I'm a pirate at the end of Ming Dynasty

Guangdong.

On an unnamed island, seven or eight shirtless and muscular men were sitting around a bonfire and barbecuing meat. The huge leg of lamb was roasted until it was sizzling with oil. The sound could be heard far away despite the wet and salty sea breeze. Even The sweat from the men's bodies seemed to smell like mutton.

The leader had disheveled hair, worn straw sandals on his feet, and held a two-foot-long dagger in his hand, which he used as a table knife. He was skillfully cutting at random on the meat. It looked scary, but he was also very skillful.

"Brother, this is the last meal of meat. If we don't do something big, we will have to live on salted fish. The morale of the brothers is very low. Don't hesitate any more."

"Hesitating for what?"

"Huang Taiji asked someone to write to you again, saying..."

The big man said impatiently: "Why are you mentioning him again? If you want to be a dog for him, just do it yourself. I, Liu Xiang, dare to do anything in my life, but I don't dare to be a traitor."

As he said that, the dagger in the big man's hand hung upside down, his eyes flashed fiercely, and he narrowed his eyes slightly, which shocked the guy who just spoke.

The sidekick on the side quickly smoothed things over and said: "Brother, that's not what Lao Liu meant. It's just that our life is really not easy now. We have to find a way. The Zheng family pretended to be Japanese pirates in the Jiangnan area and robbed wealthy households. It’s all under our banner. I heard that the imperial court is already furious, and the inspections in various townships and counties are much stricter than before. The brothers have taken action several times, but they have gained very little, and even suffered many losses."

"Damn it, Zheng Zhilong made such a shrewd calculation. He was the one who resisted the Japanese, and he was the one pretending to be the Japanese. When did I ever go to Zhejiang?"

Everyone was silent. In fact, the general feeling was the same. It was just aggrieved. It was just that they had scolded this former eldest brother enough and were too lazy to open their mouths anymore.

Originally, they were already angry when faced with Xiong Wencan's encirclement and suppression, but since they came out to be thieves, they were naturally mentally prepared. It was only natural for officers and soldiers to kill thieves. If they couldn't grab the money, they could only blame their own incompetence.

But it's a bit disgusting to drop a shit bowl from the sky, especially when the person holding the shit is the Zheng family. This shit is supposed to be Big Brother's, how can you bear it?

This disheveled man is naturally Liu Xiang, the largest Japanese pirate leader on the sea. He is also Zheng Zhilong's biggest opponent besides the East India Company. He is even a bit more difficult to deal with than the Dutch.

Life has been difficult recently, and it really has something to do with Zheng Zhipeng.

This is related to Liu Xiang's robbery mode. The Liu Xiang Group is not a business group, but an almost pure robbery group. Almost everyone, including Liu Xiang himself, is a fisherman. A day without robbery means a day without income. Sooner or later, there will be no income. Just sit back and have nothing.

But now Zheng Zhipeng is causing trouble everywhere under his banner, and Zhang Bingzhen is cooperating. Since the court does not know the truth, it will naturally suppress them at any cost for a while. No matter how high the price is, they must give them some color. If it is really It's okay to get rich in Zhejiang. The problem is that they have never been there at all. They are really unjustly blamed for taking the blame.

Liu Xiang gnawed clean the meaty leg bone in his hand, and while sucking on his oily fingers, he said: "Brothers, the last piece of meat is good. I haven't made any money in the past few months. I'm sitting on nothing." , we all have to eat fish together tomorrow, what the hell is different from being a fisherman back then? Brothers are willing to follow me, to put it bluntly, just for this bite of meat."

"I, Liu Xiang, am not as cultured as Zheng Zhilong, and I can't tell any big truths, but I can also see that once Zheng Zhilong has eliminated Zhong Bin and frees up his hands, he will definitely come south to fight us. I am not afraid of him. After all, Guang - East is our territory. We have been in business for many years. If we can't afford it, we can always find a place to hide. But in this case, I am afraid that the brothers may not even be able to eat the fish. Let me tell you, rather than being cut into pieces by the soft knives of Zheng Zhilong and Xiong Wencan, If they are going to grind us to death, why not just be tough and fight them."

The actor added: "Brother, do you want to help Zhong Bin and deal with the Zheng family together?"

"What a fart, you fought with Zheng Zhilong in Fujian, why do you think you have a long life?"

"What does that brother mean..."

"The reason why we are only active in the Guangdong area all year round is because we have so many friends on the shore. But now there are fewer and fewer friends on the shore, and Xiong Wencan is not a fuel-efficient person. Why are we still spending time with them here? There is a boat, but where can we go?”

"Where are you going, brother?"

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang! Doesn't Zheng Zhilong have a younger brother who has been doing things in our name? Since they are in the first year of junior high school, don't blame us for being in the fifteenth grade. Let's really go and rob him to show him. Why the hell am I still saying that? They belong to the Zheng family. There must be people among the rich and powerful families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who hate them to the core. If you don’t believe it, there will be no internal agents."

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang? This... we are not familiar with each other. Besides, how can Zheng Zhilong tolerate us going north? That is his private territory."

