The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In the past few years, the Wei family has spent Chinese New Year in Jiujiang Mansion. The eldest brother and sister-in-law will return to Jiujiang Mansion to celebrate the bustling New Year with their parents.

Wei Guangde has been in the capital for the past two years, so naturally he has not been able to reunite with his family. This year, they are finally together again.

Wei Guangde was teasing his nephew Wei Lin in his arms. With Wei Guangde becoming a Jinshi, his eldest brother Wei Wencai naturally hoped that his son would have a bright future like Wei Guangde. Although he knew that his identity was destined to inherit the official position of Baihu, he still hoped to become a talented person. Became Qilin'er.

The same procedures as Bengshan Castle, ancestor worship, listening to dad talk about family history, remembering ancestors, and reunion dinner

Years later, Wei Guangde was finally free. Counting the time, he went to the Jiujiang magistrate's office to go through the formalities in mid-November. The emperor approved the wedding date for two months. Logically speaking, considering the New Year's Day and Lantern Festival festivals, he would have to go back in early February. Reinstated in the capital.

However, officials in the Ming Dynasty could be absent from work for three months, which was approved by the previous emperor and approved by the emperor. Wei Guangde naturally chose to consciously abide by this official rule and was ordered to be absent from work for three months, so the time to return to the capital was set in April. In the middle of the year, it happens to be not the flood season, so just take a boat and go north along the canal.

In mid-February, news from the imperial court came, also bringing information about Wang Zhi's final disposition.

On the 25th of the first lunar month of the 37th year of Jiajing's reign, Wang Zhi was arrested and sent to Zhejiang's Ganchasi Prison. His fellow Japanese bandit leaders Ye Zongman and Wang Qingxi were also taken to Ganchasi Prison.

The outcome did not go beyond Wei Guangde's guess. Wang Zhi was captured and imprisoned. His future was already obvious. He was still captured after Hu Zongxian fought hard and petitioned the court to pardon his crimes.

It's just that Wei Guangde is far away from the capital now, so naturally he doesn't know how to deal with Wang Zhi, so the court is still divided into two factions.

One faction supported Hu Zongxian's views and advocated surrendering Wang Zhi to eliminate the Japanese pirates along the coast as soon as possible, while the other faction, headed by Yu Shiyanguan, firmly opposed Wang Zhi's pardon, saying that Wang Zhi was the culprit of the Japanese pirates and could never be pardoned.

After Hu Zongxian received the news, he was very anxious and quickly petitioned the court again to pardon Wang Zhi. He did not want to be labeled as disloyal and unjust in the future. Although he had cheated and killed Xu Hai before, if he cheated and killed Wang Zhi again this time, he would not be labeled as such. It can't be taken off no matter what.

However, just when Hu Zongxian was about to go to court to defend himself, many people in the court claimed that the news that he himself accepted a large bribe from Wang Zhi also reached his ears. It was also because of the large bribe that he tried to pardon the pirate leader. of great sin.

The news of this news, after many years of ups and downs in the officialdom, still shocked Hu Zongxian into a cold sweat. He hurriedly destroyed the original memorial and rewritten it in the rewritten memorial. He changed it to say that Wang Zhi had committed a heinous crime and should be punished immediately. However, the current coastal situation is tense, but please The joint trial of Wang Zhi came to an end.

For a Japanese pirate leader like Wang Zhi, he is naturally not an ordinary person. It is impossible for the Zhejiang Prosecution and Envoys Division to just try him. Naturally, he needs to be tried by the three divisions before convicting him.

All Hu Zongxian could think of at this time was to delay as much time as possible. If Wang Zhi died at this juncture, the cause of suppressing Japanese pirates would probably suffer a huge setback, because the previous strategy used against Japanese pirates was "suppression" and "pacification", and Wang Zhi Once you die, you can only fight to the death with the Japanese pirates. The war will not end until one side is completely wiped out. No more Japanese pirates will believe in the imperial court's approach of appeasement.

