Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

At the end of July, the navy conducted its third collective drill, which was slightly better than the last one.

During breaks in training, they went around helping to load and transport various supplies.

In late July, Shao Shuyi and Mo Tianyou completed the largest single trade in history: at Huangbudun Wharf, they exchanged 300,000 jin of salt for 9,000 shi of grain.

To this end, Shao Shuyi used more than 20 boats of various sizes to transport the goods back to Ma Tuo Sha in one go.

How to store it has become a problem.

With no other option, and in this emergency, Shao Shuyi didn't even print grain coupons. Instead, he distributed most of them to the families of artisans and soldiers, giving each family more than ten shi (a unit of dry measure). The wages (for the grain portion) were suddenly paid out until the end of the year.

These two groups of people have special privileges on Matuosha Island. All the soldiers have houses to live in, and most of the craftsmen who didn't originally have them now do. The last batch of houses is under construction and will be completed around autumn.

A family can store over a thousand catties of grain, so it's not like they have no room at all. Grain, you know, you can always squeeze in some space, and since it's income earned through hard work or even risking your life, you'll be more careful in storing it.

The remaining several hundred bushels of grain were directly transported to the construction site for the Jiangyin residents who came to work.

They have been building houses, barns, walls, docks and other infrastructure. At its peak, there were thousands of them, but now there are only three or four hundred left. Most of the seasonal workers have gone home to work on the farm.

Fortunately, Ma Tuo Sha is constantly receiving new residents. Not to mention anything else, nearly 5,000 naval officers and soldiers and their families have moved in this year alone. In addition, with the addition of other miscellaneous people, Ma Tuo Sha now has 15,000 to 16,000 people, which is almost double the number when Shao Shuyi first arrived.

With a larger population, continuous development is needed, so the transportation of building materials also accounts for a large portion of the cost.

A few days ago, Shao Shuyi settled another payment for 1,000 ingots. The rest will be delayed until the merchants come back at the end of October, at which time another 1,000 ingots will be paid in cash. The remaining amount will be settled in one lump sum before the Lunar New Year.

On the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, just as Lin Shanyi was leading his team to Fushan Port to transport a batch of building materials, Kong Tie led his fleet to Matuosha and made a brief stop.

Shao Shuyi was practicing horseback riding with his personal guards when he heard the news and rushed to the dock.

Kong Tie was talking to Gao Daqiang and others who were stationed at the dock when he saw Shao Shuyi and immediately stepped forward to greet him.

"We're brothers, no need for such formalities." Shao Shuyi grabbed him, looked him up and down, and laughed, "You were already dark-skinned, now you're even darker. Luckily you're not injured, so I'm relieved."

A slight smile appeared on Kong Tie's usually tense face. He said, "It's inevitable to get sick and injured from traveling all year round. I'm not that delicate." After speaking, he looked around at the people, leaned closer, and asked in a low voice, "Little Tiger, I heard something big happened?"

Shao Shuyi nodded, then shook his head, and said, "Actually, it's not a big deal. We've gotten to where we are today, some things were bound to happen sooner or later, weren't they? Even without Su Tianjue's affair, the damned imperial court would still have targeted me. Zhang Yang being transferred to Changzhou after the New Year already makes that quite obvious. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Kong Tie was silent for a moment, then said, "You've done the right thing over the past few years, and I trust you this time too. You decide what to do." Shao Shuyi understood that Kong Tie probably had his own ideas, but he just hadn't brought them up in person.

But that's enough.

As things stand, Shao's authority remains intact, thanks to the fact that under his leadership, the group is thriving and others have become accustomed to obeying him.

"You've just gotten back, take a rest first. I'm afraid you won't get enough rest later," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.

"Has the salt from Qushan been harvested yet?" Kong Tie asked.

