Liam never dreamed that a trip to Fengqi City would leave him so exposed, not even a single piece of his underwear left.
Nothing was held back.
Chen Yu knew everything clearly.
"I've said everything I should, and everything I shouldn't have."
Leaning against the wall, Liam turned his head, his eyes full of exhaustion. He suspected that his hair had turned gray in less than half an hour.
It was too mentally taxing, and he wasn't exaggerating.
Liam didn't have to think so much even when talking to his father.
"You're honest," Chen Yu said with a smile, patting his shoulder and then tidying his collar. "Don't set up informants in my city anymore. If I catch you again, things won't be so easy. If you want to cooperate, be sincere. This kind of behavior really damages mutual trust."
"I really had no ill intentions, I just wanted to..."
"Shush!"
Before Liam could finish speaking, Chen Yu raised a finger, signaling him not to continue.
Some words, when spoken too much, lose their impact.
Chen Yu knew very well why Liam had planted spies in his city. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, it was meaningless.
Even if everything he said was true, what of it?
Such matters often relied on subjective belief. If Chen Yu believed he was lying, then even a solemn oath would be false.
Explaining was just a waste of breath.
Chen Yu was too lazy to argue with Liam about this matter any further. He had obtained the information he wanted, and his true intentions were irrelevant.
"Come in for some tea."
As he put his arm around Liam's shoulder and was about to enter the City Lord's mansion, he saw Clae walking out with a hurried expression.
Joy was clearly visible on his face.
"City Lord, you are here too."
Upon seeing Chen Yu, Clae stopped and greeted him with a smile.
"Where are you going? You seem to be in a good mood." Chen Yu also smiled and introduced them. "Liam, you two haven't really interacted before, so get acquainted. Liam, this is the son of the Chief Financial Officer of our Tatu Kingdom. Clae is the Deputy City Lord of our Fengqi City."
Upon learning that Liam was the only son of the Chief Financial Officer, Clae showed a hint of surprise.
Although he had never been to the royal capital, Liam's reputation there was resounding. He was undoubtedly the most prominent second-generation heir in the entire Tatu Kingdom.
Even the royal family showed him deference!
He never expected such a spoiled rich kid to know the City Lord, and their relationship seemed quite amicable.
The City Lord is truly extraordinary.
Despite being a foreigner from outside the caves, he had managed to befriend many important figures in such a short period. This ability was truly astounding.
"Young Master Liam, it's an honor to meet you. I've heard so much about you."
Clae raised his hand slightly and offered some polite words, then looked at Chen Yu and cleared his throat.
"Say what you need to say. Young Master Liam is not an outsider," Chen Yu whispered. Clae pondered for a moment before speaking, "We have a few merchants in our city, the same ones we've traded with before. They suddenly contacted me saying they have grain to sell and asked if I could help them find someone to buy it."
"Grain, that's exactly what our city is in need of."
"That's right."
Clae's eyes were full of excitement, and he couldn't contain his joy.
"I'm just about to go meet them and discuss the grain acquisition. If the price is reasonable, our city's grain shortage will be resolved."
"Then hurry and go."
"Understood!"
Clae rushed out with a hurried expression, followed by several members of the cavalry. Chen Yu watched him leave with a smile, then put his arm around Liam's shoulder again.
"Let's go, for tea!"
In fact, the caves had many similarities to the outside world.
Outside the caves, the government was housed in an office building, with all municipal work conducted within a single structure. In the caves, the City Lord's mansion served a similar function to a city hall.
With his arm around Liam's shoulder, Chen Yu led him to a long pavilion.
Liam remained silent the entire way, his brow furrowed as if he had something to say.
"Say what you want. What are you hiding?" Chen Yu took out his tea set from his ring, poured two cups of cool tea, and took a sip.
"It's nothing really."
Liam shook his head with a frown. Chen Yu glanced at him.
"Those merchants are your people, aren't they? They're quite capable to be dealing in grain. The caves are so short on grain, yet they can acquire it. They're quite skilled."
"That's what I was just about to say," Liam murmured.
Everyone in the caves knew that grain was scarce in all countries. It was rare for any kingdom or city to sell grain. Only grain merchants could sell it in large quantities.
He understood the capabilities of those merchants. It was fine for them to do some small-scale trade.
Grain!
Even Liam found it difficult to procure grain. How could they possibly sell grain to others?
"What are your thoughts then?" Chen Yu asked with a slight smile, sipping his cool tea. "I think it's quite reasonable. They are traveling merchants and go everywhere. Perhaps they acquired a batch of grain somewhere and are now selling it. I estimate the quantity wouldn't be particularly large, a few hundred tons should be their limit."
Chen Yu, still smiling, poured himself another cup of tea, then frowned and said.
"If they're selling a lot..."
"Impossible!" Liam, sitting on a stone stool, raised his hand. "I know their capabilities. I was just considering this possibility. It's possible they've collected some scattered grain by traveling around. The quantity definitely won't be too much. A few hundred tons, as you said, should be their limit. Anything more would be problematic."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course!"
Grain production in the caves had always been extremely low. A mu of land would yield less than 200 jin of wheat, while fertile land could produce more, perhaps around a thousand jin.
