The island is undoubtedly a good place to watch the sunrise and sunset, at this moment Xu Jin is standing at the highest point of Dongsha Island, with a salty smell of the sea breeze blowing in the face, a red sunset quietly suspended on the sea level at the junction of water and sky, the glow of the sun, the picture is beautiful.

On the pier on the south side of the island, more than 100 pirate captives are being driven by 500 battalions of soldiers to heighten and strengthen the island's fortifications. As the saying goes, there is nothing wrong with being prepared.

Zhu Kun was tall, dressed in the glow of the sun, and handed an account book to Xu Jindao: "Brother Ziqian, all the items in the cave have been counted and recorded, and if you add those gold and silver, it is estimated that the total value will reach 300,000 taels. ”

Xu Jin took the account book and flipped through it casually, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "This Jiangnan is really a rich place, the treasury was only 4 million taels of silver the year before last, and the emperor worries about the silver every day, but he didn't expect a pirate den to dig out 300,000 taels of silver. ”

Zhu Kun said solemnly: "Brother Ziqian's words are wrong, the treasury revenue comes from taxes, this is a long-term and stable plan, how can you rely on the income from the suppression of bandits, not to mention that the wealth of the robbers is also looted from the hands of the people, the more robbers loot the income, the poorer the people, the poorer the people, the weaker the country, the more abundant the people, the country is rich and strong!" ”

Xu Jin smiled and said, "So we should make great efforts to exterminate the robbers, and the two are not in conflict." ”

Zhu Kun smiled bitterly: "It is undoubtedly the best if you can exterminate all the robbers, but looking at the ancient and modern times, which dynasty can really eradicate the robbers." The hustle and bustle of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit. For example, those unscrupulous businessmen and gentry, lured by heavy profits, risked the risk of robbing their homes and killing their heads, but also violated the laws of the country, colluded with pirates and pirates, and smuggled goods for profit. ”

Xu Jin's heart moved: "Then Brother Zichun has a good plan to solve the problem of widowhood and smuggling?" ”

Zhu Kun glanced at Xu Jin and said, "I heard that Brother Ziqian once proposed at the court meeting to lift the sea ban and allow the people to trade overseas, which is actually a good way. What the Japanese people needed was nothing more than the goods of our Ming Dynasty, which could not be obtained through normal trading, so they turned to theft and looting, which also led to the rampant smuggling.

Just like Dayu to control the water, it is better to block than to sparse. If the Ming Dynasty lifts the maritime ban and allows non-governmental trade, the problem can be solved, not only can the revenue of merchant shipping tax be greatly increased, but the coastal people will also have an additional source of livelihood. It's a pity that the princes in the court don't know the people's suffering, and only know how to follow the rules, which is sad and lamentable! ”

Xu Jin was a little surprised, he had long heard that Zhu Kun had been strictly implementing the imperial court's ban on the sea, destroying all the sea ships in Dongtai County, but he didn't expect this person to actually support the ban on the sea, and said with a smile: "I didn't think that Brother Zichun's idea coincided with the next, don't worry, the opening of the ban is the trend of the times, the historical trend is unstoppable, I believe that soon, my Ming Dynasty will definitely lift the ban on the sea, Brother Zichun might as well wait and see!" ”

In fact, Da Ming officially lifted the sea ban more than 40 years later, known as the "Longqing Switch" in history, but Xu Jin naturally will not wait stupidly for more than 40 years, and after Yang Ting and these stumbling blocks are removed, he will start to implement the lifting of the sea ban.

Zhu Kun glanced at Xu Jin deeply and said, "I hope!" ”

Xu Jin smiled and continued: "It is the general trend to lift the sea ban, but just like opening the door to invite guests, you must clean up the house first, so the pirates still have to be eliminated, otherwise the road will be unstable, and the guests will not dare to come." Moreover, the people of the Japanese have always been afraid of power and gratitude, and if they are not beaten and subdued, how can they do business with you in accordance with the rules? ”

Zhu Kunshen nodded approvingly: "What Brother Ziqian said is extremely true, whether it is an Oriental or a Westerner, most of them are also merchants and thieves, and they are businessmen on the surface, but they are secretly robbing. For example, the tributary missions of the Japanese State that looted in Ningbo Mansion in Zhejiang Province last year burned and looted all the way to Shaoxing Mansion, and did all kinds of evil, even the tributary envoys, not to mention those ordinary Japanese merchants.

