The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 79 The Raptor Crosses the River
The emperor strongly supported Liu Zhaosun, the eunuchs supported General Liu, and even the two military supervisors Kang Yingqian and Qiao Yiqi were in cahoots with this warrior.

Even a fool could see that this warrior had a promising future. In the future, he would at least become a governor-general. If he could pacify Liaodong, it would not be impossible for him to be crowned king.

For Ma Shiying, if he did not go to Liaodong, he could only return to Zhejiang and wait for the court's appointment.

Then he would most likely be assigned to be a county magistrate in a remote area, and more than ten years later, he would die of depression while serving as a prefect in a certain place.

For Ma Shiying, who was eager to achieve great things, this was obviously unacceptable.

So he chose to come to Liaodong with Liu Zhaosun, hoping to establish some achievements.

Liu Zhaosun had a liking for the energetic Ma Shiying.

This person is brave, eloquent, and good at fighting. Apart from talking big, he has no major problems.

"Okay, from now on, the propaganda and encouragement work in the army will be handled by Sir Ma. I hope the soldiers know why they are fighting. Sir Ma should understand what I mean. After returning to Kaiyuan this time, I will integrate the Training Department and you will be the director..."

Ma Shiying was very happy. He thought Liu Zhaosun wanted to be the second Li Chengliang, but he didn't have a good impression of the court.

What I saw after being out of the capital for a few days were starving people everywhere and people selling their children. Is this the prosperous Wanli era that the officials in the court boasted about?

Ma Shiying was well aware that his Kaiyuan Military Governor position, like Song Yingxing's Anle Prefecture Governor position, was merely an honorary title with no power.

The Director of Discipline is a position with real power. If one does well, he will have a bright future.

"Rest assured, General Liu, I will do my utmost to fight for you! Let the soldiers know why and for whom they are fighting!"

Under Ma Shiying's encouragement, a thousand men were recruited in half an hour. The recruitment criteria were simple:
Single, from the countryside, not slick, with calluses on hands and feet.

These were Qi Jiguang's criteria for selecting soldiers, and Liu Zhaosun only made simple optimizations.

When the boatmen around heard that the imperial court was recruiting soldiers, they all ran towards this side.

The trackers who came later basically brought their families with them. Some even brought three or four children. The children were as thin as kittens, and it was unknown whether they could survive this spring.

Along the way, he has seen too many such human tragedies and no longer wants to see them.

He assigned the task of recruiting soldiers to Pei Dahu and Ma Shiying. These two, one ruthless and the other flamboyant, were a perfect match.

Both of them firmly refused those trackers who had families.

Liu Zhaosun rode on his horse and looked towards the water camp. He thought, "Daxing went back early to report the news, so why hasn't the commander surnamed Lu come to take revenge yet?"

At Zhangjiagang Port, there are constantly Fujian ships, sand ships and Kailang ships coming in and out, transporting grain, cloth, ceramics and other goods, creating a busy scene.

Only the twelve Fujian ships hired by General Liu, loaded with food, gunpowder and weapons, were quietly docked at the dock, and it was unknown when they would be able to go out to sea.

Suddenly, seven or eight people who looked like servants in the distance caught his attention. These servants looked at the group of boatmen for a while, and then looked towards the south gate, as if they were waiting for someone.

After a while, a small Fujian ship slowly sailed into the port, with the flag of the Tianjin Water Camp Adjutant General flying at the stern. There was deep water under the side of the ship, and it was unknown what cargo was loaded in the cabin.

As soon as the Fu ship docked, several suspicious-looking servants jumped on board and quickly moved bags of grain to the dock.

"Smuggling food?"

At this time, more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages drove into the city gate corridor, followed by a large number of water camp soldiers. A rough estimate was that there were at least four hundred people.

"Master Lu is finally here."

Liu Zhaosun dismounted, walked to the front of the group of trackers, and was about to announce that the job fair was over for the day.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of four ragged boat trackers.

This is a family of four, a couple with two children, and all of them are as thin as sticks.

Especially that woman, she looked like she would fall to the ground if the wind blew.

The whole family had only one complete pair of pants, which was worn by his thin wife.

