Chapter 033: Suppressing Bandits at Sea
Song Che, who was far away on Nantou Mountain, had just climbed to the top of Nantou Mountain through a rope. He saw fireworks rising into the sky and exploding not far away from him. Then he turned around and shouted behind him: "Hurry up the mountain." , the adults are taking action."
"who?"
In the woods not far away, four or five pirates suddenly appeared. They were all bare-chested and holding long knives and torches. They could clearly see the clothes of Song Che and others through the light of the fire. They were so frightened that they fled in all directions and shouted: " The officers and soldiers have come ashore, the officers and soldiers have come ashore...hurry..."
'Bang bang bang...'
There was a burst of gunfire, and all the people who turned to run were beaten into pieces. Song Che turned around and looked around. There were at least nearly two hundred people coming up from his side, and more than a hundred people were climbing the mountain with the help of ropes.
He simply couldn't care about that much, so he ordered a hundred households to wait where they were, and he led two hundred people with guns and torches and chased into the forest.
The night sky was extremely quiet. Chen Cao, who was on the island, clearly heard the sound of gunfire and the subtle light of fire on Nantou Mountain in the distance. He knew that Song Che on the mountain had already taken action in advance: "Raise the gun and fire..."
'Bang bang bang...'
A series of gunshots knocked down the pirates on guard.
"Your Majesty has your order, the entire army is under cover, and you can shoot freely..."
'Bang bang bang...'
"what happened?"
Zhao Tianlin kicked open the door, and a group of pirates who were close to him ran forward and shouted anxiously: "No, sir, the officers and soldiers have come ashore, the officers and soldiers have come ashore..."
"How is that possible?" Zhao Tianlin exclaimed, but he was so smart that he immediately knew that there must be a traitor: "There is definitely a traitor, hurry up, gather people quickly, prepare to fight, hurry up..."
As he spoke, he ran into the big room of the Japanese pirates. A group of people wearing crotch cloths were chasing a naked woman in the room. Zhao Tianlin shouted in Japanese: "Get ready, the imperial army is coming ashore..."
After everyone in the house was ready, the pirates in the surrounding caves had basically been eliminated. Chen Cao walked back and forth outside the gate of the house with a Yanling long knife. From time to time, pirates wanted to rush out of the house but were forced to prepare. The musketeers beat them into a sieve.
"Sir," Gao Chong quickly ran to Chen Cao: "The dock has been controlled. Some pirates tried to escape by boat, but they ran aground on the reef. Sir, what should I do with the ships in the harbor?"
"Protect the ship and prevent pirates from burning it." After Chen Cao gave the order, he looked at the servants who were gathering around him and shouted loudly: "Surround the entire yard with a long formation. No pirate is allowed to escape. Violators will be subject to military law." Deal with things."
"yes..."
Song Che was hit by an arrow in his left shoulder. It is common for someone to shoot a cold arrow in the dark and it is difficult to observe. Fortunately, the arrow did little harm and could not hurt his life. However, the pirates also suffered fierce revenge from Song Che. They were attacked by new flintlock muskets. The pirates who relied on their bravery to charge towards the right guard soldiers were beaten into pieces ten steps away. More than a hundred pirates in the entire Nantou Mountain were killed in pieces, leaving some who escaped. The thief was so fast that only a dozen people ran down the mountain.
There is a natural cave halfway up Nantou Mountain, which is where pirates hide their treasures. It contains not only food, but also hundreds of boxes of gold and silver treasures. When Song Che walked into the cave, there were more than a dozen naked women huddled in it. Everyone was shivering in the cave, and there was dirt all over their bodies, and they seemed to have been harmed too.
"Don't be afraid, girls. I am the commander of the right guard of Nanjing. We are officers and soldiers. We are here to suppress the bandits tonight. Don't worry, you are safe..."
As soon as Song Che finished speaking, more than a dozen women shed tears and howled non-stop. They all sat up straight and knelt down to salute Song Che, regardless of whether they were wearing clothes or not.
"Come here, find some clothes for these girls to wear." Song Che finished the order, then stared at the treasure in the cave, and then sternly ordered: "The things in the cave are captured, you must not reach out and wait for instructions. Let your Excellency come and check, if anyone dares to embezzle stolen goods, military law will be engaged..."
"yes..."
Chen Cao turned to look at Zhao Xin and said: "Get ready to attack."
At this time, the Japanese pirates who were already dressed ran up to the small watchtower next to the wall with their iron cannons. Looking at the shining torches in the distance, they picked up the guns and were about to fire them. Unexpectedly, they were shot by the servants who had been prepared. sieve.
