King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Since Zhu Tan arrived in Changguo County, he has indeed done a lot for the county in the few days since then.

A lot of supplies were unloaded from the warships, which also alleviated the famine among the people in Changguo County.

Now, he ordered his soldiers to help rebuild the city, so that at least they would have the ability to protect themselves.

As for the coastal areas that did not care about the life and death of Changguo County, Zhu Tan also wrote a memorial and sent it to the capital.

He was self-aware. Although he knew that there must be something wrong with the officials near Zhejiang, this was not something he, a prince, could control.

When it comes to dealing with officials, the old man has the final say.

"What difficulties do you have? Tell me directly, don't hide anything."

Zhu Tan looked at the soldiers who were repairing the city in the distance, turned to Wang Junliang and said, "If I can satisfy you, I will definitely find a way to satisfy you."

Upon hearing this, Wang Junliang's expression changed slightly, and he bowed respectfully: "Your Highness has done enough for Changguo County, this humble official..."

"You are a good official who serves the people."

Zhu Tan smiled and looked at Wang Junliang, saying, "I have already reported this matter to my father, and there will be follow-up soon."

"Don't worry, the court will do what it should do."

Zhu Tan's words clearly had a hidden meaning, but Wang Junliang did not respond and just bowed respectfully.

In fact, he couldn't say that he was very happy.

Changguo County was frequently harassed by Japanese pirates, causing severe losses. The county seat was almost destroyed, and the residents on the surrounding islands were all slaughtered. In addition, his close friend died in the battle, which made Wang Junliang unhappy.

But this is not the main reason.

Wang Junliang was very grateful for Prince Lu's help, but he also knew that although Prince Lu was very capable, he might not be able to influence the court's policies.

The Ming Dynasty had no maritime trade, and Emperor Hongwu once issued an order that no ship was allowed to go to sea. This was the fundamental reason.

To be disrespectful, the reason why the Japanese pirates were so rampant and the coastal areas were not peaceful was all because of this imperial edict.

If Emperor Hongwu did not change his mind and lift the maritime ban, islands isolated overseas like Changguo would be harassed sooner or later.

Even if it is not the Japanese pirates, there may be some other pirates, or even the bandits roaming around in the Ming Dynasty.

But Wang Junliang couldn't tell Zhu Tan about this, and he didn't dare to say it.

Zhu Tan glanced at Wang Junliang and knew that he was worried, so he didn't say anything and just smiled gently.

That night, Zhu Tan returned to the ironclad battleship, sipped tea, and looked at the rolling waves in the distance.

Tang He has already led his troops out on the expedition, and they should have reached the vicinity of Fujian in a day or so.

This matter will soon have results.

……

Two days later, Changguo.

Early in the morning, Ma He came to report that Ming's ironclad warships were spotted in the distance and were rapidly approaching Changguo.

Zhu Tan immediately knew that the person he was waiting for had arrived, and immediately ordered the small boat to set out to meet him.

Therefore, at noon, two ironclad warships slowly approached the shore. Zhu Di got off the warship with a frown, and Zhu Tan personally greeted him on his own warship.

Zhu Di was naturally in a bad mood this time. He looked at Zhu Tan with a smile on his face, snorted coldly, and went into the cabin on his own.

Zhu Tan could only follow behind with a smile. He still needed Zhu Di's help with something, so he couldn't provoke him again this time.

After entering the cabin, Zhu Di sat in the seat before Zhu Tan and poured himself some wine. He didn't even look at Zhu Tan when he came in.

"Fourth brother."

Zhu Tan sat down next to Zhu Di with a smile on his face.

He first glanced at Zhu Di's armor, which was completely free of blood, and then he spoke softly, "Have all the Japanese pirates on the Shandong coast been cleared?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di glanced at Zhu Tan and took a sip of wine: "How dare you ask me this?"

"How many Japanese pirates are there along the Shandong coast?"

"You asked me to take two ironclad warships to clean up the area, and you also said you would share the credit with me."

As he spoke, Zhu Di showed a hint of sneer on his face, and then said: "Three or five Japanese pirates, what is the credit you are sharing with me?"

"You're treating me, your fourth brother, like a soldier?"

Seeing that the fourth brother was about to get angry, Zhu Tan hurriedly said, "Fourth brother, you misunderstood. I definitely didn't mean that."

"At first, my younger brother was planning to chase the Japanese pirates to your side. If they went to Tamra, they would have run into my arms."

"That's nice to say."

Zhu Di rolled his eyes at Zhu Tan, drank the wine in his cup, and asked again, "I can see you when you come over."

