Chapter 290 289 Jiangnan Will Be in Chaos

"Huahuahua"

The sound of a large ship cutting through the water surface was heard. On the Yangtze River, a large ship was moving rapidly downstream.

The Jiujiang Prefecture behind him gradually faded away. Wei Guangde stood at the stern and looked at the direction of his home in silence.

This was the third day after he and Xu Jianglan got married. According to the rules, he had to send Xu Jianglan back home.

It was already the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, and the year was coming to an end. The Yangtze River was no longer as prosperous as it used to be. There were not many ships coming and going. The biting cold wind on the river surface was biting, and Wei Guangde felt his hands and feet cold soon.

At this moment, he felt footsteps behind him. Before he turned around to see who it was, he smelled a fragrance and a cloak was draped over his shoulders.

"It's windy outside, you should stay in the cabin."

As Wei Guangde spoke, he turned around and looked at the wonderful person behind him. It was his newly married wife Xu Jianglan. After hearing Wei Guangde's words, she just smiled.

Although she was only seventeen years old, she was tall and plump. After getting to know her, Wei Guangde found that she was graceful in her words and deeds.

When talking to her, Xu Jianglan's beautiful eyes were looking around, and her smiles and frowns revealed an indescribable charm, just like a peony in bud, beautiful but not delicate, gorgeous but not vulgar, charming and incomparable.

At this time, she was wearing a pink palace dress, with a plain satin ribbon tied around her waist that could be held in one hand, which further highlighted her graceful figure. Her black hair was as black as lacquer and tied in a bun. She didn't apply too much makeup. Her eyebrows were frowned like spring mountains, her eyes were frowning like autumn water, her skin was like jade, and she was graceful and graceful.

It was just that the river breeze blew, and Xu Jianglan's pretty face was slightly pale at this moment.

Wei Guangde didn't want to stay here any longer, so he reached out to hold her shoulders and returned to the warm cabin with her.

At this time, the victory memorial written by Hu Zongxian about the capture of the pirate leader Wang Zhi had been sent to the capital, which instantly caused a small sensation in the Tongzhengshisi and soon spread to other government offices outside.

The Tongzhengshi naturally did not dare to neglect it. After copying a copy for archiving, he hurriedly delivered Hu Zongxian's victory document to the cabinet in person. Although it was already icy and snowy outside, and it was extremely difficult to walk, the Tongzhengshi still walked briskly in the heavy snow and ran to the East Pavilion.

Since the 31st year of Jiajing, the name Wang Zhi has been spread in the Ming Dynasty court. It can be said that no official does not know Wang Zhi.

Because it was from this year that Wang Zhi successively sent pirate leaders such as Xu Hai, Chen Dong, Xiao Xian, and Ye Ma to guide the Japanese pirates to invade and plunder Zhejiang East, Zhejiang West, Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Fujian and other places.

It can be said that the current Jiangnan Japanese chaos is caused by this person.

What's more terrifying is that after the Japanese pirates repeatedly plundered in Jiangnan, their targets are now expanding from south to north. They have appeared many times and invaded Nanzhili, Shandong and other places, causing countless killings.

Well, now the culprit has finally been caught by the government army, and naturally he cannot be let go. This person is really guilty.

Today, after Hu Zongxian's report was submitted, all the ministers in the court were excited and excitedly discussed that after the capture of the pirate leader Wang Zhi, the Japanese chaos could be quelled overnight.

Just as the Tongzhengshi hurried to the cabinet, the cabinet chief Yan Song frowned at the letter in his hand.

When the letter came to his hand, it had been opened and read by his son Yan Shifan, and a line of small words was left on the side.

The content of the letter was also shocking enough. The so-called capture turned out to be similar to the previous strategy for dealing with Xu Hai, and it was deceived.

As for the final disposal in the court, it was naturally to ask Yan Song for help. Hu Zongxian hoped to save Wang Zhi's life. After all, this person had been overseas for many years, was familiar with the situation of the foreign vassal, and knew the whereabouts and hiding places of various pirates.

In the campaign against the Japanese pirates, if Wang Zhi's help could be obtained, the remaining small groups of Japanese pirates could be wiped out with great force.

Hu Zongxian naturally knew what to hide and what not to hide. In the letter, he told Yan Song about the forged pardon edict. He didn't dare to report this to the court, fearing that he would be impeached for the crime of colluding with the Japanese, so he could only kill him first and report later.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian did not mention the forged pardon edict in his victory report.

However, contrary to Hu Zongxian's idea, the line of small words left by Yan Shifan was to kill this thief.

Yan Song had been in the officialdom for many years, so he didn't know that the handling of this matter would have a great impact. It can be seen from Hu Zongxian's letter that although Wang Zhi was in his hands, Wang Zhi's troops were completely retained at sea and were not eliminated. If it was not handled properly, the consequences would be unpredictable.

