In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

At noon, the sun rose from the east of Japan and hung high in the sky.

On the distant coastline, a fleet bypassed Noto Province and headed for Sado Island.

Song Cai stood on the ironclad ship and said to Ma Mao beside him: "Brother Ma, that direction is Sado Island, it's another 200 miles away, there is a lot of gold on it."

Ma Mao looked in the direction he pointed. Noto Province was about 100 kilometers away from Sado Island in a straight line. Of course, he couldn't see anything.

However, when he heard that there was a lot of gold there, he swallowed his saliva and said: "I don't know what the price of gold is."

He said with a silly smile: "My wife has always wanted a pair of gold bracelets."

"Hahahaha."

Song Cai laughed and said: "Brother Ma, don't worry, I will satisfy you."

"Then I'll leave it to Brother Song."

Ma Mao was overjoyed. They had been familiar with each other for a long time and had begun to call each other brothers.

At this time, a lookout next to him suddenly said: "Commander, there is a big ship on the sea ahead."

The two looked over.

Song Cai borrowed Ning Haijun's telescope to take a look and said, "That's our merchant ship."

"Then ignore it."

Ma Mao said.

Song Cai put down the telescope and scratched his head, saying, "It's just a little weird."

"What's weird about it?"

Ma Mao was puzzled.

"Although Sado Island is not as prosperous as Iwami Province, there are also 30,000 to 40,000 people living on the island, and countless merchants come and go."

Song Cai was puzzled: "But we have been sailing all the way these days, and there has not been a merchant ship on the route until now. It is really weird."

They set out from Iwami Province to Sado Island very far away, the straight-line distance is more than 600 kilometers, not to mention that they have to take the coastal route, the sailing distance is more than 800 kilometers, and it takes about seven or eight days.

After all, although Japan is an island country with a small land area, their land is narrow and long. The northwest and southeast are very narrow, while the northeast and southwest are very wide, which makes it far from Iwami Province in the southwest to Echigo Province in the northeast.

Therefore, they had no idea that Echigo Province had changed its owner nine days ago, and the Japanese court also took back the mining rights of Sado Gold Mine, and arrested and expelled the merchants from Song State here.

"There are still many ships behind, are they sailing together?"

At this moment, Ma Mao noticed that there were various ships of different sizes behind the merchant ship.

There were merchant ships, cargo ships, speedboats and small boats.

But

Based on Ma Mao's naval experience.

It seems that they are not sailing together, but rather chasing.

Ma Mao was a little puzzled.

"Military Lord, that ship is asking for help from us."

A lookout shouted to Ma Mao.

Military Lord is the internal title of the military commander, just like the prefect is also called the governor.

Ma Mao looked over and saw that the ship being chased in the distance was waving flags.

"Let Wang Tai go and have a look."

Ma Mao gestured.

Then the messenger issued an order.

A assault ship then accelerated and sped away.

The assault ship had a displacement of only more than 200 tons, which was smaller than the ocean-going merchant ship, but it was full of deterrence.

It rushed over and arrived near the merchant ship, then stopped the ship and deployed its troops.

Since it was not known what was going on, Wang Tai, the battalion commander on the warship, did not take any action, but just looked like he was separating the two sides.

On the merchant ship, Lu Chao asked people to stop the ship, and then stood on the side of the ship and shouted something to the warship, but because the sea breeze was too strong and the distance between the two sides was a bit far, about 20 feet apart, Wang Tai could not hear anything clearly.

But this did not prevent Wang Tai from executing the order and signaling the opposite ship to stop.

The Japanese invaders chasing in the distance did not understand the flag language.

However, seeing a fierce fleet suddenly appearing in front of them, especially the 1,000-ton Fu ship and the ferocious steel ironclad ship, they immediately felt afraid.

For a while, the speed of the chasing ship also slowly decreased, and slowly stopped two or three nautical miles away.

The two sides entered a standoff.

After a while, the Ninghai Navy rumbled over, and Lu Chao hurriedly got off the boat and rowed over with a small boat. Before he boarded the ship, he saw Song Cai.

In an instant, Lu Chao seemed to see hope, his eyes almost fell out, and he shouted: "Brother Song!"

"Brother Lu, how did it become like this?"

Song Cai saw that he was quite embarrassed and was puzzled.

He knew that Lu Chao represented the interests of the Cao family. After all, Zhao Jun's wife was a member of the Cao family, and he had to set up the Cao family as a model. Therefore, when the Cao family opened up trade with Japan, he helped a lot.

