If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

After leaving the palace, Li Zheng began to work diligently to improve the situation. He dismissed all the original naval personnel and sent them back to their hometowns. Then, he recruited three thousand men from the previously unpopular navy.

Moreover, the training is no longer conducted on land; it has all been moved to the lake.

"Although the navy is not as strong as the Imperial Guard, they are good swimmers."

Li Zheng was once again proud of his own brilliance and prowess, and his henchmen beside him were also offering their flattery.

"Your Highness is truly wise. No matter how incompetent our Great Dragon Navy is, dealing with a few pirates is a piece of cake."

"Hahaha, well said."

. . . . .

For the past month, Li Zheng had indeed spent his days training the navy on the lake, and the uninformed people admired the fourth prince even more.

However, news of pirate attacks soon returned to the coastal areas, causing an uproar when it reached the capital.

"Weren't the pirates wiped out by the Fourth Prince?"

"Why are there pirates again?"

"What exactly is going on?"

The uninformed common people and officials were completely baffled. What was going on? The Fourth Prince had just returned from suppressing the bandits, and now pirates had appeared.

However, another rumor soon began to circulate.

"The pirates that the Fourth Prince wiped out last time are not the same group as this one."

"I heard that the leader is a brother, the younger one last time and the older one this time, who came for revenge."

"What? A father-son pirate crew?"

Upon hearing this news, any doubts that had previously been held about the Fourth Prince vanished instantly.

Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

"Prime Minister, the news has been spread, and the negative news about the Fourth Prince has basically been quelled."

The servant knelt on one knee before Ji Gaojie and reported back.

"That Li Zheng is really a headache."

That's right. The news that followed was spread by Right Chancellor Ji Gaojie in order to clear Li Zheng's name. As Li Zheng's biggest supporter, he had been silently strategizing behind Li Zheng's back for many years. Over the years, he had watched Li Zheng's reputation gradually surpass that of Crown Prince Li Junren. Especially after returning from Gaoli Kingdom, Li Zheng's reputation even surpassed that of the Crown Prince at one point.

However, Li Zheng's shortcomings gradually became apparent. He was young and impulsive, brave but reckless. Before he gained power, Li Zheng's greatest advantage among the princes was his obedience. But recently, Ji Gaojie discovered that Li Zheng seemed to be starting to become somewhat unruly.

They even fabricated the colossal lie of annihilating the pirates without consulting him, which gave Ji Gaojie an increasingly headache. However, since he was already on the pirate ship, getting out was no longer so easy, and he could only accompany Li Zheng down this dark path.

Thanks to Ji Gaojie's manipulation, the pirates reappeared, allowing Li Zheng to successfully lead the expedition once again. This time, Li Zheng made thorough preparations, not only reorganizing the personnel by adopting the Great Dragon Inner Lake Navy, but also listening to the advice of the naval commanders and preparing a large number of bows and arrows. This is because in naval training, water combat mainly relies on ranged weapons to cover the area first, followed by close-quarters combat.

On an auspicious day, Li Zheng once again set off on his campaign amidst the cheers of the people of the capital.

However, Li Tiancheng did not come to see him off this time; instead, Crown Prince Li Junren led the emperor to see him off.

As the fleet slowly sailed away from the port, the smile on the prince's face gradually faded.

After seeing Zhou Wu's village-level navy, and then looking at his fourth brother's naval force, he looked down on it from the bottom of his heart.

Since Li Zheng returned, a series of events have occurred. After Li Junren's leg recovered, he secretly sent people to investigate. Although there was no conclusive evidence, all the clues pointed to Li Zheng.

Li Junren never believed that his fourth brother would do such a thing. If it weren't for Zhou Wu's casual reminder, Li Junren would probably have died at the hands of his brother sooner or later.

Li Junren has undergone some changes internally. He used to be a very pure person, but now he has decided that he will no longer be merciful to his enemies.

. . . . . . . .

After Li Zheng successfully set sail this time, he was no longer seasick. However, the entire fleet had not spotted any pirates since setting sail, which made Li Zheng, who was eager to make a name for himself, feel inexplicably irritable.

"Where have these pirates hidden in this vast ocean?"

Having been at sea for ten days, Li Zheng now sees the ocean every time he opens his eyes. At first, he found it novel, but now he's become numb to it. He desperately wants to wipe out the pirates as soon as possible, return to land, and return to the bustling capital.

"Your Highness, it's not a good idea for us to keep searching aimlessly. Why don't we split up and take action? That way, we'll have a better chance of finding the pirates."

"Splitting up? The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; splitting up might allow us to be picked off one by one."

Li Zheng wasn't entirely stupid; he offered his own opinion.

"Your Highness, they are nothing but pirates, with at most a few dilapidated ships and a few dozen starving farmers. How can they compare to the Great Dragon Navy?"

Although Li Zheng still had some estimates in mind, after hearing his subordinates say this, it seemed to make sense. How powerful could pirates be? With just twenty large warships scattered, the pirates would only be able to run away, let alone dare to resist.

Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, Li Zheng decided to divide his forces, splitting the twenty warships into three groups. He would lead ten ships himself, while the remaining two groups, each with five ships, would disperse to search for the pirates.

Black Dragon Island.

"Chief, the imperial navy has been mobilized again, but we received advance warning and the brothers have all withdrawn."

"Haha, it all comes down to brilliant military strategy."

During this period, Heilong raided the coastal areas and harassed the people, not only plundering a large amount of property, but also without losing a single soldier. How could Heilong not be happy?

"Chief, the latest intelligence is that the imperial navy has been divided into three teams and is searching for us at sea."

"They've scattered? Hahaha, heaven is on my side!"

The reason Black Dragon avoided confrontation was because he received news that the imperial court had formed a navy with twenty Bull Demon King-class warships. Although Black Dragon already had quite a few warships, it would take a lot of effort to take down these twenty Bull Demon Kings in one go. If his men suffered too many losses, it would be hard to guarantee that the surrounding pirates wouldn't be tempted to annex him, since he had built his empire by annexing others.

However, now that the opponent has turned his greatest advantage into a disadvantage, he can take this opportunity to confront the opponent and make a name for himself. With this in mind, Black Dragon began to arrange for his men to prepare to meet the enemy.

"Ministers, prepare to depart and meet the enemy with me."

"Long live the leader!"

"Long live the leader!"

"Long live the leader!"

More than a hundred warships sailed out of the Black Dragon's lair in a grand procession, of varying sizes. The largest of them were the Bull Demon King-class warships, numbering more than twenty. This was the Black Dragon's confidence; this was all his wealth.

Speaking of these Bull Demon Kings, he sent people disguised as merchants to buy them in Niujia Town, and there are still some orders waiting to be delivered.