Luo Longwen originally wanted to ask Bai Xiaowen why the news of the recruitment spread everywhere. Seeing Bai Xiaowen so angry, he felt guilty at first:
"Mr. Bai, calm down, calm down... The few people who followed me last night are all Madam's confidants and are reliable. I don't know why the commotion was made known to everyone on the island."
Bai Xiaowen said coldly: "I kind of doubt your sincerity in recruiting people!"
At this time, a soft female voice sounded:
"Mr. Bai Xian, please calm down."
Bai Xiaowen was startled, let go of Luo Longwen, and looked at the two people wearing black robes behind him. They were not ordinary pirates, but women?
The two men in black burqas lifted the black hoods on their heads, and it turned out to be two women.
The former woman had a rather graceful demeanor, her silk hair was inlaid with pearls, and her skin was like snow. She did not have the dark appearance of other pirates on the island who were blown by the sea breeze and exposed to the scorching sun. She looked more like a lady from an official family.
The girl at the back is wearing a bun and is standing respectfully behind the Zhucui woman. She is a maid, but compared with the fair and beautiful appearance of the Zhucui woman, she is somewhat sallow and thin, and she has not grown out.
Luo Longwen sighed: "Mr. Bai, this is Mr. Xu's wife. She ignored the dissuasion and came to see you in person. This should be enough to prove our sincerity in recruiting people."
Bai Xiaowen cupped his hands: "It seems that I have wrongly blamed you. But I can't stay here for long and must leave immediately. Madam has come in person. I wonder if you have any other instructions besides replying to the letter?"
The fair-skinned woman Wang Cuiqiao spoke softly and gently: "I was supposed to allow the Immortal to stay for a few days, but there is an emergency on the island, so I won't have any guests..."
"As for not obeying the orders, I just told the immortal face to face that I can guess a little bit about Mingshan (that is, Xu Hai)'s thoughts. Deep down in his heart, he is also willing to recruit people, but Wang Zhi's lessons from the past have made him have some scruples.
In addition, several other leaders are not united in their efforts to recruit people, and they still need to work hard."
Bai Xiaowen nodded slightly.
Wang Cuiqiao added: "I beg the Governor to request a pardon edict from the imperial court, stating that as long as Mingshan surrenders, he will be pardoned for his past sins. If there is an edict, I can be confident that I can persuade Mingshan to return when he has lost his way."
Bai Xiaowen frowned and said: "The imperial court's pardon is no small matter, and Governor Hu does not dare to take on this relationship lightly. If the imperial edict is given, but you do not accept the recruitment, wouldn't it be a serious crime for Governor Hu to deceive the emperor? So it is okay to recruit Xu, but Xu
The sea needs to show sincerity."
This exchange was what Xu Wei had explained to Bai Xiaowen before setting off, and it was also stated in Hu Zongxian's secret recruitment letter to Wang Cuiqiao.
Wang Cuiqiao sighed: "The Governor wants Mingshan to eliminate Ye Mazi, Chen Dong and other two Fujian Japanese pirates as proof of surrender... However, this matter cannot be rushed, the two Japanese pirate forces are not under Mingshan. Mingshan suddenly
, I’m afraid I can’t make such a determination.”
"It depends on Madam's status in Xu Hai's heart." Bai Xiaowen said.
Wang Cuiqiao nodded silently.
"Madam is originally from Jiaxing. After being kidnapped by Xu Hai, she hasn't been close to her hometown for many years, right?" Bai Xiaowen said in a calm voice, adding a small weight, "Wandering at sea is not a long-term solution, and killing people and stealing goods is even more harmful.
Tianhe, please give me a clear warning, madam."
Seeing Wang Cuiqiao's bright eyes filled with tears, Bai Xiaowen knew that the heat was coming, and turned around as if he was about to leave.
Wang Cuiqiao sighed: "Since I have been living overseas, there has never been a day when I didn't miss the rice dumplings from my hometown, the water chestnuts from Nanhu, the shadow puppets, and the flower drums... If I could go back to my hometown for one day, even if I died immediately, I would be happy to do so."
After saying that, Wang Cuiqiao took out a letter from her sleeve, handed it to Bai Xiaowen, and said softly: "Mr. Bai, please report to Governor Hu that Chen Dong and Ye Ma will invite Mingshan to a gathering on Kinmen Island in three days. I will try my best to persuade him."
Move Mingshan and attack Chen and Ye. If things can be done, the heads of Chen and Ye will be sent to Hu Gong's desk. Please give Hu Gong a lot of trouble for the pardon edict."
Bai Xiaowen nodded and replied: "This is natural."
After making some arrangements for the details of the meeting, Bai Xiaowen took a few soldiers and left the island by boat.
Bai Xiaowen specifically asked Wang Cuiqiao for a few identity tokens of elite pirates. These tokens were made of iron and were much more exquisite than the bamboo tokens of low-level pirates. They had more "anti-counterfeiting" procedures, with a total of thirteen places.
Secret note. Holding this kind of identity token will be considered by the Japanese pirates as an elite pirate in the Xu Hai camp without revealing their identity.
Back on the warship, Li Shuyi's first words were: "I know why Luo Xiucai took refuge with the Japanese pirates."
Bai Xiaowen smiled and said nothing.
"He clearly likes Wang Cuiqiao!" Li Shuyi said, "When you were fooling Wang Cuiqiao and the others, I secretly noticed the look in Luo Xiucai's eyes. It was definitely a look of admiration."
Bai Xiaowen continued to laugh without saying a word.
"Is it right?" Li Shuyi grabbed Bai Xiaowen's arm and shook it vigorously, asking for the correct answer.
Bai Xiaowen laughed and said: "You women have really keen intuition when it comes to these kinds of love."
"Am I right?" Li Shuyi was very happy.
"Actually, last night, I tested Luo Xiucai twice but failed, so I took a guess at the relationship between men and women," Bai Xiaowen said. "Otherwise, why would Luo Longwen, a scholar with a good reputation, be willing to join the invaders? And in his words, although he said so
Mr. Hong and Mr. Xu, but there is not much real respect in them. On the contrary, when they mention Wang Cuiqiao, they talk about each other in a very respectful manner."
Bai Xiaowen paused and then said: "Also, Luo Longwen himself is a subordinate of Xu Hong, the second master, and Xu Hong himself opposed the recruitment... He ran over and delivered a letter to Wang Cuiqiao, the wife of the first master Xu Hai, saying that there was no relationship between the two.
The problem is simply impossible."
"This Luo Xiucai is really infatuated." Li Shuyi said.
"Okay, don't worry about whether Luo Xiucai is infatuated or not, let's go to Ghost Reef now." Bai Xiaowen ordered the boat to sail.
All the soldiers on the ship suddenly became excited when they heard that they were going to help Yu Dayou collect medicine. They set sail and took the helm with great enthusiasm.
Bai Xiaowen was too lazy to talk about them, so he casually called a soldier: "Where are Zhang Ting and the others? Have they come back from picking ghost wormwood?"
The soldier's face turned red: "Never."
"It's only an hour's flight to Ghost Reef. They haven't come back yet, so the medicine collection must have gone wrong. Let's follow their route and see if we can meet them," Bai Xiaowen said.
The two boats sailed in the direction of Ghost Reef. Gradually, the water turned from blue to black, and the surrounding wind became a little colder. Looking up, the afternoon sun was still there, but the light was weak, giving a feeling of paleness.