Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

Early the next morning.

Qin Han awoke in Li Canghai's room to find his beloved woman no longer beside him.

He didn't stay overnight at Mu Nianci's place last night. After sending Xiaolongnu back, he returned to Li Canghai's place.

I just ate the breakfast that Kikuken had prepared.

The front yard started to get a bit noisy.

Mei Jian carried a stack of name cards into the room, the pile almost overflowing.

"Your Highness! The city gate... is almost completely blocked!"

Qin Han put down the teacup he was drinking from.

"Is no one in charge? How did it get so congested?"

"There are people in charge, but they're all people who have sent invitations to see us! We can't just drive them away by force. We've already had seven or eight groups this morning."

Qin Han picked up the top one and looked at it.

The Liao Dynasty delegation, the Jiangnan branch, the Golden Snake Camp, and the six Huai merchants' headquarters.

He had just let Shen Luoyan spread the word about the wedding last night, and so many people have come in less than a day?

"Yes, be polite and make sure these guests who arrived early are settled in properly."

Mei Jian responded and withdrew.

I bumped into Zhu Jian as soon as I stepped out.

Zhu Jian jogged in.

"Your Highness, Miss Xue is outside. She says she has something to discuss and needs to see you."

"Let her in."

Today, Xue Baochai entered the room wearing a bright green dress, followed by two maids carrying stacks of books and an abacus.

He placed his hands on his knees and curtsied as he sat down.

"I heard from the old lady this morning that the date has been set, in about a month?"

"Baochai has a request, but I don't know..."

"speak."

"Let the Xue family handle this joyous occasion!"

Qin Han smiled at Xue Baochai: "What do you mean by 'this happy event'? Isn't it our happy event?"

Xue Baochai blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Then let Baochai help out too."

As she spoke, she took the initiative to hold Qin Han's hand and act coquettishly. I wonder who taught her that.

Qin Han chuckled and pinched her cheek.

"The Ruan and Li families are indeed quite busy, but you need to prove you can handle it, right? Otherwise, going there unnecessarily would just be causing trouble, wouldn't it?"

The Ruan family he mentioned was naturally Ruan Xingzhu, and the Li family was Li Qingluo's side. Since the two mothers-in-law wanted to help, they couldn't refuse them.

Xue Baochai's eyes lit up, and she took the account book from the maid's hands and opened it.

"This is the account of the inner treasury last night. Sister Su showed it to Baochai last night."

"More than 24 million taels of silver have already been deposited into the treasury. The remaining 12 million taels from Jiangnan will arrive tonight."

"However, not all of that batch was official silver; most of it was privately manufactured, with mixed purity and unclear markings. It will have to be recast when it returns, won't it?"

Qin Han put his arm around Xue Baochai, gesturing for her to continue.

Xue Baochai blushed and picked up another book, opening it.

"This is a list of recent guests from outside the city."

"As of this morning, envoys from numerous forces, both large and small, have arrived, including the Liao Kingdom's envoy!"

"But these people are carrying gold and silver, yet they can't even find a place to stay in Chengdu. Is this reasonable?"

Qin Han pinched her delicate nose.

"Go on."

Xue Baochai pulled out a list filled with writing.

"Twelve empty shops outside the city were converted into teahouses and inns within ten days! They were exclusively for foreign envoys, with each shop displaying the flag of a different country!"

"On the day of the wedding, three thousand tables were set up outside the Prince's Mansion, and all the ingredients were from Sichuan."

"We'll accept all the gifts! When our distinguished guest leaves, please take a return gift with the Qin Prince's Mansion's name stamped on the box. How about that?"

She gestured for the maid to bring over the abacus, and then began to fidget with it.

"The Ruan family's fleet travels by water, and the Xue family's grain shop gives them priority in supplying rice, flour, oil, and salt."

"Three hundred thousand taels is the budget allocated by the government for this joyous occasion."

"Leave it to me, don't touch a single tael in the treasury! Once it's done, I'll still bring in the money for the master!"

The abacus was shown to Qin Han, totaling 1.2 million taels.

Qin Han handed the abacus to the maid beside him.

"Making money or not is a minor matter. The important thing is that you're the bride coming up, and it's not good for you to be showing your face in public like this."

Xue Baochai's ears turned red.

"I can send my mother and brother. Our Xue family has been imperial merchants for three generations."

"Leave the matter to me, sir. I'll make sure it doubles in value within two months!"

