"Yang Song, do you recognize the markings of the Japanese pirates?"
"When I first joined the army a few years ago, my subordinates accompanied the coastal army to fight against Japanese pirates and expelled them. Some of the prisoners captured had this mark."
"Please tell me in detail."
Yang Song then continued: "The Japanese pirates captured at that time confessed that they were divided into the Northern and Southern Dynasties before, and then the power of the Southern Dynasties declined. Many of their coastal residents were persecuted and captured as slaves, or became ronin, and eventually traveled across the ocean to find a way out. , this is also the main person responsible for most of the wavelet harassment of Japanese pirates along my country’s coast.”
"It seems that this group of people pretending to be the "Japanese Mission" may be these slaves. Zhang Yu, please let the Ministry of Punishment interrogate you, and ask what is the current situation of the real Japanese Mission?"
"Your Majesty, Fifth Highness, what you mean is that the real Japanese mission..."
Zhu Zhanzhen nodded: "It is impossible for these bandits to think of pretending to be the Japanese mission for no reason. I suspect that the real Japanese mission may have been poisoned by them."
The two got on the carriage and returned to the palace. Zhu Zhanyi did not expect it to be so easy. After all, these bandits had too many flaws and did not understand the affairs of the country's diplomacy. They only needed to be interrogated.
"Fifth brother, these gangsters dare to pretend to be Japanese envoys, so we should not be leniently spared."
"That's natural, but we still don't know what happened to the real Japanese mission. According to the previous news, they were going to meet before the year before. Considering the news that they haven't landed yet, they should have been caught or killed by this group of bandits.
Since we are a visiting mission, whether we are alive or dead, we must explain the ins and outs, so we will take this opportunity to go to Japan."
"What to do in Japan?"
"I wonder if the Japanese princess is pretty."
Zhu Zhancheng's answer left Zhu Zhanchen speechless. Zhu Zhancheng deliberately did not say more to him.
After returning home, he first reported the matter to the prince and ordered the Ministry of Justice to intensify the interrogation. Zhu Zhanyi resigned first, but Zhu Zhanyi stayed and said to the prince: "Father, I still don't know what happened to the real Japanese mission. The previous news
They were going to visit us years ago, but considering that they have not yet reached the shore, they must have been caught or killed by this group of bandits. Since they are a visiting envoy, whether they are dead or alive, the whole story must be explained."
"Well, after careful consideration, these bandits are too courageous. If the Japanese mission is really killed, including the brother of their general, we must let you know whether he is alive or dead. We must not lose the etiquette of a great country."
"My son resigned first."
Zhu Zhanzhen didn't know that his second brother, a scholar, had memorized a passage of his words.
It snowed again early the next morning. Hu Shanwei came to Zhu Zhanzhen's yard early in the morning. He saw Hu Shanwei as soon as he got up. Wasn't his mood better that day?
"Hu Shanggong, why are you here so early today?"
"Your Highness, Guanglu Temple has sent the banquet list and menu for the New Year's banquet. His Highness the Crown Prince said that he would just discuss it with you."
Zhu Zhanyi understood that this must be related to the fact that the prince did not like the food at Guanglu Temple, and that these were all done as usual, and there was nothing special to pay attention to, so he assigned the matter to Zhu Zhanyi.
He took the list and glanced at it: "Hu Shanggong, mother, are you going to give gifts to Mrs. Gaoming in the New Year?"
"The Crown Princess feels that many ministers, especially military generals, are currently on the front line and cannot go home for reunions during the New Year, so she would like to give some gifts to wives of officials who have official duties or whose husbands are on the front line to ease the feeling of missing their loved ones."
Zhu Zhanzhen nodded: "That's true, but what mother rewards are gold, silver, silk and satin. So, tell mother that you can ask these ladies to write letters, and I will arrange for the steamer to deliver them."
Taking the letters to the north, I will also bring the letters from the north back to express my love for you."
Ancient inns were quite efficient at delivering military information and the like, but ordinary letters were inefficient and had a high loss rate, so the post office system was also useful.
"Your Highness is absolutely right." Hu Shanwei smiled slightly, with the charm of a mature woman, and the aunt's gentleness was really like a knife.
"By the way, Your Highness, I heard that a woman will come to Jianzhou. It is said that she will also be a concubine for His Highness the Grand Sun. Does Your Highness know about this?"
Zhu Zhanzhen nodded, and Li Xianzhong ordered his daughter to be sent to Shuntian Mansion when he returned. The waterway between Shuntian Mansion and Yingtian Mansion is now smooth, and it is estimated that they will arrive in a few days. However, his princess from the Western Regions has a long journey and has to wait.
"Hey, all the royal men like us can't help ourselves." Zhu Zhanyi sighed.
At this time, Chu'er came to spread the news. There was news about the fake "Japanese Mission" yesterday.
Looking at the report handed over by the Ministry of Punishments, Zhu Zhanyi frowned and noticed the change in Zhu Zhanyi's expression. Hu Shanwei said considerately: "Your Highness, why are you so worried?"
"I have to go to Hu Shang Palace to find my father first."
…
When the prince received the report from Zhu Zhanzhen, his expression also changed: "The Japanese pirates captured yesterday confessed that the Japanese mission was captured on a small island east of Zhoushan Island. There were more than 300 Japanese pirates there.
The island is remote and inaccessible, so it has not been discovered. The reason why they pretended to be a mission is because they want to assassinate me?"
If such a small island is occupied, it will be difficult to detect it without fishermen passing by.
Zhu Gaochi frowned: "Zhan Yi, Zhan Cheng, what should we do about this matter?"
"Father, mobilize the troops immediately without delay." Zhu Zhanzhen answered directly.