Therefore, Brother Ziqian wants to stay on Dongsha Island and wait for the rabbit, and the official does not object, but as an envoy and a heavy responsibility, he still has to pay more attention to his own safety. ”

Xu Jin smiled calmly: "Could it be that Brother Zichun has no confidence in the combat power of the five hundred battalions?" ”

Zhu Kun said bluntly: "That's not true, it is precisely because the lower officials believe in the combat strength of the five hundred battalions that they will not agree to Brother Ziqian's stay on the island, even if they offend the upper officials, they will order the government to tie you back." ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but be dumbfounded, a trace of warmth appeared in his heart, and said with a smile: "Brother Zichun, don't worry, I won't do anything that I am not sure of, at most three days, if the widows don't come, I will go back, there are still many things waiting for the official to deal with, and there can be no delay!" ”

At present, there are indeed many things waiting for Xu Jin to deal with, the source of the smuggled firearms must be investigated, the matter of privately minting copper coins must be thoroughly investigated, and the work of clearing the land has also to be carried out.

In addition, Xu Jin still had to rush back to participate in the Oiran Competition, mainly because he wanted to listen to the song "Funeral Flower Yin" composed by Wang Cuiqiao, as for who the Oiran would end up with, Xu Jin didn't care too much.

When the red sunset completely sank into the sea, and the sky soon became dark, Xu Jin and Zhu Kun walked down from the high place and returned to their respective houses for dinner.

The cave was originally the private place of the pirate leader Chen Sipan, and several rows of houses were built near the cave as residences for other pirates, and these houses were occupied by the brothers of the 500 battalion, and the pirate captives could only sleep outside and eat the sea breeze.

"Lao Yan, you kid is full of food, aren't you, what are you doing outside?"

After Xu Jin finished dinner, he was discussing things with Qi Jingtong and Xie Erjian in the house, but Lao Yan's kid peeked outside the door, and Qi Jingtong couldn't help but scold when he saw this

Lao Yan shrank his head back, and Xu Jin said thoughtfully: "Let him come in, it is estimated that something is wrong." ”

"Half of your kid's butt is exposed, what are you hiding, the adults let you in!" Qi Jingtong said angrily.

Lao Yan walked in, scratched his head awkwardly and saluted, "I've seen adults under the mark." ”

Xu Jin smiled and said, "Yan Lang, is there something wrong?" ”

Lao Yan scratched his buttocks timidly, and Xie Sangun laughed with a puff: "Can you not be so angry, old man." ”

Xie Erjian said strangely: "I said what happened to you kid tonight?" ”

Lao Yan grinned and said, "Subordinate...... The subordinate took a fancy to a woman and wanted to ask the adult to fulfill it. ”

Qi Jingtong couldn't help but look pale, and scolded: "Bastard, did you fucking not control the crotch of your pants and put people to sleep?" ”

Lao Yan hurriedly shook his head and waved his hand: "No, no, no, I didn't sleep, I just took a fancy and wanted to marry home as a daughter-in-law." ”

Qi Jingtong breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Xu Jin on the seat, don't look at the adults who are usually very talkative, once they cut people up, they will never be soft, if Lao Yan, this kid, violates the military regulations, he can't say that he will lose his head.

Looking at the big soldier with a cowardly expression in front of him, Xu Jin was angry and funny, frowned and asked, "You kid likes people, do people like you?" ”

Lao Yan scratched his head and said with a smile: "Fancy it, if you don't believe it, you can call someone in and ask, Xiaoya is outside." ”

Xu Jin waved his hand and said, "Then call in!" ”

Lao Yan immediately ran out of the door, and in a blink of an eye, he led a young woman in, Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly praise Yan Lang's eyes were vicious, this woman was about twenty years old, she looked good, she was the most outstanding one among the women, and her figure was also bumpy.

"Xiao Ya has seen Lord Qincha and the two generals." This woman walked to the front and gave a salute, this light demeanor is obviously not an ordinary folk girl.

