Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen Strong Enemy

To be honest, the reason why the Japanese were able to become the main force of the Japanese pirate army is definitely not because of their superior IQ, but because they are single-minded, they are not afraid of death in battle, and they always rush to the forefront, which is what is called easy to use And strong. According to historical records, this group of Japanese robbers who came from afar basically didn't know their way around, and their brains were not good enough. If they were allowed to go ashore by themselves, they might be sold by human traffickers. In fact, the Japanese have been going to the coast of China to make a living since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, but for more than two hundred years, they have been robbed and caught without any major troubles.During the Jiajing period, the reason why the Japanese pirates were so large, organized and undisciplined was thanks to two brothers, one named Wang Zhi and the other named Xu Hai.

Wang Zhi is the name in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the other history books are called Wang Zhi. It just so happens that this brother is Hu Zongxian’s hometown. He is also from Huizhou. I can't finish the night. In many historical books, Wang Zhi's definition is roughly like this: he is cunning and stealthy by nature, and then wanders to Japan, colludes with Japanese pirates, and leads the way for the Japanese to invade China. He is a heinous traitor. This is indeed an extremely striking and exciting conclusion, but it seems to me that it is very likely to be wrong. And at least I can be sure of one thing: Wang Zhi is not a traitor.

Please don’t be too busy copying guys, all passionate young people, it’s not too late to do it after I finish speaking, I am not a family of reversals, and I have no intention of developing in this direction, I draw this conclusion only because Wang Zhi does not meet the definition of a traitor. What is a traitor?During the Jiajing period, the so-called traitors were those who worked for the Japanese pirates. According to this standard, Wang Zhi is really not qualified, because this brother really did not work for the Japanese, on the contrary, the Japanese worked for him. Wang Zhi, named Wufeng, in fact, the beginning of all the legendary turmoil was just because of a business.

As Hu Zongxian's strongest opponent, Wang Zhi has been a very smart person since he was a child, but it is a pity that his intelligence is not in reading. It seems that Wang Zhi's head can hardly accept the signals of the Four Books and Five Classics. Reading is a kind of torture for him, so he is clever and quickly finds another way out for himself - doing business. Ordinary people start their businesses small, first they have to set up street stalls and open grocery stores, and then slowly they can pour steel and sell arms.But Wang Zhi is quite different. From an economic point of view, Boss Wang's business starts at a very high level—international trade.

The so-called international trade, to put it bluntly, is to sell domestic goods abroad and then return them.Wang Zhi understands very well that it is very difficult to make a fortune selling cigarettes on the street, and only the entrepot trade can make a fortune.In the Ming Dynasty, maritime trade was expressly prohibited. The so-called "slabs are not allowed to go into the sea". It is not a joke to catch them, but history has proved countless times that sticks cannot defeat economic laws, and the will and determination to make a fortune cannot be stopped. of. Wang Zhi was one of the initiators of going to sea in the early days. He found a partner named Xu Weixue and persuaded him to go out to do business together. This Xu Weixue is not a good person. ocean.

Wang Zhi's first trade was carried out in Guangdong, and he quietly went out to sea with the goods in the middle of the night, heading further south. In today's Southeast Asia, Wang Zhi sold his goods at very different prices. When the huge profits flowed into his pocket, he felt unprecedented excitement. So he made up his mind to bet everything on himself to finish this business to the end. With the continuous development of business, Wang Zhi's fleet became larger and larger, with more and more subordinates, and more and more profits. Boss Wang finally succeeded in becoming rich and became an example for everyone to imitate.

If the matter stops here, it shouldn't be too bad. Wang Zhi's behavior should be regarded as smuggling according to the legal definition, and the worst result is nothing more than being a big fan, being watched by the governor and customs chief Hu Zongxian, and then in a certain smuggling He was caught by Yu Dayou, the captain of the private investigation team, and was later sentenced, exiled or beheaded. But Boss Wang's desire cannot be satisfied, and it is by no means his life creed to accept what is good. Not long after, he finally made a choice that changed the fate of countless people.

