Footsteps could be heard as a eunuch entered.
Ji Bei Hou laughed, "Eunuch Shi, why are you here at such a late hour?"
"I don't come without a reason!" The eunuch laughed. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ji Bei Hou asked, "Did King Lu ask you to come?"
The eunuch muttered to himself before replying, "Yes. King Lu has issued an order for Pei Zi Yun to disappear from the sea. I've thought about it and decided to come here."
Ji Bei Hou paused before replying, "What can I do? You know that I've already reduced my military power. I only have five thousand men under my command, and no navy. "
"There's no need for five thousand men!" The eunuch stood up and said, "I've received orders from King Lu and convinced General Chen."
At this point, he laughed out, "The nearest island to the port is twenty-five miles away. That's the only way to get there. Pei Zi Yun only brought a thousand men with him. Although he won, he'll definitely suffer heavy losses. At most, he has five hundred men with him. We can wipe them out in one fell swoop."
The eunuch paused before continuing, "Chen Ping can be used now. However, we can't deploy the navy as we wish. We can only deploy a thousand men under the guise of patrolling the seas. Although we have the upper hand, we still have to use all our strength. I'm afraid we'll have to use your men."
Ji Bei Hou leaned back and laughed, "I've said it before. My soldiers can't leave the camp as they wish. I can deploy five hundred men, but no more than that."
"Very good!" The eunuch sat back down, his eyes gleaming, "King Lu has thought about it. I have five hundred men with me, and they're all the elites of the army."
"Apart from that, there are ten Daoists from Holy Jail Sect."
"I've also brought King Lu's personal order. It's a Dao art meant to kill these people. There's no way to hide on the sea. Once they're caught, even two thousand men can't take down these five hundred men.
"That's right!" Hearing these words, Ji Bei Hou almost burst out laughing. He held it in and stood up, "Report to King Lu. Since he has such an intention, I shall comply."
Golden Island
The sea breeze carried with it a fishy smell, as the flags fluttered in the wind.
In front of the beach, there were endless shouts. Following the shouts, the captured pirate leaders boarded the boats one by one. These captives needed to be transported back and presented to the imperial court. There were also some special gifts — heads made of limestone that filled several baskets. These were all meritorious deeds.
Pei Zi Yun stood on the deck of the flagship, as the sun rays shone down on his face. It was unclear what he was thinking, but at the same time, he seemed to be waiting.
A group of soldiers hurriedly boarded the ship and reported, "Your Excellency, the interrogation has been completed."
"What's the matter?" Pei Zi Yun's eyes narrowed as he asked.
The captain replied, "Your excellency, we've interrogated them. Those fifty men were Ji Bei Hou's men. Thirty of them died in battle, and there are still a dozen of them left."
"It's been said that Ji Bei Hou was in contact with the bandits. It's a pity that the documents were burned."
"Also, it is clear that Japan is involved in the Yue Domain of Malay Island. There are 20,000 stones. The pirates robbed the goods and dumped them through this point."
Pei Zi Yun pondered for a moment before giving an order, "Kill all of Ji Bei Hou's men and Yue Ba's men."
"My lord." The captain hesitated for a moment before Cai Zhen Yuan overheard him. He then spoke out, "Your Excellency, it's not good to kill the prisoners of war."
Pei Zi Yun then replied, "Captain Cai, this matter isn't that simple. If we attack the pirates, nobody can say anything about it. If we report it to the higher-ups, it would take at most half a year for them to be rewarded."
As he spoke, Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly, "But if we report these two matters to the higher-ups, things will be different."
"Even if we find out that Ji Bei Hou's men have been mixed in with the pirates, how much harm can they do to him? Ji Bei Hou can just find an excuse to push the blame away. "
"Maybe only the Governor would want to see this happen. But Ji Bei Hou's men and the Yue Ba's men, one is from the inner city, the other is from the outer border. This involves the imperial court and Japan. This matter involves many parties."
"If we really report it to the higher-ups, all our efforts in attacking the pirates would be worthless. Not only would we offend Ji Bei Hou, but we would also incite intense opposition from many parties. If we don't do well, not only will we not have any merits, we might even be punished. Do you really want to get involved in this?"
"People who always want to get involved in big cases won't live long."
"To us, the only way to get rid of the pirates is to be rewarded immediately. Everything else can wait until we're promoted."
Cai Yuan Zhen finally understood, as his entire body trembled. He then said, "Your Excellency Pei, your humble servant will do as you say."
Cai Yuan Zhen then called out to a squad of soldiers, "Kill these pirates immediately."
As soon as the order was given, Chen Pu changed into a new set of robes, which had silver embroidery on it. He held a jug of wine in his hands and poured himself a cup of wine before handing it to Pei Zi Yun. He then smiled, "Master Top Scorer, the pirates have been wiped out. You've done a great job."
A gust of wind blew past as Pei Zi Yun received the wine and gulped it down, "Good wine."
"Of course, this is the parting wine my wife gave me." Chen Pu then poured another cup of wine for Pei Zi Yun, "Initially, before we set sail, I had already made preparations. I thought that I would have to stay out here for at least half a year. Who knew that I would be done in just three days."
"Congratulations then. You've won a great victory. I'm not an official of the Imperial Court, and it's hard for me to get credit for this. But you're going to be promoted." Pei Zi Yun raised his cup, and the both of them clinked their glasses.
"That's right, a toast to master Top Scorer." Chen Pu smiled as he poured himself another cup of wine.
