In the flower hall, Gu Qing and Zhejiang navy commander Ai Shijiu were sitting, waiting for King Yan to receive them.
A spy chief and a navy general were originally incomparable, but because of an anti-smuggling operation, the two became familiar with each other.
Two months ago, on Zhao Mengqi's order, the two went to the Yangtze River estuary to encircle and arrest the Japanese merchant Kusano Asa who was smuggling copper coins.
Thanks to Jiang Manhai's confession, with the accurate time and place of the transaction, and careful arrangements in advance, the Japanese merchant fleet consisting of more than 20 ships was successfully surrounded.
However, the maritime merchants of this era were basically equipped with force. It was not impossible to become a pirate when the time came, not to mention the Japanese merchants who were engaged in smuggling, so there was bound to be resistance.
Most of the Japanese warriors were as skinny as monkeys, but they were fierce and ferocious. They fought without risking their lives, shouting jiliguala, holding up their long swords and hitting the opponent's spear point, hoping to die together.
The Zhejiang Navy is a new army established last year. Except for the backbone, the soldiers have basically never seen bloody recruits.
Although he had strengthened his training since he came under the direct control of King Yan, he was still beaten to death when faced with such a vicious style of play.
Originally, the Zhejiang navy was a regular army with advantages in ships and weapons, and had been specially strengthened by Zhao Mengqi. If they used normal water warfare and used long-range attacks, it would not be difficult to win.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the Japanese ships carry a large amount of gold, silver, copper coins and cargo. If they are sunk at sea, all of them will belong to the Dragon King of the East China Sea. Therefore, they have to join forces and join in close combat to capture the Japanese ships.
Fortunately, the 1,000 people from the Imperial City Division who accompanied the ship were considered elite. They might not be as good as the elite garrison troops in formation battles, but they were quite capable of fighting this kind of melee.
In the end, with the cooperation of nearly 4,000 soldiers from the Imperial City Division and the Zhejiang Navy, more than 1,500 Japanese pirates were killed and more than 400 captured at the cost of more than 800 casualties, achieving victory in the operation. .z.br>
Three of the more than 20 Japanese ships were sunk, and none of the others slipped through the net. 130,000 guan of copper coins, more than 1,600 taels of gold, and more than 31,800 taels of silver were seized. The remaining various goods were worth more than 50,000 taels. Through.
According to Zhao Mengqi's original arrangement, after the Japanese merchants were wiped out, Gu Qing and Ai Shijiu should go upstream along the Songjiang River and go to Wujiang County to obey their orders.
Unfortunately, the plan could not keep up with the change. By this time, Zhao Mengqi had already taken care of the Liu family and no longer needed their support. So they waited for the hurricane to recede and then returned to Lin'an with the prisoners and loot.
In the past two months, Gu Qing was still busy with the Imperial City Division's three-point affairs, while Ai Shijiu led the Zhejiang Navy and began to strengthen maritime combat training in accordance with King Yan's orders.
The Song Dynasty did not have any threats from the sea, so most naval forces were set up to fight in inland waters.
However, Lin'an is close to Hangzhou Bay. As Kyoto, maritime defense cannot be completely ignored. The new Zhejiang Navy is to enrich this aspect, so it is different from the general navy. This is why Zhao Mengqi named this navy in the first place.
Of course, from the time Zhao Jiumei established her capital in Lin'an, she had planned to escape from the sea if the situation went bad, so the Zhejiang navy should also be responsible for this mission, but no one would say it openly.
Therefore, although the Zhejiang navy only had 2,800 people, it was equipped with more than 30 ships that could go to sea. After Zhao Mengqi took over, he managed to add nearly 20 ships.
They had the friendship of fighting side by side, and they were both direct descendants of King Yan. Even though they hadn't seen each other for a long time, Gu Qing and Ai Shijiu didn't have much in common.
"To remind you, why did His Highness bring us together this time? Could it be that he discovered Japanese smuggling pirates again?"
Gu Qing shook his head slightly, "I'm not sure. I rushed here from Lin'an after receiving His Highness's order. Haven't you been wandering along the coast of Huating and the mouth of the Yangtze River these days? You don't know if there is any smuggling?"
Ai Shijiu laughed sarcastically, "Well, I have more than two thousand people and more than forty ships, and we can't block the whole sea. These Japanese pirates usually collude with some powerful people, so it's easy to avoid us. .”
"I think it's probably not about smuggling. There should be no one now
Dare to take risks under His Highness's nose. Besides, the few companies His Highness has created recently are enough for those powerful people..." Gu Qing said, an idea flashed in his mind, and he vaguely caught something, "By the way, it's time Isn’t it related to Donghai Company?”
"Donghai Company?" Ai Shijiu was busy training troops and didn't pay much attention to the news.
"It's the Donghai Trading Company. Simply put, it was established by His Highness for sea trade. It was mainly for doing business with the Japanese country of Korea. The principal was 10 million yuan..." Gu Qing explained casually, "No wonder His Highness asked me to put that Japanese merchants brought it."
The Japanese merchant was Kusano Asa, who had been imprisoned in the secret prison of the Imperial City since he was captured. Because Zhao Mengqi had specifically ordered him to do so, he had not been tortured except for interrogation.
Kusano Asa was shackled and kneeling outside the flower hall. More than two months in the dark prison had made him extremely depressed and haggard. At this time, his eyes were even more distracted. He didn't know what fate was waiting for him, so he was filled with fear and uneasiness. Any movement can make him extremely nervous.
As footsteps came from behind him, he couldn't help but turn his head to look.
At a glance, he knew that most of the people coming were from the Imperial City Division. He was already very familiar with the clothes, and the only one who was dressed differently was actually an old acquaintance of his.
Jiang Manhai?
This guy was also arrested?
Why doesn't he need to wear shackles and still looks good?
As Kusano Qian's mind was full of doubts, Hou Tao stopped beside him and said, "Jiang Manhai, you can live to this day only because of His Highness' kindness. Whether you live or die from now on will depend on how you behave in front of His Highness." , please wait here and think about your future path."
"I will never forget the kindness I received from you, the villain. If you are lucky enough to be a new person, I will definitely repay you..."
Jiang Manhai, who had a smooth, beardless face, nodded and bowed, his voice was somewhat feminine, and there was still a trace of a gangster.
"Oh, do I need you to repay me or not? As long as you can serve His Highness properly, that will be the best reward for me."
After Hou Tao sneered, he walked towards the hall door.
In fact, he was very nervous at this time, and he was a little afraid to face his immediate boss. He hesitated at the door for a long time before he bravely stepped through the threshold.
Gu Qing heard the footsteps and turned his head to look, but he only glanced lightly and didn't express much else.
However, Hou Tao was even more frightened. He walked up to Gu Qing tremblingly, and fell to his knees as soon as his legs became weak. "This subordinate has neglected his duty, and I owe you some trust. I am willing to accept the punishment."
p. I would like to apologize to everyone in advance. The update is really bad.
My ability is limited and my level is not good, but I do write with all my heart and soul.
Recently, an elderly person in my family passed away, and I have a lot of things to do. It may be harder to ensure quality and updates. I'm sorry.
