noffsinger Chapter 224 The Letter That Couldn't Be Sent
Chapter 224 The Letter That Couldn't Be Sent
Chapter 224 The Letter That Couldn't Be Sent
Early in the morning.
My mother and Aunt Xiuxiu are not home.
Jiang Ziyan brought her younger sister today.
The younger sister was unusually well-behaved, sitting on the straw mat and combing Jiang Xiaobai's fur.
The little white wolf looked quite content, lying lazily beside her.
Jiang Ziyan originally wanted to read for a while, but he gave up that idea.
I noticed that the little red bird was being rather noisy today.
Not only the little red bird was noisy, all the birds were noisy.
There were an unusually large number of birds in the yard today, hopping up and down the branches as if they were having a meeting.
Jiang Zifeng took on a job, patrolling inside and outside the city with Cui Xingzhou.
However, patrolling was secondary; the main purpose was to monitor every move outside the Qin residence.
To prevent the Qin family from sending messages out.
I've heard that several bandits have recently arrived outside Jiangzhou City, all eyeing the horse farm in the western suburbs of Jiangzhou with covetous intent.
They were probably after the gold mine in the forest.
Fortunately, they are currently only wandering around outside the city and have not dared to harm anyone.
When Prefect Cui heard the news, he was startled.
They immediately dispatched more guards to defend the city, and made sure to keep a tight watch, ensuring that not a single bandit could enter.
Of course, Lou Ye was the most nervous about the arrival of these bandits.
He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in the cave.
The temperature inside the cave was already high, and now his clothes were completely wet.
The subordinate who went to gather information rushed back to report, "Master, the horse farm is surrounded by bandits. I'm afraid they might break in under the cover of darkness."
Lou Ye's expression turned solemn as he ordered, "Divide the men into two teams. One team will fight to the death to hold off those bandits, while the other team will escort the silver away with me..."
"Also, have someone keep an eye on that woman Lu Qingyao. We absolutely cannot let her report this to the authorities."
The refining of official silver in Jiangzhou was at the behest of Prince Su, and was fully overseen by Lord Qin, who was then the governor of the prefecture.
Lord Qin is stationed in Jiangzhou, a remote and densely forested area, making it a safe place to refine silver without risking exposure.
After being refined and stripped of official seals, the silver could quickly flow into the market and be exchanged for grain to be transported back to the capital.
Unknowingly.
Therefore, not many people knew about this matter; only he and Lord Qin knew, and even Madam Qin was unaware.
Unfortunately, Lord Qin was inexplicably implicated by a concubine and became the mastermind behind the assassination of Prince Jing, and the Qin residence was surrounded.
He had a bad feeling.
A distant solution cannot quench a nearby fire; relying on Prince Su is probably hopeless.
"Has the letter been sent out?" Lou Ye asked his subordinate.
"It's been sent, delivered to the capital by express courier."
"Alright, send another letter to Tanzhou by carrier pigeon."
Without Lord Qin's protection, it would be impossible to stay in Jiangzhou. Lou Ye wondered if he could transport this batch of silver to Tanzhou.
However, it would only be possible if Prefect Wang sent someone to meet them.
He wrote the note, stuffed it into the bamboo tube, took the carrier pigeon handed to him by his subordinate, and tied it to its leg...
Watching the pigeons fly away, I felt a little more at ease.
……
Autumn is high and fresh.
The sun was shining brightly and the sky was blue.
A flock of geese flew by, leaving behind a lone bird.
A white bird flew out of the horse farm, skimmed over the treetops, and flew overhead.
"Whoosh..."
An arrow streaked through the air.
It then landed, with a white dove stuck in the arrow.
Pigeons usually travel in flocks, but this was a lone pigeon, making it easy to spot.
"Sister, this pigeon is perfect for roasting for Miaomiao, though there's not much meat." Xiuxiu picked up the pigeon, took the letter tube off its leg, and handed it to her sister.