The business potential in Southeast Asia is no longer great. In order to obtain more benefits, Boss Wang decided to turn to the Japanese market.The reason is simple - the Japanese make money easily. As far as geography is concerned, Japan is really a place where birds don’t lay eggs. Except for volcanoes and earthquakes, almost everything is lacking. Wang Zhi sells goods here, and he can charge as high a price as he wants. This is the only one. Buy it or not. . In addition to improving the standard of living in Japan, Boss Wang also made a remarkable contribution to reducing the population of Japan, because while providing everyday items, he also smuggled a very special kind of goods.

In fact, this kind of goods is not unfamiliar to everyone. In the ranking of national trade goods, it has always occupied the first place in the ranking for the past few hundred years-arms. In the trade in Southeast Asia, Wang Zhi and the Portuguese have become close friends. Portuguese foreigners like Chinese porcelain and tea, but they have no money in their pockets, so they have to exchange guns for fear that Wang Zhi will not accept them, so the price is cheap, which is half Sell ​​half free. Wang Zhi gave full play to his true nature as a profiteer, and every time he acted extremely embarrassed, and often said that he would not be an example. As soon as he changed hands, he sent them to Japan at ten times the price.

Don’t say ten times, it’s a hundred times. It’s estimated that the Japanese will buy it. It’s the Warring States Period. It’s a lot of fun to fight with each other. I’m tired of using swords and spears. Everyone plays guns instead. up. In Wang Zhi's order list, Shimadzu, Oda and other princes are all major customers. Boss Wang is more trustworthy, and sometimes investigates the situation of war casualties to ensure after-sales service. Of course, there are some discordant episodes during the trade. Southeast Asia and the coast of Zhejiang have always been gathering places for pirates. Wang Zhi’s fleet is often robbed because the target is too big. Boss Wang is very angry: I transported Arms, how dare you rob me? !

