The Prodigal Son

After regaining his senses, Yu Zhou suppressed his shock and knelt down on one knee.

"This humble general, Yu Zhou, greets the Commander-in-Chief! I have failed to greet you properly; please forgive me!"

Zheng Tingchao hesitated for a moment, suppressing his resentment, and then bowed, saying, "This humble general Zheng Tingchao greets... Your Excellency!"

Calling him Governor-General is inappropriate!

I am still the Admiral of the Navy!

But with all that stuff he had, I couldn't refuse to pay my respects even if I wanted to!

This is so damn annoying!

I have no idea what His Majesty is thinking!

How can such a young naval commander be given so much?

Does Your Majesty wish to make me envious and regret my repeated requests to be transferred from the navy?

For a fleeting moment, they all doubted whether Qin Yu's top-of-the-line outfit was real!

But their reason told them it couldn't be fake!

Putting aside everything else, the Golden Armored Imperial Guards alone could not possibly be fake.

He was once the deputy commander of the Golden Armored Imperial Guard. If others can't tell whether these people are real or fake, how could he not?

Get up!

Qin Yu slightly raised his hand, then looked at Yu Zhou with a playful expression, "Are you misunderstanding something?"

"What misunderstanding? Please enlighten us, Commander."

Yu Zhou looked at Qin Yu, puzzled.

Qin Yu smiled, "I am the Grand Admiral of the Navy, not the Admiral of Raojin! General Zheng is the Admiral of Raojin!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu gestured towards Zheng Tingchao, who had just stood up.

"What?"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, Yu Zhou hadn't even reacted when Zheng Tingchao's expression changed drastically. "You...sir, aren't you here to replace me?"

"Of course not!"

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "I will be the Grand Admiral of the Navy, in command of the Raojin and Yijin navies!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu took out his Grand Commander's golden seal and handed it to Zheng Tingchao.

Zheng Tingchao quickly moved closer to examine it carefully.

As he watched, Zheng Tingchao's expression suddenly changed.

The next moment, Zheng Tingchao disregarded Qin Yu's identity, snatched the golden seal from his hand, and unwillingly pressed it hard against the back of his own hand.

Now he could clearly see all the characters on the golden seal, but the last glimmer of hope in his heart was completely shattered.

Grand Admiral of the Navy...

And sure enough, a naval commander-in-chief appeared!

They are not here to replace me, but to restrain me!

After all that fuss, it was all for nothing!

We still have to endure this wretched place!

"This is boring, fucking boring..."

Zheng Tingchao's expression instantly dimmed, and he became listless.

Qin Yu looked at him, both amused and exasperated. "General Zheng, you really don't want to be the naval commander?"

"Let whoever wants to be it take it!"

Zheng Tingchao retorted irritably, about to curse, when his eyes suddenly lit up and he looked intently at Qin Yu: "This humble general is of limited talent and learning, truly unfit for such a great responsibility! Grand Commander, please dismiss me from my post!"

"..."

Qin Yu's lips twitched, and the people behind him also had black lines on their faces.

They had considered many scenarios, but this was the one they hadn't anticipated.

Rao Jin, the naval commander, was also a military officer of the third rank!

Does he really not want to be the naval commander?

Seeing that Qin Yu remained silent, Zheng Tingchao quickly pulled him aside. "How about this, I'll give you ten thousand taels of silver, and you can dismiss me from my post and let me return to my hometown to serve!"

"I……"

Qin Yu was speechless for a moment.

I've heard of people buying their way into office, but this is the first time I've heard of someone paying money to get themselves dismissed!

How much he doesn't want to be the naval commander!

After a long while, Qin Yu said, half-laughing and half-crying, "I won't be the Grand Admiral of the Navy for long. The Raojin Navy will still have to rely on you, the Navy Admiral, to hold it up!"

"What do you mean?"

Zheng Tingchao was puzzled.

"We'll talk about that later!"

Qin Yu smiled, then glanced at the two of them. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Qin Yu! You two may have heard of me before."

Qin Yu?

Is he Qin Yu?

After a brief moment of distraction, Zheng Tingchao looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression. "Aren't you the imperial envoy sent to reorganize the salt administration?"

"He's not an imperial envoy anymore!"

Qin Yu smiled slightly and then gave Di Rong a wink.

Di Rong understood and immediately took out the imperial edict and unfolded it. "This is the imperial edict that Lord Qin just received yesterday. Please take a look, Generals!"

Filled with doubt, the two immediately gathered around the imperial edict to examine it.

When they saw the contents of the imperial edict, the two of them stared wide-eyed in disbelief, their minds in complete turmoil.

It turns out that the Grand Admiral of the Navy was just an appetizer!

The real deal is to control the military and political power of the entire land!

Even after Di Rong put away the imperial edict, the two remained stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

"Alright, you all know what happened! Let's come inside and sit down to talk!"

With that, Qin Yu walked straight into the house and sat down in the main seat without needing anyone's guidance.

Qi Dachui, Qin Xiong, and Nan Que'er followed.

One person held a yellow battle-axe, another held an emperor's sword, and yet another held a gold plaque bestowed by the emperor.

Qin Yu glanced back and smiled inexplicably.

It seems like I now have my own three musketeers!

Damn it, power is a wonderful thing!

With this top-tier equipment, as long as he doesn't encounter anyone with rebellious intentions, he'll be unstoppable, killing gods and Buddhas alike!

However, judging from their attitude, I probably won't have a chance to show off right now!

Ugh!

What a waste of such top-of-the-line equipment!

A moment later, Yu Zhou, having regained his senses, quickly pulled a disappointed Zheng Tingchao inside.

Qin Yu smiled at the two of them: "What did you two glean from the imperial edict?"

What did you notice?

Zheng Tingchao carefully recalled the contents of the imperial edict.

He was so shocked that he hadn't had time to think about the deeper meaning behind the imperial edict.

After a moment, Zheng Tingchao said listlessly, "His Majesty has made up his mind to thoroughly reform the salt administration! This is a good thing; the court should have thoroughly reformed the salt administration long ago!"

It is obvious that His Majesty gave Qin Yu such great power in order to make it easier for him to thoroughly reorganize the salt administration.

Anyone who dares to cause trouble shall be killed!

"Good thing you figured it out!"

Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction. "I won't beat around the bush. I have two purposes for coming here. First, to take over command of the Raojin naval force; second, to find out if you are involved in the salt smuggling case..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Guanchao immediately objected, "We have nothing to do with the salt smuggling case..."

"Let me finish what I have to say!"

Qin Yu stopped Zheng Guanchao, "I'm in a hurry and too lazy to investigate slowly! Let's be cautious for now! Although it seems that neither of you are involved in the salt smuggling case, I still want to hear an answer!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhou was about to speak when Zheng Tingchao stopped him.

Yu Zhou looked at Zheng Tingchao with a puzzled expression, his heart filled with doubt.

They have nothing to do with the salt smuggling case!

With His Majesty so determined to reform the salt administration, does he really want to tarnish his own reputation?

Zheng Tingchao pondered silently for a while before speaking to Qin Yu in a serious tone, "If you only want to talk about the salt smuggling case, I dare say with my hand on my heart that we have absolutely nothing to do with it! But if you're talking about other things, then yes, we do have some connection!"

Yu Zhou's eyelids twitched, and he quickly and quietly winked at Zheng Tingchao, signaling him not to talk nonsense.

Zheng Tingchao understood Yu Zhou's meaning, but disagreed, "Alright, stop giving me that look! I'll admit what I've done!"