Jiapingguan Chronicle

"I didn't expect that although they are robbers and pirates, they are still very caring, right? They also know how to maintain peace on the sea. It's incredible!" Xue Ruitian touched his chin and looked at it with the same doubtful expression. Jin Jing turned to look at Shen Zhonghe and said, "Master Shen, to be honest, I don't really believe it."

"Master Marquis, if Xianguan hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Xianguan wouldn't have believed it. Besides, Xianguan had seen such a scene more than once or twice. Later, Xianguan captured several leaders of the sea pirates, and also I asked them why this was happening, and their answers surprised me."

"Oh?"

"Okay, let's go off topic for now." Shen Zhonghe took two sips of tea, smiled at everyone who looked over, and explained, "Xiaoguan said, why do you, as a pirate, have to protect the people on the sea? Order, why do we need to help passing fishing boats and small merchant ships? The leaders said that it is so that they can rob large merchant ships and those ships that come from foreign countries to pay tribute on the sea for a long time. "

"How long? In other words, they are worried that if the bad reputation of this sea area spreads, fishing boats, merchant ships, etc. will take a detour, and they will no longer have such capitalless business to do in the future, right?"

"The Marquis is wise, that's what they mean." Shen Zhonghe nodded fiercely, "Their idea is very simple, there are not so many twists and turns, on the one hand it is to maintain the reputation of this sea area, on the other hand It is to show their strength and tell those little pirates and water bandits who have no eyes who is the boss of this sea area. Similarly, it also tells them that the fishing boats and small merchant ships in this sea area are all covered by them. , be more bright with your tactics and don’t grab everything.”

"This kind of idea is very strange, but it's not the first time I've heard of it. I've known a little before." Shen Cha touched his chin and looked at Shen Haolin, "Actually, it's a bit like those mountain kings who fell into trouble and turned into bandits. They are not They robbed all the cavalry and caravans. Except for the government's cavalry, they did not dare to move. There were also some small caravans, which they did not know how to rob. They said that these were people who worked hard to make a living, and they were not rich or poor. Why should anyone make things difficult for the poor, right?”

Shen Haolin didn't speak, but nodded slightly.

"Isn't this a coincidence? The general and the leader of the pirates also said the same thing. It seems that they are all the same. They said that if they blindly rob all ships and everything, it will not be good for them in the long run. and continue this kind of activity. Moreover, they are different from the horse bandits and mountain bandits who dominate the mountains. They have a fixed place to put the things they robbed. They don’t even have a fixed place. Today, they robbed the Xi family's boat and filled the warehouse. Before they could take action, they robbed the owner's boat. When they wanted to get rid of the dirty things in their hands, their colleagues came to rob them again. How could they? Isn’t it worth the loss?”

"In this case..." Xue Ruitian frowned slightly, "Not much, right?"

"There is actually no difference between the sea and the land. This situation is quite common. Moreover, there are factions at sea. Those small pirates who are not strong enough to support themselves will attach themselves to the big pirates, or they can If you speak a little Japanese, you can also go and stay with the Japanese for two days. Gradually, many different pirates have formed. They know each other and compete with each other. You rob me and I rob you. Sometimes, the surface of the sea It’s very lively up there too!”

"Sounds interesting?" Shen Jiu yawned, "In this way, it seems to be a bit similar to Jianghu sect."

"It is indeed the case."

"Those sea pirates are like sects in the rivers and lakes. They have their own fans and their own territory. Then these people come together to discuss a maritime rule, such as what kind of ships cannot be robbed and what kind of people cannot be touched. , if someone breaks this rule, he will be kicked out, or until he is beaten down, is that what it means? If someone doesn't obey, instead of following this rule, he can go out and work alone, right?" See? Shen Zhonghe nodded, and Shen Jiu stretched out, "It's interesting. They robbed the doorway."

"What the young general said is that when the subordinates heard about it for the first time, they were also very surprised. I didn't expect that these people also know what it means to be willing." Shen Zhonghe chuckled lightly, looked around, and said, "You guys Do you know the origins of pirates and Japanese pirates?”

