Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 369 Decision-making and Getting Ashore

September 8th, Hangzhou, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Hall.

At 7:45 PM, the hall was brightly lit, the candles were burning and crackling, and candle wax dripped all over the table, but no one bothered to clean it up.

Pingzhang Zhengshi Dashi Tiemuer sat in the main seat, his face grim.

The Left Chancellor, a barbarian, sat at the lower end, his right hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles white.

Right Chancellor Hububuqa sat opposite him, holding an urgent report in his hand. He looked at it over and over several times, but then put it down.

Vice Chancellor Su Tianjue was the last to arrive. As he entered, the corner of his robe fluttered in the wind, and he had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

As for the other political participant, I heard he's sick and is staying home.

"Sit." Dashitemür gestured to the empty seat, without exchanging pleasantries.

After Su Tianjue sat down, he glanced at everyone's expressions.

"Fang Guozhen's fleet appeared off the coast of Qingyuan the day before yesterday," Dashi Temur said. "Yesterday, it appeared again off the coast of Ganpu Port in Jiaxing. Patrol boats saw it from afar; there were over a hundred ships, a formidable force. The entire Jiaxing was shaken, and officials and civilians began fleeing inland—"

The matter is very serious and has a very bad impact; everyone here feels very heavy-hearted.

What's most frustrating is that they currently lack effective means of retaliation.

Qingyuan Road was originally the seat of the coastal Wanhu government. The only dozen or so ships left behind dared not leave the port and could only be transported to Hangzhou via inland waterways. Once in Hangzhou, they still dared not leave the port, since the main force was all gone. How could they let the old, weak, sick and disabled who remained rush to fight?

Ignoring the expressions on everyone's faces, Dashi Temur continued, "Ganpu has salt fields, a maritime trade office, and a patrol office, but no garrison. The Pizhou Wanhu Prefecture is dispatching troops there, but it's hard to say whether they can hold them off."

"Over at Qingyuan Road, the main force of the navy has been annihilated, and the remnants of the coastal garrison haven't even been fully reorganized and have already been transferred to Hangzhou. No one can guarantee the actual number of soldiers or their fighting strength of the Qixian garrison. Given this situation, do any of you gentlemen have a good plan?"

The barbarian was unusually quiet this time, not saying a word.

Su Tianjue remained silent.

Only Hubuhu asked, "Is Fang Guozhen planning to attack Hangzhou?"

His tone carried a hint of probing and a touch of worry.

"Not necessarily," Su Tianjue said. "The tides are much later this year. If Fang Guozhen's fleet dares to approach Hangzhou, they're courting death. However—"

Su Tianjue sighed and said, "That's true. The people of Hangzhou are already in a state of panic. This afternoon, rice merchants in Hangzhou started hoarding rice and raising prices; a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice has risen from forty guan to eighty guan. The Hangzhou Circuit's Chief Steward Zhao sent people to investigate, but the rice merchants only said, 'The bandit Fang is coming; there's nothing we can do.'"

Su Tianjue's tone was somewhat heavy, making everyone feel a little uncomfortable.

The barbarian suddenly looked at Dashi Temur and said, "Prime Minister, things have come to this point, we can no longer hesitate. We still have to offer amnesty to Fang Guozhen. We've lost our navy, and our land forces don't know how to fight at sea. If you send troops to the shore to form ranks, Fang Guozhen will just circle around you at sea. You can't catch him, you can't reach him, and your supplies will be wasted. Once you withdraw, he'll come ashore and plunder again. If this continues, the court's funds and provisions will run out, while Fang Guozhen will only get richer and richer. How can we fight this war?"

"Others can be offered amnesty, but we have to wait for a reply from Dadu regarding Fang Guozhen." Dashi Temur rubbed his temples and said, "For now, perhaps the only option is to negotiate peace."

Peace talks? Hubuhu opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

"It's about negotiating peace. Send someone to Fang Guozhen's ship to negotiate terms. Tell him that surrendering is a major matter that requires careful consideration, and we should delay as long as possible," Dashi Temur said with a helpless tone.

Just as the barbarian said, Fang Guozhen can choose any location to land and plunder at will, making it impossible for you to defend against him.

Without a navy, we are in such a passive position.

"Will he agree?" Hubuhu asked.

"Judging from Fang Guozhen, he doesn't seem like that kind of vicious person," said Dashi Temur. "As long as he has eloquence, he might be able to manage things."

Hu Buduhua nodded slightly.

As the most knowledgeable military official in the province, Hu Buhua's self-evident military strategies were completely useless in the current situation because he couldn't catch the enemy at all. Therefore, he didn't call for war against Fang Guozhen and his attitude gradually leaned towards appeasement or peace talks.

Dashi Tiemuer looked at Su Tianjue.

Su Tianjue cupped his hands and said, "Minister, Fang Guozhen's release of the Duerzhiban Councilor and hundreds of prisoners shows that he has been waiting for the court to offer amnesty and has no great ambitions. Although we cannot truly offer amnesty now, we can appease him for now and make further plans after the Central Secretariat gives an explanation."

Dashitemur's gaze fell on the barbarian.

The barbarian gritted his teeth, his expression changing repeatedly, and finally squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Since we're going to recruit Fang Guozhen eventually, we might as well lie to him and say that as long as he makes contributions to the court in the campaign against Shao Shuyi, he'll be appointed as the commander of a route."

"Shao Shuyi?" Dashi Temur frowned.

"Fang Guozhen is causing trouble at sea, while Shao Shuyi is gathering strength in Jiangyin. These two are in the east and west respectively. If they are allowed to communicate, Jiangnan will be in danger," the barbarian said. "But if we let them fight each other, the situation in Jiangnan will be as stable as Mount Tai."