A little girl of seven or eight years old was naked, with her two pigtails so dirty that they had become pancake-shaped. A withered apricot blossom was stuck in her bun. The little girl stood in the crowd, looking at the world in a daze.

"Let's go, let's go! Lord Liu just said that we don't recruit people with families. Let's go!"

Without even looking up, Ma Shiying sent the family away and announced their tragic fate.

Pei Dahu, who was sitting next to him, had a gloomy expression on his face. This head servant, who was known for his cruelty, couldn't help but sigh at this moment, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The sad and melancholy sound of the xiao rang in his ears, and the little girl who played the xiao in the Wumen Jiaofangsi appeared in front of him, staring blankly at Liu Zhaosun.

Rubbing his eyes hard, the eunuch who rolled his eyes at Zuo'an Gate moved his broken leg, sat by the moat, and smiled foolishly at Liu Zhaosun who was riding past on horseback.

Liu Zhaosun shook his head, trying to sober himself up, and found himself in the Meridian Gate, naked and roasted on a bonfire. The obese Wanli and his ministers sat by the bonfire, holding knives and forks and devouring themselves...
"If you don't save her, she will be sold to a brothel. That Tongzhi lord loves little girls like this."

Suddenly waking up, the world in front of me became clear. When I looked up, the little girl disappeared among a group of skinny trackers.

He sighed and turned around, catching a glimpse of withered apricot blossoms swaying in the distance.

"Wait!"

He looked up at Ma Shiying:

"Recruit another hundred! We can recruit those with families! That family will stay!"

Jin Yuji inserted apricot blossoms into her chain mail, took out a gorgeous coat from the carriage and put it on the little girl.

"Here, these are the snacks given by the emperor. They are delicious."

The girl took the snack and said timidly:

"Thank you sister..."

She took only a small bite, tears streaming down her dirty face, then she clutched the pastry in her hand and looked back at her family.

"Eat it, sister has plenty here."

Seeing this heartwarming scene, Liu Zhaosun turned to the young father and asked:

"What's your name?"

The thin young man looked at Liu Zhaosun timidly and whispered:

"My name is Zheng Yishi. I'm a refugee from Shaanxi. The land in my hometown is dying of drought, sir."

Having said this, he looked down at his skinny son and mustered up the courage to continue.

"Master, please take me in. I can pull the oars and have the strength to kill the Tartars for you!"

Liu Zhaosun glanced at him, his thin shoulders still showing scars from pulling the oars. He hesitated for a moment and finally said:
"Zheng Yishi, when you get to Liaodong, kill the Tartars thoroughly. You and your family will have a better life."

Zheng Yishi's eyes were red, and he pulled his wife to kowtow three times to Liu Zhaosun.

Liu Zhaosun helped him up, waved his hand and asked him to take the child to the Fuchuan to eat cakes.

While Liu Zhaosun was selecting trackers, Song Yingxing took ten soldiers to the dock market and bought dozens of baskets of food such as cakes and steamed buns.

The five hundred selected boatmen loaded the food onto the boat and gathered under the lucky boat, wolfing down the bread.

When the other boatmen heard that there were still fifty vacancies for recruitment, they immediately rushed to the Fu ship, crying and begging the two masters to accept them.

Ma Shiying called a team of soldiers to stop the boatmen.

Liu Zhaosun summoned Kang Yingqian, Ma Shiying and others and said coldly:

"Give food to the trackers."

Ma Shiying looked confused and asked:

"What kind of food? Sir, the food we bought has been loaded onto the ship."

"Of course I won't distribute my own food, I'll distribute other people's!"

Liu Zhaosun's expression remained unchanged. Ma Shiying asked in surprise:
"Whose is it from?"

"For the rich."

“Who is the rich man?”

“Whoever has money is rich!”

Kang Yingqian grabbed Liu Zhaosun and said anxiously:

"Tens of thousands of boatmen! Even if you bring all the grain from the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Revenue here, you can't save us. Brother Liu, we have our own business! Let's go! You just killed someone, how can they let you go?"

Liu Zhaosun looked at the skinny boatman in front of him and said word by word:

"They toiled diligently on this land, only to end up selling their children!"

