1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3863

Shi Chengwu did not actually intend to immediately settle accounts with Lu Congshan. The most urgent task at present was to find out the identities of the ambushers in the city, as well as the masterminds and objectives behind their actions.

Shi Chengwu needed to find out as soon as possible whether this was an assassination attempt spontaneously organized by the Jiujiang garrison or part of a higher-level military counterattack by the Ming Dynasty, so that he could take timely countermeasures.

If it's the former, it won't pose a significant obstacle to the current takeover of Jiujiang; simply sending more men into the city for careful clearing and suppression is sufficient. However, if it's the latter, then the combat troops that have been transferred to Jiujiang this time will have to be used.

From the perspective of the Haihan Army generals, Shi Chengwu actually preferred the latter scenario. That way, he would have the opportunity to eliminate the Ming army's main force on the Jiujiang battlefield, and once the war escalated, he would have more room for maneuver and could naturally gain more military merits.

However, an ambush appeared within the city, which should have been a peaceful handover. Regardless of whether Lu Congshan was involved or not, as the prefect, he was certainly culpable. To be on the safe side, Shi Chengwu made a gesture, and immediately several personal guards stepped forward and stood beside Lu Congshan. If he made the slightest move, those burly Haihan soldiers would grab him and hold him down.

Lu Congshan misunderstood Shi Chengwu's meaning. Seeing the other party surrounding him, he thought they were going to arrest him and punish him. His legs went weak and he knelt down on the ground, repeatedly crying out that he was innocent.

Shi Chengwu said, "Lord Lu, don't be nervous. I'm just having someone protect you. Don't forget, their assassination targets might not only be outsiders like us, but possibly you too!"

Lu Congshan was startled again. One of the reasons he chose to join Haihan was because he was afraid of death. If this choice ultimately led to his being purged by the Ming Dynasty, then everything he had done to save his life would have been in vain.

However, Lu Congshan was, after all, a high-ranking official of the fourth rank in charge of a prefecture. He had seen his share of ups and downs and quickly forced himself to calm down. He knew that he had to take the initiative to prove his innocence in order to have a chance to get rid of the implicated person.

He quickly offered his advice to Shi Chengwu, saying, "Sir, I have some humble opinions, but I don't know if I should speak them."

Shi Chengwu glanced at him, nodded, and said, "Tell me about it."

Lu Congshan quickly replied, "These thieves are lurking in the city with ill intentions. Even if they are prepared to die, they will still plan their escape route from Jiujiang in advance. Therefore, there should be people secretly providing support outside their ambush points. For example, there may be a large number of horses with saddles and bridles hidden somewhere, or boats ready to depart moored on the riverbank somewhere. If we can search the surrounding area according to these clues, we may be able to capture their accomplices as well."

The possibility pointed out by Lu Congshan did fill the gap in Shi Chengwu's thinking, and at the same time, it also provided him with an opportunity to clear his name.

Shi Chengwu thought his words made sense, so he called over an officer and gave him a few instructions, telling him to carry them out immediately and send out cavalry to search within a five-mile radius outside Jiujiang City for any suspicious situations that Lu Congshan had mentioned.

Meanwhile, the armed fleet on the river will also take action, immediately blockading the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and nearby tributaries, cutting off all possible escape routes.

The Haihan Army was extremely efficient. Once Shi Chengwu's order was relayed, the land and naval forces soon set out separately to search outside Jiujiang City.

Due to the changes in the city, the original procedure of going to the government office to take over had to be interrupted. Shi Chengwu simply set up the temporary command post on the city tower above the Wangjing Gate, where he was located at the time. This way, he could not only have a commanding view of the situation in the city, but also send command signals to the fleet on the river outside the city.

Before the truth is revealed, Lu Congshan and his group of local officials have no choice but to lower themselves and be temporarily placed under house arrest. Shi Chengwu did not act arbitrarily; after ascending the city wall, he consulted Ning Zijing and Ha Jianyi. After all, Jiujiang would eventually be under their administration, and Shi Chengwu was merely clearing obstacles for them.

Ning Zijing said, "If Lu Congshan is unaware of this, then it's a minor matter. What I fear is that this was something the other side planned for a long time and did intentionally. If we launch a large-scale arrest operation inside and outside the city, it will inevitably cause panic among the people, and then we won't be able to have a smooth transition."

After listening, Shi Chengwu remained noncommittal and then asked Ha Jianyi for his opinion.

Ha Jianyi said, "I think that some problems during the handover process may not be a bad thing."

Ning Zijing asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Ha Jianyi explained, “Think about it, if the handover had been completed peacefully, wouldn’t it have been difficult for us to clean up the local personnel relationships? Now that things have blown up, it has provided ready-made charges. We can use this as a pretext to investigate anyone, even Lu Congshan. If necessary, we can still frame and prosecute him.”

Before Ning Zijing could speak, Shi Chengwu clapped his hands: "Great minds think alike, Jianyi. I agree with you. We should take this opportunity to establish our authority and purge the local powerful figures in Jiujiang."

Ning Zijing asked with some concern, "Is it necessary to do this?"

Shi Chengwu said, "Zijing, those in positions of power cannot be soft-hearted. If you lack authority, who will willingly obey your orders in the future?"

"Furthermore, although Lu Congshan may be willing to pledge allegiance to our country, and this matter may indeed be unrelated to him, do the people around him, his subordinates and confidants, all share the same thoughts as him? Are there any people whose stance is wavering?"

"Furthermore, you and Jianyi both took office hastily and didn't bring many people with you. But if you want to govern here for a long time, you still need to arrange some trustworthy people to take over important positions as soon as possible, right? What makes parachuted officials stand firm in their positions? It's all thanks to your and Jianyi's prestige!"

Ha Jianyi added, "Zijing, Brother Shi is right. Jiujiang is a newly occupied area. If we don't act accordingly, future government and military orders may not be able to be carried out smoothly."

Ning Zijing knew they had a point, but for a long time, his approach to governance had been influenced by his father, who believed that a peaceful and moderate approach was the most ideal, so he was inevitably somewhat resistant to the radical methods the two men suggested.

However, Ning Zijing wasn't inflexible. The current situation in Jiujiang did indeed pose certain potential risks. If Shi Chengwu hadn't accompanied him, and he and Ha Jianyi had entered the city so carelessly to assume control, they might have actually fallen into a trap.

The best course of action now is indeed to listen to the more experienced Shi Chengwu and use this unexpected event to establish authority and deter the villains hiding in the shadows.

However, he didn't yet have a plan for who should be demoted and who should be killed, so Shi Chengwu would probably have to take charge of the overall situation first.