Dark clouds, lightning and thunder, and waves rushed to the steamer, which staggered like a small leaf.

Ye Zhao sat in the lounge on the second floor of the shipbuilding, watching the soybean-like raindrops falling densely on the glass window, and shook his head, this is really a disadvantage, how could he encounter such a ghost weather, if it was a wooden sailboat, I am afraid that the boat would have been capsized under the rolling waves.

Pei Tianqing, the assistant of the infantry battalion of the Sailor Division, stood beside Ye Zhao, looking at the scene of the huge waves outside, under the power of heaven and earth, he couldn't help but be shocked, manpower is sometimes poor, on this sea, people are like ants, they can't help themselves, whether they live or die, they can only resign themselves to fate.

Pei Tianqing knew how tense the atmosphere in the cab was now, and how the sailors in the steamer room were desperately adding coal to make the steamer run at full speed, just wanting to escape from the storm as soon as possible.

"Tianqing, are you afraid?" Ye Zhao looked back with a smile.

Pei Tianqing's face was hot, he was by no means afraid of death, but in the storm, this pitch-black sea was like a raging monster, and if he was not careful, he would be swallowed by it.

"Humble duty, low duty has never seen such a scene." Although he has been on a boat since he was a child and is proficient in the water surname, it is the first time he has encountered such bad weather in the deep sea.

Ye Zhao sighed softly: "Today, if the boat is overthrown, it is I who have harmed you." ”

But no, he made the steamer bypass the island of Taiwan and sail off the east side of the island of Taiwan, but he didn't want to feel as if it had encountered a typhoon, and the steamer was in danger of capsizing every second.

The Dinghai gunboat and two steamers sailed north separately, the Dinghai flew the British flag, the other steamer flew the American flag, and the Yongbo, which was in its own boat, disguised as a Shanghai merchant ship.

Despite this, in order to hide people's eyes, the three ships were far away from the coast, and the destination of the Yongbo was Tianjin, and as for the purpose of this trip, no one knew except himself.

Walking off the coast of Taiwan, in addition to the distance with the other two ships, I really want to take a walk in the sea frontier on the east side of Taiwan, although the sea dragon is raging at this moment, but looking out the window of the vast sea, I don't know how, my heart is very calm, this deep sea, one day, will be conquered by myself.

Pick up the teacup and drink the tea silently, if you really die, it will also be a number of gas.

Pei Tianqing suddenly pointed out the window and said, "Grandpa, it seems that the wind is light." ”

Ye Zhao looked, sure enough, the haze ahead gradually opened, and the clouds were not the kind of dark clouds that were overwhelmingly breathless, it seemed that the steamer was speeding against the wind at full speed, and finally escaped.

In the cockpit, Advisor Parker sat on the floor, exhausted, patted on the shoulder, looked up, with a beautiful and delicate face in front of him, and struggled to stand up, "Grandpa, I am fortunate to be out of the danger zone!" "But it's standard Chinese.

Ye Zhao looked at him with a smile, this kind of experience and courage in judging whether the steamer is in the navigable semicircle or dangerous semicircle of the typhoon, and whether it is possible to escape with a tailwind or a headwind, is also thanks to an experienced navigator like Parker, if they are all naval students of the Guangdong Naval Division, most of them will not be able to escape today.

"Isn't Mr. Parker supposed to win our applause?" Ye Zhao smiled and looked around, taking the lead and applauding gently.

Warm applause and cheers immediately sounded in the cab, and for the first time I saw the sincere gratitude and admiration of the Chinese, Parker's face was red, and he felt flattered, and he used to be polite with these Chinese, but in fact, they all looked down on each other in their hearts.

"You have to learn more from Mr. Parker!" Ye Zhao's gaze swept over the faces of the captain, first mate, second officer and other technical officers, and said solemnly.

"Yes!" Answering in unison, under Ye Zhao's signal, they walked over one by one, according to Parker's customary etiquette, shook hands and hugged Parker one by one, Parker grinned, enjoyed the sudden enthusiasm of the Chinese, and also hugged every Chinese partner hard.

