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

Zhao Yong slowly approached the one-eyed man who was pinned to the ground and said in a cold voice, "Take him away and keep him under strict supervision!"

"Yes!"

Several soldiers immediately tied up the one-eyed man and dragged him away.

Feng Rusi came down from the cliff, walked to Zhao Yong's side, and said with a bow:

"General, you have great skills. Even such a tricky hidden arrow was dodged by you. It's really admirable!"

Zhao Yong waved his hand and said:

"These are just trifles, not worth mentioning. Lord Feng, these pirates are probably not simple."

Feng Rusi looked at the one-eyed man who was tied up and said:

"General, you are absolutely right. We can train such fearless and desperate men."

"The person behind this is definitely not an ordinary person."

"We'll know the answer after the interrogation."

Zhao Yong turned and walked towards the makeshift interrogation tent.

The one-eyed man was tied to a wooden stake, his body covered with wounds and his face covered in blood.

Zhao Yong sat opposite him, playing with the stones in his hand.

"Tell me, who ordered you to harass the coastal areas and attack us?"

Zhao Yong's voice was low and powerful.

The one-eyed dragon stammered:

"I...I was just following orders, and I don't know who's behind this..."

Zhao Yong drank:

"It seems you won't cry until you see the coffin."

He waved his hand, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward, one holding a red-hot iron and the other bringing a basin of salt water.

The one-eyed dragon shouted hurriedly:

"I tell you! I tell you! It was Sea Shark! It was Sea Shark who ordered us to do this!"

"Sea shark?"

Zhao Yong frowned slightly. He had heard of this name.

"Yes! It's Sea Shark! He's our boss, and we all obey his orders!"

The one-eyed dragon explained incoherently.

Zhao Yong pondered for a moment.

"What's the origin of this sea shark?"

"I...I only know that he is a martial arts expert."

"He appears and disappears mysteriously, and no one knows his true identity..."

The one-eyed man didn't dare to hide anything and had to tell the truth.

Zhao Yong waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to take the one-eyed man away first.

Feng Rusi walked into the tent and asked, "General, have you gained anything?"

Zhao Yong shook his head and said, "I only know one name, Sea Shark."

"This person seems quite mysterious. Even this one-eyed man doesn't know his true identity."

"Sea shark..."

Feng Rushi thought: It seems that there is a bigger conspiracy behind this.

"Whoever dares to disturb the peace along the coast will be brought to justice!"

Zhao Yong crushed the stone in his hand.

Late at night, Zhao Yong sat alone by the fire, holding the pirate token he had found on the one-eyed dragon.

Lost in thought:

Since this one-eyed man is the second in command of the pirates, he should be very skilled, but after the fight just now.

The One-Eyed Dragon's kung fu is just so-so, he is not even as good as his own deputy general. Is there another conspiracy?

The next morning, Zhao Yong stood on the edge of the cliff.

Feng Rusi walked up to him and asked:

"General, are you still thinking about the sea shark?"

Zhao Yong played with the stone in his hand and said:

"I thought about it all night last night. This one-eyed dragon's martial arts skills are really mediocre."

"He's called the second-in-command, but he's not even as good as my deputy general. It's really strange."

He paused and then said:

"Also, his confession was so straightforward, like he deliberately told us the name 'Sea Shark'."

Feng Rushi pondered for a moment.

"General, are you saying there's a trick going on here?"

"Yes."

Zhao Yong threw a stone in his hand into the sea, splashing a small wave.

"I suspect this sea shark is a deliberate smokescreen to conceal their true purpose."

"So what's your plan, General?"

Feng Rushi asked.

Zhao Yong said:

"I've arranged for spies to search along the coastline to see if they can find any clues."

He turned around.

"Lord Feng, the peace along this coast is in your hands."

Feng Rusi bowed and said:

"General, rest assured. I will do my best!"

Zhao Yong nodded.

"I've arranged for spies to search along the coastline. Since the pirates landed on the coast, they must have left traces!"

At this time, a spy came hurriedly to report:

"General, an abandoned wooden ship was found east of the coast."

"There's a torn black flag on the ship, the symbol of pirates!"

Zhao Yong stood up suddenly.

"Take me to see it!"

The group rode their horses to the seaside and saw a dilapidated wooden boat stranded on the beach.

Feng Rushi carefully inspected the hull and found a huge hole in the bottom, as if it had been injured by a sharp weapon.

Doubts in my heart:

It seems that the ship was sunk intentionally. There is no reason for this.

"General, there are no survivors on this ship, and no valuable clues have been found."

A soldier reported.

Zhao Yong frowned. What on earth was this pirate doing?

Did you leave this ship behind deliberately to lure them into the trap?

"Where exactly was the wooden boat found?"

Zhao Yong's sharp eyes swept over the spy who came to report.

The spy quickly replied:

"General, it's about thirty miles southeast, on the coast, near a group of reefs."

A topographic map of the coastal area quickly emerged in Zhao Yong’s mind.

Thirty miles to the southeast…reefs…I silently calculated the time and direction of the tide.

"General, what did you think of?"

Seeing Zhao Yong lost in thought, Feng Rushi couldn't help but ask.

Zhao Yong raised his head.

"If I'm not mistaken, the pirates' lair should be on that uninhabited island to the east!"

Feng Rushi was shocked.

"How do you know? How did you deduce that, General?"

"It's very simple."

Zhao Yong walked to the edge of the cliff and pointed at the sea in the distance.

"Look at the direction of the tide, it's from east to west."

"The wooden boat was found in the southeast, and the hole in the bottom looked like it was drilled from the inside."

"This shows that after sinking the wooden ship, the pirates fled against the current."

"They did this for only one purpose, and that was to confuse us."

"We were made to think they were fleeing to the south, but in reality, they were hiding on the island to the east!"

Feng Rushi suddenly understood and sighed in his heart: General Zhao is really as foresighted as a god!

Zhao Yong said: "Right now, we can only speculate on the exact location of the pirates' lair."

"We have no idea how many people there are or what kind of weapons and equipment they have. Any rash action will only alert the enemy."

He paused.

"Send the order down, find the bodies of the pirates who were killed earlier and strip off their clothes!"

After the order was given, the soldiers quickly dragged over several pirate bodies.

Zhao Yong and several of his confidants changed into pirate clothes.

"General, you are going to..."

Feng Rushi was a little puzzled.

Zhao Yong patted his pirate uniform and sneered:

"Since we don't know the enemy's situation, let's go find out for ourselves! We'll disguise ourselves as pirates and go to the island to find out what's going on!"

Feng Rusi was shocked:

"General, this is too dangerous! What if we're discovered..."

Zhao Yong interrupted him:

"Wealth and honor are sought in danger! No risk, no gain."

"Besides, this general is very confident in his own skills."