I want to be a grandson

Chapter 567 The warmth on Penghu
"General, there are 64 islands in Penghu, the largest and main islands are Penghu Island, Yuweng Island and Baisha Island,

There are also eight islands within a radius of one mile, including Hujing, Jibei, and Wang'an. The remaining 53 islands are small in size, and many of them are uninhabited. "

"In addition to the harassment of pirates and Xiaoliuqiu, most of the people are concentrated on the three main islands, so they can watch and help each other.

Now what we landed on is Yuweng Island, opposite to the east is the main island of Penghu, and to the north is Baisha Island..."

At this time, on the shore of Yuweng Island, Zhang Fu led the fleet and soldiers to rest on the shore. He disembarked and walked on the shore, followed by several generals.

A general who was familiar with the waters of Penghu explained to him as he walked.

"General, this Fisherman's Island has plenty of water. It is long and narrow, with a length of nearly twenty miles from north to south, and about two miles from east to west. There are several small highlands at the southern end. The coast is winding, and there are many coral reefs along the coast..."

Zhang Fu nodded, turned his head and said to one of the generals: "Sun He, you find a suitable place here to set up the Thousand Household Office, and then report the selected place to me for inspection!"

"Yes, the general will obey!" The general named Sun He quickly saluted and accepted the order.

Zhang Fu looked at the vast sea, and said: "Yuweng Island is the closest to Fujian, and it is the most convenient to travel between. It is very useful for monitoring this strait, so don't be careless."

"The end general understands, please rest assured, general!"

After making simple arrangements for Yuweng Island, leaving a thousand soldiers behind to establish the Thousand Households, Zhang Fu took the remaining soldiers and horses to the main island of Penghu by boat.

Not long after the ship sailed, a huge island appeared in front of it.

The general next to him reported that this was the main island of Penghu. From a distance, he saw many people standing on the shore, and he could vaguely hear the sound of drums and gongs beating.

The general reported: "General, the people on the island are welcoming the general."

Zhang Fu knew that someone must have told the people in advance and asked them to come to welcome them, and this was the reason for this scene.

After arriving at the docked shore, Zhang Fu ordered his soldiers to disembark. The famous local old man stepped forward to greet him, and led all the people to kneel down and salute.

"Grassman Li Shunxiang and the people on the island welcome the angel..."

Zhang Fu hurriedly took two steps forward to support the old man and said: "The old man does not need to perform such a great gift, please get up quickly."

Li Shunxiang looks to be in his 70s or [-]s, with white hair and a slightly stooped body, but he is full of energy and has an excited smile on his face.

Tightly holding Zhang Fu's hand, "Da Ming came to Penghu to set up troops, and our life will be easier in the future. Thank you, General, thank you, General..."

"Thank you, General..." The people behind knelt down and shouted, everyone's face was filled with joy, and some tears of joy and grievance were wiped away...

It can be seen that they welcome the arrival of the Ming soldiers and horses very much!
They were wearing linen clothes, and the fabric was also very rough. It was obvious that they had been wearing them for a long time. Almost all the people were dark and thin, with sallow faces. It was obvious that their lives were not good.

Seeing this, Zhang Fu hurriedly asked the people to stand up, motioned to the surrounding soldiers to pull them up, exchanged pleasantries, and then the people retreated and dispersed.

Inside the tent, Zhang Fu invited the old man and two other elders into the tent, and the soldiers brought tea.

Zhang Fu said politely: "You three, please drink some tea. The camp has not been built yet, so everything is simple, so please don't take it for granted."

The three old men held the teacups and took a sip of the tea, with yearning looks on their faces.

Li Shunxiang said excitedly: "It's been so many years, I didn't expect to be able to drink tea from Daming..."

After a while, when the three of them calmed down, they took the initiative to introduce the situation on the island to Zhang Fu.
Zhang Fu learned from them that Penghu main island, also known as Dashanyu, is the largest island in the archipelago.The commanding heights of the island are several mountains, namely Gongbei Mountain, Taiwu Mountain, Shamao Mountain and Kuibi Mountain.

When the Penghu Inspection Department was abolished, some people moved to the inland, but some people still stayed. Today there are 3000 to [-] people on the island.

As he spoke, the old man burst into tears, "General, you don't know something. A group of Japanese pirates and the tribes of Xiaoliuqiu often come to rob us. They burn, kill and plunder, and they do all kinds of evil...

I don't know how many people and how many women have been harmed by them. As a last resort, we can only build a stronghold to protect ourselves...,
But even so, it is inevitable that they will be breached by them, so they can only bow their knees and pay them food and property in order to secure themselves..."

