Gu Yuzhi jumped off the chair, stepped forward and grabbed the Duke of Qi's hand, his face full of sincerity, and said, "Your Excellency, these prisoners are definitely staying where they are. You need to go back and explain the situation to your elder brother. You shouldn't have brought many soldiers, right?"

There aren't many, but they will all be elites.

With the addition of my elder brother's several hundred elite soldiers, escorting so much gold and silver back to the capital will definitely not be a problem.

The Duke of Qi's eyelids twitched slightly. He subtly withdrew his hand and whispered, "What is it, Your Highness?"

He has always believed that he can outsmart others.

Just like when he came in and pretended to cry while wiping away tears in front of the young prince, he was just afraid that the young prince was not up to the task, that he had not handled the affairs of Jiangzhou well and that he would have to clean up the mess, or that he wanted to steal his credit.

So he first praised the young prince lavishly, intending to elevate him and make him too embarrassed to mention anything about taking credit.

But who knew that the young prince was really so innocent!

This kind of naiveté should never exist in a prince!

With his son's intentional or unintentional protection, and the appearance of Mr. Huo, his guard had long since vanished without a trace.

However, this does not mean that Your Highness can scheme against me!

Duke Qi slowly suppressed the anger in his heart and looked intently at Gu Yuzhi.

Gu Yuzhi chuckled, his face full of cuteness: "It's like this, we seized a lot of gold and silver treasures from the Chu Prince's mansion and the residences of his advisors, prefects, and garrison commanders. We'd like to take advantage of your trip to the capital to ask you to help escort them. Is that alright?"

Before the Duke of Qi could speak, Gu Yuzhi hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I have already spoken to my brother about this. Furthermore, Chief Secretary Xie and the Prince of Qi have checked it many times and made a list. You can check it against the list before you escort it."

The Duke of Qi frowned slightly, looking at him with a puzzled expression, and said, "Your Highness, wait a moment. It's just some stolen goods, surely it doesn't need to go to such lengths?"

He pointed at Jiang Kangming and said, "If I remember correctly, Guard Jiang brought three hundred elite soldiers with him?"

He gasped, his voice filled with suspicion: "Could it be that these elite troops..."

No way, no way?

The Emperor's three hundred elite soldiers were all wiped out after arriving in Jiangnan?

Jiang Kangming turned to look at the Duke of Qi, his expression still blank, but his tone was somewhat unpleasant: "The Duke of Qi is overthinking it. I brought three hundred men here, and I will naturally bring three hundred men back with me."

The elite soldiers' strength is no joke; of these three hundred elite soldiers, only a few were seriously injured, more than a hundred were slightly injured, and not a single one had died.

The Duke of Qi really has a wild imagination.

The Duke of Qi chuckled awkwardly, but his expression didn't seem particularly embarrassed: "Then why didn't Your Highness have them escort you?"

These elite soldiers are far more skilled than the navy.

He rubbed his chin, feeling that things weren't so simple. Otherwise, why would Jiang Kangming not seem angry at all after hearing what the young prince said?

As soon as the Duke of Qi finished speaking, Gu Yuzhi, Xie Changshi, and the others exchanged glances and all broke into big smiles.

Duke Qi would never have imagined just how much stolen goods he was talking about were!

Gu Yuzhi grabbed the Duke of Qi's hand and headed towards the main courtyard, urging him as they walked, "Duke of Qi, hurry up, I'll show you the world!"

When Teacher Shu first saw so much gold and silver treasure, she said that she had seen the world, so Gu Yuzhi felt that this statement was very appropriate for the Duke of Qi.

The Duke of Qi looked at the young prince holding his hand, somewhat bewildered: "What do you mean by 'see the world'?"

He's seen all kinds of splendor, why does he need the young prince to show him the world?

But soon, the Duke of Qi contradicted himself.

Passing through the moon gate, you arrive at the main courtyard. You don't even need to go inside; you can see that the main courtyard is filled with boxes, all of which are covered so you can't see what's inside. But these boxes stretch as far as the eye can see.

There was a guard every five steps in the main courtyard. Looking back from here, the guards behind were almost blurred into tree stumps.

Duke Qi watched as the guards stepped forward one after another to open the boxes, and various lights, some golden, some emerald green, and some orange-red, were slowly released.

He rubbed his eyes hard, and his mouth finally opened uncontrollably.

After a while, he closed his mouth with his hand, turned his head and said, "Your Highness, you said these are stolen goods found in the Chu Prince's residence and the residences of his advisors and the like?"

My goodness, this stolen goods could probably fill two national treasuries!

Gu Yuzhi looked at the Duke of Qi's expression and nodded in satisfaction.

He puffed out his cheeks, somewhat smug. The Duke of Qi was so much older than him, and he reacted this way when he saw all this gold and silver treasures, so his own reaction was not surprising at all.

Gu Yuzhi stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at him with his head tilted back. His smug expression vanished, replaced by a touch of royal authority: "Duke of Qi, now you know what I mean, don't you?"

With so much gold and silver, three hundred elite soldiers are hardly enough!

Moreover, once they set off, news of them escorting gold and silver treasures would quickly spread throughout the entire Sang Dynasty.

Money can be a powerful motivator; who knows if a group of desperate criminals might come to rob us?

Gu Yuzhi glanced at Xie Changshi without leaving a trace.

He had actually mentioned that with them there on a snowy night, the journey would be absolutely safe.

But Chief Secretary Xie rejected it.

Since things in Jiangnan have ended so peacefully, Xueye and the others should naturally remain hidden. If possible, they can play a role on the battlefield in Mobei later.

If this information is revealed now, the Northern Di people will likely take precautions upon hearing the news.

Therefore, he still suggested that the guards escort them, and only if that was not possible should Xueye and the others be allowed to appear.

Therefore, three hundred elite soldiers are definitely not enough, and more would be better.

Before the Duke of Qi could answer, Gu Yuzhi blinked and said innocently, "There shouldn't be any major problems on the way, since we're also heading back to Mobei."

Although their group was small, Guard Zhang and his men were all skilled fighters, capable of fighting against elite soldiers.

“We can travel together all the way to Jinzhou.” He tilted his head. “However, I think the people sent by my elder brother should have arrived before we get to Jinzhou.”

It was one thing to not know there was so much stolen goods before, but now that he knows, the Duke of Qi naturally understands the importance of this matter.

He nodded heavily and said carefully, "Your Highness found something in these people's residences, which will definitely not be hidden from the people of Jiangzhou. I'm afraid the news of the huge amount of stolen goods has already spread."

The Jiangnan region is still in chaos, and it's hard to be sure that no one is taking advantage of the situation.

The sooner these stolen goods are sent to the capital, the better.

"I will take inventory of the items now, and leave immediately after I'm done!"