xymnovel Chapter 111 Horse Carrying Sand
Chapter 111 Horse Carrying Sand
When Zheng Fan made up his mind to return south by boat, Shao Shuyi was pulling tens of thousands of bronze artifacts back from Jiangxi.
When we passed through Yuxikou, we didn't even see a trace of the Chaohu bandits.
When we docked in Wuhu, we heard from locals that there was an epidemic in Wuwei, Hefei, Shouchun, Haozhou and other places around Chaohu Lake, probably related to last year's famine. This is what the elders mean when they say that a major disaster is always followed by a major epidemic.
The large number of corpses left unattended was the source of the plague.
It is clear that the situation in Huainan is indeed far from optimistic. The population has drastically decreased, farmland has been abandoned, and the social and economic order has been severely disrupted.
Shao Shuyi then thought of Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang.
If these two were to start an uprising in Huainan, aside from everything else, securing food would be extremely difficult.
But—was Zhu Yuanzhang fleeing famine at this time? Shao Shuyi wasn't sure. Perhaps he was still a novice monk in a temple, but he didn't know if that temple was legitimate, if it had temple lands or tenants, or if it lent money at exorbitant interest rates. If not, then things were in serious trouble.
The death spiral in Huainan cannot be escaped on its own without external help.
On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, the three boats docked at Matuosha in Jiangyin Prefecture for their final purchases on the return journey.
Surrounded by Kong Tie and Tie Niu, Shao Shuyi led a group of boatmen to the sandbar in the river.
The locals call it "Muma Dasha" because Sun Quan once grazed his horses here during the Three Kingdoms period.
To the northwest, there is a smaller sandbar called "Muma Xiaosha," which is now under the jurisdiction of Taixing County, Henan Jiangbei Province.
The two sandbars stand side by side, independent of each other, situated at the junction of two provinces, one railway line, and two prefectures, practically a no-man's-land.
Although Matuosha was nominally under the jurisdiction of Jiangyin Prefecture, a patrol station was only established last year to formally manage the thousands of people living there. Shao Shuyi quickly arrived near Yaqian Street, the most "prosperous" area on the island, and found that although small, it was fully equipped with commercial facilities such as grain shops, butcher shops, wineries, and cloth shops. However, there was only one of each type, with no competition and no interference between them, seemingly catering exclusively to passing ships. After all, Matuosha's location was truly crucial: it was silted up and stretched across the Yangtze River, dividing the waterway into the North River and the South River, so it was normal for ships to dock there to buy fresh food.
The most prominent building near Yaqian Street is not the patrol office, but the ancestral hall, which is commonly known as the "Yue Wang Temple".
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei once led his troops to garrison here and organized the people from Huaihe River who followed him south to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land on the island. Many people were able to survive, so the people spontaneously built a shrine in his honor.
However, that's not Shao Shuyi's purpose today.
He waited on the shore for two full hours before he saw several small boats sailing from the south of the Yangtze River, and then more than ten people disembarked.
"I've inquired for you, but I haven't seen the Shao family in the city." Madam Liu, wearing a veil, looked up at the messy houses around her.
Shao Shuyi sighed.
He didn't even know his brother-in-law's name, which was indeed difficult to find out—his parents might have mentioned it before, but he was too young to remember. As for his sister herself, she didn't have a formal name, only the nickname "Shuanglu," and he didn't know where she had moved to now.
"Did your family used to live here?" Madam Liu glanced at Shao Shuyi and asked.
"That's from the previous generation," Shao Shuyi said. "They used to be boatmen at the Changshu Jiangyin Thousand-Household Office of the Caofu (Grain Transport Commissioner). Later, for some reason, they moved to Taicang, where I was born."
"Oh, the search for your roots didn't go through." Madam Liu stared into Shao Shuyi's eyes and said, "A little disappointed?"
Shao Shuyi turned around, smiled, and took two steps closer.
Lady Liu's attendants were startled and instinctively drew their weapons, especially her third brother, Liu Xing, whose eyes widened as if he wanted to devour someone.
"I can summon forty men from my three boats, none of whom are good people. Don't mess with me." Shao Shuyi pressed down the veil on Madam Liu's head, which had been blown up by the wind, and said, "There is actually another matter I have come here today."
Madam Liu remained calm, her expression unchanged, and asked, "What is it?"
Shao Shuyi looked around, pointed to the Yue Fei Temple not far away, and said, "Let's talk over there."
Having said that, he took the lead and walked through the gate.
Madam Liu gave her brother and attendants a look that said "be patient" before following them over.
After entering, there are stones with the words "Serve the country with utmost loyalty" carved on the walls on both sides. In the main hall, there is a seated statue of Yue Fei, with eight generals including Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, and Niu Gao guarding the left and right sides. The offering table is full of incense ash and some seasonal fruits, indicating that people often worship there, but there is no temple keeper.
Shao Shuyi stared at the words on the pillars, "Thirty years of fame and glory are but dust and dirt, eight thousand miles of road are but clouds and moon," and remained silent for a long time.
