Chapter 52 Pirates Attack

Shuai Zeng, who was reporting the situation of Funan to Sun Shao, suddenly shuddered. Sun Shao looked at him with concern: "What's wrong? Uncomfortable?"

Shuaiqiang smiled, looked around, and shook his head doubtfully: "Nothing, I suddenly felt something was wrong, as if it was murderous."

Sun Shao was stunned and gave a look at Han Long standing behind him. Han Long turned around and went out to order a few times. After a long time, he returned to Sun Shao and shook his head. Sun Shao waved his hand and motioned him to retreat. Shuai Zeng smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty, maybe I've been in Funan for too long. I'm suspicious."

"It's not a bad thing to be careful." Sun Shao smiled and said, "Go on, what kind of person is Fan Man, the king of Funan?"

Shuai Zeng took a sip of tea, stabilized his mind, and then said, "Fan Man was originally a general of Lao Wang's situation. He fought with the situation for many years. After the situation died, he assisted the plate, but he was originally a close relative of the situation, Panqing, the eldest son of the situation, and it was not in line with the plate. Some people said that the death of the plate was related to him. Three years ago, Panpan died in an accident, and Fan Man became the king himself. In the past few years, he has been fighting from the south to the north and attacked more than ten countries, including Qu Dukun, Jiuzhi and Dianxun, five or six thousand miles. He is an extremely belligerent monarch. The attack on the south came from Linyi, but the main promoter was the king of Funan.

"Is it?" Sun Shao smiled and said, "How many people does he have?"

"The total amount is about 50,000 to 60,000." Shuai Zeng said cautiously, "His soldiers and horses are scattered, and there are 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers, but together with the war, he will recruit people from those small countries, and the total number should be about 100,000. Among them, the most powerful one is the 300 elephant soldiers, which is a sharp weapon for him to win every battle. Shuai Zeng paused and looked worried: "Your Majesty, although these elephant soldiers are not fast, their impact is very strong. If you don't prepare, the casualties will be very amazing."

"Elephant soldier? I know that Jianzhong captured two war elephants when he was in Lu Rongcheng. However, the three hundred elephant soldiers are really amazing. Sun Shao looked at Shuai Zeng, and his eyes were full of appreciation: "Your news is very timely. I didn't expect that he had so many elephant soldiers. If he met him in a hurry, he would definitely suffer losses."

"Hey hey... My task is to find out the deployment of the enemy's troops and prepare for the king's strategy." Shuai Zeng smiled shyly: " By the way, the most powerful on the land of Funan is the elephant soldiers, and the most powerful on the sea is their sailors."

"Their sailor?" Sun Shao said with interest, "Tell me about the length of their sailors compared with us."

... Fan Man, the king of Funan, is in his sixties. Although he is not tall, he is very strong. He has a dark and generous face, two thick eyebrows, a pair of big eyes, a big nose, a wide mouth, and a silver beard floating on his chest, which looks extremely powerful. His upper body was slanted with a piece of brocade, and the glittering brocade made him rich and noble. The exposed right shoulder was covered with oil.

Standing in front of him is a middle-aged man in his forties, with short black hair, a fierce face and two big eyes. He is Fan Man's nephew Fan Yan, and one of Fan Man's best generals. This time, he just came back from Lin Yiguo to report the military situation to Fan Man.

"The army of the king of Yue said that they would come to the expedition in the first half of the year, but they were very confused, and they haven't seen half a ship so far." Fan Yan patted his belly disdainfully: "They came to a general surnamed Lu, but he was too stupid. He came to Xijuan City with only one month of military grain. Qu Lian left the empty city to him, and then went to attack his grain road. However, in two months, he collapsed by himself, gave up Xijuan and retreated to Jiuzhen."

"Oh?" Fan Man's eyes flashed and stared straight at Fan Yan: "Since everything is going well, what are you doing back?"

A trace of shame flashed in Fan Yan's eyes. He said twice: "Another, they are in trouble."

"What trouble, you can't even solve it?"

"Pirates."

"Pirates?" Fan Man was stunned for a moment. His big hand with thick knuckles pinched the short sword around his waist, and his bright eyes swept over Fan Min's face: "You mean, you met pirates?"

"Yes." Fan Qian nodded repeatedly in embarrassment: "Two months ago, a group of pirates came from the east of the rising sea (i.e. the South China Sea). They attacked Da Nang and Lin Yiguo. They suffered heavy losses and asked me for help. I sent three boats to hunt down..."

"Have you caught up?" Fan Man shouted angrily, took a look at Fan Yan, and then sneered, "Looking at you like this, I should not have caught it."

