Yan Ge’s eyes flickered, and spoke to Huangfu Yuchen via voice transmission, “Yuchen, this plan is not bad. We not only need to teach them a lesson openly but also make them suffer in secret.”
“Do you have another clever idea?” Huangfu Yuchen asked calmly, then said to General Wei Chi, “General Wei is experienced and resourceful. I trust you. As long as it doesn’t cause chaos at the border, handle the other matters as you see fit. I sent Minister Luo Wei here to also assess the army. If we can showcase our military strength through this incident, it would be a double benefit.”
General Wei Chi stood up respectfully and saluted, “I will comply with the orders!”
“The iron ore has been confirmed to be genuine. General Wei must ensure strict confidentiality. I will have the Ministry of Works send someone to handle the handover. After Minister Luo We finishes his task, he should return to the capital as soon as possible. Xaio Ge and I will stay in this area for a few more days and return to the capital on our own. You two don’t need to worry about it.”
“We will comply!”
After leaving the military tent, Huangfu Yuchen asked Yan Ge, “What’s the idea this time?”
Gao Feng and Gao Yun followed a few steps behind.
Yan Ge patted his chest mysteriously, “I just obtained a treasure. Don’t you want to give it a try? Let’s go treasure hunting in the Youji Kingdom!”
Huangfu Yuchen became interested, “Good idea.”
Gao Feng and Gao Yun exchanged excited glances. They knew there would be something fun to do if they followed Yan Ge.
Huangfu Yuchen said, “I’m not familiar with the border towns near the Youji Kingdom. We should find a guide. Gao Yun.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Go and ask General Wei if he has anyone familiar with the border towns of the Youji Kingdom,” Huangfu Yuchen ordered.
“Yes, I’ll go.”
Gao Yun went to ask General Wei, and he introduced them to Zhang Di, who was familiar with the border towns of the Youji Kingdom and the situation of the border garrison in Lushan Town.
The next day after breakfast, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen, accompanied by Yan Jin, Gao Feng, and Gao Yun, set off for Lushan Town.
The territory of Youji Kingdom was only one-fifth the size of Great Han Kingdom, with a small population. Agriculture was the mainstay of the feudal economy, but with fewer people and less land, the resources they obtained were limited. That’s why the Youji Kingdom was keen on plundering from Great Han Kingdom. They would seize whatever they could. They didn’t dare to confront Great Han directly and could only resort to such petty methods.
A month ago, the order to infiltrate the Great Han Kingdom’s territory and plunder several villages was issued by General Qin Ke, the stationed border commander of the Youji Kingdom. He was also the one who came up with the idea.
The plundered resources had allowed him to live a lavish life for a while, and enjoying hot pot in winter was a kind of luxury. This hot pot was something only enjoyed by those in Great Han, which made General Qin Ke unable to resist plundering them.
“General, it’s time to go on patrol,” Deputy General Shi said after finishing the hot pot, wiping his mouth and standing up.
General Qin Ke patted his belly and stood up as well, saying, “I’ll go too.”
“Please, General.”
The two of them slowly arrived in the town.
Although Lushan Town was only a medium-sized town, it had frequent trade with the Great Han Kingdom because it was a border town. Many merchants from the Great Han would transport goods that the Youji Kingdom lacked and sell them here. Although they paid more taxes than the Youji Kingdom’s merchants, they also made a good profit. The street was full of small stalls, and pedestrians were bustling.
“Spicy hot pot! Delicious and cheap. Have a bowl in winter, and feel so warm!”
After wandering around for a while, General Qin Ke got hungry again and walked briskly to a small stall selling spicy hot pot. He said lazily, “Give me two bowls. Make it with two skewers of each meat and two of everything else.”
The stall owner squeezed out a smile and said, “Alright, General, please wait a moment.”
After the two bowls of spicy hot pot were ready, General Qin Ke and Deputy General Shi each had one.
General Qin Ke began to eat heartily, and after finishing, he wiped his mouth and casually left behind four or five copper coins.
“General, this isn’t enough…” the stall owner gathered courage to say.
General Qin Ke acted as if he didn’t hear and walked away without a care.
The stall owner looked at Deputy General Shi and said, “Deputy General Shi…”
Deputy General Shi glared at him and said, “Go, go! Can’t this General cheat you? I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”
The stall owner dared not speak up again.
Yan Ge and the others entered the town and happened to witness this scene. Their faces changed.
“Outrageous!” Gao Yun angrily exclaimed, “Are our kingdom’s merchants treated this way in Youji Kingdom?!”
Gao Feng was equally furious, “Young Master, Boss, let’s go and talk to them.”
“I’ll go!” Yan Jin volunteered, slipping out from Gao Feng’s embrace and heading down.
Seeing that Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen had no intention of stopping him, Gao Feng let him go.
Yan Jin ran a few steps to catch up with General Qin Ke, stretched out his arms to block him, and looked at him with teary eyes, “General, although my father can make some money selling spicy hot pot, it’s barely enough to support my brother’s education, save dowry for my two sisters, and provide milk for my younger brother. It’s simply not enough to support our whole family. Please pity us and give us our money.”
