Chapter 423: I am the Red Scarf

The waves on the sea rolled, the dry cold northwest wind that blew from the dry land caused the winter sea to become violent. The seawater that was once azure darkened, and the endless sea waves with unpredictable power recklessly lifted and suppressed anything on the sea surface…

Among the raging waves, a fleet of twelve warships sailed stubbornly against the wind in rows of two, toward the dry land in a zigzag pattern. On the ninth day of the eleventh lunar month, this fleet completed the last sea patrol for this winter season and was on its way back to the harbor.

The huge lead ship for this fleet was the flagship of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy — the Black Dragon Warship. It was nearly the height of a three-story building, more than twenty zhang in length, and the bow of the warship was extremely sharp with its metal enclosure. All of this contributed to the black giant ship’s imposing aura.

Whenever the giant warship appeared in the southeastern territorial waters of the Great Han Empire, pirates of various sizes would start evading them even from a hundred li away because everyone knew the commander of the Black Dragon Warship. Not only that, but they knew the person who was most feared by countless pirates would definitely be on this giant warship. All the pirates in these vast territorial waters referred to him as the Black Dragon King!

The Black Dragon King was Zheng Huaian!

At this moment, Zheng Huaian was standing at the bow of the Black Dragon Warship. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stared at the boundless sea and vivid coastline as his blood-red cloak fluttered behind him.

Zheng Huaian had graying hairs on his temples and he wasn’t that tall and burly. On the contrary, he kind of looked like a chubby, middle-aged man. If it wasn’t for his dignified aura and sharp eyes, he seemed more like the manager of a restaurant or an inn rather than a high-ranking Navy General of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy at first glance.

The giant warship rode the wind and waves. Although it was a bit shaky, Zheng Huaian stood, unmoving, on the ship’s bow as though his feet were rooted to the ground.

Gazing at the distant gulf that was gradually becoming clearer, Zhen Huaian quietly sighed with a worried look on his face.

Unbeknownst to Zheng Huaian, a handsome navy officer in his forties was behind him. When he heard Zheng Huaian sigh helplessly, he asked, “My lord, it’s been more than two months and there’s still no news from the Ministry of War…”

“It’s still the same as last time…” Zheng Huaian calmly replied without turning his head. His tone revealed a sense of helplessness.

Upon hearing Zheng Huaian’s reply, anger immediately appeared on the face of the young navy officer, “When will those old men in the Ministry of War understand that the boundless sea is also part of the Great Han Empire? There are over thousands of islands in this ocean with endless spices, pearls, gold, silver, and an abundance of wealth and treasures. There are hundreds and thousands of countries overseas, both big and small, almost too many to count. If the Great Han Empire does not increase the force of the Southeastern Navy, the safety of the Great Han Empire will be compromised. Just a few months ago, I heard that the Cheni Kingdom was destroyed by an unknown race that had red hair and green eyes. They were bloodthirsty, greedy, and fond of black gowns. The foreign fleet was rumored to be brought to Cheni Kingdom by the storm. When they arrived at the Cheni Kingdom, they were treated with great hospitality and were brought to the royal capital. A few days later, they killed all twenty thousand residents in the royal capital. After plundering the capital, they torched the place to the ground. Eyewitnesses said that those foreigners traveled with a few dozen lateens and that the design of the ship was unprecedented. Those ships are definitely not what ordinary pirates or small foreign countries are capable of building, I am afraid…”

The young navy officer wanted to say something more but hesitated. Even if he didn’t finish the sentence, Zheng Huaian also understood that when a wolf finished his meal and left, something bad was bound to happen. This wolf might bring a whole pack of wolves back in the future.

“I have no control over the affairs in the Imperial Capital!” Zheng Huaian turned his head to look at the young navy officer and bluntly said, “Once we return, spread the news to all the sea merchants that whoever can provide news and a historical track record of those foreigners will be greatly rewarded. Any navy that captures those foreign ships will be promoted by three ranks and be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver. All pirates, regardless of whom, will be rewarded with the island where the Cheni Kingdom sits as long as they hand over the foreign ships…”

“Yes!”

