"There are not only Portuguese in Shuangyu Port, but also Japanese pirates. The reason why the two sides can live in peace is because the Portuguese are more powerful."
Xu Yan paused for a moment, then continued, "This balance is actually quite clever. It's fine on ordinary days, but it's hard to say in wartime."
Zhu Wan stroked his beard and smiled, "Xu Xiaoyou, do you mean to spread rumors and make them suspicious of each other?"
Xu Yan praised, "Your Excellency is wise. The Japanese pirates and the Portuguese pirates appear to be united but are actually at odds. We only need to add fuel to the fire to make them suspicious of each other and even fight each other."
Of course, this premise is that the Ming army is approaching in large numbers and putting enough pressure on the border.
"That's a really good idea."
Zhu Wan was very satisfied with Xu Yan's suggestion.
Seeing that Zhu Wan was in a good mood, Xu Yan recited:
"I can rest easy for now, but I still have old allies to worry about.
He called for wine to greet guests, and sat down to talk about military affairs while waving a whisk.
The clouds are full of toothpicks, and the stars contain swords.
I do not desire to be a noble, but I wish the seas to be peaceful."
Zhu Wan knew Xu Yan had a talent for poetry, so when she saw him suddenly reciting a poem, she praised him, "Young friend Xu, this poem is quite good."
Xu Yan quickly said, "Sir, this poem was not written by me."
"oh?"
Zhu Wan was a little surprised.
"This poem was written by Qi Jiguang, the deputy commander of Dengzhou Guard."
Xu Yan said without hesitation.
"Qi Jiguang?"
Zhu Wan had obviously never heard of this name and looked very confused.
This is not surprising. At that time, Qi Jiguang was just a young man who had just inherited his ancestral position and had no reputation at all.
"Your Excellency, this man is from Dengzhou, Shandong. He inherited his ancestral position in the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign. This poem was written by him in the 25th year of the Jiajing reign."
"Oh? Xu Xiaoyou is also friends with Qi Jiguang?"
Zhu Wan asked with interest.
Xu Yan knew he would ask this and had already thought of an answer.
"In reply to your Excellency, I once went to Dengzhou to study and met Qi Jiguang once."
Originally, Xu Yan really liked to travel for study, under the pretext of broadening his horizons, but in fact, it was just about sightseeing.
He did go to Dengzhou, but he probably didn't meet Qi Jiguang.
However, this kind of thing cannot be verified at all. In other words, even if Xu Yan really met Qi Jiguang, he was just one of the many people attending the banquet, and Qi Jiguang might not remember it.
Hearing that Xu Yan and Qi Jiguang had no close relationship, Zhu Wan asked curiously, "Xu Xiaoyou doesn't have a close relationship with Qi Jiguang, so why did you recommend him to me?"
Xu Yan thought to himself, I can’t say that I knew he would become a famous general who fought against the Japanese invaders in the future.
It’s difficult, it’s really difficult!
"Your Excellency, just because of his statement, 'I don't want to be a marquis, I just want the seas to be peaceful.'"
What Xu Yan said actually made some sense.
The reason why he stood out among the crowd at the banquet and left a deep impression on Zhu Wan was because he recited a poem.
The poem he wrote is actually very similar to Qi Jiguang's poem, both expressing the desire to serve the country and stabilize coastal defense.
In other words, Xu Yan could say that he had met a close friend and they felt a mutual appreciation for each other.
Logically speaking, this makes sense.
As expected, Zhu Wan nodded slightly when he heard him say this, "A hero recognizes a hero. Xu Xiaoyou is trying to recruit talented people for the country."
In fact, Xu Yan mentioned Qi Jiguang to Zhu Wan with the mentality of giving it a try.
After all, Qi Jiguang first appeared on the important historical stage in the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign. After being recommended by Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang was promoted to the position of deputy commander. He was in charge of 25 garrisons in three camps in Dengzhou, Wendeng, and Jimo, and defended against Japanese pirates along the Shandong coast.
Two years later, Qi Jiguang, who had gained some experience, was transferred to Zhejiang to serve as the deputy chief of the military affairs department and served as the lieutenant general to defend the three prefectures of Ningbo, Shaoxing and Taizhou.
Now Xu Yan recommended Qi Jiguang, which was a bit like letting him skip a grade.
In fact, with Zhu Wan's status and position, it would be very easy for her to ask Emperor Jiajing for a person.
After all, Zhang Juzheng was able to do it in the 32nd year of Jiajing, and at that time Zhang Juzheng was just an idle official in the Hanlin Academy.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Wan shook his head.
"I cannot recommend him. Qi Jiguang is the deputy commander of Dengzhou Guard, a military officer. I am the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang. If I recommend a military officer, I am afraid it will easily give him an advantage."
As soon as Zhu Wan finished speaking, Xu Yan suddenly understood.
Civil officials and military officials were actually two separate groups in the Ming Dynasty, and any intersection between the two would be quite troublesome.
Especially after the incidents of Xia Yan and Zeng Xin, it became a sensitive matter for civil officials to make friends with military generals.
If Zhu Wan recommended Qi Jiguang at this time, it would definitely cause criticism.
The reason why Zhang Juzheng recommended Qi Jiguang without any trouble was probably because at that time Zhang Juzheng was just a Hanlin poet and did not hold a high position, so he would not arouse the suspicion of Emperor Jiajing.
The same thing done by different people will have completely different results.
Xu Yan broke out in a cold sweat at the thought. An inadvertent decision had nearly harmed Zhu Wan and himself.
There is so much to learn in officialdom, or maybe he just didn't think it through!
It seems that Qi Jiguang still has to wait a few more years before he has the chance to come out of retirement!
After chatting with Zhu Wan for a while, Xu Yan took the initiative to leave.
It can be seen that Zhu Wan is indeed very busy and did not try too hard to keep Xu Yan.
But after Xu Yan left the Governor's Office, he went straight to Chen's Mansion.
It would be unreasonable not to visit my grandfather's house when I came to Hangzhou, not to mention that Xu Yan also planned to find out about his future brother-in-law from his grandfather.
Xu Yan has always been carefree, and coming to his grandfather's house is like coming back to his own home.
He came to the backyard and saw his grandfather and uncle sitting by the pond, so he strode over.
When I got closer, I found that there was another person in the pavilion.
This man was extremely burly, more than a head taller than Xu Yan, and even a lot bigger in size.
What was even more bizarre was that the man was dressed in a Confucian robe with a jade pendant hanging around his waist, looking like a scholar.
Xu Yan was a little confused, so he asked his grandfather, "Grandpa, who is this?"
Old Master Chen narrowed his eyes and smiled, "My dear grandson, this is Hong Yu, the eldest son of the Hong family."
What?
Xu Yan was really surprised.
Hong Yu?
His future brother-in-law?
How could this guy appear here? This is too unexpected, right?
Xu Yan was completely unprepared and had no idea how to respond.
Moreover, the image of this future brother-in-law is very different from what Xu Yan imagined.
Shouldn't Hong Yu be a handsome and elegant young man?
But even though he was wearing a Confucian robe, he didn't have that feeling at all...
Just looking at his figure, he looks like a muscular man...
"Ah, meet Master Hong."
Xu Yan was stunned for a long time before he thought of bowing to Hong Yu.
"You must be Xu Yan."
Hong Yu's voice was very distinctive, strong and heroic, which made Xu Yan swallow subconsciously.
...
...
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