Whether it is Nanjing or Xincheng, they are preparing to welcome Zhu Houzhao.

Chen Xi on Daqushan Island was not very interested in this because he was planning something that made him seem crazy, and it was gradually approaching his expectations.

"...Sir, it has been found that Zhang Yuan, Qian Ning and others have arranged for You Majesty's affairs in Yangzhou City. Your Majesty is reluctant to go, and it is still far away from leaving the south... But Your Majesty is happy to Shu, and it is probably related to the fact that the Lord leads troops to sea. Perhaps Your Majesty will wait for the Lord to return to the new city and set off to the new city to meet with the Lord..."

Late at night, Chen Xi was staring blankly at a map, his face slightly confused.

Yunliu said for a while, but when she saw Chen Xi not answering, she kept silent and just stood quietly aside.

Chen Xidao: "This battle may not be fought at the current pace, otherwise it will be necessary to quell the Japanese pirates. I don't know when it will delay, and it will cost the people and cause money... So I am going to attract the Japanese pirates and fight an annihilation battle."

Yun Liu shook her head: "Sir, this may be difficult, right?"

Chen Xi looked at Yunliu: "The main force of Japanese pirates was basically concentrated on the islands along the coast of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian and Guangdong. The total number was about 30,000 to 40,000, but the real elite may be only 40,000 or 50,000, and they are still affiliated with different factions. Now they are all in danger. If they are given a chance to turn the world, they may be able to seize it..."

"Sir, want to lure the enemy into the deeper?"

Yunliu was very clear about Chen Xi's intentions. When Chen Xi asked Han Yi to do business with Japanese pirates, he tactfully expressed his idea of ​​seducing the enemy.

While Chen Xi was fighting with the Japanese pirates, Han Yi secretly started a business with the Japanese pirates. This is almost the only way for Japanese pirates to obtain large-scale external resources.

In other words, the Japanese pirates temporarily obtained the survival supplies they had dreamed of from Chen Xi.

Chen Xi was fighting against Japanese pirates, but the Japanese pirates got supplies from Chen Xi's fingers deliberately. Chen Xi did not adopt the scorched earth strategy of killing them all, but opened up such a gap on the sea that Yun Liu felt incredible.

Chen Xidao: "If the main force of the Japanese pirates can be defeated in one fell swoop, the remaining Japanese pirates will not be afraid... Next, as long as the Ming Dynasty changes its previous sea ban strategy, after the sea is opened in the future, the living space of the Japanese pirates and pirates in the Ming Dynasty's sea will be infinitely compressed."

Yun Liu shook his head: "Sir, if there are more people living by the sea, wouldn't the Japanese pirates and pirates have more opportunities to plunder? The pirates may be even more relentless!"

Chen Xidao: "Many things are different from what you think. The reason why Japanese pirates and pirates breed is the Ming Dynasty's blockade of the sea... In the future, after the sea is opened, the people and gentry will form a powerful interest alliance against pirates and Japanese pirates. The coastal guards must protect the land and water, and can also obtain more resources. If they fight with Japanese pirates, they will no longer be at a disadvantage as before."

"From now on, the coastal islands near the Ming Dynasty will gradually be occupied, controlled by the Ming army, and establish an effective rule. No matter whether it is Japanese pirates, pirates, or Folang Ji people, they will not be able to survive in the Ming Dynasty's waters!"

Yunliu heard that Chen Xi said was too idealistic, but she would not openly refute it.

After all, this is Chen Xi’s plan, and all she needs to do is follow. As for her opinion, it’s just not adopted by Chen Xi. Moreover, she can feel that Chen Xi has long considered it comprehensively, not on a whim.

"I may not go back for the time being. I will think about how to fight the main Japanese pirates." Chen Xi suddenly said, "I will report to Your Majesty and let Your Majesty know my plan and see how he reacts!"

...

...

Chen Xi originally decided to withdraw the new city, but suddenly changed.

Yun Liu was caught off guard.

The soldiers under Chen Xi were not surprised by this.

The military achievements were too few before that, so they were unwilling to go back to the army. It would be better to stay at the sea to continue fighting with the Japanese pirates. They claimed to be the most elite troops under Chen Xi. These more than 3,000 people were carefully selected from more than 20,000 people. It was a bit exaggerated to be one, but there should be no problem when it is ten.

Hu Songyue and Song Shu learned the news and went to Chenxi overnight to inquire about the situation.

After all, according to the previous plan, the entire army would board the ship and set off to return to the new city in the morning. The current change is equivalent to adding too many uncertain factors to the future.

Hu Songyue was very nervous when he saw Chen Xi.

"Sir, we want to continue moving south? But we only have six large ships on hand, and there is a huge distance from the planned fleet. Will we be a little rash when we just move south like this?"

