After the Japanese red seal ship slowly sailed away from Ben Port, Xu Xinsu got out of the inner cabin and teased the bodyguard Zaemon Taro in Japanese: "It turns out that Taro can also smile. You are very good at pretending to be the captain. Go and have a rest." .”
"Hayin." Taro Zaemon had already returned to his serious and old-fashioned face. He stood up straight with his sleeves down, bowed stiffly at ninety degrees, then stepped aside, took out the rice ball in his arms, and ate it in small bites. .
Yan Siqi and Zheng Zhilong, wearing bamboo hats and Japanese costumes, walked down from the watchtower.
Xu Xinsu prides herself on being able to move between China and Japan, between officials and businessmen, and is of the same generation as Yan Siqi. This time she got a red seal boat to coordinate with Zheng Haizhu's acting. At first, she was still putting on airs about Yan Siqi, whom she had not seen for two years, but now she is sincerely convinced. .
He bowed in the direction of the Mazu Temple in Datun Mountain and said with emotion: "Brother Yan, Xu is envious of your good fortune, and even more respects your ability. Lin Feng back then was also a man of great influence, but how could he encounter the coldness of the court?" , the Fujian officials were harsh, and Lin Feng himself was a little impatient and failed to guard this treasured land. Now that it is in your hands, the future of this place is limitless. "
Yan Siqi returned the gift with his hands raised and his eyes sternly said: "Brother Xu is so complimentary. First, make Bengang here in the north the same as Tainan. Then Yan will dare to be bold and take some small credit."
Xu Xinsu laughed: "One hero has three gangs. Under Brother Yan's command, even the women are so brave and resourceful. Driving away these red-haired gangsters is just around the corner."
Yan Siqi did not continue to talk.
His eyes were hidden in the shadows under the bamboo hat, but his eyes were fixed on the figures on the pier that gradually became as tiny as ants.
After years of licking blood from the edge of a knife, he could keenly tell that the man next to Dutch businessman Gullit was a soldier like himself even though he was far away on the ship.
It is impossible not to worry about the two women.
After Zheng Haizhu returned to Tainan from Xiamen and told the plan he had agreed with Yu Zigao and Xu Xinsu, Yan Siqi had hesitation.
According to his idea, since the Dutch had already started to build fortifications on Penghu Island and rob the nearby Ming merchant ships, he and Yu Zigao could simply bring twenty search ships each to block the Dutch directly and fight them hard.
It doesn't matter if the red-haired ship has a lot of cannons. We are all upright and bloody men here. They can do it to Spaniards and red-haired ghosts. They are afraid of birds.
However, Zheng Haizhu still insisted on using tactics to minimize the losses of the Fujian and Taiwan Navy.
What's more, she didn't expect that when she asked Wen Apeng's mixed-race daughter-in-law, Mapel, if she would accompany her to trick the Dutch, both Mapel and her sister-in-law, Wen Akun, agreed without hesitation.
】
Wen Akun said to her husband Yan Siqi: "Apeng was kidnapped by the Frankies back then and taken to Southeast Asia. Now the Hongmao tribe has come to commit the same crime. My family should do our best for Miss Zheng."
There was no turning back when the bow was fired, and Yan Siqi now understood that it was impossible to jump to the pier to pull Zheng Haizhu and his brother-in-law's wife back.
He could only emphasize to Xu Xinsu again that the Ming army deployed at Liaoluo Bay in Kinmen must first seize the ship and not open fire first.
"Brother Yan, don't worry. General Yu also values Miss Zheng very much. How could he ignore her safety?"
Xu Xinsu comforted Yan Siqi, and then brought the topic to the current situation of the Hirado clan in Japan. She turned to Zheng Zhilong with a smile and said: "First officer, Uncle Xu, I remembered something. The Tagawa family in Hirado asked Chief Li about you last year. In the rivers and lakes, mountains and rivers meet each other, and that boy Guozhu is going crazy and making nonsense, which makes Leader Li feel quite uncomfortable."