Zheng Huaian looked at the dark sky toward the north where the fleet was heading and sighed inwardly. The imperial court did not value the navy and because of that, the coastal pirates were running rampant. The thousands of islands in the southern sea that guarded the southeastern coast of the Great Han Empire were not only strategic locations, but they were also rich with resources and abundant with treasures. Even so, those were not enough for the old men in the imperial court. To them, the navy only needed to safeguard the coast of the Great Han Empire and keep pirates from inciting troubles. In the last ten years, the numbers of pirates along the southeastern coast had been on the rise. Several pirates joined forces and had already gained some power. On the contrary, the Southeastern Navy was not even given a single new warship in the last ten years.

The destruction of the Cheni Kingdom was a good wake up call. This ocean was boundless — it was simply too vast and nobody knew what was on the other side.

…

Two hours later, just before nightfall, the fleet finally reached the bustling harbor in Hai Province. An attendant quickly went to Zheng Huaian as soon as he disembarked and whispered something to him. Zhen Huaian looked slightly taken aback and immediately issued an order. “Bring them to the Navy General’s Office. I shall meet them there!”

Half an hour later, the travel-worn Zheng Huaian met the two visitors who claimed to have hailed from Hui Province in the Navy General’s Office.

One of the guests was in his fifties while the other was in his thirties. At a glance, one could tell they were highly capable experts, especially the older one. Just from afar, Zheng Huaian could sense that he had attained the Martial Grandmaster realm.

“Greetings from the escort leader of Hui Province’s Guangsheng Escort Agency, Zhou Yuanlong! I have brought along another escort, Chen Zhiwu, with me!”

When the two visitors entered the hall, Zhou Yuanlong cautiously watched Zheng Huaian to confirm his identity before greeting him.

“Hui Province is quite far from Hai Province. What brings you here, Escort Leader Zhou?” Zheng Huaian asked calmly once they were seated.

“About a month ago, our escort agency accepted an escort request. The client entrusted us to personally deliver this to you before the 15th day of this month!” Escort Leader Zhou took out something and placed it on the table beside him. One of the attendants beside Zheng Huaian took it and placed it in front of Zheng Huaian.

Zheng Huaian scanned the object with his eyes. It was a metallic cylinder sealed with a layer of wax. There were some flower patterns on the wax. Such things were commonly seen in the military. This delivery method was widely used for urgent and important military situations, but the folks in the community also utilized this method regularly. The metal cylinder protected the contents from damage during the delivery. The flower wax seals ensured that the metallic cylinder would not be opened during delivery. If the content had been opened or tampered with, the flower wax seal would be damaged and it would be visible from a glance.

This metallic cylinder and flower wax seal were still intact. Nobody had opened the seal on the way here.

Zheng Huaian did not open the cylinder immediately. Instead he asked, “Who requested you to deliver this to me?”

“The requestor did not leave his name. He just said that he was an old friend of yours and you would know who he is once you see the letter inside!”

“Oh?” Zheng Huaian became curious. He searched his mind but recalled that he did not have any old friends or relatives in Hui Province, “May I ask what that person looked like?”

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“He’s a tanned man in his twenties, sporting a mustache. He looks quite ordinary and speaks with a slight Imperial Capital accent.”

“Oh, and since he made Escort Leader Zhou personally send this thing over, how much did he offer?”

“According to the business regulations, we cannot leak any information on our requestors’ offers. But since it was the Navy General who asked, I will be truly honest with you. He paid us twenty thousand taels of silver and insisted that I must deliver this personally without any mistake. Our escort agency simply could not reject such a tempting offer!”

Zheng Huaian raised his eyebrows upon hearing that someone had spent twenty thousand taels of silver just to deliver a letter to him.

“Alright, I understand. Thank you both. You must have endured a long exhausting journey, please have a good rest!”

“Since the goods have been delivered, we shall take our leave!” Escort Leader Zhou stood up and cupped his fist respectfully to Zheng Huaian.

Zheng Huaian glanced at the attendant beside him and the attendant politely showed the guests from Guangsheng Escort Agency the way out.

Zheng Huaian hesitated for a moment after he thoroughly examined the metallic cylinder, then requested for a pair of deer leather gloves. After wearing the gloves, he carefully broke the flower wax seal and carefully opened the cylinder.

