Chapter 763: Eavesdropping

Yang Shan held the pirate's firelock and examined it carefully; after testing it, he thought the same.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard sneered: "This firelock is far inferior to those of the Divine Engine Corps."

Yang Shan asked: "In what way?"

"Shorter range, longer ignition time, must reload after every three shots, even the copper tube is poor—I just touched it, after three shots, the copper tube felt like it was burning; after two reloads, it would surely burst."

Yang Shan turned the firelock in his hand: "Yet even such inferior firelocks, our soldiers cannot all possess them—meaning, whenever we face them, our soldiers are at a disadvantage."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard: "They have only fifteen firelocks per ship."

Yang Shan's face was as dark as water: "They are bandits; we are soldiers! The mighty Great Ming must ensure every soldier's weapon surpasses that of the bandits."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard fell silent.

Yang Shan gripped the firelock tightly and said: "Collect all weapons. Separate firearms from cold weapons."

"Yes."

During inventory, the Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered five or six firelocks were missing from each ship.

One ship had only ten firelocks accounted for; the other had only nine.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard glanced at Pan Yun and her companions tending to the wounded, clenched his teeth, but did not confront them—only reported the matter.

After a brief pause, Yang Shan said: "They rendered great service; let the missing ones go. Record whatever remains."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had long suspected that the cannons ambushed in Ryukyu had also been hidden by Pan Yun and her group—he knew these cultivators possessed supernatural abilities.

They had inspected the scene and found no trace of the cannons being moved; the single cannon left behind was highly suspicious—why precisely that corner's cannon was left behind?

If the pirates had moved them, that corner would have been the easiest to remove from.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard suspected Yang Shan also harbored this suspicion, yet he said nothing.

Yang Shan naturally said nothing—he had been to Japan once, and he knew he would have many future opportunities to cooperate with Pan Yun.

She was willing to surrender the silver mountain and the harbor; he saw in her a loyal heart for the sovereign and love for the nation.

With such intent and such ability, Yang Shan naturally wished to treat her generously.

A state scholar, a state scholar—the state must treat such a one generously.

Who, loyal and patriotic, does not desire wealth and glory?

Thus Yang Shan turned a blind eye to the lost spoils, whether the missing firelocks were taken by Pan Yun or by other soldiers.

Besides this, the merits they earned must be properly recognized.

Across the vast sea, every voyage is nine deaths and one life; logistics must be handled well.

After tallying casualties and prisoners, dawn broke, and Yang Shan began drafting memorials to recommend rewards for all.

He remained impartial, listing every meritorious person on the memorial—Pan Yun and Master Xuanmiao were the foremost, followed by the Red-Cloaked Heroine Xiao Hong and Sister Hong Yan…

Yang Shan paused here, furrowed his brow slightly, and asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing beside him: "What are the identities and native places of the two red-clothed women in Pan Yun's group?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard glanced over, knew he was recommending rewards, and bowed: "I shall inquire immediately."

Yang Shan nodded and continued writing.

Meanwhile, the fleet accelerated forward; the two pirate ships had become their spoils, their flags lowered and replaced with Great Ming banners, as they sailed majestically toward Quanzhou.

Having just survived the pirate ambush, Yang Shan ordered the fleet to slow down, so though they had expected to reach port by evening, they still drifted at sea past nightfall—though drawing ever closer to Quanzhou Harbor.

That day, Yang Shan wrote two memorials in one breath—one concerning maritime prohibitions, pirates, customs, and the navy, briefly called the Ten Maritime Proposals.

He finished it in one go, polished it, then copied it onto the memorial scroll; outside, the sunset had just set.

Yang Shan put away the memorial, stepped out of the cabin with his hands behind his back, gazed at the brilliant sunset over sea and horizon, and felt: if the Ten Maritime Proposals gained the emperor's attention, the Great Ming would welcome a greater sunrise;

if the maritime prohibition continued, with the pirates' current rate of growth, the Great Ming might truly fade like this sunset—brilliant, yet nearing dusk. Yang Shan rallied himself, summoned the Embroidered Uniform Guard: "Where is Pan Yun?"

"Over there."

Yang Shan looked over; Wang Cong's ship still remained in the center, and Pan Yun stood at the bow, facing west, her gaze fixed intently on the setting sun.

Perhaps Yang Shan's gaze was too intense; Pan Yun withdrew her gaze and looked directly at him.

Yang Shan smiled and gave her a slight nod.

Pan Yun nodded in return.

Only then did Yang Shan ask the Embroidered Uniform Guard: "Where is the pirate chief?"

"In the lower hold."

Originally, transferring them at sea was difficult; most pirates remained guarded on their own ships, with many soldiers posted to watch them.

But these two chiefs were different—Tao Ji had extracted poison sacs from their mouths.

So the Embroidered Uniform Guard requested Pan Yun's aid to bring both to the flagship.

Pan Yun simply and directly tossed them over.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had kept them suspended in the lower hold, waiting for Yang Shan to interrogate them.

Yang Shan deliberately slowed the fleet to interrogate them before reaching land.

At sea, he was the supreme authority;

but on land, he could not hold them—likely never see them again.

Yang Shan did not trust those on land.

Nor did the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The two descended together into the lower hold.

The two chiefs were suspended separately, each in their own room; the hold was poorly soundproofed, so what Yang Shan asked here could be heard on the other side.

Yang Shan glanced at the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately lowered one man, dragged him out; Yang Shan then pulled over a chair and sat facing the suspended chief.

The chief had eaten nothing and drunk nothing for a day, and had been suspended alone—his body and mind at their limit; now seeing Yang Shan, he remained silent, filled with rage, hatred, and contempt: "You officials love these empty, pretentious tricks—kill me if you will, flay me if you will—I won't utter a single sound, I won't even keep my surname Wu!"

Yang Shan: "Your surname is Wu. What is your name? Where is your native place?"

The bandit chief Wu sneered coldly again and again, refusing to answer, and kept shouting: "Go ahead and kill me. I, your father, won't say a single thing."

In the darkness, Little Red, who had been clinging to a crossbeam, listened to a pile of nonsense. Not until the night grew deep and quiet, and the hanging men were swapped one after another, could Yang Shan himself hold out no longer. Only then did she drift up behind him and step onto the deck.

Yang Shan's footsteps paused slightly, and he turned to look.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard guard holding the lantern for him followed his gaze: "What's wrong?"

Yang Shan frowned: "I keep feeling like someone is following me."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard guard said not a word, pressed his hand on his sword hilt and walked over, searched back and forth, then shook his head and said: "There's nothing at all, my lord. The stairway to the lower hold only allows one person through, and the sound of going up or down is loud—no one, no matter how skilled, could move without making the slightest sound."

Yang Shan nodded slightly, but doubt still lingered in his heart. His instincts had always been sharp.

Little Red waited for him to enter the cabin door, then only after that drifted in, watching him sort through his official documents and memorials.

She didn't want to follow him either, but she had come to gather information. After she finished looking through the things in his hands, she drifted lightly back to Wang Cong's boat. (End of chapter)