The news about Li Yan and Li Zicheng escorting a huge amount of treasure back to China has spread all over the capital, and people have discussed it a lot, major newspapers have rushed to report it, and many Jianghu forces have also begun to pay attention.

The forces in the rivers and lakes have always been a problem in the heart of the Chinese Imperial Government, and due to the influence of traditional concepts, the Imperial Government did not have enough reason to eliminate them for a while, so it could only secretly monitor them.

The public is highly concerned, and there are always some people with ghosts in their hearts who have the idea of luck and dream of robbing the treasure team. As a result, the Imperial Security Service had to tighten its control and keep an eye on some people with bad intentions.

Emperor Deng Haonan of Shenwu was very concerned about these treasures, in addition to asking the empire to actively cooperate with the protection of various naval bases and naval fleets around the world, but also to take the opportunity to protect the treasures and set off a large-scale operation to eliminate bandits.

Since the founding of the Chinese Empire, there have been a large number of bandits and pirates throughout the country. As the Chinese Empire prospered, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the imperial government encircled and suppressed them year after year, and these bandits gradually decreased, but they still existed.

Especially the Wulin Jianghu sect, which is the most troublesome for the imperial government, these forces control a certain amount of force, most of them are polite to the imperial court, and some forces secretly disturb the people, and even collude with bandits to do some things like robbing homes and houses.

In particular, the slave trade flourished, with more or less slaves in every household, and hundreds or even thousands of slaves on large estates and pastures. In the past, when there were no slaves, there were very few fights, and no one liked to go to the police station or the gendarmerie. But with the popularization of slaves, Chinese men and women, as masters, handed over the hands-on work to slaves and subordinates, and as masters, they chose to watch from the sidelines, and only jumped out to pay some bail fees, medical expenses, or funeral expenses.

In short, the way of "struggle" has changed, and if a slave or a family member commits a crime, the master only needs to destroy the fortune or eliminate the disaster or make a light loss, and after having a substitute for the dead ghost and a scapegoat, the master can stay out of the matter. This increased the problem of public order, but the police and gendarmerie forces of the Chinese Empire were able to cope with these things. However, many bandits and rebel groups, who also had the money to buy a large number of slaves, were mostly incorporated into the armed forces in addition to production, and became a great threat to the social stability of the imperial government.

Therefore, in addition to the considerable labor and social wealth obtained by the Chinese imperial government through the slave trade, it also brought certain challenges to the security of the empire.

From the twelfth year of Shenwu, the issue of slave security became a prominent problem in society, and its adverse effects gradually became the focus of discussion among the people of the empire.

The imperial government issued a number of slave laws to deal with the social security problems caused by slaves and control the slave trade, but because the imperial government pursued a hierarchical system of Chinese supremacy, human favor was greater than the law, and the imperial central government was strict, but the local government always released water, and it was impossible to severely punish their masters for the security problems caused by slaves.

In the end, the imperial government had to introduce the most severe slave policy. Slaves were restricted to their masters' homes and factories and workshops, and it was strictly forbidden to go out without permission. At the same time, in terms of slave imports, there was a limit on the number of private slaves that individuals could purchase. If the owner of a slave household registers nine civil proceedings and three or more criminal proceedings with the police within one year, the slave owner's slave licence shall be revoked and, depending on the aggravating circumstances, shall be punished by prohibition from owning slaves for three years to life.

After the implementation of the new law, a large number of social security problems caused by slaves were controlled, but a considerable number of slaves were still in the hands of anti-government forces such as Jianghu sects and bandits, and the imperial government's desire to eliminate these hidden dangers could not be effective in a short time.

The treasure fleet returning from Egypt is on its way, and before it arrives in China, it has already set off a blatant *, and many organizations and individuals are ready to move. Every day, the National Police Agency and the Security Bureau receive a large amount of information that many forces are gathering in Gyeonggi. Among them, there are various identities, there are ordinary people who watch the excitement, there are gangs of rivers and lakes, there are bandit organizations, there are theft gangs, and there are foreigners from various countries living in China, who hold all kinds of thoughts and ideas, and they all gather in the Gyeonggi area, bringing huge hidden dangers to the security of Gyeonggi.

