“Master Zhao, why do you believe I am deliberately opposing you?!”
Faced with Zhao Wenhua’s displeasure and anger, Zhu Pingan timely put on an expression of surprise and asked in puzzlement.
“Is it not? You clearly know I want to bring him down, yet you still hand him the navy. That is aiding the enemy. Is this not plainly opposing me?” Zhao Wenhua’s face darkened at Zhu Pingan’s counter-question, and he demanded angrily.
“Hehe, Master Zhao, I am lending you a helping hand and, at the same time, making use of his remaining value.” Zhu Pingan replied with a smile.
“Lending me a helping hand?! Making use of his remaining value?! Zihou, I am not a three-year-old child. Do not try to fool me!”
Zhao Wenhua looked at Zhu Pingan with deep suspicion, utterly convinced that Zhu Pingan was merely making excuses.
Hu Zongxian sat to one side, eyes narrowed, as if weighing the truth of Zhu Pingan’s words.
“Master Zhao, a man’s energy is limited. By drawing Governor Zhou’s attention to the navy, he will have less energy for other matters. The more importance he attaches to the navy, the less attention he will pay elsewhere. When Master Zhao moves against him, will it not be twice as effective with half the effort? I know my Zhejiang navy better than anyone. It will need at least another month before it is ready for combat. Governor Zhou wants to expand it into the main naval force. He will need to add warships and recruit more sailors. That will take even longer, at least two months, perhaps half a year, before the navy has real fighting strength.”
“Master Zhao, Governor Zhou’s Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies all focus on the navy. It shows how much importance he places on it. By giving him the navy, his main energy for the next two or three months will be tied up there. He will have no time for anything else, no energy to organise anti-pirate campaigns. Would that not greatly convenience Master Zhao’s plans? Everything I have done is to lend you a helping hand.”
Zhu Pingan looked at Zhao Wenhua with complete sincerity as he spoke slowly.
“When you put it like that, it does make sense…” Zhao Wenhua considered for a moment and nodded, but then his gaze sharpened again. “No, that is not right, Zihou. Why did you volunteer to serve as his deputy in the navy? How do you explain that?!”
Zhu Pingan could not help laughing. He lifted his teacup, took a sip, and only then, under Zhao Wenhua’s impatient stare, spoke unhurriedly.
“Master Zhao, that is how I make use of his remaining value. I am certain that as long as Master Zhao moves against him, you will succeed. It may not even take one or two months before Governor Zhou is brought down. But before that happens, why not let me make use of his remaining influence to strengthen our Zhejiang navy? Would that not be perfect?”
“Master Zhao knows full well that a navy is a gold-devouring beast. Building a three-thousand-man Zhejiang navy nearly emptied the treasury. Even the spoils I gained from wiping out pirate strongholds recently went straight into it. Now it is hard to sustain. When Governor Zhou said he wanted to take charge of the Zhejiang navy, I almost laughed out loud. He is the governor, and he places such importance on the navy. Once he takes command, he will surely pour the financial resources, materials, and manpower of the entire Jiangnan region into expanding it. Why would I not welcome that? As for volunteering to serve as his deputy, that is to ensure the navy remains in my hands and does not become wedding clothes for someone else.”
“With Governor Zhou as commander-in-chief and me as deputy, and with the navy built around the existing Zhejiang force as its core, the moment Governor Zhou falls, the navy will rightfully belong to me.”
“Since Governor Zhou’s fall is inevitable, the only question now is how best to make use of his remaining value. It must not go to waste!”
Zhu Pingan spoke eloquently, mixing seven parts truth with three parts fiction. Zhao Wenhua nodded repeatedly as he listened, and even Hu Zongxian beside him could not help nodding in agreement.
It was true that Zhu Pingan was using Zhou Liang to expand the navy. It was rare for someone to place such importance on the navy and volunteer to take charge. It would be foolish not to take advantage.
Since the navy would be expanded around the Zhejiang force as its backbone, and Zhu Pingan himself would be deputy commander, once Zhou Liang fell, the navy would naturally and rightfully fall to him. Even if someone else succeeded as governor later, they would not be able to take it away.
“So that is how it is. It seems I have wronged you, Zihou.” After hearing this, Zhao Wenhua’s doubts and anger completely vanished. He laughed heartily, patted Zhu Pingan’s shoulder, and personally refilled his teacup.
“It mainly happened too suddenly. I did not have time to discuss it with Master Zhao beforehand, otherwise this misunderstanding would not have arisen.”
Zhu Pingan naturally did not stand on ceremony and gave Zhao Wenhua a way to save face.
“Yes, exactly.”
Zhao Wenhua happily took the offered step and nodded repeatedly, blaming the misunderstanding on poor communication.
“Zihou, I do indeed intend to bring Zhou Liang down. You saw it yourself today. His ability is at most enough to be a provincial governor. As supreme commander, he is out of his depth. Look at his Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies. Ten difficulties, yet only three strategies. Even a child just starting school would not make such a mistake. Navy, navy, navy. He thinks that with a navy he can solve the pirate problem. It is utterly laughable. Every extra day he remains in the governor’s seat is another day of disaster! For the sake of the greater campaign against the pirates in Jiangnan, Zhou Liang must be removed! Otherwise, Jiangnan will never know peace!” Zhao Wenhua spoke as though he bore full responsibility for the anti-pirate effort in Jiangnan.
Spare me. You want to bring Zhou Liang down only because he took the governor’s seat that you wanted. Do not drag the Jiangnan pirate campaign into it.
Zhu Pingan thought this inwardly but naturally did not say it aloud.
“Governor Zhou’s anti-pirate strategy today was like a lame duck. Naval warfare is certainly important, but to wipe out the pirates, how can land warfare be neglected? Zhou Liang emphasises naval warfare alone and says not a word about land operations. If that is not a lame duck, what is?! If the Jiangnan campaign were pushed forward according to his strategy, it would be a joke.”
Hu Zongxian chimed in, launching into a thorough criticism of Zhou Liang’s Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies.
“Yes, Meilin is right. In my view, even if Zhou Liang is not a complete incompetent, he is not much better.”
Zhao Wenhua was very pleased with Hu Zongxian’s support and piled on further criticism, calling Zhou Liang little better than a rice bucket.
After the venting, Zhao Wenhua turned to Zhu Pingan and asked, “Zihou, what is your opinion of Governor Zhou’s pirate-extermination strategy today?”
“Governor Zhou’s Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies are somewhat one-sided…” Zhu Pingan took a sip of tea and gave a mild assessment.
“Hahaha, truly great minds think alike. He is simply not qualified to be governor. Removing a mediocrity like him is for the good of the country and the people.” Zhao Wenhua laughed heartily.
“How shall we impeach him?” Hu Zongxian asked.
“Hehe, I have a hundred ways to bring him down. Now, with Zihou’s divine assistance and all his energy tied up in the navy, it will be even easier. Just wait. Within a month, I will have him out!”
Zhao Wenhua declared with full confidence.
Zhu Pingan could not help inwardly scoffing. Insufficient for success but more than enough for failure. When it came to being a villain, Zhao Wenhua truly had no equal!
