IDWBE -Chapter 219 Capturing Jiang Kan

“Your Highness,” Qi Peng pushed a wheelchair over and said, “We’ve located the Nanzhou Provincial Administrator, Wulin.”

Lin Yi asked, “Where?”

“He was captured by the navy along with Jiang Kan,”

Qi Peng spat out the tea leaves in his mouth and continued, “Jiang Kan made himself king of the island, coming and going as he pleased. Quite a carefree fellow.”

Lin Yi said, “These two are interesting—one is with Prince Yong, the other with the Crown Prince. Tell Du Sanhe and Zhang Mian, I want to meet Wulin and Jiang Kan—alive to see them, dead to see their corpses.”

“Yes,” Qi Peng cupped his hands. “I’ll give the orders immediately.”

“Also, have Ye Qiu assist,” Lin Yi said coldly, “Don’t let them escape.”

Qi Peng replied, “Your Highness is wise. With this, there will be no mistakes.”

Lin Yi waved his hand, and Qi Peng pushed the wheelchair away.

Lin Yi’s gaze then fell on the four foreign women pruning in the yard. Tall where they were tall, beautiful where they were beautiful, making one’s heart itch.

As a well-educated man who had passed English proficiency exams and skillfully used “yamete” and “sawadee ka,” Lin Yi found these four women completely useless for communication.

Whether he said “hola” or “are you ok,” the four didn’t respond, instead chattering incomprehensibly.

Communication was impossible—they had to relearn the foreign language from scratch.

He had arranged study sessions on odd-numbered days and rest on even-numbered days.

But Mingyue and Zixia were hopeless—they stared at him intently whenever he had thoughts, claiming they were there to assist, but couldn’t be shooed away.

When he got angry, the two would fall to their knees, crying.

He couldn’t really kill them.

Very frustrating.

“Send them to the orphanage,” Lin Yi pointed at the four women and sighed, “They can help care for the orphans.”

“Your Highness is wise!”

Zixia’s smile bloomed.

“Damn it,” Lin Yi really wanted to scold her.

They kept ruining his plans!

In truth, he understood their thoughts—they weren’t jealous, but thought these foreign women were unworthy and felt “defiled” by their presence.

After all, in their eyes, whether natives or foreign women, they weren’t considered human.

The Middle Kingdom’s mindset ran deep—they had no idea the merits of Western food or culture!

“Words cannot describe worldly indulgence,
Nor can they express human grievances,
Generation after generation, it’s all fate.”

Feeling nostalgic, he couldn’t help but start singing.

“Brave lads, brave lads, courage in every vein.
Life is short, autumn passes swiftly; drink till the end!”

At this point, Lin Yi suddenly said, “Bring wine—one drunkenness washes away a thousand sorrows!”

Why was he doomed to remain single forever?

Mingyue handed him the wine, eyes half-lidded, gazing at their lord.

Lin Yi gulped a large mouthful of wine and continued singing loudly.

“My beauty in the east, the Huang River flows in the west…”

Mingyue’s cheeks flushed.

He finished one song but didn’t stop, singing again, “On a long road, I journey with you, carrying courage and warm hearts.”

Mingyue and Zixia memorized it.

Then the schoolchildren learned it.

Within a day, everyone in Baiyun City knew it.

As Huang Sifang’s rebel forces grew stronger in Nanzhou, refugees flocked into Sanhe in large groups.

Food became scarce.

Sanhe had no choice but to import grain from their former rival, the Ayu Kingdom.

This trade involved both large merchants and ordinary fishermen. Ayu’s coast wasn’t far from Sanhe, and transporting small shipments of grain was more profitable than fishing.

Monks from Sanhe’s grand temple, along with officials from the Provincial Administration, distributed porridge along the Sanhe–Nanzhou border, with Ji Hai participating.

“Amitabha,” Ji Hai held a frail little girl and spooned porridge into her mouth. “Like me, a life of hardship.”

Hu Shilu carried a box over, lifted the girl’s eyelids, and sighed, “This eye can’t be saved, but at least the other can see—a small blessing amid misfortune.”

“Thank you, Divine Doctor Hu,” Ji Hai wiped the girl’s mouth and clasped his hands. “Blessings on you, Divine Doctor.”

“You’re becoming more like a monk,” Hu Shilu shook his head. “I watched you grow up. Don’t be so formal with me. You’re no stranger like you are with the blind boy.”

Ji Hai lowered his head in shame, smiling. “My fault, little monk.”

Hu Shilu shook his head again.

Shen Chu’s tent was set on a mountaintop, looking down at the ant-like crowd below, laughing. “This will give Lord Shan Qi headaches.”

These people all had mouths to feed.

If they went hungry, trouble would arise.

Wang Tuozi said, “Sir, the letter has already been sent to Huang Sifang. If he dares to be obstinate, we caught him once and let him go—we can catch him again.”

