For several days, Xiao Heng was anxious to discuss the next coastal defense deployment and revenge against these Japanese pirates with local officials.
On the ninth day, Japanese pirates invaded Taizhou again, resulting in the deaths of more than 600 civilians.
This is a blatant humiliation to the imperial court and the imperial envoy!
Perhaps they knew that Xiao Heng came to Zhejiang, so they were so unscrupulous in order to provoke him!
Xiao Heng had never been so angry before, it was a pity that the Japanese pirates hid during the day and came out at night, and the situation here was different from that in Yunnan. Yunnan was mountainous, but here was coastal. The Japanese pirates came and went without a trace, and they had mastered the rules of high tides, so they could easily get rid of the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou.
The whole of Zhejiang was in a panic, and even their lives were affected by these Japanese pirates.
Fishermen are even more afraid to go out to sea. The sea has been very chaotic recently and if they are not careful, they may lose their lives.
Pang Qingping was busy putting out fires everywhere and was extremely exhausted.
Sun Yongning did bring some good news - Qi Tianyou also came to Hangzhou and was reporting to the Governor's Office. He discovered a group of Japanese pirates in the garrison and wiped them all out. Three hundred people defeated more than a thousand Japanese pirates without any casualties.
Finally, there was some exciting news. Xiao Heng also wanted to learn about things at sea, so he hurried to the Governor's Mansion.
At the same time, Su Rong finally rushed back from Ningbo.
As soon as he came back, he went straight to Su Yao's villa, fearing that Su Yao would worry, and came to ensure his safety.
Su Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been very worried before, and now that she saw Su Rong was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought you didn't receive my letter. Thank God, you are finally back."
She felt that Su Rong had changed a lot recently. After not seeing him for a while, the decadence that Su Rong had experienced after being framed by Master Wang was gone. He had become much sharper now, and he could swear at the military words fluently. He had been cursing those Japanese pirates and pirates, especially when he mentioned Shen Hai, he cursed loudly.
She sighed and asked softly, "Brother, are you still worried about your sister-in-law?"
Su Rong was stunned for a moment, then he realized what Su Yao was worried about. He immediately felt a little amused and shook his head very firmly: "No, really not. Yaoyao, you have never been to the seaside, you don't know how hard the fishermen's life is, you don't know how many of our people were treated like cattle and horses by those beasts, they are inhumane, they kidnapped the people, made them crawl on the ground, and some babies, they disliked being in the way, they just stabbed them to death with knives..."
He was indignant and became very excited. He paused and realized that what he said was too radical. He was afraid that it would scare Su Yao. He was silent for a moment and continued, "At the beginning, I just thought that I couldn't stay in the capital anymore, otherwise, I would be crippled. But after coming here, I can't care about those romantic relationships. Yaoyao, I don't know if you can understand what I mean, but many, many people can't even save their lives. Their homes may be invaded by pirates or Japanese pirates at any time, but they still try to live. I am a general and my battlefield is here!"
He wasn't the type to get hung up on emotions.
Su Yao was a little shocked, but at the same time she felt a sense of pride. Yes, her brother has always been such a person, constantly striving for self-improvement and never bowing his head.
He had a broken leg for more than ten years, had his engagement broken off, was humiliated, and looked down upon by everyone, but he still insisted on his own path. He has always been a strong man.
She couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, I worry too much. Big brother is not the kind of person who is bound by love."
Since both Wang Yuerong and Su Rong can let it go, perhaps there is really no fate between them and they can only go this far in this life.
She stopped talking about this matter and asked Su Rong: "Is the conscription going smoothly?"
"They are all **." Su Rong couldn't help but feel a headache. "There is nothing we can do about it. They did this before just to deal with the court. Whenever they faced the Japanese pirates, they turned around and ran away. I have tried to order severe punishment, but the effect was minimal. Now it seems that there is only one way to go, that is to select a new group of soldiers, younger ones. In this way, maybe we can get some results with some time, but this is not something that can be accomplished overnight."
He sighed.
The two chatted for a while, and before they knew it, the sky had already turned pale. Su Yao felt sorry for him and said, "Brother, you haven't slept all night. You should go and rest for a while. We can talk about other things later."
Su Rong shook his head: "I will wait for His Highness to come back and see what the situation is."
He was very worried about the local people and wanted to know what the higher-ups were saying.
Xiao Heng finally came back when the sun climbed over the roof. He obviously hadn't slept all night. Seeing Su Rong was there, he nodded at Su Rong and said, "Brother is here?"
Su Yao stood up and saw that he didn't look as angry as he did a few days ago, so he asked, "Does Qi Tianyou have any good ideas?"
In recent days, both Sun Yongning and Xiao Heng have been talking about this general. Su Yao is also impressed by this man and always feels that he should be able to deal with those damn Japanese pirates.
Xiao Heng finally smiled, hummed, and said, "He is a brave and resourceful man, very smart, and can judge the situation at sea very accurately. The soldiers he led have never suffered any loss at the hands of the Japanese pirates, which is extremely rare. It shows that he is really a talent."
With this person, we can finally relieve some of the pressure. Before, everyone was exhausted by these Japanese pirates.
Su Rong also nodded: "If you are talking about Qi Tianyou, I have also heard of him. He is a capable man. I heard that he is very popular among the soldiers. Those who follow him are willing to charge into battle with him. This is unprecedented here. Your Highness, since he is here, I wonder what he thinks of the current Japanese invasion and our soldiers?"
Speaking of this, Xiao Heng also had a smile on his face. He slowly let out a breath, took the cup handed over by Su Yao, drank a sip of tea, and said in a relaxed tone: "He will be here soon, and then we will know when we listen together."
After he finished speaking, he asked Su Rong, "You went to chase the Japanese pirates yourself. How do you feel?"
"I've never fought in a naval battle." Su Rong said helplessly, "It feels completely different from when I was in Yunnan. Even though we caught up with them, there were reefs between us. We couldn't catch up. We could only watch them run away."