Several days later, Jiang Chun received two “bills.”
The more he read, the darker his expression became. At last, he slammed his palm against the table. “This is outrageous!”
Wang Boshan’s brows twitched. “Your Majesty, what happened?”
Jiang Chun snorted coldly. “Minister Sun says they encountered pirates at sea. Their valuables were stolen, and Minister Li was injured. In short, they need fifty thousand taels of silver from the treasury.”
Garlic’s travel expenses alone had exceeded thirty thousand taels.
After Sun Zheng and the others reached the dock, they rented carriages. Once they entered the city, there were Li Chun and the others’ medical expenses, lodging costs, and so on. Almost everything cost an exorbitant amount, and the money flowed away like water.
Wang Boshan was astonished. “Pirates at sea?”
Jiang Chun’s expression was cold and hard. “That is what the letter says.”
Qi Pingwei was puzzled. “General Ji brought nearly a thousand naval troops. They still couldn’t defeat a band of pirates?”
How many pirates could there possibly have been?
The corner of Jiang Chun’s mouth twitched before he finally said, “Apparently, the other side possessed powerful crossbows with an extremely long range, and they had considerable numbers as well.”
Everyone fell silent in astonishment.
Wasn’t that an exact description of the Sixth Princess?
So it was the Sixth Princess who had robbed Sun Zheng and the others?
Yin Congnan voiced what everyone was thinking. “Could this have been a trap set by the Sixth Princess?”
Wang Boshan shook his head. “If it had been the Sixth Princess, Lord Sun and the others wouldn’t still be alive to send a letter to His Majesty.”
Yin Congnan glanced at him. “What if the Sixth Princess’s only goal was their money and valuables?”
Wang Boshan fell silent. After a moment, he said, “Regardless of whether this was done by the Sixth Princess, we have no evidence.”
Yin Congnan said angrily, “Doesn’t the crossbow prove it? Only the Sixth Princess possesses such weapons. If it wasn’t her, then who else could it be? How could the Sixth Princess act in such a despicable manner?”
Wang Boshan spread his hands. “If they were certain the princess had done it, Lord Sun’s letter would not have asked for funds. It would have requested troops instead. This shows that he either has no evidence or isn’t certain who did it.”
Yin Congnan fell silent.
Asking for troops was easy to say, but Sizhou was already retreating again and again in the face of the Jiao army. How could they possibly have the strength to confront Fengzhou now?
By this point, everyone understood perfectly well that regardless of whether the princess had done it, it could not be said that she had.
Yet this incident had made Princess Jinyang’s attitude perfectly clear.
His Majesty wanted to reclaim Fengzhou?
It would be difficult. Extremely difficult.
A dark glint flashed through Jiang Chun’s eyes. “What do you think we should do about this?”
Qi Pingwei pondered before saying, “Since this happened near Fengzhou, Princess Jinyang should be held responsible.”
Yin Congnan nodded. “Exactly. We should go directly to the princess.”
A gloomy shadow crossed Jiang Chun’s eyes. “The incident occurred not long after the ship passed Ying Commandery. It was still some distance from Fengzhou.”
In other words, the incident had not occurred near Fengzhou. It would be difficult to pin the blame on Fengzhou. Besides, they had robbed them openly and boldly—why would they be afraid of being confronted?
He continued, “At present, three ships are being held captive. Unless we pay, we won’t be able to get them back. There are also the food, lodging, and other expenses for Minister Sun and the others.”
Wang Boshan stroked his beard. “Petty villains are difficult to deal with. Since our people and ships are currently in Fengzhou, why don’t we simply pay the money? As for the valuables that were stolen, perhaps we can negotiate with the princess?”
Yin Congnan frowned but said nothing more. The construction cost of the three ships was slightly higher than the amount demanded by the other side. The demand had been calculated with remarkable precision. No matter what happened, the other side would not suffer a loss.
Qi Pingwei shook his head. “The princess will never admit to it.”
Remembering something, Wang Boshan asked, “Your Majesty, have you discussed the matter of the grain?”
Jiang Chun said helplessly, “Minister Sun and the others have yet to meet the Sixth Princess. We have no idea what the exact situation is.”
Wang Boshan opened his mouth, but for a moment he did not know what to say.
Jiang Chun swept his gaze over everyone. “Now that Minister Li and the others are injured, Minister Sun and the rest likely won’t be able to complete their mission anytime soon. Naturally, they can no longer proceed to Daqing Commandery. Does anyone have a recommendation for whom to send instead?”
