Chapter 365: 350 Old Friends, Prince Qing's Path to Wealth_2

Chapter 365: Chapter 350 Old Friends, Prince Qing’s Path to Wealth_2

Despite the fact that the strength of the Li Sheng Dynasty is rather underwhelming, it remains, after all, a dynasty.

“No, the Kim family of Silla and Prince Qing have a cooperative relationship. Although the Kim family initially received support from Prince Qing, they have now proclaimed themselves kings and are not under the control of Prince Qing,” said Wei Cen.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly; this was all within reason.

Both the Royal Family of the Li family and the Kim family of Silla, in their bones, held Da Rong in awe.

Although the Kim family of Silla now occupies the territory of the Li Sheng Dynasty, no, there is no Li Sheng Dynasty anymore. Two years ago, the Kim family changed the country’s name to Jinrong Dynasty, but they have yet to receive the old Emperor’s investiture.

Several members of the Li family’s Royal Family still remain in the Capital City, although the Li Sheng Dynasty has perished, traces of the royal bloodline linger.

In recent years, the Kim family of Silla has been continuously seeking the old Emperor’s investiture, and the court’s stance is divided into two factions: some wish to help the Royal Family of the Li family reclaim the throne, while others believe that the Kim family of Silla can be invested.

“That means the Kim family of Silla could also collaborate with Prince Qing— as long as they help Prince Qing ascend to the throne, Prince Qing will surely recognize the Jinrong Dynasty!” Yang Zhenshan stated.

Wei Cen nodded, “We can’t rule out that possibility!”

In order to obtain Da Rong’s investiture and help Prince Qing rise to power, such a situation is not impossible.

It all depends on whether the Kim family of Silla dares to place their bet on Prince Qing.

“Is there anything else?” asked Yang Zhenshan.

“Yes, we’ve discovered that Prince Qing’s fleet has been consistently supplying materials to the Kim family of Silla, and their resources come from Jiangnan!” Wei Cen reported.

That is to say, there are also people in Jiangnan serving Prince Qing!

Yang Zhenshan looked up at the map beside him, his forehead furrowed in contemplation.

Raising an army costs a substantial sum of money. From the intelligence currently known, Prince Qing commands the soldiers from two guards and a Navy, the rebel army of Chongshan Town can be cultivated with the might of the court, but he can only support the forces under his command by himself.

Sustaining the soldiers from two guards and a sizable Navy consumes an enormous amount of money and grain—no small sum.

This indicates that Prince Qing must have other revenue streams; otherwise, he absolutely couldn’t afford to maintain such a large army.

Jiangnan and the Li Sheng Dynasty, this counts as one source of income.

The smuggling from An Yuan City in the past is another.

But it’s still not enough; something is missing.

Ji Feiyu and the Wuliang Hu Clan!

“Have you really not detected any collusion between Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu?” Yang Zhenshan inquired.

“No!” Wei Cen revealed a bitter smile.

This time, the Secret Martial Guard North Station has seriously neglected its duty. After years of investigation, they completely failed to notice the collusion between Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu; it can be said they have utterly lost face for the Secret Martial Guard.

“How did Ji Feiyu enter into collusion with the Wuliang Hu Clan?” Yang Zhenshan voiced his own doubts.

Clearly, Ji Feiyu and the Wuliang Hu Clan’s collusion wasn’t recent. Back when Ji Feiyu served as the Vice General on the West Road of Chongshan Town, he was already in cahoots with the Wuliang Hu Clan.

How did both parties come to an agreement? What was the foundation of their mutual trust?

It certainly couldn’t be that Ji Feiyu sent someone over to have a chat, and the Wuliang Hu Clan simply agreed to collaborate with them, right?

That’s obviously not possible!

Ji Feiyu and the Wuliang Hu Clan must be entangled in mutual interests!

And their mutual interests must involve smuggling.

To put it simply, Ji Feiyu has likely been providing various resources to the Wuliang Hu Clan all along.

Both parties trade, exchange what they have, and profit together.

The Wuliang Hu Clan needs the supplies provided by Ji Feiyu, while Ji Feiyu, or rather Prince Qing, can thus make a profit.

The previous exposure of smuggling collusion between An Yuan City and the East Sea Hu Clan actually became the best cover for Ji Feiyu.

However, there remains one issue: how were the materials transported to the West Road of Chongshan Town?

They definitely didn’t come from Qinghua Prefecture, otherwise that route would have been exposed long ago!

Yang Zhenshan gazed at the map, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Jiangnan, Jizhou, Liaoxi, the West Road of Chongshan Town!”

“Jiangnan, Jizhou, the Li Sheng Dynasty!”