However, Song Cai's main focus was on the Iwami Silver Mine, while Lu Chao's main focus was on operating the Sado Gold Mine. The two places were too far apart, so there were fewer intersections.

The person who dealt with Lu Chao the most on weekdays was actually the spokesperson arranged by Song Cai at the Sado Gold Mine. As for Lu Chao himself, he probably only met a few times a year, and the number of times he met in the past two years was already very few.

Song Cai heard some time ago that Cao's merchant ships had transported a large number of weapons and equipment from China. According to the manager of Cao's fleet, this was Lu Chao's work.

He thought Lu Chao was going to form an army in Japan, how could it happen in the blink of an eye?

For a moment, Song Cai was puzzled: "Brother Lu, did you gather people to revolt in Japan, and was suppressed by their court?"

"Brother Song, you are joking, how could I have such ability."

Lu Chao smiled bitterly and said: "It was their Japanese court that broke their promise and suddenly sent troops to occupy Sado Island to take back the gold mine."

"What?"

Song Cai was shocked, and then hurriedly asked: "Where is my brother?"

His manager on Sado Island is one of his cousins.

Lu Chao shook his head and said: "They are arresting people everywhere. Brother Lugui may have been arrested. I don't know if he has met with an accident."

Song Cai was anxious and immediately said to Ma Mao: "Brother Ma, please help me with this matter and save my brother."

"Brother Song, don't worry."

Ma Mao thought about it, and he was actually a little undecided.

Although the order he received this time was to show off his military power, the order on the surface was actually to protect trade routes and crack down on rampant pirates.

If he fought with the Japanese army, the nature would be different, so he was a little hesitant.

However, Song Cai's brother could still be saved, so after thinking for a while, Ma Mao said, "I will send someone to negotiate with them immediately."

Then he said awkwardly, "I'm afraid my soldiers don't speak the same language as them."

Lu Chao had calmed down at this time, his eyes rolled, and he came up with a plan and said, "Don't worry, General. I have followers who understand Japanese. Let me arrange it."

"Well, let your people negotiate."

Ma Mao said.

Lu Chao then asked an follower who came with him to drive the boat to the distant Japanese fleet.

While waiting for the negotiation, Lu Chao took the opportunity to ask, "If they don't release people, will the general fight with them?"

Ma Mao shook his head and said, "The court has never allowed us to provoke a war without authorization."

This was a death order issued after Zhao Guangyi was beaten up by the Liao Kingdom.

So during the Song-Xia War in history, no matter how Li Yuanhao provoked on the border, the Song army did not dare to take the initiative to attack.

It was not until Li Yuanhao penetrated deep into the hinterland and burned, killed and looted everywhere that the Song army fought a defensive battle, and was beaten violently.

Although the Song Dynasty is now strong, this order has not been withdrawn.

It is not that Zhao Jun does not want to withdraw it, but the meaning is different.

In the past, Zhao Guangyi was so scared that he was afraid that the Song army would take the initiative to provoke trouble and give the Liao Kingdom an excuse to go south.

Now the Song Dynasty does not want to fight an unprepared war.

Zhao Jun requires the army to obey orders and make plans even if they want to fight.

Otherwise, the soldiers on the border will suddenly cause trouble for no reason, and then a full-scale war will break out for no reason.

It is obviously not a good thing to be unprepared.

Now that Ma Mao suddenly encountered such an emergency, he certainly did not dare to fire recklessly, and said: "This matter still needs to be reported to the court."

Lu Chao said anxiously: "General, you must not do that."

"Oh?"

Ma Mao frowned, looked at Lu Chao unhappily and said: "Who are you? How dare you question the decision of this commander?"

Lu Chao knew that he should show some cards at this time, so he said: "General, you don't know, my mother's surname is Cao, and she and the wife of the prefect are sisters."

"Uh"

Ma Mao choked, he himself was born into a noble family, how could he not know the weight of the Cao family?

But Lu Chao's words still made him a little dissatisfied.

What does it mean?

Using the Cao family and the wife of the prefect to pressure him?

So his face was unhappy.

Lu Chao must have been smart to be sent to Japan.

He could even think of provoking war and selling arms in Japan, not to mention Ma Mao's current thoughts.

Therefore, seeing that Ma Mao was a little unhappy, Lu Chao immediately said: "General, you misunderstood. I didn't want to use the Cao family to pressure you, but I wanted to explain to you the importance of this matter."

"Oh?"

Ma Mao said lightly: "Tell me."

Lu Chao looked at Song Cai and said: "Brother Song, you should be backed by the government and the prefect."

