The sunset hangs on the treetops of a distant village, Lin Xie stands at a high place west of the surrounded house, looking at the scenery of the river mouth.

  On this side of the river, four enclosure houses have been built. One enclosure house can accommodate 80 to 100 households. Two enclosure houses are used to settle the families of the original recruited workers and new soldiers, and the two newly built enclosure houses are used to settle the refugees who fled to the river mouth this time.

  A single bungalow usually accommodates three or four refugee families, while two large barracks accommodate nearly 400 families, about 1,800 people. However, the number of stranded refugees on this side of the Naihe River has already exceeded 3,000, and many refugees are still temporarily settled in the hut area with even more rudimentary living conditions.

  Lin tied up the purchase of 120 mu of land in the west, and at the same time started building four courtyards, also setting aside a piece of land to build temporary sheds.

  Lin Xie stood on a slightly higher earth platform, looking at the gathered rioting villagers. After a moment, he said with his hands behind his back: "The village camp was attacked, and the second young master was killed. This matter is indeed difficult to predict, and it's not your fault. None of you need to take responsibility for this. Over the years, you have worked hard to protect the village, and your contributions are great. I, Lin Xie, was born and raised in Upper Lin Village, and I am deeply aware of your merits. Here, I want to say a word of 'thank you' to you all..." He then joined his hands together and bowed deeply to the crowd.

  The villagers under the platform were all silent as cicadas in winter.

  Lin Tie continued: "The Lin family has suffered a great calamity, and the loss is beyond imagination. We are forced to make many adjustments, and I ask for your understanding. I have already discussed this with the head of the household, and you can choose to enter the Ji Yun Society as a martial guard or leave the Lin family and depart from He Kou. Considering that everyone has worked hard to protect our hometown over the years, no matter who decides to leave He Kou today, we will give each person twenty taels of silver as travel expenses."

  This time everyone fell out, some people are afraid that Lin's family will settle accounts after autumn, and it is not difficult to understand that they want to leave.

  Lin Xulü did not utter a word, these local braves were the ones Lin Mou wanted to take over, and it was also his business to promise to give road funds to those who chose to leave.

  Five of the leaders who made trouble stood behind Lin Xie, they knew the details, knew what attitude the Lin family widow and the elders had towards these troublemakers, if Lin Xie was not willing to take them in, these village braves would have been forcibly disbanded, and there would be no question of whether they were on the road or not; this silver was all taken out of Lin Xie's own pocket. The five men were moved in their hearts, looking at the village braves whispering below the stage, seeing that they even thought that the twenty taels of silver for each person's travel expenses came from the host family, and there was a hot fire blocking their chest.

  Xiaxiang Yong felt that both of Lin Xie's options were good and he couldn't decide for a while.

  Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount for ordinary people, in Jiangning it can buy 40 to 50 dan of fine grain, and even if you have a family to support, it's no problem to get through the difficult times in Jiangning.

  The villagers gathered today just hoping that when they dispersed, the Lin family would give everyone some living expenses, and didn't even have the expectation of getting so much.

  "All the nice words have been said, now it's time to say the ugly ones," Lin Tie's face sank at this moment, and after a brief pause, waiting for the audience below to quiet down, he continued, "You all have grievances against the Lin family's treatment, which can be communicated and negotiated. However, arbitrarily holding weapons and gathering crowds to coerce with private thoughts is rebellious. If it were wartime, I would not hesitate to deploy troops to suppress them. Even in this time and place, it is a grave mistake that cannot be tolerated. Those who have committed the crime may be forgiven for their past mistakes, although the Lin family will also be lenient towards the primary culprit and not pursue responsibility. However, I cannot tolerate these people entering the Ji Yun Society as guards..."

  The five village heroes who led the chaos on the stage did not expect Lin Xie to make such a move, and they knelt down together to beg: "We know that we have acted rashly, committing the crime of offending our superiors, and we deserve to die ten thousand times. We only ask Lord Lin to give us a chance to reform ourselves, even if it means being flogged dozens of times, we are willing to accept punishment, just don't expel us from the river mouth..."

  "Good words and bad words have all been said," Lin Xie said with his hands behind his back. "Today, I'm driving you away, and my heart doesn't feel good either. Chen Kui Li, Han Cai Zhi, Gou Jing Zhong, you five people, I know three of them, but without rules, there's no square or circle. You come to Cao Tang, each take twenty taels of silver and leave with your family to settle elsewhere in He Kou. I won't keep any of you here. Others who choose to leave He Kou will hand over their armor and come to Cao Tang to receive twenty taels of silver to leave; those who choose to join the Ji Yun Society as guards, wear your armor neatly and gather in front of Cao Tang tonight, there will be a boat to take you to Yu Dao..."

  "Let's go and let them make their own choices……" Lin Xie said to Gu Yingxiu, Lin Xuelu, and Lin Mengde, then stepped down from the earthen platform first and headed towards the thatched cottage in the east, leaving all the villagers who had gathered to cause trouble behind.