In a fit of rage, he organized a private armed force, which was just an escort at first. Later, he found that pirates could earn more money, so he simply became a part-time pirate. In this way, Wang Zhi changed from an overseas gold prospector to a sea merchant. He became the leader of an armed smuggling group. However, this is far from the end. With the continuous expansion of business, Wang's Overseas Trading Co., Ltd. and Pirate Unlimited Group urgently need to find a fixed office space.Of course, there are difficulties. Although Mr. Jiajing is busy practicing Taoism, he will never allow Boss Wang to open an office under his nose. For the long-term development of the company, Wang Zhi decided to move the head office to Japan. The specific location is in the south of Kyushu, Japan (near Okinawa, Japan today), where he occupied a place as his base. Boss Wang's business is very big. Not only does he have a large fleet and private armed forces, but he has also become an emperor. In his jurisdiction, there are more than 4,000 Chinese immigrants living under his management. He also employs Many Japanese who came to look for work were in good health as bodyguards or thugs, and those in poor health were arranged to sweep the streets, and they were ordered by others. Wang Zhi was very satisfied with the company's development, and even named his private land - "Song Guo". It must be explained that Boss Wang did not obtain permission from the authorities to set up a company in Japan, nor did he register with the relevant department, and he has not paid a single tax for many years of establishment.To put this matter on a big scale, it is an illegal occupation of the territory of another country, which is a bold provocation to the dignity of the country. But from the beginning to the end, the Japanese dare not even fart. The reason is very simple, they dare not. In Japanese history books, the Warring States Period is described as an era in which heroes were born in large numbers, and countless brave men rampaged among thousands of armies, which is really spectacular. But the actual situation may not be the case. For example, in the famous battle of Ozama in Japanese history, the powerful prince Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was known as unstoppable in Japan, had a total force of only 40,000 to 50,000 people, nothing more. . At that time, the total number of people on both sides of the general battle was only five or six thousand people. If they were placed in China, this would be a guard of honor. But no wonder Japanese comrades, after all, the population is limited, and it is too difficult to organize a large-scale battle. To put it mildly, it is not easy to kill thousands of people. The reason why Boss Wang is so arrogant is that he bullies the few Japanese. At that time, the number of troops belonging to him was nearly ten thousand, and they were all equipped with the latest muskets. But they have no scruples about them, and often send thousands of people holding foreign guns and driving warships to swagger across the city from their coasts. On the contrary, they were very polite to Wang Zhi, and even gave gifts and tributes during festivals, lest they would offend this rich and gun-stricken man. To be fair, Wang Zhi is indeed not considered a traitor, because it is estimated that no one in Japan can afford a traitor like him, but many Japanese want to beg him eagerly and rely on him for food. This is Wang Zhi, this is the number one opponent Hu Zongxian will face, far more terrifying opponent than any Japanese kendo master. Relatively speaking, the strength of the second person is weaker, but he is more legendary than Wang Zhi - because of a woman. Xu Hai, from Huizhou, is Hu Zongxian's second strongest enemy. It was a coincidence that he is also from Huizhou, God is really fair, whoever causes trouble will clean up, the final decisive battle will be fought between these three Huizhou people, and there will only be one winner. Wang Zhi is not a traitor, but Xu Hai is a traitor, a real traitor. Xu Hai's alias is Pu Jing, which looks like a monk's dharma name, but in fact, it is indeed a monk's dharma name. When he was young, Xu Hai used to be a monk in a temple in Hangzhou, and lived a peaceful life by ringing the bell and chanting scriptures every day. However, one day, his uncle came and told him that he had found a promising job, There is a very reliable friend as a partner. As long as you participate, you will have a bright future and no worries about food and clothing. After thinking for a long time, Xu Hai finally accepted his uncle's invitation and left the temple to do this promising job. It should be said that this invitation was not all a bluff, this job did allow him to live comfortably, and to a certain extent, it can also be said to have a bright future. But the problem is that his uncle's name is Xu Qianxue, his very reliable friend is called Wang Zhi, and the promising job is naturally smuggling. Xu Hai went into the water just like that, and began to run boats with Boss Wang. As the business grew bigger and bigger, his income increased and his related businesses (boating, robbery) became more and more proficient. He will most likely become the smuggling leader under Wang Zhi's subordinates. There are two endings: either save some money, go home and buy a house to marry a wife, or keep working until he is caught or beaten to death. But the hand of fate pushed him to the third road, a more bizarre road. Xu Qianxue was originally Wang Zhi's partner, and the two parties cooperated happily at the beginning, but gradually, this