The King of Western India felt that he had completely lost face. The entire Western India court had lost face. He reached out and touched his rough face. He felt a little hot. Although no one had touched his face before, the hot feeling was so strong that he had to gently stroke it with his hand to make himself feel a little better.
The chief officer of the port knew that the King would definitely be angry when he returned to the yamen. How could he not see the King's livid face and suppressed anger along the way? However, he had no good way to deal with it.
After all, he also deeply felt that this time, he had lost too much face. His own face was a little hot and his anger was not small. However, in front of the King, no matter how angry he was, he could not get angry. He could only lower his head and accept the King's anger.
The King had already lost his temper. He could only stand there and listen, like a wooden stake. Moreover, it was a wooden stake with a lowered head.
He did not dare to have the slightest explanation, let alone any words of comfort to the King. Because in this case, any words of comfort would only make the King angrier and he would suffer more severe scoldings. Silence was the best way.
Just like the men in the future, when faced with the unreasonable tantrums of their female companions, they would always choose to respond with silence, and this was always the best response. If they argued with reason, it would definitely make the situation worse. Therefore, the smartest thing to do was to completely ignore the temper of their female companions and quietly wait for her to vent her anger. Then, they would slowly deal with her. Slapping her fiercely was absolutely not an option. Otherwise, the anger of the man would have nowhere to be released, and he would have liver problems from holding it in.
Wasn't there such a report in the news in the future? There was a young man who never drank or stayed up late, but he got liver disease. The reason was that he was too angry. His wife always made him angry, and he had nowhere to vent. So, all his anger was bottled up in his heart. Over time, he got a very serious liver disease at a young age.
Why did officials like to find concubines and have multiple wives? It was because officials had to face much more pressure than ordinary people. They had to face pressure from their superiors and perfunctory attitude from their subordinates. They also had to face all kinds of challenges and pressures. This was a great test for a person's heart. It was very important to vent the pressure in one's heart appropriately. Women were undoubtedly a very good way to vent. All men liked this way of venting. It was the only thing that men had in common.
The chief officer of the port also felt a little wronged. He had worked hard for Western Tianzhu and had never thought of being disloyal or rebellious. However, it was really too much for so many port merchants to strongly criticize the Western Tianzhu imperial court with such harsh words. These merchants lived under his rule and he had an unshirkable responsibility. He had to admit this point, so there was no way for him to defend himself.
"Why are you all mute? Don't you have anything to say?"
The King of Western Tianzhu saw that the port officials all lowered their heads and did not speak. The anger in his heart became even greater. He wanted to rush over and give each of them a big slap.
The port official still did not speak. When the other officials saw that the highest official did not speak, they naturally kept silent. Moreover, they did not know what to say. They seemed a little confused.
"Good, very good. Since you all don't speak, I'll say it."
The King of Western Tianzhu was very angry. He looked at the port officials and asked, "The merchants here have a deep resentment against Western Tianzhu. How can such heavy resentment be formed in a day? It's impossible. It must have been accumulated over a long time. That's why they can say such harsh words. You are all local officials. Don't you understand the complaints of the merchants? Why don't you submit a memorial to the court? Why? Why do you take my salary but do nothing? Are you here to make a living?"
This complaint expressed the King of Western Tianzhu's inner thoughts. He was very dissatisfied with these officials because they did not fulfill their responsibility to appease the local merchants.
These officials were also very aggrieved because they did not do it on purpose. They had long known that the merchants had complaints in their hearts, but the merchants were all afraid of death. No matter how resentful they were, they did not dare to contradict the officials. This time, if it were not for the support of the troops of the Tang Dynasty, these merchants would not have dared to be presumptuous, especially if they did not appease the merchants well. It was better to say that it was the arrival of the troops of the Tang Dynasty that made these merchants' wings suddenly harden, causing them to dare to say anything.
In other words, the troops of the Tang Dynasty were the culprits that caused these merchants to speak rudely. However, the port officials could not say that, because it would anger the King even more and make the King feel that his kingdom was too weak. Then, more anger would be transferred to them.
With a bellyful of resentment and nowhere to vent, these officials were also quite angry in their hearts. They could not wait for the king to quickly vent his anger and leave. Then, they could return to their mansions and properly dote on the beauties at home to vent their anger.
The King was very angry and was very dissatisfied with the officials in front of him. Of course, he would not let these guys go so easily. At least, he had to vent his anger and make these officials realize their mistakes. Only then could he let them go.
"I'm asking you a question. You answer. "
The King of Western Tianzhu directly asked the chief officer of the port to answer.
Seeing that the King's anger had eased a little, the chief officer of the port took a step forward and replied, "Your Majesty, the merchants here have been robbed by pirates. It's no secret that they hate pirates. Some of the merchants did ask the imperial court to send troops to eliminate the pirates. I have also gone to the capital to complain about this, but I have not received a reply. Moreover, the port hundreds of miles to the northwest is very far from here. It is not within my jurisdiction, so I can't ask too much."
After that, he stood there uneasily.
"You went to the capital to complain. How come I don't know who you complained to?"
The King continued to ask.
In order to protect himself, the chief officer of the port could only drag out a certain official. In fact, he did not mention this matter to anyone at all because he knew that the imperial court did not want to care about the pirates in the northwest. Naturally, he would not touch this bad luck.
However, now that such a big thing had happened, someone had to be the scapegoat. Otherwise, this matter would not be easy to pass. The chief officer of the port was certainly unwilling to be the scapegoat. It was even more unrealistic to let the King take the blame.