"I'm not strong enough to save so many people, but since I've encountered them today, I'll save as many as I can!"

Liu Zhaosun looked into the distance and said in a deep voice:
"Whoever has money should give them food!"

Ma Shiying and Kang Yingqian looked at each other and said in unison:
“Who has money?”

Liu Zhaosun beckoned the two men to come closer, pointed at Lü Tongzhi who was riding out of the city gate, and said to them:
"I think this Lord Lu is very rich."

"A commanding officer, smuggling grain and trafficking people. Look at his size, he must weigh at least 300 kilograms. He even crushed the horses!"

"He has money, and it's his dirty money. Today, we'll give him food!"

Ma Shiying looked stunned.

Kang Yingqian stepped forward and grabbed Liu Zhaosun's sleeve, saying urgently:
"A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Don't cause trouble. Take the food and leave quickly! Tianjin Wei Water Camp has 2,000 soldiers, plus the Chinese army, the Japanese army, and the Henan soldiers. That's over 10,000 troops. We only have 300. If a war breaks out, you are not them..."

Liu Zhaosun looked at the soldiers from the water camp rolling in and said to the two of them with a smile:

"Today I will not fight. Today I will suppress this local tyrant!"

After saying this, he turned back to Deng Changxiong and said:

"Selected trackers, eat your cakes and go home to take a bath. Meet here in one hour!"

"Everyone only needs to bring money and food, and wear a set of clean clothes. Don't bring anything else. Bedding, clothes, pots and pans are not allowed to bring anything else. Otherwise, you will not be allowed on board!"

At the command, the trackers immediately dispersed, and the three hundred soldiers formed a battle formation, waiting for the arrival of the water camp soldiers.

On the road from Tianjin Shuiying to Zhangjiagang, the fat Lu Demin was riding on a tall horse. The horse was shaking all over and snorting constantly.

Lu Demin has been the commander of Tianjin Wei for many years, and his figure has changed from being thin to what it is now.

Taking advantage of his cousin being the prefect of Jizhou, he engaged in various businesses in Zhangjiawan and raised a gang of thugs. He was involved in everything from the black and white worlds, such as brothels and teahouses, grain smuggling, and human trafficking.

This year, a spring famine struck northern Zhili. Many families along the Grand Canal were unable to pay their rent and were forced to sell their children, especially the boat trackers. Master Lü Demin, feeling sorry for the boat trackers, took pity on them. He transported grain from Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, reselling it north at high prices. He also sent brothels to buy the boat trackers' daughters at low prices, then sold them to brothels in Jiangnan for high prices. Finally, he transported porcelain and southern goods from Jiangnan back to Tianjin, where they were sold to the local people.

Compared with the triangular trade of contemporary European colonists, Lu Demin's business of buying and selling porcelain and southern goods was no less bloody and profitable, and was considered a typical example of the bloody primitive accumulation of capital in this era.

The businesses controlled by Lü Demin were extremely profitable. Of course, he couldn't have taken all the money. In reality, he was just an errand boy, and a mere leg of the master's...

"Damn it! Just a few hundred foreign soldiers dare to cause trouble in Tianjin! You want to leave without paying? Go inform Master Ma and mobilize the troops from East City! We will move the food directly later. If you don't let us move, we will kill them! After that, throw them into the river and say they are a group of deserters."

Behind Master Lu followed a tall and thin middle-aged man. This usually fierce and cruel leader of a thug gang was holding the horse's butt, fearing that the horse would be crushed to the ground by Master Lu.

After hearing this, the leader of the gang said with a wry smile:

"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you. I know everything about Tianjin. Just kill a few foreign soldiers. What's the big deal?"

"What's the point of me keeping you around? You're useless! A dozen of you can't even defeat a captain. If I have to personally intervene, you'll have to pay for your own visits to brothels next time!"

The leader of the gang smiled widely, nodded repeatedly and didn't dare to say anything back.

The soldiers of the water camp followed the master crookedly. When they passed a roadside stall, a soldier grabbed a string of candied haws and ate it while walking. The vendor following behind picked up a bench and hit him. The soldier hid in the crowd. The vendor pointed at the laughing soldiers of the water camp and started cursing:

"You bastard, you are so naive and disgusting! You are insulting our ancestors!"

