I

Zhao Lianjun is Zhao Zhenlan.

She quickly calmed down, acted as if nothing had happened, and said with a smile: "Husband, what kind of book is this?"

Xu Zhiyuan said: "There is a Zhao thief in Jiangxi who steals Jiangxi, Huguang, and southern Hunan. This book was printed by him. It contains rebellious remarks and is distributed to attract people to become thieves."

Zhao Zhenlan's heart was beating wildly: "Since it is a book against thieves, my husband still takes it home?"

"Those who steal hooks will be punished, and those who steal the country will be princes," Xu Zhiyuan sighed, "I'm afraid Jiangnan will be gone...Hey, why am I telling you this? You don't understand national affairs."

Zhao Zhenlan asked: "Does your husband plan to become a thief?"

"Keep your voice down," Xu Zhiyuan lowered his voice and warned, "Don't talk about it everywhere. This is a matter of beheading. I don't even dare to take it out. I only dare to hide in your room and look through it."

After seeing Xu Zhiyuan sitting down, he opened "Da Ping Ji" and read it carefully. He didn't seem to dislike the book, and even had the tendency to become a thief. Zhao Zhenlan hesitated again and said, "Husband..."

"What's wrong?" Xu Zhiyuan asked.

"Jiangxi Zhao Thief, is his name Zhao Han?" Zhao Zhenlan asked.

Xu Zhiyuan said: "I don't know which name is true. It was rumored before that it was Zhao Yan, and now it is said to be Zhao Han."

Zhao Zhenlan said: "My real name is Zhenlan."

"Why did you suddenly talk about this?" Xu Zhiyuan said funny.

Zhao Zhenlan said: "Husband, please turn to the title page and read those two lines."

The "Datong" series of books has a portrait on the title page of each book.

Xu Zhiyuan turned back curiously and muttered: "Jiangxi Commander-in-Chief Zhao Han, Zhao Zhenlan..."

Xu Zhiyuan suddenly raised his head and looked at the other party in disbelief.

Zhao Zhenlan said: "My younger brother is called Zhao Han, and my real name is Zhao Zhenlan."

"Wait a moment!"

Xu Zhiyuan ran out in a panic, arrived at his eldest brother's yard, slapped the study door and shouted: "Brother, it's urgent!"

Xu Fuyuan opened the door and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Come with me quickly." Xu Zhiyuan pulled his eldest brother's sleeve.

Xu Fuyuan was confused and followed Xu Zhiyuan through the yard. When he saw Zhao Zhenlan, he just nodded in greeting.

Zhao Zhenlan saluted and said, "Blessed brother."

Xu Zhiyuan opened the title page and handed it to his elder brother, pointed at Zhao Zhenlan and said: "Lianjun's real name is Zhenlan, and she has a brother named Zhao Han!"

Xu Fuyuan was dumbfounded, looking at the title page of the book for a while and looking at Zhao Zhenlan for a while.

What the hell is this?

Xu Fuyuan came to his senses after a long time, and bowed his hands seriously: "My brother and sister are well."

"Well, brother." Zhao Zhenlan quickly returned the greeting.

Xu Fuyuan asked: "When did your brother get separated?"

Zhao Zhenlan replied: "In the first year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in the capital. My parents took us brothers and sisters to flee the famine and beg for food. We went outside Tianjin. I was sold for food. Since then, there has been no news from my family."

"Brothers and sisters, please rest first. Wu Jing and I have important matters to discuss." Xu Fuyuan said with his hands in hand.

"Brother, please." Zhao Zhenlan took the initiative to go back to the house.

There were only two brothers left in the yard, looking at each other, feeling strange.

"Third brother," Xu Fuyuan asked suddenly, "how many concubines do you have in your courtyard?"

Xu Zhiyuan said: "Just two."

Xu Fuyuan said: "Send the other one away quickly."

"Okay." Xu Zhiyuan nodded.

Xu Fuyuan warned: "If Zhao Han becomes emperor, this will be the eldest princess. Remember, don't attract flowers to attract butterflies in the future, otherwise the Xu family may be afraid of disaster from the sky."

Xu Zhiyuan said: "I know this, Kekeke... I can't divorce my wife because of this, right?"

"Don't mention the matter of divorcing your wife for now. We will discuss it later," Xu Fuyuan said. "This woman must be married as a good concubine. Go to the government to report it quickly. I will discuss it with my father. Also, there are more slaves in the yard." , don’t treat me lightly.”

Xu Zhiyuan asked: "Over there in Jiangxi, do you want to write a letter?"

