Bang! Bang! Bang! The officer swung the board and whipped the pirate hard on the buttocks. The pirates howled in response.

Recently, he has seen a lot of such things, and Xu Yuanzhi has no sympathy and pity in his heart, and all he feels is deep exhaustion. After the twenty boards, Xu Yuanzhi ordered the interpreter to ask the pirate: "Ask him if he has anything to confess?" ”

The interpreter asked the pirate in Champa dialect, and the pirate replied something after listening. Xu Yuanzhi didn't understand Champa dialect, so he could only judge from the disappointed expression of the interpreter that there was no progress. Sure enough, as Xu Yuanzhi expected, the interpreter turned around and reported, "Zhizhou, this pirate said that he knew everything." He didn't know anything else. ”

Xu Yuanzhi sighed and waved his hand, "Take it down and take care of it strictly!" He himself left the yamen disappointed.

This year, that is, in May of the fourth year of Baoyou, Zhao Jiaren caught a group of pirates. After that, the Left Wing Army and the Quanzhou Governor both asked Xu Yuanzhi to kill these pirates as soon as possible to deter lawlessness. In the following three months, Zhao Jiaren eliminated pirates one after another, and the pirate frenzy that was once known as that swept Fujian disappeared. The Left Wing Army and the Quanzhou Governor also asked Xu Yuanzhi to send the pirates to Quanzhou to help investigate whether they had infringed on the Quanzhou maritime merchants.

When encountering the first request, Xu Yuanzhi thought that Quanzhou Zhizhou was frightened. However, the second request was not unreasonable, but extremely unreasonable. Xu Yuanzhi had no reason to hand over the pirates he caught to Quanzhou Zhizhou for disposal.

During the subsequent interrogation, Xu Yuanzhi found that the pirate leader knew some secrets of the Pu family. After they learned that they had been convicted of capital crimes, they tried to spy with Xu Yuanzhi in private, wanting to exchange the secrets of the Pu family for their own immortality.

Xu Yuanzhi also began to try to do so. However, just a few days ago, several of the captured pirates suddenly rose out and killed the pirate leader, and these pirates were later killed by the jailers who suppressed the chaos. At this time, Xu Yuanzhi felt that something was very wrong in his heart, no matter how he interrogated the rest of the people, those people said that they didn't know anything. Xu Yuanzhi felt that something was wrong, and he couldn't find an entry point. He wanted to arrest the jailers and torture them, but the laws of the Great Song Dynasty did not support Xu Yuanzhi to do so. What's more, although Xu Yuanzhi is the governor of Fuzhou, he is a first-class official. The jailers were locals. After Xu Yuanzhi's three-year grinding and surveying, there is a good chance that he will leave Fuzhou. These little officials have been doing this business for generations, and they will stand tall in Fuzhou.

As a Zhizhou, he was tricked like this, but there was no solution. This made Xu Yuanzhi feel extremely frustrated. After sitting in the back hall for a while, Xu Yuanzhi couldn't sit down anymore. He shouted, "Prepare the sedan chair!" ”

It didn't take long for Xu Yuanzhi to appear in front of Zhao Jiaren's yamen in Fujian Road Tidian Prison.

Seeing Xu Yuanzhi come in, Zhao Jiaren got up to greet him. "Xu Zhizhou, is it acceptable to wear the clothes?"

Xu Yuanzhi didn't expect Zhao Jiaren to ask about this, and he simply responded, "It's okay." If it weren't for the extremely bad mood at this time, Xu Yuanzhi would probably praise it from the bottom of his heart. It is now the end of the 11th month of the Song calendar, and the weather is quite cold. The bedding and fabrics sent by Zhao Jiaren made Xu Yuanzhi feel real warmth. Now that he wears thin cotton pants, cotton boots, and a thin cotton shirt, he can't feel the cold he felt in previous years.

After sitting down, Xu Yuanzhi told Zhao Jiaren about the problems he encountered. Zhao Jiaren listened quietly, although he was a Fujian Road Prison Prison, but the Prison was an airborne officer, with his own staff and several fixed officials, and there was nothing else in the prison. This position is to supervise, not to personally lead the team to solve cases. In terms of specific case-handling ability, Zhao Jiaren feels that it is probably not as good as a county lieutenant to raise a prison.

