Seeing the officers and soldiers escorting the pirates back triumphantly, the whole city of Suzhou was jubilant, and almost all the people of the city ran out of their homes and came to both sides of the road to welcome these soldiers who had made great contributions to the local area, and after seeing those white pirates of a completely different race from themselves, the people were even more surprised and screamed, and followed the back of the team like a monster, and sent the officials and soldiers into the Yamen of the City Division.

After feeling the joy and reverence of the people, officials like Xiao Wentong finally felt that the boulder that had been pressing on their hearts had been removed, and their mood became extremely comfortable, and they quickly asked the people below to put up the banquet to celebrate the merits.

When Lu Jin and the others came back later, they saw such a celebratory scene, and Lu Jin didn't say anything about it, and sat down at the top at the invitation of several officials. This is a matter of course, not only because of Lu Jin's identity, but also because it is his arrival that can break the entire conspiracy of the White Lotus Sect, so as to completely wipe out these pirates who have been in trouble for a long time at sea.

As a result, Uncle Lu became the focus of many people in this celebration, and many people came forward to toast, and he was already a little drunk just over half of the banquet. But even so, Lu Jin's mind still remained a little clear, and when Xiao Wentong also came over to toast excitedly, he looked at the other party with a smile: "Governor Xiao, do you think that if you sit back and relax when things come here, you don't have any worries?" ”

What do you mean by that? But is there any problem? When Governor Xiao, who had long been impressed by Lu Jin, heard this, his heart was shocked, and even that little bit of alcohol quickly retreated, and he hurriedly asked.

"Today you have also seen that those pirates who have attacked my Ming merchant ships many times at sea are not at all people from any of the surrounding countries that we are familiar with, don't you think this matter is too strange? Can the White Lotus Sect alone really have this ability? Can you collude with these people? Lu Zhen asked as he stared at him.

This really got to the point, which made Xiao Wentong and several other officials around him frown. Yes, on the surface, it seems that the matter has been resolved, but the reason is still in chaos, which is difficult to understand.

"So we can't take it lightly, no one knows what kind of enemies are hidden in the shadows." Lu Zhen shook his head and said, "For this, the official thinks that it may fall on those pirates, do you have a way to ask the answer from their mouths?" ”

Xiao Wentong and the others all smiled bitterly: "My lord, those thieves are completely different from the language of my Daming and the surrounding countries, we have asked people who can understand several Chinese languages such as the Kingdom of Wei and Goryeo to talk to them, but we still can't communicate." I'm afraid that even torture will not help......"

"This official has also thought of it, so let's post a notice and let the people help the government come up with ideas. These people may not only have the identity of the real mastermind behind the scenes, but also have a weapon related to the safety of my Ming Dynasty in the future. Lu Zhen commanded again with a solemn expression.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Artillery, that pirate ship has artillery. That's a lot more powerful than our ballista. If we could also have artillery on board, we would be able to go anywhere in the four seas. Only then did Lu Zhen tell his ultimate goal: "But this cannon casting technique should only be understood by their people, so naturally it will fall on these pirates again." ”

Tao Yong nodded again and again when he heard this: "The lower official has written it down, and the lower official will definitely try his best to find someone who can communicate with him, and let them explain the truth in full." ”

"Okay, then I'll leave everything to you. It's time here, and it's not good for this official to stay for a long time, and I'll be back in Beijing in half a month, so you have to hurry up. Lu Zhen solemnly instructed again. I am afraid that no one in the world values the role of such artillery in naval warfare more than him.

@@@@@

While these officials should be happy, it is extremely difficult to accomplish this. Even though several major government offices have done their best and posted relevant notices everywhere in and outside the city, and even many people in Nanjing know that the Suzhou government has this need, the result is still disappointing.

More than ten days have passed, although the Yamen of the City Ship Division has met with many people who claim to be able to communicate with pirates, but these people either only know a few cold languages, or they can only talk to the Japanese Koreans or Mongolians like ordinary interpreters, and even worse, there are those who are swaggering and deceiving, and when they see those pirates, they just talk nonsense, thinking about getting through the customs in a fool's way, but the result is naturally found out on the spot, and they will inevitably have to suffer some hardships.