But Yan Song couldn't think of a complete solution for a while. According to his original intention, he still thought that it was the best policy to keep Wang Zhi and recruit his pirates. At least they should be dispersed and disrupted to prevent them from rising up again.

When the clerk outside the door reported that the Tongzhengshi wanted to see him, Yan Song knew that he must have come for Hu Zongxian's victory memorial, so he decisively collected the letter and asked someone to pass it in.

By the evening, the news had spread all over the capital, and most people in the officialdom even knew the details.

Hu Zongxian caught the Japanese pirate leader Wang Zhi, and Wang Zhi was willing to surrender. Hu Zongxian actually pleaded for Wang Zhi and allowed him to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence and lead the official army to eliminate the Japanese pirates. What a joke?

Did Hu Zongxian drink too much?

Wang Zhi is the biggest Japanese pirate. To eliminate Wang Zhi is to eliminate the Japanese pirates. As for the remaining pirates, they are nothing to be afraid of. With the strength of the government army, it will naturally be a great success to go out and suppress the bandits. There is no need to need Wang Zhi to help lead the way to suppress the bandits.

So before Emperor Jiajing made his comments on Hu Zongxian's memorial, officials in the court had already begun to collude. Their purpose was simple, and they naturally wanted to seek justice for the innocent people who had died tragically since the Japanese pirates started the rebellion.

In later generations, there was still a lot of debate about whether Wang Zhi should be executed under the circumstances at that time.

In any case, Wang Zhi was indeed the leader of the large-scale Japanese pirates' harassment of the Ming Dynasty, which also made him the talker and leader of the Japanese pirate group.

The numerous crimes committed by the Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty are too numerous to list, and it is not too much to kill him thousands of times.

However, if we consider the long-term interests of the Ming Dynasty's sea borders, it seems that it is natural to keep Wang Zhi alive.

Using Japanese pirates to control Japanese pirates is similar to using barbarians to control barbarians in later generations.

However, most court officials did not realize this at this time. They were more focused on the present, and no one realized what consequences would come from arresting and killing Wang Zhi.

On the second day, the Tongzhengshisi was busy again, because today, all the ministers in the court submitted memorials one after another, and the contents were very consistent, all attacking Hu Zongxian's previous memorials and demanding severe punishment of the pirate Wang Zhi.

In fact, the Tongzhengshisi was well prepared for such a situation, and specially dispatched more clerks to help copy the memorials, which could be regarded as improving work efficiency.

The memorials requesting severe punishment of Wang Zhi flew from the Tongzhengshisi to the cabinet like snowflakes, and Yan Song was very hesitant at this time.

After returning home last night, he had a secret discussion with Yan Shifan. He didn't understand why Yan Shifan supported the severe punishment of Wang Zhi. Couldn't he think of the consequences of doing so?

But the answer Yan Shifan gave him made him tremble with fear all night, and the reason was naturally Yan Shifan's little calculation.

At this time, Yan Song and most of the court officials had basically the same views. If even Wang Zhi, the strongest Japanese pirate force, had the intention to surrender to the court, then what was the mentality of other Japanese pirates?

As long as Wang Zhi's troops are dealt with properly, other small groups of Japanese pirates will inevitably fall into chaos without fighting when facing the encirclement and suppression by the government troops. The large-scale Japanese invasion that began in the 31st year of Jiajing should have ended.

But in Yan Shifan's view, all this is more disadvantageous than beneficial, for no other reason than profit.

Most of the wealth in Jiangnan now belongs to Hu Zongxian's Governor's Office and is allocated for suppressing the Japanese pirates. It can be said that Hu Zongxian is a little emperor in Jiangnan, with money and soldiers.

But once the suppression of the Japanese pirates is completed, the entire Jiangnan will gradually return to its original state, and the huge benefits brought by the additional troops will no longer exist.

If the Japanese pirates can exist for a long time, it doesn't seem to be a bad thing.

What bothers Yan Song the most is that his son is keen on money. He actually colluded with sea merchants through his good friend, Mo merchant Luo Longwen, to secretly conduct maritime trade.

The imperial court had secretly sold many silk and other Ming products to sea merchants to make money. It was this transaction of Zhao Wenhua that made Yan Shifan know a faster and more profitable way to make money, but he just had no channels. This obstacle was successfully solved after he met Luo Wenlong.

Luo Longwen, like Wang Zhi who was in Governor-General Hu Zongxian's headquarters, was from She County, Anhui Province. He was also an old acquaintance of the pirate Xu Hai who had been wiped out.

Luo Longwen was originally a businessman. He was famous for making ink. The ink he made was "hard as stone, with patterns like rhinoceros, black as lacquer, and one snail was worth ten thousand coins."

In the Wanli Yehuobian written by Shen Defu during the Wanli period, it was also said: "Xiaohua's ink is more expensive than a jade pendant. If you exchange a pound of horse hoof for one ounce of ink, you may not get the real one."