Song Cai was now concerned about the life and death of his cousin and had no mood to think about anything else, but in the face of Lu Chao's inquiry, he still said: "Yes, Brother Lu is backed by the Cao family. We are all family members. I won't hide it from you. It was the prefect who sent me to the island of Japan."

Lu Chao said: "Iwami Silver Mine and Sado Gold Mine are the largest gold and silver producing areas in Japan. More than 90% of the gold and silver must be transported back to the country, and the court occupies a lot of them. It can be said that these two mines are the money bags of the court and one of the sources of treasury expenditures. Do you think the court would want to lose it?"

"Of course not."

Song Cai immediately said instinctively.

Although they made a lot of profit from it, most of the gold and silver were transported back to the country. If these two mines were gone, how much income would the court lose?

With Zhiyuan's temperament, it would be impossible for them to be taken away from the court.

Lu Chao then said: "I think the Japanese took away the Sado gold mine this time to test the attitude of the court. If the court does not send troops, their next target will definitely be the Iwami silver mine. The Japanese island is too far away, and the court obviously cannot send troops with a big fanfare. Therefore, the best way is to take this opportunity to defeat the Japanese and give them a warning, so that they dare not covet our gold and silver again."

He looked at Ma Mao and said: "I think the court must have considered this when asking the general to come!"

"This"

Ma Mao felt that Lu Chao's words made sense, so he looked at Song Cai.

Song Cai also slowly calmed down and said, "Yes, the prefect has been operating the Iwami Silver Mine and Sado Gold Mine for many years, so how could he give them up? From my understanding of the prefect, even if Brother Ma goes back to ask for instructions, I am afraid he will order you to take back the mines. And I think if Brother Ma really goes back to ask for instructions, he will probably be punished, or even imprisoned and asked why Brother Ma dare not make a prompt decision. I have known the prefect for more than ten years, and I know too well that the prefect is not a person who will swallow his anger."

When Zhao Jun started killing in Bianliang, from the ruffians and gangsters to the deputy prime ministers of the court, there were rumors that he was narrow-minded and that if you offended the prefect, you would not live.

In fact, this is true. Wuyoudong Gui Fanlou, as well as the prime ministers' families such as the Han and Ma families, and even the nobles and landlords, have piled up their bones like mountains.

Fan Zhongyan is cruel to the outside world, but Zhao Jun has never been soft-hearted to the inside over the years, and the number of lives on his hands is no less than Fan Zhongyan's achievements.

Thinking that the big bosses behind the Iwami Silver Mine and the Sado Gold Mine were the government and Zhao Jun, and thinking of Zhao Jun's ruthlessness in dealing with the generals and nobles, Ma Mao shuddered for a moment.

He escaped the purge not because of his integrity, but because the Ma Renyu family had already declined.

The descendants of the later generations had no power, and there were few people joining the army. Pure small shrimps could not make money in the army, so no one messed with them.

Now he is the highest-ranking official in the Ma family in the army. If this matter is not handled well, the Ma family will be beaten into the dust again.

Thinking of this, Ma Mao immediately grabbed the hands of the two and said, "Brother Song, Brother Lu, I almost made a mistake. You are right. I must be tough and must not let the Japanese run rampant."

The words of the two woke him up.

There are only four situations in this matter.

One, the court does not want to fight, and he is angry, and he is unlucky.

Two, the court wants to fight, and he is happy, and he has made merit.

Third, if he doesn't fight, the court wants to fight, he will be furious and unlucky.

Fourth, if he doesn't fight, the court doesn't want to fight, he will be happy and he will make meritorious deeds.

It seems that he is half unlucky and half meritorious deeds.

But there is another problem that Lu Chao and Song Cai both persuaded him to fight.

One of them has a Cao family background, and the other has a background of the emperor and the court, and their backgrounds are all-powerful.

So if the first situation occurs, he fights, the court doesn't want to fight, but the two people instigate him, his guilt will be much smaller.

In short, if he makes the decision himself, he will take the blame alone. If three people make the decision, all three people will take the blame together.

Perhaps the court considers that it is the two people who instigated, and it is very likely that a big thing will be reduced to a small thing.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, it is obviously more appropriate to listen to the two people and fight, and the chance of being rewarded by the court for meritorious deeds is also the greatest.

While talking, the result has already come out in the distance.

Fujiwara no Sukina on the ship flatly rejected the "unreasonable demands" of the Song Dynasty and refused to return the gold mine and the captured people.

He saw the big ships of the Song army, but he thought they were the Song army from Tsushima Island.

