In Gu Zhengchen's opinion, losing more than thirty people and killing more than four hundred pirates was still nothing to be thankful for. But in the eyes of Shi Fu, Lu Zhen and others, this was an incredible victory, a great victory for the navy to wipe out the pirates.
Facing the heavy-hearted Gu Zhengchen, Shi Fu comforted: "You have to know that in July last year, Taizhou Guardsmen went to sea to fight against Japanese pirates, but they only captured two ships, captured 74 Japanese, and rescued four people. Taizhou The commanders of the guards all regarded it as a great victory, and no one in the imperial court could refute it."
"The pirates are very dispersed. Unlike the Hulu, teams of four to five hundred pirates like this are mostly found in the outer seas of Guangdong and Fujian. They are rarely seen here in the Yangtze Estuary. Fortunately, you are alert enough to see through it. If you really let this group of people If you go deep into the Yangtze River, the imperial court will lose face."
Gu Zhengchen looked back at the sergeants who followed him on the expedition, as well as the small boats carrying the dead sergeants, and said sadly: "I didn't even have time to know them, and I couldn't call out their names. They just followed me on one expedition. Sacrificed. Commander Shi, how did you do it so calmly and calmly?"
Shi Fu lamented: "There is no such thing as calmness, it's just a matter of course. Thinking about the wars before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was no battle in which hundreds or thousands of people were not killed. A wise and brave general like Wei Guogong once lost tens of thousands of soldiers. It’s war. When there are no immortals, every one of them has the consciousness of death. Even for me, as long as I go to the battlefield, it is equivalent to handing over my life to the knife in my hand and God’s arrangement.”
Gu Zhengchen was silent.
The current peace is earned by countless people's lives. And in order to continue and ensure this peace, countless people will sacrifice.
Zhao Hailou could understand Gu Zhengchen's mood. After all, he was just a young man in his early twenties and a civil servant. This was his first time commanding a battle, his first time killing someone, and his first time seeing so many dead people. Especially when these dead people were alive not long ago!
North of Qiya Port, in the reeds.
Several heads popped out and landed wet.
Yuan Liang and Sun Ke looked at there only seven or eight people left around them, with grimaces on their faces.
Sun Ke pointed to the lights in the Yangtze River and gritted his teeth: "That's the Jiangyin Navy. What's the name of the leader? Do you still remember it?"
"Gu Zhengchen, he gave his name."
Yuan Liang took off his clothes and squeezed out the water.
Sun Ke's eyes were cold and stern: "He ruined our plan, I want his whole family to die!"
Yuan Liang glanced at Sun Ke: "I'm afraid it won't be easy. He is the temporary governor of Jiangyin Guard. As you know, the governor is already a big official. People like us can't get into Jiangyin Guard at all, let alone Don’t try to get any benefits.”
"Then call in more people, this account must be settled!"
Sun Ke was unwilling to give in.
Along the way, he had avoided many interrogations, and all the navy soldiers of the guard station had hidden it. It seemed that he would be able to go deep into the Yangtze River after two more interrogations, but at the last moment, he was destroyed by a young boy. , and lost most of its strength!
Yuan Liang glanced at Sun Ke, "Gu Zhengchen is Zhu Yuanzhang's man. If you want to keep accounts, you must also remember Zhu Yuanzhang's strokes. Seeing the lights above the river moving this way, he said: "We will talk about revenge later, we still have to I want to find a way to sneak into Jinling, but now that I don’t have the gift, how can I convince Fang Guozhen to come out?”
Sun Ke's expression was ferocious: "If you don't have a gift, grab it. You'll always encounter a lone merchant. Let's go!"
The oars were turned to dawn, and the fleet advanced slowly.
This time the return speed was slower. We rested in Fushan for a night in the evening and did not return to Jiangyinwei Port until the afternoon of the next day.
