(Chapter Two.)
Officials fight against officials, have you ever seen the big shots throw away all pretenses and roll up their sleeves to fight in the government office? Don't they all talk about hiding a dagger in a smile and stabbing people in the back? This group of hedonistic daughters came to play this time, more to join in the fun, to support the one surnamed Zhao. They wanted to see with their own eyes the rare scene of the Yellow Dragon Warship smashing a big ship. Who would have thought that this outsider who was on good terms with Wang Linquan was such a tough nut to crack. He brought along a hundred soldiers and bodyguards without saying anything, and even dared to take the initiative to challenge. Oh my, the opponent of the challenge was not a group of family servants, but the two large ships of the Qing Zhou Navy.
In the eyes of the people of Qing Zhou, the Yellow Dragon Warship was already an invincible giant warship. It had always been praised as the main warship of the Qing Dragon Navy that no one could contend against. In these years, it had competed with the other navies in the dynasty, and its ranking was not low. Because of this, Wei Dong's official rank was not too high, but within the borders of Qing Zhou, he dared to blow his beard and glare at the officials who were one or even several ranks higher than him. Even the Prefecture Overseers and County Governors were very amiable to Wei Longwang, and fought to rope him in.
If he did not have the special power of the Qing Zhou Navy, Wei Dong would not be able to raise such a lawless son like Wei Wei. In the state, there was a beloved daughter who was an Imperial Censor in the capital who returned home. Unfortunately, she was raped by Wei Ejiao and then shot to death. That Imperial Censor who did not have a high rank but was able to influence the public opinion was unable to obtain the innocence of his daughter. Wei Longwang only lost the right to command the giant warship, and Wei Wei, who caused the big trouble, was only grounded for half a year before he came out again. It was enough to see how Qing Zhou, which was full of officials in the capital, advanced and retreated together with the independent Qing Party in the imperial court.
It was rumored that the unlucky Qing Liu Imperial Censor wrote a blood-sobbing poem before his death, ridiculing that the Imperial Censor had lost all his strength of character.
One of the lines was even more heart-wrenching: "I said that the Imperial Censor is not as good as a dog, even a dog's bark is as good as a rooster's crow."
Hsu Fengnian once again pointed the spearhead at the son of the most prominent aristocratic family, in order to make the King of Jing An, Zhao Heng, refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases. The bigger the involvement, the bigger the fish that Hsu Fengnian could fish in troubled waters. The Law that put heavy shackles on the vassal kings, to a prince with a different surname, Xu Xiao, the imprisonment was very small. Even the powerful Prince of Guangling had to go to the Zhou Overseer mansion three times in ten days to draw up a report. If he did not reach the deadline, according to the law, he would be detained and sent to the court. The weak Prince of Huainan, Zhao Ying, had many young and strong children who could not get a name and could not get married.
However, the King of Beiliang, who carried a blade to court, had not visited Liangzhou's Zhou Overseer mansion once in more than ten years. Every time Xu Xiao returned, it would always be the previous Zhou Overseer, Yan Jiexi, who eagerly went to the prince's mansion to pay his respects. Presumably, Yan Jiexi, who 'defected' from Beiliang, was stifled with resentment. No wonder after arriving in the capital, he became the most fiercely critical and loyal minister of Beiliang's military. With his daughter married off to the prince Zhao Yanwu, Yan Jiexi now had the status of a relative. The outside world speculated that he would soon fill the fourth ranked Lingyan Pavilion's Great Scholar position. The Palace Hall's Great Scholar position at the top of the Palace Hall's Great Scholar position was like a great pillar of the country, one of the two great empty titles of the several hundred year old dynasty, something that no one dared to hope for.
If Zhang Julu took another step forward, he might have a chance of seizing this special honor and laurel. Only, with Grand Secretary Zhang's ability to endure patiently for twenty years, he most likely wouldn't let himself be roasted on a stove like his political enemy, Xu Xiao.
