Chapter 880: Trapped in Prison

Mustafa died just like that.

Setting aside how he managed to get out of the Imperial Palace, whether it was arranged by Ahmed or otherwise.

He died in the crowd.

By the time people reacted, the assassin had already been caught—an outsider slave, looking extremely ugly in the eyes of the people!

And so.

The people were enraged.

They vented all their fury upon him.

Ahmed also appeared at the very first moment, his face full of grief. According to his version of events, he had wanted to bring the Sultan out to calm the people's anger amidst such chaos, but he hadn't expected—he hadn't expected—he wept more miserably than anyone else.

Then.

He turned around and immediately announced that the Sultan had passed away, and that due to the emergency of the war, he had no choice but to take on the powers of the Sultan as Grand Vizier.

Even if the Sultan hadn't died, it seemed this power had always been in Ahmed's hands anyway, hadn't it? These civil and military officials had long been accustomed to the Sultan being a mere figurehead. Under normal circumstances, if the Sultan died, they would have felt that the Ottoman Empire had changed. But now, with the Sipahi outside fighting like madmen, hadn't the Ottoman Empire already changed long ago?

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But the public would not have it.

The group in the Divan had no objections.

What objections could they have?

Who didn't know what was going on?

Wasn't it just this Ahmed, wanting to usurp the throne amidst the chaos!

And so, the unrest grew even more intense.

Did the Sultan just die so inexplicably?

Support the young prince!

The Ottoman Empire cannot be without a royal family!

And so.

The slogan changed to: Execute the murderer.

Jiang Xuan took a deep breath, set down the wine cup in his hand, and smiled slightly: "We can make our move. Any later, and I fear this Ahmed will even kill the young prince."

The royal family must absolutely not be Ahmed.

Having reached this point now.

He re-read his "plan" once more and was very satisfied.

These past few days, he had locked himself in his residence, not stepping out of the gate.

Liu Zheng finally finished his draft for the constitutional monarchy.

He set down his pen; because he had used too much force and worked for so long, his fingers were aching.

That was why he had locked himself away to work, and also to let those people cool off.

Min Weizhong remained low-key; although he still held executive power, these past few days, following Liu Zheng's advice, he had conceded a large portion of benefits to the Southern Faction.

He knew.

There were quite a few people who wanted to kill him now.

Although he viewed these struggles in the Li Dynasty as mere child's play—and indeed, compared to the hundreds of thousands of troops constantly warring in Central Asia, or Huobu Quli's frantic expansion in the Southern Barbarian Lands, the Li Dynasty was indeed a tiny, insignificant country—there was no help for it; being in the thick of it, Liu Zheng had to find a way.

"Young Master, it is prepared."

Conversely, the Southern Faction was extremely arrogant, swaggering through the streets every day, looking for all the world like they had already won a great battle.

Liu Zheng sighed deeply.

He lay on the seat of the Horse Carriage, closing his eyes to rest.

From the beginning, he could clearly feel some people following him, until later, under the specific guidance of someone, the Horse Carriage circled several times before slowly driving into an inconspicuous courtyard.

Just as Liu Zheng stood up, Pei Qianyun walked over.

Liu Zheng nodded; the Horse Carriage was already waiting outside the gate.

"Young Master!"

This person was from the main branch of the Liu Family, named Liu Dong, looking to be about forty years old, with a genial face and dressed in fine silk; one could tell at a glance he was a businessman.

Liu Zheng got out of the carriage, and the gate closed.

People dressed in Longyan attire were already waiting there.

That is correct.

This Liu Dong was an eye placed here by the Liangzhou Chamber of Commerce. Of course, since he was an eye, he could not operate under the banner of the Liangzhou Chamber of Commerce. Liu Dong's chamber of commerce was called the Kezhou Chamber of Commerce; in any case, they were both from Liangzhou. There were quite a few Longyan chambers of commerce in the Li Dynasty—not a hundred, but certainly dozens—so even if people were suspicious, they would not suspect Liu Dong.

Since they were of the same family, according to seniority, he should call Liu Dong "Uncle."

Liu Zheng smiled: "Uncle is too polite. Are you still getting used to life in the Li Dynasty?"

Speaking of this main branch of the Liu Family, it was truly laughable.

When Liu Dahao first made his fortune, who knows how many Liu family members he supported. But when Liu Dahao fell on hard times, these people all disappeared one by one. So, when the father and son of the Liu Family rode their donkey out of Liangzhou, they truly learned the fickleness of the world. In the end, the two of them rose again, and these Liu family members flocked back to join them.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's much like back home. Quickly, please come inside!"

Although Liu Dong accepted the title of "Uncle," his attitude remained respectful.

After all, the person Liu Dahao had offended back then was the Liangzhou Governor, Chen Ping.

That was an existence capable of uprooting your entire Liu Family. It was only human nature for them to choose to avoid harm.

Of course.

Having said that, Liu Zheng did not blame them.

"Haha, I knew the Young Master liked this! This is genuine Longjing Tea before Rain, something you can't buy in the Li Dynasty for a thousand pieces of gold!"

Liu Dong laughed heartily.

Fortunately, after these members of the Liu Family returned, they also performed their duties with the utmost dedication.

Walking into the hall, a faint scent of tea wafted toward him, and Liu Zheng felt his spirits lift instantly.

Once Liu Zheng had finished this series of actions.

Liu Dong straightened his expression and whispered, "Young Master, here is the list of Chinese medicinal herbs and other supplies that Zhang Xuan has recently ordered from us merchants. I have only managed to collect half of it."

Liu Zheng nodded with satisfaction.

The journey to the Li Dynasty had been exhausting, and let alone Longjing tea, he hadn't even had any tea leaves to drink; he took a serious sip and immediately beamed with delight: "Good tea."

But Liu Zheng believed.

The marketplace is like a battlefield; this saying has several interpretations.

Liu Zheng nodded and took it over.

Liu Dong was responsible for commercial affairs in the Li Dynasty. Liu Zheng had arranged for him to be here, firstly, so as not to let him pry too much into other aspects of intelligence, as in this era, the transmission of intelligence was still in a very primitive stage. If it were intercepted halfway, it would be quite troublesome. Secondly, he did not let Liu Dong develop his scale in the Li Dynasty too excessively; being a conventional merchant was enough, as becoming a famous Longyan merchant would instead arouse suspicion.

Thirdly, this saying can also be reversed: the battlefield is the marketplace. In the end, what the battlefield competes on is manpower, material resources, and financial power.

This Zhang Xuan, as the "Royal Merchant" of the Li Dynasty, must have had a certain directionality in the things he procured.

One is that the fierce struggle between marketplaces is no worse than a battlefield.

The second is that in ancient times, if you could successfully list the quantity and variety of goods an enemy was purchasing, you could easily guess their next plan.

Liu Zheng looked at the list, and when he saw the first item, his eyelids twitched.

Five years' worth of Buffalo Horn.

A cold sneer slowly spread across the corners of his mouth.

It seems the Li Dynasty is planning to make a move against him?