Fu Shanhe

Chapter 127 The war resumes
"Commander-in-Chief, after the prisoners' confessions, we have basically determined the identity of this group of pirates.

Originally they were called the Skeleton Thieves, but they changed their name to the Heroes' Association two months ago.

The leader was a scholar, nicknamed Eagle by the people in the world.

He likes his subordinates to call him the ship owner, and no one knows his real identity.

It is said that this person joined the gang last year and quickly rose to the top with his amazing strategy.

Before this, they had been active in the Yellow Sea, mainly robbing ships traveling to and from Japan, and occasionally robbing ships going to Goguryeo.

Some time ago, they committed a major crime in Shandong, which attracted the encirclement and suppression of the Shandong Navy, so they chose to move south to avoid the limelight.

When docking for supplies, they accidentally encountered a salt ship and became malicious.

After looting the salt field, for some unknown reason, Xiong Ying changed his usual cautiousness and suddenly ordered an attack on Nantong Prefecture.

......"

After listening to the report from Yu Zhihua, the captain of the criminal justice department, Li Mu instantly realized that something was wrong.

There are wrong names, but there are no wrong nicknames.

Nicknamed the Eagle by the underworld, the leader of this group of pirates is definitely not an ordinary person.

If a smart person suddenly does something stupid, there must be a reason behind it.

Since they chose to go south to avoid the limelight, they should have kept a low profile instead of rashly besieging the state capital.

It is completely understandable that he had malicious intentions when seeing the salt ship and decided to take advantage of it on the spur of the moment.

However, according to the pirates' style, they could just rob these ships and that would be it.

Landing to rob the salt fields was already considered out of line, and attacking the provincial capital was courting death.

Having angered the imperial court, this group of little pirates will definitely not have a good ending.

“He likes to be called the ship owner. Could this person be the descendant of the Wufeng ship owner?

Or maybe he simply admires the pirate king and wants to take him as a role model?"

No one could answer Li Mu's question.

Pirates are creatures of all kinds, and their thinking cannot be judged by common sense.

The far-sighted "eagle" goes into a short-sighted and deadly business.

It seems incredible, but it may not be the case for pirates.

"General, perhaps it has something to do with the situation in the court.

According to historical experience, as long as someone in the court proposes to lift the maritime ban, there will be trouble in the coastal areas. "

Lan Linjie said cryptically.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

If common sense cannot explain a problem, then it can only be explained by interests.

Lifting the maritime ban will break the vested interest groups' monopoly on maritime trade, and they will definitely take action.

Either direct control or indirect influence.

More than half of the pirates active overseas are related to families engaged in maritime trade.

The purpose of keeping so many henchmen outside is not only to attack competitors, but also to intimidate the imperial court.

As long as the imperial court wanted to open the sea ban, the pirates would become active and spread the war smoke throughout the coastal provinces.

“Not like!
As far as I know, neither the Cabinet nor the six ministries have expressed their views on the issue of lifting the maritime ban.

The call for opening the sea only remained among middle and lower-level officials.

Similar probing behaviors occur every year and there is no need to react violently.

Even if these people are really behind the scenes, they can just make some noise and demonstration along the coast, and there is no need to attack Nantong Prefecture.

If these pirates had just robbed and run away as they did in the past, we would not have been able to catch them at all.

The same amount of time is enough for them to commit several major crimes without much risk.

Both the economic benefits and the political impact are much greater than being confined to one place.

According to the interrogation results, most of the pirates were opposed to attacking Nantong Prefecture, and it seemed more like the pirate leader was acting on his own will.

The most common reason that can make a wise person do something suicidal is hatred.

Judging from the time, Xiong Ying had already become a pirate before the officials of Nantong Prefecture took office.

The local people had already been harmed by the rebels.

The probability of local officials being retaliated against for their evil deeds is not high.

On the contrary, the remnants of the salt merchant group that was wiped out by the imperial court are more likely to be the perpetrators.

Forget it, everything will be answered once we catch the pirate leader.

