The waves on the sea are rolling, and the dry and cold northwest wind blowing from the land makes the sea become violent in winter. The blue water in the past turns into a dark color at this time, and the endless waves carry unpredictable power. , wantonly throwing up and pressing down everything on the sea...
In the midst of the turbulent waves, a fleet of twelve warships was lined up in two rows on the sea, heading against the wind and stubbornly moving towards the land in a zigzag pattern. In November On the 9th, the fleet completed its last patrol this winter and was on its way back to the camp port.
Among this fleet, the leading giant ship is the Black Dragon Ship, the flagship of the Han Empire's Southeast Navy. It is nearly three stories tall, has a hull of more than 20 feet long, and has a sharp and ferocious bow position. The dragon's head is wrapped with iron and collides with the horns, which makes this black giant ship sailing on the sea full of awe-inspiring and inviolable majesty.
In the southeastern waters of the Han Empire, as soon as this huge ship appears, pirates of all sizes will flee hundreds of miles away. They will never dare to twist their beards, because everyone knows the owner of this black dragon ship. Who is it? As long as this giant ship appears, then the person who makes countless pirates in the southeast of the Han Empire tremble must be on this giant ship. That person, among all the pirates in this endless sea area, there is one person. Nickname - Black Dragon King!
The Black Dragon King is Zheng Huaian!
At this moment, Zheng Huaian was standing at the bow of the Black Dragon Ship, with his hands behind his back, looking at the vast sea in front and the outline of the coastline that had appeared, with a blood-red cloak flying fiercely behind him.
Zheng Huaian has gray hair on his temples. He is not tall or burly, but rather a bit obese like a middle-aged man who gets fatter. If it weren’t for his calm and self-confident aura and his sharp eyes like an eagle, at first glance, , such a person is more like the shopkeeper of a restaurant or inn, rather than the high-ranking admiral of the Southeast Navy of the Han Empire.
The giant ship was riding the wind and waves, with some bumps. Zheng Huaian, who was standing at the bow of the ship, seemed to have roots under his feet, motionless.
Looking at the bay that was gradually becoming clearer on the sea level in the distance, Zheng Huaian, who had a worried face, sighed quietly.
"Sir, it's been more than two months. Is there still no news from the Ministry of War..." A naval officer in his forties with a heroic face had quietly come behind Zheng Huaian at some point and heard Zheng Huaian's helpless voice. Sighing, the naval officer asked.
"This time is the same as last time..." Zheng Huaian said calmly without turning his head, with a hint of helplessness in his tone.
Hearing Zheng Huaian's answer, the young navy officer's face immediately showed a look of anger, "When will the gentlemen in the Ministry of War understand that this vast sea is not an alien land of the Han Empire? There are thousands of islands in this sea." Tens of thousands, spices, pearls, gold and silver, all kinds of wealth and treasures are inexhaustible. There are hundreds of overseas countries, countless, some big and some small. If I, a big man, do not plan the Thousand Islands in the South China Sea early, strengthen our Southeast Navy. Strength, in the future, things at sea will turn from advantage to disadvantage for our Han Empire. The Cheni Kingdom was destroyed a few months ago. I heard people say that the Haiyi who destroyed the Cheni Kingdom were an unprecedented tribe. They are human beings with red hair and green eyes, wearing black robes, bloodthirsty and greedy. I heard that these Haiyi fleets were brought to the Cheni Kingdom by a storm. When they first arrived in the Cheni Country, the Cheni Country warmly welcomed them. They brought them to the royal capital. Unexpectedly, within a few days, all the more than 20,000 people in the royal capital of Cheni Kingdom were killed by the Haiyi. The ship uses a triangular sail, and the hull shape has never been seen before. It is very flexible on the sea and is not small in scale. There are dozens of ships. It is definitely not something that ordinary pirates and small sea barbarian countries can build. I am afraid... "
The young navy officer hesitated to speak, but even if he didn't say what he said next, Zheng Huaian could understand that it is not necessarily a good thing for a wolf to eat enough meat and leave, because in the future, this wolf may take over A pack of wolves was summoned.
"I can't decide the matters in Imperial City!" Zheng Huaian turned his head, looked at the young naval officer, and said simply, "When you go back this time, you will pass on the news. All merchants coming and going, as long as they can I will reward those who provide the news, whereabouts and whereabouts of those red-haired sea barbarians. Anyone in the navy who can capture those red-haired sea barbarians will receive a three-level promotion and a reward of 10,000 taels of silver. All pirates, whether they are As long as anyone brings the red-haired Haiyi's ship, I will give him the island where King Cheni's capital is..."
