The officials who colluded with the pirates were not the local officials at all, but officials from surrounding areas. They were jealous of Yunzhong's wealth and used the pirates to make money and line their own pockets.
In order to protect the Zhu family, Zhu Song had no choice but to agree to their conditions. He would raise money from major merchants and give it to the pirates, and the pirates were not allowed to harm the Zhu family.
However, Qi Song underestimated the ambitions of the pirates. They wanted more and more money, and Qi Song was simply unable to satisfy their appetite. The pirates broke the previous agreement and repeatedly invaded the Qi family in the Yunzhong area.
Qi Song did not ignore the Qi people, but there were no more useful yamen runners in the government office. The reason why the area around the South Gate was safe was because those merchants were rich enough to hire their own guards. In the end, it was the poor Qi people around the North Gate who suffered.
However, the merchants found that even after paying money, they still could not get the security guarantee that Qi Song talked about, and they were unwilling to pay more, so the amount of money that Qi Song could raise became less and less.
The vicious cycle finally led to the current situation in Yunzhong.
"Your Majesty, I am still a humble minister with limited abilities and powerless to help the gods." Qie Song said with a heart full of sorrow, "I feel ashamed of the Qi family in Yunzhong."
Arriving in the clouds, Qie Song was caught in a dilemma and had difficulty taking a step. Even his back, which had once been as straight as a green bamboo, was bent.
Jiang Yu stood up, walked up to Qie Song, reached out and patted his shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work."
"Your Highness, do you not blame me for my incompetence?"
Jiang Yu shook his head: "Someone told the king that all the faults were due to the inability of Her Majesty the Queen to control. The pirate disaster in Yunzhong was deliberately caused by all the officials around. If those officials were properly restrained, how could they have such courage?
Since you came here, you have done your best. If you hadn't delayed for so long, I'm afraid Yunzhong wouldn't even have the superficial prosperity now."
It is ironic to think that even merchants who are not from Nanyue know that the Yunzhong area is not very prosperous, but as the queen of Nanyue, Rongxue knows nothing about it. It is simply ridiculous.
"Your Highness, I have done something more than nothing. I have found some information about these pirates." Seeing Jiang Yu's appearance, Qi Song seemed to have found a backbone.
These pirates seemed to be acting without any rules, but in fact, they seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand. To be more specific, it was the boss who never appeared who was controlling everything.
The second-in-command of the pirates is not fixed and is often replaced. This ensures that even if the second-in-command leaves, there will be someone to take his place immediately and there will be no chaos.
These second-in-commands brought all the pirates to Yunzhong to collect money and kill people, but did not attack the merchants passing by on the sea. The merchants were killed because they entered Yunzhong, which was really strange, as if they were deliberately targeting Yunzhong.
Qi Song had secretly investigated and found that only a small portion of their money would be delivered to the hands of surrounding officials, while most of it seemed to have evaporated into thin air.
"You mean, these pirates are making money for a greater purpose?"
Yi Song nodded: "Yes, I am sure that these pirates transported all the money away, but I still don't know how they managed to avoid the officials who were watching them closely and send the money away, and to whom they gave it."
If the pirates were simply making money and killing people, it wouldn't be scary.
The most terrifying thing is that this is just part of a big plan. What is the real purpose of the person who manipulates all this?
"Xiaosong, you've done too much. If you continue investigating, you might really lose your life." Jiang Yu warned, "The King of Xiao will take over this matter. You don't need to care about it anymore. What you need to do next is to appease the Xiao family in the Yunzhong area."
"Your Highness Prince Zhao, are you here alone?" Yi Song was worried that Jiang Yu could not solve the matter alone.
Jiang Yu's tone was filled with an imperceptible self-mockery: "The prince has been away for more than a month. The people sent by His Majesty are probably about to arrive in Yunzhong."
Yi Song was aware of the relationship between Jiang Yu and Queen Rongxue, but he couldn't say anything at the moment. He could only respond, "Then I'll trouble Your Highness Prince Zhao for this."
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