The morning glow on the horizon gradually faded, and the dark blue sea floated a little silvery white.

The tide crashes against the reef by the sea, and a square brick city sits on the east side of Senzhi Island, the gateway to the East China Sea of the Ming Dynasty, which slowly wakes up in the early morning.

Since the Governor's Palace had just sent out the military pay yesterday, many of the bloody soldiers had returned from the fireworks land in the north of the city, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

In the past, they were the lowest military households in the country, but after coming to the East China Sea to garrison here, they became a high-roller or benefactor in the eyes of North Korean women, after all, rich people are really uncles.

As for the emperor who paid them on time every month, it was naturally their Ming Jun, an emperor who could make them loyal from the bottom of their hearts.

"It's so rough every day, how many months is enough for you to squander?"

"No matter how rough it is, it is stronger than the beginning, not to mention that the emperor also saved us foreign gold!"

"You can't always compare it with before, you see that Liu Daniu's goods haven't spent a penny so far, and now he is thinking about buying a land and a house when he returns to China!"

……

The colonel had to practice every day, and Zhao Baihu couldn't help but preach when he saw that several of his soldiers went to the land of fireworks to send silver dollars.

It's not that I want to preach anything, but I see that they always spend silver dollars on women, so I think that they should be more modest, and it is the king to save some flowers and return to China to marry a wife and have children.

Xiaoqi Wei Dayan is their leader, and he is also a proper thorn: "Zhao Baihu, don't they all say now that they want to carry forward the spirit of 'empty talk to ruin the country, hard work to rejuvenate the country'?" You can rest assured, Liu Daniu's behavior will only take advantage of the court, I am a person who wants to do practical things for the court, and I am a good soldier when I receive His Majesty's reward! ”

"You kid want to receive His Majesty's reward? You just brag about it! Zhao Baihu glanced at Wei Dayan, looking very disdainful.

Wei Dayan was a bloody young man, and when he wiped his nose, he said arrogantly: "Zhao Baihu, you probably don't know what I did in the first place?" ”

"You stinky soldier, you are not even a small flag in China, what can you do?" Zhao Baihu didn't expect this thorn to want to brag, so he immediately spoke directly.

Several other sergeants also laughed at each other, they really couldn't have anything to do in the country.

Not to mention that there is no chance of meritorious service, even if he does make meritorious service, it usually does not fall on him, and there are really too many connections in the army.

Wei Dayan pointed to his eyes, but said very seriously: "Zhao Baihu, I really don't have a military position in China, but do you look at my big eyes?" My ancestors have been members of the search and inspection army for generations, and they are known as Wanping Divine Eyes, so I will be called Wei Dayan! This time it's our turn to search the passing ships, and I can guarantee that not a single hair will survive! ”

"Just blow it!" Zhao Baihu's eyes were indeed not big when he looked at Wei Dayan, but he still didn't believe in the authenticity.

Wei Dayan also wanted to leave a few more money to bring back to China, so he raised his chin and said provocatively: "If I want to have a harvest today, how about you invite me to Jin Qiaoqiao for a night?" ”

This......

The onlookers knew that Kim Qiaoqiao was the pillar of the fireworks field, and that the jade Xiao was so intoxicated that he heard that she was once a palace maid in the Joseon royal palace, and she was exiled to Jeju Island because of the jealousy of the princess.

Due to the large number of patrons, the price of a night has now exceeded one silver dollar, and even two silver dollars.

Although they actually have the spending power, they still choose the former when comparing a full month of romance with three minutes of happiness.

"Our imperial court has rewarded the smuggling of food and weapons, and now it has been valued by His Majesty. If you really have this ability, don't say one night, I will give you and her three nights in a row! As soon as Zhao Baihu summed it up, he directly promised.

Originally, they could catch some fish that slipped through the net, but since the officials of the Shanghai and Ningbo Shipping Divisions were reshuffled, the merchant ships here have become more and more legal.

In particular, after learning that there were unscrupulous merchants who sold the Ming woman to Japan, the various city shipping divisions searched the merchant ships more carefully, and the rewards given to the city shipping divisions were strengthened.

As a result, it is almost impossible for them to catch a fish that slips through the net, and now they will be rewarded even more if they do.

Wei Dayan actually knew that everything was slowly improving, but thinking of the cheating show that Shuntianfu could not eliminate, he knew that after all, it was a dog that couldn't change eating: "A word is a certainty!" ”

As expected, nothing was found even after checking the three ships.

"It's all old acquaintances, don't check this boat, right? It's hard work! ”

"The governor has an order, and those who dare to redeem their duties, kill! Even if I agreed, the soldiers below wouldn't dare to agree! ”

"Yes, anyway, I'm a law-abiding citizen, you guys check it carefully, if you really find out something, I'll apologize for it!"

