Chapter 848: No Regrets in This Life

He stared at Xiao Ningxun, rooted to the spot, his heart filled with uncertainty—this person had actually anticipated that I would come tonight?

Xiao Ningxun gave a faint smile: "Since Master Cai has come, please have a cup of tea before you leave."

Master Cai hesitated a moment, gritted his teeth, stepped toward the main hall; Xiao Ningxun stepped aside: "Please."

Master Cai glanced inside, crossed the threshold, and Xiao Er and Lu Qi followed closely behind.

The room was brightly lit with candles.

Xiao Ze, Xiao Ningyuan, and Xiao Ningchen all rose to their feet.

Xiao Ningyuan said: "Master Cai, please take a seat."

Master Cai glanced at the few people, then sat down.

Xiao Ningxun personally poured a cup of tea and placed it before him.

Everyone sat down again, and the room fell into silence.

Master Cai lifted the teacup and took a sip.

He raised his head, looking directly at Xiao Ningxun: "May I ask, were your actions these past two days aimed at the Red-haired Barbarians?"

Xiao Ningxun hesitated not, nodding: "Yes."

Master Cai let out a breath of relief.

He set down the teacup, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Do you have brush and ink?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Er rose, walked to the desk, added water and ground the ink.

After a moment, the ink was thick as lacquer; Xiao Er moved the brush holder aside and stepped back a few steps.

Master Cai rose, walked to the desk, lifted his robe, and sat down.

He picked up the brush, dipped it fully in the inkstone, and wrote swiftly.

Everyone rose and gathered around. Only to see the paper covered in dense rows of tiny regular script, each line clear and distinct.

"Rhubarb, annual purchase about 200,000 catties, three qian per catty, annual silver expenditure 60,000 taels."

"Musk, annual purchase about 3,000 catties, twelve taels per catty, annual silver expenditure 36,000 taels."

Soon Master Cai filled a sheet, picked it up, blew on the still-wet ink, and handed it to Xiao Ningxun.

Xiao Ningxun glanced at it, then passed it to Xiao Ze.

Xiao Ze took a look: "You should look at these yourself." Having said that, he shoved it to Xiao Ningyuan.

Master Cai's brush did not stop; he continued straight on: "Lacquerware..."

After filling three whole sheets, he finally set down the brush and passed the last sheet over.

"This is the Red-haired Barbarians' annual procurement account for Taiwan Island."

"Their advance payments are not high, not exceeding ten percent."

"Excellent," Xiao Ningyuan said, eyes gleaming as he looked at the characters on the paper, "With this we can completely cut off the Red-haired Barbarians' supply lines in Zhongyuan, no need to waste silver guessing."

Master Cai rose, cupped his fists toward everyone, and said: "I am Cai, single given name Tong."

Everyone returned the salute: "Thank you, Master Cai."

Xiao Ningxun asked: "May I ask, Master Cai, why do you do this?"

Cai Tong walked back to the guest seat and sat down.

Everyone else also sat down, their gazes all focused on his face.

Cai Tong took a sip of tea, gently set the cup down, his gaze fell on the flickering candle flame, and he fell silent for a moment.

"Thirty-eight years," he murmured, "The Red-haired Barbarians have forcibly occupied Taiwan Island for a full thirty-eight years."

Several hearts stirred: thirty-eight years? I wasn't even born yet!

Cai Tong's voice softly sounded: "In these thirty-eight years, the Red-haired Barbarians have gone through twelve governors in total."

A bitter smile appeared on his face: "Each term, they exhausted every method to extort the people, leaving only after they had scraped them clean."

"At first, they put on a show, repairing irrigation channels and reducing some taxes."

"Back then, the islanders still thought these red-haired, green-eyed barbarians, though odd in appearance, were not evil people."

He paused, lifted the teacup and took another sip, moistening his throat.

"Only later did we realize that was merely because they had not yet found their footing."

"Once the fortifications were completed and the cannons mounted, their faces changed."

Xiao Ningchen's brows furrowed slightly.

"Illegal levies and miscellaneous taxes grew heavier year by year. Deer hides must be turned in, cane sugar must be turned in, even a caught fish must be offered as tribute."

Cai Tong's voice gradually sank: "First the indigenous tribes suffered, being driven into the mountains; any who dared resist were blasted by their firearms."

"Later, the Han settlers could not escape either."

He lifted his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone's faces.

"Especially these past few years, the Han population on the island has been largest, with occasional uprisings."

"Some wanted to run to send a letter to the Imperial Court, but were intercepted before they even left the island."

"The Red-haired Barbarians publicly hanged those who carried letters on the dock, leaving the corpses exposed for three days, forbidding burial."

"Last year there was an old sugarcane farmer who truly could not pay the tax; he knelt at the governor's gate, kowtowing until he could not rise, his face covered in blood."

"Kui Yi, however, didn't even glance at him, simply ordering his men to drag him away."

"That old man hanged himself that very night in his own sugarcane field."

Xiao Er's hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles cracking, while Lu Qi's face turned grim and frightening.

"The Red-haired Barbarians employ people with extreme caution," Cai Tong's voice grew hoarse, "Those who can work for them are all like me."

"They will only employ someone whose family has previously served them."

"It passes from generation to generation, like a household servant; outsiders simply cannot enter."

My father was among the first batch of interpreters.

He grew old, and then it was my turn.

He lifted his head, his eyes flickering: "Nowadays, my son watches his own kin suffer in dire straits, unwilling to work for them."

His voice choked a little: "But suffering from being unable to resist, I can only go take the job."

"I have served them for half my life; I do not wish my son," he took a deep breath, straightened his back: "to also be like me, working as an ox and horse for them."

Cai Tong scanned the crowd: "If one day I could personally see the Red-haired Barbarians leave Taiwan Island, Cai Tong would have no regrets in this life."

Xiao Ningyuan asked: "Mr. Cai, you didn't even ask who we are, and just handed over all of this?"

Cai Tong's expression calm: "If you wish to speak, I am all ears. If not, that's fine too."

He paused: "Being able to smash hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in Jiangzhou City just to cut off the Red-haired Barbarians' trade route, who you are is no longer important."

"I only know that you are wealthy and are fervent countrymen who wish to recover Taiwan Island. That is enough."

Xiao Ze stood up, walked to Cai Tong, took out his token from his bosom, and handed it over.

Cai Tong took it, examined it carefully in the candlelight, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

He suddenly raised his head, looking at the composed young man before him, a flicker of unease passing through his eyes.

He slowly rose, knelt down, and knocked his forehead heavily on the ground, his voice trembling: "Commoner Cai Tong pays his respects to Your Highness."

Xiao Ze bent down to help him up: "Please rise quickly!"

He understood Cai Tong's thoughts: "Mr. Cai, please set your mind at ease; it is because the Imperial Court did not recover Taiwan Island early enough that you have suffered this great calamity."

"What you did before was not of your own will; the Imperial Court will certainly not blame you for it."

Only then did Cai Tong's heart settle.

The three brothers rose, clasped their fists, and said: "The sons of Prince Ning, Xiao Ningyuan, Xiao Ningchen, Xiao Ningxun."

Cai Tong returned the salute: "So you are the sons of the War God Prince Ning; my apologies for the discourtesy."

Everyone reseated themselves.

"I, Cai Tong, consider my actions thorough," Cai Tong looked at Xiao Ningxun, and asked: "May I ask, Third Young Master, how did you guess I would come tonight?"