Great Song Pirate

Chapter 427 Entering Toulon
After hearing what the minister surnamed Lu said, several other important ministers also nodded, thinking that this matter is indeed not a bad thing, maybe it is a good thing for them, and it can solve their big trouble.

With the opinions of these ministers, King Li Chao felt a little better, but he still hesitated and said: "Although it is a lease, the rent they pay is too low. For such a large place, they only pay for it every year. You need to pay us a tael of silver, wouldn't it be a joke to tell it?"

Several ministers also felt that it was a bit unjustifiable, but now that the matter has come to this point, they can only knock out their teeth and blood and swallow it in their stomachs, so they comforted their king and said: "The rent is just a formality, even if they Paying some extra rent is of no use to my court, as long as we give it to them! Your Majesty don't have to worry about it! For now, we should send these plague gods away as soon as possible and deal with Zhan Ren with all our strength. !"

The king of the Li Dynasty had no better way to think about it, so he nodded and agreed, and then ordered the servant to draw up an edict to Zhang Xiao, agreed to his request, and then asked the servant to draw up a letter to Xu Yi, Yubi personally approved it, stamped it with a big seal, and then handed it over to the attendant who came to deliver the letter, and asked him to drive back to Aizhou City with a fast horse.

At this time, because of this matter, Xu Yi was also discussing this matter with his brothers. Everyone didn't understand that Xu Yi wanted this Toulon, so they raised objections one after another.

"My lord! I don't understand why we let the Annan people go at this time, and we still want a Toulon at the border between Annan and Zhanren. I hope the lord will make it clear!" Qian Gui asked first.

Yang Zaixing asked uncomprehendingly: "There are many ports in Annan, and we want Toulon. This place is where the two countries fought each other. After we get it, wouldn't it be possible to offend the occupying people? Doing so is not good for us. There is no benefit, I hope the lord will express it!"

Several other people also expressed their incomprehension, so Xu Yi said to them: "I know that you must be puzzled by this matter, so let me explain my thoughts to you!"

As he spoke, he took out the map, spread it on the table and asked Jiao Xian, "Jiao Xian, do you know this Toulon?"

Jiao Xian glanced at the map made by him and nodded, "I know a little bit about this. This place is not far from Dazhanhaikou. It's on the south side of Dazhanhaikou. It's backed by mountains and facing the sea. There's a natural barrier outside. It's a good place. The harbor, but there are not many people here, it's just a small town, and the scenery is pretty good!"

Xu Yi smiled and said: "You only know one thing but don't know the other. The terrain here is indeed very dangerous. It is a natural deep-water harbor. The environment is much better than Dazhanhaikou. If we get this place, we only need to manage it properly. , will replace Dazhanhaikou and become a necessary place for ships traveling to and from Southeast Asia. As long as we sit on the ground and collect money, we don’t know how rich the income is every year. Occupying this place, we can control half of Nanyang. From here to the south, using this harbor as a springboard, we can easily go out to the Strait of Malacca, and there is an important traffic route for all the people who go to the big food country, I am afraid that Qian Gui should already know about the critical location of the throats of ships in Persia and other places, and Zheng Guang will also know something about it!"

Qian Gui went to the Great Food Kingdom this time, and of course he knew something about the situation there, and Zheng Guang also ran through this sea route, and he knew the situation there very well, so they both nodded to express their understanding.

Xu Yi went on to say: "And now the Annan people are fighting with the Zhan people. We didn't know this situation when we came here. For the sake of money, we actually did a big favor to Zhan people unintentionally, and let Zhan people take a lot of money." Cheap, that's why the Annan people are willing to agree to such generous conditions for us now, and now we have got what we should take, if we continue to toss, we don't have enough strength to occupy Annan's place, which is equivalent to occupying People cook a pot of ready-made good food, isn't that the same as marrying someone? We don't do such a loss-making business! You should know about this Champa country if you are familiar with history books, so tell me!"

Yang Zaixing then nodded and said: "This Zhanren is not a good thing. He used to violate our borders with the Han people, and made troubles! So we really shouldn't stand up for them, let Annan and Zhanren dog bite dog!"

Only then did Qian Gui and several generals beside him nod their heads one after another, thinking that this was also the reason. It seems that Xu Yi's actions made sense!

Xu Yi went on to say: "That's right! Let them bite the dog. Let's sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. Now Zhanren has the upper hand because of us. We can't let the Annan people suffer too much, and we should get it back." I have brought them all back, and it is time to stop and take a break. The Annan people were killed by the occupying people, and it is of no benefit to us, so I will return the food and fodder to the Annan people. At this time, it is time for us to draw chestnuts from the fire. If If you want to turn against us, then it’s time to beat them! Now you should understand why I want Toulon, this place will become an important base for us to go to Malacca in the future, So now is the time to give the Annan people something sweet! If we push their words, we may not be able to stand here. We can now say that we are taking chestnuts from the fire, and we must pay attention to a balance to survive in their cracks! Maybe we won’t wait for us If we stand firm, Zhanren will come to provoke us first, and we have to be on our guard, do you understand?"

