I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 601 Nurturing Bandits for Self-Respect

Chapter 601 Nurturing Bandits for Self-Respect

Zhang Jing thought for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean, Lord Wang?"

Wang Wenzhou hugged Chen Yuanyuan and kissed her, then said with a smile, "Although on the surface you've sent all your troops to Fujian, I'll secretly send troops there to ambush them along the way. If the pirates dare to land, I'll make sure they never return!"

"Lord Wang, what a brilliant plan!" Zhang Jingxin praised repeatedly. Although Mad Dog Wang Wenzhou was a scoundrel, he had a lot of bad ideas. If the pirates fell for it, they would definitely suffer a great defeat.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Old Zhang, the situation is urgent, so I won't keep you in Fujian. You should hurry back to Guangdong and Guangxi. How long will it take you to get there at the earliest?"

“Three days!” Zhang Jingxin quickly replied. He hadn’t expected Wang Wenzhou to be in such a hurry. Of course, this was a good thing. He wouldn’t slack off if he could do his best for the country. He would travel from Fujian to Guangdong and Guangxi without stopping for three days, although the journey would be very arduous.

Wang Wenzhou nodded and continued, "After you arrive in Guangdong and Guangxi, immediately send troops to Fujian. Six days later, we will launch an operation to capture the pirates' relatives and friends!"

"It's a deal!" Zhang Jingxin cupped his hands and said, "Lord Wang, Lord Zou, I'll take my leave!"

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Old Zou, you see Old Zhang off. I'm too drunk to see him off. Don't be angry, Old Zhang. When we win the battle against the pirates, I will not only write to the Emperor to ask for your reward, but I will also treat you to a good drink."

Zhang Jingxin nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you, Lord Wang. I'll take my leave now!"

Wang Wenzhou, holding his two babies, happily returned to the Xiaolanlan. He had been eating and sleeping on the ship for the past few days.

Halfway through the journey, Wang Wenzhou suddenly remembered something and knocked on the sedan chair.

Jian Fengyu quickly stepped forward and asked, "My lord, what are your orders?"

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "I'm afraid I'll forget about this as soon as I turn my back. It's a very important matter, so you should do it immediately. Send someone to tell the officials in all parts of Fujian that they are not allowed to obey anyone's orders without the Emperor's decree or my order! Tell them that if they dare to disobey my order, they will suffer the same fate as Yang Banghan!"

"Yes!" Jian Fengyu quickly accepted the order and left.

"Huh?" Chen Yuanyuan knelt beside Wang Wenzhou's thighs, raised her head, and asked in confusion, "Husband, you've sidelined Lord Zou. What if he gets angry and disobeys your orders?"

"Good girl!" Wang Wenzhou pressed Chen Yuanyuan's head down and said with a smile, "I'm just afraid that idiot Zou Weilian will obey orders. Damn it, where am I supposed to find troops to support Guangdong and Guangxi? I ​​plan to take advantage of the pirates' attack on Guangdong and Guangxi to launch a surprise attack on Lamma Island. After dealing with the pirates in one fell swoop, I'll go and deal with the Dutch."

Chen Yuanyuan looked up and rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou. Apart from Liu Rushi and Sheng Lan, none of the sisters could persuade their nemesis. Let him do whatever he wants. Her main task was to keep an eye on him and prevent him from sleeping with girls indiscriminately.

Wang Wenzhou sidelined Zou Weilian to prevent him from making a mistake and disrupting his plans. If Fujian and Guangdong simultaneously arrested the pirates' relatives and friends, Fujian would not only share the hatred of Guangdong and Guangdong, but the pirates would also have more reason to suspect something. If Liu Xiang tolerated it, they would be unable to launch a surprise attack on Lamma Island.

If only the Guangdong and Guangxi regions act alone, Liu Xiang will think that Zou Weilian has acted foolishly. Moreover, if the Guangdong and Guangxi regions alone incur hatred, it will be easier for Liu Xiang to go and retaliate.

