In the thirteenth year of Yongle, the third day of February.

Ningbo Province, Jiangsu, Zhejiang.

"Lord Wu, these people have all gathered, so you should tell me what you are going to do, right?"

Outside the city of Ningbo Prefecture, the officers and soldiers of a thousand households were assembled outside the city.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the system of guards had not collapsed too badly.

In addition, the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is close to the Beijing Division, and the soldiers are still much better than other places in terms of training shortages.

Early yesterday morning.

The Senhu Guard received an order from Fucheng to assemble in Fucheng before dark on the second day.

The children of the guard, who had just received the favor of the imperial court, naturally responded positively to the call of the imperial court.

Before noon the next day, the soldiers of the Thousand Households of Ningbo Prefecture had gathered.

After counting the number of people and confirming that there was no vacancy, Ningbo Thousand Households found the Ningbo Governor.

The prefect of Ningbo Prefecture glanced at the rough man in front of him, hesitated for a moment and replied: "Can this official say, I don't know what I called you for?" ”

The eyes of thousands of households in Ningbo Mansion instantly widened.

Isn't this prefect too long? Gather the army, and say that you don't know what to do.

The prefect of Ningbo saw that Qianhu was going to be furious, and he was afraid that this fool would beat himself up with an impulse, so he hurriedly explained.

"Don't look at me like this, I didn't ask you to summon it, it's His Royal Highness Taisun!"

"His Royal Highness!"

Chiho was stunned for a moment.

The prefect nodded in confirmation.

"You should still remember the order issued by the imperial court some time ago, and now all the officers and soldiers of the guards in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangxi are all under the command of His Royal Highness Taisun."

Qianhu rolled his eyes.

Although he didn't know many words, he was not an idiot, how could he forget the order that was just given some time ago.

Thinking of the order issued by the imperial court some time ago, these thousand households seemed to think of something, and excitedly asked the prefect of Ningbo.

"Do you think Your Highness will let us fight the Japanese Invaders!"

The prefect hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly: "It should be, there is a wave of Japanese robbers on the opposite island, I reported to the imperial court some time ago, although there is no reply from the above, but I estimate that His Royal Highness Taisun summoned you this time, probably to fight those Japanese robbers." ”

"Great, I finally have a chance to make meritorious contributions."

Chito excitedly slammed his fist.

In last year's Northern Expedition, his Qianhu was not recruited into the Northern Expedition because he was close to the coastline to guard against Japanese invaders.

This made Qianhu, who had always wanted to make meritorious contributions and be promoted, regretted and sad for a long time.

Later, the north won the war, and he heard that several thousands of households were promoted.

This made him even more red-eyed.

Those guys are older than him, and their strength is not as strong as their own, but as a result, they were promoted after going to the north to get around, how could he not be envious.

In June last year, a wave of Japanese pirates went to the opposite island, and he kept applying upwards to fight this wave of Japanese pirates.

The result was all lost.

I don't know if the above didn't agree, or if his application was stopped.

Just when he thought that he would stay in the position of Qianhu for the rest of his life, God finally gave him war merits.

"So what are you waiting for? Let's hurry up and gather the ships, and when His Royal Highness Taisun comes, we can start fighting directly." ”

When the prefect heard this, he glanced at Qianhu.

This guy has always wanted to fight, and the prefect also knows about it.

"Don't be too happy, His Royal Highness Taisun has come here with the Shenji Battalion and that huge navy. I guess I have gathered you not to fight, but to have you patrol outside the battle line to prevent the people from approaching and the pirates from escaping. ”

Qianhu laughed and waved his hand absently.

"Whatever, as long as I can fight the Japanese and have military merits, let me clean up the corpse!"

At noon, the Ningbo government received the order again.

Zhu Zhangui ordered them to assemble on the seashore and wait for the next order.

As predicted, it was really to fight the Japanese invaders, and the thousands of households were so excited that they didn't even eat lunch, and the shouting crowd hurriedly set off.

The movement on the side of Ningbo Mansion was naturally received by the widows with dark lines.

Zhoushan Island was formerly known as Changguo.

In the second year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the southern general Tang He to deal with the defense of the southeast.

Two commanders of Tang and his subordinates were killed when they intervened in a civil dispute with local residents on Xiushan Island.