Qin Han looked at her amusedly; she was here to whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

Just then, Li Canghai, who had left that morning, walked in.

"Baochai's family has just arrived, and this gesture of kindness is truly appreciated. Her mother and brother have nothing to do, so why not let them go?"

Xue Baochai hurriedly stood up and said gratefully.

"Thank you, sister."

Qin Han joked, "Oh, so you only thank Sister Xie, and don't even know to thank Brother Xie?"

Xue Baochai blushed and stepped forward to act coquettishly.

"No, thank you, brother, thank you, my dear brother."

The reason why my mother and brother were involved was because many important people would be attending the wedding, and anyone who could make an appearance at the Prince of Qin's residence would be remembered.

Whether or not they can earn money for this man is the key to whether the Xue family can maintain their foothold in Sichuan.

Footsteps sounded outside the door again.

Seeing that Xue Baochai and Li Canghai were both there, Shen Luoyan came in with several military reports.

"My lord! There's movement in Lin'an!"

Qin Han finished scanning the two lines of text.

"An accountability edict?"

After thinking about it, I decided to let Li Canghai take charge of the wedding preparations.

"I'll leave the rest to you. I'll go out and take care of something."

He stood up and spoke to Shen Luoyan.

"Have Li Jing and the others come to the main hall."

......

The main hall for deliberation.

Xu Xingzhi, Yang Xiao, Li Jing, Xiao Feng, Qin Qiong, Dong Tianbao, Zhang Junbao, and others were lined up on both sides.

A letter was presented to Xu Xingzhi.

"Your Highness, Lin'an is in a bit of a panic this time; the imperial envoy is already on his way!"

"Cai Jing has somehow teamed up with Jia Sidao again. The two of them jointly impeached you before the Emperor, accusing you of holding military power and plotting treason!"

"If you go to Lin'an, they'll surely follow the old precedent of releasing military power over a cup of wine!"

Li Jing let out a cold laugh.

"Didn't Zhao Kuangyin's old tricks back then seem shameful? The soldiers in Sichuan only recognized the prince; even a golden transfer order wouldn't have mattered!"

Dong Tianbao had an even more explosive temper, and he rolled up his sleeve in one swift motion.

"If they dare send any angels like they did to General Yue, I'll scatter their corpses to the wind! Or should I send ten riders right now to intercept that angel?!"

Xiao Feng frowned.

"If we kill them, wouldn't that confirm their treason?"

"In my opinion, it would be better to detain him in Chengdu, feeding and caring for him well! Let him witness the Prince's wedding firsthand; would he dare utter a single word upon returning?"

Shen Luoyan then stepped forward and said, "Leave this matter to me."

"Announcing it to the world in the name of the Prince's wedding!"

"Master Zhang is Zhang Wuji's great-grandfather, and everyone in the martial arts world knows that Prince Qin is Zhang Wuji's elder brother, so he will definitely attend. Headmaster Zhou was also saved by the prince back then!"

As for those from Mount Hua, they owe even more. Back then, when the six major sects were detained by the Mongol princess, it was only through the prince's intervention that they were rescued.

"As long as the three senior masters from Huashan, Emei, and Wudang are willing to come, the other sects, large and small, will naturally follow."

Xu Xingzhi couldn't help but glance at her again.

They've only been with the prince for a few months, and the situation has already deteriorated to this extent?

In order to deploy troops and defenses, he turned to look at Xiao Feng and Li Jing.

"For the grand wedding, I request that the renowned martial arts masters be placed under the command of Military Advisor Shen. As for the military affairs, I will need the full cooperation of all the generals!"

"Isn't that constant flow of people welcoming and seeing off guests just a pretext to relocate troops and soldiers along the various trade routes?"

Yang Xiao stepped forward and smiled.

"We came as a caravan, but can we leave as a caravan? That all depends on Your Highness's word."

Li Jing clasped his fists together.

"The merchant flag has been changed, and the fleet from Jiangnan is heading north in batches!"

Xiao Feng said, "Along with the congratulatory gift convoy, bring all 30,000 Mo Dao soldiers in small groups!"

Qin Qiong spoke simply.

"At Your Highness's command, all the northern cavalry will be at your service!"

Qin Han stood up. It was so reassuring to have capable subordinates who could handle things; all you needed to do was give an attitude and an order.

"No rush, but I apologize for troubling you all these past two months!"

Everyone replied in unison, "It's our duty."