People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 417: The Noto bombing incident shocked Japan

At noon, the sun rises from the east of Japan and hangs high in the sky.

On the distant coastline, there is a fleet of ships sailing around Noto Province and heading towards Sado Island.

Song Cai stood on the armored ship and said to Ma Mao beside him: "Brother Ma, that direction is Sado Island. It's only two hundred miles away. There is a lot of gold on it."

Ma Mao looked in the direction he pointed. The straight-line distance between Noto Country and Sado Island was about a hundred kilometers. Of course, he couldn't see anything.

However, he still swallowed when he heard that there was plenty of gold up there and said, "I don't know what the price of gold is."

He said with a naive smile: "My mother-in-law has always wanted to get a gold bracelet."

"Hahahahaha."

Song Cai laughed loudly and said, "Brother Ma, don't worry, I will definitely satisfy you."

"Then please leave it to Brother Song."

After a while, Ning Haijun rumbled over. Lu Chao quickly got off the ship and paddled across in a small boat. Before he even boarded the ship, he saw Song Cai.

Song Cai said in confusion: "However, we have been sailing all the way these days, but there is not a single merchant ship on the route. It is really strange that only one has come out until now."

"Let Wang Tai go and take a look."

This look doesn't seem like they are sailing together, but rather like they are catching up.

just
Just judging from Ma Mao’s naval experience.

A lookout shouted to Ma Mao.

"Military Commander, that ship is asking for help from us."

"Brother Lu, why did it happen like this?"

Military chief is the internal title of the military commander, just as the prefect is also called the prefect.

"Then ignore it."

Song Cai was puzzled when she saw that he was quite embarrassed.

The assault ship has a displacement of only more than 200 tons, which is smaller than the ocean-going merchant ships, but it is full of deterrence.

"What's weird?"

Since he still didn't know what the situation was, Wang Tai, the battalion commander on the warship, didn't take any action. He just looked like separating the two sides.

The two sides entered into a confrontation.

At this moment, Ma Mao noticed that there were various ships of various sizes behind the merchant ship.

"There are quite a few ships behind us. Are they sailing together?"

At this moment, a lookout suddenly said: "Commander, there is a big ship on the sea ahead."

In an instant, Lu Chao seemed to see hope, his eyes almost fell out, and he shouted: "Brother Song!"

"Although Sado Island is not as prosperous as Ishimi Country, there are still 30,000 to 40,000 people resident on the island, and countless merchants come and go."

But this did not prevent Wang Tai from executing the order and signaling for the boat on the opposite side to stop.

There are merchant ships, cargo ships, speedboats and small boats.

After all, although Japan is an island country with a small land area, its land has a long and narrow terrain. The northwest and southeast are very narrow, while the northeast and southwest are very wide. This makes it a long way from Iwami Country in the southwest to Echigo Country in the northeast. .

Ma Mao looked over and saw the chased ship waving flags in the distance.

They set off from Iwami Country to Sado Island, which is very far away. The straight-line distance is more than 600 kilometers, not to mention the coastal route. The sailing distance is more than 800 kilometers and takes almost seven or eight days.

Song Cai borrowed Ning Haijun's telescope to take a look and said, "That's our merchant ship."

Ma Mao was puzzled.

However, when they saw a menacing fleet suddenly appeared in front of them, especially the thousand-ton fortune ship and the ferocious steel armored ship, they immediately felt fearful.

Ma Mao was overjoyed. They had become acquainted with each other these days and had begun to call them brothers.

For a while, the speed of the pursuing ship also slowly decreased, and it slowly stopped two or three nautical miles away.

Ma Mao signaled.

Then a speedship nearby accelerated and sped away.

Ma Mao said.

The Japanese invaders chasing in the distance did not understand the flag language.

Ma Mao was a little puzzled.

Immediately the messenger issued the order.

The two looked over.

It rushed over and arrived near the merchant ship, then stopped the ship and got into position.

Therefore, they had no idea that as early as nine days ago, the Echigo Kingdom had changed its owner, and the Japanese court had also taken back the mining rights of the Sado Gold Mine, arresting and expelling the Song merchants here.

Song Cai put down the telescope, scratched his head and said, "It's just a little weird."

On one side of the merchant ship, Lu Chao asked people to stop the ship, and then stood on the side of the ship and shouted something to the warship. However, due to the strong sea wind, the distance between the two sides was a bit far. They were more than 20 feet apart, and Wang Tai could not hear anything clearly.

He knew the interests of the Cao family represented by the Lu Dynasty. After all, Zhao Jun's wife was from the Cao family, and he wanted to set an example for the Cao family. Therefore, when the Cao family opened up trade with Japan, he helped a lot.

However, Song Cai's main focus was on the Iwami Silver Mine, while Lu Chao's main focus was on operating the Sado Gold Mine. The two places were too far apart, and there was much less overlap.