"Grandpa, we should find a place to anchor and overhaul the ship." Seeing that Ye Zhao turned around and wanted to come out, Parker hurriedly said the important thing, and the last thing he was afraid of sailing was to be careful.

"Well, do as you say." Ye Zhao walked out of the cab with a smile.

An hour later, the sailors who climbed the mast lookout were surprised to find islands in the distance, faintly inhabited by people.

Looking at the charts, the results of Ye Zhao and Parker's research should be in the southwest of Shannan of the Ryukyu Kingdom, that is, in the sea area between the southwest of the Sakishima Islands and Taiwan.

"Let's take a look." Ye Zhao made a decision.

…… This is a small island with a radius of several square kilometers, lush green forests, mountains and mountains, the steamer circled the island, and at the eastern end found a natural water harbor formed by rocks and waterholes.

At that moment, Ye Zhao ordered Parker to lead the sailors to overhaul the steamer, and he himself led more than 20 people to the island in a small boat.

The more than 20 people who went to the island with Ye Zhao were all dressed as businessmen and civilians, men, women and children, if they were armed men, the ghosts would not believe it.

These are the nineteen task force members carefully selected by Ye Zhaozi from the Internal Affairs Bureau and local patrol bureaus and other agencies, the more ordinary the appearance, the better, and the more like ordinary people, the better.

Because this task force is preparing to blend into the Beijing division to pick up the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces out of the palace, if you select people from the Blue Flag Guard or the firearms battalion, you will not be able to hide the fierce spirit of the body, and now it will be a big trouble to enter the capital, not to mention the plan to enter the palace to pick up the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces.

The death of the young emperor is really a great opportunity, the whip is beyond the reach, and there is no great righteousness to prevent the six kings from ascending the throne, not to mention, how can it be the best choice for him to support a new young emperor from Yanjing City?

In times of great change, it is natural to get the most benefits.

Take the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces back to Guangzhou, if possible, and then bring the little brother of the old five families with him, Rui Si entered Beijing a month earlier to arrange this matter.

The Queen Mother of the Two Palaces and the little brother are in Guangzhou, so that the two regimes of the south and the north are formed, and they blatantly support the little brother as the emperor, and the six kings have no way to take themselves, but they just let the people of the world know that there is a queen mother in Guangzhou, and there is also the bloodline of Daoguang Ye, and it is passed on to Xianfeng Ye The elder brother who was raised by the queen mother of the two palaces.

Since then, he has acted less restrained, he doesn't have to pay much attention to the gossip in the capital, and he has the name of righteousness to confront the six kings, and he can advance or retreat, attack or defend, so that is the biggest gain he can get from this capital incident.

It's just that it is so difficult to take the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces out of Beijing, but it is not sloppy at all, and if any link goes wrong, all the efforts will be wasted, so even if Ruisi is now in the capital, he doesn't know the details at all, and he doesn't know his real plans.

The 19 members of the task force, most of whom have little kung fu background, but are accurate in all marksmanship, especially good at the close-quarters tactics of the revolver, including fifteen men, four women, and two extremely clever young children, are purely cameos, posing as the children of two of the "husband and wife".

In fact, if the plan goes well, they don't need to use knives and guns, and all the guns are selected just in case.

Only take these people to the island, you can observe them up close, where there will be loopholes, from the moment you get on the boat, remind them that you must always remember that you are just ordinary people.

Rowing a small boat in the turquoise waters, Suna asked curiously: "Master, is this really the Ryukyu Kingdom?" It turned out that it was very close to our Guangzhou, and the original slave thought it was on the edge of the sky. ”

Ye Zhao nodded; "It should be a small island in the Ryukyu Kingdom." I took out a cigarette, the sea breeze blew, and the foreign fire couldn't be drawn, so Suna hurriedly came over to shelter his master.

More than 20 people approached the island in three small boats, and the islanders quickly discovered these uninvited guests, but they were enthusiastic, a group of men and women ran to the shallow water beach to help Ye Zhao and others pull the boat ashore, these people covered their bodies with linen, the men were naked, the muscles were bronze and powerful, and the women had ink-patterned hands, which were like insects and snakes, and obviously retained the customs of the clan society.

