The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Hua Hua Hua"

The sound of a large ship cutting through the water was heard. On the Yangtze River, a large ship was moving rapidly down the river.

The Jiujiang Mansion behind him gradually receded into the distance. Wei Guangde stood at the stern of the boat and looked in the direction of his home in silence.

This was the third day after he and Xu Jianglan got married, and according to the rules, he had to send Xu Jianglan home.

It was already the twelfth lunar month and the New Year was approaching, and the Yangtze River was no longer as prosperous as it had been in the past. There were not many ships coming and going, and the biting cold wind was blowing on the river. Not long after, Wei Guangde felt his hands and feet were cold.

At this moment, he felt footsteps behind him. Before he could turn around to see who it was, he smelled a fresh fragrance and a cloak was draped around his shoulders.

"It's windy outside, you should stay in the cabin."

When Wei Guangde was speaking, he turned around and looked at the wonderful person behind him. It was his newly married wife Xu Jianglan. After hearing Wei Guangde's words, he just pursed his lips and smiled.

Although she is only seventeen years old, she is tall and plump. After getting in touch with her, Wei Guangde found that she was elegant in words and deeds.

When talking to her, Xu Jianglan's beautiful eyes were looking forward to it, and her every frown and smile showed an indescribable charm, just like a peony in bud, beautiful but not delicate, gorgeous but not vulgar, charming and charming, incomparable.

At this time, she is wearing a pink palace dress, with a plain satin belt around her waist that can be held in one hand, which further highlights her graceful figure. Her black hair is as high as lacquer and is tied up in a bun with flying stars chasing the moon. She has not applied too much makeup. Her eyebrows are furrowed, her eyes are delicate, and her skin is beautiful. Like jade, curling and graceful.

Just being blown by the river wind, Xu Jianglan's pretty face turned slightly white at this moment.

Wei Guangde didn't want to stay here anymore, so he put his hand on her shoulders and returned to the warm cabin with her.

At this time, Hu Zongxian's report on the capture of pirate leader Wang Zhi had also been sent to the capital. It instantly caused a small sensation in the General Affairs Department, and soon spread to other yamen outside.

Naturally, the General Secretary did not dare to neglect. After copying and archiving the copy, he hurriedly sent Hu Zongxian's memorial document to the cabinet in person. Although it was already ice and snow outside the house at this time, walking was extremely difficult, but the General Secretary still braved the situation with a nimble pace. Running quickly towards the East Pavilion in the heavy snow.

Since the 31st year of Jiajing reign, the name Wang Zhi has been widely spread in the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that no one in office does not know Wang Zhi.

Because starting from this year, Wang Zhi successively sent pirate leaders such as Xu Hai, Chen Dong, Xiao Xian, and Ye Ma to guide Japanese pirates to invade and plunder eastern Zhejiang, western Zhejiang, Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Fujian and other places.

It can be said that the current Japanese rebellion in Jiangnan was caused by this person.

What is even more frightening is that after the Japanese pirates repeatedly plundered the south of the Yangtze River, their targets have now expanded from south to north. They have appeared many times and invaded southern Zhili, Shandong and other places, causing countless killings.

Okay, now that the culprit has finally been caught by the police, he cannot be let go lightly. This person is really guilty.

Today, after Hu Zongxian's report was delivered, the ministers in the Manchu Dynasty looked happy and excited, discussing excitedly how the Japanese rebellion would be put down soon after the pirate leader Wang Zhi was captured.

Just as the general envoy hurried to the cabinet, Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, frowned while looking at the letter in his hand.

When the letter arrived in his hands, his son Yan Shifan had already opened it and read it, leaving a line of small words on the side.

The content of the letter was shocking enough. The so-called capture turned out to be similar to the previous strategy for dealing with Xu Hai, and was deceived.

As for the final disposition of the court, it was natural to ask him Yan Song. Hu Zongxian hoped to keep Wang Zhi alive. After all, this man had been overseas for many years, was familiar with the situation in foreign vassals, and knew the haunts and hiding places of various pirates.

In the battle to suppress Japanese pirates, if Wang Zhi's help could be obtained, the remaining small groups of Japanese pirates could be wiped out with overwhelming force.

Hu Zongxian naturally knew what should be concealed and what should not be concealed. In the letter, he wanted to tell Yan Song about the forgery of the pardon edict. How could he dare to report this matter to the court? He was afraid that if he reported it, he would be impeached for treason with the Japanese. , we can only kill first and then play.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian did not mention the forgery of the pardon edict in his memorial.

However, contrary to Hu Zongxian's idea, Yan Shifan left a line of small words to kill the thief.

Yan Song had been in office for many years, but he didn't know how great the impact of handling this matter was. It can be seen from Hu Zongxian's letter that although Wang Zhi was in his hands, Wang Zhi's troops remained intact at sea and were not destroyed. If it were dealt with If not done properly, the consequences are really unknown.

However, Yan Song couldn't think of a complete solution for a while. According to his original intention, he still felt that keeping Wang Zhi and recruiting his pirates was the best strategy. At the very least, they should be dispersed and disrupted to prevent them from rising up and causing trouble again.

