517: Chapter 517 Falling Apart

Three days later, "Prince of Donghai" led a team of personal guards and departed the city for the south, cheered on by countless commoners.

The enthusiasm of the people, their cheers, and their expressions of gratitude were deafening.

Those faces full of expectation showed that the people of the Eastern Territories had suffered under the Japanese pirates for a long time!

"Prince of Donghai," clad in glittering golden armor, waved high-spiritedly to the people.

Watching everything from the shadows, Liu Hanyi's brow furrowed. She once again deeply realized what Lin Xiao had said—that Prince Zhao's Mansion had deep roots among the common people.

Even though Prince Zhao's Mansion had been in league with the Japanese pirates for the past decade and treated the commoners as less than human...

As long as they were given a little sweetness and a few slogans were shouted, the people would be filled with gratitude.

This was because the people had grown accustomed to unjust treatment and never expected that changing to a Prince of Zhenbei would make much difference.

"Little Liu'er, everyone has arrived."

Xiao Yixiao appeared beside Liu Hanyi, his tone grim as he asked, "When do we strike?"

Liu Hanyi withdrew her thoughts, her gaze cold. "Tonight. I will use Feng Yue's identity to summon the heads of all the branches of Qinhuai Pavilion."

"Since the Prince is going to Centipede Island to suppress the Ghost Shark, there's no reason for Qinhuai Pavilion not to send out all its elites. They will all come."

Xiao Yixiao grinned. "Excellent. It's time to avenge the humiliation our Yanyu Pavilion suffered that day!"

That night, a flower boat on the Qinhuai River suddenly caught fire.

The next morning, the commoners saw many charred corpses that were no longer recognizable as human.

Because the authorities could not determine the origins of these people, they could only treat it as a martial arts vendetta and let the matter drop.

Furthermore, with the entire Eastern Territory's attention focused on the campaign against the Japanese pirates, no one cared about this incident.

Only some secret agents under Qinhuai Pavilion fell into chaos because they had all lost contact with their superiors.

They wanted to find out what happened, but had no one to ask.

Although some agents realized that Qinhuai Pavilion had been targeted in an act of revenge, neither the Prince nor Feng Yue had issued any orders. Faced with such a mysterious and powerful force, they could only hide within the masses.

After all, compared to a top assassin organization like Yanyu Pavilion, Qinhuai Pavilion was merely a group of weak women without the support of Prince Zhao's Mansion.

Thus, while no one was paying attention, the organization of Qinhuai Pavilion fell apart.

Ten days later.

Lin Xiao led three thousand elites of the Eastern Sea Army and arrived at the coast of Dan Province.

He was quite unaccustomed to the slow speed of this journey; after all, he was used to flying back and forth and never took the normal official roads.

But "Prince of Donghai" was not a Heavenly Immortal, after all. He had to arrive at a normal marching speed to avoid suspicion.

Fortunately, Liu Hanyi had followed along, accompanying him in her capacity as "Feng Yue."

Lin Xiao took advantage of these days to properly nourish the woman's body and increase her cultivation, which could be considered a gain.

Wanning City, Dan Province.

Because it had been on the front lines of the resistance against the Japanese pirates for years, the city was quite dilapidated and lacked resources.

The only decent residence remaining had now become the temporary residence of "Prince of Donghai."

"Your Highness, in this general's humble opinion, it should be a clear day in three days with calm winds and waves. That will be the best time to deploy the troops."

An old general with a sun-blackened face and graying hair, but who was still hale and hearty, offered his suggestion to Lin Xiao in the study.

Commander Guo Youning, the naval commander, was over fifty years old. His ancestors had been naval generals for three generations, and he was a pillar of strength guarding this region.

Lin Xiao had heard before arriving that if it hadn't been for Commander Guo Youning leading the Dan Province Navy in desperate resistance, the Ghost Shark Army would have seized Wanning City long ago.

"Three days later?"

Lin Xiao feigned dissatisfaction. "Can it not be sooner?"

