After continuous conquest and private collusion with local officials in the Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhi gradually gained a monopoly position at sea between China and Japan, and the new ships that entered the sea only dared to sail on the sea under the banner of "Five Peaks".

However, Wang Zhi's behavior has always been contrary to the "sea ban" policy of the central government of the Ming Dynasty. In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing (1547), Zhu Kun, the governor of Zhejiang in the Ming Dynasty, sent troops to suppress and destroy Shuangyu Port. Wang Zhi led the remnants of the party across the sea to Japan and proclaimed himself King of Hui. Later, Wang Zhi and others colluded with the Japanese to invade the southeast coast, and successively captured Shanghai, Suzhou, Huizhou, Nanjing and other places, burning, killing and looting a lot.

In the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1556), the Ming Dynasty government appointed Hu Zongxian as the governor of Zhejiang. Emperor Jiajing was determined to eradicate the bandits, and he would never spare the thieves.

In early March of that year, Wang Zhi sent a message to the Ming government, expressing his willingness to obey orders and assist in the eradication of the displaced people from all parts of Songjiang, hoping to exchange this for the Ming government's promise to open up coastal trade. Hu Zongxian deliberately created an atmosphere of peace between the two sides and ensnared Wang Zhi.

Due to the tense situation along the coast at that time, Hu Zongxian did not dare to kill Wang Zhi rashly, and put him under house arrest in Hangzhou for more than two years, hoping that the Liukou would dissolve themselves because of the loss of their leader, but the effect was not great. On December 25, the 38th year of Jiajing (1559), Wang Zhi was executed.

Zheng Zhilong said: "I have also considered this matter. The key is to choose the right time, and there must be a suitable official before he can agree to recruit security. In fact, brothers don't have to worry about the affairs of the government. How much profit did Wang Haizhu make in the sea trade at that time? Nowadays, half of Jiangnan is engaged in sea trade, and those gentry and big families have great profits on the sea. For the sake of the money, they will take the initiative to arrange these things. But that's a bit of a long way to go now. Let's talk about it when the right opportunity arises later. ”

Gan Hui nodded and said, "Okay, let's go back and secretly listen to everyone's tone first, but don't divulge our plan." We only need those who are willing to follow us steadfastly. ”

After a few people agreed on this matter, they naturally wanted to have a good drink. They seem to be confident of future victories. But they are entitled to think so. Because Zheng Zhilong almost completely took over Li Dan's fleet. Coupled with the friends he had made over the years and the henchmen he had cultivated, they were already an extremely large force at sea.

Just when Zheng Zhilong was intensively preparing for the war, Liu Pei was not idle. He only sent two ships to maintain trade with Shimazu Ietoku, and even the robbery stopped. All of them are training desperately for the future.

Just returned from a sea inspection. received the news that Liu Jiang asked to see him. After Liu Jiang came in, he said: "Dashuai, our people have sent news that many of Zheng Yiguan's directly subordinate fleets have not gone to sea and have disappeared directly. Probably preparing for war. Now the sea is calm, and there are no robbers. Both large and small pirates shrank back. ”

Liu Pei said with a smile: "This is normal! They are all characters who have been soaked in the sea for a long time, where can they not feel the prelude to the storm? And it seems that not only we are preparing, but Zheng Yiguan is also preparing for war! ”

Liu Jiang said: "Dashuai, will we fight Zheng Yiguan before the end of this year?" ”

Liu Pei said: "It's hard to say. Because we have to wait for Zheng Zhilong to do it first, then we can have the reputation of righteousness. If we make the first move, it will be a provocation! ”

Liu Jiang frowned and said, "This kind of passive waiting is really a headache!" ”

Liu Pei said: "It's really a headache! But there's still a lot we can do. Some time ago, I asked you to send people in the direction of Quanzhou? ”

Immediately nodded and said, "Send it out." It's easy to inquire about the news over there. Especially the low-level sailor generals are very easy to buy! However, Dashuai, do you really think that Zheng Yiguan will use the power of the water master to attack us? ”

Liu Pei said: "It's just in case. At present, we need to send more forces from that side. Attention is paid to those who meddle in the sea trade, and they will reflect Zheng Yiguan's movements. ”

Liu Jiang nodded his head and left after understanding. The reason why Liu Pei paid attention to the Daming Naval Division was because Zheng Zhilong later accepted the imperial court's recruitment and became a guerrilla general of the Naval Division. Liu Pei felt that with Zheng Zhilong's mind, he would not fight an uncertain battle. He was able to join the Daming Water Master smoothly, and he must have done a lot of work in advance. So keeping an eye on the sailor is a must.

