Chapter 99

As he walked out of the Red Sleeve House, Liu Jun sighed with a lingering reluctance. Shen San娘 was truly remarkable, but today he had no time to indulge in romantic pursuits. The cooperation proposed by Hu Guang was both expected and somewhat surprising, but it was an opportunity nonetheless.

If the cooperation went through, the annual income of ten thousand taels of silver would be a significant boost, not to mention the various other benefits, such as building relationships with the Prince of Andong, the Prince of Jing, the Prince of Yi, and other members of the Zhu family. Although the Zhu dynasty might not last much longer, their influence was still considerable during this period. Moreover, Liu Jun had his eyes on more than just the silver.

This was for long-term development. Smuggling salt was a highly profitable but also a high-risk business. Most salt smugglers were heavily armed and extremely fierce, even more so than ordinary bandits. Liu Jun hoped to use them as his next practical target, training the Nine-Headed Bird with these people in real combat.

Of course, Liu Jun also had his eyes on the wealth of the salt smugglers. Since smuggling salt was five times more profitable, the smugglers were all wealthy. The major salt merchants in Yangzhou and Weizhou had fortunes worth millions, and the salt smugglers were certainly not poor. If he could suppress them and seize their assets, it would be even more profitable than smuggling salt.

Liu Jun intended to play a game of black eating black. Since he had no land for farming and no channels for business, suppressing bandits and smugglers was the most profitable option. However, if he acted alone, he might not be able to deal with the powerful figures behind the salt smugglers. But if he acted under the banner of the Zhu princes, he only needed to handle the front-line people, and the powerful figures would be dealt with by the princes.

If it weren't for the lack of bandits in Macheng recently, Liu Jun wouldn't have been so eager to take on this task. Recently, there had been frequent troop movements in eastern Hubei, all to guard against the Five Camps of the Hui people in the east. As a result, the small-time bandits had been almost completely wiped out. It was difficult for Liu Jun to earn extra money by suppressing bandits unless he had the courage to cross the border and go to Guangzhou in Henan or Luzhou in Nan Zhili to suppress bandits, but those places were not as peaceful as Macheng, and it was uncertain who would suppress whom.

After receiving Liu Jun's conditions, Hu Guang hurriedly returned to Qizhou and the Andong Prince's residence.

Hu Guang was very enthusiastic about this matter. He managed the salt trade, and the annual benefits were substantial. If he lost this position, there would be no other such good job available.

Prince Andong Zhu Changyi was sitting under a tree in the back garden of the prince's residence, chatting with his niece.

"You, you really gave us a scare this time. I told your parents long ago that you shouldn't act on a whim. You should stay at home more often, and when you go out, you should bring more guards. But you didn't listen, and now you've caused a big problem."

"But I'm fine now, right?" the young and beautiful woman pouted.

"I can't persuade you." Prince Andong sighed, feeling helpless about his niece, who had always been quite headstrong. This niece was his sister's daughter, and since his sister had married into the family, the niece had grown up in the prince's residence and was very dear to him.

Although his brother-in-law had married into the family, he was not an ordinary man. His brother-in-law's family was a well-known clan in Qizhou. His grandfather, Li Shizhen, was once a judge in the Imperial Medical Institute and was revered as the Medical Sage. His father, Li Jianzhong, was Li Shizhen's eldest son and had passed the imperial examination, serving as a provincial judge in Yunnan. Li Shuchu, the eldest son of Li Jianzhong and grandson of Li Shizhen, was one of six brothers. Despite their modest family background in their youth, he was exceptionally talented and was highly regarded by the eldest son of Prince Andong, Zhu Yizhu, who arranged for him to marry into the family and provided him with a study named Tanfu, symbolizing his future prosperity and success.

Later, Li Shuchu passed the imperial examination and served as a departmental official, the magistrate of Yanghe, and a vice-inspector of Shanxi, known for his integrity and good governance. He retired a few years ago and now enjoyed his twilight years. His sons were all intelligent and well-mannered, pursuing education and careers. The only one who caused trouble was his niece, Shiniang.

Prince Andong Zhu Changyi's great-grandfather was originally the second son of the Prince of Yi and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Chongren. After his elder brother, the Prince of Yi, died without an heir, he succeeded to the title of Prince of Yi, and his son was also enfeoffed as a prince. One of his sons was enfeoffed as the Prince of Andong, and his eldest son, Zhu Yizhu, married Li Shuchu into the family. However, he died before succeeding to the title of Prince of Andong, and his eldest son, Zhu Changyi, succeeded to the title of Prince of Andong over twenty years ago and has held it ever since.

