CHAPTER 408: CHAPTER 405 COERCION

Prince Lu’s expression did not change upon hearing these words.

Li Tao continued, "The sea merchants keep asking me when we might have more of these goods."

Prince Lu lightly tapped his finger on his knee, "Song Xian has returned to the North and will immediately be busy with the market affairs. Even if the market cannot be established instantly, there will be a batch of goods coming from Liao."

"When Song Xian was in the Capital City, the Emperor promised that the wool sent by Liao would be kept in the eight states. Most of this wool will be made into wool felt, flower felt, and thread tassels, etc. At that time, I will have someone buy them, and you can ship them overseas."

Li Tao was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this, "Why... why..."

"Why not produce them ourselves?" Prince Lu smiled slightly, "Firstly, the spinning wheel used in Chen Family Village is different. They started making woolen products last year and have gathered plenty of manpower for this purpose. Moreover, the original citizens of the eight states already know how to make wool felt. Coupled with the fact that the Northwest has always produced wool and with the commencement of the market with Liao, we can obtain fur at a suitable price, leveraging the advantages of time, location, and human resources. Even if I try to manufacture them, I cannot do better than them."

"Besides, their wool felt and flower felt are inexpensive. The Chen Family Village has always won by this advantage. Since we can’t produce such cheap items, we might as well buy from them first, which is faster and more convenient."

Li Tao understood.

Prince Lu said, "I don’t have the energy for such maneuvering with them. As long as I can earn silver coin and exchange them at sea for the things I need, that’s enough."

Moreover, if he stirs up a commotion, it will arouse the Emperor’s suspicion. At that time, if the Emperor finds out he has dealings with sea merchants, even if he has goods, he won’t be able to ship them out. What use would that be? Spending so much manpower and resources just to compete for a trivial profit with Chen Family Village, why would he do that?

Li Tao said, "I will make the arrangements, repair the ships, and once the goods are ready, we will immediately set sail."

Prince Lu nodded.

Li Tao clearly had more to say, hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "Prince, I heard Princess Guangyang died at sea?"

Li Tao was visibly nervous while saying this.

Prince Lu smiled suddenly, "I thought you wouldn’t ask about this matter."

Li Tao’s palms began to sweat, "That year, October of the Ninth Year of Yuanping, I assisted Xiao Xingzong at sea to capture people. I... I saw a man and a woman..."

Li Tao dared not continue. At that time, Xiao Xingzong had dealings with the Prince, and the Prince wanted to use Xiao Xingzong’s hand to suppress the Song Family. When Xiao Xingzong lacked manpower, Li Tao would lead people to assist.

That October... Li Tao remembered clearly, those people opposed Xiao Xingzong, and he helped capture them...

Prince Lu nodded, "It was then that you had Princess Guangyang murdered."

The speculation was confirmed, Li Tao took a deep breath.

Li Tao could never have imagined that woman had such a notable background, and could not speak for a moment.

"So you must act cautiously in the future," Prince Lu said casually, "Don’t let Song Xian and Princess Jia’an’s people catch you."

Li Tao replied, "I... luckily they probably didn’t discover me at that time and didn’t see my appearance."

Prince Lu stared fixedly at Li Tao, making him feel uneasy, "Prince... what do you know?"

Prince Lu said, "Did you see a child with that man and woman that day? That child is now Princess Jia’an. Did Princess Jia’an see your appearance?"

Li Tao did not see Princess Jia’an at all, but now with Prince Lu’s reminder, it felt as if an invisible eye was staring at him from behind, ready to kill him at any sign of fault.

Li Tao stammered, "I... I don’t know..."

Prince Lu saw Li Tao’s state, stood up, walked to Li Tao, and gently patted his shoulder, "Don’t be too nervous, Princess Jia’an was only seven years old at that time. She may not necessarily recognize you. This matter you and I know, as long as you do things for me, I will protect you. Although Song Xian has conquered the eight states, he is not yet my match."

Li Tao hurriedly bowed, "Thank you, Prince, for your protection."

Prince Lu continued, "I have always felt that with you, Yan Country will prosper in the future and always belong to your Li Family."

Li Tao dared not entertain other thoughts. As Prince Lu said, Song Xian and Princess Jia’an know about the events of that year and won’t let him off, so he can only wholeheartedly follow Prince Lu.

He dared not have other thoughts, otherwise, Prince Lu would disclose that affair; Song Xian does not have the ability to immediately get rid of Prince Lu but can target him.

Li Tao felt his life was entirely grasped by Prince Lu.

"Go," Prince Lu ordered Li Tao, "This is not the place for you to linger. Load the goods and leave. Once there is news, I will let someone inform you."

Li Tao replied, "Rest assured, Prince."

"One more thing," Prince Lu added, "Our ship is still too small, doesn’t travel far enough, and doesn’t carry enough cargo. You need to build a bigger ship sooner. Whatever manpower you need, I will send to you, but remember... don’t let me wait too long."

Li Tao lowered his head, "I will certainly do my utmost for the Prince."

"Go," Prince Lu suddenly laughed heartily, "Seeing you in the Capital City, I am very pleased. You handled the task well. This time you earned a lot of silver coin for me, and I depend on you for training and sustaining soldiers."

Such words seemed to dissolve the previous atmosphere of panic and fear altogether.

Li Tao had been around Prince Lu for a long time, yet each time seeing Prince Lu change face so quickly still felt alarming.

Bowing to the Prince, Li Tao then walked out, trembling.

The room quieted down, Prince Lu sat back in his chair; tonight his goals were achieved, using past events to deter the Li Family from having other thoughts, further consolidating his hold on them.

Buying goods from the eight states and selling them overseas was indeed the most convenient and effortless now, but he wouldn’t allow Song Xian to profit so easily. Song Xian was like a fat sheep, and when the time was ripe, he would naturally put him into the pot for meat.

Li Tao returned to his temporary residence, and his confidant immediately approached him, "Second Master, how did it go? Did you confirm with Prince Lu?"

Li Tao nodded, "Yes, we indeed killed Princess Guangyang back then."

The confidant gasped, neither spoke for a long time.

Li Tao licked his lips, "Can we confirm that Princess Guangyang was indeed killed back then?"

The confidant said, "Under such circumstances, surviving would be unlikely."

Li Tao closed his eyes; luckily, Princess Guangyang died just like that. After pondering for a while, he decided, "Once we return, deal with everyone who assisted me in that matter, leave none behind, to prevent this news from spreading."

Let everything be buried underground with Xiao Xingzong; Xiao Xingzong didn’t speak, and the people around Song Xian and Princess Jia’an would never know.

Li Tao steadied his emotions and instructed his confidant, "Catch Liu Xi early, interrogate him thoroughly and find out what skills allow him to lead fleets in discerning directions at sea, so effortlessly."

From now on, for his safety, he must serve Prince Lu well, without the slightest dissatisfaction from Prince Lu.

...

Zhenzhou Chen Family Village.

Xie Liangchen was sewing clothes; injecting the needle into the fingertip accidentally, Xie Liangchen cried out and put the finger in her mouth.

Mrs. Gao saw this and said with concern, "Look at you, how many times have you done this?"

Xie Liangchen invited Mrs. Gao to sit down.

Mrs. Gao smiled, "I came from the front and heard your wedding date is set."