Wen Bangliang went to Fujian, and indeed under the instruction of Zhao Yan, he issued an ultimatum to Zheng Zhilong, and Zhao Yan was dragged very hot by Zheng Zhilong.

The mission arrived in Fujian in January, and it was almost March and it was still delaying, just one sentence if it didn't work, and Zhao Yan didn't want to make it so complicated.

Since Zheng Zhilong didn't buy it, although Zhao Yan wouldn't be able to deal with him for a while, there was always an opportunity, if he really wanted to kill Zheng Zhilong, there was still a way, it was just a matter of price.

Therefore, Zhao Yan will not consider using the Zheng Group for a while, but this is also a matter of time, and the Zheng Group will be looted, and the silver is a lot of money.

Wen Bangliang left Ishii that day, and when he arrived at Hayden, he led a fleet of ten frigates south, this time aiming at Sumatra, where they would open a stronghold.

As long as you gain a foothold in Sumatra, you can plunder merchant ships in the Strait of Malacca to the west and the Sunda Strait to the southeast.

Westerners used these two passages for merchant ships, and the Strait of Malacca, where the Portuguese and Spaniards walked, is currently occupied by the Portuguese.

The Sunda Strait was occupied by the Dutch, whose headquarters were in Batavia (Jakarta), not far away.

The Spaniards obviously also had an uncooperative attitude, and Wen Bangliang went to the South Seas this time to plunder ruthlessly, no matter what kind of Spaniard he was, he was the target of his plunder.

Therefore, when he left Haiden, Wen Bangliang asked people to remove the Yueyue flag and replace it with the pirate flag of a privateer. Although the ten frigates led by Wen Bangliang this time are not large, and the displacement is only 500 tons, Wen Bangliang knows where his advantages are.

The frigate has a schooner design, which has a very high sail rate, and because of its similarity to the design of the clipper, it is faster than those large warships and can sail in the shallows, making it an ideal pirate ship, perfect for plundering.

This frigate is an absolute nightmare for merchant ships, and with great speed and powerful guns, it can challenge even the big warships.

…… In Longkou, Shandong, the eunuch specially sent by the imperial court to inspect the merits of the war arrived, and it can be seen from this move that Chongzhen has no trust in the envoys of Shandong.

Zhao Yan knew it in his heart, but on the surface, he was quiet, he entertained the eunuch in Longkou, and in accordance with the officialdom procedures, he sent some silver, although it was not too much, but the eunuch did not dare to be too presumptuous, after all, Zhao Yan was famous, and it was already very face-saving to give him silver.

"General Zhao, the bodies of this Haoge and Daishan have been verified, and I will send them back to Gyeonggi tomorrow, but this Dolgon, the general should also be decompressed and sent to Beijing to be disposed of by the saint." The eunuch said to Zhao Yan.

"Now that Liaodong Duoduo has usurped the throne, it is useful for this Dolgonben general to keep it, and the relevant general will write a letter to the saint." Zhao Yan kept Dolgon's dog life, so naturally he had to keep it, how could he hand it over to Chongzhen. In Zhao Yan's view, this matter is meaningless whether to hand over or not, and it is not a big deal in itself.

"In this way, General Zhao will do it himself!" The eunuch did not insist, and the next day, the eunuch set off for Beijing.

Chongzhen learned that the good news was true, and after reading Zhao Yan's recital, he summoned Yang Sichang.

"Yang Aiqing, what do you think?" Chongzhen handed Zhao Yan's piece to Yang Sichang, and Yang Sichang asked in a deep voice, "What does Your Majesty mean?" ”

"Dolgon's business." Chongzhen said.

"There is nothing wrong with Dolgon's matter, but Zhao Yan's report is probably a little untrue." Yang Sichang said.

"What's wrong?" Chongzhen asked puzzled.

"The situation in Liaodong is treacherous, I don't know what happened, Duoduo actually usurped the throne and stood on his own, and Huang Taiji didn't know why he was dying in North Korea, there must be a reason." Yang Sichang reasoned, "Otherwise, how can Duoduo stand on his own? ”

"Then Yang Aiqing thinks how the battle in Liaodong will end?" Chongzhen asked.

"Zhao Yan has strong soldiers and horses in his hands, and he has the advantage of firearms, if there is no accident, he will be able to win, and even if he loses a few battles, he can pull up more than 100,000 soldiers and horses at any time and put them into the battlefield, and the war in Liaodong will definitely be determined within three years." Yang Sichang said.

