Chapter 570: Letter
Chapter 570 -571: Letter
Gu Kaiyuan received the news from the capital. After reading the letter, he handed it to Bai Suihe.
Bai Suihe couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. “Your father is truly a piece of work. He still managed to pull a ruthless move at the very last moment. Now that the princes are fighting fiercely, he has managed to wash his hands of it completely. Gu Antong’s life was also saved because of this final scheme. It’s true what they say: a scourge lives for a thousand years.”
“Upon receiving this letter, most of my previous sense of urgency instantly vanished,” Gu Kaiyuan said. “As expected, we really just need to let them fight among themselves. Let them fight. The fiercer, the better. It would be best if the entire royal family consumed itself in infighting.”
As for the stability of the borders, Gu Kaiyuan still had a great deal of confidence in the current emperor. As long as he remained on the throne, the generals defending the frontiers would do their utmost, as they were all people he had single-handedly promoted. Moreover, the Rong Dynasty had enjoyed favorable weather and bountiful harvests in recent years, resulting in strong national power. Even if the neighboring countries had the ambition, they simply didn’t have the guts to invade.
Not long after this good news arrived, cheers erupted from the shipyard. The first ocean-going vessel had reached its final stages of construction.
When Bai Suihe and the others hurried over, a sense of awe rose in their hearts as they gazed at the behemoth before them. Gu Kaiyuan had been keeping an eye on it every day, yet at this moment, he still couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke the hull. He wondered, “If I had a ship like this in my previous life, could I have fought my way to Wodao?”
Bai Suihe and Gu Xingyang both curled their lips into smiles. However, the image that appeared in the minds of the mother and daughter at this moment was mountains of gold and silver.
Now that they had the ship, what they needed was military force. Therefore, this matter truly couldn’t be rushed.
Gu Xingyang excitedly clung to Bai Suihe’s neck and rested her chin on her shoulder. “Mother, as long as we get the chance to go over there, we will definitely return fully loaded with treasure.”
“Let’s not rush,” Bai Suihe said. “We have the ship, but we still need boatmen and guards. We must make foolproof preparations.”
Neither mother nor daughter mentioned cooperating with the imperial court because they didn’t trust the Rong family. If the royal family truly found out the source of that wealth, the very first thing they would likely do upon getting their hands on it would be to burn the bridge and turn on them. Bai Suihe wasn’t stupid enough to do all the hard work just to hand the prize over to someone else. She had zero trust in this court.
“Mother, this matter really can’t be delayed any longer. Didn’t you interrogate them earlier and find out that the bird island is currently suffering from a famine? It’s also the time when their internal strife is at its fiercest. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; it’s now or never.” Seeing that the ship had been successfully built, how could Gu Xingyang remain calm?
“What’s the rush?” Bai Suihe remained as calm as ever. “It hasn’t even been tested in the water yet. Besides, do you even know how to get to Wodao?”
“Don’t we have a few ready-made guides?” Gu Xingyang pointed in the direction of the back mountain. “Those guys are incredibly obedient now. They do whatever they’re told. Since they managed to come here, why can’t we go there?”
Bai Suihe stroked her soft, thick hair, thinking, “I wonder if I should shave her fetal hair. I’ll ask the mama later.”
Aloud, she said, “With just the few of us, we’d be trapped there forever. You don’t honestly think we can dominate everything just by relying on a few packets of medicinal powder, do you?”
“But an opportunity like this…” Gu Xingyang started.
“The famine has only just begun, and the internal strife will closely follow. We still have time. Besides, your father is also trying to contact people. It’s impossible for us to swallow such a massive piece of meat all by ourselves,” Bai Suihe explained to save her from freaking out over every little thing day in and day out.
“No way. Does Father still want to cooperate with the officials?”
“Heh, those prominent families have absolutely nothing to do with the officials.”
“Even though it’s a bit better than the royal family, those people aren’t easy to control either,” Gu Xingyang pointed out.
“That’s just because a method of checks and balances hasn’t been found,” Gu Kaiyuan interjected at this moment. “Those aristocratic families with over a century of heritage understand the rise and fall of dynasties better than anyone. Do you really think they wouldn’t prepare an escape route?”
Some time ago, Gu Kaiyuan had spent quite a bit of effort instilling the idea of finding a safe haven into their minds. A few families had already been tempted, even sending this proposition back to their main branches as their own achievement.
Now that Lingnan had settled down, the territory was only so large. With so many people dividing it up, it ultimately couldn’t satisfy their appetites. If another opportunity for outward expansion were placed before them, how could they possibly miss such a golden chance? Gu Kaiyuan held the shipbuilding technology in his hands, as well as the indenture contracts of these craftsmen. That gave him a tremendous amount of initiative.
“It’s time to send a letter to my mother,” Bai Suihe said, her eyes narrowing into a smile. “She is also very interested in going to sea. Right now, my eldest younger brother manages the family business, while my youngest brother is rather idle. My mother wants him to tag along with us to see if he can carve out a path for himself.”
“You should write it as soon as we get back,” Gu Kaiyuan said. “With my mother-in-law’s help, I believe things will go much smoother from here on out.”
He was merely figuring things out as he went, but Mrs. Bai was different. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have held the Bai family firmly in her grasp for so many years.
“I was thinking, why don’t we have them come directly here instead of going to Zhang County? If there’s anyone on your end you want to invite over, you should send out the invitations early, too.” Knowing that the Gu family had returned to Lingnan, Bai Suihe wanted to change locations and continue settling down. They had manors scattered all over Lingnan; everywhere could be their home.
“Alright. But before that, I need to get all the boatmen sorted out.” Gu Kaiyuan thought for a moment before adding a few more words. “However, all of this has to wait until the ship is launched in the water, giving us plenty of time.”
Now that he knew about those islands, he had to go reap a harvest first. He couldn’t let such a bargain fall into anyone else’s lap.
“Then you need to send a letter to Yun Ni and the others first. I wonder how the people he’s training are doing?” Bai Suihe felt that in such a short amount of time, it might be a bit risky.
“Don’t worry, those kids are all very motivated. I didn’t plan on using them this time anyway. Yun Ni and his brothers have long wanted to find a place to settle down. I picked out an island for them, and I believe they’ll like it.”
Although the previously selected location was quite remote, so many people moving in and out would still attract attention. It was the first time Bai Suihe had heard him mention this matter, but she didn’t object. The ocean was vast; rather than leaving those islands to the Wodao bandits, it was far better to benefit their own people.
“But what will they do for a living? Will they be willing to farm?” she asked. After all, they were unrestrained wanderers of the jianghu. Even ordinary people would have a hard time adapting, let alone them.
“That’s nothing to worry about. If they just get some more servants, their lives will gradually improve.” Gu Kaiyuan glanced toward the back mountain. Clearly, the candidates had already been chosen.
“But those people are inherently despicable and cunning,” Bai Suihe said. “Even with Yun Ni and the others possessing martial arts, I’m afraid it will still be very difficult to keep them suppressed.”
Gu Kaiyuan looked at Bai Suihe with a smile. “That’s why this matter will require the efforts of you and the mama. Look at those few in the back mountain. Haven’t they already been trained to be very obedient?”
He didn’t understand why Bai Suihe had a particular distaste for that race. It was likely related to her past life. Regardless, he didn’t like that race either, and he hadn’t held back in slaughtering them last time. However, the few in the back mountain showed him an alternative solution. Rather than giving them a quick death, it was better to make full use of them.
Yes, making full use of them. At the very least, using these people was much handier than using livestock.