Chapter 1239 Something is fishy!

Two days later, a team of dozens of people entered the city gate of Jingmen County in the east of Youyan.
The appearance of these dozens of burly men on horseback and equipped with swords immediately attracted the attention of the patrol officers of Jingmen County. Just when the patrol officers were about to ask them to dismount for inspection, a token with the words "Coordination Office" on it made them shut up immediately and welcome them into the city respectfully...
Although Zhang Kaishan, who was accompanying him, had long known that the Coordination Office was a powerful agency of the Yijing court and had a high status and authority in the Yijing court, seeing these officials' reactions that were like mice seeing a cat, Zhang Kaishan had a deeper and clearer understanding of the authority of the Coordination Office!

At the same time, Zhang Kaishan was also curious about everything in Jingmen County. His father, Zhang Pengfei, was from Jingmen County, Youyan. His family was originally a fisherman. Because his family was poor since childhood, Zhang Pengfei had not read much, and he was unwilling to make a living by fishing all his life like his family, so when he was nearly sixteen years old, Zhang Pengfei came to the county town to make a living.

Because of his young age and lack of means to make a living, Zhang Pengfei fell into the lowest class and became a street thug.

Salt industry is the pillar industry of Jingmen County. Many people in Jingmen County make a living from the salt industry, which also leads to the existence of many private salt dealers in Jingmen County. Zhang Pengfei joined the private salt gang by chance.

Not only did Zhang Pengfei fail to make any money in the smuggling salt gang, but he accidentally killed someone in a fight with another smuggling salt gang. So in order to avoid being caught by the government, he had to flee to Southeast Asia, where he married a woman of Zhou descent and eventually gave birth to a son, Zhang Kaishan.

Although Zhang Kaishan was born in Nanyang, he often heard his father Zhang Pengfei talk about some things in his hometown Jingmen County when he was a child. This also made Zhang Kaishan have some yearning and expectations for Jingmen County.
According to his father Zhang Pengfei, Jingmen County was just a small county in Youyan. Many of the people in the county relied on fishing and salt industry for their livelihood. Although the people worked day and night, their lives were still very difficult due to the oppression of officials and gentry.

However, what surprised Zhang Kaishan at this moment was that the small county town that his father had described as shrouded in poverty and hardship now presented a thriving scene. Although there were still some beggars on the streets, most of the people were still well-dressed, the roads were relatively clean and tidy, and the streets were very prosperous, with people coming and going in an endless stream!

Seeing this scene, Zhang Kaishan couldn't help but doubt whether the Jingmen County his father mentioned and the Jingmen County he saw in front of him were the same place.

After a simple lunch in Jingmen County, Ji Xian brought Zhang Kaishan to Jingmen Port. Upon entering the port, Zhang Kaishan discovered that there was a huge construction site on the east side of the port, with thousands or tens of thousands of workers working on the construction site.

After carefully observing the work of these workers, Zhang Kaishan asked Ji Xian:

"Director Ji, are these workers expanding the port?"

"Master Zhang, you really have a good eye. Yes, these workers are expanding the port. In addition, the court also plans to build two shipyards in Jingmen County! One is responsible for building military ships, and the other is responsible for building civilian ships!"

“The current port expansion and shipyard projects are undertaken by the Ministry of Industry. The Ministry of Revenue has allocated them 150,000 taels of silver. In the next two years, the Ministry of Revenue will allocate another 150,000 taels of silver. Our goal is to build the best port and shipyard in the world here…”

"The court plans to make this place one of the home ports of the Great Zhou Navy's fleet in terms of military, and the center of Great Zhou's overseas trade in terms of commerce in the future within the next five to ten years!"

Listening to Ji Xian's confident and proud narration, Zhang Kaishan also realized the purpose of Ji Xian bringing him here, and he subconsciously curled his lips.

Ji Xian did not notice Zhang Kaishan's little action, but took Zhang Kaishan into the construction site to gain an in-depth understanding of the project progress.

