Chapter 1813: The Return

Jiaozhou Port, Mizhou, Henan Circuit.

Since more than thirty years ago, when the court began building up its naval forces in earnest, Jiaozhou Port had been on the rise. At first it served as the home port of the East Sea Fleet, then it was opened to civilian use. With the advantage of a military harbor, over the course of thirty years Jiaozhou Port had become one of the most important ports in the north of the Great Han.

Unlike its neighbors in the two prefectures of Deng and Lai, which leaned increasingly toward commercial and civilian use, Jiaozhou Port, thanks to its superior hydrological conditions, had always been the largest military port in the north of the Great Han, and the main force of the Great Han navy, the East Sea Fleet, was permanently stationed there.

After decades of rapid development, the area around Jiaozhou Bay had become a prosperous and wealthy region, with its population surpassing three hundred thousand by the tenth year of Kaibao. Merchants, laborers, escort guards, and sailors — a large influx of outsiders tirelessly added brick and mortar to the rise of Jiaozhou Bay.

Over the jurisdiction of Jiaozhou Bay, the prefectural governments of Mizhou and Laizhou had once quarreled, taking the dispute all the way to the Henan Circuit, and even once to the court in the Eastern Capital. However, after comprehensive consideration, the court still pulled rank and assigned the treasure that was Jiaozhou Bay to Mizhou.

There was no helping it — compared to the wealthy Laizhou, Mizhou could only be described as poor. A thriving Jiaozhou Port was a tremendous supplement to Mizhou. And subsequent development proved this point, as Mizhou's growth was driven forward, making it an important transportation hub on the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Every autumn was the busiest time at Jiaozhou Port. A great number of passenger and cargo ships gathered here — those going to sea went to sea, those coming ashore came ashore — presenting a thriving scene of convergence between land and sea.

However, the atmosphere at Jiaozhou Port today was clearly different. Yamen runners from both the prefectural and county offices, along with port patrolmen, had taken control of the docks. Even the East Sea Fleet had dispatched a contingent of sailors to help maintain order.

A large number of officials had gathered at the port. Below the Henan Circuit level, essentially every high-ranking official worth naming had come, including Shi Dechong, Administration Commissioner of Henan Circuit and Duke of Xing.

Among the second-generation meritorious nobles of the Great Han, Shi Dechong was a relatively outstanding figure. Unlike his rigid and arrogant father, Shi Dechong was upright in character and modest in demeanor, enjoying an excellent reputation. He had long been trusted and valued by Emperor Liu, and though he was now past sixty, the Emperor still entrusted him with important responsibilities.

Over the decades, though he had never ascended to the chancellorship, he had always been a circuit-level grand official, a regional magnate. In the economic landscape of the Great Han, the Henan Circuit was not particularly renowned — it lacked Jiangnan's romantic elegance, lacked Hebei's stirring heroism, was not the land of abundance that Jiannan was, nor the land of fish and rice that the two Hu were. But in fact, the Henan Circuit had always been one of the most prosperous regions of the Great Han, consistently ranking at the forefront of the nation in population, production, and tax revenue.

And because it bordered the capital region and was a convergence zone for the economies of north and south, Emperor Liu had always held it in high regard. Every Administration Commissioner appointed there was extraordinary — men like Li Hongwei, Li Shaoyou, and Song Yanwo were all relatives of the imperial house. Thus, Shi Dechong's appointment to the Henan Circuit was itself sufficient to demonstrate how highly Emperor Liu regarded him.

At this moment, within Jiaozhou Port, the crowd of onlookers had grown even larger. Though blocked by soldiers and runners and forced to watch from afar, their curiosity only intensified. This was no small spectacle — judging by the setup, it seemed they were welcoming some important personage, and the rows of brand-new dragon banners erected along the dockside emphasized the two words "noble and honored."

On the docks, the surrounding clamor even drowned out the sound of waves crashing. Standing together with Shi Dechong was a person of special status, true imperial blood — Liu Hui, Duke of Wu.

In the ongoing campaign against corruption and evil, Emperor Liu had not only dispatched investigative officials to various regions, but had also, following close behind, sent his grown princes and trusted senior ministers to various places to tour and inspect on his behalf. They had no specific administrative duties — they were merely to keep watch on the Emperor's behalf and serve a stabilizing presence.

He had even given an opportunity to the Ninth Prince, Liu Shu, Duke of Chu, who had always been a wastrel. That lad, true to his nature, had wanted to go play in Jiangnan, but Emperor Liu had firmly arranged for him to go to Liaodong instead.