With the submission of reports from law enforcement agencies such as the Imperial Police Headquarters and the Gendarmerie Corps to the Cabinet and the National Assembly for deliberation, the issue of security in Gyeonggi has attracted the attention of the top echelons of the Imperial Government.

The new Cabinet Minister Koo Ming-che and the responsible Cabinet officials he formed were faced with such a problem as soon as they were sworn in, and he was so anxious every day that he convened several enlarged cabinet meetings to discuss the matter.

In the imperial study, Emperor Shenwu Deng Haonan took Gu Mingzhe's recital, looked at Wang Chen next to him, and said, "Gu Mingzhe asked for the dispatch of the Royal Army to help strengthen the defense, what is your opinion?"

Wang Chen stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, Weichen means that it is necessary to dispatch the Royal Army, but it cannot be blatant, it needs to be carried out secretly."

Deng Haonan asked, "Why?" ”

Wang Chen replied: "The emperor said that the imperial army will always be external to the outside world, and it is not allowed to meddle in the country unless it is a last resort. The internal security matters are left to the National Guard, which is part of the Constitution. The people of the empire have become accustomed to the National Guard circling around, and the sudden transfer of the Royal Army is bound to cause panic, and at the same time, some anti-government forces dare not take action, and the emperor's plan to catch it all is in danger of being aborted."

Previously, Wang Chen put forward a bold idea to Deng Haonan, that is, to take this opportunity to wipe out the chaotic party, and by the way, use this reason to completely uproot the forces of the rivers and lakes and end the situation that the empire has two black and white societies at the same time.

Deng Haonan closed the notebook and said, "This is indeed a good plan, but I don't think there is any need for such trouble."

Wang Chen asked, "What does the emperor mean?" ”

Deng Haonan smiled and suddenly said, "Once upon a time, I never understood what it meant to be a sin of desire? ”

Wang Chen's brain turned quickly, and he said happily: "Why didn't the emperor Shengming Weichen think of it? ”

In fact, all it takes is for the Imperial Government to publicize that the treasure team has been robbed and a large number of rare treasures have been lost. Outsiders don't know whether the treasure is lost or not, the various martial arts sects and bandits and other forces are intricate, they must be convinced, and then suspicious of each other.

In this way, the Imperial Government could purge the gangs that threatened the Imperial Court in the name of tracking down the whereabouts of the treasures. At the same time, internal strife will break out within the major gangs because of mutual suspicion. You must know that the number of treasures escorted back by Li Yan is huge, and each of them is priceless, and they will definitely rebel against it.

The two mouths of the official, no matter what they say, Deng Haonan realized the highest meaning of the trick of wanting to add sin for the first time, and he was in a very comfortable mood.

Wang Chen also breathed a sigh of relief, the matter that originally seemed quite tricky and complicated was finally easily solved by the words "desire to add sin".

Suddenly, Deng Haonan's expression tightened, and he asked: "I only care about the threat of landing, and it seems that there are many pirates along the way from Egypt to Beijing."

Wang Chen replied, "There shouldn't be any threat from pirates?" Now the treasure fleet is escorted by the Indian Ocean Fleet, and after reaching the Strait of Malacca, it is replaced by the Pacific Fleet. The pirates don't dare to come forward at all."

Deng Haonan asked: "The amount of this treasure is huge, for any country, it is more than ten years or even decades of financial revenue, and it cannot be ruled out that they may take risks."

Wang Chen thought for a while and said, "Coming back from Egypt, the most dangerous place on the way should be the Dutch East India Company. The treasure fleet will anchor in the waters of Malacca for a day to allow the Indian Ocean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet to take over escort duties. The Dutch East India Company held the Strait of Malacca, and the Dutch East India Fleet was comparable in size to the Pacific Fleet, and if the Dutch took a risk, they might not have no chance of success. ”

Deng Haonan frowned, and suddenly said: "I remember that there was a report about the Dutch East Indies a few days ago, and the situation there seems to be very tense."

"Yes" Wang Chen nodded and replied: "The Imperial Admiralty is recently deploying Plan 'P', the purpose of which is to stir up trouble among the Chinese doing business in Batavia, and then put pressure on the Dutch East India Company to force the Dutch East India Company to cede its benefits, and even provoke riots, so that the Imperial Royal Navy can justifiably carry out military intervention and occupy the Dutch East Indies."