Send someone to inform the officials of Nantong Prefecture, saying that the pirate invasion is intended to retaliate against them, and ask them what big things they have done recently! "

Li Mu shook his head and said.

Instead of wasting time on yourself, it is better to make others suffer.

Throwing the problem to Nantong Prefecture, knowing that they were being targeted by pirates, the local officials would naturally work hard to investigate.

……

Jiangnan Naval Office.

"what?"

"Let's find someone to take the responsibility and make meritorious contributions.

This is impossible!

Absolutely impossible! "

Duan Ganhong refused outright.

Plans cannot keep up with changes. The team originally wanted to use the pirate invasion to play a game with the Nanjing Military Department, but it turned out to be a complete failure.

The victory of the Yangzhou Camp on the battlefield caused the Yangzhou Prefecture to lose its dependence on them.

The internal factional struggle within the civil service group suddenly pushed them to the forefront.

Xu Ge Lao's faction wanted them to stand up and bite the Nanjing Ministry of War, while the Nanjing Ministry of War wanted them to take the initiative to shoulder the responsibility.

As a veteran who has been in officialdom for many years, Duan Ganhong is very clear about how fierce the political struggle is at this time.

Once someone is assigned to take responsibility, all previous matters will become the responsibility of the Jiangnan Naval Office.

It is not possible for the people below to shoulder such a huge blame, and it will most likely fall on him in the end.

Even if you can make amends for your crime, you will still suffer a lot afterwards.

He was most afraid that the infighting within the civil service camp would escalate. The bigwigs in the Nanjing Military Department were too busy with their own affairs to bother saving him.

Being dismissed from office is the lightest punishment, but if things go wrong you might even end up going to the imperial prison.

It is equally wrong to stand with Xu Ge Lao's faction and bite the Nanjing Ministry of War.

Not to mention how much this practice of biting back at superiors is hated in official circles.

During the time they worked together, he had countless evidence on him, which fell into the hands of the Nanjing Ministry of War.

They could have gotten rid of him before he fell.

"Master Duan, don't rush to refuse.

Yangzhou Prefecture has already submitted a memorial to the court, impeaching the Jiangnan Navy Office for inaction. They are Xu Ge Lao's people, and the six ministries in Nanjing are incapable of suppressing the matter.

If nothing unexpected happens, the court will most likely send someone to investigate.

This accident was certainly caused by the arrears of military funds.

Don’t you, the Jiangnan Naval Office, have any responsibility at all?
Don't tell me that all your warships are under maintenance.

According to Dayu law, the maintenance of the navy's warships is carried out in turns.

Even if some warships are affected, you can still send troops to deal with this group of pirates.

The problem is that you didn't take any action beforehand, and even after the incident happened, you still didn't take action immediately.

Even after receiving the silver for marching, you still did not take military action.

It's not easy to fool people nowadays.

If the imperial envoy finds out something, your life will be in danger!"

Yin Dengjia warned bluntly.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that the Jiangnan Naval Office was dragging its feet because it was dissatisfied with their arrears in military funding.

If the Yangzhou camp's military operation fails, everyone can only rely on the Jiangnan Navy to clean up the mess.

For the sake of the overall situation, all parties can only coax them.

Then all the problems of the Jiangnan Navy are not a big deal.

Unfortunately, they made a wrong judgment and not only lost their support, but also were caught by others.

"Master Yin, I am not easily frightened.

If the court wants to send people to investigate, let them do it.

There are indeed some problems with the Jiangnan Naval Office, but compared with some people, our problems are nothing.

Even if the imperial court wants to settle accounts, I will not be lonely even on my way to the underworld!"

Duan Ganhong said indifferently.

When they failed to coax him into taking the blame, they tried to use threats to force him to be the scapegoat.

Once you agree to it, your life or death will be in danger.

At this moment, he was betting that he was just an innocent victim and not the primary target.

"Don't be anxious, Master Duan, we are not asking you to take the blame.

