After staying in Suzhou for more than half a month, on June 20, Xu Jin finally took a boat to say goodbye, leaving this bustling city in the south of the Yangtze River and continuing south along the canal to Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

As the saying goes: there is heaven above, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Suzhou and Hangzhou are the paradise on earth in people's minds, they are two water pearls embedded in the Yangtze River Delta in China, Suzhou has Taihu Lake, Hangzhou has West Lake, and they are more famous.

However, from Suzhou Mansion along the canal to Hangzhou Mansion in Zhejiang, there is also a Jiaxing Mansion in Zhejiang, so Xu Jin's next destination is Jiaxing Mansion, and he plans to go to Chongde County, which is subordinate to Jiaxing Mansion.

When he first arrived in Yangzhou, Xu Jin promised on the boat that he would take the two sisters back to their hometown to find relatives and worship their parents.

Let's not talk about how Xu Jin took a boat south to Jiaxing Mansion, let's transfer the lights and lenses to Pujing monk Xu Hai.

It is said that Xu Hai flickered to the ships and manpower on Osumi Island in Japan, and on the third day of the first month of June, he led a twenty-bow ship and nearly a thousand people, and set sail out to sea in a mighty manner, killing the Ming coast with a blazing fire of hatred, ready to do a big job.

After ten days of sailing, Xu Hai's fleet finally arrived at the Chengsi Islands of the Zhoushan Islands, where they set up camp and eyed Songjiang and Jiaxing across the sea.

At the same time, the family fleets led by Orinobumiko and Hosokawa Takeshu also arrived one after another, occupying an island on the outskirts of the Zhoushan archipelago as a base, waiting for an opportunity to attack the coastal towns of the Ming Dynasty, plundering goods and slaves, and seeking revenge on Xu Jin by the way.

In addition, the large and small pirate groups and Westerners who heard the wind were all waiting for the opportunity to attack, ready to take a bite on the fat of the Ming Dynasty. An unprecedented crisis is slowly brewing and accumulating, waiting for the moment when the fury will be unleashed.

In fact, from the moment the little emperor Zhu Houxi issued an order to strictly ban the sea last year, this crisis was already brewing, but the arrival of Xu Jin and Xia Yan, especially Xia Yan, a hardliner of the sea ban, accelerated the intensification of this crisis.

After Xu Hai gained a firm foothold in the Chengsi Islands, he immediately launched a massacre, annexing more than a dozen groups of pirates and pirates and pirates nearby, and his strength further expanded, reaching 2,000 people.

However, Wang Zhi started earlier than Xu Hai, after nearly two months of development, he has accumulated more than 3,000 people under his hands, hundreds of large and small ships, plus the new Westerners' arquebuses, the strength is only stronger than Xu Hai, not weak, Xu Hai wants to annex him is obviously unlikely.

While Xu Hai was growing his strength, he planned to attack the coastal area of the Ming Dynasty, and sent spies to infiltrate the mainland to inquire about the news, while actively contacting Orinobu Miko, Hosokawa Takeshu, and Wang Zhi and others, hoping to cooperate and act together.

On June 20, the day Xu Jin left Suzhou by boat and continued southward, the four leaders of the Japanese bandits, Xu Hai, Wang Zhi, Orinobumiko, and Hosokawa Takeshu, gathered on Jintang Island to discuss a joint attack on the mainland.

The reason why the venue of the meeting was chosen on Jintang Island was because Wang Zhi was the strongest, and secondly, because Jintang was on the edge of Hangzhou Bay, the closest to the mainland.

Near noon, Xu Hai, Orinobu Miko, and Hosokawa Takeshu arrived at Jintang Island by boat one after another. Wang Zhi, the owner of Wufeng, personally greeted him at the Ligang wharf, probably in order to shock the other party and sit firmly in the position of the boss, Wang Zhi specially instructed the brothers to show the Westerners' arquebuses and greet them on both sides of the wharf.

Sure enough, Ori Shin Miko and the others couldn't help but change color slightly when they saw the arquebus, and Xu Hai was secretly glad that he didn't make a move on the king, otherwise he wouldn't be able to eat and walk around.

Wang Zhi welcomed the three of them into the hall, sat on the main seat with a golden sword, and then began to discuss the matter of attacking the mainland.

