Chapter 830
Chapter 830
Chapter 830
No one expected that a casual chat at the dinner table would quietly dissipate the tense atmosphere that had been brewing on Silver Mountain.
That day, Jia Cong left in silence with his men. Afterwards, the Imperial Guards who had been circling outside their mine left. Until Pan Yun left, Jia Cong never mentioned confiscating their mine again. Kuang Ping even took the initiative to come to them to discuss expanding cooperation.
The ore they mined was sent to the silver refinery of the Ministry of Works for refining, and the profits were divided as before.
After a brief discussion, the mine owners agreed.
They don't have the capacity for such an efficient silver refinery right now. If they use traditional methods to smelt silver, it will not only waste firewood but also result in a low silver smelting rate, which would be a waste of ore.
Currently, only the Ministry of Works and Wang Cong's silver refining workshop have this capability in the entire Silver Mountain.
They privately asked the Taoist priests in the temple, and they estimated that it would cost more than a thousand taels of silver to build a silver refining workshop like theirs.
They didn't know how long they could mine in this silver mountain, so they weren't willing to spend so much.
Moreover, according to those Taoist priests, the silver refining workshop not only undergoes quarterly inspections but also requires continuous research and improvement...
This is the purpose of the Taoist priests and the Ministry of Works here.
Therefore, they don't spend a lump sum of money, but rather spend money continuously.
Forget it, let's just cooperate with the Ministry of Works and Wang Cong's silver refining workshop.
Fortunately, they had two options. Although Wang Cong's silver refining workshop was no longer as large as the Ministry of Works', they still preferred to cooperate with him. A portion of the ore they mined had to be sent to them.
Pan Jun stood on a large rock, looking down from above.
The mountains and forests were lush and green, with thousands of people scattered among them, without a trace. If it weren't for the occasional sound of knocking on the rocks, these mountains would be no different from any other.
Zhang Weiliang, his face pale, climbed up and stood behind her.
Without turning his head, Pan Yun asked, "Did you send that person away?"
“They’ve seen him off,” Zhang Weiliang said, his voice filled with resentment. “Can I just tell him directly that we will never cooperate with the Da Nei clan?”
He really didn't want to deal with these people anymore.
Pan Yun: "Why don't you write to your father and Zhang Ziwang?"
Zhang Weiliang fell silent instantly.
Pan Yun: "I will leave tomorrow. Let the people in these mountains fight as they please. We are here on orders to spread the word and assist the Ministry of Works. Do not interfere in other matters."
Zhang Weiliang rolled his eyes and asked, "Including your and Wang Cong's silver refining workshop?"
Pan Yun nodded: "Of course, if you can do me a favor on behalf of the Celestial Master's Mansion, I would be very willing to accept it."
However, I am now giving you this instruction as a disciple of the academy.
Zhang Weiliang snorted and said, "You certainly know how to separate public and private matters."
Pan Yun twitched the corner of her mouth.
Zhang Weiliang frowned: "When Wang Cong came over in the spring, why didn't the Celestial Master's Mansion send anyone to take over?"
Pan Yun shook her head: "I'm not from the Celestial Master's Mansion."
Zhang Weiliang took a deep breath and asked, "What about the academy?"
Pan Yun shrugged: "I'm just a student."
Zhang Weiliang was a little annoyed: "When can I go back to China? I've been here for almost a year."
“You’ve already graduated, won’t you still have to come out and gain experience when you go back?” Pan Jun frowned. “I can tell you’re not focused. How can your cultivation improve if you’re not focused?”
Zhang Weiliang stared at her, his big eyes instantly welling up with tears. He tried hard to keep his eyes open to stop the tears from falling, but when he spoke, his voice was trembling with sobs: "Can't I just miss home?"
Pan Jun was easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force. Seeing his attitude, she softened and thought for a moment before saying, "Perhaps the teachers want you to gain more experience. I'll talk to Zhang Ziwang about it when I get back this time. I'll come back next month, and if they have any arrangements, I'll bring someone over to take your place."
Zhang Weiliang held back his tears and looked at Pan Jun suspiciously: "Really? You, you're willing to take me back?"
He didn't doubt that Pan Yun would report it. After all, it was her arrangement to leave him behind. She had promised to take him back after bringing him out, but everyone else had gone back and then came back, while he was left out both times.
However, the flying artifacts of cultivators are important, and they require complete concentration when using them, so very few people would bring someone they don't trust onto their flying artifacts.
He was someone who had a grudge against Pan Yun, yet she was willing to take him back.
Pan Yun saw that his eyes were still watery, and she knew he wouldn't want to leave her. Saying she was willing would make her seem easy to bully, so she simply said, "You have to pay me."
Zhang Weiliang breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How much?"
Pan Yun: "Fifty taels."
That's exactly the fare a person would have to pay to sail to Japan.
Zhang Weiliang said generously, "I'll give you one hundred taels!"