"No... I didn't chase." Fan Yan's black face was a little purple. He licked his thick lips, reached out and wiped his curly hair, and said in a low voice that was almost inaudible, "The three ships... haven't come back."

Fan Man, who had just turned around in anger by him, suddenly turned his head and stared at Fan Qian. After a long time, he laughed, but there was no ridiculous meaning in the laughter. Instead, it made Fan Yan feel cold: "The pirates didn't catch it, and even the boat was gone? What kind of pirate is so powerful that even my sailors in Funan can't beat him?"

"No... I don't know." Fan Yan's mouth seemed to be blocked, which was vague. Fan Man was angry and funny. It was the first time he saw Fan Yan like this. Of course, Fan Yan followed him for so long and it was also the first time to defeat the battle. No wonder he was embarrassed.

"So what did you do later?" Fan Man calmed down, sat back on the throne made of jade grinding, and looked at Fan Yan calmly. Fan Yan exhaled gently and then said, "I later sent people to sweep several nearby islands and catch a lot of pirates, but it was strange that none of the pirates caught admitted to attacking Linyi. Among the trophy, I really didn't find anything from Linyi. I interrogated the pirates in detail, and none of them had seen the group of pirates, but they provided a situation that there were some pirates on several islands near South County, but they had not appeared in the past two months and did not go fishing with them.

"Well, and then what?" Fan Man's eyes flashed, stroked his beard and meditated, listening carefully to every word of Fan Man.

"Later, I rushed to the islands in person to check. I found that all the pirates on those islands had been killed. The pirate flags and ships were missing, leaving only a hundred bodies, buried in a big pit. Buried very carefully. If we hadn't seen a few wild dogs wandering around, we might not have found them.

"I'm afraid this is not a pirate." Fan Man sneered: "When did you see the pirates kill and bury them? More than a hundred people were killed, and none of them leaked the net. This guy of unknown origin is really terrible.

"That's right, so I don't dare to chase anymore. Let the district company be careful and come back to report to the king."

"Will this group of people be Zhu Ya's sailors?" Fan Man pondered for a long time and suddenly asked, "The State of Yue has been calling for revenge. Will their sailors come to revenge?"

"It's unlikely." Fan Yan shook his head: "If it's a sailor in Yue, why do they pretend to be pirates? And I have been paying attention to Zhu Ya's sailors and the flags of Zhu Ya's warships. Those pirates are very familiar with them. As long as they appear in Linyi, there is no reason that those pirates can't recognize.

"Will that be the sailor of King Yue?" Fan Man said worriedly, "I heard that his sailor is also very good."

"It's even more impossible." Fan Yan laughed hoarsely: "If the king of Yue came, would he still be so polite? He must have killed Nanjun directly and cut off the head of the old man. How could he be allowed to recapture Xijuan City again? And I heard from the businessman of Yue that as soon as his sailor came out, there was so much noise that it was impossible to hide it from us.

Fan Man meditated and said no words. To be honest, he didn't believe that King Yue would really fight with him for several merchants. The king of Yue sent an envoy. He looked aggressive, but he didn't believe the messenger's words at all. As long as people with some brains, they won't believe these lies and big words. Don't say that if you kill a few businessmen, what can you do even if you kill the Han officials? At worst, they will send a few people to ask questions. As long as they say a few good words and send some tributes, this matter will be over. The emperor of the Han people is too far away from here. They don't care about it at all. It is said that the Han people have been busy killing themselves in these years. Countless people have died, and it is impossible to have time to take care of it here. Otherwise, do you dare to be the king of such a useless thing?

Although Fan Man had never been to the Han Dynasty, he knew nothing about the Han Dynasty. He learned about the Han Dynasty from the Han people who fled to Jiuzhen and the south, and also learned about the situation of the Han Dynasty from the endless commercial population. He knew that the Han Dynasty was no longer the powerful Han Dynasty, and it was not worth fear at all. The Han people are best at killing each other. General Fubo, who once killed him, died tragically in the end. Although the king of Yue and the king of Wu are uncles and nephews, they are enemies of life and death.

The king of Yue will not really come to fight with him.

Fan Man believed Fan Qian's words. He was very unhappy. He conquered so many countries, established a huge kingdom, and conquered the vast sea territory. He was a well-deserved maritime hegemon. How could he tolerate the misbehful behavior of several pirates? Pirates can exist, but they must be under his jurisdiction and listen to him. If he let them live, they can live. If he let them die, then they must die.

"How many more people do you need to eliminate those pirates?"

Fan Yan had actually thought about it on the road, but he still thought about it and made himself look more stable: "Twenty warships, 20 feeding ships, in a month, I will definitely be able to cut off the heads of those disobedient pirates."

