In the treasury of the Imperial Household Department, Lü Qiang looked dejectedly at the meager amount of wealth inside.
Just as Lü Qiang was sighing, the eunuch Zhang Rang had sent out came running out of the treasury, panting heavily.
"Attendant Lü, are you inside?"
The eunuch dared not enter casually, so he could only shout at the top of his lungs towards the inside.
"Attendant Lü, are you inside...?"
After waiting for a long time without any response, the eunuch shouted loudly again, while craning his neck to look inside.
"Are you making a funeral call? What are you yelling about??"
A disgruntled voice reached the eunuch's ears, and shortly after, Lü Qiang walked out of the treasury with a gloomy face.
"Hmm? Which department do you serve? I've never seen you before in our household."
Lu Qiang looked at the young eunuch in front of him with a puzzled expression, finding him completely unfamiliar.
"Replying to Attendant Lü, I, Guo Sheng, was originally a palace servant, but now I serve under Attendant Zhang!"
Guo Sheng bowed and scraped as he explained his background.
"Oh? You're one of Zhang Rang's men?"
Lu Qiang frowned, his words cold.
Guo Sheng replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "In response to Attendant Lü, I am His Majesty's man, but I merely serve under Attendant Zhang!"
"Hehe~, interesting!"
Upon hearing Guo Sheng's reply, Lü Qiang chuckled softly, then glanced at Guo Sheng again. This meek and obedient eunuch seemed quite extraordinary to him.
"Speak, what did Zhang Rang send you here for?"
"Reporting to Attendant Lü, Attendant Zhang has brought back a hundred cartloads of valuables from Liaoxi, totaling fifty billion coins. They are currently outside the Southern Palace. Please send someone to them..."
"Whoosh!"
Before Guo Sheng could finish speaking, he heard a whoosh as Lü Qiang darted out and ran towards Nangong.
"Uh... receive?"
Looking at Lü Qiang, who had already run far away, Guo Shengcai slowly uttered the last two words.
"I originally thought that Zhang Changshi was already the fastest in the palace... I didn't expect that this Lü Changshi would be even faster...!"
After praising the move, Guo Sheng quickly turned around and chased after it.
"Haha~, we're rich! Haha~, Zhang Rang is really something...! Fifty billion...! Fifty billion...!"
As Lü Qiang ran towards the outside of Nangong, he kept laughing and imagining the wonderful scene of 5 billion yuan entering the treasury.
Just as Lü Qiang ran outside the Nangong Palace, he suddenly saw Cao Song, the man who gave him nightmares every night, leading his men to transport cartloads of valuables to the national treasury.
"Stop! All of you, stop right now!"
Seeing the valuables being hauled away in truckloads, Lü Qiang's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ran over to stop the people.
"Grand Minister of Agriculture, these belong to the Imperial Household Department. How can you just take them away like that...?"
Lu Qiang glared at Cao Song, his usual fear of Cao Song vanishing.
"Your servants are all over there. What I'm taking away are all from the national treasury...!"
Cao Song smiled and then pointed to the large carts lined up on the other side.
Lu Qiang glanced at the identical large trucks and said angrily, "Don't try to fool me, these trucks clearly came together!"
Cao Song chuckled and looked at Lü Qiang, "So what if it's the same? This is all His Majesty's will...! If you're so capable, go and confront His Majesty!"
"I...! Humph!"
Faced with the emperor's generosity, Lü Qiang was at a loss for words. He could only snort coldly and then send men to transport the remaining carts pulled by Cao Song back to the Imperial Household Department.
Inside the treasury of the Imperial Household Department, while leading his men to inventory the valuables, Lü Qiang also picked up one precious gold artifact after another and began to examine and admire them.
Lu Qiang walked up to a wooden box containing gold artifacts and picked up a gold kettle to examine it closely.
Upon opening the kettle lid, Lü Qiang discovered that inside the kettle was a piece of sheepskin and a letter.
"Huh? What's this...?"
With a look of surprise, Lü Qiang took out the sheepskin and letter from the kettle.
"How dare they be so audacious?"
When Lü Qiang saw the patterns on the sheepskin and the contents of the letter, his expression changed drastically.
The sheepskin was actually a map showing the route from Youbeiping through Wuhuan to Xianbei, while the letter contained a request from Murong Tu of the Eastern Xianbei to purchase refined iron and grain.
"You all stay here and guard this place. No one is allowed to move. I'm going to see His Majesty!"
Immediately, Lü Qiang stuffed the sheepskin and letter into his pocket, then left the treasury and ran towards the Deyang Palace.
In Deyang Palace, Liu Hong was sitting at his desk, reviewing the treaty that Tao Qian and Zhong Shao had urgently sent, concerning Juyan's willingness to annex the entire country to the Han Dynasty.
"Heh, these two are indeed rare talents!"
After reading the contents of the treaty and seeing the dense handprints on it, Liu Hong couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Send this treaty to the Imperial Secretariat, then issue a grand edict to announce it to the world!!"
As he spoke, Liu Hong handed the treaty to Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and Song Dian, who were huddled together to the side.
"promise!"
Zhang Rang swiftly snatched the treaty from Liu Hong's hand and ran outside.
Then Liu Hong stood up, his eyes shining as he looked at the map of the Han Dynasty behind him.
When his gaze swept over the place where Juyan was located, Liu Hong couldn't help but smile. That place that had made him uncomfortable for so long had finally become part of the Han Dynasty.
Then Liu Hong's gaze slowly moved, constantly wandering back and forth between the Eastern and Western Qiang, the Lesser Yuezhi, and the Western Regions.
Finally, Liu Hong fixed his gaze on the location of the Lesser Yuezhi on the map.
Just as Liu Hong was looking at the scene, the guards on duty in front of Deyang Palace hurried in.
"Your Majesty, Attendant Lü is requesting an audience outside the palace!"
"Okay, let him in!"
"promise!"
Soon, Lü Qiang arrived at Deyang Palace in a hurry and bowed to Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"
"No need for formalities! You look like you've run all the way here, haven't you? What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"
Looking at Lü Qiang, who was panting heavily and whose chest was heaving, Liu Hong couldn't help but chuckle. He thought Lü Qiang had come to plead poverty because of Cao Song's matter.
Upon hearing the emperor's question, Lü Qiang solemnly took out the sheepskin map and the letter from his bosom.
"Your Majesty, while inventorying the confiscated property, I discovered these two items. Knowing their importance, I rushed here to report to Your Majesty and request your review!"
As they spoke, Lü Qiang slowly stepped forward, carrying the sheepskin map and letter, and placed them on Liu Hong's desk.
"This is... their smuggling route map?"
Liu Hong picked up the sheepskin map and his expression changed immediately. He discovered that the route marked on the sheepskin was exactly the route that Huang Zhong and the others had reported about the mysterious caravan's route.
"Well, huh? Do these people think their entire family is invincible?"
After reading the contents of the letter, Liu Hong couldn't help but sneer, his words filled with murderous intent.
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