It was already dark. In the Dragon King Temple next to the dock, Li Jie and Zhang Dingbian sat around the fire, discussing the Japanese pirates. Zhang Dingbian had said before that he would help Li Jie eliminate the Japanese pirates, but he could not believe Tang He and was willing to talk to Li Jie, and was even unwilling to board the Ming Dynasty warship, so Li Jie had to accompany him to the Dragon King Temple to discuss in detail.

"Deputy Envoy Li, do you know why it is difficult for Japanese pirates to clear them?" Zhang Dingbian reached out and added a piece of fire to the fire and asked. An iron pot was hung on the fire, and the sea fish sent by the villagers were boiling. Speaking of which, the monk Zhang Dingbian was not very qualified. He killed people and ate meat. Li Jie suspected that the twelve Bodhisattva ring scars on his head should have been burned with his incense head.

"The Japanese pirates come and go freely on the sea, and their whereabouts are hard to catch. In addition, the Ming Dynasty's coastline is so long that it is impossible to defend. The imperial court cannot arrange heavy troops to guard the first coast, so the small Japanese pirates made the coast restless." Li Jie replied in a deep voice.

"Yes, the biggest reliance of the Japanese pirates is their secretive whereabouts, but have you ever thought about it? This place is clearly the coast of the Ming Dynasty, so why can they come and go freely, and even play with you officers and soldiers in applause?" Zhang Dingbian asked again.

"This..." Li Jie smiled helplessly when he heard this, "I heard that many people along the coast had an affair with Japanese pirates, and could inform them, such as the gangsters who lived on the sea."

Hearing Li Jie mentioning the gang people, Zhang Dingbian sneered: "You Ming Dynasty does not regard the gang people as humans. Not only do you prohibit them from going ashore, but you also impose heavy taxes on them and have to obey heavy labor every year, which has led to many gang people not being able to survive at all. In this case, the gang people are of course full of resentment towards you. If you are gang people, what would you do?"

Zhang Dingbian's words also made Li Jie silent. Not everyone is a saint, and he also knows some of the sufferings of the people. In this case, it is difficult to keep the people loyal to the Ming Dynasty than to reach the heavens. To be honest, if he was placed in the position of the people, he might not be able to stand this oppression and rebellion long ago.

"The treasures are also people of my Ming Dynasty. I will definitely not sit idly by and watch their affairs. After I go back, I will find a way to suggest to Your Majesty to change the current situation of the treasures!" Li Jie finally raised his head and said solemnly. He could understand it. If the treasures are not solved in one day, it will be difficult for the Japanese pirates to clear them.

"It's good that you have this heart." Zhang Dingbian just sighed when he heard this. It's not that he doesn't believe in Li Jie, but that the problem of the Hanmin is too complicated. Not to mention Li Jie, even Zhu Yuanzhang may find it difficult to solve the problems facing the Hanmin.

"In fact, the sources of the sacred people are very diverse. There are sacrificial people of the previous dynasty and some people who went to sea for various reasons. Among these sacrificers, I know some people. Because when we were defeated, some people were unwilling to surrender, so they took a boat to the sea."

Zhang Dingbian paused and then said, "There are also Zhang Shicheng's people at the time, and many of them went out of the sea. Now they have joined forces overseas to form a force. If I come forward, I may be able to find out some news about Japanese pirates from them."

"Really? How sure are you, Master Mu Lecture?" Li Jie asked happily when he heard this. Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng had formed an alliance to deal with Zhu Yuanzhang, but unfortunately they were suspicious of each other, and were finally defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, although Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were defeated and died, there were many loyal people, especially Zhang Shicheng, who was very famous in the Jiangnan area. Even after his death, the people still missed him. For this reason, Lao Zhu was so angry that he paid heavy taxes in the Jiangnan area and even forbidden the Southern people to be prime ministers. Later generations of Jiangnan people scolded Anhui people, probably because of Lao Zhu. Unfortunately, they forgot that Lao Zhu's ancestral home was in Jurong, Zhenjiang, and he was also a typical Jiangnan person.

"I can't tell you this. They have sent people to contact me many times over the years, but unfortunately I was discouraged at that time and ignored them. Now I don't know how they are?" Zhang Dingbian sighed at the end of his speech. When he broke his armor and returned to the field, he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang's great power had been achieved and he was unable to turn the world back, so he became a monk in disheartening.

"Okay, then Master Lao Mu'sang will contact these old subordinates. If they can provide information about the Japanese pirates, I will report to Your Majesty and ask for their merits!" Li Jie immediately stood up and bowed solemnly to Zhang Dingbian.

Zhang Dingbian was Chen Youliang's sworn brother. He was appointed as the Grand Marshal by Chen Youliang at the time. He had a very high prestige in the army. With him, Chen Youliang's old subordinates would definitely respond.