"You can't leave for the time being. Deepen your relationship with this younger brother and sister. Send a letter to Jiangxi and ask the second brother to go in person. By the way, bring Brother Wu Nian with you." Xu Fuyuan said.

Xu Zhiyuan asked again: "Zhang Ximing, do you want to tell him?"

"No need to tell anyone, this is a private matter of the Xu family." Xu Fuyuan would not tell outsiders that this was a great opportunity for the Xu family.

A few days later, Zhao Zhenlan truly settled down and became a well-known concubine.

Afraid of his wife making trouble, Xu Zhiyuan simply moved out and lived in a villa with Zhao Zhenlan.

…

Yunjian Sanxu, the eldest brother is Xu Fuyuan, the third brother is Xu Zhiyuan, and the second brother is... Xu Fengcai.

A concubine has given birth to a son, so she is not qualified to type.

Xu Fengcai was an artistic literati, and it was he who judged the charters of several societies.

After learning the truth, this guy immediately went to Hangzhou to find Xu Ying who was promoting Datong Thought.

Also accompanying him was his clan brother Xu Nianzu.

Xu Nianzu is the great-grandson of Xu Jie. He is young and mature. He often sighs after reading Tangbao. Friends laughed at his pedantry, and Xu Nianzu said: "The bad government is getting worse day by day, and the people are having trouble living. In less than twenty years, we don't know where we will die."

When the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, Xu Nianzu donated money to support the army and raised grain and grass for the Southern Ming Dynasty.

When the Qing soldiers reached Songjiang, all the villagers fled. Xu Nianzu said: "I live in the house given to my ancestors by the Ming Emperor. The country's favor is here, and I must die here."

Then he dispersed all his wealth and recruited troops to defend the city.

The Qing army broke through the city gate, and Xu Nianzu bought wine to have a banquet with his family. After eating, the whole family hanged themselves, and the servants at home also committed suicide. The six-year-old granddaughter was unable to hang herself, so she threw herself into a well and died.

cabin.

Xu Nianzu closed the "Datong Collection" and sighed: "Do you really want to be a thief?"

Xu Fengcai said: "Brother, do you think this Ming Dynasty can still be saved?"

"There was no hope of help ten years ago, let alone today." Xu Nianzu's expression was painful.

The three brothers Xu Fuyuan, Xu Fengcai and Xu Zhiyuan have been separated. But Xu Nianzu lived in Xu Jie's old house, which was given by Emperor Jiajing.

Before Chongzhen ascended the throne, Xu Nianzu read the newspaper every month and paid attention to world affairs.

But he failed despite repeated attempts and had no way of serving the country. Moreover, he did not want to get involved in party strife, and he was too lazy to buy an official position.

Seeing that the situation was getting worse day by day, Xu Nianzu was in agony, and he had even made up his mind to die for his country.

In the entire Xu family, Xu Nianzu is the person who understands the situation best. He played with the wine glass and said with a wry smile: "On the Holy Day, Brother Yu insisted on reading the Tang News and inquiring about Jiangxi news from merchants. Two years ago, I knew that Zhao Han would win the world, and judging from his politics, he was an eternal hero. But I Can the Xu family really be a thief?"

"Brother, what are your plans?" Xu Fengcai asked.

Xu Nianzu said: "When the Jiangxi soldiers arrive, I will cooperate with them to divide the fields, and then commit suicide in the house. My branch is very thin, and I hope that Shengqi will take care of it in the future."

Xu Fengcai was shocked: "Brother, why do you have such stupid thoughts? You said that Zhao Han is the master of England, why don't you help him wholeheartedly, but commit suicide instead?"

Xu Nianzu asked back: "Do you want to live in the mansion given by the Ming Emperor and become a minister of the new dynasty?"

"You can just move out and live there!" Xu Fengcai said depressedly.

"This is hiding one's ears and stealing the bell." Xu Nianzu shook his head and said.

Xu Fengcai changed her mind and said: "Brother, you have a way to repay your kindness. You can go to Zhao Han to become an official. As long as the official becomes a big one, you can persuade Zhao Han to treat the Ming Dynasty royal family well."

Xu Nianzu was startled and suddenly swallowed the wine in the glass.

When the brothers came to Hangzhou, they first contacted Wang Mingran and finally met Xu Ying in person.

"Mr. Huang, write me a letter of recommendation quickly. I want to go to Ji'an, Jiangxi immediately!" Xu Fengcai said straight to the point.

