With the help from Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company, at least within the jurisdiction of Fengri City, it became much easier for the Black Banner Battalion to trace the flow and specifics of certain goods.

This is because within Fengri City’s boundaries, Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company is not just the largest transportation business, but also boasts the strongest and most complete logistics capacity. So, for any bulk goods that require long distance shipping within Fengri City, Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company is the only option.

Of course, for Liu Hengyi, the owner of Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company, this is absolutely not a good thing.

First, people were planted in the Li City branch, then Tu Kui City branch, Tan City branch...

In fact, Liu Hengyi found these demands for planting staff increasingly impossible to refuse, and he could clearly sense that both he and Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company as a whole had been chained up tightly by Shen’s iron grip—either bound closer, or strangled.

Never before had Liu Hengyi thought that one day he’d become an intelligence conduit for the Xuanqing Guard—was this not colluding with the tiger?

It wasn’t entirely a bad thing. This was also why, after thinking it through, Liu Hengyi didn’t choose to resist desperately. After all, Shen wasn’t stingy with the rewards as he enjoyed this convenience. He told Liu Hengyi directly that he could accelerate his business expansion. If any issues couldn’t be solved, Shen would step in—even the whole Jingxi Xuanqing Guard could give him some support.

Just imagine, one day, Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company could stand as the strongest in its field throughout the entire Jingjiu Dynasty—what glory that would be. So being used a bit was tolerable.

Thus, with Black Market channels under control, and now with a transport channel infiltrated, the first part of Shen Hao’s Black Water Plan already had a solid and multidimensional framework, at least within Fengri City.

Now, three Copper Rods lay in front of Shen Hao. The first concerned Xiaoshan Tielu Manor’s illegal sale of pig iron; the second and third had just arrived, concerning the initial investigations of the Tan City Mine and Tu Kui City Official Granary.

The information in all three Copper Rods confirmed the Black Market’s intelligence: all three locations were engaged in privately selling Dynasty resources.

Pig iron was being sold to the Long-toothed Elephant Race, and grain to the Red-eyed Wolf Race. As for General Spirit Stones, the trade was even more concealed, so all they could confirm was that they ended up in Xiaochuan, though the specific buyer was unknown.

There was a wealth of information reflected in these three transactions.

Shen Hao was already organizing documents for reporting. He hadn’t expected that the "Black Water" plan he orchestrated would make its debut by unexpectedly implicating the Barbarian Race—and judging by the situation, they seemed to be up to no good again.

Shen Hao felt hesitant over dealing with the Barbarian Race. Should he crush these internal pests within the borders and snuff out the case? Or should he dig deeper to uncover the reason behind the Barbarians’ massive resource purchases?

Because currently, it seemed the pressure on Xuanqing Guard came from within. Otherwise, Jiang Cheng wouldn’t be so invested in the brokerage sector. But Barbarians are an external problem, which runs counter to the higher-ups’ main intent; Shen Hao wasn’t sure if he’d get their support.

Still, the matter had to be tried, so Shen Hao personally picked up the pen, striving to make the "Summary of Illegal Trade within Fengri City Borders" as detailed and urgent as possible, hoping to secure Jiang Cheng’s backing.

After a day’s work, returning home, as soon as he entered, Housekeeper Hu Tian approached, looking uneasy, and handed over an invitation.

"Master Shen, this arrived at noon. It was delivered by a Deputy from the Government Office—I couldn’t refuse him, so I accepted it."

Shen Hao took the invitation but didn’t look at it immediately. Instead, he asked Hu Tian, "Something happened at home? Why do you look so upset?"

"Master Shen, nothing happened."

Seeing Hu Tian wouldn’t say, Shen Hao turned to Xia Nu beside him. Xia Nu quickly spoke up; she’d wanted to say it for a while.

"Master, the ones who delivered the invitation were really annoying. They spoke terribly, and even said you’re—you’re a fallen household, that having some Prince take an interest in you means nothing good will come out of it... Anyway, nothing pleasant; Housekeeper Hu was angry because of them."

Shen Hao glanced at the flustered Hu Tian, then picked up the invitation from the table and opened it. It read: Celestial Wave City, Song Mansion, Song Zhizhou, respectfully presented.

Celestial Wave City—that’s the proper name for the Imperial City.

And Song Mansion? What’s their background? Who is Song Zhizhou?

The invitation listed the banquet’s time and place; the wording was polite enough. Song Mansion must be famous, and assumed Shen Hao would know.

"What’s the background of this Song Mansion?"

"Master Shen, Song Mansion is quite renowned in the Imperial City, one of the top merchants in the Dynasty. Their businesses cover many industries, but the main ones are gambling halls, and lately they’ve started restaurants."

"Gambling halls? Restaurants?" Shen Hao frowned slightly.

To operate gambling halls and become a top merchant in the Jingjiu Dynasty, their foundation must be exceptional. But why seek him out? Do they have any connection?

"Listening to their hints earlier when they delivered the invitation, seems it’s about the wine recipe from Zhang Family’s Wine Shop." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Zhang Family’s Wine Shop? Wuliangye?"

"That’s probably it."

Shen Hao understood. They had their eyes on the fat profits of Wuliangye.

Back in Li City, Zhang Family’s wife Aunt Zhang was Shen Hao’s personal cook. Afterwards, when he learned her family ran a wine shop, he had the sudden idea to pass on some distillation concepts. Unexpectedly, they managed to produce decent baijiu. After two rounds of improvements, Shen Hao named the wine Wuliangye, and now it could barely reach forty degrees—stronger than almost any "good wine" on the market and certainly a gem among spirits.

Shen Hao had a considerable share in Wuliangye; partly out of Zhang Family’s gratitude, and partly because he could shelter them. However, he hadn’t allowed Wuliangye to open branches outside Fengri City’s jurisdiction, since beyond Fengri City, his name wouldn’t carry weight. Expanding further would have to wait.

Just like this time, the so-called Song Family didn’t approach Zhang Family directly for the recipe but came to Shen Hao, knowing that within Fengri City, unless he gave permission, Zhang Family wouldn’t hand it over. As for force, with Shen Hao watching, no one would risk it.

Shen Hao glanced at the invitation for the banquet time—it was tomorrow night; he still had time to look into this Song Family.

Next day, at the Public Office, Shen Hao summoned Wang Yiming.

"Have you heard of Song Family? The one running gambling halls in the Imperial City."

Wang Yiming nodded, acknowledging he knew. "Song Family is very famous in the Imperial City. Their ancestors followed the former Emperor in his campaigns and were heavily decorated, holding the rank of Grand General. Later, they declined and turned to business. But they manage it well, ranking among the top wealthy households in the Dynasty. And I’ve heard they’re close to the Seventh Prince."