Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 704 How to Control the Bandits
The tragedy made officials of all ranks in Suzhou furious. However, the pirates robbed and ran away. Even though Fei Zhen immediately ordered people to search at sea, nothing was found. He had no choice but to send troops to control the situation while writing a letter to ask for punishment to make himself clear of responsibility.

However, what the Suzhou officials did not know was that it was not just their area that was invaded by pirates. The vast coastline of Liaodong, starting from Muzhou, Zhenhai Prefecture, Suzhou, Fuzhou and Ningzhou, were all covered with pirates. The villages and farms along the coast were looted and attacked. A rough estimate showed that five to six hundred villagers were killed or injured, and more than a hundred village women were abducted. The loss of silver and money was incalculable.

Officials and garrisons from all over the country resettled the people while organizing the military and civilians to guard against pirates. Emergency documents and apologies flew to Liaoyang Prefecture like snowflakes.

With a dark face, Lu Bu put down the letter of request for help from Zhenhai Prefecture, picked up Fei Zhen's apology, picked up a Ningzhou emergency document, and then picked up Fuzhou's, and then -

With a bang, he smashed them all on the table. Lu Bu stood up from his seat, his eyes filled with anger, and slapped the table with his palm.

boom--

The loud explosion shook the room. The pens, inkstones and paperweights on the table all jumped up and hit the table with a bang. Some brushes rolled to the ground.

"Yu Cheng!"

The voice inside the house had already frightened the young man outside. Hearing the call, he quickly turned around and came in: "General, please give me your orders."

"Tell Wang Zheng and Li Zhu to stop busying themselves with those messy things outside and get over here!"

"Yes."

Yu Cheng responded and quickly called the guards outside to pick up the things that fell on the ground. Then he ran away quickly, muttering in his heart, what a mess, this is the ceremony for you to be promoted to the rank of king...

But never mind. The general is rarely so angry. It’s better to find the person as soon as possible.

……

At the same time, several fast horses galloped into the gate of Liaoyang Prefecture, dismounted and walked onto the streets, and a lively scene came into view.

"I haven't been to Liaoyang Prefecture for a long time, and it's still so prosperous." Qiao Lie sighed with a smile, then looked at the middle-aged Taoist priest beside him: "Brother, this should be your first time in this capital, right?"

"I have been guarding Zhenhai Prefecture." Wu Jiao stroked his beard and smiled: "If it weren't for the promotion of the general this time, I would still be guarding there now."

The horses were pulled behind, and with the slow sound of horse hooves, two figures in Taoist robes led the way.

"Brother, you have worked hard." Qiao Lie wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Zhenhai Prefecture is our first provincial capital, and it is also an important place to connect to various islands. If something happens there, it will be a matter of life and death."

"You are too kind, I am just doing my duty." Wu Jiao laughed and exclaimed at the busy road: "This is indeed a prosperous place. When I was in Song, I always thought that Liaodong was a barren land. I didn't know the truth until I came here. It seems that I was just looking at the world from a narrow perspective."

"Don't blame me, brother. I thought so at first, but after I went to Nanjing, I realized that many places in Liao were much better than those in Song." Qiao Lie took a breath and smiled. "Those officials in Song say that the Liao people are barbaric and Liao is desolate all day long, but they are just deceiving the ignorant people."

The group followed Qiao Lie to the General of Cavalry's residence. They saw Yu Cheng coming with Li Zhu and Wang Zheng. They bowed to each other. Qiao Lie smiled and said, "What a coincidence. I thought I would see you all only when I went to the general's residence." He pointed at Wu Jiao and said, "This is Wu Jiao, the attendant of the imperial guard. He has been stationed in Zhenhai Mansion."

The two sides said they had long admired each other, and Yu Cheng smiled bitterly: "Everyone, don't stand here, follow me to see the general first."

Qiao Lie raised his eyebrows, seeing that Li Zhu and Wang Zheng looked unhappy, he could not help but ask: "What happened? Why are they like this? But what's wrong with persuading them to ascend the throne?"

"No, although the matter of persuading him to ascend the throne did not go as planned, the general has agreed to promote him to the King of Qi. When we can conquer most of Liao in the future, it will be a natural thing to do." Li Zhu said dryly, and looked at Wu Jiao with a strange look: "The trouble is something else."

