Chapter 58 I’m determined to kill him!

Chu Yuan and Dongfang Sheng.

Let’s walk out of the bustling South Gate of Fuzhou City together.

"Brother Chu, you left the little girl in the Fuwei Escort Agency for the time being. You just went to the people in the city to inquire about the Japanese pirates. What are your plans?"

On the official road outside Fuzhou city, Dongfang Sheng, dressed in red and looking as beautiful as a woman, and Chu Yuan, who was dressed as a Taoist priest and had changed into a dark blue cotton Taoist robe and tied his hair into a bun with a wooden hairpin and had an extraordinary temperament, were talking while they were on the road.

"Brother Dongfang, do you know about the Japanese pirates wreaking havoc in coastal areas in recent years?"

Chu Yuan asked Dongfang Sheng.

“I didn’t understand it before, but now I understand a little better.”

The Eastern Way of Victory.

He had never known before that Japanese pirates were rampant in coastal areas.

But when Chu Yuan just asked the people in the city, he found out about it.

"In the past seven years, Fuzhou Prefecture has been robbed by Japanese pirates three times, in the first, second, and fifth years of the Hongzhi reign. Two of them were massacres of villages and towns and looting of money. In one incident, dozens of Japanese pirates almost broke into Gutian County."

"Wherever the Japanese pirates passed by, everything was scorched earth. Some even tied babies to poles, poured boiling water over them, and watched the babies cry to death while clapping their hands and laughing. It is clear that the Japanese pirates are beasts and they deserve to be killed!"

"It is said that half a month ago, a team of Japanese pirates with more than 100 and 300 people from Changle County and Min County landed from the sea, burning, killing and looting along the way, and have already massacred and burned more than a dozen villages and towns..."

Chu Yuan told the news he had just heard in Fuzhou City.

"So, brother Chu, are you going to kill the Japanese pirates?"

Dongfang Sheng looked at Chu Yuan's expression and said.

"That's right. Now that we are here, if we don't kill some Japanese pirates, wouldn't it be a waste of our trip to Fuzhou?"

Chu Yuan admitted.

"Brother Dongfang, do you dare to go with me to kill the Japanese?"

Chu Yuan looked towards Dongfang Shengdao.

"Why don't you dare!"

Dongfang Sheng agreed without thinking.

"But brother Chu, why did you suddenly decide to kill the Japanese pirates? Logically speaking, killing the Japanese pirates should be the responsibility of the imperial court."

Dongfang Sheng looked puzzled.

Chu Yuan said: "Brother Dongfang, don't you think that as a martial artist, if I only focus on the grudges between good and evil, and the grudges between sects, my vision is too shallow?"

"What does Brother Chu mean?" Dongfang Sheng asked.

"I read in a book that a great hero named Guo from the Southern Song Dynasty said: 'The greatest heroes serve their country and their people.' Although you and I are not great heroes, killing the Japanese is also considered to be eradicating the enemy, and it is what you and I, the people of the Ming Dynasty, should do."

Chu Yuan continued.

"More importantly, I want to kill the Japanese pirates."

Chu Yuan changed his words and spoke in a firm tone.

"Okay, since Brother Chu wants to kill the Japanese pirates, I will accompany you, Brother Chu."

Dongfang Sheng agreed immediately.

He no longer wondered why Chu Yuan suddenly wanted to kill the Japanese pirates.

"Brother Chu, you said before that you have a fragment of a magic weapon and want to recast it into a weapon. Maybe I can help you."

Dongfang Sheng thought of another thing and said to Chu Yuan.

Chu Yuan immediately stopped, took out a palm-sized, heavy black wooden box from his bag and threw it to Dongfang Sheng.

Chu Yuan said: "Then I'll trouble you, Brother Dongfang."

He has also been having a headache recently over who to find to reforge this magical weapon.

Since Dongfang Sheng has spoken, I have no choice but to trouble Dongfang Sheng.

"Brother Chu, do you trust me so much?"

Seeing Chu Yuan casually throwing the magic weapon fragment to him, Dongfang Sheng was stunned after taking it.

Chu Yuan smiled and said, "Why don't you trust me? You and I are good friends, how can you lie to me?"

Dongfang Sheng was silent for a moment after hearing this, then he put away the fragment of the magic weapon and said:

"I will help you send this item to the Zhili Military Equipment Bureau for casting. The Zhili Military Equipment Bureau has hundreds of craftsmen. The furnace is opened in winter and closed in spring. It just so happens that I have some connections there. If the magic weapon is to be recast, it will probably take at least a year."

Chu Yuan thanked him: "Thank you very much."

"It doesn't have to be this way."

There was some displeasure between Dongfang Sheng's brows.

There was no need for him and Chu Yuan to say too many polite words.

Seeing Dongfang Sheng's expression, Chu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

……

Chu Yuan and Dongfang Sheng arrived at the Shili Pavilion in the south of the city at noon as scheduled.

There was already an old man here, wearing a long gown with a red and blue pattern, a square scarf on his head, a broken beard under his chin, and a gentlemanly and dignified temperament. He was followed by two servants and was sitting in the pavilion waiting.

