The Japanese had never seen Dachang's army, but he had heard of it a long time ago.
At that time, he had just come to Dachang as a ronin, and felt that the people here were really weak, and even the soldiers of the guards here were too weak.
The old ronin who took him out to sea told him that he must not despise this land. These soldiers are not real soldiers. The real army of Dachang is all in the northern land. If one day Dachang's real army arrives, even those generals of their Japanese country can only crawl on the ground, shivering.
He didn't believe it, he felt that this person had been wiped out of the samurai's ambition.
At the moment of dying, he finally knew that the other party did not lie to him...
…
It was all over at last, and the surroundings were so quiet that it was penetrating.
The rustling footsteps, shuttled back and forth in the grass, but they were picking up the mess.
On a reef by the sea, a man stood.
He was wearing a scribe's shirt, and was rattled by the sea breeze. On the warship not far away, groups of soldiers were lining up to return to the ship.
Vice Admiral Tan came over, clasped his fists and said, "Admiral, everything is ready."
Xue Tingxiang stood for a while before turning around and walking towards him.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard."
"How can you not work hard, this is your special thing."
"I can see that the adults use soldiers like gods, and the subordinates will not waste their lives!" Deputy General Tan looked at Xue Tingxiang's eyes with a strange light.
He has lived for most of his life, and he has never seen such tactics. Those pirates have no strength to fight back, and they were slaughtered completely, leaving no damage to their own side. This is just a small team of less than a hundred people. If this team can be expanded, why not get rid of the Tartars.
Xue Tingxiang smiled and said nothing.
The two boarded the ship together and stood on the deck watching the island hidden in the darkness.
"Is something left?"
"It was the subordinate who watched the release in person."
"Okay, let's go to the next place."
Even sitting in the house, you can hear the sound of firecrackers ringing from time to time outside.
It was New Year's Eve, and Zhao Di took her two children to keep the year old.
I used to be there for the New Year's Eve dinner, and after I finished eating, I went home. There were only three of them left in this huge Xue Mansion.
Shen Ping was also there, and he was really worried about recruiting Di, so he shamelessly went to the door and rubbed a meal.
The fire pit was burning warmly. When the Xue Mansion was built, Zhao'er said that the place where people lived should be covered with a large kang. In winter, it is still comfortable to sit on the big kang, and it is almost impossible for a god to change it.
Last year, the two sisters were still sitting on the big kang talking, Zhao Di poked Zhao'er in the forehead, and almost didn't make her cry. This year, no one has trained her. If she could do it all over again, Zhao Di would definitely not have trained her sister that way.
It was she who was lost. The relationship between her younger sister and her brother-in-law was not ordinary and could not be regarded as equal.
Hong'er and Brother Wei were sitting on the head of the kang, with a large kang table in front of them, on which were some things that boys like to play with, of course, tea and fruit trays.
Shen Ping accompanied them.
Shen Ping is clumsy, but treats Brother Wei very well. Although Brother Wei is not big, he is very sensible. The first time he saw Shen Ping and Zhao Di, he asked Shen Ping if he wanted to be his father. Shen Ping was speechless when asked, but Brother Wei was very knowledgeable.
Said he wouldn't mind if his mother wanted to. Even these two adults did not expect that the problem that had been bothering them was solved like this.
It stands to reason that it should be mentioned that the marriage was mentioned in the face, but no one is in the mood for the loss of the trick.
Xue Tingxiang had been out for a long time, and he didn't come back on New Year's Eve. Honger sensible didn't ask.
Zhao Di was always afraid that he would ask, and she was afraid that her tears would not stop before she answered. They kept telling Hong'er that Zhao'er didn't come back because he was delayed in doing business outside.
Seeing that the two children were not enjoying themselves at all, Zhao Di said, "Why don't we wait any longer, and my aunt will take you to set off firecrackers?" In order to make the two children happy, Zhao Di specially arranged for them at the end of the year. a batch.
"Aunt, still no, Dad said he would definitely come back before the new year. I think he will be back soon, so let's wait until Dad comes back."
These words directly pushed all of Zhao Di's words back into her stomach. Later, in order to change the topic, she deliberately called Xiaohong and Xiaolu, as well as several other girls.
The room was surrounded by two children. In fact, it was mainly Hong'er. Even Brother Wei felt something was wrong, but he didn't dare to say anything.
It was so noisy and noisy until the end of the day, a few girls kept looking outside, but dared not say when it was.
Suddenly, the quiet Dinghai county town seemed to wake up all at once.
Countless firecrackers rang out incessantly, forming a huge sound wave that spread throughout the county.
This is the passing of the child, and the passing of the child is a new year. The new year will be celebrated by firing cannons, and it is also to drive away something in the myth of the Nian beast.
