Chapter 531: Taking the Blame

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Zhou Linghuai chuckled. “What kind of people do you think these water bandits are? They only rob pirates and don’t go ashore or rob commoners.”

Song Mingzhao immediately reacted and heard Yu Youyao ask, “Could they all be soldiers who retired from the navy?

Zhou Linghuai nodded. “That’s most likely the case. It’s difficult to subdue them, but it’s also simple. We do it by controlling their families to threaten them and luring them. It’s fine even if they don’t accept them for the time being. If they can help the navy fight the pirates and restrain the pirates, they can also be at peace. At that time, when the old soldiers are recruited, they can more or less become a leader and won’t be too passive.”

As expected of Zhou Linghuai.

Yu Youyao frowned. “But how do you know the identities of these water bandits, Lord Ye? If you don’t know their identities, how can you know their families?

Song Mingzhao had just picked up his tea, but before he could drink it, he said,

“Lord Ye has taken over Song Xiuwen’s position. He will naturally get the list of navy recruitments over the years. As long as we check the list of retired soldiers and screen them, we can also find clues. After all, if these people really secretly became pirates at sea, it’s impossible for there to be no abnormalities.”

The commander-in-chief was under the jurisdiction of the state capital, so Ye Hanyuan and Zhou Linghuai definitely knew each other.

Ye Hanyuan was also confident about going to Zhejiang.

After Old Madam Yu heard this, she took a deep look at Zhou Linghuai. “It’s no wonder the emperor wants to send Ye Hanyuan to Zhejiang. Other than him, no one else can do it. Incorporating water bandits and recruiting new veterans into the navy. Song Xiuwen is already an experienced general. It’s impossible for him not to have thought of this. But why didn’t he succeed? Because as soon as he entered Zhejiang, he was controlled by the Zhejiang capital.”

Yu Youyao agreed deeply. “Ye Hanyuan is different. Not to mention that his status as a disciple of the side branch of the Ye Residence is still very important in the Jiangnan area. Just based on his relationship with King

Wumu, as long as the Zhejiang capital doesn’t want to offend the Imperial Court and the North, they won’t dare to touch him. It’s only a matter of time before Ye Hanyuan takes control of the Zhejiang navy.”

Song Mingzhao agreed with this, but he said, “Ningbo, Shaoxing, and Taizhou aren’t the only counties in Zhejiang. Even if Ye Hanyuan isn’t controlled by the Zhejiang capital, he might not be able to help the Imperial Court reorganize Zhejiang.”

Ye Hanyuan alone could not shake the capital of Zhejiang.

The atmosphere in the room couldn’t help but fall silent

Everyone understood this logic. Her cousin had schemed for Ye Hanyuan to go to Zhejiang not to help the Imperial Court reorganize Zhejiang, but to use Ye Hanyuan to disrupt the overall situation in Zhejiang.

Zhou Linghuai smiled faintly. He peeled another plate of oranges and placed them on the plate one by one, pushing them to Yu Youyao.

Yu Youyao took the small silver fork and picked up one piece to eat.

Song Mingzhao suddenly felt a surge of hostility in his heart. ‘Zhejiang Qingliu will report it to the Imperial Court and the Zhejiang capital to speak up for Song Xiuwen. Zhejiang will probably be in chaos.”

Old Madam Yu frowned when she heard this. Since Song Xiuwen could join forces with Zhejiang Qingliu, it seemed that the crime that Ning Yuanbo had reported was quite untrue. He had taken the blame for the capital of Zhejiang.

In that case, it was difficult to tell if Song Xiuwen was loyal or cunning.

The capital of Zhejiang would not sit back and do nothing. Zhejiang was really in chaos.

