Chapter 1 Although There Were Outsiders Present

Although there were some outsiders present, with the strength of Ye Tao's group, they could control the few people from the Bei Yi Trading Company at any time and then escape calmly. However, that wouldn't be fun. After leaving Xi Ling, everyone's worries relaxed, and now they were all eager to find some entertainment. No one mentioned hurrying to Ya Nan Port. In Yi Nan, although the numerous chieftains had hundreds to thousands of soldiers under their command, and their equipment was becoming increasingly sophisticated with the support of various parties, including Xi Ling, they were still no match for the combined force of the Special Operations Battalion, Ye Tao's guards, and a group of martial arts experts. Upon entering Yi Nan and observing the few tribes near Xi Ling known for their strong soldiers, everyone rolled their eyes in unison. Either the opposing force's strength was too well hidden, or their standards for elite troops were completely different.

The Bei Yi Trading Company's arrangements for Ye Tao and his group were indeed diligent. The five people sent seemed very capable. The deacon named Xie Si Yi was a merchant who had been running this route for a long time and was a well-known and influential figure in the trading company. Recently, he had encountered some problems with the delivery of several deals. Although he didn't have to worry about the Xi Ling Ministry of Revenue failing to repay him, he temporarily lacked working capital for new transactions. Therefore, when this matter came up, he volunteered to join in the fun. For Xie Si Yi, he wasn't afraid of the other party's strength, but rather their ignorance. After learning about the trading company's repeated negotiations with Jin Ze, he felt that this group was high-profile but sensible. He quite liked dealing with such people. After negotiating with Jin Ze, Liu Yong, and others, he realized that the group's energy was more than just a luxurious caravan and a few hundred skilled guards and laborers. Xie Si Yi became increasingly meticulous and thorough in arranging various matters along the way for them.

Treating others with kindness, Ye Tao and Tan Wei Xin had always treated people this way. Since this trip to Ya Nan might be a once-in-a-lifetime journey, Tan Wei Xin had Jin Ze give Xie Si Yi the catalog of items they had purchased and the list of small and medium-sized merchants who supplied the goods. She also gave Xie Si Yi a table of the total throughput of various goods at Ya Nan Port last year. For Tan Wei Xin, the value of these two items was nothing, but Xie Si Yi regarded them as treasures. Finding some suppliers was nothing, but the throughput table was definitely high-end intelligence. Only the Sammier family, the Seven Seas Trading Company, and a few others would have such information, and only they had the ability to conduct such statistics. This information could not only allow Xie Si Yi to be more targeted in his business dealings but also allow the entire trading company to plan more calmly and steadily, reducing many risks. And this intelligence also revealed that the person in charge of this caravan was no ordinary person.

Only after truly entering Yi Nan did Ye Tao realize that it wasn't a typical tropical rainforest. At most, it could only be considered to have many tropical plants, probably because the mountains contained the warm currents inside. Saying it was full of miasma was a bit of an exaggeration, it was just that the swamp and wetland landforms were relatively rich. However, Yi Nan was also a place with diverse and varied landforms such as plains and sparse grasslands. Ye Tao and Tan Wei Xin admired the changing scenery along the way, praising Yi Nan as a good place for travel or hunting.

However, on the fifth day of entering Yi Nan, as they gradually approached the central area, they began to encounter trouble. A chieftain with considerable strength refused to simply accept the tolls and insisted on taking a portion of the goods from Ye Tao's caravan, especially sensitive materials such as medicinal herbs. Judging from the materials this tribe was requisitioning from various caravans, they were clearly preparing for war.

