yourself?

The carriage swayed gently, and Zhu Yin yawned, feeling a little drowsy.

Ning Caiwei rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue with her sister, and changed the subject:
"I forgot to tell you, Master Shen has already entered the capital and been reinstated as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. It is said that Hai Rui proposed it, and Emperor Bai Jin approved it."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yin's spirits lifted, all sleepiness gone. "Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel? That means he's going to join the cabinet. Hehe, just when I'm about to doze off, someone brings me a pillow. If Master Shen becomes the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and I become a Jinshi next year, I'll have a big backer in Beijing."

"Emperor Bai Jin doesn't want to establish a crown prince and wants to find Master Shen to help him out of this predicament."

"I estimate that Professor Shen will join the cabinet by the second half of next year at the latest. That's several years earlier than in previous years."

Ning Caiwei was puzzled, "If Emperor Bai Jin doesn't want to establish a crown prince, why does he want Shen Shi to join the cabinet?"

Zhu Yin explained: "Emperor Bai Jin favored Lady Zheng. Two years ago, Lady Zheng gave birth to Zhu Changxun. Emperor Bai Jin had the intention of making Zhu Changxun the crown prince. Grand Secretary Shen Shixing and others immediately submitted a memorial requesting that the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Changluo, be made crown prince."

"Hundreds and thousands of memorials from ministers requesting the establishment of the eldest son of the emperor. The civil service is very united in this regard, and they are determined to establish the eldest son of the emperor."

"Starting last year, Emperor Baijin began to neglect state affairs and indulge in women. This year, he even skipped the New Year's Day court ceremony, which was a protest against his ministers."

"The succession struggle during the Wanli era has been going on for two or three years. Emperor Baijin intends to bring Shen Shi into the cabinet to change the power dynamics within the cabinet and to counterbalance the ministers who oppose him. Perhaps he thinks Shen Shi is shrewd and obedient?"

Zhu Yin's expression turned disdainful as he said this.

Emperor Wanli couldn't even decide which son to appoint as crown prince, and he was controlled by civil officials his entire life. This shows that he lacked the courage and political acumen to be a monarch.

In reality, it's difficult to say that most court officials supported the eldest son as emperor out of a sense of public duty to uphold the established rites. More importantly, they wanted to use the succession dispute to limit imperial power and strengthen the position of civil officials.

Zhu Yin then laughed and said, "Emperor Bai Jin rarely shows his face now. Even when I become an official, it will be difficult for me to see him. Many ministers during the Wanli era never saw Emperor Bai Jin until they retired."

Ning Caiwei had little interest in politics, so she changed the subject and said, "Master Shen said that if you pass the imperial examination, you must go north before the seventh day of the first lunar month next year. You can't delay."

"Also, the Autumn Festival is on the 30th of this month. We'll be hosting it this year, and you'll be the chief officiant."

"I spent four hundred taels of silver on this autumn festival. All preparations are underway, and several opera troupes have been hired."

"There's another thing, the Zhou family came by a few days ago."

She smiled smugly, "My uncle's letter still works very well. The Zhou family agreed to sell the land. Five hundred acres of land plus that house, they'll sell it to us for three thousand taels."

“The money has been paid, and the land deed is in hand. Now we are no longer tenants, but landlords, and no one can drive us away.”

"One last thing..." Ning Caiwei's smile grew even brighter, "The goods from the Zhang and Liu families have already been sold to Portuguese merchants for 500,000 taels of silver!"

"Half of it went into the Jinghai Army's public treasury, and we took the other half. The 250,000 taels of silver were transported back three days ago and are in our family's treasury. We've also paid off the debt we owed my uncle."

“We currently have over 200,000 in cash alone.”

"When the milk candy sells well next year, there will be a steady stream of money coming in."

"Of course, it's all a secret. We're making a fortune quietly. Nobody knows we have so much money. If they did, would Tang Rong and Zhuang Shu have given up on you so easily? Hahaha!"

Ning Caiwei couldn't help but laugh when she thought of the two women's previous "severing of ties with wisdom".

What a bunch of fools, trying to fight me? They'll try cultivating for another three hundred years.

Zhu Yin never imagined that his family would become so wealthy after he had neglected them for several months to prepare for the exam.

Ning Caiwei is such a money-grubber; she knows how to rake in money for her family.

Hearing that he had so much silver, Zhu Yin became even more confident.

He leaned forward, his eyes sparkling, "So much silver, how do you plan to use it?"

Ning Caiwei laughed and said, "Who am I? I am the president of Ning's Group. How could I let money sleep in the warehouse? Of course, I want money to make money."

"So, I have a lot of business strategies for next year. The focus is on spending money."