Dashi Temur remained silent for a long time before finally shaking his head. He looked at Su Tianjue and said, "Send an order to send a clerk to depart tonight on fast horse to Jiaxing. Find a way to meet with Fang Guozhen and tell him that the court is willing to talk. The condition is that he must not plunder the prefectures and counties, nor obstruct ships. The court can offer him an official position and provide him with money and provisions, but all of this must wait until he stops fighting."

After speaking, he paused, then added, "Further orders are issued to all prefectures, counties, and districts to strictly guard the borders without fail. Garrison troops stationed inland are to advance towards the coast to prepare for enemy attacks."

The barbarian opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back.

Hubuhu and Su Tianjue both said in unison, "Pingzhang Mingjue."

This is the most rational decision at this moment.

Given this situation, anger is useless; everything must be based on reality.

******

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the Double Ninth Festival.

Fang Guozhen has already boarded the Ganpu Wharf and taken over this rather large port.

Almost half the people inside and outside the city had already fled, which annoyed Fang Guozhen. Did they really not trust me that much? Did they think I would definitely burn, kill, and loot?

However, after seeing the raging fire burning in the city, he finally sighed.

Perhaps the people of Ganpu didn't distrust him, but rather his men and his control over his followers.

Upon learning that the first few groups of people who landed had begun burning, killing, and looting, Fang Guozhen immediately ordered the leaders to restrain their followers and not to harm the people at will, but to no avail.

The impoverished fishermen, salt producers, and pirates ran rampant in the city like wild horses, unleashing the evil in human nature and incidentally accumulating wealth for themselves.

After much fuss, the leaders of the various "franchisees" finally entered the city lazily after being urged repeatedly by Fang Guozhen. They led their respective followers home and collected some tributes from their subordinates.

By this time, the city was filled with thick smoke, and dead bodies were everywhere. The ponds and wells were filled with the naked corpses of women, their bodies covered in bruises.

"These beasts!" Fang Guozhen cursed angrily.

And they discovered that even the troupes they had trained for years were looking with envy at the fishermen returning with their bountiful catch.

When he was in Tingmin, he became even more determined in his thinking.

Perhaps it's time to take advantage of this great victory to establish some rules; otherwise, he'll end up like Cai Luantou, rising and falling rapidly, ultimately meeting a bad end.

More importantly, if one wants to be recruited by the imperial court, become a high-ranking official, and bring glory to one's ancestors, one cannot go too far. Otherwise, if the censor intervenes at a crucial moment, all plans will come to naught.

"Third brother." Fang Guozhang walked over from afar, beaming with joy, and said, "The Chen and Huang families offered a thousand bolts of silk and a hundred pieces of gold and silver ware, which I had collected. If you ask me, why bother with appeasement? Just go along the coast and call out names; in less than half a year, we'll be the richest people in the world."

Fang Guozhen's face immediately fell.

Fang Guozhang stared blankly at his younger brother, puzzled, and asked, "Third brother, what's wrong with you—"

Fang Guozhen remained silent for a moment, then said, "This is the only time. You are not allowed to accept their tributes again. I have rebelled, but I am not a bandit, nor do I want to be one."

After saying that, he pointed to his own troops following behind him and said, "I don't want any of these. Give them to the men."

"

Fang Guozhang was about to refuse when he heard his men cheering. He immediately shut his mouth and nodded reluctantly.

Fang Guozhen walked forward, and as he passed Fang Guozhang, he said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Once the amnesty is successful, all four of us brothers will have official positions. Not only will we have prestige, but wealth will also be readily available. A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan. Remember this."

Fang Guozhang nodded silently.

He didn't really agree with the offer of amnesty, but his third brother was bewitched and felt that there was no future in rebellion. In the end, he would have to go back to negotiating with the court and get a general position—preferably the general of the Wenzhou-Taizhou route.

But since his third brother led his men to victory in the Battle of Five Tiger Gate and captured Councilor Duoerzhiban alive, he couldn't say anything and could only do as his brother wished.

Fang Guozhen took a few steps and then suddenly stopped, turned to look at her second brother, and asked, "Guomin said yesterday that someone was looking for me?"

"Yes." Fang Guozhang walked over and said, "An elder from Wenzhou has sent word that Lin Shanyi's brother-in-law wants to see you."

O

"Who is Lin Shanyi?" Fang Guozhen asked.

"Lin Choulang's cousin."

Fang Guozhen hummed in agreement.

Lin Choulang was one of the leaders of the fishermen in Wenzhou. He responded to the uprising and participated in the Battle of Wuhumen. He should be active near the sea near Qingyuan Road, waiting for an opportunity to plunder.

That's how it is in Wenzhou and Taizhou. People who are used to traveling by sea are all related by some means, and even if they are not relatives, they can find acquaintances by putting in a little effort.

"Why did he see me?" Fang Guozhen asked.

"I heard that Lin Shanyi went to join Shao Shuyi in western Zhejiang. His brother-in-law returned to Wenzhou and Taizhou, probably on Shao Shuyi's orders, to try and speak with you, my third brother," Fang Guozhang said.

"Oh?" Fang Guozhen smiled and continued walking forward, saying, "Alright, send someone over. I'll wait for him in Changguo Prefecture."

After saying that, Fang Guozhen pointed to the gate of the patrol office and said.

Strangely enough, the patrol office compound was neither tall nor imposing, and the soldiers at the gate had all fled. But when Fang Guozhen's gaze fell upon it, there was a mixture of complex emotions, piety, and excitement.

Being a pirate is a dead end.

After accepting the imperial pardon, he would possess this grandeur and prestige. From then on, the Fang family of Taizhou became a prominent and respected clan, frequented by scholars and officials of high status. Could a pirate ever obtain such glory?

He bent down and carefully picked up the broken plaque of the patrol office.

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