An hour later, General Chen Ping of the Navy finally arrived. He apologized as soon as they met.
The prefectural magistrate led the bailiffs over as well. When he boarded the boat, his face fell. There were many bloodstains on the boat. When he entered the boat, he saw that the floor was covered in blood as well. There were even corpses of officials lying around. His body trembled. The pirates actually dared to attack here?
The Governor looked at the magistrate coldly, "These assassins even had female dancers amongst them. Investigate. You must get to the bottom of this."
Seeing the Governor's unfriendly expression, the magistrate hurriedly replied, "Yes, your excellency Governor. I shall bring men to investigate and find out who these pirates are."
Chen Ping knelt down as well, "Governor, we shall do our best to investigate."
The Governor sat on his stool, his face was ashen and did not speak. After some time, he said, "General Chen, you may dispense with the formalities. These pirates were too savage. I didn't expect them to attack me in Fortune County a few days ago. Nobody expected them to do this. You don't have to blame yourselves."
As he said this, a group of soldiers rushed over, emitting a sinister aura. The captain of the group bowed to the Governor. Seeing his brothers lying on the floor, his eyes were bloodshot. He didn't say a word, but stood up and surrounded the Governor.
These were the elite soldiers who were responsible for protecting the Governor. They belonged to the imperial court and were under the command of the Governor. At this point, the Governor heaved a sigh of relief and sighed, "These people died for me. I shall give them a proper burial."
The captain and the soldiers all knelt down and shouted, "Thank you your excellency."
The Governor then instructed, "Seal the area. Wait for the people from the city to investigate."
He then turned to Pei Zi Yun, "Top Scorer Pei, you've worked hard. Go back and rest."
He then stood up and left. When he returned to the Governor's mansion, the Governor saw that someone was waiting for him. He then instructed, "Bring me the documents."
He then said, "Summon all the advisors here."
Seeing that everyone had left, the Governor sat down on a chair and heaved a sigh of relief. His cheeks were slightly sunken, and his eyes were dark. He had been on the brink of death today, and was sweating profusely. Only when he was in the Governor's mansion did he relax.
At this point, the sky was getting darker, and the candles were burning brightly. After drinking a bowl of hot ginseng soup, the Governor felt energized. His eyes gleamed coldly as he watched the candles burn.
"There's no evidence!"
When this happened, the Governor's first suspect was Ji Bei Hou. He was representing the imperial court to fight for power with Master Hou. He didn't expect that the pirates would suddenly attack him. He had his suspicions, but he didn't have any evidence.
"Ji Bei Hou is a Marquis, and I can't touch him easily." Just as he was thinking about this, he heard some noises coming from outside. The advisors filed into the room and sat down.
The Governor's expression didn't look good as he spoke with a cold expression, "Today, the pirates attacked my ship. This is the reason why I'm looking for you. What do you think? Report it to me. "
All the advisors present were shocked. A thin old man in his fifties stepped forward and asked, "Lord Governor, please explain the situation in detail so that we can share your worries."
"And where is Lord Chen?"
Lord Chen was actually the chief strategist of the Governor. Among the advisors, he was the only one who had been recommended to become an official, so he addressed him as Lord.
This person's surname was Suo, and he was a High Scholar. He had the highest position in the group of advisors, and even the Governor had to give him some face.
"Sigh!" The Governor sighed deeply and explained everything in detail. When he reached the part where Mister Chen was killed because of him, he couldn't help but tear up. Mister Chen was his right hand man, and he didn't want to be killed by the pirates.
"What? The pirates actually dared to attack your excellency? They deserve to die. " These advisors were shocked and overjoyed at the same time. Mister Chen was the chief strategist of the Governor, which was why the advisors under the Governor couldn't do anything about it. When they heard that Mister Chen had died, they were secretly elated and stepped forward to show their loyalty.
