Chapter 475: Kill the Pirates
Wen Shouyi personally accompanied him this time.
He pointed to the eastern sea and said to Lu Zhiran, "After passing this cape and heading west, you'll enter the outer sea—that's where Black Tooth Island is! If you turn east, continue along the Inner Sea Road, and go straight down the Min'an Canal, you can reach Quanzhou Pier in three days!"
Lu Zhiran leaned on the railing and looked into the distance, seeing the boundless ocean to the west and the turbid waves, and his mind was filled with thoughts.
The Black Tooth Island where Xiao Yanci disappeared is located deep in this sea...
"Princess, should we go west to the outer sea, or east along the official road to the inner sea?"
Lu Zhiran pondered for a moment and said, "Let's go to Quanzhou Wharf first."
They rushed to southern Fujian and spent more than ten days on the road. Perhaps Xiao Yanci and Gu Qishan had already returned safely. If they rashly entered the open sea, they would put themselves in danger.
When Wen Shouyi received the order, he immediately understood what was going on. The ship sailed into the Min'an Canal and broke through the waves to the south.
After traveling for most of the day, several sails suddenly appeared in the sky.
"It's a warship!"
Lu Zhiran hurried out of the cabin and saw a warship with iron armor coming against the waves ten feet away, with a red flag fluttering on a black background - it was the "Jinghai" flag of the Quanzhou Navy!
If an ordinary merchant ship encounters a warship, it will immediately give way.
But instead of avoiding them, they rushed forward, which made the other side alert and they drew their swords to warn them.
Lin Zheng came forward and revealed his identity, but the other side remained vigilant.
Just as Lu Zhiran was about to show the emperor's token, a surprised voice suddenly came from the opposite boat.
"Princess!"
Lu Zhiran looked in the direction of the voice, but did not recognize the other person.
Jiang Nansheng recognized it.
"He is Xue Hongxuan, one of Aci's personal guards."
When the two ships approached each other, he leaped up and landed on the opposite deck.
"I, Xue Hongxuan, pay my respects to the Crown Princess!"
Xue Hongxuan's appearance made everyone happy, but when they saw his appearance at this moment, their hearts sank again.
His face was tanned and cracked by the scorching sun at sea, his eye sockets were sunken, and he looked haggard.
Lu Zhiran's nails dug deep into the flesh.
"Xue Hongxuan, where is His Highness?"
Xue Hongxuan kowtowed heavily, his voice full of difficulty.
"I am incompetent and have been unable to find your Highness's whereabouts..."
Lu Zhiran took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.
"Tell me everything about this matter."
After the Zhao family incident, some of their remnants fled overseas and joined pirates.
But those pirates turned ruthless and wanted to kick the Zhao family away since they had no value to them.
The remaining members of the Zhao family had no place to stay at sea, and they felt resentful, so they decided to go all out and planned to assassinate Xiao Yanci to the death.
These people were just a mob and naturally could not amount to anything, so they were all arrested.
Xiao Yanci learned about the situation on the island from these people, but considering the ferocity of the pirates and the risks of fighting at sea, he wanted to make careful arrangements before taking action. However, another incident happened at this time, which completely ignited Xiao Yanci's anger.
"Suddenly, tragic news arrived from Quanzhou Harbor. Over ten merchant ships were hijacked near Black Tooth Island, laden with gold, silver, and jewelry worth a fortune. The pirates were incredibly aggressive, not only taking the money but also the people, slaughtering the entire merchant crew."
After a pause, Xue Hongxuan glanced at Lu Zhiran and whispered, "Among them is your merchant ship, Crown Princess."
Lu Zhiran's expression suddenly froze.
Xue Hongxuan continued, "A steward hid under the cabin and escaped the attack. He then took advantage of the bandits' unpreparedness and fled back to the inland sea on a small boat. Only then did he expose his evil deeds to the public. That steward's name was Zhang De'an."
