Shengsi Island Port.
Xu Da and Li Jin were standing in front of a huge map, talking to each other.
After Li Jin heard that Xu Da was going to Beijing immediately, he was shocked and hurriedly asked:
"I wonder why Duke Wei is so anxious? Could it be that Duke Wei has seen some clues?"
Xu Da looked heavy, stared at a small island in the southeast on the map, and said in a low voice:
"As you said, there must be someone behind the Japanese pirate unrest in the southeast this time."
"These Japanese pirates in the southeast region may have formed an alliance."
"These people are used to being loose and have been fighting with each other for many years. If you want to unite them, unless there is a force that is more powerful than all of them."
"This reminds me of someone."
"one person?"
Li Jin looked puzzled and asked:
"Who is it? Can he have such ability?"
Xu Da pointed his finger at an island off the coast of Fujian on the map and said slowly:
"A pirate, a pirate who makes the current emperor sleepless."
"This man is cunning and insidious, plundering ships in the South China Sea, and even once blocked the tribute route of small southern countries."
"Not only that, this man has thousands of warships and a hundred thousand people, roaming the South China Sea."
"When Guangxi and Guangdong were just recovered, it was this man who led pirates to capture dozens of coastal towns in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions."
"Fortunately, Marquis Zhongshan was in Guizhou at that time and drove Chen Zuyi to the sea, but the people in the coastal areas also suffered heavy casualties."
"However, after this incident, the emperor has a deep hatred for pirates and Japanese pirates."
"The emperor also issued a sea ban to move the people in the coastal areas inland to prevent people from colluding with Japanese pirates, and at the same time to protect the people from being invaded by Japanese pirates."
"The emperor even offered a reward of 500,000 taels of silver to Chen Zuyi. You must know that our Ming Dynasty's current annual tax revenue is only 4 million taels."
"Such a large reward shows the emperor's hatred for this person, and it also illustrates the harm this person does."
"But after Chen Zuyi was defeated, he disappeared in the past two years."
"I thought he had died overseas, but your map actually marked the pirate's sphere of influence again."
"If your mark is correct, then this person must be the driving force behind the Japanese pirates this time."
Li Jin did not expect that Chen Zuyi was so powerful that even Zhu Yuanzhang could not do anything to him, and even offered him a bonus of 500,000 taels of silver.
In this way, Chen Zuyi can be regarded as the first generation of Pirate King during the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, Chen Zuyi is more legendary than Xu Da described.
Chen Zuyi, a native of Chaoshan, Guangdong, led his whole family to go to sea in his early years. With his extraordinary courage and ability, he did business in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and other regions.
They say they are doing business, but in fact they are doing business without capital and plundering passing ships.
In just a few years, it became the largest pirate force in the south.
Later, Chen Zuyi occupied Malacca for more than ten years and became one of the leaders of the world's largest pirate group. At its peak, there were more than 100,000 members and nearly a thousand warships.
Activities take place in Japan, Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean and other places.
It robbed more than 10,000 passing ships and captured more than 50 coastal towns. Some countries in Southeast Asia even paid tribute to it.
Until the end, Chen Zuyi even captured Bolin, a small country in Southeast Asia, and proclaimed himself king. He became addicted to claiming kingship and hegemony.
Although today's Chen Zuyi is not at his peak, he still firmly controls the seas in Fujian, Guangdong and Southeast Asia, and is worthy of the name One Piece.
Although Li Jin had never heard of Chen Zuyi, seeing that Xu Da valued this person so much, Li Jin did not dare to despise him and said:
"In this case, Duke Wei, please come to the palace quickly and report the matter to the emperor, asking the emperor to take precautions in the southeastern coastal area."
"At the same time, ask the emperor to send troops to reinforce the training base in Shanghu County."
"Such a huge force with 20,000 troops is still a bit weak."
Xu Da also knew that there was no need to delay, so he turned around and left immediately. Before leaving, Xu Da told Li Jin:
"The number of Japanese pirates captured this time is approximately 20,000. Since they have surrendered, they are the people of the Ming Dynasty. You must make proper arrangements."
"I will ask the emperor for help, but the result is unpredictable."
