Hu Zongxian calmed down, nodded slightly, and said with a hint of resentment: "I think he didn't look down on the combat effectiveness of the imperial officers and soldiers, so he came up with the idea of my own soldiers."
Xu Wei smiled and said: "Otherwise, there is another reason. When the imperial troops are mobilized, the marching register needs to check the official documents. Although Bai Xiaoyou can forge illusions, he cannot forge official documents. He is afraid that he will meet a more serious and stubborn person, so he
I went to Zhou Shun, and there was no need to check the official documents when calling the soldiers. Zhou Shun saw the illusion of the governor, and naturally agreed to them all."
Yu Dayou muttered: "Master Bai Xiaozhen is a bit uninteresting. Since you are avenging me, why don't you come to me directly? Wouldn't I be willing to lend him those three people?"
Xu Wei thought for a moment: "General Yu, stop complaining. This is for your own good."
Yu Dayou was at a loss.
"Taizu once listed the Japanese country as a country not to be conquered. Before the emperor issued an edict, as a court general, you could not attack the Japanese mainland rashly. If you lend your own soldiers to Bai Xiaoyou, you are knowingly committing an offense. The governor will still ask for it.
I spent all my efforts to cover it up for you. Now he used Taoism to deceive three of your personal soldiers and lieutenants. You didn't know it, so you don't need to take responsibility."
When Xu Wei said this, he shook his head and sighed: "I wonder when His Majesty will issue an order to conquer the Japanese country and clear out the source of the Japanese pirates. Without an imperial order, our hundreds of thousands of troops can only disperse and defend the long coastline. I just sit back and watch Bai Xiaoyou go into danger alone. I feel really uncomfortable."
It tastes good."
Hu Zongxian said sternly: "Chang Wen, what you said is not what a minister should say. Even if we don't take the initiative to attack, we will build up the defense fortifications along the coast and use strong horses and strong troops. The Japanese pirates will never come back. In less than ten years, the banditry will surely be subsided.
.If you take the initiative to conquer, you will be far away from the sea, difficult to supply, and the outcome will be unpredictable. Have you forgotten the old story of Kublai Khan of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty who invaded Japan three times?"
Xu Wei nodded slightly, of course he knew. Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty once conquered Japan, built 7,000 ships, and had a huge military force. However, all three expeditions failed. The first two expeditions were due to insufficient preparations, not accustomed to water, and they were unable to land. The last preparation
It was enough, but it encountered a typhoon and the fleet was swept into the seabed.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, issued an iron certificate prohibiting future generations from conquering Japan. It was not because he did not want to, but because of his limited ability, he was afraid that his descendants would invest their limited people's power into the bottomless pit of Japan and bring down the country. This was also the lesson of the Sui Dynasty's conquest of Goryeo.
"No matter what, Bai Xiaozhenren must keep it secret about borrowing troops," Hu Zongxian sighed, "He has posed a problem for me."
…
In the endless blue sea, two warships cut through the waves and sailed.
"Look at the time, Hu Zongxian should have got the news." Bai Xiaowen raised his head and glanced at the sun.
"Our reputation has not declined." Li Shuyi said.
"Well, Hu Zongxian probably won't publicize this matter in the anti-Japanese Ming army camp, so it's normal that our reputation has not dropped. However, the friendship level between Hu Zongxian and I has not dropped significantly, which is a bit strange. But no matter
Anyway, it’s a good thing.”
Of course Bai Xiaowen didn't know that he paid his last visit to Xu Wei, unintentionally inserting a willow into the tree. Xu Wei helped him explain the whole story in front of Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou, avoiding the risk of his favorability decreasing.
In fact, Bai Xiaowen had already made preparations. Even if Hu Zongxian's favorability dropped, he still accepted it. Next, the anti-Japanese Ming army camp had to digest the fruits of victory, break up the pirates and form a new army. It was impossible to make any big moves in the short term.
It's a waste of time there.
Bai Xiaowen thought about how to use the remaining free exploration time yesterday.
One option is to go north to the capital and do Sun Xuanqing's quest line. This quest line involves the orthodoxy of the Taoist sect between Tianshi Tao and Quanzhen Sect, and will inevitably be accompanied by the strengthening of Taoist skills, spells and props. Compared with
It is suitable for the development of an awakened person with spiritual specialties.
However, Fujian is far away from the capital, and the land route is difficult to travel. It is estimated that in the remaining five days, we will not be able to reach the capital, let alone participate in the quest line of the Taoist battle.
Therefore, Bai Xiaowen could only choose the second option, which was to do the side mission that he had discovered before and find the sword.
"Xiaowen, we must be very far away from Japan, right? If we go to Japan like this, will we not have enough time?" Li Shuyi asked.