Tang He was angry with the people of Zhoushan, and asked the court to say: "The residents of Changguo are surrounded by widows outside, and there are many thieves inside. ”

It is a recalcitrant people who cannot be educated, and they insist on abolishing the county administration and driving out the islanders.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Tang He's report, issued an edict to abolish Changguo County, and all the islanders were driven to the interior.

This is the first sea ban in the Zhoushan calendar.

After the sea ban, the population of Zhoushan plummeted to 8,800, and by the year of Yongle, the population was less than 800 households. The Zhoushan archipelago has become a sparsely populated and desolate place.

It is precisely for this reason that the residents of the island are dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty, and these Japanese robbers entered here.

Its main purpose was to take advantage of the hatred of the island's inhabitants and their familiarity with the terrain to confront the imperial court across the sea.

"The big leader is not good, there is movement over there in Ningbo Mansion."

Zhoushan archipelago, a cottage on a large island.

A group of people in tattered clothes and with a variety of weapons in their hands were lying on the ground basking in the sun.

These people rubbed their bellies from time to time and looked blankly at the sky.

Since the blockade by the navy, these bandits have not been able to obtain resources on the shore.

Anything else is better, the food is the most deadly thing.

There are so many people who lack food that they almost starve to death if they don't rely on catching some seafood every day to fill their stomachs.

Many people complain about the big chief, why did they choose this broken place?

This made them, who were stared at by the navy, unable to run from the sea if they wanted to.

landed on the shore to rob, and the officers and soldiers of the guard station were not vegetarians.

And more importantly, as soon as they leave the advantageous islands, the navy will immediately occupy their territory and then encircle them on the shore.

As a result, they can't go in, and they can't go back.

In fact, what these little widows don't know is that their big leader is stationed here, and his main purpose is to recruit peace from the imperial court.

If you are not forced to live helplessly, who wants to live this kind of life of licking blood from the knife edge.

The purpose of the big chief stationed here is to let the court know about their existence, and then have a few fights with the people of the court, show their ability, negotiate conditions with the court, and then return to the court to accept Zhao'an and live the life of the official master.

"What's noisy, is God going under the knife, look at your urgency."

The door of the small room with the sign of the Gathering Hall was opened, and a scholar walked out with a belt on his belt.

The messenger glanced into the house, and saw a young lady who had been robbed some time ago, lying on a wooden bed in the house, looking blankly at the roof.

"Goodong!"

Seeing that it was a piece of white flowers, the little minion who reported the news swallowed his saliva.

"Smack!"

The scholar who fastened his belt raised his hand and slapped him and closed the door.

"Where are you looking, is that what you should be seeing, hurry up and say something."

The little minion who was slapped reacted, rubbed his beaten face, and said aggrievedly: "Just now there was news from the shore that the officers and soldiers of the guard station of Jinan Mansion are coming to our side, and the yamen on the shore has begun to collect boats, and it seems that they are going to beat us." ”

"Huh!"

"A flock of landlubbers want to hit me too, it's a pipe dream."

The scholar laughed disdainfully.

It's not that this scholar is arrogant, but those officers and soldiers of the guard, he really doesn't pay attention to it.

If it was the Ming Navy, which was often cruising around the islands some time ago, the scholar would still be afraid of three points.

Officers and soldiers of the Daming Guard.

He admits that fighting on the shore is very powerful.

But when it comes to this sea, it's hard to say who is strong and who is weak.

"Brothers!"

The scholar strode to a boulder, looked at the bored and sun-basking widows, and shouted loudly.

The would-be robbers turned their heads to look at their great leader, the scholar.

"I'm sure a lot of people are wondering why we're here."

After everyone looked at it, the scholar cleared his throat and expressed the doubts in everyone's hearts.

"Yes, Great Chief, why are we here?"

"That's right, if we were still on the previous island, we wouldn't be so miserable now, I haven't eaten enough for three days, and I almost vomit every day when I eat seafood!"

"Everyone, don't be impatient, listen to me slowly."

The scholar pressed his hand, quieting the noisy crowd.

After everyone was quiet, the scholar said loudly.

"Many of our brothers joined the gang because they couldn't survive on the shore, and of course more people wanted to make a fortune and then go back to the shore to buy a few acres of land to live a small life."

"But as the saying goes, if you want to clear your name when you are a thief, it will be difficult."

"In the eyes of the imperial court, we are all people with unforgivable sins, even if we earn money and return to the shore, sooner or later we will be found out and liquidated."

The crowd below fell silent.

Yes, once you become a thief, it will be difficult to live the life of ordinary people.

