Although the capture of these two ships of pirates was only a small shrimp, according to his confession, at the intersection of Wenzhou and Taizhou in the north, there was another group of pirates on a slightly larger scale, ten times more numerous than their group. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Of course, even if it is ten times more than this pirate gang of thirty or fifty people, in the eyes of the coalition forces, it is still just a small shrimp that can be directly crushed in their own posture at any time. What really caught the attention of commanders was not how strong they were, but the official background that might exist behind it.

To the north of Wenzhou and south of Taizhou is Yandang Mountain, which is known as the "first mountain in the southeast" in eastern Zhejiang, and the "big pirate gang" confessed by the pirate captives is in Yueqing Bay, which is adjacent to Yandang Mountain.

Yueqing County is under the jurisdiction of Wenzhou Mansion, the political envoy of Zhejiang, but its county system can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty more than 1,200 years ago, when the place name of Wenzhou was still Yongjia County, and the place name of Yueqing was Lecheng. It was not until the second year of Liang Kaiping five generations later, in order to avoid the name of Liang Taizu Zhu Cheng, that the county name of Lecheng was changed to Yueqing, and then it has been used.

This group of pirates entrenched in the local area is said to have a shady relationship with the county magistrate of Yueqing County and several large local households, and its territory is just at the intersection of the two states. After repeated several times, the garrisons in Taizhou and Wenzhou were also tired, and they were too lazy to spend time and effort on this difficult and fruitful thing.

Originally, Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen were still a little undecided about whether to deal with this group of pirates before continuing to advance northward, because this unplanned combat operation might affect the implementation of the subsequent battle plan in Zhoushan, and the pirate gang of this scale was not enough to threaten the normal movement of the coalition fleet. However, Xu Yuzhuo, who was the representative of the Ming army in the coalition army, insisted on defeating this group of pirates first and then continuing to march north.

"Generals, the pirates in Yueqing Bay are not strong, and they are just used to train and warm up the troops, and prepare for the future battle. Besides, since this group of pirates has been entrenched in Yueqing for many years, there must be some oil and water in the old nest, and all the captures can be handed over to your army for distribution, and I believe that this trip will not require the coalition army to pay for the military expenses. Xu Yuzhuo was very concerned about this, and spared no effort to persuade the Haihan side not to let go of this group of pirates. As for the possible casualties, Xu Yu didn't mention it - if there were still big casualties in fighting this kind of wild thief, then everyone would not have to go to Zhoushan again, and they would have to pack up and go home as soon as possible.

"General Xu, you are so concerned about this group of pirates, I'm afraid it's not just about training, right? It's all your own people here, are you honest, do you have a holiday with this group of people?" Qian Tiandun was not such an easy person to be bluffed, so he asked with a smile at the moment.

Xu Yu was also very happy, and immediately admitted the account: "It seems that it is indeed impossible to hide the eyes of General Qian! That's right, last year, this gang of silverfish thieves robbed a batch of goods from my family ship in Wenzhou, in fact, the money is a trivial matter, and that batch of goods is worth 20,000 or 30,000 taels of silver, but this group of people hurt the lives of my Xu clan! At that time, my father wrote to the Yueqing County Ya, hoping that they could help arrest the real culprit, but the Yueqing County ...... Hehe, let's not talk about the details in the middle, in short, they refuse to cooperate, and they can't cross the line to take people from the Fujian navy. I have been holding this breath for more than a year, and before I left the school this time, my father had instructions to pull out the nail of this Yueqing if I had the opportunity to avenge my people!"

Xu Xinsu, as the chief soldier of Fujian, was inconvenient to send troops across the border to neighboring provinces to suppress bandits, but this time his men and horses followed the Haihan militia to act together, and did not play the banner of the Ming army, which was indeed a good opportunity to take revenge in Zhejiang. As for Haihan's side, Xu Yuzhuo thinks that Qian Tiandun and others probably don't care too much about how the local officialdom in Yueqing will feel about the Haihan army falling from the sky, and this time going north was originally to seize a foothold on the coast of Zhejiang in a simple and rude way, and it is not a big deal for Haihan to destroy a group of pirates.

Qian Tiandun nodded and said, "Since there is a reason for the incident, it is understandable." Come on, find out the map and information of Yueqing Bay!"

