Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 150 He truly is an old rival...

So, on the official road near the camp, the prince seized 20,000 strings of cash for Lin Zhou and sent five personal guards to escort him to the south.

Lin Zhou sent his personal guards back halfway there, and secretly ran back to his own era.

Taking the high-speed train back is so much more comfortable than being stuck in this crappy place for a month.

At that very moment, Zhao Ji was also sulking in the palace, and when he went to the academy to look for his brother Lin that morning, he was stopped.

Of course, not seeing Brother Lin wasn't the reason for her sulking. The real reason was that it was already springtime, and the Six Ministries and the Imperial Treasury were about to begin their annual accounting reconciliation.

This was Zhao Ji's first time working on auditing accounts, and when he saw the accounts, he almost suffered a stroke.

Whether it was the Six Ministries or the Imperial Treasury, the money was spent in a bizarre manner, and most of it was concentrated in the past February.

For example, the Ministry of War purchased 30,000 New Year pictures, each costing 1,230 cash, while the Ministry of Revenue purchased 600 sets of tables and chairs, each costing 107 cash and 4 coins.

Even the bizarre things in the royal treasury were both laughable and absurd; the Imperial Wardrobe alone spent a fortune buying 750 hemp ropes.

They spent 1,400 strings of cash, plus eggs from the imperial kitchen that cost 3 strings each, and bought over 1,900 of them.

damn it----

Even the usually gentle and refined Zhao Ji couldn't help but swear at this moment. He didn't come to Lin Zhou to solve a problem, but simply wanted to hear Lin Zhou's extremely foul mouth.

After all, he himself wouldn't feel satisfied even if he cursed until his throat was hoarse, but Lin Gege's swearing sounded genuinely satisfying.

When these unreasonable accounts were presented to him, he did have some doubts. He went to the Ministry of Revenue to verify the accounts, and the Minister of Revenue simply told him that they were reasonable.

Then he went to find his "father" Zhao Gou, who acted as a riddle-maker, offering no comment on whether the answer was good or bad, and simply leaving Zhao Ji to figure it out himself.

Even if you were to become an immortal and comprehend this, you still wouldn't be able to figure out what kind of chicken laid those three-cash eggs.

He even suspected that this was a test from his "father" Zhao Gou, deliberately making things difficult for him by making him play "spot the difference".

The end result was that the crown prince was so angry that he cried in his palace, looking as aggrieved as a 240-month-old child.

To encounter something like this on your first solo mission must be incredibly traumatic for a grown man.

With utter helplessness, Zhao Ji decided to wait for Lin Zhou to come to him. He didn't go anywhere else but to wait at the entrance of the academy, hoping that Lin Zhou would give the six ministries a good scolding in front of him.

While they were waiting quietly, four or five white doves gracefully arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. A trusted confidant took the message from the dove's leg and hurriedly went to the study to hand it to Qin Hui.

After Qin Hui saw the contents of the small bamboo tube, his expression was extremely complex. He seemed to relax, because the previous note said that the plan was going smoothly and they had already gone to Jin Shangjing. At this point, it was basically equivalent to forcing Wanyan Zongbi out of the core circle of this power struggle.

Without Wanyan Zongbi's interference, things went much more smoothly afterward.

But the next few notes made Qin Hui frown. The first few notes were about Wanyan Liang showing off his wisdom and prowess, using only one note. But the next five notes were all complaining that things were almost ruined by a Song person.

The complaints and rants inside couldn't fit on a single note, and judging from the context, several notes were lost.

What does this mean? Although carrier pigeons are faster than express mail, they are still very expensive. It takes three years to train a carrier pigeon, and if a complete message needs to be delivered and the information is relatively complete, even if the words are written as thin as mosquito legs, it will still take four or five pieces of paper.

On average, one homing pigeon is lost for every 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers). Perhaps it dies suddenly while flying, perhaps it is killed by a hunter, or perhaps it is ambushed by a falcon. In any case, if you want to fly 2,000 li (approximately 1,000 kilometers) to your destination, you need to have at least five pigeons on hand to be safe.

On average, a carrier pigeon costs about 50 guan, while a single note costs about 300 guan. The most terrifying thing is that Wanyan Liang only used one note to inform Qin Hui that his plan had succeeded, but used five notes to complain about and criticize a Song person.

Two of these five cards are missing—meaning Wanyan Liang spent over a thousand strings of cash and three years of his time to insult someone, specifically a Song person.

The text briefly described the appearance of the Song man, and Qin Hui's mind went blank for a moment. His first thought was Lin Zhou.

Thinking about it again, Lin Zhou really hadn't shown up during this time. Qin Hui felt a pain in his liver. If it really was Lin Zhou, then his support for the internal strife in Jin would be completely exposed. When Jin was pacified, no matter who came to power in the end, Qin Hui would not have a good end. If Jin did not deal with him, Zhao Gou would definitely find a way to deal with him.

Without thinking twice, he threw on his clothes and hat and rushed into the academy.

Upon closer inspection, he spotted Zhao Ji sitting on the steps of the academy, knees drawn up to his chest. He quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

"We are waiting for you."