"To be clear, our goal of going to sea is not the Hirado Three Islands, but Matsuura Shinkuro," Bai Xiaowen said. "If we are lucky, Matsuura Shinkuro has not returned to China yet, but is stationed in Nanyang and the Penghu Islands. We can
Find him as soon as possible. Of course, the worst case scenario cannot be ruled out, that is, Matsuura Shinkuro has returned to Japan, and we will spend a lot of time sailing."
After a pause, Bai Xiaowen said again:
"Kinmen is indeed very far from Hirado. The straight-line distance is about the same as Kinmen to the capital. However, the sea route travels day and night and does not require guides, customs and other trivial and complicated things, so it is faster. According to my calculations, we can reach Pingdo
Tosan Island, if the boat is fast, it will only take about three days, and even if the wind direction is unfavorable, it will only take more than four days."
"So, even if the worst case scenario occurs, there is still enough time, but it is relatively tight." Bai Xiaowen concluded.
"So, where is Matsuura Shinkuro? How can we find him?" Li Shuyi frowned and said, "I also read his reply to Ye Mazi, but Matsuura Shinkuro did not mention his whereabouts at all."
Bai Xiaowen said: "I have already considered this aspect. Xin Jiulang and Ye Mazi are both the leaders of the Samurai Group of the Matsuura family, and they should not be cautious enough to conceal each other's whereabouts. Considering the difficulty of maritime communication, the two of them wrote in the letter
It is more reasonable to ventilate frequently and inform each other of each other's action routes. In other words, Ye Mazi must know the location and movements of Matsuura Shinkuro, so Shinkuro did not mention it specifically in his reply."
"But Ye Mazi is dead."
Bai Xiaowen nodded: "Ye Mazi is dead, but the pirates under his command are still there. Before I set out last night, under the guise of Hu Zongxian's illusion, I not only borrowed two hundred soldiers, prepared food supplies for half a month, but also visited the prisoner of war camp.
, selected several of Ye Mazi's trusted pirates and escorted them to the ship. Now, it's time to interrogate them and find out the location of Matsuura Shinkuro."
Bai Xiaowen gave instructions to the outside of the cabin, and not long after, Zhang Ting came over with a few soldiers and escorted three pirates who were Ye Mazi's confidants.
"There are only three people? And from the looks of them being very weak, they are probably low-level people," Li Shuyi said in a low voice, "What if they don't know Ye Mazi's true Japanese identity."
The three of them are all ordinary templates, and their levels cannot exceed level 5. In terms of strength, they are probably not as strong as Bai Xiaowen's skeleton sword and shield hand, which is indeed weak enough.
Bai Xiaowen shook his head: "I selected these three people after careful consideration. They are weak, but they are Ye Mazi's confidants, which speaks for itself. One of them even serves as Ye Mazi's side, similar to a housekeeper.
The role of Ye Mazi! As for the other two, one is responsible for conveying Ye Mazi's flagship flag, and the other is responsible for maintaining Ye Mazi's sword. If these three people don't know Ye Mazi's true background, then no one will know."
These three people were all tied tightly with hemp ropes and their mouths were sealed. They were held separately in the bottom cabin until now. One individual was weak and was escorted over. After seeing Bai Xiaowen, fear showed in his eyes.
.
Bai Xiaowen said calmly: "You are Ye Mazi's subordinates. Now that Ye Mazi has been executed, you, as his party members, are equally guilty. However, now I will give you a chance to make meritorious service and expose Ye Mazi's secret. Who knows Ye Mazi's secret?"
Whoever has the most will be pardoned first."
Bai Xiaowen waved his hand, indicating to Zhang Ting to take off the sesame balls from the three of them.
The three Japanese pirates gasped for breath, but no one spoke first, and the atmosphere was a bit dull for a while.
Bai Xiaowen was not in a hurry and tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "It seems that you don't cherish this opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Kitts, drag him out to feed the fish."
Bai Xiaowen pointed at someone casually, and that person was Ye Mazi's flag pirate. With a look of horror on his face, he begged for mercy loudly: "Sir, I really don't know, Boss Ye... what secrets does Ye Mazi have! By the way, he
I like gambling, my luck is bad and the gambling products are even worse, I don’t know if that counts..."
Bai Xiaowen didn't listen to what he said and just waved. Kitts chuckled and dragged the man by the back of his neck and dragged him out of the cabin. Then there were screams and the sound of heavy objects falling into the water. He was tied up so tightly.
If thrown into the sea under such circumstances, even a person who is skilled in water would have a hard time surviving.
The remaining two people were even more silent.
Bai Xiaowen glanced at the two of them: "My patience is limited. If you two don't say anything after another five seconds, just go feed the fish together."
"Sir, I'm willing to say it!" a Japanese pirate said tremblingly.
Bai Xiaowen glanced at the man and recognized that he was the pirate who was maintaining Ye Mazi's sword. For a true Japanese warrior like Ye Mazi, the sword was as important as life. This person could clean and maintain Ye Mazi's sword.