……

Upon returning to Guangzhou, Zou Weilian immediately ordered the troops under his command in Guangdong and Guangxi to assemble and proceed to Fujian.

On the road from Guangdong and Guangxi to Fujian these past two days, we've frequently seen troops from those two provinces marching, carrying flags and shouting slogans like, "Train hard and wipe out the pirates!"

Liu Xiang's subordinates were mostly people from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian. These three provinces held no secrets from Liu Xiang. He soon learned of the matter.

On Lamma Island, Liu Xiang and several trusted confidants discussed countermeasures. Wang Wenzhou's large-scale troop deployment, marked by drumming and gonging, was clearly aimed at him.

Liu Wei said, "Uncle, Wang Wenzhou is a coward who is afraid of death and is not worth fearing!"

Liu Xiang shook her head and said solemnly, "Don't underestimate Wang Wenzhou. You should know that Gao Yingxiang was wiped out by Wang Wenzhou!"

Liu Wei thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, there's no need to worry. Even if Wang Wenzhou gathers a large army, to attack Lamma Island, he must first defeat our fleet. Although he has several huge warships, it's impossible for him to defeat our fleet with his own. In this way, no matter how many troops he has, he won't be able to reach Lamma Island."

Liu Xiang nodded and said, "That's true, but we still need to be careful. Wang Wenzhou has offended too many people in the court, which is why he was ousted from the capital. Moreover, Wang Wenzhou has a hidden ambition to establish his own kingdom. Chongzhen sent him here to eliminate us, probably hoping that we and Wang Wenzhou would fight to the death."

Liu Wei asked, "Uncle, what do you mean?"

Liu Xiang continued, "I think Wang Wenzhou should have realized this as well. He must know the principle of 'when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away.' When he came to Fujian, we spared no effort to launch a surprise attack on Quanzhou Port, just to give him a warning and let him know our strength."

Liu Xiang thought for a moment and then said, "Wang Wenzhou is very smart. Even though he suffered a loss in the last battle at Quanzhou Port, he still extended an olive branch to us!"

"Huh?" Liu Wei asked in confusion, "Why do you say that, Uncle?"

“Think about it!” Liu Xiang said with a smile, “The ransom for each of our prisoners, an ordinary soldier, is 100 taels. Wang Wenzhou isn’t stupid. Why would he spend so much silver to ransom these prisoners?”

"Oh!" Liu Wei suddenly realized and said, "Uncle means that Wang Wenzhou is secretly telling us that he doesn't want to wipe us out? But why is he gathering such a large force?"

Liu Xiang said with a smile, "What else could it be? Of course, it's because Chongzhen forced him to do this! If he didn't make some gesture, would Chongzhen have let him off the hook?"

"Haha!" Liu Wei laughed, "In that case, I can rest assured!"

Liu Xiang spoke up, saying, "Since Wang Wenzhou has expressed his goodwill to us, we can't remain indifferent. After all, 50 taels of silver is no small sum."

Liu Wei said with a wry smile, "Uncle, Wang Wenzhou is not short of money, and we can't help him get promoted. How about we send him some local specialties?"

Liu Xiang laughed and said, "Why can't we help him get promoted? Although Wang Wenzhou can't wipe us out, he often defeats us, and with our secret help, he even defeated the Dutch. Shouldn't he be promoted?"

"Haha!" Liu Wei laughed, "Uncle's plan is brilliant! I understand! Uncle wants to work together with Wang Wenzhou."

Liu Xiang said with a smile, "You should immediately go secretly to find Wang Wenzhou and discuss this matter. Also, bring a few beautiful Japanese women and some Hongyi women as a gift. Everyone knows that Wang Wenzhou is a womanizer, so he will definitely like this special little gift."

Liu Wei nodded and said, "Nephew obeys, nephew will go and do it right away."