Pan Yun did not refuse.
Go back and find Zhang Ziwang.
Only then did Zhang Ziwang remember his nephew, Zhang Weiliang.
Seeing his silence, Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Dean Zhang, do you still want to send Zhang Weiliang to Japan for training, or... have you forgotten about him?"
Zhang Ziwang said expressionlessly, "This matter needs to be reported to the Celestial Master's Mansion, and they will assign someone who can take over."
Pan Yun immediately said, "The journey to Quanzhou is long, and finding a boat to go out to sea would take too much time. By the time we get to Dasen Township, two or three months will have passed. I can fly now and am willing to serve the academy. Once the Celestial Master's Mansion has selected its people, I will take them there next month and bring Zhang Weiliang and the others back."
Zhang Ziwang looked up at her, reached for a thick booklet next to him, opened it, and immediately saw Pan Yun's name.
He pointed to the reasons in the booklet and asked her, "You took two days off this month, which coincided with Qingming Festival, saying you were going to sweep the tombs. How did you manage to bring back news of Zhang Weiliang from Japan?"
Pan Yun blinked and tilted her head, saying, "Huh? Didn't I say? I asked for leave to go to Japan to pay respects to the Japanese heroes who died in the war last year."
Zhang Ziwang glanced at her, snorted, and stopped pursuing the matter, simply saying, "This is the last time."
Then he asked, "When are you leaving next month?"
Pan Yun: "The day before the Dragon Boat Festival."
Zhang Ziwang: "The day before yesterday?"
"So I need to ask the Dean to grant me two more days off. Going there and back, and taking people with me, will consume a lot of my energy. I need to rest and recover."
Wang Cong worked in mining and maritime trade in Japan, and he knew why she wanted to go there.
She was probably there to support Wang Cong; otherwise, based on what she did in Japan last year, Wang Cong would have been killed ten times over.
Although Longhu Mountain and Sanqing Mountain are fighting, they can still distinguish between their own people and outsiders.
Even the northern barbarians are treated with a degree of friendliness in front of the Japanese.
In recent years, the threat of Japanese pirates along the coast has been too severe.
Therefore, Zhang Ziwang did not make things difficult for Pan Yun and nodded in agreement.
The Celestial Master's Mansion also selected three people to go to Japan within a month.
One is the 38th generation senior brother, and the other two are the 40th generation senior sister and senior brother.
The academy granted Pan Yun leave, and even gave her an extra day.
Although he felt it wouldn't be of much use, Pan Yun was still happy to have more time, so he immediately pulled the three of them on board and flew across the sea together. By the end of April, Zhang Weiliang was filled with anticipation. Early in the morning of May 4th, he flew to the rooftop to look out, hoping to see where Pan Yun would come from.
Sure enough, before noon even arrived, he saw a black dot flying in from the horizon.
When he got close, he jumped up on the spot, and as he landed, the tiles under his feet broke and he slipped, and he fell off the roof with a thud.
With a scream, Zhang Weiliang struggled to his feet. As he looked up, a pair of shoes stopped three steps away from him, followed by hurried footsteps. Someone helped Zhang Weiliang up.
Zhang Weiliang shifted his hand that was covering his forehead and finally saw who it was: "Brother Changtang..."
Zhang Weichang looked at his unreliable cousin with a troubled expression and asked, "Are you alright?"
He was standing in the pot, watching him fall off the roof.
Zhang Weiliang sniffed and shook his head: "It's nothing."
The shoes belonged to Pan Jun.
Seeing that they had finished catching up, Pan Yun clicked his tongue twice, walked over and circled around Zhang Weiliang. After a moment, he said, "Charging you a hundred taels for travel expenses is not expensive at all. I think your luck has been so-so lately. You seem to be more unlucky than me."
Zhang Weichang also carefully examined Zhang Weiliang, and after a moment said, "Since you've decided to go back, you should settle down for the next two days, carefully check your luggage, and not go out again."
Zhang Weiliang: "I don't like going out. Although they use Chinese characters here, only some gentry can read and speak Chinese. The customs are different, and the food is also different. I can't sit at the same table with them."
Zhang Weichang frowned: "You've been here for almost a year, and you still haven't learned Japanese?"
That would be beneath the standards of their Longhushan Academy.
Zhang Weiliang quickly replied, "I have learned it. After all, it's a Taoist temple located in Japan, and most of the believers are ordinary Japanese people. Naturally, I need to be able to speak Japanese, otherwise how can I communicate with them?"
Zhang Weichang's expression improved, and he turned to thank Pan Yun.
Pan Yun waved her hand to indicate that she didn't care, and asked Zhang Weiliang, "Did you pass on the message I asked you to spread last time?"
"The news was spread, but it was too slow. It took three days for people who wanted to see you to flock to you."
What did you say to them?
Zhang Weiliang: "What can I say? I'll just say you've gone back to China and will come back in a while."
