In history, after the Southern Song Dynasty entered the middle and late period, due to the continuous wars with Jin and Mongolia, the national economy has not been able to recover well. The continuous deterioration of the situation has intensified social unrest, and the public security situation has also deteriorated. At present, the security of the coast, especially due to the rampant pirates, has become very unbearable. Although the imperial court strictly ordered the coastal navy to crack down hard, due to the unstable situation in the late Southern Song Dynasty, the pirates along the coast have never been completely eradicated. In addition to robbing passing ships, most are also engaged in smuggling, and some even go ashore to harass and plunder people.
There are a lot of information about pirates in Lizong's imperial writings in Xianwen Pavilion. Although I haven't read them carefully, I still know something about them in general.
"Li Beiyang, let me ask you, what is the situation of pirates along the coast today? Are they still rampant?"
Li Beiyang stood up and said: "Your Majesty, most pirates are now concentrated on the Liangzhe Road and the coast of Fujian Province. After many attacks by our navy, most pirates have turned to smuggling. The smuggled items are mainly Salt, copper coins, tea and some military contraband items are embargoed by our country. The coastal navy of our country focuses on cracking down on the smuggling of military contraband. This has achieved great results. In recent years, the production of tung oil, pine wood, etc. has been basically eliminated. The raw materials for warships left the coast and headed north, which slowed the development of the Mongolian navy. The smuggling of other items cannot be completely eliminated, but compared with the Jiading period, it has been much better."
"Salt, metals, and military supplies have always been controlled or sold exclusively by the imperial court. Smuggling of these items should be severely punished, but is this tea also a contraband?"
Lu Xiufu hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, tea has always been listed as contraband by our government."
"I think it is a good deal to exchange tea for gold and silver. Sir, please inform the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Household Affairs to cancel tea from the contraband items. The imperial court will no longer sell it exclusively. It only needs to determine the tariff. This will Increasing the tax revenue of our government can also increase the income of tea farmers, so why not do it,"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Jia Sidao said, cupping his hands.
"Your Majesty," Li Beiyang continued to introduce, "among the current pirates, except for a very few such as Zhang Xuan, who is known as the 'Pirate King', the rest of the pirates mostly use the method of breaking into pieces for smuggling, and they no longer engage in robbing passing merchant ships. This is why I asked Your Majesty whether it is possible to recruit pirates to expand the navy."
When I heard the title "One Piece", I was surprised. I tapped my fingers on the table and said, "One Piece Zhang Xuan."
"One Piece" is a very famous comic book in later generations and has a large market among primary and middle school students. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xuan's nickname is also called "One Piece".
"Exactly, Your Majesty, Zhang Xuan is a native of Daxi Mountain Island in Guangnan East Road (today's Guangdong). He joined our navy when he was young. Because of his bravery in battle, he was promoted to the capital. This man is proficient in water skills, but he is a bandit. Full of personality, Zhang Xuan drew his sword after a quarrel with his boss, beheaded his boss and then escaped into the sea, and gradually became one of the most powerful pirates along the coast. Especially in the past year or two, Zhang Xuan has been involved with foreign and overseas pirates. The pirates colluded and have now become the leader of the largest overseas pirate gang in Fujian. Zhang Xuan is extremely cruel. He not only robs wealth, but also hurts people's lives. Merchant ships that often travel on waterways say, "It's better to encounter a tsunami than a pirate." ,'"
"Daxishan Island," I nodded. "This name is quite familiar. I seem to remember seeing it somewhere."
"Your Majesty, the residents of Daxishan Island on Guangnan East Road have always made a living by smuggling salt. In the third year of Qingyuan (1197), Xu Anguo, the Secretary of Tea and Salt on Guangnan East Road, sent people to the island to arrest smuggled salt. Zhang Huaiyu, the leader of the villagers in Shang, gathered thousands of islanders and killed all the people sent by Xu Anguo. Then he went to sea and became a pirate. It took three years before he was finally destroyed by our Fuzhou navy and the front destroying army. It is said that at that time, Thousands of islanders were massacred, which caused an uproar and endless debate in the court. After Zhang Xuan raised a flag and became a pirate, and publicly announced that he was Zhang Huaiyu, he committed all kinds of evil. He also listed the court's faults for massacring villagers, and said We were at odds with our army. Although our navy had conquered many times, it was very proficient in water warfare and extremely cunning. Whenever our army attacked, they would hide in Liuqiu (now Ryukyu). There were many islands in Liuqiu. , the complex terrain on land and sea ultimately made me return without success every time I went to the navy,”
"Ryukyu Islands," I pointed to the Ryukyu Islands on the map and said, "Li Aiqing, come up and take a look, this is the area, right?"
Li Beiyang walked closer and looked at it and said: "Your Majesty, it's right here, just,,,,,,"
"Just what,"
Li Beiyang whispered: "Your Majesty, this place should be called Liuqiu. The flow of flowing water is not the Liuli of Liuli."
Records about Ryukyu first appeared in the Sui Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ordered Yuqi Lieutenant Zhu Kuan to go to sea to search for overseas customs. On the way, he saw a large pearl-like island floating on the sea, resembling a horned dragon, so he named it Qiu. In the Ming Dynasty, when officials were compiling the Sui Dynasty, in order to avoid the imperial taboo, they renamed the place Liuqiu. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang also renamed the place Liuqiu, which means glazed jade and pearl ball, and it has been passed down to this day. .