Daqing Commandery bordered Fengzhou. The original plan had been for Sun Zheng to bring Jiang Jin under control and then proceed there on the way.
But matters had gone far beyond his expectations. Another person would have to be sent to Daqing now. Jiang Chun was beginning to worry that Lu You might pledge allegiance to Jiang Jin.
Everyone exchanged glances, but no one spoke. No one was willing to take on such a thankless assignment.
Jiang Chun’s expression grew ugly.
After hesitating for a moment, Wang Boshan stepped forward. “Why not let this old minister go?”
Seeing that someone had accepted the assignment, Jiang Chun’s expression finally improved. “Approved.”
After the court session ended, Jiang Chun returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and immediately summoned Zuo Tong.
Zuo Tong had once been his personal palace eunuch. Now he managed the emperor’s private treasury and handled matters that could not be exposed to the public.
“Your Majesty.” Zuo Tong bowed respectfully.
Jiang Chun waved his hand, and all the palace eunuchs and maids withdrew with bowed heads.
Only then did he hand over the other “bill.” “We have found someone willing to provide the crossbow designs and actual weapons. However, he is demanding one hundred and fifty thousand taels.”
Li Fu had initially asked for two hundred thousand taels. Third Brother Li had gone to negotiate with him several more times, and after a great deal of haggling, they had finally settled on one hundred and fifty thousand.
Zuo Tong frowned. “Your Majesty, I’m afraid this may be a trap.”
No matter what, the other party was merely a weaponsmith. A few thousand taels should have been the most he could reasonably demand. How could he possibly ask for one hundred and fifty thousand? Did he even understand how much money that was?
Jiang Chun naturally suspected something was wrong as well, but he was too eager to obtain the repeating crossbow.
For that price, if the other party truly provided the repeating crossbow designs and two actual repeating crossbows, Jiang Chun felt it would be worth the cost.
Jiang Jin had been able to capture Fengzhou with the help of these repeating crossbows. With them, he could unify the realm as well!
Seeing Jiang Chun’s displeasure, Zuo Tong quickly lowered his head. “Or perhaps I should send someone to negotiate again?”
Jiang Chun thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m afraid that would alert them.”
“This time, you will go personally. Take trustworthy men with you and transport the gold into Ge Feng in separate batches. Once you confirm that everything is in order, complete the transaction immediately. If there is a problem, bring the money back.”
Although Zuo Tong felt there was something suspicious about the matter, he understood Jiang Chun well. Once the emperor had made up his mind, further objections would be useless.
When Lu You traveled to Ge Feng, the common people under his jurisdiction did not know that Daqing had changed hands.
The leading nobles of Daqing, however, were well aware of it.
They were all growing uneasy, because they owned vast amounts of farmland and shops in Daqing.
They feared that Jiang Jin would confiscate their land and businesses.
Yu Wen sighed. “Perhaps we should consider donating part of our land?”
The Yu family had operated in Denggao County for generations. Quite a few of the family’s sons and nephews had served as officials in the Daqing government.
In this generation, his uncle had even risen to become the magistrate’s secretary of Denggao County, providing the family with considerable advantages.
The family also possessed a talent for commerce. After several generations of hard work, they had built up their fortune and now owned nearly one-tenth of all the land in Denggao County.
“But what did your uncle say?” Wang Jin asked hurriedly.
His family was not as influential as the Yu family, but they were still a household of considerable standing in Denggao County.
Yu Wen nodded, then shook his head. “He only said that Princess Jinyang is somewhat different from the other people in power. If the authorities introduce any policies, we would do best to cooperate.”
“I was thinking that if we voluntarily contributed some of our wealth, perhaps they wouldn’t pursue the rest so aggressively…”
At that very moment, Jiang Jin was also discussing the matter.
Her empire had no place for hereditary aristocratic clans. That was something she had always insisted upon.
But throughout the entirety of Fengzhou that she had conquered, apart from the noble families in Ze’a Commandery, there were hardly any truly wealthy households. Thus, she had never encountered a situation like this before.
Now that she had taken over Daqing peacefully, leaving aside the few counties occupied by the Jiao army, even the three counties currently under her control had several immensely wealthy families who owned vast tracts of land.
Luo Qingci thought for a moment before saying, “Perhaps they’ll offer up a portion of it voluntarily.”
But the amount would not be very large—certainly not enough to threaten the foundations of their wealth.
Jiang Jin shook her head. “That won’t be enough. I want all of it.”
