Chapter 42: Fighting the Powerful Clans and the Unruly Folk

When the people ran over, Liu Zheng, his face pitch-black, ran out from the blast furnace workshop, looking indescribably disheveled.

"Young Master!"

"Is the Young Master injured?"

"Quick, quick, call a doctor, hurry!"

The people were incredibly anxious.

Liu Zheng's hair was disheveled, his clothes were in tatters, and he kept coughing, yet his face was filled with excited laughter: "It's done, it's done, I've figured it out!"

"Quick, change the blast furnace for me!"

Everyone was shocked and began to urge Liu Zheng otherwise.

Liu Zheng ignored them and rushed back in like a madman. For the past few days, he had been constantly experimenting with the relationship between various degrees of hardness and brittleness!

He wanted to make a glass bottle that could hold Perfume, be easy to transport, and also be eye-catching—one had to know that back in the day, Columbus had used glass beads to trade for their weight in gold in America!

To achieve perfection in all three attributes, how could that be easy?

Therefore...

An explosion or two was only normal.

Next, Liu Zheng had truly mastered the proportions of the various raw materials, as well as the temperature, cooling, and annealing times.

And so...

After another night of toil, this first batch of Crystal Glass was finally a success!

"Young Master!"

"Is it a success?"

"Young Master, you haven't rested for days..."

A group of people swarmed in, but before they could finish speaking, they were already deeply captivated by the glass bottles placed before Liu Zheng.

Four iridescent bottles sat quietly there.

Because of the sparks flying beside the blast furnace, the flickering light refracted through these crystal-like bottles, creating a dazzling display of colors.

"My heavens!"

"What is this?"

"This, this, this, is this a gemstone?"

Wei Tiezhu was left completely stunned.

Liu Zheng smiled, took these bottles, and walked out of the workshop. It was early morning, and the sun was rising from the east. Liu Zheng held up the bottles, and when the true sunlight shone upon them, they immediately emitted a seven-colored radiance, as if they were real crystal!

"Too beautiful!"

"Young Master, this..."

The crowd exclaimed in succession.

Liu Zheng was also very satisfied; it was worth being blown up for this. Having not slept for six days and seven nights, he was reaching his limit and planned to go back to sleep, intending to teach them the glass-making craft when he had time.

Then, upon stepping outside, he saw three Horse Carriages at the entrance and was taken aback.

What was going on?

"The Young Master is out!"

"Ah? Young Master, this is..."

"Is the Young Master unharmed?"

The three wealthy landowners had been drinking jars of Drunken Yinzhou for the past few days, and seeing Liu Zheng in this state, they were all startled.

Liu Zheng gave a wry smile, instantly understanding their intention in coming here.

"Gentlemen, I have not rested for six days. Allow me to go back and get some sleep, and then we shall discuss the sales matters, how about that?"

The three of them agreed in unison.

This sleep lasted for three days.

When Liu Zheng washed up and went out, he heard the laughter of Liu Dahao and the three landowners chatting in the reception hall. Seeing Liu Zheng emerge, the three landowners all wore expectant expressions.

Liu Zheng looked around and smiled: "This time, the products from the Shen Gong Workshop will be sold on behalf of the Wang Family."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zengming's eyes turned red; despite his old arms and legs, he knelt directly on the ground and loudly praised the County Marquis and the Young Master.

The other two families shook their heads in disappointment.

But they said nothing.

After all, among the three remaining Powerful Clans, the Zheng Family had received the most benefits from Liu Zheng, the Cao Family came next, and only the Wang Family had been left watching from the sidelines; this time, it was indeed the Wang Family's turn.

This was where Liu Zheng's cleverness lay.

After the Chen Family's rebellion, he now sought stability; people's hearts were set on peace, and he wanted to vigorously develop Yinzhou. Moreover, after the Chen Family was raided, the Wang Family had actually been very well-behaved.

Since they were well-behaved, one had to let them have a taste of meat.

"The Young Master's action is fair and just; the Zheng Family has no objections!"

The Cao Family also expressed their agreement.

"Young Master, may this old man see what kind of divine object this is?"

Liu Zheng chuckled and took out the glass bottles.

Once placed on the table, the eyes of the few people in the reception hall went wide.

"This, this..."

"This is?"

Liu Zheng explained with a smile: "This is called Crystal Glass, a type of bottle that can hold liquid substances. My initial idea is to put our Perfume inside and sell them together. However, since this glass is a collaboration between the Wang Family and the County Marquis Mansion, we must discuss a price with the Zheng Family."

Because there would be many more glass products to follow, the Perfume bottle was just one of them.

So Liu Zheng had to make that clear first.

"What a waste of heaven's gifts, what a waste! Young Master, how can such an eye-catching item be used to hold things?"

Several people beat their chests and stamped their feet.

Liu Zheng also followed with a smile.

He suddenly realized a problem: because this Crystal Glass bottle was too beautiful, would the historical incident of "buying the casket and returning the pearl" happen?

There would likely be quite a few.

After sending those three members of the gentry away, Liu Zheng was just about to go to the Shen Gong Workshop to teach the craftsmen how to make glass when Zheng Yue Ru suddenly came to visit.

"Brother Liu, do you still remember our wager?"

Zheng Yue Ru had returned to her male attire today, and she looked at Liu Zheng with burning eyes as she asked.

"Miss Zheng means..."

Liu Zheng nodded.

"Then please, Brother Liu, disguise yourself and come with me to a place!"