Xu Xinsu glanced at Yan Siqi, whose face was as dark as water, and continued to say to Zheng Zhilong: "Leader Li also understands that he will never look forward to returning to Brother Yan in this life. But he is still thinking about marrying a young lady from the Tagawa family to you as an official."
Zheng Zhilong originally disapproved of Xu Xinsu, who liked to show off his seniority and pretend to be a scholar when talking. But when he heard the word "Tachuan", the ice in his eyes seemed to have been melted by the spring sun on the sea.
Yan Siqi also seemed to wake up from his deep thoughts, and said warmly: "One official, one code, one code. The tax collector in Pinghu bullied our Fujian merchants, and that beast Li Guozhu wanted to kill me, it has nothing to do with Miss Weng. If you believe that Weng The young lady is a good match, so we will ask Uncle Xu to be the intermediary, and we will discuss the engagement with Miss Weng’s parents after we return to Japan.”
The "Miss Taguan" mentioned by Xu Xinsu and the "Miss Weng" mentioned by Yan Siqi are the same person.
The Tagawa family is considered a Japanese aristocrat. After the Tagawa family lost their husband, they took their daughter Tagawa Matsuko and remarried Weng Yihuang, a Fujian businessman who was doing business in Japan. Tagawa Matsuko became Weng Yihuang's stepdaughter, but she was still close to the Tagawa family.
The Tagawa family knows how to win over the Fujian business group that cannot be underestimated in Hirado. Li Dan also wants his adopted son Zheng Zhilong to marry Tagawa Matsuko. It is rare that Zheng Zhilong and Tagawa Matsuko have met each other before, and the young people have each other's hearts.
Xu Xinsu had witnessed Yan Siqi's reclamation of Taiwan Island in the past few days, and wanted to leave a way out for herself with Yan Siqi. She also wanted to show her kindness to Zheng Haizhu and Zheng Zhilong, two people from the Yan camp.
He saw Zheng Zhilong showing off his youthful feelings, while Yan Siqi directly broke the window paper, and laughed loudly: "It's settled, after the red-haired fight, Uncle Xu, I will go to Hirado for you to renew your marriage."
…
When Xu Xinsu was working as a matchmaker on the Zhuyin ship, Zheng Haizhu at Bengang dock did not know that because of his existence, Xu Xinsu, who was going to have a life-and-death fight with Zheng Zhilong in history, not only improved the relationship in advance, but also made Yiguan's little brother , still married to the Tagawa family and gave birth to Zheng Chenggong, who was of mixed Chinese and Japanese descent.
At this moment, Zheng Haizhu was highly concentrated on trapping the Dutch.
"Mr. Gullit, Dear Chief Ruffin, if your ship is not in a hurry to leave the shore, I would like to treat you two to a decent lunch."
Gullit had this intention, and he was convinced that Ruffin was also very interested in the business of plundering labor.
Gullit then said with a playful smile: "Mrs. Zheng, you have just made a fortune. You should indeed invite your old friends to celebrate together."
Near Bengang Pier, there are several red-tiled houses in the shape of southern Fujianese houses. They were built by Fujianese Chinese who escaped from Luzon and became neat Fujian restaurants.
The four of them sat down, and after Zheng Haizhu finished ordering the dishes, Gulit carefully inquired about the dishes: "Mrs. Zheng, don't you work for the envoy of the emperor of your country? Why, you were so recognized by your superiors when you were in Yuegang .”
Zheng Haizhu shook his head with a smile, not hiding the bitterness in his smile.
"I wanted to get married, so I resigned. But the man didn't want to marry me."
"Well……"
Gullit did not expect the Ming Dynasty woman to give such an answer. He exaggeratedly expressed his surprise: "God, that guy is really ignorant."
Zheng Haizhu's bitterness turned into hatred, and he said angrily as if he was not afraid of being laughed at: "You have seen that guy before, he is General Yan from the south."
This time Gullit opened his mouth wider than the tea bowl on the table.
