Late Tang

Li Jing knew that many generals of the frontier army had the strategy of raising bandits to respect themselves, but this was raising bandits rather than collaborating with bandits.Once he accepted Yellow Beard's proposal, he would be a real gangster.He had to consider the consequences, even though it was already the late Tang Dynasty, and the world would soon be in chaos.But such a matter, Li Jing still has to be cautious.

The yellow beard ate up the sauced donkey meat in front of him like a storm, and drank up the small jar of green wine.He patted his belly in satisfaction, then took a silver toothpick from his belt, and picked his teeth leisurely. "Actually, you don't have to worry too much. In this world, Taoist officials are bandits, and bandits can also become officials. Dengzhou, Haizhou, and Xuzhou have sent people to recruit us, but my brothers are used to being free, and I can't see those things. The dog official style, that's why I keep refusing. But do you think that the officers and soldiers are good? You know, the Daxie Village where you are about to take office, is actually a group of bandits wearing officer and soldier robes from top to bottom. Taxes are collected at various supply points, and they often even drive ships to Shanghai to plunder. They are much more ruthless than us, so we ask for some money, as long as we pay according to the rules, we will not harm the merchant ships. But if the merchant ships encounter these people, basically They all have to sink to the bottom of the sea to accompany the Dragon King."

"We serious pirates hate these officials pretending to be pirates the most when we are at sea. They are the ones who mess up the rules at sea and ruin the reputation of our pirates."

"If I agree to join forces with you, what do you plan to do with me?" Li Jing frowned and asked, "Do you have any specific plans?"

"What kind of plan does this need? If you are willing to join forces with us, you don't need to take any risks. We will also communicate with each other. If you know any news that is not good for us, please pass it on to us. If We will pass on any news about you that we find out about you. Another thing is that some of the unsuitable things we get from doing business at sea will be handed over to you for sale, and if our weapons supply If you need it, you can find a way to help."

This requirement does not seem to be high. There is no master-slave relationship between the two sides, but a purely ally relationship, which is equal to each other.However, Li Jing still asked carefully: "Then what benefits can I get?" Since we are talking about cooperation, Li Jing has to put aside those previous relationships and put his own interests first.If Zhen Donghai just helped him find out some news, then this alliance would not mean much to him.

"The goods that are inconvenient to sell in business will be resold to you at a low price. In addition, we can also give you all the surplus food we robbed. I know that you will go to the Shamen as a town general, and you will have hundreds of people under your command. The food will be big Question. In addition, if you have something you want to deal with in Daxie Village but it is inconvenient to do so, you can use my name, Zhen Donghai, as you want. If you are inconvenient to do it yourself, we can also do it for you."

"I want [-]% of the profits from all transactions in Zhendonghai in the future! In addition, the conditions you just said remain unchanged." Li Jing put forward his own conditions. He wants to train and raise troops, and he also plans to form an army of servants. Can't do anything.Now that he has planned to join forces with Zhen Donghai, Li Jing is no longer polite.Taking such a big risk of collaborating with bandits, if you can't get more benefits, it's completely worthless.

"Thirty percent is not enough. Since we will be brothers in the future, you don't have to be polite." Yellow Beard shook his head, and his tone was irrefutable, "Five to five, half to half, from now on I will make fifty to five percent of all the business proceeds in Zhendonghai .”

"Second in charge, I'd rather be respectful than obedient." Li Jing clasped his hands together and said, "We'll be brothers from now on, but I hope this matter can be kept secret, and it's best if as few people know about it as possible. It's me, hello, everyone."

The yellow beard said through his thick yellow beard: "Of course I know this. Brother Li acts resolutely, and he will be extraordinary in the future. I think Li Zheng was a Goguryeo barbarian back then, and he could serve as a soldier from the Pinglu army." In the end, the school had 60 soldiers and ruled the twelve prefectures of Shandong for [-] years, passing on for three generations and four generations. With Brother Li's ability, it may not be impossible to become the second Li Zhengji in the future."

The alliance has been formed. Although there are still many specific issues that have not been discussed, both Li Jing and Huang Huzi breathed a sigh of relief at this time.Zhen Donghai caught up with Li Jing's line, and there will be less trouble in the sea from now on.And Li Jing joined Zhendonghai, and also chose a powerful ally for his upcoming appointment in Shamen Town.Both of them were very satisfied, and Li Jing asked in this relaxed atmosphere: "I heard the words of the second master before, and I seem to know Zhang Yingying?"

Huang Huzi was taken aback when he heard this: "You don't know Zhang Yingying?"

"Naturally, I met her. It's just that we met in Pingshui. I only know her name, but I don't know her identity. From what you said earlier, is she also a pirate?"

"Of course not." Huang Huzi shook his head and said directly: "Zhang Yingying is a well-known figure in the East China Sea, but it's normal that people don't know much about it on land. But if you mention her grandfather's name, I promise you I know."

"Her grandfather?"

"That's right, her grandfather was Zhang Baogao. 66 years ago, Zhang Baogao was just a citizen of Silla who didn't even deserve a surname. At that time, he was still called Gong Fu. He entered the Tang Dynasty with his friend Zheng Nian, and then joined Xuzhou's The Wuning Army became a small soldier. Because of his high martial arts skills, bravery and skill in combat, and repeated military exploits, he successively participated in the rebellion in the suppression of Li Qi in Zhenjiang, Wu Yuanji in Huaixi Town, and Li Shidao in Ziqing Town. After 12 years, he was promoted to a young general in the Wuning Army. Five years later, I came to Chishanpu and established Chishan Fahuayuan in Chishan.”