"Why do you oppose sending troops to Jiangxi bandits, but why do you propose to use troops to deal with the Japanese Japanese pirates who have occupied a small island?" Zhu Zhankui said slightly unhappy.
"Two different things."
"What's the difference?"
"The Japanese pirates are aliens who have occupied our land and are approaching the sea. If a large army disembarks from the coast, we do not have enough troops along the coast to stop the Japanese pirates."
Zhu Zhankun retorted: "It's just a few hundred Japanese pirates."
Zhu Zhanzhen sighed: "This group of fake Japanese envoys claimed to be hundreds of Japanese pirates, but they were so bold that they dared to arrest the real envoys and pretended to be envoys to come to Beijing with the intention of assassinating my father. I have a bad feeling that if they
Are there more than just these 300 people behind you?"
"Are we going to send troops based on pure imagination?"
Zhu Zhanzhen was too lazy to quarrel with him and said to Zhu Gaochi: "Father, please mobilize Zheng He to lead a sea of troops to search the island, annihilate the Japanese pirates occupying the island, and rescue the Japanese mission."
"Send someone to tell Hu Guang, Xia Yuanji, Yang Shiqi, and Zheng He."
Xia Yuanji arrived first and saw that the two highnesses had different opinions. He agreed with Zhu Zhanzhen's opinion of sending troops. As the chief minister of the cabinet, Hu Guang did not help each other, and Yang Shiqi also agreed to send troops.
Zheng He arrived last, after all, he was further away.
When Zheng He heard about the danger of Japanese pirates, he immediately asked for orders: "Your Majesty, I have ordered people to install steam warships and go to sea to fight."
After hearing about the steam warship, several people looked at Zheng He in surprise. Everyone had seen the steam warship, but only Zheng He and Zhu Zhanzhen had seen the steam warship.
This was also the reason why Zhu Zhanzhen dared to attack. The speed and maneuverability of steam warships were far better than ordinary ships. He was confident of victory and did not need to mobilize troops.
"I ordered the craftsmen to build the transport ships needed in the north while also building steam warships. There are three of them now. As the warships advance, we can first probe the reality. If the enemy really only has more than 300 people, it will be enough to annihilate them."
Zheng He's words were full of confidence. Zhu Gaochi and several ministers looked at each other and said: "Zheng He will set out in two days to search for traces of Japanese pirates and rescue the Japanese mission."
"Father, I want to go out with the army." Zhu Zhanchen suddenly said.
"No." Zhu Zhanquan was the first to stop him: "Fifth brother, you are still young and it is not appropriate for you to go out with the army."
Zhu Gaochi had a headache at this time. Why did his father and son like to go to war so much? They all rushed to the place where the war was.
Hu Guang also advised: "Your Highness, the risk of a naval battle is very high. Please think twice."
"Father, I want to see the effect of steam warships. Only when I see it with my own eyes can I come up with more ways to improve it."
They know Zhu Zhanzhen's brain, and if there is a better way to improve it, it will definitely be miraculous.
Zhu Zhanyi once again dissuaded him: "Father, it is too dangerous for my fifth brother to join the army. He will only be ten years old after the Chinese New Year." He reiterated that Zhu Zhanyi was too young.
His idea was that he wanted to go on an expedition to suppress the bandits, but everyone refused to let him go. Why should Zhu Zhanxun be allowed to go out to fight against the Japanese pirates? How could there be more than 300 Japanese pirates who were our army's opponents? This was clearly for Zhu Zhanxun to perform meritorious service?
If I don't have military merit, neither can you.
Zhu Gaochi glanced at Zhu Zhanyi. He could tell that Zhu Zhanyi wanted to go to war, but he sighed. After all, fighting was too dangerous. Zhu Zhanyi could not even take care of himself at his age. What if there was a loss?
manage.
"Zhan Zhan, you have never been on the battlefield. The risk of a naval battle is too high. Forget it this time. Just go and see the condition of the warships in the next two days."
"Father……"
"This matter has been decided." Zhu Gaochi still regarded Zhu Zhanzhen's safety as his first criterion and rejected his idea.
Zhu Zhanchen was helpless and did not speak.
Yang Shiqi continued: "Your Highness, what should we do if the other party threatens the Japanese mission? Based on diplomatic etiquette, we have an obligation to rescue the Japanese mission."
Hu Guang, the chief minister of the cabinet, pondered: "Yeah." He continued slowly: "But now the life or death of the Japanese mission is unknown. When the time comes, the situation may exceed our current expectations. We can only let Zheng He make judgments on the spot."
He said and looked at Zheng He seriously: "If the mission is alive, we must ensure their safety. If the members of the mission die, bring back their bodies. If you want to see people dead, you must see their corpses. After all, rogues are vicious.
There is a high probability that he has been killed, what a pity, what a pity."
Everyone understood what Hu Guang said, and Zheng He agreed and stopped talking.
Zhu Gaochi ordered them all to retreat.
Zhu Zhanchun left quickly with a little anger. He felt that they were both sons. Obviously, Zhu Gaochi preferred Zhu Zhanchang, who was his direct descendant. It didn't matter if he couldn't compare with Zhu Zhanji. Now he still couldn't compare with Zhu Zhanchun. This made him
There is a feeling of resentment in my heart that has nowhere to express it.
And there was only one way for him to vent and relieve himself.
Zhu Zhanyi glanced at Zhu Zhanchun coldly. To be honest, he did not hold any grudge against Zhu Zhanchun. After all, even if he did not speak, Zhu Gaochi would not let him go to sea with the army.
But I won’t go if you don’t let me go?
How could you miss the first battle of the Ming Dynasty equipped with steam ships?