The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 906: Even if it's far away

"Send a telegram to your family immediately, and give them three months to collect twenty gold coins and deposit them in the designated bank! Otherwise, you will stay in the plantation and grow bananas. When you die, you will be used as fertilizer!"

"If no one redeems you, you'll be chopped into pieces and fed to the sharks!"

On January 1728, the fourteenth year of Jingyan (), thousands of miles away from Tianxin City, west of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Falkland Islands, in a banana plantation.

The high wall is winding and covered with sharp barbed wire outside. Human figures are swaying on the bunker standing in the garden.

Inside the high wall, a row of large iron cages were neatly arranged. The cages were covered in blood, and several vultures were circling in the sky with their huge wings spread.

More than a dozen strong men of different skin colors swung wooden sticks at the iron cage, hitting it hard, making the iron cage make an unsettling clanging sound.

The cage was packed with people, most of whom had numb expressions, huddled in the corner like dogs, staring blankly at the ground.

Occasionally, from a few shrill cries for mercy, one could tell that the people in the cages were from the far east, Da Qi.

With a loud bang, the iron cage door was kicked open from the outside, and the people curled up inside retreated one after another, trying to stay away from the door.

At this time, an iron hook was stretched out from outside. The tip of the hook was polished to a shine, and there were still a few spots of blood on the hook.

The hooks moved across the iron cage bars one by one, making a terrifying rattling sound, and the person in the cage was suddenly filled with fear.

"what!"

A disheveled man was unfortunately hooked on the shoulder blade by an iron hook, and then dragged out of the cage like a dog. He ignored the piercing pain in his shoulder and struggled desperately with his hands and feet, but it was in vain. In the end, he could not escape the pull of the iron hook, blood splattered... and he was pulled out of the cage alive.

A slightly stiff Qi language sounded in my ears:

"Hurry up and collect the money! This is what will happen to those who don't have enough gold coins!"

Then countless iron hooks rained down on the man, and then tugged wildly in all directions, with the sound of muscles breaking echoing all around...

~~~~~~~
In January of the fourteenth year of Jingyan, a group of Qi people traveling to Yinzhou in the south were suddenly kidnapped by local natives.

This group of mixed-race indigenous people with Spanish ancestry ordered the kidnapped people to pay 20 gold coins each (equivalent to 2 million Qi currency), otherwise they would be kept on the plantation to work until they lost their labor power and were cut into pieces to feed the greedy sharks in the deep ocean.

When the news reached Da Qi, the whole country was shocked.

It should be noted that at this time, Da Qi had tens of thousands of troops stationed in the northern Yin Shangzhou, and shared the northern Yinzhou with the Kingdom of Britain.

Moreover, not long ago, the Qi fleet had held a large-scale exercise, showing the latest airships and artillery to allies such as Britain, which was a great achievement.

I wonder how bold these kidnappers are to attack Qi people.

It should be noted that since Taizu founded the Great Qi, there has never been a case of Qi citizens being kidnapped by bandits overseas, let alone using this to threaten Tianxin City.

Tianxin City was furious.

Emperor Jingyan ordered the cabinet to send a note to the Spanish ambassador as soon as possible, asking him to thoroughly investigate his business activities in Yinzhou in the south. If the bandits involved Spain, Da Qi would take action against this former European overlord.

Tianxin City Qianqing Palace.

When questioned by Zhang Tingyu and others, the Spanish ambassador immediately denied it, saying that their country had absolutely no involvement in the matter.

According to the ambassador, the empire (Spain)'s colonial activities in southern Yinzhou had long ceased, all military presence had long been withdrawn back to the country, and it was no longer the sphere of influence of the King of Spain.

The ambassador swore: "God is my witness, Spain has long lost that land. Ah, that is a land abandoned by God!"

Zhang Tingyu asked curiously, "Why did your country abandon the southern Yinzhou?"

"Malaria, floods, plague, wild beasts... Only you Qi people, crazy Qi people, would choose to explore there. Oh, God, please forgive my disrespect!"

The British ambassador who also came with them quipped, "Although your troops and merchants have withdrawn, you have left behind tens of thousands of mixed-race children. This is not to say that you have lost everything."

The Spanish ambassador retorted, "The British also left behind a lot of venereal disease!"

······
Zhang Tingyu bid farewell to the two masters, sighed deeply, and said to several colleagues with concern: "Alas! Given the emperor's temper, he will most likely send troops to attack."

Nian Gengyao was not afraid of the big deal and said enthusiastically, "Don't we have more than a dozen troops in Yinzhou? This is enough to put down the rebellion."

Several knowledgeable diplomatic officials reminded the cabinet leaders that the southern Yinzhou was a smoke-filled and miasmic place, full of swamps, not to mention poisonous insects, snakes and ants, and the climate was even more changeable. If they rashly entered, they would probably be in danger of death. The Spaniards and the British suffered heavy losses here in the past.

Nian Gengyao waved his hand and said unhappily: "My Great Qi is invincible in the world. We have been to all kinds of dangerous places! No matter how far away they are, we will punish them! A few bandits have scared you like this! Old Zhang, there is no need to report to the emperor. The cabinet should directly send a telegram to the Governor-General of North America and ask them to send troops to resolve this matter!" Zhang Tingyu bowed to Nian Gengyao, turned around and walked towards the palace without saying a word.

The other ministers were left looking at each other in bewilderment, and after a moment, they began to talk again.

