The rise of the poor

Chapter 2315 Success and Fame - Luo Longwen

Although his purse was empty again, and he had borrowed 6,800 taels of silver from Wang San at exorbitant interest rates, which he had to repay within a month, Luo Longwen was still overjoyed and felt it was all worthwhile after receiving the promise from Ye Zongman and Songpu that they would jointly send 3,000 troops to attack Zhu Ping'an's garrison in southern Zhejiang.

Excellent! Zhu Ping'an, no matter how clever or cunning you are, it's all useless now. I, Luo Longwen, have made my move, and your death is imminent!

Brother Donglou, I, Luo Longwen, have lived up to your expectations and completed all the tasks you assigned me. Many people, including high-ranking officials like Zhao Wenhua, could not accomplish these tasks, but I, Luo Longwen, have done them!

Once we arrive in the capital, we must treat Brother Donglou and Brother Ouyang to a good drink to celebrate Zhu Pingan's demise.

Luo Longwen was overjoyed. After Wang San, Ye Zongman, Songpu, and the others left, he happily poured himself a drink from the remaining food on the table. Normally, he wouldn't have given a second thought to the crudely made food, but today it tasted incredibly delicious. A bite of chicken followed by a sip of wine, a bite of fish followed by a small cup of wine—before long, the remaining half-jar of wine was gone. Feeling lightheaded and blissful, Luo Longwen lay down on the table and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Luo Longwen was shaken awake from his sleep. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Wang San's Dalian.

"Brother Luo, Brother Luo, after Lord Ye and Lord Matsuura left here, they bought provisions, prepared military equipment, and even spent a lot of money to borrow six hundred musketeers from other fleets. They will be swearing an oath and setting off tomorrow."

Wang San shook Luo Longwen and said to him excitedly.

"Really? So fast?" Upon hearing this, Luo Longwen was so happy that he sobered up and almost jumped for joy.

Then, with some concern, he said, "Are we really going to have to hold a swearing-in ceremony before setting off?! Is this really so blatant? Didn't His Majesty disagree with sending troops to attack Zhu Ping'an? If His Majesty finds out, won't that cause trouble? What if His Majesty forbids it?"

Wang San laughed dismissively, "Hahaha, Brother Luo, what the King meant was that he wouldn't order an attack on Zhu Ping'an. As for his men attacking Zhu Ping'an on their own, the King turns a blind eye. We're usually quite independent; we decide where to burn, kill, and plunder, and then return to pay tribute to the King, unless the King orders us to be conscripted. Don't worry, if you didn't know the King, would Lord Ye and the others have sworn an oath to go to war?!"

"If that's the case, that would be wonderful." Luo Longwen was overjoyed upon hearing this.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Wang San pulled Luo Longwen to see off the Ye Zongman and Songpu Allied Army, who were swearing an oath before setting off for war.

Luo Longwen also witnessed how the Japanese pirates swore an oath before going to war. The Japanese pirates set up a platform, which was filled with all kinds of gods and Buddhas, including the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, the God of Wealth, Buddha, Bodhisattvas, the Dragon King of the Sea, and Mazu. There were also some gods that Luo Longwen did not recognize, so he asked Wang San about them out of curiosity.

"Those are all Japanese gods, like Amaterasu, the moon goddess, Yuki-onna, and so on."

Wang San explained.

Luo Longwen suddenly remembered, "Oh, I remember now, I read the records of Japanese customs the day before yesterday, and it mentioned these Japanese gods."

After Ye Zongman and the others worshipped the gods on the altar, each Japanese pirate poured a bowl of wine and drank it down. After they finished drinking, Ye Zongman gave an order, and the Japanese pirates smashed their bowls on the ground and shouted for battle.

"send troops!"

Ye Zongman and Matsuura drew their Japanese swords and shouted as they boarded the ship first, followed by a group of Japanese pirates.

We weigh anchor, hoist the sails, and set sail.

More than fifty Japanese ships of various sizes, like wild horses, set sail and broke through the waves towards Zhejiang.

"May Lord Ye and Lord Matsuura achieve immediate success, no, may their ships sail successfully! You must make sure Zhu Ping'an's head rolls everywhere."

Luo Longwen shouted loudly at the departing fleet.

"Don't worry, Zhu Ping'an is in the open, while we are in the dark. Moreover, we spent a lot of money to buy Zhu Ping'an's secret deployment in southern Zhejiang from Mao Haifeng. With this inside information, it would be difficult for us not to succeed."

"Moreover, Lord Ye and his men are very familiar with this sea route. Lord Ye said that he attaches great importance to Zhu Ping'an, and he will land at night after Zhu Ping'an's Zhejiang army has fallen asleep, catching them completely off guard!"

Wang San said with a confident expression.

"Then let's go back and wait for Lord Ye and his group's triumphant return." Luo Longwen also felt that the situation was settled.

So the two went back, prepared a feast, and ate and drank heartily.

Time flies. Luo Longwen felt like only a blink of an eye had passed, and seven or eight days had already gone by.

On this day, just as Luo Longwen and Wang San were once again feasting and drinking to their hearts' content, they heard footsteps outside.

"Report! Report! Third Master, great news! Great news!" A Japanese pirate rushed in to deliver the good news.

"Here you go," Wang San tossed a chicken leg to the Japanese pirate who came to deliver the good news, "Tell me, what's the great news?"

The Japanese pirate delivering the good news caught the chicken leg, stuffed a bite into his mouth, and said between bites, "Third Master, you asked me to keep an eye on Lord Ye and Lord Matsuura's news. They've just returned and arrived at the dock. A great victory! A great victory! Three days ago, Lord Ye and Lord Matsuura launched a surprise attack on Zhu Ping'an's Zhejiang army camp in southern Zhejiang in the dead of night. After entering, they killed and burned, slaughtering the Zhejiang army until they were crying out in agony. Heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers. They cut off more than a thousand heads, enough to fill two entire ships!"

"Great! Great!" Luo Longwen jumped for joy upon hearing this. "With such a huge loss, Zhu Ping'an is doomed! Hahahaha!"

Unable to hold back for even a second, Luo Longwen dragged Wang San to the dock to confirm the news. It was indeed a great victory, with two ships full of heads.

"No, I must send the good news to Brother Donglou and deliver it to the capital as fast as I can."

After confirming the information, Luo Longwen couldn't hold back any longer. He wrote a letter with swift strokes and ordered one of his lackeys to deliver it to the capital immediately.

Not long after, Luo Longwen's lackey brought him some incredibly good news.

"After receiving news that Wang Zhi's Japanese pirates had attacked the Zhejiang army and killed more than a thousand soldiers, His Majesty was furious and punished Zhu Ping'an for deceiving the emperor. He has ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to imprison Zhu Ping'an and execute him in the autumn!"

"The young Grand Secretary said that Your Excellency has made great contributions and should be promoted to Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

Luo Longwen's henchman brought him two pieces of good news.

"Great, great!" Luo Longwen couldn't help but slap the table and exclaim repeatedly.

"Brother Luo, Brother Luo, what's so great?"

Just then, Luo Longwen heard a voice in his ear, and then his shoulder was shaken. "Brother Luo, Brother Luo, how come you drank so much? How did you get so drunk? Why are you sleeping on the ground?"

"what?!"

Luo Longwen opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Wang San; the lackey who had come to tell him the good news was nowhere to be seen. (End of Chapter)