After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Li Chun had not prepared any extra horses, so he had Zhu Houzhao sit behind him.

When Zhu Houzhao saw Yang Shen catch up, he asked, "Yang, what exactly happened?"

Yang Shen said loudly, "Your Highness, if you wish to grasp the true Dao, you must first understand the principles behind it! I will explain it to you in detail when I return. The most urgent matter is to return to the capital immediately, otherwise, a major disaster will occur!"

Zhu Houzhao looked puzzled and muttered to himself, but did not ask any more questions.

The group sped along the route they had come from until dawn broke in the east.

In the distance, the silhouette of Badaling can already be seen, with its towering peaks and majestic presence.

Yang Shen finally felt relieved; once they entered Juyong Pass, they would be safe!

These past two days, Wang Ao has been staying home on sick leave, and Emperor Hongzhi has been busy handling state affairs. As long as no one complains, the matter of Zhu Houzhao leaving the palace can be kept secret.

Just then, Li Chun suddenly shouted, "Be on guard! Protect the Crown Prince!"

Yang Shen refocused his attention and looked closely. There seemed to be someone not far in front of him!

His heart, which had just settled down, immediately jumped into his throat again.

The people in front seemed to have noticed as well, and lit torches.

By the light of the fire, I could see many mule carts parked on the ground, at least twenty or thirty of them, all densely packed with goods; it must have been a caravan.

Yang Shen felt slightly relieved, but also somewhat puzzled.

Why would a caravan spend the night in the middle of nowhere instead of resting in a town?

Could it be a caravan from out of town, unfamiliar with the roads, that missed their lodging?

The Crown Prince sat behind Li Chun, who dared not be careless, gripping the reins with his left hand and pressing his right hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

Someone carrying a torch approached from a distance and asked, "Is that Prince Tuluborot ahead?"

Everyone was taken aback. What were these people muttering in their tongues?

Yang Shen frowned, because he heard it clearly: Tulubolot was the eldest son of the young prince Batumengke!

This person should be in the Chahar tribe's camp, how could he possibly be here?

Then I thought again, I was still wearing Mongolian clothes, could it be that someone mistook me for someone else?

Just as Li Chun was about to ask a question, Yang Shen suddenly raised his hand to stop him, then whispered, "Something's not right. Don't reveal your identity yet!"

Zhu Houzhao asked, "Yang, do you recognize them?"

Yang Shen said, "Your Highness, please calm down. I will go and meet them!"

Having said that, he spurred his horse forward to meet them, lowering his voice to ask, "You've come?"

The other party was a middle-aged man with a Shanxi accent, who bowed and scraped as he said, "I am Fan Sihai, and I have brought the goods as agreed!"

Yang Shen thought to himself, "Fan Sihai, could he be from the Fan family of Jiexiu?"

He glanced in the direction of the convoy, thinking he might bluff, and slowly asked, "The numbers aren't right, are they?"

Fan Sihai hurriedly replied, "There are twenty-five truckloads in total, each carrying twenty large jars, for a total of five hundred jars. They all come from Zhao Family Sauce Shop in Linfen, authentic Linfen soy sauce!"

Yang Shen scratched his head. Why is it soybean paste again?

Have they been fighting over soybean paste these past few days?

Fan Sihai added, "It is an honor for my Fan family to serve the Chahar tribe. In the future, please feel free to ask if the grasslands lack any supplies. Salt, sugar, grain, tea, silk, and cloth—my Fan family has a wide range of interests, and the prices are negotiable!"

Yang Shen finally understood: this guy was smuggling soy sauce to the grasslands!

Resources were extremely scarce on the grasslands; necessities like salt could only be obtained through trade with the Ming Dynasty.

However, relations between the two sides have deteriorated significantly recently, and official trade has ceased.

Nowadays, the only way to get salt is through smuggling, but soybean paste can not only replace salt, but also has its own umami flavor, making it an invaluable condiment for the tribes on the grasslands.

Yang Shen glanced at the convoy ahead and asked, "How many of you are there?"

"There were about fifty people in total, all of them were waiters and drivers."

"No guards?"

"Look at what you're saying! We're still within the territory of the Ming Dynasty. If we bring guards, the government will definitely investigate thoroughly, and business will be difficult!"