Immediately, someone took the order and went to the cabin to rummage through the documents. Qian Tiandun said to Xu Yu: "Although this group of pirates is not a strong opponent, since we have a task on our side, it is better to solve it quickly." When the map is brought in, we will formulate a rough battle plan according to the map, so as not to mess up when we start. ”

Xu Yuzhuo didn't expect Qian Tiandun to agree so happily, and quickly hugged his fists and thanked him. He originally thought that since Qian Tiandun had his own motives, he still needed to convince the other party with some words, but he didn't expect that Qian Tiandun would immediately agree after listening to his reasons, and took the initiative to ask people to find a map to make a battle plan. Xu Yuzhuo was already mentally prepared to send troops alone, but the Haihan people would definitely take the initiative to help, so it was naturally the best.

About half an hour later, Qian Tiandun's people found a map of the vicinity of Yueqing Bay, as well as relevant written materials. Although there was no Yueqing station in Haihan's plan to go north, he still brought a detailed map of the coastal area of Zhejiang and related information in case of emergency. Sure enough, this is still half the way to the destination, and the additional information will come in handy. Compared with the map mastered by the Ming army, the map in Haihan's hand naturally has a great advantage in terms of accuracy, Xu Yuzhuo has cooperated with the Haihan militia several times, and he is also very clear about this, and he got up again and thanked Qian Tiandun for his help.

Qian Tiandun spread out the map on the table, and everyone gathered around to discuss how to send troops to deploy the formation in order to kill the pirate gang in Yueqing Bay.

Yueqing Bay is a shallow water harbor, with an average water depth of about 10 meters and a maximum depth of about 40 meters. The bay is long and narrow from north to south, wide at the mouth and narrow inside, gourd-shaped, nearly 100 li long from north to south, and 10 to 30 li wide from east to west. There are 14 islands and 9 reefs in the bay. The tides are regular semi-diurnal tides, and the water level varies significantly from two highs and two lows per day.

It is said that the nest of this gang of pirates is on the coast at the northern end of Yueqing Bay, that is, near Yandang Town, which is adjacent to the Yandang Mountain Range in later generations. Although the coalition army had 3,000 troops, it was impossible to land for this purpose and go into the mountains to encircle and suppress the remnants of the bandits.

"Let's get it out and fight, or we won't have the energy to spend it here." After Qian Tiandun briefly looked at the map, he made a suggestion to Xu Yuzhuo: "It just so happens that we have brought a batch of merchant ships that can be used as bait." ”

"But there is no big port in Yueqing Bay, and a team of merchant ships sailed in, which is a bit too ostentatious. Xu Yuzhuo still has a little doubt about this suggestion.

Qian Tiandun pondered for a moment and ordered: "The group of pirates caught before, go and find out if there are people who can use them, just one or two." ”

Xu Yuchou's brain was also moving quickly, and he immediately asked, "Is General Qian planning to find a local pirate to deliver a letter?"

Qian Tiandun nodded and said, "Let the local pirates tell them that there are fat sheep passing by in the nearby seas, and they need to join forces with them to eat this deal, do you think they will come out?"

"When it comes to the fat in your mouth, there's no reason not to eat it. Xu Yuzhuo quickly figured out the reason: "As long as the value of this batch of goods is blown up a little, don't worry about these people not being fooled!"

Last year, the Xu family's merchant ships were robbed outside Yueqing Bay, but the goods of 20,000 or 30,000 taels of silver, these pirates did not hesitate to hurt the lives of the cargo owners, if they told them that there was a batch of goods worth 180,000 yuan to pass through here, they were afraid that they would fly out of Yueqing Bay and kill them. Of course, before they can do so, the coalition must first find the right person who can do the task of delivering the message.

How to pick out the available people from a pile of captives, Takahashi Minami is an expert in this area. He can judge the psychological state of the person concerned from the other party's eyes and subtle movements, especially those who are not strong enough and will turn against the water in order to survive. Some time ago, during the attack on the city of Santo Domingo at the mouth of the Tamsui River, Takahashinan successfully plotted against Delgado, allowing this native from Luzon to open the gates of Santo Domingo City for the Haihan army.

