Chapter 49: Defending the Warehouse

  The Yiling warehouse covers an area of about three miles, with a dock on the south side and three gates: North Gate, West Gate, and East Gate. The roads inside are well-connected, providing multiple functions such as storage, commerce, and services, attracting many merchants and idlers, presenting a bustling scene.

  Due to the large-scale transactions of goods within the warehouse, brokers were set up, also known as "牙人" (tooth people), who acted as intermediaries, facilitating transactions and taking a 1% commission on the transaction amount as maintenance fees for the warehouse. Unlike outside brokers, transactions here required the presence of a broker and their signature on the contract to be valid. Any private transactions would be declared unwelcome by the warehouse, and the owner would be banned from entering.

  Brokers' labor costs were tied to the transaction amount, so each broker would exert all their energy to facilitate transactions. Initially, merchants were dissatisfied with the commission and did not want to trade in the warehouse. However, over time, they found that trading in the warehouse not only had more buyers and sellers but also provided protection from harassment by rascals and even allowed them to avoid official harassment. Moreover, the services within the warehouse were comprehensive, especially storage, where all transactions subject to commission could use the storage for free for a month.

  Merchants gradually became accustomed to conducting large-scale transactions in the warehouse. However, this only applied to Yiling, whereas warehouses like Jieheyan, Xiaowanzi, and Yahekou could only charge fees based on incoming and outgoing vehicles and cargo, as large-scale transactions were not common there.

  However, the protection that merchants rely on is now precarious. Bai Jingzhou led more than 200 people to block the north gate, south gate and west gate, making the merchants inside anxious and unable to end their days. They lamented that today's goods were fed to the white-eyed wolf, and let the Qiling thousand households take them away. They gathered at the cargo management office, demanding an explanation from the warehouse. Zhou Shiliang was busy with a big sweat, not only maintaining the chaotic order in the warehouse, but also preventing some people from taking advantage of the fire, and explaining to each merchant who came, promising that any losses suffered by the merchants would be compensated by the warehouse.

  Zhou Feng was dismissed and Zhou Shiliang, the captain of the warehouse guard, temporarily took charge of his duties.

  The merchants finally felt at ease and slowly gathered in the wine tower, watching how Zhou Shiliang would deal with the thousand households of Yiling.

  In the warehouse, 50 or 60 workers were divided into two groups by Zhou Shiliang for inspection. Those with slightly different intentions were caught first and then dealt with. After all, there were many laborers in the warehouse, and it was difficult to ensure that these people would not cause trouble. Zhou Shiliang personally led more than 30 guards to maintain a state of alertness, standing on the wall of the warehouse to closely monitor the uninvited Wei Suo officers. Their weapons were only batons, after all, privately storing weapons was no different from treason, and in Yiling City, Lin Chunhong did not dare to be so bold.

  Bai Jingzhou rode on a white horse, wearing armor and holding a long spear, looking majestic. Unfortunately, the soldiers behind him were not worthy of him, their weapons were not well-maintained, and they looked dull and colorless. The decorations on the soldiers' uniforms were also unsightly, with mixed colors, and the troops were disorganized, scattered all over the place, without any semblance of order.

  But Bai Jingzhou didn't care about these things, he only thought that his father was a hereditary military officer of the imperial court, whoever dared to hit his father would be treasonous, and the military households behind him were just for show. Even if he had a hundred guts, he wouldn't dare go to the warehouse alone and shout to open the door. The military households behind him shouted under his command: "Open the door! We want to investigate the stolen military equipment, open the door quickly!" The shouting was quite uniform, the voice was very loud, and it had a bit of an atmosphere that could swallow mountains and rivers.

  Unfortunately, Zhou Shiliang in the warehouse was immune to this shouting voice and didn't care at all. He just ordered the guards to salute Bai Jingzhou, which made Bai Jingzhou's anger more and more intense. Finally, he couldn't bear it and ordered: "Give me a battering ram, smash the door open!"

  The soldiers under his command quickly found a large log from the nearby construction site, and more than 20 people carried it, ready to rush towards the North Gate. Zhou Shiliang saw the soldiers find the log, and immediately ordered the guards to assemble and form an array inside the North Gate. A cold smile appeared on his face, as he was going to give Bai Jingzhou a warning shot according to Lin Chunhong's instructions.

