Chapter 359: First Volume, Chapter 359: Jiangnan Tangqi

First Volume, Chapter 359: Jiangnan Tangqi

Meanwhile, according to intelligence gathered by Lin Quqi, the northern Di forces were assembling troops, withdrawing over a thousand men from the Vanguard Camp, along with several siege equipment and supply trains.

It was clear that the northern Di were preparing a large-scale military siege.

But Lin Quqi felt no pressure whatsoever; instead, he believed the enemy commander must have lost his mind.

When the Beixi County Garrison was at its weakest, the northern Di still failed to capture the city.

Now, the city walls of Beixi County have been reinforced, outer walls are being rapidly expanded, and the city's combat strength has surged to near-breaking point. Launching a siege warfare at this moment—even Lin Quqi, an outsider, deemed it utterly foolish. And General Chen Si could never make such a blunder.

Though he did not know what had happened within the northern Di ranks, for Lin Quqi, it was undoubtedly good news.

Now, he could finally focus fully on building up Beixi County without restraint.

…

Jiangnan Tangqi

Amidst the festive sounds of gongs and drums, the Qin Shi Trading House opened its doors with great auspiciousness.

The shopfront was small—just three rooms—and in scale, only marginally better than an ordinary general store.

As a result, the opening ceremony attracted only common people; not a single merchant or official from the city showed up.

To the locals, this so-called "Qin Shi Trading House" was merely one among countless ordinary shops in Tangqi.

To this, the largest town in Jiangnan, it caused not the slightest ripple.

Following protocol, a few small gifts were given, and the opening celebration ended hastily, failing to sustain even half a Envoy of festivity. This only made it even less worthy of attention.

Qin Feng sat in the main hall of the trading house, slumped over the table, devouring food like a storm sweeping away debris, wolfing it down.

After days of exhausting travel by boat and cart, he had not eaten a proper meal once; now, he cared nothing for appearances—filling his belly was the priority.

Qin Xiaofu held the ledger, reporting accounts beside him.

"Master, rent in Tangqi is terrifyingly high. For a shopfront this size, the annual rent is six hundred taels of silver. Just buying the shopfront outright cost nearly ten thousand taels of silver."

Qin Feng snatched the ledger with his greasy hand and tossed it aside, mumbling indistinctly: "I'm eating. Don't bring up these annoying matters. Money? Spend it, earn it back—no big deal."

Seeing Qin Feng's indifference, Qin Xiaofu dropped the subject and turned to point at two clerks nearby—one old, one young.

"Master, how should these two be arranged?"

Long before Qin Feng entered Jiangnan, he had already sent someone to rent the shopfront in Tangqi and entrusted these two clerks to manage it. Thus, when Qin Feng arrived, he could open for business immediately without needing to purchase a shopfront on the spot.

This was done solely to avoid interference from the Lin family—if they issued a single order, no one would dare sell Qin Feng a shopfront.

With a foothold secured, commercial operations could proceed smoothly from there.

Qin Feng had long coveted Jiangnan's fertile land; yet even the commercial scale of Tangqi alone rivaled Jingdu, and with all thirty-six counties of Jiangnan, each considered a "strong county," their combined commercial power far surpassed Jingdu's.

Whoever could establish a firm foothold in Jiangnan would control half of Shedynasty's commerce.

This was precisely why the Liang Emperor feared the Lin family yet could only endure in silence.

Qin Feng intended to crush the Lin family commercially—without financial backing, their power would be severed at the waist.

The two "fake clerks" were given a few taels of silver and dismissed.

Qin Feng officially became the owner of the Qin Shi Trading House.

And unlike before, when he hid behind the scenes, this time Qin Feng stepped directly into the spotlight—to confront the Lin family head-on. Who was afraid of whom?

As he ate, Qin Feng ordered Qin Xiaofu to distribute all the miscellaneous goods in the shop to neighbors, clearing the entire space to specialize exclusively in candy.

Meanwhile, arrangements were made for the lodging of the accompanying personnel.

Jing Qianying and Xiao Xiangxiang moved directly into the back courtyard with Qin Feng.

Zhao Yulong and Li Xiaolan stayed in the left wing; Wu Wei and Ning Hu occupied the right wing, securing the entire trading house.

For this deployment into Tangqi, Qin Feng not only transferred Ning Hu but also brought twenty Tianji Camp Guards and ten Jinyi Wei.

The Jin Yi Wei Right Envoy Mo Li had replied.

The Jin Yi Wei Headquarters had been completed; after much deliberation and weighing of options, it was ultimately decided to locate it in Beixi County.

First, Beixi County was Qin Feng's "home base," populated entirely by his own people; even if a few imperial spies infiltrated, their numbers were negligible and the threat minimal.

Second, Beixi County's strategic location bordered the northern Di, making future foreign intelligence operations significantly easier.

Third, Beixi County was far enough from Jingdu to reduce the risk of discovery by the Hei Wei Si.

Qin Feng's original intention had been for the Jin Yi Wei Headquarters to be as secretive as possible; now, with Beixi County under the gaze of multiple factions, the potential risks were too high. But since it was Mo Li's decision, Qin Feng let it go—he was no expert in this field, and he would not second-guess a professional.

Still, locating the Jin Yi Wei in Beixi County had one advantage: it could assist the Tianji Camp in tandem.

All weapons and equipment for the Jin Yi Wei were exclusively manufactured by the Tianji Camp Gongfang, eliminating the risk of exposure during procurement.

Moreover, Qin Feng had grown heavily dependent on the Tianji Camp Gongfang; he trusted no weapons or equipment except those produced internally.

Training for the Jin Yi Wei was also a top priority, jointly overseen by Third Sister Li Xiaolan, Ning Hu, and Mo Li.

In short, the Jin Yi Wei must excel not only in intelligence gathering but also in combat strength—should their identity be exposed, they must be capable of breaking through encirclement.

After all, the Jin Yi Wei's identity was unique; under no circumstances could they be captured alive unless absolutely unavoidable.

The ten Jin Yi Wei were dispersed throughout Tangqi; Qin Feng did not need to worry about them.

The twenty Tianji Camp Guards, however, were stationed directly in a small courtyard beside the trading house—openly, so that all of Tangqi would know Qin Feng was protected by Tianji Camp Guards; anyone daring to strike covertly would face the Tianji Camp's thunderous retaliation.

Not only that!

The Tianji Camp Guards were still flesh and blood; even if each possessed the strength to fight a hundred, they would still be overwhelmed if the Lin family launched a reckless counterattack.

Thus, Qin Feng used the pretext of "grain procurement" to transfer two hundred local soldiers from Changping County.

Officially labeled as a grain escort, they actually set up camp just outside Tangxi City—and refused to leave.

He also transferred one thousand new recruits from Beixi County.

In truth, only two hundred were actual soldiers; the remaining eight hundred were raw new recruits, accompanying veterans for training.

As for the excuse? Qin Feng didn't even bother to think of one—he simply claimed it was another grain escort mission.

Now, Beixi County's population had exploded, and its garrison had expanded multiple times; though mostly composed of raw new recruits lacking combat experience, at least the numbers were there.