Chapter 899 Anger

Chapter 899: Anger Chapter 899: Anger Editor: Atlas Studios As soon as the Emperor’s decree to appoint Qi Haoran arrived at the government office of Guangdong, the citizens of Guangzhou were in an uproar.

For the first time, they bought firecrackers and set them off.

When they heard that the maritime ban had been lifted, the fishermen living in the Willow Tree Workshop walked out of the low and damp slums.

Kneeling facing the north, they kowtowed three times firmly.

Qi Haoran, who had been dragged by Mu Yangling to look for Assistant Commander Wang, felt his heart ache when he saw the people kneeling on the street.

All of them were sallow and thin, and their clothes were tattered.

Mu Yangling was stunned to see such a scene, too.

Qi Haoran held her hand and took a deep look at the people kneeling on the ground, before turning around and saying, “Let’s go back.

To find out if Wang Chun can be of use, we just need to call him to the government office to investigate.” Mu Yangling quietly followed Qi Haoran back and looked at him with concern from time to time.

When Qi Haoran walked to the entrance of the government office, he looked up at the plaque on it.

“Ah Ling, I remember you saying when you were young that the people suffered in both prosperous and bad times.

I’ve always disagreed, thinking that when the country is prosperous, the people will at least be able to fill their stomachs.

But looking at how chaotic Guangzhou is, I feel that what you said might not be wrong.” Hearing his depressed tone, Mu Yangling was afraid that he would become world-weary, so she hurriedly said, “This kind of thing can be put an end to.

We just haven’t had the time to deal with this since Great Qi is not quite stable yet…” “But without rules, it’s not enough to rely on the officials’ self-awareness.” Qi Haoran’s eyes flashed coldly as he said, “Not only did Yu Cheng embezzle and take bribes, but he also colluded with pirates to harm the good people.

These things are very obvious, but no one in the huge Guangdong Prefecture reported him.

Even the imperial censors who inspected here didn’t impeach him.

Is Yu Cheng so popular?” “No.” Qi Haoran gritted his teeth and said, “It’s just because of benefits.

For the sake of benefits, people forget to do what’s right for the country and ignore the hardships of the people.

Ah Ling, we can’t just rely on the loyalty of the officials to govern the country.

We have to have a system so that we’ll know when they commit a crime.” Mu Yangling held his hand tightly and said in a low voice, “Let’s take it slow.” Qi Haoran nodded.

“Yes, I’m not in a hurry.

Let’s start from Guangdong Prefecture and Yu Cheng first.” The case of Fan Zijin’s disappearance at sea had concluded.

Zhou Zhou’s merits made up for his mistakes and he was not punished.

However, he was incompetent in defending against the enemy and allowed the pirates to run rampant on the coast.

As such, he was demoted to a lieutenant.

As for Yu Cheng, he was investigated for trying to hide the news of the disappearance and colluding with Westerners.

As the investigation went deeper, the matter of him embezzling and accepting bribes and even colluding with pirates to frame the former magistrate and Assistant Commander Wang were also exposed.

Now, he was already locked up in prison and his entire family was under house arrest.

It was rare to see such a great extent of the involvement of officials—a quarter of officials in Guangdong Province were involved.

Fan Zijin wanted to turn a blind eye and let some people off.

After all, considering the implication was too wide, it could be problematic trying to replace so many officials at once.

Qi Haoran, who originally did not intend to ask about this matter, interfered angrily when he obtained the data of the slums and fishing villages in various places like the Willow Tree Workshop.

He threw the booklet in front of Fan Zijin and roared, “Do you know how many people have died in the past three years?” Fan Zijin flipped open the booklet and his expression darkened.

Since he was the magistrate of Guangdong, the people who died were all commoners under his rule.

Qi Haoran was livid.

“They all starved to death.

Ever since the first year of Taikang, the national treasury has distributed food relief to Guangdong every year.

The imperial censor reported that the commoners have received the relief.

But look at these booklets.

Less than 10% of the fishing villagers survived.

