Chapter 1370: The Yao King

"Demon Puppet Masters are very rare; they aren't cabbages in the market that you can see whenever you want. The demon puppets that appeared at Greenery Shanzhuang are likely related to the murderer who killed Situ Yu." "It wouldn't be the same one, would it?"

"Probably not." Dong Rui didn't need to identify it; He Lingchuan could deduce it himself. "That Demon Puppet Master controlling the three demon puppets, including the Hinge-Tail Tiger, seemed exceptionally strained. The assassination of Situ Yu, however, was decisive, swift, and meticulously calculated; this couldn't have come from the same person."

Just like Dong Rui's suspicion, this might be an organization.

A Demon Puppet Master organization.

"This organization has a red and white gatehouse, and they are still hunting Xiao An." He Lingchuan was certain. "This little girl escaped from there."

"So the Pixia people found this group of Demon Puppet Masters and asked them to assassinate Situ Yu?"

"Highly likely." He Lingchuan's face was heavy. "To be able to kill even the Marshal of the Allied Forces, this Demon Puppet Master organization is extraordinary. The Pixia people couldn't do it even with the strength of their entire tribe, yet they asked for help from them and succeeded; this itself is not in line with common sense."

He was an outsider; he had seen the power of Beijia and the Mou Nation and knew that state power could be terrifying. Yet in the Flash Gold Plain, the Pixia people, who could resist seven national forces, couldn't assassinate a person, but asking for help from an organization could get it done; this itself was not in line with common sense.

Unless the high-level power of this Demon Puppet Master organization far exceeded local forces.

If so, why hide in the dark? Why not come out and dominate one side openly? The rules of the Flash Gold Plain are simple: whoever has the biggest fist is the boss.

"Xiao An is still missing."

"No. There are many clues coming for the reward, but none are reliable, and no one has truly seen her. Xiao An has completely disappeared." He Lingchuan had always been curious: since the Demon Puppet Master organization was powerful, how could this little girl avoid their pursuit and succeed repeatedly? Half an hour later, Jiang Lishui came in and reported the latest progress on the arson case at the Yangshan Society's Xuan City branch: the Xuan City branch had always followed He Lingchuan's requirements and did not expand business opportunities without authorization, only doing the business stipulated by the agreement between Yangshan and the Yao Nation. He Lingchuan knew very well that many people were watching these agreements, so the Yangshan Society's initial activities in the Yao Nation must be low-key, law-abiding, and quiet, so as not to let others grab a handle.

The Xuan City branch had always been law-abiding. Jiang Lishui checked forward and found that the only big order it had received recently was a batch of Red Valley horses five days before the fire.

Yangshan lacked good horses, and He Lingchuan coveted the fine steeds of the Flash Gold Plain.

In order to get closer to Yangshan, the Yao King specifically added the famous Red Valley horses to the bilateral agreement. The first batch of 100 Red Valley horses were all carefully selected fine breeds, which were handled by the Xuan City branch of the Yangshan Archipelago!

By the time the Xuan City branch met with disaster, this batch of horses was almost transported to the Peng Nation, and then would be shipped to the Yangshan Archipelago at Giant Deer Port.

Was the cause of the Xuan City branch's disaster the Red Valley horses?

But the mastermind didn't choose to rob the horses on the road, but burned the Xuan City branch, which showed that what they cared about was not those 100 horses. As for the person in charge of the Xialin branch being framed and imprisoned, it looked like an attitude conveyed to Yangshan:

I don't like you, you'd better be careful, I'm the one who has the final say here.

Someone with this confidence and this means would usually not be an ordinary local force.

Since everyone said that peers are enemies, Jiang Lishui turned to investigate the business of Red Valley horses.

This investigation was incredible; it was intertwined.

Military horses are important strategic resources, and the Yao Nation does not allow neighbors to engage in large-scale private trading, but it also uses these resources to trade itself, which is to monopolize this line of business.

However, after the Yangshan Society investigated, it found that even with official monopoly, there were seven large and small official merchants doing warhorse business. Not to mention the small ones, the three large ones all had solid backgrounds.

Among them, the one who almost monopolized the Red Valley horse business in secret was—

Xue Zongwu.

He Lingchuan was also moved: "Xue Zongwu is a great general of the Yao Nation, with many military exploits, arrogant and domineering, notorious abroad, and controversial in the Yao Nation. I didn't know he was doing such a big business under his hands."

