I'm really not the carpenter emperor

It is worth mentioning that Zhu Youxiao and Zhang Yan rode on the same horse, which caused a lot of discussion among the surrounding people, and many people showed envious looks.

The Yongwei Battalion also followed into Beijing and once again took over the defense of the entire Forbidden City from the Beijing Army.

Zhu Youxiao rode non-stop from Chengtian Gate into the Forbidden City, leaving only the Yongwei Battalion and the Beijing Army who were being urgently mobilized behind them. They were changing defenses in an orderly manner under the command of Governor Chen Ce.

The emperor has passed, and the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving a good story.

……

More than a month later.

In Nanjing City, on the banks of the Qinhuai River, accompanied by daily singing, several men with different expressions sat down in the elegant room of Mingxiang Pavilion.

"Old bustard, this is for you." A fat man with a broad heart and a fat body casually threw a silver ingot over there, with a full warning:

"If someone comes to ask, you just say that we are salt merchants from Lianghuai, you are a smart person, you should know what can be mixed and what can't."

After all, the old bustard is the hostess of the famous Qinhuai Pavilion "Mingxiang", and she has received many dignitaries, and she has long been trained to have a pair of piercing eyes.

Since the emperor's southern tour in the second year of Tianqi and Dongchang established a branch office in Nanjing, these dignitaries no longer showed their real identities.

She can naturally see that with the temperament of these people, they must be either rich or noble, and she can't get involved in the "important matter" they want to discuss.

Otherwise, the family will go bankrupt at least, and the head will fall to the ground at worst. As for killing the whole family, these are also possible.

She smiled coquettishly, and put the 100 taels of silver in her arms in her arms, "Hey, you guys came from Lianghuaiyuan Road, I'm afraid you're tired already? Take a rest quickly, and the villain won't bother you." gone."

"What's the matter, just tell the buddy!"

After the old bustard closed the door, no one spoke in the room. It was not until the sound of footsteps faded away that the fat man just sat down on the west side.

"Tell me, what do you do now?"

When the voice fell to the ground, no one answered, and the fat man sighed when he saw that their expressions were not very good-looking, and he didn't know what to say.

I don't know how long it took, and a person stood by the edge of the window with his hands behind his back. At this moment, there was a lot of noise in the street outside, and several Dongchang fans were arresting a scholar from Donglin Academy.

The scholar kept struggling, but now the power of Dongchang had penetrated into the city of Nanjing, no one dared to provoke him, not to mention the people on the side of the road who had nothing to do with him.

Seeing that scholar was locked up in the street by Fan Zi in the midst of everyone's indifference, the man's eyes showed deep hatred, and he said coldly:

"I heard that His Majesty has already returned to Beijing. It seems that he will not go south in the short term. Our danger has been lifted."

"Yes, temporarily." The man facing the south had a kind and kind face, and the corners of his eyes were full of wrinkles, but the words that came out of his mouth were somewhat sinister:

"Shaanxi's military reform has become unavoidable. I am afraid that the situation of the military settlements has been found out now. I am afraid that it will be a matter of time for the northern provinces. Now we have to retreat to the next best thing and keep Jiangnan!"

The fat man's eyes suddenly brightened, and he almost shouted: "Futai is right, the only one who has the strength to fight against the imperial court is Zheng Zhilong, the coastal defense guerrilla general in Fujian."

"Futai still sends people to win over the Zheng family. The Zheng family is so big that if they object, the imperial court would not dare to rashly implement new policies in Jiangnan and coastal guards."

Hearing this, the governor sneered and said:

"I have served in Fujian for many years, and I know a thing or two about Zheng Zhilong. This person is about the same age as His Majesty, but he is also a fine individual."

"If you don't give it some benefits, I'm afraid it will be difficult to talk about it."

Just as he was talking, a steady voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Who is the general soldier in Fujian now? He is also a member of the Eunuch Party?"

Hearing this, several people got up quickly and were about to salute.

The person who came in had a strict and upright face. Although he was wearing a long gown, he didn't look like an ordinary civil servant. He walked very steadily.

He waved his hand and said, "This is not an official office, so there is no need to salute."

The governor also sat down and said: "The current commander-in-chief of the imperial court in Fujian is Yu Zizao, the eldest son of the famous coastal defense general Yu Dayou, who is extremely loyal to the imperial court."

"The Fujian navy led by Yu Zizao has continuously expanded its recruitment in recent years, and its momentum has surpassed that of the Zheng family. If Zheng Zhilong is lured to join the team by getting rid of Yu Zizao, he will definitely agree."

