mtl008 Chapter 429 I only regret that the lady's incense offering was not sincere.
Chapter 429 I only regret that the lady's incense offering was not sincere.
Zong Que held the teacup in his hand, and met the other person's gaze with a faint expression.
“Governor Feng, as the governor of Yingzhou, Yuzhou, and Haizhou, and in charge of 30,000 naval troops, you only send troops when a few pirates are at your throat. What? Have you been in this position for too long and forgotten what you are supposed to do?”
Governor Feng scoffed, "Your Highness need not be so quick to mock me. I know exactly what I should do in this position. But Your Highness, you are now a dead man. What is the purpose of your presence here?"
"You've cornered me here, forcing me to send troops to resolve this trivial matter outside, and I accept that. But do you think you can even leave this ship today?"
Governor Feng leaned forward slightly, staring intently at Zong Que: "Killing you would be done without anyone knowing, and not only would no one blame you, but you could even be used to secure a good future. Your Highness, do you think this is a good deal, or not?"
Zong Que chuckled: "If Governor Feng really wants to try, why shouldn't I grant your wish?"
Governor Feng's face darkened: "Your Highness is as bold as ever. I truly do not know why you would come to me and present me with such a difficult problem for the sake of a few lowly commoners. Now that I have met you, please teach me how I am to extricate myself from this situation with such a secret."
Governor Feng pressed his hand on the table, his face turning ashen.
He had just woken up early in the morning when someone held a sword to his neck, forcing him to immediately order troops to quell the rebellion without delay, and he was forced onto a ship.
That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he actually saw Zong Que.
For a fleeting moment, he even questioned whether he was still half asleep.
The news of the deposed crown prince's death has spread throughout the north and south of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and it is likely that even the Great Yan Dynasty in the far north has heard the news.
How did it go?
The deposed crown prince, who should have been dead, suddenly appeared alive and well before him.
Governor Feng, but all he could see was darkness, one after another.
If he hadn't met the deposed crown prince, dealing with a few assassins who dared to mess with him would have been a piece of cake. He'd experienced not only having a sword held to his neck, but also being stabbed through the neck. If he didn't have that much courage, how could he have become the naval commander of the three southern prefectures?
Apart from that guy surnamed Wang, he's the one who calls the shots in this entire southern coastal region!
He's not afraid of anything!
But as fate would have it, the person threatening him was the deposed crown prince, Zong Que, who used to weigh heavily on the shoulders of all the civil and military officials, and whom everyone had to think twice about.
The world regards the Crown Prince as a sagacious and wise ruler, a savior destined to be a peerless figure for all eternity.
Anyone who has ever dealt with the Crown Prince knows that he is known for his ruthless and unconventional methods.
A few years ago, when the reforms were at their most intense, what were the local officials most afraid of? They were most afraid of His Highness the Crown Prince coming to their door. It was either that there were problems with the accounts or that there were flaws in their character. Even if they were clean-cut, they still had a few relatives who didn't know any better. Who dared to say that they were completely clean? Who could withstand the scrutiny of this powerful figure? How did the reforms in Da Zhao happen? It was because Crown Prince Zong Que, while suppressing the entire court, stepped on the sore spots of the local officials, forcing them to admit their mistakes one by one. He himself gained a good reputation, but who knows how many officials below him, upon hearing the name of the Crown Prince, were like mice before a cat, dreaming of whether he still had any dirt on them?
He is also included.
It's a pity that the lady wasn't sincere when she offered incense on the first day of the lunar month; how did she attract such a jinx?
He's already dead, why would you want to come back to life and mess with him?
Everyone in the court knows what's really going on. All those high-sounding reasons are utter nonsense; it's His Majesty who wants to depose the Crown Prince.
Furthermore, it has been announced to the world that the deposed crown prince is dead.
Now look what's happened! They've revealed such a huge secret to him: the deposed crown prince is not only alive, but he's also arrived at his place of exile in good health, with Yuzhou as his next stop.
Even if the deposed crown prince were to suddenly make a comeback at this moment, he could say that he encountered an assassin in Jiangnan Prefecture and escaped death, and no one could refute that.
Should he have seen it or not?
Seeing it can lead to endless troubles, but not seeing it can also lead to endless troubles.
At this moment, Governor Feng's headache was not the sword at his neck at all, but the fact that he had met with someone he shouldn't have. What should he do?
Zong Que looked at Governor Feng's ever-changing and increasingly somber expression, and he knew exactly what he was thinking. He had anticipated that the maritime trade would inevitably run into problems after his death, but he hadn't expected that the earliest problem would be with the pirates.
Zong Que said coldly, "Closing the matter? Back then, we specially set up a naval force along the southern coast, stationing 30,000 troops, precisely to maintain the stability of maritime trade and the safety of the people. Now it's all just for show? The pirates have come to our door, and Governor Feng is in the mood to discuss with me how to deal with me? The lowly people that Governor Feng speaks of are the subjects of the Great Zhao. Even if Governor Feng is inactive, he doesn't need to rush to call himself lowly. He should first reflect on whether he is stupid."
"You..." Governor Feng had never been insulted like this before, but he just couldn't touch the person in front of him.
It was clear that if he gave the order, Zong Que would surely die without a burial place.
But if he can do it now, it will be incredibly difficult to deal with it discreetly afterwards.
He sneered, his anger rising, "Your Highness knows perfectly well that His Majesty, and even most of the court officials, do not support lifting the sea ban. If the ban is lifted, pirates and Japanese pirates will be inevitable. This has always been a major concern for many ministers, and even the local people may not necessarily want the ban lifted. Now, even if Your Highness were to be resurrected, you would no longer have the power to suppress these voices. Today's pirates are merely the beginning; how much trouble will follow? Your Highness should calculate it yourself. How long can this sea ban last? Instead of sitting here mocking me, why don't you consider that after your death, all your efforts will vanish in just a few years?"
“In that case,” Zong Que said softly, “Governor Feng might as well watch and see if what I did back then will come to nothing.”
Governor Feng was slightly dazed. The person in front of him was dressed in plain clothes without any adornment. Even his face looked somewhat thin and tired due to the long-term torment of illness. But for some reason, it was as if he was still seeing the same spirited and noble Crown Prince from back then.
A slight tremor ran through my heart.
"Speak, why didn't you send troops?" Zong Que raised a finger slightly, signaling Pei Ji to remove the sword that was pressed against Governor Feng's neck.
That's his real purpose in threatening him today.
Governor Feng frowned, hesitated for a long time, and finally uttered two words with reluctance.
"Yuzhou."