Lu Zhiran was stunned again.
Zhang De'an was her man. He was the one who took charge of the formation of her merchant ship and the leading of her team to sea.
Lu Zhiran was glad that Zhang De'an was still alive, but at the same time she was heartbroken that those who were traveling with him had lost their lives.
They were other people's sons, husbands, and fathers. If they lost their lives, countless families would be destroyed.
"Originally, the imperial court was intimidating those pirates, so they would show mercy even when looting merchant ships. However, with the Zhao family's incident, many pirates in the nearby waters were also wiped out. This has fueled their resentment, leading them to retaliate against passing merchant ships. This is also a provocation to the imperial court!"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince immediately dispatched the navy to eliminate the pirates, but they suffered a crushing defeat, suffering heavy casualties! Those pirates were utterly daring, completely disregarding the imperial court. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did nothing, the imperial court's reputation would be completely trampled under the feet of these bandits, and this sea area would be in turmoil. Therefore, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally led the troops into battle."
After Xue Hongxuan finished speaking, the surroundings fell into silence.
If pirates are not eliminated, the people living along the coast will never have peace.
Xiao Yanci sent troops not only to recover money for Lu Zhiran, but also to avenge the dead sailors and to protect the future peace of the people along the coast.
For those extremely vicious pirates, if they are not killed and frightened away, they will continue to do evil.
Lu Zhiran quickly calmed herself down.
"Since His Highness disappeared, how many people have you sent out to sea? Which sea areas have you visited? Have you found any clues?"
"The Quanzhou Navy has dispatched seven groups of twelve warships each, searching the area within a hundred miles of Black Tooth Island. However, Black Tooth Island is completely deserted, and I only found this broken token..."
It was half a bronze token, the edges of which had been corroded by sea water to form green rust, and the two characters "Jinghai" in the middle were also split in two - it was the order from Xiao Yanci to dispatch the navy.
This means that Xiao Yanci must have appeared there before.
But now, the person is gone.
As long as you don't see his body with your own eyes, there is still hope.
Lu Zhiran said no more and directly ordered the merchant ship to turn around and head towards the open sea.
Xue Hongxuan was shocked, "Crown Princess, the outer sea is extremely dangerous. You must not take any risks."
Lu Zhiran did not allow any doubt, "Since I have come here, I am not afraid of danger. No need to say more, just follow your orders!"
She showed the emperor's token, and the Quanzhou navy dared not raise any more objections.
She wanted to send Cui Fu and Dan Yan back, but they refused to go.
"We are not afraid! No matter what dangers may arise, we will stay by your side."
"We will definitely not cause any trouble."
Seeing this, Lu Zhiran stopped forcing it.
The warships led the way, followed closely by the other merchant ships, heading towards the open sea.
When they reached the open sea, the sea was no longer calm, but surging waves. Their ships broke through the turbid waves and headed straight for the depths of the open sea.
In the distance, the outline of Blackfang Island gradually emerged, like a dormant beast, waiting for their arrival.
This is where Xiao Yanci disappeared. She must come and take a look, maybe she can find new clues.
There was thick fog on the sea and visibility was very low.
Wen Shouyi stood on the observation deck, squinting his eyes and looking into the distance.
"Why do I vaguely see smoke from a cooking stove ahead? Is my eyesight blurring?"
Wen Shouyi's words attracted a lot of attention, and his experienced crew members also took a closer look, "It looks like cooking smoke to me, too."
"There are people on that island."
Xue Hongxuan's eyes almost popped out. They had searched the Black Tooth Island no less than five times without even a single person breathing.
I thought this trip would yield nothing, but unexpectedly, I made a new discovery!
He suddenly felt hopeful, "Maybe it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Come on, let's go to the island and take a look."
Although hope arose in Lu Zhiran's heart, he was not blindly happy.
"Wait, don't be impatient. It's not too late to act after you figure out who is your enemy."
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