Chapter Ten Short-term Plan

  In the mountains, days and months passed like an arrow. Before long, it was already the 18th of December in the first year of Chongzhen. Lin Chunhong and his group of over 30 people placed the felled trees by the creek and returned home for the New Year. Although the trees had not yet been transported to Qingjiang Port and wages could not be paid to the workers, Lin Chunhong gave each person an advance payment of 3 taels of silver. According to Lin Chunhong's words: "Giving workers their wages, having a good New Year, naturally someone will help us speak well for free, making it easy to recruit people next year." He also specifically entrusted Lin Dehai and other friends from Xiaowan Village: "After returning to the village, be sure to have a lively and festive New Year. Are we still afraid of lacking money in the future? If you need to buy new clothes for your family members, then buy them; if you should eat meat, then eat it. If you have money to repair houses, first make sure to lay a good foundation. Doing this is already helping me."

  Lin Dehai and others have this intention, as the saying goes: "Wealth and honor do not return to their hometown, like brocade clothes walking at night." Who has money and doesn't want to show off in his hometown? For a time, the area around Yiling State and Xiaowan Village was filled with such talk.

  "Lin boss is indeed capable, in half a year's time, he not only got himself back on his feet but also brought some of the struggling workers with him."

  "Boss Lin? Who is it?"

  "It's Xiao San, right? Shh, Mr. Lin doesn't allow others to call him Xiao San. I thought he'd become stupid after his father and brother died, but unexpectedly, he became rich overnight!"

  ……

  "Has Big Ears gone mad too? This kid can't do anything except run his mouth, and he's actually got money now? And he's even going to a wine house? Has the world gone crazy?"

  "Who says it's not? I heard that Lin Laoban is recruiting people, and the big cat ear said that Lin Laoban was still hiring last year. Are you going or not?"

  "What kind of goods does this big-eared cat have? Even this mixed ball can be sent, it's definitely not a legitimate business, and I'm afraid we'll be caught by the government!"

  "What's wrong with Big Cat Ear? This guy, apart from being a bit of a mouthful, is also very capable and sincere! I heard someone came to his door to propose marriage! Second Stick will get married after the New Year, damn it, why didn't I go when Second Stick invited me?"

  ……

  Zhou Wang and Li Chengzong were quite puzzled by Lin Chunhong's move, and they advised him: "It is often said that a Taoist fears fame and a pig fears strength. The bird that sticks its head out gets shot. It's not good to be targeted by others like this!" Lin Chunhong had even more reasons, saying that as long as he was strong himself, what could others do to him? In these times, being talked about by others, whether praised or slandered, can also be used to make money! Zhou Wang and Li Shu's advice was ineffective, so they could only let Lin Chunhong have his way, but they were anxious every day.

  What's even more worrying for Zhou Wang is that Lin Chunhong, when talking about his plans, actually wants to buy the entire Tian Di of Baili Island, and also wants to bring the indigenous people near Jiehe Rock into management. Zhou Wang looked at Lin Chunhong's eyes filled with confidence, shining brightly, and felt a sense of unfamiliarity for the first time, and couldn't help but think: "A man's heart is not enough to swallow an elephant!"

  Lin Chunhong didn't care about Zhou Wang's astonishment, he had his own plan: Baili Island was surrounded by water on all sides, with a circumference of 100 miles, and it was not convenient to communicate with the outside world. Once he thoroughly controlled the island, he could secretly train soldiers and manufacture weapons there. As for the indigenous people along the Qingjiang River, Lin Chunhong thought that place was the virgin land left by heaven for himself. There were many comfort offices and long official residences occupying large areas of deep mountains and old forests, and the imperial court and local governments didn't care about these places at all, which was just suitable for him to infiltrate his forces. As long as he recruited enough people, dealing with those indigenous people would be a piece of cake?

  "In the morning, I bid farewell to the White Emperor in the colorful clouds, and return to Jiangling a thousand miles away. The cries of monkeys on both banks do not stop, and my light boat has already passed through the Wanzhong Mountains." This refers to the section of the Yangtze River from Baidi City to Zhongzhou.

  The Yangtze River, which rushes out of the Three Gorges, bids farewell to Bashu, passes through Yichang and Gezhou, and presents a majestic scene like a vast sea. As it flows eastward, the water flow slows down, and sediment deposits accumulate over time, forming BaLi Zhou.

  BaLi Zhou is an isolated island in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the largest island in the 10,000-mile-long river. To its north lies Zigui County, separated from it by the main course of the Yangtze River. The southern part of the river is narrower, facing Songzi.

  Until the early Ming dynasty, large and small islands were formed due to years of sedimentation, and the 99 small islands gradually merged into a single piece, giving rise to BaLi Zhou. The island has an area of over 220,000 mu, but only about 50,000 mu can be cultivated, with most areas being sandy shoals that are submerged during summer floods and exposed in winter."

  "Now the land price in Jiangling is about 8 taels of silver per mu, and Baili Zhou, although cheaper, also costs around 4 taels of silver. To buy it would require over 2 million taels of silver, how can we afford to sell?"

  "Money is no object, let's buy as much as we can first and then take it from there."

  Lin Chunhong was so stubborn about this issue that Zhou Wang thought he had delusions.

  "Zhou Shu, since there are still seven or eight days before New Year's, shall we go take a look at Bai Li Zhou?"

  Zhou Wang had no choice but to follow Lin Chunhong, and Xiao Feng also insisted on going. Li Mujiao was idle and was also brought along by Lin Chunhong. The four of them set off together.