Now the generals understood it completely, and they all nodded in agreement.

After receiving the king's letter, Zhang Xiao immediately asked the guards to see Xu Yi, took his entourage back to the official office, and presented the letter from King Li Chao to Xu Yi to Xu Yi, Xu Yi opened it and read it Finally, with a smile on his face, he said: "Since the king of your country has agreed to our agreement, then we will sign this agreement. As long as we get the agreed silver, we will immediately return this city to you , go to receive Toulon, I hope we will abide by this covenant together, and the two sides will not invade each other from now on! But I also said ugly things before, if your country repents, please also think about whether our Fubo army agrees, once your country If the country dares to repent and re-occupy Toulon, then we may not be so easy to talk about in the future!"

Zhang Xiao heard a strong sense of threat from Xu Yi's words, so he quickly said: "Don't worry, big boss, we Li Chao will never go back on our own, as a country, we can't be sure of such faith Will not!"

Xu Yi laughed out loud, and asked Zhang Xiao to draw up the treaty. Zhang Xiao immediately took these officials with him back to his residence, and began to draw up the chapters of the treaty overnight, and submitted it to Xu Yi early the next morning. After arriving, I discussed it carefully with Yang Zaixing and a few accompanying literati, and revised some of the wording, so as to save those Annan people who were playing with their pens from playing word games with them, and avoid entanglement in the future. After reviewing it again, to see if there was nothing missing, he handed over the revised manuscript to Zhang Xiao. After reading the revised terms, Zhang Xiao knew that these pirates were not easy to fool. There were also experts who were proficient in writing and ink, so I didn't dare to underestimate them, so I took this revised manuscript, copied it in duplicate, and signed a solemn contract with Xu Yi on it, put away these two treaties, and sent a fast horse, It was rushed to Thang Long City and handed over to the king for his signature.

Lord Li Chao looked at this treaty, and although he was unwilling to do so, he had no choice. It was already his greatest wish to send the God of Plague away. After discussing with several important ministers, he found nothing wrong with it. King Li Chao signed his name on it with a sigh, and ordered the official to bring it. Li Chaoyuxi solemnly stamped his seal on the two treaties.

The Ministry of Finance took out gold and silver equivalent to 40 taels of silver from the warehouse, packed more than 20 carts, and dispatched a thousand elite soldiers to guard these carts and send them towards Aizhou.

Outside the city of Aizhou, Xu Yi led the generals and the fully equipped Fubo infantry, built a temporary bridge on the trench outside the city, and watched the escort full of gold and silver coming from a distance. The Annan soldiers and horses in the convoy stopped them until they reached the other side of the temporary bridge, and ordered them to be transported by Zhang Xiao and other officials to transport the carts full of gold and silver across the temporary bridge, and then sent people to receive these vehicles, and carried out the inspection on the spot. Count and verify the fineness of these gold and silver in front of Zhang Xiao and other Annan officials, so as to save them from adulterating them, it will be difficult to talk about it at that time.

It’s not that Xu Yi is too careful. It’s not that such a thing has never happened. When the Song Dynasty paid the Jin Guosui coins two years ago, he did such a small trick. The fineness of the old coin's silver caused the Jin people to be furious, and it laid a hidden danger for the Jin people and the Song people to turn against each other in the future. It is understandable for him to do so.

However, after the inspection, the gold and silver were quite good, which showed that Li Chao was really frightened by them and did not dare to do anything about it, so he accepted the gold and silver with satisfaction, and then ordered Annan The soldiers and horses retreated twenty miles.

Zhang Xiao understood the intention of the Fubo Army, and knew that they were preparing for their sudden attack when they withdrew from Aizhou City, so he immediately ordered these troops who escorted the gold and silver back to retreat according to Xu Yi's request. He didn't want to make troubles, and it was a big deal for him to send Xu Yi and the others away as soon as possible. If something went wrong, they would never have peace in An Nanguo.

And the Annan army had no intention of attacking the Fubo army at all. When they saw these awe-inspiring black armored men on the opposite side of the trench, they felt the strong murderous aura emanating from them. These people are absolutely incomparable, so they know that the opponent's generals are definitely not something they can covet, and their hearts are already filled with chills, plus the rumors they heard before, I'm afraid it's too late, how can they have the heart to provoke them!So he immediately withdrew for twenty miles according to Xu Yi's request, and honestly set his ground, waiting to take over Aizhou City.

And Xu Yi hypocritically exchanged greetings with Zhang Xiao for a while, then gave an order to gather all the Fubo tribes in Aizhou City, and escorted these obtained things in a mighty way, out of the east gate, and back to the seaside , There are already gathering warships here, and the sails are everywhere. Once again, Zhang Xiao and other Annan officials who followed were shocked, because they saw the giant ship Zongheng in the middle. In a short time, the skeleton army appeared again like this A huge ship that terrified them made them appreciate the strength of the skeleton army again, and they couldn't help secretly rejoicing that it was a wise decision to make peace with the skeleton army. Otherwise, this giant ship alone would be enough for the Annan people to drink. A pot is up.

