The battle lasted until midnight, and Fu Yu was carried back by his elder brother.
He was so weak from vomiting that he had no strength left.
He considered himself to have witnessed many grand battle scenes, but the ferocity of the Japanese pirates still startled him. The incident occurred after they had won a victory. Fu Yu was holding his rifle and cheering to capture prisoners, when the pirates suddenly made their move. They collectively performed *seppuku*, their intestines spilling onto the ground below the city wall, so disgusting that Fu Yu almost vomited his dinner.
Fu Chuan wrung out a cloth to wipe the bloodstains from his face, then had someone bring tea for him to rinse his mouth. While patting his back and helping him breathe, he chuckled, "Has the capital been peaceful these past few years? Look at how timid you are. With this kind of demeanor, you'll only end up performing *seppuku* if you encounter the Japanese pirates."
"Ugh." Fu Chuan dry-heaved for a long time, but unfortunately, his stomach was too empty to produce even a bit of stomach acid. He weakly waved his hand, "Big Brother, can you please not mention those two words?"
"Alright, alright, I won't mention them. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll have the cook make it for you."
"You can still eat?"
"You'll find out after staying here for a while. Tonight's events were just a minor skirmish. The truly brutal ones are the massacres that group of Japanese pirates inflicted upon our Great Yin people." Fu Chuan's expression immediately soured. He did not wish to dwell on the topic and halfway through his sentence, he ordered water to be prepared for the Second Young Master to bathe, and he himself took a quick battle shower. After a late-night snack, he went to sleep.
Fu Yu couldn't sleep. The task his father had assigned him was not yet completed.
The Crown Prince had been sent out of the capital for nearly three months. If he didn't hurry, the Prince would be removed from the center of political power. It would then take an unknown amount of effort to regain his position.
However, thinking of his elder brother who had fought fiercely all night, he couldn't bear to wake him. As soon as he closed his eyes, the scene of the Japanese pirates performing *seppuku* flashed before him. The intestines all over the ground looked as if they were flowing, truly nauseating. He couldn't sleep, so he climbed into his brother's bed.
Fu Chuan's eyes opened alertly. Seeing that it was Fu Yu, he shifted further into the bed, then continued to sleep soundly.
Fu Yu snuggled close to his brother and finally managed to sleep soundly. He woke up early the next morning, and the bed was empty. He asked a maid and learned that his brother had gone to the military barracks to train the soldiers.
"He's working so hard. Didn't he just fight a battle last night?"
"Second Young Master, you might not know, but those Japanese pirates know some martial arts. The Commander-in-Chief said that training can't be slackened at all. Every extra drop of sweat on the battlefield is a wager for survival."
"Heh, you little girl, you speak quite reasonably."
The young maidservant smiled, "This is a common understanding. Even children in Jiangnan understand this principle."
"Do children also go to battle?"
"That's naturally impossible. But if the city were to fall, even children would have to flee for their lives, wouldn't they? The Japanese pirates are very cruel. If you fall into their hands, even hoping for an intact corpse is a luxury. You'll understand in the future. Ah, Second Young Master, look, will you rest at home today or go out on the streets?"
"I'll go out for a stroll." Yangzhou City, a place many people yearn for.
Hmm, I heard about Yangzhou's slender horses...
Cough, cough, Yangzhou has many beautiful women.
Fu Chuan did not return home for lunch, but he came back in the evening to eat with him.
Fu Yu seized the opportunity to probe, "Big Brother, are there many battles like last night's?"
"Not many before, but lately, those Japanese pirates have been agitated by something and come to cause trouble every few days. They also love to raid merchant ships. If this continues, I will have to request more troops from His Majesty and strengthen the maritime patrols."
"Don't."
Fu Chuan was startled and looked at Fu Yu with a confused gaze, "What's there to oppose? Does this matter concern you?"
Fu Yu's neck shrunk back, "It doesn't concern me, but it concerns our family greatly. Big Brother, you know, the Northern Frontier and Southern Barbarians are at war, and only Hui He has signed a peace treaty with us. Last time the Northern Frontier was in urgent need, fifty thousand of our family's soldiers were dispatched. If you need reinforcements, they will most likely be transferred from there. Big Brother, our Cao State Duke's mansion has only this much military power left, we can't afford to lose any more."
Fu Chuan fell silent for a while, then took a large mouthful of rice.
Fu Yu felt somewhat devoid of appetite, "Big Brother, if, I mean, if hypothetically."
"If what?"
"If you were asked to abandon the city and flee, to hand Yangzhou City over to the Japanese pirates, would you agree?"