After a day and a night of sailing, the fleet arrived at the old port, and Lord Shi led his troops to greet him. More than 20 years ago, the imperial court set up the Jiugang Xuanwei Division here, which is not only the highest administrative body governing Nanyang, but also a symbol of the prestige of Huaxia, and its merits are comparable to that of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

At the dock, Tie Tasai gave Ade a large ingot of silver, "Brother, go back and do some small business!" ”

"You saved the lives of my family, and now you give me so much money, why are you embarrassed to call me?" Ade resolutely refused.

"Take it! If you feel deserved, then in the future, do more good deeds and help those in need, as a reward for me. The tower laughed.

"Thank you, thank you!" After thanking him for his kindness, he left with his wife and children, and now he is not afraid, with his own ingenuity, he believes that one day he will make a comeback.

"Master Shi, tell us about the pirates!" As soon as he walked into the conference room, Zheng He got straight to the point.

"Lord Zheng, his subordinates are derelict in their duties." Lord Shi is very guilty, pirates are so rampant, he has an unshirkable responsibility, but he also has a hard time, there are many pirates, they come and go like the wind, just rely on these broken ships of the Xuan Comfort Division, where can they fight them?

Of course, Zheng He also knew his difficulties, and comforted: "Don't worry, if you can run, the monk can't run the temple, where is the pirate's lair?" I went and served it. ”

Lord Shi's face flushed, and he was even more ashamed in his heart, "Their whereabouts are erratic, they are haunted, and they never leave a living mouth every time they commit a crime, so no one knows where they are located." ”

Zheng He frowned, this is indeed a bit tricky, a very important reason for successfully exterminating Chen Zuyi's gang back then was to find the main force of the pirates, and finally wipe them out.

Lord Wang asked, "How do they compare to Chen Zuyi back then?" ”

"Speaking of which, there is a little relationship between them, this pirate leader is also from Huaxia, coincidentally he is also surnamed Chen, I heard that it is still Chen Zuyi's old department, as for what the name is but no one knows, people see him with a pockmarked face, so they call him Chen Mazi. This guy is very smart, and he restricts his subordinates from robbing Huaxia merchant ships, presumably because he doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past. ”

"Humph! If he thinks that he can escape the law in this way, it is simply wishful thinking. Zheng He said solemnly, "China is the most powerful country in the world today, and it is natural to bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining world peace. ”

"That's what Master Zheng said." The crowd praised in unison.

"King Tower, what do you think?" Seeing that the tower was silent, Lord Wang hurriedly asked.

"Don't rob the Huaxia merchant ships, this Chen Mazi's nature is not too bad, if you can, why not recruit him and let him serve the imperial court?"

Iron Tower's words can be described as earth-shattering, everyone looked at him in amazement, this suggestion is too unbelievable.

"Absolutely not!" Zheng He rarely vetoed, if I remember correctly, this should be the first time he has rejected the iron tower's proposal, "Chen Mazi is a notorious pirate, how can the imperial court recruit such a person?" If those who don't know the truth know, they still think that we are in the same league with him, which will seriously damage the reputation of the imperial court. ”

Tie Ta smiled and stopped squeaking, Zheng He's decision he could understand, this guy is a patrol envoy of the Ming Water Division, every word and deed represents the meaning of the imperial court, and it is his bounden duty to think about the interests of the imperial court. The people who don't know the truth that Zheng He said just now actually mean those small countries in the South Seas who have suffered greatly from pirates, and if they have a misunderstanding of China, the adverse effects caused by this will affect all aspects. The reason why the imperial court exterminated Chen Zuyi back then, firstly, was to show its muscles and establish prestige, and secondly, it also wanted to win them over to call them ministers and pay tribute, now it seems that this move is quite correct, and now there is a same problem in front of it, how can the imperial court change its policy and destroy its reputation!

Tie Ta set his eyes on the sea outside the window, although he did not object, but it does not mean that Zheng He's decision is completely correct, as the saying goes, mistakes can be changed, good is great, Chen Mazi's reputation is indeed bad, but it is not a heinous bad person, it can be seen from his restraint that his subordinates are not allowed to rob Chinese merchant ships, although his original intention is to fear the Ming sailor, do not want to provoke a strong opponent for himself, but it is undeniable that he has a patriotic heart, has not forgotten his identity as a Chinese.

"Nanyang is thousands of kilometers away from the mainland of China, different ethnic groups, religions are not the same, such a complicated place will not always be peaceful, just with the old port Xuanwei Division's manpower is far from enough, the Ming Navy Division can not stay here forever, if there is another strong military force under the orders of the imperial court to assist, this is not a good thing for Huaxia." Tie Ta had already drawn a beautiful blueprint for the imperial court to govern Nanyang, but he also knew that the chances of success in this matter were quite slim.