"Hmph, you only know one thing but not the other. The water in Jiangsu and Zhejiang has been muddied by his younger brother. He is pretending to be a Japanese pirate. Once we go, let alone the people, even the government I'm afraid if you can't tell who is who, how can we fight this battle? Or if the government treats everyone equally and fights together, then the fourth son of the Zheng family can invisibly share our pressure. If you want to continue to fish in troubled waters, haha, I will let him move. Shoot yourself in the foot.

Besides, do you think Zheng Zhilong can go wherever he wants as before?He is now a member of the imperial court and directly belongs to Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. What is going on when he goes to Zhejiang?Can Xiong Wencan allow it?Does Zhang Bingzhen's small temple dare to accept such a giant Buddha?

So I concluded that if we go to the Zhejiang-Jiang area, our only opponent will be Zheng Zhilong’s younger brother, his name is... why is he called Zheng Zhi? "

…………

Yanjing City

Xu Bengao has been sitting on the huanghuali carved chair in the study for two hours. In front of him is a piece of drawing paper that looks like a ghost painting. He keeps scratching on the chair with one hand, scratching, scratching, and the exquisite reliefs are blurred. Oh, my nails are full of sawdust.

It was getting late, Mrs. Zhang thought she was worried about official matters, so she came in with ginseng soup to bring warmth. However, she saw that her husband neither worked nor read or wrote. His eyes were red and he was just like this. Sitting.

"Master, it's late at night, please have a bowl of ginseng soup."

Xu Bengao was like a wooden man. He didn't move, didn't speak, and didn't even look at him.

"Sir, what's wrong with you? Are you tired? Why don't we take a rest? There's so much chaos in the world, and we never finish our errands. We still need to be healthy."

"Master? Master? Master, please speak, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me, master, what happened?"

After a long while, Xu Bengao slowly turned his head, and with a hoarse, ghost-like voice in his throat, he said softly: "My father is dead."

Mrs. Zhang was so frightened that the ginseng soup fell to pieces on the floor and burned her feet. She couldn't care less. Officials in the Ming Dynasty had to go home to mourn their father no matter what. Although his father was highly regarded by his majesty, But it didn't go so far as to take advantage of someone's love.

"My father-in-law, he was still very energetic when he returned to his hometown last year. How come it's only been more than a year..."

"He didn't die of illness, he was killed by someone."

"What? How...how is this possible? Are you sure?"

"The person who harmed him was Zheng Zhilong's younger brother, Zheng Zhipeng. The entire Jiangnan gentry family knew about it. The Zheng family threw our Xu family's face to the ground and stepped on it twice. My father, He was forced to death, and the death was extremely humiliating!"

Mrs. Zhang was confused.

For a long time, Xu Bengao seemed to be talking to her, but he also seemed to be talking to himself: "Tell me, why do I need this scarlet robe?"

As he spoke, Xu Bengao tugged on his cuff and pressed it against it like a lunatic, as if to see the exquisite stitching patterns on it clearly, but he grinned. This frightened Mr. Zhang to the point of losing his mind and bursting into tears.

"Master, please don't scare me. Let's... let's submit a letter to him. Zheng Zhilong is a Japanese pirate. He has always acted arrogantly. He even dared to bully our family. The people in the southeast do not know what kind of dire straits they will live in. You are now the Governor-General of the Left and you are also a party involved. As long as you submit a letter..."

Xu Bengao had a strange expression on his face, crying and laughing at the same time: "It's useless. The imperial court is now at war everywhere. It's short of money, food, and soldiers. It's already stretched thin. The Zheng family has a very good grasp of the situation this time, and they have the help of Zhang Bingzhen. Your Majesty." It is impossible for me, for the sake of the mere Xu family, to force Zheng Zhilong to rebel. Don't say that I am talking without proof. Even if there is irrefutable evidence, His Majesty will be the first to find a way to exonerate the Zheng family. I will write a letter and will only If Your Majesty thinks that I am ignorant and ignorant of the general situation, and if I lose the Holy Family, then I will really never have the chance to take revenge."

Mrs. Zhang cried and knelt on the ground, sobbing: "Master, please don't do this, I... I'm afraid, you... just cry."

"Cry? I can't cry. If I cry, I will collapse. I can't cry. If I want to cry, it should be their Zheng family who should cry. It is Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhipeng who cry. How can I cry? Madam, don't worry, I'm fine. It's just If you can't sleep, just pack your things. Tomorrow I will bid farewell to His Majesty and return to my hometown to observe my filial piety and meet this Zheng Zhipeng in person."

"Sir... they are Japanese pirates. They can do anything."

"Japanese pirates...the Zheng family is not the only one. Madam, my hand is stiff and I can't lift a pen. Please write a letter for me."

"Okay, okay, sir, you tell me."

"Brother Liu Xiang, brother, I would like to pay my respects..."

"Ah! Master, are you trying to... communicate with the Japanese? This... this is a capital crime!"

Xu Bengao's eyes bled instantly, and he said angrily: "Are you going to allow the Japanese pirates to kill my biological father, but not allow me to write a letter from my mother to the Japanese pirates?"