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Military Camp

The military camp occupied a vast land, and looked tremendously well-fortified with its tall walls. Several sentry outposts were strategically placed. Soldiers stood as straight as needles, as the flags hung overhead on flagpoles, swaying with the wind.

Chen Ping sat within the largest tent, with a pot of wine placed between him and several candles. Chen Ping poured some wine into his cup before speaking, "My brother-in-law, you didn’t give me much trouble when you were around. Why did you have to disobey a direct military order? Your sister has been crying and scolding me ever since."

After Chen Ping spoke, there was silence within the tent, only the sound of the wind could be heard.

"Your spirit should stop badgering me as well. I shall toast this cup to you, go in peace!" Chen Ping then placed his cup down, "When you were around, you enjoyed eating grilled chicken. Go ahead and eat!"

After he finished speaking, Chen Ping fell into silence and stared at the candles for a long time. His eyes radiated a strong hatred. After some time had passed, he finally spoke again, "Governor, you’ve been bullying me for too long."

"Pei Zi Yun is extremely detestable as well." He spoke softly to himself. All of a sudden, shouts could be heard from outside, "Admiral, Admiral, the Governor has requested for your presence."

Hearing these words, Chen Ping’s expression changed, "What’s the matter?"

"The Governor, his Excellency didn’t say. He just requested for your presence." The soldier outside the tent replied.

"Prepare a cart for me. I shall go at once." Chen Ping instructed.

"Yes, Admiral."

Chen Ping kept the items on his table before he rushed out hurriedly.

Governor’s Mansion

As soon as Chen Ping arrived, he saw the Governor walk out of the door. The Governor was dressed in his official robes, and looked extremely formal. He was of the third rank, and wore his robes with gold embroidery strewn across. In fact, the Governor was wearing a brand-new set of official robes. Although the Governor was over fifty years of age, his eyes still had a youthful glow to them. As he walked out, he saw Chen Ping and frowned, but laughed, "Admiral Chen, you’ve arrived."

Soon after, Chen Ping noticed that several extremely important and high-ranking officials were present as well. He started to sweat and wondered if he was in trouble. Just as he was in thought, the Governor then spoke to him, "Come with me to the pier."

Chen Ping could only respond, "Yes, Governor, your Excellency."

Pier

Several rows of soldiers stood by the pier as they welcomed the Governor along with a dozen other important officials. Chen Ping already felt that something was amiss. He knew that this wasn’t something done hastily or out of ignorance. He was extremely clear of the way things were run around here. If the naval fleet out at sea was indeed attacked as planned, King Lu would cover it up for everyone responsible, and the source of it all will never be uncovered.

But what if that wasn’t the case… Chen Ping’s expression was somewhat pale; the sun was extremely hot and started to burn his skin. The sunlight shone down and reflected off the surface of the water.

Several soldiers were tasked with the protection of the Governor as other soldiers sealed movement into the pier. The flag was hung high up above and welcomed the wind. There were many civilians around, all in animated discussion about what was happening.

All of a sudden, the discussion died down. Everyone cast their glances across the sea and saw ten warships on the horizon.

"Ai, they’re here!" Someone shouted out.

Following the shouts of everyone, Chen Ping raised his head and looked at the warships some distance away. As soon as he saw their arrival, his face turned pale, "He really managed to arrive here. Where were the people who were supposed to intercept him? Could this be the reason the Governor personally requested for my presence here?"

Chen Ping was extremely fearful. He looked around his surroundings nervously, as if afraid that soldiers would arrest him on the spot. His belly was trembling in nervous apprehension.

The fleet of naval boats drew closer and closer. It was apparent that the warships had gone through battle and were badly damaged. In fact, traces of blood could be seen on the hull of the warships. A certain sense of dread and foreboding loomed over Chen Ping as the naval fleet pulled closer and closer.

Several soldiers stood atop the hull of the boat as it inched towards the pier. The scent of blood could be smelt as they came nearer before finally docking. The sound of civilians talking died down once more as it became silent.

The Governor beamed at the victorious naval fleet who had returned. He finally managed to calm down after he saw them dock safely, as he heaved a sigh of relief. He smiled before he instructed, "Music!"