"I don't know much about the pirates, and I haven't had much dealings with them, but I still know a little bit about this Japanese pirate." A contemptuous smile appeared on Xue Ruitian's face, "Aren't the Japanese pirates just those Japanese? The war at home is over. When the poor couldn't afford food or clothing, the so-called guards of their masters would come out to be robbers and pay tribute to their masters for the things they grabbed, right? The Japanese near the seaside would pretend to be pirates and pretend to be good people during the day. They work as bandits at night. And those Japanese who live on the land try their best to grab things elsewhere."

"The Marquis is right, they are indeed like this. After all, ordinary people living on the island do not have the ability to do this. Therefore, their activity times are relatively irregular and intermittent. , if there is civil strife on their island, for example, the king of that town fights another king, they will definitely not have time to run out and rob the merchant ship. When the fight is over, the family will be counted, and the winner will definitely be They have food and drink, but the losing side has nothing to eat or drink, so they can only run out and become robbers.”

"To be honest, their little broken island can have several kings and so on. It sounds ridiculous!" Ying Wu crossed his arms and leaned against the door of the tent, "And it is said that when there are the most kings, There is a king among ten people."

"Absolutely." Shen Zhonghe nodded, "They are said to be warriors and warriors, but in fact they are no different from our ordinary people. Those who live near the sea are all ordinary fishermen. It is because they are on the island. The situation is too complicated, so I can only find a king to worship, which can at least keep myself and my family safe. But worshiping the king requires tribute, and they don’t know anything, so they can only run out and rob."

"Although they have their own difficulties, they don't deserve sympathy." Xue Ruitian glanced at Shen Zhonghe and said, "If they are not of my race, their hearts must be different."

"What the Marquis taught me, the official will remember."

"Hai bandits, huh? Do you know something about sea bandits?"

"What I know more about are pirates. Some of them are extremely vicious fugitives, and the other part are actually fishermen who live near the sea. For various reasons, they have no choice but to live on the sea. They can no longer live, so they just have to live on the sea." Can turn a fallen grass into a bandit."

"I know about fugitives. Most of them have committed capital crimes and are afraid of being caught by the government and losing their lives. They are already burdened with murder cases, so they don't care what kind of ship they rob. In order to survive, they will do anything, right?" Jin Jing smiled and said, "If you catch these people, they will die. Therefore, there is no difference between dying early and dying late. All they want is a short period of enjoyment. These people should be those incompetent water bandits and pirates." No? He was chased and beaten by those sea pirates, right?"

"Yes!" Shen Zhonghe nodded, "They want to hide not only from our navy, but also from those powerful sea pirates. Although they are very fierce, those sea pirates with many big ships and many people Kou, he is not a vegetarian either. Speaking of which, this is a chain of the weak and the strong, the big fish eats the small fish, and the small fish eats the shrimp."

"That's true." Xue Ruitian nodded, "Apart from these? What about those big pirates who have become popular?"

"There are fishermen from a long time ago who had no choice but to turn into bandits, and..." Shen Zhonghe looked at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha and Xue Ruitian, "Some nobles from the previous dynasty were like our family. They were persecuted by the late emperor. , ran to the sea. But they did not have a good life like us. They had a place to settle down, so they could only wander around. The family property they brought with them when they escaped was destroyed, and in the end they could only start the road of robbery. , because they are nobles, they still have some heart and backbone, so there are some principles for robbery. They know which ships can be robbed and which ships cannot be robbed, and they also have choices. It is because they have such rules that They attracted many people who could no longer live to follow them. Later, their power at sea became more and more powerful, and they gradually formed a scale." "Sea troubles have always been the biggest danger in our Daxia sea area, but no one has ever said that , there are still people like this among the pirates." Shen Haolin thought for a while, "Master Shen, are everything you said true?"

"The Duke of Guo is on top, and the lower officials dare not deceive the Duke of Guo."

