"A curfew will be imposed in Weidu immediately, and the treasuries in various places will be strictly guarded!"
"It would be best to take inventory of the treasury before submitting a collective report!"
Upon hearing this, the steward's hand slipped, and the teacup shattered on the floor. Tea splashed all over his trouser leg, still steaming.
Xie Xia immediately turned his head and said, "Young Master, you've burned yourself."
The magistrate, however, was already in a daze, his face numb, as if his soul had left his body. He said with trembling lips, "The royal city's treasury is now just a bunch of stones."
"What did you say?!" Xie Xia thought he had misheard.
Chapter 188 Who emptied the treasury?
The boats Xie Lanzhi sent out still hadn't found Xie Ying. She couldn't help but worry that something had happened to the child.
Marilyn's men searched Monkey Island again but still found no one. She couldn't wait to return to Weidu, but just then she learned from Xie Xia that Weidu's treasury had been emptied.
The 50 million taels of ransom that had been prepared earlier had not yet been repaid by Si Lei. It was just sitting in the treasury, but someone had stolen it and turned the gold into stone.
Xie Lanzhi discovered that An Shan had not only played a diversionary tactic against her, but had also used a clever trick to switch the focus of her scheme.
Xie Lanzhi invited Marilyn to come ashore with her. Weidu was the most open port in the late Jin Dynasty. People from all over the world, from small countries, had done business in Weidu. Among them were people from Western countries.
Marilyn's exotic charm may be rare in inland areas, but it's commonplace for people in Weidu to have seen it.
Marilyn knew she might have been cheated out of money and her virtue by a woman. She was reluctant to associate with people from the Central Plains.
"The women over there are so cunning and treacherous," Marilyn said, arms crossed, looking trembling. She seemed to have lost all trust in people.
Xie Lanzhi wouldn't be fooled by her. If she were truly a naive and easily deceived woman, how could she have become Anluo's first overseas financial officer? How did Anluo's cannons end up on Twin Islands?
Furthermore, Twin Islands had no male guards from Anro; they were all people gathered from various countries across the continent, willingly protecting her and daring not to lay a finger on her. This was enough to prove that she was secretly harboring some shady methods.
The men of Twin Islands, faced with the stunning Marilyn, couldn't help but harbor illicit desires. Why then, instead of daring to covet her beauty, did they all rush to protect her?
Xie Lanzhi had asked several gunners before, and their answers were all the same: Without the island lord's permission...
The island owner seemed to be away from Twin Islands almost every day. Even with him gone, Marilyn could still be taken advantage of. Yet, the worst-case scenario didn't happen to her.
Xie Lanzhi was too lazy to expose her: "Are you going or not?"
"Manager Lan, who exactly are you?" Marilyn said, "How can I trust you before you reveal your identity?"
Xie Lanzhi said, "You'll know when you get to Weidu."
"Besides, I don't think you can't guess my identity."
Marilyn felt utterly disillusioned, realizing that her only true love had been deceived by a woman, and she had even lost twenty million taels of silver. How could she possibly face Queen Anro back in her homeland?
However, glancing at Xie Lanzhi's calm and unhurried demeanor, she was actually somewhat tempted. If going to Weidu could boost trade between the two countries, wouldn't being scammed be a thing of the past?
“Alright,” Marilyn said, “the people of Weidu won’t think I’m a monster, will they?”
Xie Lanzhi smiled and said, "Weidu has had dealings with Anlu merchants before, so I don't think it's necessary for something like this to happen."
Marilyn agreed.
They returned home that same day. Ce had disappeared from Twin Islands at some point. Xie Lanzhi didn't ask any further questions.
She boarded the large ship bound for Twin Islands and headed towards Widodo. Throughout the journey, Marilyn was taking notes; she noticed Marilyn was holding a fountain pen, which only required pouring ink into the barrel to write.
It seems that Anluo already has the rudiments of industry. However, each country has its own suitable technology, and it's not fair to say that ink pens are unusable in terms of widespread use yet.
This type of fountain pen doesn't seem to be commonly used in Anluo.
While Marilyn was taking notes of the local customs and traditions Xie Lanzhi had described, she also talked about the current development of Tianjing.
No one knew these things better than Xie Lanzhi. Especially when it came to the fact that in the late Jin Dynasty's new Tianjing, everyone could study. Marilyn was quite surprised: "Your country allows everyone to participate in education; aren't you afraid that too many people will become intellectually challenged and rebel against your government?"
Xie Lanzhi felt that her thinking was in line with the times. She said, "Only when the court is doing a bad job will it fear being overthrown by the people."
“I have reservations about what you’re saying,” Marilyn said. “In my country, only nobles are entitled to education. Even if a poor family can afford to study, they have no chance to participate in politics.”
Xie Lanzhi said, "Every dynasty has its drawbacks. What we, who are at the forefront of the times, need to do now is to strive for fairness, narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, and increase production."
“Trying to be as fair as possible? Narrowing the gap between rich and poor. Production,” Marilyn murmured to herself. Then she wrote the sentence down in her native language.
Xie Lanzhi glanced at it and noticed it resembled English, but it wasn't the modern English she had ever encountered. Some of the words were completely unfamiliar to her. Xie Lanzhi had attended university and her English grades were quite good; she even scored full marks in written reading. She figured these unfamiliar words must be unique to this era.
After Marilyn finished writing, she put the notebook away and put the white veil on her head. A moment later, the sea breeze from the moving boat blew the hat off, and it fell into the sea.
Xie Lanzhi then realized the importance of adapting to local customs. The late Jin Dynasty was in turmoil, and traditional values and rituals had collapsed. Old ideas were no longer applicable. The common people were no longer as resistant to change.