Zhao Tianlin was behind the screen wall in the front hall of the gate and heard gunshots ringing out from time to time. He stared at the Japanese pirates beside him and said: "The officers and soldiers have firearms, but they only have matchlock guns. I will send people out of the gate later to attract them to shoot. After that, It will take some time to reload, so we will take advantage of this gap to rush out. As long as their deployment is disrupted, these officers and soldiers will be fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered..."
The Japanese pirate leader had already put on his armor, drew out his Japanese sword and said with an evil smile: "The people of the Ming Dynasty are not strong enough. I will let you see the power of my Satsuma clan warriors later."
With a "squeak" sound, the door of the house was opened, and more than twenty pirates rushed out, waving Japanese swords and heading towards Chen Cao.
'Bang bang bang...'
There was a burst of gunfire, and all the twenty pirates fell to the ground and vomited blood and died. At this moment, a dozen Japanese pirates rushed out of the gate, all holding iron cannons. As soon as they walked out of the gate, they raised their guns and fired.
"Sir, be careful..."
Xin Zhao held up his shield and stepped forward to block Chen Cao's deadly iron cannonball, but the shield in his hand was still beaten into sieves, and the Jin Yiwei and several servants standing around were all injured.
Taking advantage of the chaos on Chen Cao's side, the Japanese pirate leader led more than a hundred Japanese pirates and hundreds of ronin under his command, opened the side door and rushed out, murdering Chen Cao fiercely.
"volley..."
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
Gunshots were fired one after another. The ferocious Japanese pirate leader never thought that his opponent's musket was so powerful until his death. He fired one round after another.
The servant's training is with the right guard, and the reloading speed is required. The next round of ammunition must be loaded within ten seconds after firing. Therefore, there is no three-stage shooting. However, if there are few people, the enemy must be blocked. At the same time, three-stage shooting must be carried out. Three hundred servants surrounded the house in front of them. There were only fifty or sixty people in front of the gate. Facing the Japanese pirates and ronin who suddenly rushed out like a swarm of bees, the servant general flag He chose a three-stage attack formation to suppress the group of Japanese pirates.
Zhao Tianlin saw the power of his opponent's muskets behind the wall. He was shocked and knew that he was no longer his opponent, so he sent more than a hundred pirates to block the reinforcements. He led more than two hundred pirates gathered in the yard to kill towards the back door, preparing to escape. .
Gunshots were heard one after another. Song Che, who came for emergency reinforcements from the mountain, launched an attack on the south side of the house and pushed back the pirates who tried to escape over the wall.
Half a tea time, the gate was already piled with corpses, at least two hundred people. The remaining Japanese pirates and ronin saw the power of the muskets, so they withdrew into the yard one after another, using iron cannons as a barrier, and formed a defense line behind the screen wall.
Not long after, someone came over to report that Zhao Tianlin had escaped with his men. The remaining Japanese pirates who were still resisting desperately felt that the situation was over. In addition, there were people outside the house who were proficient in Japanese and shouted the policy of surrender at them. The Japanese pirates knew that they were facing a dead end. Make up your mind to surrender.
Better to die than live...
"Sir," Zhao Xin escorted the surrendered Japanese pirates out of the yard: "Sir, after investigation, we found that there were forty-seven surrendered Japanese pirates, sixty-nine rogues, and thirty-two pirates from the Ming Dynasty. There is a lot of money in the house. Please, sir. Show me."
Chen Cao looked at the sky that was about to light up and said coldly: "We will behead all the pirates from the Ming Dynasty in public, and escort all the surrendered Japanese pirates and ronin back to Nanjing. At that time, we will bring all these people as prisoners to the capital."
"yes..."
"Sir," Xu Kaixian walked up to Chen Cao and said, "In this battle, more than 600 enemy people were killed. One servant was killed and six were injured. One of them was injured by his colleagues because he was afraid that his gun went off. Eleven of the Jinyi Guards were injured. Two people were killed, both caused by enemy iron cannons at the gate; in addition, Song Tongzhi was injured 23 people over there, but no one died in the battle."
"Fortunately..." Chen Cao nodded. The casualties were not too big. After all, it was their first battle. It was already a good result. After the recruits saw blood, they would gain experience in future battles and be more capable. Mature, after all, this battle took place at night, this is also a complete victory...
