The study door was shut tight, like the lips of a patriot who would never open them in the face of torture.

Dang Xiaobo and other trusted aides of the admiral were being subjected to torture in the back garden, but their mouths had long been stuffed with stinky rags, so no cries of pain escaped.

Hong Changqing warily surveyed the surrounding darkness, leading the several yamen runners sent by the prefect of Jiaozhou, dispersing them around the study to prevent anyone from approaching the room.

The study was plunged into a deathly silence. No one knew what Fan Xian and Xu Maocai were saying inside, what they were discussing, calculating, or arguing about.

Following the faint candlelight that seeped out, one could see the increasingly grave expressions on their faces and the hint of coldness in their eyes.

Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, the shadows on either side of his nose quite pronounced. He said softly, "This matter ends here. Just here."

Xu Maocai thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, sir."

Their conversation about the past and future came to a temporary end. Xu Maocai, while suppressing his excitement, also regained the composure he had maintained over the years, changing his form of address from "young master" to "sir." He knew how treasonous their conversation had been. If anyone else knew what he and Fan Xian had discussed, he would certainly die without a doubt, and Fan Xian wouldn't have an easy time of it either.

"Future matters can be discussed later," Fan Xian said calmly. "How do we deal with the current problem?"

Xu Maocai had been in the Jiaozhou naval force for twenty years, rising step by step from the lowest ranks to his current position as an important general. Naturally, he possessed a prestige and network within the navy that others could not match. If he helped Fan Xian deal with the Jiaozhou naval force, it would be much simpler.

"I will contact people in the military," Xu Maocai said after thinking for a while. "If you need someone to come forward, sir, I can try."

Fan Xian frowned as he considered. If he could win over a large number of mid- and low-ranking officers in the navy, things would naturally go much more smoothly. Since that General of the old Qin family was unwilling to come forward, Xu Maocai's willingness to help would probably have a similar effect. However, after thinking for a while, he shook his head. "You shouldn't come forward personally."

Xu Maocai looked at Fan Xian in surprise.

Fan Xian said, "I don't want anyone to detect even a trace of a problem… After all, you came from the Quanzhou navy. Since you've been behaving yourself all these years, don't come forward today either."

This chess piece that Fan Xian had in the military should not be exposed unless absolutely necessary. He would never use the blunt cleaver he had managed to pick up by the roadside to deal with the distorted limb that was the Jiaozhou naval force.

"However… think of a way to influence the lower ranks of the military," Fan Xian continued. "Influence those you can influence, at least to keep them calm. I'm going to the naval base tomorrow to announce the imperial decree. I don't want to be besieged by tens of thousands of soldiers."

Xu Maocai smiled and bowed. "Rest assured, sir. In fact, tonight, I felt that you seemed to be thinking of this matter as too difficult."

"Oh? How so?" Fan Xian raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"You underestimated the army's loyalty to the imperial court and underestimated His Majesty's influence on the soldiers," Xu Maocai said calmly. "Perhaps Chang Kun could control a portion of the army, perhaps his confidants could incite soldiers who don't know the truth to cause trouble… But the current situation is that Chang Kun is dead, and Dang Xiaobo and several others have been imprisoned by you. Whether they are soldiers or civilians, if they dare to attack an imperial envoy, they definitely need someone to lead the way."

Xu Maocai concluded, "For lambs to dare to revolt against wolves, there must be a wolf hiding among the sheep."

Fan Xian's eyes lit up. He looked at Xu Maocai for a long time without saying a word. Only now did he realize that this lucky child left behind by his mother had a rather unique way of looking at things.

"But I am a wolf from out of town," he said with a smile. "And these old wolves in the navy cherish their feathers."

Xu Maocai said blandly, "You're holding them hostage. They have no choice but to go… And they don't need to say anything. As long as they stand in the camp, the naval officers and soldiers will naturally know their position. If there is still trouble in the army, sir, you might as well kill a few as a warning."

"Kill people to establish authority?" Fan Xian frowned. "What I'm afraid of is causing a mutiny. The smell of blood is very pungent and easily makes people's minds go blank."

