"Adeline?" Yang Ling looked her up and down. She was very beautiful, especially the voluptuous and graceful figure of a western girl. It really made one's heart race. She smiled humbly at Yang Ling, but there was still a noble and reserved temperament between her brows. Also … her back was very straight, like a servant who was used to bowing to others?
Yang Ling suddenly became suspicious. He turned around and walked to the table. He sat down and said, "How did you come to Ming Destiny?"
Adeline said sadly, "I come from Agavi. My companions and I were kidnapped by pirates. They … are already dead. I traveled with the pirate ship for more than a year before I came to the east. Not long ago, I was sold as a slave to the pirates of Ming Destiny. I thought …"
Her beautiful big eyes overflowed with tears, and she gently wiped them away. She put on a smiling face and said, "When I was young, I read a book called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. It described a great country in the East, where there were huge commercial cities, excellent roads and bridges, and gorgeous palaces.
But even his friends and family did not believe that there was such a heavenly place in the world. When he was on his deathbed, his friends and family asked him to repent to God, but he said that the beauty of the east was not even half of what he had seen with his own eyes. Now that I have seen the beauty of this place with my own eyes, I believe him. My lord, Adeline was betrayed by pirates and suffered a lot. I … I am willing to stay by my lord's side and serve you. I beg you to protect me. "As she said this, she bowed down.
Yang Ling was unmoved. He just smiled and said, "You speak Chinese well!"
"Ah?" Adeline hurriedly wiped her tears and said, "The pirate ship that kidnapped me hired many people from Ming Destiny. In the past two years, I have learned a lot."
Yang Ling's eyes lit up. He hurriedly asked, "Then where are the pirates that kidnapped you now? How many ships do they have? How many cannons? "
Adeline looked at him strangely and replied, "They … have three merchant ships that are also cannon ships. Each ship has twelve cannons and about two hundred sailors. They have been anchored in Luzon for the past few days."
"Luzon? Could it be … that there was another group of pirates? That's right, during the reign of Hongzhi, Franji's pirates had come to Ming Destiny's territory. Now, the ones entrenched in Manjinja might not be the only ones to come to the east. "
At this thought, Yang Ling glanced at the pitiful Adeline kneeling there. It had been a long time since he had touched a woman. Yang Ling couldn't help but feel a little restless. If it were any other man, how many people would be able to resist such temptation when faced with such an extremely beautiful woman with an extremely hot figure? They could possess her without having to take any responsibility or feel any psychological burden. Moreover, it was under the encouragement of the secular world.
But … he couldn't explain why. Because she was a woman sent by Cheng Qiyun. Cheng Qiyun knew of her existence, so Yang Ling didn't dare to touch her. He didn't want Cheng Qiyun to imagine him having sex with a strange woman.
Yang Ling dared to swear to Magistrate Cui that if the one who sent her here was someone else, such as Bai Zhongzan, who looked like Master Bao all day long but went to the brothel every other day, instead of the great beauty Cheng who accompanied him every day, he would definitely have fallen, sunk, and lost himself in ecstasy … He shook his head and dispelled the thoughts in his heart. He reached out to help her and said, "Forget it, get up. From today onwards …"
When he said this, he was suddenly startled. His palm stroked Adeni's palm a few times. Adeni blushed and hurriedly pulled back her hand. However, as if she was afraid of angering him, she looked at him worriedly.
Yang Ling's eyes flashed and said thoughtfully, "You … have been with the pirates for so long, have they already …?"
Adeline's face turned even redder. She had been in the South Sea for two years and already knew that eastern men valued chastity. She had finally come to a normal place. If this man who seemed to have a lot of power disliked her, then …
Thinking of this, she couldn't care less about the woman's shyness and hurriedly said, "No, no, honorable sir, Captain Pedro is a devout Christian. He doesn't get close to women and doesn't drink. Under his protection, no one has touched me …"
Yang Ling smiled deeply and took a step forward, almost touching her beautiful face. Adeline was so frightened that she nervously took a step back and couldn't help but clench her hands. Yang Ling chuckled and said, "Oh? Then why did they leave you alive? "
Adeline nervously swallowed and said hesitantly, "I … I mended their clothes and cooked for them on the ship. The sailors would kidnap women and find women when they were docked, but they never touched me. I thought it was because of Captain Pedro's protection, but it turns out … it turns out that he just wanted to sell me for a good price …"
Yang Ling straightened up and stared at her for a while before nodding and saying, "Yes! What a devout Christian. God also loves gold. "
He reached out and lifted Adeline's smooth and beautiful chin. He stared into her charming eyes and said softly, "Then do you know how you will serve me now that you belong to me?"