After the end of World War I, the Chinese Empire controlled the entire eastern part of Asia and the Pacific Ocean, except for the Dutch East Indies, which was still under Dutch control, and its control of the Strait of Malacca was a huge security risk for the empire's maritime trade routes. Dutch-backed piracy was rampant near Malacca and Luzon and was a cancer in the Chinese Empire's maritime trade. The Imperial Government of China had long since begun to calculate the ownership of the Dutch East Indies, and secretly prepared for war against the Dutch East India Company, the only thing lacking was a pretext.

The Dutch had always been careful, and the Chinese Imperial Government had not been able to find this excuse, so the Admiralty decided to take the initiative to create friction and excuses.

Previously, Deng Haonan agreed with the Admiralty's plan very much, but now thinking of the safety of the treasure fleet, Deng Haonan was a little worried.

Wang Chen said: "The Dutch East India Fleet has always been on guard against the Imperial Navy, and the Dutch government has been massively expanding its navy, so they have also been expanding their armaments over the years. If they suddenly make a move against our treasure fleet, the Strait of Malacca is an excellent place, and the Pacific Fleet, no matter how strong, will not be able to form a battle formation near the Strait of Malacca"

Deng Haonan nodded and said, "It seems that I will only have a voice from the Admiralty, so don't mess with the Dutch in the near future."

Wang Chen suddenly said: "Your Majesty, Weichen has an idea"

Deng Haonan glanced at him and said with a smile: "You don't want to do it to the Dutch, do you?"

"The Emperor Shengming Weichen does have this intention" Wang Chen took a step forward and said: "Mobilize the Pacific Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet, and outflank the Dutch East India Fleet before and after." ”

Deng Haonan smiled: "Then what if they don't have the idea of beating our treasure ship?" ”

Wang Chen said: "It's still the emperor's words, there is no excuse for the crime you want to add, this trick is applicable everywhere, and it will be killed at home and abroad."

"You learned very quickly" Deng Haonan thought for a while and said: "The Pacific Fleet sent some warships to escort the ship, and the Dutch East India Fleet saw that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, so it should take a risk." The main forces of the Pacific Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet then encircled and annihilated the main forces of the enemy fleet"

Deng Haonan then nodded and said, "It's a good deal."

The emperor finalized the strategy, and then convened the Imperial Council. Deng Haonan explained the main strategic objectives and strategic objectives to the public, and then the General Staff and the Admiralty organized and planned a detailed fishing operation codenamed "P" plan.

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In the 16th century, Central and South America were under the control of Spain, and colonial robbers looted a large amount of gold and silver treasures, which were shipped back to Europe by ship. Britain lagged behind Spain in its invasion of the Western Hemisphere, and it was difficult for Britain to gain access to Spain's sphere of influence except for northern North America.

Jealous of the vast wealth that Spain had looted, the British encouraged pirates to raid Spanish ships and provide them with shelter.

At the same time, some outlaws in Europe became pirates, robbing passing merchant ships off the coast of the Americas, and were particularly interested in robbing the gold ships of the Spanish royal family.

At that time, the British government set aside the British colony of Port Royal on the southeast coast of Jamaica Island as a base for pirates, and Port Royal became the largest concentration of pirate fleets in history.

In the forties of the seventeenth century, after the First World War, the Spanish Empire declined, and the Allied bloc led by the Chinese Empire rose rapidly. The mighty Chinese Empire controls one-third of the world's land area, three-quarters of the world's oceans, one-quarter of the population, half of the precious metals reserves, and 60 percent of the world's total wealth.

As the Chinese Empire further consolidated its colonies in Mexico and Peru, countless quantities of gold and silver were mined and shipped back to the Chinese Empire. The Chinese Empire has replaced the Spanish Empire as the richest country in the world, and naturally it has attracted the attention of pirates from all over the world.

In the Caribbean, in addition to the British, there were also the Netherlands. Once upon a time, the Netherlands had grown strong by robbing Spanish treasure ships, but now that Spain's largest colony near the Caribbean, Mexico, was ceded to the Chinese Empire, the Dutch pirate business was cut off.

Since the establishment of the first fort in 1590 in the Essequibo River region of Guiana, the Dutch began colonizing the New World of America. The Dutch occupied the Hudson River Valley in North America, the islands of San Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire in the Caribbean, and seized the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil from Portugal.