Following Xu Yi's order, the fleet lifted anchor and set sail, and slowly sailed away from the coast. Wang Zhi's fleet, who had received the news in advance, also rushed over from the mouth of the Red River and merged into the fleet. The team's masts were like forests, and the sails blocked out the sun. Armored soldiers stood proudly on both sides of the ship's side, and headed south again.

Xu Yi looked around the entire fleet on the Zongheng, feeling ups and downs. This expedition has far exceeded his initial expectations. Originally, he just planned to teach Annan people a lesson along the way and plunder after saving Qian Gui and others. , and then returned to Liuqiu Island, but the plan could not keep up with the changes. Since they arrived in Annan, they began to get up involuntarily. The confrontation with the Annan people several times in a row made him understand his current strength. However, thousands of people actually attacked the city and plundered the village many times, beating the Annan people to death and complaining endlessly.

And the raid that was originally planned turned into a fortified battle. Relying on so many super-era killer weapons created by him, he first captured Dazhanhaikou, moved it to a flat land, and then captured Huazhou in one fell swoop. City, turning the entire Huazhou into scorched earth. Annan's elite navy was wiped out in the battle with them. In Aizhou, Annan's elite forbidden army was beaten to pieces. Even he hadn't expected the richness of those villages and towns and other small places that were attacked. Now, how many Annan people's property and young and strong men and women they have taken away, even he can't count them. He only knows that they are only captured. There were no less than a hundred of Annan's ships. Which of those ships was not full of valuable cargo and prisoners of Annan's soldiers and civilians. This harvest has already greatly exceeded all of them's expectations.

Now they have even extorted 40 taels of gold and silver from the king of the Li Dynasty. These are enough for them to greatly expand their strength, not counting the other 10 taels of valuables that have not been delivered and two thousand horses. One hundred war horses and one hundred war elephants. With these things, the strength of the Fubo army will expand a lot again.

What made Xu Yi most happy was more than that. Relying on his small local influence, he actually forced the Annan people to cede their land to them, and handed over a huge Toulon to their Fubo army since then, and became their leader. A fulcrum in the South China Sea, this is something he never thought of when he first dispatched troops. In addition, they relied on this expedition to temper a newly established infantry into an army. The invincible iron-blooded soldiers, this may be the biggest gain of their expedition!
But when Xu Yi thought about it again, he still felt a little distressed. After all, these victories did not come in vain. He also suffered some losses during this expedition to Annan. There are at least a thousand dead people, not counting the wounded. Such a loss is an unprecedented loss for their Fubo army. Xu Yi feels pain when he thinks about it, but thinking about it again, there are no undead in war of?Compared with his opponents, his loss is like a drop in the bucket. After a few months, the Annan people who died at their hands alone may be more than tens of thousands. If compared with this, their loss is really nothing up.

Once you are successful, if you want to achieve a career in this world, you will not tolerate any kindness. After thinking this through, Xu Yi took a deep breath and looked into the distance.

Dozens of skeleton flags were fluttering above the fleet. When they passed by all the way, they soon appeared outside the port of Toulon. Some people on the shore suddenly found their traces, so they fled to the inland in panic. , Now the skull flag has become a nightmare for the Annan people. Even some adults and disobedient children use the skeleton army to scare them. Now that the skeleton army fleet comes here again, it is no wonder that the Annan people here are not afraid.

Fortunately, the skeleton army fleet didn't pay attention to them civilians, but swaggered around a promontory and swaggered into the bay next to Toulon. It was really like what Jiao Xian said, surrounded by green hills There is a clear blue wave, and the whole bay is rippling. There is no rough scene in the open sea. The Fubo army looked around this quiet and beautiful bay, and they were all overwhelmed by the beauty here.

There is a small fishing village next to the bay. Several small fishing boats are fishing in the harbor. The fishermen are sitting on the boat leisurely, chatting about what they have heard. At this moment, a fisherman's eyes suddenly opened. Big, with a ghost-like expression on his face, his mouth couldn't help but opened wide and couldn't close it for a while, and looked at the direction of Haikou with a face of horror, the fisherman sitting opposite him muttered for no reason: "You Is the guy trying to scare me again? Why are you so virtuous!"

While speaking, he also turned his head, followed the gaze of the person opposite to Haikou, and then his expression immediately changed to be exactly the same as that of the person opposite, it took a long time for the two of them to react, and exclaimed Then both of them stood up in a panic, looking for oars, swaying oars, the small fishing boat caused them such a toss, and suddenly swayed violently, one person couldn't stand firmly, and then plunged into the water After falling into the water, even the boat had no time to climb up, so he paddled like crazy and swam desperately towards the shore, exclaiming as he swam: "The skeleton army is coming! Run! The skeleton army is coming! "...

(End of this chapter)