But soon it slowly closed again.
He remembered that when he was rescued by a Chinese ship to the South Island, he did often see General Yan and Zheng Haizhu having lively conversations face to face.
But later when I went to Bengang to buy black tea, I heard that General Yan was marrying an indigenous female leader in Taiwan.
Gullit whispered in his heart, isn't it possible for men in your Ming Dynasty to be married to multiple women at the same time and have them all live at home? Unlike us Dutch, who can only have mistresses outside at most.
Zheng Haizhu stared at him, as if he had read his mind, and said calmly: "I don't want to share General Yan with other women, not to mention that he promised to only marry me. In our Mingguo parlance, he is a heartless person. Mr. Gullit, you must understand how rare it is to have a job working for the king. But I lost my job and no salary for a guy who told lies. If it were you, wouldn't you hate such a man? ?”
"Uh..." Gulit scratched his head and sneered, avoiding the frightening gaze of the woman opposite him, coughing a few times, and said smoothly, "Mrs. Zheng, on behalf of all men, I must apologize to a beautiful and sad woman like you. Hey. , Men, they have always been like this..."
Zheng Haizhu interrupted him: "If I were capable enough, I would be the first to sell General Yan to you and let him go to Batavia to grow sugar cane!"
"Gullit, what is this lady talking about?"
The officer Ruffin on the side realized from the two men's demeanor that they were not having ordinary greetings, and asked Gullit to translate for him.
Zheng Haizhu made a "please" gesture to Gulit without any care.
After Gullit finished translating, Zheng Haizhu continued: "But I calmed down and thought about it. I shouldn't let such a man occupy my heart again, make me immersed in stupid sadness, and eventually starve to death. I want to make money. , to become a rich man. I couldn't sell General Yan, so I sold men from the same village as him, turning the men into money in my pocket. Anyway, they didn't have enough to eat in the Ming Dynasty, so I was giving them a way to survive. Isn’t it?”
Speaking of this, Zheng Haizhu patted Mapel beside him and said: "My partner is also a woman who is disappointed with the man and his family. She knows your European language, and I am familiar with the land of Fujian. Our customers will never be just Japanese Catholics. Our second batch of piglets is almost out of the cage."
"Piggy?"
"Yes, piggy. Mr. Gullit, have you ever seen farmers in the Ming Dynasty transport piglets in Yuegang? Using iron cages on carts, does it look like using sea ships to transport coolies? I and Mapel, I originally wanted to ask the Spaniards on the east side of the island. They also lack people to plant sugar cane fields in the Philippines."
"Mrs. Zheng, how much does a Fujian man sell for?"
"I don't have my own ship yet. I took the Japanese red seal ship secretly to the coast of Fujian to load it. So every man aged 16 to 25 is paid six taels of silver, which is ten horses of your East India Company." Sword coins. In the future, I will have my own sea-going ship, and the cost will go up. It will definitely be more expensive to carry piglets out to sea."
Gullit spread his hands and said, "God, Mrs. Zheng, your price is already too high."
Zheng Haizhu glanced at Lu Fen, then looked back at Gulit, with anger in his scorching eyes: "You men, either want to deceive women's hearts, or you want to deceive women's money. Mr. Gullit, my price is very Fair enough. The piglets of the Ming Dynasty are smarter and more diligent than the black slaves you transported to the Americas. Moreover, it only takes six to eight days to sail from Fujian to Manila or Batavia. It rarely kills as many people as when transporting black slaves. Ah, the food is served. , come, your Excellency, first enjoy the delicacies cooked by our smart and hard-working Ming people."
Zheng Haizhu brought a basin of shrimps to the Dutchman with a smile.
She did want to pause and take a breath.
Although she was acting, she used a lot of language that was derogatory to human rights against her will, which disgusted her from the bottom of her heart, and made her exhausted in reality.
The Age of Discovery was a magnificent era, and it was also an era of blood and tears for many unarmed poor people in various continents.
