The situation is turbulent, human life is as cheap as ants, and those who have a little power will form a village to protect themselves.

Although it is difficult to gain a foothold in the waters off the Yangtze River, where pirates frequently enter and exit the sea area, Changshan Island does not make a living from looting, and its living space is quite limited.

In this era of turbulence, years of famine, countless people forced to take risks and rise up, and Liu An'er gathered 350,000 rabble in Hongzepu to uncover the rebellion in three or five days, Qin Chengzu has been based on Changshan Island for more than half a year, and the elite combat force gathered is less than 300 people.

Changshan Island is fundamentally different from ordinary pirate forces, to be precise, it belongs to the category of Shuizhai forces that are self-protecting, so it is also responsible for solving the problem of the survival of more than 1,000 people behind the 300 elites.

Listening to Cao Ziang's introduction to the situation on Changshan Island, Lin Mengde exhaled lightly and sighed slightly: "It's really not simple!" I thought my eyes were sharp, but I really didn't see that you had been transporting so many supplies to Changshan Island for months......

"It's not easy, and it's stressful...... Lin Jian said with a smile.

"The Seventh Lady knows about this?" Lin Mengde asked.

"It was also when I went back to Lin Li this time that I told Sister Yingsleeve," Lin Jian said, also emphasizing the relationship between him and Gu Yingsleeve, "In addition, as far as Zhao Hu and Jingzhong know the details, this time Uncle Mengde pulled you onto the thief ship, and in the future, Uncle Mengde will take on all this together." ”

Lin Mengde travels from south to north, is well-informed, has a clear understanding of the current situation, can take charge of the Lin clan, and will not be dragging his feet and being timid and afraid of things.

After all, Lin Tie them are not rebelling, in the final analysis, they are also forming a village to protect themselves so that they can survive in troubled times.

There are more powerful and powerful families in the world who secretly store private soldiers, and there are not many people who are bound by forests.

There are more than 700 people in Shanglinli Township, and the second son, Lin Xuzong, even dares to secretly take in the giant thieves and horse thieves who have fled to Dongyang.

It's a pity that the second son, Lin Xuzong, is far from having the means and courage of Lin Lian, and at the end of the day, he actually gave the traitor Zhao Neng to pull this horse thief private soldier over and devour the master.

Lin Mengde knew that the road Lin Jian was taking at this time looked dangerous, but it concealed a mystery of advancing and retreating: if he entered, he would be a hero, and he would choose the opportunity to enter the chaos in the world; Retreating to be a good minister, the forces of Changshan Island can rely on Lin Tie to make contributions.

What is there not to dare to go on this thief ship?

Lin Mengde smiled and said to Lin Lian: "I'm afraid that my ability is limited, and I will drag you back in the future." ”

"I've been dreaming of many things, Uncle Mengde can let go and help me, where would I not believe in your ability?" Lin Jian smiled slightly and said, "Let's go back to the estuary first, if there is anything, discuss it on the boat......"

Lin Tie pulled Cao Ziang back to the estuary with them, Cao Ziang was good at strategy, and Lin Tingxun wanted to ask him for advice on the matter of his last words.

"I also don't think there is any need to stand up and openly fight for the rights of the Lin family at this time," Cao Ziang sat on the bow of the boat, frowned and pondered, and said, "Lin Tingxun is considered to have died in a foreign land, and he fell into the hands of the enemy in the forest, and Lin Tingxun's body should be temporarily parked in Jiangning - in this case, the eldest prince Lin Xuwen can sue 'Ding Wei' to go to Jiangning to guard filial piety, or after the situation in Hongzepu is stabilized, Lin Tingxun will return to the ancestral grave and then tell 'Ding Wei' to return to his hometown and keep ......filial piety."

"Yes, the key is here," Lin Tie said, "I'm worried that Lin Tingxun's last words when he was dying were actually a game set up for me by this old fox!" ”

Lin Mengde saw the layout of Changshan Island, and his vision was naturally no longer limited to the Lin clan.