brother became dissatisfied. Although the two went to sea together, Wang Zhi's ability surpassed him, the business was bigger than him, and the profit was also higher than that of Wang Zhi. He, after thinking about it, Xu Qianxue decided to split up and work alone. To do it alone, you need capital. Boss Xu didn't have enough money, so he looked for people to borrow, and the largest loan was from Japanese pirates.With the money, Boss Xu started smuggling and piracy, but it turned out that he ignored an important economic issue: any commercial activity has risks, and smuggling and piracy are no exception. Xu Qianxue's luck was not very good. His fleet often encountered storms and the Ming army. If you don’t pay the money you owe the bank, you’ll be jailed at most, but if you don’t pay the money owed to the Japanese pirates, it’s not that simple. It’s in exchange for your life, and it will never be allowed to become a bad debt, but Xu Qianxue’s family property has been sold out , and there was nothing to mortgage, so in desperation, he did a very wicked thing-low-price his nephew. In Uncle Xu's view, his nephew is also his property. In this way, Xu Hai became a property hostage of Japanese pirates. At this time, Xu Hai didn't take it seriously, thinking that he was just eating a few more Japanese dishes, and his uncle would redeem him soon, but something unexpected happened. Xu Qianxue really didn't have the life to do business. After returning home, not only did he fail to make money, but he lost more money, and finally lost his life due to debt disputes. When this news reached Xu Hai's ears, facing the Japanese pirates who had lost all their money and were furious, he did not panic, and calmly saved himself with one sentence: "Save my life, I will do it with you." Anyway, the money was gone, so Xu Hai became a member of the Japanese pirates in order not to run out of people and money. Of course, in the eyes of those Japanese, they were just an extra person serving tea and water. However, this is not the case, Xu Hai's energy is far beyond their imagination. In essence, Wang Zhi is a first-rate businessman and a second-rate pirate. In layman's terms, what he is best at is economics, followed by military affairs.But Xu Hai is just the opposite. Before becoming a successful businessman, he was a military genius. Xu Hai has no education, he is self-taught, but he has amazing talent, great organizational skills, and is very good at sea combat. Compared with those hard-headed Japanese, he is really too outstanding, so it didn't take long He joined the Japanese pirates to rob the company, became a full member, gained freedom, and then once joined the management and became a senior leader. Xu Hai became well-developed. He used his talent and good relationship with Japanese pirates to stand out among many pirates, and he had a fixed sphere of influence and powerful subordinates. But it must be explained that at this time Xu Hai was still a pawn played by the Japanese pirates. He did not have Wang Zhi's strength and could only rely on the Japanese for food. His way of getting rich is very similar to compradors in old China. Every time he leads Japanese pirates into an invasion, he will sign a contract with the other party, specifying how many people he will bring, where to rob, share dividends after the event, etc. The terms are very clear, Japanese pirates are so rampant , this traitor can be said to be one of the instigators. But as a traitor, Xu Hai is very special compared to his swaying counterparts in anti-Japanese movies—he is a very powerful traitor. Hu Zongxian had experienced the power of Xu Hai. Once, Japanese pirates invaded Zhejiang area on a large scale. Hu Zongxian sent the guerrilla general Zong Li to lead the army to take the initiative to attack. They happened to meet Xu Hai's fleet. The two sides fought at Sanliqiao. At the beginning, Zong Li didn't pay attention to Xu Hai's miscellaneous navy at all, and the fact seemed to be the same. After the two sides fought, Xu Haijun was about to collapse. Zong Li was overjoyed and mobilized the army to continue fighting and defeated Xu Hai again. The two consecutive victories convinced Zong Li that Xu Hai was just a small character who earned his reputation, so he launched a third attack, and Xu Hai's navy seemed to have lost the ability to resist, and was defeated for the third time. But just when Zong Li was about to write his fourth victory report, Xu Hai proved a truth with his own actions - no one can succeed casually. When the Ming army's defenses were lax, Xu Hai quietly assembled his elite navy and launched a counterattack by surprise. In order to convince Zong Li of his weakness, he retreated three times. The whole army was wiped out, and Zongli himself died in battle. These are the two powerful enemies that Hu Zongxian faced, the mighty Wang Zhi and the cunning Xu Hai. To pacify the Japanese pirates, these two people must be eliminated. But after carefully considering the strength of both sides, Hu Zongxian finally found sadly that he had no chance of winning at all. Needless to say, Wang Zhi, this local emperor is as rich as an enemy, with strong soldiers and horses, even more powerful than the Japanese princes. Although Xu Hai is slightly inferior, he is extremely cunning and proficient in water warfare. With the navy of the Ming Dynasty, it is almost impossible to completely eliminate him. is impossible. After thinking about it, Hu Zongxian felt desperate about the current situation, but at this time, Xu Wei calmly told him that it is not difficult to solve these two people. This time, Hu Zongxian