The emperor faked his death? Never mind, I will ascend the throne directly!

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Feng Rushi saw that the time was almost right, so he put down his chopsticks and spoke straight to the point.

"Master Li, do you have any good ideas for eliminating the pirates?"

When Li Changqing heard this, the smile on his face froze and his eyes flickered.

He began to stutter, clearly lacking confidence: "These...these pirates have been entrenched in Nanzhou for many years. They are a huge force. It's not easy to wipe them out..."

Feng Rushi sneered and put down the teacup in his hand with a crisp sound.

As he expected, the governors of these four counties were almost fools and had no understanding of the enemy situation. No wonder they had never won a battle.

"Sir Li, as the governor of four counties, you shoulder the heavy responsibility of protecting the people."

"Piracy is rampant now, yet you have no idea what's going on. All you can do is shirk responsibility and quibble. Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's reprimand?"

Li Changqing blushed at Feng Rushi's words. He hadn't seen such a frank minister for many years.

However, this person had the emperor's imperial decree, so he did not dare to refute it. He could only smile and say, "Lord Feng is right. I know my crime, but this pirate is cunning and difficult to deal with..."

"Humph, I think you are just cowardly and want to take up a position without doing anything!"

Feng Rushi bluntly exposed Li Changqing's disguise and had no intention of saving his face.

"you……"

Li Changqing was suddenly furious, but speechless.

"Master Li, let me ask you, do you know who the leader of this group of pirates is?"

Feng Rushi pressed on step by step, not giving Li Changqing any chance to breathe.

"Why do they occupy Nanzhou and repeatedly invade our Daqian coast?"

"This……"

Li Changqing hesitated and still couldn't explain it clearly.

"Well, since Lord Li doesn't know anything, I'll tell you."

Feng Rusi snorted coldly and continued, "I have done some simple research. The leader of this group of pirates is called Sea Shark."

"In the early days, they were also citizens of Daqian. Unable to endure the oppression of the government, they turned to banditry. They gathered a group of desperate criminals, occupied Nanzhou Island, and used it as a base to plunder passing merchant ships."

"Although Haisha is a pirate, he is not a bloodthirsty person."

"He robbed mostly corrupt officials who were rich but unkind. He never harmed ordinary people."

"Also, as far as I know, this sea shark has also established a rule that any ship from the four coastal counties must not invade, and violators will be killed without mercy."

"From this, it can be seen that this sea shark is not an unforgivable criminal. There must be a hidden reason why he is an enemy of the imperial court."

Hearing this, Li Changqing's face became even uglier. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Feng Rushi with a wave of his hand.

"Lord Li is so hesitant. Is he afraid that if he wipes out the pirates, he will offend those officials who are colluding with them?"

Feng Rusi's tone was cold, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"No...it's not..."

Li Changqing was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly denied it.

He was not lying. Even if Li Changqing had the guts to do the crime of colluding with bandits, he would never dare to do it.

"If Lord Li is willing to cooperate, I welcome it. But if Lord Li insists on colluding with those corrupt officials, don't blame me, Feng, for being rude!"

Feng Rushi's words were full of murderous intent, and it seemed that he had already concluded that he was involved with the pirates.

Li Changqing was so frightened that his face turned pale and he quickly organized his words in his mind.

This new Lord Feng is not a good person. Since he dares to say this, he must have a way to deal with me.

If this is not explained clearly, there will probably be a hundred ways of dying waiting for me.

Thinking of this, Li Changqing said with a bitter face: "Master Feng, you misunderstood. I am loyal to the court and have no second thoughts!"

"It's just...it's just that although these pirates are far away overseas, they have roots in the Four Counties, including the families of some of them."

"If a war really breaks out, I'm worried that not only will we fail to quell the unrest at sea, but we'll also provoke resistance from the people of the four counties!"

Feng Rushi saw that Li Changqing's face turned pale and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and knew that he had just said something wrong.

He realized that his initial judgment might have been too simplistic. As an outsider, he did not understand the situation in South China as well as Li Changqing did.

Although Li Changqing is weak, the local experience he has accumulated over the years should not be underestimated.

Feng Rushi quickly adjusted his mindset and kept this in his heart. His face remained calm and his tone softened a bit.

He walked over to the chair and sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea. He took a sip, thought for a moment, and said, "Master Li, what you just said is not without reason."

"I have just arrived and am not familiar with the situation in these four counties. I may have offended you with my words just now. I hope Lord Li will forgive me."

Seeing Feng Rushi give in, Li Changqing finally felt relieved.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a forced smile, "Lord Feng, your words are too kind. I dare not blame you. However, this pirate matter is indeed a difficult one. I hope you will be able to see through it."

"Yes, Lord Li is absolutely right."

Feng Rushi put down the teacup, tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Li Changqing didn't dare to disturb him and could only stand quietly aside, waiting for Feng Rushi's next words.

After a long while, Feng Rusi slowly spoke, "Master Li, in your opinion, how should this pirate issue be resolved?"

"This……"

Li Changqing hesitated for a moment and said, "I think that exterminating the pirates is not the best strategy."

"Firstly, the pirates have been entrenched in Nanzhou for many years and their power is deeply entrenched. It is not easy to wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"Secondly, as I just said, many of the pirates are civilians from the four counties. If the imperial court sends troops to suppress them, it will probably provoke a civil uprising, which will only make the four counties more unstable."

"Well, Master Li's analysis makes sense."

Feng Rusi nodded in agreement. "Then, according to Lord Li, what should we do?"

"I think it's better..." Li Changqing lowered his voice, leaned close to Feng Rusi's ear, and whispered, "Why not, surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Rushi frowned slightly and remained silent.

Seeing Feng Rusi seemed a little unhappy, Li Changqing quickly explained: "Sir, I know that recruiting pirates is detrimental to the dignity of the royal family."

"But this is also a helpless move! Pirates have been rampant for many years. The imperial court has sent troops to suppress them many times, but it has never been able to completely eliminate them."

"Nowadays, the pirates are becoming more and more powerful. If we don't curb them, I'm afraid they will become a serious threat to our Daqian!"

Feng Rushi took a step forward and pondered in his heart, as if he had cleared away a thick fog.

He realized the need to adopt Li Changqing's local insights and work with him to check the threat of pirates.

Although this proposal was quite flawed, it gave him a better idea, and he looked up suddenly.

"Lord Li, in my opinion, we have two options right now: one is peace, the other is war."

"Against the grain or against the grain?"

Li Changqing was relieved to see that Feng Rushi did not deny his proposal, and then he became curious about his plan.

"Yes."

Feng Rusi nodded. "I agree with what you just said, that we should seek peace. However, I think peace doesn't mean simply showing weakness."