Xu Jin smiled and said: "Miss Xiaoya, don't be afraid, just tell the truth, do you really want to live with Yan Lang, a military man, in the future?" ”

The woman glanced at Lao Yan with a red face, nodded shyly, and Lao Yan was suddenly so happy that she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Xu Jin nodded and said: "That's okay, that's it, Yan Lang, but the official's ugly words are in the past, you kid must be good to others when he marries someone, if you live a bumpy life and talk about old accounts, the official can't spare you." ”

Lao Yan hurriedly waved his hand and shook his head and said: "Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely treat Xiaoya as a treasure after the mark, a stinky soldier like me can marry a good-looking and knowledgeable mother-in-law like Xiaoya, it's just shit luck for eight lifetimes, how can it be bad for Xiaoya." ”

Yan Lang, this kid, is telling the truth, ordinary military households are indeed quite hard in the Ming Dynasty, otherwise the soldiers of the local guard station would not have fled with their families. Most people are reluctant to marry their daughters to military households, unless they are also military households. Therefore, if a small family like Zhou Xiaoya hadn't been trapped in a den of thieves and was innocent, how could he get a rude soldier like Yan Lang.

Seeing Yan Lang pulling the handsome lady out happily, Qi Jingtong couldn't help but quip: "Xiao Xie, look at how clever Yan Lang is, you are also a lot older, don't always care about making achievements, it's time to find a mother-in-law to start a family." ”

Xie Sangun said with a smile: "My second brother's eyes are on the top of his head, and he has to be a girl with eyes on the top of his head to be worthy of my second brother." ”

Xie Erjian glanced at it and said, "Fourth, you are also an adult this year, why don't you pick one for you first?" ”

Xie Sangun pointed out the door: "Let's take care of your soldiers first, the begging daughter-in-law is here again, look at their eyes, they are like cats with hair." ”

Xu Jin looked up, and sure enough, he saw several soldiers of the 500 battalion probing their brains outside, and couldn't help crying and laughing, and beckoned: "Come in!" ”

As soon as Xu Jin finished speaking, nearly twenty people suddenly slipped in, and the first few of them were exploring the path, and the large army was still hiding behind to watch the wind.

Qi Jingtong couldn't help but blurt out and scolded: "You dogs." ”

So Xu Daqin became a witness again, matched more than 20 couples, and finally even the four Nanyang women had livestock. Listening to the four Nanyang women saying yes in stiff Chinese, Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly burst a sentence of dog men and women, and they hooked up in just one dinner.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, when a group of hungry soldiers meet a group of women who are worried about the second half of their lives, it is not surprising that they hit it off with each other, especially those four Nanyang women, who are in a foreign country and have no relatives, it would be good to have a man to rely on, who dare to choose.

However, those women with big bellies, and two Japanese women, no one hooked up, after all, no matter how hungry those military men were, they couldn't be so big as to raise wild children for others. As for the two Japanese women, they are beautiful and beautiful, but the soldiers don't seem to like the Japanese very much.

Xu Jin was busy for half an hour before sending these spring soldiers away, and after soaking his feet in warm water, he began to write a letter to Lao Wang. Wang Shouren is now the secretary of the military department in Nanjing, and Xu Jin plans to ask him to secretly check the source of those smuggled firearms, so that those traitors who have no bottom line among the generals can find out, and the existence of these black sheep is too dangerous.

Early the next morning, when the red morning sun jumped out from under the sea horizon, Xu Jin ordered people to load the gold, silver and goods on the island on the ship, and Zhu Kun was responsible for transporting them back to Dongtai County for storage.

In addition, more than 100 pirate captives on the island would also be escorted back to the Dongtai County Prison with the ship, so as not to have to send people to guard these captives if they fought with the Japanese merchants.

"Brother Ziqian, pay attention to safety!" Zhu Kun arched his hand towards Xu Jin and boarded the centipede ship, carrying in his arms a letter written by Xu Jin to Wang Shouren, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department.

Xu Jin waved his hand calmly, and the two centipede boats sailed away from Dongsha Island and headed for Dongtai County. In order to ensure the safety of the two ships, Xu Jin sent a hundred soldiers to escort them.

