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"King Qin, I just received a pigeon message from Wenzhou, saying that the Zheng family's fleet is heading north."
"Well, Zheng Zhilong finally took the bait." Qin Mu threw the memorial in his hand and asked, "How many troops did the Zheng family send this time? How many warships? Who will lead them? When will they set off? Have you found out everything?"
Yan Gaofei clasped his fists and replied, "Reporting to the King of Qin, this time the Zheng family has dispatched a total of 20,000 troops, 170 large and small warships, led by Zheng Zhilong himself. When the news came back, the fleet was gathering in Fuzhou. In addition, according to the information revealed by the insider, Zheng's army is also gathering in Kinmen. The exact number of troops is unknown, and the purpose of the gathering is also unknown for the time being."
Qin Mu was a little surprised when he heard this. Even if Zheng Zhilong knew that the Qin Dynasty was sending a naval protection delegation to Japan, it seemed that he should not have dispatched so many warships and troops, and led them personally by Zheng Zhilong.
This reaction seemed too big. Something abnormal must be a demon. Qin Mu became alert. Moreover, there were troops gathering in Kinmen. What were they doing? In addition to Daqin, who else did Zheng Zhilong plan to go to war with at the same time
"Is this information reliable? Is Zheng Zhilong really going to personally lead more than 20,000 troops northward?"
"King Qin, this news was spread by a battalion commander of the Zheng family whom we bribed. Our own people have also checked Fuzhou Port. The troops and horses assembled by the Zheng family are indeed no less than 20,000, and the number of warships is not much different. From this, we can judge that this news is still credible."
If the news is correct, then Zheng Zhilong's purpose in making such a big move is worth pondering. He probably wants to deal with more than just the envoys and merchant groups going to Japan.
Qin Mu first thought that Zheng Zhilong might come for him, and then for the East China Sea Fleet and the North China Sea Fleet. The last time they fought in the inland sea, Daqin had the support of coastal artillery, so he could not take advantage. But if it was on the sea, Zheng Zhilong would definitely believe that he could win.
"Immediately inform Cao Weijun, the prefect of Ningbo, to speed up the loading process and allow the merchant caravan's envoys to set sail as soon as possible. At the same time, inform Di Zhongxing to take action immediately."
"Yes, King Qin."
"Wait, tell Gu Rong to send a ship to strictly inspect the waters around Shuangyu Port and prohibit all ships from approaching Shuangyu Port. When the fleet is dispatched, all fishing boats and merchant ships encountered must be detained first to prevent the whereabouts of the fleet from being leaked. Tell Gu Rong and Di Zhongxing that Zheng Zhilong may want to swallow them up in one gulp, and ask them to strengthen their preparations for war. Also, tell them to be careful of the mantis catching the cicada, while the oriole is behind."
"Yes. King Qin."
As soon as Yan Gaofei left, Qin Mu urgently summoned Gu Jun'en, Yang Shen, Jin Lei and other accompanying officials to make detailed deployments. Currently, there are only 4,000 troops stationed in Ningbo Prefecture, plus the 2,000 imperial guards accompanying Qin Mu. The total is 6,000;
If Zheng Zhilong suddenly attacked Ningbo, it would still be very dangerous, and we must prepare in advance. The garrisons in Hangzhou, Taizhou and other places must be prepared to reinforce Ningbo in advance. Once the alarm is received, they will come to the rescue immediately.
However, it is not advisable to make any big moves on land now, so as not to alert the enemy.
Qin Mu really hoped that Zheng Zhilong would attack Ningbo. If he really dared to come to Ningbo, the chances of the Qin Dynasty's victory would be at least 80% with the combined attack by land and sea.
After arranging all the matters, Qin Mu discussed with everyone again and again to see if there were any omissions. He did not adjourn the meeting until he was sure that there were no omissions.
The next morning, a merchant caravan and diplomatic mission consisting of thirteen ships set out in a mighty procession, led by Qiu Bingzhang, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
Qin Mu also went to Sanjiangkou in person to see him off, and many people also went to the dock to watch. Whether they could knock on the door of Japan and open a trade route from Ningbo to Japan was crucial to the prosperity of Ningbo, and the people of Ningbo were very concerned about this matter.
Not only businessmen can benefit from this, but even poor people will be able to easily find a job at the dock in the future.
In the past, the pirate leader Wang Zhi was engaged in smuggling trade in Shuangyu Port. The people in Ningbo area not only did not reject it, but regarded Shuangyu Port as their source of food and clothing. Even a three-foot-tall child knew that sending a melon or a can to Shuangyu Port could earn two or three times the profit.
Based on this understanding, when the King of Qin came to Ningbo this time, he immediately planned to set up a Maritime Customs Office and sent an envoy to open up trade with Japan. The people of Ningbo from top to bottom supported this enthusiastically, so it is not difficult to understand why the people rushed to see the envoy off when it set off.
Facing the people who were eagerly waiting, Qin Mu felt quite ashamed. This so-called sending envoys to Japan was just a bait.
However, the Maritime Customs Office is indeed about to be established. Once the Zheng family is defeated, merchant ships from Southeast Asia can also come here, and the people of Ningbo will finally have an explanation.