He must be trusted by Ye Mazi.
"Say it."
"Ye Mazi...isn't Mingren!"
Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes, showing an interested look.
Ye Mazi's housekeeper, Japanese pirate, yelled at the side: "Baga! Makita, you coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death, are you going to betray the Matsuura family?"
A smile appeared on Bai Xiaowen's lips. It seemed that he had made the right choice. The three people he selected, at least the two in front of him, knew the details of Ye Mazi.
After being scolded, the Japanese pirate Makita felt a little guilty while taking care of his sword.
Bai Xiaowen directly cast the mind-obsessing charm on the housekeeper Japanese pirates!
"The strength ratio between ourselves and the enemy is 0.224:1, and the success rate of the mind-bewitching charm's confusion determination is 77.60%."
"The confusion determination was successful! The Japanese pirate Arimajiro has been confused."
Japanese pirate Makita saw the butler Japanese pirate Arima Jiro's attitude change from angry to submissive. He knelt in front of Bai Xiaowen and wanted to kiss his boots. He was filled with fear.
"This person is stubborn and unrepentant, and has already lost his soul to me with my Taoist skills. I can also find out nine out of ten of the secrets he knows. If you dare to make any lies next, I will let you
Just like him!"
Bai Xiaowen actually exaggerated the ability of "telepathy" to detect memories. The memory fragments that can be detected by telepathy are very limited, not even half, and nine out of ten of them are even less likely.
However, the Japanese pirate Makita, who maintained the Japanese sword, was frightened. He immediately knelt down and swore that he would never tell a lie.
Bai Xiaowen first asked a few secrets that he had already discovered, such as some details of Ye Mazi's daily life, little habits, etc. The Japanese pirate Makita was very respectful and told everything he knew. Bai Xiaowen deliberately mentioned one or two things about Makita.
The content that was accidentally omitted made Makita break into a cold sweat, and he believed that what Bai Xiaowen said was true.
Afterwards, Bai Xiaowen focused on asking about the Matsuura family and Matsuura Shinkuro.
The Matsuura family lived in Hirado Mishima. The head of the family was named Matsuura Takanobu and his legal name was Michiko. Hirado Mishima was the birthplace of Japanese pirates and had a good port called Hirado Port, so it became a place for Japanese pirates to sell their stolen goods.
place.
Since the Ming Dynasty banned the sea and canceled the "exploration" trade with Japan, the Japanese upper class nobles became more and more thirsty for the silk fabrics produced in the Ming Dynasty. This gave rise to a large number of armed smuggling merchants, that is, Japanese pirates, who robbed the Ming Dynasty.
The prosperous coastal area south of the Yangtze River. After all, no matter what time, business without capital is the fastest way to make money in the short term.
The great Japanese pirate Wang Zhi received the courtesy of Matsuura Takanobu on Hirado Island before he settled down. Later he developed into a pirate godfather who controlled Japanese pirates in Southeast Asia.
In addition to vigorously supporting the sale of stolen goods by Japanese pirates in Hirado Island and enjoying the resale profits, Matsuura Takanobu also worked hard to cultivate the Matsuura family's private fleet and participated in the ranks of the plundering Japanese pirates. Famous ones such as Matsuura Shinkuro,
Matsuura Shisuke and others are all capable officers of the Matsuura family fleet.
Speaking of Ye Mazi, his real name is Maye. The reason why he changed his name, flag and even his place of origin to join the ranks of fake Japanese was out of dual considerations, both overt and covert, echoing Matsuura Shinkuro.
Ye Mazi's secret move was mainly to obtain intelligence information for Matsuura Shinkuro's fleet, in order to prevent any Japanese pirates from attacking the Matsuura family's fleet.
A few days ago, Xin Jiulang attacked Fujian and was pursued by Yu Dayou. After injuring Yu Dayou in the sneak attack, Xin Jiulang sent a secret message to Ye Mazi, asking him to take advantage of Yu Dayou's injury and coma to participate in plundering various prefectures in Fujian and expand the results of the war.
Then, Ye Mazi sent the second master Chen Duyan (Chen Bao) to break through the Quanzhou Mansion and robbed a lot of wealth. However, Chen Duyan was first tricked by Xu Honghei, and then was matched by the rules of the spiritual world. Four awakened people arrived.
On Chen Duyan's flagship, all the property was robbed and Chen Duyan himself was beheaded.
"Where is Xin Jiulang now?" Bai Xiaowen asked the last key question.
The Japanese pirate Makita thought for a while and said: "I heard Ye Mazi say before that Xin Jiulang will stop temporarily via the Penghu Islands to see the situation in Zhejiang. If Qi Jiguang is transferred to Fujian, he will take advantage of the situation to plunder Zhejiang..."