“Zihou, I’m entrusting southern Zhejiang to you. Once we’ve annihilated Xu Hai here, we’ll press our advantage and march to southern Zhejiang to eradicate Wang Zhi in one fell swoop! With Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, the two major Wokou leaders, eliminated, the Wokou threat in Jiangnan will be resolved. Then I’ll have the face to stand before the Emperor.”
Zhang Jing patted Zhu Ping’an’s shoulder with satisfaction, speaking optimistically.
Zhang Jing was optimistic, but Zhu Ping’an was not. History had proven that even after eliminating Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, the Wokou threat in Jiangnan worsened, taking nearly a decade to fully suppress.
Still, human effort could change outcomes. The road might be long, but with persistence, the goal could be reached.
“Ping’an wishes the Governor swift success!” Zhu Ping’an stood, raised his teacup, and toasted Zhang Jing.
“Here’s to your auspicious words!” Zhang Jing clinked his teacup with Zhu Ping’an’s, then added, “This is also a toast to our success. After annihilating Xu Hai, we’ll join forces in southern Zhejiang to eradicate Wang Zhi’s Wokou!”
“To swift success!” Both drained their cups.
“Governor, I came to Jiaxing today with another matter. While implementing the ten-household registration and mutual guarantee system in Zhejiang, I noticed anomalies in Douniu Port, northwest of Jiaxing, and Fuchun Bay, directly north. I sent people to investigate in disguise. Fuchun Bay showed no issues so far, but Douniu Port revealed something unusual…”
Before taking his leave, Zhu Ping’an informed Zhang Jing about the anomalies at Douniu Port.
Per Zhang Jing’s orders, Zhu Ping’an would return to Shaoxing tomorrow, leaving no time to address Douniu Port. However, its location was critical, within the scope of the upcoming Wangjiangjing battle. If this issue wasn’t resolved, it could cause significant trouble.
Thus, before departing, Zhu Ping’an shared the situation at Douniu Port with Zhang Jing, urging him to deal with it.
“Oh? What’s unusual?” Zhang Jing asked.
“While implementing the ten-household registration system in Zhejiang, this village reported no information at all. More suspiciously, over ten days ago, the village head held a grand birthday celebration for his father. Fifty or sixty relatives attended, all able-bodied men, unfamiliar faces never seen before. After the celebration, these relatives, staying in villagers’ homes, haven’t left and remain secluded. Some villagers seem unnatural, as if under coercion… Based on this, I strongly suspect Douniu Port has been secretly controlled by the Wokou.”
Zhu Ping’an explained the anomalies at Douniu Port in detail, warning Zhang Jing that it was likely under Wokou control.
“Douniu Port, is it? I’ve noted it. I’ll send someone to handle it,” Zhang Jing nodded.
Hearing Zhang Jing confirm he would address Douniu Port, Zhu Ping’an felt reassured, clasped his hands, and bid farewell.
“Zihou, take care,” Zhang Jing said, escorting Zhu Ping’an out of the study.
“Governor, please stay,” Zhu Ping’an clasped his hands in farewell, turned, and walked out.
After Zhu Ping’an’s figure disappeared from the courtyard, another person emerged from the study—Li Tianchong, the former Zhejiang Governor.
“Zicheng, you heard everything. Zihou has accepted the task and will return to Shaoxing tomorrow to hold the oath ceremony and march to Ningbo,” Zhang Jing said, turning to Li Tianchong.
“Lord Zhu prioritizes the greater good and bravely takes on this heavy responsibility. It’s admirable,” Li Tianchong nodded, praising Zhu Ping’an.
“If not for concerns about Zhao Wenhua disrupting the battle, it would be better for Zihou to lead the Zhejiang army in the campaign against Xu Hai’s Wokou. Zihou is well-versed in military affairs, and the Zhejiang army has repeatedly triumphed against the Wokou. It’s a pity…”
Zhang Jing sighed.
“My lord, you needn’t feel guilty. You’re responsible to the Emperor and the people. Lord Zhu will surely understand. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Zhao Wenhua and the Yan faction!” Li Tianchong comforted him.
Zhang Jing still felt a tinge of regret.
Seeing this, Li Tianchong continued, “My lord, if a ruler isn’t discreet, he loses his ministers; if a minister isn’t discreet, he loses his life; if plans aren’t discreet, they lead to disaster. For the sake of the anti-Wokou campaign, secrecy is paramount. The Yan faction’s ties with the Wokou are murky. If Zhao Wenhua learns of our anti-Wokou deployments, it’s as good as the Wokou knowing them! Know your enemy and yourself, and you’ll win every battle. If the Wokou learn our plans, how can the campaign succeed?”
Zhang Jing nodded at Li Tianchong’s words. “Zicheng, you’re right. Secrecy is crucial.”
Then Zhang Jing asked, “We were interrupted earlier when Zihou arrived. You were saying—has it been confirmed that those two from the Yan faction are colluding with the Wokou?”
“In response, my lord, the ones surnamed Wang and Zhang are definitely colluding with the Wokou. Last month, they purchased eighty carts of medicinal herbs for healing in Yingtian City. The carts left the city in the morning, and by noon, they were ‘robbed’ by Wokou outside the city. None of their men were harmed, but all the herbs were taken. It’s too convenient. And the month before, they bought over a hundred carts of grain in the city, which, ‘coincidentally,’ were also ‘robbed’ by Wokou!”
“Once or twice might be chance, but not three or four times. Just the day before yesterday, their estate was ‘attacked’ by Wokou, and all its wealth was looted. ‘Coincidentally,’ the one surnamed Wang had just stockpiled over a hundred fine horses from the northwest, which were at the estate for shoeing and were ‘taken’ by the Wokou…”
“And during Lord Zhu’s Suzhou Defense Battle, he burned nearly a hundred Wokou warships. Though the Tuolin Wokou regained strength in Jiaxing, they’re still desperately short of ships. Isn’t it ‘convenient’ that the one surnamed Zhang bought thousands of cedar and pine logs, plus hundreds of barrels of tung oil, claiming it was for a furniture business? Yet, ‘coincidentally,’ it was all ‘robbed’ by Wokou. Everyone knows cedar and pine are commonly used for shipbuilding, and tung oil is an essential material…”
“There are many similar incidents. Whatever the Wokou need, they buy; whatever they buy, the Wokou ‘rob.’ It’s precise! This isn’t coincidence—they’re practically the Wokou’s stewards, handling their procurement! If they’re not colluding with the Wokou, who is?”
Li Tianchong listed several examples involving the ones surnamed Wang and Zhang, speaking with absolute certainty of their collusion with the Wokou.
“Is there evidence?” Zhang Jing asked.
“Evidence?” Li Tianchong paused, then shook his head regretfully. “They’re very cautious. For these dealings, they use either clan relatives or trusted household servants, all tight-lipped. To avoid alerting them, we can’t use many methods, so we haven’t obtained confessions yet. As for physical evidence, we haven’t secured any either. Their estates are heavily guarded, and our men have tried infiltrating their bedrooms and studies at night several times without success. But I believe if we searched their homes, we’d definitely find secret letters with the Wokou.”
Zhang Jing shook his head. “Without evidence, we can’t convict them, so how can we search their homes? They’re backed by the Yan faction, deeply entrenched in Jiangnan. Searching their homes without proof—would they cooperate? Would they let it go? Can you guarantee we’d find secret letters or other evidence? If we break in, they only need to stall for a moment to burn any letters. If we search and find nothing, we’d be handing the Yan faction a weapon to use against us. They’d seize the opportunity to make trouble, and we’d be the ones to suffer.”