She didn’t know much about what the big boss was doing too…

Zhou Linghuai seemed to know what Old Madam Yu was thinking. “Since Ye Hanyuan has arrived in Zhejiang, it’s time for Uncle to return. He’s here to investigate Uncle Ningyuan and report Song Xiuwen’s crimes. Previously, he didn’t mention Song Xiuwen at all in the memorial to the Imperial Court. Every word and sentence revolved around the Zhejiang navy.”

In other words, even if Zhejiang Qingliu spoke up for Song Xiuwen, it had nothing to do with Yu Zongzheng.

Yu Zongzheng had only found out that Zhejiang had embezzled money from the army and taken away salary money. It gave Zhejiang Qingliu a chance to bite back at the Zhejiang capital.

Song Xiuwen’s crimes still needed to be investigated by the Imperial Court.

This concerned the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Court, the Court of Justice, and the Ministry of War. It had nothing to do with the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs.

The emperor had originally sent the Minister of Official Personnel Affairs as the imperial envoy because he wanted to reorganize the government in

Jiangnan. In order to prevent anything from going wrong, he had also sent Yu Zongzheng from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Justice, and the Imperial Court to accompany him.

Actually, everyone knew that the investigation of this case still fell on the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Court, and the Court of Justice.

Old Madam Yu heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. “The Ministry of Justice is in charge of investigating the cases. The Imperial Court is in charge of investigating, and the Court of Justice is in charge of resolving matters. It’s not part of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs’ business.”

The Imperial Court had changed from the Imperial Censor’s Office in the previous dynasty. It had a very high authority. Both internal and external officials were supervised by it. Its authority was very vast, and hundreds of

officials were afraid of it.

They had the right to supervise, impeach, and advise people.

In serious cases, the Imperial Court could also supervise institutions such as the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Justice.

However, the emperor had not been in the court for a long time. The eunuchs had stolen power in the middle forces, weakening all the authority of the Imperial Court and its supervision of the court. Gradually, it became a place for civil servants.

Yu Zongzheng’s position as the Imperial Censor of the Left was to be an official. Tthe rank of this official position was actually not high but it had a lot of authority and was very powerful. He had the responsibility of patrolling on behalf of the emperor.

In layman’s terms, he could even be sent by an imperial envoy.

However, as the authority was too broad and dispersed, the previous emperor had undergone a change when he was still alive and abolished the authority of the imperial envoy.

Internal investigations and external investigations were still very wide-ranging. In this dynasty, the cabinet stole the authority and responsibilities. Now, it usually dealt with impeachment and advisory.

The Imperial Court was fine, but there were eunuchs in the middle who stole power and weakened their authority.

Outside, the cabinet stole its authority and held power.

The Imperial Court had already lost control of the investigation, making it impossible for it to follow the rules of the court and the government.

If not for that, the Imperial Court would also be a good place.

Of course, the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs was the head of the six ministries, so it naturally had a higher status.

After discussing the situation in Zhejiang, Old Madam Yu asked about Zhejiang again.

Song Mingzhao was knowledgeable and broad-minded. He told her what he had seen and heard when he went south to Zhejiang and talked about the wealth of Jiangnan. Every word and sentence was meaningful.

Even Yu Youyao, who did not like Song Mingzhao, could not help but listen with interest.

This conversation lasted for a long time.

While drinking his tea, Song Mingzhao occasionally looked at Yu Youyao. He could always see that she and her cousin had a tacit understanding. The

Rougui tea in his mouth lost some taste.

Song Mingzhao suddenly said, “Zhejiang is rich and prosperous. It’s a place of business and trade. It’s especially prosperous in the north and south, maritime trade, and foreign trade. When I returned to the capital this time, I also prepared some unique silk, tea, and other things from Jiangnan. I specially picked some today to show my filial piety to Grandmother Yu. In addition…”

He changed the topic and looked at Yu Youyao. “Miss Yao, you’re good at incense medicine. Jiangnan is elegant and popular, and women are good at spices. You often invite friends who fight over incense, appraise incense, and appreciate incense. There are also a lot of incense medicine there, so I brought some over..”

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