Chapter 705: Let Him Go

Baifeng did not say a single word at the end; after reading it, he let out a sigh, handed the letter to Yulong, and then walked straight out of the study.

Sui and the others had been learning to read over these years, so they were basically able to recognize these characters. After Yulong gave it a rough glance, he handed it to Chinv; after all, Changle was Chinv's son, and she would be the more anxious one.

Yulong did not blame his younger brother, nor was he too worried about his safety; he just felt that this method of leaving directly was not very appropriate. As a man, he naturally also thought about establishing a career, going out to roam, and fighting on the battlefield, but Huaxia alone was enough to keep Yulong busy for his entire life, so he did not have any strong desire to go out.

Changle could not do much in Huaxia City. Although Baifeng and Yulong also thought about letting him be responsible for some department, Changle resolutely refused after learning of Baifeng's plan. He believed that since the goal was to centralize power and make the kind of power struggles disappear from the very beginning, he should not participate in politics; researching Science was the thing he should do.

Huaxia City imprisoned Changle, and Baifeng's fatherly love also imprisoned Changle; Changle still chose to flee Huaxia.

Chinv read Changle's letter and did not feel there was anything to it. She herself was a very strong-willed woman, the kind who could go to the battlefield to kill enemies. Men should go out and roam, and it would not matter if they died. This deep-rooted ideology had not been changed much by Baifeng, and Baifeng would not deliberately try to change her thinking, because this idea was not wrong to begin with.

Therefore, Chinv was not sad at all, nor was she afraid at all; she just felt that the nervous feelings of these few people were somewhat inexplicable, so she handed the letter directly to Sui and then followed Baifeng out.

In Baifeng's home, there was not much distinction between superior and inferior, unlike those imperial families in history where concubines had to kneel and greet the empress. Their family was very ordinary; Chinv just called Sui "elder sister," and only in some major matters would they clearly distinguish between superior and inferior. Therefore, even if Chinv left without saying a word, no one felt there was a problem.

Sui remained sentimental. Seeing the son she had watched grow up leave home without anyone to protect him, she felt even more anxious than Baifeng, and her complexion turned bad in an instant, with a look of worry appearing on her face.

In the end, the family finished dinner in silence. Baifeng did not make any excessive arrangements. Afterward, those guards felt very nervous; they were afraid that Changle Prince would meet with an accident, and in the end, they would have to take responsibility, as they had not fulfilled their duties.

The next day, after Baifeng went to work, he wrote a note to the Ministry of War, asking the Ministry of War to send fifty men and the Secretariat to send fifty men to the Xuanyuan Tribe to carry out the mission of protecting Changle. The other tools and equipment Changle needed were also brought along; he had probably not brought everything in order to leave sooner.

It was only at this moment that everyone suddenly knew that Changle had actually left Huaxia. They had not received any news at all, and now that they knew, they were still somewhat shocked.

The people from the Ministry of War also acted immediately and quickly selected fifty elites. Because it was the territory of the Xuanyuan Tribe, and Changle would certainly be active in various mountains and forests for a long time, they were all Soldiers suitable for mountain activities.

The Secretariat also selected guards familiar to Changle and hurriedly brought the tools and backups Changle needed, preparing to set off.

Before they set off, Baifeng wrote a letter to Xuanyuan, in which he wrote: "Tribal Chief Xuanyuan, my son Changle has arrived at your Xuanyuan Tribe ahead of time without prior contact. Please take good care of him."

"In accordance with the treaty, I have sent one hundred Soldiers to protect Changle. Because the Embassy has not been built yet, please arrange a place for them to camp. I have already converted all the food and other supplies they need into Soybean Oil and sent them over."

"At the same time, I also want to hire your Soldiers to protect Changle in accordance with the treaty. Because the remuneration has not been agreed upon, this time, our Soldier Yanggou, who is leading the team, will discuss it with you."

"Baifeng."

After stamping his seal, Baifeng sighed again and said silently: "Forget it, let him go."

Then he had the Ministry of Revenue allocate a batch of Soybean Oil and send it onto a Boat. Baifeng also sent Xuanyuan a set of white porcelain tableware as a gift; Baifeng now felt like he was bribing a leader.

Changle now felt that he was completely free. On the vast Dahe, he felt that no one could restrict him. In places where the current was very gentle, he even had the leisure to use the fishing gear on the Boat and sit on the deck to fish.

There were many fish, and even though Changle's technique was not very good, he could easily catch fish. Now, most of what they used were artificial lures, which not only saved food but could also catch larger fish with better meat.

Changle would even pick and choose; he did not want the ones that did not taste good or had many bones, so he would take them off and throw them directly into the river.

This time, he caught another fish he did not recognize. His research scope did not include animals, and he did not have much interest in animals. The fishermen had caught them before, and they said to Changle: "Prince, this kind of fish does not taste good; it is dry and has many bones."

Upon hearing this, Changle threw it high into the Dahe without a second word, wanting to throw it further so it would not get on his hook again. However, what he did not expect was that before the fish landed on the water surface after being thrown, it was suddenly bitten by a larger fish that poked its head out.

Changle, who had not yet cast his rod, was shocked and hurriedly asked the fishermen: "Hey, look quickly, there is such a big fish there! What kind of fish is that!"

The fishermen looked in the direction Changle was pointing and saw a group of large fish with smooth skin shuttling through the river in a strange posture, their heads poking out of the water first and then diving back down, with graceful movements and making strange calls.

The fishermen here had all seen them, but they were also very happy because this kind of fish was rare. When they had caught them before and sent them to Baifeng to see, Baifeng had felt some regret: "This kind of fish is called a finless porpoise. It lives mostly in a water body called the Yangtze River. Actually, they cannot be counted as fish; they are just like humans and will feed their children milk. They are very intelligent and friendly to humans. It is truly too lucky to see them in our Dahe."

"In the future, do not catch this kind of fish anymore. Just look at them when you see them; perhaps in a few hundred or a few thousand years, you won't be able to see them anymore."

Baifeng did not eat that finless porpoise and had people throw the carcass back into the Dahe. Huaxia did not lack food, and there were too many other fish. There was no need to be like the Japanese, hunting and killing such cute, intelligent, and human-friendly animals—whether finless porpoises or dolphins—for the sake of gluttony and venting one's own evil desire to kill.