"Reporting to Hong Shaobao," Governor Song of Fujian opened the door and bowed to Hong Lizhen, "According to the prior appointment, the Nanyang ship will arrive tomorrow. Please make preparations in advance."
"How many ships are they? Are they all cargo ships?" Hong Lisan asked first without rushing to make a decision.
"It has been agreed with us before that we will use three warships to load 200 cannons and bring back the imperial envoys."
"But the fog has been relatively heavy these two days and the sky is gray. I'm afraid it would be a mistake to pick up the boat..."
Governor Song replied helplessly: "Now that there is no news, it is too late to notify us again, so we have to blame God."
"Where did they land from?"
"Meiling Port in Zhao'an."
Hong Lisan patted his thigh and said, "That's good. It's very close to the palace. I have to go there in person to show my sincerity! Mr. Song, would you please order the soldiers on the island and tell them that in the past two months, Although the sea waves have calmed down, the danger still exists, so we must not ignore it, especially during this period, we must strictly guard and be extremely vigilant!"
The breeze brought a drizzle of light rain, hitting the long stone steps of the port and soaking the moss spreading all over the ground. The steps meandered from the steep slope to the river embankment, connecting with the pier to the north. There were two or three boats moored not far away, and a dozen soldiers stood on the deck, preparing to hang lanterns on the boats.
"What happened to the things I asked you to do yesterday?" The sound of others talking suddenly appeared in the quiet port, causing the sergeants to look back. It was Hong Lisan who came with Governor Song and others.
"This is a major matter related to the country. Song has treated everything carefully," Governor Song said. "I went to the island and worked all night. I urged them to build several high platforms and carried all the available cannons up to ensure that the whole This entire sea area is within my control and will not be taken advantage of by pirates."
"The fog is so thick, what if the fort accidentally hits the barbarian ship?" Hong Lisan hurriedly stepped down the steps.
Governor Song smiled and said: "Don't worry about participating in politics. I have taken almost all situations into consideration. This time I will pick up the ship, nothing will go wrong."
As the two of them spoke, they had already walked into the dock. When the soldiers saw it, they hurriedly jumped back to the shore from the deck to salute Hong Lizhen.
"No need to salute. Are the lanterns hung up?" Hong Lisan asked hurriedly.
"It's mounted. As long as you give the order, the sailors and I can quickly dispatch to guide the incoming ships at sea."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. There is nothing anyone can do in this kind of horrible weather. As compensation, I will distribute rewards to you when things are done."
Everyone was very happy. After thanking Hong Shaobao, they went to rest.
As time went by, the sound of rain did not stop, and the sky became darker and darker, and a dull roar came from the dark clouds. The heavy fog obscured his vision, but Hong Lisan could still see the other side of the river, which was full of emerald green mountains. The clusters of branches and leaves were swayed by the breeze and looked particularly bright in the drizzle.
"That's the west bank," Governor Song pointed out, following his gaze. "Because of the terrain, it has been abandoned. Recently, a wall was built on it to resist pirates."
Hong Lisan then looked towards the top of the mountain. Sure enough, there was a low stone wall, and the figures on the high platform could still be vaguely seen. He couldn't see clearly, so he narrowed his eyes into a line and saw several people waving a red flag.
"The ship is coming!" Hong Lisan shouted, and he immediately understood the signal.
As expected, three warships appeared on the foggy sea. The ships lined up neatly and slowly moved forward - but they were getting further and further away from the port.
"It seems they are heading to Dongshan Island," Governor Song said calmly, and then waved to the sailors: "Go and sail the boat quickly and guide them here!"
The soldiers on Dongshan Island have not been having an easy time recently. Under the pressure of the imperial court, the prefects in various places complained and had no choice but to vent their grievances on these soldiers. They were recruited from all directions and marched non-stop to the seaside. They had to walk through some winding mountainous areas along the way. They were so tired that they were dizzy. However, the government only urged them three times. The document kept repeating the sentence "violators will be killed", which seemed to make them dizzy. There is no time left to breathe. The soldiers only rested in the wilderness and slept for only two hours in the middle of the night. They finally arrived on the island, but they were ordered by the civil servants to carry wood and stone under the excuse of insufficient service, and worked frantically under the scorching sun until they collapsed from exhaustion. Several people were arrested, and the government didn't care.
At the same time, the people who were forcibly moved to farmland were also restless. Many of them were brave and not afraid of death, so they incited people to cause trouble and even stormed the prefectural and county government offices. The government did not dare to disobey the imperial court's new policy and was helpless to deal with these uprisings. In times of emergency, they would Leave this mess of problems to the soldiers to deal with. That's fine, but on the one hand, Master Futai ordered them not to intensify the conflict, and on the other hand, he reprimanded them for indulging in unruly people, making it impossible for him to do business with others. How can the soldiers achieve such stringent conditions? I just let my superiors scold him and suppressed the anger in my heart until my ears almost felt like calluses. Under the irritable environment, their tempers gradually became irritable and irritable. They often fought in the military camp and seemed to be going crazy.
"Captain, a warship seems to be docking here!" A soldier hurriedly walked down the platform, got into the tent, and shouted to a general.
"I understand," the officer said sadly, "wait for him to dock first."
"Damn it!" Several soldiers beside the officer suddenly jumped up and pulled out their swords. "We were discussing other things, why did you interrupt us for no reason? Get out!"
"I……"
"Everyone, stop arguing!" Seeing the tension between the two sides, the chief quickly stepped forward and pushed them away. "We are in the same situation. You might as well discuss it with us."
The man had just lost some of his anger, glared at the soldier a few times, and sat down reluctantly.
The officer sighed and said, "I went back yesterday and went to the government office to see the government officials. The civil servants seemed to be extremely dissatisfied. I personally heard the old man say, 'This new policy has made people panic, and it won't end early!'"
"They are so miserable!" the soldier beat his chest and cursed, "All day long, we are slaves to our soldiers, but we sit in the lobby! The unruly people are always restless, and we are busy with other things, but we can't cure them. This The days are endless!”
"I just thought," the chief said to himself, unaffected by his emotions, "Since so many people hate the New Deal, why not let us take action to disrupt the overall situation?"
"How to take action?"
The officer winked and looked out of the big tent: "Didn't Niu Yuan want to use the opportunity to take over the ship to make a meritorious service? We might as well be cruel and let him die immediately!"
