Chapter 1808: Chain Reaction

Jiang Xuelan gave a faint smile, looked at Pano's stunned face, and said indifferently, "You should know what to do."

Hearing this, Pano's expression changed slightly.

He naturally knew what to do; Jiang Xuelan saying this meant she did not intend to give up on her cooperation with Pano.

Instead, she was inviting Pano to continue cooperating with her, only this would require paying a price.

Everyone knew what this meant: an exchange on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, with almost no interference from any country, would allow trades there to save on too many customs duties.

Moreover, they would not need to be fleeced twice by middlemen.

This would save Pano a great deal of money.

But such a good thing, any merchant would know.

Pano no longer hesitated and decided decisively, "How many people have you told about this matter?"

Jiang Xuelan took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, "Not many."

Pano felt relieved, but Jiang Xuelan's next sentence made his expression change drastically!

"Just that those famous merchants in France already know; you can't be counted as the last one, nor can you be called the first."

Pano braced his hands and stood up abruptly; a bang sounded behind him as his chair overturned to the floor due to his agitated emotions.

He stared at Jiang Xuelan and said in a deep voice, "Miss Jiang, having cooperated with me for so long, you should know that you didn't need to tell anyone else about such news; telling me alone would have been enough."

Jiang Xuelan glanced at him, gave a light snort, withdrew her gaze, took the opportunity to look at her own fingers, and slowly stood up.

Amidst the angry gaze of Pano, a great merchant, she turned and left.

Seeing this, Pano clenched his fists until they turned white.

As the wooden door opened, Jiang Xuelan turned her head and said with a faint smile, "Mr. Pano, from now on, my goods will no longer be sold so cheaply; I will raise the prices."

Bang—the crisp sound of the door closing cut off Jiang Xuelan's voice.

It also cut off Pano's anger; he powerlessly loosened his hands, needing to brace himself with both hands to keep his body steady.

From now on, it would be difficult for these European merchants to manipulate Longyan merchants as they had before.

Now, in every aspect of the lives of all Europeans—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—they almost all needed Longyan goods; they no longer had the ability to continue competing with Longyan.

Thinking of this, Pano sighed and prepared to go.

……

And at this time.

Australia.

Four days after France occupied the island, Xie Fang finally learned of what had happened on Tasmania.

Slap!

The memorial was angrily thrown to the ground by Xie Fang, and he roared, "Why did such a thing happen, and I only know about it now!"

"What are you all good for!"

In the imperial court, the officials knelt and bowed repeatedly; no one dared to provoke Xie Fang's ire.

"Where is Delu? Bring him back to me immediately!"

Xie Fang stood up, looked at the court officials, and shouted coldly, "I will have him carved into a thousand pieces!"

"Daring to deceive me, I must let him know the consequences!"

The court officials were timid and did not dare to make a sound; everyone looked at one another.

No one knew where Delu had gone.

Xie Fang frowned: "Where is Delu? Is there really not a single person who knows?"

The Prime Minister submitted a memorial: "Your Majesty, Delu left the city overnight; he should be arriving at Tasmania soon."

Xie Fang was stunned and immediately said, "Then why didn't you stop him? What are those guards good for!"

The Prime Minister said indifferently, "He was holding the Gold Medal bestowed by Your Majesty; who would dare to stop him?"

Xie Fang was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to speak.

Although the Prime Minister was kneeling, his gaze was firmly locked on Xie Fang, and he said coldly, "Your Majesty does not ask about the current situation on Tasmania, nor do you send reinforcements of the Longyan Army, but instead pursue the matter of Delu?"

"He is merely a French merchant; even with his involvement, pursuing his responsibility now is of no help."

"Your subject implores Your Majesty to immediately send troops to retake Tasmania!"

The Prime Minister kowtowed, and the officials followed the Prime Minister, shouting in unison: "We implore Your Majesty to send troops immediately!"

Xie Fang's expression sank; he naturally knew that he had to send troops now, but Delu was truly too hateful, and he wished he could tear Delu into ten thousand pieces!

Now the Prime Minister was forcing his hand along with the other officials.

Xie Fang returned to the Dragon Throne in a rage, let out a heavy breath, looked at the officials below the dais, and flicked his sleeves: "Send troops."

"Send troops!"

The Prime Minister kowtowed again: "Your subject obeys the decree!"

"This old subject has one more Admonishment to speak: Your Majesty has talent and virtue, capable of contending with emperors of the past and present, but it is hard to guard against petty men; I hope Your Majesty is aware of this!"

Xie Fang angrily slapped the Dragon Throne and stood up abruptly, his hand pointing at the Prime Minister trembling with rage: "You!"

"You!"

The court officials saw Xie Fang's face flushed red from being angered by the Prime Minister and dared not say a single word.

They worried that Prime Minister had clashed head-on with Xie Fang this time; this was bad.

The Prime Minister kowtowed again and said in a deep, low voice: "Your Majesty, this old subject has official business to attend to; I take my leave!"

After speaking, he stood up and, ignoring the astonished officials and the Emperor behind him, flicked his sleeves and left!

Back when Li He submitted his report, the Prime Minister had already felt that the matter was not simple.

But at that time, Xie Fang had already issued an order to stop pursuing the matter.

In the end, it was left unsettled.

And after Delu arrived here, the Prime Minister had received messages from Tasmania more than once.

But when reported up, Xie Fang would not even look at them.

At that time, Delu was accompanying Xie Fang, and his memorials were as good as non-existent.

The Prime Minister found it laughable that he was the person with the second-highest power and status in Xie Fang's government after His Majesty, yet His Majesty favored Delu, a foreign merchant.

It was only because Delu could provide Xie Fang with enough Gold Coins.

The Prime Minister gave a self-deprecating smile; it was truly ironic.

However, although Xie Fang established the government in Australia, this place should more properly be the territory of Longyan.

At his core, the Prime Minister had never forgotten that he belonged to Longyan, not Australia.

Delu concealing the news for so long was definitely not simple.

The Geography of Tasmania is extremely important, and now that it has been captured by the French Army, this is definitely not good news.

If the French were to launch an attack on Australia from Tasmania, that would be the most terrifying scenario.

Once Tasmania is lost, this entire series of ports in the most prosperous region of Australia will have no Method of being used.

As for the other coasts of the Australian continent, the living environment there is extremely harsh, and very few people live there.

Xie Fang has not even opened any ports there.

Tasmania is surrounded by many islands; if these islands were all occupied by the French, they would be left with nothing but to passively take a beating.

Thinking of this, the Prime Minister's pace toward the General Platform quickened significantly.

Four days have already passed, and if there is any more delay, other situations will definitely occur.

By that time, it would be truly too late for regrets.

Meanwhile, on Tasmania, Li He had already found quite a few Longyan Soldiers over these four days.

The original one thousand men had expanded into a force of five thousand.

At this moment, Li He was leading a unit of the Longyan army, staring at a Factory in front of them that produced flour.