"You must return to Shanghu County as soon as possible and do not stay here."
"Ichiro Inoue's escape is a disaster after all. He doesn't know when he will come back with others."
Then seeing Li Jin nodding solemnly, Xu Da said goodbye without stopping.
After Xu Da left, Li Jin got off the boat and walked to the military camp, preparing to deal with the Japanese prisoners.
...
Two days later.
In the study room, Zhu Yuanzhang was still dealing with government affairs conscientiously like an old cow that didn't know how to get tired.
Zhu Di, as usual, accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang all the time and corrected the memorial together.
When Xu Da came to Zhu Yuanzhang in a dusty state, Zhu Yuanzhang was very surprised.
"Xu Da, didn't we ask you to suppress bandits on Shengsi Island? Why are you back again?"
Xu Da's face was full of wind and frost at this time. In order to come back as soon as possible, Xu Da was working hard and traveling non-stop.
It's winter now, and you can imagine how cold it is when you're traveling at night.
"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. Chen Zuyi is back!"
Zhu Biao listened a little confused.
Chen Zuyi? who is he? Why would the dignified Duke of Wei be so panicked when he came back?
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the name, his pupils dilated instantly, his brows knitted together, his tone became heavy, and he asked:
"Is the news reliable?"
Xu Da hurriedly told Zhu Yuanzhang the situation he had analyzed with Li Jin.
After hearing that the southeastern Japanese pirates were integrating and unifying, and that a large number of pirates had once again appeared in the Fujian waters, Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer sit still.
Not to mention other things, just relying on the Japanese pirates' tendency to unify and integrate was not something Zhu Yuanzhang could accept.
In recent years, Japanese pirates have invaded the southeastern coast. Although they have been banned repeatedly, they have never appeared on a large scale.
If the Japanese pirates are really integrated, then needless to say, the next target of these people must be the prosperous southeastern region of the Ming Dynasty.
If Chen Zuyi is added to the mix, then the southeastern region is likely to begin to erode and no longer be owned by the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately felt the crisis and said to Xu Da:
"We will never allow the Japanese pirates to unify. Even their alliance will be a serious harm to the Ming Dynasty."
After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Xu Da was helpless.
After all, the Ming Dynasty was not familiar with the distribution of Japanese pirates along the southeast coast. Let alone stopping the other party's alliance, it could not even find the other party. How to stop them?
Xu Da had no choice but to step forward and cup his hands, and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Come on, before I come, Li Jin once suggested that I ask for reinforcements."
"The strength of the 20,000 soldiers in the Beijing Camp is a bit weak after all. Please call on the superior to allocate another 30,000 troops to be trained by the minister and Li Jin."
"No!"
Zhu Yuanzhang refused on the spot. The Beijing army was Zhu Yuanzhang's absolute confidant, and it was also Zhu Yuanzhang's confidence.
These are the elites selected by Zhu Yuanzhang for his campaigns in the north and south. How could they be sent out again?
"Xu Da, it's time for the 20,000 Beijing soldiers you trained to play your role."
"From now on, you are going to find the Japanese pirates on the southeast coast and attack and eliminate them."
"Our main enemy of the Ming Dynasty is still in the north, not these Japanese pirates."
"An army of fifty thousand is too much after all. Although we can't allocate any more troops to you, we allow Li Jin to recruit ten thousand on his own."
"Thirty thousand people, I believe you can also cope with the chaos in the southeast."
"Mongolia in the north has not been peaceful in recent years. Only the soldiers and horses of the capital camp can deter Xiaoxiao. Do you understand?"
Xu Da had actually known this result for a long time. Based on his understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang, there was no way that Zhu Yuanzhang would casually lend him military power.
The 20,000 soldiers in the Beijing camp were all obtained by Li Jin in exchange for various benefits. It is simply a fantasy to want more reinforcements.
Xu Da bowed and said:
"According to the order."
"I just think that the superiors should strictly defend the southeastern coastal areas, especially Zhejiang and Fujian..."
"Report!! Urgent express delivery from 800 miles away from Fujian!"
Before Xu Da could finish speaking, a panicked voice reached everyone's ears.
