The family ate dinner together in the front hall.

After the three of them, along with Granny Lin and Granny Wang, finished serving all the dishes, Xu Zhi asked the servants to go to the next room to eat, because Zheng Boyuan, the master of the house, was returning, and everyone in the Zheng residence would have an extra meal that evening.

Xu Zhi looked at Zheng Boyuan sitting next to her, who had become much darker-skinned, and asked, "Husband, will your training be at sea the whole time?"

Zheng Boyuan said, "We will not only train at sea, but also on land, because sometimes the Japanese pirates will land, and we will have to fight them on land."

Xu Zhi asked, "Isn't naval warfare even more dangerous?"

Zheng Boyuan said, "Yes, the sea sometimes looks calm, but the next moment it can become turbulent. After I came here, it took me a while to get used to it."

Xu Zhi placed a piece of Zheng Boyuan's favorite dish on her plate and said, "My husband, you've worked hard."

Zheng Boyuan said, "We were supposed to return from this sea training trip very quickly, but we encountered a group of Japanese pirates on a small island. We discussed it and decided to use this small group of pirates to test the results of our recent training. Fortunately, they all returned safely."

Thinking of what her parents and brother had told her about the Japanese pirates before she came to Yuezhou, Xu Zhi said worriedly, "I heard that these Japanese pirates are vicious and wicked people. They have been drifting at sea and often land to harm the people of our Great Liang."

Zheng Boyuan said, "These are the people. Most of them are from Japan, but some are from our Daliang."

Zheng Yuanyuan asked curiously, "Brother, why would the people of Daliang join these Japanese pirates to kill our people?"

Zheng Boyuan patiently explained, "Many of these people are fishermen from the sea. Some fishermen were oppressed by fishing tyrants or humiliated by others, so they had no choice but to become pirates at sea, just like the bandits who stand on the sea and rule the country. And these Japanese pirates, in order to expand their own strength, have recruited these pirates and formed groups of forces."

Zheng Yuanyuan nodded and said, "I understand."

Zheng Boyuan said, "Our Yuezhou has a strong coastal defense because the sea ban has been lifted. However, other coastal areas are not so strong, and Japanese pirates often come ashore to kill and plunder."

Zheng Yuanyuan asked, "Will you send people to support these places?"

Zheng Boyuan said, "From Liaodong to Tongzhou, then to Qiantang, and continuing south to Qionghai, all of this is the coastline of our Daliang. Since it is our Daliang territory, it is naturally not allowed to be invaded. The generals along the coast should naturally watch over and support each other."

Xu Zhi noticed that although Zheng Boyuan was talking to her and Zheng Yuanyuan, he didn't seem very interested. Xu Zhi found this strange. After dinner, Zheng Boyuan went to the study in the front room. Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then took a bowl of digestive soup and went to the study.

Seeing Xu Zhi come in, Zheng Boyuan quickly took the tray from Xu Zhi's hands and said, "Just have someone come and tell me I'll go to the back to drink."

Xu Zhi said, "I'm taking this opportunity to come and talk to my husband."

Hearing Xu Zhi's straightforward words, Zheng Boyuan was somewhat taken aback. He placed the tray on the table and said, "Does my wife have something to say?"

Xu Zhi said, "During the meal, I noticed that my husband's expression was off, and I wondered if he was having some kind of trouble?"

Zheng Boyan hadn't expected Xu Zhi to have such keen insight. He had tried his best to hide it, but he still couldn't escape Xu Zhi's eyes.

Zheng Boyuan sat opposite Xu Zhi, sighed, and said, "This time, we captured a few people alive. One of them was a fisherman from the vicinity of Yuezhou. A few years ago, because the former general of Yuezhou killed fishermen and claimed military merits, he fled to the sea and became a pirate. Later, he was persuaded by a group of Japanese pirates to join them. According to this fisherman, there are many fishermen like him at sea. They are very familiar with the terrain around here. Most importantly, they have an irreconcilable hatred for the navy of Daliang. Every autumn is the time when these people frequently come ashore. I'm afraid something will happen then."

Xu Zhi asked in surprise, "Is this the same thing that the former Yuezhou General Fu Yuwei did?"

Zheng Boyuan was surprised that Xu Zhi knew about this matter, but he nodded and said, "It's that matter."

Xu Zhi nodded in agreement.

To make his achievements seem greater, former Yuezhou General Fu Yuwei massacred several coastal villages during a Japanese pirate raid, falsely claiming military merit. Unfortunately, the truth was exposed not long after.

Emperor Liang Cheng was a benevolent emperor. Upon learning of this, he was furious and immediately dispatched his guards to Yuezhou, where they brought Fu Yuwei to the capital for questioning. After the charges were established, the Fu family was exterminated, with nine generations of relatives executed. Adult males were beheaded at the Meridian Gate, underage males were exiled to the frontier, and the female members of the household were sold into prostitution.

This was the most severe punishment ever imposed during the founding of the Liang Dynasty, and the Fu Yuwei case occurred before the Battle of Hexi.

Emperor Liang Cheng's punishment of Fu Yuwei was opposed by both the Grand Tutor and the Chief Minister. The Fu family was originally a founding hero, and the fact that the Fu family was treated this way because of Fu Yuwei made many families in the capital tremble with fear, lest their own kind be harmed.

I heard that in the imperial court, Emperor Liang Cheng lost his temper and questioned those who pleaded for the Fu family in front of all the civil and military officials, saying that the lives of the Fu family members were human lives, but the lives of the common people who died unjustly were not human lives.

Because of this incident, the officialdom of the Liang Dynasty was quite quiet for a while. Even the princes who had been constantly making small moves became much more restrained. Everyone knew that Emperor Cheng of Liang valued his people very much.

Xu Zhi asked, "After General Gan arrived, did he properly appease the fishermen?"

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