turmoil

While Zhang Jingche was trapped in the black mine, an invisible undercurrent was also brewing on the small island above the East China Sea.After the Japanese private soldiers brought the crew back to the island, they were imprisoned in a private prison and sent people to deliver meals every morning and evening.The crew members are honest and quiet every day, neither making noise nor making trouble.The guard occasionally looked over and saw them sitting in a corner timidly, with numb expressions on their faces, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate.

After two or three days like this, the guards gradually relaxed their vigilance, and they were no longer as strict as they were at the beginning.

On this day, it was time to deliver food again, and the guard didn't even bother to ask, so he waved his hand and let him go.The visitor walked to the door of the private prison and stuffed the food in one by one. The captain reached out to take it. The moment his fingers touched, the Japanese soldier who delivered the food raised his hand and quickly wrote a few words on the palm of the captain.

The captain nodded knowingly.

The leader of the Japanese was originally a general under the command of a famous name on Dongying Island. Because of the melee on the island all the year round, the people were in dire straits.He is brave and good at fighting, and he is quite famous among the rogues in Dongying. Over time, somehow, he got into the ears of Li Wenbin and tried to recruit him.

This person is not very loyal to Li Wenbin, and he is not interested in the battle for power in the Central Plains. He only wants to gain prosperity and wealth, so that he can return to his hometown in good clothes in the future.Although the price offered by Li Wenbin was attractive, it was far inferior to the attractiveness of the silver mine. If what the ship owner said was true, not to mention the glory and wealth, even a famous name could be easily obtained.

Because of this, the Japanese leader was willing to take the risk of bringing a crew back to the island.He went back to the island, and then he ordered people to pack their bags, planning to send a fleet to go south with the owner to search for treasure.

At this time, it is an eventful season, the battle for the heir apparent in Beijing is becoming more and more intense, and the Jiangnan navy is also undergoing frequent changes.The more the confidant thought about it, the more inappropriate it became, and he couldn't help persuading: "These Central Plains people have always been cunning. At this time, it is not the best policy to divide the troops and go to sea... In my opinion, it is safer to kill them all!"

The leader of the Japanese is playing with the silver cakes looted from the merchant ship. Although it has not been polished, it can be seen that the quality is good, at least much better than the official silver in the Great Yin.He picked up a piece of silver cake and threw it into the arms of his confidant, grinning: "We are secretive, how can it be so easy to be discovered? Look at this silver cake... If it can be transported back to the country by a dozen boats, don't mention your name, it's from the Kyoto Prefecture." The generals have to treat us differently!"

The confidant wanted to say something, but his mouth was blocked by the shining silver cake, and his expression couldn't help but struggle for a while.At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and a black-clothed Japanese man stepped in and whispered in Japanese, "My lord, something has happened!"

The Japanese leader frowned: "What's going on?"

The black-clothed Japanese man spoke quickly: "The brothers we sent to deal with the rats didn't come back. The people who responded went to the rat's nest and found it was empty, and everyone disappeared!"

The leader's expression froze, and he quickly rushed forward: "Where are the brothers? Just disappeared like this? No living people were found, and no corpses were left behind?"

The black-clothed Japanese man shook his head: "Not at all... It's as if the world has evaporated."

The Japanese leader looked gloomy and cold, standing where he was, not knowing what to think.

His confidant became more and more suspicious. He didn't know what happened to these people, but he just had an extremely bad premonition: "My lord, I'm afraid things are not good. From my perspective, I'm afraid we won't be able to stay here for long..."

The Japanese leader waved his hand, interrupting his persuasion.

"People from the Central Plains have always been timid and cowardly, what can they do?" He said disapprovingly, "So, you go with the people from the Central Plains to hunt for treasure, and if you can't find the treasure, kill him!"

The confidant saw that he was in this position, but he still couldn't let go of the treasure that he didn't know the authenticity of, so he couldn't help being a little anxious: "My lord!"

The Japanese leader interrupted him again impatiently: "When the treasure is found, no matter what the Central Plains man surnamed Li says, we will not stay here anymore. Either change to another place to have fun, or return to the country with the treasure, which is better than staying here." The place is full of vibes!"

The confidant was helpless, knowing that he couldn't be persuaded, so he had to back down.

On the evening of the second day, a fleet of Japanese ships escorted the captain away from the station without a sound.They thought their whereabouts were secret, but they didn't know that in the depths of the ocean, an eye was staring at them from afar through a special clairvoyance.

The so-called "clairvoyance" is actually a metal cylinder with a glazed mirror inside, which can vividly present the scenery several miles or even tens of miles away.

"Sure enough, as Lord Hou expected," the man put down his clairvoyant eyes, with a slick smile on his face, but his eyes were extremely cold, "release the pigeons and tell the brothers in the south that the tiger has left the mountain!"

That night, the island, which had been silent for a long time, was awakened by a commotion—someone set fire to the warehouse storing grain and grass on the island. The flames were so fierce that it burned half of the night. Waking up with a start, he rushed to fetch water to put out the fire.

The fire burned so big that it even spread to the armory nearby. The Japanese panicked and didn't notice a black shadow sneaking into the underground private prison under the cover of night.

