Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 826 Crash
On an inconspicuous boat at sea, a man sat in the cabin listening to his subordinates report.

"Is the information accurate?" came the man's deep voice.

Upon hearing this, the two children stood up from beside the man, bowed, and obediently left the cabin. Whenever their father held a meeting, they would leave on their own initiative; this was the family rule.

They were lucky to be able to stay by their father's side. Although they never dared to talk about their father's other children in private, it didn't mean they knew nothing.

Many of their brothers were sent away, far from Daliang, even to the seas where they often operated. Few people knew where those brothers were sent, but they were certainly sent very far away.

Because whenever they left home, the women who had given birth to their fathers would all be filled with sorrow, reluctant to part with their sons. Some would even cry in private, complaining that their fathers were heartless, and that they and their sons might never see each other again in this lifetime.

My father's most frequent saying was: "The world is vast."

The world is vast, and with the clan members scattered, there are more things that can be controlled.

But... who would be willing to go?
I've heard that there are many bloodthirsty and fierce people on those islands at sea. You can imagine how difficult it would be to settle down and gain a foothold there.

The two brothers looked at each other, their faces showing a cautious expression. In order to make their lives easier, they would have to be more respectful and reverent towards their father for the rest of their lives, and dare not disobey him in the slightest.

Only after the two had walked a distance did they dare to speak in hushed tones.

"I heard that after this, we will have even more control."

The other nodded.

Some time ago, the imperial court suddenly cracked down on the sea, killing many people and causing significant losses to their ships and personnel. My father appeared indifferent on the surface, but he was furious inside. If he was displeased, he would beat and kill the servants who served him. However, as my father's plans gradually unfolded and more favorable news came in, the atmosphere at home improved somewhat.

As they watched as many people were sent out from their homes and dozens of large ships left one after another, their hearts pounded with anxiety.

"Will..."

"Shh," his older brother, a year older than him, said nervously, as if he knew what he was about to say, "Don't talk nonsense."

After a moment of silence, the older brother said, "Our family is so strong, we will definitely win."

This time it's not about dealing with pirates and merchants, but the Liang Dynasty's imperial court. Fortunately, they have a strong army and many people in the court who work for their fathers. Moreover, it's said that the Liang emperor is about to die.

"We sent out six managers," the younger brother said, still somewhat fearful, "What if someone takes the opportunity to arrest us..."

“No, Father has great faith in his father. He wouldn’t act unless he was absolutely certain.”

The younger brother finally breathed a sigh of relief.

……

Inside the cabin, the man was listening to the Seventh Manager's report.

"Merchants from Srivijaya have been frequently going overseas recently."

The man looked up and asked, "Puhara?"

The seventh shopkeeper nodded: "Puhara and his people are transporting goods by fleet. I heard they sent their goods to Champa, mostly porcelain and brocade, and the prices are more than twice as high as those of Liang merchants."

The man laughed: "Knowing that the Liang people are going to war with us, they don't care about these things; they're taking the opportunity to make a fortune."

“Exactly,” said the Seventh Manager. “That Xie family also said that the price of any goods sold in Daliang should not differ by more than 20%. Now, Puheluo, whom she had won over, has been slapped in the face.”

The man said, “Profit-seeking is in the nature of merchants. Officials in Srivijaya who are in charge of maritime affairs are replaced in less than a month at the earliest, and the longest they serve is three to five years. Puhara has worked hard to climb up the ranks, so naturally he wants to put his money in his pocket.”

The seventh shopkeeper nodded: "The Xie family thought that Puhara was wholeheartedly working for them, but in fact we had been secretly dealing with people from Srivijaya for a long time and warned Puhara in private. Puhara is also smart. He can't afford to offend us or the Xie family. After this matter is over, he will probably leave the sea."

The Seventh Manager was fairly satisfied with Puhara. Recently, Puhara led the people of Daliang around and found an abandoned island. Daliang launched a large-scale "bandit suppression" operation, but all they gained were a few wrecked ships and they almost got into a conflict with the island's native inhabitants.

When Puhara's ships saw them, they kept their distance and pretended not to see anything.

He could sense that Puhara was genuinely afraid; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked the people of Srivijaya to speak well of him. "However, Puhara simply refuses to do anything for us."

The man raised his eyes: "If Puhara agrees, you should kill him."

The seventh shopkeeper was taken aback, and immediately realized the meaning behind those words: "If he comes here... it's to gather information for the Xie family."

The man remained silent, which was taken as agreement.

The seventh shopkeeper sneered, "Puheluo won't live much longer either. Once we've dealt with the Xie family, we'll have time to deal with him. I've ordered people to keep a close eye on his parents, wife, and children. Two of his shopkeepers are also our informants. We'll make sure his whole family dies without a sound."

The man said, "Remember, don't alert them."

The seventh shopkeeper said, "Understood." To kill someone, you have to sharpen the knife so that when you kill him, he won't even realize which direction the knife is coming from.

The seventh shopkeeper sighed again.

"How is it?" the man asked.

“Since we went into hiding, there have been quite a few changes at sea. Merchants who were afraid to make a move before are now openly doing business, and there are many fleets coming and going on the sea every day.”

“We’ve sent our people out, so we can’t keep an eye on all the ships.”

This all costs money, and the seventh shopkeeper felt a pang of heartache just thinking about it.

The man chuckled helplessly: "Shortsighted."

The seventh shopkeeper also knew that he was being too petty.

“However,” the man suddenly said seriously, “we must try our best to find out the direction of those fleets, lest something sneak in.”

If the navy of Daliang Prefecture were to infiltrate, they might suddenly attack them.

"Don't worry," a mocking smile appeared on the Seventh Manager's face, "We know the Liang navy inside and out. Even the Emperor probably doesn't know how many people the real navy has or how many ships they have that can go to sea."

"In just a few years, those generals who knew how to train the navy have been transferred to the southeast, imprisoned, exiled, or resigned in anger. Of the remaining two, only one has been dragged down. He coughs every few steps and won't last two winters. Once we replace them with our own people, we won't have to worry about these things anymore."

The man twirled the teacup in his hand. He hadn't worried before, but this time many people had left at sea, so he had to be extra careful.

Manager Qi left the large men's ship. He needed to check around and couldn't stay there any longer. When Manager Qi's ship had been sailing for almost a day, his men whispered, "We've encountered the Srivijaya fleet again."

The seventh shopkeeper put on his cloak, went out of the cabin to check, and sure enough, he saw several ships coming toward them.

The seventh shopkeeper, after looking at the scene for a while, suddenly said, "Order the fleet to charge forward."

Upon receiving orders, the boatmen suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the Srivijaya fleet. The Srivijaya fleet noticed the change and several boats immediately panicked and dodged, their formation instantly becoming chaotic. Some boatmen were even caught off guard and tripped, nearly falling into the sea.

His disheveled appearance made Manager Qi burst into laughter.

“Go,” said Manager Qi, “go to their ship and take some goods. Let them bleed a little.”

The boatmen boarded the ship as ordered, while the people of Srivijaya hid like quails. Only one foreman on board tried to beg for a smaller share, but he was beaten up by the Seventh Manager's men.

……

Inside the ship's cabin.

Hearing the commotion outside, Puheluo nervously clenched his hands and looked at Madam Xie beside him, who, on the other hand, appeared completely at ease.

Puhara pursed his lips. The people outside must not know who was on this ship, otherwise they would definitely try to break in.

(End of this chapter)