After listening to Xu Yuanzhi, who was holding the case-handling team, told about piracy. Zhao Jiaren couldn't help laughing, "Ha! What is strange about this. Xu Zhizhou, the Hu family I let you see, sue the Pu family after being robbed, it's useless. ”

Speaking of the Hu family's father and daughter, Xu Yuanzhi waved his hand, "They are just maritime businessmen, and it is not uncommon for them to sue the Pu family." ”

Zhao Jiaren also waved his hand, "Xu Zhizhou." The Pu family can stand tall in Fuzhou, and it is by no means relying on officials from above. Although there are some officials in my Great Song Dynasty who are corrupt and pervert the law and collude with bandits, is this the case for all the governors of Quanzhou for decades? Whether you believe it or not, I don't believe it. ”

Xu Yuanzhi thought about it and felt that it made sense. The collusion of the Pu family with pirates is becoming more and more obvious, why does no one touch the Pu family?

Zhao Jiaren continued: "The Pu family stands tall in Quanzhou because he controls the shipping route. Too many people have reaped the benefits of his routes. The Hu family may be pitiful, but no matter how pitiful others are, can they be more pitiful than if they lost their money for nothing? That's how the human heart is. I can assure Xu Zhizhou that if the Pu family loses its route, the people who used to have a bad relationship with the Pu family will immediately sue the Pu family for colluding with pirates, and they will get rid of the Pu family as soon as possible. Do you believe it? ”

Xu Yuanzhi's heart churned after hearing this, when he first saw Zhao Jiaren, he felt that although this child was anxious and too wishful thinking, he still had the unique vigor and simplicity of a young man. As he grew up day by day, Zhao Jiaren had become an official, and he was still a ruthless official. Hot-blooded people would never say such an opinion anyway.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuanzhi asked, "Is it difficult for Zhao Tidian to replace the Pujia route?" ”

Zhao Jiaren respects Xu Yuanzhi very much, Xu Yuanzhi sees the problem very thoroughly, and he doesn't like to play official with Zhao Jiaren very much. However, being asked so sharply by Xu Yuanzhi, Zhao Jiaren also felt a little uncomfortable. Although Xu Yuanzhi is right, Zhao Jiaren wants to control the shipping routes of the South China Sea, and he even fantasizes about controlling the shipping routes of the entire world.

However, in order to do this, the enemy that Zhao Jiaren has to face is not the Pu family, there are too many enemies more powerful than the Pu family lurking in the shadows. At this time, clearly expressing his thoughts to Xu Yuanzhi is likely to make Xu Yuanzhi his enemy.

In the midst of embarrassment, Xu Yuanzhi took the lead in sighing: "I don't care who controls the route, but I feel depressed when I think of my powerlessness." ”

Seeing that Xu Yuanzhi expressed his friendliness, Zhao Jiaren smiled and said: "Xu Zhizhou, people say that the prime minister can hold the boat in his belly." Outnumbered. We are now small in number, and the ships and manpower are not as good as those of the Pu family. Xu Zhizhou, please don't be impatient. Wait for more than a year, and we will definitely be able to overthrow the Pu family. ”

Xu Yuanzhi felt that Zhao Jiaren was comforting himself, but after thinking about it, Zhao Jiaren's purpose in building the lighthouse was naturally to help shipping. However, after working hard to build the lighthouse, and finally Zhao Jiaren was transferred, he benefited the Pu family in vain? No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like something Zhao Jiaren can do.

Thinking about this joint, Xu Yuanzhi nodded, and said a little viciously: "Good and evil are rewarded, the Pu family has done a lot of evil, and there will definitely be no good ending." ”

Seeing Xu Yuanzhi's attitude, Zhao Jiaren was very happy in his heart. Quanzhou is okay, if Fuzhou Zhizhou is finally bought by the Pu family, Zhao Jiaren will be very passive.

The days flew by, four years passed for Bao You, and five years for Bao Yu arrived. Spring goes to the summer solstice, autumn goes to winter. The sixth year of Bao Yu has also arrived. Just after January of the sixth year of Baoyou, the news of the shaking of the Great Song Dynasty came. The army of the Mongol Great Khan Meng Ge moved south and launched an attack on the Great Song Dynasty.

After reading the personal letter sent by Jia Yidao, Zhao Jiaren looked up at the messenger who was quite energetic. This messenger came on the Zhao family's ship, so naturally he was not guilty. Obviously, he didn't know what was written in the letter, so he didn't see the slightest shock.

Zhao Jiaren wrote a reply letter with a brush, handed the letter to the messenger, and Zhao Jiaren said: "Please inform Jia Gong, I know." ”