My Emperor Father Can Read Minds

Chapter 296 The Sky Has Fallen

Fifth Prince truly felt as if the sky had fallen.

The moment Emperor Wei issued the order, assigning him full responsibility for the Newspaper Agency, Fifth Prince really wanted to roll his eyes back and faint.

He was put entirely in charge of managing the Newspaper Agency, but he didn’t even know what the Newspaper Agency was—how was he supposed to manage it?

Besides, regardless of what the Newspaper Agency was, he didn’t want to work at all. He was doing just fine working in the Ministry of Rites! Why would Father Emperor give him this task?!

And why were others looking at him with envy?

This matter was brought up during the morning court session, with all civil and military officials present. When the Newspaper Agency was mentioned, Fifth Prince was spacing out, slacking off.

He had gone to bed late the previous night and was lethargic during the morning court.

While others listened intently to what the Newspaper Agency was, Fifth Prince’s eyelids drooped as he struggled to stay awake; while others were scheming about setting up the Newspaper Agency, he was absentmindedly slacking; while others negotiated and jostled for power over the Newspaper Agency’s establishment, Fifth Prince quietly yawned…

He was a grown man; why was he slacking off with Wei Yu, that unfilial son!

That unfilial son had no wife or children—did Fifth Prince not have any?!

Fifth Prince didn’t realize it; he was completely oblivious to the subtle intentions of his father, his brothers, and the court officials.

All he knew was that he was startled by his father’s call and upon coming to his senses, he heard his father instructing him to take full charge of the Newspaper Agency…

Confused and dazed.

After the court session ended, the smile finally left Fifth Prince’s face.

He ignored the officials’ congratulations and his brothers’ words went in one ear and out the other.

Second Brother: bla bla bla…

Fourth Brother: glug glug…

Sixth Brother: smack smack…

Seventh and Eighth Younger Brothers: …

So.

Where was Ninth Brother?

Counting all his brothers, Fifth Prince didn’t see Ninth Brother and suddenly realized.

Thinking of Ninth Brother, who a few days ago had said he would petition Father Emperor for a position for him, Fifth Prince was filled with sorrow.

If he had known Ninth Brother was so determined, why had he gotten involved in the first place?

Sixth Prince pulled out a piece of cake from his sleeve: “Fifth Brother, you finally have something to do now. Fifth Sister-in-law would surely be very relieved.”

Fifth Prince: …

But the key was, he wasn’t!

–

To avoid Fifth Brother, Wei Yu decided to spend the following days staying in the palace.

After the morning court session, he hid in his father’s palace and only returned home after the palace gates were locked.

Although his workload increased a bit, the food in the palace was much better!

Emperor Wei disliked it but tolerated it since the unfilial son helped reduce his workload. So he didn’t mind his cowardly behavior of hiding in the palace.

Meanwhile, far away in Donghai Commandery, Eldest Prince was completely unaware of everything happening in the capital.

The Huzhou flood was over, and Third Prince, who had finished disaster relief, had returned to the capital, but Eldest Prince, still occupied with quelling the rebel Cao Ji, didn’t know when he could return.

Although he occasionally thought about returning to the capital, if Eldest Prince were to speak honestly, he wasn’t really eager to go back.

Because he enjoyed being in the military camp and fighting in battles.

The bureaucratic clean-up in Donghai Commandery wasn’t worth mentioning; it was just collecting evidence, imprisoning and confiscating homes—tasks done by others. Eldest Prince just needed to review the final reports and identify possible hideouts of Cao Ji among the Japanese pirates.

As for how deeply local officials in Donghai Commandery colluded with the Japanese pirates, Eldest Prince could only say the place was thoroughly rotten.

Every household had correspondence with the Japanese pirates!

The Japanese pirates had many hideouts scattered across various islands—some with dozens of men, others with as many as ten thousand.

After discovering the Japanese pirates’ hideout islands, Eldest Prince’s favorite activity was leading troops to these islands, shooting explosive arrows to blow them up.

These pirates caused endless trouble, constantly harassing merchant ships and civilians near the coast. Eldest Prince felt no remorse in blasting them with explosives.

Showing mercy to the enemy was cruelty to his own people.

As long as the Japanese pirates refused to reveal Cao Ji’s whereabouts, he would continue patrolling the seas and bombing their islands relentlessly!

This aggressive stance infuriated the captured pirates, turning their hatred for Eldest Prince green with envy, but what choice did they have since the Imperial Court had explosives?

Eldest Prince paid no mind to the Japanese pirates; his only worry was that each explosive pack used was one less in stock, and supplies were running low!

Just as Eldest Prince was about to write a letter to the capital urging Father Emperor to send over more explosives, a grand treasure ship arrived.

That day, Eldest Prince was stunned upon seeing the ship.

He knew the Imperial Court was building new ships—various new vessels crafted by the Ministry of Waterworks, all being used now—but none were as magnificent as the ship before him!

Indeed, magnificent.

A huge nine-masted treasure ship carrying twenty cannon carts, with holds filled with crates of ammunition—the result of the painstaking efforts of Gao Xun, Fusheng, and others.

Now at last, the ship and weapons had been sent to Donghai Commandery to assist Eldest Prince in the anti-pirate rebellion!

After being awed by the ship, the soldiers were no longer surprised; after all, it was a ship, and could carry people.

But the cannon carts were another matter!

More powerful than explosives, equipped with bombs, capable of targeted strikes, they blasted enemies into bloody froth, sparks flying, dust rising, even capsizing pirate ships!

With such formidable weapons, how could they not make the Japanese pirates tremble with fear?

When Eldest Prince and Cheng Yuan first encountered the cannon carts, they were very excited; the soldiers beneath them felt victory was within reach.

The soldiers who witnessed the cannon cart’s power never doubted the odds of winning this battle, while the Japanese pirates hit by the shells barely had time to utter a last word before dying.

Only those pirates who directly confronted the navy at sea and were lucky to evade hits due to poor aiming could escape and spread the terrifying news throughout the pirate community.

After hearing the news, the pirates were in trouble.

The Imperial Court had explosives, and they were no match. Their survival owed to the navy not yet discovering their island hideouts!

They hadn’t even figured out how to defend against explosive packs, and now the Imperial Court had an even more powerful weapon!

It was as if they were doomed to die!

The Japanese pirates, evil but cowardly, naturally wanted to survive and avoid death at all costs.

Thus, to find a solution, the pirates immediately thought of Cao Ji.

They had been pirates for many years, back when the Imperial Court’s suppression wasn’t so intense; now, if not for Cao Ji, they wouldn’t be suffering so much!

After all, the Imperial Court was after Cao Ji!

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