  Lin Xulü turned his head and took a look at the five village braves who had led the charge to drive Lin Fu out of the river mouth. They were still kneeling on the earthen platform, begging Lin Fu to take them in. The other village braves looked at each other in confusion: after all, these five men had been the ringleaders of the trouble, and they should be more worried about being held accountable by the Lin family later. Being able to get twenty taels of silver and relocate their families elsewhere was already a lenient punishment, so why were they begging Lin Fu to take them in like this?

  Lin Xulü's ability to control the overall situation is not strong, and he lacks courage and momentum. However, he can see some things clearly, which is probably what people mean by "high vision but low ability".

  Lin Xulü sighed slightly in his heart, after all Lin Gu was just going to bring the troublemakers under his control and drive away the five ringleaders of the disturbance, so as not to leave any future troubles or similar incidents.

  If Lin Xie were to drive people away with an iron fist, even if he temporarily established a clear authority of reward and punishment, not to mention the five people who were driven away would have grievances in their hearts, other village warriors would also have many complaints, and there would be many future troubles.

  But what about now? The five people who knelt down and begged for mercy had faces full of self-reproach and remorse, not a hint of resentment towards Lin Xuan. It seemed that most of the other village braves, after learning the truth, would give up their concerns about settling scores in the autumn and choose to stay and join the Jiuyun Society's Wuwei.

  That is to say, Lin Xie only used a hundred or so taels of silver to drive away the five leaders and would have thoroughly resolved many subsequent troubles. Such means are truly not what ordinary people would use.

  Lin Xulü followed behind Lin Xie, feeling somewhat disheartened and dejected. He had made a mess of today's events, and now he truly felt that he was far inferior to Lin Xie. Since arriving at the river mouth, his confidence had been dealt its first severe blow.

  ****************

  The development of things was just as Lin Xulü expected, and the vast majority of the village braves chose to stay after learning the truth. Nearly 150 people were armed and gathered in front of the grass hall, and Lin Xulü immediately sent a boat to take them to the prison island for training.

  Apart from the five ringleaders, more than a dozen militiamen chose to leave. These militiamen did not choose to leave because they were worried that Lin's family would settle accounts with them afterwards, but because their families had not been able to escape to Jiangning and they were worried about them. Now that they had the opportunity to leave, they thought of sneaking back to Shiliang County to find their families.

  The sky had entered the night, and the clear moonlight was shining brightly. With the addition of the lanterns cast from the corner tower, the courtyard in front of the Grass Hall was illuminated as bright as day. More than 20 village braves who were about to leave the river mouth knelt in the courtyard to bid farewell to Lin Xie.

  "Silver ingots, silver coins and loose change, I've prepared some for you, making a total of twenty taels of official silver. Knives or spears can't be carried on the body, so I've prepared a concealable bone-picking knife for each of you, hoping you won't use it for evil... Each of you take a bundle and leave. Those who want to return to Shiliang County, I'll send you by boat tonight to the northern border of Gutang County to pass the checkpoint. Those who want to go to another place in Jiangning to settle down can leave tomorrow." Lin Fu said.

  "We only ask the adults to give us a chance to make amends for our mistakes." Han Cai Zhi and five other leading troublemakers among the village braves still refused to leave Hekou, kneeling down and begging.

  "Let's go, I won't change my mind." Lin said resolutely.

  "We will never forget the kindness of adults..." Han Cai Zhi and others saw that Lin Xie's mind was made up, knowing it was too late to turn back, so they knocked their heads and left the grass hall. The other three leaders who caused trouble had families in the river mouth, and would move to another place tomorrow, originally having some savings, and with the twenty taels of silver given by Lin Xie as travel expenses, supporting each other through difficulties in Jiangning was not a big problem.

  Han Cai's father and mother also escaped to Jiangning, but when the Hongze Pu riot broke out, his wife took their young son back to her parents' home for a visit and has been stranded in Shiliang County ever since. Another leader of the disturbance, Chen Kui, had his wife and children follow him as he escaped, but Han Cai's mother remained in Shiliang County. Han Cai and Chen Kui entrusted their families in Jiangning to three others to take care of them, and they secretly returned to Shiliang County with over a dozen other militiamen who were also searching for their families. That night, they set off on a boat prepared by Lin Jiao.

  ***********

  Everything was resolved smoothly, and nearly 150 militiamen who had been incorporated into the Wuwei army were also sent to the prison island. Lin Xulüe and Lin XuHong had a simple dinner in the thatched cottage, and during the meal, he said to Lin XuLu: "You want to send the silver back to Dongyang Prefecture, but I'm worried that you'll encounter bandits along the way - I think it's better this way. The two fast-sailing ships of the Ji Yun Society will be formally received in the next two days, and there are still enough people on hand at the river mouth. In two days, I'll send you back to Dongyang. Many things have been temporarily settled down here, and I want to go to Dongyang to see Governor Gu."

  Dongyang's performance in the battle at Luoyang Lake, Lin Xulü didn't witness it personally, but he had heard a lot about it these days. If there were three such ships escorting him to Dongyang Prefecture City, he wouldn't have to worry about ordinary bandits and pirates.

