The Prodigal Son

That same evening, the Raojin Navy uncovered several more individuals connected to the salt smuggling case.

However, those people weren't as bold as Qi Baichuan.

At most, they accepted money from the salt smugglers but ignored the ships transporting the smuggled salt.

Upon learning this, Qin Yu immediately added another clause to the new regulations for the navy.

There is a reward for intercepting ships transporting smuggled salt, and the amount of the reward is specified in detail.

The more smuggled salt intercepted, the greater the reward!

Not only will they be rewarded with money, but their merits will also be calculated!

Of course, there must be punishments for every reward!

Anyone who dares to neglect their duties or accept bribes should not be blamed for being ruthless!

Late that night, they came up with the new regulations and general details for the Raojin Navy.

However, the primary task of the Raojin Navy now is to ensure that the Haizhou and Yijin navies do not act rashly. If anyone dares to act rashly, the navy will immediately launch an attack.

Early the next morning, Qin Yu ordered someone to take Zhao Luan's handwritten order to Yinzhou to dispatch 5,000 cavalry to Jiangning Prefecture to join them, and also dispatched 10,000 infantry to wait at the border between Yinzhou and Ningzhou.

At the same time, he ordered someone to ride a fast horse to deliver a message, instructing the remaining eight major salt merchants and salt officials of the sixth rank or above to arrive in Jiangning Prefecture before the fifteenth of next month.

Those who fail to arrive by the deadline will bear the consequences themselves!

After Qin Yu finished giving the order, Yang Jichun stepped forward and said, "Sir, judging from the current situation, the Prefect of Haizhou and the Salt Transport Commissioner of Haizhou are definitely colluding. Should we detain them directly?"

"No need for now!"

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "Although we need to reorganize the salt administration, we can't just dismantle the salt transportation system here all at once. The system is chaotic now, but at least it's still functioning normally. Let's take it one step at a time!"

Although he is no longer afraid of unrest in these places, he will certainly try his best to avoid unrest.

First, thoroughly investigate the case of Sun Min's murder, and then proceed with the next steps based on the results of this case.

"Then I believe they should be detained!"

Yang Jichun insisted.

Why?

Qin Yu was puzzled.

Wasn't he always a moderate before?

Why has he suddenly become even tougher than me?

"My lord is indeed no longer afraid of them rebelling! But there are many kinds of rebellion!"

Yang Jichun said in a deep voice, "These people are basically at their wits' end now!"

"If they want to turn the tables, they only have two choices: either kill the official, or use their authority and resources to block the salt route!"

"But I believe that assassinating Your Excellency is far more difficult than blocking the salt route..."

Moreover, given Qin Yu's current status, if he were to be assassinated, it would inevitably lead to another thorough purge of the officialdom in Haizhou.

Rather than assassinating Qin Yu, it would be better to block the salt route!

Ok?

Listening to Yang Jichun's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but ponder silently.

That makes sense!

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes slightly: "You mean, those people will take the risk of blocking the salt route, thereby putting pressure on me and the imperial court? Forcing us to back down?"

"right!"

Yang Jichun nodded. "If I were He Yan or the Prefect of Haizhou, I would certainly choose to burn down the salt warehouses, destroy the salt fields, and block the salt routes! If that really comes to that, Your Excellency will probably have to rely on them to quickly clean up this mess!"

Although the imperial court has begun to introduce Min salt, the salt routes in Min have not yet been opened!

The imperial court still relies heavily on salt from the sea and Yuanzhou.

Haizhou is the place in Daning that produces the most salt!

Once the salt route to Haizhou is blocked, many places may face a situation where they have no salt to eat.

Now that the imperial court has given him free rein to do this, he should do it thoroughly!

As long as the salt route to Haizhou remains unobstructed, we can simply overthrow the entire officialdom in Haizhou and start over!

Listening to Yang Jichun's words, Qin Yu recalled the sentence Zhao Luan added at the end of the imperial edict.

It's better to be chaotic than to abandon the system!

"That makes sense! I wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't reminded me!"