"The Japanese pirate strongholds on the islands and reefs around Changguo were bombed to the ground, and the fragments of the shattered ships could be seen from a long distance."

"Is that how you chase them away?"

"Isn't this a temporary problem?"

Zhu Tan said: "We captured a few Japanese pirates and got some information."

"Some people in our Ming Dynasty are colluding with the Japanese pirates and were planning to capture Changguo County."

"That's why my younger brother changed his strategy at the last minute, and he didn't have time to inform my fourth brother."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di glanced at Zhu Tan but said nothing.

Zhu Tan's two sentences contained a lot of information, which touched Zhu Di's sensitive nerves and made him think more.

What does Lao Shi mean when he tells me this?

"Fourth brother, you came at the right time. I was worried that I didn't have enough manpower to clear out the Japanese pirates along the Fujian coast."

"Fourth brother, lead the warships directly to the south and bombard the pirate bases as soon as you see them."

"The area near Fujian is the home of the Japanese pirates. They have been entrenched in this area for many years. You will definitely be able to defeat them."

"You are setting a trap for me again, kid."

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Tan unhappily and said, "I beat up the Japanese pirates, what are you doing?"

"I catch moths."

Zhu Tan said: "Someone in Quanzhou, Fujian, helped the Japanese pirates deal with stolen goods, and they are suspected of collaborating with the enemy."

"My brother plans to investigate this matter and find more reasons to use force against Japan to shut up the civil officials in the court."

Hearing this, Zhu Di narrowed his eyes slightly, put the wine glass on the table, and asked again: "Where is Duke Xin?"

"Don't you have three warships under your command? Why do you only have one left now?"

"Old Ten, I find that you are not just a little dishonest now. Do you think you are too old and that your fourth brother can't handle you anymore?"

"no no."

Zhu Tan waved his hand hastily and said truthfully: "Duke Xin did lead his army to the Penghu Islands."

"There is intelligence that a large number of Japanese pirates are gathering over there."

"My brother only has three ships. He can't manage such a large sea."

"To tell you the truth, I'm staying in Changguo just waiting for you."

Zhu Di raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He thought carefully about Zhu Tan's words and said, "What information have you received?"

"There are tens of thousands of Japanese pirates entrenched along the coast of Fujian and near the Penghu Islands."

Zhu Tan said: "When our Ming Dynasty was first established, they took advantage of the war to harass the coastal areas."

"Over the years, their strength has gradually grown, and they are vaguely planning to occupy the Penghu Islands and turn this into a long-term business."

"My brother and father have requested permission to wipe out the Japanese pirates. If there are still some left, or if they have escaped, how can I tell father?" Zhu Di still felt that Zhu Tan was not telling the truth. He wanted to ask about the treacherous officials in Quanzhou, Fujian, but after thinking it over, he decided not to get involved in this mess.

He went to war with Zhu Tan this time without asking for permission from his superiors, so the old man must be unhappy.

If he didn't make some military achievements, he would find it difficult to explain himself.

If you still want to interfere in internal affairs now, you will only make yourself uncomfortable.

"Now that Duke Xin has gone to Penghu, all the coastal islands and reefs near Fujian will belong to me."

Zhu Di poured himself another glass of wine and stopped thinking about these things. Instead, he looked at Zhu Tan and said, "Penghu Island is big. Duke Xin can't eat it all by himself, right?"

Hearing what Zhu Di said, Zhu Tan knew what he was thinking, and then smiled and said, "Of course, there is no way to eliminate them all, and we need Fourth Brother's help."

"Row."

Zhu Di nodded, drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, stood up and said, "If I find you fooling me again this time, don't blame me for kicking you."

After saying that, he strode away without caring about Zhu Tan's expression.

On that day, the two warships under Zhu Di did not stay for too long. They set sail in the evening and headed straight for the coast of Fujian.

At night, Zhu Tan thought about the follow-up plan and gave the order.

"Set sail, Quanzhou Port."

……

Quanzhou Prefecture, Park clan.

The Pu family is very powerful in Quanzhou, with mountains of gold and silver at home and a huge fortune.

Not to mention cash, the Pu family alone owns tens of thousands of acres of land and a large number of shops in Quanzhou Prefecture. Their goods and commodities are sold all over the place, making a fortune every day.

But late at night that day, Park Yongxin, the head of the Park family, looked at the letter in his hand with his brows tightly furrowed and his thoughts a little confused.

"Such a big thing, why is it only reported today?"

Pu Yongxin looked at the skinny man standing in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "The imperial navy went to Changguo, are you all blind?!"

“It’s been a few days!”

"Home, head of the family..."