"General, you are here, you want to be the master for us, and save us from the poison of bandits..."

When he said this, the other two old men also cried, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to ask Zhang Fu to protect them from the Japanese pirates.

"The three old people invite you, and you will not be able to afford such a big gift..."

After helping them up, Zhang Fuyi said solemnly: "Please rest assured, the Penghu Islands are the territory of Ming Dynasty, you are the people of Ming Dynasty, the court and His Majesty will never allow anyone to harm the people of Ming Dynasty!
Now that Ming's soldiers and horses have arrived, there is no reason for the people to suffer any more!Tell the people of Penghu this news, please rest assured! "

"Thank you General, thank you Your Majesty..."

After some more words and some comfort, the three old men took their leave and left.

Zhang Fu sat on the chair, frowned tightly, and asked the general who was familiar with the situation, "Liu Zheng, you are from Fujian, and you are familiar with the situation in Penghu. Is what they said true?"

Liu Zheng cupped his hands and replied: "General, although Ming called Xiaoliuqiu a country, Xiaoliuqiu is still a bunch of small tribes. Due to the influence of terrain and climate, the distribution is sparse, and a unified political power has never been established. There is neither a king nor a king. unified decree,
Some Japanese pirates and pirates took Xiaoliuqiu as their habitat, and at the same time, some young and middle-aged men from tribes joined them to rob their houses,

They plundered small countries in the South Seas, the Great Liuqiu, and the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, but they didn't dare to go deep into Ming Dynasty.

But for the people here in Penghu, it is almost like a supply place for Japanese pirates, they will come to plunder every once in a while, and come and go whenever they want..."

What Liu Zheng said is the truth. At this time, there is no unified political power in Wanwan. It is called a country, but many tribes live on the same island.

Moreover, these tribes would fight and kill each other in order to compete for land, mountains and forests, and sometimes even for a few prey.

It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that merchants and people from Fujian and Zhejiang gradually came over, but large-scale settlement and retention did not form.

Since the middle and late period of Jiajing, Wanwan has basically been a refuge for Japanese pirates and pirates. Not only Japanese pirates used it as a transit point to raid and harass the coast, but many big pirates with names also regarded it as a lair to avoid encirclement and suppression.

For example, Lin Daoqian and Lin Feng both led the remnants to sneak to the east after being defeated by the navy of the Ming Dynasty along the coast, in an attempt to make a comeback.

At this time, merchants and fishermen from the Fujian and Zhejiang regions began to live in some areas in the western part of the bay, but the actual population was still very small.

Because the Penghu Inspection Department was abolished, and Zhang Fu came in a hurry, and it was too late to arrange for the people on the island to build houses, so now they have no place to live.

Fortunately, I brought a tent, so I wouldn't sleep in the wild.

It was dark and the camp was quiet.

But Zhang Fu tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Since he didn't want to sleep, he decided not to sleep. He put on his boots and went outside the tent, looking up at the bright moon in the sky...

Early the next morning, Zhang Fu hurriedly finished his breakfast and took a boat with ten or twenty entourages to Baisha Island.

Although Baisha Island is much smaller, the wind and current on the shore are strong, and it is not easy for small boats to drive, but this kind of wind and waves is no problem at all in front of the big boat of the Daming Navy.

Because the people here knew that they were soldiers and horses of Ming Dynasty, so they didn't cause panic, but they were used to being bullied by Japanese pirates, so they just watched from a distance and didn't dare to go forward.

Zhang Fu led a few people to climb up a hill, and then to the high place in front, there suddenly appeared a stockade made of stones, surrounded by wooden stakes.

The stockade is not big, and it can accommodate only two to three hundred people.

Liu Zheng explained from the side: "General, because of the small size of Baisha Island and the strong wind and waves along the coast, it is not suitable for fishing, so there are very few people here, only about two hundred people.
In order to guard against Japanese pirates, they formed a stockade, which is also the only stockade on the island, but...it can't stop those pirates..."

Looking at the surrounding terrain, Zhang Fu had a plan in mind, and said, "There is no need to set up a thousand households here, just three or four hundred households..."

Stepping on the soft sand, Zhang Fu walked on Baisha Island while observing the terrain.

I saw a child on the stone pile by the sea ahead, about six or seven years old, with a small rattan basket tied around his waist, groping under the stone.

At this time, the tide receded, and some small fish, shrimps, and crabs were left in the crevices of the rocks. It was obvious that the child was picking up seafood.

