In fact, the Chinese people of this era have no concept of the word Japanese pirates, let alone disgust and hatred. However, this does not mean that Japanese pirates do not exist.
In ancient times, the administrative capabilities of the government were limited, and there were many places that were beyond control, so there was room for bandits to breed.
There are mountain bandits and water bandits in many places inland, and the vast sea is a lawless place. There are always many pirates and robbers. They are entrenched on the islands, crisscrossing the trade routes, and making a living by robbing merchant ships. They have no choice but to In some cases, robberies will also occur.
Japan is an island country, and its political power is often unstable, so it is rich in pirates.
In the past, the Japanese shipbuilding technology was very backward and could not travel too far, so Japanese pirates could only plunder the coast of Korea. The word "Japanese pirates" was also the first to be called by the Koreans.
The Song Dynasty should be the most advanced country in shipbuilding and navigation in the world. It did not need to sail along the coastline as before, but opened up a new route and directly crossed the East China Sea, from Mingzhou to the Japanese country Hakata.
After the Japanese country learned more advanced shipbuilding and navigation technologies from the Song Dynasty, Japanese merchants also began to travel along this new route.
Generally speaking, pirates were composed of down-and-out people who did not have the ability to use ocean-going ships. Therefore, they basically could not reach the Chinese coast and only plundered in the coastal waters of Japan. The Japanese court also had many countermeasures. The Taira family used to Taking advantage of the opportunity to fight against pirates, they strengthened their own power, and at the same time eliminated the safety hazards of the Song-Japanese trade routes.
After the fall of the Taira clan, pirates revived and gradually increased their prominence. Last year, after Japan began to restrict its merchants from going to sea, the power of pirates increased sharply.
In the history without Zhao Mengqi, these Japanese pirates gradually appeared on the coast of China and became more and more rampant in the following years.
At that time, Wu Qian happened to be the ambassador of the coastal system and the governor of Qingyuan Mansion. To this end, the "Free Ship Law" was enacted. The military and civilians jointly defended against pirates and achieved very good results. This did not cause too much disaster. Therefore, it can be said that, Wu Qian should be the first person in China to fight against the Japanese.
Now for Zhao Mengqi, he definitely supports the Japanese state in restricting our merchants from going to sea. This will be more conducive to his monopoly and control of the Song-Japanese trade. However, the pirates expanded by this policy will inevitably affect the safety of the routes, and he must crack down on it. , which was one of the reasons why he merged the Zhejiang Navy into the Donghai Company.
A strike is a strike. In fact, Zhao Mengqi does not intend to completely eliminate the pirates, and even plans to form a "Japanese pirates".
"Commander Ai, when you are cleaning up pirates, you should mainly recruit and capture prisoners, select available people, and form a secret force. This force is under the control of the Military Intelligence Department. The leaders are Jiang Manhai and Kusano Asa. Checks and balances, on the surface, this force has nothing to do with the Song Dynasty or the Donghai Company, do you understand?"
"Wei Chen understands."
How can Gu Qing and Hou Tao not understand that this Japanese pirate troop is just doing dirty work...
To put it bluntly, the Donghai Company will have two forces, one overt and one dark. The overt force is responsible for combating pirates and ensuring the smooth flow of merchant ships of the Song Dynasty. The covert force is used to rob Japanese or other countries' merchant ships and block Japanese sea routes.
This means that if the plan succeeds, anyone entering or leaving Japan in the future must obtain the consent of the Song Dynasty... New
"Japan is an important trading partner of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty naturally has the obligation to protect the international security of Japan."
Zhao Mengqi touched his nose with an expression that was for "his" good, "Call them two in."
Outside the door, Jiang Manhai and Kusano Asa, who didn't know that they were about to become the "Pirate King", were very nervous at this time. When they saw Hou Tao coming out, they immediately became nervous.
Jiang Manhai spoke cautiously, "Officer, may I ask what your Highness's instructions are?"
Kusano Qian, who was kneeling on the ground, quickly pricked up his ears and heard Hou Tao leisurely say, "You two are in great luck. His Highness intends to reuse you. It depends on whether you can seize the opportunity. Someone, please Kusano Qian." The shackles are gone... Come in with me."
The two of them hunched over and followed Hou Tao into the flower hall.
Jiang Manhai could only see clearly a figure on the main seat, so he immediately knelt down on the ground and crawled forward with all four limbs, "Jiang Manhai, I would like to thank Your Highness for not killing anyone."
, I will work hard to repay His Highness for the rest of my life, and be loyal to His Highness in all my life. Anyone who dares to have a wrong thought will be struck by five thunders from the sky, dead without a burial place, and will fall into hell and never be reincarnated..."
Kusano Qian slowed down a beat, secretly annoyed at Jiang Manhai's shamelessness, and quickly knelt down, but raised his butt high, his body almost touching the ground, and then slowly squirmed forward.
"The villain Asano Kusano deserves to die for his crime. He violated the laws of the Song Dynasty and harmed the interests of the Song Dynasty. He knows that his sins are serious. Now he has repented and asked Your Highness to give the villain a chance to change. From now on, the villain will surrender to Your Highness wholeheartedly and go through fire and water for His Highness. , without any hesitation."
Seeing the two people looking so servile and humble, Zhao Mengqi couldn't help but laugh, "Everyone, get up and talk."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness."
Jiang Manhai slowly got up, still bent over deeply, extremely respectful. Kusano Asa was almost the same, except that his forehead was almost touching his knees, and he looked like a cooked prawn. He didn't know it was so difficult. Action, how did he do it.