The person who interacts with Lu Chao the most on weekdays is actually the spokesperson arranged by Song Cai at the Sado Gold Mine. As for Lu Chao himself, he probably only meets a few times a year, and the number of meetings in the past two years has been very few.

Song Cai heard some time ago that the Cao family's merchant ships had brought a large amount of weapons and equipment from China. According to the steward of the Cao family's fleet, this was the work of the Lu Dynasty.

He thought that the Lu Dynasty was going to form an army in Japan. How could it happen in the blink of an eye?
For a moment, Song Cai wondered: "Brother Lu, did you gather a crowd to revolt in Japan and was put down by their court?"

"Brother Song is joking, how can I do this?"

Lu Chao smiled bitterly and said: "It was the Japanese court that broke their faith and suddenly sent troops to occupy Sado Island to take back the gold mines."

"what?"

Song Cai was shocked, and then asked hurriedly: "Where is my brother?"

His steward on Sado Island was one of his cousins.

Lu Chao shook his head and said, "They are arresting people everywhere. I am afraid that the good brother who follows the rules has been arrested, but I don't know if anything unexpected happened."

Song Cai was so worried that he immediately said to Ma Mao: "Brother Ma, please help me in this matter and save my brother."

"Brother Song, don't worry."

Ma Mao thought about it, and he was actually a little undecided.

Although the order he received this time was to show off his force, the apparent order was actually to protect trade routes and combat rampant pirates.

But if we were to fight the Japanese army, the nature would be different, so we were a bit hesitant.

However, Song Cai's brother can still be saved, so after thinking for a while, Ma Mao said: "I will send someone to negotiate with them immediately."

Then he said awkwardly: "I'm afraid my soldiers can't speak their language."

Lu Chao had calmed down at this time, rolled his eyes, and thought of a plan: "General, don't worry, I have followers who understand the Japanese language, let me make arrangements."

"Well, let your people negotiate."

Ma Mao said.

Lu Chao then asked a follower who had followed him to drive the ship towards the Japanese fleet in the distance.

While waiting for negotiations, Lu Chao took the opportunity to ask: "If they don't let them go, will the general fight with them?"

Ma Mao shook his head and said: "The imperial court has never allowed us to provoke wars without authorization."

This was the death order issued after Zhao Guangyi was beaten up by the Liao Kingdom.

Therefore, during the Song-Xia war in history, no matter how Li Yuanhao provoked at the border, the Song army did not dare to take the initiative.

It wasn't until Li Yuanhao went deep into the hinterland to burn, kill and loot that the Song army launched a defensive battle, but was beaten violently.

Although the Song Dynasty is now strong and powerful, this order has never been taken back.

It's not that Zhao Jun doesn't want to take it back, but the meaning is different.

In the past, Zhao Guangyi was extremely cowardly, fearing that the Song army would take the initiative to stir up trouble and give the Liao Kingdom an excuse to go south.

Now the Song Dynasty does not want to fight an unprepared war.

Zhao Jun asked the army to enforce orders and prohibitions, and even if they were to fight, they had to make plans.

Otherwise, the soldiers on the border would suddenly cause trouble for no apparent reason, and then a full-scale war would break out for no apparent reason.

Being unprepared is obviously not a good thing.

Now that Ma Mao suddenly encountered such an emergency, he definitely did not dare to fire randomly, and said: "This kind of matter still needs to be consulted with the court for instructions."

Lu Chao said anxiously: "General, you must not do this."

"Oh?"

Ma Mao frowned and looked at Lu Chao displeasedly: "Who are you? How dare you question the decision of this commander?"

Lu Chao knew that he should show some trump cards at this time, so he said: "The general doesn't know something. My mother's surname is Cao, and she and Mrs. Zhiyuan are sisters."

"Forehead"

Ma Mao choked. He was from a distinguished family, so how could he not know the importance of the Cao family?

But Lu Chao's words still made him a little dissatisfied.

What do you mean?
Use the Cao family and Mrs. Zhiyuan to suppress him?
So he looked unhappy.

The reason why Lu Chao was able to send people to Japan must be because of his cleverness.

He could even think of provoking war in Japan and selling arms indiscriminately, let alone what Ma Mao was thinking now.

Therefore, seeing that Ma Mao was a little unhappy, Lu Chao immediately said: "The general has misunderstood. I don't want to use the Cao family to pressure the general, but I want to explain the importance of this matter to the general." "Oh?"

Ma Mao said calmly: "Just tell me."

Lu Chao looked at Song Cai and said, "Brother Song, there should be officials and the academy behind you."

