Chapter 54 Economic Crisis

The final results showed that when the building boat capsized, the wave was two feet two or two or three feet high, which was not as high as Ge Heng's expectations, but it was much better than what Sun Shao and others saw. Sun Shao was very satisfied. Of course, he decided to reward and give Ge Heng a holiday after returning to Xu Wen. The technicians were very happy that the technicians had worked hard for more than a year. When they heard Sun Shao say so again, they shouted long live one by one, and the crowd was excited.

Seeing that Yuehai and others were a little envious, Sun Shao smiled and said, "Don't look at it. Take someone to pick up the building boat immediately and reward it."

"What is the general's reward?" Chen Hai smiled and said, "A building boat is worth a lot of money. It won't be lower than theirs, will it?"

"That won't work. I can throw away the building boat, but none of these people can be missing." Sun Shao said with a smile, and then added, "In my opinion, each of them is worth at least three buildings."

The technicians' eyebrows immediately floated up, and their chests were high.

"Wow--" Yue Hai shouted exaggeratedly: "Isn't Sizhen worth at least five building boats? I really regret it. Why didn't I put a little more price at that time and leave him in the marquis.

"He?" Sun Shao squeezed his eyes and patted the shoulder across the sea: "He has no price. You can't afford it."

Crossing the sea half-truth, he lowered his head and sighed: "No wonder I can only follow the general and be bitten by a pirate. Such a person has not been caught in front of him. This is fate."

Everyone laughed, everyone was in a good mood, and joked with each other. Su's thick legs took people down. Pirates are not as good as officers and soldiers. They don't want it if the ship sinks. They always rescue every ship as much as possible. They have rich experience in salvaging sunken ships. He is the most convenient to do such a job.

"Sizhen, this task has been completed. You can rest for a period of time. After you go back, seize the time to modify the tools. If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. This effort is worth spending. The improvement of the ship can be handled by these people.

Ge Heng nodded repeatedly, "General, don't worry, I know. When you go back this time, the house will be basically completed.

"Remember, just pay attention to the main things, those vulgar affairs, and leave them to others." As Sun Shao walked down, he whispered, "Use all these backbones and assign the tasks. You need to combine work and rest to do things, so that you won't tire your body. In addition, I have recruited a group of people who have read books. You take them away together. You can do great things at ease. The specific work can be handed over to them step by step. Don't worry about money. He patted his chest and said majestically, "I have a lot of money."

"Oh." Ge Heng was overjoyed. The most worrying thing about doing research and development is money, and what he is least good at is making money and working behind Sun Shao. He has no worries at all. This day is so good.

... As soon as Sun Shao returned to Xu Wen, Bu Qian came over and asked about his whereabouts. After being perfunctory by Sun Shao, he came straight to the point and explained his intention: "Fengxian, the merchant ships are in a hurry. When can they go to sea?"

"Who wants to go to sea? Are they not afraid of the hurricane that just blew two days ago?

"Hurricanes are terrible, but hurricanes don't blow every day. In the past, merchant ships still pass during the hurricane season. Just be careful and slow down. Now it's better to ban the sea directly. So many merchant ships are stranded in Xuwen. I'm under a lot of pressure."

Sun Shao didn't say anything. He washed his face with water and led Bu Qian to the study. The two sat down opposite each other. Sun Shao thought for a moment before asking seriously, "Do you want to go to sea by yourself, or does someone put pressure on you?"

Bu Qian touched his beard, turned his eyes twice, and said faintly, "It has been more than two months since the Forbidden Sea. A large number of merchants have stranded Xu Wen, plus your army. You know, this is a lot of pressure on Xu Wen."

Sun Shao is well aware of this situation. Xu Wen's local population is about less than 20,000, and the population in the city is only more than 3,000 people. Because there are large markets, the floating population is more than Xu Wen's locals, and the normal stability is about 10,000. These people have brought prosperity to Xu Wen. The hotels and restaurants in Xu Wencheng are booming. It has a lot to do with these businessmen. Compared with some counties in the Central Plains, Xu Wen's service industry is very developed. However, after all, the scale of Xu Wencheng is limited. Sun Shao's sea ban, businessmen have no return, and they are all stranded in Xuwen. The population has risen rapidly, and the floating population has increased to nearly 40,000. Not only is there more public security problems, but more importantly, the supply of living materials has become a problem.