It's just that Hu Zongxian had a beautiful idea. He hoped to detain Wang Zhihou, and the Japanese pirates at sea would collapse on their own because they had no leader, but this did not happen.

More than 3,000 Japanese pirates parked outside Cengang were extremely sad and angry when they heard that Wang Zhi was deceived and arrested by the court.

These people were all soldiers who died in many battles. They followed Wang Zhi and fought bloody battles at sea for many years. Now that their old boss has been deceived into prison, they are full of energy and want to fight the Ming army.

The most unlucky thing is that the commander Xia Zheng sent by the Ming army to Cengang as a hostage.

When Wang Zhi's adopted son Mao Haifeng heard that his adopted father had been tricked into prison by the Ming court, his eyes were red with anger. He immediately tied Xia Zheng, who had just been drinking together, to the bow of the boat, cursed the Ming army for being untrustworthy, and then chopped Xia Zheng into pieces with a knife.

It is said that Xia Zhengzhi died without saying a word because he knew that the court's trick to trap Wang Zhi was too unreasonable, but this man also suppressed his song and could only die in silence.

Wang Zhi's death triggered a new round of crazy revenge by the Japanese pirates. He had more than three thousand crazy Japanese killers with red eyes, drifting on the sea, killing wildly all the way.

Mao Haifeng knew that at this time, a large number of Ming troops gathered around Hangzhou, and they would definitely not be able to attack the city to rescue his adoptive father. He chose to attack other counties to pressure the court to release him.

At this time, this group of Japanese pirates first attacked Chaozhou, killing many Ming troops, and then set sail to invade Fuzhou.

However, these news were not from the Di newspaper, but were sent by Xu Bangrui, the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, by speedboat.

The news here is confusing, I can only say that it is about the same.

After receiving the news, Wei Guangde could only smile bitterly after looking at the map for a long time. This group of Japanese pirates also knew how to avoid the real and attack the weak and attack weak areas that the Ming army did not defend.

At this time, the whole of Zhejiang was fully prepared to guard against Japanese pirate attacks, but Fujian next door was obviously unaware of this. Mao Haifeng shifted his robbery target to Fujian, and the consequences can be imagined.

Ruan E, who had just been transferred from Zhejiang to Fujian as governor, knew he was invincible and chose to stick to the city and abandon other counties. Seeing that they could not capture Fuzhou, the bandits turned around and attacked Fuhai.

Fuhai County was completely unprepared for the Japanese pirates' attack at this time. The county seat was destroyed, the county magistrate Ye Zongwen was killed, and the Japanese pirates robbed the prison, killed more than a thousand men and women, and burned countless official and civilian houses.

Soon after, this group of Japanese pirates divided into several groups and climbed steep hills in Taizhou, Hui'an, Changle, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places, coming and going, causing great harm to the places.

All of a sudden, alarms went off all over the country, and urgent memorials for help were sent to the desks of governors and governors. After hearing this, the Sixth Ministry of Nanjing and the Metropolitan Procuratorate immediately reported the situation in Zhejiang and Fujian to the emperor.

The Japanese pirates along the coast, which had been stable for several months, have reappeared. Unlike the previous Japanese pirates who mainly focused on robbery, they attacked and destroyed wantonly, causing particularly heavy losses to the local area. Therefore, the Japanese pirates after the 37th year of Jiajing were also attacked. It is called "New Japanese".

Although there has been no reply from the capital, the Nanjing Ministry of War has sent military orders to Jiujiang Guards to gather troops and prepare for deployment.

The Jiujiang Guard is now an important mobile force in the hands of the Nanjing Military Department. Its location and transportation advantages determine that it can be quickly mobilized and put into the battlefield.

Now that the situation in Jiangnan has changed drastically, the first thing Nanjing thought of was naturally to recruit Jiujiang Wei to assist Zhejiang and Fujian.

Years ago, after Wei Guangde reminded Father Wei, he told his uncle Wu Zhankui about the matter that night. The commander of Jiujiang Guards and Qianhu first-level general held a secret meeting the next day and reported the matter internally.

