Hu Zongxian calmed down and nodded slightly. He said with a trace of resentment, "I think he looked down on the fighting strength of the imperial army and wanted to use my personal guards."
Xu Wei smiled, "Otherwise, there's another reason. When the imperial army is mobilized, the military registrar has to verify the official documents. Although Bai Xiao Friend can forge illusions, he can't forge official documents. He was afraid that he would run into a stubborn person, that's why he went to find Zhou Shun. There's no need to check official documents to transfer personal guards. When Zhou Shun saw Du Gong's illusion, he naturally agreed to everything. "
Yu Dayou muttered, "Bai Xiao is a bit too much. Since he wanted to avenge me, why didn't he come to me directly? Do you think I wouldn't be willing to lend those three people to him?"
Xu Wei thought for a moment, "General Yu, don't complain. This is for your own good."
Yu Dayou was at a loss.
"Taizu once listed the Wo Nation as a country that shouldn't be invaded. Before the Emperor gives a decree, as a general, you can't rashly attack the Wo Nation. If you lent your personal guards to little friend Bai, you would be committing a crime knowingly and the military governor would have to spend a lot of effort to help you cover it up. Now that he used Daoist techniques to trick three of your personal guards, you don't have to bear any responsibility. "
Xu Wei shook his head and sighed, "I wonder when His Majesty will send a decree to attack the Wo Nation and wipe out the source of the pirates. Without an imperial decree, our hundreds of thousands of troops can only defend the long coastline. Sitting here and watching little friend Bai face danger alone, I really don't feel good. "
Hu Zongxian said seriously, "Wen Zhang, you shouldn't be saying this. Even if we don't take the initiative to attack, we can build up the defenses along the coastline and train our troops. The pirates will come but not return. In less than ten years, the pirates will be suppressed. If we take the initiative to attack, it will be difficult to resupply across the sea and victory will be hard to predict. Have you forgotten the Mongol Empire's Khubilai Khan's three expeditions against Japan? "
Xu Wei nodded slightly. Of course he knew. In the Yuan Dynasty, Khubilai Khan once went on an expedition against Japan and built seven thousand ships. However, all three expeditions failed. The first two expeditions were because they weren't well prepared and couldn't land. On the last expedition, they were well prepared, but they encountered a typhoon and couldn't land.
It wasn't because he didn't want to, but because his ability was limited. He was afraid that his descendants would throw their limited manpower into the bottomless hole and cause the country to collapse. This was the lesson learned of the Sui Dynasty's conquest of Korea.
"In any case, the matter of Bai Xiao borrowing troops must be kept a secret." Hu Zongxian sighed, "He has given me a difficult problem."
…
In the endless blue sea, two warships cut through the waves and sailed forward.
"Looking at the time, Hu Zongxian should have received the news by now." Bai Xiaowen looked up at the sun.
"Our reputation didn't drop." Li Shuyi sighed.
"Yes," he said, "Our's's's's's's, so it's's's's's.. However, my friend-level favorability with Hu Zongxian didn't decrease by a lot. That was a little weird. No matter what, it's a good thing. "
Of course, Bai Xiaowen didn't know that when he visited Xu Wei in the end, Xu Wei helped him explain the whole story in front of Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou, preventing him from having a lower favorability towards him.
In fact, Bai Xiaowen had already prepared himself. Even if Hu Zongxian's favorability decreased, he would accept it. Next, the anti-Mao Ming army would have to digest the fruits of their victory, break up the pirates, and train a new army. It was impossible for them to do anything big in the short term. Staying there would be a waste of time.
Bai Xiaowen had been thinking about how to use the remaining free exploration time yesterday.
One of the options was to head north to the capital and complete Sun Xuanqing's mission. This quest line involved the fight between the Celestial Master Sect and the Quan Zhen Sect. It was bound to be accompanied by the strengthening of Taoist skills, talismans, and tools. It was more suitable for the development of a spirit-type Awakened like him.
However, Fujian was very far from the capital, and it was difficult to travel by land. He estimated that he wouldn't be able to reach the capital even if he spent the remaining five days, let alone participate in the fight between the Taoist sects.
Therefore, Bai Xiaowen could only choose the second option, which was to complete the side quest that he had discovered before, Search for the Sword.
"Xiaowen, we should be very far from Japan, right? If we go to Japan like this, won't we have enough time? "Li Shuyi asked.