The two sides did not understand each other's language, but the islanders were extremely enthusiastic, gesturing and gesturing to invite the guests to go with them, pointing to the village not far away, obviously inviting the guests to the village as guests.

In a village of about 100 people, most of the villages are extremely simple straw huts, and the wooden planks and pots and pots erected in the grass huts can be seen from the outside, which seems to be the primitive tribal custom of "men and women are happy with each other".

A thatched hut is considered the most luxurious building in the village, and the owner of the thatched hut is a kind white-bearded old man, and he is also the only well-dressed islander, with linen robes, which seem like the sacrifices of primitive society.

"You are...... Chinese? The old man's tone was a little stiff, but what he spoke was Chinese.

Ye Zhao took a few steps and said with a smile: "Old man, do you know Chinese?" ”

The old man's face was more kind, obviously he had a very good impression of the Chinese, and said with a smile: "Yes, my Chinese name is Yuan Jing." ”

Ye Zhao smiled and arched his hand: "Mr. Yuan, then this is the Ryukyu Kingdom?" "The nobles of the Ryukyu Kingdom have Chinese names, and although this old gentleman is dressed like a primitive tribe, he thinks that as a village elder, his ancestors are Ryukyu nobles.

Old man Yuan sighed and said: "We are all Ryukyuan people, hundreds of years ago, our ancestors settled here to avoid the disaster of the Satsuma Domain, and spread out their branches. Don't hide it, in recent years, the merchant ships of various countries have been too much, there are many stayers, and there is the jurisdiction of Lord Yamamoto, and now we belong to it, but I can't really say it. ”

Ye Zhao also knew that after this small island was discovered by merchants and included in the nautical charts, it would inevitably become a stronghold for some merchant ships to stop and replenish fresh water, and according to his own estimates, this place was not far from Diaoyu Dao, and should be in the southwest of Diaoyu Dao.

"Old man, can we take a break from the wind?" Ye Zhao asked with a smile.

"Of course, of course." Old man Yuan said very enthusiastically: "Chinese businessmen, is a rare distinguished guest, please, please, I have treasured the dragon wine for many years and finally met a bosom friend!" ”

Dragon wine? Probably snake bar again?

Ye Zhao shook his head, how could he have a great fate with snake wine.

It was getting dark, and in front of Old Man Yuan's thatched hut, a bonfire was lit, and the men and women of the islanders sang and danced in a circle, and even pulled the task force members down to dance, Ye Zhao was silent, just smiled and chatted with Old Man Yuan.

However, this yellow, orange and orange wine can only be tasted at a short time, and it is not necessary to form a dewy relationship on this desert island again.

"Tylenol, Tylenol!" In the midst of the festivities, a boy suddenly came running from the edge of the island, out of breath, and even more frightened and muttering something.

The islanders, who were enthusiastically dancing, suddenly dispersed and ran to their huts, as if some man-eating monster had come.

Ye Zhao looked at the old man puzzled.

A trace of helplessness appeared on Old Man Yuan's face, and he was even more sad and indignant, and said, "Lord Yamamoto is here." He turned his head and said, "Childe, you and your partner go back to the boat, and I'll help you prepare enough water tomorrow." ”

Ye Zhao didn't come to replenish fresh water, seeing the old man's expression, his brows furrowed slightly, Lord Yamamoto? Who?

"Haha" The ugly laughter pierced the night sky, and a group of people came from the east, muttering, it was the original words. The people gradually approached, Ye Zhao looked at it, his heart suddenly jumped, in the light of the bonfire, this group of people dressed in different clothes, but the front one, with his hair tied up, samurai clothes, a Dongying sword at his waist, and wooden shoes under his feet, was a Dongying warrior.

Ye Zhao also dealt with Yue himself a lot in later generations, but he didn't have the kind of idea of wanting to eat alive when he saw Yue himself, but there was also a very close classmate who was Yue himself, but today, when he saw the Dongying warrior coming from the bonfire, the round face and the surname Ren Danhu on his lips, I don't know why, my heart suddenly tightened.

