I'm a pirate at the end of Ming Dynasty

There is a pavilion in the north of Songjiang Prefecture. Because the pavilion will be full of sweet-scented osmanthus in the next autumn, some good people call it Yuegui Pavilion, which is taken from the meaning of Xijiang River where the osmanthus blooms in the moon. It is also a good place for an outing. On full-moon nights, there are always those arty but cash-strapped people who come here in twos and threes to view flowers and enjoy crabs.

At this time, the pavilion was densely packed with people, half of whom were elders from the city and nearby villages, and half of whom were nephews of the heads of large families in the city. It is no exaggeration to say that these people could almost represent the entire Songjiang City, but there was no trace of them. Despite his elegant appearance, many people were crying silently.

There was a man in the pavilion, clothed in cloth and cloth shoes, with tears in his eyes. He bowed his head for a long time and could not lift it up.

"Gentlemen, Zheng is ashamed. I never thought that Liu Xiang would be so heartless and crazy. In the end, it was Zheng who failed you."

It was completely silent under the pavilion. He neither blocked the road and cried, begged Zheng Zhipeng to stay, nor yelled at him, or even threw rotten eggs at him. People in ancient times, at least in this half of the troubled times, were far better than him. It's much more sensible in imagination.

These people just looked at him expressionlessly, but Zheng Zhipeng's heart felt like it was being fried.

There is no doubt that Zheng Zhipeng must leave. In fact, there is no use if he doesn't leave, because whether it is the Anti-Japanese Alliance of his direct subordinates in name, or the Zhejiang Xiangyong who are actually following him, they are all homesick. Zheng Zhipeng Being able to keep them for one more day can already be said to be quite prestigious in the old days.

But if this happens, what will Songjiang do?

Even a fool can see that Zheng Zhipeng placed the capital at the gate of Songjiang just to provoke Liu Xiang to come and die. At that time, he also had the confidence to have a showdown with Liu Xiang, because he had Zheng Zhilong behind him, and even the entire Ming Dynasty court. There is really no reason to be afraid of a mere pirate leader.

But things are different now. Although Zheng Zhilong is still in Songjiang, no one knows when he will be transferred away by an imperial edict. After all, the top priority for the court now is disaster relief and peace, so Zheng Zhilong's good steel will naturally be used on the blade. .

Of course, the imperial court must hate Liu Xiang this time. Since Liu Xiang is most likely to attack Songjiang, there is no reason why he should not protect him with heavy troops. In addition, Songjiang is a big city after all, and it is not easy to capture it. But the battle To put it bluntly, it is always the common people who suffer. Taking a step back, even if Liu Xiang cannot conquer Songjiang, shouldn't he still be able to plunder the surrounding areas?

If it weren't for Zheng Zhipeng, how could Songjiang have such a big feud with Liu Xiang? When this guy collected the water, his chest was slapping and he thought, now he wants to leave after slapping his butt. Who in this place can not complain? I'm afraid. I must hate him to death.

But a white-haired old man stood up from the crowd and saluted Zheng Zhipeng respectfully: "General Zheng, you are a man who values ​​love and justice. Otherwise, if you want to leave, no one in Songjiang City can stop you." , General Zheng, since you called us all here, at least you still have such a responsibility, but I don’t know what your plans are? How are you going to explain it to us? "

Zheng Zhipeng bowed deeply and said: "Zheng has no soldiers now, but he still has some money. He collected 30 taels of silver in Songjiang City before. Although most of it has been spent, there is still some left. I have worked with him The eldest brother has discussed it, and my Zheng family will make up for the remaining part. He will arrange for people to deliver it within five days, pile it outside the city, and arrange for someone to guard it. If Liu Xiang leads his troops to kill, the money will be regarded as I paid him the protection money, but in the final analysis, Liu Xiang hates me, not Songjiang City."

"I have lived for 83 years. I have met many people who claim to be heroes. Even General Qi has met several times. This is the first time I have seen this kind of money. However, although Liu Xiang's people have been hanging out all year round, In the Guangdong area, but we have also heard of his reputation. If these 30 taels of silver cannot satisfy him, and he still wants to attack the city and plunder, what should we do?"

Zheng Zhipeng nodded and said: "Of course we can't put our hope in the kindness of the enemy. I have communicated with the imperial court. South Zhili will mobilize [-] reinforcements from various places and station them in the Kunshan area to guard the safety of Songjiang. Liu Xiang wants to break through I'm afraid it won't be easy. In addition, I have negotiated with the prefect. Within three days, all the villagers from the surrounding villages with a radius of [-] miles will be moved into the city, and the riverside to the west of the city will be vacated. There are few people in that area, and only residents We have occupied a few large wealthy families with dozens of acres of land, demolished them, and built some tents on the vacant land for them to live temporarily. All living expenses and even lost work hours will be borne by my Zheng family."

"Demolishing the houses of wealthy families in the west of the city? I'm afraid this move..."

"The discount is that the house was bought by the Zheng family at the market price. How many family owners are here? Here are some notes stamped by my eldest brother personally. How much do the family owners think your house is worth? Although Just fill in the numbers, and if you go to any bank in Jiangnan where I live to withdraw money later, you won’t deny your account."

"I...that's my ancestral home." Someone muttered underneath.

Zheng Zhipeng slowly drew out his sword and said with a smile: "Whoever has an opinion, you may as well say it directly. Our Zheng family has always convinced others with virtue and never bullied others."

Everyone looked angrily at the person who had just spoken, especially the elders sent from various villages outside the city. They wanted to eat this person. He was so frightened that he was shaking all over, and he dared not say anything unnecessary.

Mr. Su, who had just spoken, then said, "This move will probably cost the Zheng family hundreds of thousands more. I admire the kindness of the two generals Zheng. Regardless of whether Liu Xiang comes or not, this disaster will never be avoided." , the people of Songjiang will never forget your kindness."

"I have calculated that the money for building tents and villagers should be 8 taels. As for the cost of demolition, it depends on what you guys write down." After saying this, Zheng Zhipeng played a trick intentionally or unintentionally, and inserted the knife again. Went back.

"In addition, although I have to leave this time, I will leave my personal guard Kinuiemon behind to help Matsue train volunteers. I also agreed with my elder brother that I will donate more than [-] swords, guns, and arrows to Matsue Prefecture. We have more than [-] arrows, but we just need a little time to raise them and transport them from Fujian, but I don’t know if it’s too late.”

"But I also know that Liu Xiang's people are brave and good at fighting. Not just volunteers can stop them. Even the official soldiers of the imperial court may not be able to stop them. So I decided to burn Jingguan outside the city to ashes when I leave. Take him away. In this way, Liu Xiang will have no reason to attack Songjiang. There are countless volunteers and imperial troops in Songjiang. The city is high and the walls are thick, making it difficult to attack. There are 30 taels of silver outside to give him steps. His men The ashes are in the hands of my enemy again. Come to think of it, Songjiang is safe. Just let him direct all his hatred towards me."

The old man sighed after hearing this, then slowly adjusted his clothes and knelt down in front of Zheng Zhipeng. He didn't say anything, but knocked his head heavily to the ground.

Zheng Zhipeng was shocked. You must know that an old man of this age does not need to salute even if he meets the emperor. Besides, he is not a modern person who can bear this. He hurriedly went to help him, but he saw everyone in the same place. The squires and Mr. Su followed closely behind, unable to kneel down. The few who did not kneel down seemed to stand out from the crowd. After thinking about it, they simply knelt down too.