"It looks like Dad won't come back." Hong'er murmured, turning over and jumping off the kang.
Xiaohong hurriedly stepped forward to put on his shoes, and when Brother Wei saw that Hong'er was off the kang, he also got down.
"Let's go out and shoot the cannons, they're all set." Hong'er said.
Put on thick clothes and go out, everyone crowded around Hong'er. The door curtain was suddenly opened from the outside, and a gust of cold wind blew in.
Everyone was still stunned, Honger had already rushed over.
"father!"
Xue Tingxiang lifted Hong'er up and said with a smile, "Father is almost too late."
"It's too late, too late. Dad, let's go and fire the cannon." Hong'er asked Dad to put himself down, and then took his hand and walked out.
Xue Tingxiang was in the dust, his cheeks were thin, and his brows were obviously sullen, but he still smiled and talked to Honger.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Di couldn't bear it any longer, leaning on Shen Ping's shoulder, covering her face and sobbing.
"My God, you don't have eyes!"
Shen Ping patted her shoulder and sighed silently.
…
In the yard, it suddenly became lively.
A few servants went to order firecrackers, making the two children laugh out loud.
In the crackling sound, Zhao Di asked Xue Tingxiang nervously, "Is there any news?"
Xue Tingxiang did not speak.
Her eyes darkened, and she paused and said, "After the new year, are you still going out?"
Xue Tingxiang shook his head: "What should be arranged has already been arranged. Now I have to wait. I have other things to do, so I won't go out anymore."
Zhao Di nodded, pretending to be relaxed: "Don't rush to get angry, my girl is lucky, someone told her fortune when she was a child, saying that she would be rich and rich for a lifetime. She must be fine, maybe where she is. Waiting for us, maybe she will come back in a few days. She is a clever ghost, and she is very courageous. When she was a child, everyone was beaten at home, but she was the most clever and always managed to escape. At that time, I was sold, she When I was a little old, I found it alone..."
In the end, even Zhao Di didn't know what he was talking about.
"Second sister, I know that Zhao'er will be fine."
"It's fine if you know." Zhao Di paused, looked at Hong'er who was having a good time and said, "Hong'er is a sensible person. If Zhao'er is not here, you must not collapse."
"I know, second sister."
It is also New Year's Eve, but there is not much of the New Year's taste on Hongdao.
Although Zhao'er listened to Lan Niu, the big leader specially ordered someone to arrange the New Year's meal, and the whole gang had it. Even Zhao'er, a prisoner, had five dishes and one soup, which was very rich. But without the faint smell of gunpowder and the deafening sound of firecrackers in the air, I felt that something was missing.
It was so quiet, as still as a tomb.
"Ma'am, it's getting late, you should rest."
At this time, Zhao'er naturally had no desire to watch the night, so he nodded and got on the couch.
Lying on the couch, she thought for a while and fell asleep.
Had a dream, the dream was messy and strange. In a daze, she heard someone crying and suddenly woke up.
It was Lan Niu who was crying.
Lan Niu usually slept on the couch outside, and Zhao'er knew that someone asked her to watch her. Lan Niu is not good-looking, black and strong, but she is a very kind girl, and she used to do her best to recruit children.
Crying secretly in the middle of the night, and it's New Year's Eve again, do you feel homesick? Zhao'er knew that Lan Niu was taken to the island by pirates, but that was all.
In fact, she also misses home. She misses her man, her son, her second sister, and her brother Wei...
Zhao'er thought, maybe Lan Niu won't cry after a while, but she still hasn't stopped. Crying made her feel restless, so she got up in her clothes.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Ma'am, I'm fine, I'm just…"
After getting along for so long, Zhao'er didn't know Lan Niu well, but she knew her character well. When Lan Niu has something difficult to say, she will twist the corner of her clothes.
Zhao'er sat down on the small couch and said patiently, "You were kidnapped by pirates, and so am I; you are a girl's family, and so am I. Today is New Year's Eve, and if you are at home, you must be a family and happy." , even for your parents at home, you shouldn't cry."
Hearing this, Lan Niu cried even louder.
"Ma'am, I'm not homesick, it's my sister..."
Then, Zhao'er heard a story in Lanie's mouth, a story that made her scalp tingle.
Lan Ni and Lan Ni's older sister, Hua Ni, are girls from a small fishing village along the coast of Dachang. In this small place, apart from digging some food in the ground, they point to catch some fish in the sea to survive.
Just like Dinghai County, because of the ban on the sea, Lan Ni's family lived very hard, but at least the family was happy.
But suddenly one day bad luck came, and Japanese pirates came to the village, burning, killing and looting.
All the women in the village were snatched, including Sister Lanier.
It was stolen by a group of pirates.