Wang Hu, the commander of the Longxiang Guards, stood on the pier and led the crowd to greet Gu Zhengchen. He held his fists and laughed and said: "A man from Quanzhou County is both wise and brave. He defeated the pirates in just one expedition. He is really a role model for our generation. It's gratifying." Congratulations!"
Shi Fu introduced Gu Zhengchen from the side.
When Gu Zhengchen saw that it was the commander, he did not dare to be negligent and returned the courtesy: "It is not my fault alone, but the contribution of Jiangyin and Jurong sergeants. But I feel ashamed to bother the commander Wang to welcome him personally."
Wang Hu had a good impression of Gu Zhengchen and patted Gu Zhengchen on the shoulder: "Well done! Of more than 400 pirates, we only lost 32 people. You fought well in this battle. Come on, tell me well." Tell me how this battle was fought!"
Gu Zhengchen looked back at the sergeant who was carrying the body ashore, and said sadly: "Commander Wang, before the handover, Jiangyin Guards still have the final say with me, right?"
"It's natural."
Wang Hu looked at Gu Zhengchen in confusion.
Gu Zhengchen thanked him and then looked at Feng Fu: "Order someone to find a high stone and place it in the center of the Jiangyin Health Camp teaching ground. Invite stone carvers to carve their names. In addition, tell their family members - take them with you." go home!"
Feng Fu solemnly agreed and strode away.
Among the thirty-two people who died, not all were from Jiangyin Guard, but seven were from Jurong Guard. Fortunately, it was not hot yet, otherwise they would not even be able to bring back their bodies.
The family members cried loudly when they heard that they had been killed in battle.
Gu Zhengchen watched these people take away the bodies, crying out unfamiliar names one after another, and asked painfully: "If the soldier died in the battle, how will the pension be arranged?"
Wang Hu looked at Gu Zhengchen and said bluntly: "If a soldier survives the battle, his wife will be given a monthly ration. If his wife observes the law and has no one to rely on after three years, she will be given six dou of rice per month for life."
"Gone?"
Gu Zhengchen frowned.
Wang Hu shook his head: "No more."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhuang Xing: "From the Jiangyin guard's account treasury, we divided the soldiers who died in battle, and each household received twenty shi of grain and five guan of money."
Zhuang Xing looked at Gu Zhengchen in surprise.
Wang Hu frowned slightly and reminded Gu Zhengchen: "Doing this is not in line with the rules of the court, and may also get you into trouble. It seems that you are not suitable for causing problems now. You must know that the people in Yushi Taichung hate you to the core. They are eager to You showed your flaws."
Gu Zhengchen put his hands behind his back and looked at Wang Hu: "Commander Wang, I know this is illegal. Will Your Majesty kill me for this?"
"Of course not, but your newly obtained military merit may be offset by your mistakes."
Wang Hu said seriously.
Gu Zhengchen nodded calmly and looked at Zhuang Xing: "If you weren't deaf, you shouldn't be standing here anymore."
Zhuang Xing's eyes heated up and he shouted: "Take the order!"
Damn it, why can’t I be such a good commander?
With such a generous pension, you don’t have to worry about your mother and father having to live together even if you die.
Sergeant Jiangyin Guard looked at Gu Zhengchen with admiration in his eyes.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the sergeants who accompanied him on the expedition and said in a deep voice: "Although I, Gu Zhengchen, am not the governor of Jiangyin Guard, I am the governor of the Ming Dynasty, and you are the sergeants of the Ming Dynasty! I hope you all will work hard to practice martial arts. , one day he will fight for the country and kill the enemy with meritorious deeds!"
Wei Shangwen looked at Gu Zhengchen, knelt down on one knee, pointed his spear in the sky, and shouted sternly: "Send Gu Zhenfu away!"
"Send Gu Zhenfu off!"
Liu Ji and other sergeants had tears in their eyes.
Although it was short-lived, we lived and died together.
Although we are separated, we will never forget them in this life.
