Yun Ye’s whip could no longer strike down. Hua San had already passed out, his shoulders and back whipped into a mangled mess. He had no way of dealing with someone who didn’t fear death. Even the soldiers carrying out the punishment were displaying expressions of admiration—this punishment had reached its end.
Using the whip to beat subordinates was the right of Yun Ye, the Grand General. No one had anything to say about it, including the Emperor. Duan Hong stood to the side watching. According to him, he was just passing by and had never seen military disciplinary beatings, so he specifically came over to broaden his knowledge.
Only after Hua San passed out did Duan Hong say to Yun Ye with unsatisfied interest, “It’s over?”
Yun Ye nodded helplessly. “It’s indeed over. If I beat him any more, he’d be ready to be used as dumpling filling. This fellow’s mouth is really tough. How did that woman Gao Shan Yang Zi train her subordinates? Being this unyielding is truly rare.”
“You can now report to His Majesty: Yun Ye is incompetent, unable to beat him to death or extract a single piece of useful information.”
Duan Hong covered his mouth with a very feminine laugh and said to Yun Ye, “His Majesty sent me to see if you’d killed him. As long as he’s not dead, you can do as you please. Pirates who’ve become府兵 府soldiers naturally retain some wildness that’s hard to tame. Without tempering their fiery temperament, they’ll be difficult to use effectively.”
“Use effectively? What does His Majesty want them to do? If we need military campaigns, naturally we have the Lingnan Navy and East Sea Navy available for His Majesty to deploy at any time. They’re all loyal subordinates, very convenient to use. If we need cargo transport, the Great Emperor ship is still sailing in Dongting Lake—one ship equals an entire fleet.”
“Even if His Majesty feels the navy’s combat power is inadequate, if needed, I can immediately don my armor and charge through fire and water. Why must he stuff pirates into the navy? Mark my words, if I don’t impale these bastards on wooden stakes on Crab Island, that would be the strange thing.”
Hearing Duan Hong’s words, Yun Ye’s anger surged upward. With just a few strokes, he signed off on Gao Shan Yang Zi’s travel documents, slammed the writing brush on the desk, and made to leave.
Du Ruhui walked in from the doorway, continuously sniffing. Hua San had already been dragged away for medical treatment, but the bloody smell filling the room hadn’t dissipated. Du Ruhui took out his handkerchief to cover his nose and said, “So the Ministry of War’s main hall has seen blood. Marquis Yun, don’t be angry. You having sole dominance over the seas won’t work. The reason our dynasty established the Three Departments and confirmed the Eastern and Western Offices is actually to divide power. Only through mutual checks and balances, mutual supervision, can the dynasty achieve long-term peace and stability.”
“Although this may reduce the speed at which government decrees are implemented, it wins in terms of reliability. Right now on the seas, you, Yun Ye, say one thing and no one dares say otherwise—how can this work? It’s only because His Majesty trusts you enormously that he allows you to have sole dominance. Try putting someone else in your position.”
“How am I the sole dominant force? There’s still the East Sea Navy. Even if the court needs a balancing power, couldn’t they just select sailors from good, law-abiding families and establish another massive navy? Why must they bring these pirates here to disgust me?”
“That’s different. Everyone knows you and Zhang Liang are so close you practically wear the same pants. If they create another navy, could they be a match for you ruthless generals? With your connections among the nobility, in just two or three days, you might gain another ally.”
“Only these pirates are suitable now. You’ve chased them all over the ocean, feeding them to sharks, impaling them on wooden stakes. Good heavens, just talking about it seems unconscionable. They can’t join forces with you, just like wolves and sheep can’t be friends—it’s the same principle. Right now, the Great Tang needs stability. We need to build the Great Tang into an unprecedentedly prosperous nation. If we can kill two fewer people, let’s kill two fewer. The common people in remote areas are still going hungry. Wouldn’t it be better if we saved military expenses and used them to feed our own people?”
“Peaceful seas and clear rivers—this is the golden age so many emperors have dreamed of. Now we have the qualifications to achieve this. No enemies outside, no rebels inside. If we don’t take advantage of this excellent opportunity to make the people prosperous, when should we wait? Just endure it. You just need to watch them carefully to make sure they don’t do bad things. Even if they become the navy, they still can’t compare with you. Are you actually afraid of your defeated enemies?”
Yun Ye sighed and said, “My dream is to resist enemies beyond our borders. The Lingnan Navy desperately blockading the strait is for this strategic purpose. Naval warfare is different from land warfare—its operational cycle often needs to be measured in years. One departure can be tens of thousands of miles. Chancellor Du, once Gao Shan Yang Zi rebels, the Lingnan Navy and East Sea Navy won’t be able to cover the Great Tang’s ten thousand miles of maritime territory. Our Great Tang has always followed a policy of strong center, weak branches. The capital region is full of troops, but most of the regional garrison commands only have about five hundred men. These five hundred men must look after areas spanning two to three hundred miles. Do you think they can manage?”
“Now the Jiangnan region is prosperous. Coastal cities like Guangzhou, Mingzhou, Yangzhou, and Quanzhou all have populations exceeding one hundred thousand. Once something happens, the entire nation will immediately be shocked. At that time, Yun Ye’s single head probably won’t be enough to quell public resentment.”
“I worked so hard to chase all the pirates into Arab territory, wanting to eliminate this threat. Now it’s great—with one imperial decree from you all, you’ve summoned back the most vicious pirates, leaving that fat piece of meat in the Arab seas entirely to Qiu Ran Ke. Mark my words, within ten years, Qiu Ran Ke will definitely become a maritime hero, and Gao Shan Yang Zi will turn into a huge powder keg placed under my bed. Once it’s lit, I’ll be blown to smithereens. You’re helping the pirates deal with me!”
