Thanks to Xu Weixue, Xu Hai was transformed from a nephew into a hostage!
This day was already the fifteenth day of Xu Hai's life as a hostage, and his resentment towards his uncle Xu Weixue deepened.
Early in the morning, a magpie landed in front of his leaky window and chirped for a long time before flying away.
"A bird flew to the window. I guess there will be good news today." It was the first time Xu Hai smiled in half a month.
Just at this moment, he heard footsteps outside. Looking up, he saw the head of the Matsuura family walking into the yard.
Why is the head of the Matsuura family here? !
Xu Hai was startled at first, but then he was overjoyed. The Matsuura family head came in person, so his uncle must have paid off the debt in advance! It was originally agreed that the repayment would be made in two months, but only half a month had passed! Otherwise, how could the Matsuura family head have the time to see his hostage
But why is the Matsuura family head so unhappy? !
After Xu Hai was overjoyed, he suddenly felt something was wrong. The face of the head of the Matsuura family was as black as the bottom of a pot, and it also smelled terrible.
What's going on? There's still a month and a half left before the repayment. Why is the Matsuura family head like this? !
As Xu Hai looked at him in doubt, the head of the Matsuura family waved his finger at Xu Hai as soon as he arrived, and ordered the samurai behind him, "Catch this Ming monk with me, chop him into pieces, and throw him into the wild to feed the dogs!"
Oh shit!
What happened?!
Before Xu Hai could react, he was tied up by two short but strong Japanese warriors, dragged into the yard like a chick, and kicked in both knees. Then Xu Hai fell to his knees with a plop. One Japanese warrior pulled Xu Hai's head with his hand, exposing his neck, and the other warrior raised his samurai sword high... ...
Just when Xu Hai was about to die, he heard a loud shout: "Your Highness Songpu, spare his life!"
Who was shouting to spare his life? ! Xu Weixue? ! No, it was Xu Hai himself who shouted to spare his life.
"Your uncle looted the Baiyue land of the Ming Dynasty. Xiao Xian informed the Ming army and the two sides set up an ambush on Nan'ao Island. Your uncle was ambushed and killed! Your uncle is dead. He owed me 20,000 taels of gold. You can only pay it with your dog's life!"
The head of the Matsuura family waved his hand impatiently and ordered the samurai to hack Xu Hai to death with their swords to vent his anger!
"Your Highness Matsuura, please spare my life. I will serve you and pay off your debt on behalf of my uncle!" Xu Hai shouted repeatedly.
"you?"
The Matsuura family head glanced at Xu Hai and sneered disdainfully. The Matsuura family head did not believe a word of Xu Hai's words. Xu Weixue's words were good at the beginning, but in the end he lost all his money!
"Your Highness Songpu, I am from the Ming Dynasty. When I was a monk in my early years, I traveled all over the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. The terrain of the mountains and rivers in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, the distribution of soldiers and horses, the poverty and wealth, the easy attack and difficult defense, etc. are all in my mind. With me as your guide, Your Highness will surely return with a full load, and the profit you earn will be a hundred times more than before."
Seeing that the head of the Matsuura family did not believe what he said, Xu Hai kowtowed and begged for mercy while shouting loudly.
Upon hearing this, the head of the Matsuura family finally looked at Xu Hai, as if he was looking at a rare commodity. Seeing this, Xu Hai quickly seized the opportunity to promote himself, "I am willing to serve Your Highness at all costs. Please give me a chance to prove my worth. I will never let Your Highness down!"
"It just so happens that my men will go to Daming to plunder tomorrow, so I'll give you a chance. If you can prove your worth, I'll treat you as a guest of honor! If you can't prove your worth, then the wild dogs will treat you as a guest of honor!"
The head of the Matsuura family looked at Xu Hai with burning eyes and spoke slowly.