"Afterwards, he returned to the country and built a fleet of his own to hunt down the pirates off the coast of Silla, and gradually he had a very strong force. After he calmed down the pirates, he became the ambassador of Qinghai Town. He supported his own strength and began to form a powerful army The caravan traded with Datang, Japan and other countries in the name of Silla. He also built Fahuayuan in Xianghuangfeng, Qinghai, and Heyuandong, Tamna Island, which corresponded to Fahuayuan in Chishan, Shandong, and served as the foundation for maritime trade. Contact point. Zhang Baogao’s maritime trade has grown bigger and bigger, forming a seaborne commercial trade network with Qinghai Town as the base camp, Chishan, Penglai, Laizhou, Sizhou, Chuzhou, Yangzhou, Mingzhou, Quanzhou and Japan’s Kyushu as the base. In the sea, he was called the king of the sea. He was the most powerful force in the sea at that time."

"However, Zhang Baogao was later involved in the struggle of the Silla royal family. 35 years ago, the Lord of Silla, Jin Ming, forced King Xikang to ascend the throne. Jin Youzheng asked Qinghai for help in order to avenge the "killing of the king's father" and avoid disaster. Zhang Baogao divided his troops. Five thousand in the year of Zheng, defeated Jin Ming's army, and Jin Youzheng successfully ascended the throne, namely King Shenwu. King Shenwu died of illness only 6 months after he ascended the throne. Because of his meritorious service, Zhang Baogao was appointed as an envoy of the Ganyi Army, and he was granted the title of 32 households in Shiyi. King Wensheng wanted to accept Zhang Baogao's daughter as his concubine, but the nobles in the court resisted him because of her humble background. The seeds of conflict were planted between Zhang Baogao. Fearing Zhang Baogao's power, King Wensheng and the nobles of Silla sent someone to kill Zhang Baogao [-] years ago after he was drunk .”

Hearing the yellow beard approaching slowly, Li Jing was also very surprised in that respectful expression.Zhang Baogao's life is too legendary. When he was young, he traveled alone in a foreign country, and then returned to China after making great achievements.He built his own armed forces, supported his own troops, and finally, as a sideline, he possessed the power to control the royal family of Silla.Although the ending is a bit tragic, this man's ability is still admirable.When he thought that Zhang Yingying was Zhang Baogao's descendant, he couldn't help being surprised.He thought of the group of killers he heard in Fahuayuan that day calling the leader, the good woman, His Highness.

"By the way, since the king of Silla killed Zhang Baogao, why are his descendants still alive?"

"Of course the royal family of Silla didn't want to leave future troubles. After they sent killers to kill Zhang Baogao, they sent a large army to attack Qinghai Town. However, although Zhang Baogao died, there were tens of thousands of households in Qinghai Town at that time, and Zhang Baogao's army also exceeded 16. Zhang's troops He will protect the rest of the Zhang family to escape from Qinghai and die at sea, and has been fighting against the Silla court. In the early years, Zhang Yingying's father was in charge of this force. Later, Zhang Yingying's father was in danger, and several sons died early, so he asked his subordinates to support Zhang Yingying Became the new king of the sea. Zhang Yingying succeeded her father at the age of [-], and now it has been six years. At the beginning, many people thought that Zhang Yingying would not last long, and that the most powerful sea power in the East China Sea would be broken, but in fact. Zhang Yingying After taking over from the Queen of the Sea, she has turned from half-merchant and half-thief to full-scale maritime trade, no longer plundering, but her power has grown extremely fast, and she has gradually returned to the glory of commanding the three seas when Zhang Baogao was at the beginning."

"Is Zhang Yingying's Xinluo business group strong?"

Yellow Beard smiled: "Do you know how many ships Zhang Yingying has? Do you know how many armed guards Zhang Yingying has?"

"How many?"

"It is said that Zhang Yingying has thousands of large and small merchant ships, and three thousand armed guards. I don't know if the specific situation is the same as in the legend, but I only know that although Zhang Yingying's fleet no longer does business without money, but this Liao Sea, East China Sea, and even South China Sea, no one in the three major seas has ever dared to touch the Shilla Chinghai Merchant Group with the Shark Flag.” Huang Huzi looked at Li Jing strangely as he said that, the letter on Li Jing’s desk earlier I believe he has seen it, so he can naturally guess that Li Jing has something to do with that Zhang Yingying.He tentatively said: "Compared to the king of the sea, I, Zhen Donghai, is not even worthy of carrying their boots. If you want to conquer the queen of the sea, brother, it will be hard for you not to become a great success."

"Second leader don't need to talk to me, I just accidentally rescued her from a group of assassins a few days ago. I remember that the leader of the assassins at that time was a woman, and they still called her Your Highness. You often go to sea, knowing this What is the identity of a person?"

The yellow beard blurted out: "I heard that for decades, the Silla royal family has spared no effort to assassinate Zhang Baogao's descendants. Zhang Yingying's brothers were all killed by assassins, and even her father seems to have been killed He died from chronic poisoning. Hearing what you said, this woman called Your Highness must be the daughter of the current King of Silla, Zhensheng Princess Jinman. This woman is very famous in Silla, and she looks as coquettish as a flower. With a heart like a snake and a scorpion, she also acts ruthlessly. She has a large number of Hwarangs, killers, assassins, and outlaws. She also has an armed fleet in the East China Sea, specifically to trouble the King of the Sea. The sea calls her Man. Datura flower, this is a crazy and dangerous woman. If you see the banner of the Mandala book at sea in the future, remember to dodge it."