  The soldiers had long heard that the Yi Ling warehouse was making money like playing with sand, and as soon as they thought about entering the warehouse, all the silver and goods would be theirs for the taking. With a light step and high spirits, more than 20 people carried wooden beams, shouting and charging towards the north gate, their speed getting faster and faster. With a loud crash, they collided with the wooden door. But the north gate of the warehouse was made of top-quality wood, how could it be easily damaged? It only let out a creaking sound, but still stood upright as usual. The soldiers heard the crashing sound and let out cheers like drunkards. The soldier who crashed into the door became more and more pleased with himself, carrying the wooden beam and slowly retreating to prepare for a second collision.

  At this moment, the north gate of the warehouse suddenly opened by itself. More than 30 guards holding batons stood inside, led by Zhou Shiliang, who was advancing in a neat and orderly manner. As soon as they exited the north gate, Zhou Shiliang gave the order "Charge!", and the guard team rushed towards the military households carrying wood like an avalanche.

  The military household who were carrying the wooden beam were shocked, they didn't have any weapons in their hands, those who reacted quickly threw down the beam and ran away, while those who were slower were crushed by the beam and let out blood-curdling screams. The guards raised their batons and chased after the military household, hitting them on the arms and legs, for a moment the sound of the batons and the screams intertwined, exciting the merchants in the warehouse, thinking they had just witnessed a thrilling drama.

  The fast-running soldiers rushed directly into the crowd, and the terrifying atmosphere affected other soldiers, who stood stupidly for a moment not knowing what to do. Bai Jingzhou was also shocked, and when he reacted, the guard team was already close to him, shouting: "Men, kill them!"

  The voice had just fallen, and Zhou Shiliang had already arrived in front of him. He raised his long gun and poked it at Zhou Shiliang, who used his whistle rod to strike the gun rod horizontally, deflecting the gun head. Another guard rushed forward, raised his whistle rod, and struck the horse's neck with all his might. With a loud crack, the horse dodged too late, its neck hit by the rod, and it turned around and fled in panic, almost throwing Bai Jingzhou off its back. Bai Jingzhou desperately pulled on the reins but couldn't control the horse.

  The soldiers saw Bai Jingzhou and fled, no longer hesitating, and followed him in a chaotic retreat. The guards took advantage of the situation and pursued them relentlessly, not long after, dozens of people fell to the ground with injured legs and feet, letting out a chorus of wails and screams, knives, guns, and shields scattered all over the place.

  Lin Chun-hong, Zhou Wang and He Shi-lin had already arrived at the warehouse, hiding behind a hill, quietly observing the situation. When they saw Bai Jingzhou leading his men in a frantic charge, they emerged and shouted: "Halt!" The guards heard Lin Chun-hong's order and stopped their pursuit, gathering under Zhou Shiliang's leadership at the north gate, glaring fiercely at the routed military households, looking inviolable. He Shi-lin watched all this with an expressionless face and said: "Are these guards Lin's men? Weren't they the ones who annihilated Wu Gan last time?"

  Lin Chunhong humbly said: "That's right, young men have been to the battlefield and seen blood, they are a little stronger than farmers!"

  He Shilin was about to continue asking, but was interrupted by Bai Jingzhou: "Lin Xiaosan, you openly attacked the government soldiers, which is equivalent to treason. You can wait for your death by slow slicing!" After finishing, he laughed triumphantly.

  He Shilin stared at Bai Jingzhou and simply asked: "What are you going to do?"

  Bai Jingzhou immediately rolled down from his horse and bowed: "Mr. He, how did you end up like this?"

  He Shilin snorted and said, "Governor Yan has long known that you're not up to par, so he sent me to take a look at you. Today, I've taken a look, and indeed it's as expected. More than 200 soldiers can't even handle over 30 people, and you're still laughing loudly - are you able to laugh?"

  Bai Jingzhou was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and stammered: "It's them... it's them..." He thought for half a day but couldn't come up with an excuse to defend himself, so he could only wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

  He Shilin was a staff member of Jingzhou defender Yan Jiehe, who had always been trusted. In addition to serving as the defender of Jingzhou, Yan Jiehe also held the title of Left Commander-in-Chief of Jingzhou, which made him the direct superior of Bai Jingzhou. He Shilin was an old friend of Zhang Daohuan and came to mediate the conflict between Lin Chunhong and Bai Jingzhou at Yan Jiehe's request. During the Battle of Yang, Yan Jiehe cooperated with Lin Chunhong happily, and when Lin had a request, he naturally agreed. With He Shilin's help from the side, he patted his chest and said that this matter would be left to him.