Adeline's face became hot again, and her eyes fluttered shyly for a while before she finally met Yang Ling's gaze bravely. She mustered her courage and said, "I … I know that my hometown is thousands of miles away, and I will never be able to return. I don't want to drift on the deck and spend my life with the pirates. I … I am willing to serve you …"
Towards the end, her voice was already trembling a little.
Yang Ling laughed and let go of her. He rubbed his fingers and felt the softness of her skin. He suddenly shouted, "Come in!"
The two maidservants outside were startled, and cleverly squeezed their way in. Yang Ling looked at their pale little faces, and waved his hand in amusement. "Go, arrange a place for Adeline to stay. She's not familiar with the Great Ming Dynasty, so take good care of her."
Adeline looked at him with a pair of large eyes in confusion. Yang Ling suddenly smiled with a hint of wickedness and said, "What? Are you in a hurry to serve me? "
Adeni blushed and hurriedly followed the two servant girls out in a sorry state. Yang Ling narrowed his eyes and watched her hurry away. He then turned around and looked at the calligraphy on the wall with his hands behind his back. It was a cursive script with a large 'sword' character written in bold and vigorous strokes. A straight ink blade seemed to have been unsheathed.
Beside it hung a long sword with red tassels. Yang Ling suddenly walked over and took the sword. He held the scabbard with one hand and performed a few sword moves with the other. He then put the sword back into the scabbard with a click and slowly opened his palm.
He had been practicing swordsmanship diligently these days, and there were already some white calluses on his palms. Yang Ling touched the web between his thumb and index finger and then said with a faint smile, "Musketeer, female swordsman, there's no need to compete in marksmanship. I'm curious and want to try. Let's see if Wudang's swordsmanship is better or Western fencing is better, haha …"
Cheng Qiyun was holding a book in her hands, but her eyes were looking at the flowers and plants in the courtyard outside the window. Her mind was in a trance, and no one knew what she was thinking. 'It takes three years to learn to be good, and three days to learn to be bad. Even if Official Yang has always been clean and honest, he has been in this official circle for a long time. He can't possibly refuse a woman who sends herself to him and doesn't need him to take responsibility, right?'
In this world, not to mention the nobles and high-ranking officials, even the scholars with some fame, who didn't linger around and indulge in sensual pleasures? As long as this piece of wood was enlightened, would she be afraid that he wouldn't have any ideas about her? Ever since she was teased by Yang Ling after she tried to seduce him, Dailou 'er didn't dare to take the initiative to try again.
But why did she still feel jealous when she clearly hoped that he would accept that woman? Cheng Qiyun sighed softly. She rubbed the tip of her nose, threw the book on the table, and stretched lazily. At this moment, the door opened with a "clang" sound. Cheng Qiyun turned her head and saw Yang Ling. She couldn't help but open her mouth in surprise. She cried out involuntarily, "So fast?"
Yang Ling snorted and swaggered over to sit in the chair next to her. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes and said, "What's so fast?"
"Ah? Oh! Oh … haha … haha … sir … cough cough … do you have any orders? "Cheng Qiyun stole a glance at him with a very strange expression.
Yang Ling understood the meaning of her eyes. He snorted and then said slowly, "That woman is called Adeline. She's from Francois. Find a way to find out more about her."
When Cheng Qiyun heard him mention the woman's name, she wanted to tease him, but when she heard this, her eyes immediately became sharp. She said anxiously, "Sir suspects that she is … Impossible!"
She shook her head and frowned, "Seal wants to bribe sir in order to dominate the East Sea. He sent you money and that woman just to test your attitude. If you accept it, he will have more confidence. As for the use … It's impossible. Not to mention that she's a woman from another race, she can't get any information. Even if she got the information, she can forget about sending it out of the governor's office."
Yang Ling chuckled and said, "Seal, of course he wants to send me a valuable gift. He's afraid that I won't care about ordinary things, so he wants to search for rare things from other places. But … I think he accidentally sent me a woman who was not simply abducted.