Song Shu looked at him disdainfully: "Why, Lao Hu, are you scared?"

Hu Songyue patted his chest: "What am I afraid of? Even if there are swords and fires in front of me, I, Old Hu, would not even blink my eyes and dared to jump in."

Chen Xidao: "No one asked you to jump into the fire pit, but I heard that someone was doing business with Japanese pirates, and a large number of strategic materials entered the hands of Japanese pirates. If this trade route is not cut off, Japanese pirates will no longer be afraid of the imperial seal on them, and they will live a very happy life in the next few years!"

Song Shu and Hu Songyue looked at each other, and then Song Shu said angrily: "At this critical moment, someone dares to do business with Japanese pirates. Don't you want to live?"

Chen Xi did not intend to show that he was the culprit behind the whole incident.

With the sudden emergence of trade channels, Japanese pirates can undoubtedly take a breath... With stable supplies, it becomes possible to persevere.

But Chen Xi "decisively" started by cutting off the trade route, and Japanese pirates could not sit idly by.

"Because the news was a bit late, according to my estimate, in order to protect this trade route, the Japanese pirates may struggle with a large number of sea ships and take their most advanced firearms to the north to respond. That is a great time to carry out a strategic decisive battle."

Chen Xi introduced carefully, "If we do not do anything, it means we will fight a long-lasting tug-of-war with the Japanese pirates, which is too much trouble... But now there is a problem, that is, the number of ships and soldiers on hand seems to be insufficient to fight the Japanese pirates head-on!"

Hu Songyue almost jumped up when he heard this and said, "Can't you fight them head-on? Why? Are you just a group of thieves? It's just a group of thieves! Even if our sea boats are not as large as them, they are much larger than them. I don't believe that these thieves can still turn against the will of heaven!"

Chen Xi nodded: "We are officials, they are bandits. It is natural for officers and soldiers to suppress bandits, but in order to survive, they will fight us to the end. This is also a time to test the soldiers of our three armies working together to overcome the crisis."

"According to the investigation by my official, the transactions between the Japanese pirates at sea were carried out on Jiushan and Saneshan first-line islands. They had already done a transaction before. In six days, the next transaction was going on. This time they might send tens of thousands of stones of grain to the sea, as well as a large number of weapons and population..."

Hu Songyue was shocked: "Who is so bold? Even though he knows that the lord is leading troops to fight against the thieves, they still dare to rob the inside."

Song Shu said: "Now, there are many people who don't even care about their wealth and life for the sake of their interests... Didn't the Japanese pirates grow and grow with the support of the senior officials in the court?"

Song Shu's words obviously refer to the actions of the two brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling. Although Song Shu was promoted by both Zhang, Zhang's relatives have lost their power. Song Shu had not been accustomed to the behavior of the Zhang brothers before, and now he is just taking advantage of the situation of following Chen Xi to send troops out of control.

Chen Xi shook his head: "What purpose do they do this business is not within the scope of our official's consideration. We only care about how to cut off their trade routes."

"We will send all ships and men to the ocean south of Dinghai to fight against the Japanese pirates. The biggest variable in this battle is the Folang Jiren... If the Folang Jiren does not appear, we have about 70% chance of winning, but if the Folang Jiren is involved, the chance of winning may not exceed 50%.

"A 50% chance of winning is not a man who doesn't want to do anything!" Hu Songyue raised his arms and said.

Song Shu was obviously not as optimistic as Chen Xi. Although he had not seen the sea boats near Daqushan Island with his own eyes, he learned something afterwards and knew that if the war started that day, Chen Xi's fleet might not be able to get benefits under the Flangshan Island warship.

If the Folang Jimen and the Japanese pirates were entangled with each other, Chen Xi would almost lose this time.

Even Song Shu didn't quite understand why Chen Xi deliberately provoked such a war that seemed meaningless.

Song Shu said: "Sir, they can actually block their land channels. They may not necessarily have to engage in a naval battle with uncertainty on unfamiliar seas. We can also wait until there are too many ships at the end of the year before starting the war. It is still too risky now..."

"Old Song, are you scared?"

Hu Songyue finally had a chance to fight back this time.

Song Shu frowned: "The general just wanted to explain the situation to the master. It is not clear about the movements of the Folang Jiman fleet. If they really unite with the Japanese pirates... our chances of victory may not be that high..."

Chen Xi smiled and said, "If General Song doesn't want to go, I will not force you."

Song Shu quickly explained: "The last general has no intention of shirking responsibility, he just wants to express his thoughts."

Chen Xidao: "As General Song said, I have thought that the Folang Ji people are temporarily in a state of watching the fire from the other side of the river. If they want to fight with us, they may lack courage... If they really intend to start a war, they will not be fighting with us at sea, but will decisively drive the fleet towards the new city, taking advantage of the empty defense of the new city, bombarding or even occupying the new city!"

