"Reporting to Hong Shaobao," Governor Song of Fujian opened the door and bowed to Hong Lizhen, "According to the previous appointment, the Nanyang ship will arrive tomorrow. Please make preparations in advance."
"How many ships are they? Are they all cargo ships?" Hong Lisan asked first without rushing to make a decision.
"It has been agreed with us before that we will use three warships to load 200 cannons and bring back the imperial envoys."
"But the fog has been relatively heavy these two days, and the sky is very gray. I'm afraid it would be a mistake to pick up the boat..."
Governor Song replied helplessly: "Now that we have no news, it is too late to inform us, so we have to blame God."
"Where did they land from?"
"Meiling Port of Zhao'an."
Hong Lizhen patted his thigh and said, "That's good. It's very close to the palace. I have to go there in person to show my sincerity! Mr. Song, would you please order the soldiers on the island and tell them that in the past two months,
Although the sea waves have calmed down, the danger still exists, so we must not ignore it. Especially during this period, we must strictly guard and be extremely vigilant!”
The breeze brought a drizzle of light rain, hitting the long stone steps of the port, soaking the moss spreading all over the ground. The steps meandered from the steep slope to the river embankment, connecting with the pier to the north.
I saw two or three ships moored not far away, and a dozen soldiers stood on the deck, preparing to hang lanterns on the ships.
"What happened to the things I asked you to do yesterday?" The sound of others talking suddenly appeared in the quiet port, causing all the sergeants to look back. It was Hong Lisan who came with Governor Song and others.
"This is a major matter related to the country. Song has treated everything carefully," Governor Song said. "I went to the island and worked hard all night, urging them to build several high platforms and lift all the available cannons to ensure that the whole
This entire sea area is within my control and will not be taken advantage of by pirates."
"The fog is so thick, what if the fort accidentally hits a barbarian ship?" Hong Lisan hurriedly stepped down the steps.
Governor Song smiled and said: "Don't worry about participating in politics. I have taken almost all situations into consideration. This time I will pick up the ship, nothing will go wrong."
While the two were talking, they had already walked into the dock. When the soldiers saw it, they hurriedly jumped back from the deck to the shore to salute Hong Lizhen.
"No need to salute. Are the lanterns hung up?" Hong Lisan asked hurriedly.
"It's mounted. As long as you give the order, the sailors and I can quickly dispatch to guide the incoming ships at sea."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. There is nothing anyone can do in this kind of horrible weather. As compensation, I will distribute rewards to you when things are done."
Everyone was very happy. After thanking Hong Shaobao, they went to have a rest.
As time went by, the sound of rain did not stop, and the sky became darker and darker, with a dull roar coming from the black clouds. The heavy fog obscured the sight, but Hong Lisan could still see the other side of the river, where there was a
The emerald green mountains and ridges, with their clustered branches and leaves swaying in the breeze, looked particularly bright in the drizzle.
"That's the west bank," Governor Song pointed out, following his gaze. "Because of the terrain, it has been abandoned. Recently, a wall was built on it to defend against pirates."
Hong Lisan then looked towards the top of the mountain. Sure enough, there was a low stone city wall, and he could vaguely see the figures on the high platform. He couldn't see clearly, so he narrowed his eyes into a line and saw several people waving a red flag.
"The ship is coming!" Hong Lisan shouted, and he immediately understood the signal.
As expected, three warships appeared on the foggy sea. The ships lined up neatly and slowly sailed forward - but they were getting further and further away from the port.
"It seems they are heading to Dongshan Island," Governor Song said calmly, and then waved to the sailors: "Hurry up and sail the boat to guide them here!"
The soldiers on Dongshan Island have been having a hard time recently. Due to the pressure from the imperial court, the prefects from all over the country had no choice but to vent their grievances on these soldiers. They were recruited from all directions and worked non-stop.
We headed towards the seaside, and we had to walk through some twists and turns in the mountains. We were so tired that we felt dizzy, but the government only urged us repeatedly.
The sentence "violators will be killed" was repeated repeatedly in the document, and it seemed that there was no time left to breathe. The soldiers could only rest in the wilderness and slept for only two hours in the middle of the night. They finally arrived on the island, but they
The civil servants used the excuse of insufficient personnel to carry wood and stone, and worked frantically under the scorching sun, to the point where several people collapsed from exhaustion, and the government did not care.
At the same time, the people who were forcibly moved to farmland were also restless. Many of them were brave and not afraid of death, so they incited people to cause trouble and even attacked the prefectural and county government offices. The government did not dare to disobey the court's new policy and was helpless to deal with these uprisings. When in emergency, they would
It would be fine to leave this mess of problems to the soldiers. However, Mr. Futai ordered them not to intensify it.
Contradictory, the other side scolded them for indulging in being unruly and making it impossible for them to serve as ministers. How could the soldiers do it if they set such harsh conditions? They just let their superiors scold them, suppressed the anger in their hearts, and listened.
Their ears were almost calloused. Under the irritable environment, their tempers gradually became irritable and irritable. They often fought in the military camp, as if they were going crazy.
"Captain, a warship seems to be docking here!" A soldier hurriedly walked down the platform, got into the tent, and shouted to a general.
"I understand," the officer said in an annoyed voice, "Let's wait for him to dock first."
"Damn it!" Several soldiers beside the officer suddenly jumped up and pulled out their swords. "We were discussing other things, why did you interrupt us for no reason? Get out!"
"I……"
"Everyone, stop arguing!" Seeing the tense situation between the two sides, the chief quickly stepped forward and pushed them away. "We are in the same situation. You might as well discuss it with us."
The man had just lost some of his anger, glared at the soldier a few times, and sat down unwillingly.
The officer sighed and said: "I went back yesterday and went to the Yamen to see the government officials. They seemed to be extremely dissatisfied with the civil service. I personally heard the old man say, 'This new policy has made people panic, and it won't end early!'"
"They are miserable!" the soldier beat his chest and cursed, "all day long we slaves are slaves to our soldiers, but we sit in the lobby! The unruly people have been restless, and we are busy with other things, but we can't cure them. This
The days are endless!”
"I just thought," the chief said to himself, unaffected by his emotions, "Since so many people hate the New Deal, why not let us take action to disrupt the overall situation?"
"How to take action?"
The officer winked and looked out of the tent: "Didn't Niu Yuan want to make a meritorious deed by taking over the ship? We might as well be cruel and let him die immediately!"