"The first thing is to build a large mansion covering 100 acres. The current villas are simply not enough to live in. The design drawings and models for the mansion are already finished, and we will break ground next month."

"The second is to recruit private guards. We only have a few dozen guards now, which is not enough. We need to recruit another three hundred people to guard homes, protect shops, and escort goods on the road."

"Third, we'll acquire coal mines next year. Didn't you say that coal mines can be privately owned? Since coal mines can be privately owned, I'll go to Xuzhou and Yanzhou to buy wasteland and enclose coal mines. These two places have abundant coal resources, are easy to mine, and are also located along the canal, so transportation costs are very low. We can supply the capital to the north and supply the Jiangnan region to the south, thus covering both the north and south markets."

"Another advantage of this project is that it provides an excuse to recruit miners! I plan to recruit 10,000 young men as miners, with several hundred people per unit, which would be the best source of manpower."

"Fourth, establish Ningyin Department Store. Set up a department store in each of the 100 large and medium-sized cities across the country to become the largest terminal supplier."

"Fifth, in order to transport goods for Ningyin Trading Company, we also need to set up a logistics company, which requires the purchase of a large number of horses and ships, and the recruitment of more manpower. This will not only make money, but also attract horses and young men in the name of the logistics company. I plan to set up one hundred logistics branches across the country and recruit ten thousand people."

"Sixth, I want to use Zhoushan to establish Ningyin Maritime Trade and get a share of the smuggling pie... Of course, all of this also requires your power in the officialdom, otherwise we will become fat sheep sooner or later..." Ning Caiwei got more and more excited as she spoke, but then she saw Zhu Yin sway and fall headfirst into her arms.

Ning Caiwei quickly helped him up and found that he was already asleep.

Oh, this little tiger, he fell asleep just as we were getting into the conversation.

Ning Caiwei held Zhu Yin and felt that the little tiger's bones were a bit hard.

He's lost so much weight these days. Ning Caiwei couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

Go back and give him a good boost!

.........

Zhu Yin returned home and slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

I was woken up by sheer hunger. Otherwise, I could have continued sleeping.

Ning Caiwei had prepared a delicious meal, and Zhu Yin ate and drank his fill before his energy returned.

Zhu Yin's first action was to order the Tiger Fang (Recorder) to have the "family members" in various brothels investigate a person with a habit of fidgeting with his right hand.

The second task is to expedite the intelligence gathering on the powerful families of Suzhou and Songjiang, and to place spies around them as soon as possible, especially Wang Shizhen, Xu Kun, and others.

He wanted to find out who had instructed Chen Gui to frame him at the examination hall.

That day, Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei went to the falcon house again, removed the blindfolds from the falcons, and fed them. The two falcons had already grown full plumage and were able to take flight.

Murong Gou Dan trained them well, successfully getting the two falcons to recognize them as their masters.

It takes at most two or three months to fully embrace the Lord. Once fully embraced, one remains faithful for almost life.

Zhu Yin named the male eagle Flying Tiger. Ning Caiwei named the female eagle Green Wings.

Zhu Yin was seen with a flying tiger perched on his shoulder and a black tiger coiled at his feet, looking quite dashing.

Murong Gou Dan laughed and said, "In the coming days, my lord and my lady should go out and fly eagles more often, and get to know the falcons better."

Ning Qingchen looked at the two eagles and said in a cute but fierce way:
"Keep an eye on your eagles, don't let them eat my Ah Jin! If Ah Jin gets eaten, I'll stew the eagles!"

Murong Gou Dan was already used to the incredibly clever Second Sister speaking like a little adult. Who didn't know that although Second Sister was only two years old, she was already eloquent?
He quickly explained, "Don't worry, Madam Qingchen. A trained eagle won't hunt without orders. Otherwise, who would dare to keep such a fierce bird?"

As they were talking, Lancha suddenly came over and said, "Ezhen, Gege, an acquaintance has arrived, Xu Xiaobai."

"This is his name card."

What? Little White is here?

Zhu Yin accepted the visiting card, exchanged a glance with Ning Caiwei, both of them smiling knowingly.

By now, Xu Xiaobai should be arriving soon.

Xu Xiaobai returned to Nanjing last summer, lying that he had skipped school and gone to Sichuan. Although he concealed the truth that he had been kidnapped by Japanese pirates and sold into slavery by the Jurchens, he was still expelled from the Imperial Academy and punished with a year of house arrest, forced to reflect on his mistakes.

It was originally scheduled to be released in May of this year.

However, just after he was released, the Wang Ruifang case occurred, and his brother Xu Hongji was implicated by Wang Ruifang and expelled from school. Subsequently, the Ministry of Personnel issued a document canceling Xu Hongji's eligibility to inherit the title.

