The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 75: Taihu Lake Bandits
At sunset, all the officials under Suzhou's jurisdiction had just arrived.

Although those in the city arrived early, the magistrates and county magistrates from several counties outside were late because they were far away, even if they rode horses.

The commander of the Taihu Water Camp was outside the city and arrived later.

The Song Dynasty had a navy. There was a battalion of sailors in each of the large lakes such as Taihu Lake, Poyang Lake, and Dongting Lake. There were also battalions of sailors along the coast, but the navy on the coast was more highly organized than those on the lakes.

At this time, red candles were burning brightly in the prefectural hall, making it as bright as day.

Zhao Ti sat on his chair and glanced at both sides, with scholars on the left and military officers on the right, each with a different expression.

The first one on the left is the Tongpan of Suzhou, who looks happy. The prefectural and county officials have always been at odds with the Tongpan. The Tongpan has the power to supervise the local areas and can report directly to the emperor. The prefectural and county officials must be on guard against him, and this Tongpan of Suzhou is also a member of the New Party.

The first one on the right is the military commander of Suzhou. He has a dark face, a beard, a somewhat confused expression, and a forced smile. It is obvious that he is not a person who is used to flattery.

As for those in charge of transfer, prison escort, warehouse closing, and judicial examination, their expressions were different. Most of them were cautious, looking straight ahead, not daring to make the slightest inappropriate movement.

Zhao Ti looked around and said calmly, "Bandits are growing in Suzhou, but Wang Zhongyan did not investigate and let them run wild. He has been imprisoned by me. Do you have anything to say?"

The officials had more or less known the news before, but they still felt a sinking feeling in their hearts when they heard it.

Although Suzhou is not a capital city, it is extremely prosperous and has water transportation. The prefect is a fourth-rank official, which is the same rank as the capital cities of some poor and remote military regions.

More importantly, Wang Zhonglang was the son of Wang Gui, who had been prime minister for three dynasties. Although Wang Gui had died a few years ago, there were many officials in his family, and his students and former officials were everywhere. The Prince of Yan was able to mobilize them at will.

There was no way around this matter. I heard that the man was carried out of the yamen and thrown out directly, and then his official hat was knocked off in the street and he was taken directly to the prison.

The Prince of Yan was from the New Party, and Wang Zhonglang was from the Old Party. At this moment, all people were thinking about was the word "party struggle".

Party struggles are a life-and-death fight. Not only do you want to overthrow the other side, but you also want to tattoo the other side's men and send them into exile, and send the women to the Jiaofangsi. You won't give up until the other side is completely powerless to turn over.

Zhao Ti looked at everyone, and knowing their intentions from their expressions, he sneered, "No one has anything to say?"

The civil officials remained silent. Regardless of whether this matter was true or false, it was the prefect's responsibility and had nothing to do with their duties.

The military commander on the right couldn't hold back any more, so he opened his mouth, then stood up cautiously and saluted, "Your Majesty, I have been an official in Suzhou for many years, but I have never seen any big thieves."

As soon as he said this, everyone around him was shocked, thinking that this idiot might lose his official position. Being kicked out of the Military Affairs Office is a small matter, but being thrown into prison is a big matter. He is not a member of the old party, so why should he get involved in such things!

Zhao Ti glanced at him and said, "Sun Qianxia, can you tell me what's going on?"

This military officer's surname is Sun and his name is Sun Tong. He has been in this position for many years and has never been promoted. It is difficult for military officers to be promoted. There are a limited number of local military positions, but there are only so many military officers who can move up to the next level. There is only one position for each person, and since he is a bit honest, it will be even more difficult for him to be promoted.

Sun Tong actually felt a little regretful when he stood up, but now he was in a difficult situation and could only bite the bullet and say, "Your Majesty, I have been in Suzhou for a long time. Every day, the soldiers also cooperate with the state government to catch thieves. There are indeed thieves in the rivers and lakes, but I have never seen any thieves who have been entrenched and are growing stronger..."