The culprit who caused the current situation was the official in the imperial court who suggested that the King should not interfere with the pirates and let the pirates act as a buffer force. The chief officer of the port guessed that the angry King would definitely not let this official off, so he simply brought it up first and added the crime of deceiving his superiors and concealing the truth. This would give the King more reason to punish this official and finally clear his suspicion.
The rest of the port officials saw that the chief officer of the port had said so and the King's face was a little better, so they also added insult to injury and revealed the matter of this official and a certain general receiving benefits from the pirates on a monthly basis.
This kind of thing was known to all the officials in Western Tianzhu. Perhaps only the Emperor, who lived in the palace, was not aware of this matter. With so many officials making trouble together and pointing out such a thing, the King had no choice but to believe it.
Now that there was a scapegoat, there was a way to give the merchants an explanation. This would be of great benefit to re-elevating the prestige of the Western Tianzhu imperial court. The King's anger gradually dissipated.
"I really didn't expect that the two officials that I trusted so much would actually disregard the interests of the imperial court and the interests of the merchants and the people for their own personal interests. It's really hateful. Such people must be severely punished. Otherwise, how can we explain to the people of the country?"
The King of Western Tianzhu said loudly.
"The King is wise, the King is wise."
All the officials in the port breathed a sigh of relief and began to praise the King.
The King's mood finally improved a little. He immediately issued an order to summon the two culprits to the port city and arrest and deal with them here. He wanted the merchants in the port to see that it was not that the Western Tianzhu imperial court did not crack down on the pirates, but that some bad people blocked the way of speech, which eventually led to such a bad outcome.
The capital was not very far away, and the place where the general was stationed was not far away. As long as the execution was carried out immediately, the two men would definitely be able to make it in time by riding overnight. This was also the main reason why the King of Western Tianzhu summoned them first and then arrested them. If they were arrested first, they must be escorted by a prisoner carriage. In this way, they would definitely not be able to make it the next day. In this way, they would miss the opportunity to be dealt with together with the pirates, and it would be even more difficult for the pirates to confront the two men face to face.
Above the vast sea, a steam gunship of the Tang Dynasty fleet was moving quickly. This gunship came from a pirate nest in the northwest. More than a hundred pirates were tied to the deck of the ship.
Yes, the task of this steam gunship was to escort these captured pirates to the port of Western Tianzhu where Ang Lee was at the fastest speed.
The cold sea breeze blew on these pirates, making them look quite lonely. Their bodies were tied up with ropes, making it difficult for them to move and very uncomfortable.
The wind was not a big deal, but after the wind blew, the heavy rain fell from the sky and hit the bodies of these pirates unscrupulously, making them shiver a little.
Usually, when they robbed merchant ships at sea, they looked quite awe-inspiring. At this moment, they were tied to the steam gunship and looked quite embarrassed. There was more or less some fear on their faces. They did not know what fate was waiting for them. It would be a lie to say that they were not afraid.
After the heavy rain fell, they looked even more like drowned rats. Many pirates closed their eyes in pain to prevent the rain from entering their eyes and making them suffer. Their mouths were closed, and even their heads were tilted forward to block the rain from pouring on their faces.
"Damn the weather. It's raining just like that. I really didn't expect it."
A general of the Tang Dynasty stood in a room that could block the rain, cursing.
When they set off, the reason why they tied these pirates to the deck and not to the cabin was because this was a combat ship, and the cabin was not particularly large. It would be very troublesome to place these pirates separately, and it would not be good for guarding.
Secondly, the air quality in the cabin was not very good. These pirates were dirty, and some were even injured. If they were placed in the cabin, the cabin would be full of an unpleasant smell. If they were placed on the deck, there would be no such problem. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty also loved cleanliness. Of course, they did not want dirty pirates to pollute the environment of the cabin.
Thirdly, the journey was not far. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty did not expect that it would rain halfway, so they did not think there was any problem with tying these pirates to the deck.
"General, it's raining heavily. What should we do with them?"
A captain saw that the pirates were very pitiful under the rain and asked.
The general sighed and asked, "How long will it take to reach the port?"
The order they carried out was to escort the captured pirates to the port where Ang Lee was. If these pirates died halfway, they would not have completed the task well.
"It will probably take another four hours."
The subordinate replied.
The general thought for a moment and then smiled contemptuously. "It's only two hours. Let them be in the rain! They won't die anyway. "
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty did not have a good impression of these evil pirates. Although some of the Tang Dynasty's soldiers were also integrated with the pirates of the Malacca Sea, these pirates had been in the Tang Dynasty's army for a long time and had almost forgotten that they were pirates before. Naturally, they would not sympathize with these captured pirates.
The steam gunships of the Tang Dynasty were still moving to the port at the highest speed. The sudden strong storm did not interfere with the progress of the steam gunships of the Tang Dynasty at all. As for the pirates on the deck who were soaked in the rain, no one cared about them. With the physique of the pirates, they would not die even if they were soaked in the rain for a while. Instead, the rain could wash the filth on their bodies.
The storm did not stop the steam gunships of the Tang Dynasty, nor did it stop the two ministers of West Tianzhu. After receiving the urgent letter from the King, they immediately rode to the port. In order to arrive at the port as quickly as possible, they and their entourage prepared three times the number of horses. They took turns riding to save the strength of the horses and achieve continuous fast travel.
Of course, they never dreamed that the King asked them to go there to arrest and punish them. If they had known this, they would not have worked so hard to come here.
The rain was limited to the sea. There was no rain in the port city and the nearby land. Therefore, the two ministers of West Tianzhu arrived before noon and went to see their King in confusion. They really did not know why the King asked them to come here in such a hurry.
In the government office of the port city, the two ministers saw their King as they wished and bowed to salute.
"Your Majesty, you asked us to come here in such a hurry. What happened?"
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