Upon hearing the news, his ancestor, the Duke, died in anger.

With the old Duke gone, the funeral arrangements would keep him busy for several months. Xu Xiaobai couldn't leave without permission.

Only then did he have time to visit Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin was now a "celebrity" in Nanjing. Xu Xiaobai soon heard people talking about Zhu Yin and realized that Zhu Yin had also come to Nanjing. After making inquiries, he finally found Qingqiao Lane.

"Let's go greet our old friend!" Zhu Yin said with a smile, hoisting his falcon and leading Xiao Hei out of the courtyard.

Ning Caiwei also helped Qinghe out to greet them.

Ning Qingchen, with her short legs and Ah Jin wrapped around her arm, trotted behind.

...

Outside the courtyard gate, a magnificent carriage was parked, along with a group of armored guards carrying swords and bows.

Xu Xiaobai, dressed in a brocade robe with gold embroidery and arrow-sleeved sleeves, wore a gold crown and jade hairpin on his head, a jade belt with chain hanging from his waist, and gold embroidered satin boots on his feet, exuding an air of nobility and royalty.

Looking at the enormous factory compound not far away, Xu Xiaobai couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion as he thought of Zhu Yin's current reputation.

In such a short time, Zhu Yin became a child prodigy in Nanyong and built such a large family fortune.

I initially thought he was a member of the royal family. Turns out he wasn't.

Tian Yi and Shen Yiguan were his backers, even more powerful than the actual imperial family members.

Indeed, a child prodigy is a child prodigy, and is by no means an ordinary person.

Xu Xiaobai felt grateful when he recalled how Zhu Yin had saved him and the days they spent together in the Jurchen tribes of Liaodong, as well as how Zhu Yin had generously provided financial assistance in Dengzhou.

The little tiger is a loyal little brother.

However, remembering that many people in the city said that Zhu Yin had failed the provincial examination this time and that his chances of passing were slim, Xu Xiaobai felt very sorry for Zhu Yin.

Several villagers nearby looked at Xu Xiaobai with awe, all knowing that this young master was no ordinary scion of a prominent family.

Is this also someone visiting Young Master Zhu? The Zhu family certainly has many distinguished guests.

Xu Xiaobai was not in a hurry at this moment. Although he wanted to see Zhu Yin immediately, he simply waited calmly.

One of his guards, however, became agitated and argued with the servant warrior at the courtyard gate:
"Do you know who my young master is? He is not only an old friend of your master, but also the future Duke of Wei!"

"Do you know the Duke of Wei? The 100,000-strong Nanjing garrison is now under his command!"

Xu Xiaobai scolded, "Don't be rude."

He looked somewhat embarrassed when he heard what the guard said.

He knew perfectly well what kind of people his father's so-called 100,000-strong capital garrison was.

First of all, the 100,000 troops are only on paper; in reality, there are only 60,000.

It was said that there were 20,000 warhorses, but in reality, there were less than 10,000.

The salaries of 40,000 men and 10,000 horses were obviously embezzled at every level.

Even with 60,000 soldiers, most were just there to make up the numbers. At most, 20,000 soldiers were actually capable of fighting, of which at most 3,000 were elite troops.

If Nanjing's military preparedness was so lax, one can only imagine how it was elsewhere.

He had witnessed the Jurchen cavalry outside the Great Wall and knew how great the difference in combat strength between the two sides was.

He had also been a prisoner of war on Japanese pirate ships and knew how fierce and barbaric the pirates were.

After returning, he spent another year in seclusion.

His experience surpassed that of many noble sons, giving him a sense of crisis that other noble sons lacked.

While meditating, he thought that if he were to inherit the title and take control of the Nanjing garrison, he would definitely reorganize it and train tens of thousands of elite soldiers.

But he also knew how difficult that was.

"Brother Xiaobai!" A familiar voice interrupted Xu Xiaobai's thoughts, "Your talent remains as vibrant as ever."

Xu Xiaobai looked up and saw a young boy with a bright smile coming out to greet him.

The little boy was actually holding a majestic eagle in his arms, and at his feet was a large black dog with fur as smooth and shiny as black satin.

Although he was young, his eyes were bright and his spirit was high.

It's been over a year since I last saw him. He's grown a lot taller, and his demeanor is even more refined.

Behind him followed a familiar, youthful girl, elegant and charming, her eyes sparkling with life.

"Little Tiger Brother!" Xu Xiaobai was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but show his delight.

"Since we parted in Shandong, I've missed you dearly. The autumn wind is cool, and I never expected to meet you again in Nanjing!"

P.S.: Too busy today, that's all for now. Thank you, goodnight. The provincial examination results will be released tomorrow! Now you can all guess Xu Xiaobai's role, right?
(End of this chapter)