After spending an hour at the construction site, Ji Xian took Zhang Kaishan to the best restaurant in the county, and the two of them started drinking and chatting.

After drinking a few cups of horse urine, Ji Xian, who was a little drunk, said to Zhang Kaishan in a mysterious tone:
"Brother Kaishan, I know what you want!"

Zhang Kaishan clinked glasses with Ji Xian upon hearing this, then said with a smile:

"Brother Ji, what I want is for the imperial court to recruit us!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Xian pointed out mercilessly:

"You're lying! What you want is our Fengwu Army's firearms!"

Before Ji Xian finished speaking, Zhang Kaishan looked calm but his eyes narrowed slightly. At this time, Ji Xian drank another glass of wine and said with some emotion:

“Let alone you, even if you look at the whole world, who doesn’t want our Fengwu Army’s firearms? Even the ones we have eliminated and don’t want are treasured by you guys…”

Zhang Kaishan smiled awkwardly when he heard this, and at this moment Ji Xian suddenly said in a low voice:
"Brother Kaishan, there is a musket factory in Jingmen County. Do you want to see how muskets are produced?"

This statement immediately aroused Zhang Kaishan's interest, but he asked in return:
"Can you show me something so confidential?"

Ji Xian waved his hand and said:

"Brother Kaishan, this is a secret to others, but it is not a secret to you and me at all. Just tell me whether you want to see it or not."

Listening to Ji Xian's words, Zhang Kaishan realized that this might be a test of him by the spy chief Ji Xian, but he had to admit that Ji Xian's words were very attractive to him. He really wanted to see how the Fengwu Army's muskets were produced!
Just as Zhang Kaishan picked up his wine glass and thought silently about what to say, Ji Xian slapped his thigh and said:
"Brother Kaishan, if you don't say anything, I will take it as your consent. It's getting late today, you should have a good rest here. We will take you to the musket factory at 1:15 tomorrow to see how the musket is produced!"

After saying this, the drunk Ji Xian raised his glass again and shouted:
"Drink! Let's get drunk tonight!"

Another half incense stick of time passed before the banquet finally ended. Zhang Kaishan, who was a little drunk, returned to his room, simply washed his face and lay down on the bed, thinking about what had happened that day...

Although Ji Xian tried his best to act the role of a drunkard, Zhang Kaishan felt that his acting skills were not very good. But since he needed help from others, he just cooperated with Ji Xian and continued to act!

Zhang Kaishan knew that Ji Xian took him to inspect the construction site, told him about the plans of the Yijing court, and took him to visit the musket factory tomorrow. These were not done casually by Ji Xian. These actions had only one purpose, which was to use his visit to show his strength to his adoptive father and force them to compromise and make concessions in the negotiations!

Zhang Kaishan sighed when he thought of this. Although he had not yet visited the musket factory, from what he had seen and heard during this period, he could feel that the comprehensive national strength of the Great Zhou was gradually recovering in a series of reforms. Marshal Ye, the real controller of the Yijing court, really wanted to promote the development of the Great Zhou overseas.

Zhang Kaishan could feel that no matter whether his adoptive father agreed to surrender or not, the Yijing court's determination and will to develop the ocean would not waver or change in any way!

Although both developing overseas trade and building a strong navy fleet require a long period of accumulation and are not something that can be established overnight, with the current comprehensive national strength of the Great Zhou, as long as there is a unified idea and determination to invest huge amounts of manpower and material resources, it can be foreseen that the overseas business of the Great Zhou will develop rapidly.

When the Great Zhou navy fleet becomes stronger, Nanyang will definitely become the Great Zhou's target. With the current strength of Nanyang, let alone the fragmented situation, even if several big pirates and native tribes unite as one, I am afraid they will still not be the opponent of the Great Zhou. And if it really develops as he expected, then it is not a wrong choice to be a wise man to know the current situation...
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Yijing, Ye Mansion

As the sun sets, Pei Zhixiu returns home after finishing a day's work at Changshan Clinic. However, before she can say a few words to Jingxuan, a maid comes over and reports:

"Mrs. Pei, the eldest lady invites you to her courtyard for a chat!"

