"Border Guards, why aren't you stationed at the Bestan border?" The two guards in front of Itami Prefecture were both second lieutenants, the same rank as the captain of this Border Guard squad. Although they shared the same rank, they were guards of Itami Prefecture, naturally a level higher than the patrol squad outside.
"This lord knight has something to discuss with Marquis Idan," the captain of the guards said, emphasizing the word "knight."
"Please wait... I want to go in and ask something." A second lieutenant guard put away the flintlock revolver in his hand and walked in through the small door in the main gate.
The others stood quietly in front of the bronze door, waiting. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was solemn. Wang Xiaohai felt that if a coin dropped on the ground at this moment, it would startle everyone.
What Wang Xiaohai could not have imagined was that it was not a coin that broke the atmosphere, but a small steam locomotive. A small battery-powered steam locomotive hit Wang Xiaohai's feet with a "bang". Everyone in front of the door looked in the direction of the sound.
A boy of seven or eight years old trotted over and picked up the toy steam car on the ground.
"Little boy, where are your parents? Don't play here." said a border guard.
"My dad is a soldier, just like you. But a year ago, my mom told me he was going on a great mission and it would take a long time for him to come back." The boy hugged the toy car and ran out. But after just two steps, he suddenly remembered something and walked over to Wang Xiaohai and put a note in his hand. "This is something a sister asked me to give to you."
Wang Xiaohai took it - it was a piece of folded paper, carefully folded into a triangle shape.
Wang Xiaohai opened it and it said: Water climate, season sigh.
"What does it mean? It's so confusing." Wang Xiaohai threw the note into the ring. He knew it was from Deli.
Ten minutes later, the second lieutenant who had gone in to report came back.
"Sir Knight, please follow me in. The rest of you, please wait here," the lieutenant said. "Luckily, the Marquis just returned from the royal city today. Otherwise, we would have to wait for a while longer."
Wang Xiaohai followed the second lieutenant through the courtyard planted with lucky clover, through the corridor hung with countless portraits of famous soldiers, and finally arrived at the ancient main hall. The door of the main hall was open, and two rows of armed soldiers stood in the hall. There was a sand table on a yellow pear wood combat table at the back, which seemed to be a border topographic map of the country of Bestan. A gray-haired old man was carefully observing the sand table. It was Marquis Idan.
Wang Xiaohai pretended to cough in the main hall, and Marquis Yidan raised his head, pulled over a rosewood chair and sat down, then said, "I heard you have something to talk to me about?"
"Yes, I want to discuss a big business with you." Wang Xiaohai said, "Can you ask the others to leave?"
Marquis Idan hesitated for a moment. Though he possessed the strength of a Golden Knight, he hadn't fought anyone in a long time. He placed his finger on a button beneath the armrest of the chair. The chair contained a small teleportation array, a masterpiece of the Bestan Magic Guild. If the situation was unfavorable, pressing the button would teleport him dozens of miles away. Since the array was disposable, the rosewood chair would shatter after a single use, so Marquis Idan wouldn't press it unless absolutely necessary.
"All of you retreat." Yidan said to the soldiers in the main hall, "Close the door." If he couldn't deal with the people in front of him, then these guys with guns would be useless.
After everyone left, Wang Xiaohai found a chair by the wall and sat opposite Yidan.
"Tell me, what's the matter?" said Marquis Idan, his voice returning to calm.
"I want you and your men to help me find someone, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the price." Wang Xiaohai said bluntly.
"Find someone..." Itami was a little disappointed. He thought that such a small matter could be solved by finding a detective agency and paying a few hundred taels of silver. There was no need for him, the highest leader of the border defense army, to help find someone. It was simply like using a steam car to pull a mosquito - a waste of talent!
Yidan suspected that this knight, assuming his status was noble, would constantly ask for help from local dignitaries, treating them as his subordinates. It was as if those people really thought they were important! He had seen many such people in his life, some of whom held lower ranks than him, yet spoke with even greater authority. He had even kicked one of them out a year ago.
"I believe my garrison is for guarding the border, not for finding people," Itami said, choosing his words carefully. "I can recommend a few well-known detective agencies in this city. They have experience in finding people."
"Don't rush to refuse. It's not too late to refuse after listening to my conditions." Wang Xiaohai's mood did not change much, and his voice remained the same as usual.
"Then please go ahead." Marquis Idan thought that if he were offered around thirty thousand taels of silver, he could send someone to search. After all, his men were idle anyway, and there was no war going on. But he didn't think anyone would spend tens of thousands of taels of silver just to find someone. There were plenty of detective agencies that would take orders under a thousand taels and guarantee they wouldn't charge until the person was found. With the vicious competition in Bestan, those detectives could prioritize finding the person over the money.
"One million taels as a deposit, and ten million if I find the right person." Wang Xiaohai thought for a while and said.
Even though he has a lot of money, he can't just throw it into the water and not just throw a million or something.
"How much?" Marquis Idan's nonchalant spirit was suddenly thrown to the horizon - his army of nearly 100,000 people only received 10 million taels of military funds from the kingdom every year. After deducting various expenses (salaries, food, etc.), there was not much left. Although he had other income from renting or construction, it was not much either. This 10 million taels was equivalent to his net income for several years.
"Are you serious? I'm kidding!" Marquis Idan said. If he was really given so much money, he guaranteed that 99% of the soldiers would be sent to search for people.
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