As expected, a letter was indeed inside the cylinder…

The letter had no opening and closing lines; it just contained a series of dates and events —

—On the 13th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 16th year of the Yuanping reign, the Minister of Rites, Gong Zicheng, passed away due to illness. His Majesty granted him the Wu Xin title…

When he read the first sentence, Zheng Huaian eyes lit up because it would be the 16th day of the eleventh lunar month a week from now. There were more to follow…

—On the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, an earthquake occurred in Suyang Prefecture of Xu Province. The northern gate tower in Suyang City collapsed during the earthquake. There were over a hundred thousand victims in the disaster and around three thousand houses collapsed during the earthquake. The imperial court allocated one hundred thousand taels of silver as disaster relief.

—On the 26th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, Qinshui Prefecture of Hai Province sighted a comet streaking across the sky. The comet fragments crashed in the southeastern part of Qinshui Prefecture. The impact created a crater in the ground, and the loud crash could be heard from miles away. This led to a forest fire which burned for three days before it was finally extinguished by a snowfall.

—On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, in Yushan Kingdom, a vassal state in the southern part of the Great Han Empire, experienced political changes. The ruler of the Yushan Kingdom was murdered, and the crown prince of the Yushan Kingdom fled to Annan Prefecture to seek aid from the Annan Provincial Governor to pacify the rebellion…

—On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, the White Lotus Society arrived at Leng Province…

Reading the letter that stated the future events that were about to occur in the Great Han Empire made Zheng Huaian mind turn blank first, before he felt at a loss on what to feel. He could not understand who would spend twenty thousand taels of silver just to prank him. As he continued to read the remainder of the letter, the last section made Zheng Huaian’s mind turn blank…

—In the second lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy was caught up in a ‘corruption case’. Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian ordered for the Southeastern Navy General Zheng Huaian to be put under investigation for corruption of military funds and receiving bribery from shipyards. Not only that, his son-in-law and son were also suspected to be colluding with the pirates. Zheng Huaian’s clan was stripped of their properties, and the entire clan of forty-seven people were sent to jail while another thirty navy officers and high-ranking officers were also implicated.

—In the third lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, Zheng Huaian, his clan, and the thirty navy officers died in a fire at Qingjiang Prison. There were no survivors…

—In the fourth lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, former Deputy Navy General of the Southeastern Navy, Zeng Jiuming was promoted to the Navy General by Lin Qingtian. The former Southeastern Navy General’s Office promoted local magistrate Li Zhaofeng to the Prefectural Governor of Xuanbing Prefecture in Hai Province …

By the time he finished reading, Zheng Huaian hands were trembling slightly.

A gust of wind blew inside the hall. Zheng Huaian felt a chill and realized that his back was covered in cold sweat.

At the end of the letter, there was only one sentence.

—Don’t ask who I am, please call me the Red Scarf!

Just then, Zheng Huaian heard the voice of an attendant ringing beside his ears.

“My lord, Lord Li is outside the hall and he is requesting for an audience…”

Zheng Huaian calmed his state of mind and stashed the letter into his robes. He took off the deer leather gloves and placed them inside the drawer of his desk. He took a deep breath then ordered the attendant, ” Let Lord Li in…”

A few seconds later, a magnificent-looking man came in with a few rolls of papers in his hands. His face lifted when he saw Zheng Huaian, “I heard that you were here, so I came with these official documents which require your seals…”

Zheng Huaian also smiled and asked with a relaxed manner, “Zhaofeng, you are not letting me rest? I just got back and you are bringing a pile of official documents for me. Leave it there first, I will go through them slowly!”

“My lord, you are the Navy General, so heavy responsibilities naturally lie on your shoulders!” The man smiled as he placed the pile of rolled-up documents in front Zheng Huaian and asked without thinking, “By the way, I heard that there were two escorts who wanted to meet you. Is there anything I can help with…?”

Zheng Huaian shifted his glance. He waved his hand and briefly explained, “It was nothing much, just an old friend that I know had some challenges with his cultivation. He was not able to come so he requested an escort agency to deliver a letter to consult with me and also to schedule a time to meet up…”