Zhao Mengqi saw that Jiang Manhai's head was as bright as a big duck's egg, and he couldn't help but wonder, this guy actually "shaved"?
Could it be that the thing is missing and the world is broken?
"Jiang Manhai, raise your head and let me take a look."
When Jiang Manhai heard this, he didn't dare to be negligent. Still bending down and lowering his hands, he stretched his neck and raised his face, looking like a turtle...
Zhao Mengqi took a closer look and saw that Jiang Manhai's face was also bare. Even his eyebrows were gone, leaving only two bare eyebrow ridges. His skin was also much smoother. He was no longer as rough and fierce as when he was a water bandit, but looked peaceful. Like a monk.
It seems that this guy did not remove his hair by himself, it may be a sequelae of castration, but it is still strange.
"I seem to have gained some weight. It seems that the root cause is gone, which may not be a good thing."
Jiang Manhai smiled flatteringly, "Fortunately, Your Highness ordered the imperial doctor to save me, and I was able to save a dog's life. Although I lost a little bit of meat, it also allowed me to fully realize my past sins. I deeply regret that I have lived half my life." The dog is dead, and now the villain has no other thoughts. He only wants to be a useful person to the Song Dynasty and His Highness, and to change his mind to make up for his past sins."
It’s not just that all four elements are empty, otherwise how can one become a great “Pirate King”?
Zhao Mengqi was certain in his heart and smiled, "Jiang Manhai, since you know the crimes you have committed before, you should know that whether it is theory or law, it is not an exaggeration to cut you into pieces. However, even if God asks you to do it, Although I am not a man, I always left you a life, so I am willing to give you another chance. If you work hard in the future, I will also give you wealth. By the way, I have good news for you. When you were on Jiaoshan Island, there was a woman who said she was your wife, and she was nearly three months pregnant at that time, so you probably didn’t know that."
Jiang Manhai was stunned for a long time, and then asked tremblingly, "Your Highness...are you talking...about Ju Niang?"
"It seems to be called Hua Ju." If the name hadn't been a bit strange, Zhao Mengqi might not have remembered it.
"This...this means that I, Jiang Manhai, have a child!?" Jiang Manhai became excited, stood up and danced, "I'm going to be a father! I'm going to be a father!"
"Presumptuous!" Hou Tao shouted immediately.
Zhao Mengqi waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, life is a joy."
Jiang Manhai was awakened by the drink and realized where he was. He hurriedly suppressed his emotions and returned to a respectful posture, but his body was shaking uncontrollably. In the end, he simply knelt down and kowtowed nine times before falling to the ground.
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Highness. I can't repay it for you, but I'm willing to go to hell for Your Highness and never regret it!"
Zhao Mengqi nodded slightly, "I hope you can remember what I said today, live a good life and do good things, and you are not someone who will easily die. As long as you do well, you will be treated well. As for your wife and children, You will also get a good life. Well, I can meet you both later so that you can feel at ease. Hou Tao will explain to you what you have to do, and he will be your direct superior from now on."
Jiang Manhai thanked him profusely and kowtowed nine more times until his forehead was bruised, then he knelt and stepped aside.
Grass
Ye Qian was very envious at this time, even jealous of Jiang Manhai's good results, and strong expectations arose in his heart. Before King Yan could say anything, he quickly kowtowed.
The collision of his forehead with the floor tiles was like beating a drum, but the sound didn't seem to be as loud as Jiang Manhai's. Kusano Qian secretly hated that his head was not big enough and empty enough, so he quickly increased his strength, as if he was going to knock himself to death.
In his daze, he heard King Yan's words, "Stop...stop! Don't risk your life..."
Kusano Asa felt like his brain was being shaken to a pulp. After obeying the order and stopping, he paused for a while before he managed to speak, "Your Highness, this little...little man is just a barbarian, ignorant of etiquette, and ignorant of culture and education. I don’t know how to express my respect for His Highness, I just think this can show my sincerity..."
Zhao Mengqi said loudly, "Okay, you are a Japanese, it is considered good to know the Chinese language. I don't care about these false etiquette, I just want to see if you can do useful things. By the way, I heard that you are actually a descendant of the Taira family. ?」
Although Asa Kusano was in the Imperial City Prison, he did not suffer any physical abuse, but he could not withstand the confinement method, so he confessed many things, including that he was a member of the Taira family.
The Taira and Minamoto clans of the Japanese country were actually descendants of the royal family. Later they became stronger and established their own forces. In the past hundreds of years in the Japanese country, these two families were basically fighting for power. In fact, the relationship between the two families was also very complicated, and they often married. So there is me in you and you in me.
After the defeat of the Taira clan seventy years ago, although many people died, the Genji did not kill them all, nor could they kill them all. They put the last member of the Taira clan, Taira Munemori, under house arrest in Kyoto, so they left descendants. Kusano Asa is also from Kyoto.
The king and court of Japan were both in Kyoto, so Zhao Mengqi felt that Kusano Asa's identity might be used in the future.
At this time, Kusano hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me for concealing my secret. In fact, although I do have Taira blood, I should actually be considered a Song Dynasty person."
"Huh? How do you say this?" Zhao Mengqi looked curious.
Kusano Asa explained, "The villain's grandmother is the granddaughter of Ping Zongsheng, and her husband is his cousin, who is Ping Zongsheng's grandson. However, the villain's father was born from the grandmother's breeding to Song Shang..."
Several people in the hall were stunned.
Darling, these little dwarfs really know how to play.