Half an hour later, this slow-moving army finally arrived at Zhangjiagang Wharf.

With the help of the head servant, Lu Demin rolled off the horse, and the horse under him seemed relieved.

Lu Demin ignored the skinny trackers standing around him and looked up at the enemy soldiers opposite.

"Which battalion are you from? You're so brave, you dared to kill people in Tianjin. If you don't give me an explanation today, don't even think about leaving!"

After saying that, Lu Demin waved to the water camp soldiers behind him.

"Load all the food from the Fuzhou ships! Take away the carriages! Transport it all back to the Dusi and seal it up! Shoot this bastard to death right here!"

When the soldiers of the water camp heard about moving food, they immediately became energetic and rushed towards Liu Zhaosun with swords and wooden sticks.

After taking just a few steps, the water camp retreated and a Ming army armed with long spears and heavy swords blocked their way.

"How dare you! You dare to stop the soldiers! You bunch of ragtag foreign soldiers, get out of the way!"

Liu Zhaosun rode forward and shouted:
"I am Liu Zhaosun, the general of Kaiyuan. I am ordered by the emperor to pacify Liaodong. I passed by your place last night. Lord Kang bought some grain. It should not be sold by your company!" Although the Ming Dynasty did not strictly prohibit officials from doing business, officials usually took their status into consideration and often operated behind the scenes, while their relatives and servants were the ones running the business in front of them.

Lu Tongzhi waved his hands and said angrily:

"No, sir, I don't do grain business!"

He thought for a moment, then felt something was wrong and cursed:

"Don't think we're afraid of you just because you're a Liao soldier. I'm a good friend of Ding Bi. Hurry up and leave the food behind, or I'll make you a collaborator..."

Liu Zhaosun didn't wait for him to finish, and waved his hand towards the mountain of grain in the distance, and asked:
"How can you, a deputy governor of Tianjin, transport grain to Shandong? Do you have any orders from the Ministry of War?"

Seeing that this general was difficult to deal with, Lü Tongzhi not only refused to pay the toll but also turned the tables on him, he became furious and raised his whip to hit Liu Zhaosun.

Liu Zhaosun waved his knife to block the horsewhip, and with a light pull, Lu Tongzhi, whose body was as shaped as a ball, rolled on the ground.

Liu Zhaosun watched him roll twice before stopping.

The tall man swung his Japanese sword, but before the sword fell, he was shot by an arrow and fell to the ground.

Liu Zhaosun looked back at Jin Yuji, nodded at her, turned around, put the scabbard against Lu Tongzhi's chin, and said coldly:
"I'll ask you again, what kind of food is on the dock? Where did it come from?"

Lu Demin's eyes moved rapidly, and he said angrily:

"My cousin is the prefect of Tianjin! I'm a sworn brother to General Ding, and I own half of Zhangjiawan's business... How dare you..."

With a snap, the scabbard hit Mr. Lu's jaw, dislocating it and making him unable to speak.

"Is that so? Why didn't you tell me earlier? It turned out to be grain from Taicang, destined for the capital, shipped to the Ministry of Revenue. It passed through your Tianjin garrison, so I understand."

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand and helped Lu Tongzhi to stand up.

Lu Demin's face was filled with fear, his jaw was dislocated, and he couldn't speak. He rolled on the ground, and it was obvious that he wouldn't live long. Most of the soldiers in the water camp had fled, and the remaining people were surrounded by the combat soldiers and didn't dare to move forward.

Liu Zhaosun looked at Lu Tongzhi, who looked rather funny with his chubby figure. He couldn't help but touch his head and said with a pleasant expression:
"Tongzhi Lu, I led my troops to pacify Liaodong and returned to Liaodong to fight the Tartars. Passing through this precious land, please follow military regulations and distribute some supplies to the foreign troops. Since it's grain from the Taicang, it would be better to give it directly to us. For the three thousand foreign troops under my command... four hundred dan is sufficient. Please select four hundred dan."

Lu Demin nodded, then shook his head vigorously. He couldn't speak, his mouth was crooked, he kept drooling, and his face looked extremely painful.