Trying to calm his breathing, Ye Zhao silently lowered his head and tasted the wine.

Old man Yuan had already greeted him, and the two sides were muttering something, and the Dongying warrior suddenly pushed the old man away, and walked straight to Ye Zhao, "You, Chinese?" Coming to Ye Zhao, the Dongying warrior looked Ye Zhao up and down.

Suna kept looking at his master's eyes, but seeing that his master was silent, he could only hold back the urge to teach this rude Fanbang warrior a lesson.

Ye Zhao smiled and nodded slightly. It is said that it was the period of the Emperor's Rebellion, and it was also in the throes of change, but this country, the humiliation given to it by the countries of Europa, opened its eyes, and it soon embarked on the road of industrialization, and was good at learning from the strengths of others, which has always been the most terrible and tenacious point of this country.

"Me, Taro Yamamoto! As for the samurai of the retainer of Toji Maeda-sama, this island is owned by Maeda-sama! As he spoke, he gestured with his hand in a large circle, meaning that the vicinity of this island was all under the jurisdiction of the Maeda family.

Taro Yamamoto is one of Satsuma's top samurai, known for his ruthlessness and ferocity in Kyushu, and is a loyal retainer of the Maeda family. A few years ago, a merchant of the Maeda family discovered the island and reported back to Satsuma, saying that there was an excellent base between the island of Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, and that there were inhabitants on the island, and that neither China nor the Ryukyus had effective jurisdiction over it, and that it could be used as a natural harbor.

The year before last, Taro Yamamoto led a man to the island and informed the inhabitants of the island that the island would henceforth be under the administration of the Honsatsuma Maeda Toji, and that all merchant ships that had stopped here for trade would be taxed.

It is said that it is a tax, but in fact it is just an empty declaration of ownership of the island, and it is impossible and unconditional to implement it, but Satsuma merchant ships often stop when passing through this island, and since last year, this island has been given to Yamamoto Taro as a territory by Maeda Toji, and Yamamoto Taro regards the island's resources and villagers as his private property.

Suddenly seeing the Chinese, of course, Taro Yamamoto wanted to declare sovereignty, for the cowardly Chinese, he has always looked down on, in fact, the Ryukyu Kingdom was originally a vassal state of China, but now it has long had to pay the same tribute, and the Chinese have no way. Sooner or later, North Korea and Taiwan will also be included in their own territory, Chinese? Paper tigers only.

looked at Ye Zhao arrogantly, waiting for Ye Zhao's answer.

Ye Zhao played with the wine glass and did not squeak.

Taro Yamamoto was disdainful in his heart, this is the Chinese, always pretending to be so cultured, in fact, it is tacitly giving in, each timid as a mouse, turning his head to look at the silent Chinese in this circle, Taro Yamamoto felt very comfortable.

Beside Taro Yamamoto, there is a young businessman in a suit, called Lin Xiuguang, whose name is Matsuda Hidemitsu, is actually a mixed race, his father is a Shandong businessman, and he fled to Satsuma in his early years to avoid trouble. Because of his father's influence, Lin Xiuguang thinks of himself as Chinese more often.

He knew that Taro Yamamoto's murderous surname, especially once he drank alcohol, he could really do anything that lacked morality, and he was worried about the safety of these Chinese businessmen, Lin Xiuguang smiled and said: "Lord Yamamoto, drive them down to the island!" ”

"No, no, no!" Taro Yamamoto waved his hand repeatedly, turned around and said proudly to the circle of Chinese: "You guys, ship owners? The boat, so big! Yes, a lot of silver! ”

But when he saw that the Chinese merchant was anchored with a huge steamer merchant ship, he was willing to let it go easily, he was originally a pirate.