After seeing off the envoys and the caravan, all that remained for Qin Mu was an annoying wait. Fortunately, as soon as he returned to Qiulu Garden, Yan Gaofei received good news that Zheng Zhilong had headed north. According to the voyage, it would take an estimated four days to reach Zhoushan from Fuzhou.
Four days, and four more days. For Daqin, this will be an extremely crucial naval battle. However, Qin Mu himself is now unable to do anything, and the rest depends on Gu Rong and the others.
Li Xiangjun saw that he ate little for lunch and walked around after lunch, looking a little irritated. She made a cup of tea, brought it to him and said gently, "King Qin, please sit down and have a cup of tea. Is there anything you can talk to me about?"
"What's the matter? It has nothing to do with me."
"If everything is fine, why is the King of Qin so anxious?"
"Yes, it's none of my business, why should I be so anxious?" Qin Mu muttered to himself, causing Li Xiangjun to chuckle with her hands covering her mouth.
Qin Mu frowned. He had experienced a war involving more than 200,000 people, but he was not so irritable at that time. Why was he so anxious about this naval battle? He reflected on it and felt that the problem was that "it had nothing to do with me".
I'm used to the feeling of being in control of everything, but since I'm not good at naval battles, after setting the bait this time, I have nothing to do. The victory or defeat is not up to me, and I have to take care of them.
It is precisely because things are out of my control that I feel so anxious.
To be honest, Qin Mu didn't like this feeling and was very unhappy.
But he also knew that he had to accept this feeling and learn to release the anxiety in his heart. Otherwise, as the king of a country, there were so many things to do. If he was so anxious every day, he might not live past the age of 40. This was definitely not an exaggeration.
Looking at the emperors of all dynasties, very few lived long lives. It was common for them to choke in their thirties or forties. Some people said that it was because the emperors had too many women, so they died young.
This view is absolutely unscientific.
In ancient times, every minister had many wives and concubines. Why did the emperor alone have so many women? For a man, is there any difference between having ten wives and concubines and having ten thousand? The difference is not big. At least the number of sexual intercourse will not be greatly different depending on the number of wives and concubines.
The biggest reason why emperors often have short lives is probably that they are under too much pressure and have too many worries.
For the sake of his own life, Qin Mu took a few deep breaths and said, "Xiang Jun, come and help me rub my temples. I want to live longer."
Li Xiangjun stared at him with her bright eyes because of his strange reaction, her cherry lips half opened, and her surprised look was extremely cute. Qin Mu "poo!", kissed her, and then lay down on the sandalwood carved dripping bed, "Xiangjun, don't be dazed, come here."
Li Xiangjun bit her lips and chuckled, "King Qin, are you okay?"
"Alright, it's alright. I told you, it has nothing to do with me."
"That's good."
She added some spices to the cloisonné three-legged elephant trunk incense burner, then rolled up her sleeves, took off a pair of gilded water ripple bracelets from her wrists, and sat down beside the bed to massage Qin Mu's head.
"King Qin, I went to see it yesterday. Lord Sima found more than ten printing workshops and gave them the rare books from Tianyi Pavilion in batches for printing. The progress is very fast."
Li Xiangjun's voice was soft and gentle, like water waves flowing slowly. Just listening to it was a pleasure. Qin Mu closed his eyes and enjoyed her massage.
"By the way, how many rare books need to be printed? Have you sorted them out?"
"It's not that fast, but it must be a lot. We have already selected 6,000 volumes, so there must be a lot left."
"Hiss..." Qin Mu suddenly felt as if his teeth were hurting. "Do you want to print so many volumes? No, no, this is money from my inner treasury. I'm afraid my underwear will be in danger now."
"whee... ... ."
"You're still laughing. Poor Qiao'er, you're still growing. I guess you'll have to eat pancakes again."
Li Xiangjun laughed even harder, her hands became limp. Her body fragrance became stronger. She thought for a moment and said, "King Qin, if you care about the inner treasury..."
"It's underwear."
"That's right, Nunu is talking about Neiku!"
"Oh, forget it. Tell me, what plan do you have to save my underwear?"
"Prince Qin, what I'm saying is, if you're really worried that our Xiang Fei will have to live on pancakes, why don't you ask the printing workshop to print a few more copies of each volume? These books are rare and precious on the market. After they're printed, scholars will definitely rush to buy them. Then, wouldn't the cost be recovered?"
"Yes, yes, Xiangjun's idea is good. Tell Han Zanzhou quickly and let him handle this matter immediately."
What's more, Qin Mu immediately called Han Zanzhou and said, "Old Han, go and have a look. Ask the printing workshop to print more rare books from Tianyi Pavilion. Remember, after the books are printed, except for two copies of each volume left for the Hanlin Academy, the rest are ours. Find someone to contact the booksellers privately, take them to Hangzhou, Beijing, and Wuchang to sell, and earn back the printing cost for me."
"Yes, King Qin." This was a good job, and Han Zanzhou happily went to handle it.
Li Xiangjun has a sweet smile and beautiful eyes. As long as Qin Mu is happy, she is happy.
Qin Mu hugged her and said with a smile: "Xiangjun, how do you want me to reward you? How about this, I will give you a massage..."
Li Xiangjun protected her breasts and cried out, "Don't..."
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.(To be continued..)
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