Like the British, the Dutch pirate base was located on Sint Maarten, which was in fact the Dutch West India Company, which sold dog meat under the guise of a sheep's head.

In addition to Dutch pirates, there were also French pirates. France originally had French Guiana in the Caribbean, but since the Chinese Empire occupied Mexico, the French navy also took advantage of the fire to loot Spanish Haiti from the Spanish Empire.

Then, the French navy, merchants, and pirates colluded to form pirate gangs in the Caribbean, with Haiti as the center.

The Spanish Navy, which had always disdained piracy, had been despised for piracy, but with the loss of the Mexican colonies, the gold and silver treasures of North America had to say goodbye to them, and they no longer had to escort the treasure ships home, and there was much less trouble in being robbed.

However, although the Spanish Empire lost Mexico and Peru, and North America had no place for them, they still had sizable colonies in the Gulf of Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and even the Atlantic.

Brazil was recaptured by Portugal, and Spain also had several colonies in Central and northern South America. In the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, the Spanish Empire controlled the colonies of Cuba, where sugar cane and coffee still generated considerable income for the Spanish Empire.

However, most of the Spanish Navy's maritime forces in the Americas were repatriated, making it impossible for the Spanish Navy to compete with the Imperial Chinese Navy on the western Atlantic coast of the Americas. As a result, the Spaniards, who were once always robbed, have now changed their faces and embarked on a career as pirates. Of course, most of the Spaniards were motivated by revenge for the Chinese Empire, and many Spanish pirates were composed of the Spanish navy, and they mainly attacked Chinese merchant ships.

Of course, there were other European pirates who existed, but they were too small or merged into the British, French and Dutch pirate groups.

The Caribbean's many islands, combined with a thriving trade, made it a natural nest for pirates.

The Chinese Empire launched the flagship of the Colonial War in the Americas, and the Gulf of Mexico became a paradise for pirates.

However, with the Chinese Empire's control of Mexico, it took over several naval bases and some warships of the Spanish-Mexican fleet, and the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire was able to rightfully control the Gulf of Mexico.

The pirate gangs of various countries were photographed by the strength of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire, and their backstage bosses, Britain and France, did not want to offend the Chinese Empire, so these pirates withdrew from the Gulf of Mexico and returned to the Caribbean.

With the establishment of the Royal Navy's Atlantic Fleet, the Imperial Chinese Navy expanded from the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean Sea and penetrated deep into the Atlantic, beginning to meddle in the affairs around the Atlantic.

After the intervention of the Imperial Chinese Navy in the Caribbean, the originally rampant pirates became very unhappy, because the Royal Navy of the Chinese Imperial Navy was too lenient and fought pirates everywhere, becoming the policeman to maintain order in the Caribbean.

The Imperial Chinese Navy touched the interests of pirate gangs from various countries, coupled with the huge wealth of the Chinese Empire in the Mexican colonies, and the anger and greed of the pirate gangs of Britain, France, and the Netherlands overcame reason, and began to challenge the hegemony of the Chinese Empire in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and looted the merchant ships and even treasure ships of the Chinese Empire everywhere.

In this regard, the Colonial Governor's Office of the Chinese Empire in North America sent several notes to the consuls of Britain, France, Netherlands, and other countries in North America, raising solemn protests against this. However, Britain, France, Netherlands and other countries resolutely refused to admit that they had anything to do with the pirate gang, so the Chinese Empire had nothing to do with them.

The Chinese Empire has to catch thieves and stolen goods, otherwise there is no excuse to be angry with them.

However, Britain, France, Netherlands and other countries resolutely refused to admit that they had anything to do with pirate gangs, which gave the Imperial Chinese Navy another excuse. That is, since the countries did not recognize the relationship between these pirates and them, when the Chinese Imperial Navy cleared the pirates, these pirates had no protection, and in another way, it was helpful to the Chinese Empire.

Caribbean pirates were rampant, robbing merchant ships everywhere and threatening the Chinese Empire's trading activities in the region.

Due to the large number of pirates and the backing of many countries, the Chinese Empire had too few ships in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to provide escort and could not eliminate pirates.

As a result, the North American Command of the Chinese Empire comprehensively expanded the Royal Navy's Atlantic Fleet in the name of fighting piracy. V