Yu Cheng walked in front, leading everyone into the courtyard, and said quickly: "Today, the general received several official documents, all of which are about pirates invading the coastal areas. The general rarely gets angry, and the losses should be considerable. Everyone, please pay attention when you go in later." He turned back and glanced at Wu Jiao very quickly: "The Zhenhai Mansion of the military advisor also sent a document, which should be something that happened after the military advisor left for the north." Wu Jiao's face changed, and his eyebrows immediately stood up: "Where did this dirty thief come from? Is he really that bold?"

"I don't know about this either."

Yu Cheng shook his head. Under the gaze of the guards on both sides, he walked across the courtyard and stood in front of the door: "General, the military advisor and the chief clerk have arrived. Qiao Changshi and Wu Zhonglang have also arrived."

"Let them in!"

The four of them looked at each other with anger, and then walked into the room, and saw Lu Bu standing in front of the bookshelf, one hand on his waist and the other flipping through some book. Hearing the noise behind him, he turned around, closed the book with one hand, and pointed to the chair over there: "Everyone sit down and talk."

The four people who came in bowed first, then sat on both sides of the desk. After a while, the guards outside brought in tea and snacks, and Yu Cheng reached out to close the door.

Lu Bu threw the book in his hand onto the table. The five black characters of "Liaodong Naval Atlas" came into view. The tall figure sat down and pointed at a pile of documents on the table: "All coastal areas of Liaodong have been attacked by pirates. You can take a look and then think of a way to find them for me."

The four men reached out and picked up the documents. After reading them, Wu Jiao quickly stood up and crossed his hands, saying, "I am also responsible for this matter. Please punish me, General."

Lu Bu waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about your business later. Think of a solution for me first."

Wu Jiao pursed his lips, sat down and looked at Qiao Lie. The young Taoist grinned and looked at Li Zhu with difficulty, then followed his gaze to look at Wang Zheng.

"General." After a moment of silence, Wang Zheng spoke up as expected: "Sea pirates have a long history in Liaodong. Initially, several Jurchen tribes near the sea formed a fleet to plunder merchant ships from Goryeo, Japan, and even Song and Liao. Later, the remnants of Bohai joined in and began to invade the coastal borders. At one point, the fleet even expanded to 3,000 to 5,000 armed fleets to rob Japan."

Under the gazes of several people, the young man smacked his lips and said, "It's a pity that these pirates were unable to defeat the natives of Japan and were driven out. Afterwards, Goryeo suppressed and pacified the remaining pirates for several decades before they were finally wiped out. Ten or twenty years later, another group of pirates appeared to plunder everywhere..."

After a pause of hesitation, Wu Jiao suddenly spoke up: "In other words, these pirates may have the support of the Koreans?"

"...Maybe." Wang Zheng frowned and shook his head. "Zhonglang, don't underestimate the Kingdom of Goryeo. There are many pirates in the country. Many of the wealthy families in Bohai later became sea merchants. According to them, they encountered pirates at sea. Although they can speak Jurchen and Khitan, they all speak Goryeo to each other. Zheng thinks that the pirates have no need to hide this matter, so the matter of origin should be set in stone."

boom--

Lu Bu slapped the table and said, "Your small country..."

"... General, please don't be angry." Wang Zheng smiled bitterly, "I don't know if it has anything to do with the Goryeo court. I heard in recent years that the court is weak, the nobles hold power, and the sea merchants under them are rarely honest, and..." He touched his chin and said thoughtfully, "There are many low-class people in the country, and many of them take risks and run to the sea. It's hard to say which group this is."

Frowning, Lu Bu leaned back and waved his hand: "I don't care about all that. First, we need to find a way to drive these people away from the coast. We can't let them wantonly slaughter the people below."

Several people opened their mouths, and Li Zhu looked at him and said, "General, this coastline is really too long. Although the soldiers in the army are not afraid of fighting with them, the enemy will rob and run away and keep changing places to harass. This... the generals from all over the country can't be found."

"So..." Someone discussed with him, and Lü Bu's anger mostly dissipated. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Send a message to Li Bao and Wei Zhaode to return to defend the area. Order Hu Yanqing and the three brothers of the Ruan family to help drive out the pirates. Send a message to Zhang Heng to guard the river in the north to prevent the Jin people from sneaking across the border."

Four people nodded.

Lu Bu tapped the table and said calmly, "It's just that there is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. It is better to destroy their army and destroy their nest."

"In that case, why don't you send an envoy to the Goryeo court to give it a try?" Wang Zheng chuckled, "Maybe they are also troubled by these pirates."

(End of this chapter)