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The people sent by the maritime merchants also said that if Ximenqing's navy could completely remove the pirates off the coasts of Koryo and Japan, they would be willing to pay a lot of money.
When the sea merchants approached Ximen Zhong to discuss, Ximen Qing happened to go north to the Kingdom of Jin.This is a big matter, and Ximen Zhong didn't dare to agree to it alone, so he had to tell them to discuss it after the return of the master Ximen Qing.Now, Ximen Zhong just wanted to know what decision the master, Ximen Qing, made on this matter.
Ha ha!This is a great thing!After listening to Ximen Zhong's narration, Ximen Qing was overjoyed.
Ximenqing spent money to build this navy, not only to kill a few pirates and thieves along the coast of Dengzhou, but also not only to attack the coastline border of the Kingdom of Jin in the future.What Ximenqing hopes is that this navy will be strong enough to help him deter or conquer overseas countries in the future, and under his guidance, start the era of great navigation for the Han people.
Therefore, Xu Wen's navy of more than 3000 people could not meet Ximenqing's needs. Ximenqing asked Xu Wen to continue building ships and training troops to build a stronger navy fleet.
However, to do this, a lot of money is needed!Raising ships and soldiers requires a lot of money.The money and armaments that Ximenqing earned from the Dengzhou and Laizhou government were not enough to meet the needs of the development of the navy, and the money earned from the maritime trade in Dengzhou Ximenzhuang to subsidize the navy also made Ximenqing a big official. pain.
In order to get more money to develop the naval army, Ximenqing gave some pointers to Xu Wen and the other three, and taught them his experience in eliminating violence and peace and suppressing bandits everywhere in the past few years, so that they could do the same at sea.
That is to say, continue to play the game of pirates robbing sea merchants to accumulate wealth, and Ximenqing's navy will gain huge wealth through the game of destroying pirates and robbing pirates' treasures.
Those sea merchants from Koryo and Japan came to their door and begged for protection from the naval army. They were clearly giving Ximen Qing a way to get rich!
Chapter 657 Courtesy of Laizhou City
After Ximenqing learned that the Korean and Japanese maritime merchants who came to Dengzhou Penglai Port to do business wanted to hire armed ships to escort them and pay a lot of money to ask Ximenqing's navy to help wipe out the pirates of the two countries, he immediately sent Xu Wen and Wang Dingliu The three brothers, Song Wan and Song Wan, called to Ximen Village to discuss the matter with the old supervisor Ximen Zhong.
After discussing with everyone in detail, Ximenqing made a decision to let Xu Wen's navy accept the request made by the Korean and Japanese maritime merchants and provide paid escort for their merchant fleets.The three of Xu Wen are responsible for commanding the navy, and the old supervisor Ximen Zhong is responsible for contacting maritime merchants from various countries and charging appropriate fees.All the money earned during the escort was used for the expansion of this navy.
In addition, Ximenqing asked Xu Wen and the others to actively prepare for the war, and use the information provided by the Korean and Japanese maritime merchants to wipe out the pirates on the coastlines of the two countries one by one.The purpose of the war against pirates is to support war with war.
The so-called war to support war means that on the one hand, they rob the pirates of their years of savings and take it as their own, and then use the robbed money to build ships and recruit sailors; Soldiers, turn this navy into a navy that is truly capable of fighting.
Another purpose of Ximenqing is to ask Xu Wen and others to lead the way through Koryo and Japanese maritime merchants, to find out the various sea routes from Dengzhou to Koryo and Japan, and to be familiar with the coastal topography and current conditions of the two countries. Lay the foundation for the future naval forces across the Bohai Sea and the East China Sea.
After careful discussions with Ximen Qing, Ximen Zhong, Xu Wen and others understood Ximen Qing's meaning, and started escort business to Korea, Japan, and Song's own maritime merchants. At the same time, they sent spies from the navy , under the leadership of a sea merchant, went to Koryo and Japan to collect intelligence on the pirates and prepare for the navy's expedition to suppress bandits.
Among Ximenqing's many businesses, there is another big business of armed escort at sea.
After arranging all the things in Dengzhou, Ximen Qing left Dengzhou with Jiao Ting, Qiao Yunge, and Wang Yi, headed west, and returned to Yanggu County, Dongping Prefecture.
Ximenqing and his party left the Dengzhou boundary, entered Laizhou, crossed Gushan and Dajishan to the west, passed through the Taoist Valley between the two mountains, and arrived at Wuguanzhuang, two miles north of Dajishan.
This military officer's village is the hometown of Liu Wu, the commander of soldiers and horses in Laizhou.Liu Wu is a big local family. Their Liu family has been benevolent for generations, and they have shown kindness to relatives, friends, tenants and poor people. They can be said to be the most respected manor owners here.
