Wu Changxi originally planned to take the initiative to fight today to help Qiu Yizhi, but he did not expect that his soldiers were weak in combat and were unable to withstand a single blow in front of the Japanese pirates. Qiu Yizhi almost lost his life several times due to their weakness.
Therefore, when he heard Qiu Yizi's words, he felt extremely ashamed and nodded repeatedly, not daring to refute at all.
Qiu Yizi then realized that what he said just now was a bit too much, and quickly said in a friendly manner: "The local military affairs have been neglected for a long time, and it is not General Wu's responsibility. However, as Ye Shengyu always said, 'Do your job, do your job', the general is the commander of the army, and he controls the life and death of the army. If we let it go on like this, if we face a strong enemy again, what is the difference between that and leading the soldiers to their deaths?"
Wu Changxi was convinced by Qiu Yizi's gentle tone of voice, but found the truth in it so profound that he kept nodding his head in agreement.
Qiu Yizhi felt relieved after seeing this, and stopped talking to him. He turned to the young man on horseback and said, "I am a newcomer to Mingzhou. I only know that there are no Japanese pirates outside the city, so it is a little safer. How about asking this young hero to follow me to seek refuge outside the city?"
The young man, however, looked disapproving and said, "Why do you have to do this? Just follow me." He pulled the reins again, turned the horse's head, and actually headed towards the southeast sea.
The direction of the sea is where the pirate ships gather. If we go there, wouldn’t it be like leaving the wolf’s den and entering the tiger’s den
Qiu Yizi couldn't help but feel strange about such an action. Even a smart person like Lin Shuhan couldn't understand it. He clamped his legs under the donkey's belly, slowly walked to Qiu Yizi's side, and whispered: "Sir, this young man's origin is unknown. Although he rescued us, we can't trust him completely. I hope you can think twice..."
Qiu Yizi frowned and said, "Mr. Lin's words make sense. However, this man is indeed different. I want to go with him to see if he is real. Moreover, if he wants to harm me, he can just let the Japanese pirates kill me. Why would he do this? Even if he has other intentions, we will be light and fast by then. Without the burden of the Jiangnan government troops, we can just leave. It's not a big deal."
Lin Shuhan nodded as he listened: "This man definitely doesn't look like an ordinary rich kid. The Japanese pirates seemed to be very awed by him. In fact, I also want to go and take a look, but I only said this for your safety."
After the discussion was finalized, Qiu Yizi turned to the young man and said, "Then please lead the way!"
The young man seemed to have lost his patience and said, "You are so nosy. Just follow me."
This unintentional remark immediately angered the equally hot-tempered Yuchi Jiming. She was about to open her mouth to retort, but Qiu Yizi pulled her from behind, and she finally closed her mouth with all her might.
So, Qiu Yi and his group, led by this young man, walked through the streets and alleys and headed straight for Mingzhou Port.
The Japanese pirates in Mingzhou were still rampant, looting and burning houses everywhere. Fortunately, the people in the city had heard the news and had already fled, leaving the prosperous Mingzhou city like an empty city. Therefore, although there was smoke everywhere in Mingzhou, no civilians were killed. Qiu Yizi felt relieved when he saw this scene.
They had only walked a few steps when they ran into a group of nearly 20 Japanese pirates. Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi quickly pulled himself together and was about to command his soldiers to fight them. Unexpectedly, the young man leading the way could actually speak Japanese and chattered a few words with the pirates.
The Japanese he spoke seemed a little stiff, but the Japanese pirates were still able to understand his meaning and actually made way for Qiu Yizi and others to pass through.
So the group went straight to the cofferdam of Mingzhou Port without any obstruction.
The Han garrison that was supposed to guard the port cofferdam and control the foreigners who came ashore to do business had long since disappeared, leaving groups of Japanese pirates carrying large amounts of property onto their ships.
Qiu Yizi had just escaped from danger. Seeing this situation, although he was dissatisfied, he had no time to intervene. He could only pretend that he did not see it and followed the young man on horseback out of the cofferdam and to the harbor.
Before they could even stand still, they saw an old man running up ahead. He grabbed the reins of the young man's horse and said, "Young Captain, why did you come back just now? Our old captain is waiting anxiously. If you don't come back, he will bring people to the city to look for you!"
When Qiu Yizi saw that the old man's face was full of wrinkles, but he was shirtless, revealing the dark and strong muscles in his upper body, he knew that this man was definitely not an ordinary old servant of an official or wealthy family, so he did not dare to be careless at all.
But the young man on the horse had an indifferent expression on his face. He looked up at the sun and said, "It's not even noon yet. I don't know what Dad is worried about." He turned around and pointed at Qiu Yizi and others behind him, saying, "These are the people I brought back. They must be tired from fighting the Japanese. Go and prepare some wine and food to fill their stomachs."
The old man listened and nodded to Qiu Yizi and others. After the young man, whom he called "Young Captain," finished speaking, he agreed and said, "I understand. Young Captain, you should also take a rest." As he spoke, he pulled the young man's reins, led the horse and slowly moved forward.
Qiu Yizi also quickly led a group of people and followed closely behind him.
After walking for only a cup of tea, the old man leading the horse stopped.