As a result, it was almost useless to get busy. In fact, this is really normal, and the Ming Dynasty has almost no contact with European countries, so how can it talk to the people there. Even, even if Lu Jin's English is known, there is hardly a second person in the entire Ming Dynasty who can speak it. So, things just have to freeze here.

And with the passage of time, it is almost the winter moon, and it is impossible for Lu Zhen to stay here all the time and wait for the slim result, so he can only prepare and plan to return to Beijing as soon as possible. After leaving Beijing for Kaifeng in the spring this time, he has been staying abroad for nearly a year, and now that the year is approaching, he has to rush back to reunite with his family.

Since there is really no one to communicate with those pirates, it will have to be left to the future. Although he told himself so in his heart, when he was about to leave, Lu Zhen still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. The opportunity I've been looking for is right in front of me, but I can't reach it, which feels a bit bad.

When he boarded the carriage surrounded by several subordinates, he still looked back with some expectation, but the miracle did not happen after all, so he could only sigh and say, "Let's go!" ”

"Let's go!" Han Wutong, who was following the car, greeted him loudly, and everyone controlled their horses and walked along the long street to the city gate. Surrounded by many people and local officials who rushed to see off the news, everyone is still grateful for Lu Jin's contribution to Suzhou this time.

But just as the carriage began to move slowly, an eager voice came from behind him: "Lord Lu, please wait a while...... An official from the city department rushed forward, panting, looking like it was rushing all the way.

Lu Zhen heard this greeting and immediately stopped the coachman, and then asked the person to come to him and speak: "What do you have to report?" ”

"Lord Lu, just now, our city division received a fleet, they are from Manraka. One of them said he should be able to communicate with the pirates, and my lord came to report it. After he finished speaking, he gasped again.

When Lu Zhen heard this, his spirit suddenly lifted: "Let's go, let's go to the city again." "As long as there is some hope, Lu Zhen will not miss it.

Immediately, many people stayed again, and only some subordinates of Jinyi Wei escorted Lu Zhen to the Yamen of the City Ship Division to see what was going on.

After entering the Yamen of the City Bosi and seeing Tao Yong, Lu Zhen didn't care about the courtesy, and asked directly: "How is it, is there a result over there?" ”

"My lord, it should be done. The crew member from Manraka looked like the pirates, red-haired and white-skinned, and he had been there for a while, and he hadn't come back yet. Tao Yong saluted and replied.

When Lu Zhen heard this, a smile appeared on his face: "It's really the emperor's heart, let's go, let's go to the cell and have a look." ”

"My lord, I'm afraid there's something wrong with that, right? You really don't want to go there. In this way, the lower official will have them brought out, and you will ask them. Tao Yong hurriedly dissuaded.

Lu Zhen suppressed the excitement in his heart and nodded: "That's fine." ”

After waiting for a while, there was a loud noise outside, and several shriveled pirates were escorted by a group of servants, followed by several Manraka merchants with somewhat nervous expressions, and a man who looked indeed of white blood.

After Tao Yong's introduction, Lu Zhen exchanged identities with this businessman who was full of people, and these people knew the wealth of the Ming Dynasty, so they shipped their own spices and other specialties to sell. As for the white man, he himself explained that he had been shipwrecked many years ago and drifted to Manraka and finally planted his roots there.

This man obviously has a good talent for languages, and after living in Manraka for a while, he is actually able to communicate with the people there normally. And then he married and had children there, and became a true Manraka. Because he still has some knowledge of navigation, this time the Manchurian country sent a ship to Daming and brought him with him.

After listening to this explanation, Lu Jinzhi said in his heart that the emperor lived up to his wishes, and then said: "In this case, then please ask the name and origin of this benevolent brother." ”

It was only after the Manraka interpreter that he replied, "My name is Henry, and I am from the Netherlands......

Lu Zhen frowned when he heard this: "Is there such a country in Europe?" Or was it a small country that was later annexed by a certain country? After thinking for a while, he said, "Ask him, where is his hometown?" ”

"Oh, I'm from the great port city of Rotterdam and honestly, I haven't been back for ten years."

Rotterdam...... Isn't that the capital of the Netherlands? Lu Zhen immediately understood, maybe the Netherlands in the other party's mouth was just the early name of the Netherlands, or the difference in translation later. But this is irrelevant, at least I already know the origin of these people, and I can't imagine that the Netherlands, known as the coachmen of the sea, have already started their voyage at this time......