Qin Yu looked at Yang Jichun with approval and decisively said, "Can you temporarily serve as the Prefect of Haizhou and concurrently as the Salt Transport Commissioner?"

Yang Jichun replied without hesitation, "I am capable of this, but I must have troops under my command!"

"no problem!"

Qin Yu readily agreed and immediately issued a loud order: "Send word: Order Zheng Tingchao and Yu Zhou to come here immediately!"

Before long, Zheng Tingchao and Yu Zhou arrived at Qin Yu's temporary residence.

Whether it was because he was angered by Qi Baichuan and his gang, or because there was no hope of being transferred, Zheng Tingchao didn't seem to be in much spirits.

It looked like an eggplant that had been wilted by frost.

Qin Yu looked up at Zhen Tingchao and asked, "General Zheng, do you know how many county soldiers and salt workers are in Haijiao County and Yutian County?"

Zheng Tingchao replied weakly, "The number of soldiers in Haijiao County is less than two hundred, and the salt workers should be around seven or eight hundred! The number of soldiers in Yutian County is slightly more, over a thousand, and the salt workers are around three thousand..."

With the Rao Jin navy here, there's not much difference between having two thousand soldiers and having two hundred soldiers in Haijiao County.

The soldiers of Haijiao County were basically equivalent to the yamen runners in the county seat.

Qin Yu pondered for a moment, then immediately ordered: "Send 1,000 men to take control of Haijiao County, and another 3,000 men to take control of Yutian County! Detain the officials of both counties first, and give special protection to the salt fields and salt warehouses! Anyone who dares to touch the salt fields and salt warehouses will be executed on the spot!"

"yes!"

Zheng Tingchao didn't ask for the reason and simply accepted the order.

However, he still looked listless.

"Furthermore, allocate another five thousand men to Yang Jichun to accompany me to Guangde Prefecture!"

Qin Yu gave another order.

"To Guangde Prefecture?"

Zheng Tingchao slightly raised his eyes. "Are we going to capture He Yan?"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "He Yan is one, and the Prefect of Haizhou and all the other officials won't escape either!"

"good!"

Zheng Tingchao finally regained some spirit, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "I will personally lead the troops to accompany you!"

He doesn't care about being the governor of Haizhou!

But He Yan, he wants to do it himself!

"Isn't that unnecessary?"

Qin Yu smiled, "You just stay and oversee the naval camp! Once this matter is settled, give the five thousand troops to Yang Jichun to deter those with ill intentions, and I'll take my men directly to Fangzhou!"

"The navy can be left to Old Yu to oversee!"

Zheng Tingchao said in a deep voice, "Anyway, he handles most of the navy's affairs on a daily basis! This humble general hasn't stretched his muscles in a long time, so it's a good opportunity to go to Guangde Prefecture to stretch my muscles!"

"General, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Yu Zhou shook his head solemnly, "The general is in command of the navy! This humble general will lead men to accompany Lord Qin to Guangde Prefecture!"

"Get lost!"

Zheng Tingchao glared at Yu Zhou, his eyes wide. "I told you to take charge of the naval camp, so just accept the order! Why all the nonsense? Let me tell you, he won't be the Grand Admiral for long. Sooner or later, I'll be in charge of the Raojin Navy! Dare to try and take this job from me? I'll beat you to a pulp!"

As he spoke, Zheng Tingchao raised his fist, as big as a sandbag, at Yu Zhou.

Looking at Zheng Tingchao, who resembled a bully, Yu Zhou opened his mouth slightly, but ultimately succumbed to his tyranny.

"Alright!"

Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Qin Yu said no more. "Since General Zheng is going to personally lead the troops to Guangde Prefecture, I believe the officials there won't dare to cause trouble. So tomorrow, General Zheng and Yang Jichun will lead the troops to Guangde Prefecture. I'll go ahead and head directly to Fangzhou!"

Yes!

Split up!

You can't do everything yourself!

With Zheng Tingchao and Yang Jichun in Guangde Prefecture, I don't need to worry about Haizhou for the time being.

"yes!"

Zheng Tingchao and Yang Jichun received the order at the same time...