Qiu Yizhi looked around quickly and found himself standing in a row of ships. This was the first time Qiu Yizhi had seen the sea in his life, and he knew nothing about the ships used for sailing. He only knew that these ships were of different shapes and sizes, but they all hoisted a red flag embroidered with a big white fish - exactly the same flag held by the young man.
In front of the largest ship, there was a team of no less than two or three hundred people. The leader was over sixty years old, wearing light armor, with a serious expression, and his face seemed to be somewhat similar to the young man.
When the old man saw the young man coming, he was overjoyed. He didn't care about the team in front of him and trotted to the young man's horse. He took the reins from the old man and said, "Jie'er, you're back. I was so worried about you!" As he spoke, his triangular eyes, with the skin around them a little loose, were filled with tears.
The young man got off his horse and said to the old man with a smile: "Dad, what are you talking about? I just went out for a walk and made a few friends. Why do you make it seem like we are parting forever?"
"Nonsense!" the old man said immediately, "Don't say such unlucky words in the future. Also, look at the chaos today, with pirates running around everywhere. If you want to go out and see the world, can't you find a few more people to go with you? If you run around alone, what if something happens?"
The young man still looked indifferent: "They are just a few pirates. They saw my white whale flag and left obediently. Who dares to act rashly? Even if they are blind, my martial arts are not just for show. Didn't I just shoot and kill a red-armored Japanese general?"
"Was the Japanese general who was shot dead a man in red armor?" The old man sighed, "I don't know if he was a general of the Takeda family or the Oda family, but a thank-you gift is indispensable..."
When the young man heard the old man was about to ramble on again, he interrupted him and said, "There will be a time when Dad will settle the accounts. Come, meet some of the friends I just made." As he spoke, the young man walked to Qiu Yi's horse.
Qiu Yizhi then remembered that he was sitting on the horse arrogantly, which seemed a bit disrespectful. He quickly dismounted and saluted the old man and the young man in front of him, saying: "It is thanks to this young hero who rescued me just now, otherwise I would have died in the hands of the Japanese pirates!"
The young man was very proud when Qiu Yizhi praised him as a "hero". Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered that he didn't even know the name of the person he rescued. He scratched his head and said with a smile, "It's easy, it's just a piece of cake. But I don't know what to call this gentleman?"
Saving a life was just called "a piece of cake". If Qiu Yizi was not a person who did not follow formalities, the prefect Ye who sat high in the Mingzhou government office would definitely think that the young man was looking down on him.
However, the old man was a mature and prudent person. He could tell that the young man's words were inappropriate, so he stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Sir, please don't be offended. It's all because I had a son in my old age and I spoiled him so much that he spoke in a disrespectful manner."
Qiu Yizhi had already heard from the two men's conversation that they were father and son, and now he was even more certain, so he returned the greeting and said, "Young hero, of course, you are not fussy about trivial matters, and there is nothing to be surprised about! But I don't know the name of this old man, what is his?"
The old man smiled and said, "I dare not. My surname is Li and my given name is Zhi." He pointed at the young man and said, "This is my son. I was 38 years old when I had this son. I was afraid that God would take him away, so I named him 'Liu'er'. But this kid didn't know how high the heaven was and how deep the earth was. He changed his name to Shengjie, which means victory and Jie means good news. It's a bit too arrogant! But it sounds grand and nice, so it became his academic name..."
As Qiu Yizi listened, he calculated: This old man said that he had a son when he was 38 years old, and his son is now no more than 17 or 18 years old at most - with this addition, the old man is only under 50 years old, so why does he look so old
While Qiu Yizi was thinking, he heard the young man named "Li Shengjie" interrupt Li Zhi's words: "Okay, Dad, you keep talking. These people must be tired and hungry. Maybe after listening to a few more words from you, they will not die under the swords of the Japanese pirates, but will starve to death on the bow of our ship!"
After hearing this, Li Zhi felt that he had said too much, so he laughed and said, "It's rare for this kid to say something pleasing to the ear. Sir, please go aboard and have a rest first. Oh, I haven't asked for your name yet?"
Qiu Yizi hurriedly bowed and said, "I am Qiu Yizi." Seeing that Li Zhi and his son were both enthusiastic and sincere, he did not want to use a pseudonym.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the three words "Qiu Yizi" were spoken, Li Zhi was surprised and said: "Oh, so you are Qiu Yizi... Oh, no, it's Master Qiu! I have heard of you for a long time!"
Qiu Yizi had not expected that Li Zhi, whom he had never met, had actually heard of his name, so he quickly said humbly: "I am only a seventh-rank official, and I just suffered a defeat. I really don't dare to accept the words 'I have long admired you'..."
"Alas!" Li Zhi said, "Your Excellency is too modest! Your Excellency has just taken office, and you have already made a decision for a woman, not hesitating to confront the government troops, which alarmed the emperor, who sent his eldest prince to Jiangnan to try the case and clean up the filth in the Jiangnan officialdom over the years. Such a heroic act is well-known even to the uncivilized people living overseas!"
Qiu Yizhi was overjoyed to hear Li Zhi's flattery, and a smile appeared on her face. Suddenly, she remembered the "frivolous" comment made by the emperor's adoptive father, and quickly restrained her smile and said, "This is just my job." (To be continued)