Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was praising Li Jin, Li Jin was mobilizing troops in Hepu County because the war was coming!
Hepu County, county government office.
Li Jin, Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Lan Yu, Fu Youde and others gathered together.
Lan Yu's face was full of excitement and she said happily to Li Jin:
"Master Li, I have found out clearly that in the South China Sea incident, the group of thieves who robbed our Ming Dynasty merchant ship were definitely sent by Annan."
Now there is a legitimate reason. Lan Yu, who has been waiting for a long time, is more excited than anyone else!
Zhu Di and Fu Youde also looked at Li Jin expectantly.
Li Jin was unwilling to send troops before, saying that he would wait for an opportunity. Now that the Annan people have presented the opportunity to them, they can't let them go anymore, right?
Li Jin heard this, but still frowned. He did not look at Lanyu Zhu Di and others, but looked at Zhu Biao and asked:
"Have the Jin Yiwei who went to Annan not returned yet?"
Zhu Biao shook his head slightly and said nothing.
Seeing that Li Jin ignored her words, Lan Yu suddenly became anxious and said angrily:
"Master Li, Annan is already sitting on our heads and shitting on us, do we still have to tolerate it again and again?"
"We have just formed a chamber of commerce and gained the trust of those businessmen. With these businessmen, we have made a lot of money all over Southeast Asia."
"Now that our merchant ships are being robbed, if we remain indifferent and don't resist, how can we survive in the future?"
"Wouldn't anyone be able to rob those merchant ships in the future?"
"Then Nanyang is not just Annan, but there are also countries such as Luzon, Siam, and Myanmar!!"
"We cannot swallow this tone. We must send troops to demand an explanation from Annan!"
Lan Yu could not be in a hurry. In fact, these days, under the leadership of Li Jin, although Lan Yu and others did not plunder Annan, they still made a lot of money by escorting merchant ships.
In addition, Zhu Di Lanyu and Fu Youde are now rich and wealthy by going overseas for business with some private goods, but this is all based on the premise that Hepu County is open to navigation.
Now, when the maritime trade here in Hepu County is booming, clowns actually appear and dare to rob the Ming Dynasty's merchant ships.
Doesn't this mean that you want to cut off your own financial path? Destroying someone's wealth is like killing one's parents! !
After all, the navy in Hepu County is limited and cannot protect too many merchant ships. Although many merchant ships have paid protection fees, they actually do not have the Ming Navy to protect them.
These merchant ships were hoisted with the flags of the Ming army to deter pirates. In the past, ordinary pirates would give Lan Yu and others a hard time when they saw the flags of the Ming Dynasty.
But this time, a merchant ship was openly robbed. Lan Yu naturally couldn't bear it. This was a slap in his face.
Not only that, if this matter is ignored, how will Lan Yu come out to hang out in the future?
And among those merchants, who else would pay protection fees to Lan Yu for him?
Lan Yu's indignant words made Li Jin frown in thought. After a moment, Li Jin said in a low voice:
"Marquis Yingchuan, please return to the camp immediately, mobilize the entire army, and be ready to go south at any time."
"Liang Guogong, how are the navy's preparations going?"
Seeing that Li Jin seemed to be going to fight, Lan Yu immediately replied:
"Stand by at any time, just waiting for an order."
This was followed by a series of confident speeches:
"How about it? Send troops right now? I guarantee that those Annan bastards will never see the sun the next day!"
Zhu Di on the side also nodded crazily and confidently.
Different from the confidence on their faces, Zhu Biao on the other side had a worried look on his face:
"Send troops directly? Do we need to ask the emperor for instructions in advance?"
What else are you asking for? Just do it!
Lan Yu was about to speak, but was directly interrupted by Li Jin:
"Send someone to negotiate first and ask the Annan court to immediately punish the plunderers, release our Ming merchant ships, return all supplies, and publicly apologize to our court."
"At the same time, let Annan open the port and let our Ming Navy go to arrest the criminals."
"If not, all the consequences will be borne by Annan. When the time comes, our tomorrow's army will definitely destroy Annan. Don't say that you were unpredicted!"
Lan Yu was very puzzled and said:
"Ah? Why haven't you sent troops yet? If negotiations are effective, why do you need soldiers?"
"For such an act that openly provokes our Ming Dynasty, we should immediately send troops to destroy Annan and make them pay the price for their arrogance!!"
Li Jin glanced at Lan Yu and said lightly:
"It won't be time!"