Then I started to wonder whether to stew or roast the pigeon.
Lu Qingyao took out a small note from the mailbox, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "It seems that Lou Ye is also desperate and is thinking of writing a letter for help. I wonder if any letters have been sent out from the capital?"
“Sister, when I passed by the post station yesterday, I saw the Duke’s men keeping watch there. I think the Duke would never allow Lou Ye to send out the letter.”
Xiuxiu picked up the pigeon and looked at it, thinking to herself, "Even the best-flying pigeon can't possibly fly all the way to the capital."
"Sister, do you know where these pigeons are flying to?"
"Judging from the direction, they should be heading towards Tanzhou. The current prefect of Tanzhou is surnamed Wang, and he is Madam Qin's cousin." Lu Qingyao looked northwest and said with great certainty.
Undoubtedly, Lou Ye wanted to transfer the military pay to Tanzhou.
Ever since she learned that the theft of military funds was related to Prince Su, she asked Jiang Yue to help investigate Prince Su's nepotism.
Upon investigation, she actually found out.
Jiangzhou is located in a remote area, with high mountains, long rivers, and dense forests.
If it weren't for the horse farm falling into her hands by some twist of fate, and Miao Miao not accidentally finding the loose silver pieces.
It will be difficult to find that cave in a short period of time.
Moreover, the cave has more than one entrance. Without thorough preparation, it would be extremely difficult to catch the perpetrator red-handed.
Xiuxiu looked towards the horse farm and asked, "Sister, there's something I've been wondering about... I don't know if I should ask?"
She used to work for Prince Jing, and she always just followed his orders without ever asking why.
That's how people are; once they start using their brains, a constant stream of "whys" will flood their minds.
You can't help but be curious.
"What is it?" Lu Qingyao asked, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
"I just can't understand why Prince Su didn't refine silver in his own fiefdom, but instead went to all that trouble to transport it to Jiangzhou. Wasn't that riskier?"
Lu Qingyao smiled faintly, "Naturally, I'm here for the food..."
How to describe her feelings today? She was both excited and nervous.
She became so excited that she blurted out her innermost thoughts, not knowing if she would scare Xiuxiu.
“Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice, and a large area near Jiangzhou is rich in grain. Prince Su chose this place to refine silver, probably because he wanted to store the grain.” Lu Qingyao learned from Mu Yunji.
The silver refined by Prince Su was not only sent to the capital, but also directly used by the Wang and Qin families to store grain locally and then transport the grain to Prince Su's fiefdom.
Xiuxiu was puzzled. "Sister, what do they need so much grain for? Look at those boatloads of grain being transported out of Jiangzhou. They're all genuine. It feels like Prince Su has taken up most of the grain in our Great Liang."
Lu Qingyao hesitated for a moment, but still replied, "Xiuxiu, think about it. A prince, framing loyal ministers and generals, and needing so much food and money, what do you think she wants to do?"
"rebellion?"
Xiuxiu blurted it out, then quickly covered her mouth.
Judging from her expression, it's true.
Although Consort Li was favored by the Emperor, Prince Su had no military power, and the Wang family were all civil officials...
Therefore, King Su was raising an army.
To maintain an army, you need money and food.
However, they can't afford both the money and the food.
Lu Qingyao and Xiuxiu exchanged a smile and spurred their horses to gallop towards the horse farm.
The bandits immediately became more vigilant, but when they saw that it was two young women, they relaxed their guard.
Upon asking, it was discovered that one of them was actually the owner of the horse farm.
He then became interested and wanted to take over the horse farm for himself.
After all, gold mines aren't ready-made gold that you can just grab and leave. It would be best if you could mine it legitimately.
The bandit leader held up his broadsword and blocked their path, demanding, "Which of you owns this horse farm?"
“My surname is Lu, and I am the owner of this horse farm. What can I do for you?” Lu Qingyao raised an eyebrow at him.
……