Chen Cao walked into the house under the protection of a group of royal guards. Apart from the corpses, he mainly looked at the loot collected this time. There were many gold and silver jewelry and many boxes. Chen Cao expected that the harvest from this trip to sea would be at least two hundred. More than ten thousand taels of silver.
"Sir, there are many women in this room." Zhao Xin stood outside a room and pointed.
Chen Cao walked into the room. In addition to the naked woman before, there was a fully clothed woman squatting in the corner shivering in the inner room: "What's your name?"
"My little girl Zhang Chunyao," the woman lowered her head and said unkemptly: "My little girl is the daughter of Zhang Linchun, the magistrate of Dinghai County, Ningbo. Her father was killed by Japanese pirates during the Japanese rebellion last year. My little girl was kidnapped here. Please help me." She cried as she spoke. Kneel down.
"My officer, Chen Cao, is the commander of the Nanjing Right Guards. All the people present are officers and soldiers. Don't worry, you are safe. After landing, I will send someone to escort you back to Dinghai County. You can rest assured."
When Chen Cao was about to leave, Zhang Chunyao cried and shouted: "Sir, help me. My little girl's family members all died in Dinghai and she has no relatives. Please take her in. My little girl can be a female worker and can even cook."
Chen Cao turned around and asked Xin Zhao to take the people to collect the loot, while he dealt with it alone. Then he walked up to Zhang Chunyao and said, "Raise your head."
Zhang Chunyao looked up, and Chen Cao was stunned when he saw it. Her poignant look and seductive eyes could only be described as Daji. Moreover, this woman was so beautiful that no one in Chen Cao's family could match her. compare to.
"Fairy... so beautiful..."
Chen Cao couldn't help but say this, and it immediately rang out that the history books mentioned those particularly famous women who brought disaster to the country and the people. I am afraid that in addition to Daji, there should be Concubine Xiao Shu in the late Sui Dynasty...
Zhang Chunyao bowed again: "Please take me in..."
"Take it in...take it in...ok..." Chen Cao nodded casually. At this moment, he was already thinking about it, and he didn't pay attention to the other women in the room.
"Sir..." Liao Yaowen quickly ran into the room and said with cupped hands: "The leader of the thieves, Zhao Tianlin, tried to escape in a small boat, but was caught by Qi Qianshi who was waiting outside the harbor. We won this battle..."
"Okay..." Chen Cao helped Zhang Chunyao up, then turned and stared at Liao Yaowen and said: "Control Zhao Tianlin well, I want to interrogate him personally."
After Song Che finished counting the gold and silver in the cave, he ordered people to move it to the ship, and then found Chen Cao and reported to Chen Cao: "Yao Zhong, it is a great achievement for us to eliminate the pirates in this battle. As you said, the gold and silver property Most of them, the gold and silver in the cave alone is two million taels, not including the antique calligraphy and paintings, it is conservatively estimated to be more than three million."
Chen Cao put his arm around Song Che's shoulder and whispered in his ear: "Put them all on the boat, disguise themselves after landing, and transport them to my house."
Song Che turned to look at him with a wicked smile: "I understand..."
"Sir," Zhao Xin also came to report the collection: "There are 1.2 million taels of cash in the house, as well as a lot of antique calligraphy, paintings and jewelry. It is conservatively estimated to be more than 2 million taels. By the way, sir, there are more than a dozen How to deal with the red-haired ghost?"
"Seal all the boxes and escort them back to the Nanjing military camp together with the red-haired ghost." Chen Cao waved his hand and then ordered: "Pack up the rest and set off..."
Six days later, three warships docked at the mouth of the Longjiang River, and carriages transported the captured gold and silver to two places. Chen Cao quickly wrote a report to the Nanjing Ministry of War, and then reported a letter to Xu Hongji. A memorial was sent to the capital to report the victory.
"Sir, after the calligraphy and paintings were pawned back, the 1.2 million taels of silver were all put into your treasury; and then the ones in the military camp were pawned, and the total amount was 2.3 million taels of silver." Zhao Xin said. The details were handed to Chen Cao.
Chen Cao didn't even look at it, and then ordered: "You take out one hundred thousand taels from the army's seizures, and the five of you will divide them equally."
The corner of Zhao Xin's mouth raised, and he was overjoyed: "Thank you, sir, for the reward... It's true that I'm following you in the real world."
Chen Cao turned around and asked curiously: "When I am in trouble, will you stab me in the back?"
Zhao Xin's expression changed, and he knelt down immediately: "I have never dared to think like this. In this life, I will be the leader of the horse, even if the emperor comes, I will not be afraid..."
