Su Ming told some about the current situation of Jinshanwei Town. Su Ren was very anxious after hearing this. As the head of one hundred households in the Ming Dynasty, it was his duty to protect the guardhouse against Japanese pirates. Su Ming looked at him and wished he could send troops to rescue Jinshanwei Town.

"Brother, don't think about Jinshanwei Town. We can't burn this pirate ship. If it is burned, the pirates will not dare to attack Jinshanwei Town and will find a way to leave immediately.

But can they let us go if they retreat to Second Weibao? We can't afford another war!" Su Ming said.

"I know, alas! Seeing the pirates rampant in my Jinshan Guard, but I can't move in Erwei Fort, I feel really worried!" Su Ren said.

"Are there so many pirates outside our Second Wei Fort? If you're in a hurry, you can go to them." Su Ming said angrily. He really forgot how the Second Wei Fort was defended. Wouldn't it be better to stay at home now?

"You mean we go out of the city to fight the pirates?" Su Ren asked seriously.

"What kind of battle are we going to do? We at Fort Wei don't even have 80 soldiers who can go to the battlefield. We don't know anything about the pirate situation outside the fort. Even if we want to go out to fight, we have to know how many enemies there are in the ten villages outside the fort." Su

Ming said.

"Then... tonight we will go from the tunnel to the four nearest villages to understand the strength of the pirates, and we will also have a better understanding of our current situation!" Su Ren said.

"It's better for me to go! I'm just checking the number of pirates in each village, but the tunnel still can't be used. If I use it, if the pirates find me, I and Fort Wei may be in trouble."

Li Lin is outside the fort. Let the two of us go there at night. There will be no danger if we carry guns. If there are too many people, the target will be too large, but we may be discovered by pirates," Su Ming said.

"This... okay! Brother Eight, you must be careful when the time comes. If you are surrounded, escape from the tunnel. I will lead people to meet you at the entrance of the tunnel." Su Ren thought for a while and nodded. There is indeed no better place than the Second Weibao.

The two of them are suitable for doing this kind of thing.

The pirates still did not attack in the afternoon, but it could be seen that there were still pirates in the four villages outside the fort. The smoke rising above the villages also showed that there were at least several hundred people in each village, which made Er Weibao not dare to be careless now.

In the evening, the four Su Ming brothers and Cao Chunrui arranged fine wine and food in the living room and invited Ma Xingwang to come. Su Zhe and Cao Chunrui looked at Su Ming with puzzled expressions.

You know why he invited everyone to drink at this time, but the pirates are still outside the castle!

"I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting. I don't know what the eighth master invites you to do today. As long as I, Ma, can do it, I will never refuse!" Ma Xingwang also saw Su Ren's ability and entered the living room to see the important person Er Weibao.

The staff had already arrived and he hurriedly said.

"It's nothing important. I just asked Li Lin to go to Jinshanwei Town yesterday and found out some things. If you don't understand something, please ask Master Ma for advice." Why did Su Ming make the scene so big?

That's because he knows that what Er Weibao lacks most now is actually talents, talents who can see the entire Ming Dynasty and even the world from a perspective.

This kind of talent is not achieved overnight. It requires continuous learning and understanding. Only by improving the vision of eldest brother and others can they make better choices in the future. If what they do in the future is not on the same line as the Ming Dynasty, they will also

Not like brothers facing each other.

"Baye has already investigated the situation in Jinshanwei Town. I wonder how Jinshanwei Town is doing now? How many pirates are there?" Cao Chunrui asked after hearing what Su Ming said.

"There are tens of thousands of pirates outside Jinshan Guard Town, and there is no way of knowing how many prisoners have gathered. Apart from our Second Wei Fort, there should be very few other guards who can protect themselves," Su Ming said.

"It will take at least seven days for the Songjiang City reinforcements to arrive. The pirates are so powerful this time that I am afraid they will need the support of the Suzhou and Hangzhou armies to drive away the pirates. We should persist for at least half a month." Su Ren said.

"Yes, Jinshanwei Town is one of the Four Great Guards of the Ming Dynasty. It is not that easy for pirates to break it. Today I invite everyone here not to talk about Jinshanwei, but to talk about other things!" Su Mingdao.

"Other things?" Su Zhe was puzzled.

"Yao Qianhu took his family to Songjiang City to visit friends at noon the day before yesterday. Master Ma has followed Yao Qianhu for more than a year. Do you know where Yao Qianhu got the news?" Su Ming asked.

"This... this Ma doesn't know. Ma only knows that Yao Qian's family is in the capital. Although there are no important ministers above the third rank in the family, there is some iron business in the north." Ma Xingwang said.

"Master Ba is saying that Yao Qianhu has colluded with pirates?" Cao Chunrui looked at Su Ming and asked.

"Collusion is not necessarily necessary, but the strength behind him must have been closely associated with pirates, or in other words, with maritime merchants." Su Ming said.

"Then this cannot be used as a handle! Although he left Jinshanwei Town with his family one step ahead of schedule, the commander will never punish him for serious crimes." Su Ren said.

"Master Ma has been an official in Fujian for decades and knows the situation there better than all of us. The year before last, the imperial court launched a heavy military campaign to suppress Wang Zhi, and Wang Zhi's lair was destroyed. Is this the case?" Su Ming asked.

"Yes, this matter has had a great impact on Fujian's officialdom. Many officials have been dismissed! There are still many state and county official positions vacant!" Ma Xingwang said.

