Chapter 112 The System of Exile in the Lands of Exile...
Qi Chengming rubbed his eyes and let out a weary sigh.
It seems to be a big problem.
...The situation in Yulin Prefecture was far more serious than he had imagined. This meant that for many years, they had kept it completely secret from outsiders, which was why they dared to act so recklessly locally.
Qi Chengming recalled the Yang family's suspected backing: "So how exactly did the Empress get involved with the Yang family?"
He also had some secret deals with the Empress. If he made any big moves, it could expose other problems and lead to the premature downfall of the Empress and the Sixth Prince, which would be detrimental to him. However, being timid and hesitant to act would go against Qi Chengming's values, and he couldn't swallow this insult.
Commander Mao quickly reassured his prince: "They say the Yang family is related to the Empress's family, but actually the Yang family has only connected with some unimportant people—the Empress's relatives are just showing off because they have a noble person in their family."
"I can roughly imagine what it will look like." Qi Chengming's face showed a hint of disgust, not at all surprised.
History often repeats itself, and novels often feature similar plots.
In other words... he plans to take significant action against Yulin Prefecture, and it would be best if the Empress's relatives knew better than to make a scene. Making too much of a fuss would be bad for everyone.
We need to communicate this matter properly.
Qi Chengming looked up at the sky in the courtyard outside and calculated the time: "I wonder where Doctor Bian is. Well, just to be on the safe side... I should send a message to Li Banhui."
According to the plan he and Dr. Bian had discussed, the other party should already be on their way home.
Li Banhui, that纨绔子弟 (playboy), would still send letters from time to time, openly wasting the official resources of the post station for transmigrating into the book. Unfortunately, he had the Empress Dowager behind him, so everyone turned a blind eye. Qi Chengming would only read them each time, never once asking him to do anything. Now it was time to use his manpower.
"Then let's take action." Qi Chengming said softly, having considered all the possible scenarios in his mind.
At this point, the Yang siblings, who had been repeatedly exposed for all their intelligence, cried out, their previous arrogance completely gone, and were secretly put into a prison cart bound for Lingnan.
"No, we are the Yang family of Yulin! My father can offer many jewels, really! A lot of money... Please!" "Your Highness, we really haven't offended you! We haven't offended you at all!"
The young man from the Yang family had been desperately trying to curry favor with the prince, offering every bargaining chip he could think of. He was being led away by the imperial guards in a disheveled state, yet he still clung to a pillar, unwilling to leave. The young woman from the Yang family, on the other hand, was much more aggrieved. She repeatedly explained herself, refusing to admit that they had offended the prince, clinging to a sliver of hope that the prince had arrested the wrong person.
Seeing that Qi Chengming remained unmoved, the young man from the Yang family turned even paler. He slumped in the carriage, his expression gradually turning to despair: "Little sister... don't beg anymore. The prince has probably taken a liking to our Yang family. Whether we have offended him or not... is completely irrelevant."
Qi Chengming was giving instructions to Abu, the imperial guard escorting the carriage, when he heard this and gave them a look: "Do you remember how you cursed the people around you on the day of the spring outing?"
Qi Chengming was indeed using an excuse to bring down the Yang family, but that didn't mean he wasn't interested in winning their hearts and minds.
"You're calling everyone an idiot." Qi Chengming paused meaningfully, watching the young man from the Yang family's expression shift from surprise to rage. The young woman from the Yang family turned deathly pale, her face filled with despair.
Qi Chengming continued, a smile spreading across his face: "And... who was it that was spouting such nonsense, saying that my friends should just wait and see, that they'd get what's coming to them later? Their status is low, they're not as safe as I am. To prevent you from harming them later, I have no choice but to strike first."
The young man from the Yang family now looked guilty and flustered. The young woman from the Yang family started crying, kicking and scratching him.
"It's you! You're the one causing trouble!"
"That's even now." Qi Chengming watched them complain to each other with satisfaction, then waved his hand, signaling Abu to set off.
Since there are countless hardships to endure ahead, wouldn't it be better to identify the source in advance?
...
Half a month later, on the only cement road in Lingnan leading to Panzhou, Huang Dong, whose skin was tanned dark and whose muscles were more defined, was wearing a short cloth shirt and was receiving the prison van with a few of his men.
By then, the Yang siblings had cried their eyes out, their hair was disheveled, and their eyes were filled with fear.
Having been pampered since childhood, they had never experienced such a uncomfortable prison cart ride. Before, even the slightest unpleasant smell would be fumed with fresh fruit, which would then be discarded. But now... they were bound with ropes at all times, their food was barely edible, their skin was filthy, and they hadn't been bathed since they were captured.
Even more agonizing was the fear of the future, and the resentment and anger towards each other... For the Yang siblings, this journey was nothing short of a nightmare.
Little did they know that providing them with good food and drink while they rode in prison carts was already a favor; even greater hardships lay ahead.
"Alright, thank you for your hard work." Huang Dong also recognized Abu, this enthusiastic young man. He patted him on the shoulder and had his men take over the prison van. After nearly two hours of bumpy dirt roads and winding through jungles, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a vast beach and distant cliffs.
The sound of waves and the azure sea, which I had never heard before, appeared before my eyes.
In front of this secluded clearing in the forest, a few wooden houses stand scattered about, crookedly clustered together, resembling a primitive village, with a few scattered people moving around inside.
The Yang siblings had never seen the sea before, and this was the first time they had witnessed such a magnificent view. Even though their future was uncertain, they couldn't help but stare in astonishment: "...!!"
