War should always be the last resort to solve problems under unavoidable circumstances. As stated in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu: the first is to attack the enemy with the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and the third is to attack the city.

The problem is that very few people understand these and are able to implement them resolutely.

There are countless counterexamples at home and abroad.

For example, in the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong gave up his gentleness and decided to use force to solve the Jinchuan and Jinchuan rebellions. He thought that he would be able to capture them with the help of the power of the empire, but he did not expect that a small land of chieftains would plunge the Qing Dynasty into deep trouble for thirty years and drag down a lot of important ministers and generals.

It cost more than 70 million taels of silver.

Hundreds of years later, a certain world's largest country would jump into regional wars that it thought it could afford again and again.

In comparison, Zhu Yuan knew that the person who most firmly implemented the series of offensive principles in "The Art of War" happened to be Zhu Yuanzhang.

Lao Zhu, who started with a very low configuration and couldn't be any lower, was able to become the world leader in just a dozen years. This is inseparable from his military principles of never starting a war lightly as long as he can "conquer the enemy without fighting".

Whenever there is a war, Lao Zhu never minds temporarily making good friends with other opponents, and he never gives up even the last chance to surrender. Just like Pingjiang Locking City, Lao Zhu has obviously had an absolute advantage, but Lao Zhu still waited patiently for more than half a year.

, I only hope that Zhang Shicheng can take the initiative to surrender.

All this avoids unnecessary loss of strength to the greatest extent.

Although this makes people who read history very unhappy, because they often see that Lao Zhu was still calling people brothers before, but then they all fell into a group, which is not fair enough. Or they read that one person surrendered and rebelled again, and that person rebelled and surrendered again

Yes, if I had known this, why would I have cut it clean with one knife? But, if Lao Zhu is such a reckless man, does not play "virtual", and starts fighting at every turn, let alone ten years, decades may not be able to unify

The world, at the same time, may make itself weaker and weaker.

Zhu Yuan took the initiative to ask for orders to come to the southeast to open up a maritime grain channel. There were many problems that needed to be solved.

One of them is the many pirates who occupy the islands near the sea.

The origins of these pirates are very complex. They include the coastal people who could not survive in the late Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Shicheng's old tribe, Fang Guozhen's old tribe, the Yuan Ting's old tribe who fled, and even some good and bad bandits who occasionally commit crimes when they see an opportunity.

fishermen.

If the problem of pirates is not dealt with, it will undoubtedly cause great trouble to maritime food routes in the future.

So, what to do?

Kill them one by one?

impossible.

First of all, there are simply countless islands along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, even though most of the islands are within a hundred miles of the coast, this is not the situation where motorized ships will be available hundreds of years later.

You can get there in a blink of an eye.

In the age of sailing, even a distance of thirty to fifty miles might take a day at sea.

Moreover, there are thousands of islands, and the pirates may find a nest in any one, and the officers and soldiers may not find it after a year of searching. Even if they are lucky enough to find it, the pirates will either escape by boat, or crawl into the dense forest on the island.

It is even more difficult to eradicate.

Therefore, after Zhu Yuan discussed with everyone, he used some of Wang Yangming's experiences in suppressing bandits in Jiangxi and combined it with reality to make a complete set of plans.

The two most important words are 'attack the heart'.

First, let the naval fleet brought by Hua Gao patrol in all directions, and when they encounter pirates, they will destroy them to show their power.

Then, advertise it.

Not only did it require pirates from all parties to surrender within a time limit, they would be exempted from liability. The notice, which was more than a thousand words long, also encouraged coastal fishermen to provide clues about the pirates to the authorities and set a reward. At the same time, it also promised that as long as the bandits killed the leader and surrendered, they would not only be exempted from guilt.

, there are also heavy rewards. If a group of pirates wipe out another group of pirates and use their record to surrender, not only will they be exempted from guilt and rewarded, but they can also be incorporated into the official army and obtain official positions.

Similar kinds.

Zhu Yuan believed that as long as this notice gradually spreads, even if the bandits along the coast do not come to surrender, it will definitely create a state of panic.

This basically achieved Zhu Yuan's goal.

