Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 49

"I'm not talking about them. They won't be defeated right now." Tan Lun's face was very serious. "The Japanese pirates will make big moves recently, and there will be a big war in the southeast. To win this battle, you need to spend a lot of money. The treasury is empty." Yes, no one can take over. The emperor now has to rely on Yan Song and Yan Shifan to support the situation. If they can’t afford the money, they will take the money. According to Hu Butang’s analysis, there is only one person who has huge wealth to fill the deficit of the national treasury. ——Shen Yishi!"

Hai Rui: "Shen Yishi is from the Weaving Bureau, how dare they move?"

Tan Lun: "The Weaving Bureau relies on him to make a fortune, but his wealth does not belong to the Weaving Bureau. If it can buy the common people's fields at a low price this time, the Weaving Bureau will rely on him to sell the silk produced by him to Xiyang in exchange for silver. Now the common people's fields are bought cheaply. No more, the imperial court had no choice but to steal his family property to make up for the shortfall. Because only by copying his house could there be enough silk to sell to Western merchants! So many workshops would naturally belong to the Weaving Bureau, and the emperor would agree with this result. "

Hai Rui was silent, and said after a while: "But this time Shen Yishi took out the money to buy food and lent it to the people. It would be unreasonable and against the law to copy his home."

"It is precisely because of this that he is seeking his own death!" Tan Lun looked at him, "He saw that there was opposition from King Yu at the top and resistance from you at the bottom. He buys face and buys people's hearts, thinking that he can protect himself by doing so. But he has forgotten the most terrible old adage. The treasury has always been short of money, and he either has the ideas of the people or the ideas of the businessmen. Now that the people are saved, how can he protect himself? !"

Hai Rui: "There must be a crime, right?"

Tan Lun: "The crime is not easy. If he buys food under the name of the Weaving Bureau for disaster relief, the court can charge him with the crime of 'merchant disorderly government'!"

Hai Rui was a little shocked: "Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen are all citizens of the imperial court. The imperial court is extravagant, and the officialdom is full of corruption. At this time, with these methods, the establishment of the country is so crooked. If the Ming Dynasty does not rectify it, the country will perish forever!"

"Remediation is a matter for the future!" Tan Lun stopped him immediately, "This time you can save hundreds of thousands of disaster victims and disrupt the Yan Party's position. It is already shocking. If you don't like to hear something, I will return it to you." It has to be said. You must not interrupt any actions of the court in the future. Once the strict party falls, the court will definitely use you again. In order to seek the country, you must also learn to seek life."

Speaking of this, Hai Rui was really touched: "Soldiers are fierce. You have to take care of yourself this time."

Seeing that he accepted his advice, Tan Lun was also very pleased: "Warning ahead is afraid of instability in the rear. Chun'an is a hard-hit county. If you stabilize Chun'an, you will stabilize half of Zhejiang. You are stable in Haigang Peak." I, Tan Zili, are not afraid. Within half a month, let the people plant all the mulberry seedlings, and sell all the raw silk produced to the weaving bureau. It is necessary to make profits for the people, but also to have an explanation to the superiors. I can also help you Talk." After speaking, he looked deeply at Hai Rui.

Hai Rui was silent for a while, and finally nodded emphatically.

"Old lady, I won't be able to visit you this time. Kowtow for me. I'm leaving!" Then she walked towards the door.

Hai Rui rushed to the front of him, stepped out of the threshold, picked up the shoes outside the threshold for him, and signaled Tan Lun to stretch his feet over.

Tan Lun stood inside the door, looking at Hai Rui without raising his leg.

Hai Rui was still holding his shoes, stubbornly waiting there.

The moonlight over the courtyard was so white and bright, silently shining on the two of them.

"Where is there no moon, where is the moon not shining on people, there is no one like us!" After Tan Lun finished speaking, he held the door frame with one hand, and slowly raised one bare foot and stretched it out towards the threshold .

Hai Rui put the shoes on his feet for him.

In the 40th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, in 1561 AD, the Japanese pirates have been looking for fighters to attack after Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang killed their leaders Wang Zhi and Mao Hai the year before.At this time, they got a glimpse of the contradictions and crises within the Ming Dynasty, and chose the strategy of encircling Taizhou and attacking Taozhu. A historical tragedy happened quietly in Taozhu, Zhejiang, where Japanese pirates colluded with smuggling pirates from the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty.

