Daming, originally wanted to destroy it, but the system came

Chapter 361 Taizhou Prefect: Pirates? No

In the next few days, Zhu Min did not leave in a hurry, but continued to stay in Dinghai County to appease the people.

During this period, Ningbo Prefecture also received the news and gave feedback.

Because the Japanese pirates have been wiped out, there is no need to send troops here, and it is very troublesome to come back and forth. After all, you need to take a boat.

So the prefect of Ningbo took some government officials and came by boat in person, and announced some political measures on the spot as compensation.

Zhu Zhen just watched from the sidelines. Even as a vassal king, he was not qualified to interfere in local political affairs.

But don't forget that now he still serves as the Imperial Envoy, and he carries Shang Fang's sword.

If the prefect of Ningbo didn't handle it properly, don't blame him for intervening.

Fortunately, the prefect of Ningbo was not stupid. He knew that Dingyuan County was suddenly attacked by Japanese pirates, and the Ningbo prefecture did not notice it in time, which can be regarded as an oversight.

So the prefect of Ningbo compensated by reducing taxes on the entire Dinghai County.

Including the losses of some common people, Ningbo Prefecture will also compensate them.

"Your Highness, are you satisfied with the way this is handled by this official?" The Ningbo magistrate finally asked Zhu Zhen for instructions.

"Why are you asking me? You are the parent officer of Ningbo Mansion," Zhu Zhen waved his hand, turned around and greeted: "Sister, Xin'er, we should go."

The Japanese pirates that should be eliminated have been eliminated, and the aftermath has been dealt with. It is time to continue on the road.

This is just a small episode.

Although the Japanese pirates are very harmful, the troops they attack each time are not many. This time they are already very large, with only more than a thousand people.

After all, how many people are there in the entire Japanese country? The so-called Warring States period over there was just a few villages coming together to fight.

So you really don’t need to take them too seriously.

From now on, I will destroy it when I have time.

As for now, Zhu Zhen has more important things to do.

So they embarked on a voyage to the outlying island together with the Ningbo magistrate and his party. What was even more coincidental was that when taking a boat at the pier, Zhu Chu also met the captains of the two previous ships.

"Wang Fu, give me the money, as well as the money from last time." Naturally, Zhu Min would not refuse to pay, and asked the two boatmen with a smile: "How about it? I won't die here so easily, right?"

The two boatmen looked at each other and knelt down on their respective decks.

"I don't know that you are His Royal Highness the King of Dian. I have offended you many times before. Please forgive me."

Zhu Ming smiled and said: "Don't blame those who don't know. Get up."

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief, but after they got up, they kept saying that they did not dare to accept the silver ingot given by Wang Fu, and said: "Your Highness, how dare we ask for your money. We have already heard about what happened on the island. I know it was you who eliminated the Japanese pirates and protected everyone. We are grateful to you before it is too late."

Most people in coastal areas have been harmed by Japanese pirates, either personally, or by people they know, or even relatives.

So they hated the Japanese pirates to death, and at the same time they were even more grateful to Zhu Ming.

Including when Zhu Chu left, all the people in Dinghai County spontaneously came to see him off. Until this time, there were still many people on the pier on the shore looking at Zhu Chu, with their eyes full of gratitude.

If Zhu and the others hadn't happened to land on the island, even if there was a systematic alarm, it would be too late to arrive in time.

Because the Japanese pirates attacked from the sea, there is no so-called territorial sea today. In other words, theoretically, the Ming Dynasty has no maritime domain. The alarm system will only take effect when they set foot on the Ming Dynasty land.

However, when the Japanese pirates began to persecute the people on the island, it was too late to sound the alarm.

I can only say that these Japanese pirates are so unlucky.

Of course, Tang Xin also deserves credit.

Her original intention was to go to the island and see the place where she had stayed, and she also had the idea of ​​introducing Li Cunzhao to Zhu Chu.

But even without Tang Xin's recommendation, now, I'm afraid Li Cunzhao would be impressed by Zhu Chu's personal charm.

One day when Zhu Zhen is really ready to build a navy, Li Cunzhao will be of use.

Including many of Tang He's old troops, such as the troops he trained on the coast before, will also provide assistance.

It's just not the time to enable them yet.

In the end, Zhu Zhen still forced the two boat owners to accept a piece of silver ingot as ship money.