Regardless of whether the bandits voluntarily surrender, flee overseas, or stop hiding for the people, the risk of bandits along the coast will be greatly reduced.

The next step is to simmer over low heat.

By strengthening the navy, opening up the ocean, and constantly improving the lives of coastal people, we can completely eradicate the living space of pirates step by step.

In comparison, the previous sea ban was definitely the worst move.

It's like a person who has a sore on his leg. Instead of treating it carefully in order to recover, he just cuts off the leg... The decisiveness is enough, but from the perspective of future generations, it really looks like he is not very smart.

.

Of course, this is also the limitation of the ancients, who thought that this 'sore' could not be cured.

South of Zhoushan, off the coast of Xiangshan.

Hua Gao negotiated terms with Qianhu Yanxun, a former naval force under Zhang Shicheng's command, and soon successfully captured Zhang Shicheng's old army with a total of six to seven hundred people.

While escorting these people onto the ship, some clerks from the fleet also went to the island and posted many recruitment notices on conspicuous boulders or tree trunks. After finishing these, it was already past noon, and the south wind happened to come, so Huagao gave up.

Originally thinking of continuing south, I decided to take the opportunity to return.

When we returned to Dinghai, it was already evening.

The time is February 18th.

It had only been eight short days since the day of the Waking of Insects on the tenth day of February in Mingzhou, but Hua Gao felt that a long time had passed.

Looking at the smoke column rising from Zhaobao Mountain outside Dinghai City, it was the recently built navigation beacon. Smoke was raised during the day and fire was lit at night. Looking at the still busy harbor construction site on the south bank of the Yongjiang River under the setting sun, Hua Gao came to his senses.

This feeling is because in just eight days, everyone was rushed to do too many things by a certain little ancestor.

Thinking of this, Hua Gao became a little worried.

After being away for three days, I hope that the little ancestor will not be tired and sick again, otherwise, no matter how great his achievements are, they will all be in vain.

The fleet docked at Dinghai City East Wharf, which was still temporarily used as a military port.

Hua Gao simply explained that he asked Chang Duan, the commander of the Mingzhou Guard who came over, to temporarily imprison Yanxun and his party in the barracks of the shore guard station. He also warned that they must not be oppressed or abused. These people were of great use, and then he took them there.

Zhao Xu, Qiao An and other entourage hurriedly entered the city.

Without even returning to his home, he rushed to the west of the city. Hua Gao went directly to Zhu Yuan's Yinghai Ambassador's mansion.

As soon as you walked in, you noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere.

Passing by the gatehouse, some soldiers from the palace who were not on duty were standing or sitting around, muttering, and one of them even raised his hand to gesture, as if he had seen something extraordinary.

When we came to the main courtyard where Mingyuan Hall is located, some of the officials who were usually busy on weekdays were also present today. Seeing Hua Gao and others appearing, the two officials who were standing in the corner of the courtyard and whispering to each other immediately stopped talking.

, saluted and left in a hurry.

This weird atmosphere made Hua Gao feel hairy.

Pulling over a clerk who was about to pass by absentmindedly while holding a stack of documents, Hua Gao asked with wide eyes, "Where is Hanlin?"

The official seemed to be suddenly awakened, and all the documents in his arms were scattered on the floor.

Seeing that it was Hua Gao, he came to his senses. Remembering the Governor's question just now, he quickly raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the garden on the west side.

There is still a bit of... yearning in his eyes.

Yearning?!

Hua Gao didn't have time to ask any more questions, so he walked towards the west courtyard.

Hurrying to the garden, Hua Gao didn't even need to ask. He only saw six soldiers guarding the reception hall with the plaque "Mingxintang" in the distance, and went straight over.

Zhao Xu and Qiao An also followed quickly, confused.

As soon as the three of them arrived at the door of Mingxintang, they saw Xue Shu, the magistrate of Dinghai County, walking out of the door in a daze with a strange expression on his face as his knowledge had been refreshed. He shook his head, nodded again, and murmured something. , ignoring Huagao and the others as if they had lost their souls, and walked mechanically towards the outer courtyard.

this……
Chapter completed!