Hearing the report of the visitor, Wei Chong's whole person seemed to have been hit by a blunt object, and his mind was dizzy. He has always considered his island to be outside the law www.biquge.info Since Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, Chongming Island had sent officials to check, but after being driven away, no one dared to come to ask.

"Inform everyone on the island, keep their duties, enter the battle preparations, and wait for me to go and see what is going on!" Wei Chong said as he strode out.

"That'...... They?" one of the little minions asked, pointing to Ye Cheng and the others.

"Give them to Old Scar, and say that work will start tonight, and he will understand. Wei Chong paused for a moment, then disappeared into the dark dungeon.

At this time, outside the prison, it was already a different scene. The entire sea area on the shore of Chongming Island was almost surrounded by warships. I saw that these warships were connected in a ring, the iron cable crossed the sea, stretched endlessly, as far as the eye could see, there were more than 200 of them, and each bow was carved with a giant dragon, the momentum was magnificent, the scene was magnificent, it was really difficult to repeat!

At this moment, the shore seemed to be covered by the hull of a ship in an instant, and only the dark brown deck and the hull of the carved dragon could be seen. Each ship is forty-four zhang long and eighteen zhang wide, not to mention these doormen and minions on Chongming Island, even the entire Ming Dynasty has never seen such a majestic warship.

On each of these great ships, the twelve sails swung with the wind, making a fierce whirring sound. Under the sails of the largest head ship in the center, a man stood proudly on the bow of the ship. I saw that this man was of medium height, with a ruddy face, dressed in a crimson embroidered robe, with a plain gold belt tied around his waist, and a gold-trimmed lychee pattern on the front of the robe shining under the torches.

"Lord Zheng, everything has been arranged, just wait for your order!" a scout next to him bowed to the man at the bow of the ship.

And this person known as Lord Zheng is Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures sent by Ming Chengzu Zhu Di to sail west to find the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen.

Listening to the scout's report, Zheng He nodded calmly and ordered: "Order all ships, without my order, no one is allowed to act rashly, and wait for their island master to arrive, I have my own arrangements." ”

Scout Nuo Nuo retreated, Zheng He looked at Chongming Island, and his heart was filled with infinite waves. In the past, he was torn apart by body and mind, but now no one dares to laugh at him as a eunuch, years of humiliation seem to have come to an end, his current identity is the Western General Army, the fourth rank of the court, the task he received, related to the fate of a country, what a trust, and how noble!

But on this trip, his mind has been haunted by the admonition of his master, the "black-clothed prime minister" monk Daoyan.

It was a cool afternoon, and Yingtianfu, which had just been baptized by the rain, ushered in a rare coolness, and in the inconspicuous mansion of Monk Daoyan, Zheng He stood with his hands down, waiting for the master's admonition. Their master and apprentice have always been like this, even though Zheng He's position has been rising over the years, but in front of Monk Daoyan, he has always been respectful.

"Sanbao, no, Master Zheng, do you know the importance of this trip?" Dao Yan liked his apprentice very much, but he never taught him martial arts, what he taught Zheng He was all the strategy of strategizing and supporting the country.

"Master, if you call yourself an apprentice like this, don't you want to torment Zheng He? In front of you, there will never be any Master Zheng. Zheng He smiled respectfully.

Dao Yan looked at Zheng He and said, "No, although this incident is about the country, it is more about your personal fate, do you know?"

Zheng He hurriedly restrained his smile, knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Apprentice is dull, please teach the master!"

"What did you bring with you on this trip?" asked Dao Yan.

"There were 270 warships, 25,000 soldiers, 80 generals and colonels of all ranks, 1,028 miscellaneous servants, 500,000 taels of silver, and all the necessary daily supplies. Zheng He replied with the truth at all.

"There are more than 20,000 elite soldiers, and eighty generals who can fight habitually, but you only bring 500,000 taels of silver?" asked Dao Yan.

Zheng He said: "Exactly, now that the battle of Jingyan has just passed, many places are full of devastation, Ying Tianfu is in ruins, there are many displaced people, and the Yellow River has been flooded for many years, and the country is using money, so it is ......."

"So you are smart and take it for granted that you can share the worries of the master, thinking that bringing less money can make the country prosperous and the people prosperous?"

"No...... No, master, I'll ...... apprentice" Zheng He didn't understand why the master suddenly became angry, panicked and trembled, and the big beads of sweat on his forehead instantly dripped down.

"Do you know why our master and apprentice, a monk and a eunuch, have been so favored by the emperor? Dao Yan's tone seemed to soften a little.

"In vain...... The apprentice is dull, please teach the master. Zheng He Nuo said.

Dao Yan sighed: "The reason for this is in our identity. A monk has no desires and no desires, and even if he asks for something, how can he be tolerated by the temple? And a eunuch is even more so. Chengzu trusts us, because it is impossible for us to threaten his rule, we are out-and-out slaves who share the worries of the master. ”

Although Zheng He knew in his heart that he was a eunuch, he was still unwilling to accept his master's point of view for a while.

"Do you think what I said doesn't make sense?" Dao Yan stared at Zheng He coldly.

Zheng He raised his head slightly to look at Dao Yan, not daring to speak.

"In fact, the emperor also wants us to ask for something, but this kind of demand must be able to reflect our nothingness, only in this way can we protect ourselves and retreat in this political whirlpool. Since ancient times, accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger, and how many people have given their lives in vain because they can't understand this truth. Daoyan said.

"In vain...... The apprentice still doesn't understand. Zheng He was even more puzzled by Daoyan's words.