Liu Hui had originally wanted to go to Jiangnan as well. Due to his background, he had always been close to the officials of Jiangnan, but Emperor Liu had refused him too. Still, being sent to the Henan Circuit was not bad for Liu Hui.

Over the past nearly three months, the officialdom of the Henan Circuit had been in constant turmoil. In the course of the rectification, if impoverished and remote areas were characterized by the word "evil," then wealthy regions were primarily targeted for corruption — and the economically developed Henan region was exactly such a case.

As he had grown older, Liu Hui had acquired some attributes of "flashy but insubstantial" and "great ambitions but meager talents." He had come to Henan wanting to make some achievements, and this anti-corruption and anti-evil campaign was a good opportunity.

However, after making a fuss for a while, he had greatly lost popular support. On one hand, he personally intervened and meddled in criminal investigations; on the other, he was headstrong and self-opinionated, his methods immature — and the result was a mess.

Someone reported that Wang Ling, Prefectural Administrator of Yizhou, was corrupt. Liu Hui immediately had his attendant subordinates arrest the man, interrogated him personally, then found a large pile of "evidence" and ultimately hounded Wang Ling to death. Yet Wang Ling had enjoyed a good reputation among the local officials and people — he was a good official. Because Wang Ling had been framed to death, a crowd of commoners even gathered to cause a disturbance, turning everything into a complete mess.

Then, under the forceful intervention of the circuit government and the Wude Office, the Yizhou civil unrest was quickly suppressed — but more than two thousand people died, and the Yizhou officialdom was purged by more than half, while local powerful families suffered heavy blows.

Clearly, Liu Hui had been used by others. The affair he had stirred up grieved his friends and delighted his enemies. Though the situation was ultimately settled, news of Liu Hui's incompetence reached the capital. The ministers dared not speak ill of an imperial prince, but Emperor Liu was especially disappointed.

Clearly, no matter how outstanding one's literary talent or how quick one's mind, if one handled affairs so foolishly, Emperor Liu truly had little confidence left in this son he had once doted on.

Of course, Emperor Liu himself bore some responsibility. Liu Hui, after all, unlike his elder brothers, lacked rich experience in governance and dealing with the world. Though nearly thirty, he was in truth undertrained, spending his days with poetry and prose, unequal to great responsibilities.

Therefore, after the Yizhou unrest was pacified, Emperor Liu issued Liu Hui a very severe edict of reprimand, requiring him not to interfere further in the Henan Circuit investigations or local affairs, and ordering him to stay put in Qingzhou.

This reprimand had dealt Liu Hui a heavy blow. During this period, he had been in a very gloomy mood — even composing poetry and matching couplets felt listless. His coming to Jiaozhou Port together with Shi Dechong this time was also something he had no choice but to do, because the navy had relayed word that Prince Yong, Liu Chenghsun, and his party, who had gone on an inspection tour of the South Seas, had finally returned — today was the day of their arrival.

"Your Highness, Governor, the fleet is approaching!"

At the report of a naval officer, the welcoming party on the docks was instantly reinvigorated — they had been waiting for a long time, and most of them had sore feet from standing. Shi Dechong immediately waved his hand, and the ceremonial music ensemble waiting at the side, dressed in bright and festive attire, struck up a tune that quickly drowned out the miscellaneous noise on the docks.

Liu Hui, meanwhile, said nothing, his gaze fixed intently on the distance. A black dot appeared at the very edge of vision, then two, three, a dozen or more. As they drew closer, the treasure ships flying dragon banners became increasingly clear.

The channel into the harbor had long been cleared of all obstacles. The returning fleet, under the direction of pilot boats, slowly came alongside the shore. Amid the booming salutes of cannon fire, Prince Yong and his party, who had been away on inspection for more than two years, had finally returned.

The moment they set foot on the soil of the empire, tidal waves of cheering erupted from the docks. Though some of it was forced, the enthusiastic atmosphere was successfully created.

Liu Chenghsun took a deep breath of the sea-scented air, a satisfied smile spreading across his weary face as he sighed with emotion: "Finally back!"

Accompanying Liu Chenghsun were Liu Yun, Duke of Qi; the imperial grandson Liu Wenhai; and Guo Liangping, Baron Zhiyuan. Liu Hui and Shi Dechong led the assembled crowd forward and bowed respectfully: "We welcome the Imperial Uncle (Your Highness)!"

Looking at the welcoming display around him, then at the Henan Circuit officials, Liu Chenghsun waved his hand and said: "Thank you all!"

Having said this, he looked at Liu Hui with some curiosity and asked: "Little Seven, why are you here?"

At the mention of this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Liu Hui's handsome face, and he replied in a low voice: "With the Imperial Uncle's return, your nephew naturally came in person to welcome you."