This woman is very likely to know fencing and firearms. At least, her speech and behavior are definitely not ordinary people. But as a slave who was abducted, she is so beautiful. She drifted on a pirate ship with a group of men for three years without being violated … "
When Cheng Qiyun heard this, her heart was sour, "Sigh! In the end, sir still gave her to … But isn't he too fast? According to what Lian 'er said, sir isn't that useless. Could it be that western women have exotic charms? "
As Yang Ling spoke, he saw Cheng Qiyun's eyes darting around. He didn't know what she was thinking, so he quickly knocked on the table and said, "Hey, did you hear what I said?"
"Eh? I heard it. What did sir say? "
Yang Ling said amusedly, "I said that this woman's identity is suspicious. It's hard to say how she fell into Seal's hands. But it's very likely that she has a good understanding of western pirates. When we go to Guangdong in the future, if we know ourselves and the enemy in advance, we'll have a better chance of winning. Think of a way to find out her background … "
Only then did Cheng Qiyun understand. She glanced at Yang Ling resentfully and muttered in a low voice, "Didn't you already find out everything about her …?"
"What?" Yang Ling didn't hear clearly. He poked his head out and was about to ask again when a voice that sounded like Hong Zhong said from outside, "Marshal, marshal, can I come in after you've marked? Why don't you come out for a moment? "
When Yang Ling heard the voice, he glanced at Cheng Qiyun. Seeing that she turned her head away and didn't say anything, he coughed awkwardly and said in a bad mood, "What's so inconvenient about it? Get in here!"
Big Stick Liu straightforwardly responded and pushed the door open. When he saw Yang Ling and Cheng Qiyun sitting by the window, he grinned and said, "Marshal, there's an Imperial Bodyguard who said that there's an urgent military situation and that he must personally report it to sir. So, I brought him into the backyard. When I heard that you were here, I …"
Yang Ling stood up when he heard the urgent military situation and reprimanded, "Cut the crap. Where is he?"
Big Stick Liu was startled and hurriedly said, "He's outside. Ah, sir asked you to come in."
A young man in his early twenties came in. He was wearing the clothes of an ordinary person, but the guards at the door had checked his waist token and the official documents that he carried with him. They confirmed that he was an ambush of the Imperial Bodyguard in Fujian.
The man entered the house, glanced around, and then bowed to Yang Ling and said, "I'm Cheng Lu, the current Baihu of the Imperial Bodyguard in Fujian Province. I'm here to report an important military situation to Governor Yang, so I'm here to ask for an audience!"
Yang Ling didn't know what was going on, so he hurriedly asked, "What's the news?"
Cheng Lu untied his belt and took out a secret letter rolled up inside. He respectfully handed it over to Yang Ling and said, "This is a secret letter personally sealed by the Imperial Bodyguard's Fujian Province's Zhenfu Jiang Daren. Your humble servant does not dare to open and read it."
Yang Ling saw that there was indeed a seal on the letter. There was actually a picture of three flying fish on the cover. When he was the Courier Officer at the Cock Crow Relay Station, he knew that a message with three flying fish on it was a top-secret message. The content inside was definitely written in a code.
Seeing this, Yang Ling's heart tightened. He had just heard some good news about the situation on the battlefield today, so he was really afraid that something big had happened in Fujian. He hurriedly said to Cheng Qiyun, "Quickly, give me the secret letter Mou Daren gave me."
The so-called secret letter Mou Daren was equivalent to a decoding dictionary. Seeing his expression, Cheng Qiyun knew that the situation was serious. She hurriedly ran back to the inner room and opened three locks of the secret copper cabinet. She took out the secret letter Mou Daren and rushed out to give it to Yang Ling.
Yang Ling rushed to the table and opened the letter. He read it word by word against the letter. Cheng Qiyun quietly observed Yang Ling's expression. She saw that after reading a few lines, he first frowned, then his face turned ashen. His eyes were about to spit fire.
Cheng Qiyun had never seen him so angry before, so she couldn't help but call out worriedly, "Daren, what happened?"
With a bang, Yang Ling's fist shook and the teacup fell to the ground. He couldn't restrain his anger and cursed, "Fujian Province's political envoy deserves to be killed! Fujian Navy Admiral deserves to be killed! Fujian Province's Imperial Governor deserves to be killed! "
Shocked, Cheng Qiyun asked, "Daren, what happened?"
