Chapter 643 Dealing with the Remaining Pirates It is based on this consideration that Chen Han directly wants to include the entire South Seas within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, because only in this way can these countries become the territory of the Ming Dynasty now and in the future, and can bear the pressure of resisting risks for the Ming Dynasty. Now, after Xia Yuanji and Lan Yu received the news that the coastal areas were being attacked by small groups of pirates, they began to further strengthen the defenses in the area. However, Xia Yuanji knew very well what Chen Han's plan was, but Lan Yu did not. So when Lan Yu saw that Xia Yuanji did not order the navy to attack the sporadic pirates, he was very puzzled. Now that he heard that pirates were attacking the coastal defenses again, he asked Xia Yuanji. Governor-General Lan Yu was still very polite to Xia Yuanji. Hearing such a title, Xia Yuanji did not dare to accept it. You have to know that when Lan Yu was galloping on the battlefield, he was not yet born. Now that I have achieved my current position because of the reform and change of laws, how can I be arrogant? So when he heard this, he immediately felt ashamed, turned around, clasped his fists, and said to Lan Yu: "General, please don't do this. You are embarrassing me." In fact, Xia Yuanji would never be so humble and polite before, but after being blacklisted once, he realized that his previous arrogance and pride only brought him endless blacklisting and neglect.

So now he has restrained his personality, and he even finally understood why he was so ostracized before. It turns out that everything was already destined. Before, he always felt that he had so many military achievements in his hands that he would definitely be successful in everything. Even if he was a little arrogant, the Emperor would tolerate him because he saw how capable he was and how he could lead troops into battle. But later I found out that it was not the case. You are indeed powerful and you fight bravely. Although you may be a little arrogant outside, your military achievements can indeed cover up your arrogance. The court still needs you now, but what if one day the court no longer needs you? When this problem was put before Lan Yu, he didn't care at first. Because the Northern Yuan Dynasty in the north had been harassing him all the time, he thought it would be impossible to eliminate it in his lifetime, so he never cared about these things. However, now he realized that this was not the case. Even if he doesn't care, even if he consciously ignores these problems, when the court has cultivated more outstanding young talents, then the person who can replace him, even if he cannot reach his level for a while, will be able to completely replace him after a few years of experience. At that time, the time had come for the imperial court to settle accounts with him, so when he understood this, he would then feel cold sweats all over his body. So much so that after he had been in hiding for the past two years, he realized that he really should think about whether he should make the same mistake. Now he knew he shouldn't do that, because he had a huge family behind him and so many brothers who had been with him through thick and thin. He couldn't let these people never have the chance to be promoted because of his own mistake. It even affected the fate of countless families. People trust you so much that they send their family members to their tents because they know that you can lead them to a greater glory. However, because of your own arrogance and domineering behavior, you have implicated these families and they are no longer qualified to enter the officialdom. Not only that, you might end up getting them beheaded along with you, how could you bear to do that? What qualifications do you have to think like this? After realizing this, he realized that his two years of seclusion were actually effective. It smoothed out his edges and made him more mature and stable. So now, even when facing juniors like Xia Yuanji, he did not feel any contempt for them. Sometimes he even respected people like Xia Yuanji. After all, in his eyes, a cultured person was nothing more than an embroidered pillow with embroidered legs. But when Xia Yuanji arrived here and actually led the navy forward, he realized that among these groups of literati there were some truly brave men who dared to charge forward. Just this one change made the now famous general begin to have a different feeling towards these literati whom he once looked down upon.