Lin Xiuguang sighed in his heart, and he could see that among this group of cowardly Chinese businessmen, the beautiful and handsome young man who did not squeak should be the head, and he might be the son of a rich family.

walked up a few steps and whispered to Ye Zhao: "Childe, you just take out some silver, I will help you say a few good words, break the fortune and avoid disasters, come out to do business and seek wealth is not to seek anger, this Lord Yamamoto, kill people without blinking, and you can't be offended." ”

Ye Zhao was thinking about this island, how did it become the territory of the local division, an island country, but it is really an inch of land.

Suddenly, seeing this young businessman persuading himself in extremely fluent Chinese, Ye Zhao just smiled and said, "Isn't this a robbery?" Even though this island is under the jurisdiction of your Lord Tusi, I have never heard that you will have to pay money if you stop a ship nearby. ”

Lin Xiuguang sighed and persuaded in a low voice: "He was born as a bandit, take a step back and open the sky, you will listen to me, okay?" ”

Seeing that the clever ghost helped him to ask for silver, Taro Yamamoto's fierce eyes stared at Old Man Yuan again, and muttered a few words, Old Man Yuan replied, and was suddenly slapped by him, and even pulled out his war knife and gestured under the old man's white beard, saying something viciously in his mouth.

Ye Zhao's brows furrowed, and Suna walked over slowly.

Lin Xiuguang shook his head and said, "Do you see it?" He's a bandit! ”

Ye Zhao frowned and said, "What are they talking about?" ”

Lin Xiuguang shook his head and sighed: "Lord Yamamoto has taken a fancy to the old man's granddaughter, and he wants the old man's granddaughter to accompany him tonight, but the old man is unwilling." ”

Ye Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "You are good at Chinese, help me translate with Yamamoto." ”

"Okay, okay." Lin Xiuguang hurriedly agreed.

"You tell him to go back to Satsuma now, and tell that toast that from now on this island will be managed by the Chinese."

Lin Xiuguang was dumbfounded, and persuaded in a low voice: "Childe, he is not alone, on that ship, there are forty Satsuma samurai, Satsuma samurai, each with one enemy and one hundred, known as the flower of Kyushu!" Even if there are hundreds of people on your boat, that person will kill you like chopping melons and vegetables! ”

Ye Zhao smiled slightly, "Satsuma samurai, what a big name." And he said: "If you don't turn it over, you can hurt him, do you believe it?" ”

Lin Xiuguang's heart was full of bitterness, how could he really dare to turn it over to Yamamoto like this?

Ye Zhao clapped his hands: "Suna, bring that warrior over to me!" Whoever dares to move will kill them! I don't know who I said this last sentence to.

Before the words fell, Suna burst into trouble, and suddenly smashed a punch on Yamamoto's neck, Yamamoto was caught off guard, his head was dizzy, he staggered two steps, and fell to the ground, Suna moved like lightning, kicked the Oriental knife in his hand, and didn't know where to pull out a rope, and quickly tied Yamamoto's hands behind his back, tied it tightly, and waited for Yamamoto to react, but Suna held it down firmly, and tied his legs again. It seems that I have some ability, so I should tie it up strongly, so as not to hurt my master. Yamamoto scolded and struggled, but where could he resist?

"Eight Tooth Road!" There were three or four samurai in the group of people who went to the island with Yamamoto, and they all pulled out their long knives and rushed over, "Bang Bang Bang", the sound of gunshots, the Chinese merchants who had been honest like sheep suddenly had a revolver in their hands, and in the sound of gunshots, several samurai were beaten into blood sieves and staggered to the ground.

The merchants were so frightened that they screamed and screamed, some turned and ran away, and some were limp and unable to move.

Suna tied Yamamoto like a piglet, carried it in front of Ye Zhao, and threw it on the ground, and the hard rock pierced Yamamoto Wow Wow.

Lin Xiuguang was stunned by this sudden change, and didn't know how to react for a while.

Ye Zhao turned his head to look at him and smiled, "Can you translate for me now?" Otherwise, it will kill him. ”

Lin Xiuguang nodded stupidly, what are these Chinese doing?

Without waiting for Ye Zhao to speak, Yamamoto had already shouted loudly, was plotted by the Chinese, and became a prisoner in the blink of an eye, and he was almost mad.