A cute child suddenly appeared in front of General Qin Wei and he smiled. But as soon as he heard his words, his face turned black.
Passersby saw a small child barely reaching the knees of the tall and mighty general blocking him and curiously gathered around.
“General, please pity us and give us our money back. We are from the Great Han Kingdom, but we never bully the people of the Youji Kingdom. You won’t bully us either, right? Wuuu…”
“It’s the General again. How can he bully a child? What’s going on?” The onlookers whispered to each other.
General Qin Ke’s face turned black then red, and he yelled at Deputy General Shi, “Didn’t I tell you to pay? Why didn’t you pay?”
The condemning gazes of the crowd all fell on Deputy General Shi.
Deputy General Shi was unjustly accused but couldn’t voice his grievances. He quickly took out a few silver coins from his pocket and handed them to Yan Jin, saying, “Take it, keep it. This General was in a hurry and forgot.”
General Qin Ke and Deputy General Shi walked away in embarrassment, quickly distancing themselves.
Yan Jin walked happily to the stunned stall owner and handed him the money without waiting for him to speak, saying directly, “No need to thank me. We are all from the Great Han Kingdom, helping each other is only natural.”
The people around laughed.
On seeing Yan Jin walk to Yan Ge’s side, the stall owner guessed that they were together, and quickly approached and thanked him profusely.
“Are you all from Nanrun City? Let me treat you to a bowl of spicy hot pot as a token of gratitude.”
Huangfu Yuchen, Yan Jin, Gao Feng, and Gao Yun all looked at Yan Ge.
Yan Ge smiled and said, “Thank you, then. We’re all hungry anyway. May I ask for the boss’s name…?”
“My surname is Zhong,” the stall owner said while skillfully adding vegetables to the broth. “You don’t need to be formal. I’m just a small vendor here.”
Gao Feng asked, “Was that General Qin? Does he often act like this?”
Boss Zhong let out a deep sigh and said in a low voice, “This General Qin loves the food of Great Han Kingdom but not its people. Almost every time he passes by my stall, he orders a bowl of spicy hot pot and intentionally pays less. He doesn’t eat vegetarian dishes, only meat dishes, and he orders every kind of meat. And each kind of meat is two coins. But this purple rabbit meat is only available in the Great Han Kingdom and is even more expensive, costing three coins per skewer. He eats around thirty or forty coins’ worth of hot pot each time but only gives four or five coins. I also have to ‘treat’ him to a large bowl. How can I afford it? But he is a general, what can we do?”
“Is it only you who encounters this situation, or do many merchants from the Great Han Kingdom face this?” Huangfu Yuchen asked.
Boss Zhong said, “Many people encounter this situation. It’s common for those soldiers patrolling to take a cake or a few fruits from our stalls.”
Yan Ge said, “Since this kind of thing happens frequently, why don’t you report it to the county magistrate in Nanrun City or to General Wei Chi?”
Boss Zhong smiled and replied, “The county magistrate and General Wei Chi are high-ranking officials and are busy with important matters. Do they have time to deal with such small issues?”
Huangfu Yuchen said coldly , “It’s their duty to handle these matters. How can they dare not to take care of it?”
Boss Zhong was taken aback upon hearing his strong tone. This person seemed like he didn’t consider the county magistrate and General Wei Chi important at all. He often did business on the street and encountered many people, so he had a bold guess: Could this person be an even higher-ranking official than the general?
Gao Yun patted Boss Zhong’s shoulder with a smile and said, “Don’t worry, just listen to our boss.”
After finishing the spicy hot pot and walking away, Yan Ge smiled and said, “Zirui, I have another idea.”
“If you thought of something, just say it. You can’t keep it to yourself after all,” Huangfu Yuchen teased.
Yan Ge beckoned with his finger and said, “Come closer…”
Just as he was about to tell his idea to Huangfu Yuchen, Yan Jin tugged at his sleeve.
He looked over in confusion.
General Qin Ke and Deputy General Shi were walking towards them. When General Qin Ke saw Yan Jin, his gaze followed to Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen beside him. He immediately understood that he had been tricked.
He walked over with a threatening posture, intending to settle the score. “You all, stop.”
“What instructions do you have, General?” Yan Ge asked.
General Qin Ke snorted, “Are you people from the Great Han Kingdom? Where are your travel permits?”
Gao Feng handed over the travel permits that General Wei Chi had prepared for them.
General Qin Ke glanced disdainfully at Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen, and said, “As a father, is it interesting for you to let your son call others ‘father’ without caring.”
Yan Ge smiled faintly, “It’s true that I should care, but it’s even more important to address unfairness. General, you are a respected figure, yet you covet a few dozen coins from a small stall owner. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?”
Deputy General Shi raised his chin and rolled his eyes, his attitude extremely arrogant: “Presumptuous! Watch your words when speaking to our general!”
