Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1132

The waves crashed against the hull of the King-Class ironclad warship. Seagulls circled the warship, making low cries. The silhouette of Dengzhou port was faintly visible in the morning mist.

After three months of sailing, the fleet that had gone to Britain returned safely. However, at this time, there was not a single trace of joy on the warship. Everyone had a solemn expression on their faces.

Yue Yun stood on the deck, his eyes deep, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

“General, even now, I don’t understand why you didn’t give the order to attack the London port when we were leaving. Was it for the lives of diplomats like Hu Chuan? That is not your style.” Liu Chen asked with difficulty. “Now that we have returned, after such a great humiliation, how will the civil and military officials of the court view us? How will the people of the Empire view us?”

Looking at the sea, Yue Yun said in a deep voice, “This matter was my order, Yue Yun’s order. All the consequences will be borne by me. You do not have to worry about your future career.”

Liu Chen could not help but say angrily when he heard this, “For your own career? General, all these years I have followed you in campaigns in the north and south. When have I ever asked you for an official position? Yet you say such things now. What kind of person do you take me, Liu Chen, for?”

Yue Yun sighed deeply. He said, “I have my reasons for doing this. In the future, when you have a high position, you will naturally understand.”

With that, he stopped speaking.

Liu Chen then looked at the other generals behind him. These were all naval generals who had fought alongside Yue Yun through thick and thin, and were all promoted by Yue Yun.

In their hearts, Yue Yun’s position in the navy was unrivaled. They had a genuine respect for Yue Yun from the bottom of their hearts.

However, the incident at the London port left them a little disappointed, because Yue Yun, who was once known for his iron-fisted methods, had repeatedly given such weak orders.

Seeing the helpless expression on Liu Chen’s face, the other generals understood that they would not gain anything this time either. They returned to their positions dejectedly, because he wanted to conceal the London port incident, but with Yue Yun’s attitude, it was impossible.

Dengzhou was gradually getting closer. After sailing for half an hour, the fleet entered Dengzhou naval port.

At this time, the naval generals discovered that there were Imperial Secret Guards waiting for them at the military port’s pier, which immediately made the naval generals’ hearts sink to the bottom.

It was clear that Yue Yun had not concealed this humiliating incident in Britain.

“Commander-in-Chief Yue Yun, this is an order from the Emperor. You have been dismissed from your position for now. Please follow us to Qingzhou to have an audience with the Emperor.”

The person who came to Dengzhou this time was Li San. He was personally responsible for escorting Yue Yun back to Qingzhou.

When the warships docked in Guangzhou, Yue Yun reported the incident in Britain. This immediately caused an uproar in Qingzhou. Memorials impeaching Yue Yun flew to the Imperial Study like snowflakes.

Under pressure, Xiao Ming and the Cabinet discussed and decided to dismiss Yue Yun for now.

“The Emperor now probably wants to kill me,” Yue Yun said with a bitter smile.

Li San’s expression was calm. He said, “When he heard the news, the Emperor threw a teacup for the first time. The Emperor sent you to intimidate Britain, but you allowed the British to make a fool of us.”

Yue Yun chuckled softly. “It’s not that I, Yue Yun, am afraid of death. It’s that I don’t want the Empire’s warships and soldiers to sacrifice themselves for nothing. Forget it, saying more is useless. I will accept any punishment from the court.”

With that, he stretched out his hands, meaning for Li San to put the shackles on him.

Li San sighed and had the secret guards take Yue Yun away.

Qingzhou.

Xiao Ming received a telephone call at the first moment Yue Yun was arrested.

His gaze swept over the nine grand secretaries of the Cabinet one by one, and he asked, “Yue Yun has been arrested. What are your opinions? This incident has a too-great negative impact on the Empire. The court must take some action to quell the people’s anger.”

Fei Ji said, “Your Majesty, Yue Yun’s ineffective leadership caused the Empire to suffer such a great humiliation. Not killing him is not enough to quell the people’s anger. We should use this incident to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and make all the soldiers in the army understand the consequences of weakness.”

Zhan Xingchang said, “Your Majesty, what Yue Yun did was understandable. No one expected this group of Europeans to be so despicable and use such underhanded tactics. After all, we were on a formal visit. No matter the reason, one should not treat a visitor so barbarically.”

“The British may be shameless, but suffering such humiliation, even a Commander-in-Chief of the Navy should have died rather than endure this disgrace.” Fei Ji said.

Pang Yukun pondered for a while. He said, “Your Majesty, it is clear that the West is still too far from civilization. This incident just proves that this group of Westerners is not worthy of being considered a civilized country. Their massacre of natives and their plundering all over the world prove that they are nothing more than barbarians who have a grasp of advanced firearms. When dealing with such countries, the Empire does not need to follow the principle of reciprocal diplomacy.”

“I agree.”

“I agree!”

“…”

The cabinet ministers all spoke one by one, agreeing with Pang Yukun.

A strange look flashed in Xiao Ming’s eyes. He said, “After the Battle of India, there were many voices in the Empire that called for a cessation of hostilities and a cessation of war. They often said that the Empire had been fighting for years, and the people were suffering from the hardships of war, and that the soldiers were weary of war. Is that not true?”

Xiao Ming’s words made the faces of the cabinet ministers feel a little hot, because they had also advised Xiao Ming in this way.

Noticing their expressions, he said, “From this incident, it seems that both you and I were wrong. If we do not kill a jackal in time, it will find a way to bite us to death. Although Yue Yun bears a great responsibility for this matter, it has also made them see one thing: the Empire’s war machine must be restarted, and a full-scale war must be launched against Britain.”

This time, neither Fei Ji nor Pang Yukun voiced any opposition. They did not dare to, after all, this matter was enough to stir up the public opinion of the Empire. They realized that the peace of more than two years was about to be broken.

After a pause, Xiao Ming said, “Victoria thought that we are civilized people and would endure her little tricks. She was wrong. I will use dreadnoughts to tell civilized people that they never make concessions to jackals!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Everyone said in unison.

After saying this, Xiao Ming had everyone leave, leaving only Pang Yukun behind. He then had Qian Dafu leave as well, and there were only two people left in the room.

Xiao Ming then said, “You and I both know Yue Yun’s personality. Why do you think he gave that order?”

Pang Yukun said, “Your Majesty, this old official believes that Yue Yun did this for two reasons: one was to protect the Empire’s property, and the second was to tarnish his own reputation!”

“Tarnish his own reputation?” Xiao Ming frowned.

“In the past, when Liu Bang established the Han dynasty, Xiao He was an official of the highest rank. But his retainers told him: you are not far from having your clan exterminated. When Xiao He heard this, he began to actively tarnish his own reputation, deliberately leaving something for Liu Bang to hold against him. In this way, Liu Bang felt at ease with him. Now, Your Majesty is disassembling the navy, just as you disassembled the army. Luo Quan and Niu Ben actively gave up their military power for this. And Yue Yun is also a shrewd person. If he were to continue to sit in his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, his fate would sooner or later be that of a prisoner. So, he might as well tarnish his own reputation.”

(End of chapter)