CHAPTER 443: CHAPTER 440 FRUITLESS EFFORTS

Li Tao has managed Prince Lu’s maritime trade for many years and has mastered all kinds of goods, from porcelain, paintings, and medicinal herbs to the thread tassels produced by the Chen Family Village. In his hands, he can immediately estimate their value.

This kind of ink is top-quality, and it should sell for a high price. Why is it half the price they usually sell it for? If there really are such goods, how much silver coin could be earned?

Li Tao brought the ink block to his nose and smelled it carefully. A faint, fragrant spice scent wafted over, different from ambergris and musk, but quite pleasant.

If this ink is cheap, it must have used other ingredients during the ink-making process. Otherwise, with the preciousness of the spices, selling at this price would absolutely not be profitable.

Could it be that someone has changed the ink-making formula?

Li Tao also dipped some ink in his mouth to taste it, and immediately frowned. Making ink requires pinewood, yet he couldn’t confirm if this ink block used pinewood at all.

Is there such a good thing?

Li Tao fell into thought and didn’t hear Pu Shou’s reply, so he turned his head to signal to Pu Shou with his eyes.

Pu Shou had no choice but to repeat himself, "Heard from those sea merchants, this is an ink block produced by Daqi. He can confirm that the ones selling the ink block were Qi people."

Impossible.

Li Tao frowned. When he heard this, the first thought that flashed in his mind was this: if Daqi had such ink blocks, he would certainly know. Have I neglected something during this period?

To figure it out, Li Tao looked at Pu Shou, "Did you send someone to inquire?"

Prince Lu has spies in various places throughout Daqi, so inquiries about this matter should quickly yield results.

Pu Shou said, "After I found out, I inquired. It’s not difficult to inquire about ink blocks—there are several ink-making workshops in Daqi. If that ink block was made by Daqi, they would not be unaware."

Li Tao thought this matter was suspicious. After the ink was made, it was transported to the sea and sold to sea merchants, who then relayed the information to them. How long did all this take?

These were supposed to be things he held firmly in his hands, yet now they’re happening under his nose, and he’s still clueless.

Li Tao could not tolerate it: "Did you see those ships? They transported goods to sell to sea merchants, yet you did not receive the slightest bit of information?"

Pu Shou replied, "Perhaps... the ships were too small, so we didn’t pay attention. Sea merchants said those two ships arrived and left quickly, clearly very familiar with the sea."

Li Tao thought of Liu Xi. Liu Xi relied on his familiarity with the sea situation and hand-held compass to escape capture several times despite Li Tao’s sightings of his ships.

Could it be that Liu Xi and his men are active at sea again? Yet, neither their people nor the garrison border guard station noticed.

"Go investigate," Li Tao ordered, "If they are really ships from Daqi, those people ultimately settled near the coast. You must find some clues within three days."

Pu Shou responded.

Li Tao’s gaze deepened. Regardless of their elusive nature or the goods they’re selling, he felt they were not simple. At the very least, they’re not ordinary people risking illegal trade just to make a living.

Those people took out ink blocks that no one else had for sale, likely not just for one or two shiploads of goods. It’s very possible they had planned to use ink blocks to attract those vassal people, and then play a bigger game.

Li Tao felt provoked.

Could someone be trying to suppress them and take their place?

As it turned out, Li Tao’s suspicions were correct. Just as Pu Shou found out that ships had been sighted near Dengzhou, vassal merchants again bought ink blocks from those people.

This time, it wasn’t just ink blocks, but also a large number of thread tassels, flower felts, and various paper materials.

Some vassal merchants even asked Li Tao if the prices of his goods could be lowered further because the others were selling their goods at least 20% cheaper than Li Tao.

Li Tao looked at Pu Shou, "You say they’re just small ships made by fishermen?"

Pu Shou was sweating profusely, "Indeed, we just found a few small ships over by Dengzhou, unless they didn’t set out from Daqi nearby."

Li Tao asked, "Then why are all the goods they have from Daqi?"

Pu Shou was at a loss for words, difficult to explain.

Li Tao coldly said, "After so many years at sea, you can’t even investigate this much. Must we wait until they’re at our doorstep to figure it out?"

Pu Shou simply couldn’t think of where the problem lay.

"Perhaps we should send a message to the Governor of Hai State, have him move the garrison to keep an eye on things... After all, our manpower is insufficient, and investigating like this isn’t the way."

Li Tao listened quietly, "And if Hai State can’t find out?"

Pu Shou almost blurted out that they should report to the Prince, for he has many men at his disposal. However, just as this thought flashed across his mind, he dismissed it, as Mr. Li had said to rely on the Prince for everything, then what would they be there for?

Pu Shou continued, "I’ll mobilize ships to guard the nearby sea, especially following those vassal merchants. If those people appear again this time, they won’t escape. First, catch and interrogate them."

Li Tao nodded.

Pu Shou breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I’ll go make arrangements immediately."

Li Tao’s gaze remained deep, still clutching the ink block brought by Pu Shou in his palm. If even this can’t be found out, those people’s backgrounds must not be simple.

...

About seven or eight days later.

The vassal merchants received news that those people had brought goods again.

"So quick," Li Tao said, "Faster than us." How exactly were these people buying the goods? Three times to the sea in a month.

Bear in mind, it isn’t easy to buy goods from the eight states.

This time, Li Tao planned to personally go. They prepped six large ships, determined not to let those people escape this time.

Li Tao’s large ships left the small island.

Zheng saw it, returned to the village, and found Sister Chen, "Something’s definitely happened."

Li Tao suddenly mobilized six large ships, taking away many people from the island. Nothing like this has happened in recent years.

Zheng lowered his voice, "Perhaps you were right, someone has their eyes on Li Tao and the others. I gathered information that Li Tao is going to arrest someone this time, not knowing what the result will be."

Sister Chen thought carefully, "If they can’t catch them this time, our opportunity will be even greater." If they can’t catch them, it means those people are quite formidable, not someone Li Tao can handle.

Then, next time, a bigger conflict might occur, definitely affecting the small island.

"We still need to speed up shipbuilding," Sister Chen said, "Who knows, that day might come soon."

...

When Li Tao’s ships arrived, they could see the shadows of two ships in the distance.

"Chase." At Li Tao’s command, the people on the ship worked hard to maneuver the vessels forward.

However, those two ships moved with inexplicable agility on the sea, fortunately, they were prepared for this.

"Surround them."

At Li Tao’s command, the already-prepared ships closed in from the center.

Just as they were about to surround the two ships, suddenly a flash of fire appeared.

With a "boom," the ship closest to the two was hit by firearms, and the people on board fell into the sea one by one.

Witnessing the fire and thick smoke, the veins on Li Tao’s forehead pulsed. Those people actually had firearms. He had a bad premonition, always feeling this attempt might end in vain.