OBS Chapter 331 Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving.
Chapter 331 Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving.
Japanese pirates?
Upon hearing the words "Japanese pirates," Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but chuckle coldly, his face immediately darkening.
For the Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu era, the term "Japanese pirates" was like a garbage can that couldn't distinguish between dry and wet waste; any kind of trash could be thrown into it, and any kind of crime could be blamed on the Japanese pirates.
Even the Zhu Emperor had no good way to deal with the Japanese pirates.
After all, the Yuan dynasty hadn't completely collapsed yet. There was still a troublesome fellow named Ming Sheng in Sichuan, and although Annam and South Korea had sent envoys to pay tribute, the Timurid Khanate was still eyeing them covetously in the west.
Given the land environment of the Ming Dynasty, it is indeed not suitable for the Ming Dynasty to launch a long-distance sea expedition against Japan.
Therefore, when Emperor Zhu encountered matters related to Japanese pirates, he could only issue an edict saying, "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Tell the people to prepare their knives. When these guys come, kill them first. So be it."
This includes Yang Shaofeng, who never holds a grudge overnight.
After all, warships cannot be built in a day or two, and naval soldiers suitable for long-distance expeditions cannot be trained in a day or two.
It would indeed be fraught with difficulties to fight against Japan.
However, when Yang Shaofeng heard the words "Japanese pirates," a murderous intent immediately welled up in his heart.
Whether they were real Japanese pirates or just dared to be, anyone who dared to associate themselves with those two words would die!
Yang Shaofeng snorted coldly, got up from behind the table, went to Sun Heilv, squatted down and took the knife from Hu Biao's hand. After a flourish, he suddenly stabbed down, piercing Sun Heilv's palm.
"Speak, tell me everything you know honestly."
Yang Shaofeng said with a ferocious expression, "If you talk, I'll give you a quick death, and your family will be spared. If you don't talk, I'll tear you to pieces, and your whole family will most likely be exiled to Dengzhou to do hard labor. Trust me, with just a little effort, I can make your whole family wish they were dead, and they won't even be able to rest in peace as ghosts."
Even if Sun Gupu, that idiot, had colluded with the gentry of Jiangnan, Yang Shaofeng's hatred for him wouldn't be as severe as it is now.
As far as Yang Shaofeng was concerned, although the gentry of Jiangnan were not good people, they were still citizens of the Ming Dynasty after all, and how to deal with them should be decided by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
And those short, ugly people from Japan...
For Yang Shaofeng, who was not a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, any one of those short, ugly Japanese should not be allowed to live in this world.
There was no other reason than the 300,000 restless souls in Nanjing.
Faced with Yang Shaofeng's increasingly ferocious expression, Sun Heilv finally couldn't hold back any longer and spilled all the information he knew.
Sun Gupu from Qingzhou learned some random things from somewhere, and then falsely claimed to be the Great Sage Celestial Master, setting up thirty-six regional commanders based on the story of Zhang Jiao.
Among the thirty-six regional commanders, the one whom Sun Gupu relied on the most was Yu Laohei, who came from the same village as him. He was Sun Gupu's right-hand man.
It's unclear who contacted Sun Gupu this time, or what they promised, but after that, Sun Gupu seemed to have plenty of money and provisions. Rumors also began to spread that Yang Shaofeng, the prefect of Dengzhou, killed people for fun every day and ate human hearts and livers.
Immediately afterwards, Sun Gupu, a great and virtuous teacher, decided to "eliminate harm for the people".
In order to completely eliminate Yang Shaofeng, this corrupt official who harmed the people, the Great Master Sun Gupu began to send people to contact believers, asking them to gather near Guangling Town and then travel by sea to Penglai, heading straight for Penglai County to kill the "cruel and harmful" corrupt official Yang in one fell swoop.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Sun Gupu also contacted a group of Japanese pirates who roamed the seas through an introduction, and the two agreed to attack Penglai together.
As for when the Yellow Turban Army set off from Guangling Town, when they attacked Penglai with the Japanese pirates, how many troops the Japanese pirates had, and how the spoils would be divided after Penglai was captured, only Sun Gupu knew these messy details.
What Sun Heilv knew was that the chieftain Yu Laohei had promised that after taking Penglai, he would not sheath his sword for three days, allowing them, the Yellow Turbans who were "acting on behalf of Heaven," to plunder Penglai.
Yang Shaofeng sneered, stood up, and said to Hu Biao, "Commander Hu, how many Japanese pirates do you think will come this time?"
Hu Biao pondered for a moment and replied, "In response to Your Highness, if the Japanese that come this time are real Japanese, their numbers should not be too many. If they are fake Japanese, their numbers will be at least 20,000."
Before Yang Shaofeng could ask any questions, Hu Biao explained, "If they were really Japanese, they shouldn't know about the Leopard Guard and Dengzhou Guard. Judging from their usual practices, they would probably send a few thousand troops ashore to plunder and then retreat immediately."
“If they are fake Japanese, then no matter where these fake Japanese come from, they will definitely know about the Leopard Guard and the Dengzhou Guard, and may even know about the naval camp.”
"Therefore, no matter where these fake Japanese soldiers come from, there must be no fewer than 20,000 of them. Only in this way can they possibly break through the defenses of the Leopard Guard and the Dengzhou Guard and attack Penglai City."
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly sneered, "Then there's nothing more to say. Since they're here for me, I'll just have to see what they're capable of."
After speaking, Yang Shaofeng simply returned to his desk and sat down, directly instructing Limpy Wu: "Pass on my order to have all the people along the Penglai coast evacuate into Penglai County. Take what you can, and leave what you can't take. The government will pay for them to replace their belongings later."
"Have Xu Jingyu, the magistrate of Penglai, arrange for people to go to Changdao Island and bring all the people there back to the county town for resettlement."
"I will write a few more official documents later. Have someone send them by fast horse to the provincial capital, Qingzhou Garrison, and Qingzhou Prefecture."
After the lame man bowed and agreed, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to Hu Biao, the commander of the Leopard Guard, and Guan Sheng, the commander of the Dengzhou Guard: "You two are better at fighting than I am, so I'll leave the task of figuring out how to deal with the Japanese pirates and the Yellow Turbans to you two."
"I have only one request: whether they are real Japanese or fake, once they're here, they're not leaving."
"After all, the land in Penglai is too barren, and it's time to fertilize it."
Hu Biao, the commander of the Leopard Guard, and Guan Sheng, the commander of the Dengzhou Guard, exchanged a glance and bowed together, replying, "Yes, Your Highness, rest assured!"
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, but Hu Biao bowed to Yang Shaofeng once again and said, "Your Highness, this humble servant requests that Your Highness temporarily leave Penglai."