He studied the Yao Nation, so naturally, he had to study the data of important figures in the Yao Nation. Xue Zongwu also guarded the northern border of the Yao Nation and was a well-deserved great general protecting the country.

Good, very good, very good.

Isn't this a coincidence? "Xue Zongwu's industry is huge, but it is not managed by himself." Jiang Lishui replied, "Take this Red Valley horse business, for example; it doesn't belong to him personally on the surface, but to Xue Zongwu's in-laws."

"But the Yao Nation and Yangshan agreed that at least 120 Red Valley horses and 180 Shancheng horses would be sold to Yangshan every year, which might have touched Xue Zongwu's—" He Lingchuan's gaze swept, seeing Ling Guang eating a peach, "—peach, so he wants to give us some color."

Horses need time to grow, and external purchase orders are often placed when they are foals, and then handed over when the horses grow up.

But at this time, the Yao Nation and Yangshan made an agreement, and the Yao King also showed favor to He Lingchuan, directly selling him 100 Red Valley horses. It was very easy for the King to open his mouth, but for the official merchants doing horse business, this came too suddenly, and the original agreements couldn't be canceled at will, which was very difficult to handle.

And, in the future—the key is in the future—Yangshan needed 300 good horses every year, and the purchase price was very low, less than 50% of the market price.

The horse merchants were in a difficult position, so they had to go to their protective umbrella to cry.

"This is not right." Ling Guang was very surprised. "Xue Zongwu is a high official; he should know that the Yao Nation and you are getting along very well, and selling horses is also the Yao King's order; why would he find trouble for us at this time?"

"Now the Yangshan Archipelago is gradually becoming famous in the central Flash Gold Plain, but the Yao people look down on any other forces, including us." He Lingchuan analyzed. "If you stand in Xue Zongwu's perspective, how great can Yangshan be? Isn't it just a foreign merchant society? Even if it is valued by the Yao King now—the Yao King may have valued many merchant groups and figures in the past, but in the long run, that's about it."

"But Xue Zongwu is different; he is a real border official and a famous general of the Yao Nation, with plenty of confidence. We hinder his business and infringe on his interests; he is unhappy, so he gives us some eye drops. But killing a few people, is that even a thing for him? He holds military power; what else can the Yao King do to him?"

"I originally thought that the business environment here in the Yao Nation would be better and more civilized; now it seems that it is the same taste as the Flash Gold Plain." The Yao Nation grew up on this land of Flash Gold; how civilized and elegant could it be? He Lingchuan leaned back, his eyes without a smile. "Do you know why they say 'current officials are not as good as current managers'?"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1371 =====

"Liu County has posted a notice offering a reward for Xiao An. Any local official in charge of the surrounding villages and towns should surely have some information," said the Master of Red Hut. "You run an errand to the Pei Nation for me, visit two people, and ask them."

"Yes!"

Two days later, the Yao Nation's special envoy, Fan Shuang, came to visit.

This time, he didn't just come alone; he brought four or five companions with him, ranging in age from their twenties to their forties.

After Fan Shuang's enthusiastic introduction, He Lingchuan realized these were all second-generation officials and merchants from the Yao Nation, who had come specifically to get acquainted with the Island Master of Yangshan.

The several new cooperation agreements recently negotiated between Yangshan and the Yao Nation would all be handled by them in the future.

Therefore, this was a gathering of old friends bringing new ones; everyone would first get familiar with each other before they could open their hearts to do business later.

He Lingchuan found it inconvenient to take them to the Original Hometown Society, so he opened a table in a private room at the Bamboo Hidden Tavern.

Fan Shuang invited He Lingchuan to the riverside first to speak in private, yet Wan Sifeng and several other guards followed closely, maintaining strict vigilance.

He Lingchuan waved them all away before saying, "Brother Fan, don't be offended. Ever since Marshal Situ met with his misfortune, these subordinates of mine have been keeping a very close watch on me."

"What is there to be offended by? I wouldn't mind having ten dozen such loyal subordinates," the smile on Fan Shuang's face vanished in an instant. "Speaking of Marshal Situ's murder, my King was also deeply shocked, and yesterday he sent condolences to the Situ Mansion."

He Lingchuan looked at him, smiling without a word.

Of course, the Yao Nation could not admit to such a thing.

"What is that expression, Brother He?" Fan Shuang said sternly. "Marshal Situ's murder truly has nothing to do with our nation. We have already sent word to the Situ family to clarify."

"How would I dare to accuse?" He Lingchuan shook his head. "However, this region is truly full of hidden talents; that a master of unknown origin could even kill Marshal Situ truly exceeds my imagination."