The sound of the welcoming drums played as the warships docked by the piers and released their anchors. Soon after, a platform was created and Pei Zi Yun, Cai Yuan Zhen, Chen Pu and several other officials stepped off their warships. They all bowed in unity, "Our respects to the Governor!"

"Haha!" A loud laugh rang out as the Governor stepped forward, "What a victorious battle. All of you are outstanding subjects of Ying Prefecture."

"We don’t dare to claim to be. We are blessed because of the Imperial Court and the Governor."

The Governor cast a glance at the pier before he laughed once again, "Everyone has gone through hard times. I don’t usually host banquets, but tonight shall be an exception. Let’s all feast together!"

"The Governor’s grace is abundant, the rest of us are overwhelmed by your kindness!" Pei Zi Yun bowed as he turned around, "Maybe I should present you with the captives."

Seeing the Governor nod his head, he then instructed, "Bring the pirate captives out."

"Yes!"

At the same time, a hundred men were being led out in chains. They all had disheveled appearances.

"Kill these pirates! Beat them to death." As soon as the captives were dragged out from the boat, the crowd started to jeer and shout before they tossed rocks at these captives.

They were insulted from every direction and spat upon. All of them cast their heads down and continued to walk.

Soon after, crate after crate was brought out as well.

Last were the boxes of ashes, which belonged to the fallen soldiers. Each box had a polished name tag on it and was accorded somber and respectful handling.

Seeing such a situation, the Governor’s spirits fell as well, "Brave and courageous men of the dynasty."

Everyone had disembarked from the boat when Pei Zi Yun stepped forward, "Fortunately, my life wasn’t lost to me. Your Excellency, the pirates have been completely annihilated. Victory!"

Following Pei Zi Yun’s words, the soldiers shouted out proudly, "Victory to the dynasty, a thousand victories!"

Pei Zi Yun then handed a list to the Governor. This list contained all the information about which soldier had fallen, the number of casualties, acquired goods, and all other details.

The Governor took the list and looked at it briefly before he exhaled, "Not bad. Looks like after this, the pirates would no longer be able to rally and wreak havoc."

Pei Zi Yun then sat within the same carriage as the Governor as they returned back to Governor’s Mansion. The Governor hosted a large banquet in honor of those who fought against the pirates. Lanterns filled the entire area while the tables laid out carried the finest delicacies. There were many serving girls who carried the dishes over and placed them grandly on the tables.

This was the first time Pei Zi Yun had been inside this particular restaurant. The floors were made of mahogany with privacy screens and intricate carvings all over the restaurant. The Governor sat atop the platform, since he was the host, while officials were split on different sides. Military officials on one side, and literary officials on the other.

Pei Zi Yun and Cai Yuan Zhen were seated beside each other, as Chen Pu came over to fill up their wine cups.

"Today we achieved great victory. Nobody leaves here sober." The Governor raised his cup and spoke to everyone. As soon as he completed his sentence, everyone raised their cups.

After the third round, the Governor rejected anymore toasts before speaking, "Since everyone is here, Top Scorer Pei, tell us more about what happened."

"Yes!"

Pei Zi Yun stood up before he replied, "This time after setting off, we realized that the pirates were nothing more than just bandits at sea, and were a disaster to the dynasty. If they existed during war times, it might be chaotic and possibly even difficult to kill them off. But since we’re in peace times now, they stick out like a clown amongst men. Getting rid of them was only too easy."

"Whoever led the men this time, would’ve achieved success without a doubt. I was just happy to take advantage of the situation to earn some rewards for myself."

When the officials heard this, they broke out in laughter. Pei Zi Yun then cast a glance down at Chen Ping and Cai Yuan Zhen, and noticed that Chen Ping seemed to be rather unhappy. It was obvious that whatever he said had wounded him,

If it were this easy, why didn’t Chen Ping vanquish these pirates after all these years?

The next few lines he heard wounded his heart just as much as the first few. The only thing he could do was to keep drinking his wine to quench the fire in his chest.

Pei Zi Yun then continued, "It was because of strategic planning conducted by the Governor that we were able to achieve victory. The leader of these pirates was known as Dragon King, Fang Zhi. He along with his brothers were killed in battle. Additionally, we killed 479 pirate leaders and decapitated them. We’ve captured another 103 pirates who were close to the Dragon King, and secured a significant amount of stolen goods from them."