Xu Ying smiled and said: "Does the Xu family in Yunjian want to defect to Jiangxi?"

Xu Fengcai whispered: "Mr. Zhao's sister is at the Xu family right now."

"Mr. Zhao's sister?" Xu Ying was inexplicably surprised.

Zhao Han gave Xu Ying three tasks: first, to establish an intelligence network; second, to promote the idea of ​​​​Datong; third, to find her sister.

Xu Fengcai said: "Mr. Zhao's sister is now my third brother's concubine... Good concubine, good concubine! The third brother's wife is the daughter of a rich family. If she divorces her, she may be the laughing stock of the neighbors. But the third brother has already brought her with her The younger siblings moved out and lived alone in the villa. They were cared for and loved without any harsh treatment."

"I will write a letter immediately and send a boat to take you there." Xu Ying said.

After sending Xu Fengcai and Xu Nianzu away, Xu Ying immediately left to visit Zhao Zhenlan at the Xu family.

The Xu brothers took a merchant ship, arrived in Zhenjiang, and then changed ships to Jiangxi.

It was not lonely on the boat, there were three famous prostitutes, Wang Wei, Lin Xue, and Liu Rushi.

It is true that Wang Mingran and Lin Xue like each other, but they both know very well that nothing will happen. Lin Xue said she was going to Jiangxi, but Wang Mingran didn't try to persuade her to stay, and even gave her a gift of silver to wish her a safe journey.

When they arrived in Zhenjiang, someone picked them up.

The ship owner Li Fenglai entertained him personally. He was a grain merchant. Since the export of grain was banned last year, he simply started a cloth business, transporting coarse cotton yarn and coarse cotton cloth produced in Jiangxi to Huaiyang for sale.

This is an emerging industry. Although Jiangxi also produced cotton cloth in the past, its scale and quality were not as good as those in Jiangnan, and it could only be sold in surrounding provinces.

After the water-powered spinning machine was improved, it could spin large quantities of coarse cotton yarn, and many merchants immediately followed suit. Even landowners who had their fields divided among them started building hydraulic spinning machines because their families had a lot of money.

It did not impact traditional family workshops, but actually promoted them!

Rural women in the cotton-producing areas of Jiangxi first made cotton slivers at home and sold them to hydraulic spinning mills by the pound. He also bought coarse cotton yarn from the water-powered spinning mill, spun it into coarse cotton cloth himself, and then sold it to merchants like Li Fenglai.

However, there is a phenomenon that is alarming. Because of the huge profits, many farmers have switched to cotton, which will inevitably lead to a decline in Jiangxi's grain output.

Moreover, if anyone improves the loom, textile factories may appear, and the number of cotton fields will increase significantly!

Zhao Han is discussing with officials how to ensure the scale of grain fields. At least until there is sufficient food, we cannot allow the food fields to decrease, otherwise the time to unify the world will be greatly delayed.

Li Fenglai set up a banquet in the cabin, and everyone came to sit down.

The merchant ships opened and exchanged greetings.

Xu Nianzu first asked: "Is Jiangxi still embargoing grain?"

"The ban will not be lifted until at least the summer harvest." Li Feng said.

Xu Nianzu said: "Alas, the embargo in Jiangxi has made the famine in the provinces south of the Yangtze River even worse!"

"It will be fine in two years." Li Fenglai said.

Xu Nianzu said: "After the summer harvest, Zhao... the general will definitely send troops again. Xia Tian should be able to capture the prefectures and counties around Dongting Lake. It depends on the east, whether he will go to Zhejiang first or Fujian first. According to the normal route, it will be inevitable Send troops to Zhejiang. Wait for Zhejiang to be consolidated, and then attack Susong and Songfu from the north and south, so that Jiangnan is in his hands. But General Zhao seems not to want to take Jiangnan quickly to avoid fighting with the imperial army from the north. This summer, he will probably attack Fujian first. "

Wang Wei looked surprised. Xu Ying asked her to write a letter to Mao Yuanyi. It was obvious that she wanted to attack Fujian first. Unexpectedly, the Xu family master guessed it.

Xu Nianzu added: "After taking Jiangnan, General Zhao must capture Huaiyang. In this way, the natural dangers of Jianghuai can be attacked and defended, and the Jianghuai salt field can be taken over. To capture Jianghuai, there are two options. One can be a northern expedition to Shandong and Henan. , Secondly, we can take Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan to the west."

The cabin was full of literary and artistic people. Only Xu Nianzu was a military officer, and the others could only sit and listen obediently.