After Yin Yao left, Han Zhong, Wang Tiezhu, Xi Sheng, Guo Luo and others hurried in to inquire.
Bai Ruolan recounted the situation briefly and said worriedly, "Princess Yin Yao's words cannot be fully believed, but neither can they be disbelieved."
"But the situation is indeed as precarious as she said. Today, only Pan Ren came. What about tomorrow? How can the Crown Prince accept this? And how can the Prince of Jin stop just because the Princess is here?"
"My husband has built this vast foundation: the fine salt and ironware of Yinzhou, the newly built Yinzhou City, the coal mines of Qiwu Mountain in Yanzhou, the hundreds of thousands of honeycomb briquettes, the tobacco from Wohugang in Xiazhou, and the hundreds of thousands of shi of grain and countless money stored in Shuozhou City... Which one of these wouldn't make me jealous?"
"Are we really going to watch them become someone else's wedding dress?"
As she spoke, her voice choked and the tears she had been holding back finally fell.
She worked day and night and was overly sad, so she had become extremely thin and now looked even more shaky.
Han Zhong felt a sharp pain in his heart when he saw her like this, and the words "Tou Zhao is not dead yet" almost came out of his mouth!
He clenched his fists, digging his nails deep into his palms, and only then did he swallow the words back with strong willpower.
He remembered Zhao Muyun's secret order.
This is definitely not the time to reveal the truth. The fewer people who know, the more realistic the drama will be and the safer the plan will be.
He could only turn his head away, harden his heart, and said in a deep voice: "Madam, don't worry! As long as Han Zhong is still breathing, he will never let the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin's men succeed!"
"The Shuozhou Army will always be Zhao Tou's Shuozhou Army! The current situation is extremely complicated. We can only do one thing: delay!"
He tried to make his tone full of determination: "Delay for time, delay until... until there is new news from the capital!"
"Until then, close the city gates tightly, strengthen security, and maintain the status quo. We will continue to appear weak to the enemy, but we will not show any mercy to anyone who dares to take action!"
Wang Tiezhu slammed the table in his wheelchair, his eyes red as he roared, "That's right! Whoever dares to rob me, I'll make sure his whole family lives in utter ruin!"
In terms of feelings, Wang Tiezhu treated Zhao Muyun as his own brother, and his sadness was no less than that of his two wives.
Xi Sheng, Guo Luo and others also expressed their stance, vowing to defend Shuozhou to the death.
Bai Ruolan looked at this group of loyal generals, and felt relieved. She nodded silently, wiped away her tears, and a tenacious light appeared in her eyes again.
She must be strong, for her husband's hard work and for this family.
…
At the same time, in Jinyang City.
Hu San was exhausted and fled back to the mansion of Zhou Dequan, Bai Shouren (there were several chapters about Bai Shoujing before, but they were actually typos), and Wang Pan with more than a dozen bundles of dry tobacco and a wooden box full of cigarettes.
"Three gentlemen! I have accomplished your mission!"
Hu San fell to his knees and described in a moving voice how he had gone through untold hardships and fought bloody battles to snatch these "treasures" from the heavy siege of the Shuozhou defenders.
As for the craftsmen, he said with great sorrow that he was unable to bring them back and they had been rescued by the Shuozhou army.
And those more than 300 desperate criminals naturally never returned.
Zhou Dequan and the other two looked at the tobacco and peculiarly shaped cigarettes that they had never seen before, and heard about Hu San's "life-or-death experience". Although they regretted not getting the craftsman, they were overjoyed to get the real thing.
"Quick! Let's try it!"
Wang Pan couldn't wait to take out a cigarette, lit it with a lighter according to Hu San's vague description, and took a deep breath.
A spicy smoke with a strange aroma rushed into his throat and lungs, choking him and causing him to cough repeatedly, and then a slight feeling of dizziness and relaxation spread.
"Hmm...what a strange feeling!"
Zhou Dequan and Bai Shouren also tried it. They were not used to it at first, but soon they realized the beauty of it.
"This thing is easy to smoke and has a unique taste. If it can be promoted among dignitaries, it will surely become popular in Dayin and make a fortune!" Bai Shouren's eyes lit up.
Zhou Dequan stroked the tobacco leaves and said greedily, "More than that! This is simply another cash cow! Zhao Muyun really knows how to come up with some new and interesting things!"
Just when he was excited, a trusted family member came hurriedly and brought a shocking news.
Zhao Muyun fell off a cliff in the western suburbs of the capital and died, and his body was never found!
The three of them were stunned when they heard this, then looked at each other, and ecstasy broke out on their faces at the same time!
"Dead? Zhao Muyun is actually dead?" Bai Shouren could hardly believe his ears.
"Hahaha! God help me! It's really retribution!" Zhou Dequan clapped his hands and laughed, "This evil villain has finally gotten what he deserved!"
Although Wang Pan was also delighted, he quickly calmed down, with a shrewd glint in his eyes:
"He died a good death! A wonderful death! Not only did it save us the trouble of revenge, but more importantly, his property... is now ownerless!"
Zhou Dequan was immediately tempted: "Yes! Yinzhou fine salt! My salt industry can make a comeback!"
Bai Shouren also said excitedly: "I want to take back the Bai family's property, and make my niece Bai Ruolan pay the price!"
Wang Pan was relatively cautious and waved his hand to stop the two impulsive people:
"Wait a minute, you two! Shuozhou is currently at the center of a storm. I heard that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin have their sights set on it. If we rashly reach out now, we might become the target of public criticism and bring disaster upon ourselves."
He pointed to the box of cigarettes:
"The most urgent thing is to seize this tobacco business before the news spreads and others haven't reacted yet!"
"This is the huge wealth that we can enjoy right now!"
"Wouldn't it be safer to wait until the Crown Prince, Prince Jin and their men have almost torn Shuozhou apart before we go back to clean up the mess and reclaim our old property?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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