Now, he was a little surprised to hear Xia Yuanji speak the truth to him with such respect. A young man like Xia Yuanji, who rose from the governor of Guangdong to the governor of the entire Nanyang region at a young age, would probably make anyone feel proud, including Lan Yu himself. Perhaps what Lan Yu admired most was that Xia Yuanji was not only not proud, but rather very humble. Even when facing ordinary naval officers and soldiers, they can be humble and polite. It was based on this point that Lan Yu did not look down on Xia Yuanji at this time. He could even say that he always felt that he should respect Xia Yuanji more at this time. In just twenty years of experience, he had already opened the eyes of everyone in front of him. Not only did they dare to carry out the so-called reforms under such difficult circumstances, they also did not give up even though they knew that so many people opposed it and did not want their reforms to succeed. He envied Xia Yuanji and Chen Han for having such abilities, and he envied Chen Han and Xia Yuanji for their youthful and promising appearance. Because he knew very well that anyone who could do this under such circumstances was already extremely powerful. It is precisely because he understands this that his respect for Chen Han and Xia Yuanji comes from the bottom of his heart. Xia Yuanji was actually very surprised at Lan Yu's attitude at this time. When he came to Nanyang and was ready to take over the entire colony in the South Seas, he wondered if he would encounter many difficulties if he connected with Lan Yu. After all, Lan Yu's reputation was well known. He was a very capable man who could fight wars but also cause trouble. However, he was also a very difficult person to manage. Because of this, he has been very nervous now, feeling that he may not be able to handle such a thing. He feels that if he cannot suppress Lan Yu under such circumstances, then it will be a problem how he should proceed with his work. So he never knew how to carry out this work, but after coming here he found that this was not the case. Throughout their interactions, he discovered that Lan Yu, although sometimes he showed a domineering side, was mainly when he was managing the navy. But when he was with him, he fully respected him and often showed considerable humility and courtesy when talking to him. Xia Yuanji also realized this. It might be because he had been unemployed at home for the past two years, and they might have always felt that they had no way to work anymore. Therefore, he does not have so many violent emotions, nor does he have so much desire to compete with others. It is understandable that it is easier to get along with others now because of this. But after actually getting to know each other, I found that this is not the case. Maybe a person's growth is not determined by age, but by experiences. All we can say is that Lan Yu was a very talented person, no matter whether he learned it through traveling with his brother-in-law Chang Yuchun or he realized it on his own. All in all, he was a genius in leading troops in battles, and was not inferior to the famous generals in ancient times. Therefore, his pride and indulgence are understandable. Even Xia Yuanji sometimes feels that the punishment for Lan Yu is too severe. After all, Lan Yu did not do anything against the law. Even if he adopted so many sons and daughters in the army and arranged them in better positions, so what? To be frustrating, even if you don't like it, sometimes you have to experience it yourself to understand that war is not about fairness and justice, but about whoever has the better ability goes to war. In many cases, no matter how noble your character is, no matter how humble and polite you are, if you cannot lead everyone to a great victory, then what is the use of you? To put it bluntly, in many situations, your humility and your rationality can actually be an obstacle to leading troops into battle. After all, the soldiers below are not reasonable people. They only believe that the bigger the fist, the more reasonable it is. They only believe that the more reasonable it is to keep me alive on the battlefield. To them, all your nonsense is of no use. The most important thing is to keep me alive. Therefore, in the army, a so-called general who can only speak verbally is of no use. On the contrary, they would only truly respect those generals who were full of foul language and sometimes whipped people if they could keep themselves alive. Xia Yuanji realized this when he led the Guangdong army and civilians to resist pirates. It was then that he realized that everything was just a lie.

It turns out that everything must be based on strength. It turns out that everything still needs to be created by those who are truly capable. If you don't have the ability, no matter how talented you are, what's the difference between you and those who can only talk big? Precisely because the common people, like you, understand this truth very well, they never thought that there was anything wrong with what Lan Yu did. So under such circumstances, Xia Yuanji's respect for Lan Yu came from the bottom of his heart. The mutual respect between the two of them also makes them very tacit when dealing with things now. After the two of them exchanged some politeness, Xia Yuanji began to speak directly: "General, you seem to have something to ask. Just ask. I will tell you everything I know." So Lan Yu didn't hesitate any longer and asked directly: "In fact, I have always been wondering why you don't seem to have any intention of killing all the remaining pirates. "Many generals in the navy want to kill more pirates to gain merit, but such requests have been reported to you time and time again, and you always refuse them on the grounds that you need to prepare your equipment. "I need a clear answer now, otherwise it will be difficult to control these naval generals if they are dissatisfied." Qi Lanyu was not a scholar who sang in a flowery manner, so he did not beat around the bush when speaking. He directly stated that many generals were indeed dissatisfied. This is understandable, especially for those who have led troops and fought in wars. They can understand why they came all the way to Nanyang. Are they here for sightseeing? Is he here to play with some local women? It is not that simple. They felt that there was no more war to fight in the north, so they were willing to come here so far to wander with the Ming Navy and live a life of luxury here. Who doesn't want to go home? Everyone wants to go home, even Lan Yu really wants to go home, so he must ask clearly. He must give an explanation to the generals under his command, and he must also give an explanation to the naval officers and soldiers. The naval officers and soldiers must understand why they are going to war. In fact, Xia Yuanji had long wanted to explain to Lan Yu why they could not take the initiative now and destroy all these pirates, because there were many things involved, and once it was made clear, there might really be no way around it. So to be honest, he didn't really want to make it too clear at this time. But looking at Lan Yu's expression in front of him, he knew that if this matter was not explained clearly, it would easily cause some unnecessary misunderstandings. So since things had come to this point, Xia Yuanji no longer concealed it. "Since you are asking, General, I will tell you the truth. In fact, I don't have to hide this matter from you, but there are some things about this matter that are difficult to explain. I am afraid that after the soldiers hear it, they will have complaints in their hearts." Hearing this, Lan Yu had a bad feeling. Could it be that his feeling was right? In fact, Chen Han and Xia Yuanji didn't want to kill all those pirates at all. They just want the navy to stay in the South China Sea forever. Are they trying to play the long game and catch a big fish? This will actually easily cause dissatisfaction. If you want to control the entire South Seas, there are plenty of ways to do it. Just rush over and use your powerful military force to tell all the countries in the South Seas that they must listen to us. That's all. But if dirty political means are used to achieve this goal, then many of these methods will not work. We have our own ways. Even if the other side is an enemy, we respect those enemies who dare to draw their swords on the battlefield... (End of this chapter)