It’s not the right time again! !
...
Annam, Thang Long City.
"Your Majesty, an envoy from the Ming Dynasty is here to meet with your Majesty!"
The attendant reported in a low voice to Chen Zheping, the king of Annan.
Messenger of the Ming Dynasty?
Chen Zheping, the king of Annan who was discussing matters with the prime minister, couldn't help but look wary when he heard this.
After a while, he ordered the attendant:
"Bring them in!"
"yes!"
After seeing the attendant leave, Hu Jisao spoke:
"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to visit our country for no reason. It must be because of bad intentions!"
Chen Zheping looked calm and casual and said:
"Prime Minister, we in Annan are a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. How can we not welcome people from the Ming Dynasty?"
"What the king said is that after they arrive, all matters will be left to the ministers to handle!"
Hu Jishen didn't give Chen Zheping a chance to talk nonsense and directly helped him finalize the next arrangements.
Moreover, the reason why Ming Dynasty was able to send envoys this time must be because of what happened to the merchant ships at sea a few days ago.
Thinking of this, Hu Jiyou couldn't help but darken his eyes, and his expression became even colder.
Chen Zheping opened his mouth, thought about it, but didn't resist.
Not long after, the attendant came in with a man.
The man was dressed in the uniform of a Ming Dynasty official. After entering the palace, he saluted the leader Chen Zheping in a friendly manner. His expression was respectful and courteous, showing no sign of happiness or anger at all.
Chen Zheping looked at the other party secretly for a while, and then said gently:
"Messenger of the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to be polite, please take a seat!"
The attendant immediately moved a chair to one side. Seeing this, Fu Heng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and sat down without being polite.
Seeing the other party sit down, Chen Zheping asked:
"I wonder what brings your envoy to our country?"
Fu Heng smiled and explained:
"A few days ago, our merchant ships in Hepu County, Ming Dynasty, were robbed by unknown pirates. Even the merchant ships and merchants were detained. Later, after some verification, I found out that those thieves were originally citizens of your country. .”
"The emperor of our country was very angry when he heard about this matter and sent me an envoy to come to your country to negotiate on this matter."
Chen Zheping listened with surprise, and Fu Heng continued to state:
"Our emperor hopes that your king can punish the plunderers, release our Ming merchant ships, return all supplies, and publicly apologize to our court."
"At the same time, I also hope that your country can open its ports so that our Ming Navy can go and arrest the criminals and hand over the culprits."
After hearing these words from Fu Heng, before Chen Zheping could say anything, Annan Prime Minister Hu Jishen scolded him sharply:
"I'm afraid the envoy is not talking nonsense. I have never heard the truth about the things you said. Could it be that your country has some conspiracy and sent a special envoy to slander our Annan court!"
Fu Heng, who was suddenly scolded, immediately turned gloomy. He was an envoy of the Ming Dynasty and represented the face of the Ming Dynasty. Yet this small Annan vassal country dared to scold him?
Fu Heng suppressed the anger in his heart, smiled coldly, and retorted:
"Slander or not, I hope your king can send someone to investigate and verify whether what I said is true or false!"
"It's you, the Prime Minister of your country. You didn't even send someone to check. Instead, you refused and said that I was slandering you? Could it be that you covered up this matter?"
As a powerful official in Annan, Hu Jiyou can be said to have a single hand in Annan. Even the king of Annan has to look at his face to act.
No, just when Chen Zheping was about to speak, he was frightened by Hu Jiyou's sinister look and shut his mouth.
Hu Ji Yao turned to Fu Heng and said angrily:
"Don't stop slandering others. The truth has been told. Your Ming Dynasty merchant ships are missing. You should look for them yourself instead of coming to our country to throw dirty water."
"Whether we investigate or not is not up to you. If the truth says there is no such thing, then it means there is no such thing. Your envoy should go back as soon as possible!"
Fu Heng did not want to continue talking to Hu Jisha, but turned to look at Chen Zheping above and said:
"Your Majesty, this envoy is here on behalf of our Ming Dynasty. Our Ming Dynasty will never frame your country. I also ask your Majesty to send someone to investigate."
"If not, all the consequences will be borne by Annan. When the time comes, our tomorrow's army will surely destroy Annan. Please think twice, your Majesty!"
Chen Zheping clenched his fists, and Hu Jisao immediately exploded and shouted towards the door:
"You are so bold, you dare to say such nonsense here, you are simply arrogant!"
"Come here, drive this person out!"