"Your excellency, I suspect that this incident was done by Hou Mansion. They wanted to get rid of this thorn in their side." One of the advisors stepped forward and said.
"That's not true, your excellency. I think that the pirates had spies in the prefecture. The moment your excellency went to the banquet, the pirates knew about it and decided to ambush you."
"Your excellency, I don't think that's the most important thing. The most important thing is how to deal with the repercussions of this assassination attempt. Now that the pirates have infiltrated deep into An Prefecture, and even managed to assassinate us, what about the other counties? The repercussions of this incident are huge. I hope that your excellency will report to the imperial court and send troops to deal with them. "
"Your excellency, I think we should ban the seas, and at the same time, deploy naval forces to the estuary to prevent the pirates from going against the current and attacking the coastal areas. If the pirates manage to infiltrate deep into the prefecture, the repercussions will not be limited to this."
There were all sorts of arguments being made. Some even talked about negotiating with Ji Bei Hou and dealing with the pirates together. Everyone was arguing and mocking each other. There was no common ground.
Hearing the chaotic discussion, the Governor couldn't help but rub his temples and say, "Mister Suo, you and the rest of the advisors should sort out all of this and report it to me tomorrow. I'm a little tired."
The advisors all paused in shock as they stopped talking. Suo Ping who was leading the group sighed. He knew that the Governor didn't care about what they had to say, and he was in an indescribable mood.
Seeing that everyone had left, the Governor smashed his teacup onto the ground and raised his head. He then sighed, "Now that something like this has happened, how am I supposed to explain this to the imperial court?"
"The Emperor is wise and powerful, but his body isn't in the best condition. He needs to help the Crown Prince cut down the thorns in his body. How can he allow me to take so long to resolve this?"
"Husband!"
The Governor was deep in thought for a long time when he heard a familiar voice. A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, "Husband, I heard the servants say that General Han was covered in blood when he escorted you back. When he came in, he realized that the soldiers who had gone out with you hadn't returned. He then called for his advisors. Did something happen?"
The Governor's wife's voice trembled as she spoke.
The Governor had just experienced an assassination attempt, and was in a state of shock. However, he couldn't show any signs of fear in front of his wife. He smiled and said, "Don't worry my wife. It was just an assassination attempt by the pirates. In the blink of an eye, it's over. I'm fine, and have already sent people out to investigate."
The Governor looked calm and composed, as though he wasn't under any pressure. However, there was still some tea on the ground, as well as some broken pieces of the teacup.
"Ah? Pirates? " The Governor's wife would never have imagined that there would be pirates on the deck of the prefecture capital. She shouted out in shock.
As soon as she shouted out loud, she realized that she had made a big fuss out of nothing. She then lowered her voice, "Husband, this is the inland rivers, and we're far from the coast. There are also pirates who would attack at night. Could it be that the pirates have already invaded the mainland?"
Hearing his wife's words, the Governor waved his hands, "That's impossible. The pirates are weak, and they only managed to take down Fu County by surprise. How could they have infiltrated the mainland?"
"Furthermore, when they attacked the ship, the city guards sent reinforcements, and the pirates retreated. It's obvious that their numbers are limited."
"However, for them to be able to ambush us from the mainland, I can't rule out the possibility that they had help from the shadows."
The Governor's wife stretched out her hands and gently massaged her husband's shoulders, "I've advised you not to fight for the position of Governor. You should have just been an official in the capital. Why did you have to come here and meddle in this mess?"
"Duniang, although my Guo family was meritorious, I'm just a civil official. Furthermore, my three brothers have all become officials. If I don't go and help the Emperor, how can I be a third ranked official?"
"But your personal guard died in battle, and even Mister Chen didn't come. I'm afraid he's in trouble." Duniang said softly. The Governor sighed as he stretched out his hands and grabbed her hands, "Duniang …."
The Governor didn't finish his sentence, and both of them were speechless as they looked at each other.
