In fact, for Zhu Di and Zhu Fan, the incident of Japanese pirates along the coast was simply not worth mentioning.

The main thing is not to fight, but to find.

But compared to Zhu Di, Zhu Fan is obviously much happier.

We just arrived, and we already have a lot of information gathered in our hands.

In a certain city lord's palace, Zhu Fan and many of his soldiers gathered together. Among them, there were also several businessmen.

These businessmen are the heads of the Chamber of Commerce under Zhu Ying.

However, although each of these responsible persons is dressed as a businessman, in terms of appearance, they do not really match up with businessmen.

Not to mention his tall and majestic figure, his face also has a ferocious look, and he is not willing to give in to many generals.

If there is going to be a conflict, roll up your sleeves and get started at any time.

However, this was more in line with Zhu Fan's taste. If they were really those philistine businessmen, he would still look down upon them.

It's not that all merchants are like this, it's just that the incoming traffic is a little more chaotic along the coast, so it's definitely impossible to get along here without something.

"I would like to thank you all this time for bringing this news to me. In just a few days, hundreds of Japanese pirates have been captured."

"Tell me, how do you want this king to reward you..."

Zhu Fan smiled and said to the two businessmen. He was in an extremely smooth mood now. Before he arrived, the two men started sending information.

All the soldiers needed to do was lead the men and horses and march straight to Huanglong to eliminate the Japanese pirates. The most troublesome thing was to find people. With a guide, Zhu Fan felt like he was traveling there.

He doesn't even need to go out, he can just send a few teams of troops there.

These unscrupulous people disguised as Japanese pirates were directly eliminated when they encountered the official army who had no ability to resist.

"Your Highness, King Jin, is too polite. We are just following orders. This is all arranged by our employer. Please stop mentioning the reward."

The leading businessman bowed and replied after bowing.

Hearing this, Zhu Fan also sighed a little. He, the emperor's nephew, is really powerful. Apparently, the situation in the entire coastal area has been figured out.

"I would like to ask, do you know the situation of my fourth brother?" After a slight hesitation, Zhu Fan asked.

Hearing this, the two businessmen looked at each other. After a moment of hesitation, the businessman who had been silent before nodded gently.

Obviously, even when facing Jin King Zhu Fan, the two businessmen had some reservations. It seemed that the businessman in front was the one who spoke most, but in fact the real boss was a relatively silent businessman.

"Reporting to His Highness, His Highness King Yan has arrived in Jiao'ao now. The army is stationed there. There is not much movement, but..."

"Ahem."

Just when the businessman in front wanted to continue talking, the businessman in charge suddenly coughed twice and interrupted him.

"Why, is there anything you can't say to me in front of this king? Didn't your boss say that we will do our best to help you come here to pacify the Japanese?"

"Or do you want to hide something, or hide something from your boss?"

Jin Wang Zhu Fan's tone was a little unpleasant, with a slightly scolding tone, and his eyes were focused on the businessman in charge.

Hearing that the boss was involved, the businessman in charge An couldn't hold back and quickly explained: "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. We are absolutely loyal to our boss and there is absolutely no way we can hide anything."

"I thought you were mute." Jin Wang Zhu Fan said angrily.

The businessman in charge smiled bitterly, since he had already exposed himself, there was nothing he couldn't say.

The reason why he interrupted the merchant in front was because he did not want the Chamber of Commerce to get involved in the fight between the two feudal kings.

They were unaware of the current situation of their boss, and the order they received was to assist Jin King Zhu Fan in eliminating Japanese pirates along the coast.

Telling King Yan's information to King Jin also meant that they were exposed to the fact that they arranged personnel to monitor King Yan.

"Reporting to Your Highness, we only have a vague guess. There is no real evidence, so I interrupted it. If this kind of speculation leads to misunderstanding and makes Your Highness misjudge, it will be a sin."

After the businessman in charge bowed and apologized, he explained what had just happened.

"Then tell me, what speculations can lead to wrong judgments by this king?" Zhu Fan asked.

When this happened, the businessman in front lowered his head, and the businessman in charge behind him had no choice but to say:

"According to our observation, Zhu Di's army is exploring villages in the coastal areas of Shandong."

"It seems that they may be looking for traces of Japanese pirates, but when I waited for intelligence feedback, the other party Tan Ma didn't even enter the village. They just observed outside the village every time and then turned around and left."

"It doesn't matter just one place. In fact, under our investigation, almost all the detective horses sent out by Zhu Di were like this."

At this point, the businessman in charge stopped talking. The people present were all military generals, and they had all said it. There was nothing else they could not understand.

"Tsk tsk, these four younger brothers of my king really dare to do this. They can come up with such methods as killing good people and taking credit for their merits. They all say that I am cruel. Isn't this even more cruel than me?"