"That includes 10,600 tales of silver and gold along with other valuable ornaments." Pei Zi Yun spoke before he bowed to the Governor, "These items have been handed over to the Governor, and the Imperial Banners have also been restored."

The Governor then stood up to pour some wine for Pei Zi Yun before he spoke, "Good, I shall use these to earn some merit on account of your great work. Here, have another cup."

After the banquet was over, there were many officials and high-ranking soldiers who were inebriated. Cai Yuan Zhen was one of those who swayed and shouted in his drunken state. "This bunch of old men, how dare they stop me. Don’t go. Come, let’s have another jug of wine."

As he spoke, his face was filled with elation.

Within a room, several candles flickered brightly. A bar of silver rested on the table, as it gleamed under the light of the candles.

Chen Pu held onto a notebook and sat upright, listening to the Governor speak.

"Silver is such a good thing to have, and can stir the hearts of even the most upright." The Governor was playing with the silver taels. The atmosphere within the room was extremely tense.

"He really only retrieved 6,000 taels from all of it? And didn’t keep any for himself? Did any of the soldiers express any intent to keep some silver taels for themselves?" The Governor asked.

Chen Pu heard this and replied, "Yes, everyone knew of the amount seized from the pirates, and cannot be deceived. As for the lower ranking soldiers, it’s inevitable that some of them would chip off a little here and there, but it wouldn’t amount to much."

"After all, that’s a small matter." The Governor spoke as he laughed, not minding petty issues like these.

However, Chen Pu’s expression was still gloomy. "I have something I wish to report to your Excellency."

"What is it?" The Governor replied.

"Your Excellency, there were more than a hundred captured pirates. However, Top Scorer Pei ordered his men to kill a dozen of them. I don\'t know why he did that." Chen Pu said.

"Killing captives?" The Governor asked suspiciously.

"I will ask him about it. You can leave now." The Governor replied, his face was clearly showed him pondering. When Chen Pu left, the Governor instructed, "Don’t let this leak out. I will handle it."

"Yes, your Excellency." Chen Pu replied, and sounded somewhat dejected. The Governor then shouted once more, "Please get Top Scorer Pei in here."

Pei Zi Yun entered the study room, where he saw the Governor drinking some tea to rid the effects of the alcohol. When he saw Pei Zi Yun, he smiled, "There’s nobody around. We can speak freely. I must say, you’ve helped me out a great deal this time."

"Indeed, this is only possible with the blessings of the Governor and Imperial Court." Pei Zi Yun replied seriously, "If not, it wouldn’t be so simple."

Although these words sounded like empty praises, it touched the Governor’s heart. He smiled, "Although that might be the case, we mustn’t discredit you as well."

As he spoke, he handed a note over, "This is the letter I’ve written to the Emperor. It details the evidence and accounts of how the pirates were handled. I’ve also requested for you to be elevated to the status of Dao Master."

Pei Zi Yun stood up and bowed deeply, "Many thanks to the Governor."

Others might not understand, but Pei Zi Yun understood that such a letter to the Emperor indicating his success in wiping the pirates couldn’t be obstructed by anyone. It was as good as guaranteed that the rewards will come. In fact, such a letter was worth more weight than requesting for a title directly from the Emperor.

However, this meant that the Governor and Pei Zi Yun were even now.

The Governor then asked, "I heard that you were involved in killing captives?"

Pei Zi Yun stood up to look at the Governor before he smiled, "That’s an extremely complicated matter, that shouldn’t be involved in the letter you are about to send to the Emperor. Besides, there’s more bad news here."

As he finished speaking, he handed a letter over to him.

The Governor was rather astonished as he opened it to read. When he was done he raged and slapped the table hard with his palms. "How does Ji Bei Hou dare! How does Chen Ping dare! Have you checked this out carefully?"

"I’ve done my research on this. That’s the reason I killed those captives."

At this point, the wind blew into the room, which caused the curtains to sway. Pei Zi Yun then added, If I didn’t kill them, things would get a great deal more complicated."

"Alright. There’s no need for you to speak further. I know what to do." The Governor waved his hands and replied coldly.