"Jianyu is not a brotherly problem, but if Zhao Yan does not handle it well, it will be a big trouble." Chongzhen asked Yang Sichang: "Then how should I reward this great victory in Liaodong?" ”

"Your Majesty, Zhao Yan is already the general of Jianwei, and there is no reward for it, and if you reward it again, you will be knighted, Your Majesty might as well reward some silver coins and archways." Yang Sichang said.

"Hmmm! If you continue to reward you, you will be knighted, so you will only be rewarded with silver money! Then let people build a merit monument in his Zhaojiabao. Chongzhen nodded in agreement.

The title of the Ming Dynasty was only the third rank of the duke and the second baron, and the son and the second baron were not valued, if they wanted to be knighted, they must be crowned an earl, but Chongzhen did not want to make Zhao Yan an earl.

Once the title is sealed, Zhao Yan's prestige will be even more like Zhongtian, which is not a phenomenon that Chongzhen wants to see.

Zhao Yan just won a big battle in Guannei at this time, and won a battle in Liaodong, Chongzhen couldn't tolerate it, because Zhao Yan didn't have a Wenchen death protection like Qi Jiguang, even Qi Jiguang had a Wenchen death protection, and finally ended up in a bleak old age.

This is the inferior root of the feudal system, so the Han and Tang dynasties, where the feudal system has not yet reached its peak, China can be majestic and expand its territory in a big way, but in the Song and Ming dynasties, where the feudal system gradually improved, it was frustrated one by one.

"Your Majesty, in the past three years, the imperial court must train a soldier and horse that can compete with the Shandong army, and the strategy proposed by the minister last time is time to be implemented." Yang Sichang said.

Chongzhen pondered for a long time before he nodded and said, "Then give him an order!" ”

...... "Zhao Yan received the order, carried by the sky, and the emperor said: General Jianwei has outstanding merits, a special meritorious monument, a reward of 10,000 taels of silver, and General Jianwei has a good way of governing the army, and I want to order all the armies to take it as a model, learn the method of training troops in Shandong, and the benefits of firearms." There are 500 craftsmen in the special blend, and 300 people in the Shandong army who are proficient in the method of military training......"

Zhao Yan, who was in the order, couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, the emperor wants craftsmen and people, is he going to carry out military reform?

"Today's situation is erosive, I heard that Aiqing is good at gathering wealth, there are glass mirrors and textiles, but Aiqing, as a military general, is responsible for defending the land, not competing with the people for profit. The secret recipe of Aiqing's glass mirror, and the textile equipment are selected to be presented, in order to benefit the people, and admire this ......"

Hearing this, Zhao Yan was already frowning, and his heart was furious, and a holy decree asked Lao Tzu to hand over the secret recipe of the glass mirror and the textile equipment, damn, there is no door.

"General Zhao, take the order!" At this time, the eunuch saw that Zhao Yan did not react, and said to Zhao Yan.

"The minister takes the order." Zhao Yan said in a deep voice, took the holy decree, and then turned around and left, leaving the eunuch there, and no one cared about it...... Angry, the eunuch jumped to his feet, but no one paid attention to him, stayed in the inn in Longkou for one night, and returned to Beijing angrily the next day.

That night, there were faint sounds of scolding his mother in Zhao Yan's study.

"Fucking compete with the people, I'm not Chongzhen's grandson, I really think he has whatever he wants, Lao Tzu doesn't give any of them, I don't give a few years of salt profits, I provoke Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu is against his ......"

Zhao Yan was furious in the study, and this year, it was the third year to hand over Yanli, and in the first two years, he could pay eight million taels of silver to the imperial court, plus some silver money from Tian Fu, there were more than 10 million taels.

Unexpectedly, Chongzhen, this kid, even asked him to take out glass mirrors and textile equipment, isn't this to cut off his financial resources? In addition, Chongzhen asked the craftsmen and instructors of the Ordnance Bureau, and it was clear what kind of central army he was going to form.

It's not an obvious attempt to cut him.

"It must have been Yang Sichang's idea." Zhao Yan immediately guessed the culprit, Chongzhen definitely couldn't think of such a desperate plan, after all, Chongzhen was just an emperor who had never even been out of the capital, and he didn't have the slightest awareness of many things at all.

"Zhao Yan, you...... What happened to you? Salena touched Zhao Yan cautiously, and Zhao Yan's sudden frenzy made her very scared.