Before noon, Zhu Kun led two centipede boats to dock at the mouth of the Xixi Inspection Division. When a large truckload of goods was transported into Dongtai County, the whole city was instantly sensational, and the news that the group of pirates entrenched in Dongsha Island had been exterminated also spread.

When the common people ran to celebrate each other, the local gentry and wealthy families were like sitting on wax. For example, Zheng Shirong, the head of the Zheng family, who is known as Zheng Bancheng, is restless at the moment, like an ant on a hot pot, and in this spring March, his clothes are actually wet with sweat.

"Calm and calm, the old man has not passed through any strong winds and waves, there must be a way!" Zheng Shirong walked back and forth in the hall, comforting himself.

It turned out that at least 20% of the goods seized by Xu Jin on Dongsha Island belonged to the Zheng family, and they were goods worth tens of thousands of taels.

Of course, the loss of property is secondary, Zheng Shirong is most worried about the revelation of the matter, then the best result of his Zheng family is to be exiled from his family, and if it is serious, he will have to be killed.

When Zheng Shirong was in a panic, a subordinate hurriedly ran in and whispered a few words in his ear. Zheng Shirong's face changed, and he hurriedly said, "Invite him in." ”

Soon, a middle-aged man with a medicine box on his back hurriedly walked in, it was the doctor Ma who treated the pirate leader Chen Sipan's injuries.

"Doctor Ma, I heard that you also followed Qin to Dongsha Island, is Chen Sipan's uncle and nephew still alive? Have you ever been caught by a captured officer or soldier? Before Dr. Ma was seated, Zheng Shirong asked eagerly.

Doctor Ma replied with a solemn face: "Chen Dong escaped, but Chen Sipan was caught. ”

Zheng Shirong's old face turned white, and he sat down in his seat and said to himself: "It's over, it's over!" ”

Doctor Ma coughed lightly and said: "Master Zheng doesn't need to be too alarmed, although Chen Sipan was caught, he was seriously injured and has been in a coma, and he has not woken up yet, so it is unknown whether he can survive." ”

Zheng Shirong suddenly returned to his soul when he heard this, and said with a long breath: "Old Ma, I was almost scared to death by you, can we not leave half of our talk." ”

Zheng Shirong said and took a sip of tea easily, he has always only had one-way contact with Chen Sipan's uncle and nephew, as long as these two people don't confess him, he can be safe, even if Zhu Kun can find some clues from the goods, what can he do if he doesn't admit it? The big deal is that it was snatched by pirates.

Doctor Ma glanced at Zheng Shirong and said in a low voice: "Master Zheng, don't take it lightly, Chen Sipan may not be able to wake up." ”

Zheng Shirong raised his eyebrows, looked at Doctor Ma in puzzlement and said, "Chen Sipan can still live after being healed by your hands?" ”

Doctor Ma smiled bitterly: "Then Lord Qincha is not easy to fool!" ”

Zheng Shirong's heart couldn't help but lift up, and asked in a deep voice: "Is it not easy to fool, or dare not fool?" ”

"The contemptible originally wanted to do something, but Lord Qincha kept watching from the side, and specially asked the contemptible to clean and disinfect Chen Sipan's wound, stitch up the wound, and finally fed a small piece of old ginseng to hang his life."

Zheng Shirong couldn't help but shudder, because those few old ginseng plants were one of his goods, and they became Chen Sipan's life-saving medicine.

"Old Ma, you must kill Chen Sipan, the night is long and there are many dreams, hurry up and find a way to kill him." Zheng Shirong said coldly.

Doctor Ma spread his hands bitterly, Zheng Shirong stared at him and said, "Old Ma, don't forget that there is also a part of you in that batch of medicinal materials, if Chen Sipan confesses the old man, you won't be able to escape." ”

Doctor Ma said helplessly: "Lord Qincha has sent four Jinyi guards to guard Chen Sipan, and the contemptible people have no chance to do it." ”

Zheng Shirong heard the three words "Jinyiwei", his face couldn't help but turn a little pale, although since the new emperor, Jinyiwei and Dongchang have converged, but they are still notorious, ordinary people are frightened when they mention the factory guard.