I thought I was going to die here today, but when I heard that they wanted 400 dan of grain, I thought about it and decided to accept it. I would just consider it as money to buy coffins for these soldiers.

Three thousand soldiers?

This is complete and utter bullshit. He took a quick look and thought that this group of soldiers was no more than 400 people.

He was shocked and angry. He was unable to defeat these soldiers now. He thought that after they left, he would send a message to Lieutenant General Ding and General Li, and make sure to kill these Liaozhen soldiers.

Liu Zhaosun dragged Lu Zhitong like a big balloon to the pile of grain.

Liu Zhaosun stopped in front of the grain hill and waved his hand.
"There are exactly 400 shi here. No need to count them. Just move them all away. Leave some for the trackers who were not selected just now."

After Liu Zhaosun said this, he swung his fist and hit Lu Demin on the chin, helping Mr. Lu to reattach his chin for free.

After Lü Demin's jaw was reattached, he was able to speak again. He swallowed his saliva and pointed at Liu Zhaosun, cursing:

"Damn it! I brought this grain from Shandong. It's two thousand dan! Not four hundred dan! I spent over ten thousand taels!"

Liu Zhaosun took the three-barreled gun from Jin Yuji, stared at the fat man for a while, and said angrily:

"I said four hundred shi, so it is four hundred shi!"

Lu Demin bought 2,500 dan of grain at a low price from Shandong, intending to sell it to his sworn brother, Lieutenant General Ding. After collecting the money from the sale of the grain, he would also buy several hundred women in Zhangjiagang and sell them to Liaozhen and Jiangnan, making tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Now seeing that the food was snatched away by this group of soldiers, he was so angry that his face turned pale and he struggled forward to fight Liu Zhaosun.

"Fuck you! How dare you rob me! My cousin is the governor of Tianjin! I have connections in Liaodong! I... I'm going to fight you today!"

The three-barreled gun roared, and after the thick smoke cleared, the bun on Lu Tongzhi's head was burnt black, his pants were wet, and there was a faint smell of urine between his legs.

"Lü Tongzhi, I just killed a Jiannu spy here and captured another alive. This person told me a lot of things, such as human trafficking and smuggling military rations, which are crimes that are genocidal! If you dare to obstruct me and hinder the pacification of Liaodong again, I don't mind killing one more person."

"Ping up Liaodong, what are you all standing there for? Come on, kill one of them and I'll give you fifty taels of silver!"

Lu Demin was panting and shouting loudly, but the more than one hundred water camp soldiers behind him who had not escaped did not move at all. They were surrounded by sharp weapons.

Deng Changxiong commanded the soldiers to transport the food. When the last Fujian ship was full, the soldiers distributed more than 300 stones of food to the boatmen.

Tens of thousands of trackers gathered in Zhangjiawan were shocked by the kind deeds of the officers and soldiers in front of them. Not only did they not beat or scold them today, they also distributed food to them. The trackers who received the food knelt on the ground and shouted "Master, the sky is clear!" loudly.

"General Liu, our twelve boats are fully loaded, and there are still several hundred tons left at the dock, but there's no room for more."

Liu Zhaosun pointed to the Shuiying Fu ship docked at the pier and said to Deng Changxiong:

"Load that Fu ship with grain and take it away. Also take the sailors aboard with them."

"Fuck you! That's my boat! I bought it in Shandong for five thousand taels of silver! You..."

Liu Zhaosun raised the scabbard, and with a bang, Lu Tongzhi fainted.

Liu Zhaosun stepped over his fat body and said righteously:

"The ship is yours, but it has been requisitioned by the Liaodong Governor. I have been ordered to pacify Liaodong."

Half an hour later, twelve Fujian ships loaded with cargo and trackers slowly sailed out of Zhangjiagang.

Only after Liu Zhaosun saw the fleet leave the port did he take the central army guards and Kang Yingqian and others board the last Fu ship.

The sailors removed the sampan and pulled the anchor hook from the bottom of the water. The Fu ship slowly left the dock under the gaze of thousands of people on the shore.