~~~~~~~~
In the main hall of the Cining Palace, Liu Fan listened to Zhang Tingyu's narration and asked in disbelief, "Who did this? Who are these thieves?"

Zhang Tingyu stammered, "I can't explain it clearly. Anyway, I'm not European, nor am I a local..."

Liu Fan interrupted impatiently, "Call Wu Zhongguo to the palace!"

Zhang Tingyu saw the emperor's attitude and knew that this matter would not be let go. He could not help but sweat secretly, but he still tried to persuade him:
"Your Majesty, although the southern Yinzhou is not far from the north, it is indeed a deadly place. In my opinion, it is better to give the ransom to..."

Liu Fan swung his teacup and smashed it to the ground, then pointed at Zhang Tingyu's nose and said angrily, "I will not negotiate with bandits!"

The surrounding palace maids and eunuchs retreated in fear. The emperor waved his hand to dismiss them. Zhang Tingyu remained calm and said, "Your Majesty, 'Even if they are far away, they must be punished.' That was the saying of Emperor Taizu. Now that people are tempted, what army can Your Majesty send to punish them? If something unexpected happens and King Ning from the north takes advantage of the situation, then Great Qi will be..."

Emperor Jingyan asked, "What does the Grand Secretary mean?"

Zhang Tingyu didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, "Your Majesty, 'Even if they are far away, they must be punished' is just a saying for fools and idiots. It's not to be taken seriously. In my opinion, 'Even if they are far away, they must be punished' is worse than 'Even if they are far away, they must be punished'. First, give the kidnappers some benefits and don't make a big deal out of this. Turn a big thing into a small one and don't dwell on it too much."

"Even if it's far away, it must be a pig?"

"Yes! A pig that is worse than pigs and dogs!"

Liu Fan half-believed and half-doubted, "Grandmaster, why do you say even though it's far away, we must send pigs?"

Zhang Tingyu laughed dryly twice and said in a low voice:
"Your Majesty, as long as the various armies remain in order, Tianxin City will remain in order. As long as Tianxin City remains in order, Your Majesty will remain Your Majesty, and I will remain your minister. New policies and old campaigns will all proceed as planned. If chaos breaks out, the consequences will be disastrous."

Liu Fan called the palace maid to serve tea to the Grand Secretary, and after the palace maid left, he signaled Zhang Tingyu to continue speaking.

"You can arrange for the Suoyi Guards to pass on some messages..."

Liu Fan asked curiously, "What?"

"Let's say those travelers are accomplices of the kidnappers, who fled to the southern Yinzhou on their own, with ulterior motives. The court has repeatedly urged them to return, but they are stubborn and refuse to listen. This will arouse the hostility of the people at home, and no one will really care whether they are dead or alive in the end."

Liu Fan's expression changed from anger to joy, and he listened silently. Seeing that the emperor was so understanding, Zhang Tingyu simply explained the pros and cons more bluntly:

"If we go to rescue people, whether we can save them or not is beyond question. If we send too few troops into that smoky, humid place, they might never return. If we send too many, the march will be arduous and dangerous, and among the thousands of people, there's no guarantee there won't be one or two Kingslings. Rather than using the long-term stability of the empire as a bargaining chip, it's better to give benefits to the bandits in exchange for stability. This is what I mean by 'even if it's far away, there will be pigs.'"

Emperor Jingyan clapped his hands and laughed: "What a great saying, even if it's far away, it will definitely be a pig!"

Thinking of the criminal who was still serving his sentence in Siberia and the bloody storm that Kingsnin had stirred up in the country, Emperor Jing Yan couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

"Haha, this method is absolutely amazing."

"Wait for Wu Zhongguo to come and discuss this matter."

Half an hour later, intelligence chief Wu Zhongguo finally arrived.

Liu Fan didn't waste any time talking to him. He first asked tentatively, "Old Wu, you know everything, right? I want to send troops to attack. I wonder what you think."

Wu Zhongguo looked around and talked about other things, hesitating.

It’s not that the Suoyi Guards didn’t have enough intelligence on the southern Yinzhou, but because telling the truth might embarrass the emperor.

Liu Fan encouraged him, "Old Wu, tell me about the possibility of sending troops."

Wu Zhongguo and Zhang Tingyu exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and mustered their courage to speak: "Your Majesty, although these bandits are all mixed-race, there are also Chinese people among them, and their identities are extraordinary... More importantly, if we really want to withdraw troops to fight in Yinzhou in the south, according to the decree of the Great Qi, the governors of all provinces must contribute. Based on my understanding of these local tyrants, they will never agree to send troops without any benefits."

Liu Fan nodded slightly.

Wu Zhongguo added, "Whether they are traveling or something else, since they have abandoned Da Qi, they are no longer Da Qi people. Why would Your Majesty send troops for them?"

Liu Fan nodded and said, "The commander-in-chief also means that even if it is far away, we must kill the pig? Give him some money to send him away?"

The Grand Secretary and the spy chief glanced at each other, then looked at Emperor Jing and said in unison:

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. Although Great Qi is far away, it will surely be a pig."

(End of this chapter)