Shuangyu Island.

There was a pre-war tension on the island.

The Francophone spies heard that the Ming army was about to launch a fierce attack on Shuangyu Island, and unlike the previous times, this time the Ming army mobilized many large ships and ships, and the ships were strong and the guns were very effective.

There are more than 1,000 Francophone soldiers and several artillery pieces on Shuangyu Island. The terrain of Shuangyu Island is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and under normal circumstances, the Francois can defend it.

But on Shuangyu Island, there are not only Franco, but also Ming and Wakou.

On weekdays, these forces do not interfere with the river water, and they are safe and sound.

But this is an eventful moment at the moment, and both sides are keeping an eye on each other, for fear that their interests on Shuangyu Island will be violated by the other party.

There is no law on the island, and whoever has a hard fist will speak hard.

On the contrary, the weaker side can only swallow its anger and let others slaughter it.

As the largest smuggling port in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, Shuangyu Port is docked with large and small ships. However, the port has been sealed at the moment, and no ship is allowed to leave the port without the order of the Governor of Franco.

Because the nobles on the island got the news, the Ming army would cooperate with the spies on the island to take advantage of the opportunity to control the port.

As for who the spy is, it is easy to discern it.

It is possible for both the Japanese and the Ming.

In short, just in case, a blockade of the port is the safest way.

In this way, the Ming army can be cut off from the internal connection between Shuangyu Island and concentrate on holding on.

Even if the Ming army is strong and artillery, it will not have a good way to face a tight defense.

The only pity is that they will not be able to go to sea during this time, and all parties on the island will lose some of their interests.

But it's worth it in the long run.

But Xu Dong doesn't see it that way.

As the largest maritime merchant and seaman in Fujian and Zhejiang, he felt that he was being targeted by the Francois people.

It seems that Frangi thinks that he is a traitor, and he and his men are wary of him in every way.

There are all kinds of indications that the two sides may break out into conflict or even a war at any time.

Of course, Xu Dong would not sit still, he summoned his son Xu Chaoguang and his confidant Wang Zhi and others to discuss countermeasures.

Xu Dong's residence is an independent two-story bamboo building located at the northern foot of Shuangyu Island.

If you open the window, you can see the whole port.

The cold sea breeze blew in, and the pain on the face was like a knife cutting flesh.

However, Xu Dong enjoyed this because the pain could keep him awake.

"Asahitsu, what do you think?"

Xu Chaoguang was originally the son of the Xie clan of Donghu in Haiyang County, and Xu Dong killed his father and kidnapped his mother when he plundered the coast. At that time, Xu Dong had no children, so he adopted Xu Chaoguang as a son.

Xu Chaoguang did not have a deep impression of this memory because he was still young, and he has been following Xu Dong across the sea.

"Father, according to the child's opinion, the red-haired ghosts have long looked at us unpleasantly. This time they just made an excuse to get rid of us in one fell swoop. We cannot sit idly by, we must get ahead of the curve. ”

Xu Dong did not make a sound, but looked at Wang Zhi.

Wang Zhi is Xu Dong's fellow villager.

Both of them are from She County, Huizhou Prefecture, Wang still did nothing until he was in his thirties, so he joined the pirate team of his fellow countryman Xu Dong and started smuggling.

Because of his ruthlessness, Wang Zhi quickly gained Xu Dong's trust, and soon became Xu Dong's confidant.

There are many fellow villagers in this team, and there are very few Japanese ronin, which is very different from other pirates.

"Big boss, in my opinion, this is unusual. When the Ming army was about to attack the island, this kind of news came out, but it seemed to disturb the morale of the army. ”

Wang Zhi paused and said: "The main reason why the Francois stationed in Shuangyu is to use it as a transit point and a foothold, so as to engage in the triangular trade between Hirado Island, Fujian, Zhejiang and Manraka in Japan for a long time. ”

"They partnered with private merchants from Japan and Fujian and Zhejiang to sell pepper, spices and other commodities from Manraka and other places, exchanged silk and cotton cloth with local merchants in Shuangyu, and then shipped them to Hirado Island in Japan to sell them in exchange for silver, which could then be used to buy the cargo of the next voyage."

That is to say, if the Francois wants to continue their business, they can neither offend the maritime merchants of Fujian and Zhejiang, nor can they offend the Japanese people. Otherwise, what's the point of him occupying Shuangyu? ”

Wang Zhi's words completely woke up Xu Dong.

Yes, the Francois is not a one-shot deal, but a long-term trade.

If he offends any of the Fujian, Zhejiang, maritime merchants, and Japanese people, he doesn't want to continue his business.

"Jitian, what did Shinshiro say?"

These two were the Japanese chieftains on Shuangyu Island, and basically all the Japanese ronins on Shuangyu Island listened to them.

Even if Xu Dong really wants to do it, he has to unite the power of the Japanese people, otherwise his subordinates alone will not be enough to shake the status of the Francois red-haired ghost.

"Father-in-law, there is no movement on the Japanese side for the time being."

Xu Chaoguang paused.

"But my son has already sent someone to inquire over there, and he will come back as soon as there is news."

Xu Dong nodded.

He didn't want to turn against Francois until he had to.

Because then even if he succeeds in seizing control of Shuangyu Island, he will lose a lot.

In this case, the Ming army is likely to take advantage of the weakness and pick up the advantage.

Xu Dong did not plan to give up Shuangyu until he had to. He has been operating here for many years and has a deep foundation. It's not so easy to start all over again in a different place.

"Wufeng, you might as well go and find out what they are talking about. I have to get ahead of Li Guangtou. ”

The Li Guangtou in Xu Dong's mouth is a native of Fuzhou, and he is another force on Shuangyu Island after the Xu pirates.

Compared with the Huizhou faction of the Xu family, the Fujian faction of Li Guangtou was much more low-key. But Xu Dong was still afraid that they would have a plan.

As for Wang Zhi, who had been to Japan by ship three years earlier, he called himself the owner of the Wufeng ship, and was welcomed by the local feudal lord Matsuura Takanobu. Matsuura Takannobu very much hoped to trade with the Ming Dynasty, but because of the "Ningbo tribute" incident, the Ming court ordered Japan to pay tribute for ten years, three ships, 100 personnel, and prohibit the use of weapons.

Since this incident, the Ouchi clan has monopolized the exploration trade and dispatched the last two ships to send Ming, but each time they were severely restricted.

Under these circumstances, Takannobu Matsuura of Hirado Island had no choice but to smuggle. Shuangyu Island is a very suitable place to trade.

There is a hill of more than 200 meters high on the east and west sides of Shuangyu Island, there is an open space with a width of more than 40 miles in the middle of the two mountains, which is used for the distribution of goods, and a river running north and south passes through the island, and it is very convenient for ships to enter the port.

The goods were traded on the island, and there was no need to go ashore at all.

He sent people to Shuangyu with Wang Zhi to investigate, and the Japanese were very satisfied after coming to Shuangyu, and reported the local situation to the feudal lord, and the cooperation was successfully negotiated.

Jitian and Shinshiro are both henchmen sent by Matsuura Takannobu, and they have a good personal relationship with Wang Zhi, so Xu Dong hopes that Wang Zhi will run in person.

...

... Diagram of the Avenue of the Heavens