When the clerk outside the door informed the envoy to see him, Yan Song knew that it must be for Hu Zongxian's report of victory, so he decisively collected the letter and had it passed in.

By night, the news had spread all over the capital, and most people in the officialdom even knew the details.

Hu Zongxian captured the Japanese pirate leader Wang Zhi, and Wang Zhi was also willing to surrender. Hu Zongxian actually begged for Wang Zhi's favor and allowed him to perform meritorious service and lead the army to destroy the Japanese pirates. What kind of joke was this?

Did Hu Zongxian drink too much?

Wang Zhi is the biggest Japanese pirate. To destroy Wang Zhi is to destroy the Japanese pirates. As for the remaining tribes, they are not afraid. With the strength of the official army, dispatching to suppress the bandits will naturally lead to a triumphant song. Wang Zhi is still needed to help lead the way to suppress the bandits.

So before Emperor Jiajing gave instructions on Hu Zongxian's memorial, officials from the DPRK and the Central Government had already begun to communicate with each other. Their purpose was also very simple. Naturally, they wanted to seek justice for the people who had died innocently and tragically since the Japanese pirates' rebellion.

In later generations, there was still considerable debate about whether Wang Zhi should be killed under the circumstances at that time.

In any case, Wang Zhiling was indeed the leader of the large-scale Japanese pirates' invasion of Daming, which also made him the talker and leader in the Japanese pirate group.

The numerous crimes committed by the Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty are too numerous to describe, and it would not be an exaggeration to kill them thousands of times.

However, if we consider the long-term interests of Ming Dynasty Haijiang Ning, it seems that it is logical to keep Wang Zhi alive.

Using Japanese pirates to control Japanese pirates is similar to using barbarians to control barbarians in later generations.

However, most of the courtiers did not realize this at this time. They focused more on the immediate situation, and no one realized the consequences of arresting and killing Wang Zhi.

The next day, it was another busy day for the General Affairs Department, because today the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty wrote memorials one after another like chicken blood, and the content was very consistent. They were all memorials before attacking Hu Zongxian, demanding that the pirate king be dealt with strictly. straight.

In fact, the General Affairs Department had already prepared for such a situation, and specially dispatched more clerks to help copy copies of the memorial, which could be regarded as improving work efficiency.

A flurry of memorials requesting severe punishment for Wang Zhi came into the cabinet from General Secretary Si Fei. At this time, Yan Song was very hesitant.

After returning home last night, he had a secret discussion with Yan Shifan. He didn't understand why Yan Shifan supported Yan Shifan in punishing Wang Zhi. Could he not have imagined the consequences of doing so?

But the answer Yan Shifan gave him made him frightened all night, and the reason was naturally Yan Shifan's little calculation.

At this time, Yan Song basically had the same view as most of the courtiers. If even the strongest group of Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirate king, wanted to submit to the imperial court, what was the mentality of the other Japanese pirates?

As long as Wang Zhi's tribe is dealt with, other small groups of Japanese pirates will inevitably rebel without fighting when faced with the encirclement and suppression by the army. The large-scale Japanese rebellion that began in the 31st year of Jiajing should end here.

But in Yan Shifan's opinion, all this does more harm than good, and there is no other benefit.

Nowadays, most of the wealth in Jiangnan belongs to Hu Zongxian's governor-general's office, which is allocated to suppress Japanese pirates. It can be said that Hu Zongxian is like a little emperor in Jiangnan. He wants money, money, and soldiers.

But once the Japanese suppression is completed, the entire Jiangnan will gradually return to its original state, and the huge benefits brought by additional dispatches will no longer exist.

Japanese pirates, if they can exist for a long time, don't seem to be a bad thing.

What troubled Yan Song the most was his son's passion for money. He actually colluded with maritime merchants through his friend Luo Longwen, a Mexican merchant, to secretly conduct maritime trade business.

The imperial court once secretly sold many silks and other Ming Dynasty products to maritime merchants to make money. It was Zhao Wenhua's transaction that made Yan Shifan know the way to make money faster and more profitable, but he suffered from the lack of channels, and this obstacle was in After he met Luo Wenlong, he was successfully solved.

Luo Longwen, like Wang Zhi who was in the residence of Governor Hu Zongxian, was from Shexian County, Anhui Province, a fellow villager. At the same time, he was an old acquaintance with Xu Hai, the great pirate who had been wiped out.

Luo Longwen was a businessman who was famous for his ink making. The ink he made was "as hard as stone, with a pattern as rhinoceros, as black as lacquer, and a conch is worth ten thousand dollars."

In the "Wanli Yehuobian" written by Shen Defu during the Wanli period, it is also said: "The price of Xiaohua ink is more than that of Gongbi. Even if you use a pound of horse's hoof to exchange one tael of ink, you may not get the authentic one."

Even Emperor Jiajing was very fond of his ink. When the price was at its highest, one tael of ink could be sold for a pound of gold, but even so, it was often expensive but not marketable.

Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji, used Suhe oil to collect smoke and make ink. Later, Jin Zhangzong spent a pound of gold to buy one or two, and he was known as the "Ink Demon".

From this point of view, Luo Wenlong is worthy of the name "Ink Demon".

Before Luo Wenlong got acquainted with Yan Shifan, he already had the dual identity of an ink worker and a businessman. He was not only good at antiquity, but also a heroic and willful man who liked to make friends with strange people everywhere.

At the same time, because money was too easy to come by, he was content with enjoying himself, and often hung out in Goulanwa shops and spent a lot of money. It is said that Xu Hai met Luo Wenlong in a brothel before he went to sea to become a Japanese pirate, and they became old acquaintances.

He was a fellow villager with Wang Zhi, the famous Japanese pirate leader at the time, and Hu Zongxian, the governor of Jiangnan who was responsible for suppressing Japanese pirates. Such people naturally had good fortunes, and Luo Wenlong gradually became one of the maritime merchants.

The goods collected from various parts of the Ming Dynasty were trafficked to overseas markets through Japanese pirates for profit. This was naturally the most profitable industry during this period. Although the risks at sea were great, they were nothing compared to the huge benefits.

While the people in Jiangnan were suffering heavily due to the Japanese rebellion, the Japanese pirates, Hu Zongxian's family and maritime merchants made a lot of money from it and enjoyed huge dividends from maritime trade.

But after all this, after Hu Zongxian used him to deceive Xu Hai and finally caused Xu Hai's death, Luo Wenlong gradually saw the true nature of Hu Zongxian. He was a person who could give up everything for the sake of fame.

Morality does not exist.

Just saying that he is "serving the public good" can cover up the countless bastard things he has done, and other people who speak will naturally break some boundaries because they are actually planning a war to suppress the Japanese and have considerable military exploits. , thinks he is right.

At this time, Luo Wenlong chose to leave Jiangnan and go to the north, to Beijing, the political center of the empire.

His purpose here was naturally not to organize the supply of goods to continue sea trade, but to realize something else from Hu Zongxian's deception in his treatment of Xu Hai.

That is power. As long as you have power in your hands, many sinful things can be explained openly with another explanation, perfectly covering up the past.

Luo Wenlong still has a bit of loyalty in nature, so he naturally despises people like Hu Zongxian who are careless in doing things.

However, he did not break up with Hu Zongxian because of this. He just stayed away and came to Beijing.

Luo Wenlong's lavish spending in the capital naturally attracted the attention of the local gangsters in the capital, but he had met Zhao Wenhua through Hu Zongxian before, and then had some contact with the Yan family.

Now that Luo Wenlong lives in the capital, he naturally wants to visit the Yan family's gate first.

Naturally, Yan Shifan was very fond of such a generous person, and their life styles were very similar. They were both extravagant and lustful people who were greedy for beauty, and they soon became friends with whom they talked about everything. good buddies.

Using his own identity, Yan Shifan not only helped Luo Wenlong get the official position of a scholar in the cabinet, but also learned more about the huge profits of sea trade through Luo Wenlong. The huge profits could be doubled several times at every turn, so naturally he was salivating.

The previous silk trade was handled through Zhao Wenhua, and he would naturally get a lot of profits afterwards. However, according to the information I heard from Luo Wenlong, it seems that if you really get involved in this business, the profits will be even higher.

From this, he began to have other ideas about the Japanese rebellion in Jiangnan.

It is indeed rare for my father to see the Holy Dragon in front of Emperor Jiajing, but this also makes their family the target of public criticism. Whether it is jealousy or hatred, anyway, there are many people in the court who are fawning over their own family, but there are also many who are against them, and they will be killed. Kill endlessly.

Such a situation naturally made him, who was familiar with history books, feel grudged and worried that one day the Holy Family would no longer be there, the consequences would be quite serious.

In any case, the Jiangnan troops and horses controlled by Hu Zongxian are a guarantee for the Yan family to settle down in the capital. In Yan Shifan's view, this makes sense.

Even if the imperial court can still command most of the people in Jiangnan, as long as a few are controlled by the Yan family through Hu Zongxian and trigger a major turmoil in Jiangnan during the critical period, many crises can be resolved.

Once the suppression of the Japanese in Jiangnan is completed and Hu Zongxian is transferred to the capital, the Jiangnan soldiers and horses will be disbanded and returned to their original positions, and their foreign aid will no longer exist.

Could Yan Song not be worried when he heard this analysis from Yan Shifan?

Except for the death of Mr. Zhang, those who were there at the beginning were already fine. Emperor Jiajing also showed ruthless methods in dealing with Xia Yan. No matter how useful Xia Yan was to him at the beginning, he would still be ruthless when it came time to take action. Extremely severe.

It's not that Yan Song doesn't understand these things, it's just that he doesn't want to think about them.

But when his son reminded him, he had to treat the matter carefully.

Yan Song's psychological balance gradually changed, tipping in a direction that he thought was inappropriate.