Even Emperor Jiajing loved his ink products very much. When it was the most valuable, one ounce of ink could be sold for a pound of gold, but even so, it was often out of stock.

At the beginning, Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji, used Suhe oil to collect smoke and make ink. Later, Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty spent a pound of gold to buy one ounce, and was called "Ink Monster".

From this point of view, Luo Wenlong is also worthy of the name of "Ink Monster".

Before Luo Wenlong met Yan Shifan, he was already a dual identity of ink maker and businessman. He was not only good at appraising antiques, but also chivalrous and willful, and liked to make friends with strange people everywhere.

At the same time, because money came too easily, he was content with pleasure and often lingered in brothels and spent a lot of money. It is said that Xu Hai met Luo Wenlong in a brothel before he went to sea to become a Japanese pirate, and they became old acquaintances.

He was from the same hometown as Wang Zhi, the famous Japanese pirate leader at the time, and Hu Zongxian, the governor of Jiangnan who was responsible for suppressing the Japanese pirates. Such a person naturally got along well with both sides, and gradually Luo Wenlong became one of the sea merchants.

The goods collected from all over the Ming Dynasty were transported to overseas markets for profit through Japanese pirates. Naturally, it was the most profitable industry during this period. Although the risks at sea were great, they were naturally not worth mentioning compared to the huge profits.

While the people in Jiangnan suffered heavy hardships due to the Japanese invasion, the Japanese pirates, Hu Zongxian's faction and the sea merchants made a fortune from it and reaped the huge dividends of sea trade.

However, after Hu Zongxian used him to deceive Xu Hai and eventually killed Xu Hai, Luo Wenlong gradually saw through Hu Zongxian's true colors. He was a person who could give up everything for fame.

Morality, does not exist.

He only needs to say that he is "dedicated to the public" to cover up the countless messes he has done, and other people who speak will naturally break some bottom lines and think that he is right because he is indeed planning a war to suppress the Japanese and has made considerable military achievements.

At this time, Luo Wenlong chose to leave Jiangnan and go to the north, to the political center of the empire-Beijing.

His purpose of coming here was naturally not to organize the supply of goods to continue maritime trade, but he realized something else from Hu Zongxian's deception of him in the matter of Xu Hai.

That is power. As long as you have power, many evil things can be explained with another excuse and covered up perfectly.

Luo Wenlong is essentially a chivalrous man, so he naturally despises people like Hu Zongxian who do things without paying attention to details.

However, he did not break up with Hu Zongxian because of this, but just kept a distance and ran to Beijing.

Luo Wenlong's lavish spending in Beijing naturally attracted the attention of local tyrants in Beijing, but he had met Zhao Wenhua through Hu Zongxian before, and then had some contact with the Yan family.

Now Luo Wenlong lives in Beijing, so he naturally has to pay homage to the Yan family first.

Yan Shifan naturally has a good impression of such a generous person, and the two have very similar lifestyles. They are both extravagant and greedy for beauty, and soon became good friends who can talk about anything.

Using his identity, Yan Shifan not only helped Luo Wenlong get the position of the Cabinet Secretary, but also learned from Luo Wenlong about the huge profits of sea trade, which could easily be multiplied several times, so he was naturally salivating.

The previous silk trade was handled by Zhao Wenhua, and he would naturally have a lot of profits afterwards, but the news he heard from Luo Wenlong seemed to indicate that if he really got involved in this business, the profits would be higher.

As a result, he began to have other ideas about the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan.

His father's great favor in front of Emperor Jiajing was indeed rare, but this also made their family the target of public criticism. Whether it was jealousy or hatred, there were many people in the court who flattered their family, but there were also many who opposed their family, and they could not be killed.

Such a situation naturally made him, who was familiar with history books, feel grudges, and worried that one day the emperor's favor would no longer exist, and the consequences would be quite serious.

The Jiangnan troops controlled by Hu Zongxian were, in any case, a guarantee for the Yan family to settle down in the capital, and Yan Shifan thought this made sense.

Even if the court can still command most of the troops in Jiangnan, as long as a few of them are controlled by the Yan family through Hu Zongxian, a major turmoil in Jiangnan can be triggered during the critical period, which can resolve many crises.

Once the Jiangnan suppression of the Japanese is successful, Hu Zongxian will be transferred to the capital, and the Jiangnan troops will be disbanded and return to their original places, and their foreign aid will no longer exist.

How could Yan Song not be distressed when he heard such an analysis from Yan Shifan?

At the beginning, except for Zhang Zong, those people died early, and the means shown by Emperor Jiajing in dealing with Xia Yan were also cruel enough. No matter how useful Xia Yan was to him at the beginning, he was extremely cruel when he took action.

It's not that Yan Song didn't understand these, but he didn't want to think about them.

But after being reminded by his son, he had to treat this matter with caution.

The balance of Yan Song's psychology gradually changed, leaning towards a direction he thought was inappropriate.