"We have suffered heavy losses this time. The leader must need my help in the aftermath, but I was alone and could not go back at all. Then I came to the door rashly and wanted to ask Mr. Cui to help me and send me back!"

Cui Hongtu's gaze could not be hidden from Qi Jinggao at all, but he pretended not to know and simply made a request.

These words made Cui Hongtu feel a little less suspicious, and he immediately asked, "You want to go back!"

"Of course I have to go back!"

He answered subconsciously and paused. Qi Jinggao seemed to have noticed something and asked, "Master Cui, don't you doubt me!"

Cui Hongtu smiled and said lightly: "Mr. Qi, don't blame me. You told me that the reason why this operation failed was completely because of the leak of news. I have to be more alert.

”

"snort!"

Qi Jing snorted coldly and said dissatisfiedly: "I have followed the leader for five or six years, how could I betray him?"

Then the conversation changed: "If I really betrayed, I'm afraid the Cui family has been visited by the officers and soldiers!"

These words made Cui Hongtu feel a little more relieved, but he didn't believe it all, because this old fox was very suspicious.

After thinking for a while, Cui Hongtu said, "Since Mr. Qi wants to go back, I will make arrangements as soon as possible!"

Cui Hongtu knew that the Zhejiang Navy was not the opponent of the Japanese pirates, and even if there was a conspiracy, he could not make a big wave, so he made this decision.

What's more, Cui Hongtu himself was going to meet Fujiwara Manta. The two of them were in-laws and did not inform him of such a big deal about attacking Shaoxing, which made him a little dissatisfied.

More importantly, he wants to see how much the Japanese pirates suffered.

After all, the Cui family can become a maritime businessman entirely due to the support of Japanese pirates, and even a lot of goods come directly from Japanese pirates, so Cui Hongtu naturally has to pay attention to it.

After making a decision, Cui Hongtu called a few servants and told them to prepare for taking a boat to sea.

At the same time, without telling Qi Jinggao, some people were secretly sent to the government office to inquire about the situation and want to verify it.

In the afternoon, the person who asked about the news came back. After Cui Hongtu learned some of the situation, he took Qi Jinggao to the Hangzhou Pier that night and left on the prepared clutch.

There are countless islands on the sea east of Zhejiang, among which the Zhoushan Islands are the most famous.

This is also a paradise for pirates. Almost all the pirates of all sizes along the coast are here.

The leader of the Japanese pirates, Fujiwara Man, also placed his nest in the Zhoushan Islands and occupied several large islands.

These pirates dared to set their nests so close to the land, which was certain that the government troops were unable to clear them, so they dared to be so rampant.

However, in recent days, the pirates gathered in the Zhoushan Islands have had some abnormal movements, and many small groups of pirates have begun to move their nests.

Because Fujiwara Manta was defeated and his subordinates lost more than half of his losses, the news has spread among the pirates.

Fujiwara Man, the group of Japanese pirates, is one of the two major pirate groups on the southeast coast, with a very strong force. He was defeated by the officers and soldiers. The other little pirates were naturally worried, so they would do this.

Another important reason is that Fujiwara Manta, who returned from defeat, sent an invitation letter to pirates of all sizes in Zhoushan area two days later.

It is definitely not a good thing to be invited by Fujiwara Mitsuki at this time, because he was seriously injured in his vitality and would definitely want to absorb external forces.

But the pirate leaders have their own ambitions. Who would be willing to be swallowed by Fujiwara? Naturally, they would avoid it from afar.

"Baga, these things that don't know the truth!"

Fujiwara Man was angry with hatred because today was the time for him to invite all the pirate leaders of the Zhoushan Islands to gather.

But who knew that pirate leaders of all sizes, as if they had agreed, no one came to the appointment.

Fujiwara Manta even received news that dozens of small pirates had left the Zhoushan Islands and went further away.

"Big leader, it seems that if you want to annex them, you must be strong!" Noma said with no effort.

"Baga, how can we be strong now?" Fujiwara Man spoke resentfully, his tone very cold.

This time, the Japanese pirates were indeed seriously injured by the encirclement and killed by officers and soldiers. Fujiwara Manta lost more than half of the elite troops.

Now his subordinates are less than 6,000, and they don’t dare to force them, nor do they have the strength.

And pirates have always been respected by the strong. If they lack strength, they will naturally not convince others.

Otherwise, with Fujiwara Manta's previous power, if a post continues, which pirate leader dares not to come to the appointment.

At this moment, a small minion came in to report: "Big leader, Mr. Cui is here, and Mr. Qi is here too!"

"What?"

Fujiwara Man was shocked and his eyes glared.