"Mr. Liu, this... I'm really sorry." Xie Si Yi was a little embarrassed. Although the Bei Yi Trading Company had anticipated difficulties, they didn't expect the situation in Yi Nan to reach a point where even the Bei Yi Trading Company's and Xie Si Yi's reputation couldn't resolve it. Other small caravans would rather spend money to avoid trouble and obediently hand over their goods. But Ye Tao's caravan was different. They had paid "road maintenance fees" to the Bei Yi Trading Company. This was like joining a tour group with all-inclusive tickets, only to find that the ticket prices had suddenly increased and the tourists had to pay extra. Neither the tour group nor the tourists would be happy. Xie Si Yi naturally knew that the Bei Yi Trading Company was prepared to bend over backwards to serve this group comfortably, but now, money wasn't the problem, but where could they find a batch of goods to compensate Ye Tao and his group for the tolls? "Zong Wang Village has always been easy to talk to, and the village chief, Qiang Wang, is also amiable. Our trading company has never been delayed here, and we even often drink and chat with Qiang Wang to exchange information about the situation in Yi Nan. I don't know what happened this time. I made a special trip to ask for a meeting, but it didn't work. Zong Wang Village just refuses to give me this face... What do you think...?"

Liu Yong was also considering how complex the situation in Yi Nan really was. They had never planned to rely entirely on the Bei Yi Trading Company from the beginning. Although everyone had been cooperating politely along the way, the special operations battalion's vanguards, the scouting forces spread out on both flanks, and the guards who cleared the pursuers behind them had never stopped working. In Liu Yong's view, Tan Wei Xin could naturally decide to cooperate with the Bei Yi Trading Company when it was interesting, but he also had the right to decide when to leave cleanly if anything happened. The goods and whether they could make money, and how much money they could make, were not important. Because, in the entire team, the only people who absolutely couldn't have accidents were Ye Tao and Tan Wei Xin. If their value had to be measured in silver, the weight of their combined value could be used to build a city with silver bricks.

Liu Yong thought that since the situation here was really on the verge of breaking out, it would be better to travel light straight to Ya Nan. Once they joined up with the people from the Seven Seas Trading Company and ran to Nanyang to find Qi Zhen Tao or those other big bosses, they wouldn't have to worry about any trouble. But after thinking about it, Liu Yong asked, "Since you're familiar with this place, about when did Qiang Wang start acting like this greedy person? In the days before that, did anything happen here? Have any unfamiliar people come? Mr. Xie, please inquire about it. We know it's not the Bei Yi Trading Company deliberately causing us trouble, so we won't blame you. We can pay the money and hand over the goods, but we can't hand them over for nothing without understanding the situation. If Qiang Wang is just targeting us because we look rich, we're not easy to fool either."

The faint murderous aura in Liu Yong's tone startled Xie Si Yi, but Xie Si Yi also understood Liu Yong's meaning. He didn't mind that the Bei Yi Trading Company couldn't get through this, and the good cooperation along the way had made Liu Yong feel the Bei Yi Trading Company's goodwill. However, they would never be treated as fools to be slaughtered. If this Qiang Wang really wanted to force them, they would take ruthless action.

And at this moment, Xie Si Yi had every reason to believe that Liu Yong was serious.

Xie Si Yi naturally hurried to find a way to inquire about the news, trying his best to prevent the situation from worsening. Smoothly completing his mission was one reason, but more importantly, he didn't want to cause trouble for the trading company. In any case, this time, Ye Tao's caravan was being handled by the Bei Yi Trading Company along the way. Even if they knew that the Bei Yi Trading Company couldn't control the "employer's" actions, if any conflict occurred, the Bei Yi Trading Company would be partly responsible. Ye Tao and his caravan could leave after arriving at Ya Nan Port, but the Bei Yi Trading Company couldn't escape responsibility.

"Uncle Liu, there's no need to get so angry, right?" After Xie Si Yi left, Liu Yong naturally went upstairs to report to Ye Tao and Tan Wei Xin. They were now staying in Zong Wang Village, occupying six large and small stilt houses in an area specially set aside for merchants. The soundproofing of stilt houses was never good, and Ye Tao and Tan Wei Xin had heard Liu Yong's conversation with Xie Si Yi.

"Hehe, if I don't scare him, how can I get him to inquire about things wholeheartedly?" Liu Yong said indifferently.

Tan Wei Xin said helplessly, "Actually, Zong Wang Village and that little chieftain, Qiang Wang, probably have no choice now. Looking at the situation in Yi Nan, it is indeed getting more and more tense. Didn't the people from other caravans also say that they didn't see so many soldiers from the various villages along the way before?"

