My Emperor Father Can Read Minds

Chapter 253 Donghai Commandery Situation

With Doctor Shi’s generous contribution, the Medical Academy project could officially commence.

While Wei Yu sent people to survey the terrain of Medical Valley to reasonably design the academy’s facilities, over at Donghai Commandery, the Eldest Prince had also joined forces with Cheng Yuan, who was currently negotiating with Cao Ji.

Cheng Yuan came under the pretext of wiping out the Japanese pirates. Since arriving at Donghai Commandery, on the surface he appeared to maintain a harmonious and friendly relationship with the local civil and military officials, but behind the scenes, he had been investigating evidence of crimes committed by Cao Ji and others.

As for the results of this investigation, they were quite disappointing.

The people he had sent out to investigate had each heard some rumors about Cao Ji and his associates behaving improperly, but those were just rumors and hearsay! They had not brought back any concrete evidence.

Even though his own investigators had failed to find proof, somehow others managed to do so.

When Cheng Yuan arrived, he had never imagined that his effort to search for Cao Ji’s crimes would one day be linked to the Ninth Wise King!

And all the evidence was laid out in detail: dates, events, locations, who did what, the victims, the survivors… The records were incredibly thorough, far beyond what Cheng Yuan had expected!

It should be known that his own scouts were battle-hardened veterans with excellent information-gathering skills. If his own men couldn’t find any evidence on their expeditions, yet the Ninth Wise King’s people managed to, didn’t this raise suspicions?

It was obviously suspicious!

Cheng Yuan knew that the Ninth Wise King had been providing disaster relief in Huzhou. But knowing that, he never expected the King could do anything significant.

After all, everyone came from the capital and was unfamiliar with the life and terrain of Huzhou. Even though the Ninth Wise King had arrived a few months earlier, what could a few months accomplish?

Who could establish a regional power base without years and years of effort?

Compared with the long time Cao Ji had entrenched himself in Donghai Commandery, the Ninth Wise King’s few months overseeing aid in Huzhou was probably no better than a couple of days.

This was what Cheng Yuan had thought before. However, after seeing the evidence, he realized he was still too naive…

After all, the Wise King is a prince of the current reign!

He had been entrusted with heavy responsibilities even before coming of age, sent on foreign missions twice within a year. Such things never happened to other Princes!

That alone showed how much trust His Majesty placed in the Ninth Wise King.

So, as the Emperor’s most beloved son, why shouldn’t the Wise King have many capable subordinates? Why shouldn’t his men be powerful?

Wasn’t that only natural!

Even if the Ninth Prince’s maternal family was not influential, he still had the unshakable trust of His Majesty!

Cheng Yuan felt enlightened.

He did not believe his own men were incompetent. The Ninth Wise King had capable men and a vast intelligence network. Judging by Ninth Wise King’s background, these must have been gifts from His Majesty.

Given that the network was granted by the Emperor, it only made sense that the Wise King could uncover all kinds of evidence against Cao Ji.

Cheng Yuan stopped worrying about the Wise King.

As long as he could obtain proof against Cao Ji and his associates, the affairs of the royal family had nothing to do with him as a military man. All that mattered was winning the battles.

Once he confirmed that the Ninth Wise King was providing evidence free of charge, Cheng Yuan no longer concerned himself with gathering proof, instead, he turns to his trusted men to devise plans to capture Cao Ji.

The group deliberated for several days. Considering Cao Ji’s cautious, slippery character who rarely left his military camp, they found it quite frustrating.

If it weren’t for Cao Ji’s 50,000 naval troops, they could have easily arrested him directly once he stepped out of the camp, relying on the compiled evidence.

But Cao Ji was extremely cautious.

Since Cheng Yuan brought his troops into Donghai Commandery, Cao Ji had used the excuse of a congested harbor to block their forces and ships at the river channel, preventing them from mingling with his navy. He even held his initial welcome banquet near the harbor.

At the harbor entrance of Donghai Commandery, moored naval warships lined the sea outside the harbor. About a mile inland stood the camp of tens of thousands of naval troops.

Cao Ji had colluded with the Japanese pirates and was protected by tens of thousands of naval soldiers. He was never afraid that the pirates would land to disturb the coastal territories. He even moved the Cao family to a county city near the harbor.

Because of Cao Ji’s extreme caution and fear of death, Cheng Yuan knew that if he wanted to capture him, he could not avoid confronting those 50,000 naval troops.

So, should they start fighting directly?

Cheng Yuan certainly would not.

Even though they had bigger and stronger warships than Cao Ji’s, tougher yet lighter armor, and sharper weapons, these were not the most critical factors.

Once the war truly began, casualties on both sides would be immeasurable.

As the commanding general, Cheng Yuan wanted to ensure victory but also sought every opportunity to increase the survival chances for every one of his soldiers!

Explosives.

As soon as the Eldest Highness’s explosives arrived, the soldiers’ survival odds would increase significantly! Then they could truly go on the offensive against Cao Ji!

The Eldest Prince arrived along with Cheng Yuan’s strong anticipation.

Cao Ji did not know how many people the Imperial Court had sent to Donghai Commandery; he thought only the few men under Cheng Yuan had arrived by sea.

During the more than ten days’ delay before the Eldest Prince’s arrival, Cao Ji had not sent anyone to check the official road, so when the Eldest Prince entered Donghai Commandery, he immediately linked up with Cheng Yuan’s men stationed nearby the official road.

The decisive weapon had to be transported covertly; before the battle started, there was absolutely no chance to let Cao Ji know. So once inside Donghai Commandery, the wagons carrying the explosives were moved via side paths.

With nothing left to guard carefully, the Eldest Prince continued on the official road with the remaining men.

The battle was imminent, of course, but foolishly challenging the enemy head-on was very different from surprising them unexpectedly!

Even without coordinating with Cheng Yuan, the Eldest Prince had spontaneously decided to play the role of a decoy to confuse Cao Ji while letting Cheng Yuan’s men secretly place the explosives near the camp. When the time was right, they would strike…

Capturing Cao Ji in one go would be best. If not, they could continue fighting afterward.

Things unfolded exactly as the Eldest Prince had hoped. His sudden arrival threw Cao Ji and the entire Donghai Commandery officialdom into a bit of a panic.

Earlier, when the Japanese pirates absurdly raised grain prices in Qian Commandery, everyone knew this would attract the disaster relief teams’ attention.

They weren’t sure what the Imperial Court would find, but all anticipated that the court would send people to Donghai Commandery.

Cheng Yuan’s arrival was within Cao Ji’s expectations.

Although officially the campaign targeted wiping out the Japanese pirates, everyone knew well what the Imperial Court’s real intent was.

Before the arrival of the Imperial Court’s men, those dirty tails in Donghai Commandery had already been discreetly cleaned out.

After all, this was a matter of life and death. If anyone slipped up, they’d all lose. If the court’s investigators failed to find evidence, no one would complain; they’d just be disappointed.

But Cao Ji and his group truly did not expect one thing:

One Cheng Yuan was not enough — the Imperial Court even sent the Eldest Prince himself!

Was this an intent to investigate thoroughly to the very end?