"Your Highness, this cannot be rushed. Once we encounter stormy weather, the winds and waves at sea are fierce, and soldiers can easily fall overboard."

"Furthermore, those Japanese pirates are excellent swimmers and have frogmen skilled in underwater combat. They are extremely difficult to deal with."

"Only by going on a clear day can our advantages be fully utilized!" Commander Guo Youning said earnestly.

Lin Xiao actually didn't care at all, so he nodded at this. "Fine, then we shall follow Commander Guo's words and head out to sea in three days!"

"However, during these few days, have the soldiers practice more with the new weapons this Prince has brought. They will surely have a miraculous effect when the time comes."

Commander Guo Youning was stunned. He hadn't expected the Prince to become so easy to talk to, and he was somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

"Rest assured, Your Highness. This general already knows how to use those Muskets and explosives. I will certainly have the soldiers practice diligently. With those good things, the Japanese pirates will surely be defeated!"

"Then I shall trouble Commander Guo."

Once Commander Guo Youning left with great enthusiasm, Liu Hanyi walked in from outside.

"Your Highness, do you really intend to listen to Commander Guo Youning?"

"Why? Is what he said incorrect?" Lin Xiao asked.

"No, it is precisely because the suggestions he gave are all correct, so..."

"So you are worried that the Eastern Sea Army will truly wipe out the Ghost Shark pirates, causing the prestige of Prince Zhao's Mansion to soar once again?"

Liu Hanyi nodded. "Does Your Highness not worry that once the Dan Province army wins, it will be even harder to take over the Eastern Territories?"

Lin Xiao smiled. "If I were to rely on intentionally losing battles and sacrificing the lives of loyal and brave men to exchange for the Eastern Territories, then what difference is there between this Prince and the likes of Zhao Wugou?"

"This battle will be fought as it should be. This Prince will never intentionally sabotage Commander Guo Youning."

"If they truly win, it means the fate of Prince Zhao's Mansion has not yet run out and the Eastern Sea Army is not yet completely rotten. This Prince would also be happy to see the people of the Eastern Territories rebuild their own homes."

"In any case, Zhao Wugou is dead and Qinhuai Pavilion has been eliminated. Prince Zhao's Mansion will no longer pose a threat to our Northern Territories, will it?"

Liu Hanyi showed a look of admiration. "Your Highness is indeed different from ordinary men. Even though the Eastern Territories are within your grasp, you can still adhere to your original heart."

Lin Xiao shook his head. "It's not quite like that. By standing by and letting the Eastern Sea Army fight on its own, this Prince is actually being quite despicable..."

On the way here, he had seen all kinds of Eastern Territory officials and wealthy merchants, many of whom were in secret communication with the Japanese pirates.

When he arrived in Wanning City to review the Dan Province Navy, he discovered even more problems.

For so many years, Zhao Wugou and the Japanese pirates had been in cahoots. It wasn't just the Prince's Mansion that had lost its backbone; the lower-level bureaucracy, the military, and the civil merchant guilds were actually rotten to the core as well.

If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be slanted. This is not something that can be reversed overnight, nor can it be completely changed by killing a group of people.

If the Japanese pirates are not completely eradicated, these selfish fellows will continue to emerge in an endless stream.

If it weren't for the need to maintain a superficial state of confrontation, an old general like Commander Guo Youning, who was steadfast in resisting the Japanese, would likely have died at the hands of those interest groups long ago.

"Does Your Highness mean that even if you do not intervene, Commander Guo Youning and the Dan Province Navy are bound to lose?"

Just as Liu Hanyi finished asking, her brow furrowed as she sensed something.

Whoosh!—

A cold arrow flew in through the rear window and landed on the table in front of Lin Xiao.

Liu Hanyi hurried forward, picked up the arrowhead, and took off a slip of paper attached to it.

"Your Highness, it seems to be someone sent by the Japanese pirates."

Lin Xiao took the paper and saw a sentence written on it:

"Tonight at midnight, meet at the Nanshan Temple in Wanning City. Signed, Feiying."