Liu Zhaosun was about to turn around when suddenly, a figure flashed through the crowd and jumped onto the deck of the Fu ship.

Five guards from the Central Army immediately surrounded the man, pointed their goose-feather knives at him, and shouted:

"stop!"

A team member stepped forward to search the man.

The atmosphere around became tense. Jin Yu Ji held a plum blossom dagger and protected Liu Zhaosun.

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand to let everyone disperse and walked straight to the man.

The man's backpack was bulging with clothes, books and other miscellaneous items. Upon closer inspection, there was even a compass inside.

Liu Zhaosun was stunned for a moment. The Fujian ship was at least three meters away from the shore. This man was carrying a large bag of things and was still able to jump onto the deck. He really had the potential to be a clerk in the East Factory.

"This man must be Lu Demin's assassin. Kill him and throw him into the sea!"

If he was really an assassin, Liu Zhaosun planned to arrange for him to enter the palace and serve as an assistant to Eunuch Wei. However, seeing that this man was disheveled, he did not look like a servant or a thug.

Perhaps it was a boatman, who was thinking about what to do, when he heard this person say:
"General Liu, are you really going to Liaodong?"

Liu Zhaosun nodded.

"I'd like to take a ride on a boat to Liaodong. There are no boats in Zhangjiagang, so I'll pay for the trip myself. Here, is twenty taels enough?"

As the man spoke, he took out a pile of silver from his bag, held it in both hands, and handed it to Liu Zhaosun.

Facing a group of murderous guards, this man was not at all afraid, which made Liu Zhaosun even more curious.

"you are?"

"Just now, General Liu killed the scoundrel and distributed food to the boatmen. I know he's a good official, unlike those soldiers in Jizhen who only care about money. I have traveled all over the Ming Dynasty and met many officials, but I have never seen a good official like General Liu.

I've been in Tianjin and want to travel to Liaodong and Kaiyuan. I heard the capital of the ancient Dongxia Kingdom is there..."

"You, you are Xu Xiake?"

Liu Zhaosun looked back and saw that Jin Yuji and others looked confused. It seemed that Xu Xiake was not famous in that era.

"General Liu, how do you know me?"

Liu Zhaosun grabbed Xu Xiake's arm and pulled him up, his voice trembling.

"I've been looking for you everywhere in Tianjin, but I can't find you. And yet you've come here on your own. Great! I know you've been around mountains and rivers, and you're familiar with the terrain. Come on, I won't charge you for the boat fare. Now, follow me to Liaodong, to Kaiyuan, and help me mine..."

Xu Xiake: ...

~~~~~
The Fu ship was far away from the dock. The water camp soldiers stood on the shore. Those who could shoot arrows raised their bows and shot a few arrows, but they were not accurate and all the arrows fell into the sea.

The soldiers stood in front of the deck, holding round shields, guarding General Liu.

The trackers who were not selected chased the Fu boats, shouting "Master Qingtian" as they ran. The water camp soldiers took turns chasing and beating them with sticks and snatching the food from them.

The water camp soldiers were immediately surrounded by more trackers, and the two sides wrestled with each other, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

From the direction of Tianjin city gate, a mighty army preparing to fight against Japan rushed towards the dock to quell the riot.

"Master Qingtian, take us away!"

It’s a pity that we can’t bring so many trackers.

Liu Zhaosun bowed, and Lü Demin, who was still cursing on the other side, shouted:

"Tongzhi Lu, the food has been loaded onto the ship. There's no need to send it back. Please return!"

~~~~~
Song Yingxing, Yuan Chonghuan and others witnessed the entire process of Liu Zhaosun robbing food and killing people, and were terrified.

Today, these scholars finally witnessed the brutality of the warriors. They ran to other people's territory, killed people, robbed food, and even took away the ships and sailors before leaving.

This is more than just a bandit, it's simply a bandit!
Of course, if they knew about the human trade that Lu Tongzhi had been engaged in in various parts of the Ming Dynasty for many years, knew how many innocent women were sold to brothels by this fat man, and knew how many boatmen were forced to lose their families by him, they would definitely feel that Liu Zhaosun had robbed too little today.

The Fu ship slowly sailed out of the port.