Chen Cao nodded with satisfaction: "Because you are so loyal, I will send you ten thousand taels of silver in private later."
"Thank you, sir, for the reward..." Zhao Xin happily kowtowed to Chen Cao, then stood up and said, "Sir, what should we do in the army?"
"Go to the military camp immediately and we will give out the reward..."
...
The table was filled with boxes. When opened, they were all filled with gold and silver. Bei Tianhua was sitting behind the desk with a large stack of ledgers on the table.
"My fellow soldiers, this is the first battle since our right guard was re-established. It can be said to be a great victory. Although some brothers did not go, they still received rewards."
As soon as Chen Cao finished speaking from the loudspeaker in his hand, enthusiastic shouts broke out in the team.
Chen Cao continued: "For the thousand households participating in the battle this time, each soldier will be rewarded with two taels of silver, three taels for the small flag, four taels for the general banner, five taels for the hundred and trial hundred households, and five taels for the thousand and deputy thousand households. Six taels, and five taels for town and government; those who did not participate in the war, from a thousand households below, will be rewarded with one tael of silver..."
"Thank you, sir..."
More than five thousand people shouted in unison, like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, and then they all knelt down to salute.
Chen Cao said: "Remember clearly, our right guards, soldiers who don't want to be officers are not good soldiers, and officers who don't want to be commanders are not good officers." He said with a smile: "Of course, you can't change your ways now. I squeeze in. If I go in, who will pay you?"
"Hahaha..."
After a burst of laughter, Chen Cao pressed his hand, and the audience suddenly became quiet. This is Chen Cao's basic training. Orders and prohibitions are the basic rules of the right-back. If anyone breaks the rules, he will be kicked out of the right-back. Of course, with the right-back With Wei being treated so well, who would want to be kicked out?
"This time we lost a brother in battle. In addition to the pension stipulated by the court, I personally contributed money to add to the separate pension for our right guard. From today on, for every brother who died in battle, according to regulations, the court will receive a pension of two taels. Silver, but in our right guard, based on the number of people in the family, how many immediate relatives there are in the family, each person is counted as ten taels, and the family members are paid two taels of silver every year until the death of the immediate family member."
Oops...
When the next commander-in-chief raised his hand, Qi Xianzong indicated that he could speak. The commander-in-chief stepped forward, knelt down, and said loudly: "Bizhi would like to ask, there are five parents, wife and children in Beizhi's family. If Beizhi dies in battle, how much money will he get?"
Chen Cao raised a loudspeaker and said: "Family members will be given a one-time pension of fifty taels. Different official positions have different pensions. The one just now is for everyone to treat equally and the pension method for ordinary soldiers. You are the general flag, and an additional ten taels will be added to your position." After you die in battle, your family will receive sixty taels of silver, and another five taels of silver will be given to your family every year until five of your immediate family members die of illness."
After hearing the words, the commander-in-chief was silent for a long time, then knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty is kind, and I will serve you to death for my humble duty..."
"As for the injured, the imperial court only cares about their recovery, but in my right guard, starting from today, a disability grade system will be implemented. Anyone who is slightly injured in battle and can move freely will be given two taels of silver. This is a first-level disability; Those who are injured in battle and need to recuperate and cannot go to the field will be given one tael of silver, which is a second-level disability; those who have lifelong disability of their hands and feet due to combat and can take care of themselves will be given five taels of silver, and one tael of silver will be paid monthly as a subsidy. Third-level disability; anyone who is disabled in combat and cannot take care of himself will be given ten taels of silver and four taels of silver as a monthly subsidy. This is a fourth-level disability." After Chen Cao finished speaking, he added: "I will You are brothers, and you are treated so well that even the Imperial Guards cannot compare to it, so you must go all out when fighting, and those who fight bravely will be rewarded."
"I am willing to die for you..."
Another tsunami...
"These people are all refugees and untouchables. Some of them will never be able to earn this kind of money in their lifetime. Now the military system of the guard station is corrupted. Except for the general's personal soldiers, have you ever seen any soldier who has received full pay?" Chen Cao stared at Song Che. , and then looked at the soldier who was collecting the money: "My country is short of silver, but the Japanese country has an abundance of silver. One day, it will all be mine..."
Song Che became anxious: "That is a country designated by Emperor Taizu as a country without conquests."
