Xuanqing Guard
Chapter 210: Following the Convoy
Liu Hengyi straightened up, sharpening his mind, ready to hear what kind of business this Black Banner Battalion Hundred Households Officer needed his help with.
"Old Liu, I heard from my men that your carriage and horse company also does business over in Li City?"
"That’s right, we do."
"And you’ve got warehouses built there as well?"
"Yes, for more convenient cargo circulation, every time we open a branch, we build a warehouse as well. It makes management easier, too."
Shen Hao nodded, picked up the wine pot on the table, and filled Liu Hengyi’s cup to the brim before continuing, "That warehouse outside Xiaoshan Town is yours as well, right?"
"Xiaoshan Town? Oh! You mean near the Licheng Tielu Manor? Yes, it’s right next to Xiaoshan Tielu Manor. Large batches of pig iron need to be transported out regularly. For easier storage, we built a nearby warehouse specifically for holding pig iron in transit."
"Where is it shipped to? Who escorts it?"
"This..." Liu Hengyi opened his mouth, but didn’t answer. After a long while, he finally said, "Lord Shen, we have rules in our carriage and horse company. Client information has to be kept confidential. You see, could we..."
"Relax, we’ll keep it confidential too."
"Sigh." With a heavy sigh, Liu Hengyi knew there was no way out today unless he talked. He could only lower his voice and say, "Shipped to Yu City, then loaded onto boats, downstream all the way to Beach Stone, finally offloaded at Xiaochuan. Then we use carriages and horses to transport it to the edge of Bamboo Sea, and people come to pick it up afterward." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Shen Hao raised his wine cup, clinked it with Liu Hengyi’s, then downed it in one gulp, laughing as he said, "If I remember correctly, shipping pig iron out of the region requires complicated paperwork and official documents, right? Even without leaving the region, transport is subject to strict scrutiny, isn’t it? Old Liu, do you think this deal could withstand inspection?"
"This... Lord Shen, well..."
Of course Liu Hengyi knew it couldn’t. Not to mention elsewhere, even moving pig iron—a tightly controlled commodity—out of its production area requires rigorous approval, let alone transporting it to the border. The paperwork from Xiaoshan Tielu Manor was full of holes: only the permit for leaving the production area, nothing from the receiving party, and absolutely nothing from the border army.
But some things couldn’t be explained away. Anyone in the carriage and horse business knew that if you followed all the procedures for every deal, you wouldn’t survive; the government office turned a blind eye, let alone merchants like them. Rules or profit—which comes first?
Yet, facing Shen Hao’s questioning, Liu Hengyi panicked. He couldn’t tell if Shen Hao genuinely intended to come after him.
But this involved an official operation like Xiaoshan Tielu Manor. Surely this Shen wouldn’t act recklessly...right?
Shen Hao’s thinking was fundamentally different from most people’s. Others always liked to call his actions "reckless," but he had never thought so himself. For him, it was always careful planning before action.
"Old Liu, don’t be scared, I’m just asking. We were investigating a case that involved Xiaoshan Tielu Manor and happened to see Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company’s name in the file, so I wanted to ask you a few things. I get the difficulties you face—making money means taking risks, sometimes living on the edge is unavoidable. I understand all that.
But, if you cross the line, there’s no excuse anymore, is there?"
Liu Hengyi hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, Lord Shen. Our Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company has always been loyal to the Dynasty, we..."
Shen Hao waved his hand, cutting him off, "Really? You help move pig iron to Beach Stone and then on to Xiaochuan at the border, and you want to tell me you didn’t know they were planning to ship it out? That’s smuggling pig iron, you don’t understand? Or do you think everyone else is an idiot who’ll just believe any nonsense you spout?"
"Lord Shen, I was just muddle-headed for a moment. I’ll go back right away and cut off all ties with Xiaoshan Tielu Manor. From now on, I absolutely won’t..."
"Don’t be hasty. The business is going well—why cut it off now? Even if you do, now’s not the time." Shen Hao interrupted him again, picking up the wine pot to refill the cup.
Liu Hengyi’s heart skipped a beat. He felt as if a venomous snake had set its eyes on him; his legs trembled involuntarily under the table. Nervously stammering, he asked, "What do you mean by this?"
"There are serious problems with Xiaoshan Tielu Manor. Basically, anyone involved besides the craftsmen will lose their heads. That’s all I’ll say for now. But before that, there are some matters I want to figure out. So I’ll need your help for a bit longer—no problem if I insert two men into your carriage teams, right?"
"Ah?"
"What? Is that a problem?"
"No, no problem at all. For Lord Shen to need our Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company—it’s our honor."
"That’s right. Mutual benefit. The fact is, your previous dealings with Xiaoshan Tielu Manor—mixing with them—was really just being an inside collaborator for our Xuanqing Guard. This way, if anyone in the future tries to blackmail you about these old and rotten matters, you’ll have an explanation, won’t you?"
He could spin it like this?!
Liu Hengyi was stunned, suddenly realizing he was in deep trouble. If he didn’t help, Shen would surely use the incomplete paperwork as an excuse, maybe even count them as accomplices in smuggling pig iron—a crime punishable by execution and asset seizure. He had no choice but to help.
But listening to Shen’s words, did that mean if he helped out this once, he’d forever be branded as Xuanqing Guard’s man? If outsiders learned that, who would dare do business with Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company again?
This banquet left a bitter taste in his mouth. When Liu Hengyi got home, he locked himself in his study and smashed up everything inside, full of grievance but powerless to change his fate.
The next day, three ordinary soldiers picked from Fengri City showed up at Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company as coachmen. Two days later, together with ten new carriages added to the fleet, they headed for the Li City branch.
Exactly five days later, a message came from Xiaoshan Tielu Manor—another load was ready for shipment. Fifty large carts were booked, to depart on the ninth day of the sixth month.
Each large cart was pulled by two mules and could carry fifteen hundred jin of cargo; fifty carts meant seventy-five thousand jin. Caravan like this couldn’t use the Teleportation Array—the cost was far too high—so the official road was the only option. Even side roads couldn’t take such a heavy load.
Departing from Li City with goods meant a slow journey: arriving at Yu City would take at least half a month. Along the way, they had to arrange for resupply points, places to rest men and horses, and deal with checkpoints—few carriage and horse companies could manage such large, heavy shipments, and privately was impossible.
The three scouts were not cultivators, but could handle carts; they’d served in the military, were sturdy enough, and had a streetwise, pragmatic air. Normally, their work was gathering intelligence, moving through streets and alleys.
The three pretended not to know each other, mingling among the hundreds in the convoy without drawing attention. Their job was to quietly observe and commit everything seen and heard to memory.
On the twenty-fifth day of the sixth month, the convoy reached Yu City. But instead of entering the city, they skirted around it, arriving at the southern docks of Yu City by dusk that same day.
Carts, mules, and goods were all loaded onto ships, as well as the men themselves. That night, three large boats set sail from the docks, heading downstream toward Hai Xia.