Even the commoners plundered by the Jin soldiers in the north can’t compare to this.

At least they died at the hands of the Jin soldiers.

What about these people?

They f*cking starved to death!

Are we going to spare them?” “Dream on!” Qi Haoran roared.

“Investigate all those who participated in this matter, regardless of their background!” Fan Zijin took a deep breath and closed the booklet.

With a straight face, he said, “I’ll handle this matter.

Now that the maritime ban has been lifted, many fishermen have started to rush into the sea.

Take the navy and be on guard.

I’m worried that some pirates will take this opportunity to cause trouble.” “We’ve just won two battles.

They don’t have a clear idea of our capabilities yet, so they shouldn’t attack so quickly.

However, you’re right.

We can’t rule out the possibility that they’ll take this opportunity to test us.

I’ll get Zhou Zhou to bring people to patrol the seaside.” “Didn’t you say that Zhou Zhou’s experience is limited?” “No matter how limited it is, patrolling won’t be a problem.” Qi Haoran said, “I’ve already met Wang Chun.

He’s 53 years old this year, but he’s quite energetic.

He’s indeed good at naval battles.

I’ve asked him to train soldiers in the navy, and I’ve also offered to intercede on his behalf.

It won’t be long before he can be reinstated to his position.

When the time comes, I’ll hand over most of the matters of the navy to him.

He still has many people around him that can be of use.” The people around him had put in a lot of effort to put up a show in front of Mu Yangling, with the aim of making a name for themselves in mind.

As long as they were indeed competent, Qi Haoran did not mind this methods of self-recommendation.

As he was currently lacking managerial and training talents in the navy, he welcomed all talented individuals.

Not only did Qi Haoran rehire those who used to serve in the navy, but he also asked Fei Bai to go to the fishing village to find those old fishermen who could gauge the situation at the seas just by listening to serve in the army.

These old fishermen had been fishing for their entire lives and knew the sea best.

They knew exactly when the tide was rising and when it would fall, including where there were hidden reefs nearby.

Qi Haoran couldn’t completely rely on the people from the Guangdong Navy.

He had to have some leverage.

Not only that, but he also went to the dungeon to chat with the Western pirates.

Sometimes, he asked them about their countries, the places they had been to, the naval battles they had fought, and even the gold, silver, and jewelry they had robbed.

After half a month, Qi Haoran had more or less figured out their situation.

Now that they had gotten more familiar with him, some Western pirates tried to sound him out on how they would be dealt with.

Qi Haoran told them explicitly, “Those who have killed the people of Great Qi will be executed.

The rest will be sent to do labor.” All the pirates were silent.

Qi Haoran patted his butt and stood up.

“All of you must have killed many people.

Since you’ve killed people, you should know that you have to pay back one day.

Other people also only have one precious life, just like yours.

Nobility or the lack thereof doesn’t determine the value of one’s life!” Qi Haoran turned around and left.

At this moment, Pedro took advantage of the lifting of the maritime ban to finally sneak into Guangzhou City.

He quietly entered the house.

When Andre turned around and saw Pedro, his expression changed and he hurriedly closed the door.

He turned around and roared in a low voice, “Why are you here?

Don’t you know that you’re a wanted criminal now?” Pedro placed his hat on the table and tried to calm him down.

“Alright, Andre, no one knows that I’ve entered the city.

I didn’t come in to discuss with you whether I’m a wanted criminal.

Now, can you explain why the soldiers of Great Qi came on your ship to attack us?” Pedro stared at him intently and said, “You have to know that the reason why my men didn’t give a warning was because they could tell that it was your ship.” Andre, who was also one of the Westerners on the battlefield, sneered in his heart.

It wasn’t that the other party didn’t warn him, but that he didn’t have the chance to do so before he was killed by Great Qi’s Princess Consort.

However, now was not the time to talk about this.

“Even if you didn’t come to me, I would’ve gone to look for you.

I was just about to ask you who leaked the news and why the Great Qi Imperial Court knew that we were in contact.

My men are clean.”

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