When they heard that Wang Zhi had been captured, many generals were happy at first, but they became uneasy after hearing what happened next.

If Wang Zhi's matter is not handled well, it may lead to even greater Japanese troubles. As generals, they naturally do not want another disturbance along the coast that has been quiet for several months. It would be nice to just lie at home with peace of mind. Why go to the coast to fight with Japanese pirates? Beat to death.

Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Thousands of households died in the last battle against Japanese pirates. No one wants to be the second unlucky person.

So this year, Jiujiang Guard's combat team suffered a lot. The holiday time was reduced to only three days. Although the team officer promised to pay more military salary compensation in the future, who knows if there will be any more money in the end if the money is not in hand.

Cousin Wei Wencai and eldest brother Wu Dong only stayed in Jiujiang Prefecture until the fifteenth day, and then took a boat back to Pengze to train the troops of Qianhu Station of the Right Army.

Before the Nanjing military order arrived at Jiujiang Guard, Jiujiang Guard was actually ready for war, although no one expected the order to actually arrive.

With the resumption of war in Zhejiang and Fujian, the number of ships plying the Yangtze River suddenly increased. Many weaving workshops in Songjiang, Suzhou and Hangzhou shipped large quantities of goods to avoid losses caused by Japanese chaos.

The large increase in merchant ships also made it easier to transmit news. Before the notification from the Nanjing Ministry of War arrived, Xu Bangrui sent someone to deliver the latest news.

The Japanese pirates invaded various prefectures in Wenzhou and Taizhou in Zhejiang, among which Yueqing, Linhai, Xiangshan and other places suffered the most serious damage. They also fled from Wenzhou and Taizhou in Zhejiang to Fuzhou, Xinghua, Quanzhou and other places in Fujian, just like before, they all landed and burned and looted. And go.

However, what makes Wei Guangde somewhat reassured is that the latest intelligence shows that several groups of Japanese pirates have regrouped outside Cengang, Zhoushan after a large number of plunders. At this time, the imperial court's decree has also reached the local level.

Due to the new wave of Japanese pirates and the resurgence of maritime troubles, the imperial court severely punished Hu Zongxian and eliminated all military positions of General Yu Dayou, General Qi Jiguang and others, and ordered them to quell the Japanese pirates in Cengang within one month.

So by chance, the Japanese pirates Mao Haifeng, who had regrouped, was besieged in Cengang, Zhoushan by the commander-in-chief Yu Dayou and the commander-in-chief Qi Jiguang.

The Japanese pirates fortified themselves tightly in Zhoushan, especially around Cengang, where they faced off against the Ming army.

Although the Ming army was brave, the Japanese pirates relied on the favorable terrain and killed many of the Ming army. In desperation, the Ming army had no choice but to consider besieging this group of Japanese pirates for a long time, hoping to completely eliminate them.

"Japanese pirates are surrounded in Cengang."

Wei Guangde looked at the letter in his hand and felt incredible. It was Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang who he knew were fighting against the Japanese pirates. These Japanese pirates would surely perish.

Wei Guangde mentally sentenced the Japanese pirates, whom he considered the biggest threat, to death. He then put away the letter with a smile on his face and planned to write a letter and ask someone to deliver it to Father Wei.

Now he is the only male left in the mansion besides the female relatives. Father Wei has returned to the rear army Qianhu to mobilize the army and prepare for war, and so has his eldest brother.

I wrote a letter and sent someone to deliver it, and planned to go to my uncle's house in the evening to talk about it.

The alarm was lifted, and everyone in Jiujiang Guard breathed a sigh of relief at Wei Guangde's news.

The news brought back by Wei Guangde a few years ago predicted the resurgence of Japanese rebellion along the coast. Although it was taken seriously by the senior officials of Jiujiang Wei at that time, of course it was mainly because Wu Zhankui had a firm attitude and completely trusted Wei Guangde unconditionally.

For those who still have some doubts in their hearts, after seeing the military order of the Nanjing Ministry of War, their previous suspicions about Wei Guangde disappeared instantly.

