Chapter 685 - Chapter 685: Eavesdropping
Chapter 685: Eavesdropping
Editor: Atlas Studios
“Since General Gao ordered us to be on standby here. we just have to listen to orders. Why do we have to do that unnecessary thing?”
“But General, this is the time to make contributions. After some time, when the world is peaceful, how will we be able to show our abilities?”
There was a moment of silence in the tent. The persuasive voice said, “General, although General Gao has ambitions to dominate the world and has a domineering aura, he’s far inferior to the Duan family in terms of benevolence and righteousness. If we don’t take this opportunity to accumulate military merits, the Gao family might not be able to tolerate us. You have to know that the Gao family isn’t like the Duan family with only a few descendants. The Gao family is populous. Even if the Gao descendants aren’t capable, they’ll naturally trust them more. Without military merits, how can we solidify our position?”
“Then what are you going to do? Right now, we’re under orders to wait quietly. If General Gao finds out that we’re acting rashly, even if we make a huge contribution, he could deem that our wrongdoing is greater than our merit.”
“That’s why we have to act according to the circumstances. Not only should we accumulate military merits, but we also can try not to cause trouble. General, I’ve obtained a confidential piece of information—the eldest princess has fled to Qiannan. This time, we’re in charge of protecting the smuggling with Qiannan. Tell me, if we send people to escort the Miao trade caravan into Qiannan and secretly investigate the eldest princess’s whereabouts… General, since we’re ordered to protect the trade between the two sides, we’re just doing our best to execute our duties well. However, we happened to encounter the eldest princess who was on the run. I’m sure we can tell the story in a way to absolve ourselves of blame. The Duan family only has the eldest princess as their direct descendant now. Once she’s captured, those who resisted because of the Duan family will definitely submit. Don’t you think this will bring us huge military merit?”
“His Majesty is still at High Sage Temple.”
“His Majesty is already 52 years old. Previously, he couldn’t give birth to a son, let alone now. If His Majesty hadn’t become weaker and His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t happen to fall off his horse and die, do you think General Gao would have rebelled?”
When Qi Haoran heard this, his eyes darkened and he quietly retreated, no longer eavesdropping. Avoiding the patrolling soldiers’ gazes, he quietly returned to the convoy. Sanglin Ji was sitting in the tent with sweat all over his forehead. When he saw Qi Haoran return, he almost cried out loud. He agitatedly went forward and grabbed Qi Haoran’s hand. “Where did you go?”
When Sanglin Ji returned, he broke out in a cold sweat when he did not see Qi Haoran, deeply afraid that something would happen to him. In the end, after waiting for nearly two hours, Qi Haoran’s subordinates had returned, but the man himself was still nowhere to be seen. Seeing that it was almost night and the people from Dali were about to come over to tally the numbers, how could he not be anxious?
Qi Haoran bent down slightly and did not say anything. He only supported Sanglin Ji with his hand and helped him into the tent before letting go. He said in a low voice, “It’s fine. Don’t be nervous.”
There was still cold sweat on Sanglin Ji’s forehead, but his wildly beating heart felt a little better. As he wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, he said in a low voice, “Dali said that they will trade with us tomorrow. We can leave the day after tomorrow.”
Third Boss had asked them to stay and said that they would send a batch of military grain over in two days. At that time, they could make a deal.
Initially, he thought that since the silver they exchanged for was going to be exchanged for grains anyway, and bartering with the Third Boss for military grains would be a cheaper deal, he was willing to stay for two more days. In any case, they had always done this in the past. But now, he had changed his mind. He felt that if he stayed here for another two days, he would die early for sure because he was traveling with such a prince.
Sanglin Ji wanted to inform Third Boss later that they wouldn’t stay any longer, that they would leave after receiving the money.
However, Qi Haoran knocked on the table and said, “Go and tell Third Boss that your Miao stockade has something to attend to. We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon as soon as the transaction ends.”
“Erm…” The stunned Sanglin Ji asked, “Isn’t it too urgent?”
Qi Haoran glanced at him and said, “You’re quite relaxed, aren’t you? How can you sleep peacefully while being encircled? It’s only right that we leave early. Don’t worry, that Third Boss won’t keep you. However, you have to be careful. If he offers to send someone to escort you back to Qiannan, you mustn’t agree to it.”
“Why would they want to escort us back to Qiannan?” Sanglin Ji asked in confusion.
With a smile, Qi Haoran said, “You just need to remember my words.”
Indeed, Third Boss only tried persuading Sanglin Ji to stay for a while. Clearly, he knew that they could not stay in peace when they were surrounded by Dali soldiers. In the past, when they made transactions, it was always the trade caravan that handled the dealings. There were people from various tribal businesses. Everyone was evenly matched, and there had never been a case of forcefully buying or selling or refusing to let people leave. Considering this happened so suddenly this time, if they wanted to continue this business in the future, they could not force the guests to stay.
However, just as Qi Haoran had expected, the other party suggested that they escort them back to Qiannan. But because Qi Haoran had reminded him in advance, he was only surprised but did not lose his composure. He rejected it after some thought. Even if Third Boss hinted that he could give them a discount in future business dealings, he did not agree.
This time, even without Qi Haoran’s reminder, Sanglin Ji also realized that something was wrong. When he returned at night, he instructed his men to increase their vigilance and not allow them to go out casually. The next day, after the transaction, he hurriedly led the convoy away.
While Third Boss stood at the entrance of the valley and sent them off with narrowed eyes, someone behind him whispered, “Are we sending them off just like that?”
“Bisha Miao stockade has been working with us for almost ten years. I know them well. Chief Sanglin’s two sons died at the hands of the Han people.” Third Boss stroked his beard and said with a smile, “However, this Sanglin Ji is more capable than his second brother. He’s actually willing to give up the benefits we offered and escape early.”
Qi Haoran did not return with Sanglin Ji. After entering Qiannan and the guide left, he stopped and said to Sanglin Ji, “You guys leave first.”
Sanglin Ji knew that Qi Haoran was going to leave the convoy and enter Dali again. He hesitated for a moment but did not ask anything. Nodding, he said, “Take care, Your Highness.”
Qi Haoran nodded slightly and handed him a letter. “After you return to Ju Prefecture, pass this letter to the Princess Consort for me.”
Qi Haoran did not stay any longer and directly led his seven guards into Dali from another mountain pass. When he glanced in the direction of the valley, he saw a continuous mountain range. Qi Haoran turned his horse around and said, “Let’s go to High Sage Temple.”
“Your Highness, are we going to High Sage Temple now?”
Qi Haoran nodded. “Since Dali can’t even take care of itself now, they certainly don’t have the means to violate Great Qi’s borders. However, if we can stir up this mess even more so that the Gao family has even more things to deal with, that would be good.”
Qi Haoran felt a little regretful. “If only the Emperor of the Duan family had a descendant. It’s better for someone from the Duan family to be the Emperor than the powerful Gao family.”
From Bisha Miao stockade, he learned that the Gao family supported the smuggling dealings with the Miao stockade. Not only did they smuggle with the Miao stockade in Qiannan, but they also often asked them about the mineral resources in Qiannan. From time to time, they would sow discord between them and the Han people. Sanglin Zhong was one of those whose hearts had been stirred by them.
Since Qi Haoran was not familiar with Dali after all, he had to avoid the Dali army that appeared from time to time. Therefore, he took a long detour before finally reaching High Sage Temple. The advantage was that the map they drew was much more detailed now.