“Brother Wei, it seems that your investigation into Prince Qing has only revealed the tip of the iceberg!”

“You’re looking in the wrong direction. Neither Qinghua Prefecture nor the Li Sheng Dynasty are the key; the key lies in Jizhou!”

Wei Cen also looked at the map but couldn’t utter a single word.

It had to be said how flawless Prince Qing’s layout was.

Jiangnan, Jizhou, Liaoxi, the West Road of Chongshan Town—this line had no connection with Qinghua Prefecture at all, and a complete commercial route could be formed without passing through Qinghua Prefecture.

No one would suspect that a merchant caravan entering the West Road of Chongshan Town from Liaoxi would have anything to do with Prince Qing.

The trade route between Jiangnan and the Li Sheng Dynasty was across the sea, and even though maritime travel required set courses, tracking them down would be very difficult.

The only risk of exposure lay in the fact that the money they earned would definitely need to be transported to a portion of Qinghua Prefecture, so it was impossible to hide the news that Prince Qing had a fleet of ships.

However, it was extremely difficult to ascertain the precise situation and destination of this fleet, because it was hard to infiltrate the ships and even harder to track them on the high sea.

Yang Zhenshan changed the topic and asked, “So what do you need to do next? What do I need to do?”

Wei Cen shook his head, “It’s not about what we need you to do, but what you need us to do?”

“Under the command of the Admiral, I will provide the General with all the intelligence information he needs. Whatever the General needs, the information in my possession can be offered, and the General can also tell me what information he requires, which I can arrange to investigate!” said Wei Cen.

“Admiral, where is Mr. Lv now?” asked Yang Zhenshan.

“The Admiral has gone to Liaoxi!”

“How many men do you have under your command?” Yang Zhenshan continued.

Wei Cen replied, “I am now the Chieftain of the Secret Martial Guard North Station with one hundred and eighty Hidden Guards, three hundred Tenglong cavalrymen under my command, and additionally, I can activate all the shadows in the Liaodong region and Chongshan Town.”

Yang Zhenshan looked at Wei Cen in astonishment.

Already a Chieftain?

Hidden Guards are those responsible for case investigation and intelligence gathering.

Tenglong cavalry belong to the Secret Martial Guards’ armed forces.

Shadows refer to covert intelligence operatives hidden in the dark.

The force under a Chieftain of the Secret Martial Guards is still not small.

Yang Zhenshan weighed his options and said, “I need you to provide me with all the intelligence of Chongshan Town, every city, every garrison, the more detailed, the better!”

“No problem!” Wei Cen agreed without hesitation.

“Also, keep an eye on the Jinrong Dynasty. If they intend to send troops, I need to know in advance!” Yang Zhenshan said.

If the Jinrong Dynasty were willing to send troops to help Prince Qing, the situation would become even more complex.

Tenglong Guards had cooperated with the Jinrong Dynasty for these four years. The two sides had frequent maritime trade dealings, making Tenglong Guards suspects of aiding the enemy, but this was permitted by the old Emperor, so Yang Zhenshan was not overly concerned.

“Certainly!”

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you still have men at Chongshan Pass?”

“Yes, but not many, only about thirty-plus people! Ah, all Martial Artists,” said Wei Cen.

“Can you still contact them?”

“Yes!”

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes brightened, “Try to see if you can rescue Lu Chongde.”

Wei Cen shook his head, “We’ve already tried. It’s impossible to rescue him!”

“…”

Yang Zhenshan was somewhat speechless.

Lu Chongde, the Governor of Chongshan Town, was the only one capable of leading the whole situation in Chongshan Town now. Yang Zhenshan wanted to rescue him, but it seemed there was now no chance.

“Forget it then!” This was all Yang Zhenshan could say.

Wei Cen didn’t mind Yang Zhenshan’s disappointment because his seeking out Yang Zhenshan already signified that the only person who could change the current situation in Liaodong and Chongshan Town was him alone.

It was precisely because Lv Hua understood this that he had Wei Cen come to help Yang Zhenshan.

Of course, they also had people sent to seek out Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu, but their primary focus was still on Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan stood up, glanced at the map again, and said, “Next, I plan to lay siege to Qinghua Prefecture City. I need you to monitor Chongshan Pass and Songzhou Guard, and inform me immediately if they dispatch troops to Qinghua Prefecture.”

Undoubtedly, the key to this battle was Prince Qing, and as long as Prince Qing was captured, the biggest problem would be resolved.

Therefore, the battle for Qinghua Prefecture City had become the most crucial one.

“Your subordinate will follow the order!” Wei Cen stood up, clasped his fist, and replied.