"Tower King, are you angry?" At dinner, Zheng He asked him.

"Look at what you're saying, why am I angry?"

"Because I vetoed your suggestion!"

"That's it?" "Not only am I not angry, but I am happy, which just shows that our team pays attention to democracy and does not engage in nonsense." ”

"You're right, I respect you." Zheng He raised his glass, "Actually, I also have a hard time doing this, thinking that the imperial court did not hesitate to spend millions of taels of silver in order to exterminate Chen Zuyi, and the first emperor even issued an order to implement a sea ban, which shows that the harm of pirates to the country has reached a very serious point, and only by completely eliminating them can the imperial court rest assured." ”

"I understand that."

"Cheers to long live understanding!" The brothers clinked glasses, and Zheng He asked, "Do you have any good suggestions for this crackdown on bandits?" ”

"The priority is to find their nest and then catch them all. I'll go out in the evening to find out the news, and someone will know where the pirates are. ”

"It's really a hero, I'm here to wish you good luck!"

After a full meal and drink, the tower walked towards the sea, Chen Mazi's pirate gang also had one or two thousand people, it was impossible for no one to know their whereabouts, and those old fishermen who begged for a living at sea all year round were the best informants.

In the distance, the smoke curls up, the lights of thousands of homes, and after turning over a hill, a small fishing village appears in front of you, although the house is very dilapidated, but there is an indescribable warmth.

"Hello, King of the Tower!" A man walked out of the wooden house in front of him and greeted him warmly.

When the tower saw that it was Ade, it made him surprised and delighted, "Your family lives here?" ”

"Yes! I grew up here. Ade said, "So many brothers died at sea this time, so I sold the big house in the middle of the mountain to compensate their family, and I moved back to my ancestral house. ”

"You are a kind person, God will bless you." Tie Ta sincerely praised that there are not many such people these days.

"Thank you!" Ade said gratefully, "Where are you going?" ”

"I'm going to look for a pirate's lair, but unfortunately I'm not familiar with the terrain and want to find a fisherman for news."

"Then you've found the right person, no one in the entire fishing village is more familiar with this sea than me." Ade said proudly.

"Really? Then tell me, are there any hidden harbors or caves around here? "Pirates do things that don't see the light of day, and the more secluded the place, the better it is for them to hide.

"Harbor? Cave? I don't think so! Ade pondered, carefully remembering the places that he felt suspicious, and suddenly he slapped his head, "I remember, nine times out of ten, it is there." ”

"Don't worry, take your time." As soon as he heard this, the tower was also happy.

"The most mysterious place within a radius of 100 miles is Alcatraz Island, which is overgrown with vegetation, dense caves, and clouds and mist all year round, and there are not only ferocious beasts on the island, but also man-eating devils."

The devil who eats people? It's really good at blowing! Tie Ta secretly laughed in his heart and asked, "Is this what someone saw with their own eyes or is it hearsay?" ”

"Of course I heard from others, it's so dangerous that no one has ever dared to approach it." Ade told the truth.

Someone must have been playing tricks to scare people from approaching, and the tower was now 100% sure that it was the pirate's lair.

After asking the direction, the tower set off in a small boat, Ade is really a good person, not only provided a very valuable clue, but also gave him this boat, although he didn't need it, but other people's hearts really couldn't bear to refuse.

Half an hour later, in the thick fog of the sky, a small island appeared in front of it, and the whole island stretched for more than ten miles, like a huge spindle floating on the sea. The island is lush with trees, the sound of night birds chirping one after another, and the scenery is very good, and it has nothing to do with the Alcatraz Island that Ade's mouth said. The reef outside the island is full of rocks, and the waves crash on the shore, if outsiders rush in, let alone land on the island, this reef area will destroy his ship and kill people.

"The terrain is treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and these pirates really know how to choose places." As soon as the tower lifted its breath and ran towards the island, the uncontrolled boat was swept up four or five feet high by the huge waves, and when it fell, it just fell on the reef, and it immediately fell apart.

"Looks like we'll have to buy a new boat for Ade." The tower thought to himself, his feet kept into the forest, there were defensive fortifications everywhere along the way, the combination of tunnels and caves was very reasonable, and there were many gun emplacements set up in high places, and the black barrels stretched out from the bushes, although the range of this kind of cannon was not far, but it still gave people a strong deterrent. Tie Ta is absolutely sure that there is no country in Nanyang that can compete with its naval strength, and this Chen Mazi is really a rare talent. To be honest, since going to sea, the tower has never been so appreciative of a person, if it is in Taoyuan country, he will definitely not hesitate to take on the task, but unfortunately this is Huaxia, anyone who damages the reputation of the country has only one end, that is, ruthless extermination.