……

Due to the considerable profits of maritime trade, there are often many familiar faces who come and go, and a housekeeper surnamed Xu talks to him familiarly.

In fact, these should not be underestimated, not to mention that these people can more or less have a little relationship with a few thousand households, and even the Wei State Mansion can also move out.

Xu Shiying's situation is relatively special, they Dingguo Mansion and Wei Mansion are of the same origin, so they have to sell a little face when they encounter the sea ships of Wei Mansion.

There was nothing suspicious about the ship's cargo neatly piled up, with the usual cargo of silk, ceramics and tea.

Knock Knock......

Suddenly, Wei Dayan found an unusual wooden plank on the floor of the cabin, and he tapped it hard, finding that the sound was dull, which was obviously different from the surrounding planks.

He immediately gathered his companions to study the strange plank.

After some effort, they finally removed the planks from the ground, revealing a modified cabin entrance.

The cabin was dim and cramped, but it was full of bags of grain. The grain was stacked neatly and stretched to the deepest part of the ship's hold.

"Take everyone down at once!" Zhao Baihu came over and saw the situation in the cabin, first stunned slightly, and then ordered angrily.

At other times, grain smuggling might not have been as serious as it is now, but now that the imperial court has made it clear that it wants to go to war with the Ouchi family, this kind of smuggling of strategic materials is simply treason.

Wei Dayan looked very excited, not because he could sleep Jin Qiaoqiao for three nights in a row, but because he caught the big fish this time and made a contribution to the imperial court.

"I want to see your governor!" Steward Xu didn't look scared, and said in a deep and weird way.

With his hands behind his back, he raised his head with his chest held high, and his eyes swept over the faces of the soldiers present, as if to declare his indomitable and arrogant attitude to them.

"What now?"

"Looks like he has a friendship with our governor?"

"This is an act of treason, can the governor help him?"

……

Wei Dayan was the hero who discovered the smuggling of grain, and now when he saw the other party's fearless appearance, he suddenly had no bottom in his heart, but he didn't think that the other party could get away with it.

Not to mention that the Governor is loyal to the emperor, even if the Governor really dares to shield this Steward Xu, and now that there are thousands of mouths here, Xu Shiying may not dare to make such a rebellious move.

Zhao Baihu hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to report.

"Our Governor can't be with you!" Huo Hai got the news and strode to the dock, but said coldly.

Steward Xu knew that Huo Hai was a general, and hurriedly took out a letter from his arms: "This is a letter from Wei Guogong!" Please also hand it over to Governor Xu, I believe that he can spare my life for the sake of Wei Guogong's face!" ”

"If the Duke of Wei dares to commit treason, there is no reason here, not to mention that you are still a businessman, don't you think that our governor will not be able to commit treason with you?" Huo Hai glanced at the letter handed over, but asked with anger suppressed.

When Steward Xu saw Huo Hai's gaze, his face instantly turned pale, without a trace of blood. He opened his mouth to say something, but found that he couldn't even say a complete word.

Oh, yes!

This smuggling of grain has been defined as treason, Xu Shiying is the emperor's minion, what reason is there to sell the face of Wei Guogong?

It's just that he doesn't want to die.

Steward Xu's body began to tremble, and he couldn't control his thoughts anymore, this letter was already his last hole card. If all the hole cards fail, how can he save himself?

"Traitors die, go on your way!" As if seeing a dead man, Huo Hai immediately pulled out the knife on his waist.

"No...... No! Steward Xu looked up and saw the knife being pulled out, but the voice was so faint that he could barely hear it.

He tried to get to his feet, trying to escape, but his legs seemed to be unconscious. He sat helplessly on the ground, letting despair and fear eat away at his heart.

Huo Hai's eyes flashed with a fierce look, and he looked very decisive.

Burst!

A stream of blood splattered, and Steward Xu's head rolled to the ground, and his eyes were open in disbelief, immediately shocking everyone present.

Huo Hai picked up Steward Xu's head and said aloud to the soldiers present: "The governor has an order, the Governor's Mansion of the East China Sea is not in the same place as the traitor, even if his father comes, it will not be easy to do it!" ”

"Our East China Sea Governor's Mansion is not in the same place as traitors!" Wei Dayan and the others were full of blood in their bodies, and they also shouted one after another.

With this lesson from the past, the maritime merchants who were subsequently found to be smuggling and wanted to go through the back door were all directly beheaded by the searched soldiers.

The governor's back door is not open, and the other generals have no reason to shield those who are related.

Most importantly, this has been defined as treason. Now that the soldiers of the Tokai Governor's Mansion are shouting loyalty to His Majesty every day, and they are ready to invade Kyushu Island at any time, how can they allow rice and grain to be transported to Kyushu Island?