Although Liu Wu was in Laizhou City and did not live in the military officer's village, after the Liu family learned that it was Liu Wu's friend Ximen Qing who had arrived, they warmly invited him and his staff into their home, and slaughtered pigs and sheep to take good care of them.
Wuguan Village is located [-] miles east of Laizhou City, and the servants sent by the Liu family had already rushed to Laizhou City to report the news on horseback.After learning that Ximen Qing had arrived at his home, Liu Wu, the military superintendent, hurried back from Laizhou City to his hometown, Wuguan Village, to meet Ximen Qing.
Along the way, Ximenqing also heard from the villagers about many deeds of Liu Wu's family's good deeds and good deeds. He knew that the surrounding villagers all loved Liu's family, so he also admired Liu Wu, the military supervisor of Laizhou.
It seems that this Liu Wu is also a talent who can kill thieves when he gets on his horse, and rule the people when he gets off his horse!
Ximenqing used to only know that there was a famous navy general named Xu Wen in Laizhou, but he didn't know that there was a beloved figure named Liu Wu in Laizhou.Knowing that Liu Wu is also a talent now, Ximenqing naturally wants to make friends with him so that he can also use such characters for himself in the future.
That night, Ximenqing had a long talk with his owner Liu Wu in Wuguanzhuang, and showed his strengths in front of Liu Wu, which opened the eyes of Liu Wu, who had admired Ximenqing for a long time in the first battle of Jeju City. Ximen Qing admired and got closer to him even more.
Ximen Qing believed that it would not be difficult to develop this Liu Wu into his own brother with just a few more contacts in the future.
After resting at Liu Wu's house for a night, when he woke up the next day, Ximen Qing and his party, accompanied by Liu Wu, rode slowly on horseback and arrived at Laizhou City westward.
Before entering the east gate of Laizhou City, from a distance, I saw a group of scholars gathered outside the pavilion beside the post road outside the city, looking eastward.After seeing Ximen Qing, these people greeted him one after another.The one at the head shouted loudly: "My brother Ximen, are you here all right?"
Ximen Qing took a closer look, and found that the person who came was Zhao Mingcheng, the magistrate of Laizhou, and the person behind him was the ancient poet Li Qingzhao?
Seeing that Zhao Mingcheng and his wife came to meet him outside the city in person, Ximenqing jumped off his horse in a hurry, saluted him and his wife, looked at Zhao Mingcheng and said, "Brother Defu, my younger brother passed by here, it is already a nuisance, how dare the laboring and virtuous couple condescend to come here?" Welcome little brother?"
"My dear brother Ximen, last night my husband and I were having a wine gathering with scholars in Laizhou city to discuss my new chapter of "Jinshilu". Dengzhou came to my Laizhou territory and stayed at the home of Liu Dujian, a military officer. My scholars in Laizhou City have heard of your name for a long time, and are eager to meet you, so I begged my wife and I to bring them here this morning. Waiting here, I want to have a glimpse of your dignity. Brother, come with me, and I will introduce you to this Laizhou literati."
After Zhao Mingcheng finished speaking, he affectionately pulled Ximen Qing towards the group of scholars behind him.The beautiful Li Qingzhao walked on the other side of Ximen Qing, hugged Ximen Qing together with Zhao Mingcheng, and accompanied Ximen Qing to meet and greet with the literati in Laizhou one by one.
The couple Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao had a high reputation and influence among the scholars in the Song Dynasty.After coming to Laizhou, he and his wife quickly became the leaders of scholars in Laizhou.Now that his husband and wife are so close to Ximen Qing, it naturally infected these scholars in Laizhou, and made Ximen Qing's weight in their hearts a bit heavier.
After meeting the scholars outside the pavilion and drinking a few glasses of water and wine with everyone, Ximenqing entered Laizhou City, surrounded by the Laizhou prefect Zhao Mingcheng, Yi Anju and his wife, the military commander Liu Wu, and a group of literati.
Zhao Mingcheng greeted Ximen Qing so grandly, of course because Ximen Qing was the savior of his and his wife, and conquered him and Li Qingzhao with his poetry and prose in Licheng and Qingzhou, but there were also other reasons.
This Laizhou is the same as Dengzhou, backed by mountains and facing the sea, bandits and pirates are often haunted, and the government and army are unable to conquer and eliminate it, which can be said to be a headache for all the prefects.
Zhao Mingcheng knew that Ximen Qing had taken root in Dengzhou and helped the magistrate Wang Shizhong to eradicate bandits and stabilized the local security. He had invited Ximen Qing to develop in Laizhou, and he wanted to use his strength to deal with bandits and pirates.
A few days ago, Ximenqing assisted Cheng Wanli, the governor of Dongping Prefecture, to destroy the notorious Liangshanbo bandits.After returning, Liu Wu, the commander of the Laizhou military and horse capital who led the army to participate in the battle, told Zhao Mingcheng vividly about Ximen Qing's ability.