Zhao Ti looked at him for a few seconds and said calmly, "Did you also go to suppress the bandits on Taihu Lake?"

"Ah..." Sun Tong was stunned when he heard this, and his expression suddenly became awkward. It turned out that he was talking about Taihu Lake. He couldn't help but think that he was reckless and might be punished. There were indeed thieves on Taihu Lake, but he had never gone up to suppress them. Taihu Water Camp was directly under the jurisdiction of the road level, and was managed by both the state government and the prefecture, so they were not his subordinates.

This place has been infested with pirates since ancient times. Some of the fishermen are fierce. They serve the people when they are fishing, but become pirates when they are not fishing. They have never been completely eliminated.

Taihu Lake has a circumference of more than 2,000 kilometers, with a lakeshore of about 400 kilometers. There are rolling hills and mountains on the west and plains and waterways on the east. There are nearly 100 large islands and countless small ones.

Taihu Lake has numerous rivers, ports and estuaries, with more than fifty named rivers flowing in and out.

It is actually very difficult to completely wipe out the pirates in a place like this, which is far from being comparable to Guifanlou. After Guifanlou was destroyed, as long as people are sent to guard the water mouth day and night, strictly guarding against it and not allowing anyone to enter, there is almost no chance that the pirates will revive.

The area of Taihu Lake is countless times larger than Guifan Tower, and it is open to the sky, so it is impossible to watch over and defend it. Not to mention that it is impossible to completely wipe it out. Even if one can really go to great lengths to eliminate it this time, the next one will come again not long after.

"Your Majesty, your humble subject, your humble subject..." Sun Tong hesitated and didn't know what to say.

Zhao Ti pressed his hand, and Sun Tong felt as if he had been pardoned. He sat back in his chair trembling with fear, sweat dripping from his forehead.

The commander of the Taihu Lake Water Camp behind him grinned and stood up in a hurry, thinking that it was really a case of "when you are at home, disaster comes from the sky", how could the Taihu Lake pirates be wiped out completely? Not to mention that his 500 men spread out on the lake surface without seeing any water, even if there were 5,000 or 50,000, it would be useless, the pirates would run away, the soldiers could not stay on the water, the pirates would come back after they left.

"Commander Jiang, are there any thieves on Taihu Lake?" Zhao Ti asked.

"Your Majesty, this... is available." The commander of the water camp said in fear and trepidation.

"How long has it been?" Zhao Ti had a blank expression.

"Your Majesty... this, this has been going on for a long time." The commander of the water camp thought that his family was not a member of the old party. With his rank and as a military officer, he was not qualified even if he wanted to join the old party. The Taihu lake pirates had never been wiped out even after dynasties changed, so why were they being held accountable for this?

The other officials all changed color and were silent for a moment. As long as there is water, such as the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, there must be thieves everywhere. If they use lake thieves as an excuse, then there is no solution to this matter. Wouldn't it be possible to catch anyone they want? The SCO law also made the other party speechless. The King of Yan was really smart.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty..." The commander of the water camp was startled when he saw the faces of the people. These civil servants were all full of bad intentions. If these people's faces turned green, it must be a big disaster. Losing the official position is a small matter, but he must not lose his head.

“But your majesty, the pirates on Lake Taihu are impossible to wipe out…” The commander of the water camp had to clarify. He was not a civil servant, and most of the mistakes he made would be demoted. However, military officers would be held accountable for serious crimes.

"I know!" Zhao Ti interrupted him and said, "Taihu Lake has been plagued by bandits since ancient times and is difficult to pacify."

"Ah?" The commander of the water camp was immediately stunned, and everyone was also stunned.

"I am talking about those who have been in power for many years, have built up great power, traveled around the world, and have evil ambitions." Zhao Ti said calmly.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. The water camp commander was stunned for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something and his face turned grim.

"I want to ask you, do you know that there is a Yanziwu Canhe Manor deep in the reeds in the Taihu River?

(End of this chapter)