Chapter 21: Gathering People to Go to Shandong

  Jiang Feng looked at the people around him, his mouth curled into a cold smile as he thought to himself: So many sturdy men, yet they were lectured by just over ten rascals. They're all useless cowards. Zhao Xiūcái was extremely grateful and bowed deeply to Jiang Feng. His agitated emotions had somewhat subsided, and he thanked Jiang Feng profusely, saying:

  "General, you were originally looking for an assistant, but I, a muddled person like me, delayed your affairs. I'm really sorry."

  Jiang Feng smiled and said:

  "I've already found it, Mr. Zhao, are you willing to follow me from now on?"

  Z Zhao Xiucai, although he was the last to awaken today, is clearly not a bookworm. Jiang Feng, when in Beijing, was alone and had no advisors who understood the intricacies of things, making everything difficult for him.

  Seeing this stranded scholar, who is also a bookworm and has a quick mind, having escaped from Shandong to Tianjin Wei, he must have seen the world, and is exactly the kind of person I lack. And now that I'm a small-time rich man, having arrived in Tianjin Wei by carriage from Beijing yesterday.

  The money spent is no more than one or two cents of silver, and looking at the expressions of those who collect the money, it seems that I may have even spent too much. Recruiting a scholar should not cost much either.

  However, he underestimated the other's reaction. Zhao Xiuzai heard his words and first stared at him in disbelief, then asked with a trembling voice:

  "General, you're not joking, are you?"

  Jiang Feng shook his head, and suddenly Zhao Xiūcai knelt down in front of him, kowtowing heavily on the ground with a loud thud. Jiang Feng from modern times was extremely unaccustomed to such solemn etiquette. Watching it on TV was one thing, but being there in person was another matter altogether. Zhao Xiūcai's kowtows were so loud that even he felt his scalp tingling.

  Zhao Xiūcái raised his head, and his forehead was already somewhat greenish-blue, but his expression was extremely excited, shouting at Jiang Feng:

  "Zhao was deeply grateful for Dongzhu's kindness and generosity, and in this life and the next, he was willing to be a cow or horse for Dongzhu, to rush into boiling water or walk through fire, and would rather die than refuse."

  The words were a bit incoherent, Jiang Feng was awkward but the other person's performance and actions made him feel quite pleased, laughing loudly there, while stretching out his hand to help Zhao Xiuzai up, saying:

  "Is it worth making such a big fuss just to go to Yantai and buy some things?"

  Zhao Xiūcái was there, sniffling for half a day, before finally calming down. Jiang Feng had grown somewhat impatient and was secretly getting angry, thinking to himself that this bookworm was really troublesome. It wasn't until then that both of them remembered that Zhao Xiūcái still didn't know Jiang Feng's name. They burst out laughing and their moods improved. Zhao Xiūcái quickly got into character and immediately asked Jiang Feng:

  "Boss Jiang, I'm ashamed to say that I, as a student, don't have much strength either. I'm afraid we'll still need to hire another person."

  Jiang Feng was smiling slyly there:

  "Lao Zhao, I've already chosen a person, you don't need to worry about this."

  Zhao Xiuzai looked around and saw that the people in the market were all far away from them, besides, he had been accompanying Jiang Feng to stroll around just now, and hadn't seen anyone. While he was pondering, Jiang Feng had already walked over to Tie Dan, who was lying straight on the ground, and pulled him up with one hand.

  He slapped that face with a dozen slaps, Jiang Feng's strength was quite accurate, and after the slap, Iron Egg slowly woke up from his daze. The previously ferocious Iron Egg looked at the person in front of him as if he had seen a demon.

  His body desperately shrunk back, obviously extremely frightened, Jiang Feng shouted angrily:

  "Now stand still for me."

  Iron Egg stood there almost without hesitation, standing upright and not daring to make any other movements. Jiang Feng turned back with a triumphant smile and said:

  "Lao Zhao, this Iron Egg brother is really a good person."

  Tianjin Wei and Lushun Port, as well as Yantai Mountain, all have uninterrupted naval transport ships. Either coming and going to transport supplies, of course, there is also the meaning of guaranteeing the sea gate of the capital on the sea. After a long period of peace, merchants traveling between Guanwai and Shandong also took these warships.

  Of course, some silver coins are needed. The original owner of Jiang Feng's body had heard the old military officer who raised him mention this matter before. As his spirit traversed through time and space, his physical condition became more and more similar to that of modern-day Jiang Feng. Another astonishing thing was that his past memories gradually became clearer.

  Although it's said to be fusion, this kind of reaction is a good thing after all.

  Jiang Feng and his two companions arrived at Yantai Port five days later, where the sailboat was no match for the modern roll-on/roll-off ship.

  Jiang Feng looked at Zhao Xiucan, who was a bit worn out beside him, and felt a little warm in his heart. All the way, when he slept, Zhao Xiucan absolutely did not sleep. And everything was served to make him comfortable. The status of scholars in the Ming Dynasty also left some impression on Jiang Feng's mind.

  Zhao Yangfan, a bookworm, has actually reached such an extent, which is really not easy. When asked quietly about the reason for not sleeping, this scholar replied that Tie Dan was not a good person. In the vast ocean, there were only a few warships, and if something went wrong in the middle of the night, it would be a matter of life and death.

  At least for now, Zhao Xiūcái is devoted to Jiang Feng with all his heart, and this makes Jiang Feng feel that he hasn't misjudged the person. As for the Tiědàn that Xiūcái was worried about, he honestly followed behind, being very cautious and not daring to speak much. In his past life, Jiang Feng had seen many such street rascals.

  When there's no loss, they're arrogant and think they're the best in the world. But after being beaten and taught a lesson, they immediately become honest and humble. A wicked person needs to be ground by another wicked person - Jiang Feng has always believed this saying.

  The arrival of the troops and ships had some handovers of military equipment, and as usual, there were soldiers on guard at the port. When they saw the people coming down, apart from the merchants, there was also a person dressed in brocade clothes, and their eyes widened instantly. At this time, the fierce reputation of the Western Factory and the Inner Factory had not yet dissipated. The Ming Dynasty records mentioned "even in remote and desolate places, there are those who wear fine clothes and ride angry horses, speaking the language of the capital", referring to the factory guards and brocade-clad guards who were investigating all over the world.

  Perhaps the nobles in the capital won't think much of the Brocade Guard, but for people from a small place like this, it's terrifying.

  Although Jiang Feng was wearing a half-old robe, which was the uniform of a small school, he had two attendants following him. In the Ming Dynasty, traveling to other places required carrying a road permit. The guarding soldier first followed Jiang Feng with a smile and took over the waist card in his hand.