Because the Jurong sergeant's body could not be kept for a long time, and because of Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial edict, Gu Zhengchen did not wait until the stone tablet with his name was erected, but entrusted it to Wang Hu and Shi Fu.
Wang Hu and Shi Fu agreed.
Gu Zhengchen took Sergeant Jurong on the return journey. Wang Hu took the decision and sent a boat to send Gu Zhengchen and others to Dantu Town. They disembarked near Zhenjiang and headed to Jurong. In this way, the original three-four-day journey was completed. It will take two days.
Jinling, Huagai Hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mu Ying who was saluting, frowned and asked, "But is there any news about Gu Xiaozi?"
Mu Ying raised the document above her head and said seriously: "Your Majesty, Gu Zhengchen has sent a report on the Nansha Water Battle."
"Battle report?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's face became solemn, he stood up and waved away the servants, walked over to pick up the document, and opened it to read, only to see a very brief sentence written on the document:
On the night of February 19th, Nansha Pancha encountered pirates and fought with them. Thirty-two of them died, 427 of them were killed, and dozens of others escaped without knowing their whereabouts.
"Is Gu boy okay?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mu Ying, worry in his words.
Mu Ying nodded slightly: "It was the news sent by the sergeant sent by Shi Fu, commanded by Long Xiangwei. According to the sergeant, this battle was extremely dangerous. Gu Zhengchen fell into the water and was almost killed by the pirates. Fortunately, the sergeant fought desperately. This Only then did danger turn into safety.”
Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened and he angrily said: "Damn it Zhou Huan, knowing that Gu Zhengchen is a civil servant with no battlefield experience, yet he sent him to Nansha, a place that must pass through the Yangtze River Estuary! This Gu Zhengchen is also confused, how much does he weigh? I don’t know how many liang I have, but I really dare to take people there! If he unfortunately dies in battle, how will the Ming Dynasty develop firearms?!"
Mu Ying was also quite frightened: "Your Majesty, Wang Hu, the commander of Longxiang Guard, sent news that when Gu Zhengchen first arrived at Jiangyin Guard, he had Zhou Huan's son Zhou Lin flogged for sixty years for molesting a military woman. I speculated that maybe this was the case. It has something to do with Gu Zhengchen’s transfer to Nansha..."
"Humph, what does it mean to have some relationship? It's clear that it's public revenge! Let Wang Hu investigate Zhou Lin carefully and find out how many mistakes he has made. He should be killed when it's time to kill him. Don't leave this scourge in the guard camp!"
Zhu Yuanzhang ordered.
Mu Ying had no objection. Gu Zhengchen was too kind and soft-hearted. Zhou Lin dared to catch a military woman in broad daylight. This was by no means the first time he had done this. If he fell into his hands, he would ask him to move his head immediately for fear of offending Zhou Huan. Who is he?
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the battle report and said sternly: "More than four hundred pirates were killed, and dozens of others escaped. The pirates were so large that they entered Nansha with such arrogance that they approached Chongming, Wusongjiang Station, Baoshan Station, What do these naval forces at the Nanhuizui Zhonghou Station do for food! Check, I want to know whether it is a dereliction of duty or someone is secretly colluding with the pirates!"
Mu Ying lowered her head and did not explain.
Although these pirates were disguised as grain transport ships, they could not have any flaws, otherwise Gu Zhengchen would not have discovered them. But none of the coastal guard stations along the river noticed anything. There must be something wrong.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat down, threw the battle report on the table, and took a few breaths: "Mu Ying, if I ask you to lead 300 naval troops, can you kill 427 pirates at the cost of 32 sergeants?"
Mu Ying shook her head bitterly: "Your Majesty, if I lead the navy and use small boats to fight against big ships, and kill more people with fewer people, I am afraid that more than half of them will be lost in the battle."
Zhu Yuanzhang knocked on the table and said slowly: "But he only sacrificed thirty-two sergeants!"