Liu Yong nodded and said, "The scouts we sent out also reported that several large villages in Yi Nan are gearing up for war. Although they can't fight for the time being, it's on the verge of breaking out. Actually, it's inconvenient for us to directly take action here. Otherwise, if the situation is ignited all at once, it would be difficult to reach Ya Nan safely. Now, the better way is to transfer the goods or simply throw them away and travel light straight to Ya Nan... Moreover, the situation in Ya Nan is probably not simple either. We don't know if there are any favorable ships to catch right now."

"A proxy war..." Ye Tao shook his head. The current situation in Yi Nan might really have something to do with him. This place has a traditional religious culture, and the Daoming Sect cannot enter, but Xi Ling's forces have been constantly infiltrating here. Even if the powerful Xi Ling cannot take Yi Nan into its grasp for the time being, it definitely has long-term plans. However, two major defeats, one in the south and one in the north, have left Xi Ling with no time to care about Yi Nan. In this situation, Yi Nan, which is originally connected to the various forces of the Sammier family in Dong Ping, Chun Nan, Nanyang, and even the Middle East, immediately reacted. The chieftains of Yi Nan became active, and the various forces behind them also began to move. Now, Yi Nan is on the eve of its first major reshuffle. Through this reshuffle, many small tribes will be annexed and destroyed, and eventually form several major forces that are intertwined. It is undoubtedly easier and simpler to manipulate several major forces to play games than to manipulate dozens of forces. At that time, it will be an opportunity to see the strengths of various countries in the world. However, their intrusion into Yi Nan at this time adds some variables to this land for no reason. After all, small and medium-sized chieftains are still dominant on the eve of this major reshuffle, and Ye Tao's group, despite only having a few hundred people, can easily conquer some villages.

"Proxy war? That's an interesting way to put it," Liu Yong said with a smile. "It does reveal the truth of the matter. But, sir, what do you plan to do?"

"What to do?" Ye Tao raised his eyebrows, considered it, and said, "Do nothing. The situation here is constantly changing, and it must be led by people who can keep up with the situation here. I'm not suitable to get involved here. Yun Zhou and Zhen Zhou are too far away from here to be of any help. Even Dong Ping is too far away from here. Whether it's providing support or various guidance, it won't be very timely. If you want to interfere here, it's best to authorize the Seven Seas Trading Company to do so. With the vision of Mr. Qi and the minds of those cunning guys in the trading company, although the support obtained from Nanyang will not be very rich, at least they won't suffer too much. Moreover, we don't even know if this arrangement has already begun. Uncle Liu, isn't that what you thought when you asked Xie Si Yi to inquire about the situation? Someone must be instigating it, but what if the person instigating it is one of our own? That's very possible. After all, we came from Xi Ling and look wealthy... Furthermore, aren't we already taking care of ourselves? Where do we have the time and energy to care about the life and death of others?"

Liu Yong smiled. Actually, he didn't understand why Ye Tao and Tan Wei Xin wanted to run to Xi Ling in the first place. There were many strange things about it. They didn't stay in An Qing for long, and although the layout was completed, it wasn't very ideal. Only the secret support of Xing Si Fang will be a step with many implications in the future. As for playing the tricks of Yuan Yuan Garden and Guan Sheng Garden in the enemy's lair, it can only be said that it was due to the special tastes of Tan Wei Xin and Ye Tao. However, this journey has indeed been a training experience for Ye Tao. In a situation where he had to consider his own safety, Tan Wei Xin's safety, and the safety of many subordinates, Ye Tao actually made many helpless decisions along the way. For example, after entering the underground palace, letting the people in other groups trigger the mechanisms in the maze and tying the guards other than Commander Qin in the maze, their life and death unknown... These are not Ye Tao's style. And now, Ye Tao smiles and says that he can't take care of others' lives and deaths because he is busy with himself. Although there is inevitably some sighing in his tone, this is also a kind of growth. Ye Tao is an excellent commander and leader, but if Ye Tao really wants to conquer Xi Ling in fifteen years, he has to be more ruthless...