  He Shilin saw Bai Jingzhou's appearance and got angry, continuing to scold: "Blocked from taking a concubine and then retaliating with troops? Is there still any imperial law in your eyes? Where is your order to deploy troops?"

  Bai Jingzhou heard the "order to adjust troops" and became even more tense. According to imperial regulations, the Thousand Households' Guard had no right to mobilize troops. If they violated this rule, the punishment would be severe: exile at best, or even death. He hastily begged: "Please, Mr. He, put in a good word for me with Lord Yan. I was just momentarily confused!"

  "Get out, aren't you ashamed enough!" He Shilin's curse made Bai Jingzhou put down his heart and watched as his subordinates supported each other in twos and threes, their faces pale and disheartened, leading the defeated soldiers away with their heads hung low.

  Looking at the desolate and miserable military households of Bai Jingzhou, He Shilin sighed deeply and said: "The Wei camp has been completely destroyed, and the camp soldiers are also useless. The use and supply of troops are all confused, alas! Our great Ming dynasty spans thousands of miles, yet we can't even find elite troops to stop the invasion of Jian Nu, what a shame, what a shame!"

  In the second and third years of Chongzhen, the slave army invaded and besieged the capital, and the various routes of the king's soldiers were in chaos, with weak combat effectiveness. Often, they would flee without even fighting due to various reasons, leaving the future of the Ming dynasty bleak. This made Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong disheartened. What was even more worrying was that the gathering of the king's soldiers in the capital led to a vacuum in local military strength, and bandits began to stir, while famine and disaster relief efforts were ineffective, like pouring oil on a raging fire. The entire Ming dynasty was in unprecedented chaos. This was exactly what happened when Wu Dang attacked Dayang.

  After a series of tedious steps, including Na Cai, Wen Ming, Na Ji, Na Zheng, and Qing Qi, Lin Chunhong and Zhou Feng's wedding date was set for February 16th next year. After the date was set, Zhou Feng changed a lot, she didn't go out, and she didn't play tricks on her parents or Lin Chunhong, which made Lin Chunhong very uncomfortable. He liked the former spoiled and willful little girl, not the current gentle and elegant Zhou Feng. The staff at Yiling Warehouse were also uncomfortable, as Zhou Feng no longer managed the warehouse affairs, and Lin Chunhong appointed Peng Xin to replace her, while Yuezhou Warehouse was taken over by Gu Xiulin. This is our little Feng'er, wherever she goes, people can deeply feel her presence, alas, unfortunately, the lovely and willful little girl is about to become a gentle lady.

  One day, Lin Chunhong finally couldn't bear it anymore and rushed into Zhou Wang's house, heavily knocking on the door of Zhou Feng's room, shouting: "Little Phoenix, Little Phoenix, come quickly to see, Third Brother has made a rainbow for you, hurry up and take a look!" The sound of knocking on the door startled not only Little Phoenix's mother but also the servants. Everyone looked at Lin Chunhong with strange eyes, as if they were looking at an alien.

  Lin Chunhong said with a smile: "I see that Little Phoenix hasn't gone out in the past few days, so I'll come up with something to cheer her up!" Although Little Phoenix's mother was not satisfied with Lin Chunhong's impulsive and unorthodox personality, she also knew that he was acting out of concern for Little Phoenix. So she ordered the servants to scatter and attend to their duties, while she herself pretended to be busy with other matters and quietly slipped away. After all, the two had grown up together since childhood, innocent and carefree.

  The hall was suddenly left with only Lin Chunhong, which made him feel embarrassed. He knocked on Xiaofeng's door again and called out: "Xiaofeng, come out! Don't you want to see San Ge's things?"

  "Look at it later, I have guests now!" Little Feng shouted from inside the house.

  Lin Chunhong lightly pushed open the door and found that it was not bolted. He stepped across the threshold and asked, "What kind of guest is this?"