did not believe his master, because this sentence was too unreliable.Not to mention that these two men have tens of thousands of armed pirates, more importantly, they also occupy a special resource - money. According to the statistics of some historians, Wang Zhi's commercial trade volume once exceeded the fiscal revenue of Zhejiang Province, and the pirates actually had more money than the government. Who is the government? Facing such a terrifying financial armed group, Hu Zongxian couldn't find any reason to be confident. In his opinion, wanting to defeat these two opponents is tantamount to wishful thinking. "It is very difficult to defeat them by force." Xu Wei nodded, agreeing with Hu Zongxian, "But to defeat them, it is not necessary to use force." Without force?This group of people traveled thousands of miles to rob, could it be that if you buy them a cup of tea and give them a red envelope, they will be willing to leave? "Yes." Xu Wei answered in the affirmative. Xu Wei told Hu Zongxian that in fact, he had never known Wang Zhi because he was just a businessman in the final analysis. People who do business only seek money, not wealth. What Wang Zhi wants is not the Ming Dynasty, but the right to free trade. "But the sea ban is the ancestral system of past dynasties, and I can't do anything about it." Hu Zongxian could only sigh helplessly. A sly smile appeared on Xu Wei's face: "I didn't say I was going to give him that right." Hu Zongxian finally understood Xu Wei's intentions. It is impossible to open the sea ban, but negotiations are possible, and there is no contradiction between the two.Negotiations are a means to an end, they don't require any commitments. "First of all, we must get in touch with Wang Zhi and recruit him to go ashore for talks." "However, Wang Zhi stayed overseas and had always been our enemy. How could he come?" Hu Zongxian was not optimistic about this. "Did you forget?" Xu Wei smiled again, "His mother and wife are in your hands." Since Wang Zhi went to sea, the imperial court put him on the blacklist. His mother and wife were imprisoned for several years. Hu Zongxian immediately issued an amnesty order and released them. They eat well and live well, and they are given a house. Hu Zongxian's idea was very simple, to treat Wang Zhi's family well to show his sincerity in the negotiation, but soon, he found that his idea was too simple. It is very easy to release Guanfan and divide the house, but after doing this, Hu Zongxian realized an important omission-how to let Wang Zhi know? You know, although Boss Wang is still a Chinese citizen, he has already emigrated overseas, and it is not very reliable to talk to Japanese pirates. Hu Zongxian was dumbfounded, and after thinking hard, he decided to take a risk. In November of the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing (1555), Hu Zongxian sent his envoys Jiangzhou and Chen Keyuan. Their mission was simple and clear: go to Japan, find Wang Zhi, and tell him everything. This should basically be regarded as an impossible task, not to mention the safety of sea traffic, even if you arrive in Japan, it is not easy to find someone in that deserted place. But the development of the matter far exceeded their expectations. The two successfully landed in Kyushu, Japan, and met the local daimyo (vassals). Obviously, the title of the southeast governor of the Ming Empire is quite deterrent. Hu Zongxian lost a lot of face and warmly entertained the two envoys. Regardless of whether things are done or not, it is always good to have a free meal. However, when the two were devouring, they heard such an inquiry: Are you interested in meeting a local man named Mao Haifeng? As soon as the unintentional Japanese lord finished his sentence, he was surprised to find that the two people who had been working hard to eat immediately threw away their chopsticks and shouted repeatedly: "Take us there now!" Because this is a name they are very familiar with, Mao Haifeng is Wang Zhi's adopted son. Jiangzhou and Chen Keyuan finally found the person they were looking for. Under the recommendation of Mao Haifeng, the legendary Wang Zhi appeared in front of them for the first time. Wang Zhi's opening remarks were not friendly, except that Hu Zongxian blocked him from getting rich, and he was against him, and the whole family was killed by the Ming army, which was also the main reason for his fury. So when Jiang Zhou told him that not only did his family not die, but the government also divided the house, they had no worries about food and clothing, and he showed his family's autographed letter, Wang Zhi's attitude changed completely. He was very happy, and he repeatedly defended himself, saying that he didn't want to do this business, he had long intended to surrender, and was willing to help Hu Zongxian put down the Japanese invasion. Jiangzhou and Chen Keyuan never expected that things would go so smoothly, they were overjoyed, and Wang Zhi was indeed very interesting, not only taking care of food and housing, but also taking them to tour the whole of Japan, princes from all over the world heard that Wang Zhi was visiting, and lined up one after another A warm welcome (God of Wealth is here), even more majestic than the general, the two envoys were dumbfounded. The ostentation was played, and the world was also seen. Jiangzhou and Chen Keyuan began to remind Wang Zhi that they should return to China as soon as possible to discuss specific matters with Hu Zongxian. Wang Zhi readily agreed and scheduled the departure date. The day of sailing arrived, but just as the ship was about to weigh