Chaos of Ming 1628

Pi Island.

Sun Qing's small boat had not yet reached the shore when it was stopped by someone.

The guards stood on the shore, their voices full of sarcasm: "By order of the lord, no unauthorized persons are allowed to land on the island."

Sun Qing was accompanied only by Zhao Long; the rest of the people, especially Shen Junru, remained in Hejian Prefecture.

"This is Lord Sun, who has come on orders. Quickly lead the way to see Lord Mao." Zhao Long stood at the bow of the ship, stepped forward, and responded in a loud voice.

The other party did not react at all, his expression remained cold and indifferent: "Lord Mao said that no matter who you are, once you come here, you must abide by the rules."

Sun Qing stood at the bow of the boat, looking down at the guard: "I am a military officer appointed by His Majesty, ordered to assist in the defense of Dongjiang."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the guard's sword at his waist. "What rules allow His Majesty's men to wait on the dock in the wind? Go ask Commander Mao. I'll wait here."

The guard opened his mouth, and the fat on his face twitched.

He glanced at the official flag billowing behind Sun Qing, which was billowing without wind. He swallowed hard, waved to the people behind him, and shouted, "Make way! Please, sir, alight on the island!"

Sun Qing lifted his robe and disembarked. The two guards lowered their heads and retreated to the sides. One of them stepped aside and said, "My lord, please follow me."

Following the dirt road on the island, a camp appeared ahead.

The gate to the village was open, and the guards who led the way brought him to the entrance of the main hall.

The hall was brightly lit, and a large table in the center was littered with cups and plates.

Seven or eight men sat around the table, all dressed as military officers. Their swords were unfastened and placed on the table legs. Their faces were shiny with oil, and some were stuffing meat into their mouths.

The person sitting in the middle was in his forties. He wasn't very tall, but he had broad shoulders and a thick back, making him half a head taller than the people next to him.

Judging from how others address him, he is Mao Wenlong.

"My lord, Lord Sun, I am truly useless and failed to stop him." The soldier entered the room, knelt down, and admitted his mistake.

Sun Qing followed closely behind and entered.

Mao Wenlong held his wine glass, his eyes filled with disdain.

Looking at the boy who appeared to be no more than sixteen or seventeen, he said nonchalantly, "His Majesty sent you to keep an eye on me?"

"The border is not peaceful and is restless. His Majesty is worried and has specially sent me to assist you." Sun Qing's words and actions were methodical and impeccable.

"Oh!" Mao Wenlong merely responded with a sound of agreement, showing no reaction whatsoever, and then beckoned to his subordinates to continue eating and drinking.

Unlike the literati and scholars, most of the people here are warriors who enjoy drinking and eating meat to their heart's content, and the sounds of them playing drinking games are deafening.

There are rules in the military that forbid drinking alcohol and enjoying pleasure.

This is enough to label Mao Wenlong with countless accusations.

But Sun Qing knew in his heart that even if he tried to suppress the people here with military discipline and imperial authority, he would not be able to get Yuan Chonghuan to go directly to the island to kill people.

Amidst the sounds of revelry, Sun Qing stood there, seemingly invisible.

Mao Wenlong glanced at Sun Qing out of the corner of his eye, a smile playing on his lips, clearly in a good mood.

He stood there for a moment, then slowly walked to an empty long table in the corner.

On the table were a writing brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, as well as a dried inkstone.

He picked up the inkstone, dipped his brush in ink, and began to write.

The paper contained what he had seen along the way when he arrived on the island.

Several boats were moored at the dock, several guard posts were set up at the entrance of the village, and several side roads branched off around the main hall.

He even drew a complete defensive map of Pi Island based on his own historical memory.

The sounds of drinking and eating continued, but gradually, some people began to glance in the direction of his table.

More and more people came to watch, and eventually everyone stopped eating and drinking and gathered around.

Mao Wenlong was holding a bowl of wine to his lips when he suddenly realized that the noise around him was strange.

He put down the bowl, stood up, and walked a few steps to the table.

He glanced down at the few pages of paper on the table, and his expression changed drastically.

These are all military secrets.

It's not surprising that the people sent by the imperial court knew these things; the key point is that Sun Qing had marked many other things besides these.

It was not just a defensive line and a topographical map, but also a trading post.