"Your excellency, I've brought the information you requested." A civil official knocked on the door.
"Come in." The Governor sat up straight and motioned for his wife to leave. The civil official then brought a stack of documents and a scroll over to the Governor.
The documents were stamped with cinnabar, and were sealed. The Governor received the documents, and the civil official retreated to the door.
The Governor opened the documents, and saw that it was filled with tiny words. The Governor's expression changed as he read, "I initially thought that this person was acquainted with the third young master of Hou Mansion because he wanted to curry favor with Ji Bei Hou. It seems like that's not the case."
The Governor's wife walked out from behind the screen and asked, "Husband, who are you talking about?"
The Governor laughed, "I'm talking about the newly promoted Top Scorer Pei Zi Yun. Today at the banquet, he managed to kill the assassin. If not, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to meet your husband."
The Governor was joking. The topic earlier was too heavy, and he was trying to lighten the mood.
"Since this person saved you, why do you still want to investigate him?" The Governor's wife was puzzled.
The Governor cleared his throat, "Perhaps it's an envoy? He's trying to gain my trust. Besides, with his martial arts skills, I have to be wary of him. "
"I remember now. These few days, everyone in the city has been talking about 'Bringing in the Wine'. It must have been written by this person. Recently, the wives of the officials came to visit, and they all talked about this person. I've heard that many young ladies were copying his poems, and begging their families to marry him. I didn't expect such a thing to happen." Madam Du said in surprise.
"This person does have some talent in poetry. Tonight, he recited a poem that was not inferior to 'Bringing in the Wine'. It's just that before he could ask for the name of the poem, he was ambushed. These bandits are really despicable."
The Governor continued reading the documents. There were many rumors about Pei Zi Yun before he became an Elementary Scholar. Most of them were about what had happened after he became an Elementary Scholar. The investigation was rather detailed, and there was even information about Pei Zi Yun entering the Dao.
The Governor raised an eyebrow. This person had already written a book.
This was the book that High Scholar Fu had sent to the bookseller. According to the bookseller, it was Pei Zi Yun's new work.
The Governor received the book and was stunned. He read through a few chapters and his expression froze. After some time, he sighed, "This person has written this. In the future, when he studies to become a great scholar, he must read this book."
He then said, "Top Scorer of the 15th High School, with a master's words, 'Bringing in the Wine', 'Mid-Autumn Festival', and this great scholar's book. In the future, not only will his name be known throughout the province, it will also shake the world."
"It's a pity that he's entered a Dao sect."
The Governor's wife then said, "Husband, isn't this a good thing? If this person didn't enter a Dao sect, even with your status, you wouldn't be able to control him. Now, we can hire him to be our advisor. "
"Advisor? Why hire him? Could it be that Madam has heard that he's good at politics or military strategies? "The Governor asked suspiciously.
"Husband, this person has talent and is young. As long as we hire him, he will definitely be of help. Furthermore, it seems that after you met with your advisors, you smashed your teacup. I'm afraid that you aren't satisfied with their opinions and want to recruit him again. Even if he doesn't know how to do it, it's worth a lot of gold to buy his talent." Madam Duniang laughed as she spoke.
Hearing Madam Duniang's words, the Governor paused before regaining his composure. He then reached out and grabbed his wife's hand, "Then how can we hire him as an advisor?"
"Such a person wouldn't be willing to be an advisor. I'll hire him to be a teacher. When he's free, he can give Pan 'er some pointers."
This time, it was Madam Duniang who was surprised, "A teacher? Husband, even if he saved your life, isn't that too much? "
"It's a little too much. But in the future, once this book is published, even if he doesn't have any other works, he will still be able to raise his reputation. In twenty years, he will definitely become a Great Master. If I can form a good relationship with him, not only will it benefit me, but it will also benefit my descendants."
Hearing her husband say this, Madam Duniang paused before realizing, "Husband, you're really crafty."
"Haha!"
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