Song Yingxing couldn't help but asked:

"I heard from the boatmen that the Tianjin Water Camp has more than a dozen warships and over 2,000 soldiers. If we just rob them, aren't we afraid that the Water Camp will catch up and retaliate?"

Liu Zhaosun looked at the seagulls flying over the sea, raised his three-barreled gun, and was about to aim again.

Kang Yingqian was tricked by Lu Demin yesterday, and today he got his revenge, feeling proud. Seeing that the water camp was just so weak, he was sure they wouldn't dare come over, so he said with a smile:
"Revenge? For a mere two thousand dan of grain and a broken ship, he dared to go to war with the Emperor's appointed General Xuanwu? Not to mention that his cousin is just a small prefect, even the Prime Minister of the Cabinet wouldn't have the guts to do that."

"We are all officials appointed by the imperial court. Today we are acting according to the law. Foreign soldiers are crossing the border to hunt down Jiannu spies. Based on this, they must be given food."

"Besides, this Lu guy has done all sorts of bad things, including smuggling grain and selling out good people. He would never dare to make a big deal out of this, unless he wants to rebel."

"How can the navy chase us with just those few broken ships without any cannons? Count on the naval soldiers? They are no match for the Kaiyuan soldiers. Hahaha, look how scared we were just now. Many of them peed their pants."

After listening to Kang Yinggan's analysis, Song Yingxing nodded slightly.

"So, they're just going to suffer this loss in silence?"

Liu Zhaosun smiled without saying anything, then turned and looked at the sea.

"What else can we do if we don't suffer in silence? Are we going to come to Liaodong to attack us? These people have been ripping off merchants every day. They've done so many bad things, and today they're getting their comeuppance. Haha!"

Kang Yingqian laughed loudly.

Song Yingxing felt that Shangguan was also a ruthless person. He saluted the two of them, turned around and went down the cabin with the kind-looking Yuan Chonghuan.

After he left, Kang Yingqian said to Liu Zhaosun:
"General Liu's decisiveness in killing and fighting shows his heroic spirit! He is also kind-hearted and won the hearts of the people of Tianjin with just a few hundred dan of grain."

Kang Yingqian looked out at the sea in the distance. After a while, he suddenly realized:

"The North-South Canal connects the north and the south. These trackers pull the boats along the canal every day. Since they have benefited from our efforts, they will surely spread the news of today's events. It won't be long before General Liu's fame spreads throughout the world."

"Killing Daxing has dampened the morale of Jizhen. No other military garrison will dare to bully us in the future. Your strategy is unparalleled. I admire you! I will not stand in your way in the future."

At this time, the southwest wind rose, and the sailors of the Fujian ship climbed up the mast, shouted in unison, and struggled to pull up the two-masted sail.

Facing the golden sunset, the Fu ship sailed into the depths of the Bohai Sea, and the boundless sea gradually fell into darkness.

Liu Zhaosun withdrew his gaze from the sea and looked at Kang Yingqian who was standing beside him with a look of admiration:

"Everything I do is in accordance with my heart, without any desire or expectation. I don't have as many thoughts as General Kang. When we return to Liaodong, we will work hard to save the people of the world. That is the true path."

~~~~~~
When Liu Zhaosun led a fleet of more than a thousand people to cut through the waves on the Bohai Sea, more than two thousand miles to the northeast of them, a force five times the number of Liu Zhaosun's troops was also rapidly advancing towards their target.

"Master, this time when I go on this expedition, am I going to rob a Han woman or a Mongolian woman?"

Cao Zhongqing sneered, the scar on his face gleaming coldly, and slapped the Baoyi in the face with his backhand. The Baoyi retreated repeatedly, and the rat-tail braid on the back of his head fluttered high.

"Master, I raised the flag last month, but I still don't have a woman. You dog slave still want a woman, hurry up and fill the trench!"

The Baoyi stumbled and fell to the ground. After getting up, he quickly followed a group of Baoyi and crawled towards the opposite trench.

A few hundred steps behind them, 1,500 Zhenyi warriors of the Bordered Blue Banner were resting in place, quietly waiting for the order to attack the city.

(End of this chapter)