Yang Ling slowly raised his head. There was a murderous look between his brows. In a stern voice, he shouted, "Big Bang Chui, pass down my order immediately. Summon Fujian Province's political envoy Ruan Dawen, Navy Admiral Zhou Hong, and Imperial Governor Di Qingshan to Suzhou to see me immediately!"
Big Bang Chui acknowledged and turned to leave. Yang Ling's eyes moved and he suddenly called out, "Wait!"
Big Bang Chui stopped and turned around. He saw Yang Ling pacing back and forth in the room. Then he said to him, "Take Sir Cheng to rest and arrange his meals. Keep your mouth shut and don't say anything!"
Big Bang Chui was also scared. He quickly acknowledged and pulled on Cheng Lu's sleeve. The two of them hurriedly left.
At this time, only Yang Ling and Cheng Qiyun were left in the room. Yang Ling silently sat in a chair and said in a low voice, "Qiyun, take out a secret edict. I want to take the Emperor's Sword and immediately go to Fuzhou in the name of patrolling the Japanese."
Cheng Qiyun was impatient, but Yang Ling had never told her the Imperial Bodyguard's method of deciphering a secret letter. She paused and said, "If you want to go, I won't stop you, but you have to let me understand so that I can arrange things in Suzhou."
Yang Ling weakly waved his hand. He closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the chair. After a while, he gently said, "The Japanese pirates in Zhejiang found it difficult to gain a foothold, so they all fled into Fujian. In addition to the Japanese pirates in Fujian, they came from Fuzhou and Ningzhou to Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in the south.
The Fujian governor was unsuccessful in suppressing the Japanese and only knew how to retreat to Fuzhou, allowing the Japanese pirates to wreak havoc. The Japanese pirates who went to Fujian by land joined with the Japanese pirates in Funing and Lianjiang to attack Shouning, Zhenghe, and Ningde. The Japanese pirates who went to Fujian by water joined with the Japanese pirates in Fuqing and Changle to attack the Xuanzhong Guards. Datian, Gutian, Putian, and other places are now in imminent danger … "
As he spoke to this point, he suddenly felt a movement on his shoulder. He smelled a faint fragrance. Two small hands gently massaged his shoulders. At the same time, a soft voice rang out by his ear. "Sir, victory and defeat are common in war. Right now, the morale of the soldiers of the six provinces has been greatly boosted. From Shandong to the south, it is difficult for the Japanese to gain a foothold everywhere. The people of Fujian are poor, and there are already many bandits. In addition, a large number of Japanese pirates have flooded in. For a while, we have suffered some defeats. Sir, you can redeploy the troops and suppress them.
The Fujian governor, the navy's Admiral, and the Imperial Inspector are the highest officials in the military, political, and financial affairs of the province. Even if the Emperor wants to kill them, he has to consider it over and over again. Although you have the secret edict in your hand, because of your incompetence in commanding the troops, how can you … "
Yang Ling grasped her soft and smooth hand. Cheng Qiyun's body shook. She hesitated for a moment and then also grasped Yang Ling's hand.
Yang Ling said, "Qiyun, the Japanese big bandit Gong Benhao first attacked Chaozhou and then sailed to Fuzhou. The governor, Ruan Dawen, was at a loss. He discussed with the navy's Admiral Zhou Hong and the Imperial Inspector Di Qingshan. They privately transferred 60,000 taels of silver from the treasury, along with the six new warships built by the Quanzhou shipyard, to the Japanese pirates, 'buying' their own 'stability'.
The Japanese pirates took advantage of our Ming Destiny warships and turned around to attack Fuhai. They bombarded the county yamen and killed the county magistrate, Lin Enyuan. They wantonly plundered Taizhou, Hui 'an, Changle, Zhangzhou, and other places. As for our Ruan Daren … he is anxious to collect taxes from the common people whose families have been destroyed and whose people have died in order to make up for the money in the treasury. The six warships, under the pretext of being defeated and sunk into the sea, are delivering official documents to our Governor's yamen. "
He was silent for a moment. Suddenly he grasped Cheng Qiyun's hand tightly and said word by word, "Qiyun, I want to kill someone!"
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