The man was so frightened that he fell to his knees and said in a trembling voice: "It's not that I don't want to report it, it's just that there is really no chance."

"The imperial warships are parked near Changguo County. Our people..."

"What about those Japanese up there? Are they all dead?"

Park Yongxin frowned, trying his best to suppress his anger, and asked again: "No news at all?"

"No, no."

The man shook his head: "It seems that... it seems that none of the Japanese on the Changguo Islands have escaped."

Hearing this, Park Yongxin took another look at the letter in his hand, which said that the imperial navy dispatched three huge warships to wipe out the Japanese pirates near Changguo County with great ease.

Park Yongxin was a little surprised by the sudden dispatch of troops by the imperial court, and the huge warships mentioned in the letter were too vague for him to understand.

Pu Yongxin thought for a moment, brought the letter close to the candle flame, lit it, and threw it into the tea bowl beside him. Then he looked at the man in front of him, frowned, and asked, "What is the huge warship mentioned in the letter?"

"How powerful is it? How many days can it take to wipe out all the Japanese in Changguo County?"

"It's the kind of..."

The man recalled the iron warship he saw from afar and didn't know how to describe it for a moment.

After thinking for a while, he stammered, "Like, like a mountain!"

This description was too general. Pu Yongxin frowned even more after hearing it. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Waste."

Then he waved his hand and said, "Get out of here quickly."

Upon hearing this, the servant stood up as if he had been pardoned and walked out quickly.

At this time, Park Yongxin looked at the person standing behind him and asked softly, "What do you think?"

The person behind him was always standing in the shadow, dressed in black. If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't see that there was another person.

The man took a step forward, and the shadow of the candlelight reflected on his face, revealing a hideous scar on his left cheek, which ran from top to bottom, almost cutting his left face in half.

"There's something fishy." The man whispered, "The court suddenly sent out troops, there must be something wrong."

"Master, those Japanese people cannot be trusted."

"I know they can't be trusted."

Pu Yongxin said softly: "I just don't know whether the imperial court will send troops this time to fight a small battle like before, or to completely eliminate them."

"If we want to completely eradicate it, we must act now."

The man behind him heard this, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he said softly: "The master of the family ordered me to do it."

"All of us at the port, shrink, disperse."

Pu Yongxin said: "Restore the merchandise to its previous state, put all the recently acquired ironware and ore into the warehouse, and make sure the accounts are in balance."

"Also, notify the Japanese from the Yamana family and tell them to be quiet for the time being. If they can hide, they should hide. Don't give me any trouble."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, the man responded softly, turned around and disappeared into the shadows again.

Park Yongxin thought about it, then stood up and opened the secret door behind him.

Inside the secret door was a small warehouse filled with gold, silver, jewelry, various rare treasures, and a whole box of silver bills.

Pu Yongxin took out 20,000 taels of silver from the box, put it in his arms, changed his clothes and went out.

Soon, he appeared in the study of Quanzhou prefect Sun Junchu.

There was a cup of fragrant tea in front of him, but Park Yongxin did not look at it. Instead, he waited silently.

Soon, a hearty laugh came from outside the house.

"Hehe, Master Park, how come you have time to come to my house today?"

Just as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man in his forties pushed the door open. He was dressed in casual clothes and had a ruddy face. It was obvious at first glance that he was a pampered man.

Park Yongxin immediately stood up, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Sir Sun, sorry to bother you."

"Come on, come on, sit down. There's no need to be so polite between you and me."

Sun Junchu waved his hand, sat down on the main seat, glanced at the teacup on the table, and said with a smile: "Master Park, try it. This is the new tea that just came down."

"If it is useful, I intend to present it to His Majesty."

Park Yongxin had no intention of drinking tea. Instead, he got straight to the point and asked, "Sir Sun, I came here to ask about the Japanese."

"The imperial court has recently deployed troops..."

"Master Park is extremely powerful. He knows all this?"

Sun Junchu smiled but did not answer. Instead, he picked up the teacup and blew gently on the tea leaves, but did not drink it.

Park Yongxin immediately stood up, reached into his arms, took out the banknotes, and directly pressed them under the files on the desk, and said softly: "Sir Sun, this new tea is very good. Please help me get in touch. The Park family plans to buy all of it."

"This is the deposit."

Sun Junchu lifted up the case file and took a look at it. Then his eyes narrowed into a slit and he closed the case file again. Then he smiled and said, "Master Park, this is a bit difficult for me."

"But we are all friends, so I will help you."

"Thank you, sir."

"As for the Japanese you asked about." Sun Junchu changed the subject, looked at Park Yongxin, and said with a smile: "It shouldn't be a big deal." (End of this chapter)