Chapter 549: Chapter 549- Is It Really Him?
Translator. Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Qian Jinhai chased everyone away and went to a house in the backyard. The door was locked. He took out the key and opened the lock. He pushed the door open and walked into the house. The people in the house heard the sound of the door opening and looked back at him.
“Your chance is here. As long as we can make ten mortars in ten days, you can
get what you want.”
The person in the room slowly turned around and looked at him in disbelief.
“Are you lying to me?”
“How could that be? Why would I lie to you? Who did I run around for today?
Isn’t it all for you? Why are you still suspecting me?”
Qian Jinhai immediately became angry when he heard the other party’s doubts.
He shouted angrily.
Seeing his intense expression, the suspicion in the other party’s eyes disappeared, but it was replaced with embarrassment.
“You can’t make that much in ten days.”
“We still have to do it. What the Emperor wants is attitude. Even if we try our
best, he won’t blame us if we can’t do it.”
When the other party no longer suspected him, Qian Jinhai immediately brainwashed him again.
The soldiers in the capital began to search every house. As long as there was iron that was not handed over, they would be punished to do hard labor for a hundred days. Even the kitchen knife used to cook had to be handed over. For a time, the people were boiling with resentment.
While Wan Yulin made mortars, Su Qing and Xiao Zeyu were not idle in Mo City either. On the one hand, they were speeding up the recruitment of soldiers and horses, while on the other hand, they were making mortars.
They had iron ore, which was a natural resource. Xiao Zeyu brought Zhong Yong to the blacksmith shop every day. Now, he wasn’t the only one. He also brought a few loyal guards. The more people there were, the stronger they were. The production had tripled. They could make two mortars and ten shells in a day. Xiao Zeyu felt that this speed wasn’t fast enough. He often worked until midnight before returning home.
Su Qing stayed in her shed when she had nothing to do. She had endless work to do every day. Looking at the vegetables that she had grown herself, she felt relaxed and comfortable. When it was time for dinner, she would pick some vegetables from the shed and return to cook. Not only did she eat for herself, but she also sent people to send vegetables to the injured soldiers.
Eating vegetables often gives vitamins, which could also calm the soldiers
impatience.
The ten guards who followed her all turned into farmers and followed the young madam to weed and water. Now, they know many vegetables that they didn’t know about before. Seeing that tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and beans were beginning to bear fruits and could be eaten in less than half a month. They also felt very excited.
They could eat fresh vegetables every day with the Young Master’s wife. They felt richer than those high-ranking officials and nobles. Even they could not eat such fresh vegetables.
On this day, Su Qing was in the greenhouse, setting up the bean and melon seedlings. Only by letting them climb would they grow faster. This work was not fast, but it was very tiring.
Su Qing needed this kind of work that could temper her patience so she wouldn’t be in a bad mood, which wouldn’t suit the child in her stomach.
“Young Madam, the messenger from Mo City has returned.”
A sentry came to the shed to report to Su Qing. Su Qing stopped what she was doing and ordered the ten guards,
“You guys continue planting.”
Su Qing followed the sentry, who came to report and left the shed. On the way, she asked about the situation in detail. When she heard that Qin Tie had disappeared, Su Qing’s face darkened.
Was it him?
By the time Su Qing returned to the tent, Xiao Zeyu had also received the letter and returned. Seeing Su Qing enter the tent, he held her hand and carefully protected her.
“You’ve already received the news?”
Su Qing asked when she saw Xiao Zeyu’s serious expression.
“Yes, five days after we left, Qin Tie left the city on his own and never came back.”
Xiao Zeyu nodded his head. He was genuinely furious. The person he treated sincerely had betrayed him time and time again. How could he still trust others in the future?
“How could that be? Didn’t we tell the guards to leave? Qin Tie is not allowed to leave the city without permission.”
“Hmph, Qin Tie forged a secret letter from me, saying that he had something to do in Luo City and asked to come quickly. There were also soldiers to pick him up, so the guard believed it.”
Xiao Zeyu became even angrier as he spoke. This proved that Qin Tie had long been colluding with the imperial court. While he and Su Qing were not in Mo City, Qin Tie had forged a secret order and removed a mortar.
In other words, Wan Qingzhi had used that mortar to attack Luo City.
“If that’s the case, we can’t keep Qin Tie alive.
Disappointment flashed in Su Qing’s eyes. She respected Qin Tie very much, but she had always been on guard. She had sent guards to watch over him to prevent him from betraying her. She did not expect Qin Tie to be able to forge Shuisheng’s secret order. This was her negligence.
The traitor had to die, or it would cause a butterfly effect. Others would think that there was no punishment for betrayal, and then it would be chaotic in the future.
“The secret agent I buried in the capital has already returned a message. He said that the Emperor had recently summoned a few people. One of them is called Qian Jinhai.”
Xiao Zeyu told Su Qing he had opened a restaurant and a brothel in the capital to gather information. He couldn’t fight silently; he had to understand his opponent’s movements.
He had already suffered the loss of fighting a war in silence. He had learned his lesson and began to pay attention to intelligence.
Taverns and brothels were places that high officials and nobles liked to go to. He opened the most luxurious ones, and the decorations were luxurious. The girls were all the top girls bought from brothels everywhere. Without exception, these girls were once the daughters of old ministers of the previous dynasty. Their parents and family were exiled and killed. The slightly beautiful girls were sold into brothels. They hated Wan Yulin to the core, just like Xiao Zeyu.
Therefore, they were incredibly loyal and hardworking. Since they were already lowly prostitutes, they would use their broken bodies to avenge their parents and clansmen!
The information they sent was the most valuable. The news that the Emperor had killed Sun Ji, the Imperial Astronomical Supervisor, and secretly summoned Qian Jinhai were all sent by the girls.
They were considered nameless heroes!
Qian Jinhai, who had suddenly appeared, was summoned by the Emperor simultaneously as they sent Wan Qingzhi’s head back to the capital. Coincidentally, it was after Qin Tie’s disappearance, so Xiao Zeyu suspected that Qian Jinhai was Qin Tie.
“I’ve already sent people to assassinate him. I’m afraid that Qin Tie has already taught others the steps and blueprints of the mortar.”
No matter how much Xiao Zeyu loved Qin Tie, he couldn’t keep him alive. He had to die, but he was worried that Wan Yulin had already mastered the technology to make mortars. If that happened, his plan to win regarding weapons would be in vain.
“We can’t wait any longer. It’s not a competition of weapons now, but a competition of speed. Please send a letter to Yelu Chun and ask him to help us hold back Wan Yulin’s troops at the border. We’ll go all out to attack the capital.”
After hearing Xiao Zeyu’s words, Su Qing immediately made a decision. She couldn’t give Wan Yulin time to make a mortar. If he did, they would be at a disadvantage. If they couldn’t outnumber him, he would have to compete with their speed.
Xiao Zeyu nodded his head, his brows filled with confidence.
“Qing’er is always able to communicate with her husband. I’ve already sent people back to Mo City and Jingshi Dao to mobilize troops. Before the troops move, we need to prepare for the war. These few months, I’ve been sending people to various cities to buy food to prepare for the war.
A great battle was about to break out!