  Lin Chunhong and Zhou Feng were childhood friends and had always been casual with each other; who would have thought that there was a female guest in the room?

  Little Phoenix let out a cry of surprise, shouting: "Get out, this is a female guest!" Lin Chunhong had always been indifferent to etiquette, although he regretted his rudeness, but since he had already entered, he wanted to take a good look. This one glance almost made Lin Chunhong become stupid, fortunately his mind was still clear, his gaze swept over the woman's body and stopped on Little Phoenix's face.

  It was Cui Yu'er who came to visit. Zhou Feng was grateful for Cui Yu'er's help last time, and the two became close friends after meeting a few times. Although their life experiences and personalities were vastly different, they had more and more things to talk about as time went on, and their relationship grew closer day by day. Zhou Feng learned a lot of dressing knowledge from Cui Yu'er, and even planned to follow her to learn how to play the piano. Cui Yu'er also enjoyed listening to Zhou Feng's stories about hunting and warehouse management.

  Lin Chunhong immediately bowed and said: "I was careless and disturbed you, Miss. Please don't mind."

  Xiao Feng was a bit angry and said, "You, you're always so reckless. You said there were guests, but then you rushed in and let Cui sister see us...". At this point, Xiao Feng became shy and lowered her head.

  Lin Chunhong was immediately smitten with Xiao Feng's shy demeanor, and couldn't believe that the young mistress of the house could be so captivating. Cui Yu'er, having seen many men before, wasn't flustered at all, and after saying "ten thousand blessings", said: "This humble woman has met Official Dian Shi, I've been here for an hour already, I'll take my leave now."

  She paused for a moment, then smiled and said: "The little woman wishes Master Shi and Feng Mei Mei a hundred years of happiness and bliss in advance!" After finishing speaking, she took a small maid and left with a smile.

  Little Feng sent Cui Yu'er to the door and returned home, glancing at Lin Chunhong sideways, asking: "What good thing do you want me to see? So urgent, as if the sky is falling?" Little Feng restored her usual smile, making Lin Chunhong overjoyed. He hastily pulled out a prism and took Little Feng's hand under the sun, saying: "I got a piece of crystal from the West that can reflect a rainbow."

  After he finished speaking, he placed the glass block under the sun, and immediately a seven-colored rainbow was printed on the ground. Lin Chunhong stared at Xiaofeng's face, hoping to see her shocked expression, but unexpectedly Xiaofeng said nonchalantly: "What's so special about this? When I wash clothes, the soap bubbles are all colorful too."

  Lin Chunhong didn't expect that soap bubbles would also have a dispersion effect, and he was stunned for a moment. Xiaofeng chuckled and said, "However, this piece of crystal is really strange, it's placed in the sun and suddenly appears with colorful lights."

  "Hey, sunlight is made up of five colors of light, and it looks white to us. When each color of light passes through the crystal, it bends at a different angle, so they separate, and we see the five colors of light." Lin Chunhong said excitedly.

  These words were obviously unacceptable to Xiaofeng, who looked suspicious and said: "Five colors of light combined together become white light? How is this possible?"

  Lin Chunhong was speechless, and he couldn't produce any facts to prove that the seven colors of light combined would become white. Lin Chunhong couldn't convince Xiaofeng either, so he didn't dwell on the issue. He took out a telescope from the house and taught Xiaofeng how to use it to look at distant objects. This telescope was a single-tube one, which cost several hundred taels of silver to buy from a missionary. The single-tube telescope was almost two feet long, with a glass lens. As expected, Xiaofeng was very interested in the telescope and kept using it to look at this and that. After a while, Xiaofeng said, "This thing can see far away, but you can't see many things!"

  Lin Chunhong understood that Xiaofeng meant to say that the field of vision had narrowed, and said: "There is gain and loss, why do you always stare at the weaknesses of things?"

  "Some people say that when looking at a problem, one must consider it from all sides, both positive and negative. I'm learning from you!"

  "From two aspects, it's not that you always stare at weaknesses. For example, looking at me, you can't always see my weaknesses, I have many strengths too, such as being elegant and refined..."

  "What? Jade Tree in the Wind? Haha, I'm dying of laughter, you're also a Jade Tree in the Wind?"

  ……

  Joy and happiness filled the entire courtyard, but did every corner of the Great Ming have this joyful and happy laughter?