Zheng Qin returned quickly from the northern suburbs.
Zhu Mo was overjoyed—
This time,
Zhao Shizhen had sent another thirty Iron Bodhisattvas, plus fifteen hundred muskets. It had only been two months, showing that this man had been working day and night.
Fifteen hundred muskets,
Thirty-five Iron Bodhisattva cannons,
Coupled with Oda Nobunaga’s stab in the back from behind, a thorough annihilation battle should be enough to completely wipe out the Japanese pirates. Even in the future, there would only be sporadic pirates. By then, if Yu Dayou’s large ships were also equipped with cannons, the Great Ming Navy would naturally rank first, and recapturing Malacca would only be a matter of time.
…
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The next day,
Although Zhang Juzheng issued three strict orders, the situation in Hangzhou remained tumultuous.
Many people did nothing else, getting up early to follow and wander around. Moreover, Luo Longwen’s schemes were increasingly vicious, and while they dared not smash and loot, they began to incite Zhu Mo to ascend the throne. In the morning, only a few people were clamoring, but by noon, hundreds of thousands of people had gathered outside the Ci Ren Shrine.
Appalling banners were hung, bearing terrifying words—
“Ten thousand Qi slaves in Jiangnan, supporting Zhu Mo!”
“The Emperor emerges from the Sanjiang Estuary!”
“Ten thousand Qi slaves plead with tears of blood!”
“Chancellor Zhu is the reincarnation of Emperor Taizu!”
“…”
All sorts of words were just shy of outright rebellion, but because they were just shy, the authorities truly had no way to deal with them. These words, taken separately, could have other interpretations, but when combined, the meaning was crystal clear.
Furthermore, these people were indeed all Qi slaves, and while the words on the banners were not spoken, they shouted them out with gusto—
“Chancellor Zhu’s virtue matches that of ancient and modern times!”
“Zhu Mo rescues the people and punishes the wicked, ruling by virtue and the Mandate of Heaven!”
“Please Chancellor Zhu be the judge for the people of Jiangnan!”
“Support Chancellor Zhu to rebuild the Great Ming!”
“Down with the Grand Secretariat! Chancellor Zhu decides everything!”
“…”
All sorts of slogans were shouted like a mountain roar, but upon listening carefully, although they were highly taboo, there was still no absolute certainty of convicting them of rebellion.
It was obvious,
These were organized by Yan Maoqing and Luo Longwen, and they had been instructed beforehand, with what to say clearly designed.
Zhang Juzheng, who had been in the inner hall, was suddenly furious upon hearing the chaotic words and strode out, shouting, “You ignorant peasants, if you continue to speak nonsense, this ministry will arrest you all!”
“Hahaha!”
“Bah!”
“Zhang Juzheng wants to arrest Qi slaves!”
“What is Zhang Juzheng worth!”
“Zhu Mo’s lapdog!”
“The defeat at Taizhou was caused by Zhang Juzheng! He cut off military supplies!”
“Zhang Juzheng, you traitor! Ask Chancellor Zhu to speak!”
“Zhang Juzheng, traitor!”
“Zhang Juzheng, traitor!”
“…”
And Zhang Juzheng, being who he was, his sharp gaze had already noticed more than ten people lurking suspiciously among the Qi slave crowd. Every vicious word was first cursed by these few individuals, and then the others followed suit.
He coldly surveyed the scene, snorted, and turned back inside, saying to Ma Ziqiang, “Tiqian, keep a close watch. If anyone says a single wrong word, you arrest them immediately!”
“Yes!”
Although he agreed verbally, he thought to himself: Luo Longwen and Yan Maoqing were instigating from behind, making it difficult to grasp evidence. Ultimately, this chaos was caused by the defeat of the government army. The Yan family had nearly ten thousand Japanese pirates at sea, and even if the imperial court sent a large army, it might not be able to deal with them…
…
At this time,
Zhu Mo was full of ambition and had roughly designed a tactic—
In the narrow waters of the Zhoushan Islands, relying on coastal artillery, and equipping large ships with musketeers and cannons, they might be able to heavily damage the Japanese pirates. However, to lure the Japanese pirates into a decisive battle in the Zhoushan area, a bait was needed, and the most suitable bait would be Yu Dayou’s Fujian-Zhejiang navy. But would Yu Dayou agree?