"Is it empty? I'm afraid the newly appointed officials can't come, right? In the past two years, have more and more aristocratic families and ordinary people gone to sea to do business?" Su Ming asked.

Seeing Ma Xingwang nodding, Su Ren couldn't sit still: "Badi, what do you want to say?"

"Don't worry, everyone knows that every year there are merchant ships heading north from Fujian, and the Wangzhi base camp has been wiped out. Why has the fleet going north not only not decreased in recent years, but more and more?" Su Ming asked again.

"Ba Ye thinks Wang Zhi has changed his base?" Ma Xingwang asked uncertainly.

"Of course he changed his base, and more and more aristocratic families and people were willing to follow him. Wang Zhi was the largest maritime merchant in the Ming Dynasty more than 20 years ago. Think about how much profit his fleet can make in a year, he

Where did all the money go?

The Ming Dynasty banned trade, so Wang Zhi could only expand his power overseas. How big is his power now?

We don't know, the imperial court definitely knows, and the court officials also know, but have you ever thought about why so many aristocratic families are still doing business with Wang Zhi?" Su Ming asked.

"This..." Su Ren couldn't help but ponder. He was just a head of a hundred households, how could he know this.

"Eighth brother, what did you find?" Su Qingping asked.

"Although the emperor owns the whole world, he is only one person. How can he own it? How can he manage the great Ming Dynasty?

It's not the noble families who are assisting, so the whole world is actually in the hands of the royal family and many aristocratic families. If the royal family does not satisfy the aristocratic families, they can use their power to find a rival for the emperor." Su Ming said softly.

No one spoke. Talking about the royal family was a capital crime, but they really wanted to know what Su Ming wanted to say.

"The Ming Dynasty banned the sea, which blocked many people's financial paths. The aristocratic family introduced Wang Zhi. Now Wang Zhi's power has become so powerful that they can't control it, so they began to work together with the emperor to eradicate each other. But now Wang Zhi's power is so powerful that they can't control it.

It's unimaginable. If we can't eradicate it, what do you think Wang Zhi will do?" Su Ming asked.

"Wang Zhi will take revenge." Su Zhe said simply.

"I also think so. I was thinking about where Wang Zhi's power lies, and I couldn't help but think of Japanese pirates.

Have you noticed whether there are more merchant ships coming from the south or coming back from the north every year?" Su Ming asked again.

"Of course there are many merchant ships coming back from the north. Most of the merchant ships going north are carrying salt, cloth, tea, porcelain, etc., and most of the merchant ships going south are carrying livestock, leather, and ironware. Do we need more ships to transport livestock?" Su Qingping said hurriedly.

"Yes, more ships are needed to transport livestock. But there are so many shipyards in Jiangnan, and more ships come back from the north every year. Where have these ships gone?" Su Ming asked.

"Are you saying that some businessmen became pirates? The small pirate teams all rode in small boats. They were all destroyed after being cleared by the Ming Navy." Su Zhe said.

"Pirates? Why not Japanese pirates?" Su Ming asked.

"You said Wang Zhi would collude with the Japanese pirates?" Su Ren opened his eyes wide.

"More than collusion? It's not an exaggeration to say he is a leader!

Ma Xingwang was a master in Sha County, and he must have known about the Japanese country. The Japanese country was rich in silver, but ironware and food were in short supply, and the level of salt production was also very poor. Wang Zhi sent goods to the Japanese country and earned a lot of silver while developing in the country.

The power of the Ming Dynasty attracted more aristocratic families to participate.

On the other side, the Japanese pirates are developing their own power. Now the population of the Japanese country has reached nearly 10 million, and all the island forces are in a melee. Wang Zhi has money and people, and he will soon be able to gain a foothold in the Japanese country.

While he was making money from trade, he was attracting more forces to join him. However, many Japanese pirate forces were unable to support themselves. They would think of the powerful Wang Zhi.

In order to cooperate with the family to obtain more rights from the emperor, Wang Zhi would let some Japanese forces attack the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. He would bring the Japanese pirates to the southern islands of the Ming Dynasty at the end of September every year. The coastal officials could not resist the Japanese pirate attacks and had to ask Wang Zhi for help. As a result,

Wang Zhi took advantage of both inside and outside, and now he has become a behemoth.

I heard that Wang Zhi asked the imperial court to confer him the title of King Hui, and Emperor Jiajing has already agreed!" Su Ming said.

"How...how is this possible? Where did you get this news, eighth brother?" Su Ren said in surprise.

"It doesn't matter where you get the news, as long as everyone knows it.

The imperial court had no choice but to confer Wang Zhi the title of "King of Hui". As long as he had the chance, he would definitely chop off Wang Zhi's head.

How could Wang Zhi not know in his heart? He wanted to put pressure on the court and force the family to make a decision. The year before last, Wang Zhi's base camp was destroyed. Last year, the number of pirates and Japanese pirates along the coast of Ming Dynasty increased greatly. This year is more prosperous than last year. What about next year?

The imperial court was bound to react, and it was inevitable to send elites from the north to attack the Japanese pirates. However, many aristocratic families in the south were too deeply involved with Wang Zhi. This involvement could affect the whole body. How could the aristocratic families in the south sit back and wait for death.

At the beginning of last month, Zheng Baiwen of Funing Prefecture rebelled and captured Funing City. Many forces followed. They had repelled many attacks from the imperial court, and the imperial court was already considering Zhao'an.
Chapter completed!