The moonlight shone quietly, and Taozhu City was shrouded in tranquility.

In a small inn in the city, several figures in black cloaks walked towards the stables and began to untie the reins of the horses.

A door opened with a "squeak", and the storekeeper came out holding an oil lamp, looking at the shadows: "Guest officer, it's only midnight, and the city gate is not open yet."

The black shadows didn't answer, and walked towards him leading the horse.

The shopkeeper: "Let's take a rest and leave after dawn..."

Suddenly, a saber light flashed from the waist of the cloak of the leading black figure!
The shopkeeper's head flew out immediately!
The headless body stopped for an instant before falling down with a bang, the oil lamp was still tightly held in his hand!

The dark shadows mounted their horses and rushed out of the inn gate.

The tranquility of Taozhu City was broken.

The dense iron hoofs stepped on the street stones and made a loud noise!

The occasional lanterns hanging on both sides of the street were left behind by the galloping horses, and the galloping iron hooves splashed sparks on the street stones!
——The black fluttering cloak, the black horse galloping straight through the stone street like lightning, galloping towards the city tower.

On the gate of the city gate, two large stone characters of "Taozhu" come to your face.

"Who!" The patrolling soldiers on the tower asked.

There was no answer, and there was no stop. The horseshoes still stepped on the stone steps leading to the tower at lightning speed.

Black horses and black cloaks galloped over the towers, and the heads of the defenders of the city, together with the stabbed spear points, flew up under the passing sharp Japanese knives!
A line of black shadows stopped.At the same time, the person on the horse lifted off the hood that was connected to the cloak, revealing the braid that stretches from the top of the head to the back of the head!

The knife in the hand of the leader of the Japanese pirates, Shisanrou Inoue, stopped in mid-air—it was more than four feet long, it was shining white, and there was no trace of blood.

Several other Japanese pirates sat on their horses, took out their shakuhachi and started blowing.

There are so many Japanese pirates lurking at the foot of the dark city wall!At this time, they all jumped up when they heard the sound of shakuhachi coming from the city tower, howling like tigers and wolves, and swarmed towards the city wall.

Immediately afterwards, a row of iron anchors thrown from the city appeared on the battlements, tightly hooked into the city bricks.

Countless Japanese pirates with long and short Japanese knives stuck in front of their waists and guns on their backs climbed the ropes and jumped to the top of the city.

Only then did torches go up one after another on the winding city wall, and the soldiers guarding the city from the south, west, and north began to rush towards the east tower in a hurry.

But it was already too late, the Japanese pirates who jumped onto the tower all fired guns at the guarding soldiers who were coming.

In the light of the fire, the body of the soldier running in front flew backwards and fell heavily on the stone floor of the city wall.

The Japanese pirates who leaped up the tower like ants drew out one long and one short Japanese sword, roaring and swarming from the east tower to the south tower and the north tower.Some defenders fell, and some defenders fell!More and more Japanese pirates rushed down the tower and rushed to the streets in the city.

On the gate tower, the Japanese pirates in black cloaks were still sitting on their horses, blowing on the shakuhachi—a high-pitched shakuhachi sound that was desolate but full of murderous air, floating among the countless shouts of killing and howling like tigers and wolves. above, reverberating over Taozhu...

Numerous Japanese knives that reflected the moonlight were held high and passed through the streets and alleys!

After the tiger and wolf-like shouts of killing, there were the terrified cries and cries of countless people!
At first, the southeast corner of the city burst into flames, and then everywhere in the city burst into flames!

Taozhu City was quickly engulfed in flames!
People are running around in panic, everywhere is the blood after the knife light!
Taozhu City has fallen!

The moonlight also quietly splashed on the Taizhou Fort.

Tan Lun's exclamation to Hai Rui was originally quoted from Su Dongpo's exclamation with his friends through the ages.As the saying goes, "The ancients did not see the moon of today, but this month once illuminated the ancients." The eternal feelings are nothing more than wishing to stay with this month after leaving a name, so that future generations will see the present as well as today's past.It was at this time that Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang stood side by side in the moonlight.