Lin Mengde knew that the eldest prince was obsessed with his career and didn't care about clan power.

For those with a little ambition, the struggle for the power of the Lin family is still limited to the small place of Shanglinli, and the pattern is too small. The eldest prince is only thirty-six years old, and he has been in the middle of the Zhengwupin Ministry of Labor for five years, and it is when he is young and ambitious, and it is normal to look down on the Lin family's power, otherwise when Lin Tingxun is seriously ill and bedridden, the eldest prince can return to his hometown in advance to respect filial piety.

Lin Mengde thought about it carefully, and also suspected that Lin Tingxun's last words when he was dying might really be a trap for Lin Tingxun.

The establishment of this dynasty is based on filial piety first, and the system of 'Ding Wei' cannot be violated; the eldest prince is the Ministry of Labor Langzhong of the five products, and it is impossible for the imperial court to make a special decree to keep him in Beijing, but the eldest prince can drag Lin Tingxun's body to be buried in the forest and then return to his hometown to guard filial piety.

At this time, who knows when the Hongzepu turmoil will be completely subsided?

Over the years, the eldest prince is also a person who has been suppressed by the Western Qin Party, and now that the Chu Party is in power, the officials who have suppressed the Western Qin Party in the past are likely to be co-opted by the Chu Party and get the opportunity to be promoted.

The eldest prince does not fight for clan power, but he does not fight with his brother, which does not mean that he will watch the Lin family power fall into the hands of the children of the side branches.

At this time, everyone worked together to support the little son Lin Xuxi to preside over the family business, and the eldest son would most likely drag on until he had to return to his hometown to guard filial piety and then leave Yanjing, after all, with Lin Tingxun's last words, even if he came back, it was impossible for him to turn his face and fight with his younger brother for clan rights and family property.

But at this time, in accordance with Lin Tingxun's last words, the Jiyun Society returned to the Lin clan, and the Lin family was a guest living in Jiangning, no matter how Lin Tie expressed his determination, the eldest prince would most likely go directly to Jiangning to guard filial piety, and ensure that the clan power and clan property would not fall into the hands of Lin Tie, a side branch.

In addition, the reaction of the second master Lin Tingli is also very critical, the eldest prince came to Jiangning to guard filial piety, and Lin Tingli only needs to let Lin Zonghai come back, which is enough to make Lin Tie fall into passivity. Lin Zonghai's wife is the eldest prince's aunt and cousin, and after Lin Zonghai's ambitions are shattered, he will most likely jump to the side of the eldest prince.

Jiyun Society really chose to return to the Lin clan at this time according to Lin Tingxun's last words, and Lin Jian probably not only couldn't grasp the power of the Lin clan, but also made a wedding dress for the Lin clan to gain a foothold in Jiangning.

"Lin Tingxun is an old fox, and he still looks down on you......" Cao Ziang smiled, "If you don't enter his court, others can't be resurrected after death, what can I do to you?" ”

"I can't blame him," Lin Jian sighed slightly, and said, "If there is no Changshan Island, even if I know that this situation he has set up is dangerous, and with Uncle Mengde and Sister Yingsleeve to help me, I may still jump in and fight." ”

Lin Mengde has followed Lin Tingxun for the longest time, and he knows Lin Tingxun's ability the most, although the Lin family is a Xun family, but the real rise in Dongyang is Lin Tingxun's single-handedly achievement, and when he is about to die, he will set this trap for Lin Tingxun. It's just that Lin Jian didn't jump in.