  "That's perfect," Lin Xulü said with delight, "I was worried about how to send the silver back."

  Lin Xian said, "As for family matters, I didn't want to say much, but from today's events, it seems that handing over the Lin family to a few madams is not a suitable thing. This time I went to Dongyang, I will discuss with Second Uncle and hope that you, Third Brother, can stay in Jiangning for a long time."

  Lin Xulü felt ashamed in his heart, and today's handling of the matter was not justified, but Lin Xie's words made him feel comfortable, after all, shifting responsibility to others is something that everyone can't help but want to do. If it weren't for a few aunts who were flustered and directing east and west, Lin Xulü wouldn't have lost his composure.

  Lin Mengde sat silently on one side, but in his heart, Lin Xuhong truly understood that Lin Xulü was far inferior to Lin Xian.

  "It's not easy to recover the Upper Linli for the time being, and in order to maintain the operation of the Lin family's industries in Jiangning, we need to find alternative sources of goods. Large-scale trade in various places is controlled by local forces, and the Lin family has suddenly inserted itself into this situation, so conflicts are inevitable," said Lin Xian. "These conflicts are varied and numerous, and it's common for local forces to collude with water bandits or directly impersonate them to rob us. Our family has a fleet of ships, with a total capacity of 5,000 stones, but most of them are ordinary wooden boats with poor defensive capabilities and slow speed. In the past, our fleet mainly traveled along the Shiliang River waterway, so we didn't have to worry too much. However, in the future, when we go to other places to find goods, we can't be so careless. I hope our family can add more large ships with strong defenses and fast speed. After all, we still have 150 militiamen available at the river mouth, but actually, we don't need to keep so many private soldiers there. We only need to keep 20-30 people to guard the mansion, and the rest of the militiamen can be arranged on board. Tomorrow, I'll invite Third Brother to come to the Dongyang ship to watch the martial arts training, and he will know that in these uncertain times, having more large ships with strong defenses is beneficial for the Lin family. Who knows, maybe one day we'll need them even if we recover Upper Linli. Even after recovering Upper Linli, using large ships to transport goods on the Shiliang River can carry more cargo and require fewer people... I will discuss these matters with Second Uncle in detail when I go to Dongyang, and I also hope Third Brother will consider this. It's getting late, and I still need to take a trip to the island. After all, someone has just been sent over, and I'm not at ease, so I won't send you back yet."

  Lin Xian sent Lin Xu Lu and Lin Xu Hong out of the grass hall, and said to Lin Meng De: "When you contact the three clan elders, also talk about the benefits of preparing big ships and sturdy ships."

  The Jiangdong County is located between vast plains, and the danger of its terrain lies entirely in the "water" character. Furthermore, Lin Ge's base is on Changshan Island, connected to the Yangzi River waterway, linking Changshan Island with the river mouth, a tiny piece of land that naturally regards sturdy warships as floating fortresses in the vast waters.

  In two days, Lin will have four thousand-stone large ships in his hands. At present, the main warship of the Donghai bandits is also a large sailboat with a load capacity of one thousand stones. Although the Dongyang number and other ships may be stronger than the main warship of the Donghai bandits in terms of solidity and sailing speed, they are outnumbered by the Donghai bandits at sea.

  Lin Ge hoped that Changshan Island could avoid conflicts with the Donghai bandits as much as possible, but the time for the Xiao family to integrate the Donghai bandits and launch a large-scale invasion of the coastal provinces would not be delayed for too long. Would they tolerate the existence of the Changshan Island forces outside the Yangtze River estuary at that time?

  Lin Yu liked to hold the chips in his own hands. According to the reconnaissance of Donghai Island on the pirate forces, Lin Yu hoped to have five-masted or even eight-masted ultra-large fast sailing ships. On the large sailboat, set up war equipment such as mantis crossbow and bed crossbow. With a small number of elite combatants, it is also possible to gain an advantage over multiple main battleships of the Donghai pirates on the sea.

  With Dongyang-class's ability to withstand near-shore winds and waves, as well as its anti-collision capability, the construction cost of a super-large sailing ship with a capacity of 8,000 tons and five masts is approximately 18,000 to 20,000 taels of silver.

  Although Lin Xie and his men had managed to swindle nearly 100,000 taels of silver this time, if possible, Lin Xie would have liked to use it all to buy ships. However, this sum of money absolutely cannot be spent lavishly in the open.

  Lin wanted to urge the Lin family to buy more large ships by all means, at least now in the name of the Lin family and place an order with Longjiang Shipyard. After a few days, he would buy back these large ships from the Lin family at a higher price.

  A large sailing ship, even with all the materials ready, would take half a year to complete. Lin Xie was worried that after half a year, the pirates of the Eastern Sea would have extended their claws and teeth to the mouth of the Yangtze River, time really waits for no man.

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  P.S: Chapter 2 is out, brothers! Cast your red votes to encourage me to code the third chapter!