“Captain Zhao, you were ordered to Suzhou to verify the great victory there. Why have you turned back? What urgent matter do you have to report?”
At Emperor Jiajing’s nod, Huang Jin stepped forward half a pace and addressed Zhao Ang, who knelt in the center of the grand hall.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord Supervisor, and esteemed officials,” Zhao Ang began, clasping his fists. “My team and I rushed to Suzhou overnight. Passing through the Tianjin Guard relay station, we learned that a group of Suzhou officers was escorting captured Japanese pirates and their severed heads to the capital to present them as tribute.
This reminded us that last night, while hurrying toward the outskirts of the capital, we’d encountered a group encamped outside a village. It dawned on us that they might be the Suzhou officers bringing their captives. Captain Wang thus instructed me to turn back with some men to confirm this, while he and the others continued to Suzhou for the investigation.
Upon returning to the capital, I found it easy to track down the Suzhou contingent due to their grand procession. I quickly located them in the city and conducted a preliminary check. The captives and heads they presented seem largely authentic. Given the gravity of the matter, I didn’t dare delay and returned at once to report.”
Zhao Ang’s words struck the hall like a comet, igniting a clamor among the assembled officials.
“What? Suzhou’s brought captives and heads to the capital?”
“They’ve even presented Japanese pirate captives and heads?”
“No way—could Suzhou really have achieved a once-in-a-century victory against the pirates, enough to bring captives to the capital?”
“Presenting captives? It’s been years since that happened. The last time was during Emperor Zhengde’s reign, when Master Yangming crushed Prince Ning and offered captives. What merit do Zhu Ping’an and the Suzhou lot have to present captives in the capital?”
The hall buzzed with discussion, especially among the Yan faction, who whispered furiously among themselves. The news of Suzhou’s tribute caught them off guard.
They hadn’t expected Suzhou to dare present captives in the capital.
To come to the capital with such a display, Suzhou must have some solid evidence—something that could withstand scrutiny.
Could the Suzhou victory be real?!
Impossible!
A triumph as grand as the Suzhou victory—unprecedented in a century, worthy of a place in history—with just Zhu Ping’an’s two thousand Zhejiang troops, not twenty thousand? How could they achieve such a dazzling success?!
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
The Yan faction couldn’t accept it.
“Captain Zhao,” Yan Maoqing interjected, unable to hold back, “how many Japanese pirate captives did the Suzhou group present?”
“Replying to Your Excellency,” Zhao Ang responded promptly, “I counted them myself and verified with General Liu, the officer in charge of Suzhou’s tribute. They brought 482 pirate captives in total. Five died en route, leaving 477 alive now.”
“Ha! Only 477 pirate captives?” Yan Maoqing seized on this, laughing loudly. “Suzhou’s victory report claimed they annihilated nearly 40,000 pirates. 477 captives—how paltry! How could that possibly prove the Suzhou victory?!”
Yan Maoqing’s words sparked a wave of mockery from the Yan faction, who eagerly jumped on the bandwagon.
“Exactly! A victory of 40,000, and they bring just over 400 captives? The gap’s absurdly huge.”
“It’s not just a gap—it’s heaven and earth! A hundredfold difference! Ridiculous!”
“This tribute of captives proves there’s something fishy about the Suzhou victory! It’s a fabrication! Why else would they only have 400 captives?”
“You want to use 400 captives to prove a 40,000-strong victory? That’s like using an ant to prove an elephant!”
” laughable—truly laughable. Suzhou’s tribute is practically self-incriminating. They’ve rushed to deliver their own evidence of guilt! Heh, this doesn’t count as a confession!”
One after another, the Yan faction jeered, arguing that 400 captives couldn’t substantiate the Suzhou victory. On the contrary, they claimed, it proved the victory was exaggerated—a sham.
Their tension eased. Though it seemed Suzhou had won a significant battle—after all, they had over 400 captives—it surely wasn’t the 40,000-pirate annihilation claimed in the report!
Definitely not!
How could 400 captives prove a 40,000-strong victory? Clearly impossible!
Suzhou had hoped this tribute would validate their triumph, but they’d shot themselves in the foot. It only exposed their report as inflated!
*Greed knows no bounds—they’ve tried to swallow an elephant like a snake.*
Suzhou had likely won a decent victory—capturing 400 pirates suggested a battle of two or three thousand, already surpassing the Sea Sacrifice Victory. If they’d reported that honestly, they’d have earned promotions and wealth, even if less than a 40,000-victory would bring.
But their greed got the better of them, claiming a 40,000-pirate triumph. Falsifying a victory, deceiving the court, and misleading the emperor—that was a crime of lèse-majesté! Now, instead of rewards, they’d face punishment. They’d brought this on themselves—not only would they lose promotions and riches, but their heads might roll too!
Deceiving the emperor—beheading wasn’t too harsh, was it?
“With just 400 captives, they’ve proven they’ve falsified their achievements, exaggerated their victory, deceived the court, and committed a grave crime against the emperor!”
“Charge them with lèse-majesté!”
“Suzhou’s Prefect Shang Weichi might get off lightly—he only claimed credit for defending the city. But Zhu Ping’an, with his 40,000-pirate claim, can’t escape the charge of deceiving the emperor. He must be severely punished!”
The Yan faction demanded justice, some sparing Shang Weichi but unanimously calling for Zhu Ping’an’s harsh punishment.
As the Yan faction mocked and pressed for Zhu Ping’an’s conviction, Xu Jie shot a glance at Censor Guo Kui.
Guo Kui caught the signal and stepped forward, addressing Zhao Ang. “Captain Zhao, didn’t you say Suzhou presented both captives and heads? You’ve accounted for 477 captives—how many heads?”
At Guo Kui’s question, Yan Maoqing and the Yan faction faltered. Caught up in their glee and derision, they’d overlooked the heads. But with only 400-odd captives, how many heads could there be?
A thousand or so, at most? That might add some weight, but it still couldn’t prove a 40,000-strong victory.
It wouldn’t change their crime of falsifying achievements, deceiving the court, and offending the emperor.
The Yan faction remained unperturbed.
