At the beginning of the civil castle, the Ming God of War was a little panicked

Chapter 166 The Land of Friendship
Zhu Qizhen frowned and said: "What exactly did you find out, just tell me!"

"Yes!"

Yuan Bin had no choice but to say: "Although the Japanese pirates over there are not infested, our people secretly learned that the smuggling gang seems to be very close to some officials in the court. Moreover, there is some confusion between them and the Japanese pirates." relationship. It’s just that these lists still lack conclusive evidence, and I intend to report to the emperor after confirming it.”

Zhu Qizhen's expression became ugly. It was expected that he would have more or less connection with Japanese pirates when he went out to sea for smuggling.

At the beginning, Wu Canghai had explained that many smuggling gangs and Japanese pirates were actually one group, and when they went out to sea, they were the territory of Japanese pirates. Ordinary people, unless they were strong enough to fight against them like Wu Canghai, otherwise, they would not be able to go to sea at all. .

Half a month ago, Shi Heng wrote about this matter in a letter, but in view of the fact that this person has been out of the court's control for half a year and has involved so many officials, Zhu Qizhen did not act rashly, and he still prefers to be cautious.

Now that the clues that Zhu Ji found are completely corroborated, this matter has become a certainty.

Bai Lian colludes with Japanese pirates, Japanese pirates and smugglers are the same group, behind the smuggling are officials, all kinds of relationships are intricate, like a giant net, one hair can affect the whole body.

Facing such a situation, how easy is it to open the sea?

The reason why these forces can be united together is rooted in the word interest.

To break their alliance, it is not enough to simply kill a few people, this is a war!
The enemies he faces are not only the vicious Japanese pirates, the insidious and cunning White Lotus Sect, but most importantly, those sanctimonious gentry classes.

Some of them are rich and famous families in the local area, and they have a very high prestige in the local area. Even the magistrate will pay three points of respect when they meet.

Some even live in temples and have a pivotal position in the court.

Since Emperor Taizu founded the country, Daming has always treated scholars with courtesy, but unexpectedly, after a hundred years, these scholars have become Daming's greatest enemies.

They carried out land annexation without scruple, bringing the land of ordinary people into their own names.

The people became tenants, the tenants became refugees, and the refugees either starved to death or became bandits.

They didn't think it was enough, and under the guise of the sea ban, they secretly carried out sea trade smuggling and made huge profits.Whenever the imperial court has the intention to open the sea, they will jump out, point to the nose of those in power and say, this is the ancestral system, and the ancestral system cannot be violated!
However, they didn't mention a word about the ancestral system of embezzling 60 taels of skin and grass that was established by Emperor Taizu.

On the surface, these people insist on emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, but behind their backs, they are colluding with government and business.

If the imperial court wants to collect commercial taxes, they will jump out and shout, this is to compete with the people for profit, can't do it, can't do it!
They are the greatest enemies of the Ming Dynasty!

"Send Jinyiwei in Nanjing to assist Zhu Ji. Anyone involved with thieves and smugglers will be under surveillance. After ten days, we will directly arrest them!"

Yuan Bin asked suspiciously: "Don't you need to wait for the results from our side?"

"unnecessary!"

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "The time here is roughly ten days later, even if it is a few days later, the news from Fuzhou will not be able to come through. Taking a step back, even if the news comes, they will not give up the opportunity in front of them! "

Only then did Yuan Bin nod his head. He clearly felt that the battle was about to start.

If those people are arrested, they will inevitably pull out the carrots and bring out the mud, and the officials in the court will also be dragged out.

It is conceivable that this case is so involved that it is absolutely comparable to the four major cases in the Hongwu period!

It seems that Daming is going to bleed like a river again...

Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Where is the Three Thousand Battalion?"

Yuan Bin replied: "Duke Rui and half of the troops have already arrived in Nanjing, and the rest will arrive in five days at most."

Regarding the dispatch of the [-] Battalion, Duke Rui Li Zhen has put in a lot of effort.

3000 people is not a small number, and they are carrying weapons and ammunition. If they come out of the capital blatantly, they will definitely be noticed by the opponent's eyeliner.

In the end, he broke up the [-] battalion into parts, dressed up as several caravans, hid weapons and ammunition in trucks, and left Beijing in batches.

In order to deceive others, these people left Beijing at different times and routes.

Some traveled by canal, some by land, some by Shandong, some by Henan, and finally assembled in Nanjing.

Yu Qian asked: "Except for the three thousand battalion, where are the other soldiers?"

Yuan Bin replied truthfully: "No more, there are only three thousand battalions."

"Only three thousand battalions?"

Yu Qian was very puzzled, the opponent was the main force of the Japanese pirates and the White Lotus Sect, at least there were 2 people, why did the emperor only bring [-] battalions out?