"Oh, too much, too much, too much."

They are also very down-to-earth. People on the island usually only get a few copper coins, and they only earn a little hard-earned money.

Zhu Ming said nonchalantly: "Take it. It's still very troublesome to get in and out of the island now. I can only rely on you ferrymen to transport it back and forth. I just hope you can be more conscientious and don't easily raise prices to make things difficult for the people. When the time is right in the future, , strive to build a bridge here to facilitate people’s access and develop the island’s environment.”

Build a bridge? on the sea? And the distance to this sea is not short.

Everyone was stunned by Zhu Xi's idea.

The prefect of Ningbo opened his mouth and closed it again.

Zhu Ming knew that many of his ideas could not be easily believed by others, and they might even think that he was talking nonsense.

But one day, when Yunnan starts to exert its force, the whole world will be a little shocked.

Thinking of Yunnan, Zhu Xi's mind began to come alive.

So when he entered Ningbo City again on the shore, Zhu Zhen refused the Ningbo prefect's offer to arrange a place for him to rest. Instead, he summoned the previous guards and called Niu Sheng and his 6,000-man troops to join him. Get on the carriage and get ready to continue setting off.

After leaving Ningbo Mansion, Zhu and his party walked along the seaside. The next stop was Taizhou Mansion.

It was now late April.

Taizhou Prefecture is not far away and is in a seaside environment, so like Ningbo Prefecture, spring here has also ushered in warm and blooming flowers.

You can even see many people starting to work in the fields along the way.

Such a prosperous scenery made Zhu Zhen feel very good.

However, he did not want to recite poems and compose poems. Ever since Xu Miaojin and Tang Xin saw the clues last time, Zhu Ming felt embarrassed to copy poems again.

Anyway, he didn't make a living by showing off his knowledge.

Soon, after entering the territory of Taizhou Prefecture, the group arrived at Taizhou City in a mighty manner.

As soon as they entered the city, the prefect of Taizhou Prefecture got the news and hurriedly came to greet him with drums and gongs.

Zhu Chu had been away from Beijing for so long, and even though he had never worn the luxurious dragon-patterned python robe along the way, he still liked the red python robe from before.

After all, who doesn't like a comfortable living environment? His python robe is of top quality craftsmanship, it is simply a work of art, and it is comfortable to wear.

But ever since he was given a bright yellow dragon-patterned python robe by Lao Zhu Yu, he has been reluctant to thank him.

He is not the arrogant type of character.

Whether it is the identity of the Imperial Envoy or the identity of Zhu Zhen as the prince, they have attracted the attention of almost the entire city.

The people didn't come out spontaneously to greet him, but they were more curious about Zhu Chu.

After all, there are no vassal kings in the coastal areas here, and ordinary people don't have the opportunity to see people of this level on weekdays.

But after looking at it, they discovered that the prince was just like them, with one head and four limbs and five senses?

I thought the prince could make any difference.

(Zhu Zhen: What do you think you do with me?)

The accompanying army was led by Wang Fu and went to the camp in the city for the time being, so I won't mention it for now.

Now the only generals leading the army are Wang Fu and Niu Sheng. Last time, Niu Sheng was asked to lead the army, but he heard about the Japanese pirates' attack. This is called regret.

So this time, no matter what, I will personally follow His Highness side by side.

Wang Fu didn't say anything.

There is also Li Gui who is also following Zhu Chu. I am afraid that the affairs of the Jiangnan family are coming to an end, and he does not need to investigate anymore, so he will follow Zhu Chu to patrol the world and return to Yunnan by the way.

And the one hundred guards will naturally not leave His Highness's side.

"Your Highness, several courtyards have been vacated in the backyard of the government office. Please take a rest. In the evening, I will host a banquet for you to wash away the dust," the prefect said cautiously. It was already afternoon, and it was long past lunch time, so we had to wait until the dinner party to hold the banquet.

Zhu Chu waved his hand: "These are not important. What you eat is not what you eat. Taizhou Magistrate, let me ask you a few things."

"Excuse me, Your Highness," the magistrate stood there with his hands hanging down, his head slightly lowered, as if listening.

"I heard that the seaside is prone to invasion by Japanese pirates. Not long ago, in Dinghai County, Ningbo Prefecture, I just wiped out a group of more than a thousand Japanese pirates."

