noffsinger Chapter 636: Explanation First
Chapter 636: Explanation First
Yang Yi, however, seemed to be grasping at a life-saving straw, and clapped his hands: "Okay, this is good, Your Highness, since my niece has such a letter, then as an elder, I have no choice but to show my worth."
When Zhou Chang saw that Yang Yidu agreed with Yuan Qi, he nodded without hesitation and said, "In that case, thank you for your help."
Regarding this war, Zhou Chang had another reason why he didn't want Yuan Qi to participate, but he never had the chance to communicate with Yuan Qi.
When she was in Taojia Village, there were two times when she wanted to tell Yuan Qi about the progress of the investigation into the kidnapper Yuan Yu, but life by the sea was so peaceful and beautiful that she didn't want to disrupt it, so she kept it to herself and didn't mention it.
If the mastermind behind the kidnappings is really King Xian, and the frontline commander that Yuan Qi is going to support financially and manpower is also King Xian, then I wonder how she will feel after learning the truth.
Now was obviously not the time to expose the truth, so Zhou Chang could only continue: "Sir Yang, if you must donate, how much can you donate?"
Yang Yi hesitated for a long time before he stretched out a finger: "Ten thousand shi?"
It wasn't much, but Zhou Chang readily agreed: "Okay, Lord Yang, then add in the money the Yuan family helped to collect from the Chamber of Commerce, and you can tell the public that the total is 100,000 shi."
"Ah?" Yang Yi was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, "How can this be done? Absolutely not. This is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor."
"Don't be nervous, Lord Yang. As long as you spread the word, it will inspire other prefectures. The more you donate, the more you get. The less you donate, the less you get. If you donate, you get nothing." Zhou Chang has made up his mind. "As for reporting to the court, that is my business. As long as I report it truthfully, you won't be deceiving the emperor."
Then Zhou Chang looked at Jin Run who was sitting at the end of the table and said, "Commander Jin, I'll leave the rest to you. No matter how much you raise, you must pretend that you have raised several times the amount and show it to the outside world. This will encourage Lindong City and other places to donate more food to us, understand?"
"Yes, I understand." Jin Run's ability is not high, but his loyalty to King Yi is commendable.
Ever since Prince Yi disappeared, he has been searching for him day and night with Gao Yuan and others, and he has lost a lot of weight because of this.
After finishing the business, Zhou Chang remembered to ask Jin Run: "Have the people sent to Taojia Village returned?"
Zhou Chang had been thinking about thanking the people of Taojia Village ever since he came back, but on the one hand, Gao Yun had died and the people of Yidanxing were unable to spare any help, and on the other hand, the attack on Prince Yi this time was obviously because his whereabouts had been exposed and he was ambushed.
So when did they start to be exposed?
If he was targeted in Taojia Village, innocent people might be harmed. Therefore, on the second day after returning to Beiji, when he thought of this, he found Jin Run and asked him to send a team from the navy camp to Taojia Village with a personal thank you.
Although Jin Run’s naval camp was under the jurisdiction of the imperial capital, it was a government office after all, so it was convenient for him to act wherever he went.
Jin Run replied, "Your Highness Prince Yi, considering the distance, there should be a report today, but I have not received any news yet, so I guess it will be soon. As soon as there is a report today, I will report it to Your Highness immediately."
Zhou Chang nodded and had nothing else to ask.
Afterwards, he sent Yang Yi and Jin Run away, leaving Yuan Qi alone so that he could tell Yuan Qi what he had always wanted to say.
"Your Highness seemed to have remembered something just now? But you have no confidence in raising food and medicinal materials this time?" Yuan Qi asked first.
Zhou Chang shook his head, wondering which one to start with. After thinking it over, he decided to start with the most insignificant one: "I never had the chance to tell you before. About a month ago, Mr. Zhong wrote to me saying that the palace was robbed again. There was nothing else, but the gold-threaded nanmu brocade box you gave me... was lost."
Yuan Qi's expression changed slightly, but a complex emotion flashed across his eyes, and he smiled calmly: "It's lost, so what."
Zhou Chang felt that he had made a mistake by starting with this topic, and he tried to make up for it: "Thanks to the fact that I always carried the jade pendant with me, there was only the letter you wrote inside, and..."
As he was talking, he found himself in a dead end.
Yuan Qi interrupted, still smiling calmly: "It's gone, it's just a letter. Whether the Yuan family is there or not, we will still support the prince. As for the divorce letter... I was naive at the time... I was not qualified to write that thing..."
This time it was Yuan Qi's turn to be unable to speak.
Zhou Chang originally just wanted to pick the most irrelevant opening, but ended up putting both of them in an awkward position.
Feeling quite regretful, he could only bite the bullet and say vaguely: "Yes, yes, it's just a piece of paper."
Yuan Qi also forced a laugh and even joked: "This time the thief really knew what was good. It can be said that he stole the casket and returned the pearl."
"Yeah..." Zhou Chang agreed, and quickly changed the subject, "There's one more thing I wanted to tell you in advance, but it's not too late to tell you now. After you listen to me, no matter what decision you make, I will support you."
Suddenly he became serious, and Yuan Qi also restrained his expression: "What is it, Your Majesty, please tell me."
Zhou Chang got to the point: "I promised you to find the murderer who kidnapped the old man. I have never forgotten this matter. About half a month before leaving Jindu, there was a major progress..."
"Have you found the mastermind behind this?" Yuan Qi suddenly stood up from his chair.
Zhou Chang also stood up and came to Yuan Qi: "Yes, Liu E had seen a kidnapper with a black mole behind his ear before, so I followed this clue to find him. That man is called Sun Xiang, and he was once the deputy general beside King Xian. Later, he served in the East Guard Camp and became the deputy general."
"The deputy general beside King Xian? So he was instructed by King Xian?" Yuan Qi also suspected the direction of Jindu, but was still shocked when he heard the exact result.
Zhou Chang simply explained the matter briefly: "According to Sun Xiang himself, he was being hunted by King Xian and could not escape, so he surrendered to me. He also confessed that the kidnapping was instigated by King Xian in order to raise funds so that he could privately forge weapons and recruit soldiers with the intention of rebelling."
Yuan Qi stood there listening.
Zhou Chang had already finished his two sentences, but he didn't know what Yuan Qi was thinking, so he had to continue: "I'm telling you this because Prince Xian is now in charge of the army, and the food and grass we need to raise, although it is to support the country to win this war, is also indirectly supporting Prince Xian..."
"I am willing to help the prince raise money and food..." After hearing this, Yuan Qi interrupted without hesitation, "It's not for King Xian, and it has nothing to do with King Xian. This war is between Lin and Shen. As a citizen of Lin, it is my duty to defend my country. Even if it involves personal grudges, I can only put it aside for now."