Lin Mengde asked: "There is no fight in the open, but in the secret there is a fight, what are we going to do next?" ”

"The Lin family escaped from Shanglin and still owned nearly 200,000 taels of silver, countless good land properties in Shanglin, and a lot of property in Jiangning - in the eyes of others, if I fight for clan rights, I will also fight for these things," Lin Jian said, "We don't fight for any of these, how can they guard against me?" We now have 100,000 taels of silver in our hands, and we won't be able to use them up for a while, so there's no point in asking for more. Only the silver that is spent is silver, and chaos is coming, even if you sit on a mountain of gold and silver, what good will it be? Shanglin fell into the hands of the enemy, tens of thousands of acres of land and real estate were also dead, and those land deeds and land deeds were just a pile of waste paper. The chaos in Hongzepu will not subside for a while, and the development of the current situation will be more unpredictable in the future. The Lin family's industry in Jiangning is mainly to resell the products of Shiliang County, at this time, Shiliang County fell into the hands of the enemy, everything stopped, what is the benefit of fighting for the Lin family's industry in Jiangning? In the end, we have to worry about the livelihood of many guys - while other people's eyes are staring at the Lin family's gold and silver treasures, the Lin family's land deeds, land deeds, and the property in Jiangning, we secretly want to fight for people's ......"

"Fighting?" Lin Mengde asked suspiciously, "Who else are you going to woo?" ”

"It's no one else, I want to hold the more than 200 Xiangyong who are now stranded at the mouth of the river in my hands," Lin Jian said, "These 200 Xiangyong are considered guest troops in Jiangning, and the number is small and inconspicuous, I want to hold these 200 Xiangyong in my hands, and then use these 200 people well." ”

"How to use it well?" Lin Mengde saw that the river embankment wharf was in front of him, and asked again, Lin Lian's plan was very deep, he first heard the secret, and he couldn't keep up with the train of thought for a while.

"Uncle Mengde, you have been in charge of the Lin family in Jiangning for many years, but now the Lin family has fled to Jiangning for refuge, especially several shopkeepers of the Lin Ji Warehouse in Shanglin have fled to Jiangning together, most of them want to personally control the Lin family's property in Jiangning, so you can hand over these affairs to them to be responsible, so that you can also calm the hearts of the eldest prince and Lin Tingli." Lin Jian said, "There are more than 1,000 people who fled to Jiangning with us this time, many of them are from Xiangyong's family, and Uncle Mengde, you will personally settle them." These things are very cumbersome, but if you want to enslave others, you must first calm their hearts before they can gain their strength......"

"Okay, I'll do that." Lin Mengde agreed.

Lin Mengde also knew that this time everyone was able to escape safely from Shanglin, not because the Lin family was rich and powerful, but because Lin Jian personally led the armored guards and the Xiangyong Palace to deter the Hongzepu Water Village ships from doing so.

"There are still two big ships in the Jiyun Society, which will be built in a while, and these two hundred villagers will be arranged on these two ships," Lin Jian said, "This is the foundation of our life that we rely on at all times, and other things are easy to say." ”

At this time, the boat had already docked on the river embankment, and there were many people on the wharf, so it was inconvenient to say anything, Cao Ziang went ashore to deal with other things, and Lin Jian and Lin Mengde went back to the grass hall to see the five ladies and three clan elders and the nephew Lin Xuhong, who had the closest relationship with Lin Tingxun.

Except for Gu Yingsleeve, everyone else knew that they were under the fence at this time, and they were really afraid that Lin Tie would take the opportunity of Jiyun Society's return to the Lin clan to control the clan power and compete for the clan property, but Lin Tingxun's last words Lin Mengde and the Seventh Lady were present and heard it with their own ears, and it was impossible for them to choose to leave Jiangning at this time and go elsewhere. even suspected that Lin Mengde and Lin Jingzhong temporarily resettled everyone in the estuary to harbor evil intentions.

Lin Lian and Lin Mengde left for a long time to let them discuss the future of Lin Tingxun, they were confused in the front hall of the grass hall, worried about this, and worried about that, and they didn't discuss anything at all. At this time, I saw Lin Jian and Lin Mengde go and return, and my heart hung in my throat again.

The most uneasy is the sixth lady Shan Rou, although the old man's last words will eventually help Xu Xi to the throne, but no one in Jiangning can control Lin Lian, her orphan and widow fell into the hands of Lin Lian, and she doesn't know what will happen.