Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 101 Our Pirate King (Part 3)
"I am... uh... no, I am Li Guozhu, I pay my respects to, no... I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
If Li Guozhu was still sad when he set out from Japan in February of that year, thinking that his old man was indeed old and stupid, and that he believed the words of a mere Jinyiwei centurion and sent him, his son, to die, and was filled with despair, then along the way, he was constantly surprised and shocked.
After setting out from Hirado, their fleet first arrived at Jeju Island: this island did not have a specific name in the 17th century. It was just a public supply station for merchants (pirates) from China, Japan and South Korea to rest, replenish fresh water and exchange intelligence.
It was on this island that Tian Ergeng, Li Guozhu and his party learned that Zhu Youdong had gone south to Nanjing (any major decisions of the Ming Dynasty would be notified to Korea).
Overjoyed, Tian Ergeng immediately ordered the fleet to adjust its route: no longer go to Beijing, but to Nanjing!
When approaching Nanjing, near the mouth of the Yangtze River, their fleet was intercepted by the navy warships of the Daming Zhenhai Guard. When Li Guozhu nervously ordered his brothers to prepare for battle, Tian Ergeng boarded the enemy ship for a while, and the other side immediately sent him back politely and sent warships to escort him throughout the journey.
At this point, Li Guozhu's heart finally settled down: it seems that this captain of the Jinyiwei is really the crown prince's man.
Li Dan went abroad very early and worked hard abroad for many years. His son, Li Guozhu, was born in Japan. Although Li Dan hired Chinese literati living in Japan to give him basic Chinese cultural education, Li Guozhu still lacked a direct impression of his motherland.
For example, when his teacher taught him to study "Tengwang Pavilion Preface" and "Yueyang Tower Record" when he was a child, he could not imagine what the vastness of the mist and waves was. He could only ask his teacher: How do Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake compare with Lake Biwa in Omi Province, Japan? For example, in Yang Shen's "Linjiangxian: The Rolling Yangtze River Flows East", he could not imagine the surging of inland rivers. He could only ask his teacher: How does the Yangtze River compare to the Nagara River in Mino?
This time, when he really returned to China, what he saw and heard along the way made him feel that the banks of the Ming Dynasty were many times more prosperous than Japan. The scenery of China was many times more magnificent than the mountains and rivers of Japan, which were more delicate but far less majestic. In addition to being shocked, he naturally felt a burst of pride in his heart.
When they entered the Nanjing Imperial Palace, although it was just a simple palace built when the Ming Dynasty was just founded and the national strength was extremely limited, for Li Guozhu, who had only seen the Seventh Heaven Guard Tower at most, it also shocked and impacted his soul.
Then, when the young master, who was respected by everyone in Hirado, Japan, faced His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, he was naturally at a loss and spoke incoherently.
"Hehehe." A gentle laugh sounded above his head, and then a pair of small but strong hands appeared on his shoulders, helping Li Guozhu up.
Zhu Youdong is now almost seven years old. Thanks to the fact that his body has been strengthened by the ancestor, he is about 1.4 meters tall. Li Guozhu is 26 years old this year. His height is the average height of Chinese people in this era, about 1.6 meters, less than 1.7 meters. Therefore, when the two stand together, the height difference is not too big.
"Li Zhuangshi, you don't have to kneel when you see me in the future. When ordinary people see me, they have to call themselves common people. But are you ordinary people? Just call yourself 'I'. Also, you can call me Grandson or Your Highness, I'm not that particular."
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Grandson."
"Yeah." Zhu Youdong tiptoed a little, patted Li Guozhu's shoulder, and then turned his gaze to another person.
A deep, powerful and magnetic baritone voice quickly sounded: "The criminal Yan Siqi pays homage to His Highness."
With a wave of his hand, Wang Chengen directed the other eunuchs to lead the three people to their seats. Zhu Youdong also returned to his seat and looked at the young man who was at least 1.8 meters tall, with a strong physique and a calm face, and said, "How come Yan Zhuangshi is a criminal? Tell me about it."
"Yes." Yan Siqi stood up without any pretense. "The criminal is originally from Haicheng County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province. I have parents, an older sister and a younger sister. I have six mu and three fen of thin land that is often flooded by the sea and has reduced production. Five years ago, the county's household clerk for some reason changed my family's thin land into good land. Then the land tax my family needs to pay has doubled! Although my parents worked harder to farm and fish, and married my sister off early to reduce the burden, they were ultimately unable to bear it... Four years ago, my younger sister starved to death, and my parents hanged themselves in despair. The criminal was so angry that he sneaked into the house of the household clerk that night and beheaded him. Then, with the help of his friends, the criminal fled to Japan... Therefore, the criminal is a murderer and absconded. When I return to the Ming Dynasty and see Your Highness, of course I can only call myself a criminal."
"Hmm..." After taking a look around, he found that besides Tian, Li, and Yan, only Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen were waiting by the side. The others had already left . Zhu Youdong said, "Master Yan, there is nothing hidden or fabricated in what you said just now, right?"
"Every word the criminals say is true, and their term of imprisonment will never expire."
"Well, if this is true, I will just shout, well done!"
"Your Highness!" He stood up excitedly, and with his majestic body he bowed down with great ceremony: "Your Highness, when Lord Tian first came to Hirado, he went around looking for criminals. The criminals were surprised to think that the detectives in Haicheng were so powerful that they even came to Japan to hunt criminals down. Later, when I heard that the Kapitan had received the invitation, I realized that it was Your Highness who wanted to see me. I don't know how I have done this, but Your Highness has heard of my name..."
"Well..." It's a bit awkward. I can't say that your name, Yan Siqi, the King of Taiwan, is well-known to the world, right? There is no other way, so I can only change the subject.
"Master Yan, you haven't told me your age yet?"
"The criminal was born in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign and is eighteen years old this year."
"What?" It was Tian Ergeng who exclaimed. He stood up from his chair excitedly, walked to Yan Siqi, looked at him carefully, and said, "So, you were only fourteen years old when you killed someone?"
"The criminals are ashamed."
"Hahaha, what are you ashamed of? Your Highness!" Tian Ergeng turned around and said, "Your Highness, this is a good seedling! You must assign him to our Jinyiwei! I only need two years, no, one year, to give you an operator!"
"Haha, Captain Tian, you underestimated Yan Zhuangshi. His ability is not something that can be dealt with by a small general."
After saying this, Zhu Youdong said to Cao Huachun: "My dear friend, you heard what happened just now. Please go to the Ministry of Justice for me and check the files handed over by the Fujian Provincial Procuratorate four years ago."
"I obey your orders."
"Yan Zhuangshi."
"The criminals are here."
"As the grandson of the Ming Emperor, I cannot ignore the laws of the country because of my own preferences. Therefore, I must investigate what you just said. Of course, it is probably difficult to find out whether that petty official changed the grade of your land. But as long as I find out that you really only killed that petty official four years ago and did not hurt any innocent people, this matter will be over. However, if you hurt innocent people, I'm sorry, I won't make things difficult for you, but I can't use you anymore!"
"Yes, I am willing to wait for news from this eunuch. If there is any untruth in what I just said, I do not need Your Highness to punish me. When the time comes, I will ask Lord Tian to lend me a knife. I am willing to commit suicide in front of Your Highness!"