Furthermore, the population died far too many times during the chaotic era. When her little phoenix opened the five gates of craftsmanship, there were no gender restrictions. Therefore, even the carpenter's daughter could enter the five gates.
The emergence of the Five Great Families made families with small crafts highly sought after.
Thinking of the women of this era, Xie Lanzhi no longer intended to use the imperial examination system to recruit them into official positions. Instead, she wanted to find another way: to send all the women of this era into the industrial sphere. As long as they secured a place in industry, one day in the future, with the arrival of industrial society, they would become a leading force, possessing the power to influence generations to come.
Until a hundred years from now, women's power will sustain the entire world.
Xie Lanzhi had a set of women's tight-fitting clothes prepared, with two waist pouches and a leather gun holster added to her waist.
Marilyn donned the exact same black outfit as her, marveling at the two pouches hanging at her waist—convenient and capable of holding silver. A gun holster tucked into her waistband further emphasized her formidable nature.
It also allows for quick draw of the gun.
"What a convenient design."
"Is this the kind of clothing you all wear in the Central Plains?"
Xie Lanzhi shook her head: "It's just to make things convenient for you."
She might not believe it, but despite her seemingly cutting-edge perspective, the South Central Plains was still primarily reliant on traditional productive forces. Aside from increased grain production and advancements in firearms technology, many other industries remained underdeveloped.
Even when she went to the battlefield, she mainly used cold weapons.
As the two chatted, Weidu Port came into view. Xie Bing, on the shore, saw for the first time a ship larger than the official ship, and there were even gunners on board.
Lately, the people of Weidu have been obsessed, especially the Xie soldiers and government troops, who become extremely nervous at the sight of firearms. Some Xie soldiers have even brought over their own cannons.
There were signs of a launch as soon as the ship got close.
Xie Lanzhi raised the Xie family's black flag and waved it. When Xie's soldiers on the shore saw their own flag, they immediately ordered their cannons to stop firing.
The largest treasury in Weidu was now crowded with people, including Xie Bing and officials from various regions.
The head of the department was Si Tang.
Xie Xia repeatedly confirmed that Weidu's largest vault was filled with stones. He sighed and closed the box.
"I have already informed the Marshal."
"We're all going to be in trouble when she gets back."
The Xie family officers standing at the gate grew uneasy: "General, what should we do?"
"When the marshal returns, he will definitely accuse us of lax defense."
"Damn it, those thieves are so cunning!"
Xie Xia didn't know how to explain this to the marshal. His current headache was that this whole thing was caused by Si Hong.
He looked at the magistrate: "You also bear some responsibility."
The chaplain hung his head, completely disoriented. For him, it wasn't just a problem with his brother; his entire family was in trouble.
“If your brother hadn’t faked his kidnapping, this wouldn’t have happened.” Xie Xia said clearly, “The enemy used the kidnapping of the Second Young Master as a pretext to secretly move all the money from the treasuries across the country to one place. Then they took the opportunity to steal and replace it.”
Xie Xia had always been confident in the security measures he had in place for Weidu. He thought he had secured the city. Unexpectedly, the problem arose from the very beginning with the prince.
They caught him completely off guard.
And how should he report to the new Tianjing? Xie Xia was already a little scared. The marshal was alright, but he couldn't be so sure about the one in Tianjing.
Soon a soldier ran over and whispered in Xiexia Port that a foreign ship had appeared, and there was a woman on board holding up her own black flag.
Xie Xia's face immediately turned pale, and he slapped the soldier on the head: "Damn it, that's the marshal! Let him through immediately!"
Upon hearing this, the officers at the gate all paled in shock. Could it be? The Marshal has arrived in Weidu so quickly?
The magistrate was even more nervous and at a loss. Xie Xia deliberately walked to his side, pulled him aside, and said, "Tell me, is there anything else you're hiding?"
"I can cover for you this time, but I can't guarantee it next time."
After thinking for a moment, Si Tang decided to tell Xie Xia about his parents' possible smoking addiction. Xie Xia thought it was nothing serious.
It wasn't until the steward said, "I have a feeling that my mother has been acting a little strange lately," that the young master said.
Xie Xia assumed it was just his mother's grief over losing her son that caused her depression. He didn't take it seriously and instead left the treasury to fetch Xie Lanzhi.
After Xie Bingtong passed through, Xie Lanzhi disembarked, followed by Marilyn and ten firearmsmen. The group proceeded in a grand procession to Xie Xia's residence. Xie Xia arrived on horseback just then.
Xie Xia dismounted and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Marshal."
Xie Lanzhi remained silent, simply lifting her knees and walking through the gate. Marilyn followed behind her, asking, "Manager Lan, who was it that just bowed to you?"
"And could you also grant me a plot of land to serve as Anluo's office in Weidu?"
"Alright, I'll give you a thousand taels of rent every year," Xie Lanzhi's voice came calmly.
Xie Xia then realized that the blonde, blue-eyed woman behind him was from Anluo.
Recently, news from within the tribe mentioned the name Anluo, and he had assumed it was from some insignificant little country. Now, looking at the firearms wielder behind the blonde woman, he realized that their firearms were completely different from those of the Central Plains people.
I wonder how powerful it is? As a military general, I am naturally interested in weapons.
Xie Lanzhi returned without a moment's rest, and she recounted to the steward how the treasury had been emptied. She didn't know when it had been moved. To empty the treasury so quickly, it must have been a group crime, and an inside job at that.
The magistrate's face grew paler with each word. He had realized who had emptied the treasury.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:15:40 on February 4, 2022 and 18:47:19 on February 5, 2022!
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: Hexi (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 189 Xie Ying is still alive