Chapter 521

Su Qiao directly commanded them to work.

Pour in the raw materials, then light the fire to boil.

In the end, that portion and the confiscated one were the same color as the pitch-black opium.

Basically, there was no operational difficulty.

Su Qiao did not intend to produce the refined stuff of later generations; these just required some manpower.

After it finally took shape, have someone scoop it out, pour it into molds, and turn it into square bricks for easy handling.

Su Qiao sniffed the scent; it was the same as the original opium!

This is done!

"So this is it?"

Wang Chengen pressed Su Qiao for an answer.

Su Qiao tossed the "brick" in his hand to him.

Terrified, he quickly caught it with both hands.

"Compare it and you'll see for yourself, won't you?"

After Wang Chengen compared it with the opium confiscated from the Dutch, the scent, texture, and everything else were nearly identical.

He confirmed it had truly been brewed.

His heart relaxed considerably.

"Mr. Su, let them handle the rest from here; I must inform Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen put the opium brick in his hand back.

"No need, I have arrived!"

Zhu Youjian did not come alone; Luo Yangxing, Du Yinxi, and others came with him.

Of course, although the Grand Councilors and Luo Yangxing had all arrived, a few of them looked bewildered, not understanding what was going on.

These people included Hong Chengchou, He Tengjiao, and Luo Yangxing.

This matter had been decided before Luo Yangxing took office.

At that time, the Eastern Depot had not been established, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was still under Wang Chengen's command.

Naturally, Luo Yangxing did not know about it later, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had not been involved.

It was just unknown why Zhu Youjian and the others had brought them today.

Isn't it better for fewer people to know?

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty!"

"Rise. I heard Mr. Su had arrived, so I guessed the opium would be ready today; I finished my trivial matters and hurried over to take a look."

Zhu Youjian said as he examined the freshly brewed opium bricks.

The other agents of the Eastern Depot continued brewing.

This scent was truly not very pleasant.

Only because Zhu Youjian and the others were curious did they stay a while longer.

"Your Majesty's guess is correct; Mr. Su has already had the finished product brewed, and it is much the same as that of the Dutch."

"Oh, then shall we implement what we discussed earlier and resell it to them?"

After Zhu Youjian carefully examined the "brick," he turned his head and asked Su Qiao.

Su Qiao nodded. "Completely possible, but it is best not to use an official background; it is best for merchants to sell it. This way, even if something goes wrong later, it will have nothing to do with our Great Ming court, ensuring the court's reputation."

"That is natural."

"There is a second point: Your Majesty had best have them smuggle it out. Smuggling makes people believe it more, after all, our Great Ming prohibits this."

"Reasonable."

375, Luo Yangxing's difficulties!

"The third point is that a fleet escort is needed; I estimate only the Tianjin Navy can currently detach a portion. The Dutch cannot raid for now, but although the Portuguese and Spanish in Europe have declined, if gathered together, the number of warships is still considerable. Europeans are inherently prone to raiding, so safety must still be ensured."

Zhu Youjian nodded again, but after hearing what Su Qiao said, he turned his head to look at Du Yinxi and the others.

He asked for Their thoughts.

What thoughts!

Hong Chengchou, who had not spoken a word until now, and He Tengjiao were completely bewildered.

Luo Yangxing, standing aside without speaking as if he were a pillar, was equally confused.

Zhu Youjian turned his head to look at Wang Chengen. "You explain it to them."

"Yes!"

Wang Chengen then briefly recounted last summer, when Su Qiao discovered opium flowing into Great Ming, and the subsequent process of going to Quanzhou to investigate the Maritime Trade Office.

He focused on the dangers and effects of opium.

Now, those who previously did not understand opium looked at the substance, and their expressions changed.

"Your Majesty, this substance is so dangerous; if it flows into the common people, Great Ming is doomed! Your Majesty, this minister believes the poppy should not be kept here; another place should be found."

He Tengjiao stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

Zhu Youjian looked at Su Qiao. "Minister He speaks with reason. Although so many people are watching, it is still within the palace. With so many people in the palace, it is fine at first, but if time passes, there is no guarantee the guards will not slacken, or that someone curious will want to try it."

"Your Majesty, this minister believes it would be better to wait until Japan is conquered, then designate an area in Japan to plant this? There are people for manpower, and as long as the ports are controlled on all four sides, not a single ship can transport it out!"

Su Qiao's proposal made everyone's eyes light up.

Indeed, Japan is isolated overseas; for it to flow into the common people of Great Ming would be very difficult.

Under multiple layers of guard, these items have absolutely no channel to get out.

Even if overseas personnel wanted to act privately to smuggle it out, it would first be sent to Europe for sale.

In Great Ming, there would likely be no opportunity or market.

Next, everyone began discussing who to choose to escort the merchant ships to Europe for trade.

Whether Zheng Zhilong's Fujian Navy needed support, and so on.

Su Qiao was responsible for devising strategies and did not care about the ensuing discussion.

Only after everyone had roughly agreed on what to do next did they disperse.

Su Qiao was also happy to enjoy some leisure and went straight back without hesitation.

However, the next day, Su Qiao realized he had overthought it.

Luo Yangxing came to the door!

The reason he came to find Su Qiao was that the matter of Zhu Youjian's previous assassination attempt had finally yielded some leads.

First, the person who had leaked the secret earlier had already taken poison and died, quite decisively.

Moreover, his identity was someone from the Embroidered Uniform Guard; the moment he was discovered, Luo Yangxing was summoned before Zhu Youjian and severely reprimanded.

One could say Luo Yangxing was truly quite unlucky.

He had already been scolded twice over this matter.

Afterward, Luo Yangxing resolved to act ruthlessly, conducting an internal self-examination within the Embroidered Uniform Guard and thoroughly purging it.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard became considerably more honest and incorruptible, especially with the Eastern Depot agents comparing themselves alongside them.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard gradually regained its former elite appearance.

After such a long investigation, clues were quickly uncovered.

The bodies from the earlier assassination had long been confirmed to be samurai from the Eastern Sea.

But how had the people from the Eastern Sea planned so meticulously? How had they entered? Was there any collusion?

These were matters the Embroidered Uniform Guard needed to investigate; after so long with no results, Zhu Youjian's patience was nearly exhausted.

He even began to wonder if he had misjudged Luo Yangxing's abilities when promoting him.

Luo Yangxing was very anxious and first went to seek advice from Wang Chengen.

Wang Chengen's Eastern Depot had actually been helping with the investigation as well.

Of course, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were still in competition; it was not simple assistance, but rather a desire to see who would uncover the results first.

However, similarly, Wang Chengen's side had no leads either.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Chengen gave Luo Yangxing a tip: try finding Su Qiao!

When Su Qiao was in Fuzhou Prefecture back then, he had broken the deadlock with ease.

Although there was an element of luck involved, one could not deny Su Qiao's skill in solving cases.

Furthermore, Su Qiao had used certain clues to locate the treasure sealed by Emperor Yang of Sui.