"Okay, if your words are true, your country's guild will report it to the Holy Emperor to see if it can be recruited."

"The Duke is useless. They are used to being free and there is no way they can be recruited." Shen Zhonghe sighed softly, "It's not that Liu Shuai has never thought about this, but they don't trust any court. Many times, Daxia is different from the previous dynasty, but..." He shook his head slightly, "They said they would rather die in battle than be accepted by the imperial court."

"Why?" Shen Cha was a little confused, "Do they have something to hide?"

"There are indeed unspeakable secrets." Shen Zhonghe sighed softly, "The ancestors of several large-scale pirates today were all tricked by the late emperor. They were all once prominent families and nobles in Xijing City. Some of them were Damn it, only the female family members are left in the family. It is indeed not easy for these women family members to go from the capital to the south and then to the sea after going through so much hardship. We have captured several pirate leaders. Speaking of the previous dynasty , talking about the court, all with distrust, they said that they would rather die than accept the court's recruitment."

"Didn't you say that the current Daxia is different from the previous one?"

"I have said, even told them, that as long as they are accepted, they will not live such a wandering life. They can live peacefully on the land, and they can step on the land with both feet. There is no need to be that rootless duckweed. But they still disagree and say that there is no need to persuade. They have already lost confidence in the imperial court, neither the previous dynasty nor Daxia believe it."

"It seems that the last emperor committed a lot of evil back then, and even a hundred years later, these people are unwilling to believe in the imperial court." Shen Cha shook his head gently, "We will still tell His Majesty about this situation, look. How does Your Majesty want to deal with them. But the Japanese pirates must be exterminated. As the Marquis just said, those who are not of my race must have different intentions. Only by getting rid of them will we feel at ease."

"Yes!" Shen Zhonghe nodded seriously, "But regarding these pirates, I have a suggestion."

"What's your suggestion?" Shen Cha looked at Shen Zhonghe, "You want them to maintain their current situation, so that they can still maintain peace and order on the sea. Is this what you mean?"

"Yes!" Shen Zhonghe nodded, "The official has a reason for saying that."

"What's the reason? Tell me." Shen Haolin looked at Shen Zhonghe, "If your reason is valid, I will report it to you and seek His Majesty's consent for you."

"Thank you so much, Lord!" Shen Zhonghe stood up, took two steps forward, knelt on the ground, and said, "I think that the current calm on the sea can be maintained because the autonomy of these pirates is They are not pirates who rob for no reason. They will also eradicate disorderly pirates and pirates in order to maintain order on the sea. Their internal struggles can play a far greater role than ours. The division is much stronger, they know their respective strongholds and each other's weaknesses, and get the maximum reward with the minimum effort."

"That makes sense." Shen Cha nodded, "Is this the one?"

"The Duke, the Marquis, the General, this is just one of them." Shen Zhonghe stretched out two fingers, "There is also the second point."

"Tell me, what's the second point?"

"The second point is that if these large pirates are eradicated, then there will be no internal fighting between them, and those small fish and shrimps will inevitably emerge to dominate, which is not a good thing for us. . It’s better to let them fight and fight on their own than to have them sit around and cause trouble for us, isn’t it?”

"That makes sense." Shen Cha nodded and looked at Shen Haolin, who nodded slightly to her. She smiled and turned to look at Shen Zhong, "Does Master Shen have any other reasons?"

"No more at the moment. I am stupid and can only think of these at the moment."

"Then please get up. We will truthfully convey Lord Shen's views to His Majesty. If His Majesty needs detailed information, I'm afraid he will have to summon Lord Shen to the palace to discuss it in detail. At that time, Lord Shen will be required to explain in detail."

"Thank you so much, Lord Duke, thank you so much, Lord Marquis, and thank you so much, General."

"Master Shen, there is no need to thank us. We just agree with your point of view and help you pass on a message." Xue Ruitian looked at Shen Haolin and then at Shen Cha, "But the outcome of the imperial prelude depends on you. .”

"Yes!"