Zhao Ji, young and ambitious, idolized Yue Fei and naturally had no liking for Qin Hui. He gave a perfunctory answer and then said nothing more.

He was also curious as to why that old scoundrel Qin Hui would suddenly come to this place, so he got up and followed him.

Qin Hui entered the academy, walked straight in with a blank stare, and without even informing anyone, barged directly into the back room.

Unfortunately, just as the two of them entered the backyard one after the other, they happened to see Chen Shouchang practicing the Five Animal Frolics.

Headmaster Chen glanced at Zhao Ji, then at Qin Hui, frowned, and adopted a businesslike demeanor: "Prime Minister Qin, it's an honor to have you here. I apologize for not welcoming you sooner. May I ask whether you've come today to arrest Yue Fei's followers or to take over my sect?"

Qin Hui hissed. It wasn't that he was afraid of Headmaster Chen. They were all equals, and besides, he held real power while Chen only held a nominal position, so there was no reason for him to be afraid of Chen.

The problem is that these upright officials are extremely difficult to deal with. Today, they were already in the wrong for clashing with the mountain gate, and these petty officials have seized on this as a pretext. There will be a lot of trouble when they go to court tomorrow.

"Grand Tutor," Qin Hui said with a cupped hand and a smile, "I'm sorry, I have urgent business with Pingzhi. Something has happened at the steel mill, and I ask the Grand Tutor to be lenient."

The steel mill's lie was so ridiculous that even Headmaster Chen found it laughable. He thought to himself, "You, Prime Minister Qin, are so busy with state affairs. Why would a mere steel mill send you on this trip alone? Something truly terrible must have happened."

"Oh, is that so?" Chen Shouchang didn't make a fuss, but just smiled and said, "Pingzhi is currently in seclusion studying hard. I can't let this fellow tarnish my reputation. I hope you will understand, sir."

Qin Hui immediately gritted his teeth. He maintained his smile with difficulty, but he already understood the situation quite well. There was a high probability that the person who had driven Wanyan Liang to send him abusive text messages at all costs was Lin Pingzhi!

Well, although I'm reluctant, I'm afraid this person can't be kept.

Qin Hui didn't say much, he just smiled and turned to leave. At that moment, his smile suddenly turned sinister, a scene that happened to fall into Zhao Ji's eyes, making the prince shudder.

"Please continue, Grand Tutor. I shall take my leave now."

Just as Qin Hui was about to leave, brimming with murderous intent, a shout suddenly came from around the corner: "Old man, let's go catch a couple of fish tonight and grill them. I got a packet of grilling seasoning."

Qin Hui stopped in his tracks upon hearing the sound and turned around to see Lin Zhou walking towards him, his wig askew and his clothes wrinkled.

"Um?"

Lin Zhou, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up and met Qin Hui's gaze. He exclaimed, "Prime Minister, perfect timing! Don't leave! Let's have a whole grilled fish together tonight. I'll go get a couple more Qingjiang fish later, marinate them with scallions, ginger, and garlic, and serve them with my secret grilled fish sauce. It'll be absolutely delicious!"

After Lin Zhou finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Ji, but Zhao Ji merely nodded indifferently and cupped his hands in greeting: "Oh, Prince! You have two too!"

Qin Hui sized him up, and after confirming that he was indeed the top scholar, his expression brightened, even becoming somewhat amiable like that of an elder: "Pingzhi! You are already the top scholar in the imperial examination, how can you still be so dissolute!"

"I just woke up." Lin Zhou straightened his wig and chuckled. "I'm going to buy fish."

Qin Hui waved his hand: "Enough, enough. I originally said there were some things to do at the steel mill, but Grand Tutor Chen refused to release him, so I won't force him."

"I'll go! I'll go!"

Lin Zhou ran up to Qin Hui and whispered, "Prime Minister, I'm going crazy from being locked up! The old man really won't let me out the door. You know I'm not a scholar!"

Qin Hui simply chuckled and said, "Serves you right!"

After saying this, he flicked his sleeves and left. Now that he was certain that the person who appeared in the Jin Kingdom was not Lin Zhou, Qin Hui was even more convinced that the organization behind Lin Zhou was extremely large and terrifying. It not only interfered in the Song Dynasty, but also did not spare the Jin Kingdom.

This forced him to be more cautious, and as for Lin Zhou—

He didn't care. This kind of scoundrel was neither worth keeping nor worth discarding. Anyway, he could still bring benefits for a while. He could do whatever he wanted. Since he had already become the top scholar, he would make plans after he graduated from the Hanlin Academy and became an official.

After Qin Hui left, Lin Zhou looked at Zhao Ji and asked, "Two of them?"

"Hey—" Zhao Ji let out a long breath, glanced back at Chen Shanzhang who was stroking his beard and smiling, then nodded silently and said, "Then—two pairs it is fine. Why have you been avoiding me these past few days, brother?"

"Me? —" Lin Zhou waved his hand: "Don't mention it. The old man wanted to kill me. Am I the kind of person who studies?"

After saying this, he silently walked back to Chen Shouchang's side, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the old man, who remained silent but nodded to indicate that he understood.

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