But he thought about it for a moment, it seemed he hadn't really done anything special, though he had been very dedicated to teaching those youngsters.
He was somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden summons today.
Xia Lei thought that Zhu Ci was concerned about the boys' martial arts lessons, so he spent the whole journey preparing his words. He had to praise these boys while simultaneously emphasizing their shortcomings; otherwise, what if the Young Master thought these boys were learning well enough and didn't need him to teach them anymore?
Fu Qiulu and Fu Chunsheng had already left, Xi Ya had nothing to do, so now he was the only one who still had a chance to get close to the Young Master!
No matter how many excuses he prepared, he was destined to never be able to say them.
Because after Zhu Ci saw him, he said, "In two days, Vice Prefect Gu is going to Qiya Port. At that time, you will stay by his side and be responsible for protecting him, but that is not the primary task."
Xia Lei's spirits immediately lifted: "What does the Young Master want me to do?"
Zhu Ci said, "Gu Rouqian used to deal in business, but this deal might not succeed. If Vice Prefect Gu cannot negotiate it, you must take men along with Li Cheng to seize all those ships when the time comes."
Huh?
If we can't reach an agreement, are we just going to resort to robbery?
Xia Lei froze for a moment before immediately cupping his hands and saying, "Yes, this subordinate obeys!"
Hmm? Aren't you going to ask what we're going to seize?
Zhu Ci looked at Xia Lei with a very serious expression: "This batch of grain is of great importance. Success is the only option; failure is not. You must be extremely, extremely careful, you must not let a single word leak out, do you understand?"
"Grain?" Xia Lei suddenly had a bad premonition.
The grain his young master required was certainly no small amount; after all, he had heard that five thousand men had already been recruited, recruitment was still ongoing.
Under these circumstances, any grain transport ship targeted by him must belong to a wealthy merchant.
Xia Lei asked cautiously, "I wonder which family's fleet those grain ships belong to?"
After asking, he worried that Zhu Ci might think he was trying to pry for information, so he hurriedly said, "If they are a powerful clan, their boatmen are likely to be quite agile, so I can be better prepared."
Zhu Ci had been waiting for him to ask, said very gently, "It would be no harm to let you know; it is the Marquis of Huating's fleet."
Xia Lei.. Marquis, something big is about to happen!
Zhu Ci watched Xia Lei's struck expression, feeling extremely gratified.
Actually, Xia Lei should have been trained; although he was shocked, he still controlled his facial expression well.
However, the momentary lapse in his gaze and emotions was still keenly captured by Zhu Ci.
Zhu Ci had been looking for a suitable opportunity to test the waters.
All previous analyses had been deductions based on known clues, he still needed a piece of decisive evidence to reach a conclusion.
Now, this evidence has been obtained.
Xia Lei struggled to maintain his composure as he took his leave. Watching him walk away with such clumsy, uncoordinated steps, Zhu Ci couldn't help but let out a couple of gloating laughs.
I wonder if Xia Lei will help his Marquis or follow his orders when the time comes?
As for delivering the news, the fleet will arrive tomorrow, his men have already taken control of Qiya Port; it would be too late to send word even now.
Moreover, the Marquis of Huating should currently be clashing with the Imperial Court, he is likely not even in Songjiang Prefecture.
Sigh, Zhu Ci momentarily missed the information technology of the future; if he were in that information-rich era, he might already know exactly where Fu was at this very moment.
But it didn't matter; no one could stop him from seizing this batch of grain.
Zhu Ci had caused such a massive disturbance, yet on the surface, he acted as if nothing had happened, continuing with his usual business and even showing concern for the soldiers' training.
Now he felt somewhat relieved that he had been quite strict when training the retainers previously, teaching them everything from the triple-three system and guerrilla warfare to sparrow warfare; these retainers could now be used entirely to train those soldiers.
It was unlikely that such rushed training would yield great results; one could only say.. do one's best and leave the rest to fate. Moreover, he also wanted to use this opportunity to select some highly capable soldiers to serve as officers; otherwise, who would command such a large number of people?
Just as he was reviewing the list of officers, news arrived from Qiya Port.
Li Cheng made a personal trip and said, "Young Master, the other party didn't say whether they would sell or not; they only said they wanted to meet you and speak with you in detail."
Zhu Ci raised an eyebrow. "What? Vice Prefect Gu can't handle them?"
Li Cheng shook his head and said, "The person in charge on the other side refuses to see Vice Prefect Gu at all; he will only see you. He also said that as long as you are willing to show up, the grain and even other supplies will be easy to settle."
Zhu Ci raised an eyebrow slightly, stood up directly, said, "Prepare the carriage."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I'm sending you to raid your master's grain ships. Surprised? Shocked? *Evil cat gives a wicked smile. jpg*
Next update at noon~
Chapter 76
Since they had named him specifically to meet with, he might as well meet them. Besides, Suzhou was his territory now; what did he have to fear?
Of course, before leaving, he also called for Zhu Ying.
Although the Water Dragon Society caused trouble in the inland rivers more often, they still held a degree of control over the sea. Coupled with the large number of men he brought and the weapons he had prepared, he had nothing to fear.
When he arrived at Qiya Port, he immediately saw a Fuchuan moored at the deep-water port.
He was so envious on the spot that he even had the impulse to seize this ship as well.
But.. how could a grain transport fleet have Fuchuan?
When Zhu Ci's carriage arrived at the port, the other party sent someone over to pay respects and say, "Greetings, Prefect."