I didn’t remember the origin of the name Ryukyu, so I smiled and said: “As soon as I open my mouth, this Ryukyu will become that Ryukyu. It doesn’t matter, it’s just a place name.”
Li Beiyang raised his voice and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, according to His Majesty's decree, Liuqiu will be changed to Ryukyu from now on."
"How many people does Zhang Xuan have?"
"Your Majesty, there are about three to four thousand people and nearly a hundred armed ships,"
"The strength is not small. Since Zhang Xuan, the pirate king, exists and is guilty of the most evil crimes, then, Li Beiyang,"
"I am here,"
"I order you to eliminate Zhang Xuan within three months in order to honor the banner of the Royal Navy of the Song Dynasty. Can you do it?"
Li Beiyang thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if you want to wipe out Zhang Xuan, you must go deep into Ryukyu, this, this,"
I knew what Li Beiyang meant and said with a smile: "Then just take Ryukyu together and try the effectiveness of the Marine Corps at the same time."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Li Beiyang replied confidently, "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely do it."
"Well, I will wait for your good news," I praised. "My dear friends, today's meeting ends here. The second navy meeting will be held in seven days."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."
Back at Funing Hall, I hurriedly went to bed without even eating, wanting to take a good nap. Although I knew it was impossible, I still fantasized about being able to return to last night's dream. .
Of course the result will not be what I want. For me, dreams are elusive.
Tossing and turning, I finally couldn't sleep.
I lay in bed in confusion for about half an hour before I opened my eyes.
"The official is awake, do you want to eat something?"
I shook my head and said, "Jiu'er, what time is it now?"
"It's half past time,"
I said "Oh" and thought to myself, it turns out it's already 2 o'clock.
"The official, Xiao Qi came to report that the information requested by the official has been obtained. In addition, Mr. Yuan, Mr. Lan and Mr. Shen are already waiting outside the palace gate,"
"Well, I'm going to the imperial study room now,"
"The officials haven't eaten yet,"
"If you don't want to eat, let's eat together in the evening."
Walking into the study, Xiao Qi handed me a file and said: "Guan family, this is the information about Jiang Yundi that Xiao Qi got from the official department."
"Well, Xiaoqi, go and let Mr. Xuan and the others come in,"
"Yes, official family,"
Jiang Yundi's file is very simple. He was a Jinshi and Jiang Wanli's nephew. He has been working in the Ministry of Works since he entered it ten years ago. Because of his serious work, he was highly valued by his superiors and was promoted to the Ministry of Works about a year and a half ago. He is a doctor with a fourth-grade title and is in charge of the civil engineering work of the city. He is ranked in the top grade every year in the official evaluation. He is low-key and modest, has good popularity and has no bad deeds. After taking office, he presided over the reconstruction of Lin'an City and the construction of water canals in various places. Reinforcement and other key projects.
"Jiang Wanli, Jiang Yundi," I read silently.
Jiang Wanli's character and performance in the Ministry of Commerce are beyond reproach. My intuition tells me that this matter should have nothing to do with Jiang Wanli. It would be much easier to handle if it was just Jiang Yundi's personal behavior. After all, Jiang Wanli is an important minister in the DPRK. He is also my appointed Minister of Commerce.
Just as I was thinking about it, Xiao Qi came to report: "Your Majesty, Mr. Yuan and others have arrived."
"Well, let them come in,"
"Your Majesty, Yuan Ji, Lan Yu, and Shen Mo see you,"
"My dear friends, please take a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty,"
"Xiaoqi, make a pot of hot tea. It's cold. Drink some hot tea to warm yourself up."
"Yes, official family,"
"Lan Yu, Shen Mo,"
"I am here,"
"I called you here today to give your imperial guards a secret mission," I opened the military map of Huainan West Road on the table and said, "Look, this is Luzhou Prefecture, and above it is An on the south bank of the Huai River Fengjun, on the 28th of this month, General Xia Gui will send troops to attack the northern part of the Anfeng Army, which is the area occupied by Mongolia, and intends to regain the south bank of the Huaihe River in one fell swoop. The Anfeng Army is currently divided into half by our country and Mongolia, and the dividing line is Yang Jiazhen, Yangjia Town is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and is a dangerous place for the Anfeng Army. Xia Gui himself is an Anfeng Army clan and knows an extremely hidden trail, so he will personally lead the team to sneak attack on Yang from this secret trail. Jiazhen, Shen Mo, I plan for you and Yun Zhongfei to lead twenty imperial guards who are skilled in mountain roads to Luzhou. The purpose of this trip is only to protect the safety of General Xia Gui,"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Shen Mo said, "I promise to complete the mission."
"Well, this matter is a first-class military secret and must not be leaked. You will set off for the north tonight and must arrive in Luzhou before the 25th. Here is a letter from me to Xia Gui. You can just pass it on to Xia Aiqing."
Shen Mo took the letter and said: "I obey your order,"
"Report, Your Majesty, Lord Lu Xiufu of the Military Affairs Council, Lord Zhao Shun and Sun Zhao of the Government Affairs Council are waiting for orders outside the door,"