Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1233: Looks good but useless

In the courtyard of the command post in Funing City, gold and silver treasures were piled up into a small mountain.

These treasures were all picked up by the Zhenxi Army in the fields during the suppression campaign, and were also abandoned by the pirate soldiers during their march.

In order to lighten the burden on their bodies and get hot meals as soon as possible, these external things became burdens and cumbersome things in their eyes.

On the third day, around noon, Qiao Jushan and Ye Liangcai returned to Funing City with two hundred cavalry.

Ye Liangcai held a sheathed straight sword in his hand, his face beaming with joy.

"Boss, this is the sword of Tokugawa Iemochi, the pirate leader. That guy has already committed seppuku."

Lin Feng nodded: "Okay, tell me the details."

It turned out that when his 200 cavalry guards searched all over the area and reached Guang'an County, more than 300 miles north of Fu Ning Prefecture, they found the city deserted, with bloodstains on a street, indicating that it hadn't been there long.

Therefore, Qiao Jushan and Ye Liangcai decided to conduct a thorough search.

Two hundred people searched through the residences in the city.

Finally, they discovered something unusual in the backyard of a large house.

Two hundred men surrounded the house and cautiously crept inside.

A few warhorses were leisurely grazing on the weeds on the ground, and nothing else.

When the soldiers shouted, they discovered that in a relatively intact house, a pirate who had committed seppuku was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the room, his head bowed, and had been dead for some time.

Judging from his clothing and weapons, he should be a high-ranking general in the pirate army.

Before long, soldiers discovered another pirate general committing seppuku in a different house.

Ultimately, they found thirteen pirates who had committed seppuku in the mansion.

One of them, identified by the engravings on his sword, is Tokugawa Iemochi, the pirate general.

Lin Feng also felt that this ending was in line with his judgment.

Tokugawa Iemochi truly only had this one path to take.

Thus, the battle came to an end. All the soldiers of the Western Army in Fuzhou Town, facing 15,000 pirate soldiers, did not kill a single one and suffered no casualties.

The other pirate force was bombarded by the No. 2 cannon and scattered, and was almost completely wiped out by Hu Jincai's cavalry.

With the recapture of Ganqing Prefecture, only the southeastern corner of the southern territory remains, where more than 20,000 pirates still hold out and are putting up a stubborn resistance.

Inside the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Emperor Taisho, Zhao Zheng, was throwing the battle report he was holding onto the ground.

He found it hard to accept that such a world-shaking victory had been snatched away by Lin Feng.

Despite having over 100,000 Imperial Guards under his command and nearly a hundred generals, he was still besieged by pirates in Luoyang.

That was the most magnificent and valuable city in his Great Zheng Dynasty, apart from the capital, and it was also the place where Zhao Zheng had always made his capital.

Now, in the hands of his own son, it is in grave danger.

Zhao Zheng had already dispatched 60,000 imperial guards to provide assistance, but they were all blocked west of Jinjiang. Under the blockade of the pirates' warships, they were unable to cross this insurmountable barrier.

"Atsumi Shunsui..."

Zhao Zheng spat out the name through gritted teeth.

The warships built under the supervision of this woman looked magnificent and spectacular, but they were useless and were repeatedly defeated by the pirates' warships in naval battles.

They are of a different race after all; their intentions are despicable.

As the war progressed, Zhao Zheng had to admit that he had been deceived by Atsumi Shunsui.

This woman is definitely a spy for the pirates, whose purpose is to exhaust their resources and create some useless junk.

Zhao Zheng rubbed his eyes. Was he getting old?

How could he be so obsessed with one woman?

Logically speaking, Zhao Zheng had seen many beautiful women, but in the end, he fell for a woman from a large clan.

Is this fate?

What saddened Zhao Zheng the most was that even if he hadn't seen through the spy's true colors, it would have been understandable if he had been deceived by this woman in bed.

However, without even touching a single human hair, he was completely bewildered and lost his bearings.

Is this still the same Zhao Zheng who was decisive and ruthless?

Zhao Zheng glanced at the two important officials standing in a corner of the hall.

Prime Minister Miao Changfeng and Imperial Preceptor Lan Yu.

These two men were not only meritorious officials who helped him achieve the Taisho era, but also loyal and devoted ministers who served him wholeheartedly.

But now, he is always finding fault with them, either scolding them or distancing himself from them, causing them to gradually drift away from the center of the court.

Zhao Zheng sighed, realizing he was probably really getting old and his mind wasn't working well anymore.

He shook his head and waved.

"Changfeng, come closer."

Miao Changfeng, who was hiding in a corner of the main hall, was startled when he heard the emperor address him in this way. What was going on?

But it had been a long time since I had heard the Emperor call my name so affectionately.

Miao Changfeng didn't have time to think much before he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, your old minister is here."

"Changfeng, do you still remember the glory you displayed when you fought alongside me?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not say so. It is entirely due to Your Majesty's great talent and strategy that the Central Plains were stabilized and the villains scattered."

"Sigh, you're trying to bewitch me too."

"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation..."

Zhao Zheng shook his head: "Tell me, how did Lin Feng destroy a pirate army of 30,000? How could he have suffered no casualties?"

"Uh... I heard that the Zhenxi Army blocked the pirates' water supply line, which caused the pirates to take a desperate gamble and risk entering the inland. As a result, they ran out of food and starved to death without losing a single soldier of the Zhenxi Army."

Zhao Zheng waved his hand: "Is there anything more absurd than this?"

Miao Changfeng quickly explained, "I don't believe it either. This is just a rumor from the martial arts world. Your Majesty can simply ignore it."

"What I'm worried about is Luocheng. Go and urge them to send more troops. I don't believe that a single river like the Jinjiang can stop tens of thousands of troops."

"Your Majesty, if too many troops are diverted, what will happen to Zhenxi..."

"Don't worry, Lin Feng is fighting pirates in the south and has no time to attend to this place. I have eight garrison cities, so it is safe and secure."

"Yes, His Majesty has considered everything very thoroughly."

Zhao Zheng felt uncomfortable seeing Miao Changfeng's timid and submissive appearance. Where did his previous high-spirited demeanor go?

Seeing that the emperor remained silent, Miao Changfeng bowed and took his leave.

Zhao Zheng suddenly beckoned: "Changfeng, come closer."

Miao Changfeng quickly stretched his head over and tried to get closer to Zhao Zheng.

"Find a few skilled men to capture that harlot and send her to the palace for me. Don't let anyone know."

Miao Changfeng was taken aback: "Your Majesty, are you referring to...?"

Zhao Zheng nodded with a stern face.

"Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, I will take care of it immediately."

After speaking, Miao Changfeng bowed and stepped back to the entrance of the main hall before turning around and stepping over the threshold.

Miao Changfeng had long disliked the Emperor's attitude towards that Dahe woman, but since the Emperor liked her, there was nothing he could do.

Judging from the Emperor's words just now, he still hasn't given up on that woman.

Miao Changfeng pondered as he walked out of the palace.

Finding a few experts is easy. With his influence in the martial arts world, he can easily spread the word and many experts will flock to him.

However, this woman was somewhat of a scourge to the country. She provided the Taisho with several warships, but they were all showy but useless.

Despite such obvious actions, the emperor turned a blind eye, only concerned with how to get this woman into bed.