"Nothing, baby." Zhao Yan showed a smile and hugged Shalena into his arms, he was not really angry, Chongzhen's actions just made Zhao Yan feel ruthless.

"You're scared...... It scared me. Salena curled up in Zhao Yan's arms, struggling to speak in Chinese.

"Baby, I'll make it up to you." Zhao Yan said and hugged Shalena, and in Shalena's exclamation, he carried Shalena to the bedroom...... After a period of cloud-turning, Zhao Yan's mood suddenly improved a lot, and he said to himself with a smile: "Since you are the emperor and I am a courtier, it doesn't hurt to give it to you, I want to see what tricks you can play." ”

The next day, Zhao Yan let the staff command the Liaodong war, and he took Salena back to Zhaojiabao to deal with affairs, just returned to Zhaojiabao, Shalena was very curious in the face of the prosperous Zhaojiabao, she had never seen such a neat and lush castle.

Zhaojiabao is actually not big, but it is a fortress group, forming a triangle with Anmin Fort and Pingkou Fort, which is full of buildings and forms a city.

As far as defense capability is concerned, Zhaojiabao's defense is both strong and weak. Although the defense of Zhaojiabao is very perverted, many buildings and institutions are set up outside the city, but there is no defense outside the city.

However, Shandong is full of fortresses, and it is generally impossible for the enemy to hit Zhaojiabao.

Someone proposed to demolish the wall of Zhaojiabao, and then expand the city wall to enclose Anminbao and Pingkou Fort to form a huge city, but Zhao Yan vetoed it.

The effect of the city wall will become more and more useless after entering the era of hot weapons, and as far as Zhaojiabao in the hinterland is concerned, there is no need for such a huge project.

Zhaojiabao is only an administrative center, not a trade center, the real trade center is Qingdao and Jinan, but with the increase of administrative personnel, as well as the settlement of family members, Zhaojiabao is not enough to be so big, so the building was built outside the city.

However, Zhaojiabao is still very inferior to those big cities in the Ming Dynasty, but in this city, you can see a vigorous and energetic spirit.

This is naturally invisible in France, and the Palace of Versailles in France has not yet appeared in this era! In France, a country with no middle class, it is impossible to see a city like Zhaojiabao.

As soon as he returned to Zhaojiabao, Zhao Yan took Salena to see his mother Zhang, who heard that Zhao Yan was coming back today, and had already made a table of meals that Zhao Yan liked to eat.

At the same time, Zhang also deliberately brought Yan Yuyao, who was teaching in the girls' school, Yan Yuyao received Zhang's invitation, and heard Yuan'er say that Zhao Yan was going back to Zhaojiabao today, and she was a little nervous for a while.

Although Yan Yuyao often comes to Zhaojiabao, and now lives in Zhaojiabao, she has only seen Zhao Yan twice in Jinan, once when Zhao Yan went to the governor's yamen to meet Yan Jizu, and once when Zhao Yanqin Wang was out of school.

Thinking of Zhao Yanqin, who was drinking heroically under the crowd of the people, when King Zhao Yanqin passed by Jinan City that time, Yan Yuyao's heart fluttered and didn't listen.

Zhao Yan fought in the south and in the north, cleared the bandits, suppressed the thieves, and fought the prisoners, and a group of admirers naturally appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and Yan Yuyao was one of them.

Yan Yuyao, who is in Shandong, can feel the existence of Zhao Yan, a young general, who is not only young and handsome, but also able to fight well, be more sympathetic to the people, and govern the world and the people.

Ever since she met Zhao Yan, Yan Yuyao has often been haunted by him in her heart. When her father was an enemy of Zhao Yan, it was also her enlightenment that made Yan Jizu turn to support Zhao Yan.

"Sister Yuan'er, the general is back, is it appropriate for me to go over?" Yan Yuyao asked Yuan'er nervously.

"Childe is very good! There is no shelf at home to eat, and when the old man was still there, I couldn't even get on the table during the meal. But after Childe became the head of the house, there were no such rules. Besides, the old lady asked you to go, and there is nothing inappropriate. Yuan'er said very sweetly, in the past, she always had various constraints in the Zhao family, but since Zhao Yan became the house, she has become very free, she can read the books she likes to read, and she can do what she likes.

"Then I'll be relieved." Yan Yuyao said happily.