In this Northern Expedition to Zhoushan, Gao Qiaonan, as Qian Tiandun's right-hand man, naturally got the opportunity to go out with the army. However, in order to deal with the affairs of Jilong Harbor, he set off from Taipei two days later than the large army, and at this time he had just caught up with the large army. No sooner had he joined the coalition fleet than Takahashi was told to check if there were any available prisoners of war.

Gao Qiao Nan did not participate in the previous skirmish, but he had already heard about the situation in Yueqing, Wenzhou, and also knew that there was another group of pirates hiding in Yueqing Bay. Takahashi Minami thinks that with Qian Tiandun's military habits, he probably won't sit idly by and ignore this, and most of them will find an excuse to get rid of this hidden danger. But what he didn't expect was that this time he didn't need Qian Tiandun to think of a reason, and the Ming army had already taken the initiative to clean up this group of pirates, which saved a lot of trouble.

Why did Qian Tiandun find someone available among the prisoners of war, Takahashi Nan could roughly think of it. He took a small boat to the ship where the prisoners of war were held, had the list of prisoners of war and several confessions recorded in the previous interrogation, first skimmed through them quickly, and then selected a few prisoners who had voluntarily confessed the situation during the interrogation, and asked them to be escorted out for questioning.

"Do you know why I picked a few of you out for interrogation?" After Takahashi Minami asked, several pirate captives are you look at me, I look at you, and shook his head blankly. However, Takahashi Nan asked this question not to ask them to give an answer immediately, but to elicit the following words: "Several of you have explained the situation of the pirates in Yueqing Bay during the interrogation, I now have an errand, if you do it well, you can not only regain your freedom, but also get a real money reward, who wants to take over?"

"I'm me, I'm me!" As soon as Gao Qiaonan's voice fell, a middle-aged pirate replied loudly: "Master Jun, the villain is willing to be sent to the soup and fire, and he will not give up!"

Takahashi Minami almost laughed: "You guy actually returned the book bag, can't you be a good reader?

The man replied: "The villain has failed the exam for many years, and he has gone astray in desperation, but he doesn't know that the first time he goes to sea, he will become a prisoner! The villain is very remorseful at this time, if the military master can give the villain a chance to repent, the villain will do his best!"

Takahashi Minami doesn't fully believe this, this guy should be true that he has read books, but judging by his complexion, he doesn't look like a novice who went to sea for the first time to rob. Takahashi Minami asked noncommittally, "What's your name?"

"The villain Song Qing, a local in Yueqing, still has old people and children at home......"

"Okay, okay!" Gao Qiao Nan hurriedly interrupted him: "Don't sell your bitterness, let me ask you, if you are asked to go to Yueqing Bay to find those pirates, do you have the courage to go?"

Song Qing hesitated slightly, then nodded and said, "If the military master just wants to bring a word, the villain should do his best." ”

"Very good! That's you!" Gao Qiao Nan felt that this person was available, so he didn't waste time to inquire slowly, and immediately cut to the chase: "We will send you to Yueqing Bay to find those pirates for help, let's just say that your gang has caught up with the big fish in Wenzhou, and you need to join forces with them to eat it, and the sooner the better, because this big fish will leave here and go north soon." If you succeed in this, you will be able to regain your freedom, and if you fail, you will be sent to the mountains and forests to mine for the rest of your life, like everyone else, do you understand?"

"Understand, thank you for your advice!" This Song Qing is indeed a smart person, and his head is like a chicken pecking rice. Although he still couldn't guess the true identities of these uninvited guests, Song Qing believed that their strength should be far superior to that of the local pirate forces. They had to go to great lengths to find trouble with the pirates in Yueqing Bay, and Song Qing wouldn't bother to ask why, so he would finish the life-saving task first. In the past, Song Qing's pirate gang also had the experience of cooperating with the gang in Yueqing Bay, and the two sides chose to make a joint move in order to be able to eat a big deal, and they also succeeded, so the matter of contacting in the middle was indeed not unfamiliar to Song Qing. The only thing to worry about is how Song Qing will be able to hide his identity when he evacues, so as not to be beaten by pirates who are aware of the truth.

"Ugly words ahead, if you show your flaws and are recognized, or want to betray us in exchange for the trust of the new owner, I will advise you to die early. Takahashi Minami pointed to the other prisoners of war who had been temporarily defeated and said, "If you can't do it, I'll send all these people out and let them tell the pirates about your plan." ”