Chapter 42 Armed Escort

  The Wind Cabinet City was formed in just three days.

  Although it looks simple, it can bring a sense of security to people. After all, this is not the wind cabinet city used by the Dutch to defend against the Ming Dynasty, but a fortress used by Penghu military and civilians to defend against enemies.

  When the fort was completed, Xie Xuan from Quanzhou also arrived on the island. He brought a batch of supplies for Ding Yunyi, all of which were purchased with his own money, and also brought good news to Ding Yunyi: he had made arrangements in Quanzhou, and had already communicated with officials who held real power, and the higher-ups had agreed to reissue part of the salary, and would regularly send supplies to Penghu.

  Ding Yunyi was overjoyed upon hearing this, but Xie Xuan continued: "This time, Inspector Ding killed the demon king with anger, and it has already spread throughout Fujian. Everyone knows the great name of Inspector Ding now. It's said that your respected father, Ding Junwu, didn't say a word after hearing the news, but got drunk that night."

  Ding Yunyi was taken aback: "How did you know my father got drunk?"

  Xie Xuan smiled and said: "That night, Zou Fu led the troops to visit your respected father, coincidentally met him, this is indeed what Commander Zou has passed down."

  Ding Yunwei smiled slightly, it seemed that this "father" of his was also overjoyed.

  Xie Xuan continued, "This is indeed a major event in the history of Penghu. Although Penghu is small, it is connected to the sea route, and every move attracts attention..."

  As soon as these words came out, Ding Yunyi's heart skipped a beat.

  "Penghu may be small, but it is connected to the sea route, and every move attracts attention."

  If I defeat the pirates in Penghu and rebuild the Wind Cabinet City, news will definitely spread. If it causes malicious intentions and jealous people to make trouble behind my back, that's probably not a good thing.

  One must think of ways to prevent such hidden dangers from happening in advance.

  Xie Xuan had no idea what the other person was thinking: "With Ding Xun inspecting and defending Penghu, traveling merchants will feel much more at ease. This time I've also brought a friend to meet Ding Xun."

  "Friend?" Ding Yunyi asked.

  Xie Xuan smiled: "He is a Fujian merchant, named Jin Tailai, who often suffers from pirate troubles. This time, he transported a batch of goods to Luzon and was worried about being attacked by pirates, so... He wanted to ask Inspector Ding to send someone to escort him."

  "Let me escort?" Ding Yunyi scratched his head: "What's this Jin Tai doing here?"

  "Just wait outside, Inspector Ting will see you in a moment."

  Ding Yunyi agreed, and Xie Xuan hastily got up and invited Jin Tailai in.

  This man was about forty years old, and at a glance he seemed to be a shrewd businessman. After entering, he respectfully paid his respects, and immediately had his entourage bring in the gifts for Ding Yunyi.

  A few pieces of cloth and a few jars of good wine.

  "Mr. Jin was being polite." Ding Yunyi said calmly.

  "Ding Xun's prestige shook Fujian, these were just small matters." Jin Tailai hastily said.

  He invited him to sit down, and Jin Tai came forward saying: "This time I have a batch of goods going to Luzon, the sea route is not very safe, once robbed, the loss will be severe. So I'd like to ask Ding Patrol Officer to dispatch someone to escort, Jin is willing to contribute 200 taels of silver."

  Ding Yun's heart was greatly moved.

  The journey from here to Luzon by sea is not far. If you go and come back smoothly, you can earn two hundred taels of silver, which is a big profit.

  "Mr. Jin has several ships."

  "There are only two."

  Ding Yun's mind quickly calculated.

  This is an unexpected way to make a fortune: armed escort!

  I have just defeated Kongming Chenbao and Gui Wangzhu, according to Xie Xuan's words, it is "fame resonates", a small group of pirates knows that the person being escorted is me, they may not dare to rob, as long as this time can be successfully completed, in the future I'm afraid there will be even more people coming to find me.

  In this way, Penghu also found a stable way to make money.

  Ding Yunyi was silent for a moment, and Jin Tai thought he was unwilling to agree, so he quickly said: "Inspector Ding will help with this matter in any case. I'll cover all the expenses of my brothers on the boat. In addition to escorting the silver, when we return safely, I'm willing to give each brother a red envelope as a token of gratitude."

  Ding Yunyi smiled slightly: "Since Mr. Jin is so sincere, Yunyi is willing to help Mr. with this matter."

  Jin Tailai was overjoyed.

  At this time, the reputation of the Penghu inspector was rising, and Fujian was telling stories about him. Some of them were quite absurd. It was said that Guiwang Wan sent his subordinate, Chang Lü Kongbao Tian, to harass Penghu, but he was killed by Inspector Ding with one knife. Later, Guiwang Wan personally led dozens of large ships to avenge Penghu, but was defeated by Inspector Ding alone, who stood at the port and killed them all cleanly.

  Although it sounds a bit absurd, it is enough to illustrate Ding Yunyi's current reputation.

  Now that Ding Yunyi is willing to lend a hand, there's an 80% chance of successfully transporting this batch of goods to Luzon.

  After careful discussion of the departure time, the approximate return time, and what to pay attention to on the road. Then Ding Yunwei called in Xiao Yifeng and Chen Dong, letting them choose five brothers to follow Jin Tai's ship to Luzon.

  Only seven people came, Kim Tae-oh was a bit worried.

  Ding Yunyi was unable to express his grievances, as there were only about a dozen soldiers in the entire Penghu area. He had already deployed half of them this time, and half of his household's resources had been mobilized.

  "In his heart he thought so, but on his lips he said: 'Mr. Jin needn't worry, these seven men are all capable and brave warriors, this trip will certainly be safe.'"

  Chen Dong was secretly worried, what kind of good warrior can be recruited, and you, Inspector, have such a small household, and you can still get rid of Hong Diao Yuan and Lao Ji, these two useless people. With seven people leaving like this, you, the lone inspector, are no different from anyone else.

  It's better for you to just stay in Penghu, why bother helping a merchant with escorting?

  He couldn't understand the difficulties Ding Yunyi was facing. Although he had received a sum of money from Tong Lügong, Bao Tian and Gui Wangzhu, he had to buy a new ship and purchase weapons, and had already spent most of it, just barely scraping by. If they didn't think of a way to get some more silver, the brothers would have to suffer again.

  Jin Tailai felt relieved and chatted for a while, then stood up to bid farewell. Before parting, he repeatedly urged the Inspector to keep this matter in mind and not delay his journey.

  After seeing off Jin Taile, Ding Yunyi bowed to Xie Xuan and thanked him for bringing such a wealthy patron. He then pointed at the fabric and fine wine brought by Jin Taile: "Xiao Yifeng, Chen Dong, you two distribute these among our brothers who are going out to sea, each of them will make a new set of clothes, don't lose the prestige of our Penghu officers."

  "What's going on? Do we have to change clothes too?" Chen Dong asked curiously.

  Ding Yunyi burst out laughing: "Are you saying I should wear the uniform of the Ming army to escort the sea merchants? If this gets out, my superiors will definitely punish me severely. My old man at home will probably be so angry that his whiskers will stand on end and he'll have a big stick waiting for me."

  Xiao Yifeng and Chen Dong smiled, but Ding Yunyi's face sank: "Be extremely careful on the road, absolutely no mistakes can be made."