It was approaching noon, the sun was warm and bright, but Wu Chengsi felt a chill all over his body.
The ship was filled with blood and corpses were strewn everywhere, as if it had just experienced a massacre.
If it was just a massacre between pirates, Wu Chengsi would not feel the way he does now.
However, the corpses on this boat were all wearing civilian clothes and looked like ordinary people doing farm work.
Why are they here?
Who killed them?
"Zhuge Gong, do you feel something is wrong?" Wu Chengsi asked.
Zhuge Sanyuan touched his short beard and said: "It's really strange. These people are obviously wearing civilian clothes, but most of them are holding weapons."
"And they all have calluses on their hands. They seem to have been practicing martial arts recently."
Zhugenan, who was inspecting the corpse, stood up and said loudly: "These people died very strangely. Everyone's wounds are clean and neat, and the people who killed them are all masters."
Li Duozuo crossed his arms and said, "So, the ship that the lookout soldiers saw just now is probably not a pirate ship."
Han Cheng said solemnly: "It shouldn't be pirates. Even if pirates rob, they rarely kill everyone on the ship."
Li Duozuo said: "Your Highness, do you want to pursue that ship?"
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while and then ordered: "Go and bring Ouyang Chong and Li Si over."
Soon, Ouyang Chong and Li Duozuo walked over from the wooden board.
After seeing the corpses on the boat, Li Si was startled, while Ouyang Chong's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "Haha, aren't these people from Haigouzi? Why are they all dead?"
Wu Chengsi was slightly startled and said: "Are you saying that the people on this ship are all pirates?"
Ouyang Chong said with a smile: "My lord, don't look at these people wearing civilian clothes. They are all members of the big pirate Hai Gouzi. There are more people than us... than Tu Hong!"
Zhugenan stared and said: "Nonsense, these people look like they are all farmers, how can they be pirates?"
Ouyang Chong frowned and said, "I've heard people say that before these people became pirates, they were all good people."
At this moment, a exclamation was heard.
"Ah, it seems that some of these people are from our village!"
Turning around, he saw Li Si standing among a pile of corpses, his eyes full of shock.
Wu Chengsi's heart shivered and he said, "You didn't admit your mistake, did you?"
"No, absolutely not!"
Li Si pointed at a person and said loudly: "He, he is the button of our village, why does he appear here?"
Ouyang Chong chuckled and said: "I must have been unable to survive, so I went to sea and became a pirate!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhugenan gave him a loud bang on the head and said angrily: "Are you happy to see so many dead people?"
Ouyang Chong accidentally revealed his true nature and hurriedly covered it up: "No, how could it be? I was just telling my guess."
At this moment, Ma Zhanyuan came quickly and said with cupped hands: "Your Highness, my subordinates just checked the nearby sea area for a while and found several corpses, which seem to be Japanese people."
Wu Chengsi's face instantly became extremely gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said: "In other words, it is the Japanese who killed these people!"
"It shouldn't be wrong." Ma Zhanyuan replied.
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "Give me the order, immediately change direction and pursue the Japanese people. I want them to pay with blood!"
…
The Golden Crow is sinking in the west, and dusk is approaching. The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the white sails, reflecting a colorful pattern.
In the largest cabin on the ship, Inukai Onoi was interrogating Helan Toshizhi.
Various things of the Japanese people were passed down from the Tang Dynasty.
Only in the case of torture, they scorned the Tang people's torture methods and felt that their own family was stronger in this aspect.
Inuyang men are particularly good at torturing women, but some criminal laws are unisex, such as finger amputation.
Instead of cutting off Helan Minzhi's fingers with a sharp blade, Inukai Ooi broke off the middle finger of his right hand and then tore it off.
He Lanmin fainted from the pain, but was awakened by Japanese people pouring sea water on him.
Before Inukai Nōyi could take action again, Helan Minzhi couldn't stand it anymore and begged for mercy: "I said, I said, you... don't torture me anymore."
Inukai Oi snorted coldly: "You Tang people have no backbone. Any man among us Japanese people will not beg for mercy so easily."
He Lan Minzhi cursed in his heart. In just a few hours, his hatred for the Japanese people had far exceeded that of Wu Chengsi.