Xu Maocai looked at him and smiled, saying in a soft voice, "Sir, the smell of blood also easily makes people become timid, especially those lower ranks who aren't very brave to begin with."

These words were spoken plainly, but they carried a hint of strangeness and resentment, probably because during the cleansing of the Ye family and the Quanzhou naval force twenty years ago, he had seen too many timid people who were so frightened by blood that they were silent and paralyzed.

Fan Xian thought for a moment, then nodded.

Xu Maocai saw that the worry between his brows had not yet dissipated and knew what he was worried about. After a moment of thought, he tentatively said, "Even if I don't come forward today, I can try after the fact."

Try what? Naturally, try to bring the Jiaozhou naval force under Fan Xian's control. With Xu Maocai's current qualifications and status, as long as he performed outstandingly in the imperial court's investigation of the Jiaozhou naval force case and appeared purely loyal to His Majesty, even if Fan Xian didn't help him, he would probably have a great chance of being promoted to admiral of the naval force.

For Xu Maocai, this suggestion was not for his own career but to help Fan Xian obtain a powerful boost.

But Fan Xian simply shook his head.

"I found out about your situation too late," he said. "So I didn't make any arrangements beforehand. The aftermath of the Jiaozhou naval force has already been decided in Kyoto. In ten days, people from the Privy Council will take over. As for you… I'll find a way to keep you from being implicated and still stay in Jiaozhou, but the position of admiral is out of the question."

Xu Maocai nodded, knowing that the palace must have already made a decision about the subsequent arrangements for the naval force. Since Fan Xian didn't know his background, he naturally hadn't made any arrangements beforehand.

"Who is the next admiral?"

"Qin Yi," Fan Xian said slowly. "Qin Heng's cousin."

Qin Heng was now the Kyoto garrison commander, a leading figure of the second generation of the old Qin family, and his relationship with Fan Xian in Kyoto was quite harmonious.

But Xu Maocai's expression was a little strange when he heard this name.

"What's wrong?" Fan Xian saw his worry and asked curiously.

"Why would His Majesty let someone from the old Qin family take over?" Xu Maocai said with a frown. "Even if the Ye family has fallen out of favor now, there are more than just these two families in the military. There are still several generals in the Western Expeditionary Army who don't have suitable positions."

"I don't really understand either," Fan Xian replied with a smile, but in his heart, he thought that the emperor must want to choose the most trusted of his confidants to control such an important place as Jiaozhou to avoid a repeat of something like what happened with Chang Kun.

Xu Maocai looked at Fan Xian, hesitant to speak, and finally made up his mind after a long while. "The old Qin family is not simple."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have any evidence, but I always feel that the old Qin family is not simple," Xu Maocai said with a frown. "You also know that the third-in-command in the navy is from the Qin family. Chang Kun made so many moves in the navy, leading thousands of soldiers south. How could he hide it from him… Why didn't he report it to the court? If he told the old Qin family, but the old Qin family didn't tell His Majesty… this matter is a bit strange."

Fan Xian fell silent, carefully considering the details in his mind, and then said, "So you need to stay in Jiaozhou and keep an eye on the admiral who is about to arrive. I believe that the old Qin family will not betray His Majesty, because no matter which way you look at it… there is no benefit to it at all."

Xu Maocai thought that this was indeed the case. The eldest prince was now in charge of the Imperial Guards, and the Ye family was being scolded by His Majesty until they didn't dare to make a sound, so they had to shrink back to Dingzhou to raise horses. The military in Qing Yu Nian was currently most powerful and prestigious so naturally it was the old Qin family. If they betrayed His Majesty, they would never be able to obtain higher status and glory.

Political choices are like doing business. No one is willing to do things without any benefit.

"Go do your work," Fan Xian said with a gentle smile. "Pay attention to your own safety. In the days to come, unless I actively seek you out, don't do anything for me."

Xu Maocai also smiled, walked up to him, knelt down, and respectfully kowtowed once. He didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Watching the departing figure of this general in his forties, Fan Xian put his hands behind his back and narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew that the other party had kowtowed willingly, and perhaps even with great joy. What had happened twenty years ago had fallen twenty years later. Life didn't have many twenty-year periods, and this person had waited so long, which was really not easy.