The Japanese guarding the crew had heard the movement outside, but they didn't know what happened, and they were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.After finally catching a living person, he hurriedly asked in Japanese, "What's going on outside?"

The man in black didn't say a word, just put on his Japanese attire and smiled kindly at the guard.

Only then did the guard realize that something was wrong, and his face turned pale with shock: "You, you are not..."

Before he finished speaking, he only felt a chill on the back of his neck, and before he could react, he had already fallen into the darkness involuntarily.

Someone took out the key from him and quickly opened the lock.The "crew" inside heard the movement and stood up early in the morning. The next moment, the faces of these people were raised in the firelight. The flinch and numbness of a moment ago had long since disappeared, and wolf-like ferocity and hunger were revealed in their eyes.

If they had appeared with this face from the beginning, they would not dare to bring them back to the station even if they killed the Japanese leader.

"Big...Master!" The leader of the family dragged the guard into the dark prison, carefully tied it with hemp rope, locked the prison door with his hands back, and then saluted the visitor, "Shall we do it now?"

The visitor tore off his turban and wiped his face with his sleeves. After the bluish-yellow paint faded away, he revealed his true face: "Don't worry! It's rare to come here. Naturally, I will send a copy to the host's house." Great gift!"

No one knew how the fire in the granary started. The Japanese people on the island were busy for most of the night, and they finally put out the fire.The leader of the Japanese people rushed to the scene in person, inspected it carefully, and found some black traces that were not completely burned in the mess all over the floor.

He dipped a little bit with his fingertips, put it under his nose and smelled it, his eyes narrowed slightly: "... kerosene?"

There is a saying that "the three armies have not moved, and the food and grass go first." Food and grass have always been a battleground for military strategists, and there is absolutely no reason to be careless enough to leave fire oil in the granary.The only possibility is that someone sneaked into the granary and caught off guard and set a fire.

The leader of the Japanese, Shu Er, raised his head: "Where are those people from the Central Plains that were captured?"

His reaction was not slow, but it was a pity that he was still one step behind.Before the personal guards under his command went to the dungeon to pick up the person, a long whistle alarm suddenly came from the seaside, and the extremely penetrating buzz echoed over the island, everyone's backs were tense.

The Japanese leader didn't care about the burning inner courtyard, and rushed to the seaside first. Halfway there, he saw dots of fire lit up on the sea in the distance, densely packed, one after another, and connected into a "net" all over the sky, which is indistinguishable. Press to the shore!

The Japanese leader took a deep breath and shouted, "Enemy attack! Let the warship leave the port!"

There are a lot of warships in Japan, and if they are left in normal times, they will definitely have the power to fight.But one day ago, the Japanese leader had just sent some warships out to hunt for treasures. At this time, the troops were scattered, and it was inevitable that they had no idea.Now, no matter how stupid he is, he also understands that he has fallen into the trap of the Central Plains people. The more regretful he is, the more determined he is to act lightly, so as not to lose the morale of the army and ruin even the last bit of combat power.

It's a pity that even God is against the Dongying people. As soon as they ran to the pier, they saw the warship on fire.What's more terrible is that these warships are parked in the harbor, crowded with each other, and the gaps between adjacent ones are very limited, and they cannot be moved at all.Before the Dongying people drove the warship out of the harbor, the fire had already burned to the front.

Dongying Ronin advocated Bushido, and never feared anyone when fighting with real swords and guns, but no matter how brave the will was, they could not compete with the ruthlessness of fire and water.Seeing that the fire was approaching, if he didn't run away, he would become a scorched house sparrow, the Japanese private soldier gritted his teeth and jumped into the sea.

The raging flames were reflected on the pitch-black surface of the sea, which seemed to boil and churn.

Fortunately, the speed at which the fire spread was limited. After some tossing, dozens of warships still left the port.It's just that after this encounter, the Dongpu people were flustered, their morale had been greatly reduced, and they saw the flames on the sea, and the vast soup, like a magic soldier descending from the sky, and they had no intention of fighting.

The two sides fought hand-to-hand, just a face-to-face, and the Dongpu warship fell into the boundless sky and earth net.The Central Plains Navy did not give up, and sent a messenger to stand on the bow of the ship, shouting at the Japanese battle formation with a copper roar: "You are surrounded, if you want to die, put down your weapons immediately!"

The Japanese leader is brave and brave by nature, the more desperate he is, the more he can force out the blood in his bones.He pulled out his long knife and roared to the sky: "Surrender at this time is the only way to die. If you die, follow me. Even if you die, I will be buried with the Central Plains people!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard the wind behind his head, and the Japanese leader fell to the ground rolling and scrambling in his busy schedule.In the next moment, the sudden short arrow passed him by, the arrow cut through the cloth, and blood flowed profusely from his arm.

The Japanese leader roared and turned around, only to see a figure standing on the roof of the cabin, with his back facing the blazing fire, a thin silhouette of a photo, but his facial features were very clear, and he grinned at him: "Why, go to someone else's house Kicking the stadium, want to run after kicking?"