…… Zhao Yan sat in Longkou for nearly two months this time, and devoted himself to the war in Liaodong, at this moment Liaodong does not need to be too careful, and there are some changes in the imperial court, and he must rush back to Longkou to plan.

Besides, Salena had to bring it back to Zhang.

At noon, Zhao Yan returned to Zhaojiabao, Zhang had prepared a meal and waited for him, Zhao Yan took Shalena into the restaurant, and Zhang couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Shalena.

I saw that Salena was wearing a Confucian skirt, which looked exotic, slim, sacred and elegant, and her temperament could be described as impeccable.

"Yan'er, what is this?" Zhang asked, looking Shalena up and down.

"Mother, her name is Serena and she is from France." Zhao Yan introduced the Zhang family, and then said to Shalena: "Call my mother quickly." ”

"Mother...... Mother. Salena was a little frightened by Zhang's scrutiny, and she didn't quite understand what her mother meant, so she just followed along, and her pronunciation was a little out of tune.

Zhang just nodded, looked at the appearance of Shalena and Zhao Yan, and didn't say anything. Zhao Yan continued to say to Shalena: "This is Yuan'er, called sister. ”

"Sister, sit down!" Yuan'er smiled and said to Salena. Zhao Yan glanced at Yuan'er apologetically, but Yuan'er just smiled.

"Yan'er, sit down! The meals were cold. Zhang said to Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan nodded with thought, and sat down with Shalena, and Zhao Yan's attention shifted to the girl sitting next to Zhang.

The girl has a typical lady's temperament, looking very dignified and elegant, without losing her delicate spirit, and her eyes are very smart.

It seemed to be a little familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere, Zhao Yan searched in his mind for a while, didn't remember where it was, and asked Zhang: "Mother, who is this?" ”

"This is the governor's daughter, Yuyao, this kid is really well-behaved and sensible......" Zhang Shi said endlessly, praising Yan Yuyao endlessly.

"Oh!" Zhao Yan nodded, when the Zhang family said this, he remembered that the girl who swept in front of the governor's yamen last time was her.

Zhao Yan nodded at her and said, "It turned out to be Miss Yan." ”

"The little woman has seen the general, and she is justified." Yan Yuyao blessed Zhao Yan slightly, then lowered her head and looked at Zhao Yan secretly.

"Where's Uncle Quan?" Zhao Yan asked Zhang.

"I'm still busy in the bureau! There will be a business conference on the fifteenth day of this month, and your uncle is too busy to touch the ground. Zhang said, Zhao Yan got up and said to the guards outside the door: "Go to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to find Director Zhao and ask him to come over for dinner." ”

"Yes, General."

"Yan'er! When you go back to Zhaojiabao this time, is it that Liaodong has been pacified? Zhang asked Zhao Yan.

"Mother, the battle situation in Liaodong can't be flattened for a while! However, the Manchu Qing Dynasty didn't have to jump for long, just let the staff command on the Longkou side, and the son went back to Zhaojiabao to discuss some things with Uncle Quan, and by the way, brought Shalena back for his mother to see. Zhao Yan said to Zhang.

"Oh! What's this girl's name? Zhang nodded and asked Zhao Yan.

"My surname is Louie, and my name is Serena." Zhao Yan said.

"Luisa Lena?" Zhang frowned slightly, "How did you come from the West?" My Ming woman is not as good as a Westerner? ”

Without waiting for Zhao Yan to speak, Zhang's expression softened a lot, and said: "But this girl looks pretty good, just to let him learn more Chinese, and he can't speak clearly." ”

Zhao Yan knew that this was just Zhang's hair scratching, so he just smiled, and Shalena said at this time: "Shalena has ...... Already in ...... Recognize...... I studied it seriously. ”

Zhang also laughed when he heard Selena's incomprehensible words.

"General, where is France?" At this time, Yan Yuyao asked Zhao Yan curiously, Zhao Yan pointed to the world map of Europe hanging on the wall behind the dinner table and said, "In this place, our Ming Dynasty is here. ”

"Childe, Europe is so far away from Daming! How did she come to Daming? Yuan'er knew this map very well, and asked Zhao Yan strangely, wondering how Shalena could come to Daming from distant Europe.

"Ahem! Salena first took a boat to Newfoundland in the Americas, and then Cao Li took her ...... Bring her in. Zhao Yan said vaguely.

Yan Yuyao's expression couldn't help but become weird, Zhao Yan was so vague, she could naturally hear what it meant.

(To be continued)