A faint white color floated in the distant sky. Fan Xian squinted his eyes as he looked at it, his mind wandering, his brows furrowed tightly. He felt a bit more pressure on his heart, and a bit more excitement. He would not do such a thing as rebellion, just like what Ye Qingmei had said in her letter back then, unify the world? She disdained to do it, and Fan Xian didn't like to play this kind of game either, but in the years to come, besides rebellion, there were always many meaningful things to do.

Such as living well, such as letting the one who just left live well, such as letting some people live very unhappily.

At this time, there was no commotion in the Admiral's mansion, only a peacefulness surrounding it. Many people were not asleep, and the sky was just beginning to dawn.

——————————————————————————

As the morning light gradually grew stronger, the closed gates of Jiaozhou City were slowly pulled open. The state troops who had tightly sealed it off for an entire night wearily withdrew their teams, standing weakly on both sides of the city gate tunnel, watching the line of troops leave Jiaozhou City and drive towards the nearby naval base.

In the very center of the procession was Fan Xian, who was riding a horse and had changed into his official uniform, which was exceptionally luxurious and full of majesty. Hong Changqing on the left held the Emperor's bestowed celestial sword with a cold expression, and the Monitoring Office official on the right held the golden imperial edict.

In front, road-clearing soldiers were carrying signs and walking, panting heavily, followed by a cloud-patterned golden parasol with a curved handle.

Jiaozhou managed to put together a silk and bamboo orchestra from somewhere, playing and beating drums, creating a continuous liveliness.

It was a somewhat simple imperial envoy's procession. Fan Xian watched with cold eyes, unable to help but find it amusing. That prefect of Jiaozhou really had some tricks up his sleeve. He had actually put together so many things in just half a night. But why did this silk and bamboo orchestra have such a strong scent of powder on them? Could they have been borrowed from a brothel?

He had always kept the imperial envoy's procession in Suzhou, and he never thought that he would use it by the sea. But since he was going to announce the imperial decree at the naval base, it would be beneficial to put on this kind of display. However, Fan Xian was a little worried for Wu Gefei. Would this kind of deception make those old scholars in Kyoto unhappy?

All the Jiaozhou officials and naval generals who had not been convicted followed Fan Xian honestly. From their expressions alone, it was impossible to tell whether these people were happy or sad. They had simply been exhausted all night and didn't have much energy.

The citizens of Jiaozhou who had gotten up early had vaguely learned about what had happened last night at the breakfast stalls. They flocked inside and outside the city gate to watch this scene. The bolder citizens pointed and whispered at the imperial envoy's procession, spreading the word that the young nobleman on the tall horse, who was as handsome as a girl, was the rumored Little Fan Lord.

Fan Xian's reputation among the people was really too loud.

But the Jiaozhou naval force's reputation in the city was really not good.

No one knew who started it, but thousands of people inside and outside the city gate shouted in unison, wishing the imperial envoy good health and kneeling down to pay their respects.

Fan Xian was stunned. Looking at the dense crowd of heads, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed. Thinking of what Xu Maocai had said at dawn, he understood that the people at the very bottom of society really had a kind of instinctive fear and respect for angels in high places.

This realization didn't make Fan Xian feel comfortable at all. He subconsciously glanced at Xu Maocai.

Xu Maocai smiled in a flattering manner.

Unable to avoid it, Fan Xian waved his hand to stop the procession from moving forward. He put on a warm smile, and under the protection of the officials, he dismounted, walked lightly to the people outside the line, returned the greeting gently, and politely helped up a few old people. He also exchanged a few pleasantries, saying a few cliches about imperial peace and natural order, before returning to his horse and starting the procession again.

……

……

On the naval base's parade ground, Fan Xian sat calmly in a chair, watching the officers and soldiers below from the high platform. The officers and soldiers had different expressions on their faces, some excited, some resentful, and some fearful. But their eyes were all flickering as they looked at the imperial envoy and officials on the platform.

Most of the naval officers and soldiers already knew about what had happened last night, but because the time was too short, those of Chang Kun's confidants among the middle-ranking generals did not have the opportunity to stir up the emotions of the entire camp. They simply led a troop of soldiers to try to enter the city to rescue people, but that troop suddenly disappeared into the darkness.

