Su Fei observed a few seconds of silence for Li Qinghe.
He was the one who had earned little silver, the one who took the blame, and the one who was killed.
How miserable!
Then he continued asking.
"Why were those Japanese pirates willing to listen to Zhou Bo'an?"
Hu Qiuming replied.
"Because Zhou Bo'an provided the Japanese pirates with conveniences and benefits."
"Not only did he secretly supply them with grain and ironware, he also helped conceal their movements and delay reports. Whenever the Japanese pirates plundered Yuezhou's coast, under his instructions, the Yuezhou prefectural troops were always the last to receive word. They couldn't catch any trace of the pirates at all."
"He once told me privately that the more fiercely the Japanese pirates stirred up trouble, the more the court would have to rely on him to quell it. He could also use quelling the unrest as a pretext to ask the court for more military funds and power."
At this point, Su Fei understood.
Well, well. Zhou Bo'an, the governor of Yuezhou, was nurturing bandits to bolster his own importance.
He colluded with Japanese pirates, blew up dikes, and resold disaster-relief grain, all while deceiving the court with his achievements in "managing the disaster" and "driving out the Japanese pirates."
So many gains from a single move.
This was also why the Japanese pirates in Yuezhou grew stronger the more they were suppressed.
Su Fei continued questioning him, his gaze sharp.
"What other dealings did Zhou Bo'an have with Zhang Xiucheng, the crown prince's grand tutor?"
"Did he send Zhang Xiucheng a share of the silver he embezzled?"
Hu Qiuming's face paled, and he stammered.
"He did, of course. Every Lunar New Year's Eve, Zhou Bo'an would say his teacher had considerable expenses and have me