In the past two days, Zhu Xi's force value increased by a thousand points. Except for the Japanese pirates who were eliminated in Dinghai County that day, it was obvious that those Japanese pirates who surrendered could not withstand the torture and died one after another.

But this is all a trivial matter. It's just that some beasts died, and they can also increase their force value, so they can be considered to be of some use.

The Taizhou magistrate lowered his head, with a flash of shock in his eyes. He didn't expect that His Highness would be so powerful that he could even eliminate such a large group of Japanese pirates?

That's right, a thousand Japanese pirates are already a very large team.

Especially in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there were many pirates in the name of Japanese pirates, but few of them were even real Japanese.

At this time, I heard Zhu Ming continue to say: "There are only one or two groups of Japanese pirates every year. I have eliminated one group this year, so they should not do it again."

"Your Highness is benevolent and righteous, Your Highness is mighty," the Taizhou magistrate quickly clasped his hands and shouted in praise.

"I don't need you to flatter me," Zhu Ming said in a funny tone: "If I am a person who likes to be praised for his achievements, please submit a memorial to my father. Isn't the praise from Emperor Hongwu higher than your flattery?"

The prefect of Taizhou laughed dryly and didn't know how to answer.

Do you compare the current His Majesty to me? And you compare His Majesty's praise to a subordinate's flattery?

You dare to say it, but I dare not accept it.

"Actually, what I want to ask is, besides the Japanese pirates, are there any other illegal and disorderly gangs on this beach?" Zhu Zhen asked unhurriedly, with a relaxed look on his face, as if he was just chatting.

The Taizhou magistrate was shocked. He raised his head and looked at Zhu Zhen. He opened his mouth and hesitated to speak.

"It seems there is," Zhu Ming nodded, speaking for the Taizhou magistrate what he had not said.

"There is such a group of people," the Taizhou magistrate lowered his head and said honestly: "I am not hiding it because I am afraid of being punished by His Highness, but there is actually something hidden in it. I dare not hide it from Your Highness, there is indeed a group of people He is active at sea, but he is more of a private businessman than a pirate."

"Oh?" Zhu Ming exclaimed noncommittally.

The Taizhou magistrate sighed and explained: "Actually, we merchants in the Jiangnan region have had business dealings with overseas countries before His Majesty founded the country."

Zhu Ming still knew this. During Zhang Shicheng's period, there were actually trade exchanges between Jiangnan merchants and the Japanese country.

"But later, when civil strife broke out in Japan, the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty didn't know who was the real emperor and who was the fake one. They couldn't make the decision themselves, and they still haven't come to surrender to us. Pay tribute. So His Majesty had to temporarily cut off contact with the Japanese country."

"But the Japanese country needed the Ming Dynasty's things very much, so the Japanese pirate rebellion began. And because the coastal defense line was too long, the Japanese pirates were elusive and difficult to guard against. Therefore, His Majesty once issued a decree prohibiting going to sea."

"So these people are not so much pirates as they are just businessmen who make a living. In order to avoid being punished, they disguise themselves as pirates."

The Taizhou magistrate told the true situation in 1511.

To put it bluntly, they are smugglers who ignore national laws, violate laws and disciplines, and take risks just for profit.

As the saying goes, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Isn’t it said that the greater the wind, the greater the fish?

It is already a crime for these merchants to go to sea to do business, so naturally they will not pay taxes to the country. Otherwise, wouldn't they surrender themselves?

Where does this tax money come from? From the maritime trade? Isn’t shipping banned?

Yes, you sent yourself in.

Not to mention that once various commodities from the Ming Dynasty arrived in neighboring countries, they were in short supply not only in Japan, but also in Luzon and the Ryukyu Islands.

One tael of silver goods in Ming Dynasty can be multiplied at least three to five times outside, and goods such as silk, porcelain, tea, etc. can even be multiplied ten times.

This is why people are so desperate that they break the law.

"There are really no pirates threatening the people?" Zhu Zhen confirmed again.

The prefect of Taizhou just shook his head.

Zhu Ming remembered Tang Xin's words before and couldn't help but sigh and said: "As long as it doesn't harm the people of our Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid that as the benefits get bigger and bigger, those people will become red-eyed, and in the end they will lose their capital." If you want to give it up, just do business without capital."

If they were just some smugglers, it wouldn't be a big deal, and Zhu Zhen didn't hate evil to such an extent.

