Demoness, where are you Fleeing to? Chapter 439

At noon on the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, in Hebei Baoding.

Vice Master Lu Liancheng of the ’Shengong Gate’ affiliated with the Shenqi Union, along with a group of knights from the gate, escorted dozens of horse carts to the Shaojian prison of the Yuma Bureau located in Baoding.

His complexion was pale, his eyes filled with worry.

This was because Lu Liancheng had received two pieces of news not long ago.

The first piece of news was that a boat from their Shengong Gate, which was transporting raw materials for bow-making, was detained by the General’s Mansion in charge of transport. All the iron ingots, rhino horns, bull horns, beast tendons and other materials transported from Tiannan were confiscated.

Although the total value was not very high, only about 120,000 taels of patterned silver. But if they couldn’t get these things back, there would be a gap in the raw materials for bows and crossbows of Shengong Gate next year.

The second piece of news was that four ships from Shenji Building sailing along the Yellow River waterway were sunk by several giant water demons, causing all the goods worth 690,000 taels of patterned silver to sink to the bottom of the water.

What worried Lu Liancheng was, was this a coincidence? Or did some major power with great influence on the water surface take action against the Shenqi Union?

"Could it be Earl Chengyi’s Mansion and Li Xuan of Earl Jingan?"

This was said by a young man behind Lu Liancheng, with a worried look, "I heard that the other day, Li Xuan stirred up our entire Artifact Mountain, which is clearly an irreconcilable situation with our Shenqi Union."

"Nonsense!" Lu Liancheng glanced at his nephew, "The situation on Artifact Mountain is still to be confirmed. What age is Earl Jingan? Earl Chengyi’s Mansion in the north doesn’t have many men, how can they do anything to our headquarters?"

He reined in his horse, falling into deep thought, "Earl Chengyi does have a strong presence on the Yangtze River, but can he influence the aquatic clan of the Yellow River? The General in charge of transportation, Duan Dong, doesn’t have any connection with Earl Chengyi’s Mansion, they are not on the same side."

While they were talking, the caravan had arrived at the Shaojian prison of Yuma Bureau.

Lu Liancheng saw from a distance a young eunuch in a green robe standing stiffly in front of the gate.

As soon as Lu Liancheng saw this, he dismounted and walked briskly to the front of the gate to salute, "Lu Liancheng pays his respect to Eunuch Ma."

"Vice Master Lu need not be so formal." This eunuch surnamed Ma sneered coldly, casting a complex glance at the caravan, "I’m sorry, Master Lu, all these weapons and bows you brought today might have to be taken back. There was an order from above, starting from yesterday, all the various institutions of the inner palace could no longer purchase any goods from Shenqi Union."

Lu Liancheng was taken aback, then raised his fist and said, "But Eunuch Ma, this was a settled deal. These weapons and bows were all crafted by our Shengong Gate according to the specifications of Yuma Bureau."

The key point was that they had already spent not less than 10,000 taels of patterned silver on this deal.

"There’s nothing I can do about it." The young eunuch stood with his hands behind his back, shaking his head indifferently, "It’s not that I’m not abiding by the rules, but it’s you who have offended someone. This is the Princess Changle’s idea. If I were to take your goods into storage, I’ll lose my position and be exiled to Fengyang tomorrow. You can’t twist an arm over a thigh, can you?"

"Princess Changle?" Lu Liancheng’s face changed, recalling a possibility.

"I really don’t know what you’ve done to provoke Princess Changle to such an extent. The Princess rarely intervenes in the internal affairs, but this time she has been as decisive as a thunderbolt, leaving no room for defiance."

The young eunuch looked coldly at the vice master of Shengong Gate, "In consideration of our five-year friendship, let me remind you again. Go back and prepare early. I heard that the Yuyong Bureau is already preparing to double your tribute of ’Rhinoceros Thunder Bows’ to one hundred and fifty. The eunuch delivering the imperial edict is already on the way to your Shengong Gate."

"What?"

Lu Liancheng was struck as if by thunder, almost paralyzed on the spot. "One hundred and fifty Rhinoceros Thunder Bows, is that supposed to force our Shengong Gate to death?"

The Rhinoceros Thunder Bow is a powerful bow with a pull force of up to forty stones, its power is immense and is much loved by the military generals. As early as the Hongwu Era, it was designated as a tribute by the Great Ancestor.

However, the production process of this bow is extremely complex and requires a lot of precious materials. In the past, Shengong Gate could only contribute thirty of these bows each year, but even these thirty took up at least one-seventh of Shengong Gate’s manpower.

"Forced to death? Perhaps that’s what they’re thinking." The young eunuch spoke in a mocking tone, "As far as I know, Princess Changle is not only targeting your house, but every one of the twelve factions of the Shenqi Union, without exception. It just so happens that you guys are in the weapon business, and the situation in the north is tense these days."

You sell so many bows and crossbows to the prairie every year, isn’t it? It signifies that you have an excess of manpower. The princess is justified in her actions. Even if the imperial censors of the outer court knew about it, they would have nothing to say."

Lu Liancheng only felt dizziness and confusion.

At this time, a knight dressed in Shengong Gate uniform rushed over on horseback, "Vice Master, the situation is not good."

He got off the horse, and with a panicked look on his face, paid his respects to Lu Liancheng, "Just now, all the taoists we hired have flocked away. They said that there was an order from the Tianshi’s Mansion. All disciples from the Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect are not allowed to have any involvement with our Shenqi Union. Otherwise, they will rescind their Tao token and expel them from the sect immediately. Moreover, Uncle Master Li who went to lobby the General’s Mansion has sent back a token. He says that the situation is bad. Not only had our family’s boats been detained by the General’s Mansion, but also the boats from Leiji Hall and Shenfeng Fort have been detained. Duan Dong has clearly stated that he received a letter from Earl Jingan claiming that our Shenqi Union is colluding with Meng Wu. He has been ordered to strictly check all the goods on all our boats. In addition——"