"What? You still want to launch a northern expedition to reclaim our lost territories?" Madam Liu's voice rang out softly.
"What if?" Shao Shuyi chuckled and said, "You're not tolerated by the government, your identity is shady, shouldn't you hope that a fool like me will jump out and smash this world to pieces?"
"Do you have that ability?" Madam Liu covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Perhaps?" Shao Shuyi laughed. "One day, I will personally come to this temple to pay my respects and vow to launch a northern expedition. The spirit of Yue Fei in heaven will surely protect me." "It's not even dark yet, and you're already dreaming," Madam Liu laughed. "If that day really comes, I might give everything I have to help you succeed and gain immense wealth and honor."
Shao Shuyi looked Madam Liu up and down and smiled, "Very good."
After saying that, he added, "Stop joking. Actually, I'm thinking of renting out some houses here to pickle salted fish. What do you think?"
"Right under the nose of the Inspectorate?" Madam Liu asked in surprise.
"The sandbar stretches for over a hundred li from east to west, and the patrol station is located at the western end of the sandbar. Would I be foolish enough to do this right under their noses?" Shao Shuyi said. "Besides, I just asked around, and there isn't even a patrol station here. There are only thirteen archers; they'd have a hard time even catching thieves, let alone doing anything else." Madam Liu pondered for a long time and said, "Indeed, there's hardly anyone in charge here. Officials from Taixing County and Jiangyin Prefecture probably won't even come once a year. If we could shut up the people at the patrol station, the salted fish workshop could easily open. But where would we find the manpower?"
"Let's find some trustworthy seafarers first, then slowly recruit some local people to make do," Shao Shuyi said. "If you're worried about word getting out, there's really no need to. Isn't it more dangerous to sell salted fish in Taicang or Liujiagang? Besides, it would be more convenient if there were any merchants in Huainan willing to sell me the smuggled salt they'd intercepted, wouldn't it? After we've finished selling the salted fish, we can row our small boat to the south bank at night, and you can send someone to pick us up. I'm more worried about your side now. Is your inn ready? Are your people reliable?"
"It's already open," Madam Liu said. "The owners are an honest family, good citizens for generations. They don't look like the kind of people who would dare to sell smuggled salt." "Even now, you still won't tell us who you're relying on in Jiangyin?" Shao Shuyi asked.
Madam Liu's smile remained unchanged.
"Is the shop on Jiqing Road not listening to you anymore? You may have a lot more money than me, but you don't have enough manpower, do you?" Shao Shuyi asked again.
Madam Liu laughed again, and her laughter was quite loud.
"Forget it, although I've always been curious, I won't pry. You've had it tough enough." Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said, "Let's settle things like this for now. If we get caught, we can just have a showdown, that's all. You..."
He thought for a moment and said, "If there's an opportunity, we should recruit more people. Surely there's someone reliable in Wenzhou?" "You've talked too much today," Madam Liu finally stopped laughing.
Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "If you can find my relatives, there will be a generous reward."
"Why don't we look in Ma Tuo Sha?" Madam Liu asked.
"Didn't you already look for it?"
"I only asked around on Yaqian Street."
Shao Shuyi remained silent.
"If you don't look for someone, you'll be all alone," Madam Liu said, looking at him.
"Isn't there you?" Shao Shuyi laughed. "Even the Shao clan probably wouldn't dare to do private salt business with me."
"You really think I won't lose my temper?" Madam Liu's face turned cold again. "You're not even fully grown yet, and you're already spouting such nonsense. Aren't you worried about having your tongue cut off one day?"
"I really have cut out someone's tongue, Zhou Ziliang's, I cut it out myself." Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "He insulted my parents and said he hurt me, but I really can't find any relatives or descendants. As the saying goes, if one person is full, the whole family isn't hungry. Even if I rebelled, it wouldn't implicate others. What wouldn't I dare to do?"
Madam Liu was silent for a moment, then said, "You're acting very strangely today."
"Madam is intelligent," Shao Shuyi interrupted her, saying, "The second half of that sentence would be hurtful if I said it."
Madam Liu smiled again, teasingly saying, "A sixteen-year-old boy, yet you act like a shrewd old man. Aren't you tired?" "Talking to Madam isn't tiring," Shao Shuyi cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Let's go. If we don't leave soon, your bear-like younger brother might start having all sorts of wild thoughts."
After saying that, he left Yue Fei Temple first.
When his eyes met Liu Xing's, Shao Shuyi smiled at him and said, "Madam is appreciating poetry."
Liu Xing was taken aback.
Her sister was skilled at cleaning fish and doing accounting, and adept at cultivating relationships with the women in the families of officials; she certainly wouldn't appreciate poetry.
Madam Liu came out quickly, glanced at her younger brother, and instructed, "Go back and find a copy of Zhao Weigong's calligraphy of 'Man Jiang Hong'."
Upon hearing this, Shao Shuyi smiled and beckoned everyone to walk toward the boat.
On June 12, three ships fully loaded with Jingdezhen porcelain arrived at Liujiagang.