The main reason is that Zhu Zhen is worried that it is still the early Ming Dynasty and these so-called pirates are not a threat yet, but if they are allowed to develop, they will be in trouble if they get worse.

After all, the sea is no better than land. The sea is so vast. It would be too difficult to destroy a group of pirates on the sea.

Don't let the problem of pirates arise again before the problem of Japanese pirates is solved.

At the same time, Zhu Ming also said: "The reason why my father wants to ban the sea is not because he is short-sighted, nor is he too old to be stupid."

The magistrate of Taizhou lowered his head and his whole body was trembling.

This is what you said and has nothing to do with me.

Zhu Ming continued nonchalantly: "The main reason for banning the sea is to worry about the problem of Japanese pirates. Those wolves, tigers and leopards are not something ordinary people can resist. But don't worry, when the root causes of Japanese pirates are solved one day, by then, the seaside It will be safe and the sea ban will be lifted."

The Taizhou magistrate suddenly raised his head and wanted to solve the root cause of Japanese pirates? Are you talking about Japan?

This is the time when big things are going to happen.

"Okay, that's what I want to ask. Since it's nothing big, go ahead and get busy." Zhu Ming sent the Taizhou magistrate away, and then he got up and walked to the backyard.

Xu Miaojin and Tang Xin took the carriage to the backyard first, and had packed up all their belongings. They were squatting in front of a wooden box with curious expressions on their faces.

Zhu Ming saw this scene when he came in, and couldn't help but said in a funny voice: "You can open it if you want to see it, there are no outsiders."

Tang Xin no longer belongs to outsiders?

That was the box used to store twelve machine guns. There was hay inside for shock absorption to prevent bumps and moisture from corroding the parts of the firearms.

These are all treasures, and if they are damaged somewhere, they can only be replaced but not repaired, which is very troublesome.

In Dinghai County before, Tang Xin saw the power of these mysterious weapons, but never had the chance to ask clearly. Now that he saw it again, he finally couldn't help but be curious and asked: "What on earth is going on with the firearms here? I I have seen fire blunderbuss and magical arrows, but I have never seen any firearm with such power."

Tang Xin was not the eldest daughter of an ordinary family. She was born in a family of military commanders and was the daughter of Tang He. Even if she had never played with today's firearms, she had seen it before.

But how can a mere fire blunderbuss or magical arrow be compared with this kind of modern weapon.

With a rate of fire of several thousand bullets per minute and a terrifying effective range, this level of lethality can be said to be invincible in this era.

Zhu Chu came to the edge of the wooden box, took the initiative to open the box, took out a machine gun and held it in his hand.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply shocked before. Just seeing these secret weapons in Zhu Yu's hands, he already understood how Zhu Yunwen could fight with his eighteenth uncle? Can't beat it at all.

Zhu Zhen also communicated with Zhu Yuanzhang and said that the origin of these weapons was mysterious and could not be manufactured or imitated in the current era. Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang would have wanted to mass-produce them so that he could wipe out the surrounding countries in one fell swoop.

It's not Zhu Yu who wants to dominate the world, but Zhu Yuanzhang?

Lao Zhu is also very ambitious.

It's a pity, let alone current industrial technology. Even in the industrialization era, we need modern industry to produce such sophisticated weapons.

All of this must be done slowly and cannot be rushed.

Zhu Ming also asked the guard to take out a box of bullets, take out a bullet chain and hang it at the bullet entrance, and then waved to Tang Xin.

Tang Xin had already guessed his intention and walked over with an expectant look on his face.

Zhu Zhen handed the gun to Tang Xin first.

With Tang Xin's strength, it would be no problem to pick up a machine gun.

But Zhu Chu stretched out his hand to pull Tang Xin's shoulders so that her back was facing him, and without hesitation he put his arms around her.

"Yeah," Tang Xin whispered, and was suddenly hugged by Zhu Chu. She couldn't bear it. Her pretty face turned red at that time, and she wanted to get out.

Zhu Zhen laughed secretly in his heart and said: "Don't move. You know how terrifying this thing is. Don't accidentally hurt one of your own."

Tang Xin didn't dare to move and said, "Let me go quickly. What will happen to me?"

Zhu Ming said calmly: "Don't worry, I don't want to take advantage of you. Come on, I'll teach you how to shoot."

(End of this chapter)