It is said that Wang Zhi didn't really want to participate in this operation, so as not to be targeted by officers and soldiers, but if he didn't participate, I am afraid that the position of the boss would not be stable, after all, the people under him are not of the same heart, and there are many factions, many of which are Japanese people. Most of the people under his command expressed their desire to participate in this operation, and Wang Zhi could only nod and agree.

In addition, there is another reason, that is, Xia Yan, the deputy envoy of the Qin Mission, has been squatting in Ningbo Mansion and does not leave, and the smuggling business is really difficult to do, and Wang Zhi wants to obtain sufficient goods to meet the needs of customers, so he can only take risks to participate in this operation.

The four thieves discussed for a long time, and finally finalized the strategy of coordinated operations, and made an appointment for the unified launch, and then went back to prepare.

On 21 June, Xu Jin's ship arrived at the wharf outside Jiaxing Prefecture, and a group of local officials respectfully welcomed him into the city. The 800 new veterans of the 500 battalion led by Xie Erjian and Wang Lin'er were stationed outside the city of Jiaxing Mansion.

When Xu Jin's Buddha left Hangzhou, the officials and gentry in Hangzhou could finally breathe a sigh of relief, and it would be the turn of the local gentry in Jiaxing Mansion to walk on thin ice, waiting carefully for several days, and the work of the land cleaner did not dare to fall at all.

Xu Jin inspected Jiaxing Mansion for three days and was quite satisfied with the progress and results of land clearance. On June 25, Xu Jin only took fifteen soldiers and fifteen brocade guards, and left Jiaxing Fucheng in micro-clothes, and secretly took a carriage to Chongde County, accompanied by two pretty maids in early spring and early summer.

After all, Xu Jin's trip was to help find relatives in early spring and early summer, so Wang Cuiqiao's master and servant did not follow, but stayed in Jiaxing Mansion City to wait.

Chongde County is located on the plain between Hangzhou and Jiaxing, only more than 100 miles from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and is surrounded by Hangzhou Bay to the south, so it is often harassed by pirates and pirates. However, after all, the county seat of Chongde has a city wall, and a small group of pirates do not dare to covet it, so they usually just plunder the villages and towns outside the city, and then flee to the sea.

Early in the morning of June 25, Xu Jin and his entourage left Jiaxing Fucheng by carriage, drove along the official road for nearly two hours, and finally arrived at the north gate of Chongde County.

The Chongde county seat in front of me is just a small city, similar to Dongtai County, the city wall is made of rammed earth, but a layer of green bricks is only penetrated outside, and the defense power is naturally not comparable to those big cities.

Since Xu Jin was traveling in Weifu, and the trip was for private matters, Xu Jin did not want to alarm the local officials, so naturally there were no official gentry to greet him outside the city gate, and two carriages and thirty entourages entered the city in a low-key manner.

Perhaps because of the timidity of the hometown, the two pretty maids were obviously a little nervous, and even in the usually lively early summer, they sat quietly in the carriage, frowning slightly, and their mood was very low.

Xu Jin sighed secretly, grabbed the hands of the two pretty maids on the left and right, and comforted: "Don't worry, what Jinyiwei is best at is to inquire about the news, and they will find the location of your parents' burial." ”

Chu Xia hummed lightly, happily leaning into the old man's arms, early spring saw that his pretty face was slightly hot, and finally he had the courage to lean into the other side of the master's arms, happily listening to the old man's powerful heartbeat.

Chu Xia secretly made a smug grimace to his sister, and it was obvious that half of the little hoof's low mood just now was pretended, just to win the mercy of the master.

Chu Chun's pretty face was crimson, as a twin sister, she had an almost telepathic understanding of her sister, and naturally saw at a glance this little trick made by her sister, but she didn't break it, and even cooperated intentionally or unintentionally. After all, if they returned to the capital, it would be difficult for them to have such an opportunity to sit with the master in their arms.

Xu Jin didn't pay attention to the careful thinking of the two pretty maids, but even if he did, Master Xu would only laugh it off, and even spoil them doubly, after all, this is not very demanding, and it is something that men are happy to do.

"Master, this Fuqing Inn has a good façade, why don't you stay here!"

Just as Xu Jin was comfortably hugging left and right, Er Niu strangled the carriage and hummed out.