Chapter 673 - 673: Pirates
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yin Qi braced himself and said, “Young Master is fine. Both sides took this transaction very seriously and there was no conflict.” The battle had been agreed by both sides, so it should not be considered a conflict. He continued, “The Northern Barbarians is a large tribe, but they are split into branches. In order to snatch resources, the branches often fight each other. The Northern Barbarians suffered a drought and are seriously short on supplies. The conflicts between the branches are deepening day by day. This is why Harmon is anxious to reach a deal with Young Master to ease the internal conflicts among the Northern Barbarians. At the same time, he has to take the opportunity to win people’s hearts and strengthen his standing.”
These words were only to explain that this transaction was imperative and nothing would happen. It was also to reassure Young Miss, in case she asks questions and he ends up exposing that Young Master was seriously injured.
In order to let Yu Youyao feel more at ease, they let her think that Harmon’s injuries were related to the conflicts between the various branches in the Northern Barbarians.
Yu Youyao wrote a reply for her cousin and rambled on in the letter.
First, she mentioned what had happened in the court during this period of time.
She also mentioned some trivial matters at home.
In the end, she said many caring words.
In the blink of an eye, it was August!
It had been almost three months since Yu Zongzheng had gone to Zhejiang to provide disaster relief. During this period, because of the water disaster, three small-scale riots had erupted in Zhejiang, but they were all suppressed by Ye Hanyuan.
Later on, as the Xie Residence and Yu Youyao in Quanzhou took the initiative to help the Imperial Court relief the refugees, they took the lead. Many benevolent merchants in the country also contributed money. With Ye Hanyuan stabilizing the overall situation in Zhejiang, the disaster in Zhejiang temporarily stabilized.
However, the riot in Zhejiang had caused many casualties. Even Yu Zongzheng was affected and slashed by the mob.
Before one wave was over, another rose.
On the sixth of August, an emergency report from Zhejiang came from the capital again. Pirates had invaded Taizhou on a large scale. Ye Hanyuan took the lead and killed the leader of the pirates, annihilating more than 2,000 people.
At the same time, the pirates of Funing, Lianjiang, and other places joined forces with the local water bandits to attack Ningde and other places.
This was not the end. The pirates in Guangdong had invaded Longyan,
Songxi, Datian, Gutian, Putian, and other places.
There were pirates everywhere along the southeast coast.
Wherever the pirates went, they were like locusts crossing the border. They killed, burned, and plundered everything. They did not even let go of the infants in their swaddling clothes. The tragedies of families getting destroyed happened along the bloody southeast coast.
When the news reached the capital, the Emperor was furious. He immediately issued a holy decree and angrily reprimanded the Governor of Zhejiang for letting the pirates become a problem. He was ordered to be suspended for investigation.
He also promoted the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor of Zhejiang to handle the military affairs of Zhejiang, South Zhili, and Fujian. He was ordered to chase after the pirates and eliminate the bandit problem.
Ye Hanyuan was directly promoted from a fourth-grade general to a first-grade official.
At this moment, Elder Xia suddenly fainted during the morning court meeting.
When she woke up, he said that he was old and couldn’t handle court matters, so he wanted to resign and return to his hometown.
The emperor accepted Elder Xia’s resignation letter, but he did not allow him to return to his hometown. He asked him to stay in the capital and recuperate for a while.
Yu Zongshen officially took over as the Grand Secretary.
They cooperated with Zhejiang to help the refugees and eliminate the pirates.
Zhejiang was in chaos, but because of Ye Hanyuan, the situation was temporarily under control.
However, everyone knew that this was only the beginning.
Ye Hanyuan’s promotion had also directly torn open the tip of the iceberg of the Zhe family.
Elder Xia!s resignation had caused the Zhe family to lose their political cover.
Those with power in Zhejiang sensed that the time for the Zhejiang Family to fall had arrived, so they made their moves. They joined forces with the River Inspection Censor, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs cum 13th Imperial Censor, Yu Zongzheng, and the Governor of Zhejiang, Ye Hanyuan. The four forces investigated the corruption of the river, the loss of military funds, the annexation of the land of the commoners, and hundreds of other crimes.
The River Inspection Censor was investigating the corruption at the river. In addition, he had a good sword in his hand. In the end, all the officials who were related to the river were killed or detained.
Yu Zongzheng had monstrous power. He patrolled on behalf of the Emperor and investigated the governance of officials. He could investigate and manage everything.
With the methods of the palace guards, there was no one who couldn’t be investigated, nor was there any dirty money that couldn’t be found. They searched through all one by one.
After a thorough investigation, they could even find over a hundred thousand taels of silver in the house of a small seventh-grade official. It simply shocked the royal court.
During this period of time, Old Madam Yu t s spirits had been deteriorating.
“Zhejiang is completely in chaos.”
Yu Youyao said softly, “Second Uncle has succeeded as the Grand Secretary. The Imperial Court will cooperate fully with the disaster relief, governance, and extermination of the pirates. Sooner or later, the chaos in Zhejiang will stabilize. Don’t let one’s imagination run wild.”
She knew that these words were just self-deception.
In fact, it wasn’t just Zhejiang that was in chaos.
Instead, it was the entire Great Zhou.
With Ye Hanyuan in charge of Zhejiang, the chaos in Zhejiang would stabilize sooner or later, but not now.
In fact, they had to wait until the Great Zhou Dynasty was completely in chaos. Then, her cousin would use Zhejiang to gather people and control the southeast coast from the beginning.
However, recently, her grandmother’s mental state had grown weaker. The imperial physicians and doctors often visited, but they couldn’t find a serious illness. They only asked her to relax and recuperate carefully.
Her grandmother’s situation was not optimistic. The rumors flying around in court were also warped by the time they reached her ears.
Old Madam Yu leaned against the pillow with a sallow face. “It has been three months since your father went to Zhejiang. I wonder when he’ll be back?”
Now that the disaster in Zhejiang had stabilized, the Imperial Censor had to report to the Emperor. It would be a great merit. The longer it dragged on, the more matters there would be in Zhejiang, and the great merits would be greatly reduced.
Yu Youyao said, “The calamity in Zhejiang has just subsided and there’s the pirate issue now. Father is a civil servant, but he can’t interfere. I reckon he’ll be back soon.’
It was almost the Mid-Autumn Festival. If he continued to delay, it would be difficult for him, the Imperial Censor, to answer to the Imperial Court.
Old Madam Yu frowned and moved on from mentioning this vexing person. “There’s a water disaster in Zhejiang and a riot. Now, the pirates have become a problem along the southeast coast and invaded half of the Great Zhou. It’s impossible for Elder Xia to escape unscathed.”
At this point, her breathing weakened and she panted.
Nanny Liu quickly handed Yu Youyao a cup of tea. Yu Youyao reached out to take it and carefully fed her grandmother a few sips.
Old Madam Yu calmed down a little and continued, “l heard that Elder Xia is from Wenzhou, Zhejiang. A few years ago, his hometown made a few monuments for him.” At this point, even her eyebrows revealed a hint of mockery. “l think Wenzhou has suffered a huge disaster. He can’t even keep his honor.’
Yu Youyao agreed deeply. Xia Yanshengs Grand Secretary was obtained by searching from those truly talented and pure ministers in the cabinet.
He only received some of his political achievements by squabbling with his colleagues and snatching credit from them. Other than helping the Emperor earn money and satisfying his private needs, he actually did not have much merit..
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