novelraw Chapter 234
Chapter 234
Chapter 234 Cao Ji and Japanese Pirates
As for the evidence, Wei Yu planned to have Pei Yongjie write it down himself.
After all, once the charges were written, not only could he read them, but they could also be directly handed over to the old man, which would save a lot of trouble.
After giving Pei Yongjie some pointers, Wei Yu stood up.
He walked toward the door, and when he passed the absent-minded Pei Yongjie, he stopped and turned back to look at him.
“Those children you said were sent to visit distant relatives—they probably aren’t real, right?”
Pei Yongjie's eyelashes trembled.
Wei Yu clearly saw the change on his face. After nodding thoughtfully, Wei Yu suddenly asked, “Were they taken hostage by someone?”
Since Pei Yongjie had decided to confess, he surely knew how things would end for him. Wei Yu didn’t think Pei Yongjie would still try any tricks like hiding the children under these circumstances.
Does he think the Imperial Court’s army is dead? Without official documents and household registration, going anywhere is impossible. One could only hide and sneak around unless they lived their whole life in some remote mountain forest.
After hearing Wei Yu's words, Pei Yongjie seemed completely drained, his shoulders drooping.
“…Yes, after all, nothing can be hidden from Your Highness.”
Wei Yu had only sensed something was off then. So he was testing him.
After a moment, Wei Yu asked, “Who did it? Japanese pirates?”
Pei Yongjie slowly shook his head, turned to look at Wei Yu with tired, dull eyes, and spoke slowly, “The Cao family of Donghai Commandery, Cao Ji is a naval general. He colludes with the Japanese pirates to control the harbor merchant ships, seizing large amounts of commerce and grain taxes. The entire Donghai Commandery is under the Cao family’s influence. Forty percent of Huzhou’s grain supply is controlled by the Cao family…”
“Cao Ji is greedy, but he’s always been very careful and, with the army in hand, has firmly held Donghai Commandery under control. No matter how big the incidents were before, as long as the Cao family was involved, no news would leak out…”
“But the Japanese pirates are different. They’re reckless and insatiable. I only know that Fu’an grain store was set up together with them, but I don’t know how they split the profits. The prefect of Donghai Commandery is Cao Ji’s puppet. For the sake of the people in Qian City Commandery, I had to eventually bow to their demands. Otherwise, the entire Qian City Commandery would fall into chaos…”
“In the past two years, relations between Cao Ji and the Japanese pirates haven’t been smooth. The pirates want to expand their reach, but Cao Ji disagrees. They’ve had many private quarrels over profit sharing. I only heard a little bit of it. And this large flood, with grain prices rising in Qian City Commandery, I speculate it’s not Cao Ji’s doing but the Japanese pirates’ private scheme…”
As Pei Yongjie recounted, Wei Yu frowned deeply.
This situation was more complicated than the Ji Commandery in Jiaozhou!
But since it involved naval forces controlling the waters, Wei Yu felt it was impossible for him to handle.
The other side had tens of thousands of troops!
Don’t talk about imperial orders making the army recognize their general’s betrayal and switch sides; just thinking about how much the Cao family has embezzled over the years, and the troops enjoying benefits from Cao Ji—they must be very comfortable and certainly no longer care about the Imperial Court.
To quell Cao Ji rebellion, either a surprise attack or a direct confrontation would be needed.
In any case, this wasn’t something Wei Yu with his small number of men could resolve.
Wei Yu was already thinking about who the old man might send this time. Maybe Lord Du Xing, maybe his nephew Du Rulin, or perhaps even his eldest brother?
Such a big guy, it would be a pity if he wasn’t sent to fight.
“Cao Ji has people in the capital. When the Imperial Court sent relief forces, he immediately—”
“Wait.”
Wei Yu suddenly interrupted Pei Yongjie. “You said Cao Ji has someone in the capital? Who?”
Pei Yongjie shook his head. “Cao Ji keeps it very secret. As far as I know, even his closest subordinates don’t know who this person is.”
Sigh.
On this issue, Wei Yu hesitated for half a second, then accepted it calmly.
Because the old man has mind reading abilities!
Is his father is just an ordinary person? Even someone like him, a chosen one, does not have mind reading as a cheat, but his father has.
Whoever has something in their mind, once standing before his father, they can’t escape at all!
He would remind his father later to hold a banquet and listen to everyone’s inner thoughts…
Wei Yu relaxed and nodded his chin to signal Pei Yongjie to continue.
“Cao Ji knows the movements in the capital very well. Before the relief team arrived in Huzhou, he threatened us not to act rashly. And to control us puppets, he kidnapped all the young children from their homes.”
At this point, Pei Yongjie looked at Wei Yu and shook his head with a somewhat amused smile.
“Actually, I originally planned to submit to Cao Ji and do nothing. But unfortunately, those Japanese pirates are so stupid. Normally, their price hikes would be tolerable, but at this critical time, they still acted foolishly. Even Cao Ji couldn’t suppress them! It’s utterly stupid!”
Wei Yu watched this guy, smiling and nearly deranged, and continued, “So you now regret because Cao Ji did something again? Cao Ji knew about the pirates’ foolish acts, and knowing the provincial governor would notice something was wrong upon arriving at Qian City Commandery, he abandoned you, right? He wanted you to take all the blame?”
Pei Yongjie: “Yes. Sacrificing a insignificant prefect like me to cover all the filth—that’s perfect, isn’t it? Cao Ji is a filthy man, and afraid of being implicated; of course, he’d do that!”
Wei Yu looked at him twice and said firmly, “But you are unwilling.”
Pei Yongjie smiled at Wei Yu, “Would Your Highness be willing to let your whole family die?”
Wei Yu did not respond.
Pei Yongjie: “I’ve been in Qian City Commandery for three years, and there are so many things I’m dissatisfied about. Unfortunately, I am powerless and can’t do anything… Now this time, if I don’t speak, my whole family will die together. If I do speak, perhaps there’s still a chance to redeem myself and leave the Pei family a legacy, right?”
Wei Yu nodded, “You are a smart person.”
Pei Yongjie only smiled lightly, a blend of bitterness and relief.
Wei Yu stared at him for a while, then placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe in the past, you were a conscientious and upright official, but just came to the wrong place and accidentally stepped into a quagmire.”
Pei Yongjie was slightly stunned.
“I am not saying this to pardon you. After all, there are always commoners in Qian City Commandery who died because of you. When acting as an official, one must be rigorous. In life, if you do wrong, you must be punished.”
After saying this, Wei Yu patted his shoulder and then headed toward the door.
“Write everything down as soon as possible. I will report all this to His Majesty. The people of Qian City Commandery, as well as the descendants of your Pei family taken by Cao Ji, I will give an explanation.”