More than 30,000 people consume 70,000 to 80,000 stones of grain every month. This alone has made Xuwen's grain market on the verge of collapse in a short period of time. The first thing to do is to urgently transfer grain to other counties to alleviate the momentum of Xuwen's soaring grain prices, but the effect is very small, and grain prices have been rising, the highest. It rose to the previous 20 times, and now it is basically maintained at about 10 times.

At this time, he found that the feeling of seeing Sun Shao at the beginning was right, which was simply a trap.

In addition to food prices, various problems also came. He originally wanted to put the assassin's mansion in Hepu, but later found that he was trapped in Xu Wen at all, so he simply moved the assassin's mansion to Xu Wen again. Sun Shao did not arrange Xu Wenling. While he was also the governor of Hepu, he also had to lead Xu Wenling. These three positions were added together, which immediately made him busy.

While trying his best to maintain Xu Wen's stability, he also had to bear the pressure exerted on him by Shi Xie. Shi Yi was arrested by Sun Shaoxun. The evidence was conclusive and the impact was very bad. Shi Xie did not dare to protect him. He just paid the shortfall for Shi Yi, and then paid a fine and redeemed Shi Yi's family. Then he stayed in Jiaotan and looked at it quietly. There was no sign. Sun Shao said that he wanted food, so he sent food. Sun Shao ordered to ban the sea, and he banned the sea and no longer showed any flaws. He took the initiative to do only one thing. He drove all the merchants in Jiaogang to Xu Wen. At the same time, the merchants of Nan and Jiuzhen also arrived at Xu Wen one after another. Xu Wen is now overcrowded, which is largely due to him.

Shi Xie did not speak, but the power of silence was greater. The more he could not catch his flaws, the more anxious he was. These tens of thousands of people seemed to be a heavy burden, which made him breathless. The total population of Hepu County is less than 100,000. How can it afford so many people who don't produce anything? Sun Shao has been hoarding military grain for half a year. He can ignore the nervousness of grain, but he can't help but consider it. He can only help him with Cangwu, Nanhai and Yulin by mixing grain to other counties. What's not to mention that the strength of these three counties is limited, even if there is, it will take time.

Bu Qian had painful words. He felt that he rushed to Hepu excitedly and was really fooled by Sun Shao. If he still stayed in the South China Sea and let Sun Shao lead the Hepu Taishou, these bad things would be Sun Shao's trouble, which had nothing to do with him. But he came, so Sun Shao was fine. He was unlucky. The more he thought about it, the more wronged he became. Shi Yi was arrested by Sun Shao, and the sea ban was issued by Sun Shao, but now the problems he brought were asked to solve.

In this case, when Hepu County Lieutenant Huan Wei suggested to him that he should be escorted by sailors to let the merchants leave Xu Wen, or go to the South China Sea, or to the South China Sea, he was immediately moved.

"It's the hurricane season now, and my men are not familiar with the environment here. If we set out rashly, what if Cui Qian comes out to rob?" Sun Shao shook his head and euphemistically rejected Bu Qian's plan: "Wait a minute, it's the beginning of August now. Wait another two months. When the hurricane season is over, we will escort the merchants away. Isn't it better? Three months are almost down. Cui Qian must have lost a lot. It is the time to be the most angry. At this time, the sheep go to the sea into the mouth of the tiger, and my purpose of banning the sea has failed.

Two months left? Bu Qian smiled bitterly. In another two months, Xu Wen had to make trouble.

"Two months is too long." Bu Qian patiently advised, "Xu Wen's situation should be persisted for half a month at most, and it will not be solved for more than half a month. My assassinate must be blocked."

"Then you can figure it out." Sun Shao had no sympathy at all: "I only care about the war. How can I force Cui Qian to hang himself? I can do it. If I can win without fighting, it's the best. As for the matter of Hepu County, I don't care. I'm not Hepu Taishou."

