The adults had lost their appetite after a whole day of interrogation, but Su Lan still prepared delicious food and filled the table with dishes. The twins and Songkelierha were not disturbed by the interrogation at all and ate with great relish.
"Fourth brother, let's have our meal first. Those people brought this upon themselves. Sending away those warriors will save them from further suffering," Yinti said helplessly.
While enjoying the spicy crab, Qingyan was actually thinking about the poison in the samurai's bodies. Saito and Eshuo had personally investigated the poison, and it was found that there was no antidote. At a fixed time each month, the shoguns would give the samurai an antidote pill. If a samurai was disloyal or his master was gone, he would suffer a painful death from the poison.
"Saituo, is there really no antidote for that poison?" Yinzhen still wouldn't give up and asked directly.
That kind of poison can control servants, so those disloyal or wavering servants are all controlled with this kind of poison, which is not bad.
"Yes, there's definitely no antidote. This kind of poison can be manufactured, but the antidote is impossible," Seto said regretfully.
Yinzhen frowned. The warriors they had captured had all committed suicide by poison. At first, they found it strange that the warriors were in good spirits when they were captured, so why did they start having problems after they came back?
One by one, they were in extreme pain. Yinzhen and the others gave instructions and even took out the poison that the warriors had hidden in their mouths, but they still could not stop these people from hanging themselves.
"This servant believes it is best not to use these poisons, as some are too insidious." Saito believed that Kangxi would definitely not use them. Insidious poisons do exist; the Empress Dowager had given Kangxi many secret recipes, and those insidious recipes had all been secretly disposed of by Kangxi.
Fei Yanggu specifically dealt with this matter. After the two brothers came of age, Fei Yanggu specifically instructed them on this matter, repeatedly warning Yinzhen that he must not use any more insidious methods.
"I understand!" Yinzhen nodded. Fei Yanggu and his two sons were right. How could Kangxi tolerate such ruthless methods? He had always governed the country with benevolence. "Destroy that prescription in front of everyone. Interrogate those warriors as soon as possible and extract all the information. Remember, you must find out the generals' private treasuries, mines, and other such places!"
Qingyan turned to look at Yinzhen, and was surprised that he had actually thought of minerals.
"Fourth Prince, are you really ready? To hand all of this over to the Ministry of Revenue?" Yinti asked Yinzhen directly.
Yinzhen nodded directly, handing over the entire sum of money. They had little chance of profiting from it, since it all belonged to the Qing Dynasty.
“Father Emperor must already know about the mines and silver here. He knows everything about each place. Why should we hide it?” Yinzhen was not greedy. The things from Ryukyu should be used for the benefit of the people.
Yinti agreed with Yinzhen's words. The people Kangxi sent were all incorporated into the navy, and there would definitely be some of Kangxi's men among the first group to land.
Perhaps the fact that Kangxi never inquired about this matter was a test.
"Actually, this place is very small and not rich in minerals. The shoguns' voices are all about exploiting the people," Seto directly reminded him.
It is taken from the people and used for the people.
Yinzhen firmly believed in this statement; otherwise, he wouldn't have used such methods to deal with those people in his previous life.
"Alright, once you've made up your mind, that's fine. I can still help with the war, but you can handle these political matters!" Yinti confidently handed the matter over to Yinzhen.
Qingyan was very satisfied. Kangxi must have already taken over the goods from Ryukyu. Her people reported that Kangxi's men had been looking for silver mountains.
After dinner, Yinzhen returned to his study, and Qingyan told him about the last message sent from the Yuelai Inn.
"You mean, a few years ago, Father Emperor sent this servant to search for the silver mountain?" Yinzhen asked, raising his voice.
Qingyan nodded in agreement. He had even sent the manager of Yuelai Inn to gather a lot of information and confirm the matter.
Yinzhen said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, I realized what was happening and persuaded my elder brother to give up those things. At first, my elder brother even said that we should divide all the things in the private treasury between us and give the rest to the soldiers."
"Fourth Brother, it's good that you think about it more. We managed to escape this scheme, but what about next time? I have a feeling things won't be that simple. Perhaps Father Emperor issued an imperial edict, but we didn't receive it!" Qingyan felt something was off. Maybe the imperial edict hadn't been delivered, and even the gyrfalcon couldn't guarantee complete safety.
What?!
Yinzhen stroked his chin, thinking about what Qingyan had said. This problem was very serious. If it wasn't handled properly, he might be pushed into a trap.
"You mean, the message was misread?" Yinzhen asked.
Qingyan wrote a letter to Fei Yanggu through a secret channel, hoping that Fei Yanggu could help find out and make sure that no one was trying to trip her up behind her back.
"Master, a letter has arrived from outside!" Su Lan walked in from outside, holding the letter.
Qingyan took it and quickly glanced through it. Her worries were justified. The gyrfalcon that came from the capital had not arrived. Moreover, Kangxi considered the matter to be of great importance and had dispatched nine gyrfalcons, but there was still no news.
After receiving Qingyan's letter, Fei Yanggu specially sent it to the capital through a secret memorial. Emperor Kangxi was furious when he saw what was written in the letter.
“Little darling, it was right that we didn’t make any moves. Father’s intention is to hand over all the silver mines and mineral deposits to the national treasury, and distribute the remaining private funds to the soldiers of the navy who went on the expedition, so that they can return home in glory.” Yinzhen took a piece of Xuan paper and wrote a letter to Yinti, which he then had Su Peisheng deliver to him.
"Fourth Prince, we're so close, why do you still need to write a letter?" Qingyan was puzzled. It was just a short walk away, yet Yinzhen was being exceptionally cautious and even left behind a document as proof.
"Trust the eldest brother, but don't trust the people below!" On his way back, Yinzhen thoroughly investigated the people around him, especially those in charge of information.
"There are more people?!" Qingyan was stunned. They had already investigated several times since the expedition began.
“Of course, the news couldn’t have been cut off solely in the capital. There must be someone on their side cleaning up the mess for the people in the capital.” After a moment’s thought, Yinzhen realized there was definitely a problem.
"Master, if our information is cut off, there will definitely be trouble. We were able to achieve a great victory in Ryukyu, and our achievements must be reported one by one. There will definitely be people taking credit for us, but you must be vigilant!" Qingyan did not want anyone to feel disheartened.
The soldiers below had been charging into battle, and with so many high-ranking officials and nobles in the navy, they were bound to encounter some trouble.
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