Businessmen are quick-witted people, regardless of their country or ethnicity.

After the Lion City navy defeated the Majapahit pirates, many maritime merchants approached their partners in Great Xia, asking if they could request escorts from Lion City's frigates.

The soldiers of the Singapore Squadron of the Navy cheered. They had always been envious of the infantrymen who, while stationed in Malacca, would buy their rations from the military service center and resell them in the Malacca bonded zone for several times the profit.

The naval fleet can only dock at its home port in Singapore; the rest of the time it's either patrolling or training. Those familiar with the routes have been repeatedly warned against any substantive contact with anyone. Now that they finally have a legitimate source of "extra income," how could they not be happy?

"Your Excellency Bubatan, the Bactrians of Lion City have dispatched a warship escorting twenty merchant ships... bound for East Java..."

Wilma waved his hand, dismissing the subordinate who had come in to report; his head was throbbing. He had originally thought that by sending pirates to blockade the area around Horton Island, they could capture all merchant ships heading to East Java or West Java, and even if no merchant ships dared to trade in Java in the end, he wouldn't be afraid, since East Java wouldn't be able to obtain the scarce supplies anyway.

But now, with the intervention of the Xia people, all the merchant ships have gone to East Java. They no longer dare to come to West Java, fearing they will be double-crossed.

"Sigh! It seems I still have to go and get ripped off by the Great Xia merchants!" Wilmar reluctantly made his final choice, preferring to be slaughtered rather than give up, as his master was still waiting for his support!

In Singapore, Xiao Jingkun looked at the gifts on the table and calmly asked, "Where do they want us to escort them?"

"Reporting to the commander, they are 'Zengmu Island,' also known as 'Jiangda Natuna Island.' After repeatedly inquiring about their location, I believe it is our 'Wansheng Shitang.'"

Xiao Jingkun tapped the gift box on the table lightly with his fingers. It was filled with gold. This wasn't even the escort fee; as long as he agreed to escort it, the gold would be his.

"Where do you think they're going?"

"I think these Indians aren't going to Borneo, but rather to Champa or... Bactria."

Xiao Jingkun pushed the gift box back. "Return the gift. They've come to the wrong place. The area north of Lion City is under the jurisdiction of the Development Bureau. Tell them to go find Lin Yongqian."

That evening, the gift box was delivered to Lin Yongqian's residence. Zhu was anxious and stayed up all night. Finally, at dawn, he received news that a fleet of ships would be heading north in three days, and they could follow them.

"Great! Their fleet must be heading back to Great Xia. We've hit the jackpot this time. As long as we follow them, even just for a few days, I'll be able to figure out the general direction and find the route to Great Xia."

Upon receiving the news, Chief Zhu Rao was overjoyed. His face was covered in the marks of the sea breeze, and his eyes shone with confidence.