Yang Shen nodded, then turned around and shouted, "Commander Li, make your move!"

Although Li Chun didn't know what had happened, after today's events, he subconsciously decided that he should do whatever Yang Shen said unconditionally!

"kill!"

With a whoosh, twenty Imperial Guards charged forward, swords in hand!

Fan Sihai was stunned and exclaimed, "Your Highness, one should be ethical in business!"

Yang Shen said dismissively, "That's not very fair. What can you do about it?"

When the driver and his companions saw the other party rushing towards them, their first instinct was to run.

But how can two legs outrun four? They could only obediently kneel down and beg for mercy.

Some tried to resist, but were cut down by the Imperial Guards. The others dared not move.

Fan Sihai watched helplessly, both angry and anxious, and said, "We Han people value cooperation and mutual benefit. If you eat my goods today, who will dare to do business with you in the future? The Ming Dynasty has tight control. Without merchants like us, where would the supplies on the grasslands come from?"

"snort!"

Yang Shen snorted coldly and took off his felt hat.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

As the sun began to rise, Fan Sihai carefully examined the other person and concluded that he did not appear to be a Mongol.

He had just been wondering why Prince Tuluborot spoke Chinese so fluently.

"You...you're not Prince Turuborot?"

"There is a prince, but he's not the one you're looking for!"

After Yang Shen finished speaking, he stepped aside, and Zhu Houzhao rode up on his horse.

"That bastard, he actually smuggled soybean paste into Mongolia!"

Fan Sihai looked up and saw that the man was not very old, so he asked, "And who are you?"

Zhu Houzhao coldly replied, "I am the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty!"

Fan Sihai suddenly laughed and said, "I understand! Are you the garrison of Xuanfu? Today's events were due to the Fan family's oversight. Please accept these silver notes!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of silver notes from his pocket, as if he had been prepared for this.

"From now on, during festivals and holidays, all due gifts will be given without fail. All you need to do is be lenient and turn a blind eye to any goods from the Fan family you see. How about that?"

Zhu Houzhao was even more enraged and shouted, "You dare to bribe the garrison? If I don't exterminate your entire clan today, I'll be letting down the soldiers guarding the border!"

Fan Sihai sneered, "Everyone's struggling, just say you want money! You failed at impersonating Mongols, and now you're impersonating the Crown Prince. Aren't you tired? If the court finds out, your crimes will be far more serious than my smuggling of soy sauce!"

"Li Chun! Give me the knife!"

Zhu Houzhao was young but had a big temper, and he immediately wanted to take action.

Yang Shen quickly stopped him, whispering, "Your Highness, this man must not be killed!"

Zhu Houzhao asked, "Why?"

Yang Shen said, "With them, your unauthorized departure from the palace can be explained!"

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Your Highness, think about it. If His Majesty finds out that you ran away, he will be furious and you'll definitely get a beating. If you bring them back, you'll be relieving His Majesty's burden, and he won't be angry at all; in fact, he'll be very pleased."

After listening, Zhu Houzhao asked with some doubt, "They're just a few people smuggling soy sauce. If they want to make up for their mistakes with merit, isn't this contribution a bit too small?"

Yang Shen asked, "Who are they smuggling soy sauce to?"

"Mongol!"

"Didn't His Majesty mention yesterday that a small group of Tatars has been appearing in Xuanfu recently?"

"Could it be... that those people are here to meet up with Daijang?"

Yang Shen nodded: "Soybean paste is a rare commodity on the grasslands, even more valuable than salt. That's right, I guess the border towns have been under strict control lately, and they're short on supplies. That's why they sent cavalry to harass the border towns and attract the attention of the border troops. Their real purpose is to receive this batch of soybean paste!"

"Think about it. His Majesty and the Ministry of War are still discussing countermeasures, and you've already seen through their true intentions. You've intercepted their business with just a few Imperial Guards from the Eastern Palace. After that, which of those officials will dare to say you're unruly?"

Zhu Houzhao immediately became excited and looked at Fan Sihai again, his eyes practically gleaming with greed!

"Li Chun, take all these people and their goods back to the capital!"

Li Chun clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, sir!"