"Fengxian, you can't say that." Bu Qian was forced by him to do nothing. Sun Shao's plan was useful, but he put too much pressure on him. If he really wants to be banned for another two months, he doesn't know whether Cui Qian will hang himself or not, but he knows that he will definitely hang himself. Although it is hurricane season, it does not mean that there are hurricanes every day. Escorting merchant ships is not a war. When the wind is coming, just find a place to avoid it. Besides, there is really a hurricane. Does Cui Qian dare to go to sea?

"Then let Huan Wei go. He also has two or three thousand people under his command." Sun Shaoman said carelessly, "Send the text to Jiaotong, Jiuzhen and Yunan along the way, and let them send someone to take over. They should be responsible for the safety of their waters. My goal now is Zhu Ya. Except for Zhu Ya, I am not responsible for anything.

"General Fubo!" Bu Qian was really angry. He sank his face, raised his official power, and glared at Sun Shao, who was pushing and four times: "This is an order."

"What command?" Sun Shao also lowered his face and stretched out his hand: "Is it the supreme order? Bring it here. Even if he asks me to give you more than 10,000 people, I will do it. If there is no supreme order, please don't force me. I, General Fubo, am not a Jiaozhou sailor, and I am not subject to your restraint.

Step by step stunned. At this time, he remembered that although Sun Shao was in Jiaozhou, his staff was not in Jiaozhou, and he could not control him at all. He has always regarded them as his colleagues, and vaguely feels that he is still a boss, an elder, and the leader of this war. Sun Shao is just a general who obeys his orders, but now he finds that this is all his wishful thinking, and Sun Shao doesn't like him at all.

Bu Qian, who has always been in the city government, was rarely impulsive this time, but he hit his nose with gray, and his face suddenly became very ugly. Wei Jing, who had been watching, saw that their conversation had collapsed, and hurried forward to make up. "General Fubo, do you have something to discuss? The governor is also for the general's consideration. The sea ban was imposed by the general. Now Xu Wen's grain supply is tight, and the grain price has risen to 500 yuan per stone. Not only the merchants complained bitterly, but also Xu Wen's locals felt a little unsuffable. In case of a civil war, it will be difficult for the general to stay out of it. At that time, not only will the war be affected, but I'm afraid that the general's reputation will also be implicated.

Sun Shao gave Wei Jing a little face and did not insist any more. He knocked gently on the case and thought for a while and said, "Although I am not a Jiaozhou sailor, since I have arrived here, I really can't sit idly by. Well, let Huan Wei escort him, and I will arrange another 3,000 people to assist him. In this way, there are more than 5,000 people in total, and his strength has surpassed Cui Qian. I'm sorry that he doesn't dare to come out to die. By escorting these businessmen to Jiaoqan and Jiuzhen, Xu Wen's pressure can be relieved a lot. The autumn harvest is coming again soon. After the autumn harvest, the food problem can also be alleviated.

Bu Qian saw that Sun Shao was relieved, and then he calmed down a little. He thought for a moment: "Can you rest assured of Huan Wei? He is Shi Yi's cronies.

"How dare he?!" Sun Shao's eyes stared, "As long as there is a little abnormal movement, I will immediately deal with him first, and I will wait for him to jump out."

numb! You don't know the importance of not letting you fall. Bu Qian sneered secretly and didn't say anything more. Instead, he stopped Wei Jing, who was about to remind Sun Shao, with his eyes. After saying goodbye to Sun Shao, he found Huan Wei and ordered Huan Wei to escort the merchant ship. Huan Wei explained a few words, but it didn't work, so he had to take the order to go.

Bu Qian immediately issued a notice, announcing that the sailor would escort the merchants to hand over, and the merchants in need signed up immediately. The merchants stayed in Xuwen for more than three months, and they had been made unspeakable by high prices. If it hadn't been for Sun Shao's sea ban, they would have left themselves. Now they are escorted by sailors, and they would be even more overjoyed. For a while, the door of Bu Qian's official house was crowded with merchants. Two days later, the list of merchant ships that needed protection was sent to Sun Shao's desk.

1,8,992 boats, 2, 121 people.