Jin Wang Zhu Fan said with a smile, but there was no accusation in his words.

On the contrary, I was a little surprised by Zhu Di's methods.

The army these days does not say that it never commits any crime. There is not much difference between soldiers and bandits.

"In this matter, I will mark your merits with you. Keep an eye on me at all times. If you find anything, please tell me immediately."

"At that time, I will send a message directly to the Chief Secretary of Shandong to see if Zhu Di can do anything else."

Jin Wang Zhu Fan felt very happy at this moment. Being able to cause trouble to Zhu Di was the happiest thing he could experience at the moment.

"Follow the order." The businessman in charge replied helplessly. He did not expect that things would develop to such an extent.

We can only wait until we get back and report all the situation here to our boss.

If something really goes wrong because of this, I'm afraid life will not be easy.

But overall, the Chamber of Commerce is very comfortable now.

Because after these coastal local forces are defeated, the overseas market share will be released, and the benefits that can be generated by then are estimated to be at least ten times greater.

However, what the Chamber of Commerce is most interested in is the coastal area of ​​Shandong, where the location is better and trade is relatively smoother.

Capital, Duke of Liang's Mansion.

Lan Yu is drinking with Zhu Shou.

Although Lan Yu is known as the military leader of the young faction, he is actually already forty-six years old.

Zhu Shou, who was appointed Wanhu at the age of twenty-three, followed Zhu Yuanzhang in the battle to cross the river south, and is also sixty years old this year.

In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, in fact, there are not many young generals among these early generals.

Zhu Shou was granted the title of Marquis of Shuzhou Hu, with the official position of Governor Qianshi and the commander of Henghai Guard.

Henghaiwei was less than seventy miles away from the capital. After receiving the news that Lan Yu had returned to the capital, Zhu Shou found a way to come to the capital.

Of course, as the commander of the guard post, he could not leave without permission. He was able to come to the capital in the name of reporting work to the Governor's Mansion.

Although Zhu Shou was more than a round older than Lan Yu, he showed great respect for Lan Yu.

"Dong Guo Liang, now that the prince has passed away and his grandson is young, we don't know what to do. After receiving the news that Duke Liang has returned to the capital, I feel a lot more at ease."

After drinking for three rounds, Zhu Shou spoke frankly without too many scruples.

Sixty-year-old Zhu Shou is already keenly aware of many things. In his opinion, the current situation is full of dangers, so he takes the risk to have a private meeting with Lan Yu.

For example, Zhu Shou and Cao Zhen are Lan Yu's iron partisans, and their relationship is extremely close.

"In the early days, I was very anxious, but now, there is nothing to worry about." Lan Yu looked relaxed, not as nervous as Zhu Shou.

After drinking all the wine in the bowl, he said with a smile.

Seeing this, Zhu Shou was a little anxious and wanted to say something, but immediately stopped and looked around subconsciously.

"Don't worry, I have sent my trusted soldiers to guard the place. There are no ears between us. If you have anything to say, just say it." Lan Yu said frankly.

Hearing this, Zhu Shou couldn't wait to speak, but his voice was still lowered: "Dong Liang, to tell you the truth, on the side of the last general Henghaiwei, several brothers below found traces of Jinyiwei."

"I'm worried, General, that Your Majesty will be wary of us people. My great-grandson is still young."

At this point, Zhu Shou's meaning was already very obvious.

In fact, Zhu Shou had some vague guesses about Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts.

He is sixty, has the eldest son and grandson in his family, and holds the position of marquis.

The title is hereditary. If the eldest son is absent, it will naturally be inherited by the eldest grandson.

His grandson was relatively young. If he died, how could his eldest grandson, who was in his teens, possibly stop those uncles?

The thought of empathizing with others made Zhu Shou realize that His Majesty might reduce their military power.

Of course, in Zhu Shou's view, the reduction of military power was nothing more than this. They had all shed blood and sweat for the Ming Dynasty, so they would not be executed like those civil servants.

"If you guessed it right, there must have been nothing like this in the past half month." The blue jade old god said like a fortune teller.

Zhu Shou exclaimed slightly and couldn't help but said: "That's true. How did Duke Liang know about it?"

Lan Yu smiled slightly, and instantly recalled in his mind the list given to him by His Highness Changsun a few days ago. The name at the top and third was Zhu Shou's name.

"If someone knows, it's because His Highness is back." Lan Yu said slowly.

"Your Highness?" Zhu Shou was a little confused. A series of figures flashed through his mind, all of them were princes, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't guess which His Highness it was.

"Xiaoling, His Royal Highness Prince Yu." Lan Yu said bluntly with a smile.
To be continued...