PNB Chapter 288 What brings you here?
Chapter 288 What brings you here?
"Brother, take your men to the captain's room." The captain and his men didn't look like they were good at martial arts, so Yang Biao asked them to hide to avoid getting hurt, as they still needed to steer the ship.
"Okay, then be careful sir!" Seeing that all his men were skilled in martial arts, the captain did not hesitate and called his men to quickly leave the fight scene.
"Who are you?" A pirate slashed at Yang Biao with a knife, but was blocked by Gui Wenbin beside him with a sword.
"Wenbin, don't leave any alive!" Yang Biao gave the order and walked towards the cabin where Xia Weiwei lived. For the sake of the safety of the canal transportation in the future, these time bombs could not be left alive.
It is already November now. Huang Zewan took office in Jiangping Prefecture in May. After governing for half a year, pirates are still rampant. There are only two possibilities. One is that he has become accomplices with the criminals, so he lets them do whatever they want.
Secondly, he did not have capable subordinates, and the policies he issued could not be conveyed, which led to his inaction during his tenure.
"Master, why are you back?" After dealing with a pirate who climbed onto the ship and tried to rob and kill him, Zhang Zhanfei turned around and saw him coming, and asked with a bit of surprise.
"Is the madam awake?" Yang Biao walked quickly forward and felt the man's pulse. After confirming that the man was dead, he kicked him into the lake.
"We didn't see the lady come out." Wang Hui killed three or four pirates in an instant, then turned around to stop another group of pirates from climbing onto the ship.
"Madam," Yang Biao pushed open the cabin door and walked in. Seeing that she was still sleeping, he took a book from her box, sat beside the bed, touched her warm face, and then began to read.
"Master, the pirates have been destroyed!" Gui Wenbin reported in the cabin after reading the book for about a cup of tea.
"Wenbin, ask the captain to drive the boat back to the shore. We are going to Jiangping Prefecture to meet an old acquaintance." Yang Biao closed the book, walked out of the cabin, and asked his men to throw all the bodies of the pirates into the lake and clean up the bloodstains on the boat.
"Brother, do your ships get harassed a lot?" Some of Beigao Prefecture's water transport routes also pass through Jiangping Prefecture Yamen, and this hidden danger must be resolved.
"Our ships pay security fees before they set out, so we rarely encounter pirate hijackings." It was the first time the captain had seen such a bloody fighting scene. Although he only saw it for a short while and then hid aside, he still had lingering fears.
"Pay security fees? Where to pay?" This may be similar to the protection fees paid by modern gangsters. Yang Biao touched the bilge handrail. These ancient sea ships all have mortise and tenon structures. There is not a single iron nail to be found on the entire ship. The wisdom of the ancients is really as brilliant as the stars in the sky, which is admirable.
"Just pay it at the dock," the captain asked him to stand back a little, fearing that he would accidentally fall into the lake.
"Oh, okay, you go ahead and do your thing first." Yang Biao sat on the deck, looking at the green mountains on both sides that were constantly receding, and fell into deep thought.
"Yang Biao, what brings you here?" Huang Zewan, who was working in the government office, heard the guard's report that a classmate was looking for him, so he hurried to the gate of the government office.
"He's having epilepsy," Yang Biao made a joke. Seeing that there were so many people coming in and out of the government office, he couldn't help but frown.
"Wait for me for a moment, we'll find a quiet place to have a good chat later." Huang Zewan knew what he meant by frowning. This government office looked busier than a vegetable market every day, but he could do nothing about it.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Where do you want to go?" Huang Zewan returned to the government office and informed his subordinates that he had to go out for a while and asked them to continue working.
"It's okay, this is your territory, you are the boss!" Yang Biao had never set foot in Jiangping Prefecture and was not familiar with this place. He thought it would be better to let him recommend a good place to go.
"I'll take you to Shanju Tower. The food there is good." Before Huang Zewan got on his horse, he looked up at the sky. It was almost noon.
Seeing that he was not sitting in the carriage but riding a horse like herself, she looked at him with some confusion.
"Oh, my wife is resting in the car and I don't want to disturb her. You just lead the way." Let her continue sleeping, and it would be best if she sleeps until she wakes up naturally.
"Oh, Lord Yang is in a good mood!" A woman is still sleeping in broad daylight, which means that the couple must be having a happy life. Huang Zewan raised his eyebrows at him knowingly.
"Yeah," he said the truth. Yang Biao touched his nose and chose to ignore his teasing.
"Yang Biao, what do you want to eat?" Huang Zewan's family was well-off, and this was more than once or twice he had come to this restaurant to consume, so he handed him the menu.
"I'm not picky about food, just take care of it." The scenery of Jiangping Mansion is pleasant. He plans to buy some real estate here after dinner to save as a dowry for his children in the future.
"No one comes to me for no reason. Tell me, why are you looking for me instead of staying in your own jurisdiction?" After three rounds of drinks, Huang Zewan asked while wiping his mouth with a towel.
"I had heard that Jiangping Prefecture had beautiful scenery before I took the imperial examination. This time when I had some free time, I brought my wife here for a visit. I didn't expect..." Yang Biao told him about the encounter with pirates and asked him what happened.
"Alas, I am the prefect of this city on paper, but no one listens to what I say." Huang Zewan felt extremely aggrieved and spoke out all the humiliation he had endured in the past six months.
He couldn't mobilize the army, nor could he command the local officials. As the prefect in Jiangping Prefecture, he was like a transparent person with no sense of existence at all.
"What do you think I should do?" Huang Zewan said while crying. He also wanted to do something practical for the people and make achievements, but the current situation here is extremely unfavorable to him, and he is now powerless.
"If the troops in the capital city cannot be mobilized, then they will be disbanded." Yang Biao took a sip of wine and said nonchalantly.
"Ah?" Huang Zewan jumped up immediately when he heard this, and looked around the private room vigilantly, fearing that someone was hiding there and eavesdropping.
"You don't have to be too surprised. In two days, I will send people to take over the army in your capital. You can then announce the dismissal of the original soldiers and recruit new soldiers later."
Seeing that he acts cautiously, it seems that he has learned a lot of lessons in the past six months.
Of course, the soldiers’ severance pay must be sufficient. As for the expenses required, we only need to comb a few corrupt officials in Jiangping Prefecture to get the money.
"Thank you for your help, brother. I will go back and wait." Huang Zewan was overjoyed, knowing that Huang Zewan had the golden order granted by Emperor Tianqi and had the power to execute first and report later. He did not even bother to wipe away the tears that were still falling, and bowed to him.
"Yeah," Yang Biao nodded and pulled him back to his seat. The two discussed the details of how to act. He asked him to go back and observe which official in Jiangping Prefecture lived a more extravagant life and determine the address of the mansion.
At that time, we would send soldiers to confiscate anyone's house, and we could pay soldiers severance pay and confiscate their houses at the same time.
"Wenbin, have you found out where the largest pawnshop in Huangping Prefecture is?" After seeing off the ecstatic Huang Zewan, Yang Biao got into Xia Weiwei's car and asked Gui Wenbin, who was riding a horse and guarding beside him.
"Master, the pawnshop is not far ahead." Gui Wenbin didn't know why he had to ask about the location of the pawnshop himself, but he still obeyed the order and pointed to the intersection ahead.