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

The people were very excited and questioned Li Changqing one after another.

Li Changqing took a deep breath and tried to make his tone sound calmer. "My fellow villagers, I know that none of you want to move away from your hometown."

"But this migration was also forced!"

"The sharks are rampant and the war is about to spread to the coast. For everyone's safety, we have to make this decision."

"Master Li, we are not afraid of sharks! We have lived with the sea for generations. What storms and waves have we not seen?"

"Even if the sea sharks come, we can fight them!"

A young fisherman shouted.

There was a commotion in the crowd, and many people echoed the fisherman's words.

Li Changqing's heart sank. These people were far less afraid of sea sharks than of migration.

More importantly, many of them have relatives or even members of the Sea Sharks.

It was only because of livelihood and pressure from the government that they had to endure it.

"My fellow villagers, I know it's not easy for everyone, but this is really for everyone's good!"

Li Changqing persuaded earnestly, "The court has already arranged a place for resettlement and will ensure that everyone has enough food and clothing..."

"We don't believe it! Can we trust the court's words?"

A middle-aged woman screamed, "They only talk nice things, but when the time comes they'll just leave us to fend for ourselves!"

Li Changqing wanted to say something else when suddenly there was a commotion in the crowd.

"Admiral Feng is here! Admiral Feng is here!"

Feng Rushi rode his horse and galloped all the way, then pulled the reins in front of the government office.

He dismounted and the crowd made way for him, and the people's attention turned to Feng Rushi.

"Folks."

Feng Rusi spoke under the gazes of many people, and the noisy voices immediately disappeared, and everyone was waiting for his words.

"You know, many of those pirates are from our coastal areas..."

Feng Rushi thought about it and decided to tell them directly.

The crowd suddenly quieted down, and many people had complicated expressions on their faces.

What Feng Rushi said was indeed true. Among those pirates, there were indeed many of their relatives, friends, and even their children.

"Of course I know. They were forced into becoming bandits."

Feng Rusi continued, "Today I'm going to speak frankly with everyone. Regarding the tsunami, there are actually two strategies: peace and war."

"If this strategy succeeds, we can minimize the losses on both sides. As for those not directly responsible, I will also explain the situation to His Majesty, and most of them can be given lenient sentences."

Having said this, Feng Rusi deliberately paused, and the people really began to whisper.

"Peace? Does that mean surrender?"

"Who cares? My nephew didn't volunteer in the first place!"

"My sister's son is the same way. Who would give up a good life to become a pirate?"

"So what Admiral Feng said, is it true?"

Seeing that some people had begun to waver, Feng Rushi continued.

"Let's talk about the worst plan. If we really go to war with the sea sharks, most of your relatives have grudges against the government, but they don't want to hurt the villagers."

"Then whether we are protecting you or them, we will inevitably be distracted due to concerns."

"So, to protect them and everyone else, we can only temporarily let everyone down and move to a safe place first."

Whispers arose again among the crowd, and many people began to hesitate.

They knew deep down that everything Feng Rushi said made sense, and they couldn't find any selfishness in it.

"Admiral Feng, is everything you said true?"

An old man asked tremblingly.

"Absolutely true!"

Feng Rushi answered firmly.

The crowd was silent for a moment, and finally, a young fisherman spoke up, "Okay, Admiral Feng, Lord Li, we believe you!"

“But I hope you’ll do what you say!”

"Yes! We believe you!"

Others echoed.

Seeing that the people's emotions gradually calmed down, Li Changqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, secretly admiring Feng Rusi's ability to remain calm in the face of danger. At the same time, he sighed: I finally managed to get away with it.

However, at this moment, a sharp voice suddenly came from the crowd: "Master Li, what you said sounds good! But, if we move inland, what will we eat? Where will we live?"

This question brought Li Changqing and Feng Rushi, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, back into a fight.

At the same time, it also made the relaxed atmosphere tense again.

Li Changqing opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer, so he looked at Feng Rushi for help.

Feng Rusi was also stunned. This question came earlier than he expected, catching him off guard.

He calmed himself down and said loudly, "This fellow asked a good question!"

"The imperial court will certainly not treat you unfairly! After the relocation, the court will properly resettle you, provide you with housing and farmland, and ensure that your lives will not be affected."

The crowd immediately erupted in excitement, with some shouting, "Admiral Feng is a good man! We believe in the court!"

Some were skeptical: "It sounds good, but who knows if they'll change their minds later?"

Some even sarcastically mocked, "The imperial court? Haha, when has the imperial court ever cared about the lives of ordinary people like us?"

Li Changqing broke out in a cold sweat as he listened to this. These troublemakers were really relentless!

Admiral Feng has said so much, but he still doesn't know how to restrain himself!

He secretly tugged at Feng Rusi's sleeve and whispered, "Admiral Feng, this...what should we do?"

Feng Rusi gave him a reassuring look, then turned to the people and continued, "I know everyone has doubts in their hearts, and this is human nature."

"The imperial court was indeed negligent in dealing with the pirate issue previously, causing everyone to suffer."

"But now, Your Majesty is wise and dedicated to governing the country. You are wholeheartedly serving the people and will never allow such a thing to happen again!"

"I, Feng Rusi, swear hereby that if the imperial court cannot properly accommodate you, I will bring my head before you!"

Feng Rushi's eyes were firm and his tone was sonorous and powerful.

This move has shaken many people who were originally skeptical.

"Admiral Feng has said so, why shouldn't we believe it?"

"Yeah, it's better than living in fear here!"

But some people still stubbornly hold on to their opinions: "It sounds better than singing! The court's promises are nothing but bullshit!"

"Anyone who believes this is a fool!"

A burly man with a face full of flesh shouted at the top of his voice.

Feng Rusi ignored the burly man's provocation, stood up, and continued, "I know it won't be easy to completely dispel everyone's doubts in a short period of time."

"Well, I will write this letter and present it to Your Majesty, requesting that Your Majesty allocate funds as soon as possible to build houses for you inland and provide farmland and seeds."

"I'll list the resettlement locations and plans in detail and post them here for everyone to review. How do you do that?"