After Li Shuchu passed the imperial examination, he returned to the Li family, but his children grew up in the prince's residence. Prince Andong truly doted on Shiniang, which led to her becoming somewhat wild as she grew older.

"Your Highness, Manager Hu has returned and is waiting outside to see you," a servant reported.

"Send him in."

Shiniang sat beside him, holding her uncle's arm. "I haven't chatted with Uncle for days. I'll stay in the prince's residence for a few more days and won't go back yet."

Prince Zhu Changyi understood his niece's thoughts and knew she was afraid to face her husband after the trouble she had caused.

"You can stay for a few more days, but you mustn't go out so carelessly again."

As they were talking, Hu Guang entered. Seeing Shiniang, he was not surprised, as he was a long-time servant of the prince's residence and was familiar with her. He always brought her gifts when he returned.

"Uncle Hu, did you bring me a gift?" Shiniang immediately asked.

Hu Guang smiled. "Didn't you go to Luoyang? You're back so soon, I didn't know, or I would have prepared a gift. I'll make it up next time."

Prince Andong waved his hand. "Ignore her. She's caused a big problem this time, and I don't know how her husband and sister will deal with her. She's trying to stay here. Did you manage to negotiate the matter you mentioned?"

Hu Guang replied cautiously, "Liu Jun is willing to help us, but he has some conditions, which are quite high. I didn't dare make a decision, so I came back to report to Your Highness."

Li Zhen, who was about to leave, stopped when she heard Liu Jun's name. She not only stayed but also listened intently.

"Oh, a mere martial arts student from Macheng, a county militia commander of the eighth rank, dares to set conditions for us. He is indeed bold. What are his conditions?" Prince Andong asked calmly.

Hu Guang carefully replied, "Liu Jun proposed that he would help us suppress the salt smugglers in Qihuang in exchange for three thousand salt permits and the exclusive right to sell salt in Macheng. Additionally, for each smuggler captured, he would receive ten taels of silver, and for each smuggler leader, one hundred taels. He also proposed that the seized salt be split equally, or we could buy it from him at one tael per permit."

Prince Andong listened quietly and then sneered. "Did you make it clear who is seeking his help?"

"Yes, I mentioned the Prince of Andong and the other princes, including the Prince of Yi and the Prince of Jing."

"Since you've made it clear, and he still dares to set such conditions, he is indeed arrogant. Perhaps he has suppressed a few bandits, but if he overestimates himself, such a young man is not worth much. Forget it, we don't need him."

"Uncle!"

"What is it?" Prince Andong turned to look at his niece, who was shaking his arm.

"I haven't told you about what happened before. I was saved from bandits by Liu Jun himself, who personally led the attack on the bandit stronghold. He saved my life. I've also heard that he is very capable, despite his youth. Uncle, can you give him a chance? Let him try. How will you know if he's just talking big unless you give him a chance?" Although Li Shiniang had cried all the way back from Macheng, she couldn't forget him once she returned to Qizhou.

Prince Andong was surprised. He knew that his niece had been on her way to visit her aunt in Wuchang from Luoyang when she was captured by bandits, who killed her coachman and guards and held her hostage. Fortunately, she was rescued by the army. His niece was reluctant to talk about the details, and he didn't know much about what had happened.

Now, hearing his niece's words, he realized that the one who had saved her was Liu Jun. This was unexpected and made him feel indebted to Liu Jun.

"Alright, since Liu Jun saved Shiniang, I should thank him. However, we should keep the matters separate. Hu Guang, go back to Macheng with the prince's residence's gratitude and thank Liu Jun properly." After a pause, Prince Andong continued, "Tell Liu Jun that I am willing to cooperate with him, but he must first demonstrate his capabilities. Let him start by helping us suppress the salt smugglers in Qihuang, beginning with Macheng. If he can show some tangible results within a month, we can formally cooperate."

"I won't give him any rewards for capturing smugglers or provide rations for his men, but I will buy the seized salt from him at six cash per catty. If he can achieve results, starting next year, I will give him one thousand salt permits and the exclusive right to sell salt in Macheng."

Prince Andong's offer was to buy the seized salt at two cash per catty, reducing the salt permits from three thousand to one thousand, but he was willing to give Liu Jun exclusive rights to sell salt in Macheng. Of course, this was conditional on Liu Jun's performance. If he performed well, he would receive the salt permits and the exclusive rights starting next year.

This was a condition Prince Andong offered solely because Liu Jun had saved his niece. Moreover, Prince Andong did not believe Liu Jun could meet these conditions. If Liu Jun failed in a few months, Prince Andong could end the cooperation and consider the debt repaid.

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