Ships at sea were cruising for inspection, and sergeants on the shore were watching.
Under such circumstances, it seems unreasonable that the pirates could land in Chongwu quietly and threaten Hui'an County.
Of course, it is not ruled out that the pirates crossed the sea in the dark and watched the sergeants take a nap.
Gu Zhengchen felt powerless towards the current coastline of Quanzhou Prefecture, and even the entire coastline of Fujian, to the point of being somewhat sad.
The reason why Lao Zhu banned the sea was probably because there was no way for the Ming Dynasty to garrison the coastline at this time. No guards or posts had been set up yet.
There is only one Quanzhou Guard in the entire Quanzhou Prefecture, stationed not far southeast of Jinjiang City. The Chongwu Institute, Yongning Guard, Jinmen Institute, and Gaopu Institute did not exist in the seventh year of Hongwu, and they had to wait fourteen years before they existed.
This also means that during the entire 21 years before the Hongwu Dynasty, there were no guard posts or coastal garrison arrangements along the entire Quanzhou Prefecture coastline. In other words, during these 21 years, the coastline was full of holes. …
Although there are naval fleets passing by occasionally, it is really occasional here. It can't be said for ten days and a half month, or one or two months. Gu Zhengchen understood very well why the pirates were always making trouble in the early days of Hongwu. It was because they really needed to be dealt with.
"Prefect Gu."
Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was dazed, Chu Xing shouted softly.
Gu Zhengchen came back to his senses and sighed: "If you want to develop maritime affairs, coastal garrisoning is indispensable. But at the moment, the imperial court may not allow Fujian Province to build a coastal garrison."
Chu Xing agreed with Gu Zhengchen's view.
At present, the imperial court's military deployment is mainly towards the north. The northeast, due north and northwest all need to be guarded against, as well as the southwest. Where there are large numbers of other troops stationed in the coastal areas, it is only possible to pay attention to the coastal areas when the pressure in other directions is relieved. After all, Fujian is not the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, but the backyard of Jinling.
"Let the coastal defense matters be put aside for the time being. I will find an opportunity to discuss with His Majesty. Right now I need the navy to move around..."
Gu Zhengchen became serious.
Chu Xing listened carefully, took it to heart, and assured Gu Zhengchen: "I will live up to my trust!"
Gu Zhengchen watched Chu Xing leave, and soon left the restaurant and returned to the government office.
Late at night.
Gu Zhengchen was still looking through the account books. There were many secrets hidden in each expenditure and income.
The boring numbers are all in Chinese characters, which is very laborious for Gu Zhengchen who is used to seeing Arabic numerals. He always needs to change them before calculating whether they are accurate.
It is not easy to find the problem of incoming accounts, but you can still find the problems of outgoing accounts if you look carefully.
For example, in order to repair Quanzhou Fuxue, the government treasury allocated two thousand shi of food grains, and it was possible to check it by looking for the government school's account books. The two thousand shi of food grains were indeed received in their accounts, which was considered a write-off.
But the problem is that the renovation records of the government school have not been revised. The construction period lasted for five days, and three craftsmen were used. They only dug a few pits and replaced the tiles, and only used 2,000 stone grains. Isn’t this too much? Already?
As for who took the money, let alone others, but the tutor of the government school was either a participant or an insider. The school dean is responsible for the accounts of the school, so if there is a problem, he is the right person to go to.
The candle shook violently.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the dancing candlelight, picked up the scissors and cut off a section of the candle wick. Looking at the darkened room, he suddenly heard the chirping of birds. He frowned slightly and quickly blew out the candle and walked towards the bed. He took off the hanging sword.
Xiao Cheng crossed his arms and hid it with interest.
The magistrate's house was very quiet, without any movement.
Gu Zhengchen didn't move and waited patiently.
About a quarter of an hour later, something seemed to open the bolt of the window, and then the window was gently opened.
The visitor was very alert. After waiting for a while to make sure that no one was awakened, he carefully peeked into the room, climbed over the window, and slowly closed the window.
Gu Zhengchen's eyes were full of coldness.
Just send a poisonous snake, but if that doesn't work, just send a killer?
This is the prefect's house, so there must be limits to your lawlessness!
If he died in the magistrate's house, it would indeed be a homicide. With Lao Zhu's temperament, Quanzhou Mansion would be turned upside down and all the wealthy families would be sent away.
It would be hard to explain why he murdered a court official so blatantly by accident or by changing the location.
The man in black fumbled and reached the bedside, pulled out the dagger from his waist, gently opened the curtains, and looked through the dim starlight. He couldn't help but be startled, and suddenly felt bad. He was about to turn around and run away. The person was beaten directly onto the bed, and a mouthful of blood spurted out!
"Damn it!"
The man in black ignored the injury, turned around and stabbed him.
Xiao Cheng raised his hand and grabbed the man in black's wrist with steel-like fingers. He suddenly exerted force, then raised his hand to catch the fallen dagger and placed it across the neck of the man in black.
Gu Zhengchen blew the fire sticks, lit the candles, moved the chair over, looked at the assassin in black with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and sat down: "Assassinating court officials is tantamount to rebellion! Tell me, who sent you here?"
"Are you Gu Zhengchen?"
The black-clothed assassin spoke, his voice a little soft and a little light.
Xiao Cheng also heard it and knocked the hat off the assassin's head. His long hair fell down, with two strands falling at the corners of his eyebrows.
"It's a woman."
Xiao Cheng put away his dagger, took two steps back, and stared at the assassin coldly.
Gu Zhengchen was a little confused, had the number of assassins been expanded these days?