Meanwhile, a merchant ship sails alone in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Suddenly, a three-masted galleon appeared on the horizon at some point, and then the sound of cannon was deafening, and the cannonballs pierced the sky with a sharp sound and slammed into the merchant ships.

The crew panicked and ran in all directions.

The ship's hull shook violently, flames flew everywhere, and the cargo on the deck flew away, before slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea. The crew jumped into the sea to survive, but the waves were rough and the chances of survival were slim.

Eventually, the smuggling merchant ship disappeared into the vast sea, but the ship never appeared, only debris and wreckage floating on the surface of the sea.

The Ming Dynasty's blockade of smuggled rice was not only at sea, but also various cities and shipping divisions have also begun to take action and are working hard to put an end to smuggling.

Shanghai County, on the wharf.

When Xu Hong learned that he had found another merchant ship smuggling rice, he went on board to check it himself.

Matsue's soldiers stood majestically at the bow of the ship, their eyes like torches, scanning every crew member. The smugglers who were revealed knelt on the deck, their heads not daring to lift, trembling as if waiting for the final judgment.

One of the smugglers, who seemed to be the ringleader, began to beg for mercy with a trembling voice: "Governor Xu, please spare your life!" The little ones were also confused for a while, so they embarked on this road of no return. Ask Governor Xu for mercy and let us live, the small ones will be rewarded! ”

His words were filled with fear and remorse, as if he had only truly realized the gravity of his crime at this moment. He kept kowtowing, and even had blood marks on his forehead, hoping that Xu Hong could give leniency for their first offense.

The other smugglers followed suit, kneeling on the ground and weeping bitterly, "Lord Fuzun, we really know that we are wrong!" Don't dare again! Please spare us this time! ”

"Traitor, die! All of them are sent back, and this government wants to see how many people dare to take risks to transport rice to Japan! It is naturally impossible for Xu Hong to walk past these traitors, and he is also gritting his teeth.

Due to the large amount of silver mined in Japan, and now they are hungry for food, more and more merchant ships are bewitched by the Jiang merchant gentry group.

It's just that now both the Shanghai and Ningbo Shipping Divisions have stepped up their scrutiny, and once they discover that the modified ship holds have hidden grain, they will directly arrest people for treason.

In order to deter the latecomers, they only had to report to the two governors, and they could also execute the traitors directly on the docks, and the blood stained a corner of the docks.

In fact, it is not only the maritime and municipal departments that are taking action, but also the local government has joined in.

Yangzhou Mansion, which was originally the hardest hit area of illegal salt.

Since Yangzhou Province is bordered by the East China Sea to the east, only a private wharf needs to be built to transport grain to sea vessels, which can then go directly to the Japanese island of Kyushu.

Originally, they disdained this kind of business, but now that the illicit salt has been cracked down on by the imperial court, they have also decided to take the risk and make huge profits by smuggling rice.

When night falls, on the pier.

The two cargo ships have been loaded, and this time they are preparing to set sail with a full load of grain. The smugglers were busy making final preparations, but they did not expect a sudden attack by the officers and soldiers.

Weng Peng, the deputy envoy for the transfer of the two Huaidu, led the officers and men to move quickly, some of them were responsible for surrounding the wharf and cutting off the escape route of the smugglers, while the other part rushed directly to the cargo ship with the intention of controlling the smuggled materials on board.

However, the smugglers were not unprepared, and when they saw that the situation was not good, they immediately organized a revolt.

For a while, the dock was full of fire, and the sound of swords colliding came and went.

The smugglers wielded their weapons and desperately resisted the attack of the officers and soldiers. Some of them were athletic and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with officers and soldiers; Others hid in the shadows and fired cold arrows to attack officers and soldiers.

In the face of the fierce resistance of the smugglers, the officers and soldiers of Yangzhou Prefecture did not flinch.

With their close cooperation and extraordinary courage, they gradually gained the upper hand. The officers and soldiers used shields to block cold arrows and spears to smugglers, and each attack was full of strength and determination.

In the fierce battle, the soldiers of Yangzhou Wei showed excellent combat quality.

Not only are they brave and good at fighting, but they also know how to take advantage of the terrain and tactics. From time to time, they scattered their attacks, leaving the smugglers at the expense of the other; From time to time, they concentrated their firepower to attack a stubborn defensive position.

After a fierce battle, the smugglers' resistance gradually weakened. Some of them were subdued by officers and soldiers, some fell to the ground wounded, and many more were directly beheaded by the heroic Yangzhou guards.

Eventually, after all the smugglers were apprehended, the fight against treasonous smuggling was a success.

"My lord, we've captured their leader!" A hundred households escorted the leader from the ship, but he wanted to invite credit.

When Weng Peng saw the little old man who was escorted over, he was immediately very surprised and said, "You are Gao Heng?" (End of chapter)