There was a dull atmosphere in the prison of Jintang City, as if it was the embodiment of darkness and despair. In the cramped cell, the clammy and cold air froze, and when I stood here, I felt suffocated in an instant. The jailers patrolled the corridors, the sound of chains and iron soles echoing through the silence of the cell. They had cruel and cold expressions on their faces, and their eyes gleamed like cold blades. From time to time, a jailer would wield a leather whip and streak a cold light through the air, making the unfortunate prisoners tremble.

With light steps, Lotte came to the dark and lonely cell. The dog was lying quietly on a straw, dressed in a black prison uniform, like a black shadow in the night. Lotte coughed lightly twice, like a breeze blowing through the forest, awakening the dog's crooked contemplation.

The dog slowly opened his eyes, his gaze like a torch, staring at Lotte in an official uniform standing outside the cell. He asked in a hoarse but powerful voice, "Are you the city lord here?" There was a hint of exhaustion and uneasiness in his voice.

Lotte smiled slightly and asked softly, "How do you know?" ”

The dog stared at Lotte crookedly, a bright light flashed in his eyes, and said, "Just look at your official uniform, is Yuzhen arrested?" ”

Lotte smiled slightly and asked softly, "Why do you ask that?" ”

The dog was silent for a moment, and then said slowly: "The official who came to interrogate me last time should have come from the imperial court." If I'm not mistaken, I'm supposed to be here to investigate the matter about Yu Zhen. There was a hint of heaviness and helplessness in his voice.

Lotte nodded and said, "You're right, but Lord Yuzhen is fine now, and soon he will come to Jintang City to interrogate you." ”

Inu Crooked asked, "Then you are only here to see me?" ”

Lotte stood outside the cell, looked at the dog who looked very tired, and said: "You are now imprisoned in my Jintang City prison, Lord Yuzhen wants to interrogate you, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the official, before Lord Shuzhen arraigns you, of course the official wants to come to see you." ”

The dog smiled slightly and said with emotion: "It seems that I still have some face in this prison in Jintang City. He paused and then asked, "And when are you going to let me out?" ”

Lotte said in a deep voice: "Why did I let you out? ”

The dog shrugged his shoulders and said, "Because I am not guilty in the first place, for many years, I have been engaged in normal trading activities, importing goods from the Wa Kingdom, and then selling them to the southeast coastal areas of the Eastern Empire, earning a small profit. What sin am I? If I am released, I will protect the sea frontier for the Eastern Empire, serve the imperial court, and definitely let the Eastern Empire get rid of the Japanese rebellion. ”

Lotte smiled: "Do you think the imperial court will believe you as a pirate leader?" As he spoke, he was about to leave, and just after walking a few steps, he heard the dog crooked and said loudly: "The lord of the city should think about who is guilty, who falsely accuses the virtuous and deceives the king." ”

Lotte heard the crooked words of the dog and stopped. He understood that the dog was talking about Liqing's framing of Lord Yuzhen. He didn't expect this crooked dog to know so much information. If Inu Crooked told Lord Yuzhen about this, then Liqing would be severely punished by the imperial court, and he himself could be implicated.

At the moment, after careful consideration, Lotte knew that the life of the dog could never be spared. Because once this cunning guy says something unfavorable to Lord Yuzhen, then the consequences will be unimaginable. In this time of crisis, Lotte must act decisively to ensure that its position and interests are not compromised.

Therefore, the night before Yuzhen arrived in Jintang City, Le Tian ordered: "The prisoners are crooked, dogs, and Pengshi are guilty of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, and they will be beheaded on the spot." ”

According to the laws of the Eastern Empire, there were strict limits on the length of execution of death row prisoners. It is the time when the sun is at its most vicious, but then the sun will gradually set, which means that the ghosts of the dead will gradually fall silent and disappear into the world like the setting sun. However, Lotte deliberately chose to execute them in the middle of the night, indicating that Inucrook had posed a serious threat to him.

But why does Lotte have to protect Liqing even if he violates the law, in fact, the reason is very simple, because Liqing's identity is not only the deputy general of Jintang City, he is also Lotte's own brother, about the two brothers, and then talk about it slowly.

The next day, when Yuzhen came to Jintang City, Lotte personally went out to greet him. When he learned that the dog had been beheaded, Yu Zhen's face changed greatly, and he asked what happened?

Lotte didn't explain much to Yuzhen, but just told him that a pirate leader who killed so many people of the Eastern Empire should be beheaded. There was a hint of indifference and ruthlessness in his tone, as if for these innocent people, their lives were not worthy of pity.

Yu Zhen knew that although the imperial court also wanted to execute the dog, he himself wanted to leave the dog's life. But now not only has Inu Crooked been beheaded, but even his righteous son Inu Xuan and his wife and brother Pengshi have also been beheaded. Yu Zhen thought that there must be something strange in it, so he decided to go to the Jintang City prison to investigate again, and Lotte did not stop him. Because Lotte thinks that the dog is already dead, even if you check it, you can't find anything.