  From Yiling State, a boat was hired to sail downstream, and it arrived in one day. Only saw the trees on Baili Island were lush and dense, and couldn't see the end at a glance. The west side of the island is slightly higher, and the east side is low-lying, all are sand islands. The arable land on the island is mainly concentrated in the west and south, while there is no arable land in the far west, mainly because the river water washes away, and the foundation of the island is not fixed.

  Four people are preparing to walk around the island, hoping to have a general understanding of it. The group set foot on the island at Fujiadu, walked east along the riverbank, and arrived at Baima Temple, where they found that the island's shoreline turned southeast. After proceeding for about 5 miles, they reached Liuxiang Village, where they discovered that the river water flowed more slowly and the shore was steep, with a very deep riverbed.

  Lin Chunhong was overjoyed when he saw it and said: "This is a suitable place to build a port! A shipyard can also be built here."

  The other three were shocked to hear this, building a port and a shipyard would cost more silver than buying land, which further confirmed the fact that Lin Chunhong had indeed suffered from delusions!

  "Didn't earn much money, but spent the whole day thinking about spending silver, this is called a toad wanting to eat swan meat!" Xiaofeng always thought of bullying Lin Chunhong, perhaps it was Lin Chunhong's stubbornness that stimulated her.

  "It's just saying it's suitable here, but didn't say go build it right away!" Lin Chunhong said with a smile.

  Xiaofeng and Li Mujin finally put their minds at ease, but Zhou Wang knew that Lin Chunhong would definitely do so. According to Lin Chunhong's words, it was a precautionary measure for the fate of the Ming Dynasty. Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang had discussed this many times before. Lin Chunhong believed that the fate of the Ming Dynasty would end in the hands of bandits or Tartars, and Huguang would also be thrown into chaos. Even if the bandits did not come here, the Tartars would invade. As northerners were skilled at riding horses and southerners were skilled at sailing boats, they would eventually have to rely on the navy to deal with the Tartars' cavalry.

  But Zhou Wang didn't think so, the Ming dynasty has lasted for almost 300 years, it's not that easy to perish. Although there are now popular uprisings everywhere and Liaodong is lost, it hasn't reached the point of collapse yet. Besides, Chongzhen is a wise ruler in any case, since he took office, he executed Wei Zhongxian, abolished mining taxes, and recalled tax officials, all of which made the people applaud with joy, how could such a court perish?

  "The abolition of the mining tax and the recall of the tax commissioner have satisfied the people, but what about the silver for Liaodong? How will the disaster-stricken areas be relieved? The court has no money to spare!" Lin Chunhong said at the time.

  Zhou Wang associated it with the recent rumors of the Liaodong soldiers' rebellion due to insufficient pay, and somewhat believed Lin Chunhong's words.

  Lin Chunhong concluded: "No matter how powerful the Liaodong Tartars are, no matter how many peasant uprisings there are, as long as the imperial court has money and grain, they will not be a problem. The key is that the imperial court cannot come up with the money now!"

  A group of four continued to head east, walking until they reached the Ba Miao Tan area, where they turned south, leaving the main course of the Yangtze River and entering a small river nearby. The riverbed here was very narrow, with severe siltation, and in winter it was even possible to wade across. The winter wheat in the fields had already sprouted, but due to drought, the seedlings were sparse, and no one knew whether next year's floods would submerge this place, so it was estimated that life here next year would be difficult. Furthermore, with more and more bandits on the Yangtze River, the farmers here fled in large numbers. Small groups of bandits did not dare to go north of the Yangtze River to plunder, but Baili Zhou belonged to Zhijiang County, and was separated from the county seat by a river, making it extremely low-risk for bandits to plunder here, turning this place into a paradise for them. The farmers' lives became increasingly difficult, with some even becoming bandits themselves during their spare time, and the entire Baili Zhou area was almost turned into a den of thieves.

  If it weren't for Zhou Wang, Lin Chunhong and others carrying knives and bows and arrows with them, they might have become targets. Lin Chunhong heard that the land price here had fallen to three or two silver coins per mu, and no one wanted it. Lin Chunhong was so pleased that his head spun around. Xiaofeng couldn't bear to look at him anymore, scolded him, and said: "The common people here can't even make a living, you're pleased, what is your heart made of?"

  "My dear Miss Zhou, you are a kind-hearted person who helps the people and saves them from suffering, while I am a wicked person who does all sorts of evil things. Alright? Yet as an ordinary citizen, I still think I'm superior to others."

  "You, you..." Little Feng's eyes widened in anger, pointing at Lin Chunhong with her finger, unable to speak.

  "What am I? Once I buy this island and don't collect rent from them, they'll live a bit better. My heart is made of flesh, isn't it?"

  Xiao Feng'er hummed and said, "It's about right like this!"

  Li Mujiang and Zhou Wang saw two young people arguing, and they secretly smiled on the side. Li Mujiang added on the side: "Half a year ago, more than 30 of us were so poor that we were in debt, if it weren't for Master Lin, how could we hold our heads up high to spend this New Year?"

  "This is called being virtuous when poor and benevolent when successful! The more ability you have, the more people you help!" Lin Chunhong said with satisfaction.

  "Look at you, so pleased with yourself after earning a bit of dirty money. Be careful not to capsize in the ditch!" Little Feng couldn't bear Lin Chunhong's complacency.

  "What? Are you cursing me? This won't even spare your own father?"

  The sound of Zhou Wang and Li Mujiang's laughter came from the shore.