nashuaworldcup Chapter 607 Sea Ban
Chapter 607 Sea Ban
Chapter 607 Sea Ban
Liu Li frowned. Rumor had it that Wang Wenzhou was a womanizer who would do anything for a pretty girl. Was she not pretty enough?
Liu Li said with a wry smile, "Lord Wang, although we are pirates, we were once ordinary people. Who would risk becoming a pirate if they could live a peaceful life? We were born by the sea and can only make a living by fishing. The imperial court does not allow us to go out to sea to fish or trade. Tell me, what else can we fishermen and merchants do besides become pirates?"
"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou snorted coldly, saying angrily, "Damn it, do you have any shame? You're violating the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and you keep saying you were forced into this situation! If what you say is true, then men who can't find wives can just take any pretty girl they see on the street and sleep with her without even asking if she's willing. Is that reasonable? It's utterly shameless! Men, beat them up!"
"Yes!" The female guards acknowledged the order, and two of them restrained Liu Li while the other two were about to start fighting.
Wang Wenzhou quickly said, "Don't hit my face! Hit my butt! Hitting my face isn't pretty!"
"Slap slap slap..." The female guard beat Liu Li repeatedly.
Chen Yuanyuan frowned. Although she hated Liu Li, that shameless little bitch, her nemesis's actions were too unreasonable.
Chen Yuanyuan fed Wang Wenzhou a sip of wine and whispered, "Husband, stop fooling around. What she said is not wrong. The imperial court's ban on the sea has indeed left them with no way to survive."
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Of course I know that closing the country off from the world is a stupid thing to do! But I am now representing the court. If I admit my mistake, there will be no room for negotiation! When it comes to negotiation, even if you are wrong, you can't admit it. You can only shift the blame to the other party and make them think it is their fault."
Chen Yuanyuan scolded, "Shameless!"
Wang Wenzhou hugged Chen Yuanyuan and kissed her, laughing as he said, "Yuanyuan, you're right. That's how shameless we have to be! Actually, the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban was all the work of these civil officials. They're all utterly wicked. They only allow their people to smuggle, but forbid ordinary people from being maritime merchants. Because if the common people make money, they won't be able to pocket it!"
Chen Yuanyuan frowned and asked, "Since you know the reason, why don't you sympathize with these people?"
Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "How could I not feel sorry for them? I didn't kill them! If I had launched a full-scale attack, they would have been roasted into suckling pigs long ago!"
"Alright! Stop hitting!" Wang Wenzhou waved his hand.
Liu Li's eyes were filled with tears. No wonder the officials in the court all said that Wang Wenzhou was a mad dog. Now that she saw it, it was indeed true.
Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Baby, don't cry. Let me state my conditions. If you surrender, I guarantee I won't kill any of the Ming people. But I don't want to keep a single one of these Japanese among you!"
Liu Li thought for a moment and then asked, "Lord Wang, do you have any other requests?"
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Of course you still have to sleep with me! Otherwise, I'll be at a disadvantage!"
"Pfft..." Liu Li pursed her lips. Mad Dog Wang Wenzhou was indeed a lecherous man!
Liu Li looked at Wang Wenzhou and asked coldly, "Lord Wang, how can I believe that you won't harm them as long as we surrender?"
Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Baby, baby, to be honest, I know most of you were forced into becoming pirates. Although I don't have a good reputation in the court, the people call me Wang Qingtian (a paragon of justice). I won't hurt them! Besides, I want to sleep with you. If I hurt them, and you fight me to the death while I'm sleeping with you, I'm not ready to die yet!"
"Lord Wang, you won't harm them, but if they don't become pirates, how will they survive?" Liu Li asked.
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Fishing! Being a maritime merchant! Isn't this the life you all want to live?"
"Huh?" Liu Li looked completely bewildered and exclaimed in surprise, "But the imperial court has banned maritime trade!"
Wang Wenzhou said disdainfully, "Now I am the Governor-General of Fujian. As long as you are in Fujian, whether you are fishing or doing maritime trade, I guarantee no one will cause you any trouble! Of course, you still have to pay taxes!"
Liu Li thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "It's a deal! Lord Wang, we surrender!"
Wang Wenzhou instructed, "You escort Liu Li to receive their surrender."
"Yes!" the female guard replied.
Wang Wenzhou pounced on Chen Yuanyuan and said with a smile, "We should rest too. By the way, Liu Li, after you finish your business, come and keep the little master company while he sleeps."
Chen Yuanyuan bit Wang Wenzhou's chest. "You rascal, you still want to sleep with girls!"
"Ouch...Grandma, stop it!" Wang Wenzhou begged for mercy repeatedly.
In one night, all the pirates on Lamma Island were brought under control. Lamma Island officially fell into Wang Wenzhou's hands. Liu Xiang was damn poor; not counting the 50 taels ransom Wang Wenzhou gave him, Liu Xiang only had 2 taels of silver in total.
Wang Wenzhou was puzzled. Logically speaking, pirates should be incredibly wealthy, so why was Liu Xiang so poor?
From Liu Li, Wang Wenzhou learned the reason. It turned out that in recent years, Liu Xiang had been relentlessly pursued by Zheng Zhilong, and her pirate business had steadily declined. Lamma Island was small and unsuitable for farming. With 60,000 people on the island, that meant 60,000 mouths to feed, and the daily food consumption was considerable. Although fishing could barely sustain them, they still needed to eat. Most of Liu Xiang's previous savings had been spent on food.
Wang Wenzhou ate breakfast while holding his baby. As he ate, he thought that now that the pirate's family members were in his hands, he could go to Liu Xiang and use her to coerce him into surrendering.
At this very moment, Guangzhou was engulfed in fierce fighting.
Of course, this tough battle was for Zhang Jingxin.
Last night, Liu Xiang's pirate army launched a night attack on the city. Zhang Jingxin quickly summoned all the city's yamen runners and constables to defend the city walls. With the help of the local militia, and relying on the sturdy walls, Zhang Jingxin tenaciously held out all night.
Zhang Jingxin was drenched in sweat, his clothes completely soaked. Although he was a civil official, he had a duty to defend the territory, and he truly risked his life to protect Guangzhou.
Zhang Jingxin, her eyes red and swollen, looked at Jian Fengyu and asked coldly, "General Jian, where are your elite troops? Now is a critical moment, and the city is about to fall. Shouldn't you send your men to the city walls to defend it?"
Last night, the pirate army besieged the city, and Zhang Jingxin ordered Jian Fengyu to lead troops. Jian Fengyu, following Wang Wenzhou's orders, misled Zhang Jingxin, saying that now was not the time. He claimed that Lord Wang's troops were on their way to assemble and wouldn't be able to set up an ambush until almost dawn.
If the main force were to show itself now, the pirates would discover it, and if they took the opportunity to escape, it would be troublesome. Thus, Zhang Jingxin was fooled and spent the entire night in vain.
Jian Fengyu nodded and said with a smile, "Lord Zhang, don't worry, the army is here! Please wait a moment!"
After Jian Fengyu finished speaking, he jumped onto the crenellations of the city wall with his shield and shouted down to the city below: "Liu Xiang, stop shooting arrows! I am Wang Wenzhou, a subordinate of Lord Wang. I will go down and talk to you now!"
Liu Xiang nodded and ordered his subordinates to cease their attack.
Jian Fengyu threw away her shield and rappelled down to the city walls.
"Huh?" Zhang Jingxin frowned. What did that mean? Where were the elite troops that Mad Dog Wang Wenzhou had secretly sent into the city in small groups?