After Zhao Mingcheng heard this, he wished Ximenqing could move his family to this Laizhou city immediately, so that Ximenqing could help him to make contributions and have a great future just like Cheng Wanli assisted him.
In recent days, Ximenqing's navy took the initiative to help Laizhou wipe out several pirates that harassed the coast, which made Zhao Mingcheng extremely grateful to Ximenqing.
Because of this, when he learned that Ximen Qing had come to Laizhou, how could Zhao Mingcheng not greet him grandly?
Chapter 658 The Anti-Thief News
In Qingzhou City, the magistrate's yamen was decorated with lanterns and festoons, and Murong Yanda, the prefect of Qingzhou, was hosting a banquet for Ximen Qing and his party who came to visit.Qingzhou military commander Qin Ming and military superintendent Huang Xin both met Ximen Qing at the banquet, and everyone exchanged cups and chatted happily.
During the meeting, Ximenqing also introduced some foreign experiences of doing business in the Kingdom of Jin and the scene on the way from Dengzhou to the west to Murong Yanda, Qin Ming, Huang Xin and others who inquired about his recent situation.
After meeting with Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao and his wife in Laizhou City, Ximenqing participated in an elegant poetry gathering hosted by Li Qingzhao and gathered by scholars from Laizhou.
Under the ardent expectation of Li Qingzhao's beautiful eyes, Ximen Qing had no choice but to recite two poems from later generations, which won the applause of the audience.
After winning the hearts of scholars in Laizhou, Ximenqing visited the East Sea Temple in the west of Laizhou City accompanied by Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao.
The East China Sea Temple in Laizhou City was built in the Han Dynasty. Together with the Confucian Temple in Qufu and the Dai Temple in Mount Tai, it is known as "the best in the world", and it is the "sacred place" for dynasties to worship the East China Sea.
In ancient China, there was a ritual or cultural tradition of worshiping "Yuezhen Haidu", that is, worshiping famous mountains and rivers.Astronomers and astrologers in the Western Han Dynasty concluded that the best place for the imperial court to offer sacrifices to the sea and dragons should be on the coast of Laizhou, Shandong Province, in the east of the country, after careful investigation, calculation and positioning based on the position of the astrology.
The emperors Qin Shihuang, Han Wudi, Han Xuandi and other emperors recorded in the history books all went to Laizhou to offer sacrifices to the sea.About eighteen miles west of Laizhou City, a seawater temple dedicated to offering sacrifices to the sea was built.
About 150 years ago, in the sixth year of Emperor Taizu Kaibao of Song Dynasty, on the basis of the previous generation of Haishui Temple, the imperial court carried out large-scale civil engineering, expanded and repaired the Donghai Temple, and erected a monument.
According to folk legend in Laizhou, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin once fell into disaster in Ye County of Laizhou and was chased and killed by enemy soldiers.He hid in the seawater temple alone and escaped safely.Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin believed that the gods were protecting him. After he ascended the throne, he sent General Zheng Ziming to Ye County to rebuild the Donghai Temple.
Since Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty, the imperial court has made a custom for offering sacrifices to the sea, which is recorded in "Zhi", and all subsequent emperors have followed this ceremony.The East China Sea Temple has officially become a place for royal sacrifices, offering sacrifices to mountains to Mount Tai, and offering sacrifices to the sea to the East China Sea Temple.The Donghai Temple in Laizhou has the same status as the Dai Temple in Mount Tai.
Every year on the first day of spring, Laizhou Donghai Temple holds a ceremony to worship the sea.In other cases, before the Son of Heaven went hunting or dispatched troops, if there was a catastrophe in the state or the monarch was sick, grand sacrifices would be held to wish the mountains and seas, pray for blessings and disaster relief, and pray for the blessing of the God of the Sea, good weather, and good harvests.
Therefore, the East China Sea Temple is a cultural and historical place in Laizhou. It is said that the four walls of the main hall are painted with pictures of the Sea God Dragon King leaving the palace and entering the palace. Painted by Wu Daozi.
In order to show their sincerity to Ximen Qing, Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao accompanied Ximen Qing to the Nadonghai Temple to offer sacrifices to the sea and pray for blessings, and visited the places of interest in the temple together.
After visiting the East China Sea Temple, paying homage to the Sea God Dragon King, and praying for his new navy, Ximenqing broke up with Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao outside the temple, left Laizhou with the team, and then passed through Weizhou non-stop. Came to this Qingzhou city.
Murong Yanda, Qin Ming, and Huang Xin, the prefect of Qingzhou, have an extraordinary relationship with Ximen Qing, so they naturally want to gather together in the city.
After telling Murong Yanda and others what he had seen and heard along the way, Ximenqing also asked Qin Ming and Huang Xin about the current situation of the remnant bandits in Liangshan from the Songjiang Department of the Huaiyang Army.