knife

Chapter 636 Enduring Injustice and Awaiting the Future
Amidst the raging flames, a figure stumbled onto the Danyang dock. Looking at the destroyed dock, the man knelt on the ground with a thud and wept silently.

A person walked slowly over from behind, stared at him for a moment, then bent down and helped him up.

"General Chen, now is not the time to be sad!"

The one kneeling on the ground is Chen Yan.

The battle at Jinsha Bay was his last gamble.

In fact, he did not want to fight this last battle.

The enemy's morale is high, and although Director Wang is young, he is not so easy to deal with.

However, from the perspective of the imperial court, this battle was a must.

We must not allow Wang Dao's naval fleet to appear outside Danyang City.

The battle, meticulously planned, ultimately could not be won.

"Brother Zhou, the Great Chu Navy has been destroyed in my hands!" Chen Yan cried out in anguish.

“It’s all about timing and fate, you can’t really blame yourself!” Zhou Zheng sighed and said, “Right now, we must muster our remaining strength, go against the current, and turn the tide.”

Chen Yan wiped away his tears: "What else can I do? The navy is gone."

“If we lose our navy, then we’ll build another one!” Zhou Zheng said.

"Build another one?" Chen Yan exclaimed, looking at Zhou Zheng with disbelief.

Zhou Zheng took a few steps toward the burning fire, turned around and looked at Chen Xi. The raging fire illuminated half of his face, while the other half was in shadow, appearing flickering.

“Chen Yan, after this great change, our Great Chu has lost the foundation to contend for supremacy. In this era of great strife, we have been reduced to mere spectators, or even food!” Zhou Zheng said.

"It is my fault!" Chen Yan bowed his head.

Zhou Zheng shook his head: "We are all guilty! So what we need to do next is figure out how not to be swallowed up by ferocious beasts."

"Build another navy?"

“This is just one of them!” Zhou Zheng said. “Fortunately, Linghu Ye and Li Dachui are still far away from us. These two beasts will definitely have to settle their differences before they have time to turn their attention to the south. So our enemy is actually only Jiang Qian for the time being. The area is only so big. We don’t have a navy, so we can’t wipe them out, but they can’t defeat us either.”

Chen Yan nodded.

“Li Dachui planned all of this to stall us and prevent us from joining forces with Linghu Ye,” Zhou Zheng said. “I must say, he succeeded. And he did it with our help.”

Thinking of this, Zhou Zheng felt a sharp pain in his heart.

What were once evenly matched opponents have suddenly become fish on a chopping board; the huge difference is truly unacceptable.

"Next, we need to reorganize our internal affairs, strive to rebuild our navy, and at the same time, create another strong army. Then, we should quietly wait for the victor of the struggle for supremacy in the Central Plains to come and conquer us, just like it has been for the past few centuries!" Zhou Zheng said. "The Qin people have plotted against us for hundreds of years but have never succeeded. The same will happen in the future!" Chen Yan finally mustered some courage.

“Go to Yunwu Mountain!” Zhou Zheng said. “I will get you at least three million taels of silver. How long will it take you to build another navy capable of dominating the great rivers?”

"Three million taels?" Chen Yan couldn't believe it.

“Now that Na Wei is in power, I’m afraid I’ll be kicked out soon. Before I’m kicked out, I’ll transfer the money to you! As for other people and things, I’ll give you whatever I can. If it’s not enough, you’ll have to figure it out yourself!” Zhou Zheng said.

"Is Prefect Zhou leaving the capital?"

"Definitely!" Zhou Zheng nodded. "Na Wei can't touch Chief Minister Xiong, but he certainly won't tolerate me. I'll probably be sent to a place like Yicheng or Xuan'an to be a local official! But don't worry, Na Wei won't do anything to you. After all, he knows how important the navy is to us. As long as you show him progress and hope, he will continue to support you."

“It’s easy to recruit manpower, and training only takes about a year. The key is shipbuilding. The Yunwu Mountain Shipyard is not large. Even if there are enough craftsmen and materials, it can only build a dozen or twenty warships at most in a year.”

"Then expand the shipyards!" Zhou Zhengdao said. "Anyway, our shipyards along the river are definitely doomed. Director Wang will absolutely not tolerate their existence. He'll move all those craftsmen and equipment to Yunwu Mountain! Chen Yan, for the next few years, don't think about anything else, just focus on rebuilding the navy. Only when we have the strength to fight the enemy can we reappear on the Yangtze River."

"This humble general will do his utmost. On the day the navy is formed, this humble general will surely avenge this humiliation!" Chen Yan said fiercely, clenching his fist.

Zhou Zheng sighed: "It's hard to say whether we can avenge this humiliation. Let's try our best to be good watchdogs from now on! Being able to protect this legacy left by our ancestors will be the best we can hope for!"

A loud boom echoed in my ears as the large ship that had been burning on the dock for so long finally collapsed completely, turning into a pile of fragments that fell into the river, with water vapor and thick smoke rising up.

The two turned their heads and silently watched the tragic scene unfold.

"What about the General?"

"Chief Minister Xiong is working hard to organize reinforcements, but given the current situation, it's better than nothing!" Zhou Zheng said. "However, there's no need to worry too much. The General is a master of innate martial arts; even if Yong'an County falls, he will surely be able to return safely!"

As they were speaking, another loud crash was heard, and yet another ship collapsed into pieces right before their eyes.

The muscles in both of their faces twitched involuntarily a few times.

"Can Wei do a good job as an assistant to the government?" Chen Yan asked.

Zhou Zheng smiled bitterly, "In chaotic times, might makes right. It's ironic, really. We had to go to great lengths to invite Na Wei here. It's like inviting a wolf into your house. It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send him away. Na Wei seized the opportunity when we were at our weakest. Now Danyang City is his, and our lives are his too. Once he mobilizes tens of thousands of troops from the southwest, his position will be even more secure!"

“At this time, leaving Beijing is actually a better choice!” Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, “It will allow us to avoid being influenced by Na Wei as much as possible and concentrate on managing our own region.”

"That's all we can think of!" Zhou Zheng shook his head. "Hopefully, after General Xiang returns, he can join forces with Chief Minister Xiong to counter Na Wei and prevent him from acting recklessly. Otherwise, if it causes the various prefectures to lose their loyalty and Jiang Qian takes advantage of the situation, then we will truly be in deep trouble."

"Na Wei shouldn't do anything foolish, after all, he's someone who's managed the Southwest region very well!"

“People think differently depending on their position!” Zhou Zheng said, “The southwest is impoverished. Under our pressure, he walks on thin ice and is naturally cautious, afraid of making a mistake. But now, he has become a person second only to the king in Chu. Once he has any thoughts, he is very likely to cause trouble! The situation in the southwest is completely different from the situation in other parts of Chu!”

The two looked at each other, their faces filled with helplessness.

Who can say what will happen in the future? When you no longer have control and are left only to drift with the tide, how can you know where the next wave will hit?
(End of this chapter)