"I'll go at the end of the month," Shao Shuyi said. "But it's hard to say whether they'll still be willing to supply salt. When Wu Heizi went in May, it was fine; cash on delivery, quite straightforward. My concern is whether those saltworks will hear something and dare not do business with me anymore." Kong Tie thought for a moment and then said, "They're not from the same province, so it's not necessarily true, and it's not worth it. I'll go at the end of the month."

"Let's talk about it in late August," Shao Shuyi said. "First, you should ask your men if anyone is willing to bring sand on horseback." "Okay," Kong Tie replied, then pointed to the fleet that had been brought back and said, "When we stopped in Hanyang and Wuchang, we gathered some refugees from Huaixi, a total of over a hundred families. We didn't haul any goods on the return trip, and the money paid by the Yangzhou salt merchants for the water transport was exchanged for grain in Wuchang, so there's not much left."

"People are the most precious thing." Shao Shuyi turned his head and said, "We'll settle them in a bit."

At this point, he also felt a bit of a headache. Even though so many houses had been built, why were there still not enough people to live in?

Of course, he also understood that this was due to overly rapid expansion.

The newly built houses in Matuosha are divided into three grades: high, medium, and low. The high-end houses are brick and wood mixed structure houses, the medium-end houses are adobe and thatched houses, and the low-end houses are even shacks. The reed shacks that Kong Tie and Wang Huadu stayed in when they stayed in Shanghai for the New Year were the same ones.

People kept coming, and houses kept being distributed, but there were never enough.

"I'll take them to weave reeds and build some shacks first, at least they can shelter from the wind and rain," Kong Tie said immediately, clearly having thought of this. After a pause, he continued, "When I was in Wuchang, I met some merchants who had come from Hunan, and I learned some news from them... It was through Kong Tie's narration that Shao Shuyi learned that the situation in Hunan was constantly changing."

Among the various bandit groups, Wu Tianbao has emerged as the most famous, and many are willing to follow him. If last year he only captured a county town (Qianyang), burned, killed, and looted before fleeing, this year he has already captured the administrative center of a circuit (Wugang Circuit) and is lingering there, his forces pointing directly at the counties of Yuanzhou Circuit and Chenzhou Circuit, showing a tendency to expand and becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

The Huguang Province suddenly realized that relying solely on Wanzhe Temur's forces would be insufficient to subdue Wu Tianbao. Therefore, they appointed Right Chancellor Shaban as commander and mobilized a second force to join the encirclement and suppression.

Shaban, timid and afraid to go, refused to take up his post, citing insufficient supplies. However, the province provided him with provisions, leaving Shaban with no choice but to set out. Furthermore, Kong Tie also pointed out that Wu Tianbao would likely ultimately fail, the direct cause being the massacre he had orchestrated.

In the places they conquered, they not only killed officials but also ordinary people. After burning, killing, and looting, they would set fire to the towns, turning them into wastelands. They were exactly like bandits. Not only could they not unite the majority of people, but they also pushed ordinary people toward the Yuan court. It was clear that such people could not succeed and could only serve as vanguards for the king.

"Let's see what the next deal is like after we finish this trip," Shao Shuyi said. "Huguang and Jiangxi are too far away; a round trip would take months, which is really dangerous. How's the situation in Chaohu? Did you run into them on the way?"

"We encountered them," Kong Tie said with certainty. "After passing Wuhu, a boat followed us for a long time before leaving. Perhaps seeing our large number of boats and people, they ultimately didn't dare to attack. When we entered Qizhou territory, we were attacked by river bandits at night, losing three brothers. This trade route is getting harder and harder to navigate." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Never mind that. Next year, when transporting goods for the Shen family, the furthest we'll go is Wuhu, if..."

He smiled and said, "If we were still here."

After saying that, he patted Kong Tie on the shoulder and said, "Rest for a couple of days before going back to Liujiagang."

On the eighth day of the lunar new year, as Kong Tie's fleet returned to Liujiagang, the autumn transport fleet was just preparing to depart.

Zheng Yonghe, the deputy commander of the Caofu (Grain Transport Office), personally led the team. Just before boarding the ship, he couldn't help but look back at the bustling Liujiagang.