"We have to be clear about one thing. Our destination is not the three islands of Hirado, but Matsuura Shinkuro," Bai Xiaowen said. "If we are lucky, Matsuura Shinkuro hasn't returned to China, but is stationed in Nanyang or Penghu Islands. We can find him as soon as possible. Of course, we can't rule out the worst-case scenario, which is that Matsuura Shinkuro has already returned to Japan, and we will have to spend a lot of time sailing. "
After a pause, Bai Xiaowen continued.
"Jinmen is indeed very far from Hirado. The straight-line distance is about the same as the distance between Jinmen and the capital. However, sailing day and night on the sea doesn't require trivial and complicated things like road guides and customs documents, so it's faster. According to my calculations, it will take us about three days to reach the three islands of Hirado if the ship is fast. Even if the wind is unfavorable, it will take us more than four days. "
"So, even if the worst-case scenario happens, we can still make it in time. It's just that it's a tight schedule," Bai Xiaowen concluded.
"So, where is Matsuura Shinkuro? How can we find him? " Li Shuyi frowned and said, "I also read his letter to Pockmarked Ye, but Matsuura Shinkuro didn't mention his whereabouts at all."
Bai Xiaowen said, "I've already considered this. Both Matsuura Shinkuro and Pockmarked Ye are the leaders of the samurai group of the Matsuura clan. They shouldn't be so cautious as to hide each other's whereabouts. Considering that it's difficult to communicate on the sea, it's more reasonable that the two of them often communicate with each other in letters to inform each other of their movements. In other words, Pockmarked Ye must know Matsuura Shinkuro's location and movements, so he didn't specifically mention it in his letter. "
"But Pockmarked Ye is dead."
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Pockmarked Ye is dead, but the pirates under his command are still there. Before I set off last night, I used Hu Zongxian's illusion to borrow 200 soldiers and prepare half a month's worth of food and supplies. I also inspected the prisoner camp and selected a few of Pockmarked Ye's trusted pirates and escorted them to the ship. Now, it's time to interrogate them and find out Matsuura Shinkuro's location. "
Bai Xiaowen ordered outside the cabin. Not long after, Zhang Ting came over with a few soldiers and escorted three of Pockmarked Ye's trusted pirates.
"Only three people? And they look very weak. I'm afraid they're low-level personnel, "Li Shuyi whispered." What if they don't know Pockmarked Ye's identity as a real Japanese pirate? "
The three of them were ordinary, and their levels were no higher than Level 5. In terms of strength, they were weaker than Bai Xiaowen's skeleton sword-shield soldier. They were indeed weak.
Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "I chose these three after careful consideration. They're weak, but they're Pockmarked Ye's trusted subordinates. This in itself speaks volumes. One of them even acts as Pockmarked Ye's butler! As for the other two, one is responsible for conveying Pockmarked Ye's flagship flag signal, and the other is responsible for maintaining Pockmarked Ye's sword. If these three don't know Pockmarked Ye's true identity, then no one else will. "
The three of them were tied up tightly with hemp rope and their mouths were sealed. They had been detained separately in the lower cabin until now. One of them was weak and was escorted over. When he saw Bai Xiaowen, his eyes were filled with fear.
Bai Xiaowen said calmly, "You're Pockmarked Ye's subordinates. Now that Pockmarked Ye has been executed, as his henchmen, you're also guilty. But now, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourselves by exposing Pockmarked Ye's secret. Whoever knows the most of Pockmarked Ye's secrets will be pardoned first. "
Bai Xiaowen waved his hand, indicating for Zhang Ting to remove the hemp rope that sealed their mouths.
The three Wokou pirates gasped for breath, but no one dared to speak first. The atmosphere was a bit oppressive for a moment.
Bai Xiaowen wasn't in a hurry. He gently tapped his finger on the table. "It seems like you don't cherish this opportunity to perform meritorious deeds. Kitts, drag him out and feed him to the fish. "
Bai Xiaowen casually pointed at one of the pirates. That person was Pockmarked Ye's flag-bearer. His face was filled with fear, and he loudly begged for mercy. "Sir, I really don't know what secrets Boss Ye … Pockmarked Ye has! Oh right, he likes to gamble. His luck is very bad, and his gambling habits are even worse. I don't know if that counts … "
Bai Xiaowen didn't listen to him and just waved his hand. Kitts laughed mischievously and dragged the man out of the cabin by the scruff of his neck. Soon after, there were cries of alarm and the sound of something heavy falling into the water. After being tied up so tightly and thrown into the sea, even a person who was skilled in swimming would find it difficult to survive.
The remaining two pirates were as silent as cicadas in winter.
Bai Xiaowen glanced at the two of them. "My patience is limited. I'll wait five more seconds. If the two of you still don't speak, then you'll both be fed to the fish."