"yes!"
Zheng Huaian looked at the gloomy sky to the north in the direction of the fleet's advance, and sighed secretly in his heart. The imperial court did not pay attention to the navy, which allowed pirates and bandits to overrun the coast. The Thousand Islands in the South China Sea guarded the gateway to the southeastern coast of the Han Empire. It was not only a strategic location. , more abundant resources, and countless treasures, but these are not in the eyes of the court lords. For those in the court, the navy only needs to guard the coast of the Han Empire and not let pirates make trouble. In the past ten years, pirates have been suppressed more and more along the southeastern coast of the empire. Several groups of pirates have joined forces, and there is a vague climate. However, looking at the southeastern navy, it has not added a new ship in ten years...
The destruction of the Cheni Kingdom was a loud alarm. The sea was boundless and too big. No one knew what was on the other side of the sea. The unknown was often accompanied by awe...
…
Two hours later, before dark, the fleet finally returned to the bustling Haizhou Port. As soon as Zheng Huaian got off the ship, an attendant quickly came to him and whispered a few words in his ear, Zheng Huaian. He was slightly stunned, and then ordered, "Then take them to the side hall of the Admiral's Mansion. I'll meet them there!"
Two-quarters of an hour later, Zheng Huaian, who was tired of his travels, received two guests who claimed to be from Huizhou in the side hall of the Navy Admiral's Mansion.
The two guests, one in his fifties and the other in his thirties, looked like capable people in the world at first glance, especially the one in his fifties. Just by looking at him from a distance, Zheng Huaian could sense that person's cultivation. He has advanced to the realm of great martial artist.
"The head of the Huizhou Guangsheng Escort Bureau, Zhou Yuanlong, and his escort master, Chen Zhiwu, have met the Admiral!"
The two people entered the side hall. The escort named Zhou Yuanlong looked at Zheng Huaian carefully for a few times. After confirming Zheng Huaian's identity, they went to greet Zheng Huaian together.
"Huizhou is not close to Haizhou with thousands of rivers and mountains. I wonder why Zhou Biao came all the way to Haizhou to see me?" Zheng Huaian asked calmly after letting the two of them sit down.
"It's like this. Our Guangsheng Escort Bureau accepted an escort more than a month ago. The employer asked us to deliver something to the admiral in person before the 15th of this month!" said the escort leader Zhou, who had already left. He took something out of his arms and placed it on the table next to him. A servant next to Zheng Huaian walked over, took the thing and placed it in front of Zheng Huaian.
Zheng Huaian glanced at the thing. It was a brass metal cylinder. The whole cylinder was sealed with a layer of wax. There were several flower stamps on the wax. This kind of thing is relatively common in the military. It is used to convey urgent matters. This method is often used when communicating with important military information. Of course, among civilians, if some important letters are to be delivered, some people will do this. The metal cylinder can ensure that the letters to be delivered will not be lost during the delivery process. The layer of wax sealing the cylinder and the flower stamp on the wax can ensure that the letter in the cylinder will not be opened at will on the road, because once opened, the flower stamp will be broken. See it at a glance.
The sealing wax and flower stamp on the outside of this metal cylinder are very complete, so no one should have opened it on the road.
Zheng Huaian did not open the cylinder immediately, but asked, "I don't know who asked you to bring this to me!"
"The person who escorted the escort did not leave his name. He only said that he was an old friend of the Admiral. As long as the Admiral reads the letter inside, it will be obvious who he is!"
"Oh!" Zheng Huaian became even more curious. He thought for a while and found that he didn't seem to have any relatives or friends in Huizhou. "I wonder what that person looks like?"
"That man has a dark complexion, is in his twenties, has a beard, has an ordinary face, and his accent has a hint of the Imperial Capital accent!"
"Oh, how much money did he pay to get this thing delivered to him personally by Captain Zhou?"
"According to business rules, we generally don't disclose the price of escorts from our employer to the public. However, since the admiral is asking, I will tell the truth. The man gave our Guangsheng Escort Agency 20,000 taels of silver and specified that I should deliver this thing personally. Come on, don’t make any mistakes on the way. Our escort agency will certainly not refuse to escort such a thing at this price!”
When he heard that a man spent 20,000 taels of silver to send him a letter, Zheng Huaian's eyebrows suddenly raised slightly.
"Okay, I understand, thank you both. You two have worked hard all the way, please go down and have a good rest!"
"The escort has been delivered, let's take our leave then!" Bouncer Zhou simply stood up and cupped his hands towards Zheng Huaian.