Compared to last year's autumn transport season, there were 300 fewer ships this year, and the amount of grain transported was more than 200,000 shi less.

The reasons were complex, but simply put, the seafarers were living in dire straits, with one after another going bankrupt, and there wasn't even enough money to replenish the ranks of wealthy households. But everyone remained silent about this, instead searching for other reasons.

The latest person to be accused is Shao Shuyi, because he "incited" a large number of seafarers to flee in Taicang, which seriously affected the grain transport. If it weren't for this incident, the amount of grain transported this year would definitely have increased significantly. Shao Shuyi is truly wicked!

As a high-ranking official in the Grand Canal Administration, Zheng Yonghe naturally heard this statement and could only remain silent.

The intentions of the people in Hangzhou inevitably affected the Caofu and Zheng family. He didn't say anything, but he found a new manager for the Xia Zheng silk shop, quietly replacing the long-term absentee Shao.

Besides that, he really didn't do anything else.

Everyone knew that Shao Shuyi had once been a vassal of the Zheng family, who had long protected this once penniless seafarer, and the two had a close relationship. However, Zheng Yonghe never publicly echoed others' accusations against Shao Shuyi. Having experienced many ups and downs in officialdom, he had seen too much and knew that many things had both advantages and disadvantages.

To publicly make a severance package? That would be the most unwise thing to do.

If someone wants to cause you trouble, they won't stop attacking you just because you've made a severance package.

If no one causes you trouble, then of course there's no need to sever ties. In fact, because of the inconvenience of doing so openly, he even maintained a private communication channel for the government, allowing messages to be exchanged between the two sides.

Zheng Yonghe had a vague premonition that the situation in eastern and western Zhejiang was not as simple as some people said. It seemed that as long as the court took it seriously, even if it took more effort, the suppression process was messy, or even protracted, it would eventually achieve victory.

Wu Tianbao from Huguang has been making trouble for almost a year, and not only has he not failed, but his momentum has become increasingly strong.

The Jurchen barbarians in Liaoyang have been repeatedly suppressed but not eradicated. Even a commander of ten thousand men was killed in battle. How long has this been going on?

The bandits from Dongfang, Zhejiang, have been raiding and plundering everywhere, and the government troops have been unable to control them. Now, Duo'erzhiban is personally leading the main force of the navy, and it is said that he has gone south to pursue them. Will he be able to win? Many officials in the province believe they can win, but the officials in charge of the grain transport are very pessimistic, because they understand the seafarers better and are more aware of the actual situation of the navy. It seems that the bandits who have recently emerged are becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

The situation was changing, and Zheng Yonghe instinctively picked up on the signal, so he decided to remain silent and observe first.

The fleet slowly set sail.

On the Tianfei Palace pier, the maritime transport commissioner, Hu Buduhua, was talking animatedly: "Duoerzhiban has really struck it rich. He has won several battles in a row, defeating Fang Guozhen so badly that he lost several islands and fled to the waters near Fujian. I reckon it won't be long before we hear good news." His words were tinged with envy and a hint of jealousy.

I should have been the one to command this battle, but unfortunately, the credit I was about to claim is gone!

Fei Xiong, the deputy commander of the grain transport office, who was listening nearby, asked curiously, "May I ask, Right Minister, the province says they've won several battles, so why were there no prisoners?" Hububuhua was taken aback upon hearing this and said, "You mean..."

Fei Xiong shook his head and said, "I don't know either, I just find it strange. Logically speaking, in a naval battle, once the pirates are defeated and have nowhere to escape, they should at least capture ships and personnel."

Just as Hububuhua was about to say something, a minor official rushed over and whispered, "Sir, there are defeated soldiers appearing off the coast of Dongzhenshan Island." "Defeated soldiers? They were defeated so quickly? How many people and ships were captured?" Hububuhua asked anxiously.

The minor official turned pale and said, "It's the defeated royal army..."

The dock immediately fell silent.