"It's just..." Speaking of this, the governor's face was full of embarrassment, "Yu Zizao made great achievements in the two Penghu naval battles, commanded the boat division, is deeply trusted by His Majesty, and is also a member of the eunuch party."

"Above the court, if you want to persuade His Majesty to dismiss him, it will be futile unless you find a very serious crime and solid evidence."

The person who came in sat down on the first seat on the north side without hesitation. Hearing this, there was no fluctuation on his face, and he said with a sneer:

"Currently the court has been controlled by the eunuchs, we will wait and see what happens, and when those eunuchs kill each other and become suspicious of His Majesty, we can return to the court."

"As for Yu Zizao... it's indeed a bit difficult to deal with, but if the court can't do anything, can't he be killed in office?"

When everyone heard the words, they raised their heads one after another.

The fat man's expression changed, and he said, "The governor means that he wants to become Yu Zizao? But he has the entire Fujian navy by his side, so it's really hard to do anything."

The governor looked over and said coldly:

"Wu Shun, are you a fool?"

"Yu Zizao inspects the military port every day, and every month he goes to the coastal guards to inspect the thousands of households. He will not always be with the Fujian Navy."

"When he is always on the order, he will contact Liu Xiang, the pirate, and wait for the opportunity to do him."

Everyone nodded, feeling that the situation in front of them was clear.

Indeed, the pirate Liu Xiang was originally one of the Eighteen Zhi, the brother of Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong led the Zheng family fleet to join the imperial court, and after betraying the maritime leader Li Dan, he completely broke with him.

In recent years, Li Dan has successively incorporated various maritime merchant forces. After Japan's Tokugawa shogunate was defeated by the Ming army, it also secretly supported Li Dan.

And Liu Xiang is the biggest pirate leader under Li Dan.

In recent years, Liu Xiang has successively defeated pirates from all walks of life, formed an alliance with the rest of the original Shibazhi members, and now has good relations with Li Dan and the Tokugawa shogunate, and his influence is not small.

If Yu Zizao, the general of Fujian, can be solved, Li Dan, Liu Xiang and the Tokugawa shogunate will all benefit, and they will wish for it.

Such a good way, why didn't I think of it before!

Chapter 879 A Disaster Causes Xiao Qiang

Ming Dynasty, southeast of Ryukyu Prefecture, Chiwei Islet.

The pirate flag of Liu Zi was flying on Chiwei Island, and there were patrolling pirate warships everywhere around. At this moment, a small boat full of goods trembled towards the wind.

The tall and burly Liu Xiang was sitting on a wooden box with a golden knife, and his right and left men stood beside him, all of them were gangsters who were at large.

In the hall, the pirates looked very fierce, and they all laughed when they saw the literati walking in step by step.

Liu Xiang was playing with a delicate machete in one hand, and a new-style pistol bought from a Dutchman in the other, and asked casually:

"Is it not enough for the Ming court to recruit Zheng Yiguan, and come to recruit us again?"

"Hahaha!" The pirate leader at the side drew out his knife and said viciously, "I think it's better to chop him up and throw him into the sea to feed the fish!"

"Maybe let these imperial court people who are used to enjoying themselves have a taste of the power of the deep sea!"

After the words fell, the whole room roared with laughter.

The literati had never seen such a scene, the pirates around him seemed to be able to eat people, making him tremble all over.

He said in a trembling voice: "Liu, Chief Liu, we are sent by Mr. He, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. We are not here to recruit, but to send letters to all the heroes."

"A hero? Hahaha, are you listening? He calls us brothers a hero!" A pirate leader laughed loudly, then walked up to the literati and rubbed his face with his hand.

Seeing the literati's face was rubbed into black charcoal, with a pitiful look on his face, all the pirates laughed again.

Amid these laughter, Liu Xiang narrowed her eyes.

"He Shijin?"

He had heard of this name, and he was one of the most powerful officials in the imperial court along the coast, with a long list of official positions on his head.

To be honest, he is still the only obstacle for Liu Xiang to find trouble with Zheng Zhilong, the immediate boss of Fujian General Yu Zizao.

It's just that Liu Xiang couldn't figure it out.

Youqian Du Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Youshilang of the Ministry of War, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi military affairs, and concurrently the governor of Guangdong. Such a big official still lacks power and wealth?

What letter can he come to send to himself?

Thinking of this, Liu Xiang gave the leader on the left a wink, and the latter also put down the joke in his eyes, stepped forward seriously, walked up and kicked a few large wooden boxes away, and then froze for a while.

Not only him, but the pirate leaders around were all stupid.

