Chapter 1 叶韬's Generosity

Ye Tao was very tolerant of the arrogant young man, and he asked calmly, "Age is not a problem. Since you can manage things, that's even better. We've helped you once anyway. Can you make the decision not to follow us anymore?"

The young man was stunned. He had originally thought that since the other party had offered help at this time, they should be able to reach some kind of understanding and allow him to follow this group of powerful people, who were definitely not merchants, to Yanan. He didn't expect that Ye Tao would immediately make such a request. "I... I..." The young man's face turned red, and he couldn't squeeze out a word.

"Sir, I was disrespectful earlier and offended you. Please forgive my rudeness. We are in a hurry to get to Yanan, and we really have no choice. If you have any requests or conditions, please feel free to ask. I will report back to my master, and he will do his best to fulfill them for you," the middle-aged man, who had been arrogant before, softened his attitude at this moment, adopting an extremely humble posture.

"I'll say it again, I don't think you can offer any attractive conditions to make me risk taking you with me. You are obviously not a merchant group, at least not this time, with this kind of itinerary and setup. I don't care about any contraband," Ye Tao said jokingly.

"Oh? Thirty thousand taels of silver. How about you take us to Yanan?" the young man said in a fit of pique. Hearing this number, many people in their "merchant group" gasped. But the middle-aged man remained calm. After all, he was an experienced man and knew that the other party, who had not yet revealed their name, had an extraordinary background. Their personnel, armaments, and various preparations for breaking through to Yanan were very professional. The word "well-trained" was not enough to describe the people under their command. Moreover, the middle-aged man couldn't imagine which aristocratic family in Xi Ling this group of people could be from. In his opinion, the equipment and combat power of this trip might not be inferior to that of an important member of the royal family. Naturally, he couldn't imagine that in this team, a Xi Ling princess, a commander of the imperial guards, and several young members of prominent families were locked in two carriages.

"Thirty thousand taels?" Ye Tao's tone became more teasing. "How about this, I'll give you thirty thousand taels, and you don't follow us anymore, how about that?"

The young man was stunned, but Ye Tao took out an envelope from his pocket, pulled out a few sheets of paper with intricate patterns from it, and looking at the fonts and seals on them, they were actually three silver notes with a face value of ten thousand taels each, which could be circulated throughout the Central Plains.

Although there was no bank in this time and space that could conduct business in every country, the circulation vouchers issued by the top institutions of various countries could be circulated across borders. Dongping had Qihai Trading Company, Jiuzhou Trading Company, Deloitte Accounting Firm, and Yunzhou Bank; Xi Ling had Fenghang Bank, Yongxin Bank, and Taichang Bank; and Chunnan had Fengxin Bank, Ningshi Bank, and Hengbo Agency. Even Beiliao, whose economy was not very developed, had a bank called Gongye Bank, which was actually operated by the Beiliao royal court... The banks of Dongping and Chunnan had fully adopted the anti-counterfeiting measures developed by the Ye family workshop, such as watermarks, color-changing inks, fine engraving printing, unique numbers with special inks, and metal intaglio signatures, which were safer and more reliable than the payment vouchers issued by Xi Ling and Beiliao. The large-value payment vouchers issued by Yunzhou Bank, Qihai Trading Company, and Ningshi Bank could be used not only in the Central Plains but also in Southeast Asia and even the Middle East. And the three in Ye Tao's hand were all fixed-amount "checks" issued by Qihai Trading Company, which had the widest range of use and were most recognized in Southeast Asia. And the signature on the check looked like someone from the Liu family.

The Liu family was a super magnate that occupied the second-largest share in Qihai Trading Company. They had cooperated tacitly with Grandpa Qi for many years, and their business in Southeast Asia was booming, with excellent reputation. Compared with Grandpa Qi, they only lacked the ability and experience in naval warfare. In general, although their merchant ships also had many escort warships, they could still be regarded as relatively pure merchant families. However, Liu Qing, who held a high position in the current Northern Frontier Pacification Office and had a great say, made this family even more confident.

"...This...this..." The young man stammered again, unable to speak. How much money was thirty thousand taels? The other party actually took it out as soon as he said so, without any hesitation. The young man really couldn't think of anything that could tempt the other party.

At this time, a series of light footsteps came from behind the young man, and a six- or seven-year-old girl ran over staggeringly, rubbing her eyes. The little girl hugged the young man's leg and asked in a milky voice, "Brother, can Xiao Yong'er go to sleep now? I'm so sleepy."

The young man squatted down, hugged the little girl, and comforted her, "Xiao Yong'er go to sleep in the carriage. No one will disturb you tonight."

"But...but...it's so noisy now. Xiao Yong'er can't sleep," the little girl muttered dissatisfiedly, glancing at the carriages and riders rolling past them. They were negotiating by the side of the road at this moment, but both teams were still moving, wanting to take advantage of the night to find a safer place to camp and rest, as far away as possible from the place where the battle had just taken place.

The young man looked at his extremely sleepy sister and patted her on the shoulder. He turned his head and said, "Please forgive me, I'll take my sister back to the carriage and come back."