Song Cai was now focused on her cousin's life and death and was not in the mood to think about anything else. However, when faced with Lu Chao's inquiry, she still said, "Yes, the Cao family is behind Brother Lu. They are all our own. I won't hide it from you. Back then, It’s the Japanese island that the Governor sent me to.”

Lu Chao said: "Iwami Silver Mine and Sado Gold Mine are the largest gold and silver producing areas in Japan. More than 90% of the gold and silver must be shipped back to the country, and the imperial court accounts for a lot of it. It can be said that these two The mine is the money bag of the imperial court and one of the sources of expenditure for the treasury. Do you think the imperial court would want to lose it? "

"of course not."

Song Cai immediately said instinctively.

Although they made a lot of profits from it, most of the gold and silver were shipped back to the country. If these two mines were gone, how much less would the court's income be?
With Chiyuan's temperament, it would be impossible for them to be taken away from the imperial court.

Lu Chao immediately said: "I think this time the Japanese took the Sado Gold Mine as a test to test the court's attitude. Once the court does not send troops, their next target will definitely be the Iwami Silver Mine. The Japanese island is too far away, and the court obviously cannot We sent troops with great fanfare, so the best way is to take advantage of this opportunity to defeat the Japanese and give them a warning, so that they will no longer dare to covet our gold and silver. "

As he said that, he looked at Ma Mao and said, "I thought that this was the reason why the imperial court asked the general to come over!"

"This"

Ma Mao felt that what Lu Chao said made sense, so he looked at Song Cai.

Song Cai also slowly calmed down and said: "Yes, the Zhiyuan has been operating the Iwami Silver Mine and the Sado Gold Mine for many years, so how could it be possible for the Zhiyuan to give it up? Based on my understanding of the Zhiyuan, even if Brother Ma goes back to ask for instructions, I'm afraid it will be I will order you to take back the mineral deposits, and I feel that if Brother Ma really goes back to ask for instructions, I am afraid he will not be able to avoid punishment, or even be imprisoned. I will ask Brother Ma why he dare not make a decisive decision. I have known the Zhiyuan for more than ten years, and I know very well what the Zhiyuan can do. Not someone who swallows his anger.”

When Zhao Jun went on a killing spree in Bianliang, rumors spread among local gangsters, gangsters, and deputy prime ministers that he was petty and would not survive if he offended the magistrate.

In fact, this is also the case. It is not an exaggeration to say that ghosts in Wuyou Cave, Fanlou, the prime ministers' families such as the Han family and the Ma family, and even noble generals and landlords, piled up mountains of bones.

Fan Zhongyan is cruel to others, but Zhao Jun has never been soft to others in recent years. The lives on hand are no less than Fan Zhongyan's results.

Ma Mao shuddered for a moment when he thought that the big bosses behind the Iwami Silver Mine and Sado Gold Mine were Guan Jia and Zhao Jun, and how ruthlessly Zhao Jun attacked the generals.

He had escaped the purge not because of his integrity, but because the Ma Renyu family had declined.

The descendants of future generations have little power, and there are also few people joining the army. Pure shrimps cannot make money in the army, so no one wants to mess with them.

Now the Ma family has the highest position in the army. If this matter is not handled properly, the Ma family will be thrown into the dust again.

Thinking of this, Ma Mao immediately grabbed their hands and said, "Brother Song, Brother Lu, I almost made a mistake. You are right. I must be tough and I must not let the Japanese run wild."

The words of the two woke him up.

This matter is nothing more than four situations.

One, he was beaten, but the court did not want to fight, and he was furious, and he was unlucky.

Second, he fought, the court wanted to fight, and when he was happy, he made meritorious service.

Third, if he doesn’t fight, the court wants to fight, and if he gets angry, he will be unlucky.

Fourth, if he doesn't fight, the court doesn't want to fight. He is happy because he has made meritorious service.

It seems that misfortune is half as much as meritorious deeds.

But there is another problem: Lu Chao and Song Cai both advised him to fight.

One of them has a background from the Cao family, and the other has a background from the emperor and the magistrate. Their backgrounds are astounding.

So if the first situation occurs and he fights, but the court does not want to fight, but the two of them encourage him, his guilt will be much smaller.

To put it simply, if he makes his own decision, he will bear the blame alone. If three people make a decision, all three will take the blame together.

Perhaps the court considered that it was the two of them who instigated it, and it was very possible that the big matter was reduced to a trivial matter.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, it is obviously more appropriate to listen to the two of them and fight, and the chance of being rewarded by the court for meritorious service is also the highest.

While he was talking, the results were already happening in the distance.

Fujiwara Nozuna on the ship categorically rejected the "unreasonable demands" of the Song Dynasty and refused to return the gold mine and the captured personnel.

He saw the Song Army's ship, but he thought it was the Song Army on Tsushima Island.