Although when I suggested to the emperor at the beginning, I said that relying on new firearms, a few thousand people would be enough, but if you really want to fight a war, you have to consider those unknown factors in order to be prepared.

Fortunately, you came here with [-] battalions and others desperately?

Even if the weapons and equipment are leading, you can't play like this!

"Your Majesty, if you only rely on three thousand battalions, I'm afraid...it's not easy to fight..."

Zhu Qizhen didn't take it seriously, and said: "Do you think I don't want to bring more people? I also want to bring the Flying Tiger Cannon from the Shenji Battalion, but it's not easy to mobilize the army to deceive people's eyes and ears?"

Yu Qian sighed helplessly, and said: "Since this is the case, the emperor should withdraw to the capital first, and let the humble minister take full responsibility here!"

"Why, are you worried that the three thousand battalions will not be enough?"

"Enough is enough. However, this is a war after all. The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. The emperor is the Ninth Five-Year King. He can sit in the rear and there is no need to risk himself."

Zhu Qizhen said: "I believe in the fighting power of the Three Thousand Battalion. The Japanese pirates and the Bailian are just a piece of loose sand. They are not worth mentioning in front of my elite troops!"

"That being said, I'm worried..."

"Don't worry about it. Your task is to take good care of the 10 people in Huai'an Mansion. If something happens to them, it will be really troublesome."

"Yes, the minister obeys the order!"

Zhu Qizhen looked at Bei Lin again, and said, "Bei Lin, you stay in Huai'an Mansion and help them look at the stars."

Bellin looked tangled and said, "I want to follow the emperor."

"I went to Nanjing to fight, what did you do next?"

"Sir..." Belin said helplessly, "You don't need to look at the stars to build the embankment."

"Then you...um...that's right!"

Zhu Qizhen suddenly thought of what happened on the road, and said, "Go and investigate Heyin's problem!"

…………

The capital, the residence of Chen Ruyan, the left servant of the Ministry of War.

"Master, someone wants to see you!"

Chen Ruyan was eating, so he asked casually, "Who is it?"

"It seems... surnamed Dong..."

"Surname Dong?"

Chen Ruyan said doubtfully, "This surname is rare."

"This person has visited a few times before, and I vaguely remember that he seems...not a Han Chinese."

"Not Han Chinese?"

"It's weird to hear him speak, he seems to be from the Japanese country... Oh, yes, this is his gift list."

Chen Ruyan suddenly remembered that the cabinet Gao Zhu had told him about the summoning of the Japanese envoys by His Royal Highness King Yi.

He took it over calmly, took a look, and said, "Let him wait in the study!"

"Yes!"

After drinking and eating, Chen Ruyan came to the study slowly.

At this time, Dong Changyuan had been waiting for a long time, and hurried forward to salute politely.

"I have seen Master Chen!"

Chen Ruyan sat down and asked, "What's your name?"

Dong Changyuan hurriedly replied: "My Dong Changyuan, the envoy of the Japanese country, Mr. Chen forgot, back then... your son got married, and I came to congratulate you and gave you gifts..."

He has indeed been here several times, but each time he has never met the Lord, it is more like a gift than a visit.

Fortunately, Chen Ruyan knows how to treat guests better. As the saying goes, if you don't hit a smiling face with your hand, it's not easy to turn them away when they come to visit and bring generous gifts.

"Oh, some impressions!"

Chen Ruyan nodded and asked, "I don't know why your Excellency visited late at night?"

With a smile on his face, Dong Changyuan said: "I have always admired Mr. Chen. I came to visit a few times before, and it happened that Mr. Chen was busy with work, so I have never been able to meet..."

He babbled a lot, and Chen Ruyan got tired of hearing it.

"If you have anything to do, just say it!"

Dong Changyuan smiled awkwardly, and asked, "I heard that the imperial court...has plans to suppress the Japanese?"

Chen Ruyan nodded and said, "It is true!"

Ever since he was summoned by King Tan last time, Dong Changyuan's heart has been agitated. After thinking about it, he felt that the matter might be more serious than he imagined, so he prepared a generous gift and came to find out the truth.

"A few days ago, His Royal Highness King Tan summoned me and reprimanded me for the Japanese pirates' ravages. My heart is uneasy. Please believe, Mr. Chen, that the Japanese pirates have nothing to do with our country. Our country's lord and shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa Your Excellency, you have absolutely nothing to do with these Japanese pirates, and our country and Daming are brothers, and His Highness's accusations against our country are really heartbreaking, making people sleepless."

Chen Ruyan squinted his eyes and asked, "Is it true that you have nothing to do with the Japanese pirates?"

