Chapter 69: Pirate Zheng Exerts Himself

  Jiangning, the Governor-General of the Two Rivers, had just issued a memorial impeaching and dismissing Chen Pengnian, the Prefect of Suzhou, Jia Pu, the Grain Intendant of Suzhou and Songjiang, and Zhang Tingcai, the Vice-Prefect of Suzhou. He was about to take a breather when he received a report on the robbery case of the Shanghai merchant fleet. After scanning it briefly, his heart skipped a beat as the amount involved in this robbery case reached 600,000 taels, with 43 people killed. This was indeed shocking news and could be called the biggest case in the Two Rivers region. He dared not slack off for a moment and immediately ordered the gathering of one battalion of the Governor-General's personal troops to rush to Suzhou, and also sent someone to notify Jiangnan General Shi Yide and Jiangsu Governor Zhang Bohang to converge on Suzhou.

  After meeting in Suzhou, Gala and Shi Yide learned that Zhang Bohang had already rushed to Shanghai one step ahead. The two of them briefly discussed it, but they both understood in their hearts that the 14th prince, Yin Zhen, was stationed in Shanghai, and the Minister of Revenue, Zhang Pengchao, was in Jiangning. Moreover, there were many of Kangxi's informants in Jiangnan, so it was impossible to suppress this case and make a big deal out of it. The only way was to quickly eliminate the pirates. Very soon, the two of them made a decision: Gala would follow the Suzhou general and take the Suzhou naval warship from the river to the sea, searching from top to bottom; Shi Yide would go to Langshan and lead the Langshan naval forces into the sea, searching from bottom to top. They also ordered someone to quickly deliver an order to Zhang Bohang in Shanghai, telling him to do his best to comfort the merchants who had been robbed and stabilize the people's hearts.

  East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Xu Wengshan.

  Xu Wengshan is only a small island with an area of about two square miles, and there are no permanent residents on the island. During the fishing season, occasionally some fishing boats will stop over on the island, but recently, more than 20 large and small ships have been anchored around Xu Wengshan.

  On a large sea ship in the middle of the ocean, a man in his forties with a sturdy build and rough features sat listlessly fishing on the deck. This was Zheng Ze Xin, the leader of the pirates who had robbed the maritime trade ships in the East Sea. He was from Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and had lost both parents at a young age, drifting to sea where he relied on his exceptional vision, cunning, and ruthlessness to quickly stand out among the pirates. However, because he refused to follow established rules, he made too many enemies in the pirate world, and over the years, was unable to stabilize his position. Although his power grew stronger, he repeatedly suffered attacks from both the imperial naval forces and other pirate groups, ultimately spending his life drifting at sea.

  Ye Kai was their second-in-command, a slender and refined man in his thirties. He arrived on Zheng's boat by small boat, walking quickly to the front, "Boss, all the big and small boats are basically fully loaded, shouldn't we set off? This place is close to shore, and we've been here for a long time."

  "What's the point of being close to the shore? Just relying on those few soft-shelled shrimp, no matter how many come, I'll take them all." Zheng said disdainfully, and as he spoke, he stood up and stretched his waist lazily. He then smiled and said: "However, it's time for us to set off. Once this news spreads, there won't be any ships daring to pass by here again. Order the men to change our flag and number, and tomorrow we'll take a detour down to Nanyang."

  After Zhang Bohuai arrived in Shanghai, he first visited the Fourteenth Prince Yin Zhen and then moved into the Shanghai County Government Office. He invited all the robbed sea merchants to come and comforted them with warm words, and made it clear that the imperial court had dispatched naval officers and soldiers to go out to sea to surround and wipe out the pirates, letting everyone wait for news at home with peace of mind.

  Zhang Bohang was a well-known honest official, with deep affection for the common people. He liked to go undercover and make private visits, believing that only by immersing himself among the people could he gain a clearer understanding of their hardships. This case was particularly huge, involving over 600,000 silver goods stolen and 43 lives lost. Fortunately, it occurred at sea; if it had happened on land, officials from both provinces would likely have been dismissed and punished.

  Although he knew that Gala and Shidi had already led the naval forces to sea to pursue and wipe out, he still did not dare to slack off. Every day, he wore a green robe and small hat, frequently visiting those sailors, boatmen, and small merchants who were robbed, first to comfort them, secondly to see if they could find any valuable information, and thirdly also to inspect the people's feelings.

  Kai Li and Shi Yi De, each leading a group of naval officers and soldiers, searched the East Sea back and forth for several days, but didn't even see the shadow of pirates. Not to mention pirates, within a radius of over 20 miles where merchant ships were robbed, not even a single fishing boat could be seen. After decades of chaos, coastal fishermen and merchants had become cautious, and as soon as they heard that the naval forces were going out to sea to suppress pirates, they all stayed at home, afraid of being mistakenly killed by the naval officers and soldiers. The two men, having gained nothing, were unwilling to retreat and had to continue expanding their search area, sending out small boats to gather information.

  Gala and Shi Yide's two men surrounded the pirates but gained nothing, while Zhang Bohang's private visit to Shanghai in disguise yielded a significant harvest. Through extensive visits, he first discovered that many of Zhang Yuanlong's sailors were from Fujian, but had changed their names and claimed to be from Songjiang Huating. Moreover, Zhang's fleet not only had licenses in Shanghai, but also in other places like Guan County, which secretly shocked him - the management of maritime trade fleets was chaotic to this extent.

  As he delved deeper into the investigation, he found that this was not unique to the Zhang family, as several other maritime trade fleets were also involved. What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yuanlong had dealings with Gali Suo, and his younger brother Zhang Lingdao was actually Gali's son-in-law. Someone also inadvertently revealed that last year, Zhang Yuanlong had collaborated with Gali to use warships to sell a large quantity of rice on the high seas, and the Zhang family had a complex relationship with pirates.

  Zhang Yuanlong didn't know that Zhang Bohang was secretly investigating him. After spending several days inquiring about some sailors who had returned safely, he had already figured out the details of the pirates who had robbed his fleet. He knew this information would be very useful to Yin Zhen, so he hurriedly rushed to Liu Chun Garden.

  "Fourteenth Master, the origin and identity of this pirate gang have been investigated. The leader of this pirate gang is named Zheng Jin Xin. Originally, they were hiding in the Yellow Sea, around Jeju Island, with considerable strength. They have four large ships with over a thousand tons, about 600 people, and many red cannons on board. This pirate gang had not been heard from for many years, but unexpectedly this year, they came to the East China Sea to commit such a major crime."

  The pirate's strength was not small, and after listening to Zhang Yuanlong's report, he was also secretly shocked and surprised. He asked tentatively: "Have you had dealings with Zheng Jinxi?"

  "I have nothing to do with him." Zhang Yuanlong said with hatred, "Ten years ago, in the Yellow Sea, I fought against him. At that time, he didn't have such great power, our fleet of more than 60 ships, he dared to rob us by force, in the end, both sides suffered losses, and he didn't get any benefits."

  Did the maritime trade fleet encounter pirates? Yongzheng was very curious, "Do your ships carry firearms when they go out to sea?"

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  Are there any female compatriots? Happy 3.8!!