Zhu Ci didn't even open the carriage door before asking, "Who wishes to see this official?"
Please come aboard for a chat, My Lord.
Gu Rouqian felt a sudden surge of agitation and immediately said, "Who is this person acting so sneakily? Why won't they disembark?"
That person didn't even acknowledge Gu Rouqian, simply standing outside in silence.
After a long while, Zhu Ci finally let Jiang Xueyan open the carriage door, as he stepped down, he said, "In that case, I shall go and meet them."
Gu Rouqian thought for a moment and followed as well; although the other party might not necessarily care about him, having him there would add at least a little more weight.
Zhu Ci glanced at him without saying a word. If he wanted to follow, let him follow; there was no need for Gu Rouqian to do anything down there, as he had brought enough people.
Even if they brought over a dozen people just to board the ship, the docks below were still surrounded by many soldiers standing guard; even if a real fight broke out, the opposition wouldn't stand a chance of escaping.
Because Fuchuan have a deep draft, they did not dock completely against the pier; instead, one had to take a small boat to board the large ship.
When Zhu Ci boarded the ship, he took a special look at it, the more he looked, the more he liked the vessel.
However, he still exercised some self-restraint.
Although he had been looting lately, he couldn't truly act like a bandit; he would loot what should be looted and leave what should not, for he was a man of principle.
Zhu Ci entered the cabin of the Fuchuan without looking left or right; upon entering, he immediately saw a screen embroidered with the Map of a Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains, then caught the scent of sandalwood.
He glanced at the screen twice; just this single screen was worth no less than a thousand gold pieces.
The people on this ship.. what exactly is their identity?
Since he had already arrived here, there was no need for him to keep guessing; he simply bypassed the screen and prepared to enter the inner chamber.
As soon as he bypassed the screen and saw the situation inside, his footsteps faltered. Inside the cabin, there was only a tea table, a man dressed in red casual robes and wearing a veiled bamboo hat sat facing him.
Even though Zhu Ci was usually composed, he couldn't help but curse inwardly at this moment: Damn, why is Fu here?
Shouldn't the Marquis of Huating be locked in a fierce struggle with the imperial court right now? Why has he come aboard this ship? Could it be that this batch of grain is so important that he needs to personally oversee its transport?
If that were the case, then what exactly was the connection between Xi Yuncheng, who had sent him the message before, Fu?
But none of that is the main point right now; the main point is whether Fu actually knows him.
Theoretically, he shouldn't know him, after all, the Marquis of Huating was not present during the investiture of the Crown Prince.
Just as Zhu Ci adjusted his mood and prepared to act as if he did not know Fu, Fu, who had been brewing tea, set down the tea set in his hands and raised a hand in a gesture of invitation: "Your Highness, please."
Zhu Ci's ears perked up, the moment Fu spoke, four words flashed through his mind: a voice like gold and jade.
However, it sounded a bit too sharp, as if it were not to be trifled with.
Zhu Ci kept these thoughts in his mind, his face expressionless, but the people behind him were finding it difficult to control their own expressions.
He glanced at Fu several times, but unfortunately, the other person was completely obscured by a veiled hat, making it impossible for him to read any information from his expression.
Zhu Ci could only slowly walk over, imitating Fu's manner by kneeling on his heels, said with an air of importance, "Does the Marquis of Huating actually recognize me?"
Gu Rouqian and the others!!
After Fu personally poured him a cup of tea, he said with a hint of a smile, "I have met Your Highness twice before. Your Highness possesses extraordinary grace, so I could never forget."
Twice? So Fu had actually met the original owner before.
However, since he transmigrated here, he has experienced much, there are significant differences in both his appearance and other aspects compared to before.
Furthermore, since this body was already in its adolescence, even though only half a year had passed, the changes were significant.
Zhu Ci smiled slightly and said, "It has been several years since our last meeting, hasn't it? It is rare that the Marquis still remembers."
“It has only been four or five months. Your Highness truly has a memory like a sieve; have you already forgotten our brief meeting in Jiaxing?”
So this fellow recognized him back then? No wonder the Fu siblings could find him so accurately.
Zhu Ci's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, he gritted his teeth before setting the cup down and saying with a smile, "If the Marquis of Huating doesn't say it, I really would have forgotten."
Gu Rouqian, who had been sitting down dazedly following Zhu Ci, had only just come to his senses. He looked at the Marquis of Huating sitting opposite him, whose true face remained unseen, couldn't help but swallow hard.
Why did the atmosphere between his Prefect and this Marquis of Huating seem so strange? Although the Prefect was smiling, that smile.. Hmm, the Prefect had smiled just like that before on the Flower-Maiden Boat when he was about to fight Yan Hefang.
Oh no, could his Prefect be about to clash directly with the Marquis of Huating?
The more Gu Rouqian thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Although he didn't know why they would fight, he had the persistent illusion that the two of them were about to clash.
He looked at the person opposite him with trepidation, but unfortunately, the Marquis of Huating had his face completely covered by a veiled bamboo hat.
Not just his face, he was even wearing gloves.
This outfit.. is truly strange.
While Gu Rouqian was lost in his own thoughts, Zhu Ci and Fu had already exchanged several rounds of superficial pleasantries.
Zhu Ci wanted to probe Fu's true intentions, but after circling around, he obtained no answers.
He decisively stopped his probing; since he couldn't get the desired result, there was no need to waste any more time.