The young man carried the little girl and sent her back to the carriage, then returned, his tone softened: "This sir, indeed, we are not a merchant group, at least not this time. This is Cai Cheng, a captain under General Du Ping, the general manager of the Hui Shan Camp. Most of the people in this merchant group, apart from the guards from my family, are General Du's personal soldiers. All this is to escort me and my sister to Yanan...I don't know what to do after arriving in Yanan, but I must return to Yanan, return to Southeast Asia...It seems that I really don't have any chips that can attract you, sir. However, I'm rashly following you, sir, as a last resort. On our own, I have no hope of independently breaking through the current chaos in Yinan and returning to Yanan. I see that the guide you are using should be from the Qingyi she (Blue Shirt Society). I dare not rashly associate with the Qingyi she, but I want to return to Southeast Asia to take revenge on the Xuanyi she (Black Shirt Society). The Qingyi she and the Xuanyi she are enemies who are incompatible as fire and water. Sending us to Yanan will at least do you no harm, right? If you think it's troublesome to bring so many of us, then...can you just take me and my sister? The two of us are small and don't take up much space. Just put us in the carriage for transporting goods. We'll bring our own food and drinking water, anyway, it's only a few days' journey. The reward of thirty thousand taels will not be reduced at all. For you, sir, this is nothing, just a little compensation for the trouble we're causing you. How about that?"

Ye Tao was stunned. He turned his head to look at Liu Yong. Liu Yong, however, ordered a guard beside him, "Go and call Wei Li'an."

Cai Cheng stood calmly on the side and added faintly, "If it's not too much trouble, please take me with you. The general's order is to escort them, brother and sister, to Yanan, and I dare not disobey."

Ye Tao rolled his eyes: "What are you doing..." He suddenly thought of a name and asked, "You wouldn't be that Cheng Zijing, would you? And that little girl, is she Cheng Ziqing?"

The young man was surprised: "That's right...Sir, you actually know me?"

"Which family in Southeast Asia that has something to do with Xi Ling could it be? But Cheng Zijing, weren't you supposed to be learning how to write and paint? How did you start learning how to fight?" Ye Tao asked, gesturing for his subordinates to bring over canvas folding chairs. Several people sat down together, and the atmosphere suddenly eased.

"...Damn that Xuanyi she..." Cheng Zijing muttered, but he did not directly answer Ye Tao's question.

Before long, Wei Li'an rushed over. When he heard that the group of people following them were actually the Cheng Zijing and Cheng Ziqing siblings, Wei Li'an couldn't help but be stunned. Afterward, Wei Li'an began to explain to Ye Tao what the Qingyi she and Xuanyi she were all about. In fact, there was no such organization as the Qingyi she, but the Xuanyi she was an organization similar to a terrorist group. It was just that Qihai Trading Company and others in Southeast Asia had been constantly obstructed by the ambitious Xuanyi she, encountering all kinds of troubles, and often had to organize considerable counterattacks. In order to distinguish themselves from the people of the Xuanyi she, who were always marked by black robes, the armed forces of Qihai Trading Company in Southeast Asia and the semi-public field personnel of the intelligence bureau wore blue clothes. Over time, they were called the Qingyi she. For the people of the intelligence bureau, in fact, this identity that had been spread among the people was a more useful and convenient cover, and they occasionally called themselves people of the Qingyi she. Wei Li'an could be considered a person with a high rank in this fictitious Qingyi she.

Compared with the Qihai Trading Company and other forces from the Central Plains that had only begun to develop Southeast Asia in recent years, the Cheng family of Southeast Asia could be considered natives of Southeast Asia. They had fled from the Central Plains to Southeast Asia as early as when the unified Tang Empire of the Central Plains disintegrated. Qihai Trading Company had received a lot of help from the Cheng family when reclaiming land in Southeast Asia, especially when negotiating with some natives. If it weren't for the Cheng family, there would have been a lot more disputes. However, it was precisely because the Cheng family helped Qihai Trading Company that the Cheng family became a thorn in the side of the Xuanyi she. The Xuanyi she was not an organization closely related to the Central Plains, but an institution with inextricable links to the opponents of the Samir family, and even an external organization of an extreme sect in the Middle East that practiced assassination and martyrdom. The Xuanyi she had overt organizations, including fleets, privateer fleets, pirates and native tribes that belonged to them, as well as cities and ports. The Xuanyi she also had covert organizations. In fact, the Xuanyi she was far more successful in managing covert assassinations and conspiracy groups than in managing those overt industries. They were almost completely no match for Qihai Trading Company and the Samir family in business, but their endless means caused Qihai Trading Company and the Samir family a great deal of headaches.

Wei Li'an also explained somewhat uneasily that if it weren't for Grandpa Qi leading the fleet to cooperate with the Samir family in the war, allowing the Xuanyi she to take advantage of the opportunity, the Cheng family wouldn't have suffered such a disaster...The Cheng family had been working hard to manage the route from Southeast Asia to Yanan to Anqing, and refused to get too close to the Qihai Trading Company with a Dongping background, but in Southeast Asia, being from the Central Plains, everyone still had a great understanding. And the Xuanyi she was everyone's public enemy.