In fact, the Matsuura family had long wanted to find a satisfactory Ming traitor. The Matsuura family made their fortune as Japanese pirates. In their early years, they plundered Korea and later plundered the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty was different from Korea. Their plundering of the Ming Dynasty was not smooth. The reason was that the Ming Dynasty was vast and rich in resources, and the people were outstanding. They were unfamiliar with the place and often did not get ideal results. If there was a qualified guide who was familiar with the terrain of the Ming Dynasty, knew where the Ming Dynasty was rich, where it was poor, where it was suitable for plundering, and where it should be avoided... ... the harvest would definitely increase greatly.
He had considered this aspect when he cooperated with Wang Zhi. After learning about Wang Zhi from Uku Morisada, he invited Wang Zhi to use Hirado Island in Hizen Province and Matsuura Tsu in Satsuma Province off the coast of Kyushu as bases to build a beautiful house for Wang Zhi so that Wang Zhi could live there for a long time. However, Wang Zhi was too powerful, and the Matsuura family head not only failed to achieve his goal, but also invited a wolf into the house. He was controlled by Wang Zhi and had to carefully please Wang Zhi.
If the traitor named Xu Hai in front of him is really as he said, then it would be an unexpected gain.
"Thank you, Your Highness! I, Xu Hai, will prove my worth to Your Highness so that Your Highness will not regret your decision today!"
Xu Hai kowtowed and thanked him profusely, and swore allegiance to the head of the Matsuura family.
Therefore, the next day, Xu Hai was taken on the Japanese pirate ship of the Matsuura family as a low-ranking pirate and a Ming traitor. The Japanese pirates of the Matsuura family were mainly poor farmers, ronin and samurai of the Matsuura family from Hirado, with less than 30% of them being pirates of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Hai, a pirate and a Ming traitor, had no status among the Japanese pirates of the Matsuura family. It can be said that he was of low status and could be ordered around by others.
I have to say that Xu Hai is talented in being a pirate and a traitor! Of course, this is a derogatory term!
He was cunning and shameless by nature, but also rich in leadership skills and outstanding military talent, and had a talent for being a pirate; he betrayed his countrymen without any guilt, and actively, skillfully and happily led wave after wave of Japanese pirates to burn, kill and loot in the Ming Dynasty, and had a talent for being a traitor.
The first time he went out to sea with the Songpu pirates to plunder, he led the Songpu pirates to the territory of Songjiang Prefecture, and chose Huating County, which was relatively prosperous and easy to take. He led a group of Songpu pirates to burn, kill and plunder in Huating County, filling boat after boat with gold, silver, jewelry, women and children... ...
After the looting, they were chased and surrounded by government troops. Xu Hai led the Matsuura pirates to escape from the encirclement of government troops through a forest path, and even led them through the reed marshes to make a surprise attack, catching the surrounding Ming army off guard and causing heavy casualties. Xu Hai led the Matsuura pirates away.
Not only that, on the way back, Xu Hai also assisted the leader of the Japanese pirates in Matsuura in commanding the fleet and avoiding the pursuit and interception of the Ming navy.
Xu Hai's debut with the Matsuura pirates was perfect, and on his way back he was promoted to squad leader by the Matsuura pirate leader.
After returning to the Matsuura family's territory, the head of the Matsuura family was very satisfied with Xu Hai's performance and promoted him to captain.
The second time he appeared, Xu Hai made plans. He first gave gold, silver, jewelry and bird guns to the Japanese pirate Wang Mazi in the name of making friends. After gaining Wang Mazi's trust, he led a hundred warriors from the Matsuura family to attend Wang Mazi's birthday banquet in the name of wishing Wang Mazi a happy birthday. When they were drunk, Xu Hai suddenly attacked and killed Wang Mazi in one fell swoop, and annexed more than a thousand Japanese pirates and more than a hundred Japanese pirate ships under Wang Mazi's command.
After more than a month, Xu Hai won the appreciation and trust of the head of the Matsuura family and became a leader of the Matsuura Japanese pirates, with more than a thousand Japanese pirates under his command.
Day by day, Xu Hai's status is constantly improving, and his strength is constantly expanding...