After chatting, Li Jie had dinner with Zhang Dingbian again. The two also chatted about some of the things they had in the past, such as the Battle of Poyang Lake, which Li Jie was most interested in. Unfortunately, when talking about the things that happened back then, Zhang Dingbian seemed very sad and was unwilling to talk more. But it was normal to think about it. After all, his brother Chen Youliang died in the chaos.

But to be honest, the Poyang Lake Battle was also the most dangerous battle in Zhu Yuanzhang's life, because his military strength was not as good as Chen Youliang at that time, especially in the navy, even if he burned some of Chen Youliang's warships with fire attack, he still failed to completely turn the situation around. If Chen Youliang had not died unexpectedly in the ravine, no one would have been sure of the outcome of that battle.

After dinner, Li Jie returned to the warship. Fang Guan brought some warships back to Ningbo Port, and Tang He took another warship to stay, mainly waiting for news from Li Jie. When Li Jie returned to the warship, Tang He immediately stepped forward and asked, "How is it, what did he say?"

Li Jie immediately repeated Zhang Dingbian's words, but Tang He sneered after hearing this: "I knew that he must have contact with the old subordinates of Chen Youliang and others!"

But then Tang He looked up again and said to Li Jie: "Zhang Dingbian did not say anything to death. He didn't even know how sure he was, so we can't put all our hopes on him!"

"Then Grandpa Tang, do you mean?" Li Jie still believed Zhang Dingbian more, but what Tang He said made sense.

"You are staring at Zhang Dingbian. If he can use his old subordinates to provide information about Japanese pirates, of course it is best. I am preparing to strengthen the coastal defense. If you fail, at least I can explain to Your Majesty!" Tang He immediately ordered.

After hearing this, Li Jie refused to comment. Before he came, he promised Zhu Yuanzhang that he would not return to Beijing without destroying the Japanese pirates. If he only strengthened the coastal defense, he would not be allowed to explain to Zhu Yuanzhang at all. Therefore, he had to think of other ways to eliminate the Japanese pirates. Of course, the best way was that Zhang Dingbian could really provide information about the Japanese pirates, so he could find their nest to destroy them in one fell swoop.

At the same time, in the Forbidden City of Jinling, Zhu Yuanzhang in the warm pavilion threw a memorial on the table and said angrily: "Don't he knows it at all, does he have no self-knowledge at all, and insists on letting me give in again!"

"Don't calm down! Otherwise... I'll go and persuade the Korean Minister in person?" Zhu Biao hesitated for a moment and finally spoke.

The memorial that made Zhu Yuanzhang so angry was sent by Li Shanchang, and the content was to plead for his nephew Ding Bin, asking Zhu Yuanzhang to let him go for his sake.

If Li Jie were here, he would probably be angry to death by Li Shanchang. He had already said so clearly, but the other party still didn't listen. Unfortunately, Li Shanchang didn't know that Zhu Yuanzhang could let his younger brother Li Cunyi out of his face ten years ago, but today after ten years ten, Zhu Yuanzhang would no longer let his nephew Ding Bin out of his face.

"No, he is old and confused. What's the use of others' persuasion?" Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily again. He felt that he had tolerated Li Shanchang, an old minister, but the other party was getting more and more aggressive, which had aroused his great disgust.

Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was angry, he suddenly saw a man walking in quickly. It was Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, who saw the other party approaching and immediately saluting: "Report to Your Majesty, Ding Bin confesses!"

"What did he say?" Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked when he heard this, and Zhu Biao next to him showed a worried look.

"According to Ding Bin, when he was at Hu Weiyong's mansion, he saw Li Cunyi discussing rebellion with Hu Weiyong, and Li Cunyi may have known more about it!" Mao Xiang said excitedly. He didn't dare to interrogate Li Cunyi back then, but now with the definite evidence, there is enough reason to arrest Li Cunyi for interrogation again.

When Zhu Biao heard this, he finally couldn't help but go forward and persuaded: "Father! You pardoned Li Cunyi in person. If the old things were brought up again now, I'm afraid that he would be to his father..."

However, before Zhu Biao finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "It was the time when it was the time, now it is now. Since it is confirmed that Li Cunyi is related to Hu Weiyong, it will be investigated to the end."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned cold when he said this, and immediately ordered Mao Xiang: "Mao Xiang, you personally take someone to Chongming and bring Li Cunyi and his son back for interrogation!"

"I will obey the order!" Mao Xiang agreed excitedly immediately, and after that, he turned around and left here. But behind him, Zhu Biao was full of worries. His father wanted to capture Li Cunyi, and then many people would be implicated?
Chapter completed!