If you keep drawing like this, who knows what the person in front of you will draw?

Mao Wenlong finally panicked, snatched the Xuan paper, crumpled it into a ball, and put it away.

Sun Qing put down his brush and stood up to look at Mao Wenlong.

His smile was calm, as if he had expected it all along.

He patted Sun Qing on the shoulder, a hint of undisguised surprise in his eyes: "Kid, you've got some pretty clever tricks up your sleeve."

Sun Qing, true to his gentle scholarly demeanor, merely smiled warmly at the praise: "Lord Mao, you flatter me."

"It's just a little trick."

Mao Wenlong was slightly taken aback. Even if others did it, they would forcefully deny it and not let anyone see through their act.

This person is quite something; he just admitted it directly.

Finally, Mao Wenlong took a proper look at the person in front of him.

After looking him up and down, he chuckled and said, "Interesting. I've long heard that our Great Ming Dynasty has produced a remarkable Lord Sun who single-handedly saved the entire Hejian Prefecture."

"Even today, Hejian Prefecture has become a place that everyone envies."

He paused, then Mao Wenlong's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Lord Sun, you are truly capable. To have accomplished so much at such a young age."

"What a pity, your appearance could make Wei Zhongxian's granddaughter so infatuated with you that she would do anything for you."

"We're all roughnecks on this island. I'm afraid we might not be able to handle your looks..."

"My lord," Sun Qing's tone suddenly became more serious, interrupting him to continue, "I have been ordered to come here to assist you in guarding the border, not to come here for leisure."

"Don't you understand what I mean?" Mao Wenlong snorted.

He turned around and looked at the people present, shouting, "You've all probably heard about this person."

"He married Wei Zhongxian's granddaughter, making Hejian Prefecture famous. Now this callow youth dares to come here and boss us around."

"What, a lieutenant general? In our army, a lieutenant general's position is earned through countless battles, countless drops of blood, and the risk of one's life. What makes this little kid so special?"

As soon as Mao Wenlong finished speaking, the surroundings became extremely quiet. Everyone had a ferocious expression, and it was not hard to see that each of their faces was filled with anger.

He gripped the wine glass tightly in his hand, his eyes filled with disgust that was about to overflow.

Zhao Long stood tense and wary in front of Sun Qing.

"Step back," Sun Qing said directly.

Zhao Long asked with concern, "But they..."

Sun Qing shook his head slightly, but instead of retreating, he stepped forward, stared at those people, and sighed deeply.

"However, I understand your tactics," Mao Wenlong scoffed disdainfully. "When the people come and we let you go, you'll start your impeachment stunts again."

"You can rest assured, I won't kick you out once you're here. But the affairs of Pi Island have nothing to do with you. I'll give you a small house, so just stay here quietly."

Mao Wenlong's tough stance clearly indicated that he intended to make Sun Qing a mere figurehead.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding generals naturally shouted excitedly, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"I'll make sure you eat and drink well."

"Don't get in my way!"

Wei Zhongxian's reputation was rotten to the core. Simply having any connection with him was enough to make one a target of hatred.

Furthermore, the fact that Mao Wenlong was able to provide these people with such lavish meals suggests that his actions were not entirely clean; otherwise, given the repeated delays in paying the military salaries owed by the imperial court, they would likely be struggling to even afford food.

Sun Qing's arrival was like putting shackles on a group of free people, tying a rope around their necks. Who would welcome that?

"Gentlemen. I know you don't like me. You think I'm a civil official sent from the capital, someone who doesn't know the immensity of the world, doesn't understand the sea breeze, doesn't understand weapons, and doesn't understand what kind of life you live on this island."

He paused for a moment, then said, "But before coming to Pi Island, I was in Hejian Prefecture."

"When I arrived, there were starving people everywhere outside the city, and the granaries inside the city were empty. The first thing I did upon taking office was to kill two unscrupulous merchants who hoarded grain and forced people to sell their children. I opened their granaries and distributed the grain to all the people in the city."

"Later, I built soup kitchens, opened workshops, dug irrigation ditches, and planted winter vegetables. Tens of thousands of people from outside the city were brought in one by one, so that they had food to eat, work to do, and a place to live."

His gaze slowly swept across the faces of the generals: "What is taken from the people should be used for the people. I can say this, and I can do it."