Pan Yun nodded: "Now quickly spread the word that I've come again."
Zhang Weiliang: "...If you want to see someone, just send someone to invite them, or notify that family specifically. Why spread the message around in all directions? It's a waste of manpower, don't you understand?"
Pan Jun's face turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Just go when I tell you to. Why all the nonsense?"
Zhang Weiliang went off muttering to himself.
Zhang Weichang and his two junior brothers and sisters looked on in surprise and couldn't help but exchange glances.
Pan Yun turned around and smiled at them, "Senior brothers and sisters, let's go. Let's find rooms to stay in and rest for a while. You can start the handover when Zhang Weiliang comes back after he finishes his business."
Zhang Weichang smiled and agreed.
It wasn't until the handover that he understood why Pan Yun could be so domineering towards Zhang Weiliang.
According to the account books, Pan Yun contributed the initial funds for the construction of this Taoist temple, which accounted for about a quarter of the total construction cost.
According to the agreement later signed by Pan Yun, the Celestial Master's Mansion, and the Academy, Sanqingshan, the Celestial Master's Mansion, and the Academy jointly own three shares of the Taoist temple, with one share belonging exclusively to Pan Yun.
In other words, if the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Academy do not cooperate, Sanqing Mountain and Pan Yun can become the masters of this Taoist temple if they join forces.
However, they did not build the Taoist temple for money.
Rather, it was for this silver mountain, and for the Ming Dynasty's strategic layout in Japan.
Similarly, although this Taoist temple was built in Japan, it was like all the Taoist temples in the Ming Dynasty. Ten years later, as long as the temple was beneficial to local development and had the ability to operate independently, the Taoist priests in the temple could decide whether to become completely independent or continue to maintain ownership.
Zhang Weichang instantly understood why the Celestial Master's Mansion had transferred him back from the famous temple in Kaifeng, almost exiling him to Japan.
The Taoist temple in this foreign land will surely be able to become independent in ten years, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
At that point, it will be hard to say whose interests this view will ultimately serve.
He stood halfway up the mountain, looking down and listening to the distant sound of stones being struck. He exhaled, "Being here in this temple, it's probably difficult to calm my mind and cultivate."
The two junior brothers and sisters disagreed, saying, "Everyone in the world is driven by profit, regardless of whether they are in China or abroad."
“That’s true.” Zhang Weichang smiled bitterly. “But this matter is even more important. The imperial court is using this Taoist temple as a pawn and a tool to smooth things over.”
"paste?"
“Yes, to stick these loose grains of sand together,” Zhang Weichang pointed to the dense forest with his finger: “Li Wenying, Zhang Ziming and the Master saw this together, and Pan Yun also had the same idea, which is why this Taoist temple came into being.”
The two junior brothers and sisters exchanged a glance.
Zhang Weichang: "Go and take another look at the account books that have been handed over; there's a lot more to them than meets the eye."
Thinking of the account books he had just received, he shook his head and chuckled: "Fortunately, it was Zhang Weiliang who was in charge of the accounts. Although the records were messy, they were detailed, so we could see what the person behind the scheme was thinking. If a cunning old fox had been in charge of the accounts, I'm afraid no one would have been able to see this."
Before his junior brothers and sisters could react, Zhang Weichang said, "So we have to redo this account."
Junior brothers and sisters: "...All of them?"
Zhang Weichang nodded: "Everything must be done in a way that makes it impossible for anyone to tell."
The junior brothers and sisters are already feeling a headache. The senior brother is right; this place doesn't seem to be conducive to cultivation.
Zhang Weichang turned back to find Zhang Weiliang, wanting to learn more about Japan.
"Whom did Pan Yun ask you to pass on the news of her return to?"
"all."
Zhang Weichang asked in confusion, "What?"
Zhang Weiliang said with a serious expression: "It means everyone, spreading the message so that everyone can hear it."
He shrugged: "I don't know why she did that either?"
Zhang Weichang pondered, "This is a warning shot. Is Wang Cong not in Dasen Township?"
"Yes, he went out to do business with his pile of goods."
Zhang Weichang: "Where are you now?"
"I don't know. The post stations here aren't as well-connected as those in our Great Ming Dynasty. News travels slowly. If he doesn't contact us, how would we know where he is?"
Zhang Weichang: "No wonder she spread the news everywhere and came over every month. She was protecting Wang Cong."
Zhang Weiliang: "Besides bandits, who would harm Wang Cong? If anyone were to harm someone, it would be Pan Yun, wouldn't it?"
Zhang Weichang asked him, "In Japan, who could harm Pan Yun?"
Zhang Weiliang thought for a moment but couldn't figure it out: "How would I know what kind of talented people Japan has? Even if they do, they might not be able to defeat Pan Yun."
"So, even if you can't beat Pan Yun, you can always beat her junior apprentice, right?"
Zhang Weiliang's mouth dropped open.
(End of this chapter)