"No expedition?" Chen Cao sneered: "That's just a joke, otherwise why would our court fight the Battle of Renchen?" Then he looked at the distant sky: "The people of the world are now displaced, the government has collapsed, and people's hearts are not ancient. The Ming Dynasty The superficial glory of the dynasty only blinds the eyes of the world. If you have been to the three sides of Shaanxi, you will know whether what I said today is alarmist...
I dare to conclude that within five years, the world will be in chaos. At that time, those refugees will be like Liu Liu and Liu Qi, destroying not a province, but... The whole big tomorrow..."
Song Che felt like he had goosebumps all over his body. If Chen Cao's words were to be heard by anyone, it would be a serious crime of beheading: "No matter what, I will definitely help you."
In the Duke's Mansion of Wei
Xu Hongji and his brothers were dividing the loot. Except for the 100,000 taels given to Zhao Xin and others, the remaining 2.2 million taels were left. Chen Cao paid 500,000 taels to Emperor Tianqi's inner treasury, 200,000 to Wei Zhongxian, and the rest. One and a half million taels were handed over to Xu Hongji.
Xiao Xu was very generous. He put in a little effort and left 500,000 taels. The remaining one million taels were given to Chen Cao and several others to share equally. Chen Cao was so generous that he only took 100,000 taels. For this reason, Pu Xiang He also said that he and Chen Cao would cut off chicken heads and bake them in yellow paper...
"You guys are able to get so much money for no reason this time, you really have to thank Yaozhong," Xu Hongji said seriously after finishing speaking: "However, Yaozhong said that behind these pirates are high-ranking officials from the imperial court, we earned all this money , we have to resist the pressure from the capital together."
Several people nodded in agreement, and Chen Cao also looked serious: "Then Zhao Tianlin has admitted that several forces in Zhejiang are controlling them behind the scenes. The biggest ones are Li Weihan, the censor of the right capital, and Li Yangchong, the censor of the left capital. , many of these coins belong to the property of these two people, and according to Zhao Tianlin's confession, the business firm under their names also hoards a large amount of goods on Chenqianshan Island, one hundred miles northeast of Dqushan Island, with a value of three hundred For more than 10,000 taels of silver, my subordinates have arranged for three ships to take over."
"Yaozhong, I heard that you collected a lot of ships?" Pu Xiang asked.
"There are thirty warships in total," Chen Cao said with some pride: "The future growth of our Jiang Jiang Navy depends entirely on these thirty warships. Adding those three warships, there are a total of thirty-three warships."
Xu Hongji stroked his palm and said: "Yao Zhong, do your best. When the time comes, I will report that you will be the deputy commander of the Jiang Navy, and the Navy will be in your charge."
"I will take my orders..."
...
Two days ago, the secret cell of the Department of Punishment and Prisons
"Chen Cao, why don't you kill me?"
"I have verified from many sources that you, Zhao Tianlin, are the largest pirate in Zhejiang waters. It is more interesting to capture you alive than to kill you. Besides, I know that you are the leader of the Japanese rebellion in Zhejiang. It is better to find a way to make you useful to me than to escort you to Beijing to be beheaded."
"Hmph, you are really arrogant. Do you know that Zhao Cheng is a member of my Zhao family?"
"I didn't know it before, but I found out later, but did you know that Zhao Cheng was used by others and became the one who took the blame? I, Chen Cao, swear on my honor that I didn't want to kill your brother. His death was caused by the Gu family. Just to take care of Gu Linsheng, don’t forget, your Zhao family are just businessmen in Zhejiang, not officials..."
"...."
"Also, in the eyes of those officials, you are just a tool to help them make money. Over the years, you have become a tool for your family, but you have suffered a lot. Do you think this kind of life is meaningful? My news says that you, Zhao Tianlin, are just the youngest of the Zhao family, and your father died at sea. I arrested you and detained you secretly just to ask you a question."
"speak..."
"Are you interested in obtaining official status and walking freely on the sea? Then earn enough money, play with enough women, and become the largest branch of your Zhao family, so that your family can enter the ancestral graves of direct descendants of the Zhao family? Or? Are you going to start your own sect and become the patriarch of another Zhao family?"
"...What conditions?"
"Hahaha... be of use to me. I will be your big brother from now on. Of course, you have to hand in a certificate of surrender first..."
"..."
"Everyone who is engaged in sea trade along the coast of Zhejiang, listen up. It's everyone's news you know. Tell me everything..."
"...I...Okay, let me tell you, I hope you won't break your promise..."
"The greatest advantage of my subordinates, Chen Cao, is their credibility. After all, I am Nalan Rongruo, who is famous all over the world..."
"Here's the thing..."