A quarter of an hour later, Qi Jing Gao and Cui Hongtu met Fujiwara Manta.

"Baga, you dare to come back!"

Qi Jingyi appeared, Fujiwara Man was immediately angry, and took a few steps in a hurry, kicked him, and kept whipping with a whip.

"Ah, ah..."

Qi Jinggao let out a scream, took a gap, and wailed: "Big Leader, what do you mean?"

"What's the point? If you didn't collude with the official army, how could we be ambushed!"

While talking, he whipped Qi Jinggao hard, and his expression on his face was a little distorted.

"Big leader, I'm wronged. I didn't collude with the government army, nor did I betray you!"

Qi Jinggao opened his mouth to complain, seized the opportunity, crawled a few steps, and hugged Fujiwara Mitsuki's thighs.

"You dare to say it's wronged!"

Fujiwara Manta became even more annoyed, but at this time, Qi Jinggao explained: "Big leader, I have always been with Leader Yagyu, how can I have the opportunity to collude with the official army?"

He paused: "If you really want to collude with the government army, why are the villain coming back?"

This statement calmed down Fujiwara Man and rethinked the battle a few days ago and the incident.

"If you didn't collude with officers and soldiers, why would we be ambushed and why wouldn't we see you!"

"Big leader, I have been in the front. When the officers and soldiers appeared, you ordered to retreat. However, the two groups of people in the front were far apart, so my subordinates planned to pass the orders and separated from you.

As for why they encountered officers and soldiers and why they were ambushed, my subordinates really don’t know..."

Fujiwara Manta recalled it and had some impression. He spoke again: "You really went to inform those two groups of people to separate from us."

"Of course it's true!"

Then he changed the subject: "It's just that my subordinates met the official army and had no chance to convey the order. Fortunately, they were lucky. They avoided the search so that they could escape!"

After listening to Qi Jinggao's explanation, Fujiwara Mantra burst into thought. After a while, he still couldn't tell whether what he said was true or false.

"Come, take him down and imprison him!"

Among the Japanese pirates, there were too few scholars, and if they could not call accurately, Fujiwara Manta did not kill anyone.

Because Qi Jinggao has no problem and will have great value in use, the Japanese pirate leader is a little reluctant to leave.

"Hi!"

A few Japanese pirates immediately came out and dragged Qi Jinggao away.

"I'm wronged, leader, you have to investigate it clearly!"

When he was pulled away, Qi Jinggao was still calling for justice, but he felt relieved and knew that his life was saved.

He knew Fujiwara Manta very well and knew that this first level was the most difficult, and as long as he passed it, there would be no big problem.

After all, there are not many people in the government who know the news, and with He Yuansheng's aftermath, there is no way to investigate the inside story.

In this way, although Qi Jinggao was detained, Fujiwara Man would be stabilized, and at least he would think that the affairs of the Cui family would not be exposed, giving He Yuansheng the opportunity to lure him.

"My father-in-law, why are you here?"

After Qi Jinggao was pulled away, Fujiwara Man asked Cui Hongtu, but he just called his father-in-law, but his tone was very rude.

"Son-in-law, if you want to rob Shaoxing City, why don't you notify me in advance!"

Cui Hongtu complained, but his voice was not high and his confidence was not that strong.

"The opportunity suddenly appears, and there is no time to notify my father-in-law!"

Fujiwara Man casually found a reason to deal with Cui Hongtu, paused, and asked again: "By the way, where did the officers and soldiers who ambushed us come from? Why are there a large group of cavalry?"

It is inconvenient to deliver information at sea, and He Yuansheng has just arrived in Hangzhou, so Fujiwara Manta has not yet figured out who the opponent is, and he doesn't know the whole story.

"The person who ambushed you is the governor of Zhejiang and the Marquis of Changning. As for those cavalry, they came from the three camps in the capital and went south with He Yuansheng." Cui Hongtu responded.

"He Yuansheng, it's the imperial envoy!"

The Japanese pirates also knew about He Yuansheng's journey south, but they thought that the arrival of infantry was not very dangerous, so they didn't take it seriously.

"It's him!"

Cui Hongtu gave a positive answer, then sighed and said lightly: "Actually, you are unlucky in this incident, just in time!"

“How to say it?”

"He Yuansheng went to Shaoxing to meet his fiancée, but who knew that his fiancée was kidnapped and his whereabouts were unknown, so he mobilized his troops to search in Shaoxing!"

These situations were naturally spread by He Yuansheng's people.

However, this news was only circulated among some officials. Cui Hongtu spent most of the day and spent a lot of money to find out, so he would naturally believe it.
To be continued...