anchor and set off, Wang Zhi made an unexpected move. He suddenly pulled Jiangzhou forcefully, jumped ashore, watched the boat leave, smiled and said this sentence to the terrified messenger: "I can't go yet, and neither can you." Wang Zhi is not a three-year-old child, and he has never been a fool for decades. He never believes in anyone's empty promises, including Hu Zongxian. In this way, Mao Haifeng brought Chen Keyuan to Hu Zongxian's jurisdiction. The real purpose of his trip was to negotiate. Although significant progress had been made, Hu Zongxian was still very disappointed that he did not see Wang Zhi in person, and when he saw the personal letter from Wang Zhi to him, this emotion reached its peak. This is a document that embodies the characteristics of Wang Zhi. At the beginning, he expressed very respectfully that he was willing to accept court appeasement, change his past mistakes, and serve the country. Then he suddenly changed the topic and began to brag about himself, to the effect that I have been in Japan for many years, and now I am very good, and the general princes can handle it, but because there are too many princes in Japan and the enemy situation is complicated, in the spirit of helping the country completely eliminate Japanese pirates, I cannot return to China for the time being. The state inspects the princes and handles foreign affairs. When it comes to an end, I will report back to China immediately. Of course, talking nonsense is useless. In the end, he revealed his true condition - opening the sea ban. Hu Zongxian was furious, he knew that he had been scolded by Wang Zhi, after all, this old slicker did not let go at all, and the conditions he offered were absolutely impossible for Hu Zongxian to agree to. So after tossing and tossing, things still didn't make any progress. At the juncture of hesitation, Xu Wei reappeared and used his wisdom to save Hu Zongxian. He told his boss: Wang Zhi is too strong now to compromise, but this opponent is not without flaws, as long as he finds a suitable breakthrough, can defeat this formidable enemy. In fact, this breakthrough is right in front of you - Mao Haifeng. As Wang Zhi's plenipotentiary representative and close confidant, Mao Haifeng is also an extremely cunning person, but compared with the old fox Hu Zongxian, he still has a big gap. Contrary to his expectations, Governor Hu did not show the slightest contempt for him as a Japanese pirate, but he treated him with more courtesy, and entertained him with good wine and meat every day. Mao Haifeng was a more down-to-earth person. Hu Zongxian expressed the hope that he could help.But Hu Zongxian always laughed and didn't answer, and didn't let him do anything. If this matter should be placed on people like Yan Song, it is probably wishful thinking, but Mao Haifeng is not thick-skinned enough, insisting that he must work, even sweeping the streets. So Hu Zongxian finally reluctantly agreed. He said in a very embarrassing way that there was a group of Japanese pirates entrenched in Zhoushan, they were very fierce, and he had no ability to deal with them. Before Hu Zongxian finished speaking, Mao Haifeng jumped up, ran back to the boat and summoned his men to pick up the guys and go to Zhoushan. The result was no suspense. When Wang Zhi came out to fight pirates, the little brothers in Zhoushan were still wearing crotch pants. I heard that Boss Wang's team had arrived. Before Mao Haifeng could make a move, the pirates had already fled. Hu Zongxian greeted the hero who returned from victory in person, and took the initiative to ask for credit for him, which can be regarded as elation. He should be happy. Of course, this has nothing to do with those little thieves in Zhoushan. The real reason is that from the moment Mao Haifeng launched the attack, a major change has taken place: from then on, in the eyes of all Japanese pirates, Wang Zhi will no longer be their friend. Mao Haifeng, the former Japanese pirate and the current anti-Japanese hero, looked at Hu Zongxian who was laughing heartily, and also showed a happy smile. Of course, he actually didn't know what the other party was laughing at.At this moment, his only feeling is that Governor Hu is a very interesting person. In fact, Hu Zongxian was really loyal. He handed over all the spoils to Mao Haifeng, and also gave a lot of extra rewards, and said that he would never treat those who cooperate with the government badly. Mao Haifeng was very grateful. Hu Zongxian's generosity and generosity exceeded his expectations, but he still remained vigilant because there was one more thing that he was always worried about. Soon after, Mao Haifeng found Hu Zongxian, and said cautiously that he had been staying for a long time, and it was time to go back to Wang Zhi to report the negotiation situation. Mao Haifeng knew very well that as Wang Zhi's adopted son and confidant, he had a very high hostage value. If Hu Zongxian played tricks, he would go to the cell to continue his comfortable guest life. However, Governor Hu's reaction was really unexpected. He looked at the uneasy Mao Haifeng and said calmly: I will personally see you off. In addition, he politely gave Mao Haifeng a lot of local products, and asked him to bring his good respect to Wang Zhi, looking forward to his early visit. Mao Haifeng was finally completely moved. He returned to the territory with great affection for Hu Zongxian, and told his adoptive father what he had seen. Although things still had no progress, as Xu Wei expected, the powerful The pirate leader Wang Zhi finally showed his flaws, and a fatal gap has been opened.