So at this time, the naval officers and soldiers were a little afraid. They didn't know why the imperial court would suddenly send an imperial envoy, nor did they understand why Admiral Chang Kun and Vice General Dang were not on the platform. Could the rumors in the military be true?

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at the heads of the people swaying below, realizing that they stretched all the way to the harbor.

Only at this time did he feel a hint of apprehension. He had seen the Imperial Guards, and the Black Riders were often by his side, but suddenly seeing tens of thousands of soldiers standing in neat rows in front of him made him feel the kind of oppressive feeling that numbers bring. If these tens of thousands of soldiers were all his enemies, then he probably wouldn't be able to sit on this platform any longer.

Fan Xian smiled self-deprecatingly and didn't listen carefully to what the naval force's third-in-command was saying. He thought that his luck was really good to have found Xu Maocai within the naval force. Although the emotions of the soldiers below the platform were a little unstable, there shouldn't be any major problems, which must have been because Xu Maocai had done a lot of behind-the-scenes work after dawn.

And Chang Kun was dead, Dang Xiaobo had been captured, and no one was leading the way. No matter how much blood the soldiers had in them, there was nothing they could do. Xu Maocai was right. He had overestimated the danger of the situation.

Fan Xian touched the thin paper in his arms. This was the confession written by the generals who had participated in the East Sea affair. Dang Xiaobo was indeed a tough one. Even after being knocked unconscious, he refused to open his mouth, but not everyone in the military was this kind of tough guy. Under the Monitoring Office's severe torture, someone finally confessed.

With the confession, he had a legitimate reason. Fan Xian no longer worried about anything, listening sideways to the lackadaisical speech of the general.

This general was from the old Qin family. He was originally unwilling to come forward, but Fan Xian had listened to Xu Maocai's suggestion and simply did not give him this opportunity. He simply tore off the mask and asked him to come forward to give a speech with a forced smile, while also giving him the difficult task of announcing Dang Xiaobo's crimes.

As Fan Xian had expected, when the general said that Dang Xiaobo had colluded with foreign enemies, secretly communicated with pirates, and violated orders to mobilize troops, the officers and soldiers below the platform were agitated, especially those middle-ranking officers, who were showing some bad signs.

Watching this scene, Fan Xian slowly left the chair, walked to the front of the platform, and looked at the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers below, saying gently, "I am Fan Xian, here by imperial decree."

He was not a god and did not have the ability to silence the entire audience with his eyes, but he added a trace of the domineering *zhenqi* in his body to his words, which quickly spread out, echoing throughout the entire parade ground and stunning the officers and soldiers.

In this gap, Fan Xian stated his purpose, "Admiral Chang Kun, Lord Chang, was assassinated last night."

There was an uproar below the platform, filled with disbelief, discussion, and shocked voices.

The Jiaozhou prefect Wu Gefei looked at Little Fan Lord in front of the platform with concern. He had originally disagreed with gathering the entire army to announce the imperial decree. It should have been discussed in separate camps. He didn't know what Little Fan Lord was thinking.

Fan Xian looked at the officers and soldiers below the platform and said slowly, "Admiral Chang has been stationed in Jiaozhou for many years, guarding one side of the country and willingly staying in a difficult place. He is truly a pillar of the country. Whenever His Majesty discusses him, he will praise Admiral Chang for his merits to the country and his commendable loyalty."

The three people on the platform who knew the inside story remained silent. They had long received Fan Xian's announcement of the results of the handling on behalf of the imperial court, but the other officials and generals were dumbfounded when they heard this. Wasn't Little Fan Lord here to investigate Admiral Chang?

The officers and soldiers below the platform gradually quieted down, looking at the platform with full of doubts. No one understood what the imperial envoy was saying.

Fan Xian had a hint of heaviness on his face and said quietly, "Heaven has no eyes. Unexpectedly, Admiral Chang actually died young… What heinous villains dared to commit such atrocities!"

His voice gradually rose, full of anger, and his eyes were full of ferocity, as if he wanted to find the so-called real culprit from among the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers below the platform.