The Song army there often went to Iwami Province for pleasure. Although they had cleared out some pirates, Fujiwara no Suketsuna felt that those Song army who only knew how to enjoy themselves were not that strong.

On the other hand, he had the Japanese court behind him, and he also seized a lot of weapons and equipment from Sado Island that the Lu Dynasty wanted to sell to Abe Yoriyoshi and Qingyuan Wu. Now he had armor and blades, and he was not afraid of the other party at all.

After all, he was carrying the expectations of the emperor, so how could he show weakness to the other party?

At this moment on the merchant ship, Fujiwara no Suketsuna looked at the Song army warships in the distance. It was far away, and although he could not visually estimate the size of the other party's warships, he could still see the ferocity of the ironclad ships.

It was just that Fujiwara no Suketsuna did not understand why there were so many holes on the side of those ships, but that was not important, maybe they were oar holes.

He raised the big knife in his hand and turned his head to glance behind him.

There were more than ten large ships and dozens of small boats around, which was more than the number of ships on the other side. Moreover, they had more than 2,000 people. What was there to worry about?

"We must not let the Song people leave. If we can't catch them, we will kill them. Sado Island belongs to us."

He shouted.

The servant who came to negotiate was startled, and then turned around and ran, trying to jump back into the boat.

However, Fujiwara no Sukina suddenly pounced forward and chopped down with a big knife.

"Puff!"

The head flew out.

Then he was stained with blood and shouted: "Charge, kill them."

"Kill!"

Many Japanese ships clamored, and the sailors rowed the oars, and nearly a hundred Japanese ships began to charge forward.

Ma Mao and others who were observing with telescopes in the distance saw this scene from afar and were shocked.

They never expected that the Japanese were so cruel that they killed people directly.

And they rushed towards them.

Ma Mao was furious and said, "The Japanese are so bold. Have they always been so brave?"

"This is because they only know that the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Dynasty, but they don't know why the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Dynasty."

Lu Chao immediately said, "General, don't hesitate any longer."

Ma Mao immediately shouted, "Gunners, get ready!"

"Gunners, get ready!"

The messenger above waved the flag.

In an instant, the Ninghai Navy entered combat mode, and all ships began to move slowly and tilt the hull.

One nautical mile is close to two kilometers, and the distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer. Just when the Japanese ships were less than a mile away from them, the Ninghai Navy finally completed the turn and the loading of the artillery.

"Fire!"

Ma Mao roared.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The flags kept waving.

The order was quickly transmitted to all ships.

Then.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Hundreds of black shells flew out of the barrels, drawing countless brilliant arcs in the air.

Before all the Japanese could react, they fell into their fleet.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

There were countless sounds of wood breaking, followed by various panicked screams and cries.

Under the baptism of artillery fire, the Japanese ships broke into pieces, wood chips flew, and many ships collapsed directly, then tilted and sank.

Most of the Japanese were of course not dead. It was still difficult to hit people with artillery, but after the ship was broken, it could only feed the fish.

You have to know that although this is near the sea and very close to the shore, it is also several nautical miles away. The sea is rough and there are no boats. It is difficult to swim to the shore.

For a while, the little people who fell into the water wailed everywhere, and some who could not swim quickly sank.

The remaining ships that were lucky enough not to be hit were also confused at this time, and then they thought they were punished by God. The people on the boats screamed and rowed away.

Ma Mao shouted: "Chase!"

Lu Chao hurriedly said: "General, it's okay. Now the most urgent task is to go to Sado Island and Echigo Province immediately, control the counties of Echigo Province, and save our people."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Song Cai also nodded repeatedly and said: "The gold mine and my brother are more important."

Although it is easy for the Ninghai Navy to destroy more than 2,000 people, it will obviously delay a lot of time. And now the most important thing is the gold mine and the Song merchants they captured.

"Humph, then let's teach them a lesson first."

Ma Mao snorted coldly: "These Japanese don't seem to be very strong. My Ninghai Navy will guard here first. If they come 10,000, I will kill 10,000, and if they come 100,000, I will kill them all!"

"The general is mighty!"

Song Cai and Lu Chao were also shocked by the combat effectiveness of the Song army and praised it repeatedly.

Then the Ninghai Navy ignored the Japanese and sailed to Sado Island.

On that day, Lu Chao returned to Echigo Province and quickly controlled Sado Island and the six counties of Echigo Province, released the captured merchants, and rescued the local nobles who cooperated with them.

The surviving Japanese quickly landed at the coast of Noto Province. After landing in Noto, they immediately reported the situation to the Noto governor, who then sent people to report to Heian-kyo at a flying speed.

A few days later, Japan was shocked.