As soon as Pei Zhixiu said this, he immediately asked back:
"But what about Master Jingren?"

"I don't know!"

"So how is Master Jingren doing?"

"Master Jingren has recovered and even attended Mr. Gu's class this morning!"

Pei Zhixiu seemed a little surprised to hear this answer. Although she and An Miaoyi seemed to have a harmonious relationship on the surface, they both knew in their hearts that they didn't like each other, so in their past lives, they kept their distance and didn't have much contact.

Because Jingren was sick before, An Miaoyi had to take the initiative to invite Pei Zhixiu over. But now that Jingren is well, why is An Miaoyi still looking for her?
Although she was very confused about this question, An Miaoyi was the eldest lady of the Ye Mansion after all, so Pei Zhixiu nodded to the maid and said:

"Go back and tell the Madam! I'll be there right away!"

"Yes!"

After simply changing her clothes at home, Pei Zhixiu came to An Miaoyi.

"Ji-soo meets sister!"

Seeing Pei Zhixiu bowing to her, An Miaoyi also smiled and said:
"Qiqige, bring a chair over here!"

Seeing the chair brought by Qiqige, Pei Zhixiu was reluctant and said that she would just stand, but under An Miaoyi's enthusiastic arrangement, she had to sit down.

"Thank you so much for helping Jingren last time, Jixiu. You are the first person we think of when something like this happens. You are really the protector of our family!"

Facing An Miaoyi's praise, Pei Zhixiu also said softly:

"Sister, you are too kind. Jingren's case was mainly due to Doctor Wang's efforts. I didn't do anything!"

"Ji Xiu, you are always so humble. No wonder your husband likes you so much. Who wouldn't love a wonderful person like you..."

Pei Zhixiu felt something was wrong after hearing this, but before she could think about it carefully, An Miaoyi continued:
"How is your Changshan Clinic doing lately?"

"To answer my sister's question, the clinic is doing OK on weekdays, and we can expect it to continue to operate!"

An Miaoyi nodded slightly when she heard this and then said with a smile:

"Jisu, if you have any difficulties, remember to tell your sister!"

"You are curing illnesses and saving lives in the clinic, which is a great deed to accumulate virtue for our family. I will fully support you in continuing to run the clinic!"

"Thank you for your care, sister!"

Although An Miaoyi's words were very nice, Pei Zhixiu was alert at this moment. She had some understanding of An Miaoyi and knew that this woman was not a good person. In the past, she had often exaggerated Ye Cui's business in her clinic.

If it weren't for her husband's strong support, her Changshan Medical Clinic would have closed down long ago. It's really strange for An Miaoyi to say such things now.

At this time, An Miaoyi didn't know that Pei Zhixiu was already on guard against her. Seeing that the groundwork was almost done, she asked Pei Zhixiu tentatively:
"Jixiu, have you heard about the tiered tax rate recently?"

Pei Zhixiu's heart moved when she heard the words "tiered tax rate", but under An Miaoyi's gaze, she still pretended to be puzzled and asked:
"Sister, what is the stepped tax rate?"

Facing Pei Zhixiu's question, An Miaoyi looked at Pei Zhixiu deeply, as if she wanted to see through Pei Zhixiu's heart, but under her gaze, Pei Zhixiu's expression did not change at all. Seeing this, An Miaoyi said solemnly:
"It's just a disaster that can cause chaos in the world!"

"My husband has devoted his heart to the country and the people, but there are villains who harbor evil intentions and slander him. My husband has finally led the Fengwu Army to this point today, so we, as his wife, must not watch those villains deceive him!"

"Jisu, do you think what your sister said is right?"

Pei Zhixiu nodded immediately upon hearing this and said:

“Sister, what you said is of course right, but I really don’t understand what’s going on in the court. I only know some basic medical techniques, and I don’t understand anything about harboring evil intentions and making slanderous remarks…”

(End of this chapter)