"You don't know me. Didn't someone give you a portrait?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
The black-clothed assassin stood up, and Xiao Cheng stepped forward in an instant. The dagger was pressed against the assassin's throat again. The sharp tip of the sword pierced the flesh, and a drop of blood slowly seeped out.
"My name is Yan Sangsang, I am Yan Du's daughter. I came here to take your life and avenge my father! Now that I have lost my hand, it is only my fault for not being good at learning and the darkness of heaven! If you want to kill, then kill. Kill me!"
Yan Sangsang was not afraid of death and stared at Gu Zhengchen with a look of reluctance.
"The daughter of Yushi Yanbu?"
Gu Zhengchen looked deeply at Yan Sangsang, and then turned his attention to Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng felt Gu Zhengchen's gaze and said in a deep voice: "Don't look at me. It was you who broke Yan's blunt teeth. It was also because of you that the emperor sent them to Taicang Prefecture to guard the warehouse."
Gu Zhengchen glared at Xiao Cheng. You don't need to remind him about this, and said to Yan Sangsang: "Your father Yan Dui had a problem with me. This is a fact, but it doesn't mean that you have to chase two thousand miles from Jinling to Quanzhou Prefecture. He is acting as an assassin, and he plans to take my life, right?"
"You killed my father. The hatred for killing my father is irreconcilable!"
Yan Sangsang's face was filled with murderous intent.
Gu Zhengchen frowned: "Before I left Jinling, I heard that Yan Dui and Liang Lai took a boat to Taicang Prefecture, but the boat sank and they were in trouble. Do you think I was responsible for their deaths?"
Yan Sangsang was filled with hatred: "Who else could it be if it weren't for you? Among the documents left by my father, I hate you the most. He said that you are an evil thief. If I don't kill you, it will not be enough to rectify the country! I'm looking for Chen Ning, the imperial censor. After asking, he said that my father was involved in the impeachment incident against you, and he was sent to Taicang Prefecture because he offended you!"
"Because of different meetings and repeated conflicts, you held a grudge and took malicious revenge, which is why the Yangtze River shipwreck happened! Gu Zhengchen, it was you who killed my father. If I didn't kill you, I would be in vain!"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head bitterly and waved his hand: "Xiao Cheng, step aside."
Seeing this, Xiao Cheng retreated to Gu Zhengchen's side.
Gu Zhengchen took the dagger from Xiao Cheng's hand, looked at the blood on the tip of the sword, and said to Yan Sangsang: "Yan Rui, your father, is an accomplice of Chen Ning. Who is Chen Ning? Suzhou people Call him Chen Pintie. I have offended Chen Ning. Chen Ning sent your father to Jurong to find a weakness in me and wanted to break into Jurong Guard..."
"Later I was imprisoned. After a court trial, the ten crimes were eliminated one by one. Your Majesty was angry that he had wronged me. That's why your father was sent to Taicang Prefecture. As for the shipwreck, I had nothing to do with it."
Yan Sangsang didn't believe it at all: "It's obviously you who added insult to injury and used vicious methods!"
Gu Zhengchen stood up and looked at Yan Sangsang coldly: "They were sent to Taicang Prefecture to guard the warehouse. They are no threat to me at all! Why should I kill them and cause trouble? Adding insult to injury, huh, that also requires your father to be worthy of me to move Stone! If I were your father’s enemy who killed him, then you would be dead! Why should I explain so much to you?”
Yan Sangsang's face turned a little pale.
Gu Zhengchen put the dagger on the round table, then moved the chair behind the table, sat down, and warned: "For the sake of your desire for revenge because Yan Rui was framed, I will not kill you. If you do it again If you dare to sneak into the magistrate's house and have any intention of harming me again, you will die!"
Yan Sangsang's eyes turned red, she walked to the round table, put away her dagger, and walked out without saying a word.
The door opened and a cool breeze blew.
Yan Sangsang felt his eyes go dark and fell heavily to the ground.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng shrugged and looked at his right hand: "I thought she was a killer, so I didn't have any power. I'm surprised that she can persist for so long. I think she still has some foundation."
Gu Zhengchen rubbed his eyebrows: "Is he dead?"
Xiao Cheng tested it and shook his head slightly: "No, it's just internal injuries."
Gu Zhengchen opened the account book: "Send it to the medical clinic. Don't stay in the government office."
Xiao Cheng arrested Yan Sangsang and asked, "Why didn't you tell her the truth about Yan Rui's death? It was probably Chen Ning who ordered Yan Rui to do it. Chen Ning ordered Yan Rui to do it for his own sake." Bao, this is how I killed Yan Dui..."
Gu Zhengchen looked deeply at Xiao Cheng and asked slowly: "Are you the school inspector?"
"This - of course not."
"Then you know too much, Lao Xiao. You can speculate in your heart about matters where human life is at stake. If you want to speak out, you must have evidence."
Gu Zhengchen lowered his head and continued to calculate the accounts.
Xiao Cheng didn't say anything and took Yan Sangsang away. He came back within a quarter of an hour and sat cross-legged on a pillar to rest.
The candle burned out and turned into a puddle of wax.
Slowly solidifies.
The sky is about to break.
Gu Zhengchen closed the account books and frowned.
After a lot of money and food were spent in the treasury, a large part of it was withheld. Who took this part and how many hands were involved, this is the key to the problem.
Are all these hands really from the government office?
Bu family, what's the role here?
Why would a wealthy family stand on the stage of Quanzhou's officialdom? Don't they know that this will steal the show?