Sun Shao took a look, and his eyes almost fell out: "So many people?"

Bu Qian curled his lips, what do you think?

Sun Shao smiled apologetically and said, "I'm so sorry. I didn't expect the situation to be so serious."

"This fish is big enough. If Cui Qian smells the fishy smell, I'm afraid he will be ready to move." Bu Qian snorted faintly, "Do you send more people?"

"It's not a need." Sun Shao shook his head confidently: "As I said, the escort officers and soldiers have exceeded Cui Qian's full strength. Even if he moves, he can't succeed, so I don't think he dares to move at all. If there are too many people, I'm afraid that Xu Wen is not safe. If he robs Xu Wen, he will lose a lot.

Bu Qian was too lazy to persuade him again. After agreeing on the departure time, he left Sun Shao's barracks. His impression of Sun Shao is extremely bad now. How many victories did this boy win? He was a little frivolous and didn't know why. He sent 3,000 people to cooperate with Huan Wei? In case of Huan Wei's abnormal movement, let's see what he will do then. It's good to let him fall. Don't know the depth of heaven and earth in the future. Maybe the supreme will take this opportunity to cut his military power.

Sun Shao didn't care about Bu Qian's ideas. He asked Yu Fan and others to discuss it. Finally, Yuehai said that he was familiar with the sailor's set of tactics and the naval battle. It might be best for him to cooperate with Huan Wei. Sun Shao felt that it was reasonable, so he decided to let him go. Before leaving, Wei Jing came to the door. He vaguely expressed his concern about Sun Shao's arrangement and hoped to go with Yuehai. Although he had only more than 1,000 people, it was better than nothing. In this way, even if Huan Wei had a change, he could help Yuehai control him.

Sun Shao was very happy, "If you have Ziqi to help, it will be even more foolproof. Ziqi, is this your idea or the governor's arrangement?

This was originally Wei Jing's idea, but he reported to Bu Qian, and Bu Qian also knew it. Wei Jing knew that Bu Qian had some opinions about Sun Shao recently and intended to empathize with them, so he smiled and said, "Of course it's the king's idea, otherwise I wouldn't dare to make my own decisions."

Sun Shao did not delve into it and introduced him to Yuehai. A day later, Yuehai, Wei Jing and Huan Wei led more than 6,300 sailors, escorted nearly 2,000 merchant ships and sailed all the way west along the coast. Xuwen Hepu County is in the sea, a slender land shaped like a hanging fish. The county seat is at the southernmost end, and the three faces the sea. It is only about a hundred miles to the west. Then it turns north and travels thousands of miles before entering the jurisdiction of Hepu County. If it is in the Central Plains, there are at least three or four counties far away, but Jiaozhou is vast and sparsely populated. Nearly a thousand miles away from Xuwen to Hepu, it is almost a no-man's land, and even there are few pirates.

The news that the huge fleet left Xu Wen was sent to Cui Qian's desk two days later.

Cui Qian was overjoyed. Sun Shao issued a sea ban and left almost all the seamen behind in Xu Wen. Xu Wen was protected by Sun Shao's army. They did not dare to go at all. In the past few months, they had almost no income at all. Not only did they not even have merchant ships, but they could not find a partner if they wanted to rob fishermen. This has made them suffer. It's just sitting and eating.

The bigger problem is that although they have money, they are short of food. Except for the first batch of grain sent by Shi Yi, they have not received one in the future. Of course, there is some food in the water village, but it is also very limited. In the past, they went to Xu Wen to buy food. They were also Xu Wen's big merchants. They took out the goods they robbed from the takeaway, and then bought back the materials. Grain and salt were the two most important of them. Sun Shao banned the sea and directly cut off the source. If they persisted for a few more months, they still had a little grain, but the salt could not be eaten. . And those pirates with less strength are even worse. They don't have much money to buy food. They have been banned from the sea for three months. Many people have reached the tragic point of having to fish to make a living. In history, pirates have never suffered such hardships. Many people have the cheek to come to Cui Qian to borrow money. If they are thinner-skinned, they will buy it with the money accumulated before. Of course, the price is very favorable, but although the price is attractive, Cui Qian has no food. Although he wants to sell it at a high price, he thinks that he may also If you break the cooking, your heart will be much weaker. Looking at the good opportunity to make a fortune, but he didn't dare to make it. This taste made Cui Qian very unhappy.