Zheng Huaian glanced at the attendant beside him, who then politely sent the head and master of the Guangsheng Escort Agency out.
After sizing up the metal cylinder for a moment, Zheng Huaian pondered for a while and asked someone to send him a pair of deerskin gloves. After putting on the deerskin gloves, he carefully broke the sealing wax and flower stamp on the outside of the cylinder. Open the cylinder.
Inside the cylinder is indeed a piece of letterhead...
The letter had no beginning or end, just a series of dates and events—
—On November 16, the 13th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, Gong Zicheng, the former Minister of Rites of the Han Empire, died of illness in Kuizhou. His Majesty gave him the posthumous title "Wu Xin"...
Just seeing the first line of this letter, Zheng Huaian's eyes burst into light, because seven days later, it will be November 16th, but there is something behind it...
—On November 18, the 13th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, there was an earthquake in Suyang County, Xuzhou. The north tower of Suyang City collapsed during the earthquake. One hundred thousand people were affected in Suyang County, and more than 3,000 houses were destroyed. The imperial court allocated one hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief. .
—On the evening of November 26, the 13th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, a comet passed through the sky in Qinshui County, Haizhou. The fragments of the comet fell in the southeast of Qinshui County. They fell into a pit and the sound shook for ten miles, causing a mountain fire. The mountain fire occurred three days later. The snow goes out.
—On December 4, the 13th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, a coup occurred in the Yushan Kingdom, a southern vassal state of the Han Empire. The king of Yushan was killed. The prince of the Yushan Kingdom fled to Annan County and requested the governor of Annan County to send troops to quell the rebellion in the Yushan Kingdom...
—On December 9, the 13th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, the White Lotus Sect was in Lingzhou...
Seeing that the letter contained serious information about what would happen to the Han Empire in the future, Zheng Huaian was stunned at first, and then felt a little bit amused and looked weird, because he really couldn't figure out why anyone would be willing to spend 20,000 yuan. Zheng Huaian was stunned for a moment by the words on the letter when he saw the back of it...
- In February of the 14th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, the "empty pay case" of the Southeast Navy of the Han Empire broke out. Prime Minister Lin Qingtian ordered a thorough investigation and a prison was set up. Zheng Huaian, the admiral of the Southeast Navy, was found to have embezzled military pay and accepted bribes from shipyards. His son-in-law Zheng Huaian and his son colluded with pirates, and their property was confiscated. Forty-seven members of the family were imprisoned, and more than thirty navy generals and officers were involved.
—In March of the 14th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, due to a fire in the cell, Zheng Huaian’s family and more than 30 generals of the Southeast Navy were burned to death in Qingjiang Prison. No one was lucky...
—In April of the 14th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, Zeng Jiuming, the former deputy admiral of the Southeast Navy, was appointed by Lin Qingtian as the new admiral of the Southeast Navy. Li Zhaofeng, the former general magistrate of the Southeast Navy Admiral's Office, was promoted to the governor of Xuanping County, Haizhou...
At the end, Zheng Huaian's hands began to tremble slightly without even realizing it.
A gust of wind blew in the side hall, and Zheng Huaian felt a chill on his back and broke into a cold sweat.
Where the letter ended up, there was only one sentence.
—Don’t ask me who I am, please call me Red Scarf!
At this moment, the voice of a personal attendant rang in Zheng Huaian's ears.
"Sir, Lord Tongjian Li is asking for an audience outside the side hall..."
Zheng Huaian calmed down, put the letter in his hand into his arms, then took off his deerskin gloves, put them in the drawer under the table, took a deep breath, and then told the attendant, "Let Mr. Li come in..."
A few seconds later, a good-looking man came in with a few rolls. He laughed when he saw Zheng Huaian, "I heard that your Excellency is here, so I came over. These official documents need your attention." Signed with seal…”
Zheng Huaian also smiled, with a relaxed look, "Zhaofeng, you don't want me to rest. You brought this pile of official documents as soon as I came back. You can leave them for now while I read them slowly!"
"As the admiral of the navy, you naturally have everything to do!" The man smiled and placed a pile of bandages in front of Zheng Huaian, and then asked seemingly casually, "By the way, I just heard that there are two escorts I need to see you, sir. I wonder if I can be of service..."
Zheng Huaian's eyes flashed, he waved his hand casually, and said lightly, "It's nothing, it's just that a friend I met back then encountered some difficulties in his practice, and it was inconvenient for him to come over, so he asked the escort to bring me a I wrote a letter to ask for advice and made an appointment to meet... "
(End of chapter)