"Indeed, with Marshal Situ's passing, I don't know what direction the situation here will take." Fan Shuang had come with a mission today, so he gave a light cough to change the subject. "Brother He, the precious armor you brought last time has quite a history."

"Which royal relative left it behind?" The Yao Nation royal emblem on the precious armor was not something commoners or nobles dared to use.

"I took it back and presented it to the King. The palace quickly identified it as an item from the mansion of a certain Prince. His son led a team on a ship out to sea, but once they left, there was no news of them, and there are many different opinions within the country." Fan Shuang said in a low voice, "I didn't expect that he would encounter a hurricane in the Yangshan sea area. Alas, life is determined by heaven."

"So that's how it is." He Lingchuan noticed that he spoke vaguely about the cause and effect, not even mentioning which Prince's son it was.

Why couldn't this be stated clearly?

"Have these few relics already been returned to the family?"

Fan Shuang grunted in acknowledgment, then asked again, "Brother He, are there any other relics from the ship?"

He Lingchuan answered immediately: "Other relics? No. That ship was smashed to pieces by hidden reefs; even if there were things, they would have long been buried on the seabed, right?"

There was still a large amount of treasure on those ships, and he certainly wouldn't contribute it.

The shipwrecks in the Yangshan sea area and the relics in the Yangshan sea area, of course, all belonged to the Island Master.

"Ah, I mean, some small items, like seals or precious stamps," Fan Shuang prompted. "Those are worthless to outsiders, but they are useful to us. Could Brother He think about it carefully again?"

"Seals, you say?" He Lingchuan stroked his chin, closing his eyes in thought. "Hmm—"

There were some, indeed. On the same ship as the precious armor and treasure, there were also some medicinal herbs and a few seals.

After the Yao Nation took back the precious armor, they wanted this back too? "To be honest, the number of shipwreck relics salvaged from the Yangshan Archipelago over the years is astonishing. There are hundreds of seals alone; I don't know if the one you need is among them." He Lingchuan asked him, "What characters were carved on the seal?"

"Qinghong Precious Seal."

"Very well, I will send a message to Yangshan tomorrow morning to check."

Fan Shuang thanked him, then continued to say to He Lingchuan: "The exchanges between Yangshan and our country are becoming more and more frequent, and Brother He has helped us recover important lost items. My King is greatly pleased, and therefore—"

He straightened his back, took a gold-plated letter from his bosom, and handed it over with both hands: "—My King's fifty-ninth birthday is coming up, and he specifically invites He Lingchuan to attend the ceremony!"

He Lingchuan was moved, and for a moment, he found it difficult to accept.

He had never met the Yao King before, and he also knew that in the eyes of the Yao King, he was not a person of any significance. Why would the other party invite him directly to the banquet?

There were many levels to attending a state banquet; most officials could only stand below and watch, while only princes, nobles, capable ministers, and guests specially invited by the Yao King had the privilege of being seated at the banquet.

Simply put, ordinary officials could only stand below, while only a few could sit above.

Fan Shuang said solemnly: "Brother He, this is a supreme honor; it is not something to be declined."

On the Glittering Gold Plain, receiving an invitation from the Yao King was a supreme honor; he found it hard to imagine anyone pushing it away.

If he could grab this opportunity, he would be willing to break his head for it.

He Lingchuan gave a bitter smile: "I have never made any great contribution to the Yao Nation; how can I enjoy such a supreme honor?"

He had originally only intended to entrust someone to send a gift, not wanting to offer birthday wishes in person.

"Brother He, please do not decline. My King repeatedly asked me to convey that he places great hope in the bilateral relationship between the Yao Nation and Yangshan."

Conversely, if He Lingchuan did not show face and refused to go, he would be destroying this relationship that had been built with such difficulty.

Was the Yao King trying to force a cow to drink water? He Lingchuan was torn between laughter and tears: "Brother Fan should know my concerns best. Actually, I have another worry."

And so, he told Fan Shuang about the accidents at the two branch offices of the Yangshan Archipelago stationed in the Yao Nation.

Fan Shuang was shocked upon hearing this: "There is such a thing?"

He had been away from the Yao Nation for a long time on this trip, and he might not necessarily know about things happening locally; besides, Xian City and Xialin were not key towns of the Yao Nation, so how could Fan Shuang know everything that happened there?

He didn't know, and the Yao King likely didn't know either.

Even the Yao King could not be omniscient and omnipotent on his own turf.

(End of chapter)