Du Ruhui spread his hands helplessly and said, “Right now, our Great Tang prioritizes civilian livelihood over military affairs. This old man is also helpless. When the Goguryeo people surrendered, they demanded this point be written into the documents. Now the deed is done—what can we do?”
Talking to these people was like playing music to cows. They always thought Gao Shan Yang Zi was a weak woman. Their impression of her still remained at when she danced the Heavenly Demon Dance naked years ago. How many of them had carefully read the Lingnan Navy’s reports? That woman now commanded over three hundred warships. Even calculating just fifty men per ship, that’s a full ten thousand troops. This force had been sweeping through Arab waters and frequently harassing Indian territories. The palaces of native kings she’d conquered numbered no fewer than ten. Mind you, those were Indian palaces, not the small kingdoms of just a hundred or so people on Java Island.
Too dangerous. If this woman would honestly hand over military power and return to Yuan Gae Suwen’s beautiful mansion to be the lady of the house, Yun Ye would cut off his own head. He couldn’t continue as commander of the Lingnan Navy—this was a position where he could lose his head at any moment.
Deciding to act immediately, Yun Ye gathered up his official seals and went straight to Wanmin Palace to resign to the Emperor. Staying in the capital as Left Vice Minister of War wouldn’t be bad either. Wasn’t Old Lu—Lu Chengqing—always drooling over the Lingnan Navy? He’d hinted at it several times in conversation. He’d recommend him then—if someone wanted to court death, they couldn’t blame others.
“How dare you! You actually dare to outwardly comply but inwardly oppose my decree! Let me ask you, what orders did you give Liu Renyuan? If it weren’t for the military’s Fifth Li Division Commander reporting it, I wouldn’t have known you had thoughts of destroying the Goguryeo navy. Speak! Who gave you such audacity? Do you really want to become King of the Oceans?”
Yun Ye had just seen Li Er and hadn’t yet mentioned resignation when he saw Lu Chengqing standing innocently in the great hall. Before he could even greet him, Li Er’s spittle sprayed his face. That damned Lu Chengqing—even if you wanted to court death, you didn’t need to be this hasty!
“This subject knows his crime. I know my sins are grave. I request Your Majesty’s punishment.” Yun Ye prostrated himself on the ground and immediately pled guilty. He didn’t utter a single word of defense. This abnormal behavior actually made Li Er pause for a moment.
“Your Majesty, this subject truly lost his head due to personal grievances and gave Liu Renyuan orders he shouldn’t have given. My crime is unpardonable. I request Your Majesty’s punishment.” Seeing Li Er had no reaction, Yun Ye hastily continued pleading guilty. Being dismissed by Li Er would be the best outcome. The position of Lingnan Navy Commander was now a hot potato—no, a bomb about to explode. Damn it, the strait’s defenses were meant to keep outsiders out, not keep insiders in. If Gao Shan Yang Zi ruthlessly plundered throughout Great Tang’s waters, that would be quite a spectacle. Not only would all of Great Tang be shocked, but even the Japanese would be alarmed three times a day. As for Gao Shan Yang Zi, she would definitely sneak back to her old base in India.
“When did you become so agreeable?” Li Er stared at Yun Ye suspiciously. This fellow usually stirred up trouble even when he had no grounds to do so. What was wrong with him today? He seemed to be hoping for punishment. The words Li Er had just spoken were merely to find an excuse to punish Yun Ye.
“Your Majesty, this subject knows I’ve been somewhat arrogant and overbearing. I request Your Majesty’s grace to allow me to return home to study and reflect. Liu Renyuan is also arrogant and proud, insufficient to serve as a military commander. I request Your Majesty issue a decree for severe punishment.”
Lu Chengqing was overjoyed. He’d been thinking about how to deal with Liu Renyuan once he took over the Lingnan Navy. Who would have thought Yun Ye would be so considerate as to remove the last stone blocking his path to power? How tactful and understanding! He even felt somewhat sorry for Yun Ye.
Li Er’s expression grew increasingly puzzled. He’d spent too much time with Yun Ye and understood this young man down to his bones. When had he ever been capable of such self-reproach? And he’d voluntarily dragged Liu Renyuan out as well.
Li Er had also commanded great armies himself, so how could he not know the role a strong deputy played? If a general and deputy coordinated well, their chance of victory could directly increase by ten percent. The deputy had always been the commander’s trusted confidant—this was no secret in the military. Li Er deeply understood this, which was why when appointing generals, he allowed them to select their own deputies. This tradition had never changed over the years.
There was a problem here, definitely a problem. Li Er only wanted Lu Chengqing to serve as Lingnan Navy Commander for a year or two as a transition, to completely calm down the Goguryeo people. The reason was that Yun Ye’s hostility toward the Goguryeo people was simply too great. Nearly beating Gao Shan Yang Zi’s envoy to death today was evidence of this. He was very worried Yun Ye would suddenly move against Gao Shan Yang Zi, affecting his overall plan. If Gao Shan Yang Zi were eliminated by Yun Ye, how would the three hundred tributary provinces throughout the realm view him, this untrustworthy Emperor of the Great Tang?
Li Er had no doubt whatsoever that Yun Ye would eliminate Gao Shan Yang Zi. He had the ability to do it and would definitely do it. After thinking it over repeatedly, Li Er said to Yun Ye, “Studying and reflecting at home is unnecessary. You’ve read plenty of books, and you’ve never changed anyway. You continue managing affairs at the Ministry of War. Liu Renyuan is reassigned to the Dongting Navy. Go to Du Ruhui’s office and turn over the Lingnan Navy Commander’s seal. Someone will replace you.”