They drift on the sea all year round, and what they want most is women, but the government wants them, they dare not go ashore, they can only bear it. But they can bear it for a while, but they can't bear it forever, so these pirates will venture ashore to rob women every few days.
In the sea, besides those sea goods, the most valuable things are women.
A 17- or 18-year-old girl would sell one or twenty taels of silver after signing a death deed on the shore, but at sea she could sell for a thousand taels of silver.
Or use it to vent your desires, or sell it, it's a sure-fire business.
Lanny was young at the time, thick and dark, and no one cared about her. But Hua Ni was different, and was tainted by others.
Some people died of humiliation, some people didn't die, and Hani was the one who didn't die.
After more than half a year, the pirates were wiped out by the Red Gang, and the Lannie sisters came to the Red Island. But the world is as black as crows, even if the big leader has a clear order not to rape women, but there are tens of thousands of gangs in this red gang, and very few pirates have become pros.
These pirates need women, desperately, even the big dragon can't hold back. Helpless, Dalongtou changed the compromise method, and the woman who was robbed could choose to enter the flower tent by herself.
The so-called flower tent is the same as the secret door, doing the business of flesh and blood. If you enter the flower tent, you can support yourself, so as not to be abandoned as a useless person. When you enter the flower tent, you can choose your own guests instead of being forced.
Several of the women at sea were clean, and they were all robbed and sold, so most of them agreed without hesitation. Fannie also agreed, but she made a request to send Lanie to Dalongtou to serve.
It can also be regarded as the innocence of the sister.
If the woman in the flower tent goes in and wants to come out, there is only one way, that is, someone is willing to marry her.
In the past few years, there have been many people who want to marry Hua Ni, either because they are dead, or because they don't care, Hua Ni did not agree.
But the year before last, she had taken a fancy to someone, but that person didn't have enough money.
It is also easy to marry a woman in the flower tent. There are two ways. One is to find a woman to replace it, and the other is to redeem it with money.
There is no need to think about finding a woman to replace it. Women at sea are rare, and it is impossible for them to be assigned to a low-level pirate. But if you want to redeem, the price is extremely high. Even if the pirates have done a lot of business without capital, they have gained a lot, and it is very difficult to get enough.
The young pirate has never been able to scrape together enough money. No, today's New Year's Eve, Lan Ni took advantage of Zhao'er to fall asleep, and secretly went to see her sister, but she saw her crying, and that's why she cried like this when she came back.
Lan Ni always felt that her sister suffered like this because of herself. If it wasn't for her, her sister might have been relieved long ago.
After Zhao'er heard it, she couldn't tell how she felt.
There are surprises, sighs, and sighs, all kinds of emotions are intertwined and very complicated.
Her eyes flashed and she asked softly, "Lanny, do you want to save your sister?"
"lady?"
"I have money to save your sister." Saying that, Zhao'er turned around and went to the bedroom, where she dug out a tattered piece of clothing from the closet.
It was the one that Zhao'er wore when she fell into the water, but she didn't want to lose it when she changed it later. Someone also checked her clothes, and she left them with nothing.
Zhao'er asked Lanny to find a pair of scissors, and she took the scissors and took apart the sleeves of the clothes. It is interlayer, and there are interlayers in the interlayer, and finally I took out an oiled paper roll.
This method is still in Xue Tingxiang's repeated exams back then, Zhao'er thought. When you go out, you will inevitably encounter accidents. With money, you can solve a lot of things. So every time Xue Tingxiang went out, Zhao'er would sew a mezzanine in his clothes, put a silver note in it, and wrap it in oiled paper.
She has always kept this habit, and when she goes out, she will prepare a copy of it. I don't usually use it all the time, but I didn't expect it to be used this time, and it was a little unexpected.
"It's a pity it's not silver, but with this ticket, you can get 10,000 taels of silver in the ticket number."
"Ten thousand taels?" Lan Ni was immediately stunned.
Zhao'er handed it to her and smiled bitterly: "I'm useless anyway, I'll give it to you."
"Ma'am, did you really give me this money?" Lan Ni said anxiously, she could tell she was an honest girl.
Zhao'er felt a little guilty, but still said: "This can't be exchanged for money, it's just a piece of paper. You also said that this is at sea, the sea is vast, and this can only be exchanged when you get to the shore. Take it, don't let others see it, You usually serve me with all your heart, so it should be a thought for you. If you can return to shore one day, you can also use it by yourself."
Lanny was a little dazed as she held the ticket.
"Okay, don't cry anymore. Rest early. There are no obstacles in this world. Crying can't solve the problem."
Zhao'er went to lie down on the couch, but Lan Ni was holding on to the ticket and thinking about her thoughts all night.
The next day, she went out with her things, Zhao'er knew all about it, but pretended not to know.