Gao Lingfeng hurriedly said, "But if things continue like this, where will the court's authority be?"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "The court's authority is earned through the army. This Eastern Territory is indeed becoming increasingly unruly."
The Eastern Territory had reached a point where it had to be changed.
But how to change it, and who would do it, was the real problem. No one wanted to touch the Eastern Territory.
Royal relatives, high-ranking officials, and powerful nobles knew that cleaning up the Eastern Territory was like stirring up a hornet's nest, destined to end badly.
Chu Zhiyuan certainly had no intention of doing it. If even the heir apparent felt this way, let alone others.
He counted on his fingers and realized that only a few princes could possibly keep things under control. But these princes would never involve themselves in such matters.
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The Emperor trusted Chu Qingyan and Chu Qingfeng the most, but they each had their own responsibilities.
Moreover, they needed to be protected, and couldn't be pushed into this fire pit.
The other princes were either incompetent, too self-centered, or lacked the ability.
"Your Highness…" Gao Lingfeng solemnly said, "Even if the Zhenwu Division takes the blame, we must quickly quell the Daliu Camp, otherwise, other towns or military camps will follow suit, and the situation will become even more chaotic."
Chu Zhiyuan looked at him.
Gao Lingfeng's expression was calm and frank.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "It's rare to see such vision in Master Gao… Let's not rush. Let's first understand the cause of the matter before making a decision."
"But the information from the Zhenwu Division…" "The information from the Zhenwu Division is only one side of the story and cannot be fully trusted. I will go to the Surveillance Division and see what their information is before making a decision."
"… Yes." Gao Lingfeng reluctantly cupped his fist.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "This was originally the responsibility of the Ministry of War. The court hasn't issued an order yet. It would be unwise for us to proactively get involved."
"… Yes." Gao Lingfeng nodded.
Chu Zhiyuan sighed and said, "Master Gao, the way of being an official is to first protect oneself, then think about making achievements. Don't easily put yourself in a passive position."
"Yes." Gao Lingfeng looked grateful. "This subordinate was too impulsive."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Master Gao's passion hasn't cooled, which is commendable, but the more it is like this, the more you must not act impulsively."
"Yes." Gao Lingfeng cupped his fist. "Then this subordinate will take his leave."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
He looked at Gao Lingfeng's departing figure, lost in thought.
Is Gao Lingfeng really acting out of passion, or is there another reason? Does he have any connection with Jihai Town?
He closed his eyes and quickly thought of Gao Lingfeng's hometown.
Gao Lingfeng's hometown was Ninghai Town, which was adjacent to Jihai Town.
Is Gao Lingfeng worried that the deteriorating situation in Jihai Town will affect Ninghai Town? Everyone has selfish motives; it's impossible to be completely selfless and go against human nature.
He had never been so demanding. Gao Lingfeng was already considered rare.
"Your Highness, these are all the news about Jihai Town and Daliu Camp." Ma Tianhe smiled obsequiously, pointing to the file box on the table. "The news from the past decade is all here."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Thank you for your hard work."
"Why is Your Highness being so polite with me?" Ma Tianhe quickly smiled. Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Has the Ninth Prince been acting strangely recently?"
"The Ninth Prince has been very quiet recently. He hasn't seen anyone and has mostly stayed inside the Sifang Pavilion."
"He still drinks heavily every night?" "Yes."
"He's living a carefree life," Chu Zhiyuan said as he opened the file. "How is the investigation of the Linglong Bookstore going?"
"At least two of the courtesans have problems, but they don't seem to be secret agents."
"They possess martial arts skills, but they aren't secret agents?" "Yes."
"Are they from some hidden sect, cultivating their minds in the mortal world?" "It seems so."
"You can't find out which sect they're from?" Chu Zhiyuan asked.
He flipped through the pages quickly, talking to Ma Tianhe without any hindrance.
But the Eastern Territory rarely had any battles, so there was no military merit to be earned, so he built ships. Each warship built was a great achievement.
But building warships wasn't that easy, otherwise it wouldn't be a great achievement.
Felling trees, cutting, grinding, painting, building frames, installing, filling… it was complicated and difficult.
Especially felling trees, which required the hardest wood, often found in deep mountains and old forests. It was not only a long journey, but also rugged and difficult, with dangers such as wild animals and bandits along the way.
Transporting these giant trees was also extremely difficult, and after they were transported, working in the sea breeze by the sea often resulted in cracked hands and feet and frostbitten skin.
It was an extremely arduous task, especially in winter.
The Eastern Territory also snowed and was just as cold, but the sea water didn't freeze, so ships could still sail and ships could still be built.
He forced the military towns under his jurisdiction not to rest, and even demanded that the construction period be accelerated and urged them desperately in order to report his achievements before the Lantern Festival.
He even sent supervisors to whip them, treating the soldiers as laborers.
The soldiers under his command, unable to bear the fatigue and exploitation, refused to obey and killed the general's personal guards who came to suppress them.
The information Chu Zhiyuan saw was that General Ding Shaoqiang ordered his personal soldiers to kill without mercy. And a few personal soldiers came over, followed the orders without hesitation, and directly killed two of the ringleaders, which aroused the anger of the entire Daliu Camp and killed the personal soldiers.
Killing the personal soldiers meant that there was no turning back, and Ding Shaoqiang would definitely send a large army to exterminate them.
So they directly took the weapons from the camp and drilled into the nearby deep mountains and old forests.
Because they were familiar with the roads in these deep mountains and old forests due to felling trees for warships, for a time, the entire Jihai Town could do nothing about these 3,500 people.
Originally, the news was hidden, but it was not possible to hide it completely, and it was heard by the Surveillance Censor, who exposed the matter in a memorial.
The imperial court was shaken.
In one morning, the people of the entire Yujing City knew about it. The Great Jing Dynasty was like a sieve, and the news spread too quickly.
Moreover, the people of Great Jing were happy to discuss politics. The news from the early court was brought out for discussion at breakfast, and everyone became like important officials of the court, expressing their opinions.
Regarding the handling of this matter, the court was still arguing whether to send a large army directly or to recall Ding Shaoqiang first.
Whether to appease or suppress.
The two factions had their own reasons, and they argued red-faced for a while.
While the court officials were arguing, the people in the entire Yujing City were also arguing, each holding their own views and refuting other people's views.
The entire Yujing City was extremely lively, and for a time, everyone's attention was focused on this Jihai Town.
The previously unknown coastal military town suddenly became famous, and almost everyone knew about it.
Almost everyone knew Ding Shaoqiang's name, and when they mentioned him, they looked at him with the eyes of a greedy villain.
After reading it, Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
This Ding Shaoqiang asked the court for help, asking for the assistance of Zhenwu Division experts. In fact, it wasn't to deal with any martial arts masters.
In the deep mountains and old forests, the soldiers of the military town were perfunctory and demoralized, and they were simply unable to deal with those Daliu Camp soldiers.
(There are more updates)