Therefore, the news came from Wei Guangde this time that the main force of Wang Zhi Japanese pirates was besieged by Yu Dayou's army in Zhoushan. No one doubted the authenticity of Wei Guangde's news.

What they had been worried about was that Wang Zhi was causing trouble with the remaining Wang Zhi troops after being captured, so as to put pressure on the court to release them.

Don't underestimate the destructive power of this group of Japanese pirates. Merchant ships travel frequently on the Yangtze River waterway. Jiujiang Prefecture has heard from merchants that the battles in Zhejiang and Fujian were brutal and the losses were huge.

This time, several county towns were destroyed in succession. The Japanese pirates not only stole property and young people, but also massacred people and burned the cities, doing their best to destroy them.

According to Wei Guangde's prediction, the Japanese pirates regrouped in Zhoushan. In addition to disposing of the looted goods, they may also have the intention of going north to attack southern Zhili and the coast of Shandong.

In fact, after looking at the map, Wei Guangde put himself in their shoes and considered what tactics he would use to increase pressure on the imperial court if he were the current leader of the Japanese pirates. Naturally, he would target the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Go north and enter South Zhili, take advantage of the dense river channels in Huai'an Prefecture to launch a surprise attack, block the middle of the Grand Canal, and the consequences will inevitably shake the world.

Historically, Japanese pirates have appeared in Zhenjiang and Huai'an many times, shutting down the Grand Canal that maintains north-south transportation, and causing the officials who were stationed in Nanjing and the central capital Fengyang to be reprimanded by the imperial court.

However, it was obvious that there were informants from the imperial court among the Japanese pirates. Yu Dayou seized the opportunity to surround this group of Japanese pirates. There was hope that the sudden war could be eliminated, as long as this group of Japanese pirates could be surrounded and annihilated here.

Time has entered April unknowingly, and the day is not far away when Wei Guangde will leave home again and embark on the road to Beijing.

The offensive and defensive battle between the Ming army and the Japanese pirates in Zhoushan was still going on. From the beginning, the military report sent from Nanjing made Wei Guangde confused about what the new Japanese pirate leader named Mao Haifeng was planning.

According to the comparison of the strength between the enemy and ourselves, the Japanese pirates should be wise to flee before the Ming army surrounded them, even if they left behind the looted property.

But this Mao Haifeng did not choose to leave after knowing that the Ming army was encircling him. Instead, he fought with the Ming army in Zhoushan.

With the new battle report coming, after nearly a month of stalemate, the Japanese pirates finally chose to break out when the surrounding Ming army was unprepared, while Mao Haifeng chose to stay behind until he was defeated and killed by the Ming army in Cengang, Zhoushan. Wei Guangde worked in tandem Only then did I slowly come back to my senses.

I am afraid that Mao Haifeng was already determined to die from the very beginning. According to the information previously received, the lobbyist sent by Hu Zongxian was in contact with Mao Haifeng. He persuaded Mao Haifeng and then persuaded Wang Zhi through him, which led to today's situation. situation.

He is a man who values ​​love and righteousness.

Wei Guangde smacked his lips and thought about it in his mind.

However, at this time, Wei Guangde was still thinking about whether he should write a letter to Yu Dayou to congratulate him on the great event of wiping out the Japanese pirates.

Although they were not eliminated within the court's time limit, the time difference was not big. In terms of merit, Yu Dayou rewarded him for his great achievements.

However, the next news from Nanjing shocked Wei Guangde again. The Japanese pirates who broke out apparently abandoned most of their belongings. After breaking out, they did not choose to go north but south to Fujian and Guangdong, continuing to burn, kill, and loot all the way.

At the same time, the news that Wang Zhi was deceived by the government also spread among the Japanese pirates. Under the banner of revenge for the "old shipowner", Japanese pirate leaders began to plunder all along the coast. Suddenly, the Jiangnan coast was once again plunged into chaos. In the midst of war.

What stunned Wei Guangde the most was a secret letter from Nanjing at the end of April. The imperial court ordered Yu Dayou to be taken to Beijing for trial.