The scholar coughed, drawing everyone's attention again.

"It is because I understand everyone's difficulties that I want to find a way out for everyone, return to the shore safely, and not only live a good life, but also not be troubled by the government."

When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.

Of course, those real widows who can't understand Da Ming's words are looking at the people around them with a puzzled face.

What I can understand is that my face is a little ugly.

These damn Ming people.

What can you do with us? These guys are going to abandon us.

Ignoring the various eyes below, the scholar raised his arms and shouted.

"There is a way in the imperial court called Zhao'an, which means that the imperial court does not want to fight us, and intends to use official positions and gold and silver to make us give up resistance and return to the management of the imperial court."

"The big leader you said Zhao'an, the one who sings the opera."

One of the little minions, who thought he understood, asked excitedly and loudly.

The scholar nodded with a smile.

"That's what it means, as long as we are recruited, we are not thieves, but the officials and soldiers of the court, not only can the crimes on our bodies be written off, but we can also eat the court's money."

After the scholar said these words, the people below all discussed excitedly.

"This is great, you can still be an official and a soldier, and if you make some meritorious contributions in the war, you may not be able to become a big official."

"It's just that in the future, as long as you train once a few days, you can easily earn money every month, and this kind of day is beautiful to think about."

"I also heard that this year the imperial court issued a new policy, and the children of military families can study for free. If we can become officers and soldiers, our children will be able to study and get ahead. ”

"Oh, it's all secondary, the most important thing is to marry a big daughter-in-law."

"We've been on the island for so long, I'm crazy, and now I look at a mother mouse, and I feel that my eyebrows are clear."

"Hehe, it's still comfortable to be in charge, and there's a young lady by your side."

"It's all quiet, it's all quiet..."

The scholar waved his hand again to suppress the noise below.

"If we want to be recruited by the imperial court, then we have to show our strength."

"As long as we defeat a few attacks by the imperial court, after the imperial court sees our strength, it will soon come to recruit us, and everyone will be able to live a good life at that time."

"Haha, big chief, you just look at it, make sure to beat them up......"

Imagining the beautiful days ahead, the Japanese minions screamed excitedly.

"Bell ......"

Just when everyone was looking forward to their future life, a gong sounded from the top of the mountain.

Everyone looked in the direction where the gong came from, and on the sentry post on the top of the mountain, one person struck the gong vigorously, and the other person waved the flag in his hand vigorously, alerting everyone that there was an enemy attacking.

"Haha, brothers, the landlubbers are here, follow me to clean them up, let them see how good we are."

Thinking that the officers and soldiers of the guard were coming, the scholar laughed and drew the sword hanging from his waist, waved it to the shore, and ordered everyone to prepare for battle.

"The Sword Comes"

The would-be robbers, who had been fooled by the scholars, waved their weapons excitedly and shouted to the beach, preparing to meet the officers and soldiers of the guard.

"Don't go... Don't go, it's a big ship, it's a big ship! ”

The two would-be guards on the top of the mountain, when they saw that the people below heard the warning, not only did they not hide, but they went to the beach excitedly, jumping to their feet in a hurry, shouting to remind the people below.

But because it was too noisy and the distance was so far away, the people below didn't hear what they were shouting at all, and thought they were cheering for them.

"The minister Ningbo Mansion pays Wu Yan, and the Ningbo Mansion has thousands of households Qian Yu, and I will meet His Royal Highness the Taisun!"

When the Japanese were assembling on their side, Zhu Zhangui had already arrived at the shore in a small boat.

As soon as Zhu Zhangui landed on the shore, the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture and the thousands of households in Ningbo hurriedly stepped forward to pay respects.

Zhu Zhangui bowed slightly, looked at the two of them with a calm expression and asked, "There are Japanese robbers in this place, and they are stationed on an island not far from the mainland, why didn't you report to the top?" ”

As soon as Zhu Zhangui came ashore, he scolded him, which made the two of them nervous.

Governor Wu hurriedly said aggrievedly:

"Back to His Royal Highness, when the Japanese arrived in the court, the minister reported to the imperial court, and applied for a request to mobilize the officers and soldiers of the guard to carry out the purge."

"But before you came, there was no reply from the imperial court, and the minister had no choice but to strengthen patrols to prevent these would-be robbers from coming ashore to find trouble."

"If you don't believe it, you can ask Qian Qianhu, he also sent a report to the Yamen of the Ministry of War, but he didn't get any reply!"