But Chu Yuan didn’t know him. He was not Lord Lu Zhiyuan as Chu Yuan thought.

"I am Yang Xuefeng, the prefect of Fuzhou. Nice to meet you two chivalrous men."

Seeing Chu Yuan and Dongfang Sheng walk into the pavilion, the old man immediately stood up to greet them.

"Chu Yuan."

"Dongfang wins."

Chu Yuan and Dongfang Sheng said their respective names.

"Please take a seat, both of you knights."

Prefect Yang Xuefeng invited.

"Yesterday at the banquet, Judge Cui said that an old friend invited me. I thought it was Mr. Lu, the former governor of Fuzhou, but it turned out not to be him. We don't know each other, right?"

After sitting down, Chu Yuan looked at the other party and said.

"To be honest, Lu Zhiyuan was the last governor of Fuzhou. He and I are good friends. He has been promoted to the position of governor of Fujian."

"I heard the story of Young Master Chu from him. At that time, he was very young, less than ten years old, but he defeated the young master of the Lin family in front of everyone, and made the Songshan Sect dare not take action easily."

"Thirteen years have passed. Young Master Chu's martial arts skills are now far superior to what they were before. Yesterday, he defeated the Five Mountains Sword Sects with just one sword, which shocked the people of Fuzhou City. I'm afraid he will soon become famous all over the world."

Yang Xuefeng first explained his relationship with Lu Zhiyuan, and then praised Chu Yuan.

"Lord Yang invited me here in the name of Lord Lu. It shouldn't be just to praise me, right?"

Chu Yuan asked Yang Xuefeng.

"I do have something to ask of you. I wonder if Young Master Chu has heard about the recent Japanese pirate attacks in Changle and Min counties?"

Yang Xuefeng asked.

"Before I came here, I was in Fuzhou City and asked the people about the Japanese pirates wreaking havoc in Fuzhou Prefecture. I heard about it."

Chu Yuan nodded.

"The threat of Japanese pirates existed in the previous dynasty."

"During the Hongwu reign, when our dynasty was founded, the coastal areas of Zhejiang, Taizhou, and Wenzhou were invaded and plundered by Japanese pirates many times, causing heavy casualties among the people living along the coast. Taizu negotiated with Japan, asking it to send troops to fight the pirates, while at the same time vigorously building coastal defenses and setting up patrol inspection offices."

"Since the Yongle period, the threat of Japanese pirates in our dynasty has gradually subsided. During the Xuande, Tianshun and Jingtai periods, there was almost no threat from Japanese pirates."

"However, since the Chenghua period, the imperial court has relaxed its coastal defenses and its military strength has been insufficient. The Japanese pirates have become increasingly arrogant and have made a comeback, harassing the people along the coast more and more frequently."

"These pirates were originally ronin, all of whom were skilled in martial arts and cruel. The imperial court sent troops to suppress them many times, but all failed."

"That's why I thought of inviting martial arts masters like Young Master Chu to deal with the Japanese pirates."

Yang Xuefeng tells the historical reasons why Japanese pirates wreaked havoc in coastal areas.

"Master Lu should have had the same idea as Master Yang before, right?"

Chu Yuan asked Yang Xuefeng.

"Yes, Lord Lu had the same idea as me. At that time, Lord Lu not only invited you, Young Master Chu, but also invited Lord Yuantu. However, Lord Yuantu was already old at that time, so he rejected Lord Lu."

"And Young Master Chu also rejected Lord Lu because he was young."

Yang Xuefeng smiled bitterly.

Chu Yuan: ...

Then Lu Zhiyuan is really miserable!

Two people were invited, all young and old.

One is old, the other is young.

"Fortunately, the Japanese pirates were not a serious problem in those years, and the officers and soldiers could barely hold on. Now the number of Japanese pirates' attacks is increasing, and the court officers and soldiers alone can't prevent them at all."

"If Young Master Chu agrees, I will not let Young Master Chu's efforts go in vain. Once these two groups of Japanese pirates are eliminated, I will write to the imperial court to commend Young Master Chu and the Qingcheng Sect where Young Master Chu belongs, and ask His Majesty to reward Young Master Chu and the Qingcheng Sect."

Yang Xuefeng observed Chu Yuan's expression and continued.

It seemed that he had done sufficient homework before meeting Chu Yuan and knew that Chu Yuan was from the Qingcheng Sect.

"We'll talk about asking for credit later. I've agreed to kill the pirates."

Chu Yuan agreed immediately.

Regardless of whether he was asked for credit or rewarded, this Japanese pirate must be killed.

"Lord Lu was right. Although young, Chu knows the importance of his country and his family. He is much better than most people who have learned martial arts but only know how to fight bravely."

After hearing Chu Yuan's agreement, Yang Xuefeng's eyes flashed with joy.

　ps: Please vote for recommendation and read on. The previous chapter has been slightly modified. If you feel that the plot does not make sense, you can reread the previous chapter.

(End of this chapter)