Huang Dong made a gesture, and a man next to him walked over, opened the prison van, and dragged the brother and sister out.
Huang Dong had already seen the letter from His Highness. Overall, Huang Dong was somewhat disgusted, but he had no choice but to reluctantly accept the person.
Over the course of several months, the dock was completed in a well-hidden location, so even if their village was discovered, there would be no immediate danger.
The three ships they bought have already been modified and launched for testing, but the biggest challenge is... training a reliable crew.
The best way to train them to be proficient with ships and weather is through daily training and daily sea voyages. Huang Dong is still not entirely at ease and estimates that they need to train for another month or so before he dares to let them sail to more distant parts of the sea.
This would result in higher wear and tear on the ship.
The shipyard is always busy, morning and night. There are so many low-skilled odd jobs to do that it's impossible to keep up, but the shipyard is top secret, and Huang Dong's side is always in dire need of manpower.
Now that the brother and sister have come, it means they'll never leave again, they're safer than the dead. The only thing to worry about is the heavy physical labor; the brother and sister look so delicate, I hope they don't get exhausted after a short time.
Fortunately, His Highness said in the letter that new prisoners would be sent over in the future, and that he should not hesitate to continue using them.
"Now that we're by the sea, we should just get back to work," Huang Dong said casually.
In front of the brother and sister, he reverted to the sharp and unpleasant demeanor he had shown when Qi Chengming first met him: "Go and move those things onto the four-wheeled vehicle."
"Me...we?" the young man from the Yang family stammered, staring incredulously at the huge piles of wooden barrels at the village entrance. He had thought they were decorations or part of the walls, but they turned out to be goods?
The Yang family girl is no longer as arrogant as she used to be. She moved her lips slightly, and no matter how you looked at her, it seemed that she couldn't lift the wooden barrel that was as thick as a man's embrace.
Huang Dong had already left, busy with his own work, seemingly not intending to care about the brother and sister anymore. A passing man grinned and said, "You don't have to do it. It'll be easier to die if you do it on an empty stomach later. Hehe... You can try to escape, but our village is closed off from the outside world, and the roads are full of poisonous insects and miasma."
What he didn't say was that even if they were lucky enough to sneak out alive, they would still have to travel two hours by carriage to reach the main paved road, and then to Fushan before they could even see any signs of human habitation. However, he seriously doubted whether they could successfully sneak out without any medicinal herbs or food reserves. This was Lingnan, a place feared by all; even their large team that had come here to reclaim land and build a shipyard had suffered several casualties…
This is a perfect place for exile.
Transporting supplies here is usually extremely difficult. It all depends on the Second Prince's caravan secretly bringing things over. Then, figuring out how to get the supplies from the village to the dock becomes a heavy and painful task.
Now it's good, someone's come to do the work. Even if they're a little slower, it's still better than them doing it all!
The man was secretly pleased and took on the role of supervisor...
Liuzhou.
Qi Chengming calculated the time and guessed that Huang Dong had already received the person. He sighed inexplicably, "This is really difficult."
Shipbuilding and setting sail.
If it weren't for Mr. Huang's assurance that they would soon be able to set sail, Qi Chengming would have been extremely anxious. The territory using the ration coupons is still expanding, but overall, Qi Chengming has firmly controlled it within a few states, and things are currently relatively stable.
However, as long as Qi Chengming wants to continue expanding his territory, he will need a sufficient amount of silver as collateral. He is determined to acquire those overseas silver mines.
Now that Qi Chengming is preparing to take action against Yu Linzhou, he can't help but feel even more depressed, experiencing both pain and joy.
...If we get another state, we'll be running out of money. Mr. Huang, please lend a hand!!
Half a month has passed, and the Yang family in Yulin Prefecture finally received the message from the Wen family. The apology team they hurriedly dispatched arrived in Liuzhou. The person in charge was the cousin of the Yang siblings, who was also the head of the fourth branch of the Yulin Yang family.
Qi Chengming, however, did not see them.
Under the watchful eye of his cousin, he was engrossed in copying "The Barefoot Doctor's Manual" in his study. His cousin, Wang Shouzuo, had been waiting impatiently for his turn to join the army, but hadn't received the promised gift. So, he rudely came to his door to watch him write, not allowing him to delay any longer.
Qi Chengming, feeling guilty, buried his head in copying.
It's hard to say whether his delay was due to not wanting his cousin to go to the battlefield where swords and spears fly too early.
The young man sat calmly to the side, sipping tea with his usual gentle smile, patiently watching Qi Chengming write furiously. Qi Chengming stole a glance at his cousin's expression, straightened his back even more, and stiffly continued writing.
So when Song Gu came to report that the Yang family had arrived, Qi Chengming waved his hand and completely ignored them: "Let them wait!"
—Although he was sweating profusely under his cousin's intense gaze, Qi Chengming, not wanting to see anyone, chose to spend his time with his cousin, thinking about how disgusting the Yang family was.
"The Yang family," Wang Shou murmured thoughtfully, putting down his teacup. "Because of my parents and Tian Niang, I've developed a fondness for people with the surname Yang. But I shouldn't be so naive."
Qi Chengming quietly agreed.
He quite liked the Yang family—referring to his cousin's family. Even his cousin's name, Qi Chengming privately thought, sounded better as "Yang Shou" than "Wang Shou." Who knew there was such a group of parasites in Yulin Prefecture?
It has to be eliminated.
Qi Chengming made up his mind after thinking about this, and said again, "Steward Song, let them wait a few days and then come back to me."
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