Yinreng secretly gave Yinzhi a look, and Yinzhi nodded slightly in understanding.

This guy came here to do something.

After briefly explaining the situation to Zhou Hai and A Lin, Yinzhi followed Yinreng and left the dock.

After returning to the tent, Yinreng asked the guards to stand guard at the door, and the two brothers sat face to face on the Arhat bed.

"It seems that you didn't gain anything from your trip to the sea this time. Are you afraid that I will take the credit from you? You should also have some."

Yinreng poured a cup of tea for Yinzhi with a somewhat teasing tone.

Yinzhi took the teacup and took a big sip. He was not angry when he heard this.

"Those stinky rats, I will catch them sooner or later!"

"What are you doing all the way to this remote place?"

As he spoke, a look of confusion appeared on his face.

Yinzhi understood Yinreng and knew that he did not care about military achievements.

He was particularly fond of making money and messing up the Ministry of Works.

"How many people did the navy send last year, and how long did they search the sea?"

Yinreng did not answer his question, but instead asked about what happened last year.

Although Yinzhi didn't know why Yinreng asked this, he had no intention of hiding it.

"We sent out three thousand people and searched for about a month. Then, when the weather got colder, Shi Shiqiao called everyone back. The rats haven't appeared since then. This year, they appeared much earlier than last year."

Speaking of this, Yinzhi's expression turned cold.

Being fooled by a mouse is not a good idea. From the time he received the imperial edict till now, he has been leading his troops to search the sea for more than a month. Now it is almost mid-September. If he still can't find any trace of the pirates, he will have to wait until next year.

Yinzhi was somewhat unwilling.

"Hasn't it occurred to you that there's a problem in the army?"

Yinzhi was stunned when he heard this.

"What's the meaning?"

Yinreng did not keep the secret and directly analyzed his guess with Yinzhi.

"Last year, Shi Shipiu sent 3,000 men and 15 warships, and worked for over a month in vain. This year, you brought 2,000 men and 10 warships, and worked for half a month in vain. As soon as you left, the pirates came out to plunder again."

"Don't you think it's strange? Do those pirates have special eyes? They come as soon as you leave."

Yinzhi frowned.

"You mean there are pirate spies in the army?"

"Not a pirate's spy."

Yinreng shook his head.

"To be precise, they are spies of the Japanese pirates."

"impossible."

Yinzhi flatly denied it.

"If anyone is passing on information to the bandits, it has to be someone who has been with me throughout the entire operation. I absolutely do not have such treacherous people among my subordinates!"

Yinzhi was not bragging. Every single soldier he led would never betray him.

He was a prince, and there were always people fawning over him wherever he went. Since he had no shortage of money, he was of course willing to show favor to his soldiers.

After more than a year of using both kindness and force, most of the Fujian navy was firmly under his control. Even if those generals had their own little thoughts, it was impossible for them to surrender to the enemy and betray the Qing Dynasty.

Besides, the two thousand navy soldiers he brought out this time were all hand-picked one by one from the navy of 20,000 people, and he personally trained them for a year before bringing them out.

How could his confidant, whom he personally trained, betray him?

Looking at Yinzhi's confident face, Yinreng poured a basin of cold water on him without hesitation.

"I advise you not to be so confident. Otherwise, if I find out there's anything wrong, you'll be utterly embarrassed."

Yinzhi sneered,

"How do you want to check?"

This is only the case with Yinreng. If it were someone else, he would have turned against him long ago if they dared to slander his confidant like this.

"Come closer..."

Yinreng whispered the plan to Yinzhi.

In fact, he had no intention of investigating the spies in the navy at first. After all, any conspiracy or trick is just a paper tiger in the face of absolute strength.

But he doesn't think so now.

He had to teach the boss a lesson and let him know that people's hearts were treacherous.

On the night when Yinzhi returned to the camp, the governor held a welcoming banquet for the soldiers.

In fact, when Yinreng came, the governor also proposed to hold a night banquet, but Yinreng refused.

First, Yinzhi and his men were still on the sea, and his extravagant eating and drinking in the military camp had a bad influence. Second, he had no interest in Guwalja Alin's goodwill. Third, he was almost exhausted from the journey, and he might as well lie down in the tent and have a good sleep if he had time.

Later, Alin proposed it to him several times, but he rejected it directly every time.

Seeing that he was so unsympathetic, Alin stopped trying to curry favor with him.

However, this night banquet was to reward the soldiers who had been drifting on the sea for more than ten days, so Yinreng did not spoil the fun.

The next morning, in Yinzhi's tent.

Yinzhi summoned his confidant Zhou Hai, the lieutenant general, and even several thousand captains.

Yinreng was naturally there too.

After everyone sat down, Yinzhi spoke solemnly,

"I called everyone here today because I received a message last night."

"What news?"

A muscular man asked in a muffled voice.

This man's name was Wan Dahu. Yinreng was impressed when he first met him at the banquet last night.

"We've been searching the sea for over a month and haven't found that nest of bugs. The Emperor is very dissatisfied with this, and the court has already begun discussing bypassing that group of pirates and sending troops directly to attack Japan."

Everyone in the room was shocked when these words were spoken.

Wan Dahu's face was full of surprise,

"Is what the prince said true? We've been at sea for so long, I'm already tired of it. If the emperor really intends to send troops to attack Japan, I must kill him swiftly!"

"So sudden? It's almost September now. If we start raising military supplies now, wouldn't it be too rushed?"

Alin was a little surprised. It didn't matter to him whether there was a war or not. After all, he was the commander-in-chief and would stay in the barracks during the war.

And even if they wanted to, they might not be able to use the 3,000 people in Weihaiwei.

Zhou Hai's eyes lit up briefly when he heard that, then quickly dimmed.

Today's Weihaiwei is no longer the Weihaiwei of the previous dynasty with glorious military achievements. They don't even have a warship. What can they use to fight?

The others also began to talk, some expressing surprise, some anticipation, some worry. Yinreng carefully observed the expressions of everyone present, but there were too many people here, and the few he was mainly observing did not show the slightest sign of abnormality.

But he was not in a hurry.

Because as Yinzhi said, in order to report to the Japanese pirates in real time, these spies must be those who follow Yinzhi to sea.

Even if he couldn't see any problems today, it wouldn't affect him from finding the nail.

After the people below were excited enough, Yinzhi sent them back to prepare.

After everyone had left, Yinzhi asked Yinreng,

"Have you made all the arrangements?"