Liu Zheng was shocked to hear this; could it be that what Zheng Yue Ru said about the Production Team was actually true? There was no need for a deliberate disguise; Liu Zheng casually picked up a hat that could cover half his face, mounted a horse, and followed behind Zheng Yue Ru.

At this time, there were only a few days left until the Spring Festival, and the heavy snow was beginning to melt. In Yinzhou, after the Spring Festival, when the dragon raises its head on the second day of the second lunar month, it is considered the start of spring, and true spring plowing begins.

Therefore, these past few days, the Production Team had been causing quite a stir in Yinzhou.

The commoners were in high spirits, feeling as if they could finally rise up and become masters, no longer needing to look at the faces of the Powerful Clan landlords. Along the way, the atmosphere was quite good.

This made Liu Zheng feel relieved.

However, Zheng Yue Ru kept walking, and after about an hour, the two arrived at a small village called Majiazhuang in the southwest of Yinzhou.

"Miss Zheng, this is..."

Liu Zheng was a bit puzzled.

Zheng Yuru made a "shh" gesture, signaling Liu Zheng to do as she did: hide their horses in a temple halfway there, and then the two proceeded on foot.

Majiazhuang was considered a fairly large village, with a full thousand households and five thousand people.

"Brother Liu, do not speak for a moment!"

Zheng Yue Ru whispered.

Liu Zheng was just about to ask what exactly was going on.

Who would have thought that at this moment, a scream rang out. Then, a young woman in disheveled clothing came running while crying loudly, followed by a group of burly men.

"Catch her!"

"Don't let her run!"

"Hahahaha, our Captain Wu taking a fancy to you is your good fortune, yet you still want to run, you thieving woman!"

Pursued by a group of men, how could the woman escape? She was soon kicked to the ground. The woman looked panicked: "No, no, Captain Wu, I beg you, I am already a mother of children, please don't..."

Surrounded by the crowd, a swarthy man walked out laughing loudly, his eyes full of lewdness; looking at the woman's graceful figure, he was almost drooling.

"I know you have two brats, and they are even the brats of the Tao Family landlord, so what?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

"My lady, do you know that the times have changed now?"

"The County Marquis's son is promoting the Production Team, and now in Majiazhuang, it is our Captain Wu who calls the shots!"

At this time, a fat man wearing silk clothes but with disheveled hair and a bruised face ran over, knelt on the ground with a thud, and pleaded with a face full of misery: "Captain Wu, I beg you, let my wife go, I beg you..."

Slap!

A slap landed on the fat man's face, and Captain Wu sneered repeatedly: "Tao Chenggong, I didn't expect you to have a day like this. When I was a Tenant Farmer at your house before the year ended, did you ever think of today?"

"Kneel properly!"

"Old Man Tao, I won't hide it from you, the spring plowing this year depends on me, Captain Wu! You say you don't know how to show some respect; what is so hard to part with for a woman?"

"Exactly! Yesterday, that Old Man Cui sent his own daughter to Captain Wu's bed just so their family could use the Yinzhou Plow for three days first when spring starts!"

A group of people laughed arrogantly.

Tao Chenggong kowtowed and begged for mercy incessantly, his forehead already covered in blood.

At this moment, Liu Zheng was so furious that his eyes were splitting; he couldn't help but want to rush out, but he was held back tightly by Zheng Yue Ru. If they went out now, once they angered this group of people, would there be any way to survive?

"Outrageous, simply outrageous!"

Liu Zheng was extremely angry.

Zheng Yue Ru smiled bitterly: "Brother Liu, this is not just in Majiazhuang. Now the whole of Yinzhou is spreading the word that the County Marquis's son is making decisions for the farmers and has crowned you with the name of 'Benevolence and Righteousness,' but 'Benevolence and Righteousness' sometimes represents weakness... The weaker you are, the more arrogant they become on your behalf..."

Liu Zheng listened with his fists clenched tightly and his eyes bloodshot.

He truly did not expect that such a thing would happen before his eyes. What was this called? Overcorrecting?

Because these farmers had been oppressed by the Powerful Clan landlords for a long time, they suddenly rose up to become masters, and their mentality naturally expanded. They believed that the time had come to settle old scores and grievances.

Although the County Marquis Mansion's decree stated that the use of production tools was determined by drawing lots every year, in villages like Majiazhuang, drawing lots? Wouldn't that still be up to the captain to decide?

During spring plowing, who uses it first and who uses it later can directly affect the harvest for the whole year.

Therefore, for a time, these former farmers became the ones in power.

This was a terrifying thing.

It was just like the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom back then... the peasant uprising had the momentum of a prairie fire at the beginning, but what happened later? Because they were all a bunch of peasants, there were no elite figures, no intellectuals, and not even any management talent, which eventually led to internal corruption that even exceeded that of the Great Qing. And it wasn't just corruption; it directly turned into a tragic and inhuman kingdom.

Suddenly.

Liu Zheng realized that he was truly wrong.

Whether it is the Powerful Clan or the farmers, human beings actually have inherent flaws. They are hypocritical, greedy, fickle, irritable, and profit-seeking; it has been so since ancient times. No matter which side his rule relies on more, the same problems will appear.

This does not mean that because they are farmers, they will be simple and honest.

In fact, not only are they not simple and honest, they can also be unruly people.

And as a ruler.

Is mercy more important, or is cruelty more important?

Is it more important to be loved, or to be feared?

These two questions suddenly filled Liu Zheng's heart.