"They dare!" Hu Songyue said angrily.

Chen Xi sighed slightly: "Now is not the time to consider these things. I have repeatedly judged all the situations. In short, let the soldiers go out with peace of mind. No matter what chance of winning is nonsense, as long as we go south, plus the local garrison troops, we will definitely have an absolute advantage. How many thousands of Japanese pirates dare to fight us?"

"yes."

Even if Song Shu had any objections, he could only bow his head to the order at this time.

Chen Xi smiled: "This sudden battle may disappoint Your Majesty. After our troops enter the waters south of Dinghai, they may pacify the seas in one battle. Then they will go back to Xincheng to receive the merits and rewards from Your Majesty. I will personally ask you for the merits."

Song Shu and Hu Songyue heard that they could succeed in one battle, which means that Wang Lingzhi, Liu Xu and others who were staying in the new city would completely lose the opportunity to seize credit. Even if they were worried about the current war, they would not care about it at this moment, and their eyes were full of desire for credit.

...

...

Chen Xi decided to continue his army south, which seemed to be a decision made in a hasty manner, but in fact it had been planned for a long time.

The news soon reached the new city, which surprised the temporary city lord Tang Yin.

"Didn't you agree to withdraw your troops? Why did you suddenly decide to continue to fight?" Zhang Lun asked.

When they heard this news, the person who was most nervous was not Tang Yin, but the generals who stayed in the new city. These people thought that Chen Xi's battle was just a brief taste, but they did not expect that Chen Xi would change his mind temporarily.

Chen Xi led the fleet to continue to travel south and would likely succeed in a battle. At that time, Wang Lingzhi and Liu Xu and other left-behind generals lost the opportunity to continue to make achievements.

There were many people in the yamen who had this question. They were excited and eager to find someone to ask for an explanation.

Even Zhang Lun, who is so arrogant that he cannot participate in the war because he is arrogant and expensive, was filled with a sense of loss when he heard that Chen Xi went to war in the south.

This involves the honor of soldiers, fame, wealth and other aspects.

Tang Yin looked at these people and shook his head and said, "This is a message from Shangshu Chen who sent someone to pass on the message, saying that he wanted to cut off the route of Japanese pirates and land trade and completely lock them on the island. This battle should not be the final decisive battle. The main purpose is to attack the enemy's food channels and supply lines. I think you should understand, right?"

In this case, Tang Yin could only try his best to appease the anxious and lost generals, although he knew that this explanation was very far-fetched.

Tang Yin held the same idea as the people present, that is, Chen Xi never fought a battle that he was unsure. Since Chen Xi chose to continue moving south this time, he was sure to win.

The Japanese pirates were originally mobs, and they could not be compared with the Diyi in the grassland. When they fought against the Tatars, Chenxi brought more than 20,000 troops out of the frontier and returned triumphantly. Now, should we bring the same number of troops to the plain sea and border?

Three thousand troops in Chenxi are enough to scatter the thieves on the sea. In this way, the left-behind people are eliminated in disguise and lose the opportunity to gain military achievements.

Wang Lingzhi seemed very excited: "Mr. Shen has said, should we send reinforcements? I can lead troops to reinforcements."

Everyone was looking at Wang Lingzhi.

They all understood Wang Lingzhi's urgent mentality very well, but even Wang Lingzhi did not participate in the war, so they felt a little bit more balanced. Just as Chen Xi did not take Wang Ling on the boat before, Chen Xi did not nepotism in this matter, and his previous selections were very fair and strict.

Tang Yin shook his head and said, "Shangshu Chen did not mention the reinforcement matters, but if there is any mistake in this battle, he can send troops to reinforce... But the journey is always a bit long and requires local personnel, especially Dinghai Guard soldiers, and the cooperation of the local ministry yamen."

Wang Lingzhidao: "Mr. Shen sent troops, but he never saw any mistakes. He didn't let us send troops. Could it be that we are just waiting here?"

Originally, a group of people wanted to fight for it, but after hearing Wang Lingzhi's words, they began to stand on the "neutral" standpoint to persuade Wang Lingzhi.

"General Xiao Wang must not be anxious. Many things need to be discussed for a long time. If Lord Shen didn't give him instructions, who can lead the troops out? Everything should be put first..."

Xiao Zhuozi said: "Your Majesty still doesn't know about this news, but our family doesn't know how to mention it to Your Majesty. Some people know it but deliberately don't say it, such as Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan..."

Zhang Yong thought for a while and said, "It's time, and there are still people who dare to know and not report it? Or maybe they just deliberately avoid it and not mention it to His Majesty?"
To be continued...