Shen Chu said, “Issue the order: enter Nanzhou tomorrow.”

“Sir.”

Wang Tuozi jumped. “You mean…”

He didn’t dare finish.

“Entering Nanzhou is His Highness’ order,”

Shen Chu smiled. “Move east from Nanzhou, cooperate with Zhang Mian’s navy, locate Wulin, and capture Jiang Kan.”

Most importantly, take control of Nanzhou’s Maritime Administration and shipyards!

Sanhe was starting investment recruitment, but the Nanzhou shipyards were greedy and obstructive—they’d take anything and refuse cooperation.

It was time to teach these cunning merchants the cost of failed schemes.

“Yes!”

Wang Tuozi shouted.

At sunset, the ten-thousand-strong Sanhe army entered Nanzhou, under the watchful eyes of the refugees, followed by five thousand laborers.

From previous lessons, they wouldn’t let the laborers go ahead.

“I knew we shouldn’t have come,”

Wang Xiaoshuan complained to Wei Yishan, leading a mule. “Nanzhou is worse than Yuezhou.”

Wei Yishan said calmly, “If you regret it, you can still return.”

“So I came here for nothing?”

Wang Xiaoshuan snapped, “I can’t return empty-handed!”

Wei Yishan shrugged. “Then why all this nonsense?”

Wang Xiaoshuan angrily whipped the mule and ignored Wei Yishan.

Wei Yishan turned away as well.

Night fell.

Ji Hai stood by a freshly dug grave, chanting sutras over a baby wrapped in tattered cloth.

Tears ran down his cheeks.

“Little monk, why are you crying?”

A woman’s voice suddenly came from behind.

“It’s you, Miss,” Ji Hai didn’t turn, recognizing Xie Jiuyun’s voice.

“Are you unhappy I came?”

“Little monk means no offense,” Ji Hai carefully placed the baby into the pit, covering it with soil, reciting, “May all debts of life be resolved, guiding the soul through the three paths of suffering, transcending the nether realm to the immortal land.”

“Monk, don’t you understand that the world is full of suffering?”

“She’s just a child.”

“Doesn’t Buddhism say all beings are equal?”

Xie Jiuyun smiled. “What’s the difference between children and adults?”

“I am a monk, but also human.”

Ji Hai finished, clasped his hands toward Xie Jiuyun, and walked away.

“Hey, monk! Fool! You bastard!”

No matter how Xie Jiuyun shouted, he didn’t turn back.

The Sanhe army marched east. Though Nanzhou was mountainous, the official roads were clear, and within a month they reached Nanzhou’s Maritime Administration. Shen Chu looked at the vast sea with ships approaching and smiled, “Zhang Mian is quite punctual.”

The ships docked. Soldiers placed gangplanks, and Zhang Mian disembarked, saluting Shen Chu from a distance.

Shen Chu laughed. “Only you, Lord Zhang?”

Zhang Mian snorted. “So far, I haven’t seen Du Sanhe.”

Wen Qian said, “Lord Zhang, why must you interfere with the head’s matters?”

Zhang Mian replied, “This is the order of His Highness!”

Wen Qian asked, “And what do you think?”

“I told Du Sanhe clearly: it’s best not to disobey His Highness’ order,”

Ye Qiu added softly, “Otherwise, His Highness would have me find Du Sanhe, which would put me in a difficult spot.”

“You…”

Wen Qian couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly.

Their head was also a defeated subordinate of Ye Qiu.

Even if Wen Qian got angry, it was useless.

Though summer was still a month away, Sanhe’s weather was already stifling.

Even hotter was Sanhe’s crackdown on underground gambling.

In just two months, the constables led by Chen Xinluo had raided over twenty hidden casinos, many on remote mountaintops.

Boxes of silver were brought to the Provincial Administration. Shan Qi was delighted; the money could be used to support natives and refugees.

Meanwhile, gamblers and their families rejoiced—they no longer had to repay debts!

A windfall from heaven.

The foreigners had finally done a good deed!

Grudges over the freed natives vanished instantly.

All casino personnel were sent to labor reform, including Wang Xing’s younger brother Wang Xun.

“Brother, I can’t live like this,” Wang Xun munched on pork hocks, wiping tears with his sleeve. “Old Bian Jing was ruthless, whipped me!”

He didn’t try to get his brother to bend the rules to release him.

Even if he had the power, his father wouldn’t agree.

Everyone knew Sanhe’s laws were strict. His brother acting would endanger the family.

“See, now you’re scared, right?”

Wang Xing laughed. “Who told you to secretly do these filthy things? There’s no lack of food at home. Why bother?”

Now he had no face to show anyone.

The Wang family was the richest in Sanhe. Yet their family’s youth ran underground casinos, all for a few hundred taels in a month!