All of a sudden, cries of agony could be heard. Chen Pu looked over and saw the pirates being dragged onto the beach. Cai Yuanzhen smiled savagely as he chopped off their heads.
Seeing this, Chen Pu felt dizzy and asked, "Top Scorer Pei, what are you doing? Are you killing the prisoners? "
"These pirates have committed heinous crimes. We don't have enough rations and manpower to keep an eye on them. Hence, we have to kill them." Pei Zi Yun laughed.
The sun rays shone down on his face, causing him to look red. Cries of agony could be heard. After killing over twenty pirates, Cai Yuanzhen then ordered his men to carry a basket of human heads onto the boat.
One of the Battalions reported, "Your excellency Pei, we've counted the number of casualties. 251 have died, 430 are injured, and the remaining 400 are in good condition."
Pei Zi Yun paused for some time before he spoke, "Clean up the names of those who died and cremate them. Bring their ashes back with us. The wounded have to be treated."
"Yes, your excellency."
"When all these are done, we shall set sail immediately." Pei Zi Yun said.
"Yes, your excellency." Everyone around acknowledged. Nobody wanted to stay on this desolate island any longer. Even Chen Pu knew that the Daoist had taken care of some of the captives and commoners. He even took care of some of the pirates' stories.
Before long, the entire island was engulfed in thick smoke. Seeing that everything was done, Pei Zi Yun then gave the order, "Set sail immediately!"
"Yes!" Everyone was anxious to return home. As they shouted, the ten battleships sailed into the sea and headed towards land. In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed.
Sailing at night wasn't a good idea in ancient times. Hence, they decided to stop at a small island. This island was about half a mile wide, and didn't even have any fresh water. The only thing they could do was grab an anchor.
The fire on the deck crackled, and the meat that was being cooked in the pot was emitting a delicious aroma. Pei Zi Yun felt the talisman in his robes warm up. He then returned to his room and retrieved it.
"Sect Leader, we've counted. There are seventeen boats on Golden Island, all of which belong to the pirates."
"There are two hundred and one households, and two thousand and four hundred stones of grain. We've also found a warehouse with six thousand strings of coins. Out of the five hundred captives, we've found fifty who were forced to become pirates. We'll deal with them separately and divide them up." The Daoist spoke excitedly.
Pei Zi Yun thought for some time, "Alright, but everyone on the island has to listen to my instructions. First, we'll deal with them separately. If they don't obey, we'll kill them. In times of chaos, we need to deal with them severely."
The Daoist replied, "Yes, Sect Leader."
He then gave some instructions before he switched off the talisman. This time, the biggest gains from killing the pirates weren't gold or silver. It was the two islands, the farmers, and the boats.
He then stretched out a finger and contacted Yu Yun Jun.
A bright light flashed, and Yu Yun Jun appeared. She brushed her hair and asked, "Sect Leader, how are you now? Have you found the pirates?"
It was obvious that she thought that it had only been three days, and that the pirates had just made their move. Hence, she wasn't too worried.
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "Haha, Master, I'm doing well. There's no need to look for the pirates, they've all been wiped out. It's just that I have something important to tell you."
"Eh? Sect Leader, please speak. "Yu Yun Jun was taken aback at first, but quickly agreed.
Pei Zi Yun then said, "Master, please send someone to report to the Governor that we've achieved a great victory. However, we have to wait outside the harbor for a few days."
"Why do we have to wait for a few days?" Yu Yun Jun was somewhat puzzled.
"Master, we just have to tell the Governor about this and he will understand." Pei Zi Yun's eyes gleamed coldly, "Even if I'm wrong, it'll only take a few days. There's still food on the boats."
Governor's Mansion
The Governor had finished reading through all the documents and came out for a stroll. He then ordered someone to play some music. At this point, a man walked past several corridors. From afar, he could see the Governor and a few other officials chatting and laughing.
It was autumn, and the air was crisp and refreshing. The Governor listened to the music until the song ended. He then turned around, "What do you have to report to me?"
"Your Excellency, it's a letter from Free Cloud Sect."
"Oh, why didn't you send it to me directly? Why did you send it to Free Cloud Sect?" The Governor was puzzled. He then watched as the man handed the letter to the Governor with both hands.
The Governor didn't think much of it. When he took the letter out and read it, he was stunned. He was overjoyed, "What? It's only been three days and we've defeated the pirates? We've even beheaded the two brothers?"
"We've beheaded five hundred pirates, captured a hundred, and handed over twenty thousand taels of silver to the imperial court. Good, this is a great victory!" The Governor stroked his beard and smiled, "I initially thought that it would take him at least half a year, or even a year. I've already prepared a year's worth of rations. Who would've thought that he'd be able to defeat them in just three days."
"If it's true, then that's very praiseworthy. We've saved a lot of rations and money."
The Governor looked calm and collected, but in fact, the intense impact caused his heart to beat wildly, and his blood to boil. With this, his three political achievements would be complete. Just this alone would be enough for him to be conferred the title of Earl not long after the founding of the country!
Thinking up to this point, the Governor's breathing quickened. He calmed himself down before regaining his composure. He then muttered to himself, "Wait outside the harbor? Why didn't he just come back? "
After walking around several times, he seemed to have understood something. He then ordered, "Go and investigate Chen Ping's movements. See if there's anything strange going on."
Seeing that the man was about to leave, the Governor shouted, "Come back. Also, investigate Ji Bei Hou's movements!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