"Don't take it lightly." Fan Man stared at Fan Zhen with no expression on his face: "If you can kill more than a hundred pirates quietly and attack Da Nang under your eyes, these people are by no means mediocre. Maybe they are habitual thieves. You should be careful. I'll give you thirty warships and thirty feeding ships. For three months, you can tie these pirates to me before the New Year.

"Yes." Fan was overjoyed and immediately knelt in front of Fan Man and kissed Fan Man's shoes. Thirty warships mean 3,000 warriors, plus more than 3,000 of his men. Now he has nearly 7,000 people's strength, which is the strongest of Fan Man's men. Even Fan Man's sons are not as good as him. He felt great trust and love from it.

"Teach those unknown pirates." Fan Man bent down and kissed Fan Yan's forehead. "Shiva God will bless you well."

... Cui Qian stepped barefoot on the strong deck, looked down at the barbarian who knelt in front of him in fear, picked up the Roman gold coins in his hand, and scolded: "This Funan king is so bold that he dares to sit on the ground and start the price. Just walk from his ground, the price doubled? Dare to block my country's way of wealth, I think he is really tired of living. He kicked the Yi merchant with his foot: "Are you really from Daqin?"

"Yes, yes, I'm really a businessman of Daqin." The high-nosed Yishang sweated like rain, lying down on the deck and kowtowing repeatedly, making Cui Qian very worried that his nose would hit the deck first.

"You get up first." Cui Qian threw the gold coins in front of him: "This... you put it away."

"No, no, no." Yi Shang was so scared that his face was already whiter. He shivered and took out a large number of gold coins from his arms: "These... I'll give you all these, I'll give them to you. Just forgive me... spare my life!"

He didn't speak Chinese well. When he spoke slowly, he could barely hear it clearly. Cui Qian couldn't understand a word of this nervousness. However, looking at him like that, Cui Qian also knew that he was buying his life with money. After all, Cui Qian was also a pirate before he became a general, and he did this kind of thing a lot.

"Hey hey hey..." Cui Qian looked at the gold coins reluctantly: "Get up, I won't take your money. You collect the money and go to Zhu Ya to trade." Cui Qian waved his hand and motioned the Yi merchant to get up. The Yi man turned two gray eyes and looked at Cui Qian and others in horror. When he found that although Cui Qian and others were fierce, their expressions were very different from those of common pirates, he slowly believed the words of the translation. Although these people were like pirates, they were not sea. Stealing.

"Go to Zhu Ya. When you come back, there will be no pirates here." Cui Qian laughed and turned around and entered the cabin.

"Thank you...thank you, thank you!" The Yi merchant was very grateful, and he did not dare to pick up the gold coins scattered on the ground. He picked up his robe and hurried away. As soon as he got on the boat, he pulled up the sail and ran like a fly.

Cui Yan looked at the gold coins on the deck, shook her head with a wry smile, picked them up one by one, and followed into the cabin: "General, the Yi merchant has left. What about this money?"

Cui Qian glanced at him and said, "I've given it to my brothers. Let them have a good rest and go to Da Nang again in the evening.

Cui Yan smiled, threw the gold coins in her hand, and said puzzledly, "I just been to Da Nang two months ago. Why did I go to Da Nang again?"

"Go get some food, replenish some fresh water, and then we will go south." Cui Qian lay on the chart and said without looking back. This bullshit king of Funan dares to dominate the South China Sea. He really doesn't know the depth of heaven and earth. Let's teach him a lesson and let him know what a sailor is.

"South, south where to go?"

"Are you stupid in Zhu Ya?" Cui Qian shouted impatiently, "We are pirates now. Where can the pirates go?" Wherever we can grab it, we will go there. Why do you ask so many questions?

Cui Yan was shocked, and the gold coin in her hand fell. He did not dare to pick it up, so he turned around and left the cabin. The gold coins rolled over on the deck, making a "gag" sound all the way to Cui Qian's feet. Cui Qian bent down, picked up the gold coin, looked at the head on it, and grinned, "Hey hey, since the king trusts me so much and gives me such an important task, if you don't stir up this bullshit, what do I call it? To be a pirate, who is better than the king than me? He looked up, looked at the vast sea outside, and sighed with emotion: "I've been holding back for a few years, and I'm finally going to sea. It's not a good fight. Isn't the fisherman in the past few years in vain?"

Late at night, Da Nang was calm. The ship that was broken when it was attacked two months ago had been cleaned up, the body was towed away, and the blood had long been washed clean by the sea. Hundreds of merchant ships docked in the harbor, lighting the lights like stars in the dark night. The two Linyi soldiers held the spears in their hands, looked at the singing and dancing from the brightly lit girder on the hillside, and scolded indignantly. Since being attacked by a group of pirates of unknown origin, Da Nang has issued a martial law ban. No one is allowed to neglect, but these bans only take effect on ordinary soldiers and have no effect on the prince district of Linyi.