Zhu Zhangui frowned when he heard this, and looked at the Qianhu.

Qian Qianhu nodded hurriedly.

"Your Highness, what Governor Wu said is absolutely true, if the two of us tell a lie, Your Highness can cut off our heads at any time!"

Governor Wu glared.

You bastard can vouch for your own head, why do you still have me, I provoked you.

After listening to the report of the two, Zhu Zhangui's brows furrowed tightly.

Before he set off, his father showed him all the excerpts about the pirates and coastal pirates from last year and the year before last, just to let him know more about the situation, so that he would have nowhere to start.

Zhu Zhangui remembers clearly that last year and the year before last, only Taizhou in Jiangsu and Zhejiang reported the news of the attack of the Japanese invaders.

Ningbo has not received any notification in this regard.

Governor Wu noticed Zhu Zhangui's frowning expression, seemed to understand something, hesitated, and whispered.

"Your Highness, I heard that the political envoy may be transferred to the capital as an official."

Zhu Zhangui glanced at him and understood what the other party meant.

Governor Wu's meaning was to tell Zhu Zhangui vaguely.

In order to be promoted, the political envoy deliberately suppressed this aspect of the chapter, so that the imperial court thought that he was in good order in Zhejiang, and stepped into the center safely.

For this kind of official who doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people in order to be promoted, Zhu Zhangui naturally won't let him feel good.

Keeping this matter in mind, Zhu Zhangui said to Qian Qianhu: "You take your Qianhu to block the coast, and in the next time, no people are allowed to go to the sea to fish without my order." ”

"Also, if a ship comes by sea, it will be seized without my warrant, and anyone who dares to trespass, no matter who it is, will be killed!"

Hearing that his task was only to block the coast, Qian Qianhu was a little unwilling in his heart.

It's hard to come across a battle, and if he doesn't go up and cut a few times, he will always feel a little uncomfortable.

But looking at Zhu Zhangui's expressionless face, thinking of the great achievements of His Royal Highness the Grand Sun, Qian Qianhu sighed helplessly and hugged his fists to take his life.

Waiting for Zhu Zhangui to return to the big boat by boat, Qian Qianhu gave a thumbs up to the Wu Governor's Mansion.

"Brother, you dare to hit the small report of the political envoy, I'm not afraid that he will find out and kill you."

Governor Wu smiled absently.

"I have no family background, no connections, and no money, and the step of working to the prefect has come to an end, if I want to climb up again, how can I have a chance if I don't take some risks."

"Besides, that guy is insatiable, he has been a political envoy for so many years, he has collected so much money, and his relatives are acting mischief with his connections. Some time ago, the official punished a distant relative of his, and he actually called me over and scolded me for more than an hour like scolding my grandson. ”

"If he is a good official who is the master of the people, and he will be a pillar of the court who governs the place very well, he will be willing to scold me this time."

"But damn it, he's an insatiable stinky rat, he doesn't do anything serious all day long, he only knows how to loot people's fat and ointment, embezzle and take bribes, and don't bring him down, I'm angry!"

"Hahaha..."

Listening to Governor Wu's complaints, Qian Qianhu couldn't help laughing.

How could he not have discovered that this old pedant had such an upright side.

"Don't worry, brother, I look at His Highness's expression just now, this guy is probably going to be unlucky, maybe His Highness will appreciate you, and after taking that guy out, he will promote you to a political envoy."

"Brother will be promoted in the future, but don't forget my brother!"

"Hehe, it depends on your boy's performance, the old man won't help the wine bag and rice bag."

"You old man is nonsense, you look at my tendon meat, how can I look like a wine bag and rice bag."

"It's hard to say, there are many embroidered pillows in the middle."

"Boom..."

Just when the two of them were talking and laughing, they were about to order the officers and soldiers to disperse, block the surrounding people, and block the periphery.

The navy, prepared on the sea, began shelling the island where the Japanese were located.

"Tut-tut, how can we compare with others, we don't have a single artillery, and thousands of people are playing with it, this is the gap!"

Looking at the sea covered in gunsmoke, Qian Qianhu shook his head with a sigh.

Governor Wu patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.

"Work hard to get promoted, if you have the opportunity, you will be transferred to Taisun, it will be difficult for the local guard to get ahead!"

Qian Qianhu sighed.

He wants to, too, but he also needs to have a chance.