Jin Feng is not a miser. With money in hand, he naturally would not let it rust at home, but invested as much as possible in expanding and strengthening Xihe Bay, as well as recruiting and training veteran soldiers.
Now, with the growing reputation of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, there was no need for Zhang Liang to actively seek people. Every day, many retired veterans came seeking to join, and the escort team grew larger and larger.
Jinchuan, after all, is a small place, and many things could not be bought there. Tang Fei came this time not only to deliver Black Swords and soap, but also with a list of items Jin Feng wanted him to purchase.
These past few days, Tang Fei had been leading people around the iron forging markets in the capital, searching for the materials on Jin Feng’s list.
“I asked Old Tang last night, he’s almost done buying, probably leaving tomorrow or the day after,” Han Feng replied.
“Good, I’ll go exchange all the banknotes for gold today and let Old Tang take it back,” Luo Lan said.
Great Kang has no banks, only money houses, the most famous being the Great Kang Money House, run by the imperial family, with branches in every prefectural city of Great Kang and in the wealthy counties of the south.
But depositing money in the Great Kang Money House earns no interest, and there is a storage fee. Exchanging banknotes in another location comes with extremely high handling charges.
To save on these costs, many large merchants doing business across regions carry gold.
The exchange rate between Great Kang gold and silver is one to ten, so tens of thousands of taels of silver convert to just a few hundred jin of gold.
The journey from Jinchuan to the capital is long, and bandits are inevitable along the way. For safety and to make it easier to carry goods back, Tang Fei brought over thirty men this time, with more than eighty war horses and pack horses combined, making it easy to carry a few hundred extra jin.
That very evening, Luo Lan exchanged all her banknotes for gold ingots and bars, keeping five hundred taels of gold for emergencies, and packed the rest into parcels, which Han Feng delivered to Tang Fei.
“Old Tang, wealth moves hearts. Each of these parcels is worth several thousand taels of silver. Are the men you brought reliable?” Han Feng warned. “If someone runs off with the money on the road, you won’t be able to explain it to the gentleman when you get back.”
“Don’t worry, Old Han. The brothers who came this time were personally selected by Brother Liang and Madam Xiao Bei. They’re all trustworthy, and their families are in Xihe Bay, so they won’t run,” Tang Fei said. “I’ll keep an eye on the road too. If anyone dares have ideas, I’ll take care of them first!”
“The problem is, by the time you notice, the person might already be gone,” Han Feng said. “If something like that happens, send someone to notify me immediately. I’ll arrange people to chase them down, even to the ends of the earth, and take them out!”
After arriving at Xihe Bay, his life had changed beyond recognition.
Before, he was just a hunter in the mountains, selling game in the county seat, bowing and scraping to any yamen runner he met.
But now, he had even met Prince Jin and the princess.
In truth, Han Feng knew that Jin Feng and Zhang Liang did not fully trust him yet, and Iron Hammer was probably sent to keep an eye on him.
But he did not mind. He was already very satisfied with his current life and cherished it deeply.
He even secretly hoped something would happen somewhere, giving him a chance to prove himself.
“I’ll do that. Thanks,” Tang Fei said gratefully.
“Thank you feels distant between us. Besides, this is my job,” Han Feng replied.
When Jin Feng formed the Zhong Ming group, it was not only to gather intelligence externally but also to screen for spies internally.
If a traitor appeared, the Zhong Ming group was responsible for hunting them down.
The two chatted a bit more before Han Feng left.
Early the next morning, Tang Fei set off with the team and horse caravan. Iron Hammer and Han Feng led men to see them off all the way to the west city gate.
As they were saying goodbye outside the gate, they suddenly heard the urgent sound of hoofbeats behind them.
“Who dares gallop horses in the capital?”
Everyone turned curiously to look.
The first thing they saw was the Ninth Princess’s maid, Qin’er.
Beside Qin’er were several burly men on horseback, all wearing bright robes, with curved blades at their waists.
“Tufan people!”
Han Feng and Iron Hammer exchanged glances, both recognizing the group’s identity.
Xichuan borders Tufan, and there had been frequent clashes in recent years. Zhang Liang lost his arm fighting Tufan people.
They were right at the city gate, with commoners lined up in long queues to enter and exit, but the Tufan people showed no sign of slowing down, clearly intending to force their way through.
The capital was guarded not by lax prefectural troops but by one of Great Kang’s elite forces, the Imperial Guard. The squad leader, seeing someone trying to barge through, immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare to intercept.
Seeing this, Qin’er quickly spurred her horse, galloping to the gate and showing a token to the Imperial Guard squad leader, signalling them to let the group pass.
The squad leader recognized what the token meant and hurriedly waved his arms, directing soldiers to clear the commoners.
Many commoners turned pale with fright at the galloping war horses, screaming and scrambling out of the way.
For a moment, the gate was in chaos, but fortunately, the path was cleared just before the horses arrived.
The Tufan people were amused by the panicked commoners, laughing loudly as they thundered past.
Two of the Tufan men even casually cracked their whips at the crowd.
“These bastards are too arrogant!”
Iron Hammer glared at the Tufan people’s backs and spat on the ground.
“The gentleman said weak countries have no diplomacy. Great Kang is weak now, so everyone bullies us,” Han Feng sighed. “If this were a hundred years ago, when Great Kang was strong, who would dare act so brazenly in the capital?”
“What’s the use of saying that now?” Iron Hammer sighed too.
Tufan and Great Kang were essentially enemies, so why were they in Bianjing city, and with the Ninth Princess’s maid?
Han Feng and Iron Hammer were both extremely curious.
But Qin’er only nodded at them before turning and leaving, so they could not ask.
“Old Tang, the Tufan people are probably taking the same road back. Go slow for a bit, don’t run into them,” Han Feng warned. “These people dare to act wild in the capital, they’re definitely not ordinary Tufan. If you do meet them, avoid conflict at all costs, understand?”
“Don’t worry, I get it,” Tang Fei nodded. “Alright, Old Yan and the others are here. We’re off.”
On the way in, the veterans had brought portable heavy crossbows, which definitely could not be brought into the capital, so Tang Fei had several veterans stay at an inn outside the city, agreeing to meet at the gate this morning.
“Good, safe travels.”
Han Feng, Iron Hammer, and the others clasped fists at Tang Fei.
Tang Fei returned the gesture and led the horse caravan on their way.
With too many goods on the return trip, the pack horses were struggling, and to avoid the Tufan group, Tang Fei did not dare go too fast, taking a full three days longer than the journey there to return from the capital to Xihe Bay.
Before even entering the village, they saw a large crowd gathered at the threshing ground, unusually lively.
“What’s going on?”
A veteran asked curiously.
“See that big sign? It must be a wedding procession,” Tang Fei laughed. “Old Yan, go tell the village head to have the wedding party wait a bit. Our brothers haven’t picked their brides yet.”