Since the former prince Chu died in the south, Qu Liang naturally became the prince, and became the most powerful person in Linyi except for the king's district. He was ordered to guard Da Nang. In fact, he took the opportunity to blackmail merchants. Those who gave him benefits were the good people, and those who did not give benefits were pirates. Half of the hundred ships detained in this harbor were detained because they could not pay huge bribes.

Of course, there are also some Vietnamese businessmen.

The merchants in Vietnam were originally the most popular merchants. They not only have exquisite goods and fair prices, but also are friendly. The most important thing is that they don't treat these soldiers of Linyi as outsiders. They said that Linyi was originally a big man like them. Everyone said the same thing and wore the same clothes. Although Linyi is now established and is no longer Linyi County of the big Han Dynasty, they are still willing to treat these soldiers as their own people, so that they are relatively low. Sell goods at the price. However, since several merchants were killed in Funan, things have changed. Lin Yi ordered heavy taxes on Yue merchants, and their attitude has obviously become very poor. Yue merchants are no longer so kind to the soldiers of Lin Yi. If possible, they try to avoid staying in Da Nang. It's really not possible. It's hiding in an inconspicuous corner. However, the soldiers of Lin Yiguo saw their anger in their silent eyes, and they always felt that these merchants would not give up.

Soon, there came the news that the King of Yue sent messengers to question the King of Funan, and then there was a rumor that the diplomatic broke down and the King of Yue was going to send troops to conquer Funan. Hearing the news, not only the soldiers of Lin Yiguo felt ridiculous, but also the merchants of Yue were a little frustrated. They know about the situation of Funan, and they also know about the situation of Vietnam. The strength of Funan is at least three times that of Vietnam. How can Yue be the opponent of Funan? Like the previous Han Dynasty, the King of Yue just said that he would take care of his face. He would not really go to war for the death of a few businessmen and the Funan Kingdom.

There has never been such a thing in all dynasties.

The merchants do not resent the king of Yue. The king of Yue has been very good to them. The high status of the merchants of Yue has never been imagined before. They are willing to think about the king of Yue - the king of Yue does not want to avenge them, but that the country of Yue is not strong enough. Besides, they themselves don't think that the death of a few people is worth the war between the two countries. If there is a war, they are afraid that it will become an excuse for the court to increase taxes.

Looking at the Yue merchants who used to smile the most and become depressed, the soldiers of Lin Yi could only express their sympathy. They were humble and could not comment on such national events. Besides, it's not bad to be able to blackmail the rich Vietnamese businessmen behind the officers. In the past, although they could also make profits, they were not as cheap as the robbery.

The sound of water sounded tirelessly. The two soldiers of Linyi Kingdom sniffed and sat on the dock, putting their feet in the water. The sea at night is very cold, which can make people feel refreshed and drive away the heavy sleepiness.

"Oh, have you got anything good today?" The soldier with a pair of triangular eyes sucked his nose and asked his companion. His companion did not answer him, and there was no sound except the sound of the waves. He turned his head and looked at it with dissatisfaction, and was immediately surprised. The place where there should have been companions was empty. He was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to get up, his ankles tightened, and a force came from the water, dragging him down.

Sea monster? He was so scared that his hair stood upside down. He raised his spear and stabbed it into the water. The spear was caught by something and pulled down. Before he could react, he was dragged into the water. The astringent and salty sea water poured into his mouth and into his lungs, but he soon couldn't feel it. A sharp knife crossed his neck, ending his pain.

Before his consciousness dissipated, he seemed to see two people climbing ashore, holding spears that originally belonged to him and his companions, and his companions were beside him, with frightened faces close at hand.

A moment later, the two soldiers on guard complained softly and walked to the cabin on duty. When he got to the door, the hut opened. A naked soldier came out of it while carrying his trousers and scolded: "You two guys come a while later every time you get on duty, but the layoff is very early. Do you think I'm easy to talk to, just take advantage of me for nothing?"

The two soldiers didn't say anything. They squeezed past him. One entered the house, and the other suddenly turned around. He covered his non-stop mouth from behind, followed by a short knife to scratch his neck. Blood surged, and all his strength was lost in an instant. He turned softly around, fell to the ground, and stared. The big eyes looked at the two companions who had just come down and cut off the necks of the two companions who had not yet got up in the room one by one.

Soon, the cable to protect the harbor was pulled up, and ten warships broke through the darkness, quickly crossed the cable and entered the harbor.

(to be continued)