The problem was, where could they find so much fertile land in the caves?
The Tatu Kingdom was not a plain. The surrounding kingdoms were mostly the same, and the Batu Free Federation was mostly desert.
Grain was extremely scarce within the country.
The only relatively large plain was the territory now controlled by Chen Yu's Fengqi City. This was why many in the royal family coveted this territory.
With land, one could grow grain. With grain, one could have soldiers.
With soldiers, one had power!
In the Tatu Kingdom, being able to eat one's fill was considered doing well. More than half of the population still struggled to fill their stomachs.
In this state, which family in the Tatu Kingdom could afford to sell surplus grain?
"If that's the case, you understand your merchants too superficially," Chen Yu said with a smile, sipping his cool tea. He brought his wrist closer and gestured to the projection on his wristband. "Come, take a look. These are the joyful words of our Deputy City Lord."
Liam, who had just reached for his teacup, looked intently and his pupils contracted violently upon his first glance.
"Impossible!"
The message on the wristband was simple, just a few sentences.
"City Lord, you were right. As they say, there's always a way. I've already contacted those merchants, and they said they have a large quantity of grain to sell."
"The total quantity is over a million tons."
"However, the price is slightly difficult to accept. They want to sell it at 15 copper coins per jin, which is a huge difference from our city's grain prices."
"I haven't shown any intention to buy it yet."
"City Lord, should we buy this grain, or should we... seize it?"
For the caves, seizing resources was a common occurrence.
If they fancied a particular resource and the price was truly unnegotiable, especially if the difference was significant, many kingdoms would resort to taking the resource by force.
This was true even for empires.
Despite the apparent prosperity of the various nations, they all had their share of unsavory secrets behind closed doors.
Seizing resources was the least of their concerns!
If the situation allowed, Clae would have preferred not to resort to covert seizure. However, a million tons of grain was indeed very tempting.
Most importantly, those merchants were too greedy.
15 copper coins?
Even if they had asked for 10 copper coins, Clae might have negotiated with Chen Yu and, with some effort, purchased the grain to overcome the city's shortage.
Liam saw all of this clearly, and he also noticed Clae's intention to seize the grain at the end.
However, he paid little attention to this.
Even in his heart, he acknowledged that seizing resources was a reasonable course of action.
What concerned him more was...
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Liam slammed the table and stood up, shaking his head. "How could they possibly have so much grain? The grain I bought for you before was extorted from several nobles. Collecting scattered grain from the kingdom's commoners, they wouldn't be able to collect this much grain even if they did it for a lifetime."
"Don't get excited."
Chen Yu smiled and retracted his wristband. He tapped the projection, asking Clae to calm the merchants and give him some time to consider. Then, he closed the chat window and looked at Liam, who was full of disbelief, with a smile in his eyes.
"Clae wouldn't lie to me, and the news that the merchants are in my city is not false."
"I understand all of that, and I'm not doubting you," Liam said seriously. "The problem is, how did they collect so much grain from individual households?"
"Yes, I'm curious too."
"Anyone who can have such reserves must be a noble, and not just one noble. When I bought grain for you, that noble was considered quite successful in the royal capital. I emptied his granaries, and that was all I gave you. From what I know, a noble who possesses a hundred tons of grain is considered well-off. A thousand tons or more belongs to a noble with considerable influence. Ten thousand tons, perhaps only a city lord who has embezzled extensively could achieve."
"Your analysis is thorough," Chen Yu nodded with a smile.
"A million tons of grain means a hundred city lords, and they must be city lords of cities with at least 300,000 residents. How could they..." Liam's lips twitched, and he suddenly gasped, "They're cooperating with some city lords. Damn it, where are they now? I must capture them and question them clearly. They're eating my food and still daring to pilfer outside. They truly have a death wish."
"Look at your impulsiveness. Sit down."
Chen Yu gently placed his hand down and sighed softly.
"If you go looking for them rashly like this, won't you alert them? Do you think they'll really tell you if you ask? Don't they know who you are? Knowing your personality, would they dare to seek personal gain outside? I don't think these merchants have such a large appetite, do they?"
"You mean..."
Liam instantly understood. Chen Yu licked his lips and raised his teacup.
"Can you find out who did this?"
"No problem!" Liam narrowed his eyes and nodded in agreement. Chen Yu also smiled and nodded, "Find out who these people are, give me a list, and also, please work a little harder and list out all the nobles who took advantage of Fengqi City's misfortune before. I have a use for them."
"Alright!"
Liam then raised his teacup and drank the cool tea in one gulp.
"It will take at most three days for me to give you an answer."
Saying this, Liam left the pavilion with his escorts.
"Be careful not to alert them."
"Got it!"
Liam waved his hand and shouted.
At this point, this matter was no longer just about doing favors for Chen Yu. More importantly, Liam wanted to find out who dared to extend their reach to his territory.
Perhaps it was just a few merchants now, of no consequence.
Who knew if they would reach out to his escorts or the servants in his residence in the future? If so, wouldn't his situation be very dangerous?
He had to find those people. He absolutely had to!