What annoyed Cui Qian most was that Sun Shao's sea ban not only cut off his food source, but also cut off his source of information. The spies sent by the forbidden sea before were caught by Sun Shao, except for those who got the news halfway and escaped back. If it hadn't been for that cleverness, I'm afraid Cui Qian still didn't know what had happened to Xu Wen. Now his spies have to go around more than a hundred miles, go ashore from the north of Xu Wen, and enter Xu Wencheng. After hearing the news, they will return from the same road. They have been arrested for at least three or four days.

"So many boats?" Cui Wen's eyes suddenly widened, and then he was shocked again: "More than 6,000 people escorted, are you careful enough?"

Cui Qian sneered: "I thought I couldn't stand it, but it turned out that they couldn't stand it in the end. It just so happens that we can play one net for three years and eat one net for three years this time.

Cui Wen was very worried: "In Jianzhong, we only have more than 4,000 people. Even if we all go out, we are not their opponents. What's more, it's impossible for you not to leave people to guard the village, right? Sun Shaoke is still in Xuwen. Since he dares to send so many people to escort him, it is impossible not to leave a back hand. What if he seizes our general village?

"Uncle, you are too careful." Cui Qian tilted the corners of his mouth and said disdainfully, "He underestimates me, Cui Qian. I, the king of the South China Sea, don't want to listen to it. There are more than 2,000 merchant ships. I can't eat such a big fish alone. Of course, I have to call more brothers.

Cui Wen thought for a moment and nodded with a smile: "This is a good way, but in this way, there is a little delay. Although we have charts, we don't have to walk along the coast, but if it takes too long to let them enter the territory of Jiaochang, we will have to fight with Shi Xie. I'm afraid it's a little difficult to deal with.

"Don't worry, those people are going crazy. As soon as they hear the news, they will definitely come quickly. Pirates of all sizes in the South China Sea get together. If there is no 20,000, there will be 15,000, right? Cui Qian waved his hand disapprovingly and seemed confident. "Time is not a problem. We don't have to chase along the coast. We can rush directly to Dongxing Bay to set up an ambush, so that we can save a lot of time." He raised his hand, forked his forefinger and thumb, rubbed his chin, and his slender eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Notify the old man Shi Xie to let him arrive a day or two later. If it's early and bad for me, don't blame me for swallowing him."

Cui Wen nodded repeatedly. They have charts in their hands, and their understanding of the coastal situation is far better than that of officers and soldiers. They are familiar with this sea area. They can take a shortcut to Dongxing Bay, which can save at least half of the distance than walking along the coast. There is enough time to make arrangements there. He was only worried about the problem of troops. It was not that he didn't know that there were many pirates in the South China Sea, but that Cui Qian was reluctant to share the food. Cui Qian said so, which showed that he still knew the importance and was willing to share the benefits to others. Of course, he didn't worry about the military strength. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, he is also waiting for this opportunity now. If we don't tell him, he won't be so positive. However, if Huan Wei can be stabbed in the back, the battle will be much easier.

"Xian Wei, he is too cautious. I'm afraid he may not have the courage. Otherwise, Sun Shao has arrested Shiyi and his son for three months. Why hasn't he moved at all?"

"Then let Shi Xie send Huan's neighbor. Huan's neighbor is by Shi Xie's side now."

"That's it." Without saying anything, Cui Qian waved his hand and gave the order. In a short time, more than 20 small boats quickly sailed out of the general village and scattered in all directions. Cui Qian gathered the people and horses in the village, leaving a thousand for his younger brother Cui Yan to guard the village, and set out with more than 3,000 people in person. On the way, pirates, large and small, kept gathering under his banners. After only five days of departure, more than half a mile from Dongxing Bay, he gathered more than 20,000 people. He sailed and sailed straight to Dongxing Bay with a strong southeast wind.

(to be continued)