I'll go, so much money?

The big boxes were full of shiny silver ingots. They had never seen so much silver in one go in all their years as pirates.

Someone inadvertently drooled, "This... I'm afraid it will cost several thousand taels?"

The person next to him immediately raised his head, "Stupid pig! This can be several thousand taels, I think it must be at least tens of thousands of taels!"

"Silver, it's all white money!"

"Get rich, we get rich!!"

It took Liu Xiang a while to react, but her face was still very vigilant, "Master He can give us so much money at once, there must be someone who wants us to deal with it."

"Tell me, what letter?"

The literati was very satisfied with the performance of the poor search pirates when they saw the 10 taels of silver. There was a bit of confidence on their faces, and he smiled and said:

"Fujian General Soldier, Yu Zizao!"

"Yu Zizao!?" Liu Xiang's eyes widened in disbelief, she got up and sneered:

"Isn't he a member of your court? Do you want me to provoke him? Do you think the Fujian navy with thousands of warships in his hands is a vegetarian?"

"You think I'm a fool?"

When the voice fell to the ground, the pirates around cursed angrily.

"Get the hell out of here!"

"If we can offend the Fujian Navy, do we still need He Shijin to be a good guy?"

"Go away quickly, slow down and watch out for the knife!"

The person standing beside Liu Xiang also said: "Brother, He Shijin has never contacted us before, and this time he suddenly sent such a big gift, I'm afraid there may be fraud in it."

Liu Xiang nodded, noncommittal, but he didn't push people away directly, he wanted to hear how the messenger of the Ming court would continue to act.

The literati didn't expect the reaction of the other party's words to be so strong, he no longer cared about putting on airs, wiped off his sweat, and said quickly:

"Wait! Everyone has heard about the current movement in the Central Plains!"

"What happened?" Liu Xiang asked.

The literati replied: "The imperial government's implementation of the new policy of guards has aroused opposition from all over the world. It has stirred up mutinies and civil uprisings in Shaanxi, and has dispatched 20 Beijing troops and frontier troops to encircle and suppress it!"

"Currently all parts of the south of the Yangtze River, Huguang and other provinces are prepared for danger in times of peace, and everyone is at risk!"

"What else is there?" Liu Xiang was taken aback, "Go on."

If what he said is true, this would be a good opportunity for him to seek revenge from Zheng Zhilong. The north is in chaos, and the imperial court will be unable to control the coast.

If Yu Zizao could be eliminated, Yuan Keli's Denglai navy would be stretched too far!

The civil official breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Master Liu, this is indeed a god-sent opportunity for you."

"The officials of our guards along the coast do not want the imperial court to implement the new policy, but if they wait to die, the new policy will be implemented along the coast sooner or later."

"At that time, all the guards along the coast will be under the control of the imperial court. You will not only be facing a Fujian navy, but the Zhejiang navy and Nanjing navy will all have to be rebuilt."

"If you miss this opportunity, Mr. Liu, it's not that I said something harsh, you will no longer have the capital to compete with Zheng Zhilong!"

The pirate leaders in the hall also seemed to be aware of the difficulty of this matter, Liu Xiang's expression darkened, and he said coldly:

"He Shijin sent you to threaten me?"

The literati rolled his eyes and immediately shouted: "Master Liu, you have wronged me! If you join the gang, we will give you Yu Zizao's daily travel itinerary."

"There are always times when the Fujian Navy is not by his side, and there is always a chance to be him."

"Yu Zizao's death, what good does it do you?" Liu Xiang sneered, he didn't believe that He Shijin was so kind, just to help him deal with Zheng Zhilong.

The literati said: "Since Mr. Liu asked this question, we will tell the truth!"

"Everyone has selfish motives. If Yu Zizao dies, at least in a short period of time, the Fujian Navy will be leaderless, and Fujian's coastal defenses will be greatly weakened."

"We will recruit Zheng Zhilong into the gang. As long as the Zheng family opposes the reform of the guard, the court will not tolerate it. At that time, you can avenge your grievances and revenge!"

Liu Xiang's eyes rolled wildly, as if he was thinking carefully. After a while, he said again: "Then how can you be sure that Zheng Zhilong will oppose this reorganization of the guard?"

The literati laughed and said, "You don't need to worry about this matter, Master Liu. Today's emperor uses Yu Zizao to lead the Fujian Navy, not for you."

"In your opinion, the emperor is using Yu Zizao to suppress the Zheng family?" Liu Xiang suddenly realized and laughed out loud.

"Zheng Yiguan, Zheng Yiguan, you have today!"