Fan Yongdou replied: "Lord Hong is right, our fleet does have guards and artillery, but that is only to scare and scare those ordinary thieves, a ship only has two guns on the left and right sides, and the artillery is only a small cannon of four or five hundred catties, three or four miles away, and it is still used as a stone projectile, how can it compete with that pirate?" ”

Hong Chengchou was even more surprised, "You mean that group of pirates is very large?" ”

Fan Yongdou smiled bitterly: "What's more than a big word? It was about to catch up with the sailors, but fortunately they only robbed property and boats, and as long as they didn't resist, they wouldn't hurt anyone. After the robbery, people are often driven to a small boat and released back...... According to those who returned, this pirate force had at least one or two thousand men, and hundreds of large and small ships, two of which had twelve cannons on each side, and all of them were cannons of one or two thousand pounds, and they were still used with iron projectiles. Tell me, Lord Hong, is this something that I can compete with the guards and artillery? ”

Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou glanced at each other in surprise, Hong Chengchou thought and said: "From Hangzhou Bay to the mouth of the Yangtze River, such a large-scale pirate can suddenly appear, this is obviously a strange thing. ”

Without waiting for Fan Wencheng to speak, Fan Yongdou smiled bitterly: "In Lord Hong's words, this group of pirates is indeed related to Wu Zheng. According to the man who returned, the man who was the leader of the pirates thought that he was the king of the sea. ”

Hong Chengchou frowned and said to himself: "Why is this name so familiar, it seems that I have heard it somewhere." ”

Fan Wencheng sighed lightly: "Wang Deren was originally under the command of Bai Wang, Li Zicheng's old department, and then returned to our dynasty from Bai Wang. But after the Ming Dynasty, there was not much time, and it was reversed, with 2,000 people from Shaoxing to hijack the ship to the sea, I don't know the whereabouts, at that time the Yixing Dynasty also encircled and suppressed this department for this matter. I don't want to, but I am entrenched in the sea as a thief. ”

Hong Chengchou remembered this at this time, so he was stunned.

How do you say this?

Wang Deren first Li Zicheng, then the Qing, and then the Ming, now it is three do not rely on, and the Yixing Dynasty has issued a clear edict for this, and if he wants to use this to negotiate with the Yixing Dynasty, he is afraid that it will be unreasonable to sue.

Hong Chengchou was silent for a while, and asked urgently: "Have the Jiangnan merchants been robbed?" ”

This question is the last reason that Hong Chengchou can think of, if the Jiangnan businessmen are not robbed, then whether it has anything to do with Wu Zheng or not, it should be related, and it must be related, this pot will be detained on Wu Zheng's head, and then someone will be sent to Yixing Dynasty to seek justice.

But Hong Chengchou was immediately disappointed.

Because Fan Yongdou said, "According to the reports of people in Jiangnan, there are also several families in the south that have been looted. ”

Hong Chengchou frowned, glanced at Fan Wencheng, and then said, "Since this is the case, this official really can't help you." ”

Fan Wencheng comprehended and said: "You also know that there is no sailor in the imperial court at the moment, and what is the scale of the other party, and the place of residence is uncertain, if you only send some troops to encircle and suppress by boat, I am afraid it will be in vain...... It's up to you to think of something else. ”

Fan Yongdou scolded X in his heart, but he said in his mouth: "We also understand the difficulties of the imperial court and the two adults, so in total, I want to ask the Yixing Dynasty Navy Master to encircle and suppress this group of pirates on my behalf." ”

Hong Chengchou's eyes lit up, and the disaster moved south?

He nodded, "This can be done." It's just that how could the Yixing Dynasty agree to the sailors to suppress the bandits? As far as this official knows, the sailors of Xingguo Gong of the Yixing Dynasty suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle, and it is estimated that they do not have the strength to suppress bandits, right? ”

Fan Yongdou said: "I'm waiting for ...... I want to ask the Zhoushan water master to suppress the bandits. ”

"Wu Zheng?"

"Yes."

"It's ridiculous, the connection between him and Wang Deren hasn't been sorted out yet, you go to beg him, aren't you seeking skin with the tiger?"

Fan Yongdou said: "Whether it is related or not, the so-called bell must be tied to the bell person." Besides, Lord Hong can't be sure that Wang Deren must be related to Wu Zheng just because Wang Deren once descended to Wu Zheng, right? Wang Deren also descended to our dynasty, according to this logic, isn't it also related to our dynasty? ”

"You ......." Hong Chengchou couldn't get off the stage a little.

Fan Wencheng hurriedly said: "Lord Hong, what the shopkeeper Fan said is reasonable." ”

As he spoke, he turned to Fan Yongdou and said, "But how can you do it, Wu Zheng will send a sailor to suppress bandits for you?" ”

Fan Yongdou glanced back at his companions, and then arched his hand and said, "We have already contacted the south ......." ”

Hong Chengchou shouted: "Wait for your guts!" Privately communicate with the enemy, and almost conspire with Kou! ”

Fan Yongdou argued urgently: "Lord Hong, listen to me first...... We didn't contact Yixing Chao or Wu Zheng, but just sent someone to contact the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, and Mo Zhinian, the president of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, is the financial secretary of Wu Zheng. ”

Fan Wencheng continued to be a peacemaker, and he said to Hong Chengchou: "Lord Hong, stop being angry, when it comes to this matter, they really have no choice. Do you think, these eight imperial merchants are responsible for the errand of the Internal Affairs Office after all, how many things do they need to deliver every day...... You guys, it's a little more difficult, but you can't talk to the south without informing the court, and you know that you won't rebel, and if you don't know, you still think you're going to repeat the Ming Dynasty. ”

These words sound like they are speaking for the merchants, but the sharpness behind them is indeed sharp.

The secret communication between Jin Shang and Houjin can be traced back to decades ago.

The fall of the Ming Dynasty was due to the contribution of these eight families.

They took advantage of the war between the Ming and Qing dynasties to resell materials and make huge profits.

It also made the economic blockade of the Later Jin Dynasty fail in the Ming Dynasty.

They betrayed the deployment of the Ming army and the intelligence of the defense, resulting in countless losses for the Ming army, and the people were also slaughtered by the Houjin.

If capital has 50 percent profits, it will take risks, if it has 100 percent profits, it will dare to trample on all the laws of the world, and if it has 300 percent profits, it will dare to commit any crime, even at the risk of being hanged.

The wealth of these eight families was almost entirely accumulated on the blood of the Han Chinese. These people have nothing but money in their hearts, and they sell the country and no one can reach them.

The meaning of Fan Wencheng's words directly pointed to the disgusting things they had done before, saying that they wanted to repeat the things of the previous dynasty, which was to accuse them of secretly colluding with the south and preparing to choose their masters again.

How can eight people afford this crime?

If this is on the back, it will be the uprooting of the eight families, not to mention the property, I am afraid that I will not even be able to save the lives of myself and my family.

Fan Yongdou hurriedly said: "Lord Fan, we are loyal to the Qing Dynasty, even if the fleet has been robbed in the past six months, we have not slackened in the errand of the Internal Affairs Office." Nowadays, the shipping is blocked, the goods are intermittent, and the daily needs of the internal affairs government are all bought from Jiangnan, and the southerners sit on the ground and start the price. ”