Chapter 535: Exterminating the Pirates
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When an old minister mentioned the tragic situation, he couldn’t help but cry.
An old minister even suggested, “Your Majesty, resisting the pirates is the most important thing. We can’t be negligent at all. In the past ten years, our Great Zhou Dynasty has worked hard to build a navy and invested a large amount of military power, assets, material resources, and energy. We’ll give up all our efforts. Your Majesty, please issue a decree and let the Zhejiang capital exterminate the pirates.”
“That’s right, Your Majesty. If the pirates aren’t eliminated, the sea routes won’t be accessible, and maritime trade won’t be smooth. Official ships and merchant ships won’t be able to pass. Our Great Zhou Dynasty will suffer a huge loss. This is a big pain of the Imperial Court. There’s no time to delay exterminating the pirates…”
“Your Majesty, our Great Zhou Dynasty is a vast dynasty. We let a mere pirate group charge into the country, kill the citizens, snatch money, and burn a city. Where’s the dignity of our Great Zhou Dynasty? Where’s our face? We have to eliminate the pirates!”
The emperor sat high on the dragon throne and listened to the court officials tearfully talk about the importance of exterminating the pirates. His face turned slightly green.
Initially, he had sent the Minister of Official Personnel Affairs to Zhejiang. He had a lot of responsibilities, such as inspection of seals, inspection, and merit examination. He deliberately took the opportunity to patrol and clean up Zhejiang to strengthen his control over it.
Unexpectedly, Yu Zongzheng was quite impressive. He had investigated the entire Zhejiang navy inside and out, giving the Imperial Court an excuse to deal with Zhejiang next.
The emperor was secretly delighted. He felt that Yu Zongzheng was indeed a capable official when he was transferred to the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs.
Unexpectedly, in just a few days, the pirates had already charged into the city.
All of this was simply like a slap to his face. Not only did it make him lose all his dignity, but it also made his face burn with pain.
It was as if he was laughing at his naivety.
Due to Song Xiuwen’s case, the Zhejiang navy was divided. If they couldn’t stop the pirates, how were they going to deal with Zhejiang and reorganize the entire Jiangnan?
Not only did the capital of Zhejiang embezzle money, but it was also a slap to his face. If he didn’t teach Zhejiang a lesson, how could he vent the hatred in his heart?”
“Every year, the Imperial Court allocates a large sum of money to the Zhejiang capital to deal with the coastal war. The Zhejiang capital is so incompetent that they actually let a few hundred Japanese invade the city. The emperor should be punishing them and not tolerating them.”
“The Zhejiang capital’s incompetence in suppressing the pirates has caused the dignity of our Great Zhou Dynasty to fall to the ground. How can a mere army’s morale be dissipated? It’s not the Imperial Court’s fault that the army’s morale is dissipated. It’s the fault of the officials in charge of the Zhejiang capital.
“Song Xiuwen’s case is very important. Currently, Song Xiuwen has yet to be escorted into the capital. His crime has yet to be tried. I don’t know if it involves the others in the Zhejiang capital. Please forgive me for being blunt. The Zhejiang capital has lost this battle and is suspected of threatening the Imperial Court. The war is tense. In order to stabilize the army’s morale, the Imperial Court can’t implicate too many people…”
Everyone understood this logic, but saying this was equivalent to saying nothing.
Now, the Imperial Court was in a dilemma. Everyone in the court was arguing, but they did not come to a conclusion.
Things were at a stalemate.
When Yu Youyao heard the news, she only felt that it was ironic. “Cousin, you’re really right. The Imperial Court was killed, robbed, and burned by a mere few hundred Japanese. Not only did they suffer heavy losses, but their dignity was also lost. Should they face the problem of eliminating the Japanese first or reorganizing Zhejiang first? However, no matter what they choose, the Imperial Court won’t do well.”
On the first day of the new year, there was another memorial in Zhejiang.
One by one, Zhejiang Qingliu jointly reported the ten crimes of the officials in the capital of Zhejiang.