The Japanese leader felt that this person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. Before he could react, the man grabbed the cable and jumped down from a high place. The sheath, aimed at the vital points of the spirit of the sky, chopped off.

The Japanese leader was taken aback, and had no time to dodge in a hurry, so he had to raise his knife to block.Hearing a sharp buzzing sound of "Dang", sparks raged and exploded, and the Japanese leader's arm trembled, and he retreated three steps in a row.

At this moment, the flames on the sea were getting closer, and the waves beat against the hull of the ship one after another, with the loud shouts of killing and the sound of gongs and drums sweeping in from all directions.

For a moment, the Dongpu people almost thought that thousands of troops were coming to kill them.

The Japanese leader was startled and suspicious, and his subordinates were inevitably slow for a moment.The young man who came out halfway swung his knife across, opening and closing his moves, and the dim light of the knife was like mercury pouring down the ground, submerging his figure in it.The Japanese leader was taken away by him unknowingly, and barely parried a dozen or so moves. When the No. 17 move was reached, the man's murderous blade suddenly became erratic, as if the wind returned to the snow, entangled the samurai sword out of nothing, Then, aiming at the flaw, he handed it to him quickly, and tapped him lightly on his wrist——

The Japanese leader let out a muffled groan, his wrist was bleeding like a fountain, and he couldn't hold the handle of the knife, and the samurai sword fell to the ground with a "choke".The person who came was unreasonable, raised his leg and kicked him to the ground, raised his head and shouted: "The leader of the bandit has already been executed, if you surrender quickly, you can still save your life!"

He spoke the Central Plains dialect, which had already been translated by soldiers who knew Dongying, and spread the word.Hearing that the leader was ambushed and killed, the Dongying people's last fighting spirit collapsed in an instant. The Central Plains navy took the opportunity to bully them, and a shower of crossbow arrows flew out from the bow of the ship, beheading the stubborn Dongying people on the spot.

The fierce battle lasted from late night to dawn, and when the first ray of sky pierced the night, the Japanese army finally lost its momentum.The Jiangnan navy that received the news came out in full force, capturing and sinking more than a hundred Dongying warships. None of the high-level generals, including the Japanese leader, escaped, and were tied into a bunch of human meat dumplings by hemp rope.

Lu Xun, the chief soldier of Zhejiang, arrived with his troops in person. At that time, the remnants of the Dongying command ship had almost been cleaned up.The young man who personally captured the Japanese leader walked past with his hands behind his back. The Japanese leader's eyes were red and he called out viciously, "Hey!"

The young man paused, and turned his head casually. Someone had already kicked the Japanese leader down on the deck: "Bastard! My Lord Marquis has a high status, so you can shout about it?"

The Japanese leader was half covered in blood, but his eyes were like nails, and he poked at the young man relentlessly: "You... who are you?"

The young man had one hand behind his back, and the long knife scabbard gently patted his back.Hearing this, he bent his eyes and showed the Japanese leader a mocking and beating smile: "My surname is Ni, and my name is Laozi Ni!"

The Japanese leader was taken aback: "Old Man Ni? Who is that?"

The corner of the mouth of the guard at the side twitched, and I saw the big Yin Dingbian raised his eyebrows, and walked away unhurriedly.

The battle in the East China Sea happened suddenly and disappeared quickly, but within a day and night, the dust had already settled.Lu Xun led people to clean up the battlefield, and when everything was over, he finally found some free time and came to visit the Marquis of Dingbian.

I saw a huge sand table in the command cabin, and Yang Fan, carrying flags of various colors, went to the dotted islands with great interest. Mr. Lu did not dare to neglect, and he knelt down on one knee before entering the door: "I've seen Lord Hou! This time, Master Hou is working hard, and I'm really terrified..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard the sound of the wind suddenly, and an object was thrown in front of him.

Lu Xun knew he was in the wrong, so he didn't dare to dodge, so he took it hard.Fortunately, it wasn't a murder weapon, it was just a small flag that fell lightly on the head, without pain or itching.

Lu Xun's cold sweat broke out crazily, and he knelt down on both knees instead of kneeling on one knee before, and kowtowed endlessly: "I'm guilty of a lowly job, please forgive me, Lord Hou!"

Yang Fan raised the corners of his mouth with a smirk: "Zongbing Lu should indeed plead guilty, but not with Ben Hou, but with the Holy Majesty and the princes of the court—the Dongying people are only short of building a Jiangnan camp in the East China Sea, you The Zhejiang General Soldier didn't realize it, may I ask what you are wearing on your neck? Is it a chamber pot!"

Lu Xun said with trepidation, "Your Majesty's forgiveness, it's not because of his lowly position and lack of dedication, it's really hard to tell."

Yang Fan raised his eyes: "What unspeakable secret?"

Lu Xun gritted his teeth: "Don't dare to lie to Lord Hou. Since the 20th year of Taiping, Governor Li has blocked the coast of the south of the Yangtze River under the pretext of banning the sea. Ordinary ships are not allowed to go to sea easily, and naval warships are no exception. If there is no letter from Lord Marquis, I will definitely not dare to mobilize the navy lightly, how could I expect..."

Yang Fan understood what he meant.