The Song troops there often went to Ishijian Country to enjoy themselves. Although some pirates had been eliminated, Fujiwara Jizuna felt that the Song troops who only knew how to enjoy themselves were not that powerful.

On the other hand, he had the Japanese court behind him, and he had also seized a lot of weapons and equipment from Sado Island that the mainland wanted to sell to Abe Nora and Takeshi Kiyogen. Now they all have armor and blades, and they are not afraid of each other at all.

After all, he was burdened with the emperor's expectations, so how could he show weakness to him?
At this moment, on the merchant ship, Fujiwara Nozuna was looking at the Song Army warships in the distance. They were far away. Although he could not visually determine the size of the opponent's warships, he could still see the ferociousness of the ironclad ships.

It's just that Fujiwara Nozuna didn't understand why there were so many holes in the sides of those ships. But that didn't matter, maybe they were scull holes.

He raised the sword in his hand and glanced behind him.

There are more than ten large ships and dozens of small ships around. There are more ships than the opposite side. And there are more than 2,000 of them here, so what is there to worry about?

"We must not let the Song people leave. If we can't catch them, we will kill them. Sado Island belongs to us."

he shouted.

The servant who came to negotiate was startled, then turned around and ran away, trying to jump back into the boat.

However, Fujiwara Nozuna suddenly lunged forward and slashed with his sword.

"Pfft!"

The head flew out.

Then he was covered in blood and shouted: "Charge and kill them."

"Kill!"

Many Japanese ships made a noise, the sailors rowed their oars, and nearly a hundred Japanese ships began to charge forward.

Ma Mao and others who were observing with telescopes in the distance were shocked when they saw this scene from a distance.

They never expected that the Japanese would be so cruel and kill people directly.

And he even rushed towards them.

Ma Mao was furious and said, "The Japanese are so bold and reckless. Have they always been so brave?"

"This is because they only know that the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Kingdom, but they don't know why the Song Dynasty was able to defeat the Liao Kingdom."

Lu Chao immediately said: "General, don't hesitate any longer."

Ma Mao immediately shouted: "Gunner, prepare!"

"Gunner ready!"

The messenger above waved the flag.

In an instant, the Ning Navy entered combat mode, and all ships began to move slowly, tilting the hulls.

One nautical mile is close to two kilometers, and the distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer. When the Japanese ship is less than one mile away from them, Ning Haijun finally completes the steering and artillery loading.

"fire!"

Ma Mao roared.

"fire!"

"fire!"

"fire!"

Flags kept waving.

The order was quickly conveyed to all ships.

Followed by.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Hundreds of pitch-black cannonballs came out of their barrels, drawing countless gorgeous arcs in mid-air.

Before all the Japanese could react, they fell into their fleet.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

There were countless sounds of wood breaking, followed by various panicked screams and screams.

I saw that under the baptism of artillery fire, the Japanese ships were shattered one after another, wood chips flew away, and many ships collapsed directly, then tilted and sank.

Of course, most of the Japanese were not dead. It was still difficult to hit people with artillery, but after the ship was broken, they could only feed the fish.

You must know that although this is offshore and very close to the shore, it is still several nautical miles away. The sea is very rough and the waves are very rough. Without a boat, it is almost impossible to swim to the shore.

For a while, the little ones who fell into the water wailed all over the place, and some who couldn't swim quickly sank.

The remaining boats that were lucky enough not to be hit were also stunned at this time. Then they thought they had encountered divine punishment. The people on the boat screamed strangely, and then rowed away.

Ma Mao shouted: "Chase!"

Riku Chao said hurriedly: "General, it's okay. The top priority now is to go to Sado Island and Echigo Country immediately, control the counties in Echigo Country, and rescue our people."

"Yeah."

Song Cai also nodded repeatedly: "The gold mine and my brother are more important."

Although it would be easy for Ning Haijun to kill more than two thousand people, it would obviously take a lot of time. The most important thing now is the gold mine and the Song businessmen they captured.

"Huh, let's just teach them a lesson first."

Ma Mao snorted coldly: "These Japanese people don't seem to be very strong. I, Ning Haijun, will guard here first. If they come, I will kill ten thousand. If they come, I will kill them all!"

"The general is mighty!"

Song Cai and Lu Chao were also shocked by the combat effectiveness of the Song army and praised them repeatedly.

Then Ning Haijun ignored the Japanese and sailed towards Sado Island.

On the same day, the Riku Dynasty returned to Echigo Kingdom and quickly took control of Sado Island and the six counties of Echigo Kingdom, released the captured businessmen, and rescued the local wealthy families who cooperated with them.

The living Japanese quickly landed on the coast of Noto Province. After they landed from Noto, they immediately reported the situation to Noto Province's guardian, who then sent people to report to Heian Kyo at a flying speed.

A few days later, Japan was shocked.

(End of this chapter)