They pointed out that the officials in the capital of Zhejiang were worried that the Imperial Court would investigate Song Xiuwen and they would be implicated. They deliberately delayed the war to threaten the Imperial Court and the emperor.
They even said bluntly that the Imperial Court had originally established the navy to eliminate the pirates. It was already a huge mistake for the capital of
Zhejiang to be attacked by the pirates. Back then, when the Northern
Barbarians invaded the North on a large scale, as a noble, King Li of Zhou was summoned to the capital to be punished because he had lost his city. What happened to the capital of Zhejiang? After losing his city, he planned to leave it unsettled…
As soon as this memorial was submitted, the events in Zhejiang became messier.
No one in the court dared to speak anymore.
Zhejiang Qingliu really dared to say anything. After using the King Li of Zhou as an excuse, no matter how unyielding the Zhejiang capital was, they could only bite the bullet and eliminate the pirates.
When Yu Youyao received the news, she asked her cousin, “The pirates have come ashore to do evil, and the war can’t be delayed. Although the Imperial Court has some arguments, we still have to decide as soon as possible what to do. The memorial from Zhejiang Qingliu was submitted very timely. If it was a day or two later, when the Imperial Court’s decree was issued, the Zhejiang capital might really threaten the Imperial Court.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. “Since ancient times, only by dealing with the internal and external forces can we be at peace. The Imperial Court has no choice but to eliminate the Japanese or Zhejiang. In the face of an invasion, the best choice is to eliminate the external enemies first.”
Without the memorial from Zhejiang Qingliu, the Imperial Court would definitely have ordered the Zhejiang capital to exterminate the pirates with all its might.
After the Japanese problem was eliminated, Zhejiang’s capital would contribute to the suppression of the Japanese. It wouldn’t be appropriate for the Imperial Court to deal with Zhejiang at this time, so the importance of the Zhejiang navy became even more obvious.
Yu Youyao continued, “The people from Zhejiang even used the King Li of Zhou as an excuse. There are many places for people to make a fuss here. If we’re not careful, we’ll be exposed. At that time, we won’t be able to threaten the Imperial Court. Instead, we’ll cause trouble ourselves and give the Imperial Court an excuse to deal with us. In order to avoid suspicion, we have to eliminate the pirates.”
This was the wonderful thing about Zhejiang Qingliu. How many people had been killed in King Li of Zhou’s case, and how many nobles and powerful ministers had been implicated? How many days had it been?
Zhejiang Qingliu dared to use the King Li of Zhou’s case to make a big fuss.
If they really did this, the Zhejiang capital would definitely not be able to bear it.
Zhou Linghuai smiled. “Although we have to eliminate the pirates, it doesn’t mean that the Zhejiang capital will submit obediently. As long as the strength of the extermination is lower, the Imperial Court won’t be able to use the excuse to interrogate us. Then, the pirates will continue to run rampant along the coastal area, showing the seriousness of the Zhejiang navy. It won’t be good to deal with Zhejiang rashly.”
As long as the pirates were not eliminated, the Imperial Court would not be able to do anything to the capital of Zhejiang.
Yu Youyao was also speechless. “The people from Zhejiang sent a memorial to the Imperial Court in time. Cousin arranged this, right? Otherwise, the timing wouldn’t be so accurate.”
Zhou Linghuai smiled. “That’s right. Zhejiang is an outstanding place to begin with. The people in Zhejiang and prideful and refuse to collude with the capital of Zhejiang, forming a huge force. However, these people have been pressured by the power of the capital of Zhejiang. Zhejiang Qingliu is involved, and the two sides have been fighting endlessly. I only gave them a chance to bite the capital of Zhejiang.”
Yu Youyao was amazed by her cousin’s flawless plan. “The capital of Zhejiang will definitely not do their best to eliminate the pirates. When Zhejiang Qingliu sees this situation, they definitely won’t let it go.”
At this point, she paused
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