Liu Pei then came to the General Staff. At present, Liu Pei's General Staff is generally just a shelf. There were only two dozen young officers inside. These people are the objects that Liu Pei focuses on cultivating. In the future, they will all go down and lead the troops. The resume of the General Staff will be an important part of their careers.

Lupe walked into the room, and the young officers who had been waiting for a long time stood up and saluted. After Liu Pei returned the salute, he motioned to the guards to put a thick document bag on the table, and said, "To make a long story short, I came here today to give you a mission." I want you to start today, at least one battle plan against Zheng Zhilong every day, and then conduct a sand table deduction. In my pocket is the data of our existing forces, as well as the summary of Zheng Yiguan's intelligence. And the Intelligence Service will be updated with new information at any time. ”

A young officer said excitedly: "Marshal, are we really going to fight Zheng Yiguan soon?" ”

Liu Pei said: "It's possible. So it's up to you to prepare! Don't think too much, make a plan repeatedly, and then deduce, choose the most likely plan to act, and make a list of plans to deal with it. Remember, as long as we defeat Zheng Yiguan, the whole sea will be ours! ”

All the officers immediately stood up and shouted excitedly at Liu Pei: "I am willing to die for the commander!" ”

Liu Pei returned the salute and said: "Disbanded." ”

The lads jumped right into the plan. The sound of quarrels, the grinding of papers, and the sound of fast footsteps resounded incessantly in the room, showing the abundant energy of the group!

Liu Pei watched the officers' operations with satisfaction for a while, and then left the staff headquarters and returned to the garrison. After all, he has too many things to keep busy during this time. But halfway through, there was a report from the guards, saying that Mr. Bao from the Academy of Sciences wanted to see him and had something important to report. Liu Pei didn't say a word, and rushed directly to the Academy of Sciences.

When he arrived at the Academy of Sciences, Bao Dezhi was leading a few people to greet him at the gate, and a carriage was parked beside him. Liu Pei was about to dismount when he got close, but Bao Dezhi waved his hand and said, "The marshal doesn't need to get off the horse, we are going to the test site soon." ”

After speaking, Bao Dezhi directly boarded the carriage, and Liu Pei rode a horse to follow. On the way, two people chatted through the car window. Liu Pei said: "Mr. Bao, do you have any surprises for me this time?" ”

Bao Dezhi said: "It was indeed a surprise. This time it's a big killer in battle! Especially in naval warfare, it works wonders when used well! ”

Liu Pei said with great interest: "Can you first reveal what it is?" ”

Bao Dezhi said: "Of course. I don't know if the big handsome knows about the flowering bomb? ”

Liu Pei said in surprise: "Of course I know!" You've already developed a flowering bomb? ”

Bao Dezhi said proudly: "Of course! Technically, it's not complicated at all. It took a little time to make the right artillery. ”

Liu Pei said: "Isn't the caliber of the existing artillery matching the flowering shell? ”

Bao Dezhi said: "Not yet. Because in order to withstand the bore pressure of the gun, the shell had to be cast from pig iron. But our current chemical capabilities can't keep up with the power to make more powerful gunpowder. Therefore, if you want to explode the iron shell with the current gunpowder, you must have enough gunpowder in the flowering bomb. So it was necessary to use large-caliber artillery. ”

Then Bao Dezhi explained to Liu Pei the specific manufacturing method and use method of flowering bomb. Flowering bombs are ammunition that use fragments and shock waves generated after the projectile explosion to kill or blast, which is what we often call grenades and grenade shots. In fact, the early flowering bomb was very simple, that is, a spherical projectile body was cast from pig iron, which was stuffed with gunpowder and small iron pellets. At that time, flowering shells did not have proximity or delayed fuses, and were ignited with a twist of arquebus, which could explode after firing and injure people with shrapnel or small iron pellets.