The popularity of "Records of the Anti-Japanese War" far exceeded Xu Yan's expectations.
Not only in Ningbo, but even in a prosperous place like Hangzhou, it is hard to find a book.
Men, women, young and old, regardless of their status or age, all love this wonderful book.
The popularity of "Records of the Anti-Japanese War" is catching up with the previous two books, "Journey to the West" and "The Peony Pavilion", and it has become one of the top three hot books in the Zhejiang book world.
People in the streets and markets rushed to discuss the plot of the book. Some felt regretful, some felt disheartened, some felt sorry for the loyal officials in the court, and some wanted to skin the treacherous villains alive.
As for those maritime merchants who colluded with Japanese pirates to commit crimes, they were villains who deserved to be punished by everyone and became the target of the people's complaints.
Previously, the common people's impression of the Wokou was that they were all real Wokou. But now their perception has changed drastically.
It turns out that what is even more hateful are the fake Japanese hiding behind the real Japanese!
Zhu Wan naturally also noticed this book.
After watching it, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang also applauded like ordinary people.
The author's plot setting and character portrayal have reached perfection.
What is even more commendable is that the author has revealed the essence of the Japanese threat.
Zhu Wan was naturally very supportive of this kind of book. He believed that as long as it spread for a while, all the people in Zhejiang would hate the local maritime merchants.
The emperor's decree arrived just yesterday.
The Holy Emperor asked him to act expediently.
After some consideration, Zhu Wan decided to implement a policy of loose exterior and tight interior.
On the one hand, he tracked down the culprit behind the assassination, and on the other hand, he ordered the tribute envoy Zhou Liang to repent and promise that the next tribute would be in accordance with the requirements of the Ming court and would not exceed the rules.
Zhou Liang originally hated Zhu Wan to the core, but now he was surprised to see that Zhu Wan allowed him to conduct trade normally after scolding him.
It was not until this moment that he realized that he had been deceived.
Zhu Wan not only had no intention of obstructing him, but made an exception and allowed them to conduct trade.
Zhou Liang felt extremely ashamed.
The tribute dispute was thus settled.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
If things really turned out like the tribute dispute in the second year of Jiajing, not only would Zhu Wan, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, be embarrassed, but the court would also lose all its face.
This is of course something no one wants to see.
In comparison, big merchants like the Liu family could not sit still.
The Japanese envoy Zhou Liang's attitude changed drastically, and Liu Jingqi was deeply afraid that he would not keep his mouth shut and the matter would be exposed and he would get into trouble.
Coupled with the untimely appearance of the novel "Records of the Anti-Japanese War", Liu Jingqi felt that he was pushed to the forefront.
He was in a state of panic all day long, and the more he thought about it, the more scared he became, as if the soldiers would come to his house to arrest him as soon as he woke up.
After much thought, Liu Jingqi felt that he could not just sit there and wait for death.
If the assassination attempt fails, Zhu Wan will definitely strengthen the guards around him, making it even more difficult to kill this guy.
Since force doesn't work, let's try literature.
Liu Jingqi decided to impeach Zhu Wan!
Of course it was not him who did it, but the censor.
There were countless officials from Zhejiang in the court, and many of them had close ties with big sea merchants like Liu Jingqi.
Now is the time for them to contribute.
Although Zhu Wan prided himself on being impartial and selfless, and seemingly lacked any flaws, if someone really wanted to impeach him, they would always be able to find a reason.
This is not a problem that Liu Jingqi needs to consider.
Those censors could turn black into white and white into black. As long as Liu Jingqi conveyed his message, the rest would just be watching the show.
Of course, in order to create a more sensational effect, it would be best to have a joint impeachment and not give Zhu Wan a chance to defend himself.
Even if Zhu Wan had three heads and six arms, he would still be drowned by the censor's spit.
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Xu Yan has been very busy these days. In addition to writing the subsequent chapters of "Anti-Japanese War Records", he is also busy helping Zhu Wan collect evidence of the crimes of Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants.
Xu Yan's advantage lies in his foresight and omniscience of history. He knows the moral character of these Fujian and Zhejiang merchants better than anyone else.
But even though he knew it clearly, the evidence was not easy to find.
Now Xu Yan only knows the general direction and which direction to look for it.
As for how far they can find and who they can find, it is unknown.
But it is essential to prepare for a rainy day anyway.
Because in history, the Fujian-Zhejiang maritime merchant group launched a crazy revenge after Zhu Wan captured Shuangyu.
If you don't want to become a prey, you must prepare in advance.
"Brother, I have found out everything you asked me to find out."
Since Yang Pengju returned to Ningbo, he has been living and eating at the Xu family. Xu Yan did not intend to let him eat for free. Since he had eaten the Xu family's food, he had to work.
Yang Pengju has been influenced by his father since he was a child, and he knows much more about the ins and outs of business than Xu Yan.
More importantly, Yang Pengju has a good grasp of the connections in Zhejiang's business community.
It would be most appropriate for him to investigate Zhejiang maritime merchants.
"Oh? Tell me about it."
Xu Yan said with interest.
"There are four major merchant families in Zhejiang. They are the He family, the Liu family, the Lin family, and the Wu family."
Yang Pengju swallowed and said very proudly.
"Among these four families, the Liu family was the most prominent. They colluded with the Japanese pirates, smuggling raw silk and silk to Japan by sea for huge profits."
Xu Yan already knew all this. He nodded and signaled Yang Pengju to continue.
"These merchants usually unloaded their goods with the Japanese pirates at Shuangyu Island, so they could leave no trace. But since Shuangyu was destroyed, they switched to another small island as their trading point, which is Liegang."
Seeing that Yang Pengju's words were so convincing, Xu Yan couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.
"Brother Pengju, how did you know these merchants changed their trading routes to Lie Port? Could it be that your family is involved?"
Yang Pengju quickly waved his hands and said, "Brother, please don't talk nonsense. My family has never had any contact with maritime merchants. It's just that we have been in the business world for a long time and know some inside information."
Xu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
As long as the fat boy’s family is not involved, it’s fine.
Zhu Wan and the Fujian and Zhejiang merchants were already standing on absolute opposite sides, and the life-and-death relationship between the two sides was impossible to reconcile.
Xu Yan naturally stood on Zhu Wan's side. He didn't want to become the fat man's enemy for no reason.
"Brother, you're asking so many questions all of a sudden. Are you thinking of joining the maritime merchants? Don't touch this thing lightly."
Now it was Yang Pengju's turn to worry about Xu Yan.
Xu Yan was at a loss for words and said, "Don't worry about it. I was just asking casually on someone's request."
Yang Pengju took a sip of tea, scratched his head and said:
"Actually, I think the destruction of Shuangyu can only provide temporary relief. Once these pirates recover, we can find another small island to base ourselves on. If these sea merchants are not eradicated, the Japanese threat in the southeast will be impossible to eradicate."
Xu Yan couldn't believe that Yang Pengju had such a profound understanding, and he couldn't help but look at him with admiration.
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