Ye Zhao turned around and asked Lin Xiuguang: "What did he say?" Words. ”

Lin Xiuguang said helplessly: "Yamamoto said that his Satsuma samurai will soon kill all your people, and he will torture you fiercely!" It won't make you die happily! ”

Ye Zhao smiled and asked Suna: "Did you send a signal?" ”

Seeing Suna nodding, he smiled, "Let's go, take him to see and learn." ”

The leader left, Suna followed behind with Yamamoto who was screaming wow, and Lin Xiuguang also hurriedly followed. And with the support of the Chinese merchants, the old man Yuan also staggered, but he was full of sorrow at the moment, this can be a big disaster, the samurai on the Satsuma ship came to retaliate, and the lives of the villagers in my village were not guaranteed.

Coming to a condescending rock on the edge of the island, Yamamoto was grabbed by Suna and stood up straight. Suna said to him viciously: "Keep your eyes open! ”

Under the bright moonlight, dozens of samurai flocked to the shore on the Saimoto sailboat moored in the rocky pool, and they all looked hideous, some armed with scimitars, some carrying muskets, screaming strangely, and they listened to the warning and came to save Yamamoto.

"Bang bang bang", the huge steamer around the corner didn't know when it turned, and the dense firelight lit up next to the steamer, one after another, endlessly.

One by one, the samurai fell, and some of the ones who rushed in front were killed by the special forces who had been ambushed by the rocks on both sides, and soon the islands were full of corpses.

"Boom", the steamer is getting closer and closer to the sailboat, and I don't know how many black things have been thrown on the steamer, and the mast of the steamer explodes violently, and the fire flickered, but it ignited again.

Suna pulled the rope on the mountain itself with one hand and sneered: "This is a small lesson for you, if you use a gunboat, your little wooden boat, how can it be a copper pill?" ”

Yamamoto's face was as gray as death, and he now naturally knew that he had encountered the Chinese regular army. However, when did the [***] team become so terrifying?

Thirty-seven elite Satsuma samurai, an invincible existence in Kyushu, died silently like this, and they didn't even stir up a wave, and death was so simple, so easy.

It's as if someone killed a few ants with a gesture.

"You, who are you?" Yamamoto looked at Ye Zhao and asked in a dry voice.

Ye Zhao waved his hand and said, "Send him on his way!" ”

"Who are you?!" As if knowing that his limit had arrived, Yamamoto roared hoarsely at Ye Zhao.

Suna smiled coldly: "You don't deserve to know!" ”

It was the last thing Taro Yamamoto heard in the world, and then a mist of blood erupted from his head, and his body fell limply on the rock.

Lin Xiuguang was so frightened that he took a few steps back, his face was like white paper, this young man was terrible, hundreds of times more terrible than Yamamoto, Yamamoto's terrible was written on his face, but this young man's terrible came from the bone marrow.

Ye Zhao turned his head to look at him and smiled slightly: "Mr. Tusi, please bring a message, you tell him that from now on, this island will be managed by the Guangzhou general of the Qing Dynasty, and there will be the protection of the Guangdong Navy of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Lin Xiuguang's heart sank, and he could hear that this handsome young man was not alarmist, but a very serious promise, and if he took this as a lie, he would definitely pay a very heavy price.

I wanted to say that I was also Chinese, but at this moment, I couldn't say anything, my eyes didn't dare to look at the young man, I lowered my head, and I bowed my head one after another.

Ye Zhao walked towards Old Man Yuan with a smile at this time, Old Man Yuan had already knelt down and kowtowed, but it was the "Chinese businessman" beside him who told Ye Zhao's identity, and heard that the Chinese general had sheltered this island from now on, Old Man Yuan was surprised and delighted, it was really like duckweed in the water suddenly had roots, and he would never be helpless and bullied again!

Ye Zhao was thinking that he was going to leave as soon as possible, not because he was afraid of leaking the news, now that the news was blocked, he was afraid that today's matter would not reach the capital until a few months later. But because of the strong wind, I made a big circle, and if I didn't set off, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to catch up with Tianjin before the agreed time with the Dinghai.

(To be continued)