Chapter 303: The Use of the Plague Poison Pill

Jiang Jinshi parted ways with Bai Ting and Zhou Zijing. He could see the longing in this man's eyes, but after all, he wasn't alone, and having many concerns was normal.

Zhou Zijing's talent wasn't above Old Man Feng's, but he had an advantage, which was that he was still relatively young.

He hadn't stepped into the officialdom, and many things were just talk on paper, so his thinking was inevitably limited.

Even in Jiang Jinshi's eyes, his ability wasn't as good as Xiao Chunqiu's, but his heart was good.

Beijiang wasn't a place everyone was willing to go to. As long as Zhou Zijing was willing, he could become the second Old Feng or even surpass him after some time.

Bai Ting saw that there was no one around before speaking to Jiang Jinshi, "Big brother, what's going on with that woman?"

Jiang Jinshi knew Bai Ting was talking about Cui Wangshu and opened his folding fan to wave it gently: "This Cui Wangshu has some ambition, I just don't know what her ability is like!"

"If her answer can't satisfy you, big brother, will you take action?" Bai Ting was more curious about this. After all, the Cui clan's strength wasn't weak, and taking action might add quite a bit of trouble to their party.

"No!" Jiang Jinshi shook his head, "I was scaring her! But if this matter can't satisfy me, the grudge will be formed, and she knows what she should do!"

"Then the people she recommends, should we accept them?" Bai Ting was worried that the other party would play tricks. After all, the scholar-gentry had many capable people under them, and if they planted some of their own people into the Ming army...

That would be no different from placing a knife by Jiang Jinshi's pillow, which might destroy Beijiang at a critical moment.

Jiang Jinshi had expected this early on: "This depends on how Cui Wangshu conducts herself. Whether she completely offends me or helps me down-to-earth, it all depends on her choice."

Jiang Jinshi would naturally observe the people recommended by Cui Wangshu repeatedly. He had his own selection criteria and wouldn't easily listen to the other party.

If Cui Wangshu really had ulterior motives or wasn't helping sincerely, Jiang Jinshi would remember this grudge, and there would be a day for revenge sooner or later.

The next day, Jiang Jinshi and his party packed their luggage, and it just so happened that Cui Wangshu also sent someone to deliver the roster and a letter.

Jiang Jinshi flipped through it casually, and it was written in great detail.

Surnamed Shen, given name Mo, courtesy name Tuizhi! Living in seclusion by the lake in Jiangnan, he was once a lecturer for the Eastern Palace, was dismissed from office for being involved in an old case, had excellent insights into household registration, land systems, and tax reforms, and had deep thoughts on the development of Beijiang.

Jiang Jinshi even found more detailed information and Cui Wangshu's evaluation of this person, his residence and daily hobbies, and the key to persuading him.

This person's talent was good, but his temperament was arrogant, and it was absolutely difficult for ordinary people to invite him.

Jiang Jinshi flipped back again, and there were about a dozen people, all of whom were well understood.

Some of the people on this list were in Yangzhou, and some were in other places. Jiang Jinshi picked out two candidates in Yangzhou City and instructed Bai Ting.

"I don't know the situation for the time being, let Shen San go and observe secretly first!"

"Yes! Big brother!"

Jiang Jinshi's fingertips paused for a moment beside the words "Shen Mo" on the roster. Once a lecturer for the Eastern Palace, he must have met Wei Xikang, and he didn't know what this person's character was like.

Then he closed the booklet and looked at the streets of Yangzhou City outside the window.

"Shen San handles things steadily, let him go and probe the truth, we will continue to go south." Jiang Jinshi put the roster close to his body and turned to Bai Ting, "We should also set off! Cui Wangshu wrote that she has prepared a boat for us. Going down the canal to Jiangnan is faster than the land route and has fewer eyes."

Bai Ting nodded and packed his simple luggage neatly.

Water transport was developed here, and many merchants transported by boat. The scale of Jiang Jinshi's caravan wasn't large, so he figured it wouldn't attract attention.

The boat Cui Wangshu arranged wasn't large, but it was very clean and comfortable. It was a medium-sized cargo boat, looking unremarkable on the outside, but elegantly decorated on the inside.

It was no problem for Jiang Jinshi and his party of thirty-plus people to live there, and the cargo only piled up in a small corner.

Although it was a cargo boat, there were only Jiang Jinshi and his party. Cui Wangshu wouldn't be unable to handle even this small matter.

The boat captain was a taciturn old man who was obviously instructed to just direct his subordinates to sail the boat and not ask too many questions.

The boat left the Yangzhou wharf and slowly sailed into the main channel of the Grand Canal. The weeping willows on both banks and the houses with tiled roofs retreated one after another, and the world gradually opened up.

Jiang Jinshi stood at the bow of the boat, letting the clear breeze blow over him. It was hard to imagine that such scenery and the howling wind and sand and clashing horse hooves of Beijiang were on the same piece of land.

His trip was to seek out wise talents, but in reality, he also wanted to see with his own eyes this fertile land in the hinterland of Da Qian, and see what kind of style this Jiangnan, which everyone praised, really had.

After traveling for a day, at dusk, the boat docked at a bustling market wharf for supplies.

This place was already a hub of the canal, with many boats coming and going, porters coming and going on the wharf, and merchants gathering, with the sound of noise never ending.

Jiang Jinshi felt stuffy in the cabin, so he took Bai Ting off the boat and found a tea shed by the river near the wharf, ordered a pot of the most ordinary coarse tea, and listened to the southern and northern accents around him.

"... Have you heard? A group of rare people have come to the east sea!"

A few men dressed like traveling merchants were talking with spit flying. Their voices weren't high, but in this slightly noisy environment, they still clearly reached Jiang Jinshi's ears.

The hand Jiang Jinshi was holding the teacup with paused slightly.

"Rare people? Could it be foreign merchants? There are red-haired foreign ghosts there all year round, what's so strange about that." Another person was dismissive.

"Not foreign merchants!" The first person lowered his voice, but it seemed more mysterious, "They come from an island country on the sea further east! They say it's called... 'Land of the Rising Sun'? A mission! It's a proper mission, coming to pay respects to our Da Qian Emperor!"

"Island country? Mission?" The people at the same table were all interested, "How big are the boats? How many rare treasures did they bring?"

"The boats aren't particularly large, but the style is strange. As for the treasures... how would I know! But I heard they docked a few days ago, were received by the local government, and will set off along the canal to the capital in a few days!"

"Hey, this is fresh news. I seem to have heard the older generation mention that island country. It seemed to have come once in the previous dynasty, but later there was a sea ban, so there was little contact. Why did they suddenly send a mission? Are they asking for rewards? Or doing business?"

"Who knows? In any case, they admire the majesty of our Da Qian..."

Those few merchants discussed for a while, and the topic turned to this year's silk prices and canal grain.

Jiang Jinshi drank the tea in the cup that had already turned slightly cool slowly. He looked calm, but waves had already risen in his heart.

Island country mission?

He just said that the things the system gave couldn't be useless, except for that whatever virility pill.

Jiang Jinshi had previously received the reward 【Plague Poison Pill * 1】 in the system, and he was still thinking about how he could take out such a vicious thing to use?

After all, a plague wouldn't distinguish between enemy and self. If he wasn't careful, he was afraid that his whole army would be wiped out, and the commoners would easily be implicated. ===== CHAPTER 304 =====