The Japanese pirates' ships were all small boats, because small boats are easy to turn around, and they are very fast and agile on the sea.

On the vast ocean, even if the sailors spotted the pirate ships, they could not catch up; the huge warships could not compare with the small boats in terms of speed and maneuverability.

These Japanese pirates were mostly nocturnal, often coming ashore at night to burn, kill, and plunder. By the time the navy discovered them, it was already the next day, and the pirates had long since fled.

To be honest, the Northern Dynasty's navy was not very strong on land. If they encountered a large number of Japanese pirates, they would hardly gain an advantage and might even suffer losses.

Thus, after six months of operation, the Panzhou Lake naval forces had not made much progress in eliminating the pirates. The Japanese pirates and the naval forces played a cat-and-mouse game, becoming even more rampant.

It seems that this method of suppressing bandits is not working. Not only is it ineffective, but it also wastes manpower and resources, leaving the soldiers exhausted.

At this time, the development pattern of Shuixian Village was fully opened up. Since Shuixian Village was not restricted by the city walls, it could expand in all directions.

In terms of fertilizer production, due to the ample supply of nitrate raw materials, large-scale production is possible. The previously designed and constructed workshops can no longer meet the production needs, and it is necessary to expand the construction of workshops.

Another thing that made Zhao Xian very happy was that the Marquis's Mansion in Shuixian Village had been completed and was ready for occupancy.

The newly built Marquis's Mansion is very large, with many houses. Li Guang and Meng Yaoyao also moved in. As important members of the farm, Xiao Hei and Yu Hong also moved into the Marquis's Mansion.

Upon entering the Marquis's mansion, Xiao Hei was overjoyed. There were several artificial lakes here, which had become its swimming pool. However, with Yu Hong around, it did not dare to act recklessly and had to watch Yu Hong's expression.

The Marquis's mansion is located in the southeast of the village. In order to share in the auspiciousness, some people bought land around the mansion and built houses, hoping to become the Marquis of Zhengyang's neighbors.

As the number of residents increases, the Marquis's Mansion will become the center of Narcissus Village in just a few years.

That morning, several people arrived at the Marquis's mansion. Judging from their attire, the leader was a general, with his attendants beside him.

Upon seeing this, the guards immediately stepped forward to inquire.

The general cupped his hands to his family soldiers and said, "I am Ding Tong, the Admiral of the Panzhou Lake Navy. I have come to Shuixian Village to pay my respects to Marquis Zhengyang."

"So it's Admiral Ding. Please follow me into the mansion." After saying this, the servant led the group into the Marquis's mansion.

Commander Ding, a member of the household guards, entered the reception room and began to speak:

"Admiral Ding, please wait here for a moment. I will go and inform Marquis Zhengyang."

After Jiabing finished speaking, he left the reception room to inform Zhao Xian.

Zhao Xian arrived quickly, and Ding Tong stood up and bowed to Zhao Xian.

"I am Ding Tong, and I pay my respects to Marquis Zhengyang."

"Admiral Ding, you're too kind. Please have a seat." After saying this, Zhao Xian ordered someone to serve tea.

Zhao Xian did not know Ding Tong, but Li Guang had mentioned Ding Tong to Zhao Xian, so he knew some of his information.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Xian asked a question.

"At present, Japanese pirates are rampant in the coastal areas. Admiral Ding led 40,000 naval troops on Panzhou Lake to suppress the pirates. I wonder what the current situation is."

Upon hearing this, Ding Tong sighed and said:

"There are too many Japanese bandits, they are vicious and cunning. Most of their crimes are committed on land, and the soldiers are exhausted from dealing with them, so the results are not significant."

These Japanese pirates were well-versed in naval warfare tactics. They avoided the enemy's strength and attacked their weaknesses. Although they achieved some victories, the number of Japanese pirates seemed to increase despite the efforts to suppress them. Currently, some people in the imperial court have expressed their dissatisfaction with this.

"This time, I have come to Shuixian Village to pay my respects to Marquis Zhengyang and General Li Guang, and to seek their advice on effective strategies for suppressing bandits."

In fact, Zhao Xian had already realized that Ding Tong had come to fight the Japanese pirates. The Panzhou Lake naval forces had been deployed for more than nine months, but progress was still slow and the gains were minimal.

In this situation, dissenting voices began to emerge in the imperial court, and Ding Tong became somewhat anxious, so he thought of coming to Shuixian Village to seek a good solution.

"It turns out that Admiral Ding came to fight against Japanese pirates. I discussed this matter with General Li Guang some time ago, but we didn't know the specific situation in the coastal areas, so it was just theoretical talk."

General Li has just gone to the military camp. I immediately sent someone to invite him. We can discuss this in detail later and hopefully find a good strategy to wipe out the Japanese bandits.”

"Thank you very much, Marquis Zhengyang," Ding Tong said excitedly.

After a while, Li Guang returned. Upon seeing him, Ding Tong immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Greetings, General Li."

"Admiral Ding, you're too kind. It's been more than two years since we last met at Panzhou Lake. I never expected to meet you here today."

"Yes, if General Li hadn't sent troops to help back then, the navy would not only have failed to defeat the Jin army, but would very likely have been defeated by them."

This time, I was ordered to lead troops to the eastern coastal area to wipe out Japanese pirates. Although the Panzhou Lake navy was powerful and familiar with naval warfare, it was facing Japanese pirates.

These Japanese pirates acted in a scattered manner, each on their own. They attacked coastal villagers, burning, killing, and looting, and sometimes even targeted government officials.

General Li is a master strategist. I implore you to help me eliminate the Japanese pirates along the coast as quickly as possible.

After Ding Tong finished speaking, he bowed to Li Guang again.

"Banditry has existed in coastal areas for hundreds of years, it has been around since ancient times, but it has become increasingly rampant in the last two years, and it has reached the point where it must be dealt with."

To completely eliminate the Japanese pirates, it is not simply a matter of striking them down, as these pirates came from overseas.

Judging from the current situation, the online trolls cannot eliminate them all; they can only drive them away.

Once the navy withdraws and the efforts to combat Japanese pirates weaken, they will make a comeback.

Therefore, to combat the Japanese pirates, we must achieve long-term stability and security, addressing both the symptoms and the root causes.

Li Guang's words made Ding Tong feel a little ashamed. He was currently leading 40,000 naval troops to suppress the bandits, but due to the long battle lines, it was difficult to make effective command and to effectively strike the Japanese pirates.

Now, let alone addressing the root cause, we can't even cure the symptoms. There's a problem with our strategy for fighting the Japanese pirates, and we must adjust it as soon as possible.

"General Li is right. These Japanese pirates are very cunning. They will not confront the navy head-on and will avoid it at all times. As a result, it is difficult for the navy to effectively strike them."

Li Guang nodded and said:

"The banditry that has plagued us for hundreds of years is unlikely to be resolved in a short time. Admiral Ding must be prepared for a long-term campaign against the Japanese bandits."

If all goes well, the banditry can be eradicated in three to five years, or at most seven to eight years.

Ding Tong was stunned upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that eliminating the pirates at sea would take so long. It seemed he had been too hasty.

"I want to completely eliminate the Japanese pirates in the coastal areas. General Li, do you have any good ideas?"

"I don't have any good plans for the current situation, but I do have a few safe options that Admiral Ding might want to try."

Ding Tong knew that since the establishment of the Great Northern Dynasty, the incidents of pirates harassing the coastal areas had never stopped. The imperial court had sent troops to suppress the pirates many times, but none of them had succeeded. Over time, the matter was left unresolved.