Inukai Oui moved a chair, sat down in front of He Lanminzhi, and said coldly: "Tell me, what is your true identity?"
"I...I am the nephew of the Empress of the Tang Dynasty, An Yuanbo, He Lan Minzhi."
Inukai Nōyi didn't know much about An Yuanbo, but he knew the meaning of the words "the queen's nephew" unmistakably.
A burning light suddenly appeared in his eyes.
"I heard that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was ill and the queen was in control of the government. Is it true?"
"Yes."
"You are the queen's nephew. She must love you very much, right?"
"No, she was very kind to me originally, but because I committed something, she deprived me of my title and exiled me."
The light in Inukai Oi's eyes suddenly went out by half, and he said coldly: "What does your queen like, what religion does she believe in, and what does she hate? Tell her about it!"
Helan Minzi thought for a while and said: "She likes calligraphy and power, advocates Buddhism, and hates others betraying her."
Inukai Oui sneered: "She's just an ordinary woman."
He Lan Minzhi wanted to retaliate: "It's this ordinary woman who killed you and sent us as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty." Unfortunately, the situation was beyond our control, so he had to hide his words in his stomach.
Inukai Oi asked again: "I heard that the three most powerful generals in your Tang Dynasty are Xue Rengui, Wu Chengsi and Liu Renyuan. Please tell me about these three people in detail."
He Lan Minzhi's face changed slightly and he said anxiously: "You are mistaken. Our most powerful generals are Li Ji, Xue Rengui, Su Dingfang and Liu Rengui, but there is no Wu Chengsi!"
Snapped!
Inukai Nanyi whipped Helan Minzhi and sneered: "Do you think I, the general, know nothing about your affairs?"
"Let me tell you, I have spies in Chang'an City. Li Ji, Liu Rengui and Su Dingfang are all old and useless."
"Wu Chengsi, Xue Rengui and Liu Renyuan are your most powerful generals now, you can't fool me!"
There were barbs on his whip, and Helan Minzhi's teeth chattered in pain. He did not dare to speak harshly and said, "I, I understand, what do you want to know?"
"Tell me about the characteristics of these three people. What are their hobbies, what they like, what they hate, tell me everything they know. Let's start with Liu Renyuan!"
Helan Minzhi was surprised.
It was understandable that Wu Chengsi and Xue Rengui were favored by the Japanese. He had never heard of Liu Renyuan's name, so he really didn't know why the Japanese valued him so much.
After a moment's hesitation, Inukayoi came over with another whip.
"Say it!"
He Lan Minzhi screamed and gasped: "I, when I was in Chang'an City, I had never heard of Liu Renyuan. Are you asking about General Liu Rengui?"
"Idiot! This general is asking about Liu Renyuan. Although he does not hold a high position in your Tang Army, it is because your Tang Dynasty senior officials do not know how to employ people."
"The person that our Dahairen Prince admires the most is Liu Renyuan."
Helan Minzhi paused and said in a low voice: "The vision of our senior officials in the Tang Dynasty is naturally not as good as that of your country's Dahairen Prince."
"I wonder what Liu Renyuan's virtues and talents are, so that he can win the favor of His Highness, the Dahairen of your country?"
It is not without reason that he has been favored by Wu Mei for a long time.
Inukai Nan was so happy that he took the whip back to his waist and said with a smile: "On the battlefield in Liaodong, Liu Renyuan used a trick to cause internal strife between our country and Silla. If he had not come up with this trick, Baekje would have been captured by the Japanese country."
Only then did He Lan Minzhi realize that Liu Renyuan was the general who stayed behind in Xiongjin, and hurriedly said: "When His Highness Dahairen takes control of your country, you will definitely be able to incorporate Baekje into your territory."
Inukai Oi sneered: "You are from the Tang Dynasty, but you want us, the Japanese country, to occupy Baekje. It's really funny."
Helan Minzhi's face turned pale, and when he came back to his senses, he realized that he had unknowingly become the coward he despised most, and he felt unhappy in every way.
However, sometimes, once the atrium is lost, it will lead to a collapse.
Helan Minzhi thought to himself that since he was already like this, there was no point in persisting anymore.