He couldn’t worry about these things for now and could only continue his deductions. Because in the final analysis, no matter how much the situation stirred, the ultimate pillar was the ten thousand or so Japanese pirates at sea. As long as the Japanese pirates were defeated, all of Yan Song and his son’s tricks would immediately become a joke. The more lively they were now, the more loopholes they would leave. By then, following the established pattern, another round of arrests would ensue, and these people would be completely satisfied…
This time, without experts like Li Wenjin and Ma Fang, and without knowledgeable people around him, he had to do it alone. For the entire day, on the map provided by the Directorate of Weaving, he meticulously marked everything. Troop deployments, fire distribution, and advance routes were all clearly drawn.
That night,
He instructed Lu Kun and Li Zhi not to leave the camp under any circumstances. He himself, along with Zheng Qin and a contingent of a hundred men, set off southwards that night.
…
The second night, Zhu Mo and his entourage arrived at Xiamen.
From Xiamen to Guangzhou at this time was a busy area for maritime merchants. Although most of them were smugglers, because of the influence of the Yan family and the Japanese pirates, the gentry and merchants in several coastal prefectures and counties secretly supported them, making them beyond anyone’s control. Yu Dayou had built this large ship navy ten years ago not with imperial funds, but through donations from coastal residents and proceeds from suppressing pirates.
Because of his unwavering determination, the Fujian-Zhejiang navy had become the backbone of the Great Ming today. However, in terms of organization, it was not a regular army under the Ministry of War, but Yu Dayou’s private retainers. This had long been an open secret in the Great Ming. What border general did not have their own retainer army? In fact, even Ma Fang of Xuanda came from a retainer army background.
The Fujian-Zhejiang navy was stationed in the Gulangyu area, and Yu Dayou’s headquarters were on the island.
At this time,
The two reported their names outside the camp on the shore. With some time to spare, they observed the naval base of this First Navy of the Great Ming from the shore.
Zhu Mo saw warships lined up, seemingly with some order, and couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. He said to Zheng Qin, “Zheng Qin, you are also from Fujian. How is this naval fort built?”
Zheng Qin had been following Zhu Mo since the Xuanda expedition. Although he had not been promoted, he felt it was the greatest fortune of his life to be the Thousand Commander of the Great Ming’s foremost musketeers. Moreover, this Chancellor Zhu’s actions were peculiar, often turning decay into magic, and he had long been devoted to him. He smiled and said, “Young Master Zhu, I don’t understand naval warfare. From the perspective of military common sense, this naval fort can advance or retreat, is not crowded at all, and is very easy to handle in an emergency. It should be a superior strategy.”
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo smiled and said, “What kind of person do you think Yu Dayou is?”
Zheng Qin sighed and said, “General Yu’s fate has been difficult; he is already famous in the Great Ming official army… Before, I didn’t understand him, but now it seems that many things are slanders from the traitors in the court… However, his fight against the Japanese pirates is different from Commander Qi; he eradicates them to the death…”
Zhu Mo nodded, thinking: Soldiers understand soldiers best. Yu Dayou’s thoughts were probably seeing the deep-seated conflict between two civilizations, which is why he fought the Japanese pirates desperately. And he always acted ruthlessly. Only then did the Japanese pirates, through the Yan faction, use all means to kill him. Fortunately, although the Yan faction colluded with the Japanese pirates, they never openly rebelled, and often needed Yu Dayou to keep them in check, which is why they have survived until today.
Just as he was about to ask further, a burly man strode out from within the camp, who was none other than Yu Dayou.
At this time,
He was dressed as a scholar and walked with great strides, giving a sense of Zhou Yafu of the Fine Willow Camp.
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Zhu Mo walked up and smiled, saying, “An unexpected guest, General Yu must be surprised, right?”
Although Yu Dayou was a little surprised, he smiled and said, “Chancellor Zhu, even if you hadn’t come, I was going to sail to Hangzhou these past few days, haha…”