Chapter 166: Spies
Editor: Atlas Studios
The Jin Kingdom was about to fall out because of the Crown Prince’s death, especially in Hanzhong Prefecture. They were still on guard.
The assassination of the Crown Prince of the Jin Kingdom in the territory of the Jin Kingdom angered the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom. In order to find out the truth, he even sent the Third Prince, Eliduo, and the Fourth Prince, Wulie, over.
Just like the Emperor, Eliduo and Wu Lie thought that the Crown Prince might have been assassinated by someone from another country. However, after looking at the murder scene and the investigation documents, the two of them could not help but hesitate.
The crime scene was in a mess. The Crown Prince and his guards had their valuables taken and even their clothes stripped. This was clearly a robbery. If this was an illusion deliberately made up by the other party, what would explain the fact that the children had been sold to human traffickers?
According to the governor of Hanzhong Prefecture, the reason why they could discover the other party’s tracks so quickly was because they had revealed their tracks when selling the children. Therefore, this was very likely a robbery and murder case.
The two princes’ expressions were a little ugly. Their Crown Prince had actually died at the hands of the Han people like this?
The governor stole a glance at them and said in a low voice, “The Crown Prince never reveals his whereabouts when he goes out. Even I had no idea that His Highness had arrived in Hanzhong Prefecture before. Those people probably were unaware, too.”
Even the governor of Hanzhong Prefecture did not receive the news, so how could the people outside know? Moreover, according to the investigation, the Crown Prince had come to Hanzhong Prefecture on the spur of the moment after hearing that there was a talented and intelligent boy in the Zhou family in the suburbs. While playing, he ran over to snatch the boy. At the same time, he snatched away a few other six-year-old boys from two nearby villages that caught his eye.
The governor had also heard a little about the Crown Prince’s special hobbies, but he did not dare to show too much in front of the two princes. However, he hinted simply that this was most likely a murder and robbery.
But would the two princes admit it?
Of course not. This was a great humiliation to the Jin Kingdom.
The Third Prince waved his hand and said, “The Crown Prince’s death was caused by a spy from another country. You have to find out the truth as soon as possible. We can’t allow others to bully our Great Jin Dynasty. We will definitely take revenge for today’s incident.”
The governor’s mouth was filled with bitterness, but he had no choice but to agree. However, he was thinking about whether there had been any abnormal movements in the Great Zhou recently. He wondered if he could push the blame to the Great Zhou.
However, considering the Great Zhou had always been timid, it was obvious that such a thing was not done by them.
The governor scratched his ears and cheeks. Suddenly, he asked, “Princes, do you think those children should…” He made a throat-slitting gesture.
The Third Prince was about to nod when the Fourth Prince hurriedly stopped him. “No, we’ve just separated Big Brother from this matter. If we specially kill those twenty-odd children, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hide it anymore. Weren’t they sold to a human trafficker? Just instruct that person to sell them far away.”
Failing to change the topic, the governor sighed inwardly. He could only find “evidence” to show that the Crown Prince had been killed by a spy from another country.
When the human trafficker left Hanzhong Prefecture with the twenty-odd children, he encountered a group of people who wished to buy these children on the way. Having been threatened by the governor, the human trafficker had no choice but to sell this cart of children far away. Now that he heard that the buyer wanted to send these children to the brothel in the Great Zhou, he naturally agreed.
Great Zhou was certainly far enough, so the governor would not have any objections, right? Furthermore, considering these children were all good-looking with beautiful faces, the human trafficker was not surprised at all that they were chosen and sold to such a place.
After these children were sent to Qi Xiuyuan, Qi Xiuyuan turned to his brother and said, “Can you recuperate in peace now?”
Clutching his chest as he laid on the bed, Qi Haoran nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Big Brother. What arrangements are you making for these children?”
Qi Xiuyuan glared at him. “How else? They’re originally citizens of the Great Zhou Dynasty and are Han Chinese. Naturally, I’ll send them to school to study or learn some skills. After eight to ten years, when they grow up and gradually forget about this matter, I’ll let them go home.”
Qi Haoran was completely relieved. “Big Brother, you’re really a good person.”
Qi Xiuyuan flicked his forehead and said, “That’s not what you said when you rolled around on the ground two days ago and asked me to save them.”
Qi Haoran chuckled and tried to curry favor with Qi Xiuyuan. “Brother, I only said those words out of anger!”
“Alright, go and recuperate. I’ll get someone to send these children away.” After Qi Haoran left, Qi Xiuyuan’s face darkened. Bai Li came in from outside and knelt on the ground. He said in a low voice, “General, the Zhou family’s head said that he’s willing to be of service to you.”
Qi Xiuyuan sat in the chair and said after a while, “I don’t have much use for him now. Just tell him that I’ll remember his kindness to the Great Zhou Empire. I’ll raise his son well for him. If he wants to, he can come and visit him anytime.”
“Yes.” Bai Li paused for a moment before saying, “General, a few families of the people who received the news also have the same intention. Some families are willing to move their entire families here and serve you as slaves for the rest of their lives.”
“If they come back, they won’t have that value.” Qi Xiuyuan took a sip of tea and said, “Moreover, I don’t want to force them to repay this debt of kindness. If they have the ability to come over, I will arrange their identities and reunite their families. As for becoming servants or slaves, forget about it.” Qi Xiuyuan continued after a pause, “You can also check out those families. If there are suitable talents, choose and nurture them. Their identities are flawless in the Jin Kingdom, so it will be very easy for them to do certain things in the future.”
Bai Li understood what the general meant. He hoped that those people could become his spies in the Jin Kingdom, but if they were unwilling, the general would not force them. Bai Li thought for a moment and had an idea. He bowed and agreed.
Not long after, several families secretly crossed the border and fled to Great Zhou. When they found out that it was the Han people who had escaped from the Jin Kingdom, Wu Shancai and Song Zhi were very concerned and specially arranged for them to be in the villages under their jurisdiction. They comforted them and filled in the travel passes for them.
The Great Zhou had always been kind to the Han people who escaped from the Jin Kingdom. In fact, they hoped that more survivors could escape. After all, they would add to the population. If more people escaped, they could collect more taxes. This was a political achievement for the prefectural magistrate and county at the border.
Qi Xiuyuan sent the children of those families to them, while the children of those families who did not come continued to be raised by him.
The Zhou family’s servants had been here a few times. Seeing that although their young master’s life here was not as good as at home, it was still not bad compared to most people’s lives, so they respectfully returned to report to the head of the family.
The head of the Zhou family only had this one son. He had five daughters older than the son and three daughters younger, but he only had this one son.
Therefore, when his son was snatched away, he almost died. Actually, when Qi Xiuyuan came looking for him, he was not far from death. When he found out that his son had been saved and sent to Xingzhou Prefecture, he instantly came back to life.
He was also a citizen of the Great Zhou, so he naturally sided with the Great Zhou. Coupled with this matter, he hated the Hus to the core. This time, the head of the Zhou family had directly sent his daughters to Xingzhou Prefecture, while he stayed in Hanzhong Prefecture with his wives and concubines. He wanted to become Qi Xiuyuan’s spy.
Extremely satisfied, Qi Xiuyuan said to Jiang Ze and Bai Li, “This person is trustworthy.”
Jiang Ze and Bai Li almost rolled their eyes. Of course he was trustworthy. He had already sent his son and daughters over. How could he not be trustworthy?