"Have you heard Xiao He's story?" asked Zheng He.

"Xiao He is the founding father of the Han Dynasty, and he has been known as Xiao Guicao since ancient times, and he has heard some of them. Zheng He replied.

"Then have you heard that once Han Gaozu went on an expedition, Xiao He was in charge of the country. Han Gaozu was suspicious of Xiao He outside, Xiao He was very frightened when he heard the wind, and asked Zhang Liang, who asked Xiao He to buy a farmhouse, search for money, and enjoy himself all day long. Dao Yan said.

"Is there such a thing?" Zheng He had never heard of it.

"Yes, Xiao He was quite puzzled at first, but he still did what Zhang Zifang said, and for a while the people were full of resentment, and the impeachment report documents in the government and the opposition were thrown like snowflakes into the Han Gaozu battalion commander outside. But Han Gaozu was very happy when he saw it, because he knew that Xiao He, who was greedy for money, would not have any ambitions, and would not pose any threat to his rule. Dao Yan said slowly.

Zheng Hehui was full of blue heart, and he suddenly understood the master's intentions at this time.

"Master, you mean to let me collect more money and pretend to be greedy for money, so that Emperor Chengzu will know that I have no ambitions and plans, and I can avoid disasters, right?"

Dao Yan looked at Zheng He with satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "That's right, people have no desire to be close, they must have a long-term plan." As emperors, this is exactly the type of courtier they are most taboo and afraid of. So what an emperor cares about is not how much work you can do, but whether you can make him feel solid while working. ”

"The apprentice understands, if there is no master's order, the apprentice is afraid that this time he will be more than lucky. Zheng He bowed down again and kowtowed.

Before leaving, Zheng He asked Zhu Di, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty who met him, that he did not want any position, but only led the team south as a eunuch of the inner government, and proposed that he only wanted to bring more gold silk. Zhu Di smiled, because a person who is greedy for money is far more reassuring to him than a person who is greedy for power. Therefore, not only did he not reduce Zheng He's position, but instead asked the imperial court to allocate six million taels of silver, and all kinds of special treasures were full of sweat, which was enough to carry ten main ships......

At this time, a drifting leaf fell on Zheng He's face, interrupting his memories, he lifted his spirits, looked around Chongming Island, and couldn't help but sigh secretly: "Yes, if it weren't for the master, I'm afraid that when I return to Yingtian this time, it will be the day my head falls." ”

At this moment, but seeing the fire in the dense forest not far away, more and more gathered, presumably the island owner Wei Chong arrived. Zheng He held it high with his hand, waved the flag, ten warships lowered the deck, and walked down from the ship eight hundred sturdy soldiers, each helmet was bright, and the spirit was vibrant, only to see eight hundred people disembark from the ship and stand on both sides, Zheng He also slowly descended from the middle of the big ship, his first stop this time is to start from this Chongming Island.

After Wei Chong left, Ye Cheng's hands and feet in the dungeon were tied more tightly, he couldn't help but look at Lu Li and Zhong Qing next to him, but it was not much better, especially the drunken Taibai Lu Li, because the reputation of the Six Heroes was outside, and the minions were very jealous of his martial arts, so they took extra "care", and tied Lu Li firmly like a zongzi, except for the eyeballs, other places were incapacitated.

After the minions were tied, one of them took the lead and said, "Let's go, send it to Old Scar, so that we can make a difference." ”

Ye Cheng, Zhong Qing and Lu Li were blindfolded, their mouths were stuffed with rags, and they were packed in three sacks, Ye Cheng only felt that his body was floating, and he felt like he was being set up, and then he felt his body move upside down, knowing that these minions were going to send them to Lao Scar to hand over.

The three of them were tied up in a cloth bag, and there were words of suffering, Ye Cheng couldn't help laughing at himself in his heart: "Ye Cheng, Ye Cheng, I didn't expect that you haven't been able to break through this river and lake, and your mother's last wish has not been completed, and you are about to die in Huangquan, it's really bad luck." It's a pity that Qing'er also has to be buried with me, she could have followed her father Zhong Wanhou to travel the mountains and rivers, there is endless money to spend, and endless beautiful scenery, but now she wants to die with me, so that my heart is at peace. There is also my master, who taught me such a stubborn apprentice, and has not yet graced the master's face, but he has met the king of Hades with the master. ”

Ye Cheng thought about it like this, only to feel that everyone had been gone for about an hour, and suddenly there was a "bang", and then the three of them all felt a burst of pain, thinking that these minions were bad, and when they arrived at the place, they fell to the ground hard.

Ye Cheng listened carefully through the burlap bag, but when he heard a minion, he said: "Old Scar, I haven't worked for a long time, right? ”

"When I did this, you weren't born yet, why should you go, don't get in my way here, I'll return to the owner." A deep voice said, Ye Cheng heard it clearly, it was the old scar that crossed the river for them.

The minion seemed to be bored, snorted, and said stupidly: "Okay, you just watch it, don't blame the master for not reminding you if it's messed up." Brothers, let's go!"

Ye Cheng only heard the sound of footsteps on the ground, and gradually from near to far, it was obvious that the minions had returned to the village. After the footsteps were completely hidden, Ye Cheng began to shout "woo", although he couldn't make a sound, he also hoped that the old scar would understand and untie their cloth bags first.

However, Scar did not untie their sacks, as if Scar didn't care about what was in the bag, he just loaded the three of them onto the small broken boat like carrying bags of wheat, and then propped up the oars and headed for the river.