When the boy saw Zhang Fu approaching, panic appeared on his face, his legs moved as if he wanted to run, but he looked in the direction of the village, his eyes showed worry,

It can be seen that he is really reluctant to part with these fish and shrimp in the crevice of the stone...

"Are there a lot of fish and shrimp here? How many have you touched?"

Zhang Fu tried his best to make his smile look warm and warm.

The boy showed him his small basket. Lao Tzu was small in the first place, and now there are only about a quarter of the fish and shrimp, including a few shellfish. Obviously, the harvest is not rich.

"You are slow to touch alone, come, I will touch with you..."

Seeing that Zhang Fu was about to roll up his sleeves and start working, the boy looked at the ground around him, showing a reluctant expression.

Such an expression made Zhang Fu a little astonished, and after realizing it, he quickly explained: "I don't want it, it's for you to touch, I'll give it to you, I don't want any..."

The boy breathed out from his chest, and he just now thought that Zhang Fu was going to grab the fish and shrimp on the ground with him...

Only when Zhang Fu touched a shrimp and sent it to him, the boy hesitantly took it, did he completely let go of his guard.

The two bent down and groped for a long time in the crevices of the rocks and the small puddles, and finally they found all of them, and the small basket was filled with most of them.

Zhang Fu sat on a clean stone and asked, "Are you from this island? What's your name?"

Perhaps it was because Zhang Fu was looking for fish and shrimp, so he developed a good impression of him, nodded, and popped out a few words from between his teeth, "Little stone."

"Your name is Xiao Shitou? This is a nickname, so what's your last name? Who gave you the name?"

Hearing this, Xiao Shitou pursed his lips, his eyes turned red, "My mother took it..."

"What about your father? Why don't you let him give you a name?"

As soon as Zhang Fu said this, he regretted it!
Because the child in front of him had already rolled down tears, but he quickly wiped away the tears and turned his head aside, as if he didn't want others to see his weakness.

Just when Zhang Fu was very annoyed and didn't know how to comfort him, Xiao Shitou said, "My mother said that she was killed by pirates because she couldn't hand in the food and dried fish... Only me and my mother are left without a name..."

"Uh……"

Zhang Fu wanted to change the subject so that he wouldn't be sad again, but unexpectedly raised his head and Xiao Shitou asked, "Uncle, are you the official of Daming?"

"Well, it is..."

Xiao Shitou's eyes were filled with hope immediately, "Then...then can you protect us? Does it mean that those bad guys won't dare to come?"

"Correct!"

Zhang Fu replied resolutely: "When our Ming soldiers arrive, there will be someone to protect you, and the bad guys won't dare to bully you anymore!"

"Uncle, don't you lie to me? Can you really beat the bad guys away?"

"Yes! I won't lie to you, those bad guys will never dare to come again!"

"Then...then let's pull the hook!"

"Okay, hook!"

Under the warm rays of the setting sun, a big hand hooked up with a rough little hand...

A look of joy finally appeared on the child's face.

The sun was about to set, and the sky was getting dark. Before leaving, Xiaoshi gave the crate of fish and shrimp to Zhang Fu.

Zhang Fu didn't want it, but he pushed the small basket into Zhang Fu's arms and ran away immediately. When he ran far away, he turned around and waved, showing a bright smile.
Then as soon as he turned around, he disappeared behind a big rock...

"My lord is really amazing. It didn't take long to get this child's sincerity and innocence. This is his whole heart, and it's not worth a lot of money. The general will accept it."

Zhang Fu was also in a good mood, but he still couldn't bear it, "It's not worth a lot of money, but this is a meal for their mother and child, or even a day's meal..."

Liu Zhengdao: "My lord, this child has already run away. It seems that I gave it to you sincerely. Please don't send it back, my lord, so as not to hurt the child's heart...

How about this, since there is still a lot of grain in the boat, just give them a few stones, it's considered a courtesy. "

Zhang Fu also felt very good, even if he sent the fish and shrimp back, it was just a meal for them, and it was etiquette to send something, and it was also etiquette to receive it.

So when people unloaded twenty shi of grain and called the people to come over, how could the people on the island be unhappy when they saw the officers and soldiers donating grain.

Liu Zheng specially said to them: "There is a boy named Xiao Shitou among you, he is very polite, give them some food."

The common people knew that the officers and soldiers sent the food because of the small stones, so they couldn't agree to it, so they immediately came to carry it with joy, and Zhang Fu and others also left by boat.

Night falls, the sky is dark,
In the silence of Baisha Island, one person quietly drove a small boat into the water, rowing eastward with all his might...

(End of this chapter)