"Sir, I'm willing to speak!" one of the pirates said in a trembling voice.
Bai Xiaowen glanced at the man and recognized him as the one who had been helping Pockmarked Ye maintain his sword. For a true wanderer like Pockmarked Ye, his sword was as important as his life. Since this person was able to help Pockmarked Ye clean and maintain his sword, Pockmarked Ye must have trusted him greatly.
"Speak."
"Pockmarked Ye … he's not an honest person!"
Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes and revealed a look of interest.
Pockmarked Ye's steward cursed loudly, "Idiot! Mutian, you greedy coward! You actually want to betray the Songpu family? "
Bai Xiaowen's lips curled into a smile. It seemed like he had made the right choice. At least the two people in front of him knew about Pockmarked Ye's background.
After being scolded, Mutian, who was maintaining his sword, felt a little guilty.
Bai Xiaowen, on the other hand, directly used the Bewitching Talisman on the steward!
"The enemy's strength is 0.224: 1. The success rate of the Bewitching Talisman is success! The pirate Arima Jiro has been bewitched. "
Mutian watched as the steward's attitude changed from anger to obedience. He knelt in front of Bai Xiaowen and wanted to kiss his boots. Mutian felt a wave of fear.
"This person is unrepentant and unrepentant. I've already used my Daoist techniques to steal his soul. I can also see through most of the secrets he knows. If you dare to lie, I'll make you suffer the same fate as him! "
Bai Xiaowen had actually exaggerated the power of his "telepathy" ability to see through memories. The power of telepathy could only see through a limited number of memory fragments. It might not even be able to see through half of a person's memories. As for the ratio of eighty to ninety percent, that was even more impossible.
However, Mutian, who was maintaining his sword, was already scared out of his wits. He immediately knelt down and swore an oath, not daring to lie.
Bai Xiaowen first asked him about some of the secrets he already knew, such as the details of Ye Mazi's daily life, habits, and so on. Mutian respectfully told him everything he knew. Bai Xiaowen purposely mentioned a few things that Mutian hadn't intentionally left out. Mutian was so shocked that he broke out in cold sweat. He believed that Bai Xiaowen was telling the truth.
After that, Bai Xiaowen began to ask about the Matsuura Family and Matsuura Shinkuro.
The Matsuura Family lived on the Hirado Island. The head of the family was called Matsuura Takanobu, and his Buddhist name was Daoke. The Hirado Island was the birthplace of the Japanese pirates. It also had a good harbor, so it became a place where the pirates sold their stolen goods.
Ever since the Ming Dynasty banned maritime trade with Japan, the upper class of Japan became more and more desperate for the silk cloth produced by the Ming Dynasty. This gave rise to a large number of armed sea smugglers, who were also Japanese pirates. They plundered the rich Jiangnan coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. After all, no matter the time, doing business without any capital was the fastest way to make money.
In the past, the famous Japanese pirate Wang Zhi was treated with courtesy by Matsuura Takanobu on the Hirado Island. Later on, he became the godfather of the pirates who controlled the Japanese pirates in the southeast.
Matsuura Takanobu supported the pirates to sell their stolen goods on the Hirado Island and enjoyed the profits. He also trained the Matsuura Family's private fleet to participate in the plundering of the Japanese pirates. Famous pirates like Matsuura Shinkuro and the Matsuura Four Assistants were all capable generals of the Matsuura Family's fleet.
Speaking of Pockmarked Ye, his real name was Ma Ye. The reason why he changed his name, banner, and even place of birth to blend into the ranks of the fake Japanese was because of the dual considerations of one in the light and one in the dark, echoing Matsuura Shinkuro.
Ye Mazi was a hidden chess piece mainly to gather information for Matsuura Shinkuro's fleet. He wanted to prevent the Japanese pirates from targeting the Matsuura Family's fleet.
A few days ago, Xin Jiulang attacked Fujian and was pursued by Yu Dayou. After injuring Yu Dayou, Xin Jiulang sent a secret message to Ye Mazi, asking him to participate in the plundering of the various prefectures in Fujian while Yu Dayou was injured and unconscious.
After that, Ye Mazi sent the second-in-command, Chen Duyan (Chen Bao), to break into Quanzhou Prefecture and loot a lot of wealth. However, Chen Duyan was first betrayed by Xu Hong, and then four Awakened ones were assigned to Chen Duyan's flagship by the rules of the Spiritual Realm. As a result, all his wealth was stolen, and Chen Duyan himself was killed.
"Where is Xin Jiulang now?" Bai Xiaowen asked the last crucial question.
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