Behind them are full of soldiers, and behind them are hazy mountains; in front of them is the boundless sound of waves, and in the distance of the sound of waves are shadowy Japanese warships!

"Yuan Jing." Hu Zongxian called Qi Jiguang's words, "Can you estimate how many pirate ships there are on the sea?"

"Three hundred ships." Qi Jiguang answered very affirmatively.

Hu Zongxian: "How many warships have the Japanese pirates dispatched this time?"

Qi Jiguang: "More than 500 ships."

Hu Zongxian: "Where should the more than 200 ships be now?"

Qi Jiguang: "They should all be in the area around Qitou, Taozhu."

Questions and answers are very concise, but also very tacit understanding.

"Taozhu is about to fall." Hu Zongxian made a judgment.

"It must be Taozhu that the Japanese invaded tonight, and Taozhu will fall." Qi Jiguang repeated Hu Zongxian's words, but it was not just a repetition.

Hu Zongxian: "If Taozhu falls, where will the Japanese pirates invade?"

Qi Jiguang: "That's Xincheng."

Hu Zongxian's face became very serious, whiter than the cold moon above the sea.

At this time, there was a storm on the sea, and the sound of the waves seemed to be louder. Hu Zongxian seemed to hear the sound of killing from a distance in the sound of the waves: "We can't be dragged to Taizhou by Japanese pirates. Yuan Jing, your first battle is ready!" Where to fight?" Hu Zongxian looked at the heavy sea.

"Butang, if you stay here, I can only stay here, and I can't fight any battle." Qi Jiguang looked deeply at Hu Zongxian.

"Then let the coastal cities be slaughtered by Japanese pirates?" Hu Zongxian stared closely at Qi Jiguang's eyes.

"However, with [-] troops and horses to attack an army several times larger than myself..."

"No but!" Hu Zongxian interrupted Qi Jiguang with a wave of his hand, "Where should this battle be fought?"

Qi Jiguang was silent, and replied after a while: "Longshan. With 3000 people in ambush, Longshan can wipe out the enemies who have been plundered from Taozhu and retreated to the sea!"

Hu Zongxian: "Leave 1000 people here to guard Taizhou with me, and you lead 3000 people to Longshan immediately!"

"Unless Butang goes back to Hangzhou first." Qi Jiguang is still very stubborn, "Butang is tied to the overall situation of the southeast, so we can't stay here!"

Hu Zongxian sighed: "How can you understand? Let me tell you, I am safer here than in Hangzhou."

Qi Jiguang looked at Hu Zongxian in confusion.

Hu Zongxian said in a low voice: "The cabinet sent a letter from the court, telling me to go back to Hangzhou immediately to implement the transformation of rice into mulberry. The war is imminent, can we still change rice into mulberry?"

Only then did Qi Jiguang understand a little bit: "Butang, you are too difficult. Either go with my army."

Hu Zongxian turned his head and looked deeply at Qi Jiguang, "I must stay in Taizhou! Only when I am here will the court change its decision-making. It is necessary to use the power of the whole country to raise food and troops, and to fight against foreign aggression will save internal worries. This time we must deploy To achieve a decisive battle with the Japanese pirates, it takes half a year to fight for a year. You have to lead 3000 people to fight the first battle. If you win this battle, I will arrange the following things. Except for the Japanese invaders, you can also For the sake of internal revolution and bad governance, the situation of our Ming Dynasty will turn around. Do you understand?"

Qi Jiguang finally nodded, took a step back and knelt down: "Take care, Ministry!"

Hu Zongxian looked at him deeply: "Go."

Qi Jiguang stood up and bowed his hands before turning around and walking towards the steps of the fort: "The first, second and third battalions stay here, and the other battalions form their teams!"

Immediately several generals followed him down the steps.

"Stand up the flag and fire the cannon!" Hu Zongxian shouted an order, which immediately broke the silence of the night.

Countless banners were erected on the fort and various hilltops in an instant, and countless muzzles pointing to the sea emitted flames!

When the Japanese pirates had plagued the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty for ten years, and when the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty were becoming increasingly corrupt, a decisive battle against the Japanese pirates was deployed by the governor of Zhejiang Province Hu Zongxian, and the Qi family army of the famous general Qi Jiguang was the main force in this year. The southeast coast of China has begun!

(End of this chapter)