Father, I really don’t want to be the emperor

But in the following days, the situation was not so optimistic for Chen Yuanqing.

To put it more appropriately, Chen Yuanqing’s current situation can be described with four words: exhausted.

Hundreds of thousands of dragon scale troops are deployed on a vast front, and the amount of food and grass they need every day is astronomical.

However, what these Japanese pirates are good at is mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare. They often take advantage of the fact that the Longlin Army cannot reach them. These Japanese pirates are quite rampant in the villages on the seaside. They implement the three-guang policy on the seaside, which provides great benefits to the vast number of fishermen on the entire Dakang coastline. , causing unspeakable harm.

However, the hundreds of thousands of dragon-scaled troops had no way to deal with these pirates. Often by the time the army arrived, these pirates had already fled without a trace, leaving behind signs of horror in those villages.

The cunning and agility of the pirates far exceeded Chen Yuanqing's imagination.

In the game that lasted for half a month, Chen Yuanqing suffered a lot. Except for the nearly 5,000 Japanese pirates he killed at the beginning, the rest had almost no results. Except for the capture of a few Japanese pirate scouts, there were only a few Japanese pirates. There is nothing gained.

When Ning Fan, who was far away in Kyoto, saw this situation, he became furious and tore the memorial into pieces and threw it directly on the ground.

"Your Majesty, there is simply no solution to this matter. Unless we build ships and go to sea to completely wipe out the Japanese pirates' lair, otherwise, we cannot afford to fight these Japanese pirates."

After Zhou Qun understood the cause and effect of the incident, he also let out a long sigh. These Japanese pirates came and went like lightning, not giving the imperial army any time to breathe. They were like foxes walking through the forest, extremely cunning.

The huge imperial army was overwhelmed, because the imperial army had to carry all kinds of baggage, food, grass, etc. during the march, and the daily consumption was astronomical. If things continued like this, I am afraid that Jiangnan's newly improved economy would be dragged down.

"Tell Chen Yuanqing that one general is incompetent and has exhausted all three armies. Since he cannot cause effective damage to the Japanese pirates, he will withdraw the Dragon Scale Army and all the fishermen on the coastline. At worst, we will not fish anymore."

Ning Fan slapped the table and his face turned red with anger.

His anger was not only hatred of the Japanese pirates, but also disappointment in Chen Yuanqing's incompetence.

The imperial court gave the Dragon Scale Army great convenience and set aside tens of thousands of acres of fertile land for them to farm. In addition, they also received a lot of grain and grass, which can be said to be a great deal of pampering.

However, the combat effectiveness of the Dragon Scale Army greatly disappointed Ning Fan. Not only did it fail to cause effective damage to the Japanese pirates, but they were led by the other party's lead.

"Your Majesty, isn't General Chen Qiao about to return to Beijing? Why not let General Chen Qiao rush to the sea? Perhaps General Chen Qiao's astuteness and decisiveness will be more than enough to deal with those Japanese pirates."

A minister came forward to recommend Ning Fan to let Chen Qiao solve the problem of Japanese pirates in the south of the Yangtze River.

But Ning Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this suggestion. Chen Qiao had just returned from a great victory and didn't even have a chance to breathe. Does it mean that there are no capable people in Dakang except General Chen Qiao?

What makes Ning Fan even more embarrassed is that Chen Yuanqing is the general he single-handedly promoted and trained, and he is the commander of Dakang's most elite Dragon Scale Army. However, Chen Yuanqing's performance now makes Ning Fan miserable.

"Forget it, let's just put the Jiangnan matter on hold."

Ning Fan already had a plan in mind, but he couldn't express it yet.

Chen Qiao is about to return to Kyoto. How to give Chen Qiao a decent award ceremony is what Ning Fan should consider. After all, Chen Qiao has made extraordinary achievements this time, sweeping away the entire southwest. Rebels.

In the afternoon, Ning Fan specially called Zhou Qun, Shen Mengxi, etc., a group of ministers who Ning Fan usually thought were quite sober, to the palace to discuss how to reward Chen Qiao.

According to the imperial court's system, it would not be an exaggeration to be awarded the title of a Duke for Chen Qiao's extraordinary achievements, but Ning Fan advocated for Chen Qiao to be granted the title of a Marquis.

This is not because Ning Fan is stingy, but because Chen Qiao is still young. If he is granted the title of Grand Duke from the very beginning, he will not be able to be granted the title in the future.

"The title can be appropriately lower, even if it is a marquis, it is reasonable, but with the addition of maids in the house and gold and silver treasures, the rewards can be appropriately generous."

Zhou Qun also felt that this matter was very difficult. After all, Chen Qiao's contribution was too great, and he had never even met this legendary general.

The discussion was almost over, and Ning Fan had already made up his mind. The reason why he called these people over was just to confirm his decision.

Since no one had any objections, Ning Fan felt at ease. When it was almost evening, several carriages quietly left the palace gate and headed straight for the north gate of Kyoto.

In less than seven days, a tall gatehouse rose from the ground to replace the original North Gate of Kyoto. This gatehouse looked majestic and resplendent, with a solemn sense of merit.

Zhou Qun jumped off the carriage first and was surprised when he saw the tall city gate, with a look of admiration on his face.

When the other ministers saw this magnificent city gate tower, they all exclaimed in surprise. If they could enter through this gate, this life would be worth it.

"This gate will be dedicated to welcoming warriors who return victoriously from now on."

Ning Fan pointed to the magnificent gate and said to the ministers.

Everyone nodded in agreement, unanimously feeling that Ning Fan's decision was a very wise one.

"Your Majesty, it is also very important to cultivate martial arts in a country. If a country is full of warblers and warblers, then the whole country will slowly sink and be invaded by foreign races. Even if the country becomes rich and powerful, I am afraid that It’s also difficult to resist the invasion of foreign enemies!”

A young minister stood up and said to Ning Fan.

Although this young man is not tall, he has a stocky appearance and a wheat-colored skin. His whole temperament gives people the feeling of being very intelligent.

When Ning Fan saw this person, his eyes lit up.

"What's your name? What's your current position?"

Ning Fan looked at this young man and couldn't help but feel the love for talents in his heart.

"Your Majesty, my minister Ma Dong is currently in the Legislative Yuan responsible for drafting the new laws of Dakang."

The man's answer was very smooth, neither humble nor overbearing.

Ning Fan nodded and secretly remembered the name Ma Dong. This man seemed to have an extraordinary temperament and would definitely do something great in the future.

For such a big and prosperous company, one cannot rely on Zhou Qun for everything. It is also very important to cultivate successor talents, and Ning Fan attaches particular importance to this.