However, what Lotte didn't know was that in the cell of the dog, there was a copy of "Self-Talk" written by the dog crooked. After some searching, Yu Zhen found the copy of "Self-Talk", and read softly: "The thief dog is crooked to seek profit from the sea, sell goods along the coast, benefit with the people, defend the border for the country, and never seduce the party thieves to interfere with things, this heaven and earth gods and people are well known." The husband has repeatedly made small contributions, but he can't reach the top of the house, but he has no family property, and the ministers are really unwilling to ......"

Reading through the full text, it can be seen that Inuka expressed his sincerity and said that he had never colluded with the Japanese invaders. He also stated his exploits in the fight against the Japanese invaders. In addition, he said that he had smuggled and built up an armed army to guard against pirates, but he was forced to do so, because the imperial court imposed a sea ban policy, cutting off the livelihood of the people in the coastal areas. He also pleaded with the imperial court to open the sea ban and implement free trade at sea, and the imperial court could set up customs to collect customs duties, which would in no way affect the income and interests of the imperial court. As long as the imperial court can open the sea ban and realize free trade on the sea, he is willing to serve the imperial court to eradicate pirates and pirates.

Inuka had always hoped that the imperial court would open the sea ban, and he was full of hope for the future, but he was executed by Rakuten-sama, which made Jo-jin very confused and puzzled. Because Lord Lotte knows that fighting pirates is Jo-jin's main duty, there is no reason for him to behead the dog.

After some investigation, Jo-jin discovers that the time of Lotte-sama's execution of Inu-saki, Inu-chan, and Pong is not in accordance with the law, but is secretly held in the middle of the night, which further deepens Jo-jin's suspicions. However, as the lord of a neighboring city, he could not directly arrest and interrogate Lotte, so he could only write to the imperial court about his investigation and the "Self-Talk" written by Inub.

Emperor Xuancheng received Yu Zhen's recital, and after reading it carefully, he put the "Self-Talk" written by the dog crooked in the court for the civil and military officials to circulate. Then asked: "What are the opinions of Aiqing on the proposal of "Self-Talk" of Dog Crooked?" ”

Imperial Doctor Tu Yi said: "For the matter of opening the sea ban, Weichen believes that there are five benefits. First, it can quickly stop the continuous invasion of pirates along the southeast coast; Second, the rise of the pirates stemmed from the disruption of commercial routes, which caused the merchants to be unable to make ends meet, and thus turned into pirates. Therefore, if the maritime ban is allowed to be relaxed, it will essentially discourage merchants from joining the ranks of pirates. Complying with the laws of trade is easy to achieve, but violating them is difficult. It is precisely because the path of conforming to the laws of trade is not feasible that there will be a difficult situation of reversal. It is also for this reason that the maritime ban policy in coastal areas should not be too strict; Third, once the sea ban is opened, commercial taxes can be levied, which can not only supplement the lack of funds for the army, but also reduce the burden on the people; Fourth, the relaxation of the maritime ban policy will help stabilize the lives of residents in coastal areas and reduce the frequency of Japanese riots. Fifth, the southeast region is short of troops, and it is not a long-term solution to mobilize troops from other regions to fight against the Japanese in the long term. If we follow the crooked opinion, we can temporarily ease the military pressure on our country. ”

Xuan Cheng nodded slightly and said, "Tu Yi Aiqing said it very well, which other Aiqing has a different opinion?" ”

Shangshu Banfu of the Criminal Department said: "Emperor Qi, Weichen thinks that if you want to eliminate the Japanese invaders, you should not let go of the sea ban, but strengthen the sea ban, which will make it impossible for the people of the Eastern Empire to connect with the Japanese invaders. ”

Xuan Cheng pondered for a moment and said: "Now there are two wars in the south and the north, which have put all parts of the country in dire straits. The people's sense of identity with the country has been greatly reduced, and I think it is beneficial for the people to lift the sea ban at this time. Therefore, I declare that the sea ban will be officially lifted from now on, and the people of the coastal cities can carry out normal maritime trade. At the same time, we must not stop resisting the Japanese invaders, and we must still severely crack down on those who illegally enter the territory of our Eastern Empire, and use force to frequently harass the evil forces in the coastal cities, whether they are Japanese pirates or pirates, we must use force to counter them. ”

He paused and continued: "Tu Yi Aiqing, I have sent you to Jintang City to find out the cause of the death of the pirate Dog Crooked, as well as the dereliction of duty of the local officials, focusing on whether the laws of the Eastern Empire have been violated when dealing with the prisoners. As soon as it is verified, report it to me immediately. And you go to Wenchuan City and tell the two Aiqing, Taihao and Nanzhu, the leaders of the united anti-Japanese war, that I hope they will completely eliminate the Japanese invaders within two months. ”

Tu Yi bowed his head and said: "Weichen obeys the order!" ”

The emperor's decree to lift the sea ban and ask them to continue to resolutely resist the Japanese invaders soon spread to several cities along the southeast coast. The lords of these cities made this decision public so that the people in the cities could know about it.

Tu Yi also set out on the same day, first went to Wenchuan City, and told Taihao and Nanzhu the emperor's edict to completely eliminate the Japanese Kou within two months, and then went to Yuechuan City to investigate the cause of the death of the dog.