The Jiangnan Navy has been dispatched, if they can capture the pirate leader.

Help the victim recover his losses, there is still room for recovery.

If it really doesn't work, you can find a poor unlucky guy, charge him with colluding with pirates to sabotage warships, and make him commit suicide out of fear of punishment.

Anyway, I have come up with the idea for you. It is up to you to decide whether to do so or not, Sir Duan.

Don’t forget the victim this time, his identity is extraordinary.

What if they thought that Lord Duan had old ties with the Seven Great Famous Houses of Lianghuai and were dissatisfied with the court's actions and deliberately watched their salt fields being attacked?

The consequences are beyond our control!"

Yin Dengjia's threat made Duan Ganhong's face change drastically.

He was so focused on negotiating with the civil servants that he ignored the identity of the salt field owner. This was undoubtedly his biggest failure.

Thinking of the swift action of the Yangzhou Camp, Duan Ganhong was so angry that he wanted to curse.

This was not an effort to eliminate pirates, it was clearly a show put on for the powerful people in the court.

With such positive examples as a backdrop, it was hard not to arouse envy for the Jiangnan Navy, which had been slow to take action.

It is easy to say that compensating the victims for their losses, but the problem is whether you can afford it.

There is no doubt about the destructive power of pirates. After being wreaked by such havoc by them, there is no way we can resume production in the short term.

With the huge profits in the salt industry, the daily income is not a small number.

"hehe……

Lord Yin, since we know that the owner of the salt field is extraordinary, why is our money still in arrears?

Is it that I, Duan, have a past relationship with the Lianghuai family, or is it that the people in your Ministry of War have connections with them? This question probably needs to be thoroughly investigated.

It is said that the Lianghuai salt merchants spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year to manage the expenses of the six ministries in Nanjing, and the Ministry of War should have received a lot!

You should know that when we were suppressing the rebels of the seven great families, you kept shirking your responsibilities and even offended Elder Xu."

Duan Ganhong's words directly broke the window paper.

The Nanjing Ministry of War was trying to find something to hold against him, and he was also trying to find something to hold against the officials in the Ministry of War.

The current situation is that both sides hold a bunch of charges against the other side.

Once the fight breaks out, both sides will most likely perish together.

At this moment, Yin Dengjia no longer has the calmness and composure he had before.

I thought this was an easy target, but it turned out to be an old fox.

He tried every possible means of coercion and inducement, but the other party just wouldn't take the bait.

"General, the Ministry of War has issued an urgent dispatch order!"

Master Wang's voice broke the stalemate in the room.

According to convention, the transfer order of the Nanjing Military Department would be added with a prefix, and those without a prefix would be the Beijing Military Department.

The order was passed directly to the Jiangnan Navy without going through the Nanjing Ministry of War. Something big must have happened.

"bring here!"

Duan Ganhong responded casually.

After opening the document, Duan Ganhong, who had originally had a sullen face, suddenly revealed a smile.

“The Liaodong War broke out, and the imperial court asked our Jiangnan Navy to escort food and fodder to the Liaodong Military Command.

Lord Yin, the fighting situation on the front line is urgent.

I will go and prepare now. Excuse me now!"

After saying that, Duan Ganhong turned around and left.

For him, this war came at the right time.

When working in the government, the most frightening thing is to be worthless.

It had been less than a year since the last war, and even though the court was making every effort to prepare, the strategic supplies stockpiled on the front lines were still insufficient.

When the war suddenly broke out, the value of the navy was revealed.

Whether it is to harass the enemy's rear or to transport food and fodder to the army on the front line, the navy is needed.

The war on the front line is urgent, and the court needs the navy to remain stable. They will definitely not move him, the commander-in-chief of the navy, in the short term.

At worst, I can work harder when performing the mission and try to make some small contributions on the Liaodong front.

Once you become a hero, the things that happened before will no longer be a big deal.

In essence, he was the unlucky guy who was affected by this storm.

……

(End of this chapter)