Only, Hsu Fengnian seemed to have underestimated the courage and insight of Wei Wei, this group of Qingzhou hedonists who were used to being vicious and merciless. Wei Wei's arrow didn't do anything, and then when he heard Hsu Fengnian ask if he dared to fight, he was so angry that he wanted to die. He turned around and ordered the ship general who had always obeyed his orders, "Use the battering pole!"
The battering pole was a powerful weapon in naval warfare, especially in close quarters battles between large warships. It was destined that one couldn't use the hook to overturn the ship. Skilled sailors would often smear a thick layer of medicinal paste on their sails to block fire and attack, ultimately relying on this battering pole to smash down. The battering pole was like a large mast, more than ten zhang in length. On top of it was a giant rock, below it was a mechanism. When the enemy ship approached, the battering pole would smash it to pieces.
Hsu Fengnian turned around to look at Ning Emei and Wei Shuyang, saying with a light laugh, "To measure a navy's strength, we can look at how many times the battering pole is clumsily used. In my opinion, this Qingzhou Navy can only use it twice at most, if they want to use it three times, they'll have to burn incense high. Compared to the Guangling Navy, they are far inferior. "
While they were talking and laughing, the Qingzhou Yellow Dragon had already begun to prepare the battering pole. Under the command of the two generals on the ship, the helmsman and the Yellow Dragon responsible for battering the pole began to get busy under the command of Qiao Zhuoshi. The men and women who were standing on the third floor returned to the cabin. Wei Wei and a few fierce young masters whose hands were tainted with murder cases sat by the window to watch the battle. The young master who was scolded and beaten by Hsu Fengnian raised a cup of wine. He did not drink, but only continuously twirled the porcelain cup with his fingers. His face was as calm as water. He sat alone in front of the table, no one dared to approach him. This young master who was usually known for his elegance and simplicity in Qingzhou was like a coiled poisonous snake.
The young ladies in silk and satin sleeves gathered together and whispered. Originally, there were one or two girls who leaned towards the Qingzhou Yellow Dragon, but unexpectedly, they were affected by the chatter of their companions. Their eyes were shining as they recounted the good things about the young master from other places. They talked about how heroic and elegant he was, how beautiful he had a pair of beautiful eyes, and how powerful he was when he wielded his blade. Those who were not firm in their stance immediately changed sides and could not wait to run out and cheer for the unknown white-robed young master.
When the young ladies who were born in a rich family but lived a peaceful life gathered together, what they talked about the most was the interesting men they met. Apart from that outstanding young master, their family backgrounds were not inferior to Wei Wei and the others, so they naturally didn't need to care about their faces. Qingzhou, where interests were intertwined, was quite xenophobic. As a result, when Wei Wei shot the imperial censor's daughter to death, the Green Party in the court pinched their noses and helped clean up his mess. Moreover, Qingzhou's internal friction was very small. Therefore, no matter how rude and violent Wei Wei was, he could still be considered kind to the women on the ship. He didn't even mind being mocked by them about some embarrassing things. The common people said that he was an evil flood dragon on the river, but they were more than happy to tease him that he was not a dragon, but a worm. Wei Wei did not get angry and accepted it gladly.
The Green Party being able to have its current status, able to compete for power with Grand Secretary Zhang's bloodline, Great General Gu's army, and various old and new noble factions, was inseparable from the blind unity of Qingzhou's rich and powerful young masters.
This was the foundation of the Green Party, whose scholarship was not prominent and governance was more mediocre. Wei Dong understood this well, and so did the Province Overseer Huangfu Song. The old foxes in high positions in the court were even more unswerving. Otherwise, why would they try to push for the marriage between Princess Sui Zhu and Huangfu Song's eldest son, Huangfu Jie? Originally, there was no sign of anything happening, yet the Green Party's big shots were racking their brains to forcefully draw two lines!
"Bringing armored soldiers when traveling, who is this person?" A young lady wearing a pair of pointed lotus root bow shoes asked in a low voice. This question had reached the crux of the matter.
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