Dong Changyuan swore: "Absolutely...it has nothing to do with it!"

Chen Ruyan smiled, and said calmly: "Since that's the case, then it's all right. It seems that there is indeed a misunderstanding. It is His Royal Highness King Tan who blamed you."

After receiving Chen Ruyan's words, Dong Changyuan felt calm.

Now that the Minister of the Ministry of War has gone to Huai'an Mansion, all matters related to the Ministry of War are decided by Chen Ruyan, the left servant. Since he said it's okay, it's okay.

As for them wanting to suppress the Japanese pirates, let them do so, as long as they have nothing to do with the Japanese country, you can suppress them as you please!
At least, judging from Chen Ruyan's attitude, they seemed unwilling to expand the incident.

For Wa country, this is a good thing.

"It's my honor to meet Mr. Chen. I hope Mr. Chen will support me a lot in the capital in the future!"

Chen Ruyan smiled lightly and said, "Since you are an envoy of a friendly country, you should do so!"

"Then don't disturb Mr. Chen's rest, and leave!"

That's all the talk, what should be said has been said, of course there is no need to say anything redundant.

Dong Changyuan is a very shrewd person, his gift should not be given in vain, in order to prove his remarks, he returned to Honglu Temple, he vigorously publicized this matter in front of envoys from various countries, and praised Chen Ruyan fiercely.

Not only that, he also made a memorial in the name of the Japanese envoy.

According to the usual practice, the memorials of foreign envoys should be directly submitted by Honglu Temple to the cabinet, and then submitted to the imperial court.

However, when Cao Nai saw this memorial, his face was very ugly.

The scribe went to deliver a message, and after a while, Gao Zhu arrived.

He obviously felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere, so he asked, "What happened?"

Cao Nai tapped the memorial on the case slip with his hand, and said, "What is Chen Ruyan up to? It's a major national event, so it's not a trifle? Come and see, this is the performance of Dong Changyuan, the envoy of the Japanese Kingdom, singing praises to Chen Ruyan. He said that he was kind to people, that he understood that the Japanese kingdom was also invaded by Japanese pirates, and that he and Daming were both deeply harmed by Japanese pirates. He also said that he was the same man as the left hand of the Ministry of War. Why did he wear a pair of trousers with the Japanese? Wreak havoc, although Daming did not openly reprimand the Wa country, but it was tacit understanding, if these Japanese pirates had no one to protect them in the Wa country, how could they have such momentum today, it is really unreasonable!"

Gao Hub picked up the memorial and looked at it, then frowned and said, "Could it be the Japanese's plan to alienate them?"

Cao Nai shook his head and said, "I don't think so. It's probably because the Japanese envoy prepared a generous gift for Chen Ruyan. Chen Ruyan accepted the things from others, so he would naturally help him speak..."

"Mr. Cao said carefully, this is a big matter. Before there is no conclusive evidence, don't make wild suspicions!"

Gao Zhu hurriedly interrupted him, and then said: "Perhaps, it's just that the Japanese envoys wanted to show their friendship to Daming. After all, they came from a small foreign country overseas. They don't know the rules, but it's understandable."

The two looked at each other and remained silent for a long time. Finally, Cao Nai said, "Come on, go and find out what happened last night!"

It's easy to check this kind of thing, and it only takes more than an hour to get a reply.

"Report to the two elders, last night, Dong Changyuan paid a serious visit to Chen Ruyan, and indeed prepared generous gifts."

"He dares to accept any gift!"

Cao Nai was so angry that he was about to vomit blood. At this juncture, how could he give someone a handle, not to mention that His Highness just warned him that even if he wanted to solve the Japanese problem, even if he had no ill intentions towards the Japanese country, at least, now is not the right time to show his kindness to the Japanese. , but should maintain a high-pressure posture, at least let the Japanese feel guilty and make concessions.

It's all right now, people wrote a letter to praise you so much, and it made the world know it.

The Japanese were calm and relaxed, and they had nothing to do with the Japanese pirates, so they kept themselves out of the matter.

Cao Nai sighed, and said, "Forget your life when you see small gains, and cherish your life when you do great things, you will die!"

These remarks are already extremely serious criticism, and Chen Ruyan is almost called in, pointing his nose and scolding his mother.

Gao Zhu persuaded again: "Cao Gong's remarks are not too trivial? It is also a common thing for Japanese envoys to show favor to our Ming officials. Just write a note to Chen Ruyan and ask him to return the gift money. .”

Cao Nai pondered for a long time before he picked up his pen and wrote in the memorial: "This memorial contains evil intentions, which is not good for suppressing the Japanese. Be careful, be careful!"

(End of this chapter)