The rise of the poor

Chapter 2177 This must be a distinguished guest.

Early the next morning, Zhu Ping'an led the Zhejiang army to join forces with Mao Haifeng's Japanese pirates. With Mao Haifeng leading the way, they headed towards the sea.

On the way, Zhu Ping'an sent Ruofeng with two thousand Zhejiang soldiers, who displayed many flags and claimed to be four thousand Zhejiang soldiers, to march to Taizhou in a grand manner.

On the one hand, support Taizhou. Although Wang Zhi had ordered the Japanese pirates attacking Taizhou to withdraw, we cannot place our hopes on others. What if Wang Zhi did not give the order? Or what if Wang Zhi gave the order but the Japanese pirates in command did not obey? A general in the field may disobey orders.

In addition to Wang Zhi's gang of Japanese pirates, there were many other gangs of Japanese pirates, but these gangs would not obey Wang Zhi's orders.

As the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I have a duty to protect Taizhou from falling, as Taizhou is one of the major cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

On the other hand, it was also to mislead the other groups of Japanese pirates, making them think that he had led his troops to support Taizhou, thus lowering their guard.

This would also create an opportunity for them to eliminate the Japanese pirate strongholds.

"Lord Zhu, let's lay low and quietly make our way to the coast. I'll send men to infiltrate Xu San's concubine-taking ceremony. I've arranged a time with them; at 11:45 AM tomorrow, they'll act as our inside agents to open the gates of the Moon Island pier and allow us to enter the port. The reason for setting it for 11:45 AM tomorrow is based on the tide time. At 11:45 AM tomorrow, the tide will be high, and we'll take our warships straight to Moon Island, storm in, and wipe out Xu San in one fell swoop!" Mao Haifeng said to Zhu Ping'an after meeting up with him.

"Alright! We'll do as General Mao arranges." Zhu Ping'an nodded after hearing this.

Therefore, the Zhejiang army and Mao Haifeng, along with the Japanese pirates, all ceased their operations and proceeded along the small paths, avoiding villages, towards the sea.

After marching for about two hours, Zhu Pingan and Mao Haifeng's allied forces arrived at the seaside.

"This is one of our outposts. They just left, and we'll be stationed here without being discovered. This place was originally a coastal fishing village, but when Zhu Wan strictly enforced the sea ban, the villagers were forced to move inland, and the village was abandoned. We took it over, built some fortifications, and used it as our outpost."

Mao Haifeng led Zhu Pingan to a village-like outpost and introduced him to the situation there.

Zhu Pingan observed for a while and found that this fishing village was a large village, about two miles long from the east end to the west end. The village was dotted with houses, and a wall and fence were built around the village, making it completely enclosed. There were two watchtowers at the east and west ends of the village, and there were also scaffolds behind the wall, which could be used to deploy troops in wartime and fire down on the outside from a high position.

The village had three wells, as well as granaries and warehouses. Even if the village was besieged, they would not lack water, and the food and supplies in the granaries and warehouses would be enough to feed and drink them for a month.

Wang Zhi and the Japanese pirates put a lot of effort into transforming this village into a stronghold.

"The ship is here! The ship is here!"

Just then, a shout was heard from outside the village.

Zhu Pingan looked around and saw more than a dozen black dots appearing on the sea, heading this way.

"Lord Zhu, the ships I've arranged have arrived. Thirteen are large ships from our fleet, and five more were coordinated from other fleets. Two of these ships will transport our Red-haired barbarian spies inside, and the remaining sixteen ships can carry about three thousand troops. Your Zhejiang army will select 1500 skilled men, and I will also send 1500 skilled men. We'll arrive near Moon Island before midnight. Once our spies give the signal, we'll head straight for the Moon Island dock, land on the island, and slaughter Xu San and his gang!"

Mao Haifeng said to Zhu Pingan.

Mao Haifeng's arrangements were excellent. Zhu Ping'an nodded in agreement. "I've never experienced naval warfare before. I'll go out to sea with General Mao at dawn to wipe out Xu San."

"Does Your Excellency know how to swim?" Mao Haifeng asked, and before Zhu Pingan could answer, he continued, "On the high seas, besides enemies, there are also great winds and waves. Even the most experienced captain cannot guarantee a smooth journey. If Your Excellency does not know how to swim, it would be best to stay at the outpost and wait for our triumphant return."

"I'm a pretty good swimmer," Zhu Pingan replied.

"If Lord Zhu can swim, he can go out to sea with us." Mao Haifeng nodded when he heard that Zhu Ping'an could swim.

After the decision was made, Mao Haifeng dispatched the more than one hundred Japanese pirates he had selected the day before onto the two ships. He also gave the red-haired Japanese pirates some instructions, loaded the prepared gifts tied with red silk onto the ships, and watched the two ships disappear into the sea.

On the island of Moon in the vast sea, lanterns and colorful decorations were everywhere. The Japanese pirate camps were adorned with red lanterns and red ribbons. The festive suona horns blared louder and louder. The Japanese pirates on the island were also dressed in red and green, making it extremely festive and lively.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock"

"Boom, boom, boom."

A suona band of thirty people greeted guests at the entrance of the wedding banquet. Every time a group of guests came to offer their congratulations, the suona band would puff out their cheeks and play for a while. Next to them was a billing agent, where guests would put their gifts and monetary contributions on a bill.

"Zhang Hui, the leader, led thirty men under his command to offer congratulations, bringing with him three hundred taels of gold and silver, a piece of coral, a pair of jade ruyi, and ten bolts of silk."

The person who had paid in advance loudly announced the congratulatory gift.

Upon hearing that the congratulatory gift was quite generous, the suona band puffed out their cheeks and played even more energetically.

"Hahaha, thank you very much, Chief Zhang Hui. Please come in quickly, please come in quickly. Our chief is in the Hall of Gathering Righteousness to welcome Chief Zhang."

Amidst the lively sounds of suona horns and drums, a burly man with a pockmarked face, dressed in a brocade robe resembling that of a wealthy countryman, with a red "Welcoming Guests" badge pinned to his waist, clasped his hands in greeting to Zhang Hui and his party.

This is Zhang Mazi, the third-ranked member of Xu San's gang of Japanese pirates. He is Xu San's confidant and, like Xu San, is greedy and lustful.

"Haha, thank you for personally welcoming us, Third Leader. We are truly flattered." Zhang Hui and his group of Japanese pirates smiled and clasped their hands in greeting.

"It's no trouble at all. It's my honor to share the burden of our leader, and it's an even greater honor to be able to welcome all of you heroes at the gate."

Zhang Mazi chuckled and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Mazi escorted Zhang Hui and his group five or six meters inside before returning with a chuckle.

Less than a few minutes after Zhang Hui and his party went in, more guests came in from outside.

However, they were not as generous as Zhang Hui's group. The small Japanese pirate gang of about ten people only gave fifty taels of silver and two jars of wine as a congratulatory gift.

Upon hearing the announcement of the congratulatory gifts, Zhang Mazi didn't even bother to go forward to greet them. He sent his men to greet them, and Zhang Mazi merely gave a perfunctory clasped-fist salute at the door. What could such a small gift possibly do? It was just enough to send a beggar away.

While Zhang Mazi was idly passing the time, he saw two ships approaching from the sea, and his eyes lit up. These must be important guests. (End of Chapter)